P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

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

DRUG REHAB PATIENTS DROP

INSIDE EDGE

MEGAFIGHT TICKETS NOW ON SALE

THE Davao City Treat-ment and Rehabilitation for Drug Dependents

(DCTRDD) recorded a marked decrease on the number of drug patients admitted in the center.

Speaking in yesterday’s I-Speak Media Forum, DC-TRCDD chief Dr. Gene Gulanes said during the first quarter of this year, there are only 21 drug

dependents who had been ad-mitted in the center compared to 30 last year during the same period.

Dr. Gulanes clarified, how-ever that the lower number of admission is not conclusive that drug cases in the city have also decreased.

Gulanes said that with ev-ery patient admitted there are still many drug users in the

community who did not un-dergo rehabilitation.

“Even if we only have ad-mitted 21 drug patients yet, we still consider it as alarming because there should be no patient that will be admitted in rehabilitation center if there are no people who are using illegal drugs,” he said.

Gulanes said that of the 21, 10 came from Buhangin

district, six are from Poblacion district and five are from Talo-mo district.

The number in the next months cannot be predicted because there could be influx of drug dependents that will be admitted in the rehabilitation facility, according to Gulanes.

“I am encouraging those drug users to submit them-

Sports P15FDRUG, 10

CLEANERGY PARK. A caretaker collects the hawksbill turtle’s eggs before they are transferred to a nursery at newly-launched Cleanergy Park, a sustainably project of the Aboitiz, in Sitio Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015

FORMER president Jo-seph Ejercito Estrada, popularly known as

“Erap”, still owes the Philip-pine government a whopping P417.86 million as a result of his conviction of plunder in 2007.

This was bared by Dr. Ron-ald Mendoza, executive direc-tor of the AIM (Asian Institute of Management) Policy Center, in a talk before some 400 busi-ness leaders and professionals in Davao City last Friday.

Mendoza tackled “Good Governance is Good Econom-ics” during a “breakfast forum on confronting corruption” at the Lantaw Hall of the Roy-al Mandaya Hotel organized by Brotherhood of Christian, Businessmen, and Profession-als (BCBP). Former senator Joey D. Lina and Commis-sioner Heide L. Mendoza also

spoke in the forum.Professor Mendoza cit-

ed Erap’s case as an example of corruption in high places where billions of pesos in peo-ple’s money are stolen.

A Rappler report indicat-ed that based on the Septem-ber 2013 compliance report submitted by Sandigan acting chief judicial officer Albert dela Cruz, there’s still a bal-ance of P417.86 million (about $19.3 million at current ex-change rates) to be collected from Estrada.

The Rappler story stated that “Gov’t records showed that the amount to be forfeited against Estrada totaled about P725 million (roughly $15 million in 2001). However, only about P317 million been recovered by government.”

Mendoza said that several

2 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

POLICE Regional Office (PRO) 11 recorded low-er crime volume from

January to March this year compared to the same period last year.

PRO 11 recorded 13,735 crimes for the 1st quarter of 2015 which is lower than the 17,772 of the same quarter last year.

For the 1st quarter of 2015, from the 13,753 crimes

recorded, 49.28 percent of which are physical injury cases while 31.47 percent are theft cases.

According to PRO 11 Spokesperson Police Super-intendent Antonio Rivera, the lower crime volume in the entire region is a result of the collaborative effort of the dif-ferent Law Enforcement Agen-cies, Local Government Units and Stakeholders.

Rivera said the govern-ment has established a strate-gies to prevent terrorism from occurring in the entire Region.

“Through deployment of mobile patrols in crime prone areas and uniform personnels patrolling on places where people converge during peak hours are the main reason of the lower crime volume this year,” Rivera said.

The Crime Solution Effi-

ciency (CSE) of the region also increased for the 1st quarter of 2015.

Last year, Police recorded 44.08 percent or 4,453 CSE rate, higher than the 60.97 per-cent or 5,501 for the 1st quar-ter of 2015.

Police also seized a total of P2.797 worth of illegal drugs from January to March this year that resulted to the appre-hension of 148 individuals.

TASK Force Palarong Pambansa was official-ly created to secure the

athletes on the upcoming na-tional games on May 3-9 in Davao del Norte.

The Task Force Palarong Pambansa will be headed by the Provincial Director of Davao del Norte, Police Senior Superintendent Samuel Gad-ingan.

10th Infantry Division Commander Major General Eduardo Año said on Wednes-day that the Task Force is com-

posed of the 103rd Brigade and Police Regional Office.

Año said that the group the Task Force has enough per-sonnel for the security of the event.

“We have created a Task Force to secure the entire event, it will be composed of the RPSB (Regional Public Safety Battalion), PRO 11 and 103rd Brigade under Col. (Har-old) Cabreros,” he said.

The group will be divided into two, in which the Police

The executives and officers of Aboitiz Group of Companies led by executive vice president and chief operating officer for distribution of Aboitiz Power Jim Aboitiz (9th from left) pose for a group photograph during the launching of the com-pany’s Cleanergy Park in Sitio Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

PRO 11 reports lower crime volume in Q1By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

FTF PALARO, 10

FESTRADA, 10

TF Palaro created

Estrada still owes gov’tP417.8M in stolen money

A MILK tea store own-er in Davao City said the refusal of the city

Health Office (CHO) to reveal the establishments involved in the recent raid where sa-chets of expired milk tea pow-der were confiscated is affect-ing their business.

“Needless to say, the refus-al of the City Health Office to divulge the identities of these perfidious milk tea stores is affecting our business. This is a form of injustice,” Cathy Bi-nag, owner of Madhatter milk

tea store, said in a statement.Binag said the action of

CHO in not identifying the milk tea store that was raid-ed last Wednesday created confusion to the public and adversely affect the milk tea sector here.

“Why Madhatter thinks the disclosure is important is because it, without question, paints a bad image of all milk tea stores in Davao,” Binag said.

“Unless the names of the erring milk tea shops are

made public, it will create confusion among the public and foments discrimination against those who are doing business with integrity and dedication to giving quality service and products to the public,” she said.

Madhatter, a mall-based establishment, and the other milk tea stores doing business religiously do not deserve to be punished for the mistakes and cunning activities of oth-ers, according to her.

Last Wednesday, CHO

raided some milk tea shops operating inside a mall and confiscated 22 packs of ex-pired milk tea powder and boxes of fruit preserves with a March 2014 expiry date.

CHO Environment Sani-tation Division chief Robert L. Oconer said the two milk tea stores are located inside two major malls.

He said the inspection started right after the inci-dent in Manila where two died because of drinking milk teas.

Bare names of milk tea shops, store owner urges

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

EXPIRED INGREDIENTS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 3NEWSEDGEDAVAO

DAVAO City Mayor Rodri-go Duterte today called for the revival of the

mandatory Reserved Officers Training Course (ROTC) for male college students as part of building a credible self-defense force in the wake of China’s ag-gressive build-up in Kalayaan group of islands.

Duterte said relying on the 1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty is not enough to address the Chinese threat in the West Philippine Sea.

“While we expect the US to come to our aid if attacked by a foreign force, the country must also be self reliant. And to build up a credible self-defense force, the country must restore the ROTC that was once part of the college curriculum,” Duterte pointed out.

Duterte said that if proper-ly implemented in colleges and universities, ROTC can be used to teach values formation on discipline, nationalism and the patriotic duty to come to the

defense of the Republic in the event of an external aggression from a foreign country like Chi-na.

“Our young men are pres-ently too preoccupied with texting, facebook and other so-cial media diversions that they don’t even know how to handle a rifle like we used to during our time,” said Duterte, who took up his ROTC in the Lyceum of Manila where he earned his college degree before taking up law in San Beda College.

Duterte said an incoming administration after the 2016 presidential polls should al-ready be rethinking its foreign policy vis-a vis China. While he would prefer a diplomatic solution and for Manila to bring back Beijing to the negotiating table, he would like to see the country establish a credible self-defense capability.

Duterte stressed self de-fense to dispel any perception he’s a war hawk.

“We have enough peace

and order problems in Mind-anao and we don’t need to add an external security threat by saber-rattling against China,” said Duterte.

The first presidential can-didate to speak out on a major international issue, Duterte expressed alarm at China’s ag-gressive buildup to fortify its nine-dash claim that infringes on the economic exclusion zone of the West Philippine Sea.

He called on China to exer-cise restraint and desist from reclaiming land to build mili-tary bases in the disputed wa-ters of the South China Sea.

Duterte suggested the Phil-ippines and China revert to the status quo before the Scarbor-ough/Panatag incident.

Joint exploration of the potential oil, gas and minerals under the seabed can be under-taken with China and the other SCS claimants like Vietnam, Malaysia,Brunei and Taiwan, he said.

Duterte also expressed

Duterte calls for revival of ROTCconcern for the plight of Fil-ipino fisherfolk living in the coastal towns of Pangasinan and Zambales.who have been deprived of their livelihood .

Chinese gunboats recently hosed down Filipino fishermen

and drove them away from traditional fishing grounds. He said the South China Sea is vast enough for all the countries in the region to share in its ma-rine life bounty.

On the Bangsamoro Basic

Law, Duterte said that as a Min-danaoan, he would like to see the BBL’s passage after flaws in the measure have been ad-dressed by the lawmakers so that it conforms to the Consti-tution.

STRICT INSPECTION. Dr. Evelyno Buenaventura of City Health Office (CHO) says the agency is conducting strict inspection of establishments selling food and beverages after two

outlets selling milk tea in one of the malls in Davao City were caught using expired ingredients. Buenaventura was a guest in yesterday’s I-Speak media forum at City Hall. Lean Daval Jr.

RISING HIV CASES. Precy Senoc (left), Health Education and Popula-tion officer of the City Health Office (CHO), discloses that 15 to 20 cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Davao City are being re-corded every month which is caused

by risky sexual behavior. Senoc, together with Dr. Gene Gulanes, chief of the Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (DCTRCDD), graced yes-terday’s I-Speak media forum at City Hall. Lean Daval Jr.

THE city government of Davao will exact ecolog-ical and sealing fees on

establishments found without appropriate rainwater catch-ment system (RCS).

The penalty is included in a 22-page manual submitted by a technical working group to the Davao City Watershed Manage-ment Council (WMC) headed by Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The draft Simplified Tech-nical Manual on Planning and Development of Rainwater Har-vesting Systems was presented Wednesday by Ms Arjean Juma-moy, an engineer of the City En-gineer’s Office during the WMC monthly meeting presided by lawyer Jhopee A. Agustin, assis-

tant city administrator, for the WMC’s approval.

The TWG is composed of engineers Jumamoy, Chona C. Aroja, Andrew C. Lepardo, and Jenny Ann S. Matuguinas, archi-tect Clyde Eric C. Verga, Zaldy M. Lingas, and Mary Gel J. Babia of the city engineer’s office; en-gineer Anthony Roy B. Carino of the City Agriculturist Office, Curtis Lazarraga of the City Health Office, foresters Christo-pher Asibal and Rodrigo Bustil-lo of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, and engineer Samuel F. Abrantes of the City Planning and Develop-ment Office.

The manual was crafted

City to penalize firms sansrain harvesting systems

FCITY, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 20154 EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

ELEMENTARY and high school sites tapped to billet delegates to the

Palarong Pambansa 2015 lit-erally typified the theme of the national games: “Breaking Bor-ders, Building Peace”.

‘Palaro pathways’ now connect the adjoining elemen-tary and high school campuses, which were previously separat-ed by sturdy concrete walls and fences.

Governor Rodolfo del Rosa-rio was elated to see the schools broke down a portion of their fences to connect their campus-es.

“Our billeting quarters exemplified our theme in the literal sense when bordering elementary and high schools opened their fences to connect their campuses,” he noted.

The governor made rounds in schools used as billeting ar-eas for the delegates, in order to ensure first-rate hosting of the country’s biggest sporting event on May 3-9.

Most of the adjoining cam-puses were separated by sturdy concrete walls and fences that establish school territories and

promote student safety. The fence make it easy for

administrators to easily keep watch over the property and monitor the flow of individuals entering and coming out of the campus.

However, the barriers will give some inconvenience to the delegates trying to get to their fellows from the same region who were housed in the adjoin-ing site.

The governor said the opening in the fences now makes it easier for the offi-cials and delegates to breeze through the borders of the bil-leting quarters of the Palaro.

Davao del Norte is host-ing the 2015 edition of the country’s largest school-based games supported by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company Inc. or TADECO, Da-mosa Land, Davao Packaging Corporation (DPC), Davao In-ternational Container Termi-nal, Inc. (DICT) and Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

Virginia Maningo, Princi-pal of La Filipina National High School praised the building of the ‘Palaro pathway’ linking her

School billets break borders, build ‘Palaro pathways’by NOEL BAGUIO

FROM several requests coming from both govern-ment and private entities,

Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy has once again shares the best practices of his province. This time, the invita-tion comes from the Ateneo de Manila University’s Office of the Vice President for Social Devel-opment together with the Insti-tute of Philippine Culture (IPC) on April 17 at the Escaler Hall, AdMU, Quezon City.

According to Atty. Jaime

Hofilena, AdMU’s Vice Presi-dent for Social Development, they have been “undertaking a study on ‘What Works’ in a di-verse selection of efforts to help people move out of poverty and understand ‘how to scale up’ what has worked so far.”

“We would like the confer-ence to be a venue where par-ticipants learn from each other on how to find solutions to so-cial problems…how individuals, groups, and organizations scale up by thinking in terms of insti-

tutions and in the long term will be a primary interest,” he said.

Sharing on social change initiative in Comval, Gov. Uy highlights the Filipino culture of “bayanihan” (loosely termed as volunteerism) as his way in government service.

“The spirit of volunteer-ism came at the darkest time when one of our barangays was swept away by series of land-slides in 2008. Through the in-spiration of the Gawad Kalinga, we made miracle of building

houses,” Gov Uy said.To date, Comval LGU spear-

headed 14 Bayani Challenge producing 1,000 houses scat-tered in various Uswag-GK Villages in the 11 towns of the province. Prioritizing the poor-est of the poor, this was made possible through generous donors providing for the ma-terials and by thousands of vol-unteers who build the houses, thereby, saving the labor cost component. (Fe Maestre/IDS Comval)

CITY Mayor Aniano P. Antalan administered the oath-taking of twenty (20) deputized fish

wardens from Philippines Nation-al Police (PNP) Samal and Samal Task Group under the command of 1003rd Brigade Philippine Army.

The oath-taking was done after the two-day exclusive live-in training-workshop on fish warden deputization last April 13, 2015 at City Mayor’s Conference Room, City Hall, Penaplata, Samal District.

In addition to the existing deputized fish wardens, the local government augmented twenty (20) more fish wardens (five (5)

personnel selected from PNP-Sa-mal and fifteen (15) from Samal Task Group) giving them the capacity and authority to enforce fishery laws and arrest violators base on RA 8550. The RA 8550 is an Act providing for the develop-ment, management and conser-vation of the fisheries and aquatic resources , integrating all laws pertinent thereto, and for other purposes. The law also stipulates the authority provided to the local government unit the authority to enforce all fishery laws, rules and regulations as well as the valid fishery ordinances enacted by the City Council.

The City Fisheries Office headed by Engr. Ana Lea A. Zapan-ta, City Agriculturist in coordina-tion with BFAR XI provided the newly deputized fish warden were trained and equipped with techni-cal skills in handling tactical tasks in apprehending marine violators.

The selected deputized per-sonnel from PNP-Samal and Sa-mal Task Group were assigned to strategic barangays identified as main fishing areas such as the Ba-rangay San Remegio, Cogon and Talicud Island of Kaputian District; Barangays Balet and Pichon of Babak District and other coastal Barangays wherein a detachment

will also be established for them to speedily response to cases of ma-rine violators.

“Illegal fishing awareness and prevention campaign were also given to fishing barangays and coastal barangays. We also asked and encouraged barangay officials and constituents to help the fish wardens to monitor, detect and report any illegal fishing or any unfamiliar sea vessels seen in their jurisdiction through texting or any means of communication for the immediate apprehension of the violators”, Mr. Timothy P. Dollano, City Fisheries Division, Acquacul-turist said. (Samal Info.)

THE Kalilintad Develop-ment Foundation Inc. (KDFI) and concerned

peace- loving residents of Ma-guindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces urged the country’s lawmakers on Thursday to give another chance for peace by passing the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

KDFI conducted a series of municipal peace assem-blies in three provinces from April 9-13 and the participants unanimously urged Congress to act in favor of the legislation they believe could usher peace and development in Mindanao.

“Let us open our mind. Let us not be selfish. Let us give BBL a chance,” the peace advo-cates told senators and repre-sentatives in a statement.

Convince that develop-ment will come after peace is attained, participants ex-pressed full support to the peace process between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government.

“We strongly appeal to the Congress to consider and bear in their collective wisdom pos-sible implications should the hearing on the Bangsamoro

Basic Law be delayed, much more not signed into law,” it said, expressing concern over what would happen next.

“We could not imagine how many lives will be lost, how much properties will be ruined and how many dreams will fade,” the group added.

It also expressed opposi-tion to the lawmakers’ propos-al to postpone the hearing on the BBL following the Mama-sapano incident and the issue of MILF chief negotiator Mo-haqher Iqbal’s pseudonym.

Congressional hearing by the House Ad Hoc committee on the BBL has been post-poned after the Mamasapano incident on Jan. 25 that left 67 persons dead, including 44 po-lice commandos and 17 MILF forces.

“No one ever wants to live in armed struggle because this is definitely an abnormal way of life. But because of injustices, the Bangsamoro people have to protect their lives against those who are ruining their beliefs, cultures and much more their lives. So, they have to stand forces in the manner of armed struggle,” the peace advocates said. (PNA)

PALARO PATHWAY. Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, left, and party walk along the new ‘Palaro pathway’ linking the adjoining J. Tuason National High School and Madaum Elementary school that are used as billeting quarters for the delegates to the Palarong Pambansa 2015. noel baguio/davnor pio

campus to the adjacent La Fili-pina Elementary School.

“The passageway now re-sults to a better collaboration of issues of mutual interest among

the two schools,” she said. Aside from easier access,

she added, the new link nur-tures human connection among the teachers and students from

the two schools, which, she said, is the essence of a sense of com-munity among the two educa-tional institutions.

However, she is quick to

add that they will impose some access control in the passage-way when the school year opens in June to ensure safety of the students.

Comval Guv shares best practices

IGACOS deputizes fish wardens

Mindanao peace advocates urge lawmakers: ‘Let us open our mind’

NO SMOKING. The city’s tricycle drivers who were given with “No Smoking” stickers for their passenger vehicles, showed their support for the Anti-Smoking Government Campaign of the Local Government of Tagum City. The campaign, which was conducted last April 17, 2015 help

at Tagum’s Freedom Park in accordance to the pertinent laws of the Philippines, including Municipal Order No. 34, s-1989 of Tagum, was carried out to stress the various negative effects of smoking to human’s health, including deaths. Photo by Kelvin Palermo of CIO Tagum

NEW ORDINANCE. The LocaL Government of Tagum led by Mayor Allan L. Rellon, DPA, addressed the large gathering of the city’s Tricycle and PUJ drivers during the Anti-Smoking Government Campaign. The campaign, which was conducted in accordance

to the pertinent laws of the Philippines, including Municipal Order No. 34, s-1989 of Tagum, was carried out to stress the various negative effects of smoking to human’s health, including deaths. Photo by Kelvin Palermo of CIO Tagum

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 5EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

OPERATION of the private sector-led Davao-General Santos

City-Tahuna-Bitung (DGBT) sea route will commence this year after the Indonesian Transport Ministry (IMT) will issue the necessary permit for its operation, an official of Mindnao Development Au-thority (MinDA) said.

“The different chamber of commerce and industry of Davao City, General Santos City and North Sulawesi, In-donesia are already on the last

stage of permitting. They are just waiting for the approval of the permit from the IMT,” Min-DA investment promotions and public relations director Romeo Montenegro told re-porters on Wednesday.

Montenegro earlier said Afesco Shipping Company, which is jointly formed by Filipino and Indonesian inves-tors), is currently working on the necessary permits from Indonesian maritime offices so it could operate interna-tionally.

He said there will be a new vessel that will be used once the operation of the sea route starts this year because the MV Beverly of PT Kanaka, an Indonesian shipper, backed out.

Other shipping players will invest in the route once the traffic is sustainable.

“A smaller roll-on roll off passenger (ROPA) vessel will be initially used because it is still in the testing stage,” Mon-tenegro said. “It will have a carrying capacity of 20 TEUs

and can carry additional 200 passengers in its aircondi-tioned facility.”

Montenegro said the ves-sel is owned and managed by the local government of Ta-laud Islands in North Sulawe-si, Indonesia.

“The private sector lead-ing this project tapped the local government of Talaud Is-lands for the passenger cargo vessel,” he said.

The Philippines will be trading with Indonesia goods like feeds, cement, fertilizer,

ice cream products, poultry, fresh fruits, synthetics; while imports, on the other hand, include: matured coconut, copra, corn, feeds, lumber, cement, cordage, high value crops (bell pepper, calaman-si, potatoes, okra, ampalaya), meat (goat, pork, beef), pea-nuts, aqua products, charcoal, soya, coffee beans, sugar.

Montenegro said the sea route is necessary to facilitate the movement of goods and other cargoes within the Bru-nei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phil-

ippines- East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

He described the new sea transport as shorter, fast-er and direct route because there’s no need for goods to go to Manila before Davao.

The private sector is push-ing for the sea route because it is a less expensive alternative at present, according to Mon-tenegro.

The cost is U$ 550/ton-nage which much cheaper than the RORO vessel at U$ 700/tonnage.

DGBT sea route awaiting permitcrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

WITH over two de-cades of unparal-leled presence as the

country’s leading exhibitions and events organizer, there ap-pears to be nothing that could stop Worldbex Services Inter-national (WSI) from continu-ously breaking new grounds in pursuit of excellence.

Last year, WSI made his-tory as it hosted the first-ever Philippine Building and Con-struction Exposition Davao or PHILBEX Davao 2014, which bannered the theme of “Con-necting the World through Resilient Construction,” in support of raising awareness on the importance of resilient construction as well as the need to gear up for a more globally competitive economic landscape.

Gathering the region’s top companies and foreign compa-nies alike, resulting in over 130 exhibitors and 240 booths, the Davao construction industry witnessed a first-of-its-kind high-grade exposition – thus attracting beyond 10,000 visi-tors in the span of the four-day trade show.

Patterned after WSI’s

iconic WORLDBEX, which is hailed as the largest and most comprehensive building and construction exposition in the entire country and PHILBEX Cebu, PHILBEX Davao aspires to bridge the glaring gap in the region’s construction indus-try and serve as a platform to showcase the world-class po-tential of Davao.

As such, WSI envisions to expand the industry’s econom-ic landscape and ultimately, to forge relationships and build meaningful partnerships with-in itsvarious sectors to foster a unified and emboldened in-dustry. The end goal, of course, is to catapult the Philippine economy by strengthening various industries of the na-tion.

Occupying a total of 4,480sqm of exhibition space, the exposition was an ac-tualization of its vision as it presented a truly world-class trade show as evidenced by its extensive range of product presentations.

From building materials and equipment, interior de-sign and renovation products, security and fire equipment,

to topnotch services offered by both industry institutions and associations including architecture and interior de-sign firms, mechanical and electrical engineering offices, information technologies and telecommunications provid-er, and construction promo-tion companies, the first-ever PHILBEX Davao proved to be a great success, with a 96% rate of satisfaction and 88% rate of show success.

Presented in partnership with associations such as the European Chamber of Com-merce, Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association, In-stitute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, and the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers PHILBEX Davao ran on a glob-al scale, with foreign visitors from countries such as China and Singapore who likewise graced the trade show.

It isn’t a surprise that PHILBEX Davao’s roster of sponsors included some of the country’s top construction and building companies such as Boysen, Apo Roofs, Apo Floors,

and Firely among many others.As Engr. Jose Froilan Rig-

or of C.E. Realtor and CREBA Chapter President exclaimed, “The event surely opened up more business opportunites in Davao City and Mindanao as local and international exhibi-tors from the construction and building industry converges… Thereby further boosting the already vibrant economy of the [region].” Indeed, his remarks prove how PHILBEX Davao successfully managed to mate-rialize its goals and aims.

Echoing Engr. Rigor’s enthusiasm about PHILBEX Davao, Mindanao Chapter PIID President, Idr. Hazel Garc-es-Resari describes the trade show as a “true trend setter in providing a unique opportuni-ty for construction businesses both large and small sized,” thus scaling new heights in the industry. Sharing the same sentiment, President of the IIEE Davao Chapter, Joseph Darren Claire Solicar believes that the event opened the in-dustry to a broader perspec-tive towards better opportu-nity as it sets the platform for

ASEAN members need to go beyond com-merce and financial

assistance to address factors that impede the achievement of the Millennium Develop-ment Goals (MDGs) as well as post-2015 development pri-orities, according to the Na-tional Economic and Devel-opment Authority (NEDA).

Economic Planning Sec-retary Arsenio M. Balisacan, during his opening speech at the ASEAN Regional As-sessment Workshop on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Achievement and Post-2015 Development Priorities, held on April 14-15, 2015 in Pasig City, urged ASEAN members to look at important areas for collabo-ration.

“Given our respective re-sources and experiences, we are encouraged to make our discussions for strategic col-laboration go beyond com-merce and financial assis-

tance. The areas we may con-sider revisiting include re-gional disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM), social protection, technolo-gy access and transfer, data generation and management, and capacity building of local institutions,” he said.

On DRRM, Balisacan em-phasized that disasters sig-nificantly dampen the intend-ed impact of development ef-forts. Thus, he proposed to re-view the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response and to strengthen the points of collaboration among ASEAN member states.

Balisacan also pushed for the integration of lessons learned from recent phenom-ena like Typhoon Haiyan into country and regional strat-egies for disaster resilience. He said that the ASEAN Plan of Action for strengthening peace and social protection

Asean members toldto achieve MDGs

THE government is gear-ing up to cushion im-pact of the prolonged

dry season brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

With anticipated damage caused by the dry spell in Davao region, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in cooperation with Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 11 and the provincial government of Davao del Norte will be con-ducting a cloud seeding inter-vention to the affected areas immediately after the com-pletion of the needed papers before its commencement.

Mike Nota, technical staff of BSWM informed DA-11 officials headed by regional director Remelyn Recoter that the province has a total of 37 percent damaged areas, comprised mostly of banana plantations.

Based on records from the regional High Value Crop Development Program (HVC-DP), Davao del Norte has a total of 23,772 hectares of banana plantation, 8,425 hectares of which have been damaged by the dry spell.

“About P3 to P4 million was allocated for cloud seed-ing process, wherein 10 per-cent from the amount will be given to the El Niño affected local government unit,” Nota reported.

However, the Bureau will no longer conduct cloud seeding in Davao City be-cause the extent of the dam-age is severe especially corn and mango.

“We will not conduct cloud seeding in Davao City anymore because the dam-age is already big and it can’t be recovered. The provinces

Interventions readiedfor long dry season

Bigger PHILBEX Davao set May 14-17DVD HUNT. Prospective customers and their pet dog shih tzu browse knockoff DVDs on display in a makeshift stall along Jacinto Street in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

FBIGGER, 10FINTERVENTIONS, 10

FASEAN, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015THE ECONOMY6 EDGEDAVAO

CALL FOR SUPPORT. Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz encourages the full support of the private sector in the implementation of JobStart Philippines in Davao Region during the MOU signing held recently in Davao City. (Roberto A. Gumba. Jr)

THE Regional Develop-ment Council (RDC) 11 approved the creation of

a sub-committee on migration and development under its So-cial Development Committee (SDC) during its first quarter meeting on March 19 at the National Economic Develop-ment Authority (NEDA)- RDC 11 Center.

The committee on migra-tion and development was created to “ensure coordina-tion in promoting policies, programs, and projects re-lated to migration and devel-opment, the primary institu-tion that sets the direction of Davao Region’s economic and social development.”

In a statement, the govern-

ment agency said the estab-lishment of a sub-committee “is in response to the call of the NEDA Board-Social De-velopment Committee for the regional SDCs to adopt a struc-ture that will address migra-tion issues, mirrored from the Sub-Committees on Interna-tional and Internal Migration which were established at the national level last year.”

“Migration has become a social phenomenon and a global concern, thus, the need for a well-coordinated ap-proach,” NEDA said.

The sub-committee on Mi-gration and Development or SCMD is intended to provide a mechanism to respond to the varied migration-related

issues in Davao Region, both on internal and international migration.

“This is to advance the Region’s pursuit of inclusive growth by further strength-ening coordination efforts among the public and private sectors relative to migration, promote full, decent and pro-ductive employment regard-ing policies, programs, and projects related to migration and development,” it said.

The newly created SCMD will be composed of NEDA as chair, Department of La-bor and Employment (DOLE) as co-chair on International Migration, Population Com-munication (POPCOM) as co-chair on Internal Migration,

with the following members: Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Agency (OWWA), Department of Interior Local Government (DILG), Nation-al Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Educa-tion (DepED), Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment (DSWD), Housing and Urban Development Coordi-nating Council (HUDCC), De-partment of Agriarian Reform (DAR), Department of Envi-ronment and Natural Resourc-es (DENR), National Youth Commission (NYC), Philipines

RDC body on migration, development created

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

A GROUNDBREAKING ceremony that will tap hydropower from

Tagoloan River, the country’s 13th largest river system, to produce a total of 68.9 mega-watts of electricity was held in Barangay Maluko, Manolo For-tich on Wednesday.

Hedcor president Rene Ronqillo said construction of the two cascading hydro plants—the 43.4 MW Manolo Fortich Hydro 1 and the 25.4 Manolo Fortich Hydro 2—will start right away.

Ronquillo said they expect to finish the construction with its total 68.8 MW rated capac-ity available to the Mindanao grid in 18 months.

He said the total cost of the project is P12.5 billion.

“The province of Bukid-non is the right place for this project and we commit that it will serve all the stakeholders,”

Ronquillo said during the brief groundbreaking ceremony.

Since 1996, Hedcor has been interested in harness-ing the tributaries – Tanaon, Amusig and Guihean – of Tago-loan River for its hydropower project.

The government, however, shelved the project proposal in 1998.

After government gave Hedcor the go signal in 2012, Ronquillo said it took them another two years to complete government requirements and get the approval from the lumads who live beside the three tributary rivers located in the towns of Manolo Fortich and Impasug-ong.

The Bukidnon provincial board said seven lumad com-munities – Santiago Tribal Community Inc., Higaonon Tribal Communities, Maluko

Hydro power plants to rise in Bukidnon

OVER 15,000 jobs are waiting for the jobseek-ers in this year’s Labor

Day Celebration.The Department of La-

bor and Employment (DOLE) Region 11 have recorded to date 2,394 job vacancies for local private companies while 12,819 overseas jobs that are ready for grabs for 2015 Labor Day Job Fairs this May 1 and 2. These job vacancies are of-fered by a total of 105 partici-pating companies including 75 local agenices and 30 overseas agencies.

The job fairs on May 1 will simultaneously be held in four locations: Gaisano Mall of Davao, SM City Davao Ecol-and, Gaisano Mall of Tagum and Local Government Unit of Sta. Cruz specifically at Darong Gym in Brgy. Darong. Gaisano Mall of Davao will stretch its schedule until May 2.

A One-stop shop will also

be mounted during the job fair which will cater and serve nec-essary documents and pre-em-ployment requirements for the convenience of the applicants.

Stationed in the One-stop shop are National Statistics Office (NSO), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Social Security System (SSS), Phil-Health, Professional Regula-tion Commission (PRC), Em-ployees’ Compensation Com-mission (ECC), National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), Regional Tripartite Wages and Produc-tivity Board (RTWPB), Tech-nical Education and Skills De-velopment Authority (TESDA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Overseas Workers Wel-fare Administration (OWWA), and Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration.

“This is one of the DOLE’s

15K jobs up for grabs in Labor Day Job Fair

FHYDRO, 10

F15K JOBS, 10FRDC, 10

Hyundai Phl sales declineSALES of Hyundai

Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), the official

distributor of Hyundai ve-hicles in the Philippines, declined by 10 percent in first quarter of 2015.

HARI reported Thurs-day that it sold a total of 5,364 units in Q1 2015, down from last year’s vol-ume of 5,983 units.

This was brought by 9.0 percent drop in pas-senger cars sales to 3,653 units this year from 4,004 units last year.

Likewise, sales light commercial vehicle seg-ment of Hyundai declined by 14 percent to 1,711 units in Q1 2015 from

1,979 units in Q1 2014.On the other hand,

quarter-on-quarter sales of HARI went up a bit by 1.0 percent from Q4 2014’s sales of 5,326 units.

The double-digit drop in sales of HARI has dragged the total sales of Association of Vehicle Im-porters and Distribution (AVID), the umbrella or-ganization of vehicle im-porters in the country, as HARI accounted for more than half of AVID’s total sales.

AVID sales in the same period declined by 7.0 percent to 8,448 units from 9,061 units last year. (PNA) A locksmith makes a key duplicate using an old key maker machine at his makeshift stall at the junction of C. Bangoy Street and Roxas Avenue in Davao City

yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015

EDGEDAVAOINdulge! EVENT

MOST attended, packed with innova-tions, filled with sur-prises.

That’s how you describe the recently held 48th An-nual General Assembly (AGA) of Tagum Coop-erative created such results witnessed and shared with more than 5,000 members in Davao City and some 18,000 in Tagum City.

As has been the prac-tice, Tagum Cooperative this year held two general assemblies. The first was on March 22, 2015 at the Davao Convention and Trade Center located along F. Torres St., Davao City for its members in Bajada, Matina, Mintal and Digos (Davao del Sur) branches. Another was held at Pedro B. San Jose Gym, Univer-sity of Mindanao Campus in Tagum City on March 29, 2015 with members en-listed in Panabo, Tagum, Carmen, Sto.Tomas, Nabu-turan banches and those in San Franciso, Agusan.

Wearing red t-shirt with Tagum Cooperative printed at the back, mem-bers beat the first hour of vote-casting and joined the early morning queue to the

TAGUM COOPERATIVE 48TH AGA

NORMA R. PEREYRAS, Chairperson, BOD Tagum Cooperative

voting areas so they could then attend the program and the business proper.First electronic voting

Unlike before, the holding time for them to cast their votes was cut short because Tagum Co-operative launched the first-ever electronic vot-ing during the 48th AGA. Voter’s numbers were pre-determined during pre-registration period and that the vote-casting was

made at fingertips. Mem-bers no longer wrote the names of the candidates of their choice. They just touched the photos of their chosen candidates shown on screen of ipads espe-cially purchased to create innovations in cooperative elections and to promote transparency.

After casting their votes, they went inside the hall to attend the program proper during which they

witnessed the presentation of candidates, got to know about the guests and visi-tors joining the general as-sembly and learned about the operation highlights of Tagum Cooperative as presented by OIC General Manager Vivelyn Fron-teras.

The awarding cer-emony then followed. The BOD and the management

Event A4

A new twist

MONICA L. SALIDO, vice chairperson, BOD Tagum Cooperative

THE Visit Davao Fun Sale is in full swing at SM Lanang Premier as it holds exciting breakthrough events in support of the city-wide sale and events extravaganza.

North Cotabato’s Kalivungan Festival team promises to wow Aliwan Fiesta audience

A Spanish Tapas y Sangria feast to be held at SM Lanang Premier

On April 24 to 26, 6pm onwards, the met-ro’s premier shopping and lifestyle destination is having the Tapas y Sangria, a Spanish gus-tatory feast that aims to draw more and local travelers to come and discover the food cul-ture of Davao City. Part of the Department of Tourism’s Flavors of the Philippines campaign, Tapas Y Sangria pays tribute to the one of the largest gastronomic fes-tivals – the Madrid Fu-sion Manila, which will be held in SMX Conven-tion Center in Pasay City on the same weekend. SM Lanang Premier

takes inspiration from Madrid Fusión Manila, offering a venue where Spanish cuisine is high-lighted and made acces-sible to Davaoeños and tourists alike. Tapas Y Sangria is set to be launched on April 24 at 5 pm at the 2nd Level of The Fountain Court. Participating res-taurants include Cellar de Boca, Bistro Selera and Archipelago 7107 by Barrio Fiesta. For inquiries, call 285-0943 local 135-138. Check out SM Lanang Premier on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for event updates and exclusive promos.

THE Kalivungan Festival is all set for a spectacular rou-tine designed to wow every-one at the Aliwan Fiesta on Saturday in Pasay. The team from North Cotabato promises a colorful and exquisite performance that will illustrate the beautiful culture the Manobo in-habitants of the province. “We will bring the culture of the proud and beautiful Manobo people of the Province of North Co-tabato not only on the streets, but right through the hearts of those who will be able to witness the per-formance,” said North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza. According to Ralph Ryan Ham-bala Rafael, North Cotabato Pro-vincial Government’s focal person for Tourism Affairs, this year’s par-ticipation will highlight the contri-bution of the Monobo to the growth of North Cotabato as one of its first settlers. Mendoza, on the one hand, said the delegation is inspired by the flourishing development happening in the province and the peace expe-rienced by the people. All these, she said, were made

possible because of the help of the Manobo lumads . “The Manobo people’s culture and tradition is a living story of a group of an indigenous people

that remains alive even today,” said Mendoza. “These are the people who deserve our adulation for being true to their promise of peace. They are also tireless in supporting all our efforts to bring more and more development and strengthen peace in our province.” North Cotabato’s Kalivungan Festival performers -- all 250 of them -- are highschool students of Dilangalen National Highschool of the town of Midsayap. They were last year’s grand win-ner in the street dancing competi-tion at the centennial celebration of the province. Kalivungan is the annual festival of North Cotabato. Kalivungan is a Manobo term which means “gath-ering” or “festival.”

A2 INdulge! VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT

Park Inn by Radisson Davao offers bigger Supersize MealsRBG Bar and Grill, the all-day dining res-taurant at Park Inn by Radisson Davao, gives you bigger reasons to celebrate the Supersize meals. If you’re dining out on a weekend with family and friends, head off to Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s RBG as they offer you generous set meals from ap-petizer to dessert.

“Supersize is now big-ger in size and definitely bigger in fun,” says Gen-eral Manager Pavan Ka-kar. “We added more variety to the set -- pasta choices, more entrées, and appetizer, in addition to soup, salad, starch, des-serts and drinks, a fam-ily size pizza, plus a crepe bar with your choice of toppings. These are all bundled together for only Php1, 999 net good for a

group of 6 to 7 guests.” “Aside from the casual, spacious and relaxed at-mosphere that makes for a great family bonding, RBG also has the new Kids’ Zone, a fun play area where kids can enjoy board games and inflat-able toys.” explains Mr. Kakar. “While groups of family or friends catch up with each other, they won’t have to worry for their kids’ entertain-

ment—we have the Kids’ Zone for them.” Supersize is not just a satisfying meal with gen-erous serving of food, it

also offers diners value for money. When the group divides the pack-age price of Supersize by the number of diners,

each one is actually get-ting more value in that package instead of order-ing per dish. Supersize Meals are

available for lunch and dinner every Saturday and Sunday. For reser-vations and inquiries, please call 272 7600.

IT GIRLS Geor-gina Wilson and Solenn Heussaff’s first book, “Besties” published under ABS-CBN Publish-ing, Inc. is becom-ing a trend on so-cial media with the hashtag #BESTIES-BOOKCLUB, which was introduced to social media by the newly minted au-thors. The hashtag has been actively used in hun-dreds of posts by neti-zens with the “Besties” selfie becoming a thing online. Georgina and Solenn,

who both have a strong following online, are encouraging people to keep posting snapshots featuring “Besties,” their latest collaboration that promises to be an essen-tial self-help book for the modern woman. Georgina recently ex-pressed on social me-dia that checking the hashtag has become her and Solenn’s favorite pastime, fondly looking through creative photos uploaded by their fans. Georgina and Solenn’s friends Raymond Guti-errez, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Jessica Wilson, Carla Humphries, and

INdulge! A3VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Georgina and Solenn’s #bestiesbookclub gains popularity; book signing on May 1

WITNESS the “You and me against the world” love story of GMA News report-er Lala Roque and husband Ronnie Galongca this Sat-urday, April 25, in Wagas. Playing the roles of the couple are Julie Anne San Jose and Jeric Gon-zales. Ronnie first saw Lala in high school and in-stantly fell for her. He pursued Lala even if she tried her hardest to steer

clear of Ronnie because her father strictly pro-hibits her from going

into a relationship. As fate would have it, Lala’s heart eventually

gave in to Ronnie’s per-sistence. Lala fell in love with Ronnie, a love that tested their relationship and that led Lala to defy her father’s will. Lala and Ronnie’s story testifies that no matter the odds, even if they be separated for whatever reason, true love will always finds its way back. Do not miss this Sat-urday’s episode of Wa-gas, on its new time slot at 6:30PM on GMA News TV.

AWARD-WINNING ac-tors Coco Martin and Angel Locsin will join forces for the first time in the two-part special tribute of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” for the Spe-cial Action Force (SAF) commandos who died in the Mamasapano clash. The first episode of Coco and Angel’s “MMK” will be aired this Saturday. “TV viewers will be able to see in our ‘MMK’ episode the struggles and difficulties that our SAF commandos en-dure. They will see here the roles that our he-roes play: son, brother, friend, a policeman, and a loved one. I hope we’ll be able to give justice to

all their sacrifices,” said Coco. “This is a big salute to our fellow Filipinos who gave up their lives for us. This is a good way to make TV viewers appre-ciate and be reminded of all the efforts of our SAF commandos to pro-tect our nation,” said An-

gel. In the “MMK” special, Coco and Angel will portray the characters of Garry and Suzette, a young couple whose love for each other and dreams for the future will be tested by fate. Coco and Angel are joined by Ejay Falcon,

Rita Avila, Alex Medina, Marx Topacio, Efren Reyes, Trina Legaspi, Denisse Aguilar, Jillian Aguila, Aenah Solano, and Johan Santos in this “MMK” special tribute. Also joining the cast are Macki Billiones, Dale Baldilio, Dante Ponce, Mike Lloren, Michael Roy Jornales, Jed Montero, Dionne Monsanto, and Dang Cruz. Capturing the hearts of Filipino viewers all over the world for the past 24 years, “Maalaala Mo Kaya” has legions of fans from different generations who cried, laughed, fell in love, and got inspired through the real-life narratives of the show’s letter-senders.

Martine Cajucom all used the hashtag on their so-cial media accounts to show their support for “Besties,” while Isabelle Daza and Erwann Heu-saff have also joined the bandwagon to encour-age people to post and buy a copy of the book. Georgina and So-lenn’s “Besties” is now available in National Book Store. Their first book signing will be held at SM Megamall’s Fashion Hall on May 1 (Friday). The “Besties” launch was also heavily attend-ed by Georgina and So-lenn’s friends and some

members of the media, with the two It girls fre-quently spotted cel-ebrating their new mile-stone by sharing photos of their book launch on social media and gamely answering questions about the book. “Besties” is the newest offering of ABS-CBN Pub-lishing, Inc., the home of the country’s best selling books including “Stupid is Forever” by Sen. Miri-am Santiago, “Dear Alex, Break Na Kami. Paano?! Love, Catherine,” by Alex Gonzaga, and “Make Your Nanay Proud” by Boy Abunda among oth-ers.

Coco Martin and Angel Locsin team up for the first time in MMK

Julie Anne San Jose is GMA Reporter Lala Roque in Wagas this Saturday

PG

PG

PG 1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

FURIOUS 7

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker

PG 12:00 | 3:05 | 6:10 | 9:15 LFS

THE AVENGERS:AGE OF ULTRON

12:45 | 3:50 | 6:55 | 10:00 LFS

THE AVENGERS:AGE OF ULTRON

Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth

11:15 | 2:20 | 5:25 | 8:30 LFS

Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth

THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D

Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth

April 23-28, 2015

A4 INdulge!EVENT

Event A1

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015EDGEDAVAO

deemed it necessary for members to know about the exemplarily perform-ing members, officers and employees to encourage them to get at par with the standards of the merits giv-en to those who go beyond ordinary work and perfor-mance.

Awards given were Outstanding Member Pa-tronizer of Tagum Cooper-ative Products and Services for officers and member categories, Pioneer Award, Blood Gallooners (blood donors), special recog-nitions given to branch managers and department heads and the Service Award. The Business Proper

At the bang of the gavel by Tagum Cooperative Board of Director (BOD) Chairperson Madam Nor-ma Pereyras, the busi-ness proper started. Mem-bers then raised questions which were answered by the BOD Chairperson and BOD members and others who were directly involved with the questions. The flurry of questions from the members at the floor mani-fested the spirit of democ-racy embodied among the 7 Principles of Cooperative.

When discussions were closed, the raffling of priz-es then followed. All eyes were on screen as lucky

winners were picked elec-tronically. Staged first time during the 48th AGA, the electronic process made the raffle draw fast, trans-parent, less chaotic and no longer a taxing job for of-ficers and members of the Raffle Committee. Gone were the days when names were picked from a massive tambiolo filled with volu-minous number of cou-pons.

The AGA program in Davao City hit its end at 11:30 a.m. Members were adjourned with some car-rying either cash or item raffle prizes. Others might have none but at least they kept in their hearts the ex-pectation to receive a big-ger share of patronage re-fund and interest on share capital as Tagum Coopera-tive accumulated a total of P238.93 million net surplus as of end of December 31, 2014.AGA new twist

On the other hand, the 48th AGA programme in TAgum City took a new twist as the business proper which was usually done in the afternoon, was made in the morning to give way for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Durterte who was invited as the keynote speaker.

After all the agenda were taken up in the morn-ing, the electronic raf-

fling of prizes began with the first batch of winners picked at about lunchtime. The electronic raffling tied up the Business Assem-bly Proper in the morning and the Programme in the afternoon. There was no break of excitement and surprises for the members who took turns coming in and going out of the as-sembly hall. They hoped to hear their names called. It only ended when Mayor Duterte came at about 2:00 p.m.

The reserved excite-ment during the raffling of prizes turned into an uproar of cheers and ap-plause when the Duterte came inside the hall. As he walked down the aisle flanked with Tagum Co-operative officers, the hall reverberated with the sing-ing of Happy Birthday. Tagum Cooperative got the perfect date to invite him: March 29 was his birthday. Officials and key management officers led by Director Pereyras light-ed a candle over a birthday cake for Duterte to blow. The cheering, singing and applause went on, when he was called to deliver his keynote address.

The crowd of Tagum Cooperative officials and some members trailed him even as he went out of the

hall to take a ride back to where he left his helicop-ter bound for Davao City. It was the first time that a keynote speaker of Tagum Cooperative was well-cheered with an uproar of applause.The excitement continues

After he left, the awarding ceremony was conducted. It didn’t end the excitement and surprises because an unexpected moment happened. It was sparked by a dance beat, firing off the stamina of the officials and officers to lead the mass dancing of the members. To some, it was a release of mixed eupho-ria and stress kept within as everyone, especially the officers, went through gru-elling experiences: exciting or annoying.

Capping off the day’s event, the electronic raf-fling went on till about 8:00 in the evening. Mem-bers waited that long, hop-ing their names be called. Most lucky members re-ceived cash prizes.

Chairperson Pereyras viewed the two AGAs as blessed by God with His graces clearly manifest-ing, filling everyone’s heart with gladness of the day’s successful event, of the electronic innovations and of the fun and surprises. (Tagum Cooperative)

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO

ENVIRONMENTOcean wealth is sinking fast

THE value of the ocean’s riches ri-vals the size of the

world’s leading econo-mies, but its resources are rapidly eroding, ac-cording to a report re-leased by WWF today. The report, Reviving the Ocean Economy: The case for action - 2015, analyses the ocean’s role as an economic power-house and outlines the threats that are moving it toward collapse.

The value of key ocean assets is conservatively esti-mated in the report to be at least US$24 trillion. If com-pared to the world’s top 10 economies, the ocean would rank seventh with an annual value of goods and services of US$2.5 trillion.

The report, produced in association with The Global Change Institute at the Uni-versity of Queensland and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is the most focused review yet of the ocean’s as-set base. Reviving the Ocean Economy reveals the sea’s enormous wealth through as-sessments of goods and ser-vices ranging from fisheries to coastal storm protection, but the report also describes an unrelenting assault on ocean resources through over-exploitation, misuse and climate change.

“The ocean rivals the wealth of the world’s richest countries, but it is being al-lowed to sink to the depths of

a failed economy,” said Marco Lambertini, Director Gener-al of WWF International. “As responsible shareholders, we cannot seriously expect to keep recklessly extracting the ocean’s valuable assets with-out investing in its future.”

According to the report, more than two-thirds of the annual value of the ocean re-lies on healthy conditions to maintain its annual economic output. Collapsing fisheries, mangrove deforestation as well as disappearing corals and seagrass are threatening the marine economic engine that secures lives and liveli-hoods around the world.

“Being able to quantify both the annual and asset value of the world’s oceans shows us what’s at stake in hard numbers; economical-ly and environmentally. We hope this serves as a call for business leaders and policy-makers to make wiser, more calculated decisions when it comes to shaping the future of our collective ocean econ-omy,” said Douglas Beal, Part-ner and Managing Director at The Boston Consulting Group.

Research presented in the report demonstrates that the ocean is changing more rap-idly than at any other point in millions of years. At the same time, growth in human popu-lation and reliance on the sea makes restoring the ocean economy and its core assets a matter of global urgency.

“The ocean is at greater risk now than at any other

time in recorded history. We are pulling out too many fish, dumping in too many pollut-ants, and warming and acidi-fying the ocean to a point that essential natural systems will simply stop functioning,” said Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, the re-port’s lead author and Direc-tor of the Global Change Insti-tute in Australia’s University of Queensland.

Climate change is a lead-ing cause of the ocean’s failing health. Research included in the report shows that at the current rate of warming, coral reefs that provide food, jobs and storm protection to sev-eral hundred million people will disappear completely by 2050. More than just warm-ing waters, climate change is inducing increased ocean acidity that will take hun-dreds of human generations for the ocean to repair.

Over-exploitation is an-other major cause for the ocean’s decline, with 90 per cent of global fish stocks ei-ther over-exploited or fully exploited. The Pacific bluefin tuna population alone has dropped by 96 per cent from unfished levels.

It is not too late to reverse the troubling trends and en-sure a healthy ocean that benefits people, business and nature. Reviving the Ocean Economy presents an eight-point action plan that would restore ocean resources to their full potential.

Among the most time-critical solutions pre-

sented in the report are embedding ocean recovery throughout the UN’s Sustain-able Development Goals, tak-ing global action on climate change and making good on strong commitments to pro-tect coastal and marine areas.

“The ocean feeds us, em-ploys us, and supports our health and well-being, yet we are allowing it to collapse

before our eyes. If everyday stories of the ocean’s fail-ing health don’t inspire our leaders, perhaps a hard eco-nomic analysis will. We have serious work to do to protect the ocean starting with real global commitments on cli-mate and sustainable devel-opment,” said Lambertini.

WWF’s global ocean campaign, Sustain Our Seas,

builds on decades of work by the organization and its partners on marine conser-vation. WWF is working with governments, businesses and communities to encourage leaders to take urgent mea-sures to revive the ocean economy and protect the lives and livelihoods of bil-lions of people around the world.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 20158 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

Spilling the milk teaEDITORIAL

TWO milk tea establishments were recently found by the City health Office (CHO) selling the drink with expired in-gredients. The discovery came just days after the milk tea

deaths in Manila.For that, the CHO confiscated the milk tea powder used by the

said establishments after a raid was conducted. The confiscation was based purely on the fact that the ingredients were reported-ly found to be expired. No further examinations were conducted whether or not the expired ingredients are toxic but needless to say, expired ingredients are definitely unfit for human consump-tion.

For that too, the alarm sounded off to the public and all of a sud-den all milk tea establishments in Davao City are affected. It’s the natural consequence of the incident’s domino effect. However, the

other milk tea shops cried foul because the CHO did not name the establishments raided. With that, the public assumed it is not safe to drink milk tea from any shop for their own good.

Should the CHO reveal the names of the establishments? The effect of a disclosure is ultimately a possible closure of the

affected business due to the negative impact--an eventuality that may be too difficult to reverse. On the other hand, non-disclosure would also cause a sweeping effect on all businesses serving milk tea--an eventuality that may as well be as difficult to reverse.

The best thing to do at the moment is for the CHO to make the rounds on all milk tea stores and issue a certification that the said establishment is using safe or unexpired ingredients. That way, people who wish to drink milk tea will be fairly informed of the safety of the drink they buy from stores.

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

WHEN in our previous khutbah (discourse) we praised Nelson Mandela and the rather unique “lightning rod” that

defined his leadership as critical in ending Apartheid in South Africa, we say, it is not wholly a rarity that singular person like him has absolute monopoly of “great man” quality. In truth, any “lightning” produces varying sparks animating peoples and nations with their unique struggles and circumstances. Lee Kwan Yew

Similarly, when Lee Kwan Yew passed away on March 23, 2015 the world grieved the passing of another highly respected Asian leader. He was remembered as a rare leader who walked his talk.

The quality of leadership and values that guided him and his governance is revealed more glaringly with the fact that Lee Kwan Yew is the longest serving Prime Minister elected seventh time by the people of Singapore. He is also known as the voice of reason in world affairs.

As former US Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger, wrote: “[Lee Kwan Yew] developed into a world statesman who acted as a kind of conscience to leaders around the globe.”

For sure, Lee Kwan Yew’s differs substantially with the “lightning rod” – to use Thomas Carlyle’s term – with that of Nelson Mandela and his global charisma or Imam Khomenei with his revolutionary-spiritual mystique, and few other exceptional Asian and Muslim leaders.

But for a leader who was forced to take the cudgel of leadership when Singapore was kicked out from the Federation of Malaya in 1964 and yet had transformed from Third World grade to First World status within simply a generation must be more than a feat in modern nation-state history.

Moreover, it is even more exceptional for a leader like Lee Kwan Yew who could weigh power, its value and limits and who could just relinquish it when time is up and allow other more able leaders to do the job.

This rare quality of a leader is worth contemplating especially as today’s Muslim/Arab leaders, including a number of them in the Third World, are falling one by one with their countries devastated and bleeding profusely. Sadly, those leaders have to be deposed to relinquish power.

There are certainly immense lessons that could be learned from Lee Kwan Yew’s life and his leadership and value formation he developed which are responsible in defining his politics and

governance of Singapore.Asian valuesTo begin with, the rise of leaders in any

community or country is a universal phenomenon that is well recognized in Islam. That some people are better endowed with qualities including leadership traits while having the ability to command and exact obedience from their fellows in order to accomplish some tasks is well recognized too. For instance, the Qur’an says:

“And We raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others (Az-zukhruf: 32).”

I hope you would understand why I have to create an angle of Lee Kwan Yew’s feat particularly the issue of leadership as we relate to current crisis in the Muslim world.

Obviously, it is not difficult to make some valid points. Starting practically from scratch in 1965, Singapore after merely four decades, became one of East Asian countries dubbed in 1990 by Megatrends guru, John Naisbitt, as a tiger economy like South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This happened, as we said, first and foremost, when Malaysia, a Muslim country, ousted Singapore from the Federation.

Second, just across the Indian Ocean is West Asia, particularly the Middle East, with many Arab countries suffering with leadership crisis with generally uneven social and economic development. Except for GCC countries that leapfrogged from being simply a swatch of oasis to economic power house, both regions – West and East Asia – are two phalanxes of continents in Asia; yet why are they so different in molding leaders and shaping national values?

There has been buzz of so-called Asian values in the 1990s as a factor in the rise of Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia. Why do such values so unevenly appropriated in political and economic development among Asian countries? How much is the role of culture and religion as factors of development? What about colonial experience given that Singapore and

Malaysia, for instance, were previously ruled or heavily influenced by the British, like that of Iraq and Syria?

Let us return to Naisbitt where he explains the unevenness of Asian values among Asian countries:

“The collection of countries and cultures that make up Asia did not undergo any systematic integration until recently, when free-market mechanisms began to be embraced. The cultural, religious and linguistic diversities of the region made harmonization otherwise impossible. Historically, there has been no movement to blend Asia together, except the activities of traders and political conquests. In pre-colonial and colonial days, strong imperial powers dominated separate states, which remained isolated. Since the rise of nationalism, Asian states have been pre-occupied with the struggle to gain sovereignty, and after independence, to build and strengthen their own states. These national preoccupations have until now prevented solidarity with neighbors and the forging common systems (“Megatrends in Asia,” p. 59).”Arabism is not Islam

There is no doubt that varying history of peoples reveals distinct values among leaders in different regions in Asia. If we may add some points into Naisbitt’s thesis lack of systematic integration in Asia, it could also be advanced that traditional society has been defined by varying Asiatic values honed by different, albeit intersecting civilizations characterized by cultural pluralism than integrative socio-economic system.

The multiple religions in Asia, for instance, became identity markers of people prodding them to cave in inside their own shells. The stronger the hold of certain religion on certain peoples or regions, the harder is their resistance against colonialism and modernization.

This is generally the case of the Arabs where they have to practically wade through the demand of sustaining their tradition even as they have to adopt with the requirement of modernity and nation-state system.

Whereas other regions in Asia are quite pliant to adapt and crop up foreign influences to meet their needs as in the case of Sinic (e.g., China, Japan, Korea) and to some extent Indic (e.g., India, Sri Lanka) civilizations enriching thus their culture and tradition, Arabs, on the contrary, suffer generally with difficulty in adapting new

influences while they are too encased in their own patriarchal and nomadic culture as they remain attached to their desert lifestyle and Bedouin tradition.

Despite Islam’s imperative for cultural and territorial pluralism as shown in Qur’an’s popular injunction of lita’arafuu “for you to understanding each other,” Arab society continues to hide in their own tribal, Bedouin world. Moreover, despite Islam’s democratic tradition with such Qur’anic imperative of “wa amruhum shura baynahum” (and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation), many Arab leaders remain autocratic and dictatorial. They generally view power not as trust (amanah) that carries with it immense responsibility and accountability. Rather, they take and love power as if it is their own endowment and their own property. As we frequently allude, many of them succumbed to Adamic pitfalls of “shajaratu l-khuld wa l-mulk” (tree of immortality and power).

This is the backdrop in the fossilization of patriarchal, dynastic and monarchical culture in the Arab world.

There is no doubt that Islamic tradition is rich with concept and principles of leadership. For instance, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Behold! Each of you is a guardian, and each of you will be asked about his subjects.”

The Prophet also said: “When three are on a journey, they should appoint one of them as their commander.”

We could innumerate more leadership principles in Islam. They are very important to remind us about the universality of leadership as espoused by other Asian civilizations, including Islam’s.

But the problem in the Arab world, including the rest of the Muslim world, is as much as the problem in appropriating leadership values as much as imperative in reconstructing structural and social conditions that paved the way in the constriction of Islamic values of leadership while subverting them into personalistic, tribal, and dynastic milieu of the days of old.

Despite the promise of modernity and nation-state system, Arab leaders hide behind the veneer of patrimonial tradition while merely engaged in superficial projection or, at the very least, promoting catch-up policy with the rest of world, as they are afraid of being dislodged from power while too protective of their privileges.

Leadership and asian valuesBY JULKIPLI WADI

VIEWS

THE MILF Panel Chairman, Mohagher Iqbal, has been asking—as does PNoy as well as the government negotiating panel—that

we “fast-track” the acceptance or approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). This may not be such a great idea.

A piece of legislation like this calls for broader consideration than just sound-bites, headlines, disjointed commentaries, an occasional public forum, or even congressional hearings.

Let’s be honest: Most Mindanaons, like the rest of the Filipino people, were not in on the peace process except as spectators. It was not even taken up in our barangay assembly or in those of the barangays of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

So what are the chances that a sense of ownership, easy familiarity, or intimacy will develop around the novel idea of Bangsamoro in a large segment of society so soon?

*****It is not good that the BBL is viewed by most

people as primarily an affair between the Central Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

It is bad enough that many are skeptical about the MILF’s claim to represent all Muslims, let alone the Lumads.

The term “Bangsamoro” has yet to gain resonance or general acceptance. It still needs to be internalized by those it purports to benefit. It remains a vague concept to many.

And there has been no real effort to inform or enlighten people or communities about the issues, leaving the task to the devices of commercial media and to commentators with dubious credibility or credential.

No information sheets have been circulated except in privileged circles like academe. No background materials are available to help people understand the situation of the Moros and Lumads. Not even a situationer. How cavalier can the proponents get!

*****Late last year, there was an imbroglio in

Zamboanga City in which a public assembly attended by the city’s officials expressed opposition to the agreement and disaffection for the MILF itself in no uncertain terms.

Such occurrence cautions us against undue expectations and even impatience at the pace of

the process. What sort of background or input went into the preparations for that event? Even universal human rights are not so self-evident and cannot be apprehended without proper background or information.

Too, one must keep in mind that what brought matters to where they are today involved years of struggle on both sides and the use of deadly weapons, violence, and secessionist posturing.

So the fear factor is also a real thing here. There are restraining and driving forces in people’s minds that aren’t being addressed and it’s normal to be wary of being easily taken in. Plus there is a lingering apprehension about any hidden agenda the MILF might have.

*****Is it true, for example, that the MILF has an

arms factory in their camp? Is there a continuing weapons acquisition and build-up activity? To build trust, the BBL proponents must answer such questions.

Is the government on to the presence and identity of gunrunners, smugglers, and other saboteurs like drug suppliers and mules that feed on insurgency? These are nagging questions that tug at the insecurity of many people and communities. They’re entitled to honest answers.

Otherwise, how overcome such valid

apprehensions? How build confidence in a paper agreement with such a high price tag? How lay the foundation for lasting peace?

The challenge to both the government and the MILF is to show earnest that the peace offered by the BBL is something that flows from the heart and mind rather than the barrel of a gun.

*****Let’s concede that no negotiations are ever

perfect, no peace agreement perfectly crafted, and no perfect peace ever will reign. But going along with the BBL has got to be more than a leap of faith.

Is it reasonable to expect that there be a modicum of understanding, goodwill, and mutual trust on both sides? So we can set aside our reservations and give peace a chance, there should be a tangible token of good. Has anyone been to their munitions factory?

If there’s one thing we can be sure of, this BBL won’t work if we can’t suppress our grudges, water down our prejudices, and banish our fears. We are called upon to set aside skepticism and unbelief, then to make room for the dream of peace and prosperity that has eluded conflicted members of Mindanao society for so long.

As the song goes: “How are we gonna make everybody’s dream come true?”

Taking a leap of faith on the BBLBY MANNY VALDEHUESA

THE WORM’S EYEVIEW

Part 1 of 2

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 201510 NEWSDrug... FROM 1

Asean... FROM 5

RDC... FROM 6

15K jobs... FROM 6

Hydro... FROM 6

City... FROM 3

Interventions... FROM 5

Bigger... FROM 5

Estrada... FROM 2 TF Palaro... FROM 2

EDGEDAVAO

selves for rehabilitation,” he said.

Gulanes said that as of this time, the DCTRDD has 81 pa-tients mostly from the districts of Poblacion, Buhangin and Talomo.

Every patient has a min-imum six months treatment but it will depend on the be-havior of the patient.

Gulanes said after the pa-tient completed the treatment

in the center, he or she will be referred to the community so-cial worker for monitoring and evaluation.

“At the same time, we re-fer them to the Department of Health (DOH) for the follow-up assessment of the patients,” he said.

He said that every 10 pa-tients who will go out of DC-TRDD there are other 10 who will be admitted.

ADVANCE PARTY. Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, 3rd left, chats with the advance delegates of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, led by Dir. Taya Aplal Alhaja, who were housed at the J. Tuazon National High School in Madaum, Tagum City. noel baguio/davnor pio

also needs to be finalized and implemented. In the ensuing discussions, ASEAN mem-bers pointed out the need for ASEAN to respond to disas-ters as one community.

“Aside from being an instrument that helps our citizens in managing shocks from disasters, this initiative is also crucial given the in-creasing interaction of our communities through in-mi-gration and the changes our citizens have to go through during the early stages of the ASEAN integration,” he said.

Balisacan also under-scored the need to for sup-port and regional collabora-tions to address data limita-tions, which hamper strategic development planning and programming.

“It is important to invest in good quality and up-to-date data and improve our knowledge management technologies and capacities so we can prepare sound, ev-idence-based plans and poli-cies post-2015,” he said.

Furthermore, he said that development initiatives

must also be in tune with the nuances of localities to en-sure responsiveness to local needs.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to getting inclusive development across population growth and geo-graphic areas. To this end, we must work together in en-hancing the capacities of our local institutions for crafting and implementing effective development plans,” said Bal-isacan.

The Assessment Work-shop was conducted to re-view ASEAN Member States’ MDG achievements, and identify the remaining and emerging development and poverty-related challenges post-2015. Following the identification of challenges, areas and modes of potential regional support and collab-oration within and among ASEAN sectoral bodies were identified. It was also held to review the Sustainable De-velopment Goals (SDGs) and their relevance to post-2015 development priorities in the ASEAN region.

of Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur have minimal dam-ages and it does not require cloud seeding intervention,” Nota explained.

He added, “If in case there will be continuous rain in the next days, we can halt the ap-plication of cloud seeding.”

DA 11 has prepared nec-essary interventions needed by affected provinces

According to Dr. Rafael Mercado, assistant region-al director for research and regulatory, “even before the threat of dry spell, the agri agency has started to mon-itor and evaluate different areas in the region which will be directly affected.”

He bared that the Corn

Program has already pre-pared 6,923 bags corn seeds as buffer stock while the Rice Program has prepared 4, 200 bags certified rice seeds, 1,130 bags registered rice seeds, and 125 units Pump Irrigation System and 5 units Pump Irrigation System (Open Source for rehabilita-tion).

Under the HVCDP, 575 drums, 66 bags of mungbean, one unit spring development and one unit farm reservoir have been prepared.

Director Recoter urged farmers to report their crop losses to their municipal ag-riculturists, “so we will know your concern and immediate-ly act up on it.” (DA)

industry professionals and exhibitors to engage in mean-ingful discussions apart from the impressive array of prod-ucts and services which made everything accessible for the visitors.

Undoubtedly, PHILBEX Davao left an indelible mark in the region as it served as a gateway for both the local and international community to discover the potential of the Philippines through Davao. Seen as merely the beginning of something big to come in the region, WSI is more than excit-ed to announce its comeback as it hosts the 2nd PHILBEX Davao on May 14 to 17, 2015 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

Headlining the theme of “Building Visions in the Realm of ASEAN Integration,” PHIL-BEX Davao will now channel its focus on shaping up the

industry. The aim is to elevate standards to uncharted terri-tories so as to raise the region’s economic prowess in light of the increasingly global eco-nomic landscape. Once more, the entire industry can expect an even bigger and bolder ex-hibition that will serve as the primary source of the latest industry innovations and to-pnotch services. Moreover, PHILBEX Davao 2015 will serve as a means to gain in-dustry reports, a platform to witness live demonstrations, as well as a venue to network among local and international trade players.

On May 14 to 17, 2015, take part in WSI and the Davao construction industry’s plight for economic progress and global distinction. Be there as PHILBEX Davao 2015 builds vision out of the limitless po-tential of the region.

primarily to guide readers in designing rainwater harvesting systems (RHS) or rainwater catchment systems (RCS).

The document is aimed at a wide audience, including homeowners, engineers, archi-tects, contractors, and develop-ers.

The manual covers the de-sign, construction, operation, and maintenance of RHS. It states that for establishments without appropriate RCS, eco-logical fee shall be collected from owners considering the volume of water withdraws from the water utility that are used from non-potable purpos-es and the volume of unfiltered water discharged to manmade and natural waterways.

Also, “sealing fee” shall be collected for the areas sealed or to be sealed due to the devel-opment of a site such as roads, open air parking areas, sports and recreational facilities, considering the volume of the surface runoff and the infected water discharged to manmade and natural waterways.

The manual includes man-datory designs of rainwater and harvesting and flood control systems.

Assistant City Administra-tor Agustin instructed Jumam-oy to give all WMC members each a copy of the manual and asked them to study and com-ment on the document during the next meeting. Antonio M. Ajero

studies by the AIM and other groups showed that corrup-tion in almost all levels of soci-ety weaken the economy and undermines its competitive-ness as a whole.

He said corruption is de-fined as the abuse of entrusted power.

Based on this definition, he said corruption may not only be in the public sector,

“If you entrusted a man-ager in the company that you own, and the manager abuses procurement, abuses gasoline, abuses use of supplies, abus-es paper, that is corruption,” Mendoza said, adding that corruption can be seen in all aspects of life.

He said corruption is influ-enced by three main variables –monopoly, discretion and ac-countability.

A study of some 2,000

companies in over 25 cities in the Philippines, shows how rampant is corruption in all levels.

“What we have basically is a very noisy economy where we don’t know who is the best, where we don’t know who is the most competitive, were firms, and businesses, and industries, think they are competitive but actually that is based on an advantage that they unfairly got,” he said. “No country in the world industri-alized based on such a system, a system which is unfair to the most competitive and tot the most fair and to the innovators who are trying really to ad-vance their business.”

He said that businesses which thrive on political con-nections will loss when we have ASEAN economic inte-gration. Antonio M. Ajero

are assigned for the inner se-curity while the Military will take control of the Outer Se-curity.

Año said that over 2,000 soldiers will be deployed during the entire event.

PRO 11 Deputy Regional Director for Operation Sr. Supt. Aaron Aquino said that around 1,500 Police officers and force multipliers will secure the Palarong Pambansa.

Meanwhile, the Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office (DNPPO) submitted a request to the Regional Office to have a localized gun ban during the entire duration of the Palarong Pambansa.

According to PRO 11 Spokesperson Police Supt. Antonio Rivera, the request of

the Provincial Police Office was referred to the legal service of the agency and is yet to be ap-proved.

“As of now wala pay gun ban nga gina patuman sa Davao del Norte, ang security measure nga gi-implement karon mao ang RA 10591, our comprehensive law on firearm and ammunitions,” Rivera said.

The gun ban will start on May 1, if it will be granted by the regional office.

On the other hand, Task Force Davao is tasked to secure the boundaries of Davao City and Davao del Norte, along with the security of the contin-gents who will be arriving at the Francisco Bangoy Interna-tional Airport. Funny Pearl A. Gajunera

Statistics Authority (PSA) and other agencies and organiza-tions which may be invited to be part of the Sub-Committee.

The United Nation’s Com-mission on Population and Development has urged its member states to consider ef-forts towards addressing the

effects of internal migratory flows.

The Aquino Administra-tion has likewise committed, through its Social Contract with the Filipino People, to prioritize the welfare and protection of its citizens. (CRC with PR)

efforts to make it easy and fast for jobseekers to find jobs that will fit their qualifica-tions, interests and career in-clinations,” said DOLE Davao regional director Joffrey M. Suyao.

He also encouraged all jobseekers particularly fresh

graduates to take this oppor-tunity to be employed easily and conveniently.

The theme of this year’s Labor Day Celebration is “Disenteng Trabaho at Kabu-hayan, Alay Natin sa Bayan”.(Roberto A. Gumba, Jr/DOLE GIP)

Tribal Council, Bukidnon Trib-al Community, Amosignon-Hi-gaonon Tribal Organization, Nalandangan Tribal Datu Association Inc., and Apo Da-tuNamikunan Association Inc. – will be affected.

Ronquillo said Hedcor has already complied with all gov-ernment requirements and the lumads have already given

their consent to the project.A lumad delegation led by

DatuHonorioSumohoy wit-nessed the groundbreaking ceremonies and helped bury a time capsule containing the written notes of Higaonon chil-dren.

Ronquillo said more than 800 local workers will be hired in the construction phase.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 11EDGEDAVAO

ICT HUBSmart app brings sports to masses FILIPINOS no longer have

to miss a dunk, a drib-ble, or a knockout punch

with the launch of Viewstream, the mobile live streaming and video-on-demand (VOD) ser-vice of the undisputed leader in mobile, Smart Communica-tions (Smart), bringing excit-ing sports action closer to the masses.

The service was recent-ly recognized with an Anvil Award in the Mobile Apps Category for bringing mobile live streaming of the Gilas Pili-pinas matches during the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea to mil-lions of Smart, Sun Cellular, and Talk ‘N Text users nation-wide.

Organized by the Public Relations Society of the Phil-ippines, the Anvil Awards is considered the Oscars of Phil-ippine public relations.

“With Viewstream, there is no more reason to miss highly anticipated sporting events, the way users had enjoyed live and uninterrupted coverage of the FIBA World Cup last year,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, Inno-vation and Product Develop-ment Group Head at Smart.

“Since launching View-stream, we’ve found that sporting events are best-suit-ed for the mobile live stream

format. When you don’t have access to a pay-per-view screening, you’d have to watch through delayed telecast and sit through many commercial breaks. Meanwhile, the results are already out on social me-dia. Our subscribers simply don’t want to miss out on the action,” she added.

One with the nationA relatively new technol-

ogy in the country, mobile live streaming via Viewstream has allowed users to cheer for the Philippine team as they watched and supported the Gilas Pilipinas team in their championship bid for the FIBA Basketball World Cup last year.

Limcaoco said Viewstream has enabled Filipinos to tune in and be one with the nation in catching important sport-ing events that shouldn’t be missed, such as the Gilas Pilipi-nas FIBA bid, especially if they don’t have easy access to cable television or a live satellite broadcast.

“This is why we are once again proud to be the exclusive mobile live stream provider of yet another important sport-ing event, the Pacquiao-May-weather ‘Fight of the Century’, which Filipinos can watch on their mobile phones wherever they may be in the country via Viewstream,” Limcaoco added.

Front-seat access

The Smart-Viewstream team receiving their Silver Anvil Award during the 50th Anvil Awards organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

SAMSUNG Electron-ics has pulled out all the stops on its

new Galaxy smartphones, but their modest prices compared to the latest iPhones throw an uneasy spotlight on the long-term cost of fighting Ap-ple’s premium branding.

The 64-gigabyte mod-el of the Galaxy S6 edge costs $290.45 to make,

according to IHS Tech-nology. That’s more ex-pensive than any Galaxy S model and iPhone ana-lysed by the U.S. research company. For the price of producing 100 sets of this S6 edge model, Apple can make 121 sets of 64-GB iPhone 6 Plus, calcu-lations by Reuters show. In 2010, when Samsung launched the Galaxy se-

ries and Apple unveiled the iPhone 4, their pro-duction costs were al-most on par.

Samsung’s flagship devices since the Galaxy S II in 2011 have consis-tently cost more to build but sold at similar prices of comparable iPhones - sometimes those with even smaller storage. Consumers paid similar

INDIAN firm Tech Mahin-dra Ltd. has launched its second business process

outsourcing (BPO) facility in Cebu, increasing its total num-ber of centers in the country to four.

Tech Mahindra has been operating in the Philippines since 2008, with two of its cen-ters located in Manila.

“With the addition in Cebu, around 14 percent of our global workforce is now concentrated in the region. We

have grown over 400 percent taskforce since 2008,” said Sujit Baksi, chief executive of Tech Mahindra Business Ser-vices Group (BSG).

The company said it will use its new facility in Cebu to service global enterprise and telecommunications clients.

Anand Achuthan, Philip-pines delivery head at Tech Mahindra BSG, said the firm’s operations in Cebu are focused on supporting both global cli-ents and businesses originat-

ing from the Philippines.“This allows us to utilize

locally skilled resource and create jobs across a wider so-cio-economic spectrum. We’re particular about upskilling and developing local talent by providing employees an op-portunity to work across glob-al locations,” said Achuthan.

Tech Mahinra is a firm engaged in digital transforma-tion, consulting and business re-engineering solutions with operations in 51 countries.

Filipinos can witness his-tory unfold before their very eyes when they subscribe to the Pacquiao-Mayweather live stream package via View-stream for a limited-time price of only P499 until April 26, the most affordable pay-per-view offer for the highly anticipat-ed fight to date. After April 26 and until May 2, users can subscribe to the live stream package for P999. Smart, Sun Cellular, and Talk ‘N Text sub-scribers can pay to view the live stream using their prepaid

loads or charge the fee to their postpaid accounts.

To make sure users are ready before the fight, they only have to download the Viewstream app on their An-droid phone or tablet and reg-ister using your Smart, Sun, or TNT number. Once done, they can subscribe to the Pac-quiao-Mayweather livestream package and get a LIVE and ad-free stream of the world’s most anticipated boxing fight on May 3 via the Front Seat channel in the Viewstream app.

Sports aficionados can rest assured that they can get their regular fix of games and match-es, as Front Seat on Viewstream will be bringing more lives-tream and video-on-demand content of the biggest sporting events in the near future.

Standard data charges may apply when using Viewstream on a mobile Internet connec-tion to view the Pacquiao-May-weather fight. In areas without a nearby WiFi connection, ViewStream can be enjoyed on a 3G or 4G-LTE connection,

as the app is optimized for in-dividual mobile viewing pow-ered by the latest in content delivery technology. Because you’re on the country’s biggest and strongest network, the app will load the games with mini-mal buffer, giving you a seam-less, enjoyable live streaming experience.

To know more about View-stream and how you can sub-scribe to the Pacquiao-May-weather livestream package, simply visit smart.com.ph/viewstream.

Tech Mahindra launches 4th BPO center in PH

Cost of Galaxy’s battle vs iPhone on the rise

amounts for the 32-GB versions of the Galaxy S4 and S5 as Apple’s 16-GB models for the iPhone 5 and 5S, according to IHS. In the case of the new S6 edge, the 64-GB version sells for $799.99 in the United States (without a carrier subsidy), less than the retail price of $849.99 for the iPhone 6 Plus with the same stor-age capacity.

The chief reason be-hind this gap is that Ap-ple’s iOS operating sys-tem and robust software and services ecosystem

command a much larger premium among con-sumers. Lacking those differentiators, Samsung has to offer higher quali-ty hardware to stand out in an increasingly crowd-ed marketplace but can’t fully reflect those costs with higher retail prices. Should this trend persist, margins for Samsung’s mobile business could be compressed further, and the only way to offset that is to rev up sales volume.

Another factor in Ap-ple’s favor, analysts say, is the economy of scale

it enjoys by sticking with just one or two new mod-els each year. Samsung, on the other hand, has a far larger portfolio of phones that retail for as little as $100 or as much as the S6 edge. “There is such a thing as a volume discount: even if you buy the same parts, the price for a customer ordering components for 200 mil-lion phones will be differ-ent from the price for a customer ordering for 50 million phones,” Daewoo Securities analyst Jona-than Hwang said.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 201512 EDGEDAVAO

COMMUNITY SENSE

DSWD, Smart strategic partnership for disaster management bared

Partners on disaster management. Wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has forged a partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to extend communications support during disasters. Signing the Memorandum of Agreement are DSWD Assistant Secretary Vilma B. Cabrera, and Smart Public Affairs head Ramon R. Isberto.

IN an effort to provide communications support to communities affected

by disasters and emergen-cies, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Smart Commu-nications, Inc. (Smart) will forge a partnership today (April 21) that will extend free calls, internet use, and charging of mobile phones in the agency’s operations cen-ters, as well as in designated evacuation centers.

“In times of disasters, the need for communication is as important as the need for food. People in disas-ter-stricken areas need to im-mediately communicate with their loved ones to assure them that they are safe or to ask for help,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

“Through this partner-ship with Smart, the Depart-ment’s visibility and capa-bility to respond to the most urgent needs of the affected population will be enhanced,” Sec. Soliman added.

Sec. Soliman cited the im-portant role played by infor-mation and communications technology in the aftermath

of Typhoon Yolanda.For his part, Smart Pub-

lic Affairs Head Mon Isberto said, “Communications has become an important com-ponent of disaster response. We have committed to sup-port the relief operations of the DSWD by providing the agency our host of communi-cations solutions so that they are able to effectively deploy resources on the ground, and other services that will pro-vide psychosocial relief to di-saster-stricken communities.”

“Our libreng tawag ser-vices will help families in af-fected areas reconnect with their loved ones and reunite with other family members who may have been displaced by disasters. These services have become part of our post-disaster relief and re-sponse as we recognize the need of people to communi-cate with loved ones and fam-ily in difficult times,” added Isberto.

Both the DSWD and Smart will work closely in formulating the guidelines for the implementation of this partnership anchored on the country’s National Disaster

Response Plan.“This partnership with

the DSWD will further boost our response efforts. With DSWD as the lead agency tasked with the national gov-ernment’s disaster response, this tie-up will allow us to serve more people and en-sure that our resources are deployed to areas where they are most needed,” said Isber-to.

Smart, through its year-round disaster preparedness and response umbrella pro-gram #SafePH, has strength-ened its internal capabilities to prepare for disasters and help in post-disaster re-sponse, including the recali-bration of its network infra-structure, and training of its on-ground personnel on sur-viving adverse conditions. It promotes the culture of pre-paredness to partner-com-munities, including religious organizations, schools, local government units, and even households in high-risk ar-eas to build their capacities to prepare for, deal with the impact of, and bounce back from, disasters.

Smart also supports the

GSMA Humanitarian Con-nectivity Charter, a landmark global telecommunications industry commitment to assist customers and re-sponders before, during, and after humanitarian emer-gencies. It is one of the four founding signatories to the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, along with Axiata, Etisalat, and Ooredoo that collectively represent over one billion subscribers in 35 countries. The Charter was signed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Through the Charter, mobile network operators (MNOs) will commit to a common set of principles and work towards the adop-tion of initiatives focused on humanitarian connectivity to create a more coordinated and predictable response to disasters.DSWD is a member of the Disaster Response Pil-lar under the National Disas-ter Risk Reduction and Man-agement Council (NDRRMC), and is the lead agency for the Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Protec-tion, and Food and Non-Food Clusters.

CLOSE to 400 Davao City youth participated in the 15th eco camp

and artlympics held April 9 to 11 at Malagos Park that was sponsored by the Davao City Water District in coordi-nation with the Watershed Management Youth Council (WMYC) and the Watershed and Environmental Protec-tion Coalition in Davao.

Themed “Nurture na-ture for the future”, the eco camp served as a learning venue for the youth partic-ipants through the discus-sions on current issues con-cerning the environment, Davao City watersheds and sustainable development. Representatives from In-terface Development Inter-ventions, Inc., Watershed Management Council of Davao City, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Environment Management Bureau, De-partment of Agriculture and Davao City Disaster Risk Re-duction Management Office discussed various topics on environmentalism.

Among the special guests was third district councilor Bong U. Advincula repre-senting Davao City mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte. DCWD director Ma. Luisa L. Jacinto and official spokesperson and officer-in-charge of the Community Relations and External Affairs Department Atty. Bernardo D. Delima Jr. were also in attendance and gave inspirational messages to the participants.

The event also featured “Youth on Leading Others” or YOLO talks organized by the WMYC Alumni As-sociation wherein young leaders shared leadership testimonies and experienc-es. Among the speakers was

National Youth Commission commissioner for Luzon Percival Vilar Cendaña.

Another event highlight was the artlympics com-posed of photo contest with watershed as subject matter, on-the-spot poster making and e-pop song competition that both revolved around the theme and baroto con-test with entries made out of five kinds of recyclable materials.

Winners were as follows: photo contest champion Tri-sha Mae Loquino with Rom-mil Sucaya and Neizha Gon-zales in tow; poster contest champion Gregory Nacio-nales, 1st runner up Dianna Kyle Tagalog and 2nd runner up Anable Caparida; baroto contest champion UGO Free-dom Fighters and 2nd and 3rd placers Matinabangon Achievers and Aphrodite group; and E-pop song com-petition champion F. Bangoy National High School. With the good turnout of partic-ipants, the artlympics met its objective to promote the importance of ridge to reef protection among Davao’s youth.

DCWD expresses grat-itude to cosponsors Nanay Bebeng Restaurant, Vitarich Corporation, Goldilocks, Il-luminada Farms, Inc., RDL Pharmaceutical Lab, Inc., Naty’s Lechon House, Al-ternative Catering Services, Orient Glass and Aluminum, Globe Telecom and council-ors Antoinette Principe and Leonardo R. Avila III. Lend-ing support to YOLO talks were the NYC, Bez Events Specialist Team Corpora-tion, MGCP Steel Works and Allied Services, Empire Pro-duction, Krispy Kreme and Hardware Maxx. (Jamae G. Dela Cruz)

DCWD’s 15th eco camp gathers youth, green advocates

CAMPUS JOURNALISM WORKSHOP. Edge Davao managing Editor Neilwin Bravo (left photo with mic) lectures on campus journalism to students of the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) high school department at the UIC AV Room at the UIC High Bajada Campus. The workshop is part of the community project of Edge Davao and Zion Accuprint Inc.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 13EDGEDAVAO

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BUREAU of Customs (BoC) chief John Philip “Sunny” Sevilla in media briefing

Thursday morning announced his resignation, thus confirming what has been all strongly ru-mored since last Friday when President Aquino made a “pres-idential snub” to the uninvited presence of Sevilla during the inauguration of a public-private school project in Malolos City, Bulacan.

boc davao collector butalidIn a media briefing Thurs-

day morning, Sevilla bared of a political environment being pushed by higher ups to wrap over the BOC.

Suspicions from various quarters close to BoC said Sevil-la was finally eased out by the

all-powerful Dept. of Finance (DoF)Secretary Cesar Purisima. BoC is an agency under supervi-sion of DoF.

Sevilla filed his resignation before the President on Wednes-day, adding he hoped Aquino will accept his resignation.

Meanwhile, DoF Sec. Purisi-ma immediately issued a state-ment on Sevilla’s resignation.

What is strange is the imme-diate posting of Purisima’s state-ment on Sevilla’s resignation on Malacanang’s official website, www.gov.ph.

In his statement, Purisima hailed Sevilla for his “dedicated service and relentless pursuit of good governance.”

Purisima said Sevilla has set the bar high and his successor

will have big shoes to fill.A website politics.com.ph

said the President is expected to appoint former Customs com-missioner Bert Lina as the next head of the customs bureau.

On the other hand, Sevilla’s resignation has triggered spec-ulations about its domino top-down effects to the BOC Port of Davao even as Purisima men-tioned in his statement alert or-ders that have most hounded the Davao Port since early this year.

A BOC Davao insider said that BOC Davao District Collector Ricardo Butalid along with other officials manning top divisions might soon “be pulled out to be re-assigned to other ports and other posts.” Cha Monforte, Correspondent

BoC chief Sevilla resigns, will Davao collector follow suit?

THE Davao City Health Office (CHO) urged res-idents to avail of the free

Human Immunodeficien-cy Virus – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV-AIDS) testing as the city gov-ernment intensified its cam-paign to prevent the spread of the virus.

In yesterday’s I-Speak Me-dia Forum, CHO’s health edu-cation and population officer Precy Senoc told reporters the free testing is for the ear-ly diagnostics and treatment since the Davao region which

includes the city is always in the top five of having most number of HIV-AIDS positive cases in the country.

“Collectively, we need to respond to this epidemic on HIV,” Senoc said.

Senoc said she assured the patients who will under-go the test that the result and identity of the patients will be kept confidential as man-dated by the Republic Act No. 8504 or the “Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.”

“Once the person will take

the test, remember it is only the medical technician, the peer counselor and the doctor will know the result and that is very confidential,”she said.

She said that in the city, there are an average of 15 to 20 patients a month who will be found positive in the HIV screening test conducted by CHO’s Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (CHO-RHWC).

Senoc said to set as an ex-ample to eradicate the stigma of the disease, there are eight department heads from the

city government who will un-dergo the testing on May 11 as part of National Coverage for HIV Testing.

She did not divulge the names of the officials yet, but she assured that they will par-ticipate on the information and education campaign next month.

Senoc said she under-stands that many people will hesitate to take the test due to the stigma causes by the discrimination of the commu-nity.

She negated the common

notion that HIV can be ac-quired by a simple commu-nication just like the other airborne viruses.

Senoc said the HIV can be only get through blood trans-fusion, semen, cervical-vagi-nal fluid and breast milk that will go inside the body.

She said that most of the HIV positive people are the ones who are afraid to mingle with other people since their health will be at risk due to its weak immune system due to the virus.

She said to avoid being

infected with the disease, people should practice sex abstinence and faithfulness to their partner.

In the 2014 data from Department of Health - Na-tional Epidemiology Center (DOH-NEC), the city record-ed 54 AIDS positive and 267 asymptomatic to the disease. The period of the data is from January up to December of 2014.

In medicine, a disease is considered asymptomatic if a patient found positive but ex-periences no symptoms.

CHO urges people to avail of free HIV testBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

NEWS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 201514 CLASSIFIED

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

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

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

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 2015 15EDGEDAVAOSports

TICKETS for the richest fight in boxing history, between Manny Pacquiao

and Floyd Mayweather, can fi-nally go on sale this week after the two sides reached a deal.

Promoter Bob Arum told American sports broadcaster ESPN that a bitter dispute be-tween Pacquiao’s camp, May-weather Promotions and the MGM Grand Hotel venue had finally been settled.

“I want to apologize for this dragging out for the length of time it has,” Arum told ESPN. “At least we were able to sort it out.”

The dispute had been pre-venting the release of tickets for inside the Grand Garden arena and to watch the fight on closed-circuit television.

Last month, Leonard Eller-be, chief executive of May-weather Promotions, said

tickets would be priced be-tween $1,500 and $7,500. Very few tickets are expected to be available to the public with the majority of seats in the Grand Garden arena being reserved for organizers, sponsors and friends and family of the two camps.

Tickets are supposed to go to Pacquiao and Mayweather’s camps, HBO, MGM Grand and Showtime.

The ticket fiasco is just that latest issue of contention in the build up to the fight which is expected to generate a record $400 million in revenue.

The sides also argued over drug testing, who would come out last to the ring for the fight, who would sponsor the fight and how much to charge for the pay-per-view which is expected to be offered around $100.MANNY Pacquiao’s

eight-year old, yet precocious, little

Princess has made an appeal to undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

“I love my daddy so much. Please don’t hurt him espe-cially his face,” Princess said.

It was Princess who kept egging on his dad to fight May-weather, Jr.

Just like his dad, the little girl dislikes Mayweather for his arrogance and flashy char-acter.

Mayweather was charged with a host of felony offenses ranging from beating his for-mer wife to threatening his children. He pleaded guilty and was meted out a 90-day jail sentence in December 2011.

“Our dad has been so lov-ing and good to us. He loves

our mom so much. We thank them both for showing good example to us,” Princess said.

Pacquiao claimed that among his five children, Prin-cess, the third in a brood of five, is the sweetest.

“They are all close to me but Princess is the closest. She’s so sweet,” Pacquiao bared.

Princess said she shud-ders at the mere thought of seeing her daddy getting hurt.

“That’s why we are not allowed to watch him fight. We’re still young and it’s not good for us to watch a brutal sport like boxing,” Princess revealed.

Aside from her gift of gab, Princess has manifested un-usual mental prowess despite her young age.

She wants to be like her mom when she grows up.

According to her, it’s good that their family prays a lot – about three to four times in a day.

“Praying makes us stron-ger and brings us closer to one another,” she said.

She admitted being teased often by her elder brothers, Jimuel Emmanuel and Mi-chael Stephen.

“Sometimes I cried be-cause my brothers are teasing me. But I love them so much no matter what,” she said.

She’s praying hard that God will protect his dad and crown him with victory come May 2 during the historic fight.

“I rejoiced when my dad won and I cried a lot when he lost. He’s fighting for our country and the Filipino peo-ple. He will do his best to win the fight to make us all happy,” she said.

NEVER one to talk himself down, Floyd Mayweather declared Wednesday that

he isn’t just good, he’s better than Muhammad Ali, the man many call “The Greatest.”

With just over a week to go before his super fight in Las Vegas against Manny Pacquiao, May-weather said his career and flaw-less record - he has never been beaten - speak for itself.

“I feel like I have done just as much in the sport as Ali,” May-weather said.

“It is hard for a guy to be like me, still sharp at 38. No disrespect to Ali, but I feel like I am the best.” Mayweather pointed out that while Ali lost to the unheralded Leon Spinks in 1978, among oth-ers, he has a perfect 47-0 record.

“Ali lost in his career to Leon Spinks. He lost some other fights

and is still known as the greatest. That is what it is.” Mayweather spoke to reporters Wednesday in a teleconference call for his May 2 welterweight showdown with Filipino superstar Pacquiao which is expected to generate a record $400 million in revenue.

In addition to being the great-est, Mayweather added that even boxing fans from Pacquiao’s home country - where Pacquiao is an icon - will be cheering him on at the MGM Grand.

“I am pretty sure I got Filipino fans that like me,” said the Amer-ican boxer, who is arguably the current number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Pacquiao is a hero and celeb-rity in the Philippines, where he worked on the streets before his success in the ring helped launch careers in politics, music and film.

TIM Duncan scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 and the defend-

ing champion San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 111-107 in overtime Wednes-day night, tying their Western Conference playoff series at 1-1.

The Spurs blew 10-point leads in the third and fourth quarters, and got into over-time on a pair of free throws by Patty Mills with 8 seconds left in regulation. Duncan scored four straight points in the extra session while playing with five fouls.

His jumper snapped a 101-all tie, Mills followed with a fast-break layup off Leonard’s long pass, and Leonard scored on a layup for a 107-101 lead with 56 seconds left.

Mills finished with 18 points off the bench after starting point guard Tony Parker departed early with an injury. Boris Diaw had 12.

The series, the only one of the eight in the first round that is tied after two games, moves to San Antonio for Game 3 on Fri-day night.

Blake Griffin had his first career playoff triple-double of 29 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but a costly turnover late in regulation.

DeAndre Jordan had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers.

Chris Paul’s two free throws gave the Clippers a 94-92 lead with 50 seconds left in regu-lation, but Griffin lost the ball while dribbling with a chance to put it away and Mills tied it with two free throws.

ALL SQUARESpurs tie series with Cliippers

POSTERIZED. Los Angeles Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan soars over San Antonio forward Tim Duncan for a dunk.

Spurs tie series with Clippers

‘Don’t hurt my dad’

Deal paves way for Pacquiao vs Mayweather tickets to go on sale

Floyd: Ali? I’m the greatest

By Aquiles Z. Zonio

VOL. 8 ISSUE 16 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 24 -25, 201516 EDGEDAVAO