P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

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

FMINDANAO, 10SPORTS page 16

DAVAO BETS RULE BIMP-EAGA GOLFEST

INSIDE EDGE

MINDANAO REAPSEAGA BENEFITS

KALINDUGAN FESTIVAL. Mandaya girls proudly display their native attire during the Kalindugan Festival in Caraga, Davao Oriental on Sunday. Contributed photo by Neela Duallo

MINDANAO stands to reap P6 billion in investments from

the 2nd BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philip-pines–East ASEAN Growth

P6B in investments to be pursuedArea) IMT-GT (Indonesia Malaysia Thailand – Growth Triangle) Business Leaders Conference held last week in Davao City.

Mindanao Development

Authority (MinDA) director for investment promotion and public affairs Romeo Montenegro told report-ers in yesterday’s Kape-

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

THE House of Repre-sentatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on the

Bangsamoro Basic Law (AHCBBL) scheduled a three-day one-town, four-city series of public hear-ings from October 22 to 24 but the first two days were perfect examples of how not to conduct a public hearing.

In Upi, Maguindanao on Wednesday, October 22, the first out of town public hearing of the AH-CBBL, the heat from the afternoon sun inside the municipal gymnasium was bearable with the

presence of electric fans but the sound system was a problem. Resource persons who spoke on the floor instead of the podium onstage could be heard by the audience but the 11 committee mem-bers onstage could hardly hear them.

“Di halos marinig” (we could hardly hear them), said Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, who left the Presidential table onstage with TUCP Party List Rep. Raymond Dem-ocrito Mendoza to join the audience as Muntinlupa

A videoke bar owner was shot dead alleged-ly by a retired soldier

on Sunday night in Kilome-ter 12, Sasa, Davao City while a police officer who was try-ing to pacify the suspect was himself shot twice and is now in critical condition.

Police identified the fa-tality as Rolando Jumamoy, who was declared dead on arrival by physicians at the Southern Philippines Medi-cal Center (SPMC).

The policeman was iden-tified as Police Officer (PO)3

Rey Alburo, who suffered two gunshot wounds in the chest and abdomen.

Based on the spot report of Sasa Police Station, Albu-ro was eating dinner with his in-laws at a videoke bar owned by Jumamoy on Sun-day night.

Police said retired Sec-ond Lieutenant Rex Veñe-gas, 56, arrived along with his son Private Mark Ryan Veñegas, 37, assigned with the 25th Infantry Battalion of 10th Infantry Division.

DAVAO City is still on red alert days after the successful hold-

ing of the BIMP-EAGA (Bru-nei Indonesia Malaysia Phil-ippines–East ASEAN Growth Area) IMT-GT (Indonesia Malaysia Thailand–Growth Triangle) Business Leaders Conference last week.

Davao City Police Of-fice (DCPO) director Senior Superintendent Vicente D. Danao Jr. told reporters in an interview after the Kape-han sa Dabaw at SM City Annex that the continuous red alert status is due to the upcoming All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day this weekend and the Philippine Develop-ment Forum (PDF) on No-vember 5 and 6.

“Actually, this will be a continuing activity up to No-vember 6. After the Undas (All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day) is the PDF,” Danao said.

He said the same 2,000

personnel from DCPO, Task Force Davao, and other force multipliers will be deployed in public converging areas.

UNDAS Security and Traffic

Danao said police will strictly implement the li-quor ban starting October 31. He said loud music and smoking inside the cemeter-ies will be strictly prohibit-ed.

Regarding sharp mate-rials that will be brought in-side cemeteries, Danao said they will still study if they are really prohibited since there are some cemetery workers who bring them to clean the graves. He said sharp materials had been prohibited before.

Danao said they are also deploying foot patrols and the police auxiliaries to round the barangays of the city.

“We are also requesting

the cooperation of the pub-lic to double check, triple check windows, doors when you leave your respective houses. It is because the robbers might take advan-tage of the celebration,” he said.

Danao also urged the people not to wear expen-sive jewelry and not to bring expensive gadgets in public during those days.

“It might attract these people (thieves and rob-bers). We cannot control some of them. But definitely we are trying to deploy as much personnel that we can have to prevent it,” he said.

For the traffic control of that day, Traffic Manage-ment Center (TMC) head Retired Police Superinten-dent Rhodelio Poliquit said the plans and requirements are ready to be implement-ed.

He said this will be im-

plemented on Friday, during which they are going to mount the re-routing sig-nage and barricades in the major roads going to ceme-teries.

“All 360 personnel of TMC will be deployed on the roads on that day to man the traffic flow. We are not just focusing on the ceme-teries but also roads in the seaports, bus and van ter-minals, malls and churches,” Poliquit said.

Poliquit cited the barge docking area in Kilometer 11, Sasa which he said many people might converge in going to the Island Garden City of Samal after they go to the cemeteries.

Poliquit said they might implement one-way roads in the two major cemeter-ies in the city such as the Davao Memorial Park in Ma-tina and in the cemeteries in

2

FDAVAO, 10

FBAR, 10

FHOW NOT, 10

EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

Davao still on red alertBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

DAVAO City Task Force Drainage (TFD) head retired Colonel Yusop

Jimlani said some trees in Da-cudao Avenue will possibly be cut.

Jimlani, however, clarified to reporters in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao that the trees that will be cut are those that will be identified by the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources (DENR) and City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) as already having problems.

“If there are trees that will be cut, they should be identified already by DENR and even by the CENRO. Trees which are already old and leaning on the creeks and even on the roads which is dangerous (will be cut),” he said.

Jimlani said they are al-ready mapping the trees with the City Planning and Devel-opment Office (CPDO). The trees were also tagged by CENRO and DENR last Octo-ber 16 in order to identify the problem of some trees.

Jimlani said some vehi-cles passing through the road have already been hit by fall-ing branches of some trees.

“We are very careful

about this because it will now be asked who will be recom-mending to the city mayor the options if are we going to cut the trees. If yes, why? Then we have to buy equip-ment,” he said.

He said some trees need to be cut to give way to heavy equipment that will be used to clean the main drainage along Dacudao Avenue from silt and debris. ABF

Old trees on Dacudao may be cut: Jimlani

PROTEST. A member of transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) holds the group’s banner before the start of a city-wide caravan to protest the hefty fines for various traffic viola-tions in front of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Bar owner shot dead,cop hit in love triangleBy FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

How not to conductBBL public hearings

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 3

FSOIL, 10

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

THE pre-hearing confer-ence of the case against Davao City Police Office

(DCPO) director Senior Su-perintendent Vicente Danao Jr. did not push through yes-terday morning due to the motion for reconsideration to dismiss the case filed by Danao.

Summary hearing chief of Regional Internal Affairs Ser-vice (RIAS 11) lawyer Nestor Fernandez said they need to resolve the motion filed by Danao first before they can proceed with the hearing.

“There is still a pending

motion for reconsideration that has to be resolved first by this office. The motion is filed by the respondent seek-ing to dismiss the case filed by the complainant,” Fernan-dez said in an interview.

“It is a hearing, it is a continuing proceeding, so it is rescheduled on Tuesday. It is a continuation of the pre-hearing conference and we will also resolve the mo-tion,” he added.

Danao filed the motion through his legal counsel, lawyer Emmanuel Galicia, prior to their scheduled

hearing.Early this month, the

hearing of Danao’s case was postponed due to the request of his US-based es-tranged wife who could not make it due to the distance she needed to travel in order to attend the hearing.

Mrs. Danao filed four counts of grave misconduct last year before the Philip-pine Consulate in Los Ange-les, California.

The case was endorsed to the National Internal Af-fairs of the Philippine Na-tional Police (PNP) head-

quarters in Camp Crame and then turned over to the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11.

In her sworn statement, Danao’s wife said her hus-band slapped her four times inside their conjugal house in 2002.

Danao filled his counter affidavit before the RIAS 11 on September 19 in response to the case filed against him by his wife.

Mrs. Danao is set to at-tend the pre-hearing sched-uled today at the RIAS 11 office.

Danao files motion to dismiss wife’s rap

CATFISH TIME. Department of Tourism (DOT) 11 chief tourism operations officer Eden Josephine L. David (left) and Barangay Tugbok captain Angelico Santander welcome guests of the 10th Pantatan Festival 2014 with different

catfish dishes during the opening ceremony yesterday in Los Amigos, Tug-bok, Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

WAITING GAME. A young woman picks head lice from a friend’s hair as they wait for people to hire them to clean tombs at the Mintal Public Cemetery.

Business was still low yesterday but is expected to pick up as All Saints’ Day approaches. Lean Daval Jr.

AS the country com-memorates the dead this weekend, a public

cemetery here is threatened by natural calamity triggered by constant heavy downpour and series of earthquake.

George dela Cruz, a pub-lic cemetery caretaker for three decades, said slow but constant soil erosion at the Binoligan cemetery in Ba-rangay Binoligan here has been threatening several tombs.

“Soil has been loosened by previous heavy down-pour and triggered soil ero-sion when unacted upon my trigger landslides,” dela Cruz said, adding that he noticed the erosion started last year.

“It already created at least 10 meter deep ravine. Every time heavy downpour occurs a creek is slowly cre-

ated,” Dela Cruz added.He said relatives of the

dead, upon knowing the in-cident, immediately trans-ferred the remains of their departed love ones to other locations within the public cemetery peripheries.

Dela Cruz said about 30 tombs need to be trans-ferred immediately because the erosion has been getting frequent.

Dela Cruz said that aside from the problem of gradual soil erosion, some shanties that serve as heat protectors for the concrete tombs have collapsed due to series of earthquakes that also hit the city in the previous months.

So far no tomb has been damaged by the quake ex-cept the makeshift heat pro-tectors, Dela Cruz said.

Soil erosion threatens tombs in Kidapawan

A magnitude 5.0 earth-quake shook the prov-ince of Surigao del

Norte on Monday afternoon, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

In its bulletin, the agen-cy said the tremor occurred at 4:34 p.m. with its epicen-ter traced at 63 kilometers southeast of General Luna town, Surigao del Norte.

Phivolcs said that Su-rigao City felt the quake at Intensity 3.

The tremor, which was tectonic in origin, had a shal-low depth of 29 kilometers.

Despite the reported intensity, the agency noted that there was no casualty or damage reported from the quake.

However, the agency said that aftershocks could be ex-pected in the affected areas.

The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where 20 to 25 earthquakes per day – mostly impercepti-ble – are common. (PNA)

Magnitude 5.0 quakejolts Surigao del Norte

Department of Jus-tice (DOJ) Secretary Leila M. De Lima

yesterday said Marck Sue-selbeck, the German fiancé of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jeniffer” Laude, will have a hard time returning to the Philippines once he is deported and declared an “undesirable alien.”

De Lima explained that once a foreign national is declared as an “undesir-able alien,” his name will also be placed in the black-list order of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The DOJ chief noted that Sueselbeck should undergo deportation pro-ceedings because if he was merely allowed to depart on Sunday, the government will no longer have the opportunity to determine whether he is indeed an “undesirable alien.”

De Lima stressed that once Sueselbeck is de-clared as an “undesirable alien,” he can only return

to the Philippines if he will file a motion or petition for the lifting of the blacklist order and if the same will be approved.

She pointed out that preventing the German national from leaving the country was about uphold-ing the rule of law and up-holding the integrity and pride of the Philippines as a nation.

“If the actions of Sue-selbeck will not be taken seriously, who will stop other foreigners from also doing what he did in vio-lating the country’s laws?” De Lima said.

The German national earlier scaled up the pe-rimeter fence inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City and shoved a military po-lice in an attempt to take a glimpse of United States Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, the suspect in the killing of Laude last October 11 in Olongapo City. (PNA)

Sueselbeck will have hard timereturning to Phl if he’s deported

NEWSEDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 20144

STA. CRUZ, DAVAO DEL SUR

TAGUM CITY

ZAMBOANGA CITYDAVAO DEL NORTE

EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

FOLLOWING the in-scription of Mount Hamiguitan Moun-

tain Range, the pro-vincial government of Davao Oriental plans to also inscribe the ances-tral domain of the Man-daya tribe in Caraga as a United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Or-ganization’s (UNESCO) world heritage site.

Governor Corazon Malanyaon said in an in-terview during the 16th Kalindugan Festival that the Mandaya land incor-

porated in the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Ti-tle (CADT) 01 in Baran-gay Pichon, Caraga has all the potentials to be a world heritage site.

“As I have seen in other heritage sites, this area has what it takes to be a heritage site,” Malanyaon said.

According to tribal chieftain Coper Banugan, the ancestral domain covers 14,500 hectares traversing six sitios of the barangay.

Banugan added that

the area has been pop-ulated by over 4,000 pure Mandaya people or about 1,000 families.

He said families have still been using the trib-al’s traditional methods in their livelihood such as farming and fishing.

Malanyaon affirmed that the tribal people have been very dedicat-ed in preserving their culture.

“As we can see in their presentations in the festival, the Mandaya culture and traditions

have been handed down to their children,” she said.

In its 16th year of celebrating Kalindugan Festival, the Mandaya tribe highlighted presen-tations on the tradition-al methods, standards and techniques on the tribe’s livelihood, politi-cal system, and custom-ary laws.

Banugan said that the approval of CADT 01 last May 8 added more mean-ing to this year’s festival. (PIA 11, Michael Uy)

SERVING at least 2, 773 individuals, the city-led medical ser-

vices caravan top-billed by American doctors proved to be beneficial to less fortunate Tagumen-yos who flocked to var-ious sites to avail them-selves of the free surgical and medical services of-fered during the five-day activity.

Jalmaida Jamiri, exec-utive assistant to Mayor Allan L. Rellon, said 60 individuals were able to avail themselves of the free major surgery oper-ations that included cleft lip and palate repairs, thy-roidectomy, herniorraphy,

hydrocele repairs and hemorroidectomy—oper-ations that are expensive in private hospitals.

Dubbed “Mission of Mercy,” the activity was conducted last October 19 to 24 by the city govern-ment of Tagum in collab-oration with the Memphis Mission of Mercy, Inc., Kiwanis Club of Golden Tagum, Diocese of Tagum, Davao del Norte Provin-cial Government, 10th In-fantry Agila Division, and the Bishop Joseph Raegan Hospital, Inc.

Jamiri said aside from the major surgeries, 2,030 individuals were also given free medical

check-up and medicines while 341 others benefit-ed in the dental services and tooth extraction and 342 individuals for the free haircuts.

A composite team of 28 American and Filipino doctors, nurses and med-ical practitioners volun-teered during the week-long activity that was held in different venues like the Tagum City Pavilion, Bishop Raegan Hospital, and in the nearby town of Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte.

The team from Mem-phis Mission of Mercy was led by its chairman and founder Renato Zal-

amea, CRNA, who led the group in conducting med-ical-surgical humanitar-ian missions to the Phil-ippines on an annual and sometimes semi-annual basis having reached over 15,000 individuals in six-teen mission trips since 2001.

The city government of Tagum and Kiwanis Club provided additional manpower and provision of medicines during the activity, in line with May-or Rellon’s health agenda as stipulated under his ten-point development agenda dubbed as EAGLE WINGS Program. Louie Lapat of CIO Tagum

DN Mandaya land eyedas UNESCO heritage site

MERCY MISSION. A total of 2,273 individuals benefited from the five-day medical mission dubbed “Mission of Mercy: A Series of Free Medical and Sur-

gical Mission” in Tagum City on October 19 to 24 in Tagum City and Sto. Tomas town in Davao del Norte. Leo Timogan of CIO Tagum

‘Mission of Mercy’ benefits thousands of Tagumenyos

THE Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Author-

ity (Zamboecozone) will fo-cus next year on developing the Second Industrial Park at the Zamboecozone area.

Christopher Lawrence Arnuco, Zamboecozone Chairman and Administrator, said the funding for the de-velopment of the 664-hect-are Second Industrial Park is included in next year’s bud-get for the Ecozone.

Arnuco said the House of Representatives has already approved the Ecozone’s 2015 proposed budget of P246 million.

“It is now pending before the Senate,” he added.

The entire area of Zam-boecozone consists of 16,000 hectares of logged-over forest in this city’s west coast from Barangay Tali-sayan up to the hinterlands of Barangays La Paz and Pamucutan.

Arnuco said that at pres-ent what is being utilized is the 64-hectare First Indus-trial Park.

The First Industrial Park is a nature park that boasts of two swimming pools, canteen, shower rooms and picnic huts, which can ac-commodate as many as 700 guests.

A staff house with a beautiful landscape in the fa-cade is available for lease for seminars, conferences, and retreats.

It may be used as a vaca-tion home for families and friends “who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.”

Investor’s houses, stan-dard manufacturing building and storage building were also constructed for lease by interested locators at the First Industrial Park.

Arnuco said they will de-velop the Second Industrial Park to accommodate more locators citing there are 20 applicant-locators that have already submitted letters of intent and “are in the pipe-line”.

He said that at present the Zamboecozone has a to-tal of 19 locators with P13 billion committed invest-ments.

The Zamboecozone stated on its website that the Second Industrial Park is ideal for agro-forestry, high-end residential proj-ects, information technology ventures and a university village.

The Baguio-like climate in the area is highly viable for eco-tourism, it added. (MindaNews)

HEDCOR Tudaya, Inc. recently turned over a concreted

road and covered court projects to the Bago-bo-Tagabawa community in Barangay Kapatagan, Davao del Sur in fulfill-ment of its memorandum of agreement.

Rolando Pacquiao, Hedcor vice president for Mindanao Operations, said the company has al-lotted P1.6 million for the road concreting and P1.4 million for the construc-tion of covered court.

“By providing the needs of our host commu-nity like basic infrastruc-tures, we are heading towards inclusive growth with them,” Pacquiao said.

The blessing of the fa-cilities was presided over by Fr. Joel Coledia. Kapa-tagan barangay chair San-tiago Morales Jr. with the barangay council joined the turnover rites.

The covered court was completed in a span of 60 days. The project was awarded to a local con-tractor, the Continental

Industrial Builders and Traders Corp.

Meanwhile, the 158-meter concrete road covers steep parts of the access road that were opened during the Tu-daya hydro construction.

Morales thanked Hed-cor for fulfilling its prom-ises. He said that they are grateful for the support the company is giving.

He added that the cov-ered court would be of various uses for the peo-ple in the barangay.

Last May, the Tudaya hydro 1 and 2 plants were inaugurated. The plants are expansion of the ex-isting 42.5MW Sibulan hydropower plants.

In total, Tudaya hy-dro plants produce about 13.2MW of clean and re-newable energy.

Hedcor, a whol-ly owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, operates 21 run-of-river hydro-power plants in Benguet, Davao City, Davao del Sur and Ilocos Sur with a total installed capacity of 170 megawatts. (Hedcor/PR)

Zamboecozone eyes 2nd Industrial Park

Lumads accept infra projects from Hedcor

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

HITO CAPITAL. Vicente R. Dejardo (third from left), president of Los Amigos 4Ps SEA-K Association, receives the P290,000 livelihood assistance from Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) director Priscilla N. Razon (third from right) as seed  capital for the association’s Hito Culture

Project. Assisting the turnover are (from left) Marie Botona of the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO), DSWD assistant director for op-erations Rebecca A. Santamaria, Eden David of the Department of Tourism (DOT), and Los Amigos barangay captain Angelico Santander. Lean Daval Jr.

DESPITE an ongoing dispute over the West Philippine Sea (South

China Sea) between the Phil-ippines and China, Chinese businesses are still tapping business opportunities in the country.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairman Emeritus Francis Chua told reporters at the sidelines of the 40th Philippine Business Confer-ence that business relations between the Philippines and China still continue even if the territorial dispute is still present.

Chua noted that Chinese investors still consider the Philippines, citing partner-ships and joint ventures with local businesses.

“On the local side or the private sector we are not af-fected, they (Chinese) keep coming in and continue in-vesting,” he said.

“They are heavy in agri-culture and mining invest-ments all over the country,” he noted.

Chua said aside from

agriculture and mining, Chi-nese businesses consider long term investments in the Philippines in the tour-ism sector such as hotel and resort projects.

However, Chua said the dispute at the diplomatic level made Chinese inves-tors keep their investments at a low profile.

“In the long run our gov-ernment relationships will be better. At present, there are some hitches,” Chua said.

He said Chinese and Philippine business relation is “business as usual” but is not maximized because of the dispute.

On the trade side, data from the Philippine Statis-tics Authority (PSA) showed that China is the country’s second largest trade part-ner next to Japan.

Bilateral trade with Chi-na in the first eight months of the year amounted to $11.78 billion with export revenue of $5.58 billion and import payments of $6.2 bil-lion. (PNA)

Despite dispute, China still tapsbusiness opportunities in Phl

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 20146 THE ECONOMY

THE province of Davao Oriental, particular-ly the town of Cateel,

will have an additional 2,200 hectares of rice farms in 2015 when a new irrigation system operates in full.

The system, the biggest to be funded by the World Bank in Mindanao, will be turned over today, October 28, to the provincial government head-ed by Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon by the Mindanao Regional Development Proj-ect (MRDP).

During a media briefing in Mati City last week, Governor Malanyaon expressed opti-mism that with the P256-mil-lion irrigation system located in Cateel, the province can achieve self-sufficiency in rice in 2015.

Today’s inauguration, to be attended by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and

WB team leader Carol Gero-na among other VIPs, comes after the project underwent many snags mainly due to nat-ural calamities.

The major setbacks were caused by super typhoon Pablo (international name Bopha) on December 4, 2012 and low pressure area (LPA) Agaton early this year.

Cateel, the hometown of the governor, was one of the three towns in the province flattened by typhoon Pablo, the other being Baganga and Boston.

The undue delay in the construction timetable prompted the provincial gov-ernment to take over the re-sponsibility of completing the project. What happened next was short of a miracle.

“What was to be complet-ed for two-and-half years we had to finish in seven months,”

said Gov. Malanyaon, adding that about 700 people were employed in three shifts of 24-hour work to complete the project.

Arnel V. de Mesa, MRDP deputy director, said the proj-ect is the biggest in the list of the program, the second phase of the World Bank-funded project program. Since June, the national government has slowly scaled up the MRDP into a nationwide implemen-tation to benefit all provinces in the country.

Malanyaon said the pro-vincial government has craft-ed programs that will maxi-mize the use of the irrigation system capable of irrigating additional 2,200 hectares of rice farms in 13 barangays in Cateel.

The governor hopes that by 2015 “our people will no longer queue (for rice ration

when there is shortage in the country).”

Davao Oriental currently produces about 63,000 tons of rice annually feeding a pop-ulation of about 520,000 peo-ple, according to government statistics.

Among the areas to be converted to rice farms are coconut plantations that were destroyed by the 2012 ty-phoon which uprooted about six million coconut trees in the three towns.

These new production areas will complement rice farms in the municipality of Banaybanay, acknowledged as the rice granary of the Davao Region. Although Cateel and other towns of the First Con-gressional District of the prov-ince have small non-irrigated farms, Banaybanay and Luzon as the main rice sources of the province. AMA

Biggest WB-funded in Mindanao

P256-M irri project opens in DavOriental

TRANSPORT STRIKE. A striking transport driver and a supporter distribute leaflets along the highway in Barangay Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City asking

fellow drivers and commuters to join the nationwide transport strike on Oc-tober 27. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

WITH the implemen-tation of the ASEAN Economic Com-

munity (AEC) in 2015, small and medium enterprises are encouraged to grab every opportunity to improve their competitiveness.

Speaking at one of the side events of the recently held 2nd BIMP EAGA – IMT GT Trade Conference, De-partment of Trade and Indus-try (DTI 11) officer-in-charge Ma. Belenda Ambi said with the challenges of the ASEAN Integration, SMEs are “better equipped and ready to seize the opportunities”.

By end of 2015, 99 per-

cent of products traded in the region will already enjoy a tariff rate of between 0 and 5 percent, although the inte-gration started in 2010. With AEC 2015, only sensitive products, like rice and corn, shall retain some semblance of tariff protection.

Ambi said DTI will con-tinuously implement inter-ventions for the continued enhancement of competi-tiveness of the private sector, conduct intensive advocacy among stakeholders through DBFTA information sessions, and sustained collaboration among stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Fenina M.

Bonoan, Consumer and In-dustrial Division assistant chief of DTI’s Export Mar-keting Bureau, said that AEC 2015 must be seen as a mile-stone and a great opportu-nity for local companies and entrepreneurs to grow big-ger and to trade within the ASEAN region.

“ASEAN integration is already within us. It is actu-ally a stage process where ASEAN countries make coor-dination to harmonize eco-nomic policies,” she said.

With the lowered trade barriers such as tariffs, more Philippine SMEs will have the chance to engage into in-

tra and inter-regional trade.“We’re looking at

640,000 consumers within the ASEAN region,” she said, adding that there are indeed huge opportunities to seize, amidst the fears of getting flooded with foreign prod-ucts.

“There would be fears especially the feeling that we’re going to be flooded, there’s going to be a tsunami of products. And that’s what other countries feel, too. The message here is we must all be prepared for it,” she said.

Bonoan said the local in-dustries “can’t afford to be complacent”. (PNA)

THE Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) of Security Bank Corpo-

ration (SBC) is the top gainer for the first nine months of 2014.

Latest data on the Phil-ippine Equity UITF catego-ry show SBC’s Peso Equity Fund recorded a gain of 36.49 percent from January to September of this year. This is followed by Philip-pine National Bank’s Allied Unit Performance Equities Fund (28.76 percent), PNB’s High Divided Fund (26.55 percent), Bank of the Philip-pine Islands’ Philippine Eq-uity Index Fund (24.05 per-cent), and BPI’s Equity Value Fund (23.73 percent).

SBC was also the top per-former in the Peso Balanced UITF category over the first three quarters of 2014. At 22 percent, SBC’s Peso Asset Variety Fund had a 4.87 per-cent advantage over its next ranked fund. Banco de Oro’s Peso Balanced Fund ranked second with a gain of 17.13 percent. Philippine Nation-al Bank’s Prestige Balanced Fund (13.81 percent) was at third, followed by China

Banking Corp’s Balanced Fund (12.48 percent), and BPI’s Balanced Fund (12.46 percent)

SBC Financial Market Segment Head Raffy Algarra said the exceptional perfor-mance of UITF is a reflection of the competence of the Bank in the market. “The numbers reflect how we aim to deliver income-generating assets for our investors. We can diversify investments in multiple funds and build as-sets in the long run.” he said.

UITF is an open-ended pooled trust fund denom-inated in peso or any ac-ceptable currency. It is op-erated and administered by a trust entity. Each UITF is governed by a Declaration of Trust which contains me-chanics for administering the funds.

The Bank currently of-fers seven options that tar-get various risk appetites of individuals. Investors can even subscribe through SBC’s internet banking plat-form where they can track their Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU) on a daily ba-sis.

SMEs urged to further prepare for AEC 2015

Security Bank top performerin Unit Investment Trust Funds

The private sector is being encouraged to play a role in combating cor-ruption in the country and to ensure full compliance with the United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption.

This call was made by Melchor Arthur Carandang, overall Deputy Ombuds-man of the Investment Om-budsman (IO) team which was created to address trade or investment-relat-ed concerns.

Carandang said the Philippines has initially focused on addressing cor-ruption in the public sec-tor.

“It now needs to work double time to set up ad-ministrative and legal mechanisms in order to likewise address private sector corruption and ensure full compliance with the requirements of the Convention,” he said during a recent corporate governance forum.

Carandang stressed that the UN Convention against Corruption acced-ed to by 172 countries, including the Philippines,

covered both the public and private sectors cor-ruption.

“The role of the private sector in improving or en-suring the compliance by the Philippines with the provisions of the Conven-tion is actually four-fold. It is the role of the private sector to prevent, advo-cate, adhere and cooper-ate,” he said.

Meanwhile, Caran-dang said the IO team acts on grievances and com-plaints filed in any form or manner against offi-cers or employees of the government, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC).

He said the team has an established grievance machinery and special panel of investigators and prosecutors that will fast track investment-related concerns.

“Our internal guide-lines mandate grievance matters to be resolved within three to 10 work-ing days depending on the complexity of the issue,” he added. (PNA)

Private sector asked to helpin fight against corruption

By ANTONIO M. AJERO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 7EDGEDAVAO

COMMUNITY SENSE

Dr. Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw

DESPITE the growing trend toward urban-ization, there still

remains a large portion of homeseekers that value tra-ditional family living—one that is comprised of expan-sive surroundings, intimacy with nature, interaction with neighbors, and comfort and security from the busy out-side world.

Especially in city centers in developing provinces and regions in the country, a sub-urban way of life is still very much prized and aspired for. In Davao City, one such com-munity is quickly becoming the address of choice for young families wanting to take root in this vibrant hub of trade, commerce, and in-dustry in Mindanao.

South Grove is a sprawling 17-hectare gated village that provides, first and foremost, an enviable location right within the heart of the provincial capital. Located along the major thoroughfare of Quim-po Boulevard, very near the landmark Ecoland area in the city, residents enjoy access to all the vital establishments required for daily living.

Highly regarded schools such as the Ateneo de Davao

University, the University of Mindanao, and Philippine Women’s College are just a few minutes away, ensuring that children get the best education and learning. In terms of shopping and rec-reation, malls and shopping centers such as the NCCC Mall and SM City Davao are also nearby.

An exclusive havenMost important-

ly, South Grove provides upwardly mobile professionals, executives and entrepreneurs in Davao with an enclave that nurtures all their aspirations for the good life.

The landscaped entrance

gate sets the tone for the rar-efied atmosphere of the com-munity, with its distinctive design by architect Henry Gorospe. The clubhouse is another attraction, with its classic Mediterranean design that embodies the upscale at-mosphere of the community.

A perimeter wall and a network of wide concrete roads with paved sidewalks and concrete curbs and gut-ters delineate the residential property parcels, and ensure safety and efficiency of move-ment throughout the village. An expertly engineered un-derground storm drainage system assures a flood-free environment.

C o m p l e t i n g the South Grove experience is a wide range of amenities and facilities that encourage residents to enjoy life to the fullest. The multi-purpose clubhouse, with its centerpiece swimming pool, is the perfect venue in bringing together neighbors and guests for special occasions or community events.

The Davao Golf and Country Club is also located just a corner away, provid-ing additional opportunities for leisure activities with the whole family. This exclusive club enhances as well the pri-vate and exclusive lifestyle that South Grove offers.

Quintessential subdivisionliving in Davao at South Grove

DR. Conrado “Bob-by” Gempesaw, a Dabawenyo and an

alumnus of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU), is the new President of the St. John’s University in New York, aCatholic and Vincen-tian university founded in 1870.

The university’s web-site,http://www.stjohns.edu, announced that Gem-pesaw was installed as the university’s “17th and first lay president” on October 24.

The website describes its president as “an accom-plished scholar, teacher, and administrator who comes to St. John’s with almost three decades of academic and ad-ministrative experience.”

Before assuming the post of president of St. John’s Uni-versity, Gempesaw served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Af-fairs at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

He also served as Dean of the University of Delaware (UD) Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Vice-Provost for Academic and International Programs, Interim Dean of UD’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Chair of the Department of

Food and Resource Econom-ics.

He joined UD as an assis-tant professor in 1985, was awarded tenure and promot-ed to associate professor in 1989, and promoted to full professor in 1993.

In his message to the St. John’s University commu-nity, also posted in the uni-versity’s website, Gempesaw said he will “bear in mind the Catholic and Vincentian core values that have long guided this University.”

“I look forward to meet-ing many of you in the com-ing months and to the oppor-tunity of working together to enhance our academic and research programs, broaden our community and global partnerships, and promote the Vincentian tradition of service to those most in need,” Gempesaw said.

“I ask for your prayers and support as we work to-gether with a renewed com-mitment to sustain St. John’s outstanding reputation as one of the nation’s premier Catholic universities,” he added.

A news item in the uni-versity website in Septem-ber said Gempesaw was among 10 persons named by

Dabawenyo installed as presidentof New York’s St. John’s University

Crain’s New York Business to its list of “People to Watch in Higher Education.” The list includes presidents and other senior administrators who are “successfully lead-ing their New York based institutions during a time of unprecedented change in the higher education landscape.”

Gempesaw obtained his B.A. in Economics from the Ateneo de Davao University, his MS in Agricultural Eco-nomics from West Virginia

University, and Ph.D. in Ag-ricultural Economics from Pennsylvania State Univer-sity.

He is married to Clavel Albay who earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.

Ms Albay, also a Dabawenyo, was Mutya ng Dabaw 1975.

The couple has two sons, Daniel and David. Daniel completed a double degree with honors (magna cum laude) in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Physics from the University of Delaware and an M.S. in Mechanical Engi-neering from Georgia Tech. David completed a double major with honors (summa cum laude) in Accounting and Finance and a double minor in Economics and Jazz Studies from the Uni-versity of Delaware. He is a certified public accountant and completed his M.A. in Economics from Miami Uni-versity.

St. John’s University has campuses in New York’s Queens, Staten Island, Long Island and Manhattan, in Rome and in Paris.(MindaN-ews)

MALAYSIAN compa-nies are looking to invest in oil palm

and rubber plantations in the envisioned Bangsamoro region as part of Kuala Lum-pur’s continuing support to the peace process, officials said Friday.

Malaysia brokered the peace talks between the gov-ernment and the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front. The parties signed last March the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), their final peace deal after 17 years of negotiations.

The Bangsamoro region will replace the Autono-mous Region in Muslim Mindanao as envisioned by the CAB.

Har Man Ahmad, senior manager for ASEAN unit and former Embassy of Ma-nila Trade Office (MATRADE Manila) commissioner, said the potential Malaysian in-vestments in the Bangsam-oro would help alleviate the plight of its people.

“Peace is a very import-ant factor [in putting up an investment],” he said in a press conference.

Ahmad said that Malay-sian investors are eyeing a joint venture scheme with their Filipino counterparts in the possible development of more oil palm and rubber plantations in the Bangsam-oro and other parts of Min-danao.

According to the oil palm industry profile pre-

pared by the Mindanao De-velopment Authority in Oc-tober 2011, the country has about 55,000 hectares of land planted with oil palm, 80 per cent or 44,000 hect-ares of them in Mindanao. For rubber, the island re-portedly has 137,000 hect-ares as of 2011.

A joint Filipino-Malay-sian venture in the palm oil industry has existed in Min-danao through the Agumil Philippines Inc.

At least 51 Malaysian companies are currently here for the 2nd BIMP EA-GA-IMT GT trade fair in a bid to forge partnerships with Mindanao investors and those from the other participating countries.

“We [also] want to ex-plore business opportuni-ties through direct supply, distribution or partner-ships,” Ahmad said.

BIMP EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam, Indo-nesia, Malaysia, the Philip-pines-East ASEAN Growth Area, an initiative launched in 1994 to accelerate the growth of less developed areas of the participating countries.

IMT GT stands for In-donesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle, which was formed a year ahead of BIMP EAGA.

Mindanao and Palawan are the focus areas of the Philippines under the BIMP EAGA initiative. (Bong S Sarmiento/MindaNews)

DAVAO City Water District (DCWD) conducted vari-

ous trainings in its continuous effort to create linkages in the grassroots level.

DCWD hosted Organic Con-tainer Gardening (OCG) Train-ings to 20 women last Septem-ber 20 in Barangay Malagos. Previous to this, the same training was also conducted on July 19 in Barangay Sirib and July 12 in Barangay Tagakpan for 40 women members of the community, and on September 13 in Barangay Hizon for 30 fisherfolk.

In the trainings, the par-ticipants were taught how to properly practice organic back-yard gardening to give them alternative means of income. The trainings also taught them how to minimize solid wastes and kitchen wastes and in turn prevent water pollution in the community supporting the city’s ridge to reef protection objective.

Speakers were Ariel Arce-na, Junel Borong and Arthur Cagumbay of the office of coun-cilor Marissa Salvador Abellla. The barangay councils of recipi-ent communities also extended their support in order to help make the trainings possible.

There will be another OCG

training slated on October 25 for 20 women at Barangay Ti-bungco.

DCWD also spearhead-ed the conduct of the Gender and Development Training for Women and Environment in the Barangay (WEB) members last August 16 at Lispher Inn. In attendance were 40 WEB members who are all leaders and implementers of GAD and environment programs in their respective communities.

Discussed with the partici-pants were the current gender and environment situation and the roles of women at home, in the community, and the envi-ronment by invited speakers Integrated Gender and Devel-opment Division OIC Lorna Mandin and Ateneo de Davao University Community Engage-ment and Advocacy Council executive secretary Atty. Arnold Abejaron, respectively.

Both discussions were effective in attaining the train-ing’s objective to equip the participants with the needed knowledge on laws, issuanc-es and other legislations that affect women and the envi-ronment as well as the roles of women and men in the house-hold and society. (Jovana T. Duhaylungsod)

Malaysians looking atBangsamoro investment

Women and fisherfolk attendvarious trainings with DCWD

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 20148

Dacudao trees: What now?EDITORIAL

IN THE days approaching the highly successful staging of the BIMP EAGA (Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia Philip-pines East Asean Growth Area) and IMT-GT (Indonesia Ma-

laysia Thailand-Growth Triangle) trade fair and business leaders meeting in Davao City, two incidents were hogging the headlines involving the name “Dacudao.” The first was about the controversy over an alleged plan to uproot the trees along Dacudao Avenue, while the second was about the arrest of one Santiago Jose Ebro Dacudao III for alleged cultivation of marijuana inside the family residential compound.

Armed with a search warrant, officers coming from the Sta. Ana (Davao City) police station and operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) uprooted half a dozen hills of canna-vis sativa inside the compound and confiscated three undocument-ed handguns allegedly belonging to the respondent. The authori-ties had filed appropriate charges against Dacudao III.

However, the controversy over the fate of trees planted along the more than a kilometer-long canal of Dacudao Avenue rages to this day. In the beginning, the central figure, if not the villain in the tempest was retired colonel Yusof Jimlani, demolition czar of the city who was reported, albeit mistakenly, as the architect of the plan to kill the trees. Mr. Jimlani has since demolished the no-

tion that he was the mastermind of the “Fell the Dacudao Trees Conspiracy“ by calling a series of consultations that was designed to reach a consensus of what to do with the trees. Why, he even recited before newsmen attending Kapehan sa Dabaw yesterday “Trees,” the immortal poem by Alfred Joyce Kilmer, to prove how much he loves trees!

After three consultative meetings, there appears to be an emerg-ing consensus among those involved in the multi-agency discus-sions pointing to a win-win solution.

The group found that there is need for the city to acquire an equipment more powerful that the two vactors that the city has been using to rid the canals of silts. There is an equipment of this kind made in China, but there is need to check its specs to be sure that indeed it is the contraption needed by the city. Another finding of the group is that in certain portions of the Dacudao waterway, both machine and man cannot clean the canals because of the trees that block their way.

Is the group now decided that some trees, specially the old ones, should go? No, the group still needs to meet, discuss again and fi-nally come up with a report listing its recommendations. The re-port will be submitted to Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, who is expect-ed to render a solomonic decision soon after.

EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

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Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • HENRYLITO TACIO • MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • VIDA MIA VALVERDE • Economic Analysts: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ

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MEGHANN STA. INES NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN

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RICHARD C. EBONAMarketing Supervisor

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AQUILES Z. ZONIOFUNNY PEARL GAJUNERA

CHA MONFORTE Correspondents

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

WI T H t h e b e a t -

ing that Vice President Je-jomar Binay has gone through courtesy of the ongoing Senate probe into his alleged ill-got-ten wealth, it would not be a surprise if President Benigno S. Aquino III ousted him as national housing czar. But Aquino allowed Binay to remain in his post – at least, until this writing – and that should create questions what the President is contemplating at this stage of the inves-tigation, which is primarily a prequel to the 2016 elections.

Go figure. Binay is not even a member of the ruling Liberal Party, or at least of a par-ty that belongs to the majority coalition. He leads the United Nationalist Alliance, and barring obstacles other than the exposé of his and his family members’ purported wrongdoings as public officials, he will be the opposition standard bearer in 2016. Only one thing could have made Aquino hesitate to remove the vice president from the Cabinet – deference to Binay’s loyalty to Aquino’s late president-mother, Corazon C. Aquino.

Go figure this too. With less than two years left before the next presidential elec-tions, the administration does not have a visible candidate yet. Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas is the Liberal Party’s presumptive bet. Yet until now Aquino re-mains noncommittal to endorsing him, ap-parently because the surveys don’t match the enthusiasm of the secretary’s cheering squad.

Blame Roxas’ sloppy PR work. Blame his general blandness. Or better yet, blame his loss to Binay in 2010 as the culprit for his poor showing in surveys even after his rival’s rating also went down. Roxas’ standing as a pretender to Malacañang has improved, but it’s not as significant as his camp might have wished it to be as a result of the Senate investigation involving the Binay family.

It’s interesting to see how Binay would fare in a future survey now that he is be-ing named as the owner of a 350-hectare estate in Batangas. Add to that the result of a survey showing that 80 percent of the respondents wanted him to face the Senate and answer the allegations. Obviously feel-ing the heat now, the vice president has de-clared he would do so if the hearings were conducted by the blue ribbon committee itself, not the sub-committee presided by Senator Koko Pimentel. Also, he sought an audience with Aquino to implore him to ask the Senate to go slow on him. At least, that’s what Aquino told the media.

How the investigation into the 350-hectare property unfolds in the com-ing days – and whether Binay will face his accusers or not at the Senate – could be crucial to his presidential ambition. If Sen-ator Alan Peter Cayetano and company can obtain conclusive evidence that it really belongs to Binay, such development might erode his chances further. If not, his rating will possibly remain unchanged, bad news for Cayetano, Roxas and other presidential hopefuls.

Until then, Aquino will have to wait be-fore declaring his plans for 2016.

Roxas too will have to rein in his eager-ness – just like what he’s doing now amid the trouble bugging Binay – and concen-trate on cementing his base at the local lev-el. Lucky guy, this Roxas. Congress is set to give his office P21 billion for this under the 2015 national budget. The amount makes the average presidential campaign kitty a pittance. (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com.)

BY THE ARCHIVIST

FAST BACKWARD

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

Waiting game for PNoy – for Mar, too

The Friends ConnectionVANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

LAST week, while reading the latest copy of the Asian edition of Reader’s Digest, I was interrupted by the sound

of my mobile phone. I received a forward-ed message from my sister. It said: “Don’t count your friends on a sunny day the sky is blue and laughter is abundant. Instead, wait for a storm when the clouds are dark and smiles are scarce. When someone stands beside you and lifts your spirit to the sky, then you’ll know who deserves to be called a friend.”

Reading the message reminded me of the song of Dionne Warwick: “Keep smil-ing, keep shining. Knowing you can always count on me for sure. In good times and bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more.” Well, that’s what friends are for!

Perhaps one of the best classic songs ever written on friendship was the one sung by James Taylor. “When you’re down and troubled, and you need a helping hand, and nothing who, nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest night.” Sure, you’ve got a friend.

No man is an island, so goes a popular saying. As the Bible puts it: “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not anoth-er to help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

A couple of years ago, an English pub-lication offered a prize for the best defini-tion of a friend, and among the thousands of answers received were the following: (1) “one who multiplies joys, divides grief,” (2)

“one who un-derstands our silence,” (3) “a volume of sym-pathy bound in cloth,” and (4) “a watch which beats true for all time and never runs down.”

But here is the definition that won the coveted prize: “A friend - the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

George Lord Byron considers friendship as “Love without his wings!” For as Charles Peguy points out, “Love is rarer than genius itself. And friendship is rarer than love.” Saint Basil the Great puts it in another per-spective: “A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

“What is a friend?” asked philosopher Aristotle. The 1828 Noah Webster dictio-nary defines a friend as “one who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for other sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his com-pany and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity.”

In other words, a friend “a person with whom I may be sincere” (Ralph Waldo Em-erson), “my nearest relation” (Thomas Full-er), “worth ten thousand relatives” (Eurip-

ides), “a present you give yourself” (Robert Louis Stevenson), and “the sunshine of life” (John Hay).

Those who have friends are twice bless-ed, indeed. Zig Ziglar, in his book, ‘Some-thing to Smile About,’ wrote: “I agree with the statement that if, at the end of life, we can count at least two people who are true friends willing to do anything for us at the drop of a hat, who stand ready when we are hurting or need help, we are indeed fortu-nate. We can talk with friends about every facet of life – our joys, trials, triumphs, trag-edies, hopes, wants, and needs.”

Two men were traveling together when a ferocious bear suddenly met them on their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground. When the bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could.

The bear soon left him, for it is said the animal won’t touch a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other man descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear. “He gave me this advice,” his com-panion replied. “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

“Three men are my friends,” a wise man said. “He that loves me, he that hates me, and he that is indifferent to me. Who loves me teaches me tenderness. Who hates me teaches me caution. Who is indifferent to me teaches me self-reliance.”

IN the December 10, 1940 local elec-tions, Romualdo C. Quimpo, the “fa-ther of Davao City,“ won over Pacifico

M. Sobrecarey as provincial governor, but his victory was placed under protest. Sobrecarey, the incumbent governor, filed a petition for quo warranto before the CFI of Davao alleging the winner was not eligible to run because he was not a resident of the province where he filed his certificate of candidacy.

Quimpo, in filing a motion to dismiss the case, argued that there was no cause of action because he was a qualified elector of the city where he had resided long before it was organized. This posi-tion was supported by the CFI, saying the defendant was a resident and qual-ified elector of the city, which is within the province of Davao, the capital. Not in accord with the judgment, Sobrecarey appealed his case, submitting before the SC the argument that when the city was organized under Act No. 51 of the Com-monwealth, it became a distinct territo-ry and ceased to become an integral part of the province.

Citing Article 40 of the Revised Ad-ministrative Code, the SC explained that under the law the Province of Davao comprised the territory located on the southeastern tip of Mindanao Island, the islands belonging to it, including Sa-rangani. The high court, in deciding case G.R. No. L-48208, said the city of Davao, as a territory, remained within the terri-tory of the province, and that while the city is outside the jurisdiction of Davao

Province, there was no valid reason to conclude the city, as a territory, was sep-arate from the entire province.

The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Manuel Moran, on the other hand, strongly ar-gued that “this legal provision should be interpreted to in-clude not only officials but also to indi-viduals, not to separate the people from whom government derives its authori-ty” in order to avoid misinterpretation and “many legal anomalies from imple-menting the law.” While he doubted the majority decision, the dissenting writer was “in favor of the effectiveness of the popular will expressed at the last elec-tion in favor of the defendant.”

Meanwhile, the first election for city mayor held in November 1955, was not spared from protest. Gaudioso M. Tiong-

co, the loser in the election, filed an elec-tion protest against eventual winner Carmelo L. Porras who was proclaimed as mayor-elect by the Board of Canvass-ers on Nov. 21. In the records, Porras got 15,462 votes while Tiongco had 13,398.

Tiongco, though, was aggrieved with the canvass results. He filed a protest against the winner before the CFI of Davao, docketed as Case No. 79, claiming “that fraud, irregularities, terrorism and other illegal acts were committed in ap-proximately 200 precincts.” In response, Porras denied the allegation and filed a counter-claim for damages and attor-ney’s fees, aside from a counter-protest contending the commission of irregular-ities and anomalies in the appreciation of ballots in 41 city precincts.

Tiongco filed a P10,000 bond to cov-er expenses and costs related to his pro-test, while Porras filed a P2,000 bond for similar reason but to answer for ex-penditures related to his counter-pro-test. Eight teams of commissioners were appointed to facilitate the protest, each comprising three individuals—one rep-resenting Tiongco, the other for Porras, and the third for the court. But the re-count was delayed for two years due to numerous motions for postponements filed by Tiongco. Finally, on Apr. 15, 1958, the court issued an order to dis-miss both the protest and the count-er-protest with costs shouldered by the protesting party. Consequent to this, the court granted Porras to file a separate civil suit for damages against Tiongco.

Sobrecarey-Quimpo case

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han sa Dabaw at SM City Annex that the P6 billion investment comes from 11 projects that were hatched during the busi-ness-to-business match-ing sessions during the conference.

“These investment projects are not yet agree-ments. We would like to emphasize that. These are the investments niche, meaning to say, the pri-vate sector and compa-nies want to pursue these projects in Mindanao,” Montenegro said.

He said investors had a chance to talk with lo-cal partners in Mindanao to put up businesses in some areas, mostly in the agri-business industry. “This is an indication that Mindanao is really com-petitive in this sector,” he said.

“We will be closely monitoring and following up these developments, these 11 projects,” he added.

Montenegro said Min-danao is the exporter of top exportable agricul-tural products such as ba-nanas, pineapple, cacao, and coffee.

“That is why many of the investment discus-sions were focused under these areas,” he said.

Montenegro said the 11 projects are the fol-lowing:1) coffee planta-tions in Sultan Kudarat where they can generate substantial possible in-vestment value;2) establishment of IT Park in General Santos

City;3) corn processing plant in Banga, South Co-tabato;4) coconut process-ing plant in Davao del Sur;5) construction of oil depot and warehouses in the port of Parang, Ma-guindanao;6) oil palm projects in the General Santos City economic zone;7) oil palm projects in North Cotabato;8) oil palm projects in Davao City;9) oil palm planta-tions and processing in Davao del Norte;10) an oil palm nursery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon;11) coconut planta-tion in Lanao del Sur.

“These are just ini-tially indicated projects that went into a discus-sion during the business matching session. But there several projects that will continue to do with due diligence. They will visit specific locations,” Montenegro said.

“They just registered in the business matching session. However, when they saw that there are opportunities to expand or base here in Mindan-ao, they will continue to do that in the next few weeks,” he added.

Montenegro said the business-to-business matching is the import-ant indicator of success of last week’s event. He said it recorded 1,528 registered participants from the five countries that participated.

He said of the total par-ticipants, 1,184 are domestic delegates from Mindanao and Manila. Nearly 500 hun-dred delegates came from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

They also recorded par-ticipants from Canada, Ja-pan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Tai-wan, United States of Amer-ica, and the United Kingdom.

“With the event last week, it is already a demon-stration of Mindanao’s abili-ty to receive and host inter-national level or category of convention and conference,” Montenegro said.

He said they were ex-pecting only around 800 participants.

Montenegro said aside from business matching, they were able to gener-ate around P2.9 billion from the booked sales of the exhibitors.

“There were agree-ments already and ar-rangements to make res-ervations, to place orders for certain products and commodities,” he said.

Montenegro said the trade fair was not actual-ly a purchasing event but aimed to seek potential buyers of their products for a long-term.

“We did not expect during the trade fair ex-hibit that there products will be sold although sam-ple products were given. What we go after is the long-term,” he said.

Montenegro said that they also recorded around 255 exhibitors from the countries of the sub-regions of BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT.

Wireless area in Fr. Selga.Philippine Develop-

ment ForumAfter the All Saints’ and

All Souls’ Day, the PDF will take place on the following days.

Danao said the tight se-curity in the city will still be implemented with the same strictness during the BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT Conference.

“The venues are the

same and the areas of en-gagement are also the same,” Danao said.

Danao said as of the mo-ment they are still waiting for the Department of Fi-nance (DOF) on what secu-rity measures they are going to implement for the VIPs. As of press time, he said the meeting of the organizers is still ongoing.

“The Davao City Police Office will be ready to any

measures,” Danao said.Since the PDF will be

discussing the Bangsamoro development, members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are expected to arrive in the city.

Danao said the MILF members are not allowed to bring their firearms inside the city.

Around 400 participants will be joining the two-day event.

WEAVER. A Mandaya woman displays her weaving skills at the recently concluded My City, My SM, My Crafts: A celebration of traditional arts and modern Philippine

design at the atrium of SM Lanang Premier over the weekend. Lean Daval Jr.

Police said the two had a heated altercation with Ju-mamoy, ending with the old-er Veñegas shooting him.

Police said Alburo re-sponded and tried to disarm the father, but during the scuffle the gun went off and he was hit in the abdomen.

Alburo was still able to disarm and shoot the older Veñegas.

The younger Veñegas, however, pulled out a gun and shot the police officer in the chest.

Alburo was immediately rushed to San Pedro Hospi-

tal while the older Veñegas and Jumamoy were brought to SPMC.

Mark Ryan Veñegas was arrested by the authorities.

The older Veñegas is now facing a murder case while the younger one is facing frustrated murder case.

10th ID commander Major General Eduardo Año confirmed that the younger Veñegas is a member of the 25th IB and is under the custody of Sasa Police Sta-tion.

Año also gave assurance

that his unit will cooperate with the investigation of the police and will let them take full custody of the younger Veñegas.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) does not tolerate such thing and will make sure that proper punishment will be given to the respondent,” Año said.

“We will let the police handle the investigation be-cause it is now within the scope of legal matters and rest assured that the AFP will not meddle with the in-vestigation,” he added.

Rep. Rodolfo Biazon earlier did.

Eleven members of the AHCBBL, ten of them Min-danawons, attended the public hearing.

The Cotabato City hearing on Thursday, Oc-tober 23, was more prob-lematic. The initial an-nouncement, based on the Committee’s calendar, was that it would be from 8 a.m. to 5 p. m. Wednesday at the Notre Dame University gymnasium.

As it turned out, the NDU gym was not available so the venue was moved to the

gymnasium of the Co-tabato City State Polytechic College. But no public an-nouncement was appar-

ently made because there were less than 20 persons inside the CCSPC gym by 8 a.m. including the Com-mittee Secretariat and MindaNews which learned about the change of venue en route to NDU gym.

Sweat-drenched Committee members

arrived at 8:35 a.m. to find an audience of about 60 and plastic chairs good for at least 300 (bleachers not included; around 50 students were seated there). The hearing finally started at 9:22 a.m. when other participants arrived. But the chairs were moved closer to the stage.

One remarked it was a good thing it wasn’t rain-ing as the old G.I. sheet

roofing had holes. But for a gym much bigger than Upi’s but with fewer elec-tric fans, the heat was un-bearable.

Several participants were seen moving closer to the industrial fans to dry their sweat-drenched clothes.

The sound system was worse. Resource persons who spoke at the podium onstage using wireless microphone could not be understood until a note was passed to one of the congressmen that the au-dience could not under-stand what the speaker was saying. The speeches became clear only when a wired microphone was used instead.

But while the audience could now hear the speak-ers clearly, the Committee members at the Presiden-tial table onstage could not, prompting Biazon to go down and join the audi-ence again.

The resource persons were asked to use the mi-crophones on the floor. Committee members onstage could now hear them clearly but the audi-ence could not.

Aside from problems on venue and the sound system, the quality of the hearings was another problem. Carolyn O. Ar-guillas / MindaNews

No guidelines; En-glish as main language

Committee chair Rep. Ru-fus Rodriguez’ only guide-line was to give each speak-er five minutes. There was no strict timekeeping, however, so some spoke beyond the time limit.

No guideline was also issued on what language to use. When the hearing started at 2:15 p.m at the Upi School Gym on October 22, a teacher ap-proached the secretariat to request that Commit-tee members speak in Fil-ipino rather than English, so that majority of the people could understand. The proceedings were aired live by the town’s radio station, DXUP, so even those who could not make it to the gym could

listen to the radio instead.Unfortunately, while

many spoke in Filipino, English was still the dom-inant language used by both Committee members and resource persons. Po-sition papers submitted to the Secretariat were also mainly in English .

Also, most of the speakers delivered position papers like there was no draft law yet. Only Timuay San-tos Unsad of the Timuay Justice and Governance presented specific arti-cles and sections where they had concerns, and offered their “proposed alternative provisions.” Carolyn O. Arguillas / Min-daNews

Informed of the inci-dent, Mayor Joseph Evange-lista immediately sent the engineering department to look the situation and con-duct preventive measures to save the tombs.

The Binoligan cemetery hosts about 2,000 dead since its operation in 2008.

Residents around an-other public cemetery in the city, meanwhile, com-plained that the memorial park has been used by drug addicts as pot session area at night.

“We suspect they are do-ing illegal activities inside the cemetery, that is why we

are calling the police to take a look on this matter,” a resi-dent said of the cemetery lo-cated along Bautista Street.

This early, many Cath-olics have started cleaning and painting tombs of their loved ones in Kidapawan and elsewhere in the region. (PNA)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 11EDGEDAVAO

CULTURE & ARTSPortrait of an American novelistText and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

IF you are an American who graduated from West Point, spent six years as an

Army officer in Europe and Asia, and stayed in the Philip-pines for several years, what is the best thing you can do?

Write a novel. That was what exactly

Thomas “Tom” Anthony did. For three years, he lived in Mindanao where he had close contact with military and po-litical leaders of the highest stature. His personal observa-tion of the struggle that con-tinues to this day became the basis for this novel, Rebels of Mindanao.

The synopsis of the story, according to the press release, goes this way: “Haunted by the failure of his last mission and the lost lives of his team, Thomas Thornton had hoped to escape his former life as an undercover operative, seeking the calm beauty of tropical Mindanao. When two West Point friends, now high rank-ing officials in the government and military, ask him to run one last clandestine opera-tion, he finds himself in the fray once again. Thornton re-cruits a hunter-killer team of Manobo tribesmen – and the tough but beautiful Elaiza – to thwart the insurgency. The mission: eliminate the Turk carrying millions in cash into Mindanao to finance an Islam-ic revolution. The deal: make the Turk and the cash disap-pear, no questions asked.”

The novel was not only a bestseller; it also earned for him the Book of the Year Award from New York’s For-ward magazine. But what most people didn’t know that it was rejected several times – just like most neophyte novel-ists experienced.

“I wrote it while living in Mindanao from 2003 to 2005,” he recalled. “(When I submitted my first novel), publishers rejected it.” It was not because the novel was not engrossing; the reason: “They had never heard of Mindan-ao,” he said.

Fortunately, Mark Victor Hansen, author of the Chick-en Soup series and a person-al acquaintance in Califor-nia, introduced Tom to Eric Kampman of Beaufort Books in New York. Kampman liked the novel after reading it so he decided to publish it.

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation

and CommunicationsLAND TRANSPORTATION

FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARDRegional Office No. XI

Davao city

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate an AIRCONDITIONED UV EXPRESS Service

RONALD MICHAEL G. TALOSIG, Case No.2009-XI-00106 Petitioner

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

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDI-TIONED UV EXPRESS service on the route: DAVAO CITY-MIDSAY-AP (COTABATO) AND VICE VER-SA with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate has expired last August 6, 2014. In the peti-tion filed on October 15,2014, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said certif-icate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that

this petition will be heard by this Board on NOVEMBER 10,2014 at 10:10 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition sup-ported by documentary evidence on or before the above date fur-nishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

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

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Re-gional Director, this 15th day of October 2014 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZChief Transportation Development Officer

Although Beaufort Books has the copyright being the publisher of the novel, Tom says he has the right to print it in the Philippines. He will do it in conjunction with the movie. “I think Rebels of Mindanao is a better movie than book,” he points out, adding that he al-ready has the screenplay. “We plan to make the movie next year – in Mindanao!”

Another novel Tom has written is Sabine, and it is set in Davao City where he is currently living. “I am a writ-er and I write. I write what I see and feel,” he replies when asked what inspired him to write the novel.

While driving back and forth from Dumoy, a part of Toril district, to downtown every day, Tom wrote down what he saw. One of those that caught his attention was the MacArthur Highway in Mati-na.

“General (Douglas) MacArthur was a personal boyhood hero and inspired me to go to West Point,” he admits. “I found it ironic that I now live along a highway named after him. I began to wonder how he would feel if he drove along this highway, today, and I started to write a report called ‘MacArthur Highway.’”

It was not a novel, but just a location. So Tom created fictional characters: Sabine (from which the title of the novel was taken), a lost waif who wanders in from the boondocks; Leopatro, a cock-fighter who cuts off Sabine’s ears when she refuses to do what he asks; Manuelo, Leopa-tro’s gay assistant; Richard, an American schoolteacher who runs into Sabine while driving along MacArthur Highway, his first day in town; Adriana, an honorable whore who res-cues Sabine; Juanito an ex-cop who rapes Adriana; Hans, the owner of the Dutch Bar; Phil-ip, a married missionary who is uncertain of his sexuality; and the Kristo, the ruler of the cockfight gallera who believes he was cheated by Leopatro.

On why he has chosen Davao City as the setting of Sabine, which was made into a movie recently, he answers: “I think it is interesting to see a place you know through the eyes of a foreigner, it makes one see it differently.”

Well, Tom sees things dif-ferently. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from West Point, a Master in Business Administration from the University of Akron, and a doctoral work at the Univer-sity of Vienna in Austria. He studied screenwriting at the University of California.

Currently, he has written three more movie screen-plays: Warsaw Triple Cross, Mindanao, and The Twelfth Angel. Another in the making is Field Rep, sort of “Death of a Salesman” updated.

Yes, he loves to write scripts. When asked if he was a scriptwriter from the past, he replies: “I think it is import-ant to be original and egotisti-

cal, so only myself, but I wish I had the skill to take Chris-topher Koch’s story of The Year of Living Dangerously, the script of Indochine, crush them together, set the scene today in Mindanao and have Quentin Tarantino’s courage.”

Tom, indeed, has gone a long, long way. He started writing when he was about six years old – and he never stopped since then. “I wrote to convince other people of my ideas and to achieve some-thing,” he says. “I wrote to my congressman to appoint me to West Point and later to Fires-tone to get a job, to customers to sell something… I just write.”

But now that he is older, Tom believes he already has something to say. “I think a writer has to have experienced pain, joy, desolation, elation, and other emotions over time before he can write anything interesting,” he says.

“Be careful! You could be a character in my next story!” Tom jokes when I asked him where he gets his ideas when writing. “I make notes wherev-er I am. I also read novels and watch movies. There are only so many stories to be told, but infinite ways of telling them.”

Although he loves to read, he says not one but many au-thors influence his method of writing. “However, I have tried to define my own style,” he explains. He cites the case of Sabine, where he changes the so-called point of view in

chapters: from telling the story in the first person to that of the narrator, and then snap back again to the other. “I hope it helps the reader see perspec-tive; but it might be seen as confusing,” he says.

According to him, he has five favorite books of all time – and they were written by his most favorite authors, too. These are Chesapeake by James Michener, The World According to Garp by John Ir-ving, The Executioner’s Song by Normal Mailer, The Un-bearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and Fountain-head by Ann Rand.

Tom gets up early and writes every day from about 5 AM until breakfast. He takes a break, then, writes some more and so by lunch, he has the rest of the day free. “Inspired or not, I pick up a pencil and force it to move around the page,” he informs. “When it evolves into a sentence or two I start to peck around on my computer.”

Unlike other writers, Tom doesn’t experience the so-called ‘writer’s block.’ “I make myself write every day,” he says. “I do not worry about whether it is good or not. Then when I cannot think of any-thing to write, I edit!”

If you ask why Tom now lives in Davao City, it’s because he is married to a Filipina, Mai-lyn, who hails from Agusan.

“In the 90’s, I was working for an American corporation licensing new technology to

major electronics manufac-turers in Asia,” he recalls. “She was working in Singapore and I met her there. We cor-responded through snail mail: hard copy and hand written. Those were the days before the internet.”

Mailyn had been in Sin-gapore for three years and when they picked a wedding date, Tom encouraged her they would tie the nuptial knot in the Philippines in order for her to spend some time with her family before they would move to California. “We were married in Manila but after, we spend most of the time in Davao,” he says.

“The best thing that ever happened to me,” he replies when asked what it is to have a Filipina as lifetime partner. “We have been married 16 years but we joke that we have spent more time together than most couples married for 48 years – because we spend 24 hours a day together. We are partners in everything, and that takes all day, every day.”

Tom says he has friends in Manila and all over the world. “We visit and travel but return here (in Davao City),” he says. “My American friends seem a little bit envious and wish they could trade places with me.”

But one this is sure: he will keep on writing. His advice to follow his footsteps: “Pick up a pencil, start pushing it across a piece of paper, and do not stop.”

Rebels of Mindanao will soon be a Hollywood movie

Kadayawan featured in Rebels of Mindanao

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 201412 CLASSIFIED

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INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

EDGEDAVAOTRAVEL

THE PHILIPPINES is a magical place where the sun kisses thousands of is-lands hosting an even larger number of coves, inlets and beaches that are

just waiting to be explored ad discovered. Even just on Mindanao and its surrounding islands, there is a multitude of idyllic spots where one can just get away from the hum of urban living.

Blue skies and pink sandZamboanga’s magical Greater Sta. Cruz Island

A local at the Sama Bangingi Village shows how he mends his pokot bahala, a net used for catching lobsters.

Greater Sta. Cruz Island’s powder-fine, pink-hued sand.A small chunk of the reed pipe organ coral.

DoT assistant secretary Arturo Boncato together with regional directors Ma. June Bugante of Region IX and Leticia Tan of CARAGA.

Clockwise from top left: Grilled squid, crablets, Panganan, and Locot-locot.

Merely four kilometres from mainland Zambo-anga City is Greater Sta. Cruz Island which togeth-er with the nearby Little Sta. Cruz Island form the Great and Little Sta. Cruz Islands Protected Land-scape & Seascape, a pro-tected area with a total area of 1,887 hectares. On arrival to the island, I knew I was about to ex-perience something magi-cal because from afar, it is undeniable that the beach of Greater Sta. Cruz island has a pinkish hue. The wa-ter around the island was crystal clear and the tran-sitioning hues of trees to the sand to the water was a breathtaking sight which truly deserves a “WOW” on my memory. On closer inspection, I saw that the powdery fine sand was filled with bits and pieces of red and pink particles, which I later found out from our guide, were from the red reed pipe organ coral that can be found around the area. Accommodations on the island were simple yet were adequate for a day trip thanks to low envi-

ronment impact cottages and dining halls that were constructed by the City Government of Zambo-anga. For dining, one can bring their own food or buy crabs and squid from the locals who will also cook and serve it to you. Trinkets, pearls, and souvenirs can be pur-chased at a small bazaar

composed of stalls set-up by the local Sama Ban-gingi Tribe who are the only group of individuals allowed to live on the is-land and who are partici-pants in a Department of Tourism’s community-based cultural village de-velopment program. To get to Greater Sta. Cruz Island, one can reg-

ister with the Zamboanga City Tourism Office at Paseo del Mar where there are boats you can charter going to and coming back from the island. Follow me @kenneth-kingong on Instagram or on Twitter for more travel stories, foodie finds, and happenings, in, around, and beyond Durianburg.

AIRASIA ZEST, the Filipino Low Cost Carrier that flies hand in hand with AirAsia voted the World’s Best Low Cost Carrier for six straight years by Skytrax World Air-line Awards from 2009 to 2014, recently launched its newest destinations from Mactan Cebu International Airport to Cagayan De Oro and Davao, two key cities in Mindanao. In con-j u n c t i o n with the r e i n t r o -d u c t i o n of these r o u t e s , A i r A s i a Zest is of-fering pro-m o t i o n a l seats with all-in-fares from as low as Php 353.92, one-way. Booking period is now until Novem-ber 2, 2014, for the travel period from December 12, 2014 to October 24, 2015. Booking is available online at www.airasia.com. Booking is also available on AirAsia’s mobile apps through iPhone, Android devices, Blackberry10 and Windows Platform. Search AirAsia on the respective stores to download and start booking, or visit AirAsia’s mobile site at mobile.airasia.com. AirAsia Zest CEO Joy Cañeba said, “AirAsia is commit-ted in connecting communities in the Philippines, in the region and beyond and with our newest routes be-tween Cebu and Mindanao, we would like to provide much-needed connections and tap into under-served markets, grow it, as there is definitely great tourism and business potentials between these awesome cit-ies. Let’s paint these cities red and make traveling more affordable, fun, convenient, reliable and on time.” Aside from Cebu – Davao and Cebu – CDO, AirAsia Zest also services flights from Cebu to Manila, Incheon/Seoul, South Korea and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, oper-ated by highly trained and well-experienced flight and cabin crew using Airbus A320s. “This is just the beginning of our new plans for Cebu as we are set to expand our presence here with new in-ternational direct flights and offer fly-thru products to connect all Filipinos to the rest of AirAsia Group’s mas-sive network covering over 88 destinations stretching across China, India and Australia,” Cañeba added.

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT STYLE

AirAsia Zest re-connects Cebu to Mindanao

FREEWAY is honored to pay trib-ute to a very versatile artist who has earned him recognition here and abroad. He was conferred the title of National Artist in 4 disciplines,  for Visual Arts, Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media in 2009. Freeway’s  10    piece fashion collection trib-ute is composed shift dresses, comfortable ca-sual tops, shirts and slinky pieces beautifully adorned with Alcuaz’s masterpieces such as “Man with Still Life” and “Duet in Brown and White” to name a few! Perfect for the holiday season, the collection did not fail to serve you with rich colored print dresses and tops that can be worn from day to night affairs, complete with tote bags for your functional trips!  The collec-tion uses comfortable material such as satinized twills and poplins for the casual work wear to stretch georgettes and knits for the weekend get-up. Each item will have a National Artist gift packaging and a bio-tag so that one can learn more about the life and works of Alcuaz. A per-fect gift for anyone this Holiday season. Yes, you can finally sport a work of Alcuaz adding up to his vast exposure in 20 museums and major cultural institutions in the world to-day! Freeway located in the ground floor of Abree-za Mall.

TGI FRIDAYS INTRODUCES ALL-NEW TASTE OF AMERICA DISHES. Take a bite of delicious Chicago Braised Pork Belly, succulent Southwest Shrimp Caesar Salad, Kansas Mashed Potato Cakes and Miami Cubano Chicken Stack. To make your dining extra special, wash it down with any of TGI Fridays’ new Mojito flavours, Chili Pineapple and Apple Cucumber.

Freeway features Federico Alcuaz

AWARD-WINNING bio-documentary show Tunay na Buhay unveils more ghost stories as it features Solenn Heus-saff in True Celebrity Ghost Stories this Tues-day on GMA7. Kapuso Network launched early October its newest horror fan-tasy series “Elemento.” And one of its episodes, which aired last Friday, featured actress Solenn Heusaff as the river god-dess Pandora. She is also part of the first bayanis-erye on primetime—Il-ustrado—where she will play the role of Nellie Boustead, a European woman who Rizal almost

marries. Aside from these TV projects, Solenn is also included in the remake of the movie “Tiyanak” which opens in theaters this month. But apparently, what many people don’t know about Solenn is that even in real life, she has these strange experiences. Ac-cording to her, she can sense spirits and creatures that are not of this world. This Tuesday, So-lenn reveals some of her frightening experiences in the continuation of True Celebrity Ghost Stories, the month-long Halloween special of Tu-nay na Buhay, 4:35PM on GMA7.

INdulge! A3ENTERTAINMENT

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014EDGEDAVAO

‘Forevermore’ to touch viewers’ hearts and minds

Solenn Heussaff’s ghost stories in ‘Tunay Na Buhay’

Kapamilya Stars throw back-to-back Masskara Festival treats for Bacolodnons

ABS-CBN and Star Creatives’ newest romantic drama se-ries “Forevermore,” starring this genera-tion’s Prince Charm-ing, Enrique Gil, and the leading lady to watch out for, Liza Soberano, will pre-miered last October 27 on the Primetime Bida block. Directed by Master Love Storyteller Cathy Garcia-Molina and Ted Boborol, “Forevermore” is set to shake up the

hearts and minds of pri-metime viewers with its unique tale about first love that blossomed between two different people -- the rebellious and irresponsible unico hijo of a hotel magnate, Xander (Enrique), and the feisty and hardworking Strawberry Jam Queen of La Trinidad, Benguet, Ag-nes (Liza). Xander and Agnes’ ex-traordinary relationship starts after an intoxicated Xander crash lands his parachute into a straw-

berry truck. To teach him a lesson, his parents made him pay for the damages he caused by making him work at the strawberry farm under the guidance of Agnes and other straw-berry farmers. “Forevermore” is pro-duced by Star Creatives, the same group that brought viewers the hit romantic drama series “Princess and I” and “Got To Believe.” Completing the cast of “Forevermore” are Sophia Andres, Yves Flores, Kit

Thompson, Zoren Legaz-pi, Lilet, Marissa Delgado, Joey Marquez, and Almira Muhlach. Feel the thrill of falling in love for the first time in “Forevermore” week-nights starting Monday on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida. For more updates about “Forevermore,” follow the show’s official social me-dia accounts at Facebook.com/ForevermoreTV, Twit-ter.com/StarCreativesTV and Instagram.com/ Star-CreativesTV.

ABS-CBN Regional joined the happiest festival in the Philip-pines as Kapamilya stars throw back-to-back Masskara Festival treats for over 10,000 Bacolodnons recently. Six thousand fans flocked to the Robinson’s Place Bacolod on Oc-tober 17 to witness the star-studded “Salamat Ka-pamilya” graced by “Pure Love” stars namely, Alex Gonzaga, Yen Santos, Jo-seph Marco, Arjo Atayde, Matt Evans, Yam Concep-cion and Anna Luna. The whole cast delighted the fans as they performed their special production numbers. The fun continued on October 18 at Gaisano City Grand Mall Bacolod as ABS-CBN’s “Sana Bukas Pa Ang Kahapon” stars

Maricar Reyes and Paulo Avelino’s sizzling perfor-mance drew a thousand smiles from the crowd. Adding color and rhythm to the celebration was the remarkable and enter-taining performance of

Enchong Dee, who sang songs from his self-titled album under Star Records. “Salamat Kapamilya” and “Kapamilya Karavan” events were organized by the ABS-CBN Regional. ABS-CBN Regional en-

deavors to highlight the best of the regions by promoting local culture, upholding responsible journalism, and inspiring Filipinos all over the coun-try with its network of 33 TV stations and 2 affiliates.

R 16

R 13 /* R13

PG131:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

THE JUDGE

Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall

PG 1312:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

FURY

James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan

12:30 | 3:00 LFS / * 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

THE TRIAL/ *DRACULA UNTOLD

John Lloyd Cruz, Jessy Mendiola/

*Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper

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

Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman

THE BEST OF ME

A4 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014EDGEDAVAOEVENT

A festival of Davao’s identity through crafts

SM Lanang Premier launched its ‘My City, My SM, My Crafts,’ exhibit at the mall’s Atrium last October 23. The ex-hibit is a celebration of traditional arts

and modern Philippine design in the cities where SM malls have taken root. The latest iteration of the nation-wide series fea-tures world-class Dabawenyo companies and arti-sans such as Dati Coco Crafts, Great Gifts & Souve-nirs International Corp., Jun Artajo, Le’ Mar Arts and Crafts, Shiela Damalerio, and Tadeco Home with a special highlight on the traditional arts and crafts of the Mandaya tribe of Caraga, Davao Ori-ental. The event is a joint project of SM, the Depart-ment of Trade and Industry (DTI) Bureau of Do-mestic Trade and the Philippine Star, with the support from the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Na-tional Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) with additional support from Park Inn by Radisson Davao. The My City, My SM, My Crafts exhibit at SM Lanang Premier will run until October 29, 2014.

By Kenneth Irving Ong

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 13ZION ACCUPRINT

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 201414 EDGEDAVAOSPORTSNBA PREVIEW: EASTERN

CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISIONBOSTON CELT-

ICSFounded: 1946NBA titles: 17 (2008,

1986, 1984, 1981, 1976, 1974, 1969,

1968, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1957)

Head coach: Brad Ste-vens

2013-14 record: 25-57 (Proud Celtics finish 12th in conference after a run of six seasons in play-offs)

Sorry Celtics fans, no playoff for Boston -- again. That’s hard to accept for a franchise with 17 titles, but the talent is not there.

Aging point guard Ra-jon Rondo is again side-lined, this time with a bro-ken left hand. That likely leaves an early starting five of Avery Bradley and rookie Marcus Smart at the guards with Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk up front. Sullinger and Olynyk have promise, but there is not a 20-point scorer in the bunch.

- -BROOKLYN NETS

Founded: 1967NBA titles: NoneHead coach: Lionel

Hollins2013-14 record: 44-

38 (Returned to playoffs but after taking Toronto in seven games, fall to Miami in five in second round)

It all revolves around whether center Brook Lopez can stay healthy. The former All-Star has had only one injury-free season in the past three and the Nets need him at his best to advance in the playoffs.

Brooklyn basical-ly stuck with the same group that made the postseason a year ago, bringing in Lionel Hol-lins to coach them after Jason Kidd went Milwau-

kee. Better defense and improved early play are musts and another big year from leading scorer Joe Johnson is needed. Point guard Deron Wil-liams, who underwent ankle surgery, is begin-ning to show his age (30) and age is definitely a deterrent for 38-year-old year power forward Kev-in Garnett.

- -NEW YORK KNICKS

Founded: 1946NBA titles: 2 (1973,

1970)Head coach: Derek

Fisher2013-14 record: 37-

45 (Missed playoffs by a game)

Defense, or the lack of it, will be key after the Knicks traded their best defender, Tyson Chan-dler. The offense, with former scoring champi-on Carmelo Anthony, has always been there. Stop-ping other teams has not.

New coach Derek Fisher, with Phil Jackson now the team president, has brought the triangle offense back to the NBA and has solid point guard Jose Calderon. Another member of that trade, Samuel Dalembert, is not an especially strong cen-ter putting more pres-sure on Andrea Bargnani up front.

- -PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Founded: 1946NBA titles: 3 (1983,

1967, 1955)Head coach: Brett

Brown2013-14 record: 19-

63 (The record speaks for itself. The 76ers were terrible)

Not a lot of positives for the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers even traded away leading scorer Thaddeus Young as they look to the future.

First of a series

1. Defending champions San Antonio open their title defense hosting

their Southwest Division ri-vals Dallas on Tuesday, one of three games on the open-ing-night slate

2. The season has a total of 1,230-game regular-sea-son games:

3. November 12: Hous-ton v Minnesota in Mexico City

4. Christmas Day: LeB-ron James and Cleveland Cavaliers visit Miami, where James won two titles in four finals appearances in four years with the Heat

5. January 15: New York Knicks v Milwaukee Bucks at London

6. February 6 and March 31: NBA finals rematches be-tween Spurs and Heat

7. February 15, All-Star Game mid-season exhibition at Madison Square Garden

8. Regular season ends April 15, playoffs begin three days later

9. Milestone watch: With 31,700 career points, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant needs 593 to overtake NBA legend Michael Jordan (32,292) for third place on the all-time scoring list.

THE Sacramento Kings came from 13 points down late to beat the

Los Angeles Lakers by a nose, 93-92, on Friday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at the famous strip in Las Vegas.

After Jeremy Lin nailed a triple with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers appeared to be in complete control. But the Kings refused to give up and mounted a ral-ly that led to Ray McCallum’s tip-in with a scant 0.1 ticks remaining in the contest.

Sacramento closed the preseason with a 2-5 record. The Lakers wrapped up exhi-bition play at 3-5.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 21 points and

10 rebounds while Ramon Sessions had 13 and eight assists. Derrick Williams fin-ished with 13 points while Reggie Evans pulled down 16 boards.

Jeremy Lin was the top man for the Lakers with 19 and seven assists. Ed Davis added 15 points and 13 re-bounds and Julius Randle put up 12 and nine boards. Fil-Am rookie Jordan Clark-son contributed 11 for the Lakers, who made 37 of 80 shots, including seven of 15 from three-point land.

Kobe Bryant and Carlos Boozer did not suit up for Los Angeles.

Elsewhere in Chicago, James Harden exploded for

25 points and the Houston Rockets got the best of the reigning NBA champions San Antonio Spurs, 96-87, at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.

All-Star center Dwight Howard did not play due to a forearm laceration but Houston still had more than enough firepower to secure the home win Friday night.

Isaiah Canaan came off the bench with 18 points and seven rebounds and Terrence Jones provided a lift with 11 markers and 13 boards. Trevor Ariza, who replaced Chandler Parsons in the small forward slot, finished with 11 points and nine assists.

Marco Belinelli carried much of the Spurs offense with a team-high 19. Danny Green contributed 14 and Tim Duncan registered 11 and 10 boards.

But the Spurs played poorly overall. It’s something that didn’t sit will with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

“We look very poor. We looked like we’re not very interested. Sure, we look for our guys to kick it up a notch. We obviously don’t want them to kick it down a notch,” Popovich told report-ers after the game.

The Rockets finished the preseason with an excellent 5-2 won-lost record while the Spurs settled at 2-5.

A new generation fight-er and soon to be the Philippines’ next box-

ing gem keeps soaring high towards the top under ALA Promotions.

19 year old true-blue Boholano, Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo is rapidly making a name in the world of box-ing in his quest to be lined up with some of the great names in the industry in the near future.

Magsayo is one of the most promising prospects from the ALA Gym with great fighting skills that boxing fans should watch out for in the highly anticipated 28th series of Pinoy Pride.

THE ROOKIE. Stanley Pringle of Globalport (light) makes his move against Carlo Lastimosa of Barako Bull (dark) during the PBA Philippine Cup match

between Globalport and Barako Bull on Sunday. Nuki Sabio

FUTURE CHAMP. Mark Magsayo connects a homer to Hyuk-tak Joo.

9 reasons to watch 2014-15 NBA season:

Preseason: Lakers bow to Kings

Magsayo: Future boxing star

VOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

A CUT ABOVEBeermen are just too good right now

ANDY Murray again saved five match points against Tom-

my Robredo in a final when he fought back to win 3-6 7-6 (7) 7-6 (8) at the Valen-cia Open on Sunday and se-cure valuable points for his World Tour finals bid.

The grueling battle at the cathedral-like Agora arena, at three hours and 20 minutes the longest fi-nal of the year on the ATP World Tour, was a repeat of last month’s Shenzhen Open showpiece, when Murray fought off five match points against the Spaniard on the way to a 5-7 7-6 (9) 6-1 suc-cess.

A wildcard at the Valen-cia indoor hardcourt event, which he won in 2009, third seed Murray produced an erratic display against un-seeded Robredo but had just enough in the tank to claim a 31st career singles title.

After thumping a back-hand winner to seal victory, the Scot, who squandered a match point earlier in the third set, collapsed to the floor and barely had enough strength to get to the net to greet his equally exhausted opponent.

The win earned Mur-ray, playing his 20th match in five weeks having also won in Vienna this month, a further 200 points and lift-ed him to fifth in the race to secure a spot at the sea-son-ending eight-man Tour finals in London.

Along with Kei Nishi-kori, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, he will be looking to secure one of the four remaining berths at this week’s Paris Masters.

“I played well at the right moments,” Murray told reporters.

“I know it was an in-credible match,” added the 27-year-old. “The tennis at the end and in the second set was high level.”

After an intense first set with Robredo in the as-cendancy, Murray upped his game in the second be-fore failing to convert three break points on the Robredo serve that would have given him a 5-2 lead.

The Scot then played a woeful game to hand a break back and home favor-ite Robredo had two match points in the tiebreak that would have given him a 13th career title.

JUNE Mar Fajardo took full advantage of Pure-foods’ limited rotation

as he helped the San Miguel Beermen grab an 87-80 vic-tory, Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Fajardo was named the Best Player of the game with 22 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks, going 10 of 18 from the field in 38 minutes on the floor. The Beermen used a huge second quarter run to break the game wide open but the stubborn Hotshots refused to give up without a fight.

Facing as lead as high as 19 points in the third quarter, Purefoods made a run in the final period buoyed by their press. A Mark Barroca steal led to a three-point play from PJ Simon to cut San Miguel Beer’s lead down to four points at 80-76, with 3:02 left in the game.

This was the closest Pure-

foods got as Fajardo, Arwind Santos, and Chris Lutz closed the door on their comeback attempt.

Purefoods once again played sans Marc Pingris who is still resting after his stint with Gilas Pilipinas. They were without Ian Sangalang who suffered an ACL tear in their opening game. It didn’t stop there as Purefoods also played without James Yap. After scor-ing 16 points against Alaska, Yap sat out with a sore calf.

Ronald Tubid played well off the bench as he scored 16 points for the Beermen while Santos added 14 markers.

Yousif Taha and PJ Si-mon led the Hotshots with 14 points each. Mark Barroca scored 13 points while adding seven assists, four rebounds, and four steals.

After trailing by a point after the first quarter, the Beer-men exploded for 26 points in

the second quarter while lim-iting the Hotshots to only 11 points.

Santos stretched the Beer-men’s lead to 19 points at 56-37, three minutes into the third quarter but the efforts of Bar-roca and Justin Melton kept the Hotshots in the game.

With his good friend Pingis not in the game to help defend him, Fajardo had an easy time dealing with Purefoods front-court. He was also a beast on defense with six blocks and an even bigger number of altered shots.

Tubid and Santos were the next top scorers for Beermen but Sol Mercado’s solid point guard play was also crucial for the win.

Purefoods had a golden shot at inching closer as they were down by only five with less than two minutes left in the game. That point saw a mad scramble for the ball from

both ends. Simon looked like he had a open lane to the bas-ket but Santos erased the shot attempt with a monster block.

The wild action ended with Fajardo scoring down low to give the Beermen am 84-77 lead with 1:38 left to seal the win.

San Miguel Beer head coach Leo Austria: It’s a good win for us. Our team is on the right track. We’re planning to improve and improve. Our win today will boost our morale in the next few games.

The scores:SAN MIGUEL BEER 87 -

Fajardo 22, Tubid 16, Santos 14, Mercado 12, Lutz 9, Kram-er 5, Ross 4, Pascual 3, Lassiter 2, Maierhofer 0.

PUREFOODS 80 - Taha 14, Simon 14, Barroca 13, Devance 11, Melton 9, Maliksi 9, Reavis 8, Mallari 2, Allado 0.

Quarter scores: 21-22, 47-33, 66-57, 87-80.

THE lead-up to Sunday’s championship match at the WTA Finals

suggested Serena Williams would face a major challenge to beat Simona Halep, but then, the No. 1-ranked play-er has made a career out of performing at her best when it matters most.

She did it again in Sin-gapore, dispatching Halep 6-3, 6-0 just four days after a group-stage game between the pair in which the Roma-nian player dropped only two games and handed Wil-liams her heaviest defeat for 16 years.

Coming into the tourna-ment after having to with-draw from the China Open and Wuhan Open with ill-ness and a knee injury, and just a day after a grueling three-set classic against Car-oline Wozniacki, there was plenty of reasons to believe the 33-year-old could be vul-nerable.

The doubts, though, were quickly swept aside as Williams overpowered her opponent in an imperious performance.

She won 11 of the last 12 games in the match to join Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf as the only players to have won five titles in the season-ending champion-ships.

“I just started training, because I had such a bad knee in Beijing I didn’t know if I’d be able to play here, and now I have won the Bil-lie-Jean King trophy — I am so excited,” Williams said.

Williams changed her approach from the group-stage contest, attacking Halep’s second serve with fierce ground strokes, and regularly rushing the net to cut the points short and prevent her opponent from playing her preferred style.

“I had to play more Ser-ena-style tennis and just do what I do best,” Williams said.

“I was expecting a much better player than I was in the earlier round. Being ready for that really was able to help me out.”

Halep’s run in this tour-nament capped a remarkable rise, having gone from No. 64 in the rankings to No.4 in the course of 17 months, with a French Open final appear-ance along the way.

However, her relative lack of experience of big oc-casions compared to the 18-time Grand Slam champion proved telling.

“I was nervous before the match that I had to play this big final,” Halep said. “I couldn’t manage very well the situation.

FOUR AGAINST ONE. June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen shoots over four defenders from the Purefoods Star Hotshots in Sunday’s PBA Philip-

pine Cup match won by the Beermen. Nuki Sabio

Serena wins in Singapore

Murray takes Valencia title

16 EDGEDAVAOSports

FAMILIARITY FACTORVOL. 7 ISSUE 161 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

Davao bets rule 2nd BIMP-EAGA and IGT-GT Friendship Golf tourneyDAVAO’S Ronald “Inot”

Galicia and John Michael Abella used their course

familiarity to the hilt in ruling the 2nd BIMP-EAGA & IMT-GT Friendship Golf tournament held October 24 at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club.

Galicia gunned down four birdies at holes no. 1, 5, 14 and 17 to finish with 36 points and capture the over-all gross title. He won by the skin of his teeth though by merely a point over perennial winner Joel Yamyamin who came in with a 35 and settled for over-all gross runner-up.

Abella, a 27 handicapper, took the over-all net crown with 51 points and a 5-point victory against runner-up Ian Tan (46).

More than 150 golfers coming from more than five countries saw action including former President Fidel V. Ra-mos, who led the ceremonial tee-off together with former Presidential Assistant to Min-danao Jesus Dureza, Indones-sian Ambassador Johny Lu-mintang, former RPVGC gener-al manager Joe Marie Marfori and First District Congressman Karlo Nograles.

Businesswoman Alice Sui Kim came all the way from Brunei Darussalam to pocket the Ladies’ net title with 10 points. Gross champion was Liezel Kim with 9 points.

Bobby Wee shot 34 points and won by a countback over runner-up EJ Casintahan to cop the Class A gross title. Ludwig Van Ledesma was razor-sharp once more as he carded 42 points to bag the Class A net crown and a two-point win

over runner-up Jaime “Boy” Tan (40).

Program host Modesto “Ting” Castillo (31) and Jap-anese Shin Bokawashi (45) shared the top honors by bag-ging the Class B gross and net titles, respectively.

The runners-up were Ran-dy Arevalo (30) and Marlon Ta-banao (43).

In Class C, Neil Alegarbes (29) took the gross followed by Jake Ortega (26) while Joe Lafuente (45) got the net title with 45 followed by Addy Bri-ones (43).

Nograles took a break from congress and shot 43 points at the all-weather course to win the Class D net title. He beat vet-eran Lito Bario by three points.

Gross champion was Dr. Ed Guevarra (19), who edged out Elindo Lo (18).

Tournament director Re-inz Jordan Yamyamin thanked all the participants and guests for making the event as huge success.

Yamyamin awarded the prizes together with City Councilor Bernard Al-ag, pres-ident of the organizing JCI Davao, president-elect Lovel Zambrano and Brian Diosma, who represented Mindanao Development Authority chair Lualhati Antonino.

“Throught this golf event, we sealed the 2nd BIMP-EAGA & IMT-GT Business Conference held at the SM Lanang Pre-mier,” said Diosma.

The golf event was part of the 2nd BIMP-EAGA & IMT-GT Trade Fair and Business Lead-er’s Conference set Oct. 23-26 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier in Davao City.

WINNING PUTT. Ludwig Van Ledesma watches his putt roll to the cup during the 2nd BIMP-EAGA and IGT-GT Friendship Golf Tournament at the Rancho Palos Verdes. Ledesma won the Class A net title. Boy Lim

YOUNG WARRIOR. EJ Casintahan, who recently won the FTB Open title, added the Class A gross title to his collection. Boy Lim

STEADY. Boy Tan chips from the fringe en route to a runner-up finish in Class A net. Boy Lim

FINE FORM. Joel Yamyamin, who won overall gross runner-up, swings off the tee. Boy Lim