THE Department of Education region 11 plans to con-

duct random drug test-ing among public school teachers after a mentor of the Francisco Bangoy National High School was arrested during a pot ses-sion on Sunday.

“We are supposed to be role models to the students, and what hap-pened, if true, is not ac-ceptable. Drug tests? Why not?” DepEd 11 spokes-person Jenielito Atillo said yesterday, hinting that random drug testing would be pushed to avoid this incident to happen again.

According to a report of the Sasa police sta-tion, the suspect, Carlito R. Sumastre Jr, a resident of Block 36, lot 9 Luzville Subdivision, Panacan, was arrested while tak-ing drugs with a certain “Ome” aboard his Green

Suzuki multicab vehicle with plate number MFL 612.

His car was parked in front of Police Inspec-tor Benjie Santos’ house in Luzville when he was nabbed at around 8:00 a.m. September 22. Re-covered from his posses-sion were consummated drugs and drug parapher-nalia.

Atillo told Edge Davao yesterday that they are now coming up with a plan of action that would ensure this sort of issues will not happen again, and one program they are eyeing is to conduct random drug tests among teachers.

“There are no concrete programs yet on how to avoid this kind of thing to happen, since discussion on the process will still have to take place,” Atillo said.

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOVOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.net

FCUTDOWN,10 FDRUG,10

Cruz: Rebels not capable of ala-Zamboanga attack

INSIDE:

2A1Learning from the

‘Maestro’

14Agro marches to semis in Sante Barley hoops

THE 200-strong personnel of the Bureau of Cus-

toms in District Port of Davao has been reduced by 60 percent, adverse-ly affecting the district’s collection of export and import taxes since last week.

This was bared by Deputy District Collector Edward James DyBuco to reporters attending the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao yester-day. DyBuco discussed with the media the ini-tial effects of Customs Personnel Order (CPO) B-134-2013, wherein BOC personnel all over

Cutdown at CustomsDaily collection down from P15 M to P2M

DECLINE IN COLLECTIONS. Edward James Dy Buco, Bureau of Customs - Davao deputy collector for oper-ations, reports a decrease in the agency’s collections after its manpower was reduced by 60 percent as a

result of the implementation of Customs Personnel Order (CPO) B-134-2013 during yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

DRUG TEST FOR TEACHERSDEPED eyes drug testing after teacher was nabbed for pot

ejf@edgedavao.net

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ

ANNIVERSARY BLAST. The Madayaw Dance Ensemble performs various ethnic dances to entertain the guests and employees of Citi Hardware during the celebration of the company’s 15th Anniversary held at Citi Hardware Buhangin on Saturday night. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

THE Supreme Court has allowed its Fis-cal Management and

Budget Office to deduct taxes on the special allow-ances of the members of the Judiciary.

This was contained in an internal en banc reso-lution signed by Clerk of Court Atty. Enriqueta E. Vidal.

The SC authorizes the FMBO “to deduct the cor-responding tax due on the Special Allowance for the Judiciary (SAJ) and the Judiciary Development Additional Cost of Living Allowance (JDF COLA) re-ceived from January to June 2013 from the SAJ and JDF COLA, respectively, of the members of the court, on a monthly basis in equal amounts for a period of one (1) year[.]”

The resolution was trig-gered by the letter of au-thority sent by the Bureau of Internal Revenue asking the SC “to examine [its] books of account and other accounting records.”

Rather than allow-

ing BIR in scrutinizing its books of account, the SC led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. Aranal Sereno decided just to allow itself to be taxed with its allow-ances.

In response to the let-ter, the FMBO issued a memorandum dated June 27, 2013 informing the SC about the BIR’s request.

Prior to this, SAJ and JDF COLA had not been subjected to taxes.

In the resolution, the SC also allowed FMBO “to deduct the corresponding tax due on the fringe ben-efits received from January to June 2013 from the ad-ditional fringe benefits on a staggered basis in equal amounts for a period of six (6) months; provided that, if the amount of fringe ben-efits authorized during the six-month period of collec-tion is not sufficient to cov-er the amount of tax due for the first semester, the deficiency may be charged against fringe benefits that may be granted thereafter.” [PNA]

A COMBINED force of the Communist Party of the Phil-

ippines (CPP), National People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front (NDF), collectively called CNN, is not capable of attacking a city the way the Nur Misuari faction of the Moro National Lib-eration (MNLF) attacked Zamboanga City days ago.

This was the assess-ment of Major General Ricardo Rainier G. Cruz III, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Com-mand (EastMinCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines made before members of the Davao members

during the Hermes Club media forum at Wa-

terfront Insular Hotel last Friday.

General Cruz, who once headed Task Force Davao in his younger days, said theyCarmelito Q. Francisco

MATI, Davao Ori-ental – The provincial government here is in-corporating the findings of the Mines and Geosci-ences Bureau on the ex-posure of its population to water-caused risks like floods, tsunami and soil erosion especially in coastal areas.

Gov. Corazon N. Malanyaon said the rec-ommendations of the study team will be looked into and analyzed as these would be included when the provincial gov-

ernment discusses the amendments to its com-prehensive land use plan.

“We need the coop-eration of the other local chief executives like the municipal mayors,” said Ms. Malanyaon during the briefing on the study Monday, adding that she will meet with the mayors within the month to dis-cuss the issue.

Danilo M. Octaviano, senior science research specialist, said about 30 villages within the mu-nicipalities, as all of them have coastal areas, are facing the risks of suffer-ing from these calamities.

“There are tell-tale signs of soil erosions (especially in coastal ar-eas in these villages),”

Mr. Octavio said, adding that pieces of evidence of these erosions as well as the testimonies of the residents would show that coastal erosions have taken place in these areas.

He said his agency will not recommend structur-al mitigation, but what the provincial govern-ment and the other local government units must do is to strengthen its information dissemina-tion campaign so that the people in these areas will know the risks that they are facing.

Another mitiga-tion measure is tapping bio-engineering, the use of plants to prevent soil erosion or slowdown the

2 EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

ROBBERS took P1 million worth of jewelry from an un-

attended house of a busi-nessman in Palm Village, Barrio Obrero, Davao City, Sunday evening.

House-owner Fran-cis Arquiza, 33, reported to Sta. Ana police station that at about 8:00 p.m that day, he discovered that his house had been ransacked by unidentified persons who carted away expensive pieces of jew-elry, such as gold-plated watches, rings, necklaces,

bracelets and earrings.Based on his investiga-

tion, SPO1 Restie Tan said the robbers gained entry by going over the fence and destroying the sliding glass door and forcibly opening the locked rooms of the house and later left through the back gate.

Based on statistics on all crime incidents gath-ered by the DCPO as of January to August 2013, for index crimes, theft cases topped the list with 1,804 cases while rob-bery had 691 cases.

A 17-year-old was indicted by the City Prosecution

Office (CPO) after caught selling 15.0244 grams of marijuana worth P100 to a police agent last Sept. 13 during a buy-bust op-eration at the Dragon compound in Cabantian, Buhangin.

Prosecutor Panfilo R. Lovitos recommended no bail for the suspect (name withheld for being a mi-nor) after finding probable cause for his indictment.

Based on a complaint, P/Supt. Ruben Ramos

formed a team to con-duct a buy-bust opera-tion against the suspect, a student of the Bernar-do Carpio National High School in Buhangin.

A police agent posing as a buyer met the sus-pect at a basketball court in Zone 1, Purok St. Jude, Buhangin. After handing the marked money to the suspect he removed his cap as a signal to the rest of the team to close in and arrest the suspect.

Police said that the suspect had been known to sell marijuana. [EPC]

Robbers rob houseof P1M in jewelryBY EMILORD P. CASTROMAYOR

Cruz: Rebels not capable of ala-Zamboanga attack

ejf@edgedavao.net

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ

FCRUZ,10

Minor charged with selling MJ

SC allows tax deduction on special allowances

ABDUCTION. Florencia Remegio, wife of Kadapa Tin-aw Lubog Farmers Association adviser Roberto Remegio, calls for the release of her husband who was allegedly abducted by unidentified armed men on September 13,

2013 in Tibagon, Pantukan, Compostela Valley in a press briefing initiated by Karapatan Southern Mindanao Region at IFI Church compound in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

CALL FOR JUSTICE. Progressive group members together with Karapatan Southern Mindanao cry out justice for Kasaka leader Benjie Planos who was

gunned down on September 13, 2013 in Loreto, Agusan del Sur during a press briefing in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 3

FRODY,10

EDGEDAVAO THE BIG NEWS

DAVAO Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte is-sued an executive

order No. 25, requiring all government employ-ees to attend the weekly flag-raising ceremony at 8:00 am starting Septem-ber 30, Monday and the flag-retreat at 5:00 pm on October and every Friday afternoon thereafter.

Erwin Alfaraque, chief of the Human Resource Management and Devel-opment Office of the city government said in the event Monday and Friday are declared as holidays, the flag-raising and flag retreat ceremonies will be scheduled on the next working day and the last working day of the week, respectively.

“For instance, Mon-

day will be a holiday, the flag-raising will be held 8:00 am on a Tuesday. If Friday will be holiday, the flag-retreat will be at 5:00 pm Thursday,” he said.

Alfaraque said on the flag-retreat on a first Fri-day will immediately fol-low after all employees attend the first Friday mass in the afternoon.

He said a copy of the executive order which was signed by the mayor last September 20 will be distributed to all city gov-ernment offices for their information and proper guidance.

“We hope that ev-eryone will be properly guided and will comply to the new schedule on the flag-raising and retreat

ZAMBOANGA CITY– Fire broke out anew, bringing to at least

16 the fire incidents since the standoff started last September 9 following the incursion of hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels in this city.

Fire broke out around 1 p.m. in the interior part of Barangay Sta. Barbara at the height of intermittent firefight.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Ramon Za-gala said the troops con-tinue to advance to retake positions earlier occupied by the MNLF rebels.

Zagala said the troops are cautiously advancing as the rebels are still hold-ing hostage at least 21 peo-ple.

Two MG-520 rock-

et-firing helicopters are providing air support to the ground troops that continue to advance.

Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) Chief Insp. Ariel Huesca said that continu-ous clearing operation is still being conducted by the government forces in the affected barangays.

Huesca said that the government forces suf-fered 14 killed--11 soldiers and three policemen--and 147 wounded--134 sol-diers and 13 policemen.

Huesca said that 11 civilians were also killed while 70 others were wounded since the start of the standoff last Septem-ber 9.

A total of 98 MNLF reb-els were killed while 99 were captured and 24 have surrendered, according to Huesca.

Meantime, Mala-cañang has yet to deter-mine whether Monday morning’s attack allegedly perpetrated by Bangsam-oro Islamic Freedom Fight-ers in Midsayap, North Cotabato was connected to the Zamboanga City siege.

“I will not be able to judge whether it is related to Zamboanga,” Presiden-tial Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told a media briefing.

“According to Lt. Col. Demi Zagala, they were on patrol when they encoun-tered the BIFF. So we’ll get more specific reports as to iyong encounter na ‘yun,” he added.

Citing a text message from Zagala, Lacierda said militarymen on patrol encountered an undeter-mined number of BIFF rebels while conducting

clearing operations in Sitio Mirasol, Brgy. Polomugen in Midsayap at 8:35 a.m.

Lacierda said one solid-er was killed while another was wounded in the attack. He also said four teachers of Malingao Elementary School were abducted with one already released.

“Wala na pong fire-fight ngayon doon. Merong negosasyon doon po sa tat-long guro ayon sa balita ni Lieutenant Colonel Demi Zagala,” he said.

He said the government has enough resources to respond to the hostilities in Zamboanga City, where government forces are on a standoff with Moro Nation-al Liberation Front fighters, and in Midsayap.

“We have resources capable of handling both Zamboanga and Midsay-ap,” he said. [PNA]

SM Lanang Premier throws one big 1st An-niversary party for all

its shoppers and patrons as it presents award-winning Filipino band Up Dharma Down live at the Fountain Courton September 28, 2013.

This Saturday, at 6 pm, the quartet is set to play a free gig, performing a full set of tracks from its latest album, “Capacities,” includ-ing the smash hits “Oo” and “Taya,” to its fans in the metro as well as the entire region.

The public will enjoy an all-access pass to watch inti-mate, riveting performanc-es from Up Dharma Down, composed of Armi Millare on keyboards and vocals, Carlos Tañada on lead gui-tars, Ean Mayor on drums and loops and Paul Yap on bass and back-up vocals.

Making music since

2004, Up Dharma Downis known for its eclectic-elec-tronic rock sound with jazz fusion. Its debut album, Fragmented, hit no. 1 and stayed in the charts for many weeks from its release in early 2006.

In 2007, Time Magazine has branded the band’s mu-sic as “genre-defying” and “both thoughtful and sen-sational.” BBC UK’s Mark Coles also singled it out as the Asian band having the most crossover potential to break into the North Amer-ican market.

Join SM Lanang Pre-mier’s 1st Anniversary celebration this Saturday, September 28th and get to watch Up Dharma Down for free! For more information, contact 285-0943 to 45. Visit SM Lanang Premier on Facebook and follow @SM-Lanang Premier on Twitter for news and event updates.

SM City Davao will host the region’s first Uni-versity Fair on Octo-

ber 3 to 5 at the Event Cen-ter, Annex.

The fair will bring to-gether some of the coun-try’s top colleges and universities to showcase their programs. The event is aimed at assisting the youth prepare for their college education by pro-viding them with options and choices. The SM City Davao University Fair will also bring to Davao schools from the bational capital region (NCR).

“The University Fair will provide a ven-

ue for High School stu-dents—3rd and 4th year---to get a glimpse of the life they will be having when they graduate from high school and enter college. We hope to help them decide what cours-es interest them most and which schools they feel is best for them. It will be like shopping…but this time, they will be shop-ping for their future! It will also provide parents an opportunity to inquire about their kids’ future schools in the comfort of our SM Davao mall,” says mall manager Lynette Lo-pez.

Rody issues flag EOs

SM Lanang’s anniv features big concert

Fire breaks anew coupled with intermittent fighting

SM City Davao to mount University Fair, Oct 3-5

A poster-making contest participant is in sheer concentration while illustrat-ing her piece in yesterday’s launching of the Department of Social Welfare

and Development (DSWD)’s 2013 National Family Week at the People’s Park in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

A SMILE FROM THE HEART. A cancer patient from House of Hope enjoys every moment of the face-painting activity which was part of Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s Responsible Business Action Day on Saturday. House of Hope, a shelter for children with cancer, was chosen by the hotel as its beneficiary. Lean Daval Jr. 

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 20134 EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

They are no crying ladies but they could cry a river

recounting the difficulties of crossing flood-prone rivers just to bring their produce to the market.

“It was really difficult and costly for us farm-ers as we have to pay as high as P100 per sack in hauling our produce,” said Merlinda dela Vega of New Corella, Davao del Norte.

She said high trans-port cost is attributed to lack of accessible shorter route especially during rainy seasons where riv-ers overflow.

“We will have to trav-el for almost an hour just to deliver our produce to the market. This in turn resulted not only to high-er hauling and transport fees but also deteriorates the quality of our com-modities leaving as no op-tion but to sell it on lower price, ” dela Vega said.

Rosalina Gabuat of Ba-rangay K’tam in Asuncion, Davao del Norte shared the same plight and can’t hold back her tears while telling how her rice pro-duce was damaged be-cause it was not imme-diately delivered to the market.

“Our palay begun to sprout and considered damaged. It could have

been a big help in meeting our daily needs for food as well as for education of our children,” she said,” she said.

Gabuat said after the downpour of heavy rain, it would be difficult to cross the river, as the current is very strong. She said there were times when their produce are damaged due to mishandling which can-not be avoided when pass-ing the narrow and unsta-ble wooden bridge.

Barangay captain Ed-gar Castillo said Gabuat is just one of the farmers who complained on be-ing isolated due to lack of access to adequate infra-structure.

“When we drafted our Comprehensive Ba-rangay Development Plan, we have prioritize the construction of farm-to-market (FMR) roads with bridge component to make transport of pro-duce easier and to help reduce farmers’ overhead cost,” Castillo said.

The risky trading rout and expensive hauling of produce was changed with the construction of single-lane bridges in both barangays. This came af-ter the Provincial Govern-ment of Davao del Norte and the Department of Ag-riculture – Mindanao Ru-ral Development Program

SAFE CROSSING. The bridge component of the 3.9 km farm-to-market road in Asuncion, Davao del Norte provides safe crossing for commuters and

farmers transporting their produce to the market. 

DAVAO DEL NORTE

Single-lane bridges offer multi benefits to farmers

(DA-MRDP) partnered to open up market access to the said towns.

“Both project have boosted the economic ac-tivities in the said towns. The bridges were linked to existing farm-to-market roads which makes trans-port of produce faster and safer,” said provincial planning chief Josie Jean Rabanos.

“The bridge in New

Corella is now servicing 808 hectares of rice areas while the Asuncion bridge covers 300 hectares of rice areas,” Rabanos said.

“The bridge have in-deed helped us improved our income as we no lon-ger need to pay P100 per sack hauling fee. It has also reduced our travel time in delivering our commodi-ty to the market giving us enough time to engage in

other economic activities,” dela Vega said.

Gabuat on the other hand said the bridge did not only provide them faster and safer transport of their produce, it has been their refuge in times of calamities considering that most of the residents are living in low-lying ar-eas.

“During last year’s Ty-phoon Pablo, most of the

residents sought refuge in the bridge as it highly ele-vated,” she said.

Things are indeed dif-ferent now as the two la-dies compared their situa-tion before. But they can’t still hold back their tears. The big difference how-ever is that they are now crying the tears of joy as their dream for a concrete bridge had been realized. [Noel Provido/DA-MRDP]

UPBEAT with the prospects of the thriving organic

agriculture industry, the Koronadal City local gov-ernment is pushing for the massive adoption by local farmers of the natural or traditional farming meth-od.

City Mayor Peter Mi-guel said the local govern-ment is presently studying various “best practices” and technologies on organ-ic agriculture for possible implementation in various farming areas within the city’s 27 barangays.

He said they are specif-ically trying to learn from the experiences of local governments and institu-tions that have adopted and ventured into organic farming.

“We’ve adopted organic farming as one of our pri-ority programs and we’re

in the process of educating our farmers regarding the method to encourage their adoption,” he said in the city government’s radio program Kanami Koronad-al.

Miguel said the city ag-riculture office has been organizing study tours for local farmers to the Univer-sity of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, North Cotabato and several or-ganic farming areas in Re-gion 12.

Southwestern Mindan-ao, which produced almost half of the 106.55 metric tons (MT) of premium or-ganic rice exported by the country to various foreign markets from May to July this year, has around 50 hectares of organic rice plantation areas located in M’lang town in North Cota-bato and Sto. Nino in South Cotabato. [MindaNews]

KORONADAL CITY SOUTH COTABATO

LGU pushes organic farming

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 12 is plan-

ning to replicate Banaue’s world-renowned rice ter-races in upland areas of South Cotabato province and other parts of the re-gion.

Zaldy Boloron, DA Re-gion 12 acting operations chief, said they are pres-ently exploring several up-land villages of T’boli and Lake Sebu towns in South Cotabato for the possible construction and develop-ment of the rice terraces.

He said the initiative will mainly take off from the ongoing rice terraces development project being facilitated by the agency in a mountain village of Arakan town in North Co-tabato.

“We will expand this

project soon in T’boli and Lake Sebu towns and later on in some other upland areas of Region 12,” he said in a recent gathering of rice farmers here.

Region 12 compris-es the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacu-rong, Kidapawan and Co-tabato.

Boloron said they ini-tially found T’boli and Lake Sebu towns as expansion areas for the project due to the presence of thriving upland farms.

He said the area has several rivers and oth-er water resources that could provide the needed irrigation supplies for the planned rice terraces.

T’boli and Lake Sebu,

which are located in South Cotabato’s upper valley area, has some rice pro-duction areas but are mostly concentrated in the lowlands.

The upland or moun-tainous portions of the two municipalities host some plantations of pineapple, banana and abaca but a large portion of the area remained unutilized or un-developed.

In Arakan town, DA-12 is presently assisting the construction of rock walls and rice terraces in Baran-gay Datu Ladayon.

The cement-made rock walls, which mainly prop up the terraces, were be-ing built near the town’s 100-meter-high Matigol Falls in Sitio Inamong of Barangay Datu Ladayon.

Farmers from various

parts of the region helped build the initial rock walls in July in a series of hands-on trainings organized by the agency.

DA-12 tapped two rock wall-making experts from Batad, Ifugao province for the training program.

“We helped organize the rock wall builders in Arakan into a cooperative and we will replicate that in the other areas of the re-gion,” Boloron said.

Amalia Jayag-Datukan, DA Region 12 executive director, earlier said the rock wall-making and rice terraces development are part of the agency’s flag-ship projects.

Once completed, she said DA-12 will promote the rice terraces as part of the region’s tourist attrac-tions. [MindaNews]

DA 12 wants to develop rice terraces

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMYEDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

FILINVEST Land, Inc. (FLI) announced the launching of 8

Spatial Davao, its latest Mid-Rise Building (MRB) project that offers “more space, more value.” This is the second of a series of MRB projects that will be marketed under the “Spatial”product name.

Located on a highly accessible 3.8 hectare prime property along Julian Rodriguez, Sr. Av-enue (Maa Road), Davao City, it is within walking distance to NCCC Mall, S&R Membership Shop-ping And other commer-cial establishments. Edu-cational institutions like University of Mindanao Matina Campus, Ateneo de Davao University Ma-tina Campus, and Philip-pine Women’s College of Davao are among other landmarks near 8 Spatial.

8 Spatial is the third joint venture project between FLI and CVA & Sons, the family corpo-ration of the Carlos Vil-la Abrille clan of Davao City. The other two projects are Fuente de Villa-Abrille along Tulip Drive in Matina and Le Jardin de Villa-Abrille, also along Julian Rodri-guez, Sr. Avenue and fac-

ing 8 Spatial.8 Spatial features 8

buildings with 6 floors each. The units are larg-er and are designed for functionality and effi-ciency. All the units be-ing offered are 32 square meters, ideal homes for start-up families.

Just like FLI’s other MRB projects, 8 Spatial will feature lots of open spaces with the build-ing’s footprint occupying only 30% of the total land area, giving residents a truly spacious sanctuary amidst the urban sprawl.

In addition, 8 spatial MRBs will continue to be built using the con-struction methodology employed by FLI’s MRBs which allows the units to be free of beams and columns, so homeowners can enjoy bigger and un-obstructed livable space. It also relies on reusable forms which save around 3,000 pieces of plywood and 85,000 board feet of lumber per building. For 2011 alone, FLI was able to save a total of 40,000 pieces of plywood and 1.1 million board feet of lumber. In addition, all the buildings are con-structed with the aim of maximizing natural light

SPATIAL. CVA and Sons, Inc. forges its third project venture with Filinvest Land, Inc. called 8 Spatial Davao at the Marco Polo Davao yesterday. CVA and Sons, Inc. was represented during the contract signing by officers Fiscal Antonio V.A. Tan (rightmost), Maria Loreto A. Lopez (2nd from right) and

Atty. Antonio V.A. Llamas (center) represented CVA and Sons, Inc. while Filinvest Land, Inc. was represented by co-chair Andrew T. Gontianun Jr. (2nd from left) and first vice president Tristan L. Las Marias. Lean Daval Jr.

Filinvest launches building innovations

and ventilation.FLI is the country’s

largest MRB developer, currently with 13 on-going MRB projects, lo-cated in Metro Manila,

Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Davao City. These are One Oasis Ortigas, Bali Oasis, Bali Oasis 2, Sorrento Oasis, Capri Oasis and One Spatial in

Pasig City; Maui Oasis in Sta. Mesa, Manila; Asi-ana Oasis in Paranaque City; One Oasis Cagay-an de Oro; One Oasis Cebu, Amalfi and Sanre-

mo Oasis in Metro Cebu and One Oasis Davao. It plans to launch MRB projects in other key ur-ban areas such as Iloilo soon.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2012-April 2013)

Month 2013 2012 2011

Average 42.23 43.31December 41.01 43.64November 41.12 43.27October 41.45 43.45

September 41.75 43.02August 42.04 42.42

July 41.91 42.81June 42.78 43.37May 42.85 43.13April 42.70 43.24

March 42.86 43.52February 40.67 42.66 43.70January 40.73 43.62 44.17

Stat Watch7.1

1st Qtr 2013

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

USD 3,741 million

Feb 2013USD 4,708

million Feb 2013USD -967

million Feb 2013USD -640

millionDec 2012

P 4,964,560  million

Feb 2013

2.4 % Mar 2013P113,609

million Mar 2013

P 5,281 billion 

Mar 2013

P 41.14 Apr 2013

6,847.5 Mar 2013

132.8 Apr 2013

2.6 Apr 2013

3.1 Apr 2013

418,108 Feb 2013

20.9% Jan 2013

7.1% Jan 2013

1. Gross National IncomeGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

2. Gross Domestic ProductGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25

Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Davao-Singapore 18:55 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Davao-Singapore 18:55Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Davao-Singapore 15:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45

as of May 2013

EDGEDAVAO6 THE ECONOMY

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is asking lawmakers for an amend-

ment of its charter to be allowed, among others, to develop regula-tions for an Islamic banking sys-tem in the Philippines.

“This will pave the facility in developing an Islamic banking system, not just individual op-eration,” BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said.

Currently, there is only one Islamic bank in the country – the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (AAIIBP), which the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) acquired in 2008 in a bid to fast-track so-cio-economic development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Under the Islamic banking system, loans, for one, do not have interest unlike in conven-tional banking.

Espenilla said the BSP wants “to create an inclusive banking system including not just the un-banked but also to deliver finan-cial services to Muslim commu-nities.”

He explained that this is also part of the Framework Agree-ment that the government forged with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in October 2012.

The Agreement, signed last

October 15 in Malacanang by MILF Peace Panel chair Mohag-er Iqbal and the Philippine gov-ernment represented by Dean Marvic Leonen, paved for the cre-ation of the Bangsamoro region,

which will replace the Autono-mous Region in Muslim Mindan-ao (ARMM).

Espenilla said foreign players will be allowed to invest in Is-lamic banks just like in universal,

commercial and rural banks.“It’s not a bad idea for an ex-

perienced foreign Islamic bank to be invested in such a bank. It makes a lot of sense for that to happen,” he said. [PNA]

BUSINESSMAN and for-mer senator Manuel B. Villar Jr is expanding his

real estate and retail portfolio.Echoing the business mod-

el of other real estate groups that offer retail and commer-cial offerings as part of their residential developments, Vil-lar announced over the week-end the establishment of MBV Retail Holdings, which carries his initials.

Villar, the country’s 16th richest based on Forbes list, is the chairman of the new com-pany, which was established with a P1 billion capital. Villar said the family is ready to pour in more capital in tranches of P250 million to support MBV Retail.

The following are the brands that MBV will pursue and carry:

All Day, a convenience storeAll Day stores will replace

the existing 80 Finds conve-nience store chain nationwide earlier established by Vista

Land. New branches carrying the rebranded store will be put up in new areas.

The target is to have 100 new stores by the end of this year, and to double the number by 2014.

“We have many communi-ties and these communities need these kinds of stores,” Villar said.

All Day will cater to the Filipino preference as it aims to become a major player in a sector dominated by foreign chains like 7-Eleven and Minis-top, Villar added.

All Home, a home appliance and furnishings outlet

Villar said the store will provide good synergy with its residential developments of Vista Land, with furnishing packages to be offered to resi-dents in installment.

“It’s a perfect fit for Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc,” Villar said.

Target is to have 5 small outlets this 2013 — one in An-

tipolo, Muntinlupa, Metropo-lis Alabang, San Fernando in Pampanga and San Jose in Bu-lacan. A small All Home branch will have 3,000 square meters (sqm) area.

Another 4 bigger outlets will be put up in 2014 with for-mats that will require 10,000 sqm.

Investment is around P60 million for small All Home stores and P300 million for the larger branches, Villar said.

All Group, a department store business that will eventu-ally be rebranded

For the department store business, Villar said the ex-pansion would largely de-pend on the construction of Vista Malls and Starmalls. The home improvement and appliance store business ex-pansion, through a P1.5-billion capital spending, will provide logistical support for Vista Land’s housing projects while catering to the needs of home-

buyers.“We want to go big into re-

tailing as well,” Villar said in a statement. “We’re beefing up our retail capability. We as-signed topnotch senior officers to the company and we will be putting more capital as we move along.”

“(The commercial centers’) presence is not only a crucial in any master-planned communi-ty, but also stands as testimony to a developer’s professional track record,” Listed property firm Vista Land said.

Vista Land has so far built 250,000 homes in 33 provinc-es, 65 cities and municipalities nationwide.

Villar said MBV Retail is also planning to venture into devel-opment of office buildings ca-tering to the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, add more formats to its portfolio like drugstores, and list in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 5 years, depending on expansion projects. [Rappler.com]

BSP eyes establishment of Islamic banking system in the Philippines

Villar pours P1-B into retail businessHALAL. A trader holds a bottle of Halal preserved milkfish which he is selling for P75 each at Ecoland mosque along Quimpo Blvd., Davao City yesterday. [Lean Daval Jr.]

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 7

COASTAL areas fac-ing oceans like cer-tain municipalities

in Davao Oriental are exposed to a number of natural risks like tsuna-mis, floods and coastal erosion. This was bared by Danilo M. Octaviano, senior science research specialist of the Mines and Geosciences Bu-reau, during a dialogue with provincial officials led by Gov. Corazaon N. Malanyaon recently.

Malanyaon herself said that the provincial government plans to in-corporate the findings of Octaviano’s team which reported that some 30 villages of some towns have been found to be suffering from coastal erosion.

The lady governor said the recommenda-tions of the study team will be factored into provincial government discussions of proposed amendments to its com-prehensive land use plan.

“We need the cooper-ation of municipal may-ors in he affected areas,” said the governor during the briefing on the study Monday, adding that she will meet with the may-ors within the month to discuss the issue.

“There are tell-tale signs of soil erosions,” Octavio told the provin-cial officials, said that the team study recorded ac-tual cases of coastal ero-sions as well as the testi-monies of the residents about the phenomenon.

THE House of Rep-resentatives has approved the bud-

get to be used to finance programs against the di-sastrous effects of glob-al warming and climate change.

Bulacan 1st District Rep. Ma. Victoria R. Sy-Al-varado said the Committee on Appropriation of the House of Representatives has approved the budget of the Department of En-

vironment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Climate Change Commis-sion (CCC) for fiscal year 2014 after eight hours of marathon deliberations over the weekend.

Sy-Alvarado, vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriation for DENR, said that the committee has approved P 23.65 bil-lion for DENR while P80 million was approved for the CCC.

The Bulacan lawmaker said she successfully de-fended the budget for the two agencies involved in the protection and conser-vation of environment and in addressing the effects of global warming and cli-mate change.

She said that the two agencies needed substan-tial budget to boost gov-ernment programs in the conservation of environ-ment and mitigation plans

to counter the ill effects of climate change.

“We all know that the effects of global warm-ing and climate change is already being felt world-wide and governments in developed countries have already earmarked billions of dollars to protect their cities and states from the disastrous effects such as heavy flooding and strong typhoons,” Sy- Alvarado stressed. [PNA]

TUFTS of harsh, bris-tly hair and a white tail tip are among

the defining features of a new rodent species dis-covered in Indonesia.

The Spiny Boki Me-kot Rat was found in the mountain forests of Halmahera, in the Moluc-cas (Maluku) archipelago.

It was from these is-lands that Alfred Russel Wallace wrote to Charles Darwin, outlining his the-ory of evolution.

The region is rich in biodiversity but its wild-life is under threat from logging and mining firms.

Scientists hope the new mammal discovery will encourage greater exploration and conser-vation of the area.

Their findings are re-ported in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Under threat The new rat was found

in a remote, hilly region of Halmahera by an ex-pedition team from the University of Copenhagen and Indonesia’s Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense.

They laid traps baited with roasted coconut and peanut butter, placed on tree trunks and at burrow openings.

Among their find-ings was a previously unknown rodent with coarse, brownish grey fur on its back, and a whitish grey belly.

By analysing the rat’s DNA and physical fea-tures such as its skull and teeth, they determined it was not only a new spe-cies, but an entirely new genus.

They named it Halma-heramys bokimekot after nearby Boki Mekot, a mountainous area under ecological threat due to mining and deforesta-tion.

“This new rodent highlights the large amount of unknown bio-diversity in this region and the importance of its conservation,” said lead researcher Pierre-Henri Fabre, from the Centre for Macroecology, Evolu-tion and Climate at the University of Copenha-gen.

“It’s very important that zoologists visit these islands to explore fur-ther.”

Only six of the new rodents have so far been captured: three adult males and three females.

Little is known about their behaviour, but they are thought to be omniv-orous, as the scientists found both vegetable and insect remains in their stomachs.

“This discovery shows

The rat has unusually coarse, spikey fur on its back and a short tail with a distinctive white tip.

New spiny rat discovered in ‘birthplace of evolution’

how much of the richness of life is left to discover - especially in the Indone-sian archipelago,” says co-author Kristofer Hel-gen, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, US.

Prof Helgen was among the team that re-cently discovered a giant rat living in a volcano cra-ter in Papua New Guinea, as well as a new mammal carnivore in Colombia - the Olinguito.

“There are likely to be more undiscovered spe-cies of mammals in Indo-nesia than in any other country in the world,” he says.

“Finding and docu-menting them is a task made urgent by huge environmental threats, especially logging and mining.”

Birthplace of evolu-tion

The new rodent also provides clues to how mammals evolved and spread across the “step-ping stones” of the Mo-luccas - known as one of the birthplaces of evolu-tionary theory.

It was here in 1858 that the British natural-ist Sir Alfred Russel Wal-lace famously wrote to Charles Darwin, outlining his ideas on the develop-ment of new species.

The correspondence led to their eventual co-publishing of a theory of natural selection.

Wallace had been struck by the incredible diversity of animals and insects in the Moluccas - a transition zone be-tween Asia and Austral-asia. [BBC]

MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL

Some villages in Davao Orprone to coastal erosion: MGB

House approves DENR’s P23.65-B budget

Other new species in 2013• The olinguito, Bassaricyon neblina, a new

mammal carnivore• Cambodian tailorbird, Orthotomus

chaktomuk, found in Phnom Penh • A new, smaller-skulled species of the Hero

Shrew called Scutisorex thori• A dinosaur named Nasutoceratops titusi,

which means big-nose, horn-face

EDGEDAVAO

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 20138 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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

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EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

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Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • VIDA MIA VALVERDE • Economic Analysts: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ • Lifestyle Columnists: BAI FAUZIAH FATIMA SINSUAT AMBOLODTO • MEGHANN STA. INES • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN

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NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVOManaging Editor

GREGORIO G. DELIGEROAssociate Editor

RAMON M. MAXEYConsultant

RICHARD C. EBONAMarketing Supervisor

SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

EJ DOMINIC C. FERNANDEZReporter

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

KRISTINE D. BORJAMarketing Specialist

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JRCirculation

EDITORIALIdeal requirement

A FISCAL reform worth watching is the re-quirement that local government units (LGUs) can no longer make loans without

prior approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, specifically the Monetary Board. The LGUs will have to seek the opinion of the MB before bor-rowing funds from local banks and other finan-cial institutions.

The new requirement for prior MB opinion allows the BSP to monitor the borrowing of the public sector, so that it can assess the impact of the transactions on the monetary sector, and also on the country’s external payments position.

Decidedly, this prior opinion requirement will enable the BSP to fulfill its mandate of maintain-ing monetary and financial stability, pursuant to Republic Act 7653, also known as the New Central Bank Act of 1993. Under this law, the re-quirement also covers the national government,

the LGUs and other political subdivisions; gov-ernment-owned and –controlled corporations, local water districts and state universities and colleges.

Considering the huge borrowings of the nation-al government, LGUs and other government in-stitutions, this long unimplemented fiscal reform augurs well for the people’s desire to achieve an ideal fiscal health of the government at all levels.

This, too, will provide an opportunity for peo-ple to scrutinize huge government transactions which were not so transparent before.

It is likewise hoped that such a requirement can be used to nip in the bud controversial trans-actions like the P660-million alleged behest loan extended by the Development Bank of the Philip-pines to former Trade minister Roberto Ongpin. Mercifully, this case is now being litigated in the court.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

I managed to walk around Lustre and realized communities alter and change. There was nothing to

complain except that life teaches us in ways that are unimaginable.

And the unimagined took place on the 9th of September 2013.

As a reiteration, “I witnessed the Rizal Alih military overtures in the early 80s, the massive displace-ment of local residents of Lustre af-ter two irreconcilable clans violent-ly claimed their individual family’s amor propio in 1988, and armed activism in Isabela City, Basilan in 1990 resulting from alleged corrup-tion of some officials of a state col-lege situated in a coastal barangay where the infamous ambush of a Ma-rine barracks took place.

In the 80s, full-geared military, especially Marines, was a common sight especially before entering the village of Rio Hondo which lies just beside my former alma mater, the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology. Now and then even during school days, me and my schoolmates would rush near the college gates once Army tanks and a battalion of government soldiers uniformly queue to conduct “clearing operations” in Rio Hondo. Military visibility was more pronounced after People Power and during the chal-lenging stages of negotiations with the Moro National Liberation Front but there was limited consciousness and understanding amongst us about the historical struggles of the Bang-samoro, why the massive and heavy presence of state forces, and unabat-ed proliferation of small weapons in our neighborhood.

“People don’t deserve being dis-placed and forced to leave their homes due to armed confrontation between forces that draw out their victories from military might. Civ-il liberties, freedom of movement, and human protection are guaran-teed in times of conflict and must be observed, equally provided and ensured by combatants but what we saw in very disturbing circumstanc-es in Zamboanga City are blatant disregard and violation of human rights. The people of Zamboanga and Basilan have suffered much; they don’t deserve this war, this is not their war!”

I refuse to forget the landscape filled with water spinach and dalag. A place where simple dreams and hopes for better future become more necessary day to day, from one rainy season to another. “Lustre is now in ashes,” my Aunt Celia told me over the phone last Monday. The sons and daughters of Lustre may be gone but their spirits continue and shall con-tinue to defy the harsh conditions and difficult testaments of our time like the defiant water spinach and dalag.

(Rick R. Flores is a Davao City-based freelance development con-sultant and journalist.)

LAST month, he repeated for the nth time the declaration of the Bangsamoro Republik – this

time including the Malaysian federal states of Sabah and Sarawak. Obvi-ously, the Zamboanga City “invasion” is his gambit. His message for the Aquino government: if you don’t give me the two birds, I’ll continue this war of independence.

Unfortunately for Misuari, the Aquino government has called his bluff – his tantrum. The President sounds firm and stern. To the MNLF fighters, he said: “Surrender now or face the full force of the government” (Inquirer Mindanao: September 19). Obviously, to Misuari, his advisers and spokesmen” “We will talk only to those who want peace” (Inquirer.net, Sep-tember 19). This is Aquino’s response to Misuari’s offer to free the hostages in exchange for the fighters’ safe pas-sage back to Sulu and Basilan.

Does this mean a bloody end for the MNLF fighters still fighting? It de-pends on Misuari. The President said

he will stay in Zamboanga City “until the crisis is over” (philstar.com, Sep-tember 19). Does he want peace? The President, by his dictum, will talk to him. With an olive leaf, he should seek the President while still in Zamboan-ga City. The bloody ending as the end of the crisis can be avoided.

Misuari’s demand for the “one bird” is only to satisfy his pride. Ac-cording to Secretary Deles, the MNLF had been invited to nominate dele-gates to the Bangsamoro Transition Commission. The BBL draft is where the MNLF and the MILF can comple-ment each other’s vision of the Bang-samoro. Misuari declined the invita-tion. The fact I see is: For Misuari, for MNLF to sit with MILF is undignified. He is looking at 1976, not 2013.

His demand for the “other bird” is

out of order by Deles’ account. The bill to amend RA 9054, end phase of the review, is ready for submission to the Congress. However, Misuari would not agree to until his three additional demands are granted. Two of them, Deles said, had been complied with (plebiscite on territory and provision-al government); the third had already been agreed upon (sharing on strate-gic materials). Obviously, the compli-ance and the agreement did not satis-fy Misuari.

In short, all depends on Misuari.But former President Fidel V. Ra-

mos disagrees. All the mess is the making of the Aquino III government. He has advised President Aquino to clean up the mess. Don’t blame Misu-ari.

The mess is there for all to see. Who is primarily responsible? We will discuss this in a separate COMMENT. [Author’s Note: Mind da News, the alternate of COMMENT, is specifically an opinion on current news. patpdi-azgsc@yahoo.com]

Conclusion

Conclusion

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

Solon’s contrary view on PDAF

Depends on MisuariPATRICIO P. DIAZ

MIND DA NEWS

BY RICK R. FLORESCOMMENTARY

Of water spinach, dalag, and Lustre

THE PORK BARREL AGAIN – Under pressure from a cross-section of society, including powerful inter-

est groups, the Aquino administration has succumbed to the will of the major-ity – total abolition of the highly contro-versial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more derisively known as “pork barrel”.

This is a clear warning from the citi-zenry that time is running out on the rul-ing elite to mend its ways. Ruling elite, of course, includes some thick-faced politicians and their corrupt cohorts in the bureaucracy and the private sector who have conspired to rob the citizenry of their money. It is time for elected offi-cials to change and refocus their efforts in providing their constituents what they swore to give when they took their oath of office as congressmen, senators, mayors, governors and other officials—real public service. Instead of focusing their efforts in enriching themselves, it’s time to busy themselves with finding creative ways to address the country’s chronic, if not worsening socio-econom-ic problems.

Our leaders, without exception, should by now realize that with many of them caught with their hands in the cooky jar, the people are very angry with some becoming cynical about their once-respected leaders. The people have shown this lately through a series of pro-test actions. Indeed, corruption discred-its the government, undermines citizens’ respect in authority and subsequently weakens its ability to govern.

Some leaders have perpetuated the culture of corruption, in effect ruining democracy which promises to deliver to the people social, economic and politi-cal blessings. Corruption, as we know it for the longest time, has eroded people’s original belief in their leaders’ capabili-

ty to provide good gover-nance, which may be defined as responsible, efficient and effective poli-cymaking and implementa-tion of the law.

But amidst the loud clam-or to abolish the pork bar-rel system, there are still lawmakers who sincerely believe the PDAF has its good points and therefore deserves to be continued with some refinements that will make the system corruption-proof. Among the advocates of PDAF’s continu-ation is Congressman Anton F. Lagdameo, Jr. of the 2nd district of Davao del Norte. Although he deplored how some legis-lators misused and abused their pork barrel appropriation, Lagdameo declared in the strongest term his support for the retention of PDAF.

Congressman Lagdameo realized the urgent need to utilize the PDAF because if it is being handled true to its purpose and following the strict implementing proce-dures by different government agencies, it is indeed a great boon for progress and development in the countryside. Since 2007, he showed his best program out of his yearly PDAF allocation. To address the age-old problem of unequal access among poor communities and indige-nous peoples to economic opportunities and to the benefits of participation in the social and political mainstream, Lagdam-eo saw there must be due and proper rec-ognition of their rights and privileges.

Urgent and adequate action on the constituents’ basic social needs, infra-structure development and full and im-

mediate implementation of programs designed to assist the rural folks was Lagdameo’s priority effort. He focused on the sufficient provisions of primary health care and medical services, mini ambulances to all 130 barangays in the 2nd district, health centers, sound basic education, scholarship program, infra-structure development, livelihood pro-grams and including technical training. Congressman Lagdameo believes that three out of four poor families live in the rural communities and is reason enough to give them the highest priority.

In the light of a successful citizens’ action prompting President Benigno Aquino III to totally scrap the PDAF sup-posedly a proven necessity-quencher for the poor if handled and utilized ap-propriately will now become a thing of the past. The government asserted its commitment to exert greater cooper-ative effort to take necessary steps in transforming PDAF into an effective tool for progress and development. In setting its new strategic directions, government emphasized the importance of funds and speed up work on the draft for a system on channeling appropriations to differ-ent implementing government agencies, government organizations (GO) and lo-cal government units (LGUs).

The allocation of funds has been chal-lenged by the changes because of what the pork barrel funds have done making some cash-oriented lawmakers ‘prof-itable’ for years. The recent experience and government decision to abolish the pork barrel funds has caused so much disorder and anarchy in the streets. Nonetheless, lawmakers like Lagdameo who have been proven to have utilized their PDAF wisely said they are commit-ted to support a new government fund allocation strategy as the first step in reform.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 201310 EDGEDAVAONEWS

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the country were ordered by Customs Commission-er Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon to return to their mother units.

DyBuco said that the immediate effect of the CPO’s implementation was dislocation of 60 per-cent of the 200 officials and employees in the ports of Davao, General Santos and Mati, most of whom have been assigned in the area for years now.

Most of those affected were not holding plantilla positions, DyBuco said ex-plaining that plantilla po-sitions were mostly creat-ed by law as early as the 1970s yet and have not been updated despite the fact that the transactions have already quadrupled through the years.

As an example, the Customs official cited the number of personnel in the assessment division, which evaluates the val-ue of imports and exports and imposes the amount of taxes, used to number 24 appraisers and exam-iners. When the CPO took effect, what remained were five examiners and appraisers, as this was the number in the old plantilla. As a result, the collection of this unit was greatly hampered,

he said, adding that the daily average collection of from P15 million to P20 million was down to only P2 million, at least during the first days of the CPO’s effectivity.

As a result of the CPO’s implementation, many Mindanaons, “in-cluding our brother Mus-lims,” DyBuco said, found themselves reassigned to Appari, Isabela and other areas in the North.

As a result of the CPO, the new BOC District Col-lector is lawyer Raymond Ventura, who holds the rank of District Collector V, why DyBuco who used to be acting district col-lector, is back to his old position as deputy district collector for operations.

He said Ventura has organized a skeletal force to mitigate the lack of personnel in the office, a reason they are optimis-tic that the collection and general operations of the district will soon stabi-lize.

He said that Commis-sioner Biazon has up to Friday this week, to ap-point new employees and replacement of those dis-placed by the CPO. He said by Friday, the election ban on appointments and transfers of government

employees will already take effect, because of the onset of the campaign for barangay elections in Oc-tober.

DyBuco believes that the CPO, just like the oth-er reforms introduced by Commissioner Biazon are generally accepted by the BOC rank and file.

One indication is that so far, nobody has come forward to petition for temporary restraining order of for injunction in order not to be moved from his current position, DyBuco said.

“We all realize how low our reputation has become, especially after we were singled out in the SONA (State of the Na-tion Address) of President Aquino, and there is that desire to gain back the confidence of the people,” he said.

He appealed to the cit-izenry and the media to give the bureau, the coun-try’s No. 2 tax collection, to cleanse itself from the bad image that has haunted.

DyBuco also said Dis-trict Collector Ventura, off-ficials and employees that everything will soon stabi-lize in Davao and the rest of the 17 other collection districts in the country.[EJF]

The DepEd 11 has not implemented a ran-dom drug testing among public school teachers in Davao City although random drug testing has been implemented by private high schools and colleges.

He added that DepEd 11 would like to make sure that due process would be observed in the case of teachers al-legedly involved in ille-gal drugs.

However, if it is prov-en that a teacher is into

drugs, DepEd 11 itself will file appropriate criminal and administra-tive charges.

Sumastre will be charged for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

impact of floods, he ex-plained.

Mr. Octaviano also pointed out that instead of relocation, government agencies must also be prepared to evacuate the population within the vil-lages, many of them found in the coastal towns and the city, in times of disas-ter.

“Relocation must be the last recourse,” he said, although he could not quantify how many of the about 517,000 people liv-ing in the province could be facing the risks. The population was based on the July 2013 report of the National Statistics Co-ordination Board.

He added that the on-slaught of typhoon Pablo - which hit three towns

of the province and other areas in Compostela Val-ley, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur – has also reduced the number of people living in the risk areas as they have evacu-ated to higher grounds.

Nationwide, Mr. Octa-viano said, about 46% of the population could ba facing risks for living in the coastal areas and ar-eas prone to floods and erosions.

Meanwhile, the pro-vincial government is also studying an option on whether to abandon the stretch in the Mati-Tarra-gona highway which has been prone to landslide.

Dolores Valdez-Co, provincial supervising en-vironmental management specialist, said one alter-

native is to build a coastal road connecting Tagab-akid, the last village that is part of this city, to Lu-catan. Ms. Valdez-Co said the road will have to pass a rock formation that will make the construction of the road a bit expensive.

The plan to build the road was first hatched during the time of then governor Francisco G. Rabat as the problem has been recurring.

Early this year, three people died when a land-slide hit the place again as the vehicle of the victim fell as the cascading soil pushed it into a ravine. Several other vehicles were buried as motorists were stranded by about half a day as the road be-came impassable.

ceremonies,” Alfaraque said.

City Administrator Melchor Quitain said the new executive order gives reprieve to all gov-ernment employees who would no longer have to wake up early in the morning every Monday to attend to the flag-raising ceremony.

He said he would not require employees to stand under the heat of the sun.

Quitain said that since the sun is already up at 8:00 am, he would al-low employees to gather in sheds where they can protect themselves from the heat of the sun.

“This is a pro-employ-

ee administration. We are always ready to listen to you especially on sug-gestions on how we can make the delivery of ser-vices efficient,” he said.

Quitain also warned the employees against in-volving in corrupt practic-es stressing that they will surely regret it. [PIA 11/Joey Sem G. Dalumpines]

OLONGAPO CITY (PNA) -- The death toll in landslides in

Zambales due to heavy rainfall rose to 25.

This, after two more bodies were recovered by rescuers in Subic town late Monday afternoon.

Subic town Mayor Jef-ferson Khonghun said the total number of fatalities re-

covered in Barangay Cawag is now 11 while in Baran-gay San Isidro, the number of dead bodies retrieved is now at 6, bringing the total number to 17.

Khonghun said there is still one missing person in barangay Cawag buried by landslide that the rescue teams are trying to retrieve.

He said another person

who was earlier reported missing person in Barangay Sto. Tomas was also recov-ered.

Reports from the Pro-vincial Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRR-MO) said that four persons were also reportedly killed due to landslide in baran-gay Aglao in San Marcelino town.

MANILA, Sept. 23 (PNA) -- Speak-er Feliciano Bel-

monte, Jr. presided over plenary Monday as mem-bers of the House of Rep-resentatives approved on third reading, the sub-stitute bill resetting the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to the last Monday of October 2016.

This was by a vote of 185-12.

House Bill 2849 is in substitution of six sepa-rate but similar measures -- HB Nos. 722, 893, 1987, 2062, 2090 and 2537) authored respectively by Reps. Winston “Winnie” Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City), Joselito R. Mendoza (3rd District, Bulacan), Xavier Jesus “XJ” D. Romualdo (Lone District, Camiguin), An-thony G. Del Rosario (1st District, Davao del Norte) and Edgar Erice (2nd,

District, Caloocan City).

House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms Chairman, Rep. Fredenil H. Castro (2nd District, Capiz), ably sponsored and defended the postponement mea-sure in plenary, with Rep. Edgar Erice seconding the motion for final ap-proval.

Authors of the mea-sure were one in saying that the postponement of the October 28, 2013 SK polls to the next synchro-nized barangay and SK elections in 2016 would give Congress sufficient time to seriously consider the various pending pro-posals for the abolition of the SK as an institution.

Castelo, echoing the sentiments of the other principal authors, ex-plained that the “seem-ing issue of the effects

of a hold-over, or from 2013 to 2016, will be far outweighed by the more significant and lasting benefits of a political en-vironment insulated from partisan politics as well as a level playing field.”

As a consequence, the committee-approved HB 2849 that mandates that the scheduled SK elec-tions shall be postponed to the next scheduled ba-rangay and SK elections on October 2016 and ev-ery three years thereafter.

HB 2849 also man-dates the Commission on Elections and the Depart-ment of Interior and Local Government to promul-gate the necessary rules and regulations within 30 days after effectivity of the proposed Act.

A parallel measure had earlier been ap-proved by the Senate. (PNA)

SK polls postponed

AGRI PROGRAM. Department of Agriculture 11 re-gional director Remelyn Recoter reports that DA 11 has submitted to its national office an agricultural program proposal to help coconut farmers in Davao Oriental who

were badly affected by typhoon Pablo during Kapehan sa Dabaw yesterday at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr. 

Death toll in Zambales landslides rises to 25

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 11EDGEDAVAO

NATIONMANILA

MANILA

MANILA

MANILA

EDUCATION Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC says the Depart-

ment of Education (DepEd) will be ready to resume classes but wants to focus on assessing schools and students first. “We are cur-rently preparing, with our division personnel, prin-cipals, and teachers to be ready for school opening as soon as the Crisis Manage-ment Committee declares it safe to do so. Based on our assessment 80% of public schools can resume classes.”

Out of 205 public schools (including annex-es), 13 schools are being used as evacuation centers. According to DepEd divi-sion officials, 167 schools can already resume classes next week as long as they are given 24 hours’ notice by the Crisis Management Committee.

“We want a return to normalcy but after an or-deal like this, students and teachers need psychosocial intervention and debrief-ing,” explained Luistro. “On the first day back teachers need to do a headcount of their students first and assess if intervention is needed. The following days should also be devoted to planning by the principals to organize make-up class-es. There will be no regular lessons yet.”

Undersecretary for Re-gional Operations Rizalino Rivera believes the orga-nization is ready to re-

sume with a day’s notice “We have 253 personnel trained on psychosocial in-tervention just last month. However, 53 of them were directly affected so we need to debrief them first. We’ll also tap volunteers from other regions to assist.”

Rivera adds that the DepEd will also set up tem-porary learning spaces in non-school evacuation cen-ters. An estimated 12,000 students will need to un-dergo Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM) or non-tra-ditional means of learning for the next three months because their schools have been affected by the crisis. [DepEd]

IF former Sen. Francis-co “Kit” Tatad could show proof Pres. Be-

nigno Aquino III had lunch with detained Janet Lim Napoles on the day of her surrender, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lac-ierda would quit his post.

He said the former sen-ator should apologize for failure to prove these alle-gations.

“I’m still waiting for it. If he can prove to me that Napoles had lunch with the president, I will resign. If he doesn’t prove his claim, then he should apologize to us... it’s all not true obvi-ously,” he said.

The Palace official also hit Tatad anew for alleging that Napoles served as the

“conduit” to release “pork barrel” funds to lawmak-ers in exchange for votes to impeach former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“Not true... if they have documents to prove it, show it. They’re just giving innuendos. We’re a very transparent administra-tion,” he said.

He said one could check on the website of the Department of Budget and Management the date of pork barrel disbursements and that the lawmakers voted based on their judg-ment.

“It was based on the judgment of the congress-men and senators,” he said. [PNA]

ACCLAIMING the measure as a con-vergent policy to

eradicate domestic vio-lence, Compostela Valley Representative Maria Carmen S. Zamora recent-ly co-authored House Bill No. 155 entitled, “An Act Promoting Positive and Non-Violent Discipline of Children and Appropri-ating Funds Therefor.” The bill is principally au-thored by Rep. Susan A. Yap of the 2nd District of Tarlac.

“We have been wit-

nesses to many unfortu-nate instances wherein parents and elders instill discipline among children through physical violence, the threat of it, or even psychological punishment. This kind of parenting has become archaic in the modern world. Children must be raised under an environment that fosters positive behavior to facil-itate learning and disci-pline. This is the main rea-son why we are pushing for the bill,” Rep. Zamora said.

Under the bill, pro-hibited acts include the following: forcing a minor to kneel on stones, salt or pebbles; squatting; public humiliation; deliberate neglect of a child’s phys-ical needs; exposure to substances that can cause discomfort; and imposing tasks that the minor is in-capable of doing such as forcing him or her to skip sleep and verbal assaults.

Penalties of violations under the proposal are being seen to reinforce penal laws under the Re-

vised Penal Code; RA No. 7160, otherwise known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act;”; and RA No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-Vio-lence Against Women and Their Children Act.”

The Department of Social Welfare and Devel-opment (DSWD) is tasked under the measure to be the lead agency in the law’s implementation, if the same is eventually en-acted into law.

JUSTICE Secretary Lei-la M. De Lima Monday left it to the Office of

the Ombudsman to de-cide whether the whistle blowers in the pork barrel scam should be allowed to appear at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing Tuesday.

This was contained in a two-page letter of De Lima to Sen. Teofisto Gu-ingona III, Chairperson of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, in reply to the invitation of the Senate to

her and the whistle blow-ers to again attend the hearing.

According to De Lima, she did not allow the whistle blowers to attend the hearing tomorrow in recognition of the role of the Office of the Ombuds-man who has the sole au-thority to make public the testimonies of the whistle blowers.

De Lima said the Om-budsman already has the jurisdiction in any mat-ters involving the com-

plaint filed by the Nation-al Bureau of Investigation against the lawmakers, government officials and private individuals im-plicated in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.

De Lima added the Ombudsman should also decide whether to release to the public the infor-mation pertaining to the pieces of evidence and the merit of the case.

De Lima further said this is also pursuant to

the provisions of the Om-budsman Rules of Proce-dure prohibiting the dis-cussion in public of cases which may put in jeopar-dy the safety of the wit-nesses and the resolution of the cases.

However, De Lima did not directly confirm whether she can attend the hearing Tuesday al-though she gave assur-ances for the continued support in the investiga-tion of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. [PNA]

DepEd preparing to resume classes in Zamboanga City

Whistle blowers not allowed to attend Senate hearing on pork barrel scam

Lacierda to quit post if Tatad shows proof of ‘Napoles-Aquino lunch’

Zamora co-authors positive discipline bill

ENDANGERED SHANTY TOWNS. Informal settlers living along creeks in Paranaque City in the national capital region are at risk yet again Monday following incessant monsoon rains overnight in the area. [PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan]

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 13EDGEDAVAO CLASSIFIEDS

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 201314 EDGEDAVAOSPORTS

AG R O - I n d u s t r i a l Foundation Col-leges remained

perfect going to the Final Four after disposing Pre-cious International School of Davao, 76 – 55, at the close of the elimination round of the Sante Barley Inter-school Juniors Bas-ketball Tournament action yesterday at the GS Sky-gym.

The Seahorses, last year’s runner-up, shrugged off a slow start to complete a sweep on its Group A eliminations with a 4-0 record.

It was Poypoy So-ronio’s time to shine in Agro’s final game of the preliminary round as the scrappy back-up playmak-er banked in 16 points on top of excellent quarter-backing plays.

The rarely -used Soro-nio responded well to the challenge as coach Arman Villanueva visibly unload-ed playing minutes to his key players in the game.

Jeinard Talo-talo and Archie Estrelante made 11 and 10 points respectively for Agro which takes on Group B No. 2 seed Emar

College in the semifinal round next-weekend.

John David Mitchell and Justin Panelo scored 12 and 10 points in that or-der for PISD which stayed within striking distance in the first two period.

But Agro came alive in the second half taking a 56 – 34 lead at the end of third and was never threatened all the way.

PISD remained win-less in three outings in the tournament supported by Nike Athletic Club.

Emar (3-1), which edged defending champi-

ons Assumption College of Davao few weeks back, barged its way to the semis after beating Holy Child College of Davao last week.

Group A top-seed Ford Academy of the Arts that also swept its group pre-liminaries will face Ateneo de Davao University in the other semifinal clash.

Ateneo placed second in Group A with 3-1 win-loss slate. The tournament is organized by Duterte Basketball League and sanctioned by SBP region-al office. (RB)

SULTAN Kuradarat’s domination of the Palawan Pawn-

shop-Palawan Express Padala through 11-year olds Vince Tugade and Caryn Bless Guarde could have not come at the most opportune time when the youngsters won via straight set victories at the City CourtTennis Club in Gen.Santos City on Sun-day.

“This series of nation-wide age-group tourna-ments is part of Palawan Pawnshop’s commitment to give our young players, especially from the coun-tryside, a venue where they could hone their tal-ent and skills,” said Pala-wan Pawnshop COO Bob-by Castro.

Tugade upset second seed Merwin Estrella-do, 4-2, 4-0, in the quar-ters, held off Jeff Alquiza, 5-4(4), 4-2, in the semis before tackling No. 4 Al-fred Directo, 6-3, 6-1, in the finals to win the Boys’ 14-and-under title in the 18th leg of the nation-wide circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop and Babolat.

Earlier, he downed the top seeded Direc-to, 4-0, 4-1, in the semis then blasted No. 2 Nicole Gorospe, 6-0, 6-1, to bag the 12-and-U diadem in the event hosted by CCTC, headed by its pres-ident Dr. Mario Dideles.

In the distaff side, 11-year old Guarde matched Tugade’s two-title romp by ruling the Girls’ 14- and 12-and-U classes, beating April Bentillo twice, 6-4, 6-2, and 6-1, 6-2, respectively.

Sharyl delos Santos also scored a twin-kill, trouncing Shaira Rivera twice, 6-2, 6-1, and 6-4, 6-2, to cop the girls’ 18- and 16-and-U plums, re-spectively, while No. 4 Jer-ic delos Santos topped the boys’ 18-and-U category with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Abubakar Pendiwata.

Unseeded Ralph Dia-ma also pulled off a big surprise, taking the boys’ 16-and-U crown with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Lyle Ibali while top seed April Minet Bentillo rolled past Angelica Novis, 6-3, 6-2, to cop the 10-unisex dia-dem. (PNA)

Agro marches to semis in Sante Barley hoops

Sultan Kudarat bets top GenSan netfest

THE Sports Communi-cators Organization of the Phils. (SCOOP)

Davao and the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) have thrown sup-port to the “Takbo Para sa Mga Athleta” Fun Run slat-ed on October 27 at 5 a.m. at the Jaltan Magallanes corner City Hall Drive.

“SCOOP Davao and DSA

are now media partners of our event,” said Salvador “Jun” Paholio Jr., chairman of the organizing Davao City Sports Consumer Co-operative (DCSCC).

The other media part-ners are sister companies 102.7 FM One Radio News and 783 khz AM Ang Radyo ni Juan both of the RMC Broadcasting Corporation.

SCOOP, DSA support Takbo Para sa Mga Atleta

P R E S S E D . C o u r t n e y Fells of Talk N Text gets sandwiched by Rico Maeirhofer and Chris El-lis of Ginebra in the PBA G o v e r n o r ’s Cup duel last Sunday. The two squads meet again tonight.

INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

EDGEDAVAOTRAVEL

FILIPINO music in contemporary times is almost

synonymous to one name—the “Maestro” himself, Ryan Cayabyab.

Mr. C, as he is called by peers in the music industry, together with finalists of the Philip-pine Popular Music Fes-tival, visited Davao City for the event “Songwrit-ing with the Maestro” hosted by the Ateneo de Davao University at the ADDU Finster Audito-rium.

The finalists from last year’s festival who came with Mr. C were Ganny Brown, Jungee Marcelo, Adrienne Bue-naventura and Raffy Calicdan.

The songwriting workshop was part of the national tour of the Philippine Pop Music

Festival Foundation that aims to promote and preserve Filipino music by empowering Filipino songwriters. The festival will be held annually now as part of Mr. C’s advocacy to bring back Filipino mu-sic through motivating Filipino songwriters.

“Walang madali. No one’s gonna approach you and tell you I’m gonna produce your song. You just need to do it,” Mr. C said.

Davao’s aspiring art-ists were comfortable communicating with the Maestro because of how approachable and funny he was to every-one in the event, includ-ing the finalists who also made friends with the crowd.

“Get much exposure as you can. Sing your

songs in events like fi-estas or join the Philip-pine Pop Music Festival 2014 to enhance your skills in songwriting,” one of the finalists ad-vised the aspiring art-ists.

The event was not just any workshop, it was a rare experience coming from most the expert maestro himself.

“I’m really proud seeing people from the music industry here in the Philippines fight in getting our music back into everyone’s aware-ness again. I wish I could be there doing that by now, but I guess I have to leave it to these guys and, hopefully, aspiring artists like me will get to do the same in build-ing or leaving a new leg-acy,” Mikhail Tuboro, an aspiring artist, said.

Learning with the

By ATHENA JILLIAN BRAVO

‘Maestro’Photos by Atenews and www.circuitmag.net

Photography by: RAYMOND CELESTINO of Edge of Light StudiosHair and Make-up by: SHASHA TAGUD of Lowell Buenaventura Salon

THE RAINS have come, but every-thing is bright and fun with practical and stylish raingear from the SM Store. Banish away the stormy day blues with umbrel-las with ruffle accents, graphic prints, and prin-

cess designs for little girls.  Animal friends – bunnies, bees, butterflies, pandas in raincoats and ponchos will also keep the little ones company and lift their spirits up. Keep little feet safe and stylish with fashionable rain boots in solid colors

and playful prints, as well as cool leather boots. Who said singin’ in the rain wasn’t fun? The collection is avail-able at the Children’s Ac-cessories and Children’s Shoes sections of the SM Store. 

THE PHILIPPINES’ leading low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) increased operations from its Visayas hubs, in line with its continued push for more tourism and trade in the destinations it flies to. From January to August 2013, the number of passen-gers through the airline’s Iloilo hub went up by 33%, while guests to and from its Cebu hub increased by 15%. Cebu remains the airline’s second largest hub, with over 2.3 million CEB passengers passing through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the first 8 months of the year. Late last year, CEB doubled the routes it offered to and from the Iloilo International Airport. It provided direct con-nectivity to Tacloban, Puerto Princesa and General Santos, and pioneered the first international flights out of Iloilo to Hong Kong and Singapore. Previously, CEB only flew from Iloilo to Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro. Meanwhile, the airline further strengthened its teeming Cebu hub, by launching more CEB routes from the MCIA. CEB launched direct flights from Cebu to Coron, Bangkok, Camiguin and Masbate in a period of nine months. It now flies from Cebu to 25 domestic and 5 international destina-tions. “We hope that our direct air linkages empower everyone to travel in the fastest way possible, and discover tourism and trade opportunities all over the Philippines. Cebu Pa-cific will always explore how else it can assist in the coun-try’s tourism agenda, with the delivery of more brand-new aircraft until 2021,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribu-tion Candice Iyog. CEB currently operates more than 2,200 weekly flights to over 90 routes or city pairs. The airline flies to 34 domestic and 22 international destinations. Its newest international routes include Manila-Phuket, launched last August 16, 2013, and Manila-Dubai, to be launched on October 7, 2013. For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www.cebu-pacificair.com, or call the reservation hotlines (02)7020-888 or (032)230-8888. The latest seat sales can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter (@cebupacificair) and Facebook pages. CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 27 Airbus A320, 2 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 47 aircraft is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Be-tween 2013 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 15 more Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 4 Airbus A330 aircraft.

A2 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

CEB grows Visayas hub passengers by up to 33%

STYLE

CALLING ALL FASHIONISTAS! Here’s your chance to win P20,000-worth of stylish clothes and be seen in the pages of Candy Magazine! Introducing SM Girls Teens’ Wear STYLEBOOK, the search for the ultimate Stylista— style mavens who have a unique personal style and a flair for everything fashion. For more details visit the SM GTW Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SM.GTW

Rainy day fun for kids from the SM Store

Do a fun bunny hop in the rain with this pink raincoat paired with leather bucked boots.

Rainy day blues: Blue rain coat, blue ruffled umbrella and floral boots

RIGHT: Poncho Princess: A purple umbrella, a pink poncho and pink patterned rubber boots will surely make the little princess go dancing in the rain.

LEFT: Go bright and playful with a green raincoat with floral designs paired with these green rubber boots will keep little feet dry and safe.

LEFT: Brighten up a rainy day with this bumblebee raincoat, yellow rubber boots and panda umbrella.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013EDGEDAVAO

IN THE tradition of tak-ing on the best and most exciting shows to Philippine television, acclaimed actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo is set to bring her un-paralleled charisma to the stage as the host of ABS-CBN’s newest game show, “Bet On Your Baby”. “Bet On Your Baby”, an in-ternational game show for families, aims to put to the test how well parents know their children. Designed for kids aged two to three and a half years old, the game show began airing this same year in the United States and Turkey and im-mediately gained a huge following as one of tele-vision’s most well-loved programs. Aside from being set to air in the Philippines, the game show is also on its way to touch the shores of China—where the said country is also in the process of developing their own versions of “Bet On Your Baby”. Following two suc-cessful seasons as host of “MasterChef Pinoy Edition” and “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition,” for which she received an Anak TV award, “Bet On Your Baby” host Judy Ann is once again

more than ready to take on another grand hosting stint, venturing into the realm of game shows for the first time. Being a program de-signed for families that proves the importance of the bond between parents and their children, “Bet On Your Baby” aims to deliver a message that is close to the heart of Judy A n n , w h o

knows the real rewards in being a hands-on mom. The game show involves three rounds for three families—the initial round, the puzzle round, and the jackpot round. In the first two rounds, one parent from each family will be the decision-maker, guess-ing whether or not his or her child will be able to ac-complish a given task along with the other parent inside a separate room called the “Baby Dome”. Families that successfully accomplish the challenge in the first round are automatically awarded with P10,000. The second round, a test

of speed and wit, allows the winning family to

proceed to the third and final round,

where they will be given the chance to win up to P1 mil-

lion. The new and

exciting game show “Bet On Your

Baby”, hosted by Judy Ann Santos, will hit Philip-

pine television soon. For updates on the program, visit and like “Bet On Your Baby” on Facebook (www.facebook.com/betonyourb-abyph) and follow @beton-yourbabyph on Twitter or betonyourbabyphilippines on Instagram.

GMA Artist Center lauds child star Barba-ra Miguel for winning Best Actress at the re-cently concluded Har-lem International Film Festival in New York City. The Harlem International Film Festival honours films that offer honest, thought-provoking portrayals of our world. After being named as Best Child Actress in this year’s 61st Film Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), the Kapuso child actress was internationally recognized for her remark-able portrayal of one of the youngest moms in Philip-pine history via Joseph Is-rael Laban’s “Nuwebe”, the only Philippine entry in the said competition. Barbara Miguel became a household name in the Phil-

ippines via GMA Network’s top rating primetime series

Munting Heredera and Biri-tera.

INdulge! A3ENTERTAINMENT

Judy Ann to demonstrate world-class hosting skills

in ‘Bet on Your Baby’

Barbara Miguel wins Best Actress award in New York

R 13

R 16

PG 13

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

R-16

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 2D

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

MOMZILLAS 2D

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

WE'RE THE MILLERS 2D

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis

Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne

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

THE CHRONICLES OF

RIDDICK 3 2D

Vin Diesel, Karl Urban

Maricel Soriano, Eugene Domingo

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

MICROFINANCE stakeholders from all over the world, led by Nobel Peace Prize Awardee Dr. Muhammad Yunus will be in Manila for a three-day summit in October that will showcase development strategies for poverty alleviation. Organized by the Washington-based Microcredit Summit Campaign in partnership with the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) and wireless leader Smart Com-munications, Inc. (Smart), the 2013 Microcredit Summit: Part-nerships Against Poverty Summit will be held on Oct. 9-11, 2013. This is the first time the Philippines is hosting this inter-national event. The Philippines was chosen to host the 16th international summit on microcredit being one of the countries with the best microfinance regulatory framework and for its many in-novations in microfinance and poverty alleviation. Govern-ment has also utilized public-private partnerships as a devel-opment strategy leading to inclusive growth. Microfinance practitioners, advocates, educational insti-tutions, donor agencies, international finance institutions, non-governmental organizations and others involved in mi-crofinance will look into best practices and work together to elevate these programs to a larger scale for a more significant impact on the global fight against poverty. As the exclusive telco sponsor, Smart will be providing wireless connectivity in the venue during the entire duration of the summit. A number of internet kiosks will also be de-ployed in the events hall. It can also be viewed online via live streaming. “We are proud to be part of this summit that hopes to ad-dress the pressing global problem on poverty. This couldn’t have come at a more critical time with only two years left to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals,” said Smart Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando B. Vea. The Millennium Development Goals target to cut global poverty by half in 2015. In the Philippines, the recorded poverty incidence for the first half of 2012 was 27.9 percent, which means an estimated 24.3 million Filipinos live below the poverty line. Government data showed the statistic has hardly changed over the past six years. “With the summit, we hope to learn from other countries and at the same time, share how we have utilized mobile communications technology to help improve lives,” said Vea. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Smart e-Money, Inc., the telco has been pursuing service innovations in the areas of mobile banking and microfinance. “With our series of innovations on the e-money domain, we remain steadfast to be at the forefront in advancing our advocacy in providing the enabling environment for inclusive growth through trailblazing technology within a dynamic payments ecosystem,” said Lito Villanueva, head, Innovation, Ecosystem Development and Global Engagements for Smart e-Money. Smart’s mobile wallet services have won several awards from distinguished international organizations and have led to strategic alliances with leaders in the remittance and pay-ment industries. With over 10 years of experience in the mobile commerce industry and a pioneer in mobile banking and mobile wallet services, Smart has implemented a proprietary mobile com-merce infrastructure that spans different products and servic-es across different market segments, partnered with various financial institutions in catering to the financial transaction requirements of both the banked and unbanked sectors.

PARTNERS AGAINST POVERTY. Telco leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has partnered with the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) have joined forces for the hosting of the 2013 Microcredit Summit: Partnerships Against Poverty Summit here in Manila. In photo, from left, are Jose Benjamin Fernandez, Managing Director, Smart e-Money; Jane Basas, Group Head, Prepaid; Charles Lim, Smart EVP and head of wireless consumer business; Orlando B. Vea, Smart e-Money president and CEO; Mila Bunker, Chairperson, MCPI; Allan Robert Sicat, Executive Director, MCPI; Aileen Paglinawan, Administration and Finance Manager, MCPI; and Lito Villanueva, Head, Innovation, Ecosystem Development and Global Engagements for Smart e-Money.

SMART backs int’l microfinance summit

EDGEDavao Davao Partners

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

LJUBLJANA – France ended their long wait for European

glory by beating Lithua-nia 80-66 on Sunday to win the 2013 EuroBasket title — their first conti-nental crown.

Portland Trailblaz-ers star Nicolas Batum collected 17 points and six rebounds while Boris Diaw had 15 points and his San Antonio Spurs teammate Tony Park-er added 12 points for France, who were run-ners-up to Spain in 2011.

It was a huge relief for France, who had failed to take the title after 13 previous top four finishes didn’t produce a crown. And also for Parker, who comes back to play for Team France every sum-mer.

“It’s hard to describe how I feel. The jour-ney was unbelievable. I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Parker.

“I won the title. I’m a little tired. I felt it in the quarters and semis. And before the game the coach said trust your teammates. If you score 10 points we will win the final. And he was right.”

French coach Vincent Collet was proud that

Parker had finally gotten his title.

“For so much time he has tried with French basketball to reach this trophy. Finally he got it. That’s simply the natural reward. But it was not the easiest way,” said the Frenchman.

Lithuania were hoping to finally claim a fourth European crown after titles in 1937, 1939 and 2003. But the Baltic side will have to be happy with a second silver after 1995.

Linas Kleiza tallied 20 points while Mantas Kalnietis scored 19 points for Lithuania.

“Today we had a chance to win but they were better than us. We didn’t do anything to give ourselves a chance to win,” said Lithuanian vet-eran Robertas Javtokas.

Batum scored 10 points in the second quar-ter and led the decisive 21-3 French run to close the first half — effectively taking control of the game with a 50-34 lead at half-time.

Lithuania were able to cut the deficit to 14 points early in the third quarter and late in the fourth, but France would not allow them any closer.

DUE to heavy rains brought by south-west monsoon, the

Philippine Basketball As-sociation (PBA) has de-cided to move on Tuesday the knockout match be-tween Barangay Ginebra and Talk ‘N Text for eighth and quarterfinals slot of the PBA Governor’s Cup.

The do-or-die match is set at 7:15 p.m. at the Ara-neta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.

The Tropang Tex-ters forged a knockout game after trouncing the crowd-favorite Gin Kings, 113-99, last Sunday night at the MOA Arena.

The winner between Ginebra and TNT will ad-vance against top seed and twice-to-beat Petron Blaze in the quarterfinals while the loser will join Air21 for an early vaca-tion.

The quarterfinals will begin Wednesday with Meralco facing Barako Bull and San Mig Coffee taking on Alaska in the second game.

ATLANTA (AP) -- At this stage in his ca-reer, Henrik Stenson

never expects anything to come easily.

He already had poured in hours upon hours of work to even get to this stage - a four-shot lead go-ing into the last day of the Tour Championship, giv-ing him a clear shot at the FedEx Cup and the biggest payoff in golf. He was re-minded what was at stake when he saw the two tro-phies displayed on the first tee at East Lake.

‘’I knew it was a lot of things on the line,’’ he said.

He figured his best move was to play his best golf, and he delivered a 2-under 68 on Sunday to claim both trophies.

With a birdie on the 15th hole that thwarted a late charge by 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, followed by three pars from the sand, Stenson wound up with a three-shot victory over Spi-eth and Steve Stricker in the Tour Championship. Equal-ly important, if not more, he captured the FedEx Cup

and its $10 million bonus.‘’The main thing is to

block everything out and go play golf, which I was pret-ty good at in the long run,’’ Stenson said Sunday.

The short run hasn’t been bad, either.

No one has played better over the last three months. Stenson tied for third in the Scottish Open, and was runner-up a week later at the British Open. He was runner-up in the World Golf Championship at Fire-stone and finished third at the PGA Championship. And when the FedEx Cup playoffs began, the 37-year-old Swede didn’t lose his stride. He won the Deut-sche Bank Championship to get the No. 2 seed, and then capped it off with the first wire-to-wire win (no ties) in the Tour Championship since Tom Watson in the first year of this 30-man showcase.

‘’Hats off to him,’’ Strick-er said. ‘’He played great. He played great in the playoffs. He won two of these events. He deserves to be champi-on.’’

FRENCH KISSFrance wins first ever Eurobasket title

Ginebra-TNT knockout game todayStenson wins FedEx Cup

SLIPPERY. France’s Tony Parker (L) attempts to get past the defense of Lithuania’s Darjus Lavrinovic during their European championship basketball final at Ljubljana’s Arena Stozice September 22, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic

ROUGH NIGHT. Harvey Carey of Talk N Text (light) goes up against William Wilson and Rico Maeirhofer of Ginebra in the PBA Governor’s Cup duel last Sunday. The two squads meet again tonight.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 137 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 201316

ATLANTA (AP) -- Ti-ger Woods wrapped up at least one award

as player of the year.Woods has won the

PGA of America’s points-based award for player of the year on the strength of his five PGA Tour victories, the money title and the Vardon Trophy.

Adam Scott would have had to win the Tour Cham-pionship and the Vardon Trophy for the race to end in a tie.

Woods had 90 points - 10 points for each of his five wins, 20 points each for the money title and Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average.

It was the 11th time that Woods won PGA play-er of the year, and ninth time he won the Vardon. He had not won either award since 2009, the year

that ended with his per-sonal life unraveling.

Woods earlier this month wrapped up the Ar-nold Palmer Award on the PGA Tour for winning his 10th money title with just over $8.5 million.

Steve Stricker won the Byron Nelson Award by the narrowest of mar-gins, averaging 68.945 per round to Woods’ 68.985. Unlike the more prominent Vardon, the Byron Nelson does not require a player to have at least 60 rounds. Stricker played 51 rounds this season, ten fewer than Woods.

Still to be determined are PGA Tour awards for player of the year and rookie of the year. Both are a vote of the players, and the electronic ballots were to be returned quickly for a Friday announcement.

EDGEDAVAOSports

BEST OF THE BEST

Despite losing FedEx Cup, Tiger

Woods wins 2013 player of the year

TOP ROOKIE. Jordan Spieth in action during the final round of the FedEx Cup.

STILL NO. 1. Tiger Woods finished the year as the Tour’s top player.