edge davao 8 issue 136

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

READY TO RUNLaviña hints at weekend for Rody’s declaration

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte may make his announce-

ment to run for president this weekend, sources close to the mayor told EDGE Davao.

“If he decides and de-clares, he could do so be-fore the start of the filing period starting on Monday or he could opt to file di-rectly next week. He is the game-changer everyone is waiting for,” Duterte’s spokesperson Peter Laviña said.

The period for the filing of certif-icates of candidacy ( C O C s ) before the Commis-sion on Elections (Comelec) is on Octo-ber 12 to 16.

L a v i ñ a , however, em-phasized that no one knows cat-egorically what the mayor’s final

By JON [email protected]

decision is except for Duterte himself.

“If he declares before the filing period, that (announce-ment) can be between now and Sunday,” he said.

Laviña also could not say where the an-n o u n c e m e n t would be

READY? Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to announce his presidential bid anytime this week, according to sources close to the mayor. Lean Daval Jr.

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

THE Special Investiga-tion Task Group (SITG) Oceanview is reviewing

close circuit television (CCTV) footage to verify if one of the arrested suspects pinpointed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte was present during the kidnapping of a Filipina and three foreigners in a resort in the Island Garden City of Sa-mal (IGACOS).

“We are checking the foot-age if he was really there and

we are keeping in touch with other witnesses for possible identification,” Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Superintendent Antonio Rive-ra said in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Media Briefing at The Ritz Ho-tel by Garden Oases.

Duterte had earlier said based on intelligence reports, Bandajar Adona alias Banon, who hails from Barangay Ma-tiao, Pantukan, Compostela Valley, was seen in the resort’s

CCTV footage taking the vic-tims out of the resort on Sep-tember 21.

Rivera said the SITG will check the CCTV footage to see if Adona was indeed one of the 11 armed men who took the victims Kjartan Sekkinstad, a Norweigian national and the operations manager of the resort, Canadians John Ridsel and Robert Hall, and Marithes Flor, live-in partner of Hall.

“If he (Adona) was there,

we can strengthen our case against him,” he added.

Rivera said the SITG is thankful to the mayor for shar-ing information.

“Nagapasalamat ta na naga-abot na sa atoa kay na-katabang na sa imbestigasyon nato (We are thankful that in-formation surfaced because it is helping a lot in our investiga-tion),” he said.

Rivera said Adona and an-

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has re-corded an increase in

its crime solution efficiency (CSE) rate in the third quarter this year.

Speaking in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps media briefing, DCPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace C. Driz said the city police got a CSE rate of 83.25 percent of the 3,493 total crimes, which is higher than the 52.076 per-cent of 7,850 crimes during the same period last year.

“The work of our police is continuous especially now in 2015 that we have em-

phasized our anti-criminality campaign in Davao City,” she said.

Driz said the 31-percent difference from last year’s CSE rate for the same period shows the hard work of DCPO in immediately solving crimes.

Driz said the CSE rate is broken down into non-index and index crimes.

The non-index crime solu-tion rose to 92 percent of the total 2,551 for this quarter, compared with 62.66 percent of the 5,200 crimes from last year’s rate during the same period.

Cops probe man’s rolein IGaCoS kidnappingBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. and FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

DCPO crime solutionefficiency rate rises

A MANHUNT operation still ongoing against the third of three peo-

ple who allegedly killed a police officer in Toril, Davao City on Monday.

In a press conference yesterday, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Chief inspec-tor Milgrace Driz said the police are hunting for against Romeo Cayo, who escaped during the hot pursuit opera-tion by Toril Police Station on Tuesday morning in which

his companions, brothers Nelson and Paulino Gadiane, were killed.

Police were about to ar-rest the three in Agton Street in Toril Poblacion at around 10:30 a.m. on October 6 but Nelson Gadiane drew his .38 caliber revolver, prompting the police to fire back and kill the two brothers.

The three were tagged as being behind the killing of Senior Police Officer (SPO)1

Manhunt still on for3rd man in cop slayBy FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

HALF MAST. Police operatives watch as the Philippine flag flies half-mast at Camp Leonor Domingo yesterday in honor of fallen Senior Police Officer 1 Vivencio Vertudazo, who was killed by Batang District Hall Gang members in Toril, Davao City on Monday night. Lean Daval Jr.

TANDEM? Supporters of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano have created posters like this for their possible team-up in the 2016 presidential election. Duterte had earlier said he is allowin Cayetano to use his name since they are friends. Photo from the Duterte-Cayetano Facebook page.

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 3NEWSEDGEDAVAO

CIRCUMSTANCES sur-rounding the death Tuesday of a lawyer in

Malaybalay City have remained unclear as police were yet to locate and get the statement of one of his two companions at the time of the incident.

Atty. Pepito Suello, a law-yer from Cebu who also had a residence at NHA Phase 3 Sub-division in Barangay Casisang here, died in what local police initially described as “acciden-tal shooting” inside his car at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

In an interview Wednes-day morning with dxDB-Ma-laybalay, city police director

Superintendent Henry Dampal explained they saw no indi-cations that he was shot from outside.

Suello said that at the time of the incident, Suello was driv-ing his car along with Atty. Al-vie Damasco and one Fernan-do Makalintal from his house in NHA Phase 3. Damasco and Suello belonged to the same law firm.

Dampal quoted Damasco as saying that about a hun-dred meters away from Suel-lo’s house he felt like sleep-ing when he heard gunshots and noticed that the car was

COUNCILOR Rachel Zo-zobrado-Nagayo is ask-ing the city government

to revisit the various stud-ies that have been done on Davao City’s traffic conges-tion in order to come up with solutions to the worsening traffic situation.

“Several studies have been made on the traffic sit-uation in the city and sever-al solutions have been eyed. These studies were con-ducted a long time ago and up to now, we are still emp-ty-handed, not knowing if we can expect a future like EDSA or if we will be able to thwart this challenge through proper planning,” Zozobra-do-Nagayo said.

She said a study by the Philippine Institute of De-velopment Studies (PIDS) showed that traffic can result in economic losses, among them the foregone wages of those who are caught in traf-fic most of the time.

“In fact, PIDS reported that the opportunity cost of passengers caught in traffic

amounts to P4.56 billion a year (nationwide),” she said.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) has said traffic congestion in the country amounted to losses of P2.4 billion daily in 2012.

“JICA said traffic will cost the Philippines up to P6 bil-lion a day by 2030 and such amount would continue to increase if an appropriate solution is not found,” she said.

She said among the var-ious factors that add up to the cost of traffic are value of time lost due to delay, fuel costs, vehicle operating costs, impact on health and greenhouse gas emissions.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said more cars on the road could also mean an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and consequently an in-crease in health costs.

“JICA also reported that greenhouse gas emissions are expected to increase to 5.72 million tons a year in

Councilor bats for trafficsolutions as early as nowSamal leaders want

RDR to run for mayor By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

Lawyer dies in ‘accidentalshooting’ inside own carBy H. MARCOS C. MORDENO

ABDUCTION REPORT. Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Superintendent Antonio Rivera says the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Oceanview will check closed circuit television (CCTV) footage to see if Bandajar Adona alias Banon was one of the 11 armed men who kidnapped a Filipina and three foreigners in a resort in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS). Rivera gave the updates in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Media Briefing at The Ritz Hotel by Garden Oases. Lean Daval Jr.

UPDATES. 10O1st Infantry Brigade commander Colonel Macairog Alberto gives reporters updates on the abduction of two soldiers by members of the New People’s Army (NPA). Alberto graced yesterday’s AFP-PNP Media Briefing at The Ritz Hotel by Garden Oases. Lean Daval Jr.

GETTING BETTER. Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace Driz says the crime solution efficiency rate on the third quarter of 2015 increased. Driz was a guest in the AFP-PNP Media Briefing at The Ritz Hotel by Garden Oases yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

FROM OLD TO NEW. Old and dilapidated electric posts are replaced with metal posts by the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) linemen along Km. 9 Sasa, Davao City as part of the continuing rehabilitation project of the company. Lean Daval Jr.

MEMBERS of the busi-ness community, po-litical ward leaders

and influential residents of the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) have rallied behind the movement to convince Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario to run for mayor of the island city in 2016.

Del Rosario, who’s had de-cades of experience as execu-tive of a Anflocor, Minanao’s biggest business conglom-erate, member of Congress, Cabinet secretary and local government unit (LGU) chief, is in his last term as provincial governor.

He has been a resident of Babak, one of the three dis-tricts of island city, where his family owns a rural bank, for years now.

Mario Reta, managing owner of Isla Reta Resort in Talikud Island, said the move-ment to draft del Rosario for city mayor had started as ear-

ly as last year, and is now gath-ering momentum as the dead-line for filing certificates of candidacy is fast approaching.

Reta, who is chairman of the Talikud Island Tourism Council, said he had seen del Rosario working up close to-gether with other private sec-tor representing civil society groups in various muli-sec-toral endeavors is impressed by Del Rosario’s integrity and clear visions not only for the province but for the Davao re-gion as well.

Ayuste, who manages Punta Del Sol Resort in Pena-plata and chairman of the Davao del Norte Provincial Tourism Council, said island residents who want del Ro-sario to be mayor “hunger for development and meaningful change.”

On the other hand, Pastor “Jun” Lozada Jr., an engineer who owns Mahan Beach Re-sort in Caliclic, Babak District,

and president of the IGaCoS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. and also leader of the Samal Mango Growers Association, said islanders are hoping “Gov. Dolfo” decides to take active part in the island’s actual governance so their dreams for the island would be realized.

“We are praying that Gov Dolfo would become the next mayor of IGaCoS; it will sim-plify the political scene here,” Lozada said.”At last, IGaCoS will have the right direction),” he said.

Lozada said that the is-landers are excited about Gov-ernor del Rosario’s plans for Samal but they fear that they will not be realized if the out-going governor will not be the city mayor.

Ayuste said that the politi-cal camp of Vice Mayor Al Da-vid T. Uy is waiting for the final decision of Governor del Ro-sario before the group makes

its own move.In a conversation with

businessmen and civic leaders in Davao City a few months back, Jimmy Uy, father of the vice mayor, said his family is willing to give way to del Ro-sario if the outgoing governor decides to run for mayor.

Jimmy said his family’s close political and business ties with the (Don Antonio O.) Floirendo family, his name-sake former Rep. Antonio “To-nyboy” Floirendo Jr. and Gov-ernor del Rosario date back to four decades ago, when his father, David, was mayor of Babak, one of the three mui-nicipalities then composing Samal before it was created into IGaCoS by a law proposed by Del Rosario in the House of Representatives and then senator Alberto Romulo in the Senate.

Uy said that his son Al David is still young and could wait for his own time.

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ECONOMY

THE ANTI-CORRUPTION group of Fr. Alberto “Pareng Bert” Alejo

is scheduled to meet with high-ranking officials of the Bureau of Customs on the fate of the P250-million huge x-ray machine which has been rendered useless for five years now after it was illegal-ly padlocked by a former cus-toms collector who was later dismissed from service.

Fr, Alejo, who heads the anti-corruption group “EHEM” said he will met

with Customs Commission-er Alberto Lina and Deputy Commissioner Jessie Dellosa sometime next week to dis-cuss how to expedite the re-sumption of the operation of the Designated Examination Area (DEA) inside the Aquar-ius Container Yard (ACY) in the vicinity of the Sasa Port Area in Davao City. The DEA houses the giant x-ray ma-chine intended to scan incom-ing containers to determine whether they are carrying smuggled/misdeclared or an-

ti-social cargoes such as fire-arms and illegal drugs.

The x-ray machine in the DEA had been responsible for increasing the import tax collections of the Davao Port Customs Office when it was still operating. It was also ef-fective in detecting smuggled goods.

Renewed interest in the DEA and the x-ray machie which had become a virtual white elephant when it was ordered reopened by Com-missioner Lina during his vis-

it sometime in August. The expensive machine

had not been in use for five years now after the DEA was illegally closed by a former customs collector who was dismissed by the Ombuds-man as a result.

Commissioner Lina is-sued the verbal order for its reopening to acting Davao Customs Collector Ricardo Butalid.

However, Butalid initiat-ed to conduct consultation with firms involved in the

import-export business, cus-toms brokers, civil society or-ganizations and other stake-holders.

Butalid’s recommenda-tion is now being awaited since his consultations have been completed almost two months ago.

The ACY (container yard) owned by businessman Ro-dolfo Reta was contracted by the Bureau of Customs in 2009 to house exclusively the designated examination area for 25 years.

The multi-million x-ray machine installed in the DEA is reportedly one of the more than two dozen x-ray ma-chines worth $2.5 million dol-lars each. The machines were part of a $75-million loan from China for installation in Davao and the rest of the country’s 10 biggest seaports. According to Senator Ralph Recto, chairman of the Senate finance sub-committee, the government had allotted an additional P298 million for

SEVERAL areas in Davao City experienced water interruption for more

than four hours following the tripping off of the National Grid Corporation of the Phil-ippines’ (NGCP) Davao-Digos 69kV line at 07:45 p.m. Tues-day night.

This has caused service disruptions to areas served by Davao Light’s Puan and Du-moy substations.

The Davao City Water Dis-trict (DCWD), in its Facebook

page posted that affected ar-eas include the entire areas served by Dumoy, Toril and Lubogan water supply syste-ma, and immediate environs Toril, Puan, Ulas, Talomo, Bangkal, Matina, Diversion Road, downtown area, Obre-ro, Marfori, El Rio, Bacaca, Circumferential Road, Baja-da, Lanang, Agdao, Sasa, Bu-hangin and areas served by the Dumoy Water Supply Sys-tem in Panacan.

“The water interruption

lasted up to 11:45,” DCWD spokesperson Bernado Deli-ma Jr. told EDGE Davao yes-terday.

“During that period, DCWD’s 36 wells in Dumoy and Toril were not operation-al as well,” Delima said.

He said although “water operation resumed at 12 mid-night, far areas such as Ma-may, Lanang, Pampanga, and Sasa are still experiencing low water pressure to no water.

Delima said full recov-

ery is expected to resume Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Davao Light Power Co. (DLPC) assistant vice president for reputation enhancement Rossano C. Luga said the power interruption, which started at 7:32 p.m., has affected customers from Talo-mo Bridge up to the entire ar-eas of Puan, Dumoy and Toril Proper.

“Under a heavy downpour with lightning and thunder,

Alejo, BOC brass to meet on X-ray

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

PEARL Farm Beach Resort is planning to build a convention

facility which could accom-modate about 300 people.

Resort general manager Josu Mikel Villaverde said the facility will be designed by renowned architectural firm Manosa and Associ-ates.

The convention center can be divided for smaller functions. At present the resort has no indoor facility of its kind, according to Vil-laverde.

The convention center is part of a P200 to P300 million development plan of the resort which is located in Barangay Kaputian in the Island Garden City of Samal.

Aside from the conven-tion center, the resort will be building more rooms, renovation of existing ones, expansion of the kitchen, a new floating restaurant and brand-new trimarans to transport guests from the Davao City mainland.

Villaverde said currently the Samal Houses are un-dergoing renovation and is 70% completed. The Samal

Houses, which are mod-eled after tilt shelters of the sea-faring Samal tribes is a hit among foreign guests as they provide unobstructed view of the sea.

Also on the drawing board is a Badjao Floating Restaurant which offers grilled seafood specialties.

Villaverde said that he remains bullish about the business despite the recent kidnapping incident in Hol-iday Oceanview Resort in Barangay Camudmud in Sa-mal where gunmen stormed the resort’s marina and ab-ducted 3 foreigners and one Filipina.

The resort manager said they had six to seven cancel-lations after the incident.

“There were more can-cellations because of the typhoon in Manila than be-cause of the kidnapping in-cident.” Villaverde said.

He added that many of the resort’s guests are for-eigners. The resort current-ly has a 40 to 50% occupan-cy rate and they are expect-ing it to grow with the end of the lean season. (PIA/RG Alama)

Samal resort eyes convention facility

Win a Suzuki Vitara at SM City Davao 3 Day SaleTHE grandest sale event

in the south returns as SM City Davao opens its

doors for its 3 Day Sale on Oc-tober 16, 17 and 18. Up to 70% discount on great selections and a number of shopping re-wards await shoppers on the 3 Day Sale.

Get a chance to drive home a brand new Suzuki Grand Vi-tara with every P 1,000 worth of official receipt from any mall tenant on Friday. Double your chances of winning for pur-chases made from Saturday to Sunday. Simply present proofs of purchase at the redemption

booths located at the Ground Floor of the Main Mall, fill out the raffle coupons and drop the coupons at the designated drop boxes. Raffle draw will be on Sunday at 9:30 PM.

Enjoy extended shopping hours up to 12 MN on Friday and Saturday, and until 10 PM on Sunday. At 9AM to 12NN on Friday, SM Advantage, Prestige and BDO Rewards cardhold-ers can enjoy up to additional 10% markdown on all items from SM affiliate stores during the SMAC Sale.

Get P500 worth of SM Gift Certificates for every mini-

mum single receipt purchase worth P5,000 during the Satur-day and Sunday Specials from 11AM – 3PM!

The fun continues all day on 3 Day Sale with the Red Light Sale. Watch out for the red light and get freebies or additional discounts from fea-tured shops. Featured tenants of the hour will be announced through the mall’s Facebook Page.

Gear up for an awesome shopping weekend experience! Head to SM City Davao’s 3 Day Sale on October 16, 17 and 18.

For inquiries, call 297.6998

local 126. Like SM City Davao on Facebook or follow @SM-CityDavao on Twitter and @SMDavao on Instagram for event and promo updates.

Water interruption hits Davao areasPICKINGUP. Sales of tuna in Davao City’s public markets are starting to pick up again after being affected by the controversy of tuna laced with pig’s blood last month. Lean Daval Jr.

Reopening of unused Customs facility ordered

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

For the love of chocolateTEXT and PHOTOS By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

When life throws you lemons, make some pie.

Us, we change the game.The only thing constant in this world is change.

That said, EDGE Davao is consistently pushing itself to ride the winds of change. With this young organization’s battlecry “Change the game”, we are again blaz-

ing the trail amidst the autobahn speeds of developing technology by going to the social media platform to advance our coverage.

Two weeks ago, we posted the “Crying Lady” photo on our Facebook page and it generated nearly 200,000 views in 24 hours. On Monday, as we took to the social media our coverage on the much-anticipated “Announcement II” of Mayor Rodri-go Duterte, a series of posts reached over 100,000 in a matter of minutes leading up to the press conference. In sum, over 200,000 were reached in those hours of “Announcement II” where Mayor Duterte reiterated he is not running for Presi-

dent and is considering reelection for Mayor if his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio decide not to run.

The numbers speak for the reach of this coverage from our print copy to our on-line content and we intend to intensify our push towards the optimization of our

news reach in the social media platform where the battle has shifted.

These days, most news organizations are taking their content to the social media which has proven to be the most accessible vehicle for news content.

Let’s face it, the game has shifted.

If one has to be in the thick of the fight, one’s presence in this platform would spell the difference. This is where the real demographics are measurable and

tangible, not to mention relevant and not limited to a few respondents only of a particular segment.

It’s a no-brainer. Hundred thousand views can’t be wrong.

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOBlazing the trail in innovative journalism.

EDGE DAVAO EDITORIAL, SEPT. 23, 2015

5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 20156 THE ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

THE Regional Develop-ment Council (RDC) 11 endorsed the inputs of

El Niño Task Force Davao Re-gion, including the P95-mil-lion El Niño Mitigation Plan of the Department of Agricul-ture (DA) 11 to the Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Niño (RAIN) during a meet-ing last September 22.

“RAIN has already en-dorsed the inputs of the task force to the Office of the Pres-ident, National Economic

and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),” DA 11 regional di-rector Remelyn Recoter told EDGE Davao yesterday.

Recoter earlier said that programs under the DA 11 mitigation plan covers ef-fective water management, provision of open-source pumps, small farm reservoirs and spring development, cloud seeding, distribution of seeds/planting materials,

and conduct of IEC, among others.

Aside from the mitiga-tion plan of DA 11, the RDC 11 also endorsed the inputs provided by the local gov-ernments of Davao City and Davao del Norte also focused on interventions for irriga-tion in affected areas and countermeasures to lessen the impact of the expected dry spell to ensure that the unique concerns of the prov-inces are considered, the El

Niño Task Force Secretariat requested action plans of local government units and regional line agencies to mit-igate El Niño impact.

Meanwhile, a statement from the NEDA said “RAIN is the proposed national road-map to address the impact of El Niño, particularly on food security, energy security, health and public safety.”

The roadmap was crafted by the Cabinet-level El Niño Task Force which is headed

by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan, with members coming from the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Na-tional Irrigation Administra-tion (NIA), Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricul-tural Modernization (OPAF-SAM).

Other key action made by RDC during its 3rd quarter

meeting was the approval of the Annual Investment Pro-gram (AIP) Guidelines for CY 2017. The Council also decided to convene its Execu-tive Committee in October to discuss important concerns regarding the Sasa Port Mod-ernization Project.

The Council passed a to-tal of thirty (30) resolutions, covering various regional development matters, as well as some organizational con-cerns. (CRC/ with PR)

RDC endorses roadmap for El Niñ[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

THE Social Securi-ty System (SSS) named the Philip-

pine National Bank (PNB) as one of this year’s recip-ients of the SSS Balikat ng Bayan Special Citation as an SSS paying commercial bank during the awarding ceremonies held last Sep-

tember 18 at the Ramon Magsaysay Hall of the SSS main office in Diliman, Quezon City.

PNB was lauded for its consistent delivery of services to a huge number of SSS pensioners and em-ployers, as well as for its wide network of branches

that disburse SSS benefits.In 2007, PNB was el-

evated to the SSS Balikat ng Bayan Hall of Fame after winning as Best Paying Commercial Bank for five straight years. Over 650,000 pension-ers, about one-third of the total number of SSS

pensioners, receive their SSS pensions through their PNB accounts every month.

As of 2014, PNB has 656 branches and 849 au-tomated teller machines all over the country, as well as 77 branches and offices overseas.

SSS cites PNB for consistent performance

RECOGNTION. SSS President and chief executive officer Emilio de Quiros Jr. (second from right) and Social Security Commission chair Juan Santos (second from left) present the SSS Special Citation to PNB representatives, including chairperson Florencia Tarriela (third from left), executive vice president

Jovencio Hernandez (third from right) and senior vice president (SVP) Elisa Cua (center). Also in photo were SSS SVP for Accounts Management Group and Balikat ng Bayan Awards Committee chairperson Judy Frances See (left) and SSS SVP for National Capital Region Operations Group Jose Bautista (right).

SOCIEDAD Puerto Indus-trial de Aguadulce S.A. (SPIA), a unit of Interna-

tional Container Terminal Ser-vices, Inc. (ICTSI) in Colombia, recently received four super post Panamax quay cranes (QC) and five rubber-tired gan-tries (RTG) as it enters the final stage of preparation for the op-erational launch in 2016 of the Aguadulce Multi-User Contain-er Terminal (AMCT) at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia.

Manufactured by Shang-hai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (ZPMC), the QCs have an individual lifting capacity of 60 tons, and feature twin lift spreaders. They can reach

up to 65 meters into the water and perform up to 40 moves per hour. With a maximum lift height of 46 meters, the QCs are capable of servicing 18,000-TEU Triple E class ves-sels.

The RTGs, on the other hand, feature single spreader lifts and a 41-ton capacity. Es-timated to cost around USD50 million, the equipment pur-chase is part of ICTSI’s USD545 million total investment in the Port of Buenaventura.

Development of the AMCT is divided into three phases. The first phase, which is slat-ed for completion by April next year, will yield an annual

capacity of around 600,000 TEUs. First phase develop-ment includes a 600-meter berth length with a 14.5-me-ter controlling depth, an 11-hectare container yard, a 250-meter coal bulk dock, con-veyor belt-equipped silos and a 21-kilometer access road leading to the terminal. It also includes the construction of warehouses and inspection ar-eas, as well as the deployment of automation and other state-of-the-art port technologies.

In July 2007, ICTSI won the 30-year concession for the construction and operation of a container terminal and grains and coal-handling fa-

cility at the Port of Buenaven-tura. ICTSI acquired stakes in two Panamanian companies to gain effective control of SPIA, which owns 240 hectares of land in the Aguadulce Peninsu-la and its surroundings.

In 2013, ICTSI and PSA International Pte. Ltd of Sin-gapore entered into an agree-ment to jointly develop and operate the container termi-nal and its ancillary facilities. Upon completion, the Green-field project is expected to be-come a catalyst for Colombian trade growth.

SPIA staff and officials wel-come the arrival of the termi-nal’s first four quay cranes.

ICTSI Colombia gears for start in 2016

AS one of the biggest lo-cal investments is set to open in November this

year, more job opportunities are being made available for residents here.

PureGold Incorporated, one of the biggest hypermar-ket franchises in the country, is currently on the process of hiring some 250 employees, accepting both direct and indi-rect job applications.

“Our entire workforce from managers to utility men would be coming from the city,” said Ferdinand Binluan, area manager of PureGold Mindanao.

He said all job applications are coursed through the city’s PESO office to make sure appli-cants are from this city and are prioritized on the job vacancy slots.

“We are using such ap-proach to blend to the local cul-ture and be able to reach more would-be customers,” Binluan stressed.

The conglomerate opened its hiring process since Oct. 5 at the city hall lobby here in co-ordination with the local PESO

office.Cotabato City is the first

urban center in Region 12 to have a PureGold outlet. Pure-Gold has 241 branches nation-wide, six of which are in other parts of Mindanao.

Aside from this city, the re-gion includes the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, North Cotaba-to, South Cotabato, Sarangani and the cities therein of Kidap-awan, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos in its terri-torial zone.

The mall’s building is cur-rently undergoing final phase of completion along Quezon Avenue here.

Early on, the management of the homegrown Alnor Busi-ness and Hotel Complex also opened its four-storey mall nestled inside its 10-hectare estate.

In addition, the Centro De-partment Store also opened its branch here late last month.

Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. said the Koronadal City-based KCC firm has also scheduled to resume construc-tion of its mall along Jose Lim Sr. Street here soon. (PNA)

PureGold opening givesjobs to Cotabato residents

DAVAO CITY - “We are set to release a total of P36,743,813.00-

worth of services and pro-grams on Friday for the 17th leg of the ARENA XI Ser-bisyo Caravan slated in Baran-gay Ngan, Compostela town,” said Director Priscilla N. Razon of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Among the Department’s programs are Sustainable Live-lihood, Social Pension, Pantaw-id Pamilya and Kalahi-CIDSS.

“We will also handover 4100 family food packs, edu-cational supplies, and assistive devices such as wheelchairs and crutches,” Director Razon said.

Through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, DSWD will implement Cash-For-Work for beneficiaries of

Modified Conditional Cash Transfer in the barangay, Di-rector Razon said.

Moreover, the 17 Kala-hi-CIDSS sub-projects being implemented in the town in-clude community activity cen-ters, double-barrel box culvert, 3-classroom high school build-ings, 2-classroom elementary school buildings, potable wa-ter system, and a multi-pur-pose building, she added.

ARENA XI or Associa-tion of Regional Executives of National Agencies in Region XI is composed of heads and assistant heads of regional of-fices of national government agencies based in Davao City. It was organized sometime in 1978.

ARENA XI has been ac-tively involved in the delivery of basic government services

P36.7M earmarked for Serbisyo Caravan

FP36.7M, 10

EVENT

EDGEDAVAOINdulge! VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

On top at

20and aiming

higherCAMELLA DAVAO capped off 20 suc-

cessful years with a party fit for A-listers. In a Hollywood themed awards night and party, Camella celebrated its two decades of dominance in the real estate industry in a glitzy affair at the Royal Mandaya Hotel last September 30.

Garbed in costumes of popular Hollywood movies and animated characters, Camella officers and staff feted their brokers, con-tractors, guests, and business partners in a night of recognition and entertainment.

The “17 Again Award” was handed out to those who have been their brokers or property professionals for the past 17 years or more, a loyalty highly valued by Camella. These are Elvira Arce, Myrna Dumuk, Teresi-ta Gonzaga, and Teresa Lozano. The “Jumper Award” was given to Fritzie Joy Gepolio as the staff who has served the most num-ber of departments in Camella.

The “Fantastic 4 Award” was bestowed

to BDO as the bank with the most loan re-leases, to MHI as the contractor with the most units built, to Goldstar as the most efficient supplier of the year, and to Helen’s Kitchen as the most ac-commodating caterer/food supplier. The “Big Heroes Award” was conferred to Marialita Pamonag as the most loyal horizontal buyer and to Leuer Ricardo as the most loyal verti-cal buyer.

Finalists of the ‘Damang-dama ang Saya sa Camella’ dance contest also performed during the program, and the winning group, Bahandi, bagged the grand prize. Their dance routine to the tune of Camella’s new

CAMELLA A4

FOODIES as we are, we always crave and yearn for flavours, textures and depths in what-ever we eat. We like to experience a number of things in one bite – sweet, savory, bitter, sour and all that there is to identify. At Bode-gera Café, everything is made available. Bodegera Café is a quaint and cozy restaurant/café lo-cated in Chinatown at the ground floor of Homitori Davao (a dormitel perfect for budget travelers visiting the city) along Sta. Ana Avenue, Bodegera is any foodie’s per-fect sweet escape. Not just because of their many sweet treats, at Bodegera, you’ll most definitely feel right at home minus the stress of ev-eryday life. Foremost, Bodegera was an offshoot of the need to have a relaxing place for the in-house Homitori guests. In truth, there are but a limited cafes within the vicinity hence the perfect solution to an im-pending need. It’s not as com-mercialized but it has since been flocked by many to relax

and spend a night of serenity and flavors. Like the Homiroti, Bode-gera is very clean and well-maintained. It is not intimi-dating thus you can always expect a memorable time whenever you are here. More so, Bodegera is homey and cozy that you’ll want this to be part of your weekly repertoire. The café has a very welcom-ing ambiance. Its antiquated theme is so cozy that you’ll forget time even existed. Per-sonally, I love how inviting the place is. The bookie in me is just as excited as the foodie in me. And that’s just the place. Food wise, Bodegera is but a true hidden gem waiting to be explored. Their menu might be minimal but the taste of everything they serve

is guaranteed to make you smile from ear to ear. They have an array of cakes, cup-cakes and shot glass filled with sweet delights.

Their selection is not as ex-tensive as that of other cafes but they sure know how to sat-isfy your-any-day-sweet-crav-ing. Must try is their Braso de

Mercedes – it’s fluffy, creamy and just the right sweetness. Their cake loaf with cherries and chocolate is also a must try. Personally, I love the cakes from Bodegera because they are not too sweet and pairs well with either a hot or cold beverage (must try their Java Mint!). Exciting, right? They’re not only about cakes and pastries; they too serve plates of al dente pasta and sandwiches that will have you wanting for more. Their pasta is very rich and creamy and bursting with flavors. Personally, I love the brown sauce and the spicy kick in the end. The mushroom adds an-other depth to the already sa-vory taste. For the sandwich, it’s literally filled to the brim – something that other cafes don’t have. Bodegera Café is located at F. Bangoy Street corner Sta. Ana Avenue, Davao City For orders and reservations, call them at 082 295 2969 or 082 295 2971. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.homitori.com Make #TheRoyalChef your Thursday habit. I’m on insta-gram @herroyalheiress.

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOFOOD

Bodegera Cafe Chinatown’s secret sweet spot

Like the Homiroti, Bodegera is very clean and well-maintained.

It is not intimidating thus you can always expect a memorable time

whenever you are here.


INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOFOOD


PG

R13/PG

PG 11:15 | 2:30 | 5:45 | 9:00 LFS

R-16

FELIX MANALO

Dennis Trillo

PG 12:15 | 3:30 | 6:45 | 10:00 LFS

PAN

12:00 | 2:15 LFS / 4:30 | 7:15 | 10:00 LFS

ETIQUETTE FOR MISTRESSES/THE MARTIAN

Kris Aquino, Kim Chiu, Claudine Barretto /

Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain

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

Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller

FELIX MANALO

Dennis Trillo

October 8 – 13, 2015

Going English:Afternoon high tea at the Marco Polo Davao

W H E T H E R rushing to com-plete that project before its deadline or cramming for that exam, The world we live in today is a blur of activities. That like on Instagram can very well lead to browsing what your friends also liked and a few more moments to review who liked your posts. Time zooms by when we answer that important email or reply to a post on FaceBook. It is no wonder slow-ing down for a break is now fast becoming a basic need for urbanites who need to relax, and recol-lect their composure and there is nothing more ci-vilised and relaxing than having traditional Eng-lish high tea. Recognis-ing that need, the Marco Polo Davao went back to its roots in Hong Kong by introducing their Eng-lish Afternoon Tea at the Lobby Lounge. “We are introducing a new way of spending afternoons in the hotel,” said Marco Polo Davao executive sous chef Alex Destriza while presenting the tea pairings “This new culinary promotion rede-fines your regular after-noon social in the hotel; may it be for business or leisure.” The Marco Polo Davao’s English Afternoon Tea set includes a set of elegant pastries such as Mango Panna Cotta, Napoleons, and a moist Chocolate cake done by the hotel’s pastry chefs as well as dainty savoury sandwich-

One can choose from a many tea options. I choose Earl Grey for its lemony aroma and flavour.

Savories and sweets come on a three-tiered tower.

Buttery and crumbly scones.

es such as Home-smoked salmon sesame croissant, Kesong puti and tomato on mini pandesal bread, Ham and cheese crois-sant, and Chicken salad, tomato and avocado on wheat bread. What excited me was their scones that come in both traditional raisin and dried mango vari-ants paired with sides of Lemon curd, whipping cream and fruit jam. The scones were rich and but-tery yet were light and crumbly with a nice tart-ness thanks to the dried mango and raisins. A pat-ting of whipping cream, lemon curd and fruit jam heightened the flavours of the scones. The savouries and sweet are all served in an elegant tower and all pair well with the various teas offered. One can choose from Japanese Green Tea, Earl Grey, Pure Camo-mile, English Breakfast, Pure Peppermint, Four Red Fruit, and Apple, Cinnamon, and Raisin teas. I would suggest go-ing for the Earl Grey tea, its lightly lemony flavour really helps brighten up the both the sandwiches as well as the sweets. With the Marco Polo Lobby Lounge now serv-ing high tea, one can now finally sit down, relax, and enjoy the beauty of life. Of course high tea can also be a way to have a power meeting away from the noise of the urban hustle. Marco Polo Davao’s afternoon tea set is avail-able at the Lobby Lounge

from Thursday to Sat-urday from 2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon for only Php550 net good for two which is a bargain if you ask me. Reservations can be made by calling *82) 2210881 local 7608 or via

email at [email protected]. Follow me on Insta-gram or on Twitter at @kennethkingong for more travel stories, foodie finds, and happenings in, around, and beyond Du-rianburg.

A4 INdulge!EVENT

CAMELLA A1

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

song, “Damang-dama” will become Camella Davao’s official dance step for the song.

In his rousing speech, Camella Southern Mind-anao Cluster Head Marlon Nino B. Escalicas, thanked all their brokers and business part-ners for helping place Camella on top of the real es-tate industry in the region. He also an-nounced upcoming new projects that will further excite the industry.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO

ENVIRONMENTUnderstandingvolcanoesText and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

THE last time it erupted was about 450 years ago. At the long span

of time, people in Zambales province had almost forgot-ten that Mount Pinatubo was a volcano.

After all, the Pinatubo mountain was lush and teem-ing with trees. Farmers were planting various crops as the soil was fertile. Some peo-ple lived on the slopes of the mountain, but most settled in the nutrient-laden flatlands.

Then the sleeping giant awoke and changed the lives of the people living near the volcano. Mount Pinatubo stood at 1,780 meters before it erupted on June 9, 1991. After the eruption, the volca-no was reduced to only 1,400 meters. A chunk of more than 300 meters was sliced off the top.

During the eruption, vol-canic ash and hot sand rained down in thick sheets over many towns, blanketing the rooftops of houses. But most of the erupted materials were deposited on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo.

But disaster did not end after the eruption. Dislodged by rain, lahar (volcanic ash) washed away bridges and en-gulfed more lands. More than four thousand people have been killed by mudflows since the volcano erupted.

Mount Pinatubo is just one of the 200 volcanoes found in the Philippines. . The country is located in what scientists call the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a halo of seismic hotspots around the Pacific Ocean.

In fact, the Philippines has more than 7,100 islands. However, most of these is-lands are of volcanic origin. Fortunately, of the many vol-canoes found in the country, only 21 volcanoes are consid-ered active.

A volcano is considered active if it has erupted some-time within the last 600 years. If a volcano has not erupted in 600 years, it is regarded as inactive (dormant). There are also volcanoes which are con-sidered extinct.

“It is difficult to distin-guish an extinct volcano from a dormant one,” an American volcano expert says. Extinct volcanoes are those that sci-entists consider unlikely to erupt again, because the vol-cano no longer has a lava sup-ply. Examples of extinct volca-noes are many volcanoes on the Hawaiian. Edinburgh Cas-

tle in Scotland is famously lo-cated atop an extinct volcano.

Aside from Pinatubo, the active volcanoes in the coun-try, according to the Philip-pine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) are Mayon in Legazpi City; Taal in Talisay, Batangas; Canlaon in Negros Oriental; Bulusan in Sorsogon; Smith, Didicas, Babuyan Claro and Camiguin de Babuyanes, all in Babuyan Island Group; Cagua in Cagayan; Banahaw in La-guna/Quezon; Iriga in Cama-rines Sur; Biliran in Biliran; and Iraya in Batanes.

In Mindanao, the active volcanoes are: Ragang and Matutum, both in Cotabato; Hibok-Hibok in Mambajao, Camiguin; Calayo in Valencia, Bukidnon; Bud Dajo on Jolo Island; Musuan in Bukidnon; and Makaturing in Lanao.

The Philippines is home to some of the most beauti-ful volcanoes. Mount Mayon in Albay is world famous for its near-perfect cone. It has erupted almost 50 times. Its most violent and destructive eruption was in 1814, its ash and mudflows burying villag-es and towns around it.

Taal Volcano is located inside a lake that is itself a collapsed prehistoric volcano. It is considered “one of the lower (400 meters above sea level) but among the deadli-est in the world.” In fact, it is listed as one of the 16 Decade Volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior.

With an altitude of 2,954 meters (9,692 feet), Mount Apo is indeed the country’s highest mountain. “A poten-tially-active volcano” is how some experts called Mount Apo. The date of its most re-cent eruption is unknown, and none are verified in his-torical times.

Among the most histor-ical volcanoes in the coun-try are Mount Canlaon and Mount Hibok-Hibok. Mount Canlaon, the only active volca-no in the Visayas, has erupted 14 times. Its last eruption was during June to September 1978.

Mount Hibok-Hibok (it is called such because, people say, the ground shakes when you step on it) is also known as Catarman. Its most recent eruption was on December 4 and 6, 1953. Earlier eruptions were reported in 1897 and during 1848-1852.

The word “volcano” is

derived from the name of Vul-cano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn originates from Vulcan, the name of a god of fire in Roman mythology.

Many ancient accounts as-cribe volcanic eruptions to su-pernatural causes, such as the actions of gods or demigods. To the ancient Greeks, volca-noes’ capricious power could only be explained as acts of the gods, while 16th/17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed they were ducts for the Earth’s tears. One early idea counter to this was proposed by Jesuit Athana-sius Kircher, who witnessed eruptions of Mount Etna and Stromboli, then visited the cra-ter of Vesuvius and published his view of an Earth with a cen-tral fire connected to numer-ous others caused by the burn-ing of sulfur, bitumen and coal.

Actually, a volcano is a vent in the Earth from which molten rock (called magma)

and gas erupt. The molten rock that erupts from the volcano (known as lava) forms a hill or mountain around the vent. The lava may flow out as a viscous liquid, or it may explode from the vent as solid or liquid par-ticles.

Magmas with high gas and high viscosities are usual-ly more explosive than those flowing from shield volcanoes. In many instances, these gas-rich magmas, experts say, are blown high into the air during an eruption. The magma falls as volcanic bombs, which ac-cumulate around the vent and form steep-sided but relatively small cinder cones.

Most of the tallest volca-noes are composite volcanoes or stratovolcanoes. These form from a cycle of quiet eruptions of fluid lava followed by ex-plosive eruptions of viscous lava. The fluid lava creates an erosion-resistant shell over the explosive debris, forming strong, steep-sided volcanic

cones.While volcanoes can be

dangerous, they are not al-ways destructive. After several years, volcanic ashes and other materials ejected in an erup-tion become fertile soil. The land then becomes a good area for farming.

Recently, volcanic areas have become important sourc-es of geothermal energy. In fact, the Philippines is one of the very few countries in the world which use geothermal power plants.

Although geologists are known to study the Earth, they also observe volcanoes. With the aid of seismographs and other instruments, they can predict volcanic eruptions weeks or even months ahead.

Philvolcs is the govern-ment agency dedicated to provide information on the activities of volcanoes, earth-quakes, and tsunamis, as well as other specialized informa-tion and services primarily

for the protection of life and property and in support of economic, productivity, and sustainable development. It is one of the service agencies of the Department of Science and Technology.

Currently, the Philippines has a total of 65 seismic sta-tions, 29 of which are manned, 30 are unmanned, and 6 volca-no stations. The central oper-ating station is located at Phil-volcs main office in Diliman, Quezon City. All information is received at the Data Receiving Center, which is operated 24/7 by the Seismological Observa-tion and Prediction Division.

“Like ghost and monsters, volcanoes can be scary when they erupt. They rumble, shake and spit out fire, steam, ashes, and rocks. But unlike ghosts and monsters, volcanoes are of this world. As such, they can be studied and understood,” said Dr. Raymundo S. Punong-bayan, who headed Philvocs from 1982 to 2003.

Taal volcano Mount Apo

Mayon volcano


VANTAGE

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte could not have said it better when, during his recent television pro-gram, he admitted feeling tremendous pressure from

the people for him to run for president in the 2016 election. The mayor himself knows full well that the clamor for him to seek the presidency – from Mindanao to Visayas and all the way to Luzon – is for real.

When Duterte asked for more time to arrive at a final de-cision after that huge rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Lu-neta almost two weeks ago where people braved the heat and rain just to voice out their sentiments, he was indeed facing tremendous pressure from his countrymen. Only days before, Duterte had called for a late night press conference at a downtown hotel to make the “final” announcement that he was not running, but the people responded by rushing in droves to Luneta to press him to change his mind. Apparent-ly touched by the scene in Luneta and the support extended

by his countrymen, Duterte could not help but send a mes-sage thanking the people for their effort and promising them he would have to do a “final soul-searching” before making a decision.

The Luneta event was not the first and certainly not the last of gatherings for people to express their support to the pop-ular mayor and sustain their call for him to run for president. One female supporter from Parañaque, out of desperation, even came all the way to Davao to practically beg Duterte to reconsider his decision by kneeling in front of him. A wom-an was also seen crying unabashedly at the press conference when Duterte announced that he had no interest in joining the presidential race. All these are real expressions of a peo-ple who are frustrated at the current crop of candidates.

So, with the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (CO) only days away, the nation waits with bated breath on what Dute-rte’s final decision will be.

EDITORIAL

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

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

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

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EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

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

LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. PhotographyARLENE D. PASAJE

Cartoons

KENNETH IRVING K. ONGBAI FAUZIAH FATIMA SINSUAT AMBOLODTO

MEGHANN STA. INES NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN

Lifestyle

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NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVOManaging Editor

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FUNNY PEARL GAJUNERACHA MONFORTE

Correspondents

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.CHENEEN R. CAPON

Reporters

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

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PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

Genuine call

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

IT’S pretty obvious that we are living in strange and exciting times. The world is getting smaller by the minute, age-old tra-

ditions are being overhauled, and what we previously thought were stable realities are now constantly shifting and changing in ways that make them unrecognizable from one technological upheaval to the next.

Yet through all these, one thing has re-mained constant: the central role a globalizing media in sharing ideas, influencing opinions, changing perceptions, and generally being the primary means for expressing the varied and often disparate voices that are now clamoring to be heard. Aided by advances in technology, particularly the spread of digital social net-works, media has been instrumental in chang-ing our lives in ways that would not have been possible only a decade ago.

Today’s socially-driven media has allowed people all over the world to achieve great things. From starting revolutions and top-pling dictators, to exposing greed and abuse at the highest levels of government and the corporate world, we have used this new found communal power to change our world for the better.

But while some of us were busy pushing one end of the spectrum towards utopia, oth-ers were working overtime in exploring how this new medium can be exploited, corrupt-ed, and manipulated towards less noble ends. Such is the birth of cyber-bullying and the mob mentality that destroyed the life of people like Justine Sacco, data hacks, and the phenome-non that was the Fappening, idiotic posts and

comments that have become staple fodder for late night monologues , and truly it is for not lack of trying that we have yet to plumb the bottom of this cesspool.

Aside from the ability to share ideas faster than the speed of thought, another ef-fect this new media has had on people is the increased desire to question everything. We no longer act like ostriches, looking up into the heavens, gaping mouths slowly filling up with rainwater until we drown in our own passive stupidity. We have become the opposite. We now question everything and everyone. This includes ourselves and our own place in this rapidly changing world.

In all this, media, in its all encompassing form that includes both traditional and social, have been the primary pipeline for discourse and social transformation. It has therefore become the frontline in the multi-sided war between contending perspectives, interests, and value systems. Where the ultimate goal of those who participate is to establish a hege-mony of ideas that paints the world with their colors.

And it is within the context of this new me-

dia reality that PR practitioners, social media marketers, and other sources of media content now have to start developing new strategies to reach and influence the public. Only with the added complexity of their audiences being able to reach them at any time as well. Gone are the days when communication programs can be crafted in a vacuum, away from the noisome crowd, perfected until ready for the perfectly timed roll-out. Today, the audience has become as much the author as anyone else is.

---On Social Media and Brand Development

A recent New York Times article on employ-ee working conditions at Amazon has shifted some of the focus of brand building from com-pany generated marketing and public relations efforts to the role of the employees in building the brand. All of a sudden the employees, who are often cast as bit players in the theater of the corporate world, have become the stars in this public relations saga (or is it farce?).

Since the story first hit the stands, I have seen numerous articles about Amazon and its corporate culture. This will not be one of those. What I find more interesting is the way social media, or at least the portion of it interested in things like these, seemed to have moved with just this one story. All of a sudden, there has been a spike on postings relating to the impor-tance of employees in the whole marketing, social media, brand development process. How culture affects brands. And ways to engage with employees and make them part of the company’s narrative process.

The ability of certain topics to rapidly refo-

cus the entire conversation, for me, shows how precariously balanced this whole social media thing is. Apply a degree of force on one side and the whole thing has the capacity to tip over.

This reminds me of an accident involving a ferry somewhere in the Philippines. Being an archipelago, a lot of the travel people do involves riding big-ish outrigger boats to get from one island to another. In this particular instance, many of the passengers were on the roof-cum-upper deck of the boat when a sud-den squall forced them to duck inside. Unfortu-nately since the rain was coming from one side, everyone rushed to the opposite, altering the boat’s balance and causing it to flip. There were many casualties.

In the case of the Amazon and the rapid movement of the focus of opinions from one topic to the next, it exposes a certain vulnera-bility of the system to be manipulated, and for people to act like lemmings. Or rats following a piper. Not that I think it would be easy, but it seems quite possible that it can be done.

This for me is a very scary proposition because, while the power of social media to shift perceptions is pretty well established, the rules governing individual responsibility and accountability still aren’t. The relative an-onymity of the internet practically ensures that there will also be a higher degree of vicious-ness among those who share their opinions. But unlike the less connected world of the past in which these opinions had little or no chance to find each other, let alone mate, have a fami-ly, and multiply ad infinitum, ad naseaum, now they can, they have, and continually will.

How social media is changing the rules and roles of public discourse

“MAR must be muttering to himself, with friends like these, who needs enemies? And people must be ask-

ing, ‘Mar, tell me who your friends are, and we’ll tell you who you are,’” former lawmaker and ac-tivist Walden Bello was quoted as saying by the Philippine Daily Inquirer recently.

Mar refers to Mar Roxas, the former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas who is running for presi-dent in the forthcoming election. Walden said those words after the Liberal Party lewd show fiasco.

No, today’s topic has nothing to do with the imbroglio. But rather, it is about friends and friendship.

If you find a person who has only one friend, don’t pity him. Instead feel sorry for someone who has a thousand acquaintances. “If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky. If you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky,” S.E. Hinton once said.

Because once you find a true friend, it will be forever. Robert Alan said it well when he wrote: “The rain may be falling hard outside, but your smile makes it all alright. I’m so glad that you’re my friend. I know our friendship will never end.”

Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers the world has ever known, also said: “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”

“Remember,” Cindy Lew reminds, “the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends.” How true. For he “who finds a faithful friend,” a Jewish say-ing states, “finds a treasure.”

I have known some people who have no true friend. The reason is that they judge the outside appearance of a person, not what is inside. Value a person for what he is and not what he has.

Allow me to share this story sent to me via electronic mail: A man was ex-ploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves, he found a can-vas bag with a bunch of hard-ened clay balls. It was like some-one had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of pesos worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of pesos in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thou-sands, but he had just thrown it away!

As a sort of comparison, the e-mail ex-plained: “It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or

sparkling, so we discount it.“We see that person as less important

than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that per-son.”

In other words, there is a hidden treasure in each of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay be-gins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. As such, we have to see each person the way God sees them.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, in Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life, wrote: “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our pow-erlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

What a friend, indeed. “Friendship, my defi-nition, is built on two things: respect and trust,” Stieg Larsson said in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. “Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for some-one, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”

American journalist and photographer Jon Katz has this belief: “I think if I’ve learned any-thing about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay con-nected, fight for them, and let them fight for you.

Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.”

Another American author and writer James Lecesne thinks so too. “This is how it works,” he said. “I love the people in my life, and I do for my friends whatever they need me to do for them, again and again, as many times as is necessary. For example, in your case you always forgot who you are and how much you’re loved. So what I do for you as your friend is remind you who you are and tell you how much I love you. And this isn’t any kind of burden for me, because I love who you are very much. Every time I remind you, I get to remember with you, which is my pleasure.”

Now, find a friend – a true friend. An un-known author penned this statement: “Some-times in life, you find a special friend. Someone who changes your life just by being a part of it. Someone who makes you laugh until you can’t stop. Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world. Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it. This is for-ever friendship.

“When you’re down and the world seems dark and empty, your forever friend lifts you up in spirit and makes that dark and empty world suddenly seem bright and full. Your forever friend gets you through the hard times, the sad times and the confused times. If you turn and walk away, your forever friend follows. If you lose your way, your forever friend guides you and cheers you on. Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay. And if you find such a friend, you feel happy and complete because you need not wor-ry. You have a forever friend, and forever has no end.”

The friends connection

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 201510READY... FROM 1

Manhunt... FROM 2

Lawyer... FROM 3

DCPO... FROM 2

Councilor... FROM 3

P36.7M... FROM 6

Alejo... FROM 4

Water... FROM 4

Cops... FROM 2

NEWS EDGEDAVAO

made. He said it could be in Davao City or the so-called “Ground Zero” in Tacloban City where supertyphoon Yolanda wreaked havoc in 2013.

It was Duterte’s trip to Ta-cloban to bring relief supplies that first brought him to na-tional attention as a possible presidential candidate for his non-traditional style of lead-ership.

Unlike other politicians, Duterte did not promote his name but simply did what he could do to help survivors. The relief goods he and his team

brought also bore the name of Davao City, not his own.

Another source, who spoke on condition of ano-nymity, told EDGE Davao Duterte could make the an-nouncement either on Satur-day or Sunday (October 10 or 11) in Davao City.

The source, however, em-phasized that the final deci-sion still lies with Duterte and that not even his closest advis-ers know what he would do.

“Only Duterte knows. His closest advisers are not privy as of now,” the source said.

Driz said the total of 942 index crimes had a case solu-tion efficiency rate of 59.55, compared with 35.57 percent of the 2,650 crimes last year.

Non-index crimes refer to crimes against person and property such as murder, ho-micide, theft, robbery, physical injuries and others, while non index crimes are violations of special laws like the Danger-ous Drugs Act and Anti-Smok-ing Law.

Driz said based on police records, the leading index crime is crime against prop-erty with 595, while crime against person had 347.

For crime against proper-ty, theft ranked first with 464, followed by robbery with 123, carnapping with 7, and cattle rustling with only one.

For crime against persons, physical injuries ranked first with 225, followed by rape with 66, murder with 50, and homicide with 6.

For the non-index crime, the violation on special laws had the most of number of vio-lations with 1,485.

The city recorded 6,869 crime volume from January to June this year, lower than the 8,397 crimes recorded in the same period last year.

Vivencio Vertudazo, who was stabbed in the neck at around 8:10 p.m. on October 5 in front of the Toril District Hall.

Driz said police are already preparing to file charges against Cayo.

“For now, still manhunt operation pa rin tayo against

Cayo. There is no truth to re-ports that Toril police have already arrested him,” Driz said.

Despite the killing of Ver-tudazo, Driz said there were no lapses on the part of Toril Police Station.

“There are no lapses, only lessons learned. No one

could have expected the inci-dent especially because there were other police officers in the area and the police sta-tion was close,” she said.

With the killing of Vertu-dazo, the Philippine flag at the DCPO grounds has been put on half mast as a sign of mourning.

other suspect, Tirso O. Lugna-sin of Olaycon, Monkayo, Com-posetla Valley Province, are just “persons of interest” so far.

The two were arrested last Sunday in Bunawan through OPLAN Pagtutugis by opera-tives of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 11.

Rivera said the two were arrested due to existing war-rants of arrest against them and not directly because of the kidnapping incident.

He said police have re-ceived information about the involvement of Adona and Lugnasin in the Samal kidnap-ping but cannot charge them for it yet in the absence of ev-idence.

“We can call them persons of interest because we have received information of their possible involvement. But they

were arrested because of the existing warrant of arrest. It’s a different case,” Rivera said.

He said the CIDG recov-ered a .38 caliber revolver and a fragmentation grenade from the possession of Lugnasin while a .45 caliber pistol and a fragmentation grenade were taken from Adona.

Rivera said Adona has pending warrants of arrest in Compostela Valley Regional Trial Court for kidnapping and serious illegal detention and murder.

Rivera said the two were submitted for inquest pro-ceedings last Monday before the Davao City Prosecution Office for violation of Repub-lic Act (RA) No. 10591or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Act and RA 9516 or illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

swerving out of control.Damasco took over the

wheel and brought Suello to the Malaybalay General Poly-medic Hospital, the police of-ficial said, adding the victim sustained gunshot wounds in the head and breast.

He said Damasco had giv-en an initial statement on the

incident and volunteered to undergo a paraffin test. Maka-lintal, however, remained “at large.”

He said he sent some po-licemen to Impasugong, Bukid-non where Makalintal, who re-portedly hails from Batangas, has a temporary residence but they failed to locate him.

Dampal said they recov-ered spent shells of a 9mm pistol and a 380 pistol in Suel-lo’s bag inside the car. No 9mm pistol was found.

The police official clarified they initially called it “acci-dental shooting” since the two lawyers were said to be close and belonged to the same law

firm. He added they can only give a complete picture of the incident once they get the statement of Makalintal.

He said they have asked Makalintal’s mother to con-vince her son to submit him-self to an investigation. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaN-ews)

2030, compared to 4.7 mil-lion tons a year in 2012,” she said.

She said Mayor Rodri-go Duterte has espoused a simple railway system for the city but his proposal was often turned down because according to some national government agencies, “we still do not need the railway.”

“But as the mayor said, if we wait five or ten years from now to build the railway then we would be caught unpre-pared,” she said.

Zozobrado-Nagayo said

the city should also revisit the Traffic Code ordinance and come up with solutions to the worsening traffic sit-uation.

“In the process, may-be we can conduct another consultation involving vari-ous sectors of society to see if the time is indeed ripe for a railway system, or if not, another mode or system of public transportation for the city, or even, construction of fly overs, road widening or improvement of our road networks,” she said.

the machines’ upkeep.The Davao x-ray machine

was rendered inutile when former Customs collector Anju Nereo Castigador or-dered it closed in connection with a multi-million peso rice smuggling attempt for which Castigador and an assistant

wharfinger were ordered dis-missed by the Ombudsman. Aside from being fired from work “for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service,” Castigador is now facing a criminal case before the Re-gional Trial Court.

the NGCP and the Davao Light linemen conducted simulta-neous line survey in the vast areas of Mintal, Bago Oshiro, Toril up to Darong to deter-mine the cause of the prob-lem,” Luga said in a statement.

After a thorough line sur-vey by both Davao Light and the NGCP, it has been found that the cause of the emer-gency shutdown of NGCP’s Davao-Digos 69kV line was due to a broken post insulator at UP Mindanao in Bago Oshi-ro, Luga explained.

“At 10:16 p.m., Davao Light was able to conduct full resto-

ration of power in the affected areas. This was after transfer-ring the loads of Dumoy and Puan substations from the af-fected NGCP Digos 69kV line to Davao Light-owned Davao Line 1,” Luga said.

The NGCP also reported that the broken post insulator was already repaired and that the affected Digos 69kV line was restored at 11:48 p.m..

In the same statement, the Davao Light deeply apologizes to its customers for the incon-venience brought about by this power interruption which is beyond its control.

in depressed communities in South Eastern Mindanao through its “Serbisyo Cara-van” project, reaching out to as far as the municipalities of Boston in Davao Oriental, Don Marcelino and Sarangani in Davao Occidental, Kapalong in Davao del Norte, Paquibato District in Davao City, Maco

in Compostela Valley, and re-cently in Talaingod, Davao Del Norte which was attended by Cabinet Secretaries.

The group likewise initiat-ed the inter-agency quarterly flag raising ceremony at Peo-ple’s Park, conduct of quarter-ly lecture series, and annual sports festival. (DSWD)

FORMER senator Joker Arroyo has died while reportedly undergoing

open heart surgery in the Unit-ed States. He was 88 years old.

The family has yet to issue an official statement confirm-ing the death of Arroyo but several senators have already issued reactions.

”In our next Wednesday Group dinner, we will raise a glass to you,” Senator Ralph Recto said in a press statement.

Arroyo and Recto were members of the now defunct Wednesday Group that also in-clude former Senators Manny Villar, Noli ‘Kabayan’ de Castro and Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan.

”Joker earned sobriquets in his storied life. The Great Dissenter. The Maverick. The Defender. He was even called The Scrooge for his economi-cal use of office funds,” Recto said.

”But there was one area he didn’t scrimp on. And that was offering his sharp legal mind, for free, to those who need it most but can afford it least. If he had a good heart, it was be-cause his favorite form of exer-cise was to bend down and pull someone out of the gutter,” he added.

Senator Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara posted his re-action on Twitter: “RIP ex Sen-ator Joker Arroyo, Dios Maba-los (goodbye).”

”For the younger genera-tion who may not be aware of

Sen. Joker's contributions to nation-building, they should know that he fought for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. He fought in the courts and in the streets for the restoration of our civil and political rights which we enjoy today,” Angara said in a separate press statement.

Senator Ferdinand “Bong-bong” Marcos Jr. said “that’s terrible news” upon learning Arroyo’s death from the media.

Later, Marcos issued a press statement to express his condolences to the bereaved family his former colleague.

”I am deeply saddened by the tragic news of Joker Ar-royo’s passing. I value greatly my time spent with him in the Senate. Considering where we came from, we often found ourselves in agreement over political questions. I think be-cause of this, I dare say that we eventually became friends. My prayers and thoughts are with his family as they suffer through this great loss,” Mar-cos said.

Arroyo was one of the key figures in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos’ father, the late strongman President Ferdi-nand Marcos.

Rumors about Arroyo’s death have been circulating in the Senate media since Mon-day.

Arroyo, a human rights lawyer, served as member of

the Philippine Senate for two consecutive terms in 2001 and 2007 before he quit politics in 2013.

He also served as con-gressman of Makati for nine years and as executive secre-tary of the late former Presi-dent Corazon Aquino, mother of the incumbent President Benigno Aquino III.

Arroyo was born January 5, 1927 in Naga, Camarines Sur where he finished his pri-mary and secondary education in Naga before getting a schol-arship in the University of the Philippines.

A graduate of the UP Col-lege of Law and the Ateneo de Manila, Arroyo earned the public recognition when he challenged before the Su-preme Court (SC) the consti-tutionality of Proclamation No. 1081 imposing martial law.

Based on the his Senate profile, Arroyo handled more human rights cases than any other lawyer did from 1972-1986.

He defended various po-litical detainees including President Aquino’s farther, the Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr, Eu-genio Lopez, Jr., Serge Osmeña III, Jose Ma. Sison, Jovito Sa-longa, Nene Pimentel, Eva Ka-law, Renato Tañada, Eduardo Olaguer and many others.

He was also a lead prose-cutor during the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estra-da in December 2000. (PNA)

Former senator Arroyo passes away at 88

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation

and CommunicationLAND TRANSPORTATION

FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARDRegional Office No. XI

Davao City

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service

Case No. 2010-XI-00960

AIDA T. TAÑEZA,Petitioner

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

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ-DUAL Or-dinary Regular Service on the route: CALINAN and for cargoes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on March 22, 2016. In the petition filed on September 28, 2015, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to oper-ate 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 OCTOBER 19, 2015 at 09:20 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 grant-ing of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or be-fore the above date furnishing 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 28th day of September 2015 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation

Development Officer

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 11EDGEDAVAO

COMPETITIVE EDGEGlobe disconnects 30K numbersfor sending spam/scam messages

P&A Grant Thornton opens learning center

LEARNING CENTER. P&A Grant Thornton CEO Marivic Españo (third from right) is accompanied by (from left) COO Jun Cuaresma and partners Christopher Ferareza, Atty. Lea Roque, Mai Sigue-Bisnar, and Mhycke Gallego after the blessing of the new learning centre named P&A Grant Thornton Academy.

P&A Grant Thornton recently opened its new learning

center designed to help unlock the potential for growth of the company’s people, its clients, mar-kets, and the community as a venue for innova-tion, continuous learning and professional devel-opment.

Called P&A Grant Thornton Academy, the new learning center aims to cultivate and foster solidarity amongst P&A’s employees through train-ings and seminars, and leaning towards progress and innovation.

The center’s bless-ing was attended by CEO Marivic Españo, COO Jun Cuaresma, and partners Christopher Ferareza, Atty. Lea Roque, Mai

Sigue-Bisnar, and Mhy-cke Gallego.

P&A is a leading pro-fessional services firm that provides value-add-ed services to clients through a client-caring team of audit, tax and business professionals who utilize leading-edge systems and technol-ogy and are guided by the highest standards of quality, integrity and competence.

Grant Thornton is one of the world’s lead-ing organizations of in-dependent assurance, tax and advisory firms. These firms help dy-namic organisations unlock their potential for growth by providing meaningful, actionable advice through a broad range of services.

GLOBE Telecom yes-terday said it has disconnected from

service close to 30,000 pre-paid numbers found to be consistent source of spam and scam text messages.

In a statement, Globe said this is part of its inten-sified efforts to eliminate “unsolicited and annoying messages.”

According to the telco, the numbers blocked from the Globe network were subject of complaints re-ported through the web-site www.globe.com.ph/stopspam where customers are simply required to pro-vide all the details of spam and scam messages they received on their mobile de-vices.

Numbers that are re-ported to be a constant source of spam messages are then disconnected from service.

Globe said the numbers were also identified via an automated filtering system implemented to keep its cus-tomers from receiving scam and spam messages.

Globe said it recently ex-panded the coverage of this functionality and the system now covers majority of the company’s 2.3 million post-paid customers.

The telco’s measures against scams are especial-ly important as the num-ber of its mobile customers

reached 48.4 million at the end of the first half, a 13 per-cent rise from 42.7 million a year earlier.

Text scams take many forms. The most prevalent is the one in which custom-ers are told that a certain amount, usually P300, had been accidentally deducted from their prepaid account but that it can be returned by texting “300” to an 11-digit number staring with “2.”

In Globe, “2” is the prefix for its “share-a-load” ser-vice, which means the vic-tims actually send P300 to the scammer.

Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bon-ifacio said a total of 29,347 numbers were blocked from the service since July last year.

Of the number, a total of 24,787 numbers were dis-connected for sending scam messages while 4,560 num-bers were barred from using the Globe network for send-ing spam messages.

“Globe will never allow the use of its network by in-dividuals who want to take advantage of our customers. As Globe steps up its cam-paign to purge its network of spam and scam messages, we expect this number to increase further moving for-ward,” Bonifacio said.

Bonifacio said follow-ing an information drive launched early last year to

By JON [email protected]

GLOBE chief legal coun-sel and senior advisor Rodolfo A. Salalima, a

recognized authority in the field of telecommunications law, is launching a new book that aims to help provide un-derstanding on the current communications technologies that help shape the change in people’s lives and lifestyles

Titled “Telecommunica-tions in the Information Rev-olution,” Salalima’s book is a compilation of the law and jurisprudence on telecom-munications and of insights on the evolving language and fundamental issues of the In-ternet revolution.

It is also a textbook filled with legal commentary for law students and as a reference material for industry practi-tioners and non-lawyers.

According to Salalima, the book is an attempt to make it easier for ordinary readers to comprehend current technol-ogies on telecommunications, broadcasts, and disruptive in-novations.

“I hope that this may help influence others in under-standing these technologies or contribute in the utilization of these technologies not only as tools for better social net-working and communications but also, for nation building and growth,” he said.

Salalima is a recognized authority in the field of tele-communications law and is one of the principal authors of the NTC rules of procedure. He is on the roster of lecturers in the Supreme Court’s Mandato-ry Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program for lawyers and has served as resource person and Philippine dele-gate in various local and inter-national fora.

Phl telecom pillar writesbook on industry evolution

educate its customers on how to deal with irritating text spams, Globe also oper-ationalized a filtering mech-anism that keeps customers from receiving scam/spam messages.

So far, he said, Globe al-ready blocked a total of 30.8 million spam and scam text messages. He said the sys-tem prevents the transmittal of scam messages to mobile devices and has substan-tially reduced the number of text scams/spams going through the Globe network.

Bonifacio said the vol-ume of messages blocked by the network filtering system averages about 90,000 a day. It reached a peak of around 200,000 in July this year.

“The filtering mecha-nism can be reconfigured to address the kind of spam and scam messages that goes through the Globe net-work. Recently, bulk of spam and scam messages deliv-ered to Globe customers originate from SIM cards of competition (with prefixes 0922, 0943),” he said.

Aside from being chief le-gal counsel and spokesperson of Globe, Salalima is also pres-ident of the Philippine Cham-ber of Telecommunications Operators and vice chair of the International Telecommuni-cation Union Council working group for the amendment of the ITU Constitution and Con-vention where he represents the Asia-Pacific region.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo S. Az-cuna, who is Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, expressed appreciation for Atty. Salalima’s new book.

“He has done us all a good turn once again. I am delight-ed to see him produce anoth-er masterpiece. This book on Telecommunications in the Information Revolution is vintage RAS, a handy source of practical advice as well as a thorough treatment of the subject,” Azcuna said.

The book launch will happen at the Radiate Room, the Loft of the Globe Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on October 9, 2015.

The book is available at the UP Law Center, Malcolm Hall, University of the Philip-pines Diliman, Quezon City.

Globe Chief Legal Counsel and Se-nior Advisor Rodolfo A. Salalima

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 201512CLASSIFIED

GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICEEDMUND D. RENDONMarketing Specialist

Mobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990

DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICEJOCELYN S. PANES

Director of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,

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

Telefax: (082) 221-3601

MANILA MARKETING OFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA

Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,

Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 13

ERRATUMIn the October 1, 2015 edition of

Edge Davao, Ordinance No. 0333-15, Series of 2015 of the Office of the Sangguniang Panlungsod had certain errors inadvertently printed. In the name of Councilor Rene Elias C. Lopez, “Elias” was misspelled as “Ellis”. On the other hand, the first letter of “Mary” in the name of Councilor Mary Joselle D. Villafuerte was not capitalized.

Our sincere apologies.

The Editors

ZION ACCUPRINT PUBLISHING, INC.

MACHINE OPERATOR (Printing Press)

HR SupervisorZION Accuprint Publishing, Inc.

Door 14 Alcrej Building, Quirino Ave., 8000 Davao City, Philippines

E-mail: [email protected][email protected]

Telefax: (082) 2213601Website: www.edgedavao.net

Qualifications:

Send application letter & resume to:

Is in need of:

- At least high school graduate, not more than 30 years old

- Physically and mentally fit- Can handle minor repairs of the machine

- Has the ability to be cool under pressure of deadlines and complex projects

- Experience of at least one year

EDGEDAVAODCWD: Water service interruptions Oct. 9DAVAO City Water Dis-

trict has scheduled two separate sets of water

service interruption on Octo-ber 9 to give way to comple-tion of service improvement projects.

First set is from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Affected are these areas in Agdao: R. Castil-lo Ave. (from San Miguel Drive to corner JP Laurel Ave.), San Miguel Village, Purok Sto. Niño Pelayo, Nagsil, Mintrade, South San Juan, Ubalde Vil-lage, Fatima Village, North San Juan, Davao Farms Subd., Bay-side Village, Alcantara & Sons and Arroyo Street; Lanang: Lizada Village, Beach Side Homes, Ramos Village, Villa de Davao Subd., Lanang Beach

Club, Mountain Dew Village, Insular Village I and II, portion of Fortune Homes, portion of Nova Tierra Village, Lapan-day Subd., portion of Mangga Street, portion of Belen Road, portion of Davao – Agusan Road (from corner JP Laurel Avenue to Panacan Avenue); Sasa and Panacan: Old Airport Road, Doña Paz Subd., Bangoy Elementary School, Hacien-da Village, Doña Aurella Vil-lage, Marla Subd., Lougemar Subd., Flying V Gas Station, Vicente Pichon Subd., Doña Salud Subd., Philippine Port Authority, Pakiputan Wharf, Sasa Public Market, ICSAMA, Kms. 10, 11 and 12, and Land-mark I.

This water service inter-

ruption is needed to give way to the installation / tapping of the 400mm diameter steel pipe at R. Castillo Avenue, Ubalde Village in Agdao for preventive maintenance pur-poses.

Second set is from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM affecting these areas in Calinan: portion of Villafuerte Street (from Cali-nan Gallera to Dacudao), Da-cudao and Palarca Village. DCWD crew will tap the new-ly installed 100mm diameter Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe-line to the existing 200mm diameter PVC pipeline for the mainline improvement at Purok 15, Dominga Village in Calinan. Once completed, said project will allow for accom-modation of additional ser-vice connections.

DCWD general manager Edwin V. Regalado asks for the understanding and coopera-tion of would-be affected cus-tomers. He also advises them to store enough water prior to the scheduled water interrup-tions. Water supply may be restored earlier if work goes smoothly or later if unfore-seen problems arise.

The general public may visit DCWD website (www.davao-water.gov.ph) and of-ficial Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davaowater) or call the Central Information Unit / Call Center through the 24-hour hotline 297-DCWD (3293) and press “1” on their phone dial to listen to latest daily water updates. They may also call / text 0927-7988966, 0925-5113293 and 0908-4410653 for other updates, complaints, queries and mat-ters pertaining to DCWD ser-vices. (Jamae G. Dela Cruz)

NEWS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015SPORTS14

GET READY for one of the most ex-citing outdoor com-petitions of the year as Recreational Outdoor eXchange (R.O.X.) presents the Mapawa Trail Run, happening on Octo-ber 25, 2015 at Map-awa Nature Park in Cagayan de Oro. Pegged as one of the big-gest and most exciting out-door events of the year, the Mapawa Trail Run will be offering various race levels – 42K, 22K, 11K, and 6K to best cater to outdoor en-thusiasts and athletes who want to participate in the race. Aside from the great lo-cation and the challenging trails offered, the Mapawa Trail Run is also pegged as a “green run”, wherein par-ticipants are encouraged to bring their own hydration gear as disposable cups and water bottles will not be provided at the hydra-tion booths in the venue. This way, participants will be able to better appreciate the beauty of the country’s natural wonders and ac-tively take part in its pro-tection and conservation. But as the race offers something unique for ev-eryone, R.O.X. also sees this as a great opportuni-ty to get people to have a

better appreciation of the environment aside from offering a unique trail run-ning experience. In line with this, R.O.X. which houses the big-gest selection of outdoor brands in Southeast Asia wants trail runners that would be participating in the race to strictly adhere to the rule of trail running as well as make sure to bring these trail essentials: windbreaker jacket, hydra-tion pack, hydration belt, hydration bottle, trail run-ning shoes, quick dry ap-parel, compression appar-el, caps /visor, lightweight towels, trail food, energy bars, headlamp, blinker, trekking pole, whistle, and socks. All these are considered as must-haves for an event such as this especially to ensure each participant’s safety during the race. But more than just hav-ing the right gear, R.O.X. also wants the participants of the race as well as those who are interested to join, to take proper precaution for such a physical chal-lenge. Hence, the brand just held its Trail Running 101 last October 3, 2015 in Mapawa Nature Park. Given that one of the brand’s advocacies is to actively promote the beau-ty of the outdoors and en-

R.O.X presents Mapawa Trail Running 101

EDGEDAVAO

gage in physical activities that would make one go outside, the class was filled with insightful and use-ful tips on how to become a good trail runner by the experts – Dax Ang of Davao Adventure Xtreme and Erwin Emata of Ever-est Outdoors. Registration for the R.O.X. Mapawa Trail Run will be until October 15, 2015 through select-ed R.O.X. stores (R.O.X. Abreeza, R.O.X. Centrio, R.O.X. Ayala Cebu, R.O.X. Bacolod and R.O.X. Boni-facio High Street) and on-line – runnersrunner.com. R.O.X. is owned and operated by the Prim-er Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 136 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 SPORTS15

BACK TO THE BEACHEDGEDAVAO

Alyssa plays beach volley in UAAPAFTER the disappoint-

ment of losing to Na-tional University in

the Shakey’s V-League finals, Ateneo Lady Eagles star Al-yssa Valdez is heading to the beach.

But it’s not what you think.

The popular Ateneo spik-er is set to make a comeback in beach volleyball, teaming up with Bea Tan to represent the school in the UAAP tour-nament which kicks off on Saturday at University of the

East Caloocan.The 22-year old is a back-

to-back MVP in the league in the indoor, six-a-side game, but Ateneo will be the un-derdog in a beach volleyball field led by defending cham-pion University of Santo To-mas pair of Cherry Rondina and Rica Rivera.

“Maputi pa po ‘to, wag kayong mang-judge,” Valdez kidded about her complex-ion when asked about her re-turn to beach volleyball. “I’m playing with Bea again this

week. I hope makapag-focus naman sa beach volleyball.”

Valdez has been very preoccupied with the six-a-side game. She led Ate-neo to a second successive UAAP title in March, joined the national team that com-peted in the Asian Under-23 in May, flew the flag in the 28th Southeast Asian Games in June and played in the Shakey’s V-League since.

That’s why she admitted not knowing what to expect in her return to the game.

“Hindi ko po alam. But I heard, we heard, well every year naman na competitive din talaga,” she said. “’Yung mga teams kasi they really recruit players for beach vol-leyball talaga.”

Valdez said this is not the first time she would be play-ing in the UAAP beach vol-leyball tournament, recalling a stint she had with Ateneo three years ago.

But one thing sure, she will not be as prepared as the others.

“ I g u e s s it’s going to be competitive. Na-hihiya nga ako kay Bea kasi she really trains every day and I can’t train kasi we have to focus on (the Shakey’s V-League) Finals,” she added.

“Sana ma-ka-contribute lang sa ako sa beach volleyball this year.”

CITY Mayors Office rode to the striking perfor-mance of ace gunner

Christopher “Bong” Go to hack out a 73 – 69 win over IBP Davao in their basketball friendly game on Monday night at the Davao City Rec-reation Center Almendras Gym.

Go, the sweet-shooting executive assistant of May-ors Rodrigo Duterte, came

through with 26 points as the City Hall dribblers took a 2 – 1 lead in this year’s friendly series.

John Flores chipped in 16 baskets as Joel Aberilla added 12 for the CMO which scored a back-to-back a win after losing the series opener.

Four players made dou-ble digits for the IBP led by the 15 points output of Chok Cadiogan.

Adrian Paguican scored 13 as Gil Ciudadano and On-gkiko had 10 apiece for the Davao lawyers.

The City Hall dribblers played steadier in the end game as they shot and de-fended well in the winding seconds.

It was a close game all throughout with both teams marking lethal offensive firepower that made the en-

counter much more exciting than expected.

Box scores:CMO – 73 Go 26, Flores

16, Aberilla 12, Cloribel 6, Rosal 4, Reyes 3, Peloton 2, Poliquit 2, Casan 2

IBP – 69 Cadiogan 15, Paguican 13, Ongkiko10, Ciu-dadano 10, Casquejo 7, Dela Victoria 6, Carpio 3, Rañon 3, Salcedo 2, Galas 0, Rubi 0, Baguio 0, Pepito 0

LADIES TAKE FLIGHT. The 10th Philippine Airlines Ladies Interclub team golf tournament gets underway after the team captains meeting and ceremonial tee off at the Negros Occidental Golf & Country Club (NOGCC) in Bacolod with 18 ladies golf teams participating in the three-day golf fest. Photo shows the gesture of unity by the teams and organizing committee officials, including

(front row from left) Henry Arabelo, tournament director; Ismael Augusto Gozon, PAL Senior VP for Operations; Dina May Flores, PAL VP & tournament executive committee chairperson; Joanne Reyes, general manager – NOGCC; Ria Domingo, VP – Marketing; Leni Cabili, team captain – Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club; and Genaro Velasquez, PAL Senior Asst. VP for International Sales.

BOXING star Manny Pac-quiao will attend the World Boxing Champion-

ships which got underway on Monday in this Gulf nation.

No less than International Boxing Federation (AIBA) pres-ident Dr. Ching Kuo Wu made the announcement during his meeting with national federa-tion heads from 73 countries at the Ezdan Hotel and Suites here.

Wu said he relayed his in-vitation to Pacquiao through ABAP executive director Ed Picson, who personally brought the invitation letter to General Santos City mid-Sep-tember and presented it to the eight-time world division champion himself at his Gen-san residence.

“Manny was excited about the prospect of seeing the

world’s best Olympic-style box-ers in action and immediately expressed interest in attend-ing,” said Picson.

Upon consulting his sched-ule however, the Filipino boxing icon who recently announced his intention to run for Senator next year, found that he had several commitments in the period October 6-15. He found only one available day (October 8) and decided to go for it.

“I really want to be there to see for myself the Olym-pic hopefuls from all over the world, but more importantly to give support to our two boxers competing there - Rogen Ladon and Eumir Felix Marcial. It will also give me an opportunity to visit our 200,000 kababayans who work there,” said the 36 year old congressman from Sa-ranggani Province.

USUAL NUMBERS. Bong Go was limited to “only” 26 points against IBP.

Go leads CMO over IBP 73-69 ALYSSA AT THE BEACH. Alyssa Valdez will team up with Bea Tan in the UAAP beach volleyball competitions.

JASON Day would relish the chance to go head-to-head with world No. 1 Jordan

Spieth in the Presidents Cup but the Australian hotshot knows the showdown may not materialize as team tactics take precedence over individu-al glory.

Day and Spieth electrified the Tour this year with their budding rivalry played out on the grandest of stages.

American Spieth claimed two majors among his five wins, ending his 2015 cam-paign in triumphant style at the season-ending Tour Cham-

pionship, while Day won the year’s final major and his win at last month’s BMW Champi-onship was his fourth win in six starts.

When asked if he would be interested in taking on Spieth on the final day of Presidents Cup competition on Sunday, Day said there would be huge interest in that potential clash but team strategy could get in the way.

“I think a lot of people around the world are interest-ed to see if that will happen,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “It would be a lot of fun playing

against Jordan, but then again I’m not too sure what the strat-egy is with that.”

The 11th Presidents Cup, a biennial team golf competi-tion putting the United States against a team of international players minus Europeans, be-gins on Thursday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon.

After three days of four-somes and four ball team play, the competition goes into a singles format on Sunday with all 12 players from each team taking on an opponent.

The matchups will be de-

cided by U.S. captain Jay Haas and Internationals skipper Nick Price, who will sit across a table from each other and try not to blink first.

“Will they hold Jordan to wait for my name, or will cap-tain Price hold my name for Jordan? Or maybe he wants me to go out early and get a point up,” said Day.

“It all depends on where the points are, how everyone is playing ... and from there make that decision who I’ll play against. But I think it would be a lot of fun. We’ve both played pretty good golf (this year).”

Day keen on Presidents Cup showdown with Spieth

Pacquiao graces AIBA opening


Davao Kendo Club bets shine

16 EDGEDAVAOSports

By NEILWIN JOSEPH BRAVO

BREAKTHROUGH

THE Japanese mar-tial art of Kendo has snowballed in Davao

City and it didn’t take time before the newly-formed Davao Kendo Club would start reaping the rewards of their sacrifice.

Davao Kendo Club found-er Johnny Teofilo Lardera Jr. bared the team’s recent suc-cess in the just-concluded Gasshuku 205 held at the Assumption College in Anti-polo, Rizal.

Third Dan Japanese Mat-suda Kazuya, an assistant in-structor of DKC, placed third in the Yudansha (Dan hold-er) category.

Lardera said the club also sent four teams com-posed of five Kendo prac-titioners in the Mudansha (non-Dan category).

Team A, composed of Xylia Alzate, Al June Metil-la, Johnny Lardera Jr., Paul Minoza and Jasper Lardera finished with one win and

a loss. Team B equaled that feat with a squad made up of Yan Salvosa, Jesh Juson, Kaye Llaneza, Rubylyn Lardera and Janilyn Fe Lardera.

Teams C and D weren’t as lucky as they succumbed to two defeats. Team C was bannered by Roman Santia-go, Jherand Cayanong, Alain Pedronio, Juliebeth Diano and Venus Cabahug while Team D had Rober Carabue-na, Edeah Brilliantes, Reida Renovilla, Reu Mooc, Amy Pamat and substitute Fil Di-vino.

DKC also sent three members, who are still Non Bogu (Beginners Class) - Jan Chua, Jesusa Dy and Lucky Gabriel.

“We participated last October 3 and 4 for a Ken-do event named Gasshuku 2015 that consists of all clubs in the Philippines namely UP Kendo Club, Iga Kendo Club, Manila Kendo Club and Iloilo Kendo Club,”

said Lardera Jr. in a message to Edge Davao.

“Our main objective was really just to gain experi-ence from the tournament,” he added.

DKC, the first known Kendo club in Mindanao, was founded last May 31, 2014 by 37-year old Lardera together with head instruc-tor Sensei Philip Lim, also a 3rd Dan and Korean.

Among DKC’s founding students were 21-year old Jasper John Lardera and 24-year old Janilyn Fe Lardera.

Jasper made an impact after topping the Bogo Class and Spirit Award (Best Play-er) while Johnny took home a silver medal in their very first tournament appear-ance.

Lardera Jr. said the DKC members practice at the Fairlanes Martial Arts Center of Fairlanes Bowling Alley along Torres St. every Satur-days from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Davao Kendo Club founder Johnny Teofilo Lardera Jr. in action.


edge davao 8 issue 136

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