edge davao 9 issue 04

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO Esdevco-Genesis back on winning track P16

EDGEDAVAOSports

Journo angers LP bet when asked on Korina’s presence in DA distribution

MAR IRKED BY KORINA QUERY

PISSED. Administration presidential bet former Interior and Local Government secretary Mar Roxas answers questions from the media during a break in a banana plantation visit in Barangay Sampao, Kapalong Davao del Norte. Roxas was obviously irked when asked by a reporter to explain the role of his wife during events related to government distribution programs. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

ADMINISTRATION pres-idential bet former Internal and Local Gov-

ernment secretary Mar Roxas obviously got irked when he was asked about the presence of his broadcaster-wife Kori-na Sanchez-Roxas during the distribution of agricultural equipment of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In an interview yester-day during his visit in a Ba-nana Plantation in Barangay Sampao, Kapalong, Davao del Norte, Roxas denied that his wife is always present every time the agency distributes agricultural equipment to the countrysides.

“Yang mga ganyan na wala basehan, kailangan ko bang komentohan yan (Do I need to comment on that baseless ac-cusation),”he said.

When EDGE Davao asked to clarify why his wife’s pres-ence is being noted in the dis-tribution activity of DA such as in Kidapawan City, North Co-tabato last month and Tagum City, Davao del Norte last week,

Roxas started to raise his voice and replied that San-chez-Roxas did not volunteer herself to join DA’s distribution but she was invited to speak by the department.

“Ina-anyayahan siya na makidalo and magbigay ng mensahe. Kung nagkakataon sa kanilang schedule ay dumdalo siya (She was invited to join and to give message. If there is no problem with her schedule she joins),” he said.

EDGE Davao tried to press more clarification from his end but Roxas just retort-ed “may ano ba na hindi siya pwede mangampanya para sa kanyang asawa (Is there a law that prohibits her to campaign for her husband)?”

“Ano ang isyu? Na siya’y nangangampanya para sa

kanyang asawa. Yan ba ay tama o mali o illegal (What is the issue? That she campaigns for her husband. Is it rigth or wrong or illegal),” he added.

Roxas told this reporter to ask him straightly if his wife used something from the gov-ernment even if her wife is us-ing their own vehicle and fund while Sanchez going around the country.

“Misis ko ito. Sinasabi mo ba na ginagamit ng mis-is ko ang… Una pribado ang kanyang sasakyan, pribadong pera ang kanyang ginagamit, inaanyayahan siya. Sinanasabi mo ba na hindi siya dapat pu-munta kung saan siya iniim-bita (She is my wife. Are you saying that my wife is using… First, she is using her private vehicle, she used her personal fund, she was invited. Are you saying that she she should not go to the event where sheis in-vited)?” he said.

“Parang ginagawan mo lang ito ng isyu na wala naman isyu (It seems like you are just making issue even if there is no issue),” Roxas told EDGE Davao.

He said not all issues being thrown to him are true be-cause most of it are just black propaganda.

Earlier, Duterte’s camp questioned the administration of President Benigno S. Aqui-no III on the presence of San-chez-Roxas in events where the DA handed out checks and farm equipment to farmers.

Duterte’s spokesperson Peter Laviña said Sanchez-Rox-as is always present during DA distribution of agriculture equipment to the farmers.

“Korina is now an accom-plice in a systematic shameless act that conditions the elector-ate to accept dole-outs in ex-change for votes,” Lavina had said in an earlier statement.

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 20162 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

PRESIDENTIAL bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte welcomed the

Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the reversal of the Commis-sion on Elections (Comelec) decision disqualifying his op-ponent Senator Grace Poe.

“Good luck to her and I wish her the best,” Duterte said in a statement.

Majority of the SC justices yesterday allowed Poe to run as president with 9-6 votes in-cluding SC chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

The eight Associate Jus-tices who voted in favor of Poe were Presbitero Velasco Jr., Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, Marvic Leonen, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Francis Jardeleza and Diosda-do Peralta.

Those who voted to dis-qualify her were Senior Asso-ciate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Arturo Brion, Justice Mariano Del Castillo, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Poe, on the other hand, thanked the SC for the 9-6 ruling on Tuesday to grant her petition to reverse the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision to cancel her Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) in the May 9 elections.

“I want to thank also the Supreme Court for recog-nizing the truth, justice and, most of all, protection for the oppressed,” Poe said in an ambush interview at the Li-wasang Bonifacio in Manila where she attended the Inter-

national Women’s Day event organized by the women’s group Gabriela, one of Poe’s supporters.

Poe likewise thanked the Filipino people who kept their trust on her amid the disquali-fication cases filed against her at the Comelec.

“I want to thank those who prayed not only for me but for justice,” Poe, one of the leading presidential aspirants, said.

With the SC’s favorable de-cision, Poe said she now has a chance to pursue her dreams to achieve the people’s dream for a better future.

”I will not ever forget this experience which I will use to achieve unity so that we will be united in achieving a bet-ter future for the whole nation and not only for a few,” Poe

said.A source close to Poe said

she broke into tears upon learning of the High Court’s ruling which came out on the day that the nation is celebrat-ing the International Women’s Day.

Poe was reportedly in front of the Quiapo church when she learned of the good news.

As a foundling, Poe was found in a church in Jaro, Iloilo.

The petitioners filed the disqualification cases at the Comelec, claiming that Poe, being a foundling, is not a nat-ural-born Filipino.

The Comelec also agreed with the petitioners that Poe has not met the 10-year resi-dency requirement for a pres-idential candidate. (with re-port from PNA)

MORE than a month has already passed since the City Council

of Davao requested the Mala-cañang to declare March 17 as special non-working holi-day. However, the latter has not approved it yet.

With less than a week after the formal opening of this year’s Araw ng Dabaw celebrations on Saturday, the Malacañang has not approved the request of the City Gov-ernment of Dabaw to declare March 17 as holiday in obser-vance of the city’s Araw ng Dabaw on March 16.

“We’re still waiting wheth-er the Malacañang will ap-prove the resolution,” Davao City committee on tourism chair Councilor Al Ryan Alejan-

dre said during the city coun-cil’s regular session yesterday.

Even without the approval, Alejandre said the opening will be still commence on March 12, Saturday on San Pedro Square.

The city council passed the item on the first week of Feb-ruary during a regular session at the Sangguniang Panlung-sod.

It was cited in an earlier report that the request letter, dated Feb. 1, was certified ur-gent by the Office of Vice May-or Paolo Z. Duterte.

Alejandre said March 16 is already an annual non-work-ing holiday through Republic Act 7551 passed in 1992 when the city was declared as char-tered.

WELCOMING THE BEAUTIES. The Davao City Council led by Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte welcomes 11 of the 15 Mutya ng Davao aspirants during their courtesy call in yesterday’s regular session. Lean Daval Jr.

Rody welcomes SC decision on PoeBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

Still no Palace declarationof Araw ng Davao holiday

[email protected] CHENEEN R. CAPON

A DORMITORY for lumad scholars, the first in the Obrero campus of the

University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP), is now halfway, according to Fernan-do S. Ongkingco Jr., head of the first engineering in Davao City of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

District engineer Ongk-ingco said construction of the first and second floors of the dormitory, corresponding

to the initial fund release of P9.3-million for the project, has been accomplished as of January, 2016.

The completed portion can accommodate a total of 120 students as each floor of the building is designed to accommodate 60 persons, the district engineer said.

Rep. Mylene G. Alba-no of the city’s second con-gressional district said it is a three-story dormitory with a roof deck, a kitchenette on

the ground floor, a small office for the association of lumad scholars with bathroom fa-cilities.

Rep. Albano said budget for the dormitory is around P17 million, adding that House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and A Teacher Par-ty-list Rep. Mariano Piamonte who is a Dabawenyo assisted her in sourcing the funds for the project in answer to the clamor of parents of scholars

Dormitory for lumad scholarsat USeP 50% done: Ongkingco

FDORMITORY, 14

ONGOING CONSTRUCTION. A P17-million dormitory for scholars from the hinterland district of Paquibato is 50-percent completed inside the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP). Funding was sourced by second district Rep. Mylene G. Albano (inset), with the help of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and A Teacher Partylist Rep. Mariano Piamonte. Photo by Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 3NEWSEDGEDAVAO

LIBERAL Party presiden-tial bet Mar Roxas is set to stage a political rally in

Davao City even if it is the baili-wick of his rival candidate May-or Rodrigo R. Duterte.

“Hindi ko tinitingnan ito na pag-aari ng Duterte o ng Makati ay pag-aari ng mga Binay. Pag-aari ito ng sambayanan (I do not see this that Davao City is owned by Duterte or the Maka-ti City is owned by the Binays. It is owned by the people),” Roxas said yesterday in an interview during his visit in a banana plantation in Kapalong town in Davao del Norte.

Roxas said it is the citizens of Davao City who owned the city and it is their future is a stake that is why he will visit the city.

“Wala naman akong ibang dahilan kundi kausapin ang ating mga kababyann at ip-resenta sa kanila sa ating plat-aporma at mga programa (I have no any reason but to talk to the people and present my plattform and my programs),” he said.

Roxas also visited Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Nab-unturan, Compostela Valley Province and Mati City, Davao Oriental although he dropped by in Davao City with one ra-dio guesting in Bombo Radyo Davao.

He said that there is no schedule yet for the Davao City rally but he assured the people that there will be a rally in the city. ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

THE camp of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte

welcomed the decision of Su-preme Court (SC) on the acti-vation of the vote verification feature of the vote counting ma-chines (VCM).

Peter Lavina, spokesperson of Duterte, said the SC ruling on the issuance of the printed vot-er receipts “upholds the law on automated elections.”

“This would allay fears of the people that their votes will not be counted properly,” said

Lavina.Lavina said that if this is

implemented properly, it would “strengthen the credibility of the electoral process.”

“We shall continue to call on Comelec (Commission on Elections)to make the elections

peaceful and orderly,” Lavina said.

“We urge the Commission on Election to capture the spirit behind the SC ruling and up-hold and protect the sanctity of the vote of the people,” he added.

THE Sangguniang Pan-lungsod passed on the first reading the re-filed

version of a proposed amend-ment of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) which included the removal of the 10 percent green spaces in hous-ing developments which was vetoed two weeks ago.

Real-estate broker and

second district councilor Di-osdado Mahipus Sr., who was absent during yesterday’s ses-sion, re-filed the proposal after the council accepted the ve-toed version by Mayor Rodri-go Duterte last week’s regular session.

None of the 14 present council members opposed the re-filing of the proposed

amendment.First district councilor

Mabel Acosta, who was the only councilor who opposed the proposal during the third reading of the proposal last month, was also not present during the session, citing the lady councilor was on “official business”.

As much as the members

of environmental groups here expect the amendment will be re-filed anytime after it was vetoed, Chinkee Pelino-Golle of the Green Davao Coalition was surprised that Mahipus was the one who re-filed it before the council yesterday which was not cited in yesterday’s agenda.

THE City Council of Davao approved on the second reading the proposed

Supplemental Budget No.1 (SB1) totaling to more than P282 million yesterday which consists of the General Fund Proper, the Development Fund, and the Economic En-terprises

In yesterday’s regular ses-sion, committee on finance, ways and means, appropri-ation chair councilor Danilo C. Dayanghirang presented the committee report on the proposed SB1 for the year of the City Government of Davao which was also approved on the same session.

Based on the committee report, the development fund ranked the topmost with 63 percent or P178 million of the total SB1 budget. It was fol-lowed by general fund proper with 35.2 percent or P99.3 mil-lion and economic enterprise with only 1.7 percent or P4.6 million share in the budget.

For the general fund prop-er with a total appropriation of P99.3 million, the lumpsum appropriation got the biggest

share of P67.4 million or 67.8 percent of which P62.1 million is allocated for the miscella-neous personnel benefits fund.

“The amount will be used to pay the last tranche of the collective negotiation agree-ment (CNA) incentives of the 2,484 plantilla personnel un-der the general fund proper at P25,000 each,” Dayanghirang said in the report.

The repost also said the Office of the City Mayor comes next with a total appropriation of P27.42 million or 27.6 per-cent of which P25.9 million will be allocated for the Lingap Program.

“This amount will be used to pay the prior year’s obliga-tion due to various hospitals, clinics, dialysis centers and funeral parlors,” the report added.

Meanwhile, the develop-ment fund with a total appro-priation of P178 million will be sliced for both infra and non-infra projects which will be funded from “reversion of various appropriations for development programs and

ASSERTING that the poor shouldn’t be burdened by the high cost of hos-

pital care, Vice presidential candidate and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano today vowed to address cor-ruption to realize universal healthcare coverage for all Fil-ipinos.

“Dahil sa gulo at kora-psyon, walang maayos na ser-bisyong kalusugan ang mga tao,” Cayetano said.

“Ayon sa mga eksperto, 6 out of 10 Filipinos namamatay ng hindi nakakita ng doktor. Ang mahihirap, ‘di tinatanggap ng mga pribadong ospital da-hil lang walang pambayad. Sa pampublikong ospital naman, sasalubungin sila ng kulang na pasilidad,” Cayetano added.

A 2014 Global Financial Integrity (GFI) study says that

the Philippine economy was cheated of $132.9 billion or more than P6 trillion in illicit money outflows from corrup-tion in the past five decades, incurring losses of over P357 billion yearly on average.

Cayetano said, if elected, he will push for the full coverage of the Philippine Health Insur-ance Company (PhilHealth), as well as the full implementation of PhilHealth’s “zero billing” services to members.

It was reported that a res-ident doctor at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Hospital allegedly refused to admit a pregnant patient in labor be-cause she did not have any cash with her.

The patient was then rushed to the Jose R. Reyes Me-morial Medical Center, but was

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

[email protected] CHENEEN R. CAPON

ANNIVERSARY CAKE. The employees of Edge Davao and Zion Accuprint Publishing, Inc. hold the anniversary cake given by Security Bank as the bank’s advance gift for the newspaper’s upcoming 8th anniversary on March 10. Lean Daval Jr.

MY MAN. Davao del Norte governor Rodolfo del Rosario introduces Liberal Party presidential bet Mar Roxas during the provincial party’s gathering at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex gymnasium yesterday. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

10-percent green space removal measure re-filed

Duterte camp okay with VCM vote verification

Mar Roxas, LP readyto rally in Davao City

SP passes P282-M SB 1

Cayetano pledges universal healthcare, anti-deposit law

FSP, 14

FCAYETANO, 14

F10-PERCENT, 14


SUBURBIA

FLAMBOYANT and colorful costumes worn by beau-tiful maidens as they rep-

resent their hometown for the Search for Bulawan Festival Queen 2016.

Bulawan Festival Queen is a search for the most beautiful maiden who will embody the provincial culture and heritage through her dress.

Roselle Princess Rosas of the munipality of Nabunturan bagged the title as the Bulawan Festival Queen 2016 wearing her yellow cloth designed with gold and silver, gems stones of different colors, headdress and belt and replica of Comval’s solidarity ring. This is the cre-ation of her designer Arturo Alferes.

Her dress signifies the yel-low cloth representing gold as the wealth of the province while gem stone of different colors is the representation of nature’s wonders of ComVal – the placid rivers and seas,

green picturesque views of towering mountains, rich can-opies, the agriculture ventures and of course the diversity of people. Incorporated also as part of her get-up is the repli-ca of the Solidarity Ring of ComVal, symbolizing the prov-ince’s unity, standing together amidst all adversities.

In addition, the rest of the festival queen entries are all avant-garde creations and unique on its own. Pantukan represented by Kathy Pongcol with Jerson Villaver as design-er and Laak represented by Kimberly Dologuin with Adan-vel Galfo as the designer won the second and third places, respectively.

The first presentation of the Bulawan was held March 4, 2016 during the LGU Pinasikat Night. And the awarding was held on March 7, 2016 in line with the presentation of the Bulawanong Pasundayag. (Honeylyn T. Sayson)

Comval’s Bulawan Festival Queen launched

FESTIVAL QUEEN. Compostela Valley turns 18 on March 8 and what better time to showcase the blooming of the province than the launching of the Bulawan Festival Queen 2016 with their flamboyant and colorful costumes worn by beautiful maidens as they represent their hometown. (COMVAL PR)

POLICE personnel here have arrested at least 105 sus-pected drug pushers as

part of their enhanced campaign against illegal drug in the last two months.

Sr. Supt. Maximo Layugan, city police director, said Tuesday they already conducted a total of 71 successful anti-drug raids and buy-bust operations since January against noted drug dens and bases of identified drug per-sonalities within the city’s 26 ba-rangays.

He said these operations have led to the filing of 122 cases against the arrested suspects in local courts.

Recovered during the raids and drug buy-busts were some PHP770,373 worth of illegal drugs composed mostly of metamphetamine hydrochloride

or shabu, he said.The police official said they

will continue with their intensi-fied anti-drug campaign, which is backed by city officials led by Mayor Ronnel Rivera.

“Our monitoring and surveil-lance activities are ongoing, and we expect to arrest more illegal drug personalities in the coming days,” Layugan said.

The city police earlier stepped up its anti-drug cam-paign in compliance with a direc-tive from the Philippine National Police (PNP) central office and the Police Regional Office 12.

It is specifically a part of the PNP’s rollout of operation plan or “Oplan Lambat Sibat,” a rein-vigorated crime prevention effort using “deliberate, programmatic and sustained” police operations. (PNA)

THE daily rotational brownouts affecting parts of South Cotabato and

Sultan Kudarat provinces are expected ease by the end of the month, with the operational-ization of Supreme Power Cor-poration’s (SSC) 11.9-mega-watt (MW) bunker-fired power plant in nearby Koronadal City.

Santiago Tudio, South Co-tabato 1 Electric Cooperative (Socoteco 1) general manager, said Tuesday SSC has commit-ted to start the operations of the power plant in two weeks to help address the continuing power shortage in the area.

He said the plant has long been completed but the com-pany is still waiting for the is-suance of proper permits from

the Energy Regulatory Com-mission and the Department of Energy.

“The company is targeting to fully operate the power plant by March 26 or 27,” he said in a radio interview.

SSC and its partner Next Power Consortium Inc. launched the construction of the power plant in January 2015 in a property owned by Socoteco 1 in Matulas, Baran-gay Paraiso in Koronadal City.

Based on the company’s agreement with Socoteco 1, the power plant, which will be powered by modular genera-tor sets from South Korea, will be embedded into the systems of the electric cooperative.

SSC will operate the plant

for 15 years and will directly serve the needs of Socoteco 1’s service or franchise area, which covers Koronadal City, eight municipalities in South Cotabato and Lutayan town in Sultan Kudarat.

After 15 years, he said, the company will transfer the own-ership of the plant to the coop-erative at no cost.

Tudio said the operation-alization of the power plant will offset the current shortage of 3 to 5 MW in the area’s dai-ly power requirement, which reaches around 36 MW.

Socoteco 1 earlier imple-mented one to two-hour ro-tational brownouts within its service area as a result of the power supply shortage.

The official said the de-ficiency is mainly due to the reduction of the cooperative’s contracted power supplies from the National Power Cor-poration’s (NPC) hydroelectric plants.

He said the generation ca-pacity of NPC’s power plants has declined these past weeks due to effects of the worsening drought triggered by the con-tinuing El Nino Phenomenon.

Aside from NPC, Socoteco 1 draws power supplies from the diesel-fired power plants of the Mapalad Power Corpo-ration and Therma Marine Inc., and the solar power plant of the NV Vogt Philippines Solar Energy One Inc. in Surallah, South Cotabato. (PNA)

COMMUNITIES in Zam-boanga City that are experiencing low water

pressure or no water supply because of the El Niño phe-nomenon now have access to clean water for drinking and other uses, thanks to the Phil-ippine Red Cross (PRC) which provided water for the affect-ed communities.

PRC Zamboanga City chapter, in collaboration with the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), established an operation to support the needs for water supply of the different barangays with no water or have low water pres-sure, especially for drinking and domestic use.

The Red Cross also mobi-lized WASH (water, sanitation and health) personnel for water production and distri-bution and likewise trained additional personnel to oper-ate the WASH resources in the communities.

“Providing clean water for those who need it is one of the life-saving services that the Red Cross provides. The PRC, through our Zamboan-ga City chapter, has provided a water tanker and mobile water treatment to the local government of Zamboanga

City to provide water to the communities that are current-ly experiencing low or no wa-ter supply because of El Niño,” said PRC Chairman Richard Gordon.

Daily, the water treatment unit produces 22,000 liters of water, of which 10,000 liters are being distributed by the tankers of the Red Cross and ZCWD. As of date, six baran-gays in Zamboanga City are benefitting from the water dis-tribution from the Red Cross and ZCWD.

Aside from the water tank-er and mobile water treatment from the Zamboanga City chapter, the PRC provided an additional water tanker from Tandag, Surigao del Sur to augment the existing water tankering service of the ZCWD.

For its part, ZCWD shoul-dered the transportation cost needed for the retrieval of the PRC water tanker in Tandag, Surigao del Sur and is distrib-uting water to the affected communities with their water tanker.

Zamboanga City has a pop-ulation of more than 807,000, of which 20 percent or around 160,000 are experiencing low water pressure because of the drought. (PNA)

A FA R M -TO - M A R K E T road project of the De-partment of Agriculture

(DA-12) in a remote village here has ease farmers’ lives and make transport of agricul-tural crops easier, agriculture officials said.

From PHP100 per sack of rice or corn shipped through skylab, a local moniker for motorcycle, the transportation cost of farmers of Sitio Matias, Barangay Camutan, Antipas, North Cotabato has been re-duced on to PHP60, according to Noemi Reyes, Antipas Mu-nicipal Planning and Develop-ment Coordinator.

“After the PHP8.3-million Farm-to-Market Road Project (FMR) was implemented by the DA-12 through its Bot-tom-Up Budgeting Program in partnership with the local government, it contributed a lot to increase the income of farmers in Barangay Camu-tan,” she said.

Amalia Jayag Datukan, DA-12 regional executive director, said the project has been serv-ing 100 farm families in Sitio Matias cultivating more than 700 hectares of production area of commodities like rice, corn, coconut, rubber, and ba-nana.

Rice farmer Jovic Teodoro attested to that saying before the project was completed, they could hardly pass through the muddy road and they paid huge amount of money just to deliver their products to the market.

Today, Teodoro has his own motorcycle because he saved a lot from his income af-ter the road was rehabilitated and concreted.

Hernando Villarosa Jr, chairperson of Barangay Camutan, also admitted that aside from Sitio Matias farm-ers, residents of mountains of Arakan and Magpet towns

benefit from the project since the road was the gateway of products from these areas.

“I am very thankful to the Department of Agriculture 12 for this project. We never thought that the road will be rehabilitated and concreted,” Villarosa said.

On top of FMR project from BUB, Barangay Camutan also received from DA’s Agri Pinoy Rice Program three multi-purpose drying pave-ment and two warehouses.

”Really, the lives of our farmers have tremendously improved, economically and socially,” he added. (PNA)

11.9-MW bunker power plant in Koronadal to operate soon

Road project in NorCot eases farmers’ lives

GenSan cops nab 105 drug pushers

Red Cross supports El Niño-stricken communities in Zamboanga City

THE Office of the Presi-dential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)

and provincial government have provided health insur-ance and livelihood assistance to a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) community in this province.

The beneficiaries of the assistance is the MNLF com-munity in the “hard-to-reach” Barangay Panganuran, Sibuco municipality.

The town is within the third congressional district of this province.

Howard Cafugauan,

OPAPP assistant secretary for programs, personally hand-ed over the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Phil-Health) cards to 64 MNLF members.

Cafugauan also turned over farm animals that includ-ed 15 heads of goats and eight heads of cows to boost the livelihood of the Panganuran Farmers’ Association.

The association is headed by Hadji Asbirin Kahaluddin, the MNLF state chairman of this province.

Cafugauan told the Phil-ippines News Agency that the

distribution of health insur-ance and livelihood assistance are part of OPAPP’s program through the PAyapa at MAsa-ganang PamayaNAn (PAMA-NA) program.

The provincial govern-ment also turned over live-stock to the farmers’ associa-tion 10 heads of goats and four heads of cows.

Eng’r. Dioscoro Endad, provincial executive assistant IV, said that assorted vegetable seeds were also given to the association aside from live-stock.

“The given livestock signi-

fied the sincerity of Gov. Ro-berto Uy to help alleviate the plight to our Muslim brothers,” Endad said.

Last month, 10 heads of high-breed goats were giv-en to the group of Asbirin as promised by Uy to help them in their livelihood.

OPAPP has identified the barangay of Panganuran in Si-buco town as among the con-flict-affected communities in the Triple “SB” areas.

Aside from Sibuco, the towns of Sirawai, Siocon, and Baliguian comprise the Triple SB areas. (PNA)

OPAPP, Zambo Norte distribute insurance, livestock to MNLF

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 5EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

THE City Council of Davao is requesting the Aboitiz-owned Davao

light and Power Company (DLPC) to appear before the council in next week’s Tues-day regular session to explain the series of longer rotating power interruptions it imple-mented in its franchise area.

“I wanted to call the at-tention of the DLPC to explain and settle these issues imme-diately, “ Public safety com-mittee chairman Nilo Abelle-ra Jr. said during his privilege speech in yesterday’s regular session.

Apart from DLPC, the council also requested the presence of representatives from the Department of En-ergy (DOE) and the National Power Corporation (NPC).

Dabawenyos, he said, were already complaining of the three to four-hour long rotating power interruptions implemented by the DLPC due to the low power supply from the NPC and contracted generation utilities.

“The DLPC is implement-ing 3-hour rotating blackouts during peaks hours which starts at 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and one hour during off-peak which is between 9 p.m. and

7 a.m.,” Abellera said. He said the DLPC said that it is only receiving an average of 233 megawatts (MW) of its 320 MW contracted supply from NPC and independent power suppliers in Mindanao.

“The DLPC reported that the city’s power demand can go as high as 340 MW during peak hours,” he added. “This shows insufficiency in the power supply.”

Abellera said the power interruptions are threatening the operations of businesses here as well as the ability of the city to attract investors.

He said power, aside from availability of necessary infra-structure affect, is one of the basic requirements for the city to entice more local and foreign direct investments in the future.

He said the series of blackouts are causing small business a loss of 20 to 40 percent in their daily income. “This can lead small business-es to be bankrupt.”

Not only it affects the local businesses but it also affect negatively the tourism indus-try of the city, he added.

Earlier, the DLPC said the long dry season is affecting

A BILL seeking to establish a Bureau of E-Commerce at-tached to the Department

of Trade and Industry is under consideration by the House Com-mittee on Government Reorgani-zation.

“The proposed Bureau is necessary to address the burgeon-ing multifarious activities of the e-commerce industry and posi-tion our country as an attractive and safe destination for e-com-merce,” Rep. Wes Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian is author of HB 3878 creating said E-Commerce Bureau, to be attached to the De-partment of Trade and Industry, providing funds for its operations and for other purposes.

A related bill, HB 80, also pending with the said House com-mittee and filed earlier by Davao Del Norte Rep. Anthony Del Rosa-rio, seeks the full implementation

of the electronic transactions in all offices of the national and local governments to simplify and pro-mote efficiency in all public trans-actions with government.

Gatchalian recalled that to fa-cilitate domestic and international dealings, transactions through the use of electronic, optical and other similar mediums, congress enact-ed into law R.A. 8792 or the “Elec-tronic Commerce Act of 2000.”

Subsequently, he noted that the E-Commerce Office of the DTI was created with the aim of direct-ly supervising the promotion and development of electronic com-merce in the country.

“The e-commerce and inter-net sector has therefore evolved rapidly since its early devel-opment and the government should take active interest and harness the opportunities offered

THE PHP30.00 flag-down rate for taxi fare nation-wide will be permanent

starting March 19, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LT-FRB) said on Tuesday.

In March 2015, flag-down rate for taxis has been slashed to PHP30.00. However, it was only considered provisional.

LTFRB said that the fixed PHP30.00 flag-down rate will be implemented nationwide on the said date except in the Cordillera Administrative Re-gion (CAR). The nationwide fare for every succeeding 300 meters will be PHP3.50.

The Board has also fixed the charge for waiting time per 90 seconds to PHP3.50 and not PHP5.00 which was earlier petitioned by transport groups.

Meanwhile, airport tax-is have a flag-down rate of PHP60.00 for the first 500 meters; PHP4.00 for every succeeding 500 meters after

the first 500 meters; and PHP 4.00 for the waiting time per 90 seconds.

Taxis in the Baguio City will have a flag-down rate of PHP30.00, PHP2.00 for every succeeding 400 meters and PHP2.00 for the waiting time per 60 seconds.

Reduction for flag down rate will take effect 10 days from publication of the order in national newspapers, even without calibration and re-sealing of the taxi meter.

New rates for the succeed-ing meters and the waiting time shall be effective upon calibration and resealing of the taxi-meter. Taxi operators will be given a schedule for the calibration and resealing of their taxi meters.

Taxi operators who fail to calibrate and seal/reseal their taxi meters on the above-men-tioned schedule will be penal-ized PHP5,000.00

LTFRB Chairman Atty. Winston Ginez said that the

fare adjustments were decid-ed after taking into proper ac-count the recommendation of concerned government agen-cies, drop in crude prices and other socio-economic factors.

Ginez stressed the im-portance of striking a balance between the interests of both the riding public and the oper-ators and their drivers.

“We did not exactly grant the fare adjustments transport groups wanted but we also re-duced the taxi fare by length-ening the distance,” Ginez said.

“We also reduced the wait-ing time because this has a net reduction in the total fare to the consumer while acknowl-edging that the drivers and operators would likewise have an increase in waiting time,” he added.

TNVS also urged to review rates

Ginez alo encouraged transport network companies (TNCs) and transport network

vehicle systems (TNVS) such as Uber and Grab to review their distance and time rates following the fixed reduction in taxi flag-down rates.

“We urge them to make a proper determination of what should be the fare considering the order of taxis today (Tues-day),” the LTFRB chief said.

Transport group Dumper Philippines Taxi Drivers As-sociation, Inc. Founder and National President Fermin Oc-tobre said he was not pleased with the decision of the Board.

“The Board should have only minded the fixed flag-down rate and did not bother changing the succeeding rates and waiting time rates,” Octo-bre said in an interview.

He said that the Board should have also taken traf-fic congestion, unreasonable boundaries imposed by oper-ators, app-based ride-hailing services among other factors as consideration for making their decision. (PNA)

Smart named Company ofthe Year at Anvil Awards

TO EXPLAIN LONGER POWER OUTAGES

Council summons DLPC, DOE, [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

FINAL DECISION. A taxi traverses along E. Quirino Avenue in Davao City yesterday. The Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said the P30.00 flag-down rate for taxi fare nationwide will be implemented starting March 19 except in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Lean Daval Jr.

Bureau of E-Commerce establishment sought

MOBILE leader Smart Com-munications was the big winner at the recently

concluded 51st Anvil Awards, bringing home the Company of the Year distinction after receiving the highest number of Gold Anvils for its public relations programs.

Smart was presented with a seven Gold Anvils and seven Silver Anvils in a ceremony organized annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

Receiving a Gold Anvil was Smart’s Free Internet campaign, an initiative to bring the benefits of mobile Internet to more Fili-pinos. From September 2014 to February 2015, Smart gave the 70 million subscribers of Smart, Sun, and TNT free access to 30 MB of

data on a daily basis. Smart also re-leased educational materials that taught Filipinos how mobile Inter-net could make their lives better.

Another Gold Anvil winner was the Sun Choose Better cam-paign, which encouraged the youth to celebrate practicality – to not go along with the hype and choose options that give them more than what they pay for.

To concretize Sun’s prom-ise of providing better value, Sun Postpaid increased its text and data allocation for Plan 450. Sun Broadband improved its Non-Stop Surf Plan 450 and Non-Stop Surf 25 load with a hybrid wallet, allowing subscribers to have an unlimited-like surfing experience

Representatives from Smart led by public affairs head Mon Isberto [standing center] pose with their trophies at the Anvil awards dinner

LTFRB fixes taxi flag-down rate at P30FCOUNCIL, 14

FBUREAU, 14

FSMART, 14


AGRITRENDS cocoGoing loco overText and photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

(First of Two Parts) “I come from a coconut

producing region. Our liveli-hood relies mostly on coconut. The few hectares of coconut plantation we own sent my sis-ter and me to school in Manila. Had it not been for the coconut meat that is part of our meals during the Japanese occupa-tion, I won’t be around writing this letter. We owe a lot from the coconut!” -- From an e-mail sent to this author

***

ALTHOUGH not a native of the Philippines, coco-nut can be considered

as God’s gift to Filipinos. It is called the “tree of life,” a mon-iker that couldn’t be truer in the country where the coco-nut industry provides a liveli-hood for one-third of the total population, according to data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

The UN Food and Agri-culture Organization (FAO) reports coconut production in the Philippines grew at the rate of 5.3% per year from 1911 to 1929. It increased by

5.2% from 1952 to 1966.Today, the Philippines is

the world’s second largest producer of coconut products – after Indonesia. Some 3.562 million hectares of coconut trees are planted all over the country, dominating the land-scape in 69 out of the total 80 provinces.

Historically, the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas were the centers of coconut production. But in the 1980s, Western Mindanao and South-ern Mindanao also became important coconut-growing regions.

“I take pride in claiming that we are the number one co-conut producer in the country, not because Mati is the biggest producer of coconut, but be-cause Mati is the capital town of the biggest coconut produc-ing province and that is, Davao Oriental,” said then Mayor Mi-chelle Rabat during the first Mindanao Coconut Summit a few years ago.

Coconut is an emblem of Mati’s existence. About 27 thousand hectares of its total land area of 79,109 hectares

it is not given much attention in recent years. In fact, the country’s coconut production and productivity are both de-clining. “Currently, the average yield is pegged at 46 nuts per tree per year, which is way be-low the India’s average yield of 120 nuts per tree per year,” PCAARRD reports.

One of the reasons cited is that most of the coconut trees grown in the country are now very old. More than 44 mil-lion coconut trees are at least 60 years old, studies showed. One lawmaker said that 15 out of every 100 coconut trees are “past retirement age.”

The PCA and other govern-ment agencies are urging Fili-pinos to plant more coconuts in their farms. And by planting more coconuts, the Philippines can also help stave off the ef-fects of climate change. “These coconut lands could be devel-oped for income generating carbon sequestration projects and carbon credit market,” pointed out PCA’s Severino S. Magat.

Carbon sequestration describes long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to either mit-igate or defer global warming and avoid dangerous climate change. Carbon dioxide, in the form of gas, can be sequestered out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The carbon dioxide is converted into sugar by the plant or emitted back to the air through perspiration.

Carbon stored in plant parts other than the stem wood or trunk are generally decomposable biomass which eventually becomes a part of the soil organic matter (SOM) of which the more stable com-ponent is the 50 percent soil organic carbon (SOC).

In his paper presentation entitled, “Productive and Sus-tainable Coconut Farming Eco-systems as Potential Carbon

Sinks in Climate Change Mini-mization: A Review and Advi-sory Notes,” Magat explained the important role of the coco-nut lands against the negative impacts of climate change.

In coconut, as in most tree crops, carbon is stored or se-questered both by the biomass and the soil of the ecosystem, indicating that the biomass and the soil are the main car-bon sinks of atmospheric car-bon dioxide. These “carbon sinks” could be regulated and managed to a great extent by following proper cropping practices, according to Magat.

A two-year study conduct-ed by PCA showed the annual rate of carbon sequestration in local tall variety coconut crop is 4.78 tons carbon per hect-are. That is equivalent to 17.54 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare, Magat claimed.

Unknowingly, coconut (scientific name: Cocos nu-cifera) is not a nut but a fruit. One of the oldest references to coconut is that of an Egyp-tian traveler who, in 545 A.D., wrote about a “nut of India” and sometimes as the “Indian nut.” Both the Spanish and Portuguese reported coconut in normal use as food in the Ca-ribbean area previous to 1526. Later, in 1577 during a visit to Cape Verde Island, Sir Francis Drake frequently referred to the vast quantities available of “nargil,” the prevailing name of coconut.

It was not until 1775 that nargil was dropped and the word coconut became general in use. The name coco means “bugbear” or “hobgoblin” be-cause of the grotesque face or mask of the shell.

Most coconut grows on beaches of tropical islands. Here’s one legend from east-ern Papua about the origin of coconut. Each day a man came home in the evening with a basket filled with large fish. Naturally, the villagers went to spy on him, to find out how he was so successful. At dawn, the man removed his head, placed it under a shrub, and then wad-ed out into the ocean, where the fish would be attracted to him and be swallowed through his neck.

According to the legend, the man spewed out the many fish on shore, placed his head on again, then sorted the fish to return the small ones to the water. Then next morning the jealous onlookers stole the man’s head and hid it in the sand. When he could not find his head, the man changed into a fish and swam away, but his head subsequently grew into a coconut tree. (To be conclud-ed)

is planted to coconut, with 18 thousand farmers cultivating the vastness and the richness of the area that spells liveli-hood for thousands of people in the locality.

“(Coconut) provides vi-tal economic support to the rural communities, with over 3.4 million farmers directly benefiting from the industry,” reports the Laguna-based Phil-ippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resourc-es Research and Development (PCAARRD).

While the coconut indus-try is touted as “the lifeblood of the Philippine agriculture,”

Today, the Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of coconut products

Harvesting coconut

Dehusking coconuts


COMPETITIVE EDGEUSeP inks MOU with iCSC

THE University of South-eastern Philippines (USeP), represented by

its President, Dr. Lourdes C. Generalao, and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC), represented by its Executive Director, Dr. Re-nato Redentor Constantino, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on February 23, 2016, at the USeP Board Room, Office of the President. Both USeP and iCSC commit to pursue and support climate lens sharing through research and devel-opment.

The aim of the said MOU is to create a network of SUCs working on climate-related research in the Philippines such as but not limited to Slow Onset Impacts (SOI), Vulner-ability and Risk Assessments (VRA), and effective delivery of climate finance. Further-

more, it aims to integrate cli-mate change adaptation ap-proaches in both short- and long-term planning and to allow information transfer be-tween stakeholders including civil society organizations, uni-versities and academic institu-tions, and the government.

The iCSC is a non-profit organization working on sus-tainable energy solutions and fair climate policy. The orga-nization recognizes the need and equal importance of un-derstanding climatic impacts and its appropriate solutions through local specific cli-mate-smart related research and development in Davao Del Norte, and thus proposed the signing of MOU with USeP.

Along with the MOU sign-ing was the Round Table Dis-cussion between the stake-holders conducted on Febru-ary 24 at the USeP Apokon,

Tagum City Campus. It was participated by the USeP Re-search and Extension team, faculty, students, and planning officers and partner LGUs in the city. During the dialogue, iCSC’s policy portfolio and the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) were both presented and dis-cussed. An open forum fol-lowed afterwards.

USeP is the first SUC to have signed the said MOU with iCSC. With this, USeP opts to become the prime mover of conducting and implementing a high-level, multidisciplinary research and extension that will lead to more sustainable growth and development in Mindanao. With one common goal, USeP and iCSC both envi-sion to help the society meet its needs and aspirations with-out compromising the ability of the future generation to meet theirs.

USeP and iCSC MOA signing


VANTAGE

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EDITORIALThe Bangsamoro vote

HE was trailing in the latest Pulse Asia Survey released last week in a tie for second place with administration bet Mar Roxas at 21 percent. However, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo

Duterte—considered by many as the man from Mindanao with the best chance of winning the presidency, continued to make the significant progress in his campaign.

Mayor Duterte bagged the support of a vital component of the Bangsamoro people when he was formally endorsed by the Moro National Liberation Front headed by former University of the Philippines professor and ARMM Governor Nur Misuari.

Misuari told his men in Kidapawan City that Mayor Duterte is the one who is really fighting for the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao.

“Duterte is very vocal in peace negotiations with the Bangsamoro people,” said Misuari who believed the the tough-

talking Mayor of Davao is the last hope for Mindanao.Duterte has signified in many fora that with the failure of the

government in putting in place the BBL, he is calling for a more wholistic transformation to Federalism where Misuari’s MNLF territory in the island of Mindanao won’t be left behind.

It’s a small crowd to consider—about 500 men from the MNLF. So unlike the sorties of the administration bet what with the use of government resources in tow. But Duterte may have made the most significant progress right after last week’s survey results. Afterall, the man has decided to push his campaign sans all the breastbeating and the hoopla, overcoming his team’s handicap in machinery and election kitty.

By far, Duterte has made the more aggressive moves-talking to the CPP-NPA, MILF, and the MNLF. It’s a journey to peace —relatively silent but sincere.

I ALMOST fell off from my seat when I read the Sunday newspapers report-ing that a SUSPECTED (caps to high-

light) North Korean cargo vessel “Jin Teng” docked in Subic port delivering palm kernel for farm animal feeds was im-pounded as part of the United Nations as-set freeze sanction against volatile North Korea for its missile program in defiance of UN rules. Wow! The Philippines is the first to immediately act within hours of the release of the sanction orders. We are now the first to show bold moves and be internationally compliant. Well and good?

WRONG! If you ask me, this is another reckless and provocative move and who-ever ordered and sanctioned this must be exposed and held responsible for the con-sequences of this “kneejerk reaction”.

I read closely the Philippine Daily In-

quirer report which said that the owner-ship of the said vessel is not even clear yet whether it is North Korean or not. Our Coast Guard officially found that the ship’s papers showed that it was aSierra Leone-flagged vessel owned by a compa-ny based in the British Virgin Islands. It is registered under the name of Golden Soar Development whose address is in Hong-kong’s Tsim Sha Tsiu tourist district. Phil-ippine government merely followed the alleged UN list and without the Philippine government doing due diligence to first verify the ownership. If further verifica-tions showed this is indeed North Korean,

then by all means. We all know this is a difficult and long process with the usual layering of documents, flagging and situs of registrations. But at this time, this is premature; definitely not at this stage when we have not even done the most basic step of verification. This is grossly reckless! And if we cannot eventually pin this down as a North Korean vessel, we will all be red in the face : an international embarrassment!

I visited South Korea exactly one year ago. I went to the so-called “38th paral-lel”, that great divide that separates the two still warring Koreas and where north and South Korean soldiers face each oth-er eyeball-to-eyeball everyday up to now hoping no one pulls the trigger first. There had been stories from those who escaped who told us about the north, of how re-

pressive and harsh life and how volatile and juvenile the young KIM JONG-UN, the Korean leader had been. He deserves to be internationally sanctioned. But we must show to the world that we also do due diligence.

I worked in Malacanang for many years. It is unpardonable to act this ag-gressively on such an internationally sen-sitive move without first the cabinet secu-rity cluster meeting (or its equivalent now) and weighing options before a decision is made. Or was there one that we do not know of? Then let it be known publicly.

This is also recklessly provocative. Let’s not all be surprised if the next rock-et launch by Pyongyang will be directed at our shores. Anyway, they are just test launchings! Then we can send our outrig-gers and bancas to battle!

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!THE first time I heard of Rafflesia was when I visited Maragusan, Compos-tela Valley. Dennis Radin, the town’s

tourism officer, accompanied me in climb-ing the mountain where the said plant can be found.

It was a long trip; we passed a banana plantation, passed by a river, and trekked a mountain. I was exhausted when we got there. What I saw was the remnant of the plant and not the giant bloom itself.

No, I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was completely surprised that I was able to scale the mountain. I had to cling to some roots of the trees. In some instanc-es, my life seemed to thrive only in the vines I was holding.

Now, I heard that another species of Rafflesia had been found by a team of biologists from the University of the Phil-ippines. It is scientifically called Rafflesia consueloae and has been described as the “world’s smallest giant bloom.”

The newly-discovered species has an average diameter of 9.73 centimeters. It thrives only in Mount Balokbok and Mount Pantaburon in Nueva Ecija. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classified it as “critically endangered spe-cies.”

There are 30 known Rafflesia spe-cies in the world, of which one-third are found only in the Philippines. Prof. Perry S. Ong, a biologist and lead researcher of the study, said Rafflesia consueloae is sixth from Luzon and 13th in the entire archi-pelago.

In 1998, the IUCN identified the Phil-ippines as one of the 17 countries in the world which are considered “biodiversity

superstars.”The Biodi-

versity Man-agement Bu-reau (formerly the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bu-reau) report-ed the country has the high-est rate of dis-covery in the world. The Philippines ranks fifth in the number of plants species and maintains 5% of the world’s flora and ranks fourth when it comes to endemic birds.

Representative Angelo Palmones of the Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mama-mayan (AGHAM) Party-list takes pride in the megadiversity distinction of the coun-try. However, he laments the fact that the Philippines is also a “hot spot” ecological-ly.

“In 2007, the Department of Envi-ronment and Natural Resources came-up with a list of threatened plant species indicating that 99 species were critically endangered while 187 were classified as endangered,” Palmones pointed out.

As the representative of the science sector, Palmones was the one who initi-ated the filing of legislative measures to protect the country’s biodiversity such as the amendments to Republic Act No. 7586 -- otherwise known as the National Inte-grated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) -- to make the new law more responsive to our present needs.

“We need to intensify our campaign in

preserving our biodiversity if we do not want to lose the distinction of being one of the world’s ‘biodiversity superstars,’” Pal-mones urged. “Our rich flora and fauna is our very own heritage, our pride to be handed down and enjoyed by the coming generations.”

We have to do something before it’s too late. “Of all the global problems that confront us, (species extinction) is the one that is moving the most rapidly and the one that will have the most serious con-sequences,” deplored Dr. Peter Raven, di-rector of the Missouri Botanical Gardens in the United States.

Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson agrees. “The worst thing that can happen -- will happen -- is not energy depletion, economic collapse, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a totalitarian government,” he writes in Harvard Magazine.

“As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired with-in a few generations. The one process… that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us,” Dr. Wilson says.

Meanwhile, a new research conducted by Dr. Lesley Lancaster of the University of Aberdeen shows climate change will en-danger many species previously believed to be not at risk.

“It was previously believed that insects in the tropics and deserts were the most at risk species from climate change and that high-latitude species were not endan-gered,” wrote Laura Graham, of the Phys.org, a web-based science, research, and technology news service.

The new study, published in Nature Climate Change, seems to disprove that. It has shown that only recently arrived high-latitude species, such as agricultural pests and disease vectors, will be able to withstand future levels of warming at high latitudes.

This is because these recently arrived species retain “thermal tolerances” to the warmer climates from which they orig-inated. For example, insects such as fruit flies, mealworm beetles, and invasive ter-mites have only recently colonized higher latitudes as a result of human activities, and these insects therefore have broad tolerances to warming which will buffer them against future climate change.

“In contrast, species native to high lat-itudes will in fact suffer worse declines than comparable species in the tropics, because these endemic, high-latitude spe-cies have very narrow thermal tolerances (very low warming tolerances), similar to the low warming tolerances exhibited by threatened tropical species,” Graham wrote.

Here’s the observation of Dr. Lancast-er: “The result of this study is quite novel in that it has shown that climate change is a huge problem for a wide range of native species that we previously thought would be able to withstand temperature chang-es.

She further adds: “These results have very important conservation implications, particularly for high-latitude ecosystems. It is important to realize that recently-cos-mopolitan species, such as pests, will likely replace the more unique and valued high latitude species, if we do not do enough to mitigate climate change.”

S.O.B.: Save our biodiversity

Seizing NoKor ship reckless, provocative

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

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PROPERTYDamosa Land’s Seawind Continues Upward Trajectory with Launch of Tower 4Damosa Land receives BOI incentives for 3 towersFOLLOWING the over-

whelming reception from its first three tow-

ers, Damosa Land’s maiden condominium project, Sea-wind, continues to follow its upward sales trajectory. Tower 4, with a total inven-tory of about 200 units, was launched to the public last January 23.

“We expected sales of Tower 4 to be relatively slower than that of the first three towers, given various external factors. However, we were pleased to see that sales continue to be brisk. As of to-day, we have sold about 50% of Tower 4’s inventory, after launching just last January. These positive figures have prompted us to accelerate construction. We are current-ly constructing both Towers 1 and 2, as well as doing the basic land development,” said Cary Floirendo Lagdameo, Vice President for Damosa Land.

Damosa Land celebrat-ed another early milestone this year as it was granted approval by the Board of In-vestments for various fiscal incentives for Towers 4, 5

The entrance complex of Seawind takes shape as it is set for inauguration on March 16.

and 6. These towers are the expansion of Seawind, an affordable condo project, which was launched last March 2015.

Subsequently, Towers 5 and 6 of this resort-inspired condominium project are targeted to be launched in April and August of this year,

respectively.Keeping true its commit-

ment to deliver its projects in a timely manner, Damosa Land will inaugurate the en-trance complex of Seawind this coming March 16, which will coincide with Araw ng Davao, where Damosa Land and Damosa Land’s parent

The construction development of Seawind’s Tower 1 is still going steadfast according to Damosa Land’s plan. Damosa Land is positive that by early next year, the Seawind Tower 1 units will be turned over to its homeowners.

company, Anflocor, are major partners for the celebration. No less than Damosa Land’s en-dorser, Ms Jodi Sta Ma-ria, is expected to grace the event.

With construction in full swing, Damosa Land is confident that the timeline set to deliv-er the units to its clients will be fulfilled. By early next year, Damosa Land is looking to turn over the Tower 1 units to its first set of homeown-ers.

Damosa Land is the real estate and property

development company of the Anflo Group of Companies – the com-pany that is responsible for developing the busi-ness and lifestyle-ori-ented commercial cen-ter, Damosa District.

To know more about Seawind, you may visit its model unit at the Damosa Land showroom and cus-tomer lounge at Damo-sa Complex. You may reach Damosa Land Inc.’s Property Special-ists at 234-2888 or visit their website at www.damosaland.com. █

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 201612CLASSIFIEDS EDGEDAVAO2 EDGEDAVAORepublic of the Philippines

City of DavaoOffice of the Sangguniang Panlungsod

17th City Council26th Regular SessionSeries of 2015

Councilor Karlo S. Bello - Temporary Presiding Officer Councilor Nilo M. Abellera Jr.Councilor Ma. Belen S. AcostaCouncilor Victorio U. Advincula Jr.Councilor Bernard E. Al-agCouncilor Al Ryan S. AlejandreCouncilor Leonardo R. Avila IIICouncilor Joanne M. Bonguyan-QuilosCouncilor Louie John J. BonguyanCouncilor Danilo C. DayanghirangCouncilor April Marie C. DayapCouncilor Jimmy G. DurezaCouncilor January N. DuterteCouncilor Leah A. Librado-YapCouncilor Rene Elias C. LopezCouncilor Diosdado Angelo A. Mahipus Sr.Councilor Bonifacio E. MilitarCouncilor Myrna G. L’Dalodo-OrtizCouncilor Antoinette G. Principe-CastrodesCouncilor Marissa P. Salvador-AbellaCouncilor Halila Y. SudagarCouncilor Mary Joselle D. VillafuerteCouncilor Rachel P. Zozobrado

ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS:Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte - Acting City MayorCouncilor Edgar R. Ibuyan Sr.

ABSENT:Councilor Tomas J. Monteverde IV - On Sick Leave

ORDINANCE NO. 0368–15Series of 2015

AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE CREATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OFFICE (CDRRMO)

Be it ordained by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Davao City in session assembled that:

ARTICLE ITITLE OF THE ORDINANCE

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE – This Ordinance shall be known as the “CITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OFFICE (CDRRMO) ORDINANCE”;

ARTICLE IIDECLARATION OF POLICY

SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY - It is hereby declared the policy of Davao City to:

(a) Uphold the people’s constitutional rights to life and property by addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities to disasters, strengthening the city’s institutional capacity for disaster risk reduction and management and building the resilience of local communities to disasters including climate change impacts;

(b) Strengthen the capacity of the City, together with partner stakeholders, to build disaster resilient communities, and to institutionalize arrangements and measures for reducing disaster risks, including projected climate change risks, and enhancing disaster preparedness and response capabilities at all levels;

(c) Institutionalize the policies, structures, coordination mechanisms and programs with continuing budget appropriation on disaster risk reduction, towards building disaster-resilient communities;

(d) Recognize and strengthen the capabilities of the City in mitigating and preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the impact of disasters;

(e) Engage the participation of other government institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector and volunteer in the City’s disaster risk reduction programs towards complementation of resources and effective delivery of services to the citizenry;

(f) Provide maximum care, assistance and services to individuals and families affected by disaster, implement emergency rehabilitation projects to lessen the impact of disaster, and facilitate resumption of normal social and economic activities.

ARTICLE IIICITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT COUNCIL (CDRRMC)

Section 3. Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC) – The existing City Disaster Coordinating Council shall henceforth be known as the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC).

Section 4. Composition – The LDRRMC shall be composed of, but not limited to, the following:

Chairperson: City Mayor or his duly authorized representativeVice Chairperson: Vice Mayor or his duly authorized representativeMembers: City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office City Planning and Development Office City Social Services and Development Office City Health Office City Agriculturist’s Office Integrated Gender and Development Office City Engineer’s Office

City Veterinarian’s Office City Budget Office City Schools Division Superintendent, Department of Education Director, Davao City Police Office City Fire Office, Bureau of Fire Protection President, Association of Barangay Captains Chapter Administrator, Philippine National Red Cross (Davao City Chapter) Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry City Administrator’s Office City Environment and Natural Resources Office City Information Office Barangay Cultural and Community Affairs Division City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) Public Safety and Security Command Center Central 911 Regional Community Defense Group XI Task Force Davao, 10th Infantry Division Philippine Coast Guard City Accountant’s Office City Local Government Operations Office, Department of Interior and Local Government City Legal Office Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers – Davao City Chapter Mindanao Land Foundation Davao Association of Catholic Schools Davao Association of Guidance Counselors, Inc. United Architects of the Philippines Davao Light and Power Company Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company Davao City Water District

Section 5. Functions of LDRRMC – The LDRRMC shall have the following functions:

(1) Approve, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the LDRRMPs and regularly review and test the plan consistent with other national and local planning programs;

(2) Ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into local development plans, programs and budgets as a strategy in sustainable development and poverty reduction;

(3) Recommend the implementation of forced or pre-emptive evacuation of local residents, if necessary;

(4) Convene the local council once every three (3) months or as necessary;

(5) Perform such other functions that are incidental to and necessary for the performance of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM).

ARTICLE IVCITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMENT OFFICE (CDRRMO)

Section 6. Organization and Compositon.

6.1. The CDRRMO shall be under the Office of the City Mayor.

6.2. The CDRRMO shall be initially composed of a Local DRRM Officer to be assisted by three (3) staff responsible for:

• Administration and training;• Research and planning; and• Operations and warning; and such other staff as may be deemed necessary in the performance of the

mandated functions.

6.3. The Local DRRM Officer, who shall lead the CDRRMO for highly urbanized city shall have the following standards on position titles and salary grades:

Section 7. Position Titles, Qualification Standards, and Salary Grades for Technical Staff of CDRRMO.

7.1. The Local DRRM Officer series of position titles with their corresponding minimum qualification standards and salary grades shall be used in the classification of the technical staff positions for the CDRRMO, as follows:

POSITION (SG) EDUCATION EXPERIENCE TRAINING ELIGIBILITY

Local DRRM

Officer IV(SG 22)

Bachelor’s Degree

3 years of relevant

experience on DRRM

16 hours of relevant training

on DRRM

Career Service Professional / 2nd Level Eligibility

POSITION (SG) EDUCATION EXPERIENCE TRAINING ELIGIBILITY

Local DRRM Officer III

(SG 18)Bachelor’s

Degree

2 years of relevant

experience on DRRM

8 hours of relevant

training on DRRM


Local DRRM Officer II(SG 15)

Bachelor’s Degree

1 year of relevant

experience on DRRM

4 hours of relevant

training on DRRM


Local DRRM Officer I(SG 11)

Bachelor’s Degree None required None required


Local DRRM Assistant

(SG 8)

Completion of 2 years in

College

1 year of relevant

experience on DRRM

4 hours of relevant training

Career Service Professional / 1ST +Level

Eligibility

3EDGEDAVAO Position Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer IV 22/2 Php 517,452.00(Development Management Officer IV)

Administration Salary Grade Annual Salary and Training Unit

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/6 Php 397,356.00(Development Management Officer III) One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/6 315,432.00(Development Management Officer II)

One (1) Local DRRM Officer I 11/6 233,940.00(Development Management Officer I)

One (1) Local DRRM Assistant 8/1 179,172.00

One (1) Administrative Aide IV (Driver) 4/2 135,504.00

One (1) Administrative Aide III (Utility Worker) 3/6 131,172.00

Research and Planning Unit Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/1 Php 376,212.00(Development Management Officer III)

One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/1 298,644.00(Development Management Officer II)



Operations and Warning Unit Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/1 Php 376,212.00 One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/1 298,644.00

One (1) Local DRRM Officer I 11/1 222,588.00


7.2. The staff of the CDRRMO may be augmented through any or a combination of the following options:

7.2.1. Designation or assignment of personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO in concurrent capacities with their existing positions;

7.2.2. Reassignment of personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO;

7.2.3. Full-time or part-time detail of existing personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO.

Section 8. Functions and Responsibilities of the CDRRMO. – The CDRRMO, within its territorial jurisdiction, shall be responsible for setting the direction, development, implementation, and coordination of disaster risk reduction and management programs, and shall perform the following functions and those that may be authorized by the LDRRMC:

8.1. DRRM Administration and Training.

8.1.1. Organize and conduct training, orientation, and knowledge management activities on DRRM;

8.1.2. Identify, assess and manage the hazards, vulnerabilities and risks that may occur;

8.1.3. Identify and implement cost-effective risk reduction measures and strategies;

8.1.4. Disseminate information and raise public awareness about the nature, hazards, vulnerabilities, risks, effects, early warning signs and counter measures;

8.1.5. Take all necessary steps on a continuing basis to maintain, provide, or arrange the provision of, or to otherwise make available, suitably-trained and competent personnel for effective civil defense and DRRM;

8.1.6. Organize, train, equip and supervise the local emergency response teams and the Accredited Community Disaster Volunteers (ACDVs), ensuring that humanitarian aid workers are equipped with basic skills to assist mothers to breastfeed;

8.1.7. Train the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities or PWDs) in DRRM, especially in disaster preparedness.

8.2. DRRM Research and Planning.

8.2.1. Design, program, and coordinate DRRM activities, consistent with the National Council standards and guidelines;

8.2.2. Facilitate and support risk assessments and contingency planning activities;

8.2.3. Consolidate local disaster risk information which includes natural hazards, vulnerabilities, and climate change risks, and maintain a local risk map;

8.2.4. Conduct research and development initiatives on DRRM;

8.2.5. Formulate and implement a comprehensive and integrated Local DRRM Plan (LDRRMP) in accordance with the national, regional framework, and policies on disaster risk reduction in close coordination with the Local Development Council (LDC);

8.2.6. Prepare and submit to the Sangguniang Panlungsod through the Local DRRM Council and the LDC the annual LDRRMPO Plan and budget, proposed programming of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF), other disaster risk reduction and management resources, and other regular funding sources and budgetary support; and

8.2.7. Serve as the Secretariat and executive arm of the Local DRRM Council (LDRRMC);

8.2.8. Recommend through the LDRRMC the enactment of local ordinances consistent with Republic Act No. 10121;

8.2.9. Prepare and submit, the report on the utilization of the LDRRMF and other dedicated disaster risk reduction and management resources to the local Commission on Audit (COA), copy furnished the regional director of the OCD and the Local Government Operations Officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG);

8.2.10. Maintain a database of human resource and their capacities, equipment, directories, and location of critical infrastructures and their capacities; and

8.2.11. Involve the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs) in risk assessment and planning.

8.3. DRRM Operations and Warning.

8.3.1. Operate a multi-hazard early warning system, linked to disaster risk reduction, to provide accurate and timely advice to national or local emergency response organizations through diverse mass media, particularly radio, landline communications, and technologies for communication within rural communities;

8.3.2. Conduct continuous disaster monitoring and mobilize instrumentalities and entities of the City Government of Davao, CSOs, private groups and organized volunteers, to utilize their facilities and resources for the protection and preservation of life and properties during emergencies in accordance with existing policies and procedures;

8.3.3. Develop, strengthen, and operationalize mechanisms for partnership or networking with the private sector, CSOs, and volunteer groups;

8.3.4. Respond to and manage the adverse effects of emergencies, and carry out emergency and recovery activities in the affected area, ensuring that there is an efficient mechanism for immediate delivery of food, shelter and medical supplies for women and children, endeavour to create a special place where internally-displaced mothers can find help with breastfeeding, feed and care for their babies and give support to each other;

8.3.5. Coordinate other DRRM activities;

8.3.6. Establish linkage and/or network with other Local Government Units for disaster risk reduction and emergency response purposes;

8.3.7. Establish the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operation Center;

8.3.8. Give early warning to the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs) to respond to their needs; and

8.3.9. Respond to and manage the adverse effects of emergency and carry out recovery activities to the most vulnerable areas especially to the vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs).

ARTICLE VMISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations – The LDRRMC through its Chairperson shall issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Ordinance within ninety (90) days after approval of this Ordinance.

The Technical Management Group in consultation with the key stakeholders shall take lead in the preparation of the implementation rules and regulations.

SECTION 10. Honoraria – The LDRRMC members and consultants shall receive honoraria for services rendered and meetings attended, subject to availability of funds and the Government Accounting and Auditing Rules and Regulations.

SECTION 11. Budget – The Local Calamity Fund or the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund shall be used to support disaster risk reduction and management activities in accordance with the prescribed guidelines on the utilization of said fund. Likewise, the funding for the newly created additional plantilla positions shall be subject to the limitation in Sec. 325 (a) of Republic Act No. 7160 as well as honoraria for LDRRMC members and consultants shall also be sourced from the Office of the City Mayor—Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council appropriation.

SECTION 12. Repealing Clause – All previous Ordinances, Executive Orders and other rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed or modified accordingly;

SECTION 13. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE - If for any reason, any section or provision of this Ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect;

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVITY – This Ordinance shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its complete publication in a local newspaper of general circulation in Davao City.

ENACTED, July 14, 2015, by a majority vote of all the Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod present, there being a quorum.

CERTIFIED CORRECT:

CHARITO N. SANTOSSecretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

(City Government Department Head II) ATTESTED:

KARLO S. BELLO Acting Vice Mayor Temporary Presiding Officer cns/clad APPROVED:____________, 2015

RODRIGO R. DUTERTECity Mayor

ATTESTED:

ATTY. JESUS MELCHOR V. QUITAIN City Administrator

STYLE

EDGEDAVAOINdulge!

SUMMER IS FAST APPROACHING and along with the heat, Plains and Prints launches its Sea collection. A modern trans-lation of the sea’s soothing exuberance, the collection exudes a youthful sophistication transcending from denim to warm shared to cool hues that are perfect for the season.

Coolcasualchic

Coolcasualchic

The Sea collection also features tailored tops with unique crops for that are casual yet add a hint of fun to your look. Also in for the season are denim shorts which sets you up for fun under the sun. The Plains & Prints Sea collection is now available at Plains & Prints stores at Abreeza Mall, SM City Davao, Felcris Centrale, and Gaisano Mall.

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

WINE LOVERS HAVE OFTEN BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO MA-JOR GROUPS, the ones who love fruit forward and bold tasting new world wines, and the ones who love the more subtle yet complex old world wines. So imagine my surprise when I got an invita-tion to a wine-tasting of new world and old world wines from the Swiss Deli and An-gelo’s Marketlinks. In my head I was al-ready picturing a clash of worlds where differ-ent people with different tastes would be debating in the cellar on which wine from where is better. Even the wines clashed as I had the misfortune of tasting a beautiful bright and zesty Chillean immediately be-fore tasting a French white which rendered the old world wine tasting a bit flat and too sweet. Luckily, wine lovers tend to be the understand-ing and open minded type of people and as such, much of the conversa-tion that night was about the merits of the wines as a whole and not all about

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOEVENT

A fresh new take onold and new world wine

the regions where they came from. A lot of shar-ing was also done, so that the newbie wine drinkers learned how to appreciate the wines more. In the end though, three wines rose to the top and were the favourite of the invited guests that night. One was the bright and zesty Como Sur Bicicleta Sauvignon Blac from Chile. The tangy citrus taste and bright flavours really stood out for me. I

could just imagine drink-ing a bottle of this at the beach paired with fresh and buttery tuna sashimi and some grilled chicken. Another gem which I almost missed was the Saint-Esprit Cotes do Rhone Delas, a beautifully mellow white wine with a buttery finish. The fla-vours of peach and apricot should pair well with any seafood dish. For red wine lovers I would recommend the

Lealtanza Crianza. A beautiful Rioja, it is bright and tastes of plum with a hint of spice and chocolate with pairs well with my favourite snack-on food, cheese. Although I am not typically a fan of Spanish wines as these tend to be quite earthy and strong, the Lealtanza Crianza took me by surprise and made me open my eyes and made me let go of my preconceptions on regions where wines come from.


INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Kapuso star Benjamin Alves is already thinking of his ultimate goal in this life time—to be a university professor. Before he was presented with an opportunity in the show business industry, the model-turned-actor was planning on pursuing a teaching career which is why he was very active in his academics. Although he already graduated summa cum laude in college, he felt a need to take up further studies to get to where he wants to be. “Kapag papunta na po ng summer, I’m always looking [for courses]. I’ve looked at Ateneo

[de Manila University] for [a] Master’s [Degree] in English. It’s like four years and you have to be there during the summer,” Benjamin told GMANetwork.com. It may be impossible for him right now to enrol in a Master’s Degree program because of his tight showbiz schedule, but he still looks forward on achieving it. “That’s very tough for us, for our profession. I know in my lifetime that I’m [going to] try to get that because that will make it possible for me to teach in a university level as a professor or as an associate professor so that’s what I would

Miguel Tanfelix surprises Bianca Umali with touching birthday message

Bettinna Carlos shares sweet message for her mom and grandma on Gummy’s birthday celebration

Benjamin Alves plans to pursue a teaching career in a university

KAPUSO PRIMETIME PRINCE MIGUEL TANFELIX was like a knight in shining armour when he swept Kapuso Primetime Princess Bianca Umali off her feet. She was definitely caught off guard when the actor appeared on her surprise 16th birthday party last March 2 after he came from his Wish Ko Lang taping. The guests felt giddy of the love team’s chemistry right before them, especially when the Wish I May actor handed a large bouquet of white

roses and dedicated a sweet birthday message for his leading lady. “Happy birthday sa ‘yo!” he greeted her, adding, “16 ka na, ‘di ba? Alam kong habang nag-e-age ka, alam kong mas nagma-mature ka and mas marami ka nang natutunan sa buhay. Sana ‘yung eagerness mong matuto sa buhay, sana mas tumaas pa, and sana ma-maintain mo para pagdating mo ng 18, mas tama ‘yung mga decisions na gagawin mo para sa sarili mo.” What touched the audience is his care and affection for the actress, “Mag-ingat ka palagi. Ingatan mo ang sarili mo,

dapat kumakain ka three times a day. Bianca, Happy Birthday! Mahal na mahal kita bilang kaibigan. Si Bianca kasi matalik na kaibigan ko ito talaga. More blessings to come, stay beautiful, stay sweet as you are and then more birthdays to come.” He then asked her a favor, “‘Pag nag-18 ka, pang-18th rose ako, ha?” “Oo naman,” the birthday celebrant quickly said. Bianca admitted that she felt “kilig” when her co-love team graced the event, “Happy [ako kasi] andito ka na eh. Thank you talaga sa flowers. ‘Yun ‘yung masasabi ko, thank you.”

BETTINNA CARLOS AND HER DAUGHTER GUMMY flew this weekend to the island of Coron in Palawan. Their trip is a celebration of Gummy’s 5th birthday together with the special women in her life, her mother and her grandmother. In her Instagram account, she shared a special message for her Mommy Irene who helped her through her journey of raising Gummy. She said, “This beach trip isn’t just for the birthday girl. But also for my Mom who takes care of Gummy and watches after her so I can work (and who also wants to get a tan without getting dark and burning her skin di ko talaga alam anong tan gusto mong maachieve

mom????).” The Idol sa Kusina sous chef also shared a message for her grandma who she fondly calls “wowa” for constantly pouring her and Gummy all the love and care she could provide. She said, “For my Wowa who cooks 5 kinds of ulam all by herself and drives to our home to bring those to us every weekend (and who wants to enjoy the beach with Gummy but doesn’t want to get dark so she wears a black shirt and black shorts????) ????????????” Bettinna added, “I make sure to be with them every time Gummy turns a year older because we are 4 generations of women in my family and that’s quite rare ? thank you Lord for the gift of life and good health ??????”

really want,” he added. He wants to teach a class or two to keep up with the young generation, “That will keep me young for life when I’m much older because [of] the influx of new ideas and new students. Magiging

hip ako when I’m older [kasi] I’m in tune with what the students or the generation’s talking about.” Benjamin said he got the style from his former teachers in college when he was still studying in Guam.

G

PG/*PG

PG12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

ALLEGIANT

Shailene Woodley, Theo James

R13 12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

KUNG FU PANDA 3

12:20 | 2:40 LFS / *5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

THE FINEST HOURS/ *GODS OF EGYPT

Chris Pine, Casey Affleck/*Gerard Butler, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton

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

Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman

LONDON HAS FALLEN

Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman

March 9 – 15, 2016


A4 INdulge!FOOD

By Kenneth Irving Ong

Artisanal local eatsat Food in the CityTALK TO ANYONE ABOUT DAVAO CITY AND CHANCES ARE YOU WILL EVENTUALLY END UP TALKING ABOUT THE CITY AND ITS RICH FOOD CULTURE. From the simple ihaw-ihaw stalls to the fancy full-course restaurants, Davao’s tablescape is a colourful ka-leidoscope of flavours. Recognizing this, SM Lanang Premier pioneered the food pop-up market called The Davao Gourmet Collective, bringing

together some of Davao City’s best food purveyors onto one spot for locals and tourists to enjoy. The latest iteration is called Food and the City and will be held at the Fountain Court grounds of SM Lanang Premier. The food market will feature fa-miliar establishments such as Carmina del Rosario’s Crazy Cook, Backyard Burger, Bistro Selera, Cafe el Gato, Soul Kitchen Co., and Cucina Ilocana, as well as new purveyors such as The Griddle Burgers and Sandwich-es, Kakimkris Lechon, B. Wings and The Fatboy’s Kitchen. Aside from savoury offerings, there are also sweets courtesy of JR Pastry and Kai Artisan Chocolates. The Gourmet Food Collective: Food in the City will run from from March 10 to 12.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 CLASSIFIEDS13EDGEDAVAO 3EDGEDAVAO Position Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer IV 22/2 Php 517,452.00(Development Management Officer IV)

Administration Salary Grade Annual Salary and Training Unit

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/6 Php 397,356.00(Development Management Officer III) One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/6 315,432.00(Development Management Officer II)



One (1) Administrative Aide IV (Driver) 4/2 135,504.00

One (1) Administrative Aide III (Utility Worker) 3/6 131,172.00

Research and Planning Unit Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/1 Php 376,212.00(Development Management Officer III)

One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/1 298,644.00(Development Management Officer II)



Operations and Warning Unit Salary Grade Annual Salary

One (1) Local DRRM Officer III 18/1 Php 376,212.00 One (1) Local DRRM Officer II 15/1 298,644.00

One (1) Local DRRM Officer I 11/1 222,588.00


7.2. The staff of the CDRRMO may be augmented through any or a combination of the following options:

7.2.1. Designation or assignment of personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO in concurrent capacities with their existing positions;

7.2.2. Reassignment of personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO;

7.2.3. Full-time or part-time detail of existing personnel of the City Government of Davao to the CDRRMO.

Section 8. Functions and Responsibilities of the CDRRMO. – The CDRRMO, within its territorial jurisdiction, shall be responsible for setting the direction, development, implementation, and coordination of disaster risk reduction and management programs, and shall perform the following functions and those that may be authorized by the LDRRMC:

8.1. DRRM Administration and Training.

8.1.1. Organize and conduct training, orientation, and knowledge management activities on DRRM;

8.1.2. Identify, assess and manage the hazards, vulnerabilities and risks that may occur;

8.1.3. Identify and implement cost-effective risk reduction measures and strategies;

8.1.4. Disseminate information and raise public awareness about the nature, hazards, vulnerabilities, risks, effects, early warning signs and counter measures;

8.1.5. Take all necessary steps on a continuing basis to maintain, provide, or arrange the provision of, or to otherwise make available, suitably-trained and competent personnel for effective civil defense and DRRM;

8.1.6. Organize, train, equip and supervise the local emergency response teams and the Accredited Community Disaster Volunteers (ACDVs), ensuring that humanitarian aid workers are equipped with basic skills to assist mothers to breastfeed;

8.1.7. Train the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities or PWDs) in DRRM, especially in disaster preparedness.

8.2. DRRM Research and Planning.

8.2.1. Design, program, and coordinate DRRM activities, consistent with the National Council standards and guidelines;

8.2.2. Facilitate and support risk assessments and contingency planning activities;

8.2.3. Consolidate local disaster risk information which includes natural hazards, vulnerabilities, and climate change risks, and maintain a local risk map;

8.2.4. Conduct research and development initiatives on DRRM;

8.2.5. Formulate and implement a comprehensive and integrated Local DRRM Plan (LDRRMP) in accordance with the national, regional framework, and policies on disaster risk reduction in close coordination with the Local Development Council (LDC);

8.2.6. Prepare and submit to the Sangguniang Panlungsod through the Local DRRM Council and the LDC the annual LDRRMPO Plan and budget, proposed programming of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF), other disaster risk reduction and management resources, and other regular funding sources and budgetary support; and

8.2.7. Serve as the Secretariat and executive arm of the Local DRRM Council (LDRRMC);

8.2.8. Recommend through the LDRRMC the enactment of local ordinances consistent with Republic Act No. 10121;

8.2.9. Prepare and submit, the report on the utilization of the LDRRMF and other dedicated disaster risk reduction and management resources to the local Commission on Audit (COA), copy furnished the regional director of the OCD and the Local Government Operations Officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG);

8.2.10. Maintain a database of human resource and their capacities, equipment, directories, and location of critical infrastructures and their capacities; and

8.2.11. Involve the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs) in risk assessment and planning.

8.3. DRRM Operations and Warning.

8.3.1. Operate a multi-hazard early warning system, linked to disaster risk reduction, to provide accurate and timely advice to national or local emergency response organizations through diverse mass media, particularly radio, landline communications, and technologies for communication within rural communities;

8.3.2. Conduct continuous disaster monitoring and mobilize instrumentalities and entities of the City Government of Davao, CSOs, private groups and organized volunteers, to utilize their facilities and resources for the protection and preservation of life and properties during emergencies in accordance with existing policies and procedures;

8.3.3. Develop, strengthen, and operationalize mechanisms for partnership or networking with the private sector, CSOs, and volunteer groups;

8.3.4. Respond to and manage the adverse effects of emergencies, and carry out emergency and recovery activities in the affected area, ensuring that there is an efficient mechanism for immediate delivery of food, shelter and medical supplies for women and children, endeavour to create a special place where internally-displaced mothers can find help with breastfeeding, feed and care for their babies and give support to each other;

8.3.5. Coordinate other DRRM activities;

8.3.6. Establish linkage and/or network with other Local Government Units for disaster risk reduction and emergency response purposes;

8.3.7. Establish the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operation Center;

8.3.8. Give early warning to the most vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs) to respond to their needs; and

8.3.9. Respond to and manage the adverse effects of emergency and carry out recovery activities to the most vulnerable areas especially to the vulnerable sectors (women, children, senior citizens, and PWDs).

ARTICLE VMISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations – The LDRRMC through its Chairperson shall issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Ordinance within ninety (90) days after approval of this Ordinance.

The Technical Management Group in consultation with the key stakeholders shall take lead in the preparation of the implementation rules and regulations.

SECTION 10. Honoraria – The LDRRMC members and consultants shall receive honoraria for services rendered and meetings attended, subject to availability of funds and the Government Accounting and Auditing Rules and Regulations.

SECTION 11. Budget – The Local Calamity Fund or the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund shall be used to support disaster risk reduction and management activities in accordance with the prescribed guidelines on the utilization of said fund. Likewise, the funding for the newly created additional plantilla positions shall be subject to the limitation in Sec. 325 (a) of Republic Act No. 7160 as well as honoraria for LDRRMC members and consultants shall also be sourced from the Office of the City Mayor—Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council appropriation.

SECTION 12. Repealing Clause – All previous Ordinances, Executive Orders and other rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed or modified accordingly;

SECTION 13. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE - If for any reason, any section or provision of this Ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect;

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVITY – This Ordinance shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its complete publication in a local newspaper of general circulation in Davao City.

ENACTED, July 14, 2015, by a majority vote of all the Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod present, there being a quorum.

CERTIFIED CORRECT:

CHARITO N. SANTOSSecretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

(City Government Department Head II) ATTESTED:

KARLO S. BELLO Acting Vice Mayor Temporary Presiding Officer cns/clad APPROVED:____________, 2015

RODRIGO R. DUTERTECity Mayor

ATTESTED:

ATTY. JESUS MELCHOR V. QUITAIN City Administrator

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 201614 EDGEDAVAONEWS

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 aPUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service

Case No. 2006-XI-00524

AUREA BUMONGCAG ARTICULO,Petitioner

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

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Cer-tificate of Public Convenience is-sued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ-DUAL Regular Service on the route: BUHANGIN VIA JP LAUREL AVENUE 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 June 8, 2017. In the petition filed on February 26, 2016, 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 MARCH 29, 2016 at 09:00 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their writ-ten opposition supported by doc-umentary evidence on or before 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 documentary ev-idence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it neces-sary to receive additional docu-mentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BEN-JAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 29th day of February 2016 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation Development Officer




Davao City

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

Case No. 2001-XI-02099

MAUREEN ELLA M. MACASINDIL,Petitioner

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

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Cer-tificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDI-TIONED TAXI service on the route: WITHIN DAVAO CITY to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on February 19, 2017. In the petition filed on February 29, 2016, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said cer-tificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.





WITNESS the Honorable BEN-JAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 1st day of March 2016 at Davao City.





Davao City

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

Case No. 2000-XI-00800

ROGELIO E. FERNANDEZ,Petitioner

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

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Cer-tificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ-DUAL Or-dinary Regular Service on the route: SASA VIA R. CASTILLO and for cargoes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate has expired last August 2, 2015.. In the petition filed on February 29, 2016 peti-tioner request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previous-ly authorized.





WITNESS the Honorable BEN-JAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 1st day of March 2016 at Davao City.


belonging to the indigenous peoples mostly in the hinter-land district of Paquibato.

The lady lawmaker clar-

ified that the while lumad scholars are given priority in being accommodated in the dormitory it will be open to

all Second District students if there are remaining vacancies once completed sometimes this year.

Dormitory... FROM 2 SP... FROM 3

Bureau... FROM 5

10-percent... FROM 3

Cayetano... FROM 3

Council... FROM 5

Smart... FROM 5

projects, as requested by the barangay Councils and various offices and departments.”

The report said the in-frastructure project will have a total budget share of 98.9 percent in the development fund for the funding of priority projects identified by the ba-rangays.

“This was the commitment of the city mayor to provide each barangay a P1-million budget for their priority proj-ects and funded under the 2016 annual budget,” Dayang-hirang said in the report.

He said that out of 182 only 167 barangay projects are identified and included in the SB. Other projects are funded from reversion of 2015 and prior year’s appropriation.

The report also revealed that the economic enterprises has a total appropriation of P4.69 million under the SB1 which will be funded through Interfund Transfers from the general fund proper in the same amount.

It will be used to fund the operations of markets, slaugh-terhouse, cemeteries, and

Magsaysay Park as well as the operation of the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal.

Dayanghirang said in the report on the committee hear-ing held last March 1 which was attended by Local Finance Committee after the first sup-plemental budget was passed on the first reading on the same day.

The proposed SB1 was taken immediately after the session due to its urgency since the election ban for lo-cal posts is approaching. CHE-NEEN R. CAPON

“I was expecting it (pro-posal) to be recalled but not by him (referring to councilor Mahipus),” she added.

Golle, who is also the proj-ect coordinator of the Interface Development Interventions (IDIS), called Mahipus as “un-ethical”.

“It is a known fact that councilor Mahipus is a licensed real estate broker and after he re-filed the proposed amend-ment, we are not now sure whether he represents the voice of the public in the coun-cil or just for himself and for the land developers,” Golle told reporters at the sidelines of the regular session yesterday.

Golle said majority floor leader councilor Bernard Al-ag talked with her last week the possibility of the refilling. She said the councilor proposed that developers will be obliged of including vertical green space in their development.

Al-ag said in a separate in-

terview that instead of having green spaces in subdivision developments, developers can resort of compelling home-owners to plant within their properties or engaged in tree planting activities in the forest and watershed areas in the city.

However, she remained firm to the stand of the group that they will oppose the re-moval of the green spaces.

Golle said green groups in the city thought their fight for the retention of the 10 percent green space was over after it was vetoed. “This will be an-other fight for us,” she added.

All stakeholders should now be included in discussions to come up with consensus decisions, she added. “We are open for discussion,” she said.

She said there’s a need for green spaces because it will be a mechanism of cli-mate change-proofing the city. At present, she said the 30

percent mandated by the na-tional law for open spaces is not enough for the creation of green spaces especially in low-cost housing.

“About 25 to 28 percent of open spaces are allocated for gray spaces like roads and drainage systems,” she said

Apart from describing the councilor as “unethical”, Golle also said Mahipus should in-hibit himself from attending hearings related to the event.

EDGE Davao tried to get the reaction of councilor Ma-hipus yesterday but he did not respond in return.

Acosta told EDGE Davao that her vote for 10 percent green space remained the same.

Meanwhile, Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte refrained from making comments on the issue saying Mahipus should work on it. He even said jok-ingly that the councilor should inhibit Mahipus himself.

also not accepted since there was no vacant incubator at the public hospital. The baby soon died after delivery.

Cayetano also vowed to put up more public tertiary hospitals in the regions, and ensure the full implementation of Republic Act No. 8344, also

known as the “Anti-Hospital Deposit Law,” which prohibits hospitals to demand advance payments before admitting patients in need of emergency treatment.

“Where the present gov-ernment has failed on its promises, I will deliver. By

cleansing the government of corruption, we will be able to provide our people better and more social services and pro-grams like universal health-care coverage. This is part of the bold and swift solutions I offer to the Filipino families this election,” Cayetano ended.

the whole Mindanao power supply which is heavily de-pendent on the power supply produced by major hydro-electric power plant like the Agus-Pulangi Hydro com-plexes. The Agus-Pulangi is only producing less than 300 MW which is far from its in-stalled capacity of more than 900MW.

The bombing of transmis-sion lines and towers of the National Grid Corporation of

the Philippines also contrib-uted in the tightening power supply in the Mindanao grid.

Meanwhile, DLPC will conduct a power forum for all home-based online workers from its franchise are today amid the worsening power situation in Mindanao.

The DLPC said in a state-ment posted in its Facebook page that the form will be on its office in Ponciano starting at 10 a.m. until 12 noon.

The post garnered mixed of reactions from netizens. Some of the netizens asked the DLPC to conduct and on-line live streaming so that it will be able to reach more home-based workers.

The DLPC said yesterday it will implement 1 to 1.5 hour of power interruption after the NGCP declared a 60MW deficit. However, the NGCP in its website posted that the grid has an excess of 75MW.

for light Internet activities, while giving them a different allocation for downloading and streaming. Moreover, Sun prepaid boosted its Call & Text Unlimited 100 load with 100 MB of free data.

Another top awardee was Smart’s Employee Rockstar Pro-gram. This is an organization-wide rewards and recognition program for employees who promote inno-vation, an awesome customer ex-perience, and collaboration in the workplace.

Smart’s education programs recognized

Four of Smart’s education programs likewise bagged Gold Anvils. One of these is the Smart TechnoCart, a compact mobile lab-oratory donated to public schools to develop literacy among kinder-garten students. Each TechnoCart contains tablets for students, a laptop, projector, and mobile WiFi. The tablets are preloaded with the Batibot mobile application, the first educational app for kids in Filipino which is aligned with the official kindergarten curriculum.

So far, 29 schools from as far

as Pangasinan in the North and Tawi-Tawi in the South have re-ceived Smart TechnoCarts. Fifteen of these were donated by Smart, while the rest were contributed by sponsorships from Smart’s part-ners.

The Batibot app also won a Gold Anvil. Smart partnered with the Community of Learners Foundation and startup Orange-Fix to develop the Batibot app, in response to the lack of localized content for literacy. The app takes off from the popular children’s TV show.

Through the app which can be downloaded for free on Android devices, children can learn how to write letters properly, sing along to Batibot songs, and play classic Bat-ibot games like “Alin ang Naiba” or “Pagsama-samahin.”

Also receiving recogni-tion was the 13-year-old Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP). Under this program, Smart partners with col-leges and universities to improve engineering and information tech-nology education in the country. It also seeks to help schools produce

industry-ready graduates or future technology entrepreneurs.

Through SWEEP, Smart pro-vides faculty and students with learning opportunities and on-the-job training.

The SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards also won a Gold Anvil this year. The program has evolved from simply recognizing innovative student projects, to helping students establish startup companies that will help commer-cialize their solutions.

Silver Anvil AwardeesSmart programs receiving Sil-

ver Anvils were:Agile Coaching Movement,

which seeks to boost the mento-ring and coaching capabilities of Smart leaders.

Digital X, a rewards and rec-ognition program specifically for employees under the technology group.

Simple Joys of Christmas, a simple thanksgiving celebration among employees focusing on the joy of doing what you love, the joy of giving back, and joy of being part of a family.

by this emerging technologies,” Gatchalian pointed out.

The proposed E-Commerce Bureau shall perform the follow-ing functions:

a) formulate and/or coor-dinate the formulation of poli-cies and guidelines in support of e-commerce;

b) formulate and implement plans and programs for further development, implementation

and international competitiveness of e-commerce;

c) promote and maintain fair and efficient market conduct and effective competition between persons engaged in commercial activities connected with e-com-merce;

d) promote the universal use of electronic transaction in the government and general public;

e) conduct continuing re-

search and development in partnership with the academe towards improving the quality of e-commerce;

f) compile and maintain sta-tistical data and information on e-commerce industry;

g) conduct administrative in-vestigation upon complaint from any consumer for violation of commercial transaction involving electronic commerce;

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

STEPHEN Curry scored 41 points and became the first player in NBA histo-

ry to make 300 3-pointers in a season, and the Golden State Warriors set another record in a season full of them by holding off the Orlando Magic, 119-113, Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time) for their 45th straight home victory.

Curry didn’t match his 51-point performance against the Magic on Feb. 25 in which he hit 10 of 15 3-pointers, but shot 7 for 13 from long range and also pulled down 13 re-bounds. He has 301 3-pointers with 20 games to go.

Golden State surpassed the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ 44 straight regular-season home victories and improved to 26-0 at Oracle Arena this season with its franchise-best sixth straight win against Orlando.

Klay Thompson added 27

points for the Warriors (56-6), who overcame a season-high 24 turnovers to bounce back from an ugly 112-95 road loss to the Lakers on Sunday that snapped a seven-game winning streak.

The Warriors are still chas-ing the Bulls’ record 72-win season. Golden State’s home winning streak includes the final 18 games of last season before the franchise’s run to its first championship in 40 years. The Warriors haven’t lost a regular-season game at Oracle Arena since falling to the Bulls in overtime on Jan. 27, 2015.

Draymond Green told the fans afterward: “45 straight home wins is incredible. With-out you all, this would not be possible.”

Victor Oladipo capped a 7-0 run when he made two free throws with 1:13 left to cut the Warriors’ lead to two. Thomp-

son then hit a baseline 3-point-er under pressure with 52.5 seconds remaining and Curry followed with a layup at the 44.3 mark and two free throws with 32.5 seconds to play.

Aaron Gordon had 20 points and 16 rebounds in his Bay Area homecoming on a night Orlando played without leading scorer and center Niko-la Vucevic because of a strained right groin

During one impressive se-quence late in the third, Curry dribbled inside of the arc then back out before knocking down a 3 while being guarded by 6-foot-10 Ersan Ilyasova.

Green had 10 assists and nine rebounds with one point after being questionable earlier in the day with an illness that sent him to see a doctor during the team’s morning shootar-ound. Brandon Rush added 11 points with three 3s off the

bench as Golden State shot 16 for 35 from beyond the arc.

GETTING DEFENSIVESteve Kerr wants the War-

riors to pick it up on the defen-sive end — sooner rather than later — and before the pressure of the playoffs and quest for a repeat title.

Golden State doesn’t typi-cally hold shootarounds before playing on consecutive days, but with an early start Sunday at Los Angeles, Kerr “felt we needed to come in and do some things.”

“I think there’s been some slippage defensively the last few weeks and I think the numbers would bear that out,” Kerr said. “So we need to pick up our de-fense, we need to pick up our intensity. We’re able to bail ourselves out at times with our shooting and scoring but we know that’s not good enough against the best teams in the playoffs.”

A STEPH HIGHER

UNIVERSITY of the Phil-ippines ended a 17-game losing skid to Ate-

neo, shaking off a flat start to stun the two-time champions, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22, in the UAAP Season 78 wom-en’s volleyball tournament on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan.

UP last won the Battle of Katipunan on January 17, 2007 via a five-set thriller, 37-35, 22-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12, and didn’t repeat the feat until nine years later - thanks to an audacious comeback from a set down.

UP reached match point, 24-19, via an Alyssa Valdez

service error but the Lady Ea-gles threatened, 22-24, before rookie Isa Molde scored an off the block attack to seal the win for the Lady Maroons.

The Lady Maroons ex-tended their winning run to three to improve to a 5-3 card.

The loss was a demoral-izing blow for the defending champions Lady Eagles, who were looking to bounce back from a straight-sets loss to arch-rival La Salle the week-end before.

It was Ateneo’s first back-to-back losses since Season 76 as it dropped to 6-2, still good for a share of the lead with the Lady Spikers.

QUEEN EAGLE. Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo drops to the floor after trying to dig in the ball. The Lady Spikers took it flush on the chin at the hands of the UP Marron Spikers in the UAAP.

Steph sets new NBA triple mark UP shocks Lady Eagles in 5 sets

PANABO City hosted the Persons With Disabil-ity (PWD) Basketball

Wheelchair Invitational Cup spearheaded by City Social Welfare and Development Of-fice (CSWDO) and City Sports Development Program headed by Edgar Gerali in partnership with the New Visayas Associ-ation of Disabled Person (NA-DAP) dabbed as “Dula Para sa Ugma”, at ARF Gym, Brgy.New Pandan on February 26-27.

NADAP council mem-ber Darlito Palermo officially opened the game, followed by the player’s oath taking. CSWDO staff Shiela Lapasa said, “this will develop sports-manship and self confidence among the players who are physically impaired.”

The tournament had a to-tal of eight teams and during the finals, Davao del Norte with team Captain Sabsal bagged champion with 39-35 and also received cash prize of P 6,000 victory over Davao City with team Capt.Amancio as the 2nd placer with P 4,000 cash prize, while Samal City with team Capt. Magallisen for the 3rd

place, 4th place for Tagum City with their coach Engr. Palermo and Panabo City with team Capt. Marvin Sumaylo got the 5th place. Among the players who also participated were from Assuncion, Kapalong and Talaingod.

According to NADAP Pres-ident and Commissioner Leo-nido Rivera, 13 players were selected from Davao del Norte team to compete in the region-al level.

LGU Panabo and NADAP expressed their gratitude to the following Major sponsors namely; Rep. Anthony Del Ro-sario, Rep. Antonio Lagdameo, Mayor James G. Gamao, Coun-cilor Jose Silvosa, Jr., and other sponsors.

Wheelchair basketball is usually played by the physical-ly impaired who used special designed wheelchairs, built specifically for the sport and each team will compete above a recreational level that uses classification systems to eval-uate the functional abilities of players with certain rules and regulations to follow. By: jasz-paras-CIO Panabo

Panabo hosts basketballwheelchair tournament

RECORD BREAKER. Golden State guard Stephen Curry finds plenty of room to move against Orlando’s Dewayne Dedmon and Brandon Jennings. AP

VOL. 9 ISSUE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 201616 EDGEDAVAOSports

BACK ON TRACK

MVP. Esdevco-Genesis main man Francis Gabriel Escandor orchestrates the plays for the Realtors in this bit of action during their encounter with The Royal Mandaya Hotel. Lean Daval Jr.

DEFENDING champion Esdev-co-Genesis regained its form but not after going through a

harrowing 40-minute gun duel with a fighting The Royal Mandaya Ho-tel before hacking out a 77-71 win on Sunday for its second win in the 2016 Escandor Group of Companies Basketball Tourament at the Genesis Gym.

Former varrsity standouts Archiel Garcia and Jim Sandre Costan gave the Realtors much headache in

the face of a tough defense put up by the Hoteliers.

The younger Escandor fired a game-high 25 points but had

to settle for only three hits from

h i s f a -v o r i t e range be-yond the arc. None even dropped for his shots from there in the final period as he was limited to just four points.

Cyril Torreon stepped up when it mattered most in the second hald firing 14 of his 24 points while Gio Binoya added 14 points aside from dishing off nifty assists.

Marksman Glenn Escan-

dor, hounded throughout the match, was also limited to just 8 points on two hits from the tri-fecta distance.

Costan paced the Hoteliers with 21 markers while Garcia added 16.

The Realtors now tote a 2-1 record in the six-team league and moved up to second over-all. The Hoteliers dropped to

1-2.In other games, unbeaten

White House continued to hold sway in the league with a 91-85 conquest of DASIA to cement its stronghold of the lead with a 3-0 card. DASIA dropped to 2-1 in a tie with Esdevco-Genesis whom they upset last week.

Premia Packing picked up its first win over KADSIA 85-70.

The tournament is sanc-tioned by the Samahang Basket-ball ng Pilipinas under regional director Regino “Boy” Cua.

[email protected]

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

TEAM STANDINGS W LWHITE HOUSE 3 0DASIA 2 1ESDEVCO-GENESIS 2 1TRMH 1 2PREMIA PACKING 1 2KADSIA 0 3

the close battle be-tween the league’s erst-while second-running squads in the standings as both teams entered the ballgame with a 1-1 win-loss mark.

Usually steady Realtors’ reigning most valuable player Francis Gabriel Escandor gave up some of his space from the rain-bow mark and elected to drive to the hoop and bleed for his points in


Esdevco-Genesis rally pastTRMH 77-71

edge davao 9 issue 04

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