P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

Hugpong to meet this monthto discuss 2016 election plans

The BIG NEWS P2

NO MANUAL ELECTION‘We have enough IT experts to repair the machines’

Sports P16

Cavs level NBA Finals

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOINSIDE EDGE

Tagum buy-bust nets P9 million

Dabawenya hosts NY TV program

The BIG NEWS P2

INdulge! A1

GOING DIGITAL. A young boy uses a tablet to browse through some notes to prepare for Monday’s resumption of classes. Most schools in Davao City began the new school year yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

COMMISSION on Election (Comelec)-Davao assistant re-

gional director Marlon Casquejo yesterday gave assurance that election will not be done manually in Region 11 next year.

This is even after the Supreme Court two

months ago ruled as null and void the P240 million contract between Comelec and Smartmatic-Total In-formation Management Corp. (Smartmatic-TIM) for the repair and diag-nostics of 82,000 poll ma-chines.

“The high court

through Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe decided the refurbish-ment deal was illegal be-cause the Comelec failed to justify why it had to resort to direct contract-ing, being unable to fulfill the conditions set by the Government Procurement

Reform Act (GPRA),” Busi-nessWorld had reported.

Casquejo, however, said Comelec has “enough IT (Information Technolo-gy) personnel to do the re-pair and the diagnostics.”

He also said only 20 to 30 percent of the 82,000

COMELEC 11 Assistant Regional Director Marlon Casquejo

FNO MANUAL, 10

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

LAW enforcement agen-cies in Davao Region net-ted P9 million worth of

shabu (methamphetamine hy-drochloride) in buy-bust oper-ation in Tagum City last Friday.

Operatives headed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 11 arrested Ferdinand Jose Camacho, 45, a resident of Barangay Mankil-am, Tagum City, Davao del Norte; and Oder Saipuding, 20, a resident of Monay, Lanao del Norte for allegedly sell-ing one kilo of shabu to PDEA

agents.A PDEA report said Cama-

cho and Saipuding were ar-rested at around 7 p.m.on June 5 at Stall No. 2, Pereras Com-pound, Barangay Magugpo West, Tagum City.

The report said aside from shabu, assorted drug para-phernalia and the money used by police in the buy-bust were also confiscated from the two suspects.

PDEA 11 regional direc-tor Emerson Rosales said concerned citizens reported

the illegal activities of the two through the agency’s text ho-tlines.

Rosales said the suspects are known to be big-time sha-bu suppliers operating in the region.

The suspects have been charged for the sale, posses-sion of drug paraphernalia, and use of illegal drugs which violates Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Danger-ous Drugs Act of 2002.

Rosales said the opera-tion was in coordination with

Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office (DNPPO), Davao Oriental Provincial Police Of-fice (DOPPO), Regional Intel-ligence Unit (RIU) 11, Tagum City Police Station, Davao del Norte Criminal Investigation and Detection Team, and the community.

“This collaborative ef-fort... serves as a warning to all drug perpetrators that the law enforcement agencies are closely working together and are always vigilant in the fight against illegal drugs,” he said.

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte will be one of the special guests

in the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) Second Quarter-ly National Executive Officer and National Board (NEO-NB) Meeting this Wednesday at the SMX Convention Center in La-nang, Davao City.

In an interview, councilor Rachel P. Zozobrado-Nagayo said the mayor already con-firmed his presence as one of the keynote speakers.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said that Duterte might share his advocacy on Federalism and might also conduct his “listen-ing tour” during the conven-tion.

In a schedule sent to Davao City reporters, Duterte will be the keynote speaker during the Mayor’s Night and Welcome Dinner on June 10.

Zozobrado-Nagayo also said Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Dute-rte will be the keynote speak-er on the second series of the

2015 Continuing Local Leg-islative Education Program (CLLEP).

She said around 3,000 councilors from all over the Philippines will participate in the quarterly event of the PCL.

Zozobrado–Nagayo said the councilors will be wel-comed by the dancers of De-partment of Tourism (DOT) 11 and City Tourism and Oper-ations Office (CTOO).

She said the management of Francisco Bangoy Inter-

national Airport allocated a separate exit for the delegates since there are vans that will deliver them to their respec-tive hotels.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said the city will also present the city’s best ordinances such as the smoking ban and the li-quor ban.

She said the culminating activity of the convention will be the open Golf Tournament on Friday. Armando B. Fene-quito Jr.

THE homegrown Hug-pong sa Tawong Lung-sod is set to convene

before the end of June for its plans in 2016.

In an interview yesterday, party member third district councilor Rachel P. Zozob-rado-Nagayo said Hugpong will probably meet before the month of June ends to talk about who will run in next year’s election.

“Ang nadunggan nako is end of June. Hopefully, mahi-tabo (Based on what I have heard it will be held at the end of June. Hopefully it will happen),” Zozobrado-Nagayo said.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said the meeting will be held to

coincide with the end of May-or Rodrigo Duterte’s listening tour on federalism.

Duterte, the chair of the local political party, had ear-lier said he will reveal his po-litical plans at the end of June when his listening tour is over.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said many members of the party have already expressed their intention to run for different local positions.

She said the intention of some members, especially those serving their third and last terms and are seeking higher positions, will depend on the decision of the party.

Second district councilor Louie John Bonguyan had ear-

THE Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has asked Malaysian au-

thorities to probe the death in Johor Bahru of a Filipina worker from Polomolok in South Cotabato.

“The Embassy, through its Police Attaché, has asked Malaysian police authorities for a full investigation of the tragic incident, particularly how and why Ms Ruby Lloren was ‘trapped’ inside the burn-ing house,” the Embassy said in a press statement sent to MindaNews.

Lloren was killed when

her house was burned al-legedly by a robber who en-tered their house on Tuesday.

Lloren’s Malaysian hus-band, who was reportedly not at home when the fire broke out, informed her family in Polomok in the afternoon.

The Embassy’s statement said Ms. Lloren had been liv-ing in Malaysia with her hus-band for seven years and was working in a fast-food chain. “She had a nine year old daughter,” the statement said. It made no mention, however, where the child is. (MindaN-ews)

RISKY. A “payong-payong” driver parks his vehicle outside the Magallanes Elementary School along Magallanes Street as he waits for students during lunch break yesterday. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has started inspecting school buses and other school transport services for their roadworthiness a month before the opening of classes but has failed to check other means of transportation that present higher risk to passengers. Lean Daval Jr.

Tagum buy-bustnets P9M in shabuBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

Duterte to keynote councilors’ confab

Hugpong to meet this monthto discuss 2016 election plans

Phl Embassy in KL seeksprobe on death of worker

FHUGPONG, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 3NEWSEDGEDAVAO

THE Commission on Elec-tion (Comelec) in Davao City will conduct sat-

ellite registration in different barangays with high rates of registered voters with no bio-metrics starting the last week of June.

Speaking in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex, Comelec assis-tant regional director and con-current Comelec officer for the first district of Davao City Atty. Marlon Casquejo said the sat-ellite registration will benefit the 179,967 registered voters in Davao City who still do not have biometrics.

Davao City has a total of 888,442 registered voters, lower than the more than

970,000 registered voters in 2013.

Based on the data of Comelec-Davao City, the ba-rangays of Talomo and Bucana have the most number of reg-istered voters who do not have biometrics. These two areas are among the possible prior-ity areas for satellite registra-tion in the city, Casquejo said.

He also said far-flung ba-rangays of the second and third district are also possible locations of the satellite reg-istration. This after some city councilors requested Comelec to transfer its second and third district offices near the voters.

“Given the limited time, all we can do now is conduct the satellite registration in

different barangays to have all 179,967 update their vot-er’s registration and be able to vote in the 2016 election,” he said.

Casquejo said aside from satellite registration, Comelec is also sending individual final notice letters to registered vot-ers with no biometrics.

However, of the 5,000 let-ters sent every week, Comelec only gets 20 responses, he said. Most letters are returned to the Comelec.

Casquejo said most of the registered voters who have no biometrics are those aged 35 and above and those who live in remote areas of the city.

“It would be hard for res-ident of Baguio District, for

instance, to travel down to the downtown area of the city just to have their biometrics regis-tered. That’s why we have to conduct the satellite registra-tion to bring the service near-er to them,” he said.

He said voters who reg-istered starting 2004 already have biometrics.

“Aside from being qual-ified to vote next year, the biometrics will also allow the Comelec to clean and update our voters’ list,” he said.

He said biometrics will re-move the possibility of flying voters, double registration. It will also remove voters who are deceased and those who have already changed their

THE Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMin-Com) of the Armed

Forces of the Philippines (AFP) signed a memorandum of understanding with Oper-ation Smile Philippines Foun-dation (OSPF) Inc. last Sunday for the conduct of free cleft lip and cleft palate surgical oper-ations.

The MOU was signed at the Naval Station Felix Apoli-nario in Panacan, Davao City by EastMinCom commander Lieutenant General Aurelio B. Baladad and OPSF board of trustee member Dr. Joselito Rosauro Cembrano.

The signing was witnessed by Naval Forces Eastern Min-

danao commander Commo-dore Rafael G. Mariano.

Under the MOU, the OSPD will provide free cleft lip and cleft palate operations in the area of EastMinCom while the latter will provide logistics and mapping of the patients in its area of responsibility.

The EastMinCom will also transport patients from the community to the hospital where the operation will be done.

In a press conference, Baladad said the program will help the people especial-ly those from the hinterlands who have no access to health services.

SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will focus on who will

control and manage Lake Lanao, the country’s second largest lake and main source of electricity in Mindanao, when his committee holds the last public hearing on the pro-posed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) today (Tuesday).

Marcos, chair of the Sen-ate committee on local gov-ernment said the provision on jurisdiction over major energy sources in the draft Bangsam-oro Basic Law might come in conflict with the constitution.

He said there will also be discussion on the implications of the proposed Bangsamoro territory on business, trade, finance, health and women issues.

“I have to call another hearing because many of our

resource persons invited to our hearing on June 2 were not able to speak and provide us their inputs for lack of ma-terial time,” he said.

Marcos said he will start writing the committee report after the public hearing on Tuesday.

Among those who were not able to talk during the June 2 public hearing were Maranao leaders headed by Drieza Liningding, secretary general of Kalinaw Bangsam-oro! Kalinaw Mindanaw! Kali-naw Pilipinas!

Liningding and his group are batting for higher reve-nue shares and control of the six Agus hydropower plants and Lake Lanao, which supply close to 60 percent of Mindan-ao’s electricity.

He said the local govern-

TWO farmers’ associa-tions in Davao Oriental recently received P3.250

million worth of livelihood projects from the Provincial Government, Department of Agriculture 11, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP).

Funded by the OPAPP, these projects were imple-mented under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Pamana) Program which bids for the intensification of peace and development efforts in the communities.

The Aliwagwag Farm-ers Multi-purpose Associa-tion (AFMA) in Cateel town received P750,000 worth of projects in support to its upland rice and postharvest facilities while the Batawan Upland Corn Farmers Associa-tion (BUCFA) in Baganga town received P2.5 million worth Corn Production and Posthar-vest Facilities.

Among the equipment and facilities AFMA received were a rice mill shed, a single

pass rice mill, weighing scales and a bagger.

BUFCA, on the other hand, received a corn mill building, multi-purpose drying pave-ment, 150 bags of corn seeds, organic fertilizers, weighing scales, compressor, welding machine, and office furniture and equipment, among others.

Enya Celoso, DA-PAMANA Focal Person, said the depart-ment had undergone consul-tations with the associations and their barangay officials in order to specifically determine the needs of the communities in terms of economic develop-ments which are deemed to create impact in creating more peaceful communities.

The villagers in Aliwag-wag along with residents in neighboring barangays, who will benefit from the upland rice facility projects, said this will definitely help them eco-nomically as they do not have to transport their harvested grains to rice mills situated kilometers away from their

EastMinCom, Operation Smileink deal to hold free operations

FOOD SECURITY. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte talks to exhibitors after his talk at the Agriculture and Livestock Expo at SMX Convention Center

last Friday. Duterte said in his speech that if he becomes President he will prioritize the food production supply in the country. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

Comelec to holdsatellite registration

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.abf@edgedavao.net

PARTNERSHIP. Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) commander Lieutenant General Aurelio B. Baladad explains how the partnership with Operations Smile Philippines Foundation (OSPF) Inc. can help indigent people in the hinterlands. Beside him is OPSF Board of Trustees member Dr. Joselito Rosauro Cembrano. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

Last Senate hearing on BBLto focus on control of Lake Lanao

Farmers’ groups get P3.2Min livelihood projects

FLAST, 10

FCOMELEC, 10FFARMERS’, 10

FEASTMINCOM, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 20154

CAMELLA Davao, the newest and most antic-ipated masterplanned

development in the city, has jumpstarted its massive con-struction to produce another iconic development.

“We are proud to an-nounce the start of develop-ment of our latest addition to Camella’s string of master-planned communities in the region,” said Anna Mae dela Peña, Camella Davao Market-ing Head.

A Caribbean-inspired community, Camella Davao is spread across 34 hectares of prime land in Communal, Bu-hangin, Davao City. As it starts to take shape over time, it will stand out as a picturesque and charming community with stylish and functional homes.

Camella Davao will offer as many as 16 home models ranging from the affordable home series to the luxurious homes series, catering to a wide segment of homebuy-ers, from the middle-range to the high-end scale.

“Homebuyers will be

excited to know that house construction is eyed to com-mence before the year ends,” said dela Peña, urging home-buyers to choose their home model at the Camella offic-es at Delgar Bldg. which is across Northpoint in JP Lau-rel Avenue, Bajada.

Located across the Davao International Airport along the Diversion Road, Camel-la Davao’s location makes it conveniently accessible from all points of the city. Its loca-tion makes it accessible from Diversion’s southern point in Ulas and northern point in Panacan.

It is also centrally acces-sible from Buhangin Road, Bacaca Road, Mamay Road which intersects Diversion Road from JP Laurel Avenue and Lanang. All are major thoroughfares that lead to the subdivision’s entrance and plied by public transpor-tation.

While it offers mid-range to high-end home packages, Camella Davao is designed as a first class subdivision com-plete with deluxe amenities

for the convenience and en-joyment of its homeowners. A clubhouse designed with a tropical feel will become the pulse center of the communi-ty where residents meet and socialize in special events and gatherings.

For their physical activ-ities, they can enjoy the bas-ketball court, children’s play-ground, and lanes for bikers, joggers, skateboarders, and strollers. Families can hold picnics at the park where young kids cans play with their neighbors, and teenag-ers can hang around with their friends.

The whole subdivi-sion will be fenced in and a grand entrance will be manned by security per-sonnel. This will be aug-mented by roving guards who shall enforce round-the-clock security system that will look out for safe-ty of homeowners and their homes.

Camella Davao will also have its own commercial center that will make it a self-suffi-

cient community. While the community is quite close to all modern conveniences, homeowners who prefer not to go far can always go to the Village Center to find their daily essentials.

Camella Davao’s loca-tion is ideal for all types of families, as it is within close proximity to schools such as Colegio de San Ignacio, St. Paul School of Pasig – Davao, Jose Maria College (sure ito?), Nikkei Jin Kai, and Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku.

It is a few minutes’ ride or drive

to University of Immaculate Conception, Exegesis School of Davao, Stella Maris Acad-emy, South Eastern Philip-pines, San Pedro College, Holy Cross of Davao College, and Ateneo de Davao Univer-sity.

Only fifteen minutes away are malls and enter-tainment centers such as SM Lanang Premier, Abreeza Ayala Mall, Victoria Plaza, Gaisano Mall, Robinson’s Cy-bergate, Damosa Gateway and Market Basket.

Camella Davao is near the public markets of Bu-

hangin and Panacan, as well as places of worship such as the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Carmelite Church, Redemp-torist Church, Iglesiani Cristo, and Scripture Baptist Church.

Nearby hospitals include Southern Philippines’ Med-ical Center, Davao Medical School Foundation, Inc. and the Metro Davao Medical and Research Center. Transport terminals to outlying munic-ipalities and provinces are found at the Gaisano Mall and water transport to neighbor-ing Samal Island is available at Sasa Wharf.

Camella Davao speeds up development

Land development is in full swing in Camella Davao.

Camella Southmin Cluster Head Marlon B. Escalicas gestures towards the site where the charming Caribbean-inspired community, Camella Davao, will soon rise.

Young plants and seedlings ready for planting will make Camella Davao’s surroundings lush  and verdant.

EDGEDAVAO

PROPERTY

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 5EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

A TOTAL of 15,755 local and overseas jobs will be up for grabs during

the 2015 Kalayaan Job Fair on June 12, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 11 announced.

DOLE 11 regional director Joffrey Suyao said this year’s figure is lower compared to the more than 20,000 jobs made available during the same job fair last year.

“We are expecting at least 3,000 job applicants to join the job fair for this year’s Ka-layaan Job Fair at the NCCC Mall of Davao,” Suyao said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex yesterday.

Suyao said the regional labor agency was able to so-licit 2,255 local job vacancies from 51 local employers and 13,500 vacancies from 28 overseas employers.

Nurses have the highest demand abroad with a total of 763 solicited job vacancies, followed by salesman for food and non-food with 476, cus-tomer service representatives and security guards with 400

each, factory workers with 362, sales associates with 316, masons with 306, elderly care attendant with 300, carpenter with 287, and manicurist with 284 vacancies.

Suyao said there is still a high demand for call center agents with 500 local job va-cancies, followed by customer service representative with 330, technical support rep-resentative with 300, sales personnel with 106, cable lineman and splicers with 70, sales consultant with 51, driv-ers and installers with 35, op-erations supervisor with 34, marketing officer with 25 and helpers with 20 vacancies.

There will be a re-gion-wide job fair on June 12, according to Suyao. Aside from Davao City, Indepen-dence Day job fairs will also be simultaneously held in Nabunturan for Composte-la Valley and Tagum City for Davao del Norte

“We have required all provincial labor officers to conduct their own job fair to bring the job vacancies nearer

Over 15K jobs in Kalayaan Job FairSuyao: We have required all provincial labor officers to conduct their own job fair

to job applicants,” Suyao said, adding that a region-wide job fair will spare applicants from going to Davao City just to par-

ticipate the one-day job fair.He said the region-wide

job fair will further improve the state of employment in

the region which continues to grow over the years.

Meanwhile, applicants can avail the pre-registration

and mini-job fair from June 5 until June 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the NCCC Mall of Davao.

KALAYAAN FAIR. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 11 regional director Joffrey Suyao says that jobs made available for this year’s Kalayaan Jof Fair lower compared to last year. Cheneen R. Capon

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015THE ECONOMY6 EDGEDAVAO

AN ESTIMATED US$1.5 billion in-vestment from three

mining companies will be poured into the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental once their respective feasibility studies are approved by the Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB)-Davao.

MGB 11 director Edil-berto Arreza said the three local mining firms with for-eign partners are sister com-panies Hallmark Nickel Proj-ect and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corporation in Pu-jada, Peninsula in Mati City with a combined investment of US$1 billion, and Nation-wide Development Corpora-tion (Nadecor) in Pantukan, Compostela Valley with US$ 500 million.

Arreza said the three companies have been grant-ed with permit to conduct exploration and feasibility study for eight years.

“These mining compa-nies are already on the last stage of the feasibility study,” Arreza said in yesterday’s regular Kapehan sa Dabaw media forum at SM City An-

nex.Hallmark and Aus-

tral-Asia were granted a permit to explore a total of 12,000 hectares, with only 5,000 hectares of these are identified as active mining area for copper deposit.

Nadecor, meanwhile, is exploring and conducting a feasibility study on 1,300 hectares, with only 400 hectares are available for copper deposit.

Arreza said once the FS will be approved, the invest-ment will be used for con-struction and mining opera-tion of the firms.

The MGB 11 has ap-proved a total of 38 appli-cations from different firms, which are already in differ-ent stages of exploration. Another 13 applications from different companies were endorsed by the MGB-Davao to its central office for approval.

The approval of permits of mining applicants, Arreza said, will take at least two years, contrary to the six–month period as mandated by the MGB’s guidelines.

“The current adminis-

$1.5-B mining investment in Comval, DavOrArreza: These firms are already on the last stage of the feasibility study

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

BIG INVESTMENT. Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 11 regional direc-tor Edilberto Arreza announces the huge investment of three local mining firms with foreign partners in the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao

Oriental in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex. Beside him is Engr. Lorel Castillo, board of director of Philippine Society of Mining Engi-neers Davao chapter. Cheneen R. Capon

PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III returned to the country on Friday

(June 5) with P13.5 billion investment pledges and P136.9 billion loans from his four-day state visit to Japan.

The President was welcomed at the arrival area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by Cabinet members including Executive Secretary Paqui-

to Ochoa, Interior and Lo-cal Government Secretary Manuel Roxas, Justice Sec-retary Leila de Lima, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolenti-no, DOLE Secretary Rosalin-da Baldoz, DOH Secretary Janette Garin, and Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez.

During the trip, Presi-dent Aquino received P13.5 billion investment pledges from 11 companies which signed letters of intent to

open or expand their opera-tions in the Philippines.

The President cited clothing company Uniq-lo, which currently has 22 outlets in the country, is planning to add 200 more shops.

He said the other com-panies are into manufac-turing of electric tricycles, printers, smart glasses and medical devices such as aortic catheter, invitro diag-

nostics and for hemodialy-sis treatment.

The Philippines and Ja-pan also signed agreements in health, maritime safety and trade as well as a con-cessional loan amounting to P136.9 billion huge in-frastructure projects.

President Aquino and Japanese Prime Minister Abe also signed a Joint Dec-laration on Strengthened Strategic Partnership.

AS the country gears up towards the much-an-ticipated ASEAN In-

tegration this year, when it joins other ASEAN countries in achieving 100 percent eco-nomic integration, the read-iness of the business com-munity is reassurance that the Philippines is indeed in a better position to embrace this opportunity.

One such example of this preparedness is manifested in the country’s hospitali-ty industry, where the need for the implementation of a consistent rating system has been the subject of a new government effort in partner-ship with SatisFIND®, which is headed by Michelle Perez Patel and Kaiz Patel, experts on customer experience mea-surement and mystery shop-

ping solutions. The project, dubbed the

Third Party Assessment for the Implementation of New Tourism Standards for Ho-tels, Resorts, and Apartment Hotels,” was conducted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) with SatisFIND® at the helm of its management and is geared towards the implementation of a uniform and transparent auditing structure for accommodation establishments across the country.

The assessment uses the Star Rating system derived from international best prac-tices to audit hotels, resorts, and apartment hotels based on the availability, quality, and condition of their facili-ties and services.

This establishes a uni-

form scale to effectively evaluate all DOT-accredited accommodation establish-ments in the Philippines.

SatisFIND® designed a methodical reporting and as-sessment process specifically for the DOT, resulting in a sys-tem by which both domestic and international tourists can gauge the quality of the hotel they are considering.

According to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr., the new standards fur-ther aims to boost the hotel and tourism competitiveness of the country, especially in preparation for upcoming important events such as the APEC Summit this year and the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2016.

This undertaking kicked off in 2013, commencing with

the selection of thirty-five volunteer auditors with ex-pertise and experience in the field of hotel and tourism, and the intention of paying it for-ward to the country’s tourism industry.

After being carefully selected by the DOT to be Third-Party Auditors, they went through a compre-hensive four-day training program organized by Sat-isFIND® and developed by Mr. Geoff Penrose, director of World Class Tourism and an international expert on star rating systems.

A private gathering host-ed by Sec. Jimenez and at-tended by the Third-Party Auditors and SatisFIND® of-ficially launched the project’s implementation.

Noy brings home P13.5-B investment pledges

tration is very careful in ap-proving applicants from the mining sector,” Arreza said.

Only two mining corpo-rations in Davao Region have permit to operate, including the gold mining operation of Apex Mining Corporation, Inc. in Barangay Masara of

the municipality of Maco in Compostela Valley and the Holcim Cement in Barangay Ilang Davao City.

“The rest are illegal,” he said, adding that most of the illegal operations were reg-istered in the sector of small mining.

Arreze said there are so many small mining opera-tions in Compostela Valley that the MGB-Davao tried to legalize by helping min-ers to register and organize themselves as cooperatives.

“We cannot just sim-ply stop their operation

because that would cause social problem,” he said, adding that MGB is contin-uously changing some of its guidelines in order to make the operation of small min-ers legal and declare small mining areas as Minaha ng Bayan.

Star rating system for accommodation establishments

A TOTAL of 28 families who are members of the city’s Indigenous

Cultural Communities/ Indig-enous Peoples were recently made the beneficiaries of the Shelter Assistance Program of the Department of Social Wel-fare and Development and the City Government of Tagum.

Implemented through the city’s Social Welfare and Development Office under the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process, the pro-gram is jointly carried out by the DSWD and the local gov-ernment to provide homes to the 28 families of Indigenous Peoples whose houses were destroyed, either partially or totally, during the onslaught of Typhoon Pablo in 2012.

The joint undertaking, which is pegged at ₱2.6 mil-lion, with the City of Tagum pledging the amount of ₱400,000 as its counterpart, is in accordance with the policy of the State to provide shelter to the families/victims whose houses are destroyed by nat-ural or man-made disasters and calamities, and is in line with the City Government’s developmental thrust on So-cial Services.

Each IP family/beneficia-ry of the program is estimat-ed to complete the ₱70,000- worth shelter unit within ten

days after the implementa-tion of the project and will also be paid the amount of P22,600.00 in exchange for their services or involvement during an 8-hour, 10-day con-struction work on the afore-mentioned shelter unit.

The beneficiaries who are all members of the Man-saka tribe from the city’s 4 flood-prone barangays of Pagsabangan, Mankilam, San Miguel and Canocotan were identified and selected by the Datus and Bias of their re-spective barangays.

The program was im-plemented during a ground breaking ceremony on May 28, 2015 at the city’s reset-tlement area at RTU Village, Purok 2, Apokon, Tagum City and was participated in by Tagum City Mayor Allan L. Rellon, DPA, PhD., Hon. Macario Bermudez, Hon. Al-lan Zulueta, Hon. Francisco Remitar, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Damiano Cipro, City ENRO Engr. Elias Ragos, City En-gineer Roosevelt Corporal, Local Housing Board’s Engr. Bernardo Castor, Acting City PDO Arturo Manigo, Acting City GSO Roger Dompol, CSW-DO Nora C. Lupiba, RSW, and Brgy. Apokon Captain Bryan Kim Samuel Angoy. (Richi D. Gulle/CIO Tagum)

28 IP families benefitfrom shelter program

FSTAR RATING, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

EDGEDAVAOINdulge! TRAVEL

Dabawenya hostsNY TV program

THREE years after leaving the Philippines, Dabawenya TV reporter  Ethel  Cantor-Con-stantino renews her romance with broadcast journalism as she hosts a Filipino TV program in Queens, New York.

Ethel will also be working as the writer and co-producer of the magazine show I Am Pinoy, Proud Ako, a 30-min-ute bilingual, live-to-tape program that started airing on May 7 over three different channels under Queens Pub-lic Television (QPTV) in New York.

The program will feature the  lives of various people, from  ordinary Fil-Ams to the exceptional achievers and leaders in the community.

In its pilot episode, the program highlighted the col-orful stories of Fil-Am de-signer Darius Gibbs, actor and filmmaker Luis Pedron, the Pinoy group called Filhar-monic, and Philippine Consul

General Mario de Leon Jr.“Despite the growing pop-

ulation of Filipinos living in the US, there is very little or limited information avail-able about their accomplish-ments, struggles, and hopes as individuals away from the Philippines, their home,” said Ethel, a graduate of Com-munications Arts  from  the Ateneo de  Davao University. “The program was born out of our desire to discover and tell the stories of inspiration, sur-vival, the dreams of Filipinos in the US.”

These stories, according to Ethel, are hoped to inspire and encourage other Filipinos living in the US.

“There are a lot of things

Pinoy band Filharmonic

By Jefry M. Tupas

to learn from these people, from these stories. I am very happy that I have this oppor-tunity to share and tell these stories to others,” she said.

Gibbs, for instance, had his creativity and persever-ance tested before making it to the  fashion capital of the world. He now  owns the de-signer line Dark by DBG.

“Young and new design-ers who want to penetrate the US market must start it small and grow  from there. Don’t put all your eggs in one bas-ket,” he said.

Pedron tells of his journey as an actor and filmmaker who founded the Internation-al Film Festival Manhattan that annually gathers over 400 films from across the world every October. He considers the film  fest  his  “simple and humble” way of “honoring” films and    filmmakers and actors and artists around the world — including Filipinos. Pedron is soon to release an e-book — sort of a manual — on how to join film festivals.

The  Filharmonic  is a seven-member group known among Filipinos in New York for their songs that bring them back home. One of the mem-bers of the group is Cutuy Herrero, daughter of the late character actor Subas Herrero. She tells of how she was drawn away from pursuing music be-

cause “I never thought I was good enough” and how “great it is to be singing for the Fili-pino community.”

The group, along with other Fil-Am artists, recorded We Shall Rise, a song dedicat-ed to the victims of typhoon Yolanda. The song is available on iTunes and the proceeds will go to the Philippine Na-tional Red Cross.

De  Leon’s story centers on the services offered by the Philippine Consulate in New York.

I Am Pinoy, Proud Ako! is a production of Pinoy Pride sa America, in collabo-ration with Empyre Media Productions and Genix Pro-ductions.

“This is my way of serv-ing the Filipino community here,” Ethel  said, adding that the show has offered her “to do what I really love doing.”

Ethel  started her media career as executive producer and host of several ABS-CBN shows in Davao City, includ-ing TV Patrol Mindanao, Hoy Gising-Davao, and Maayong Buntag Mindanao. She also pioneered the GMA Davao news department before mov-ing to PTV where she also hosted “Talk Mindanao” and “Mag-UmaSenso Ta!”

She is an  alumna of the East West Center in Hono-lulu, Hawaii under its Senior

Journalist Seminar Program and became the only Filipina journalist who became a re-cipient of TV Reporting Tour of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The ex-

perience gave her the oppor-tunity to document the lives of Muslim-Americans after 9/11. The program was under the Office of Broadcast Ser-vices of the US State Depart-ment.

Ethel with Filipino designer Darius Gibbs

Ethel with two New York City police officers

ABS-CBN scored another primetime hit on Philippine TV with its modern retell-ing of the classic love story between Angelo and Yna in the 2015 remake of the worldwide hit series “Pangako Sa ’Yo” (“The Promise”). Fifteen years after its original version aired on ABS-CBN, “Pangako Sa’Yo” made a grand comeback last Monday (May 25) and hit a national TV rating of 34%, or more than double that of its ri-val program, which only got 15%. Data from Kantar Media also showed that it was the most watched program in the country that night. Even before it started airing, the show’s official hashtag already be-came the top nationwide and world-wide topic on Twitter, garnering more than half a million tweets from 6 PM to midnight. Netizens praised the performanc-es of the new Eduardo, Claudia, and Amor played respectively by some the country’s most sought-after actors Ian Veneracion, Angelica Panganiban, and Asian superstar Jodi Sta. Maria, who captivated global viewers with her role as Maya Dela Rosa in “Be Careful with My Heart.” The legions of fans of the show’s lead teen stars Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo also contrib-uted to this uptrend as they went full force in tweeting about the program

A2 INdulge! VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Modern retelling of ‘The Promise’ hits big on Ph TV

Bigger and Stronger GMA TelebabadTHERE will be more reasons to get hooked in GMA Network’s Telebabad block as its primetime dramas con-tinuously engage viewers with the programs’ exciting developments and the many twists and turns in every ep-isode. From Pari ‘Koy’s way of uplift-ing the human spirit, the bittersweet moments in Let The Love Begin, up to how the characters of The Rich Man’s Daughter bravely face the truth, GMA Telebabad definitely knows how to compellingly drive the curiosity of ev-ery viewer. After garnering positive comments from some of the priests of the Catho-lic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-pines (CBCP), GMA Network’s first ever faith-serye, Pari ‘Koy, continues to grab attention from viewers and neti-zens. Aside from its interesting story, Kapuso Primetime King Dingdong Dantes overwhelmingly gets a lot of raves for his effective portrayal of Fa-ther Kokoy, a priest who is known for his non-traditional and non-conform-ist ways of bringing people closer to God. There’s definitely more to watch out for in Pari ‘Koy especially now that Michelle (Carla Abellana) finally learns that Pinggoy (David Remo) is her long lost son. Overwhelmed with joy, Mi-chelle and Jude will decide to ask permission from Father Kokoy to take Pinggoy home. Now that the truth was finally revealed, witness how Fa-ther Kokoy’s faith and perspectives in life be moved by the circumstances happening around him. Meanwhile, Matthew (Victor Neri) will finally have the courage to con-front and declare his love for Noemi (Sunshine Dizon). As a dedicated mother, Noemi will do everything she can to get her daughter, Sarah (Jillian Ward), from Simon (Carlo Gonzalez).

EIGHT FILMS have now been selected to vie in the Filipino New Cinema section of the World Pre-mieres Film Festival Philippines (WPFF) 2015. The festival it-self will take place from June 24 to July 7, 2015, and will screen at SM Cin-emas. Gala Premieres for the Filipino New Cinema en-tries, to be attended by directors, and stars from June 25-27 at the SM North EDSA cinemas. For June 25, the films “Sino nga ba si Pangkoy Ong?” (5:00pm) and “An Kubo sa Kawayanan” (7:00pm). On June 26, “Maska-ra” (5:00pm), “Piring” (7:00pm) and “I Love You. Thank you.” (8:00pm). Then June 27 will have “Ang Kwento Nating Dal-awa” (5:00pm), “Filemon Mamon” (7:00pm) and “Of Sinners and Saints” (8:00pm). Directors and stars will introduce their films and take part in a short Q&A after the screening. Gala Premieres are strictly invitational. The section will feature new Filipino films from contemporary filmmak-ers who are looking to pre-miere their latest works before an international audience in the Philip-pines. The section further highlights the high cali-bre of films produced and made by the country. Festival Awards for this section include film grants of varying amounts as well as awards for Best Picture (1st and 2nd place), Best Screenplay, Best Cinema-tography, Best Editing, Best Musical Score, Best Sound Engineering, Best Production Design, and Best Performance by an Actor, Best Performance by an Actress, Best Sup-porting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. The awards shall be given by an international jury comprised of experts in cinema. The 8 films selected into the Filipino New Cin-ema section of the WPFF are: “An Kubo sa Kaway-anan” directed by Alvin B. Yapan, “Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa” directed by Nestor Abrogena, “Fi-lemon Mamon” directed by Will Fredo, “I Love you. Thank you” directed by Charliebebs Gohetia,

“Maskara” directed by Genesis Nolasco, “Of Sin-ners and Saints” directed by Ruben Maria Soriquez, “Piring” directed by Car-los Morales, and “Sino nga ba si Pangkoy Ong?” directed by Jonah Lim. “An Kubo sa Kaway-anan” directed by Alvin B. Yapan, focuses on Mi-chelle (Mercedes Cabral) who lives in her own special world and has special relationship with her house by the bam-boo grove. In Michelle’s world, everything is inter-connected, and even the smallest of things has a story to tell. Also starring in the film are RK Bagats-ing and Mark Felix. “Ang Kwento Nat-ing Dalawa” directed by Nestor Abrogena, ob-serves the troubled rela-tionship of Sam (Nicco Manalo) and Isa (Emman-

uelle Vera) as they prepare to confront a dilemma that has been brewing and slowly growing. Also star-ring in the film is Brian Corella. “Filemon Mamon” di-rected by Will Fredo, is the story of FIlemon Ma-mon (Jerome Ignacio) a high school student who desires two things. First, to win the heart of the girl he loves and second, to be the lead in a musical play about his Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio. But he has a problem: his weight. Also starring in the film are Miles Ocampo, Smokey Manaloto, Josh-ua Colet, Rayver Cruz, Christian Bautista, Na-nette Inventor, and Giselle Sanchez. “I Love you. Thank you.” directed by Charli-ebebs Gohetia, is the story of Paul (Joross Gamboa)

a restless twenty-some-thing who cannot get his life together, and to make matters worse, falls into a love triangle between Red, his best friend Ivan’s boy-friend, and Tang (Ae Pat-tawan), whom he meets in his travels to Siem Reap. “Maskara” directed by Genesis Nolasco, follows the story of Pia Gorospe (Ina Feleo) as she tries to uncover the truth be-hind the death of a high level executive at the One Wired Nation (OWN) company, with her quest taking her all the way to the city of Marinduque as it celebrates the Moriones tradition. Also starring in the film is Ping Medina, Lance Raymundo, Lester Llasang, and Boots An-son-Roa. “Of Sinners and Saints” directed by Ruben Maria Soriquez follows the story

of Leonardo Rosselini (Ruben Maria Soriquez), a young Italian priest who is assigned to a parish in Payatas and soon de-scends into the one of the poorest and violent areas in Metro Manila. Also starring in the film are Chanel Latorre, Raymond Bagatsing, and Sue Prado. “Piring” directed by Carlos Morales is about James (Yussef Esteves), a working student who struggles to keep both ends meet as he provides for his troubled fam-ily, amidst the corrupted dealings of the city. Also starring in the film are Krista Miller, Bembol Roco, and Tessie Tomas. “Sino nga ba si Pan-gkoy Ong?” directed by Jonah Lim, focuses on the adventures and mis-adventures of three close friends; Armand (Kiko Matos), Julian (Paulo de Vera), and Paolo (Elston Jimenez), as they embark on writing a manuscript under the pseudonym of an established author, in the hopes of making money. Also starring in the film are Hazel Faith dela Cruz, Coleen Perez, and Lara Villar. The WPFF, the interna-tional film festival on the rise in South East Asia, de-rives from the simple con-cept of bringing together a number of countries for a distinct film festival that amplifies diversity in cinema. Featured films will vie for top awards and have red carpet gala premiere screenings at the country’s stylish cinemas, with film luminaries and celebrities in attendance. Besides the “Filipino New Cinema” section, the WPFF also has its Main Competition, Cine Verde section, and Parallel sec-tions (Euroview, ASEAN Skies, Ibero-America, and Eurasian Cinescape). Overall, the festival will screen 60 to 70 films taken from around the world. Running in tandem with the WPFF is the International Film Ex-position (IFX), one of the premier Film Exposi-tions and Film Markets in South East Asia, which will be held from June 26 to 28 at the SMX Conven-tion Center. Please visit the website at www.wpff.ph for more details for festival news and updates.

WPFF 2015 features 8 Filipino new cinema films

ENTERTAINMENT

ABS-CBN scored another primetime hit on Philippine TV with its modern retell-ing of the classic love story between Angelo and Yna in the 2015 remake of the worldwide hit series “Pangako Sa ’Yo” (“The Promise”). Fifteen years after its original version aired on ABS-CBN, “Pangako Sa’Yo” made a grand comeback last Monday (May 25) and hit a national TV rating of 34%, or more than double that of its ri-val program, which only got 15%. Data from Kantar Media also showed that it was the most watched program in the country that night. Even before it started airing, the show’s official hashtag already be-came the top nationwide and world-wide topic on Twitter, garnering more than half a million tweets from 6 PM to midnight. Netizens praised the performanc-es of the new Eduardo, Claudia, and Amor played respectively by some the country’s most sought-after actors Ian Veneracion, Angelica Panganiban, and Asian superstar Jodi Sta. Maria, who captivated global viewers with her role as Maya Dela Rosa in “Be Careful with My Heart.” The legions of fans of the show’s lead teen stars Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo also contrib-uted to this uptrend as they went full force in tweeting about the program

even if their idols didn’t appear in the pilot episode yet. Aside from a stellar cast, the new “Pangako Sa’yo” also offers a top cali-ber production with scenes shot on different grand locations just to give its audience an unforgettable viewing experience the same way the original version did years back. “Pangako Sa’Yo,” directed by its original directors Rory Quintos, Olivia Lamasan, and original writer Dado Lu-mibao, revolves around the promise of true and never-ending love from two generations--- the love story of Amor (Sta. Maria) and Eduardo (Venera-cion), who were separated by Claudia

(Panganiban), and the young couple brought together by destiny, Angelo (Padilla) and Yna (Bernardo). The show’s original version is a land-mark series on Philippine television, raising the bars of locally producing soap operas and being the first to give Filipino audiences a cinematic experi-ence right at their very homes. It is also the most successfully distributed Fili-pino series in the global arena as it was sold in 16 countries and remains the only internationally adapted Filipino drama, with format buys by Asia and Latin America. “Pangako Sa’Yo” is only one of ABS-CBN International Distribution’s excit-

ing offerings for 2015. ABS-CBN International Distribution has been recognized in the global arena as a reliable foreign content pro-vider. It has been a premier source of high quality Filipino programming in over 50 territories all over the world and has sold over 30,000 hours of con-tent worldwide. Living up to this rec-ognition, ABS-CBN International Dis-tribution commits to add to its line-up of high-caliber programs and movies with cast and storylines that appeal to various cultures. For more information, visit ABS-CBN International Distribu-tion’s official website at http://interna-tionalsales.abs-cbn.com.

INdulge! A3VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 EDGEDAVAO

Modern retelling of ‘The Promise’ hits big on Ph TV

Bigger and Stronger GMA TelebabadTHERE will be more reasons to get hooked in GMA Network’s Telebabad block as its primetime dramas con-tinuously engage viewers with the programs’ exciting developments and the many twists and turns in every ep-isode. From Pari ‘Koy’s way of uplift-ing the human spirit, the bittersweet moments in Let The Love Begin, up to how the characters of The Rich Man’s Daughter bravely face the truth, GMA Telebabad definitely knows how to compellingly drive the curiosity of ev-ery viewer. After garnering positive comments from some of the priests of the Catho-lic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-pines (CBCP), GMA Network’s first ever faith-serye, Pari ‘Koy, continues to grab attention from viewers and neti-zens. Aside from its interesting story, Kapuso Primetime King Dingdong Dantes overwhelmingly gets a lot of raves for his effective portrayal of Fa-ther Kokoy, a priest who is known for his non-traditional and non-conform-ist ways of bringing people closer to God. There’s definitely more to watch out for in Pari ‘Koy especially now that Michelle (Carla Abellana) finally learns that Pinggoy (David Remo) is her long lost son. Overwhelmed with joy, Mi-chelle and Jude will decide to ask permission from Father Kokoy to take Pinggoy home. Now that the truth was finally revealed, witness how Fa-ther Kokoy’s faith and perspectives in life be moved by the circumstances happening around him. Meanwhile, Matthew (Victor Neri) will finally have the courage to con-front and declare his love for Noemi (Sunshine Dizon). As a dedicated mother, Noemi will do everything she can to get her daughter, Sarah (Jillian Ward), from Simon (Carlo Gonzalez).

Under the helm of Maryo J. Delos Reyes, Pari ‘Koy also takes pride on the stellar performances of Luz Val-dez, Dexter Doria, and Chanda Rome-ro. Continuing to put Father Kokoy’s faith into action are characters of JC Tiuseco, Jeric Gonzales, Rap Fernan-dez, Lindsay de Vera, and Hiro Peralta. The original series Let the Love Begin is fast becoming one of the fa-vorite dramas of the viewers in the primetime block. Under the direc-tion of Gina Alajar, it is topbilled by Philippine Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas with GMA-7’s fast-rising love-team Ruru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia together with the powerhouse cast composed of Gardo Versoza, Donita Rose, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Neil Ryan Sese, Gladys Reyes, and Ms. Gina Pareño. Completing the cast are Noel Trinidad, Phytos Ramirez, Abel Estan-islao, Ricardo Cepeda, Joko Diaz, Rita Daniela, Ar Angel Aviles, Nomer Lima-tog, Angeli Bayani, Sancho delas Alas, Therese Malvar, Ren Escano.

Kapuso viewers can expect more confrontations and revelations on Let the Love Begin as the succeeding episodes get more interesting and engaging. The mother of Pia (Gabbi), Sophie (Rita Avila), is alive. This shocks Tony (Gardo) and the revelation will turn the lives of the characters. Tony (Gardo) will begin to rekindle his love for Sophie. He now explores the possi-bility of an annulment of his marriage with Celeste (Donita). This makes Ce-leste furious and will do anything to stop Tony’s plans. When Tony decides to make Pia and Sophie meet, Celeste was the first to arrive in their reunion. And in a fit of anger, Celeste fights Tony until she pushes him off the cliff. Meanwhile, Erick (Ruru) becomes the new mystery DJ of Sky FM as DJ 1-Direcho. Pia (Gabbi) and her friends immediately become his fans and they are now part of the 1-Direchoners. Pia has a crush on DJ 1-D and doesn’t look Erick’s way that much anymore. Erick becomes jealous of Himself. Jeni

(Aiai), on the other hand, learns that Erick is really in love with Pia. She is afraid that Erick will also experience the hurt and the pain that she went through before, with Erick who is now with falling in love with Pia. GMA Network’s groundbreaking series The Rich Man’s Daughter con-tinues to take its viewers at the edge of their seats as each episode gradu-ally reveals the personal truths of each character. Top billed by Rhian Ramos, she is joined by Glaiza de Castro, Luis Alandy, Katrina Halili, Mike Tan, Chyn-na Ortaleza, Sheena Halili, and Ms. Gloria Romero. The show also stars Pauleen Luna, Paolo Contis, TJ Trini-dad, Charee Pineda, Stephanie Sol with Al Tantay, Glydel Mercado and Tony Mabesa. The Rich Man’s Daugh-ter is directed by Dominic Zapata. This week on The Rich Man’s Daughter, Oscar (Al) finally found out that her only daughter Jade (Rhian) is a lesbian and in a relationship with Althea (Glaiza). He will do everything in his power and influence to separate the two and to save their family’s rep-utation. He even offers Althea money just so she stays away from Jade’s life. However, she rejects Oscar’s offer and continues to fight for her love for Jade. This angered Oscar more so he continues to threaten Althea by say-ing that he will do anything just to get Jade back. Oscar announces that he is looking for a suitor for her daughter and is willing to pay a hundred million pesos to any man who will marry and make her straight again. Don’t miss the intriguing and com-pelling primetime shows of GMA Telebabad starting with Pari ’Koy, Let the Love Begin and The Rich Man’s Daughter airing weeknights after 24 Oras.

ENTERTAINMENT

PG/ *PG

PG

R13/ *R16 12:00 | 2:10 | 4:20 LFS / * 6:30 | 8:15 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

LAST KNIGHTS / *SWORD OF VENGEANCE

Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman /

*Stanley Weber, Edward Akrout

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

PITCH PERFECT 2 / *TOMORROWLAND

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

SAN ANDREAS

Alexandra Daddario, Dwayne Johnson

12:00 | 2:20 LFS / * 4:40 | 7:20 | 10:00 LFS

Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson / *George Clooney, Britt Robertson

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott

June 5 – 9, 2015

A4 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

IF you haven’t checked out the met-ro’s newest market-place yet, then you’re in for some surprises when you visit and see the products at the Lanang Week-end Market at SM Lanang Premier. Open from Friday to Sunday, 4pm to 9 pm, the Lanang Weekend Market is set at the 2nd level of the beautiful alfresco area of The Fountain Court. Organized by SM La-nang Premier and Gatch Events, it offers a platform for promising entrepre-neurs to make their prod-ucts known to the public. Vendor booths are designed with a rustic, earthy feel, eliciting plen-ty of charm to prompt mallgoers to stop by and

peruse through the prod-ucts. Some featured goods are environment-friendly and delightfully tasty enough to pique your own interest.

Black, Red and Brown Rice Instead of having your usual white rice, go organ-ic all-the-way with whole-grain rice produced by Bios Dynamis. Select from 3 nutritious varieties: Black Rice contains high level of antioxidants to help sup-port the immune system and promote healthy cell growth; Red Rice is great for weight loss; and Brown Rice is for those who are keen to maintain a healthy digestion.

100% Fresh, Organic Produce

Health starts with what you eat. Opt for organic products by Green Boun-ty’s Kitchen. Sun-dried to-matoes made from organic tomatoes and herbs, 100% naturally grown mixed greens, and pesto made from organic basil leaves are must-haves.

NatuReal Calamansi Juice Feeling thirsty? Drink up the NatuReal Fruit Juice by Allegro. It main-tains the tangy taste of fresh calamansi with a tinge of sweetness that is just right for your taste buds.

Botanical Soap and Oth-er Beauty Products Nourish your skin with the natural beauty product line of The Naked Truth.

Soap bars, moisturizers, and lotions are made of botanical oils and ingredi-ents that are beneficial for your skin.

Banana and Taro Chips For a healthy, guilt-free snack, bring home a bag of banana chips from Jef in various flavors. Taro chips by JNC are also a great alternative to fatty junk food.

For inquiries, call 285-0943 loc. 133. You may also check out SM Lanang Pre-mier on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for event updates. Interested parties who would like to join the Lanang Weekend Mar-ket may drop an email to gatchi.gatchiandgatchi@gmail.com or gatchigatch-alian@gmail.com.

green products to watch out for at the Lanang Weekend Market5

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO

CULTURE & ARTSSaving Ifugao’s rice terracesBy HENRYLITO D. TACIO

I WAS reading the Philip-pine Daily Inquirer last June 1 and one of the news

reports that caught my atten-tion was this: “Ifugao rice ter-races may become urban jun-gle.” It’s a dispatch released by the Agence France Presse.

The world famous’ rice terraces, the report said, are “facing unprecedented threats amid the relentless forces of modernity.” Edison Molanida, World Heritage sites manager for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, was quoted as saying: “There is a danger of these beautiful areas turning into urban jun-gles.”

According to Mo-lanida, one of the main threats is the rapid pace of development in the area. “And by rapid pace, we mean unmanaged devel-opment,” he pointed out.

I had observed that kind of unmanaged devel-opment when I visited the place more than two de-cades ago. I thought it was already corrected since I observed that houses were sprouting in those rice pad-dies.

When I was still in high school, I was totally enthralled by Ifugao Rice Terraces, which has been called “the Eighth Wonder of the World.”

“In justice, (the rice ter-races) should be called the first,” argued an article which appeared in Clarin-Revista, a widely-circulated publication in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “For beside it, the pyramids of Egypt, the gardens of Babylon, or the Roman aqueducts are simple attempts at minor en-gineering.”

Historians said the rice terraces were ingenuously carved out of the mountains by the Ifugaos for rice farming. Archaeologists believe that the Ifugaos, who began construct-ing the terraces 20 centuries before Christ, migrated from Indo-China to Luzon.

“As an ethnic type, the Ifu-gao has disappeared, mingling with the autochtonous tribes that have inhabited the new land,” wrote the Clarin-Revis-ta article.

“Not even his physical re-semblance was preserved,” the article deplored. “Actually, only the name of the foreign voyagers remains, carried by the possible descendants, one of the many indigenous communities that occupy the area where they landed 4,000 years ago.”

The rice terraces, de-scribed as “the stairway to heaven,” are a living monu-ment to the ingenuity of trib-

al Filipino farmers who have tilled the steep slopes for over 2,000 years. It is among the top 50 Wonders of the World and is listed on the roster of the World Heritage Sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organi-zation (UNESCO) since 1995.

“A living cultural land-scape of unparalleled beauty,” hailed UNESCO when it was conferred the World Heritage status.

Another UN agency, the Rom-based Food and Agricul-ture Organization, has desig-nated the rice terraces as one of the Globally Important Ag-ricultural Heritage Systems.

But the rice terraces are on the verge of total col-lapse due to erosion, climate change, flooding, human abandonment, and unplanned urban development. “To for-get or wipe out or let go of a precious heritage like the 2,000-year-old Banaue Rice Terraces is absurd,” wrote Cecilia S. Angeles in an article which appeared in Manila Bul-letin. “It must be preserved. It

must be saved!”Aside from the Banaue,

there are other rice terrac-es that can be found in the province; these are in Batad, Mayoyao, Hungduan, and Ki-angan.

In agriculture, a terrace refers to a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conser-vation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irri-gation water. Often such land forms into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance.

Terraced agricultural fields are common in Asia: on Himalayan foothills, Central

and South China, Java, Suma-tra and Sulawesi, Northern Indochina, the highlands of Pacific islands, including Ha-waii, as well as on the Andes mountains of South America.

“But the Ifugao rice ter-races are the most extensive,” wrote science journalist Paul Icamina, when he was still connected with the Interna-tional Rice Research Institute. “If stretched end to end in a line, the Ifugao rice terraces measure 48,280.4 kilometers – about 10 times longer than the Great Wall of China or about half the earth’s circum-ference.”

The Ifugao rice terraces need to be saved. I don’t what happened to it but a congress-man once filed a bill -- House Bill Number 5692 or more commonly known as the “Ifu-gao Rice Terraces Rehabilita-tion Act.”

“Over the years, the Ifugao Rice Terraces has been dete-riorating due to natural disas-ters and human activities. If it is not safeguarded and con-served, it may become a mere part of humanity’s history rather than a valuable World Cultural Heritage. Its current state is a wakeup call for us to do something now,” the bill

said.In the past, one of the

pressing problems that caught the attention of the media was the earthworms which repro-duce more with less water. Maurice Malanes, in an article which appeared in Philippine Daily Inquirer, wrote: “The more earthworms there are, the more water is lost. As the topsoil dries up with the lack of water, the earthworms go deeper into the soil to seek areas that are still moist. Wa-ter seeps through the holes earthworm bore, causing the soil and terrace walls to dry up and crack.”

A study conducted by Wil-fredo Alangui of the Tebtebba Foundation, a global policy research center, traced the culprit of water problem to the denudation of the watershed in the province. “Tourism has encouraged the commercial production of woodcarv-ings and handicraft, and this helped deplete local forest re-sources,” the study said.

Local environment offi-cials reported that illegal log-gers sneak into the mountain at night to cut softwood spe-cies like sangilo and lanete to be used in wood carvings. As trees disappear in the water-shed areas, water is compro-mised.

Without water, the terrac-es could never be sustained. “The rice terraces need always to be wet,” environment offi-cials claimed.

Because rice farming is no longer viable, farmers started losing interest in planting rice. “As farmers plant palay only once a year, the profit they gained is not even enough to support them the rest of the year,” lamented Orlando Mer-cado when he was still a sen-ator. “Thus, they abandon rice farming and seek other means of livelihood.”

Neglect has also played a big part. “Terrace walls are collapsing, ponds are eroded and weedy, and there is lack or absence of irrigation wa-ter,” commented Dr. Rogelio Concepcion in his report after doing a survey on the status of the terraces.

The economic and popula-tion boom has also augmented the degeneration of the rice terraces. Clusters of houses are expanding “like mush-rooms near the paddies,” com-mented one observer.

“It’s up to the Ifugao peo-ple to decide if they want to fight harder to conserve their culture and prevent chaot-ic development,” Molanida told Agence France-Presse. “Otherwise the rice terraces may become grass terraces.”

The author

The rice terraces of Banaue

Human settlements

Stairway to heaven

In justice, (the rice terraces)

should be called the First Wonder of the

World

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 20158 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

A problem of enforcementEDITORIAL

NOT many Filipinos seem to know that the month of June is “National No Smoking Month” in the Philippines. This was declared so on May 30, 1993 by then-President Fidel V.

Ramos, whose Proclamation No. 183, FVR said there was “a need to focus national attention to the dangers of smoking.” While the ”no smoking” imperative is taken for granted in Davao City where smoking is not allowed almost literally everywhere, elsewhere in the country there is a need to enforce it with greater strictness. This is particularly true in urban areas where smokers are able to get away with lighting up even in public buildings, transport, and plac-es were people congregate. Needless to say, the health of the people around them is compromised — and all they are doing is breathe.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global “tobacco epidemic” kills nearly 6 million people each year, of which more than 600,000 are non-smokers dying from breathing sec-ond-hand smoke. A full ten percent actually die even though they have not even smoked a cigarette in their lives. It’s called passive smoking, and it is this breathing in of second-hand smoke that needs to be stopped for the sake of non-smokers. This, in fact, is the smoker’s greatest offense. If smoking only affected the smoker

then there would really be no need to sound the alarm on the effects of cigarette smoke. The problem, however, is that cigarette smoke floats in the air and becomes part of the atmosphere that the rest of the people get to inhale.

The WHO says unless something is done, the epidemic will kill more than 8 million people every year by 2030. More than 80 per-cent of these preventable deaths will be among people living in low-and middle-income countries. The key word here is prevent-able: smoking is a health problem that need not be. The problem is that government does not enforce the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9211) which, among other provisions, bans smoking in public places such as schools and recreational facilities, elevators and stairwells, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, public conveyances and public facilities such as airports and ship terminals, train and bus stations, restaurants and conference halls, with the exception of separate smoking rooms.”

The law itself is virtually all-inclusive, but one is hard-pressed to find a place outside of Davao City that it is strictly implemented. Government must seriously enforce this law and save thousands of Filipinos from an early and unpleasant death.

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

editorial@edgedavao.netmarketing@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 TACIO • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • GREGORIO G. DELIGERO 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

editorial@edgedavao.netmarketing@edgedavao.net

GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICE

EDMUND D. RENDONMarketing Specialist

General Santos CityMobile: (Smart) 0930-669-3018

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

TAKING a break from politics, I just saw that the world of online shopping, already crowded with countless mobile apps and

brand storefronts, just got a little bit tighter as popular photo sharing app Instagram just an-nounced that it will roll out a “fully operational ad business” that would finally allow users to interact directly with brands without having to go through third-party service providers.

In essence, users will now be able to sim-ply click a link in order to interface with sellers outside of the app and perform “marketable actions” with more ease and convenience. This includes buying and selling the products being advertised in Instagram.

Because of the highly visual nature of the app, it is seen by many to be the perfect plat-form not only to build brands, but also to sell everything from fashion, to travel destinations, services, restaurants, and many more in be-tween. Unfortunately Instagram did not allow the use of links that would take its users be-yond the app. Until now.

The technology being used to power this new advertising direction is derived directly from Facebook, which bought the app in 2012 for 1 billion dollars. This means that the same advertising and marketing savvy that allows Facebook users to target very specific markets will soon be available to the 300 million or so Instagram users worldwide.

While this may be great news for brands and advertisers, expect some resistance from some Instagramers to the commercialization of their community. Sensitivity to such possibly negative reactions is what held the company back from aggressively pursuing commercial-ization in the past.

This time though, with the tech support

coming from their much more marketing-sav-vy parent com-pany, Instagram expects that the ads would not be as intrusive, and therefore less threatening to its users.

In an inter-view published in adweek.com, James Quarles, global head of business and brand development for Instagram, said that they “have benefitted greatly from being a part of Facebook. It would have taken us years to build this tech stack for ourselves. So, we’re for-tunate to be able to take select pieces of Face-book’s tech stack.”

For marketers and advertisers, while this development opens up new frontiers in reach-ing their target markets, it also poses signifi-cant challenges, particularly in trying to under-stand how this new puzzle piece fits into the larger picture. With new technologies being introduced almost everyday, the difficulty is no longer about reaching the market, rather it is in making sure that the market you do reach is the right one.

------Speaking of markets, I was just looking at

the previews for the NBA finals and I got to re-membering the first time I ever watched a fi-nals game live on television. This was back in 1989 when the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Detroit Pistons in game one at the Palace in Au-born Hills. Back then we didn’t have Basketball

TV, or ESPN, or even live coverage by local sta-tions. So if you wanted to watch the games, you had to tune in really early to the Far East Net-work, the broadcast station that serviced the US bases in the Philippines. Like 3 a.m. early.

In those days, basketball in the Philippines meant the PBA. Crispa and Toyota. Purefoods and Ginebra. Jaworski, Co, Fernandez, Cezar, Patrimonio, Caidic, Lim — the list of legends goes on and on. The PBA was the biggest, some would even the ONLY, game in town. Everyone watched it, and loved it.

Now fast forward to the present and you see a league that is a mere shadow of its old self. The entry of cable television, online streaming, and the 24-hour basketball barrage from the US and Europe has eaten into the market that used to be dominated by the PBA. Gone are the days when the league held a virtual monopoly over the sport, and it is now forced to compete with flashier, more entertaining rivals from all over the globe.

It also doesn’t help that our type of play mimics that of the bigger and more athletic players in the NBA, often leading to a disad-vantageous comparison between our stars and theirs. Which has led many fans to tune out of the PBA out of sheer frustration.

That Filipinos still love basketball is un-questioned. As a game played in every street and vacant lot across the archipelago, our pas-sion burns just as bright. But the writing on the wall is very clear — the market for basket-ball as an entertainment commodity is becom-ing more and more crowded. The competition is fierce, and to generate the same kind of inter-est and sustain it over time, as the NBA finals has, the PBA needs to reinvent itself for a new breed of Filipino sports fans.

“I THINK of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life. That this is the only way to grow

together, instead of apart.” ― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter***

One night before he left, the king was walk-ing in the palace gardens. He stood by the moon-drenched pool, tossing pebbles into the water and watching circles form. How like a circle is my love for my queen, he thought. It, too, has no beginning and no ending.

The following day, the king called in his gold-smith and directed him to make a gold circle to fit the queen’s finger. When the king slipped the finishing ring on his wife’s finger, he told her: This circle, which has no beginning and no ending, is a pledge of my love for you, which is also eternal.

And down through the ages, the giving of a wedding ring has sealed the vows of marriage, and symbolized the purity and endlessness of love in marriage.

Of course, the above story is just plain imag-ination. But it is widely believed that the first ex-amples of wedding rings were found in ancient Egypt. Relics dating back as far as 3,000 years ago, including papyrus scrolls, show evidence of braid-ed rings of hemp or reeds being exchanged among a wedded couple.

Egyptians viewed the circle as a symbol of eternity, and the ring served to signify the nev-er-ending love between the couple. This was also the origin of the practice of wearing the wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand, which the Egyptians believed to house a special vein that was connected directly to the heart.

Wedding rings are a tradition that goes back many centuries, but marriage itself started when God created man and woman. Marriage is one of the first institutions that God has given us. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh,” Genesis 2:24 recorded.

If you are still single, a time will come that you will enter matrimony -- sooner or later. When you get married, marry for the right reason. “I don’t want to be married just to be married,” wrote Mary

Ann Shaffer, author of The Guernsey Literary and Pota-to Peel Pie Society. “I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.”

In Happy Ever After, playwright and novelist Nora Roberts gives some hints as to what kind of a woman a man should stay with throughout his life. “When you find somebody you love, all the way through, and she loves you—even with your weaknesses, your flaws, everything starts to click into place. And if you can talk to her, and she listens, if she makes you laugh, and makes you think, makes you want, makes you see who you really are, and who you are is better, just better with her, you’d be crazy not to want to spend the rest of your life with her.”

But there are those who marry the other per-son because they believe he or she might change later on. “Men marry women with the hope they will never change,” Albert Einstein once said. “Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.”

This reminded me of the words of the char-acter in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: “Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired, women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.”

Disappointment seems to be what American singer Barbra Streisand had in mind too when she said: “Why does a woman work ten years to change a man, then complain he’s not the man she married?”

American humorist Helen Rowland echoed the same thing. “Before marriage,” she wrote, “a man declares that he would lay down his life to serve you; after marriage, he won’t even lay down his newspaper to talk to you.”

Perhaps Streisand and Rowland never read what Laurell K. Hamilton had written in A Kiss of Shadows. “Men don’t settle down because of the right woman. They settle down because they are finally ready for it. Whatever woman they’re dating when they get ready is the one they settle down with, not necessarily the best one or the prettiest, just the one who happened to be on hand when the time got to be right. (That may be) unro-mantic, but still true.”

In the beginning, there is love and then ro-mance follows. Marriage should not be the end of it all. “When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnor-mal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part,” George Bernard Shaw wrote in Getting Married.

Whether it’s the man or the woman, someone should work harder to make marriage work. Jodi Lynn Picoult, an American author who was award-ed the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003, reminded: “You know it’s never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It’s always seventy-thirty, or six-ty-forty. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; some-one else sails along for the ride.”

“They say all marriages are made in heaven, but so are thunder and lightning,” Oscar winning actor and director Clint Eastwood once said. What he simply means is that there are also some bad times during marriage. It’s not all ups but there are downs as well. As Lisa Kleypas, author of Married by Morning, puts it: “It’s the perfect solution. We argue all the time. We can’t stand each other. It’s like we’re already married.”

To end this piece, allow me to quote the words of Erin McCarthy (Hot Finish): “And everyone is al-ways saying that marriage is really hard and takes a lot of work. But the thing is, when you know that you love someone, those things don’t matter. You have to push all the everyday things and the out-side world away, and just enjoy knowing that this is the man who has the chest your head is meant to lie on.”

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

PEOPLE who subscribe to the idea that their family has a right to rule over oth-er families—meaning, the rest of the

community—betray an arrogance and an in-sensitivity that sets them apart from civilized society.

To think of one’s family as entitled to a su-perior position, enjoying special privilege, in a community of peers, is to presume that one’s family is in a class above everyone else’s.

It is unseemly, to say the least. It insults other families. It shows no respect or loyalty to the community. And it belittles the equal right of others to vie for public office, as if they be-long to an inferior caste in politics.

Establishing a ruling dynasty projects an attitude and an intent to monopolize political power and impose family rule by excluding others from contention.

****No individual or family in a democracy can

claim superior rights over others. Everyone is bound to honor and respect the community and its values, institutions, and traditions—es-pecially the principle of equality of opportuni-ty.

One’s intents and acts must evince a sense of community, therefore, of belonging in it, and of one’s readiness at all times to uphold its well-being. Common good must be the su-preme consideration.

To impose dynastic rule over the commu-nity or the larger society is wrong. It superim-poses the interests of one family or clan over everybody else’s interests.

This violates social harmony and solidar-ity—the interdependence and interrelation-ship of citizens and their communities and an awareness of it.

****Solidarity binds everyone to do whatever

is necessary to bring about the equal sharing of the benefits of freedom and democracy, includ-ing opportunities for public service.

The participation of every individual in public life and in decisions that concern him represents an essential element of democracy.

In its insistence on monopolizing the seat of power, a political dynasty deprives others of the opportunity to participate in government or to aspire to public service. It bespeaks ab-sence of statesmanship.

The attitude conjures up the days of indul-gent feudal rulers, selfish oligarchs, and medie-val monarchies that believed they had a divine right to govern.

****Political dynasties are out of place in our

democratic age. It dishonors the people’s sov-ereignty and distorts the functioning of democ-racy, violating its commitment to openness and fair-play.

Members of a political dynasty should know that insulting the community and of-fending solidarity shows them to be bereft of statesmanship. To the community, they’re say-ing: we have a claim to special privilege; to the nation: we claim the right to rule and the rest must follow. Shameless and presumptuous!

It has been very wrong for our society to allow dynastic rule to creep into our political system to the extent that it has. It has stunted our political maturity and caused many juris-dictions to regress and revert to feudal gover-nance.

We cannot allow our political system to drift further away from the democratic tradi-tion. We should apply to politics the same eth-ical standards that we expect in our personal relations. That is to say, we must adhere to the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you would have others do unto you!

Let us be considerate, not selfish and ag-grandizing in pursuing political power. We be-long in the same community. Whatever affects one affects the others. And the good fortune of one should be a glad tiding to others.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of Min-daNews.Manny Valdehuesa is former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific, secretary-gen-eral of Southeast Asian Publishers Association, director at development academy of Philippines, vice chair of Local Government Academy, mem-ber of the Cory Government’s Peace Panel, and PPI-UNICEF awardee for outstanding colum-nist. Author of books on governance, he is na-tional chairman/convenor of Gising Barangay Movement Inc. valdehuesa@gmail.com)

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA

THE WORM’S EYEVIEW

‘Till death do us part

Challenges

A political dynasty insults community, offends solidarity

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 201510 NEWSNO MANUAL... FROM 1

Last... FROM 3

Comelec... FROM 3

EastMinCom... FROM 3

Farmers’... FROM 3

DA... FROM 11

Suzuki... FROM 14

PACUIT... FROM 11

Star rating... FROM 6

Hugpong... FROM 2

EDGEDAVAO

poll machines need repair.He said Comelec will also

be adding 20,000 poll ma-chines for next year’s election.

“Comelec will have at least 100,000 poll machines to be distributed in different pre-cincts nationwide,” he said.

Casquejo said Davao City used a total of 1,270 poll ma-chines during the 2013 elec-tion, of which at least 10 ma-chines were reported to have damage.

He said he is expecting that the same number of ma-chines will be needed for next

year.The entire Davao region,

meanwhile, will be needing about 2,000 machines next year. These are expected to arrive in the region one month before the May 2016 election.

Casquejo said the poll ma-chines are in the custody of the Comelec central office in Manila.

He said Comelec will start training more than 1,200 elec-tion officers and personnel who will handle the poll ma-chines for Davao City starting January next year.

lier said he is open to run for vice mayor if no member of the Duterte family runs for the position in 2016.

Third district councilor Bernard Al-ag expressed his intention to run for congress-man in the third district.

Al-ag said he is ready to discuss this matter with the mayor but if the party decides to field another candidate as

the successor of incumbent councilor Isidro T. Ungab, he will just seek re-election since he is still in his second term

The names of councilors Karlo S. Bello and Myrna Dal-odo-Ortiz have cropped up as the successors of Ungab.

Both have said they will leave their respective fates to the party. Armando B. Fene-quito Jr.

ment unit of Lanao del Sur receives less than one percent from the revenues derived from the six Agus hydropower plants.

He noted that while Min-danao’s economy is benefit-ing from this cheap source of energy, Lanao del Sur has re-mained the poorest province in the country.

“We are not asking for the ownership or control over the government-owned power plants and Lake Lanao, what we are asking is our just and equitable share from its utili-zation,” Liningding said.

He said they are recom-mending to Marcos that rev-enues from the Agus dams which draw water from Lake Lanao should be shared equally between the national government and the Bang-samoro government.

He said they are also ask-ing the senator to include the term “water” in the enumera-tion of non-metallic minerals that is provided in Article 12, Section 32 of the draft BBL.

Marcos said discussions in the June 2 pubic hearing cen-tered on police and security concerns and did not include Lake Lanao and taxation.

Last June 2, Bureau of In-ternal Revenue Commission-er Kim Henares objected to the tax privileges granted in the draft BBL noting that the regional government would retain all taxes collected.

Marcos invited Mindanao Development Authority Sec-retary Lualhati Antonino and leaders of Philippine business groups to the public hearing on Tuesday.

Also invited were Secre-tary Teresita Deles of the Of-fice of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, govern-ment chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.

Marcos earlier said he will junk the draft BBL and present his own version of the bill after the public hearings. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaN-ews)

residency.Casquejo said Comelec

will be sending soft copies of the names of voters with no biometrics to different satel-lite registration sites for easy validation of voters’ records.

He also said Comelec is just waiting for the commu-

nication from the League of Barangays in Davao City and city councilors requesting for a registration operation at the Sangguniang Panlunsod building and in different ba-rangays.

The deadline for registra-tion is October 31.

“Actually, we already iden-tified patients for the recon-structive surgery and we will proceed towards that place in the coming days,” he said.

Cembrano said for his part said the partnership with EastMinCom will be a big help to OSPD since the former has doctors to screen the potential patients who will undergo the

operation.He said this means most of

the children will be screened twice before they are deemed ready for the operation.

Cembrano said aside from the operation, the foundation will also render free accom-modations, food, and allow-ance for the patients from the remote areas.

village.Rotchie Ravelo, head of

the Provincial Agriculture Of-fice,said that farmers can save up P540 per 120 kilos of un-milled grains using the hand-ed over postharvest facilities.

Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon said the OPAPP’s programs implemented in her province, especially to far-flung villages, over the years have contributed signifi-cantly in keeping peace since “it helps curb the poverty in-cidence, ultimately making locals shun the ideals of in-surgency and embrace the de-velopments the government has laid.”

She cited the emerging eco-tourism development programs here, particularly the province-initiated Ali-

wagwag Eco Park that has drawn tremendous number of tourists since its opening last April. She said this de-velopment along with other development projects and programs initiated by the government are efforts to help develop the lives of the people.

Officials of the farmers’ organizations that benefited in these projects vowed that they would help sustain, ex-pand and protect these en-trusted projects so that it can benefit more people in the future.

Also present during the turn over ceremony are DA XI Assistant Regional Direc-tor Dr. Rafael Mercado and Pamana Area Manager Oliver Binancilan. (PIO)

“Our role here is in push-ing it forward. The industry does not have impossible ex-pectations, but it expects to be represented as a people with standards. The better our standards, the more busi-nesses we are going to get, the more jobs it will create,” Sec. Jimenez said.

“This is a trailblazing ef-fort in the Philippines that the Department of Tourism deems especially relevant today. There is an automatic notion that accommodation standards are solely designed to raise the caliber of service and the quality of tourism in a particular locale; but the foremost reason why we are doing this is because we want to create an industry with a culture of accountability,” Jimenez added.

Over 500 accommo-dation establishments, in-cluding hotels, resorts, and apartment hotels all over the country were evaluated with

the new star rating system. The criteria for assessment included arrival and depar-ture, public areas, bedrooms, bathrooms, food and bever-age, amenities and services and business practices.

DOT will publish the star rating results in its official website.

This milestone in part-nership with SatisFIND® is a triumph of collaborative and altruistic work between the government and the private sector towards the creation of a system that empowers the stakeholder, the customer, and the industry as a whole.

“This project can only go so far. This is pioneering work because now, the Phil-ippines has the opportuni-ty to actually leap ahead of neighboring nations by cre-ating a reputation for trans-parency and reliability in standard ratings better than everyone else in Southeast Asia”, Jimenez said.

NEW CLASSROOM. City Engineer’s Office (CEO) workers put the finishing touches on an abandoned building inside Magsaysay Park which is being turned into a classroom as some public schools in Davao City face a classroom shortage for kindergarten. Lean Daval Jr.

dustries in order to provide quality education for students and prepare them with the de-mands of the competitive glob-al market.

The USeP President also forged a partnership with Hy-tec Power, Inc., which further strengthens the University’s thrust to provide quality edu-cation to students and holds the promise for USeP grad-uates to enter into Hytec’s workforce. This is one of the many successful collaborative links that USeP was able to es-tablish with partner industries under Dr. Alibin’s leadership, spurring a more sustainable academic and socio-economic development.

The University, through Alibin’s leadership, was earli-er handed the recognition as the number one Patent Filer in the country by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philip-pines (IPOPHL) on December

29, 2014, having been able to acquire 34 patents for Patent Protection Incentive, consis-tent to its goal of protecting the intellectual property rights of its faculty and students that is becoming a strategic neces-sity for academic institutions across the globe.

From the very start, Alibin understood the zeal of the Uni-versity to be globally competi-tive, and thus fueled the faculty, staff, and students’ desire to be excellent. When asked on why USeP has consistently reaped accolades, Dr. Perfecto Alibin considers the University’s high impact research output, the firm establishment of a culture of Research and Development, as well as USeP’s earnest pas-sion for excellence, as the three ingredients that helped USeP remain as a premier state insti-tution, not only in the country but in the ASEAN region. Irish Mae G. Fernandez – UseP

Research division chief Dr. Juanito Lupiba urged the farmers to support govern-ment initiatives on climate adaptation.

“Let us try to help the country become food suffi-cient and climate resilient by venturing into crops that can stand adverse conditions such as apali and adlai,” Lupi-ba said, adding they also have

potential in the market.In the same technology

forum, DA 11 also distributed 160 tubers of apali root crop, 2 kilos of adlai seeds, 200 cacao seedlings, 100 mango-steen seedlings, 400 seedlings of indigofera, 100 seedlings of durian, 100 bags of vermicast and 100 pieces of vegetable seeds to the farmers. (Che-Palicte DA-11)

combined with impressive fuel efficiency ideal for city driving, the Swift 1.2 is the car of choice for young urban professionals.

The Alto 800, on the oth-er hand, boasts of a 248% growth from the 2014 Q1 fig-ures. Since introducing this model to the local market in 2007, the Alto 800 remains an icon for small, fuel-effi-cient compact cars that pack impressive automotive pow-er. This do-it-all dynamo de-livers terrific fuel efficiency and performance, and is per-fect for both personal use or as part of a larger fleet. Plus, it’s a great way to get around cosmopolitan areas—com-pact and cost-efficient.

“The 2015 sales report gives us many reasons to cel-ebrate,” says Shuzo Hoshiku-ra, Suzuki’s General Manager for Automobile. “Not just

our significant improvement from last year’s figures, but also the fact that more and more Filipino motorists are recognizing the innovative technology, intelligent de-sign, and passion we put into each car we offer in the mar-ket.”

Today’s car market is dynamic and heading to the direction of smaller, cost-ef-ficient, and multitasking vehicles. More and more Fil-ipinos are considering com-pact cars due to economical considerations, including those who already have big-ger gas-guzzling vehicles. Suzuki Philippines is right at the forefront of cost-efficient compact cars packed with a powerful punch—the Ertiga, Swift 1.2, and the Alto 800 all use less fuel but deliver im-pressive automotive perfor-mance every time.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 1111EDGEDAVAO

COMPETITIVE EDGE

A TOTAL of 725 children in Mt. Talomo-Lipadas, Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan,

and Malagos watershed com-munities received school sup-plies from Davao City Water District (DCWD) through its Tulong Eskwela Program. They are children of the differ-ent people’s organization (PO) members who are helping the water utility protect the water-shed areas.

Distributions were made on various occasions by DCWD’s Environment and Watershed Protection Division (EWDP) under the Community Relations and External Affairs Department (CREAD). Grades one to three beneficiaries re-ceived a school bag, notebooks, paper, and pencils while those in Grades four to six received the same set but with ball pens

instead of pencils.For the partner POs in Mt.

Talomo-Lipadas Watershed, 225 sets of school supplies were distributed on May 16 to children beneficiaries of the Tungkalan Tribal Association, Lipadas Watershed Tungka-lan Association and Sinabadan Tribu Bawa Ancestral Domain and on May 26 to the Saro-Li-padas Watershed People’s Or-ganization and DCWD Adopt-a-Site project partners.

Last May 23, another 250 sets were distributed to the children of DCWD’s partner PO in Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan water-shed, the Obu-Manuvu Ances-tral Domain Multi-Purpose Cooperative (OMAD-MPC). Barangay captain of Tambobo-ng Felicidad Helicame, OMAD-MPC chairperson Joshua An-dip and adviser Datu Joel Unad

attended said distribution.The last Tulong Eskwela

distribution was held on May 30 at DCWD’s Malagos Park to the Malagos Watershed part-ner POs wherein 250 sets of school supplies were given to the children beneficiaries of the Malagos Watershed Buffer-zone Residents Organization, Tansing Colong Watershed Association, Starapple Wines Watershed Association and Association of Community Concerned on Watershed.

In the same gathering, EWPD also turned over one unit of water closet and two cement bags to each of the 10 beneficiaries of the Alay Pa-likuran Project that is part of DCWD’s Health and Sanitation Program.

CREAD OIC manager and official spokesperson Atty.

Bernardo D. Delima Jr. headed the distribution and turnover of donations in Malagos. Also present were Malagos baran-gay captain Lydia Liong and some officials of Wines and Baguio Proper barangay coun-cils.

The local officials and trib-al leaders all thanked DCWD on behalf of the recipients. In response, watershed man-agement chief Engr. Lorna M. Maxino encouraged the chil-dren to do well in school and the POs to continue support-ing DCWD’s efforts of pro-tecting the water resources of Davao City.

Other tribal chieftains present in the distribution of school supplies were Datu Jon-athan Awing and Datu Docris Daug of the Bagobo-tagabawa tribe. (Jamae G. Dela Cruz)

THE Philippine Associ-ation of Colleges and Universities of Indus-

trial Technology (PACUIT), Inc. recognized University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) President Dr. Perfecto A. Alibin for his exceptional hands-on leadership bringing about an institutional rise for USeP to be among the top 300 Asian universities for three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013 according to a study by Quaquarelli Symonds.

PACUIT also acknowl-edged Alibin’s “unparalleled passion for excellence in high-er education that earned USeP a number of recognition from the Commission on Higher Ed-

ucation (CHED), to wit: Center of Excellence for Teacher Ed-ucation, Centers of Develop-ment for English, Agriculture, and Agricultural Engineering programs, Provincial Institute for Agriculture, and National University for Agriculture in Region XI.”

The Association likewise paid tribute to Dr. Alibin’s “unwavering dedication and service” as its President for two consecutive terms, and Trustee from 2006 to 2015. Dr. Alibin has a common vision with the rest of the institution-al leaders of the 50 member SUCs of PACUIT that by shar-ing the best practices among its member-institutions in the

entire Philippines, each SUC will be able to provide first-rate Industrial Technology education to be at par with the rest of the world.

On the same occasion, Al-ibin delivered a talk on “Uni-versity-Industry Partnership in Producing New Technology for Equitable Socio-Econom-ic Development” in congru-ence to this year’s conference theme “Innovation: From De-velopment to Commercializa-tion.”

His talk highlighted the importance of establishing more linkages and strength-ening existing exchanges between academes and in-

EURO Towers Inter-national Inc. (ETII), a prime real estate de-

veloper in the Philippines, will host the Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards, Inc. (PAREB) Davao’s Continuing Professional De-velopment (CPD) seminars for real estate brokers and sellers.

The seminar schedules slated for 2015 are as fol-lows: June 11-12 / 25-26,

July 9-10 / 23-24, August 13-14 / 27-28, September 10-11, October 15-16, and November 12-13.

This very important sem-inar is required by the Hous-

ing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) and Profes-sional Regulation Commis-sion (PRC) for all real estate brokers and sellers.

Pre-registration is highly recommended due to limit-ed slots per schedule. Venue will be at the Apo View Hotel, Davao City.

For more information, contact the Vivaldi Residenc-es Davao showroom at

(082) 285 1111 and look for Ms. Suzette Buhian or Ms. KC Angcos.

ETII is the developer of VIVALDI Residences Davao, the highest residential con-dominium in the city.

DCWD’s Tulong Eskwelahelps 725 upland children

Euro Towers to host PAREBDavao’s CPD seminar series

THE Research Division of the Department of Agri-culture (DA) 11 spear-

headed a forum promoting climate resilient commodities to the farmers of Davao Occi-dental on Friday.

This was in light of climate change that has resulted in higher temperatures that re-duce yields of desirable crops.

Production of the com-modities such as adlai (al-ternative for rice and corn), apali (lesser yam), soybean, Japanese sweet potato, cacao, and rubber were featured. A demonstration on vermicom-posting was also done.

DA regional director Remelyn R. Recoter, in her message delivered by chief ag-riculturist Rosalinda Mediano said, climate change presents new and more challenging

demands on agricultural pro-ductivity.

“Although there will be gains in some crops in the regions, the overall impact of climate change in agriculture is expected to be negative and at the same time threatening to the country’s food security,” she said.

She also emphasized that climate change affect farming practices, the availability and price of agriculture products, as well as the costs of doing business.

“For our quest to food suf-ficiency for the coming years, we will try to venture in this climate resilient commodities. Varietal trials on these crops are also on going to check on suitability for commercial production,” she said.

PACUIT honors USEP President

DA promotes commodities thatare climate change-resilient

ADLAI PRODUCTION. Farmers from Davao Occidental check theAdlai seeds provided by DA 11 during the Province-wide Farmers Technology Forum on Climate Resilient Commodities in Malita, Davao Occidental. (Photo by ChePalicte DA-11)

AWARD. Dr. Nora M. Ponce, President of Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College (ZCSPC) and current President of PACUIT, Inc., and House Higher Education Committee Chair Rep. Roman Romulo hand the award to USeP President Dr. Perfecto A. Alibin during PACUIT’s 13th National Conference on May 21, 2015 in Iloilo City.FPACUIT, 10

DCWD partner POs in Malagos Watershed receive educational and health assistance. Four partner POs of DCWD gather at Malagos Park on May 30 for the distribution of 250 sets of school supplies for their children as part of DCWD’s Tulong Eskwela Program. Inset photo shows DCWD CREAD OIC

manager and official spokesperson Atty. Bernardo D. Delima Jr. (extreme right) and watershed management chief Engr. Lorna M. Maxino (extreme left) turning over water closet and cement bags to the beneficiaries of DCWD’s Alay Palikuran Project.

FDA, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICEEDMUND P. RENDONMarketing SpecialistGeneral Santos CityMobile: (Sun) 0925-357-3460 (Smart) 0907-202-3844

DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICEJOCELYN S. PANESDirector of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,Quirino Ave., Davao CityTel: (082) 224-1413Telefax: (082) 221-3601

MANILA MARKETINGOFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

GO BOLD GO COLOUR• All text

• Telephone Number (bigger point size)

• Bold Header

• Background• Text

Price: 100.00 Price: 175.00 Price: 230.00

ADD-ON

• Pictures/Logos• Graphic Elements

12 CLASSIFIED EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 13NEWSEDGEDAVAO

Davao Light big customerssave the day, once again

NOTICE OF LOSSNotice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS

CONSOLIDATED INC. That CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) 21066737/21007071 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No.(s) 190256-7/190090-3 issued to CARMEN M. SACULINGGAN

REINSTATEMENT FORM: 2401-95690, 2401-95697, 2401-100860, 2401-100883, 2401-100996, 2401-101000, 2401-101001, 2401-101002, 2401-02316, 2401-02337, 2401-52356, 2401-52363 issued to TERESITA F.ERAMIS

were lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.5/7/14/21

MOST people very much adore su-per heroes. This

is why movies like Spider-man, Batman, X-men and The Avengers were all a blockbuster to us. How-ever, these characters are all fictional, just a prod-uct of one's very creative mind. There are many real heroes who are with us everyday but unlike these movies, never a hit.

In Davao Light and Power Co., one that is con-sidered as “power heroes” are the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) participat-ing companies. These big companies have commit-ted to run their generators instead of drawing power

from Davao Light's distri-bution line in times of a power crisis. The power which they did not use will be reallocated to smaller customers, such as resi-dential and commercial. On the average, around 4,167 customers enjoy the convenience of hav-ing electricity every time one large customer with a 1MW load from the ILP will be deloaded.

But these companies are no Peter Parker nor Bruce Wayne. These big customers that are wor-thy of recognition are Coca-Cola Femsa Philip-pines Inc., Victoria Pla-za Mall, Gaisano Mall of Davao, NCCC Mall Maa,

NCCC R. Magsaysay, TA-DECO, Davao Bay Coco-nut Oil Mills, INTERCO, Pepsi-Cola, Robinsons Su-permarket, Gaisano Mall of Toril, Abreeza Mall, SM Lanang Premier, SM City Davao, Davao Internation-al Container Terminal, and Davao Packaging Corpora-tion.

These ILP customers have greatly contributed in helping mitigate the power crisis situation we had since December last year due to the reduced capability and the low wa-ter elevation of Agus & Pu-langi hydro-electric power plants (HEP), respectively. They also helped lessen the effects of the sched-uled STEAG coal-fired power plant preventive maintenance shutdown in February and March this year as well as the power crisis in April.

Furthermore, these ILP participating compa-nies have also been acti-vated during the emer-gency shutdown of one unit of STEAG early in May

and recently, the further reduction in generation of Agus and Pulangi HEPs.

Without them, rotating power interruptions with-in Davao Light's franchise could have gone more than one-hour and more frequently.

And of course, this would not be possible without the Davao Light's Key Account Representa-tives namely Engr. Conra-do Cordova, Engr. Floyd Gamad and Renzino Re-spicio who have been constantly coordinating with these companies and building good relation-ships with them. They are like the Nick Fury of the Avengers. They talk with other big customers and convince them to be part of the ILP.

Indeed, the day is saved once again. Not be-cause of the super heroes we used to know but be-cause of the ILP partici-pating companies that are always willing to sacrifice for the greater good any time the need arises.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

els that are driving the im-pressive growth are the Su-zuki Ertiga, Suzuki Swift 1.2, and Suzuki Alto 800.

The Suzuki Ertiga, a seven-seater compact MPV, leads the charts which is an impressive performance for a recently launched model. With three variants available in the Philippines, the Ertiga is the perfect car for the fami-ly and is also the car of choice for those who need vehicles that serve multiple purpos-es, from ferrying a larger group of people in comfort to transporting large loads. The Ertiga’s folding rear seats can easily accommodate large objects that are impossible to fit into a sedan. The Ertiga is one of Suzuki Philippines’ cost-efficient vehicles, and the go-to model for those who want more value and performance for their mon-ey.

The Suzuki Swift 1.2 also posted solid sales numbers in the first quarter of 2015. An ideal subcompact car for first-time car owners, with a sporty and stylish design

1414 EDGEDAVAO

MOTORING

MONSTER Jam is about to take over Manila, so you better

gear up with the necessary know-how.

Let’s get started with the basics. The show highlights six Monster Jam trucks: Grave Digger, Max-D, El Toro Loco, Zombie, Dragon, and Son-Uva Digger. Their heavy-duty body which is approximately 12’ tall and about 12’ wide sits atop 66-inch tires. Not wild enough for you? Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks have 1,500 horsepower and

are capable of speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can jump more than 30’ high and travel a distance of about 130’ flying through the air. That’s longer than 14 cars lined up side by side! Now, that is impres-sive. Each truck costs more than $600,000 per year to build, tour, staff, repair and transport from city to city. They have their own drivers, mechanics and specialized transport vehicles, which also houses a mobile repair shop.

These Monster Jam beasts face off in two different

forms of competition — side-by-side racing and freestyle. In the traditional bracket rac-ing, the first truck to cross the finish line with the least num-ber of penalties is the winner. But, the track sets this com-petition above the rest. With hurdles strategically placed in the track, every competi-tion is sure to garner cheers and hollers from the crowd. Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes and ambulances, are obtained from local recycling centers to be used as obstacles. More than 3,000 cars are crushed

at Monster Jam events every year. It is in the freestyle com-petition where the drivers are allowed a limited amount of time on an open floor to show off their skills. They finesse the huge machines in a jaw-dropping display of punishing stunts and amaz-ing tricks that make these high-horsepower beasts appear to dance gracefully across the track. Monster Jam events take place year-round, with the majority from Janu-ary through March.

What makes these live shows more special is the

world-famous Party in the Pits. It’s the most exciting way to get close to the stars of the show – the Monster Jam trucks. This is how the show gives back to their fans. Event goers are allowed to explore the actual racetrack. By the numbers, 61.7% of Monster Jam attendees are male and 35% are under the age of 12. But, even if you don’t belong to the majority, you are giv-en the chance to enjoy the legendary pre-show experi-ence. You get the opportunity to meet the drivers, see the Monster Jam trucks up close,

collect their autographs, take photos and look at the obstacles they’ll jump over and eventually destroy! This is truly the ultimate experi-ence for any Monster Jam fan. Imagine unprecedented ac-cess to the stars of the show in a way that you can’t find in any other family entertain-ment touring property on the planet.

Catch Monster Jam live on Saturday, 20th June (2pm and 7:30pm) or on Sunday, 21st June (2pm) with Party in the Pits from 11am- 12:30pm, all at the Mall of Asia Arena.

What is Monster Jam?

SUZUKI, a world leader in subcompact cars, is finding more fans in the

Philippine market by selling 162% more cars in the first three months of 2015 com-pared to the same period last year.

The company’s impres-sive year-to-year growth is reflective of the robust automotive market which collectively grew by 122% for the first quarter of 2015 according to The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAM-PI). Suzuki Philippines’ sales numbers show the Filipinos growing love affair with the company’s cute, durable, and fuel-efficient cars.

Proud Suzuki owner Ed-win Reyes confirms, “I really like my Alto 800 because it is very fuel efficient. So far, this is my second Suzuki car and I’ve never been disap-pointed. I even recommend them to my co-workers. At present, I and fifteen other colleagues who now drive Suzuki cars have already formed a small car group.”

The three marquee mod-

ENJOY a steady stream of savings through Kia’s latest rainy season pro-

mo!From May 15 to June

15, 2015, save as much as P 195,000 through Kia’s Splash of Savings promo.

Columbian Autocar Cor-poration (CAC) Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Her-nando D. Gañac, Jr., detailed the mechanics of the promo and the Kia vehicles featured in it.

“Memorable road trips don’t have to end when the rainy season begins. With the Kia Sportage, Picanto, and Carens included in our latest offering, you can look forward

to making more memories aboard your favorite Kia ve-hicle.”

Gañac add-ed, “CAC is c o n s i s -tent in creating p r o -g r a m s t h a t w i l l make K i a more accessible to the public. With our latest Splash of Savings promo, we encourage the young and young-at-hearts to feel the different driving expe-rience with Kia and get addi-

tion-al savings at the same

time.”Ideal for trips off the beat-

en path, the Kia Sportage 2.0L A/T 4x2 Gas will let you enjoy the outdoors in comfort. Orig-inally priced at P 1,240,000,

the Sportage can be yours for as low as P 1,160,000.

Reliability is key as you and your loved ones discover the Kia Sportage and its top notch perfor-mance, comfort, and style while you drive to your favorite des-tination.

Back in the ur-

b a n jungle, the Kia Pican-

to’s practicality and easy-go-ing feel is a great relief. Save P 40,000 on the Kia Picanto 1.0L EX M/T which can be yours for P 535,000 and experience the fun of zipping through the city.

For your family’s comfort and pleasure, the Kia Carens 1.7L EX A/T CRDi DSL 7-seat-er is now offered at P 125,000 off of its regular retail price. This award-winning and ver-satile MPV can now be yours for P 1,400,000.

What’s more, you can avail of additional savings if you trade up your old vehicle. Save an additional P 20,000 for the Kia Sportage, P 10,000 for the Kia Picanto, and P 70,000 for the Kia Carens.

Suzuki sales up162% in Q1

Kia’s Splash of Savings promo offers big discounts

FSUZUKI, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

THE Philippines tallied its sixth gold medal in the 2015 Southeast Asian

Games courtesy of judoka Ki-yomi Watanabe on Sunday night.

Watanabe beat Thailand’s Orapin Senatham with an ip-pon in the 3:36 mark, emerg-ing in first place of the wom-en’s 57-63kg contest held in EXPO Hall, Singapore.

Fencing also bagged back-to-back silver medals in the men’s team foil and women’s team epee, bringing the coun-try’s silver haul to eight.

The women’s team com-posed of Hanniel Abella, Anna Gabriella Estimada, Harlene Raguin, and Keren Pangilinan edged Singapore 29-28 in the semifinals before bowing to Thailand, 45-28, in the gold medal match.

Wilfred Curioso, Brennan Louie, Nathaniel Perez, and Emerson Segui of the men’s team, meanwhile, cruised against Thailand, 45-33, in the semis, but fell short against Singapore in the finals, 45-40.

Filipino swimmers also added to the Philippines’

medal haul with three bronze courtesy of Jasmine Alkhaldi in women’s 50m butterfly, Rox-anne Yu in the women’s 200m backstroke, and Joshua Hall in the men’s 100m breaststroke.

Earlier Sunday, Carlo Biado and Warren Kiamco emerged triumphant in the men’s 9-pool doubles with a 9-6 victory over Vietnamese pair Hoang Quan Do and Anh Tuan Nguyen at the OCBC Are-na.

The Philippine Volcanoes made quick work of Malaysia, 24-7, at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium after cruising through an unbeaten run in the tour-nament. The team trounced Thailand 24-10, Singapoe 14-0, Cambodia 55-0, Laos 43-0, and Malaysia 14-10 in the pre-liminaries.

Other Filipino athletes who have bagged golds so far are Nikko Bryan Huelgas and Ma. Claire Adorna in triathlon men’s and women’s individ-ual and Daniel Parantac for wushu.

The Philippines is cur-rently at seventh place in the standings with 28 medals.

THE Philippine Volca-noes won the gold medal in men’s rugby

with a 24-7 victory over Ma-laysia in the Southeast Asian Games on Sunday at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium in Singa-pore.

The team cruised through an unbeaten run in the tournament, beating Thailand 24-10, Singapoe 14-0, Cambodia 55-0, Laos 43-0, and Malaysia 14-10 in the preliminaries.

The medal is the fourth gold for the Philippines in the 2015 SEA Games, fol-lowing Daniel Parantac’s gold in wushu earlier and triathlon’s back-to-back in the men’s and women’s in-dividual courtesy of Nikko Bryan Huelgas and Ma. Claire Adorna.

The women’s rugby team, meanwhile, copped the bronze medal with a 22-0 shutout against Malaysia in the battle for third place.

TAEKWONDO AT HOLIDAY GYM & SPA. Summer is the time when most children enroll in worthwhile activities to keep them busy and at the same time learn new things that interest them. Taekwondo is one of the popular clases that parents enroll their children in, because of the discipline and the skills that may help their children as they face everyday life in their young age. The classes are under the titulage of Coach Ryan Cordero. As a perfect

ending to the summer classes, the group had a demo or recital done at Abreeza Ayala mall last May 28 nd a friendly competition was also held at Matina Town Square last May 30. After the succesful summer clinic, Holiday is extending the taekwondo classes for children and teenagers who wish to continue their training once a week at Holiday Gym every Saturdays 1 pm to 3 pm. For more information, please call Holiday Gym at 222-3041.

TRIATHLETE-LAWYER Ingemar P. Macarine will attempt another first in

swimming history on Tues-day, June 9, 2015 (Wednesday in the Philippines) when he crosses a 4.4-mile (7 kilome-ters) channel in Chesapeake Bay in Maryland in the US.

The “Pinoy Aquaman” said he will swim from the shores of Sandy Point State Park, about 5 miles northeast of Annapolis. The course extends eastward between the two spans of the William Preston Lane, Jr., Me-morial Bridge (U.S. Highway 50) and he expects to finish at a small sandy beach on Kent Island south of the Bridge east-ern-shore causeway adjacent to Hemingway’s Restaurant.

Macarine, 38, said the swim poses a great challenge as only 15-19 percent of the swimmers could make it in the bay based on the statistics of an annual open water swim event dubbed “The Great Ches-apeake Bay Swim”, which takes place this month.

But like in his previous swims, Macarine, president of Surigao Runners Club, stressed that he will do it alone on Wednesday.

The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim is one of America’s pre-mier open water swim chal-lenges, he said.

“There are lots of great challenges considering the current speed which could take up to two knots and the water temperature,” he said.

Macarine’s swim on Wednesday would be his 13th in open water swim and the second in the US.

Macarine is the first Filipi-no to swim the 2.8-km channel from Alcatraz Island Peniten-tiary to San Francisco City in the US in April last year.

“This would be the first time that a true-blooded Fili-pino will cross the channel,” he claimed.

The Surigao-born and raised former varsity swim-mer of Silliman University said he prepared the swim today.

The Philippines’ Jake Letts in action during the SEA Games rugby event.

SEA GAMES ROUNDUP

Petecio advancesto finals

BOXING: Davao del Sur native Nesthy Petecio won over

Ester Kalayukin of Indo-nesia 3-0 in the Women’s Bantamweight 54kg. semi-finals. She is now through to the Finals on Tuesday.

Irish Magno won over Sopida Satumrum of Thai-land 0-2 in the Women’s Flyweight (51kg). She will face Yen Thi Nguyen of Vietnam in the finals.

Josie Gabuco won over Leona Hui of Singapore 0-3 in the Women’s Light Flyweight 45-48kg Semi Finals. She will face Chuth-amat Raksat of Thailand in the finals.

Wushu : World Cham-pion and Asian Games silver medalist Daniel Parantac settled for the silver medal in the Men’s Optional Taijiquan Finals. Parantac scored 9.70 just .1 behind the winner of the Gold Medal Lee Tze Yuan of Singapore.

Billiards and Snook-er: Michael Mengorio bowed down to Ko Htet of Myanmar 4-0 in the Men’s Snooker Singles semifi-nals. Mengorio settled for the bronze medal. Reign-ing champion Carlo Biado won over Ricky Yang of

Indonesia 5-9 in the Men’s 9-ball Pool Singles round of 16. He is now through to the quarter finals today at 10:00.

Shooting : The wom-en’s Precision Pistol team composed of Elvie Baldivi-no, Franchetta Shayne Quiroz, Carmen Guillermo won the silver medal--the first medal for the day for the Philippines. The team is just one point behind the gold medal team from Thailand.

Meanwhile, Elvie Baldivino qualified for the Women’s Precision Pistol Individual. She is current-ly in 2nd (1460) behind Thailand (1462).

Womens Softball: Philippines blanked Ma-laysia 12-0 in both men’s and women’s softball. The Philippines is is still unde-feated in the tournament.

Tennis: Ruben Gon-zales won the first singles match while the second singles match featuring Jeson Patrombon is still ongoing. If Patrombon wins this match, the Phil-ippines will advance to the finals on Tuesday against the winner of Thai-land-Malaysia semifinal match.

SEA GamesJudo gives PHL sixth gold

Volcanoes win rugby gold

‘Pinoy Aquaman’ to cross Chesapeake Bay

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 201516 EDGEDAVAOSports

ALL SQUARELEBRON James scored 39

points, grabbed 16 re-bounds and dished out

11 assists in one of his greatest performances, sparking Cleve-land over Golden State 95-93 in over-time Sunday to level the NBA Finals.

The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player played 50 min-utes in the dramatic triumph, which was not decided until Iman Shumpert stole the ball from Steph Curry to deny the Warriors a shot at the final buzz-er.

“Total team effort,” James said. “(It took) everything. I tried to give it to my teammates and they gave it back to me.”

The Cavaliers evened the best-of-seven championship se-ries at 1-1 with games three and four on Tuesday and Thursday in Cleveland.

Russian center Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland and Tristan Thompson added 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who also did a superb job of shutting down Curry.

Cleveland got two clutch go-ahead free throws from Matthew Dellavedova with 10 seconds re-maining in over-time as the Aus-tralian started in place of Kyrie Irving, who suffered a fractured left kneecap in a 108-100 game one over-time loss.

“Very emotional win right there,” said James. “We have got a long way to go. If we defend as good as we did tonight, we’ve got a good chance against anybody.”

Klay Thompson led Golden State with a playoff career high 34 points while Curry, the NBA Most Valuable Player, had 19 points on 5-of-23 shooting, the 3-point ace hitting only 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

It was a key victory for the Cavaliers, as teams that fall be-hind 2-0 in the NBA Finals have lost 28 of 31 times. And it come in an arena where Golden State, which won an NBA-best 67 games this season, had lost only three times in 50 prior starts in the regular season and playoffs.

The Cavaliers are trying to bring the city of Cleveland its first major sports champion since the 1964 Browns won the NFL crown while the Warriors seek their first title in 40 years.

In the prior eight playoff se-ries in which James had been on the losing side in game one, his team bounced back to win game two. This was the ninth.

“These situations only make us stronger,” Cavaliers coach Dave Blatt said. “I thought they played their hearts out.”

Curry endured his worst shooting game of the season but drove to the hoop for a game-ty-ing layup at 87-87 with 7.2 sec-

onds re-maining in the fourth q u a r t e r . James tried for a winning layup in the dying seconds but missed, as did Tristan Thomp-son’s tip-in attempt, forcing over-time.

Iman Shumpert hit a 3-pointer and James added two free throws to give Cleveland a 92-87 over-time advantage, but Draymond Green hit back-to-back baskets to pull Gold-en State within one.

After five failed posses-sions, Curry lured Smith into fouling him and Cur-ry made both free throws with 29.5 seconds remain-ing to put the Warriors ahead 93-92, their first lead after half-time.

Green blocked a James layup attempt but the ball went out of bounds. Cleveland’s James Jones missed a 3-pointer but Dellave-dova rebounded and was fouled, then hit two tension-packed free throws to put the Cavaliers ahead 94-93.

Curry missed a go-ahead jump shot and James grabbed the rebound and was fouled. James hit a free throw and Shumpert denied Golden State a final shot.

Cavs win in OT, head home for next 2 games

VOL. 8 ISSUE 48 • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

Davao girl qualifies for jungolfWorld Championship

A P R O M I S I N G Dabawenya golfer has earned a tick-

et to the world’s biggest stage for junior golf where the game’s superstars like Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie have traced their roots from.

11-year old Alessandra Christine Nagayo, daughter of councilor Rachel P. Zo-zobrado-Nagayo, will com-pete in the 2015 U.S Kids World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina on June 29 to August 2.

Nagayo, a Grade 5 stu-dent at Brainworks School

Inc., earned a spot to the world stage after she won the girls 11 years old divi-sion qualifying tournament held last May 25 to 27 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club. Alessandra’s mother Rachel recounted that her daughter scored 88 on the first day, 89 on the second day and 81 on the third day enough to earn a slot on the big event for kids 12 years old and below.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said to qualify for the tourna-ment, Alessandra needed to score 88 at least in one day of 54-hole tournament.

Alessandra picked up golf clubs and started swinging when she was only seven. She now totes a mean 18-handicap.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said as part of the preparation, Alessandra undergoes dai-ly practice at Apo Golf and Country Club. Aside from daily practice, Alessandra also joined tournaments in the city or even outside the city to hone her swing and keep her active.

“Mas maayo ng dili lang ka sige practice, mo apil pud kag mga tournaments (It’s better not just to have

practice but also join tour-naments),” she said.

She said that Alessan-dra competed with older golfers to gain confidence in jungolf tournaments.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said that Alessandra is set to compete this Friday in the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) open golf tournament.

The US Kids World Championship is expected to draw some 1,200 of the world’s finest golf amateurs across the U.S and from more than 30 other coun-tries.

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.abf@edgedavao.net