P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

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

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOBRINGING IT DOWN. An employee of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) removes decorations attached to the giant Christmas tree at the Rizal Park along San Pedro Street in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

END OF THE ROAD. Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte inspects the lifeless body of suspected notorious robber Mark Peralta along Mariner Street in Doña Vicenta Subdivision, Davao City early yesterday. Peralta was fatally shot by police operatives after he allegedly tried to elude arrest. Lean Daval Jr.

‘RICH MEN BEHIND VENDORS’Jimlani, unit members unfazed by death threats

THE demolition of sidewalk vendors’ stalls violating a city

ordinance will resume after a series of post-Christmas dialogues. This was the vow of retired Philippine Army colonel Yusof Jimlani, chief of the city mayor’s office demolition unit, even as he charged that some defiant vendors are financed, if not fronts of rich businessmen who deliver their merchan-dise to the vendors in ex-pensive SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles).

Jimlani also confirmed receiving death threats, in-cluding a text message that he would be assassinated if he ever goes to barangay Tibungco.

Although he cited the killing of a member of the city’s demolition squad somewhere in Bankerohan

years earlier, he said taking the threats seriously would be unproductive and would only paralyze the mission of his group to enforce law and order on the city’s side-walks.

Nevertheless, Jimlani said his group has recorded a number of threats in the police blotter.

The retired military offi-cer recalled his assignment as general manager of the Zamboanga Barter Trade which was supposed to be only for former Moro reb-els. However, the govern-ment later discovered that wealthy traders were in control of the barter trade center, making poor rebel returnees nothing but just plain vendors, Jimlani said.

He added that some poor sidewalk vendors in

FRICH, 10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

AN alleged notori-ous robber was shot dead by the

police during a manhunt operation early yester-day morning on Mariner St., Doña Vicenta Village, Davao City.

The fatality, Mark Peralta, 33, was behind a series of robberies that netted him some P6.5 mil-lion worth of items from houses in four villages in the city.

P/Supt. Joel R. Consul-ta, station commander of the San Pedro police, said Peralta sustained several gunshot wounds after he tried to elude arrest and reportedly held a hand grenade when police flagged down his motor-cycle at about 1:45 a.m.

Peralta had allegedly stolen P5 million worth of belongings in the Roll-ing Hills Subdivision that

2

FCOPS, 10

EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

WEATHER FORECAST

THE DAVAO City local government has re-leased an infograph-

ic of the city government’s achievements during the first six months of re-turning Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term .

The infographic, avail-able at the City Govern-ment’s official Facebook page, cites the implemen-tation of an amended li-quor ban, speed limits, literacy and installation of CCTVs (closed circuit tele-vision) in malls, as among the achievements.

Duterte, a lawyer and former prosecutor, served as OIC vice mayor from 1986 to 1988, was elected mayor from 1988 to 2010, with one term (1998 to

2001) as 1st district rep-resentative. When his sec-ond nine-year term ended in 2010, he ran for and won as vice mayor, while his daughter Sara, was mayor. In 2013, Duterte ran for mayor unopposed with his son, Paolo as run-ning mate, also running unopposed.

Liquor banEstablishments in the

city can no longer sell li-quor from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. due to the amended liquor ban.

The City Coun-cil amended Ordinance 1627 which the City Council passed in 1994. The 1994 ordinance banned the sale from 2 a.m.

The amended ordi-nance bans the serving, and consumption of liquor and alcoholic beverages during these hours and punishes violators with fines of up to P5,000 or a year’s imprisonment.

The establishment’s business permit also faces revocation, according to the ordinance.

CCTVsExecutive order 24

ordered all shopping malls and business estab-lishments with a capital of P3 million and above to install, operate and maintain high-end and high-definition closed cir-cuit television cameras in their entry and exit points.

The CCTVs were man-

dated to be at eye level, ac-cording to the EO.

The EO came in the wake of twin bombings that occurred in two cine-mas in the city on Septem-ber 16, 2013. There was no casualty in the blasts, except for five ear inju-ries reported at one of the blast sites.

A few days after the bombing, Duterte, along with then-City Police Di-rector Ronald Dela Rosa revealed to the public CCTV footage of two sus-pects.

One suspect was found buying tickets at both SM City Davao and Gaisano Mall cinemas al-most an hour apart.

Speed limit, amended liquor ban, among Duterte administration’s achievements

FSPEED, 10

GO, STOP, WARNING. Davao City Council’s head of finance, ways and means committee Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang (left), Diabetes Philippines- Davao chapter immediate past president Dr. Roy B. Ferrer (center) and City Mayor Office’s Demolition Unit head Yusof Jimlani display different hand gestures while discussing issues which concern their respective offices during yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

DAVAO CITY tax col-lection can reach P6 billion if, and

only if, the city treasurer’s office (CTO) would do its function properly, an offi-cial said yesterday during the weekly Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex

That would be high-er by P900 million com-pared to the P5.1-billion projected collection by the city for this year.

City council finance, ways and means commit-tee chair councilor Danilo Dayanghirang told report-ers that the CTO has not collected all the taxes, like those for real property, sand/gravel, quarry, and amusement.

Dayanghirang said

that if properly collected, the collection may even exceed the estimated P6 billion, but this would re-quire CTO’s cooperation.

He also said that the office should maximize the utilization of their assessors so that these entities can produce tax assessments which will be the basis for taxing business establishments in the metro.

The treasurer’s office should also start collect-ing taxes from Davao Light and Power Compa-ny owned by the Aboitiz Power, Davao City Water District, and telecom-munication companies like Bayantel Telecom-munication and Philip-

pine Long Distance Tele-phone Company (PLDT) for their usage of gov-ernment- owned roads for their posts.

He said that the city can collect millions from these companies and this would add to the collection of the city to spend on government projects and services.

Dayanghirang said that he and the CTO had agreed to make the oper-ation as well as the col-lection better this year by revising the tax code, maximizing of person-nel, and computeriza-tion of business permit processing.

Currently, the coun-cilor is conducting re-

search and studies for the revision of the tax code. He said that this will be the basis for the revision.

Earlier, city treasurer Rodrigo S. Riola said that there should be some re-vision of the tax code to collect more real proper-ty taxes and other taxes encompassed under the code.

Meanwhile, law-yer Lawrence D. Batind-ing, officer-in-charge of the business bureau said that they are now work-ing on the development of a computer system that will link all city de-partments involved in the renewal and issuance of business permits.

Cops kill robberBy EMILORD P. CASTROMAYOR

epc@edgedavao.net

TAXES

Collection can reachP6 billion yearly, if..

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

POLICE filed charges before the city prosecution office

yesterday against six de-tainees in the Calinan po-lice station for allegedly destroying the detention cell’s ceiling last Sunday, presumably to serve as an escape route.

P/Sr. Inspector Achil-

les Bargio, acting station commander of the Cali-nan police, said that the detainees will be facing a charge of malicious mis-chief under the Revised Penal Code.

Detainees were iden-tified as Reynan Dejacto who is facing a charge vi-

Six detainees destroy detention cell’s ceiling

FSIXS, 10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

SINCE the feast and the yuletide season is over, Dabawenyos

are encouraged to go to doctors and check their sugar levels for diabetes and blood pressure con-dition, an official said yes-terday.

Dr. Roy D. Ferrer, res-ident doctor in Central Labs Diabetes Wellness Heart and Kidney Inc., and immediate past pres-ident of Diabetes Philip-pines- Davao chapter said during the yesterday’s edition of Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex that the month of De-cember is considered as a deadly month because the intake of food increases.

He said that having early check-up results to beginning the new year “healthy.”

Dr. Ferrer said that the national prevalence now of diabetes is 6 to 7 per-cent. This is higher to the 4.1 national prevalence of diabetes in 1980’s.

From being on the rank 9, Diabetes climbed up to number 6 in the top 10 causes of mortal-ity and morbidity in the country.

According to www.medicalnewstoday.com, Diabetes, referred by doc-tors as diabetes mellitus, “describes a group of met-abolic diseases in which

3NEWS

FTIME, 10

THE Collective Nego-tiation Agreement (CNA) between

the local government of Davao City and the Davao City Hall Employees As-sociation (DACHEA) was finally formalized earlier this month after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte signed the agreement.

The Management and Labor panels of the City Government of Davao with the aim to promote a harmonious relationship as a primary foundation for a lasting partnership in public service and in furtherance of a sound, just and responsive la-bor-management coop-eration entered into the CNA.

Re-elected DACHEA

President James Zimmer-man said the highlight of the agreement is the CNA incentive for qualified employees of City Hall. As stated in the CNA, an incentive will be grant-ed in recognition of the joint efforts of Labor and Management to achieve at a lesser cost all planned targets, programs and services as approved in the Annual Budget of the Agency.

However, Zimmerman could not disclose the ex-act amount since the City Accountant has yet to de-clare the savings generat-ed from the 2013 Annual Budget. The incentive will be released by the first quarter of 2014.

CNA between city government, employees association forged

FCNA, 10TWITTER. A curious bystander checks out a hawker’s bamboo flute which produces different bird sounds along C.M. Recto Avenue in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

PUDDING. A little girl buys herself a cup of soy pudding for P5 from a “taho” peddler at the Agdao Public Market in Davao City yesterday. “Taho” is a nutritious staple food but could also cause various digestive disorders if not properly prepared. Lean Daval Jr.

A PROPOSAL for tax-sharing be-tween Davao City

and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on the Aboitiz-owned Therma South Inc. coal-fired pow-er plant is now being pushed in the City Coun-cil which will involve delineation of the collec-tion of real property and income taxes.

Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, head of the committee told re-porters during yester-day’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the SM City Davao Annex, that the proposal

will involve the sharing of taxes from the income of electricity produced by the power plant as well as real property tax.

“It’s easy to identi-fy the real property tax. We just go down to the boundaries – all proper-ties belongs to the city should be taxed by the city and properties be-longs to Sta. Cruz should belong to them,” Dayang-hirang said.

He said that mem-bers of the Council’s Fi-nance Committee will discuss how to define

Tax-sharing for Therma South plant proposedBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

Time to check sugar and BP, doc advises

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

NO LESS than the head of the Drain-age Task Force in

Davao City admitted that the city’s drainage prob-lems are worsening.

Ret. Col. Yusof Jimlani made the revelation yes-terday during the Kape-han sa Dabaw at SM City Annex.

However, Jimlani said, residents of Davao City need not worry as the city government will soon be doing some new tweaks of the old solution. He was referring to the 2008 Drainage Plan of Davao City.

Jimlani said that in or-der to improve the drain-age system and climate

change adaption of the city, there is a need to re-vise the 2008 Drainage Plan. He said that he is will submit the proposal to the City Council in the first quarter of the year.

Jimlani bared that the Task Force will be hav-ing a meeting this week for the finalization of the new drainage plan. The task force is composed of officials from the Depart-ment of Public Works and Highways in region 11, City Planning Office, and City Engineers Office.

“Dati simple lang ang problema ngayon pu-masok na ang climate change (The problems before [concerning the

drainage maintenance unit] were simple, not until climate change hap-pened),” Jimlani said, add-ing that climate change overtaken other problems faced by the City Govern-ment of Davao.

Jimlani added that the city government has re-quested funds amounting P30-million from third district congressman Isidro Ungab who has likewise facilitated the budget allocation from the national government. The said funding will be coursed through the De-partment of Public Works and Highways which will implement the project.

In a related interview,

City Planning Office offi-cer-in-charge Mario Luis Jacinto told Edge Davao that the revision of the Drainage Plan is part of the city’s priority in-vestment plan. The plan aims to improve drain-age areas and enhance drainage capacity as part of city’s plan on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

According to Jacin-to, the task force’s as-sessments and budget allocation will be also presented during the meeting. The budget will involve the improvisa-tion of drainage systems in Barangay 22, 23, 27, and 31.

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

Drainage woes worsening

FTAX, 10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 20144MINDANAO

EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

MINDANAO may have been fortunate to be spared Yolanda’s

wrath, but it preoccupied Mindanawons nevertheless, after typhoon Sendong and super typhoon Pablo devas-tated many parts of the is-land two years in a row.

Having been caught off-guard when Sendong and Pablo wrought havoc in 2011 and 2012, Mindanawonsa apparently have learned their lessons, time, even be-ing over-prepared for super typhoon Yolanda on Novem-ber 8.

While Yolanda’s stron-gest winds hit Samar and Leyte and neighboring ar-eas in the Visayas, it was encouraging to hear reports trickling in from various ar-eas in Mindanao that there was almost zero casualty, despite the damage to prop-erty, infrastructure and crops amounting to millions of pe-sos.

Mindanao’s northeast-ern tip – where Dinagat Is-land and the Surigao prov-inces are situated – was the most endangered as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronom-ical Services Administration (PAGASA) could not discount the possibility that Yolanda may yet veer towards a more southerly path as super ty-phoon Pablo did on Decem-ber 4, 2012.

Still, areas too far away took preemptive action just to be sure.

Super typhoon Pablo was expected to make landfall in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur but it hit land in Baganga, Davao Oriental instead.

In preparation for Yolan-da, touted to be stronger than super typhoon Pablo, officials in Bukidnon ordered suspension of classes, and work in some cases, even if the province was not placed under any public storm warning signal.

Residents in vulnera-ble areas were ordered to evacuate to higher ground. A total of 378 families in flood-prone areas – like Malitbog which was affected by Ty-phoon Pablo, Impasug-ong and Valencia City – left their homes.

Iligan City, also not placed under any public storm warning signal, made a similar move as Mayor Cel-so Regencia ordered the sus-pension of classes in all lev-els. Iligan, after all, sustained heavy damage and hundreds of casualties during Typhoon Sendong in December 2011.

The suspension of class-es was ordered despite the rule on automatic suspen-sion of classes that for ar-eas under Signal No. 1, only kindergarten pupils are not required to report to school. Classes are to be suspend-ed in elementary and high school only when the storm warning goes up to Signal No. 2, and in colleges and grad-uate schools when it further goes higher to Signal No. 3.

“We’re not taking any chances with this projected super typhoon so we will be drawing some measures to preempt its possible impact in our area,” said General Santos Mayor Ronnel Rivera, even if his city is so far down south.

Cagayan de Oro City, which was under Signal No. 1 along with Misamis Oriental, likewise forced residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate. Most of the 1,538 families

who sought shelter in evac-uation centers were from barangays Macasandig and Balulang, which were most devasted by Typhoon Sen-dong as the Cagayan de Oro River overflowed on Decem-br 16, 2011.

In Misamis Oriental, 772 families from the towns of Medina, Libertad, Opol, Alub-jid, Claveria, Jasaan, Villan-ueva, Tagoloan, Lagonglong and Binuangan were moved to safer grounds two days

before Yolanda’s landfall as officials implemented a pre-emptive evacuation in flood-prone and landslide-prone areas.

Preparations were even more intense in the Caraga Region, which was closest to Yolanda’s path, and in parts of the Davao Region severely hit by Typhoon Pablo.

For Dinagat Province, which was placed under Sig-nal No. 4, the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-

ment (DSWD) reported pre-paring 2,000 food packs, as well as blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen kits and other basic necessities.

In Surigao City, travel by sea was prohibited starting two days before landfall and the bancas docked along the boulevard were moved to a safer place. [Bobby Timonera with reports from Froilan Gal-lardo, Erwin Mascarinas, Wal-ter Balane, Carolyn O. Arguil-las, Roel Catoto/ MindaNews]

Mindanao finally learns its lesson, was ‘over-prepared’ for Yolanda

GENERAL SANTOS CITY SOUTH COTABATO

THE Department of Health (DOH) in Re-gion 12 will focus

its efforts this year on the strengthening of communi-ty health teams as it moves to further lower the cases of maternal deaths within the region.

Dr. Teogenes Baluma, DOH Region 12 director, said Monday they have lined up a series of train-ings in the coming months for community or baran-gay health workers to help improve their capability in handling pregnancy-re-lated cases and other local health concerns.

He said such move is part of the agency’s con-tinuing efforts to properly address the problem on maternal deaths and attain its commitment to the Unit-ed Nation’s Millennium De-velopment Goals (MDG).

Under the MDG, the government committed to reduce the country’s mater-

nal mortality ratio to 52 for every 100,000 live births by the year 2015.

Baluma said the ma-ternal death rate in Region 12 is presently at 81 per 100,000 live births or 29 more than the MDG target.

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

“We’re already within striking distance to our tar-get and we’re doubling our efforts to achieve that by 2015,” the official said.

Aside from the strengthening of the com-munity health teams, Balu-ma said they will enhance their linkages with the ba-rangay councils and com-munity leaders.

He said they will mainly tap them in the monitoring of pregnancy-related prob-

lems that might arise in their respective areas.

“We will improve our coordination systems to en-sure the proper monitoring and handling of these cas-es,” he said.

Baluma said they will also continue with their awareness and education campaigns on maternal mortality and the upgrad-ing of health facilities, espe-cially in the remote areas.

“We’re giving more em-phasis on making sure that our pregnant mothers will get proper checkups, give birth in a proper health fa-cility and attended to by well-skilled and trained practitioners,” he said.

The DOH central office earlier directed the region-al health offices to double their efforts in address-ing the cases of maternal deaths by improving the delivery of health services at the community level.

Among the strategies

adopted by the agency is the upgrading and improve-ment of health centers and health services, especially for the poor.

Health Secretary En-rique Ona noted that mater-nal deaths are “highly pre-ventable through effective family planning services, antenatal care, and access to health facilities capable of handling complications.”

Meantime, Baluma said the region is nearing its target in terms of child mortality, of which the na-tional average is presently at 32 to 30 per 1,000 live births.

The country’s MDG target is 27 deaths per 1,000 live births.

“We’re on track to-wards attaining the child mortality target and we’re moving to further reduce that through sustained efforts in child health pro-grams like immunization,” he added. [MindaNews]

DOH moves to reduce maternal deaths

STREET ENTERTAINMENT. From Visayan classics to pop songs, these bamboo percussionists from Pagadian City get so much attention with their perfor-mance at San Pedro Street in Davao City. [MindaNews Photo by Toto Lozano]

SOUTH Cotabato offi-cials are planning to revive moves for the

passage of a provincial ordinance that will totally ban the selling and use of firecrackers and fireworks in the wake of the rising injury cases in the area during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Provincial board mem-ber Agustin Demaala Jr., chair of the provincial board’s peace and order committee, said Friday he will arrange in their regu-lar session next week the immediate holding of pub-lic hearings and consul-tations for the proposed measure, which he de-scribed as the most effec-tive strategy in promoting injury-free holidays.

He will push for the completion of the public hearings within the first quarter of the year to facil-itate the early passage of the proposed ordinance.

“There were earlier proposals coming from

the business sector for just a selective and not a total ban of firecrackers and fireworks but I think the situation now shows that we really need to totally ban these materials,” he said.

Demaala was refer-ring to the increasing cas-es of firecracker-related injuries in the province in the last two weeks, specifically during the Christmas and New Year revelries.

The Integrated Pro-vincial Health Office (IPHO) reported that the province’s firecracker in-juries already reached to 75.

Dr. Rogelio Aturdido Jr., IPHO chief, said the latest figure is 11 per-cent lower compared to the 84 cases in the same period last year but said they were still waiting for reports coming from other hospitals and rural health units in the prov-ince. [MindaNews]

Proposal to ban pyrotechnics revived

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

HIGH PRICE. Prices of commercial rice at the Agdao Public Market in Davao City yesterday remain high despite the decrease in demand after the yuletide season. Davao Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte publicly announced recently that he won’t hesitate to shoot businessmen who are into rice hoarding. Lean Daval Jr.

DAVAO City is get-ting ready for the very first city-

wide sale, aptly titled Big Davao Fun Sale, which will be officially launched next month.

Lisette Marques, chief of the City Tourism Of-fice, said the Big Davao Fun Sale will be a month-long event which will run from March 14 to April 16, 2013 and will be particpated by shop-ping malls like NCCC, SM Lanang Premier and SM City Davao, Gaisano and Abreeza and boutiques of well-known local brands.

Dabawenyos, accord-ing to Marques, will be enjoying discounts as big as 80% during the said sale in time for the annual Araw ng Dabaw celebra-tion.

Marques bared the Big Davao Fun Sale will have

a weekly sale theme. “For example, this week will be a sale regarding active lifestyle, the following week will be about fash-ion, the week after would be electronics and gad-gets sale,” Marques said. Music festivals are also lined up during the sale event to spice up the fes-tival mood.

For the promotion of the month-long sale, the City Tourism Office will also partner with Cebu Pacific for the airline com-pany to include the Big Davao Fun sale in their promotional packages.

As for future plans, Marques said they are planning to organize the sale annulay. “We want the big sale event to be-come a yearly activity of the city, that’s why we are aggressively promoting it,” she said.

City prepares for first ‘Big Davao Fun Sale’

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

GLOBE Telecom Inc. reported that data usage

in its network during the Christmas season last year jumped 173%, while voice calls rose 15% compared to the same period of 2012.

Short messaging services (SMS), how-ever, went up by only 1%, due to subscribers preferring to use mes-saging and chat alterna-tives online.

“[Customers] now turn to their smart-phones, tablets and computers to send Christmas greetings through online applica-tions such as Facebook, Twitter and other mes-saging applications,” ac-cording to Robert Tan, Globe’s chief technical adviser.

Internet activity re-mained stable despite the increase in traffic, added Tan.

He also noted that the telecommunications company did not sus-pend any promo offers during the Christmas

holidays.“The significant in-

crease in data and voice during the holidays proves that our network is more capable in han-dling robust demand for

fast and stable telecom-munication services,” Tan said.

In 2013, Globe com-pleted a $700-million (P31.25 billion) net-work modernization

and transformation program. It is currently in a middle of an infor-mation technology up-grade worth $90 million (P4 billion).

Globe is owned by

Ayala Corporation and Singapore Telecom-munications Ltd. As of September 2013, it had 36.5 million prepaid and postpaid subscrib-ers. [Rappler.com]

Stat Watch

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2011-September 2013)

Month 2013 2012 2011

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

September 43.83 41.75 43.02August 43.86 42.04 42.42

July 43.35 41.91 42.81June 42.91 42.78 43.37May 41.30 42.85 43.13April 41.14 42.70 43.24

March 40.71 42.86 43.52February 40.67 42.66 43.70January 40.73 43.62 44.17

7.1 1st Qtr 2013

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

USD 3,741 million

Feb 2013USD 4,708

million Feb 2013USD -967

million Feb 2013USD -640

millionDec 2012

P 4,964,560  million

Feb 2013

2.4 % Mar 2013P113,609

million Mar 2013

P 5,281 billion 

Mar 2013

P 41.14 Apr 2013

6,847.5 Mar 2013

132.8 Apr 2013

2.6 Apr 2013

3.1 Apr 2013

418,108 Feb 2013

20.9% Jan 2013

7.1% Jan 2013

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

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

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

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

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

as of May 2013

Indicator Latest

1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

6.8 2nd Qtr 2013

2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

7.5 2nd Qtr 2013

3. Exports USD 5,045 million

Sep 2013

4. Imports USD 5,711 million

Sep 2013

5. Trade BalanceUSD -665

million Sep 2013

6. Balance of Payments USD 692

million Jun 2013

7. Broad Money LiabilitiesP 5,980,938 million

Aug 2013

8. Interest Rate 2.0 % Sep 2013

9. National Government Revenues

P 127,336 million

Sep 2013

10. National government outstanding debt

P 5,609 billion

Sep 2013

11. Peso per US $                                      

P 43.83 Sep 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index

6,191.8 Sep 2013

13. Consumer Price Index       2006=100

135.2 Oct 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate       2006=100

2.9 Oct 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate       2006=100

2.5 Oct 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals 382,022 Aug 2013

17. Underemploymen Rate

19.2% Jul 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7.3% Jul 2013

6 THE ECONOMY

LUCKY CHARM. A sales lady of a lucky charm outlet at SM City Davao entices a mall-goer to buy a golden horse figurine which according to Chinese belief will attract good luck throughout the year. Lean Daval Jr.

THE BANGKO Sen-tral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has finally

received its full capital-ization from the nation-al government on De-cember 27, 2013, about two decades after the BSP was instituted.

“The approval (by President Benigno Aquino III) was given towards the end of De-cember,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

The release of the remaining P10 billion from the BSP’s P50 bil-lion capitalization is a positive development after Budget and Man-agement Secretary Flor-encio Abad last month said that this capital-

ization was sidelined by the need to finance rehabilitation require-ments of areas devastat-ed by Typhoon Yolanda.

The Aquino admin-istration said it needs about P361 billion for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of ty-phoon-damaged areas.

The New Central Bank Act, which insti-tuted the BSP from the old Central Bank of the Philippines, in 1993 has given the BSP a P50 bil-lion capitalization, P10 billion of which was giv-en during the BSP’s first year of operations.

The Aquino admin-istration gave the BSP P10 billion in Decem-ber 2011 on back of im-

provement of fiscal situ-ation and P20 billion in December 2012.

Abad, in a statement Sunday, said the govern-ment was able to give BSP the balance from its capitalization due to improvement in fiscal management.

He explained that “although the first P10-billion equity infu-sion for Bangko Sentral was made in 1997, the government has since been unable to provide full capital support to the central bank as pre-scribed by law.”

”Nonetheless, the below-the-cap deficit and the government’s own prudent manage-ment of its resources

eventually allowed us to complete the capital infusion to Bangko Sen-tral, an institution that has performed remark-ably well in keeping interest rates low and protecting the Philip-pine Peso from volatile market forces,” he said.

Abad noted that the long-term, positive impact of the complet-ed equity infusion on the Bangko Sentral’s policy work and the Philippines’ growth prospects.

“In plainer terms, the 100-percent eq-uity infusion will give the central bank the resource legroom it needs. Faced with fewer risks of income

loss or balance sheet weakness, the Bangko Sentral can now direct its full attention to re-fining the country’s banking and monetary policies and delivering key services that will further stimulate the economy,” he said.

“We’re now look-ing at a central bank that’s in a much better position to preserve the Philippines’ mac-roeconomic strength and vibrant invest-ment climate, which in turn will influence the Aquino admin-istration’s ability to ensure long-term and inclusive growth in the country,” he added. [PNA]

BSP gets remaining P10-B capitalization

Globe reports 173% surge in data use during Christmas

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

THE recently-conclud-ed 68th session of the United Nations Gen-

eral Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of the adoption of the Con-vention on International Trade in Endangered Spe-cies of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.

In its resolution, the General Assembly reaf-firmed the intrinsic value of wildlife and its various con-tributions, including eco-logical, genetic, social, eco-nomic, scientific, education-al, cultural, recreational and aesthetic, to sustainable development and human well-being, and recognized the important role of CITES in ensuring that interna-tional trade does not threat-en the species’ survival.

The General Assembly requested the CITES Secre-tariat, in collaboration with relevant organizations of the United Nations system, to facilitate the implemen-tation of World Wildlife Day.

Welcoming the news, CITES Secretary-General, Mr John E. Scanlon, said, “World Wildlife Day is an ideal opportunity to cele-

brate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conserva-tion provides to people. At the same time, the Day re-minds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.”

“We invite all member States, relevant organiza-tions of the United Nations system as well as all other interested organizations and individuals - from airports to museums to schools - to get involved in this global celebration of wildlife”, added Scanlon

The CITES Secretari-at has created a dedicated World Wildlife Day Face-book page to share news and stories of the Day, which can be followed at: https://www.facebook.com/WorldWildlifeDay

In its resolution, the UN General Assembly noted the resolution made at the 16th meeting of the Confer-ence of the Parties to CITES (CoP16) held in Bangkok from 3 to 14 March 2013, designating 3 March as World Wildlife Day, in or-

der to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.

The CITES resolution was sponsored by the King-dom of Thailand, the Host of CITES CoP16, which transmitted the outcomes of CITES CoP16 to the UN General Assembly.

United Nations obser-vances contribute to the achievement of the purpos-

es of the UN Charter and promote awareness of and action on important politi-cal, social, cultural, human-itarian or human rights is-sues. They provide a useful means for the promotion of international and na-tional action and stimulate interest in United Nations activities and programmes. For international years and decades the UN Secretary

General takes action to establish the preparatory process, evaluation and fol-low-up procedures.

The majority of obser-vances have been estab-lished by the UN General Assembly and some have been designated by UN specialized agencies.

In 1950, the General Assembly approved the first international day -

Human Rights Day - to be observed on 10 Decem-ber. Resolution 423 (V) invited all states and in-ternational organizations to observe this day to cel-ebrate the proclamation of the Universal Declara-tion of Human Rights by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948, and to exert increasing efforts in this field.

7EDGEDAVAO

ENVIRONMENT

March 3 declared as World Wildlife Day

THE environment de-partment is working to improve the local

government units’ (LGUs) compliance with Republic Act (RA) 8749 (Clean Air Act of 1999) so the country can have better air quality.

”I directed Environmen-tal Management Bureau (EMB) to study the legal basis for liability of LGUs which are supposed to im-plement RA 8749 but fail to regulate or prevent spike of air pollution every Jan. 1st,” Department of Envi-ronment and Natural Re-sources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said Friday in a briefing on air pollution impact of New Year’s eve fireworks.

He noted EMB initially reported Pollution Adjudi-

cation Board might be able to help set fines for air pol-lution-tolerating LGUs.

RA 8749 provides that LGUs “shall share the re-sponsibility in the manage-ment and maintenance of air quality within their ter-ritorial jurisdiction.”

Paje ordered the study, noting EMB data show vol-ume of pollutive particu-late matter 10 (PM10) be-tween 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 1), New Year’s Day, surged to an av-erage 1,550 micrograms/normal cubic meter (ug/Ncm).

Such average covers readings of EMB air qual-ity monitoring stations in Metro Manila’s Taguig City, San Juan City, as well as Ate-neo de Manila University

and Department of Public Works and Highways (DP-WH)-Timog areas in Que-zon City.

PM 10 during the pe-riod, which followed fire-works-lighting New Year’s Eve revelries on Tuesday (Dec. 31), exceeded the ac-ceptable national air quality guideline value of 150 ug/Ncm, Paje noted.

”The average reading we got is about 1,000 times more than the guideline value,” he said.

Paje raised urgency for addressing PM10 pollu-tion, noting such particle pollutants are so small these can be easily inhaled and end up in people’s lungs to cause health prob-lems like cancer.

PM10 isn’t easily dis-

persed during the hours after New Year’s Eve since early January isn’t a windy period, he noted.

”This is really a concern -- the data highlights seri-ousness of repercussions our yearly New Year’s Eve revelries bring,” he said.

Citing Department of Health (DOH) studies, Paje noted air pollution-related diseases are an economic burden costing the country some P7 billion annually.

He said DENR is bent on increasing LGU compli-ance with RA 8749, saying this agency will continue pursuing its bid to increase number of air quality mon-itoring stations across Metro Manila which is the country’s main urban cen-ter. [PNA]

Air pollution-tolerating LGUs closely watched DEPARTMENT of

Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje sees wisdom in the Department of Health (DOH) proposal to ban in-dividual use of firecrack-ers.

He agrees with DOH that authorities must des-ignate areas for public fireworks display so inju-ry, death and destruction from using pyrotechnics can be reduced.

”We’re supporting DOH’s proposal for such designated areas,” he said Friday (Jan. 3) during an early afternoon briefing in Metro Manila on air pollu-tion impacts of pyrotech-nics use during New Year’s Eve revelries.

He acknowledged that although revelries can’t be stopped, government must designate areas where firecrackers can be lighted under supervision of au-

thorities and professionals concerned.

”Individuals must not just light firecrackers,” he noted.

DOH reports this week said over 900 cases of firecracker-related inju-ries have been recorded already during the recent holidays.

Such number already exceeded last year’s count for firecracker-related in-juries, the reports noted.

Paje cited need for LGUs to be active in moni-toring firecracker use.

LGUs must also check quality of firecrackers to be used, he also said.

Data presented during the briefing show volume of pollutive particulate matter 10 (PM10) be-tween 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 1), New Year’s Day, surged to an av-erage 1,550 micrograms/normal cubic meter (ug/Ncm). [PNA]

DENR chief backs DOH’s proposed firecracker ban

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 20148 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

Revisiting the Tax Code

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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

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EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

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

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RAMON M. MAXEYConsultant

RICHARD C. EBONAMarketing Supervisor

SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.EMILORD P. CASTROMAYOR / CHENEEN R. CAPON

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EDITORIAL

AT least two high-ranking officials have made statements in favor of revising the Davao City Tax Code, an ordinance approved in 2005 and imple-

mented in 2006. Technically, the revision is overdue, since under the Local Government of the Philippines, also known as Republic Act 7160, local government units like Davao City are allowed to amend their tax codes once every five years, but not oftener. The city tax code will turn 9 years old this year.

The ranking city officials who discussed the tax code with media practitioners last week and yesterday were City Treasurer Rodrigo S. Riola and City Councilor Danilo C. Dayanghirang.

During a press briefing on the current renewal of business permits, Riola said that his office is prepar-ing a comprehensive report detailing its recommend-ed amendments to the ordinance. While cautioning against any precipitate move to increase local taxes without consultation and serious study, Dayanghirang nevertheless acknowledged the need for change in some provisions of the tax code so as to keep it in step with present-day realities.

Dayanghirang admits that in tax rates, for instance,

Davao City has one of the country’s lowest among cit-ies. Even the cities of Digos and Panabo have more up-dated tax ordinances whose rates have been “adjust-ed,” euphemism for “increased.”

Any attempt to revise or raise taxes would be met with the usual opposition from the business sector, that’s expected. However, the reasonableness of such opposition will be weakened or even rendered unnec-essary if massive consultations are conducted with stakeholders. There is even a possibility that some un-convinced quarters will go to court in a bid to thwart enforcement of some provisions, if not the entire re-vised ordinance. This happened once before, and it can happen once again. This is expected in a democracy.

There’s a business boom in the city which is decid-edly a golden opportunity to raise the income of the local government to fund its multifarious social devel-opment requirements needed by its burgeoning popu-lation. One way to raise more revenue is to hike certain tax rates. This is aside from improving collection effi-ciency and heavy borrowing.

The tax revision process should start now, if it has not yet already.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

Part 1 of 2

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA

WORM’S EYEVIEW

BY PATRICIO P. DIAZ

COMMENTARY

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAOPerpetual burden Good governance is

citizen power

Ban and no ban: A modest proposal

AFTER-EFFECT OF THE OIL PRICE IRREGULARITY – Doubts remain over whether drastic government

action to cushion the impact of unabated oil price increases is really on the way. Critics say that a series of assurances from ener-gy officials that the fuel price adjustments are merely temporary are not guarantee of change, especially if the price variations were to be the hints. Some promised gov-ernment measures, meanwhile, have been stalled. On New Year’s Eve, big oil compa-nies including the independent players were allowed to increase prices of fuel to the consternation of the consuming public - very uncomfortable treat for the incoming year.

The oil price hike puts pressure on the government therefore high-profile energy officials should always keep a close check on issues related to oil imports because the country has for months been resigned to the fact that prices of gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined petroleum prod-ucts rose slowly but steadily. Say what the critics and political detractors will but the country would remain always unprotected from price variability because of its heavy reliance on imported oil products. None-theless, at this stage, the business sector and in particular the consuming public and different transport organizations across the country are displeased, and with com-pelling reasons.

The fuel-dependent sectors so far suc-cumbed to the oil price fluctuation as a result of a series of oil price adjustments during the past weeks. The price of gaso-line according to variants right now is up to P53-55 per liter from the previous P50-53 a month ago while crude oil was up to P44 per liter from the previous P41. However, some private economists and government

financial an-alysts think there is a pos-sibility of an oil price roll back next week and it might seem e s p e c i a l l y soothing to top government executives and energy offi-cials because of the softer and lower oil prices in the world market. But come to think of it that the freckle oil price movement hinge on the world price index therefore a slight price variation could not significantly change the statistics.

Of course, even if the positive impact of the low prices of oil products on com-mercial and industrial activities may lead to improving the economic growth of the country, it may however not last for long. Other noted economists and financial managers are more unenthusiastic still, predicting that the reported oil price roll back is only a temporary after-effect of the price irregularity in the world mar-ket. Furthermore, it is also widely be-lieved that the government will have no choice but to move every able body it can – meaning the country’s working popu-lation to the most competitive and pro-ductive ways possible while the prices of oil continues to fluctuate radically in the days ahead. Still, it might get harder to muddle through in the future, since there are indications that the most important thing to watch is the unprecedented oil price increases dictated by the oil-pro-ducing countries.

All of which means that consumers

always have to be prepared and remain alert at all times, because even boosted by a lower price next week, prices of fuel products are expected to increase with-out prior notice. Right now, the latest oil price hike has taken center stage just like when prices likewise plummeted merely to a certain level, of course, only a fraction of any price adjustment. While the coun-try’s oil companies notably the so-called “Big Three”- Petron, Shell and Chevron together with the small players reported with assurance that more price roll backs are expected in the days ahead, govern-ment on the other hand should not take the assertion as a permanent commit-ment. As always expected that when it comes to oil prices hike trend, the gov-ernment suffers from what can be called a reliability and credibility problem of its own.

Independent economists and business analysts foresee the expected oil price roll back as merely temporary, but the impend-ing oil price hikes will never slow down or stop anytime soon. Top government and energy executives therefore should not let their guards down because when a price roll back is over, we will be back again to a vicious cycle of oil price hikes. So what kind of assurance does the powerful oil cartel is bragging about? We always have to bear in mind there is no such thing as a never-ending oil price roll back and gov-ernment should treat the current pricing trend as a temporary breather to map new strategies anytime prices of oil products would continue again moving upward. If that happens - anytime soon, there’s nothing we can do about it because we are perennially dependent on oil imports – a perpetual burden confronting the country and its socio-economic activities.

FOR THE last several years, I had let the old and new years come and go with shrugs – the bangs and the booms not

disturbing my midnight peace. I never liked the powder smoke to stimulate my asthma or a stray bullet to kiss my head. But last Tuesday, I became curious; I monitored the ritual.

What I write here refers only to the rit-ual as I heard and saw in my place, a stretch of dry lands with forests and roaring rivers 74 years ago. How the new came and the old went is from my perspective – its similarity or difference from how the ritual unfolded in the other parts of the country being mere-ly incidental. And, so is my modest proposal.

No firecracker ban exists in General Santos City. All people here, in particular my neighbors in my 74-year-old Lagao, are free to explode anything including their heads – within the limits of their willingness to empty their pockets to satisfy their hunger for the bangs, booms, bangs.

The late afternoon and the early evening were silent like in any ordinary day. This early in past years – years and years past – scattered bangs, booms, bangs were a pre-lude to the fiery midnight concert punctu-ated by rat-a-tat-tats and thundering, shud-dering booms. Was the unusual silence the signal of a song never sang before, “Silent New Year”?

Towards midnight, solitary bangs, booms, bangs began – within the hour, com-ing in minute intervals. At the last quar-ter of the last hour, I went out of my study to see the midnight. Only a faint powder smell greeted me with flashes of the bangs, booms and bangs – but not that deafening, just a thud compared to memories of past thundering new years. Together with some

fireworks multi-coloring the skies, they pro-claim the spirit that will forever live.

I think the rising costs of the bangs, booms, bangs have taken a toll on the tra-ditional celebration of the New Year and the Christmas nights. More than ever, given their freedom, people are still willing to risk life and limbs but their pockets are getting shallower and shallower by the year. Time was when the cost of a firecracker did not factor into their media noche plate. Not now!

Time was when a firecracker was just that – “spit fire” and “cracked”. Merrymakers pinched crackers at the lower rim whirling them above their heads while “spitting fire” then “cracking”. No harm; just fun!

But firecrackers have grown stronger and stronger – not just “cracking” but “explod-ing”. And they also have become costlier and costlier, more and more dangerous to life and limbs. In reality, firecracker manufacturing has become a major explosive industry – like tobacco and liquor, an evil but necessary for the employment and taxes it generates.

The New Year I witnessed must be “tame” compared to the revelries in Metro Manila and other places in Luzon. Despite the ban on lethal types of “firecrackers” and the firing of guns, the injuries and deaths this year were reported to be more than last year. A three-month-old baby in Ilocos Sur was killed in his crib by a “stray” bullet. What paradox: merry-making cum man-made calamity!

To paraphrase Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “To ban or not to ban is question.” In reality, it is

not a question. In 2002, Davao City Mayor Di-goy “Killjoy” Duterte imposed a total ban on everything that “cracks” or “explodes” includ-ing live ammunition from guns in the “city and farms” of the entire Davao City on Christmas, New Year and other festivities. From reports, for 12 years now the complete banishment of the “joy that kills” has been greatly appreciat-ed – the “joy” not missed, the “kill” avoided.

Has the entire Philippines have to be Davao City? That is an extremely ambitious proposal! How many have guts – many call it “balls” – like those Mayor Digoy, even to the displeasure of human rights advocates. Cer-tainly, even the President lacks them.

Here’s a modest proposal. Ban all – repeat, ALL – types of “firecrackers cum explosives”; they are the danger to life and limbs. Allow only the pyrotechnics. These may not be af-fordable to all. But let the spirit of merrymak-ing be also the spirit of merry-sharing – the “full-pockets” sharing their blessings with the “empty-pockets”.

In the spirit of the seasons, let Christmas and New Year’s eves be the time for pyro-technic festivals or “Pyro Fests”. Local govern-ments can sponsor them with modest prizes. In cities and big population centers, big spon-sors can be tapped with big prizes. This can encourage creativity among Filipinos.

Some taxes and employments will be lost. As the saying goes, “Lose some, gain some”.

(“Comment” is Mr. Patricio P. Diaz’ column for MindaViews, the opinion section of Min-daNews. The Titus Brandsma Media Awards recently honored Mr. Diaz with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his “commitment to education and public information to Min-danawons as Journalist, Educator and Peace Advocate.” You can reach him at patpdiazgsc@yahoo.com.)

IF YOU believe that the essence of democracy is a government of the people, by the people, and for the

people, it follows that you believe in autonomy or self-governance.

To be true to this belief, you would be a dutiful citizen with a keen inter-est in public affairs. You would be involved in matters of governance—the decisions and actions entailed in managing community affairs.

Being a dutiful citizen, you would be concerned not only with your per-sonal welfare, or your family’s, but also with the wellbeing of your com-munity or barangay, which requires good governance.

This concern for local welfare is essential to the overall interests of government, for it is the level clos-est to individual citizens and their neighborhood on which our republic is anchored.

To be Meaningful, all the Way to the Grassroots!

If autonomy or self-governance is not operative at the base, it would be meaningless; if operative down to the municipal level only, it is one level removed from the people or the community. It would anchor gov-ernment and the political system on elected officials who merely repre-sent the people but are not the peo-ple themselves.

It would not tap into the reser-voir of people power, the barangay, in which reside the sovereignty of the republic and all authority wield-ed by its functionaries or officials.

Being the wellspring of political power and authority, on this level (grassroots) hinges the legitimacy, strength, and stability of our repub-lic.

So What? It is important to be involved

in the governing process of our community or barangay. If we’re

not involved—meaning, we don’t participate—in effect we deprive government of our ideas,

convictions, energy, and the moral support it needs from its power source (citizens).

In other words, we are withdrawing our support from the overall force that drives our society

and government. Though one may think lowly of

one’s self, or believe one’s self to be socially or politically

insignificant, one’s sovereignty matters as much as every other citizen’s and exerts its own

influence on others — who will then subtract their own support from the pool, and so on around

their circle of influence. Ultimately, it weakens society

and government even more. Like the proverbial last straw that

breaks a camel’s back, withdrawing our support may well break down our civilization.

Negative/Positive Involve-ment

There are variations to being involved, however. Positive or neg-ative. For instance, one can be.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 201410 EDGEDAVAONEWSSix...

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Another suspect was seen in another CCTV foot-age buying an MSM-HK brand 9V batteries at the KSM Kim Sheng RTW and Fashion Accessories.

Dela Rosa said the mall was the only distributor of the battery, which was seen in both blast sites, in the city.

The suspects have yet to be apprehended.

Speed limits EO 39 set the speed

limits of all vehicles plying the city’s roads and high-ways to 30 kph, 40 kph, and 60 kph, with the low-est speeds set within the city’s downtown streets and the highest speeds on roads leading towards neighboring cities.

Duterte said he was

merely implementing Re-public Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, which was signed into law on June 20, 1964.

A number of taxi driv-ers have complained their incomes are down by about 300 pesos because of the speed limits.

But Councilor Leo Avi-la said there has yet to be a formal complaint filed against the measure.

Duterte, said the speed limits would stay even if there are complaints from several sectors, citing RA 4136.

Aid for VisayasThe infographic also

showed the city’s help, in the form of medical, res-cue, and financial aid, to

Tacloban City after super typhoon Yolanda hit the region on November 8.

The city handed out P7 million to the Yolan-da-affected areas.

Duterte, who was among the first to send a composite team composed of doctors, rescue person-nel, and members of the city’s Task Force Davao, ordered the security team guarding the aid convoy to shoot looters on the foot if they attempt to hurt or im-pede the caravan the city sent to Tacloban.

Duterte himself flew to the typhoon-struck ar-eas three days after the typhoon.

Earlier, the city also gave financial aid amount-ing to P18.5 million for Bo-

hol and Cebu after a mag-nitude 7.2 earthquake hit the region on October 15.

Emergency response The city also aug-

mented its rescue vehicles during the period, acquir-ing 10 additional ambu-lances for the the city’s Central 911 response sys-tem.

The city also added 42 more mobile patrol vehi-cles and motorcycles for the Davao City Police, the infographic said.

Literacy The city also won the

National Literacy Hall of Fame Award for being a three-time first-placer in the Outstanding Local Government Unit, Highly Urbanized City category. [MindaNews]

CNA...

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The budget for the CNA incentive will be sourced solely from agen-cy savings from the fol-lowing items: traveling, communication, repair and maintenance, trans-portation and delivery, supplies and materials, and utility.

Meanwhile, the DA-CHEA Supreme Council also elected its new set of officers who will sit for the next three years.

Aside from Zimmerman, also elected were Edu-ardo Calvo as Vice Pres-ident, Ivonne Kempis as Secretary, Reynan Libra-do as Treasurer, Raymun-do Hernandez as Business Manager, Resilia Atuel as PIO and Christopher Asi-bal as Sergeant-at-Arms. The new set of officers has committed to pro-mote the welfare of its member employees. [City Information Office]

SILENT KILLER. Diabetes Philippines- Davao chapter immediate past president Dr. Roy B. Ferrer discloses during Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday that diabetes climbed up to number 6 from being ranked 9th in the top 10 causes of mortality in the country. Lean Daval Jr.

olation of the Dangerous Drugs Act (9165); Jerson Roquez, for theft; Sander Fernandez for sniffing a volatile substance; Jason Templado for theft; Andy Matus, for 9165, Richard Baruga, for rape, and John Rasonable for violation of the firecracker ban.

He said that about 10: 00 a.m last Sunday, while conducting inspec-tion inside the detention

cell he saw a large hole in the ceiling allegedly done by the detainees. Damage was estimated at P2,000.

Bargio said that the act of destroying proper-ty owned by the govern-ment constitutes mali-cious mischief.

The penalty is prison correccional or a min-imum of 6 months im-prisonment. [EPC]

victimized a retired po-lice officer, a doctor and a businessman last De-cember 24 and 25, taking some P1.5 million worth of belongings.

Consulta said that af-ter receiving information about Peralta’s where-abouts at 1:00 a.m., he immediately formed a team and conducted pa-trol in the area. After few minutes, they saw Peralta aboard a motorcycle who drew a grenade which prompted the police to

fire at the suspected rob-ber.

Police recovered valu-able items and several pawn papers under the suspect’s name, electrical tools and a pair of rubber shoes.

Meanwhile, police also nabbed Dexter Busta-mante, a resident of Ta-lusa Talomo, allegedly responsible for ransack-ing houses in Rolling Hills subdivision. He is facing charges of theft before the city prosecution office.

the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), ei-ther because insulin pro-duction is inadequate, or because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Pa-tients with high blood sugar will typically expe-rience polyuria (frequent urination), they will be-come increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).”

Dr. Ferrer said that stress, unhealthy life-style, poor dieatary, weight gain contributed in the influx of Filipinos with this disease. Males and females of any age are susceptible to this

metabolic disease.He said that 90 per-

cent of people with dia-betes or known as type 2 diabetes were adults, while only 10 percent be-longs to the type 1 diabe-tes which is diagnosed to children.

He said that kids were no longer resistant to di-abetes because of lack of physical activities. Most kids are now “techie” and tends to play with their gadgets rather than en-gaging in social activities.

He said that as early as 20 years old, one can acquire this, so early de-tection and change of lifestyle is a must.

the business tax and in-come tax from the oper-ations of the plant.

On the other hand, Dayanghirang said that members of the three joint committees namely the committees on en-vironment, energy and franchise will conduct ocular inspection of the proposed expansion of

the plant in Binugao, To-ril.

On Dec. 3, 2013, the City Council has ap-proved on first read-ing the application for expansion of Therma South Inc. of Aboitiz for the operation of addi-tional 345 megawatts coal power plant in the city.

Davao City have allowed themselves to be fronts of big-time traders, a reason some of them are not afraid to defy the ordinance.

He said the real identi-ties of the vendors are also being ascertained in reac-tion to suspicion that many of them don’t even know the names of city officials except that of Mayor Duter-te, indicating that they may not even be residents of Davao City, another viola-tion of the ordinance.

Amid threats received by members of the unit, a briefing will be conducted with some 2,000 sidewalk vendors on January 10 to discuss problems hamper-ing the smooth implemen-tation of the city’s campaign to rid the sidewalks of ven-dors.

Jimlani told reporters yesterday in the weekly “Kapehan sa Dabaw” at the annex of SM City, that a whole-day meeting with sidewalk vendors will be held.

Vendors coming as far as from Bunawan in the north and Calinan in the west and the downtown area will converge at the Davao City Recreation Cen-ter (Almendras Gym) for

the gathering next week.He said vendors from

the Toril area may not at-tend the citywide consul-tation, as they voluntarily demolished their shanties.

Jimlani lauded the ges-ture of the Toril vendors who were led by the big investors, including own-ers of commercial buildings there.

He said that he will dis-cuss with vendors about ways to solve conflicts. Also to be tackled are issued in the final implementation of the night market ordinance that was approved by the city council last month.

“It will be the mayor (Rodrigo Duterte) who will make the announcement,” Jimlani said.

Jimlani also denied the statement of some vendors that he authorized them to sell on the sidewalks es-pecially those who are at Ilustre and Duterte streets during the Christmas sea-son until January 2.

“Ang mga sidewalk ven-dors man gud nato. Last De-cember, no one (actually) gave the authority to vend anywhere. Ang gibuhat man gud nila they were us-ing the mayor and even my name,” he said.

However, Jimlani said that they just gave consid-erations to vendors to do business during the Christ-mas season.

“When I go around yes-terday (January 5) I nothing changed in the area. Naa pa gihapon sila na nag vend sa mga areas na atong gibawal sa ilaha.”

Meanwhile, amid threats received by mem-bers of the Davao City Dem-olition Unit, a briefing will be conducted with some 2,000 sidewalk vendors on January 10 to discuss problems hampering the smooth implementation of the city’s campaign to rid the sidewalks of vendors.

Jimlani said that that they need to have a whole day meeting with sidewalk vendors after the unit’s per-sonnel received threats.

“It was aired on the ra-dio that they were just wait-ing for me to go to Tibungco kay if I have to borrow the word ‘tirahon ko nila didto’,” Jimlani said.

Jimlani expects around 2,000 vendors, mostly coming from Bunawan and Calinan, at the Davao City Rec-reation Center (Almen-dras Gym) next week.

He said that they will also talk about ways to solve conflict issues as well as the night market ordinance that was ap-proved by the city coun-cil last month.

“It will be the mayor (Rodrigo Duterte) who will make the announce-ment,” Jimlani said.

Jimlani also denied the statement of some vendors that he autho-rized them to sell on the sidewalks especially those who are at Ilustre and Duterte streets.

“Ang mga sidewalk vendors man gud nato. Last December, no one (actually) gave the au-thority to vend any-where. Ang gibuhat man gud nila they were using the mayor and even my name,” he said.

However, Jimlani said that they just gave considerations to ven-dors to do business during the Christmas season.

“When I go around yesterday (January 5) I nothing changed in the area. Naa pa gihapon sila na nag vend sa mga areas na atong gibawal sa ilaha.”

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

“CHADA ang mais” is how farmers here describe

their corn produce. Chada is a unique word among Cagay-anons referring to anything nice or good.

«Claveria is one of the major corn producing towns in the province and we are confident that our produce is of good quality owing not only to our fertile lands but also the availabil-ity of post harvest facility,” said municipal agriculturist Pat Dumaloan of Claveria, Misamis Oriental.

He said farmers can are now selling Class A corn grains, which command better price and offer higher income to farmers. This is far from the situation before where farmers bear the brunt of huge postharvest losses due to lack of adequate facility.

«Drying of corn was a big challenge then especially during rainy season as plenty of grains were damaged since farmers cannot immediately and properly store their produce,» Dum-alaon said.

To address the postharvest need of the farmers in the area, the local agriculture office sought the help of Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office in Region 10.

To maximize resources, the DA corn program provided the P3.5 milling equipment while the building construction

was sourced out from the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), a special project that is also under DA.

A village-type processing center was then established in Barangay Pa-trocinio, one of the town’s leading corn-producing vil-lages. The said project has a 10-ton milling capacity per day.

The said facility has significantly reduced the post harvest losses and enhanced quality of corn produce which usually classified as «Class A» among corn buyers in Cagayan de Oro.

«Our corn grains are now classified as ‹Class A› It has also reduced transport cost as farmers no longer need to travel long distance just to mill our harvest,» said Duane Casino, one of the farmer beneficiaries.

«This project serves as a convergence project where DA regular and special project harmonized its efforts and resources to bring more impact in the community,» said DA regional director Lealyn Ramos.

Ramos who is also the concurrent MRDP program director said MRDP is advocating for harmonization of DA›s engagement with the local government units to mainstream good practices in project implementation.

«Our local government handles the maintenance

of the facility through the special trust fund from our Municipal Economic Enterprise Development Office (MEEDO),» Dumala-on said.

While the corn processing in the baran-gay had been operation-al for more a year now, farmers from other ba-rangays keep on coming to avail themselves of the said facility.

«When we learned of MRDP›s big-ticket projects with the provincial government,

we proposed for a bigger corn processing center to accommodate the growing demand for postharvest facility,» Dumalaon said.

Having a good track record in effectively managing the existing project, the community availed itself of P10 million worth of processing center established within the vicinity. In November this year, the said was project launched and is now fully operational.

The MRDP›s Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) provided P8 million while the provincial government of Misamis Oriental provid-ed the P2 million counter-part.

«With the two existing facilities, we can now serve more corn farmers and improve not only the quality of their product but also their income,» Duma-laon said

The efforts of the LGU, DA and MRDP to improve

postharvest practices in the town has not gone unno-ticed as the town garnered the “corn quality” award in October this year.

Corn quality award is given by the DA- Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards for the reduction of losses and prevention of aflatoxin in corn. An annual average corn yield of not lower than 3.5 MT per hectare was also required, a target that Claveria did not only meet but exceeded. [Noel T. Provi-do/DA-MRDP]

11

Municipal agriculturist Pat Dumalaon of Claveria, Misamis Oriental checks on the operations of the corn processing center which significantly reduces post harvest losses in the area.  [Sherwin B. Manual.] 

Processing center improves corn quality

EDGEDAVAO

AGRITRENDS

NINETY percent of the Department of Agriculture (DA)

budget for Region XI has been disbursed, but only 70 percent of its projects for 2013 have been com-pleted, an official said.

In the agency’s 2013 report, DA 11 regional director Remelyn R. Re-coter cited lack of coor-dination between project contractors, local govern-ment units (LGUs), and the agency as the reason for the non-completion of some of its projects.

She said the agency had to contend with part-ner institutions and enti-ties that did not submit documents on time, as well as the non-submis-sion of a master list of re-cipients and beneficiaries.

She also cited that LGUs lack the “technical and absorptive capacity,” and several contractors and suppliers did not comply with specifica-tions.

Recoter said that during the pre-procure-ment process, changes

in sites and problems on road right of way were still major concerns in project implementation.

DA 11’s finished proj-ects included those for livestock, rice, corn and other high value crops.

For the agency’s key rice programs, Recoter said that the agency was waiting for the LGUs to comply with the enabling documents before the programs can be fully im-plemented.

The rice varieties for the program are undergo-

ing analysis, she said. According to the Phil-

ippine Senate’s Legisla-tive Budget Research and Monitoring Office, the DA was allocated the fifth largest budget for 2013, at P64.47 billion.

The budget covered support for corn, coconut, and fisheries output, in the government’s aim for food security for the year.

Irrigation budget amounted to P27.3 billion or an increase of 12 per-cent from the 2012 bud-get. [MindaNews]

DA 11 projects for 2013 only 70% complete

AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Ag-riculture had com-

mended the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in the imple-mentation of the National Year of Rice (NYR2013), which had reached about 51.5M Filipinos

Bernadette Romu-lo-Puyat, undersecretary for special concerns, said NYR2013 has been “suc-

cessful in raising aware-ness not only on the de-partment’s initiatives to increase rice productivity and farmers` income but in uniting all sectors for rice self-sufficiency and export of premium rice.”

Puyat, who led the re-cent CelebRICE: A night for the RICEponsibles in Manila, said that the cam-paign had built a strong foundation for the agri-

culture industry, ensuring continuous productivity.

However, she admit-ted that the department`s confidence is dampened by climate change, which she said is also agricul-ture`s biggest threat.

“We may not be able to control when and where typhoons will hit or when droughts will occur. But we have to make sure that production is stable and

that farmers are earning from their crop,” she said.

Puyat also lauded PhilRice for being suc-cessful in informing the public about agriculture programs, disseminating better farming practices, promoting other crops that may be alterna-tives to rice such as corn and cassava, and lobby-ing measures to reduce rice wastage. [PhilRice]

National Year of Rice successfulTHE Department of

Agriculture has ex-pressed its full sup-

port to the staging in the Philippines in June 2014 of what could be South-east Asia’s largest food ex-hibition. It is an opportu-nity for the country’s food, agriculture and agribusi-ness industries to pitch their export products to the world.

“SIAL or Salon Inter-national de l’Agroalimen-taire (SIAL) is coming to Asia next year via SIAL ASEAN, and DA is proud to support and take part in it,” said OIC-Asst. Sec. for Marketing and concurrent Agriculture Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Ser-vice (AMAS) director Le-andro Gazmin.

Assistance from DA will be in form of spon-sorship, Director Gazmin said, adding that Filipino farmers and fishers – who provide the raw materials for the exporters and pro-cessors – stand to benefit from the trade and net-working activities that will

take place throughout the duration of the four-day affair.

Holding it in the Phil-ippines offers a chance for more local participa-tion among local export-ers, processors and other agribusiness players, who could take the opportunity to showcase a wider array of their best products and services – all at lesser lo-gistical costs. SIAL ASEAN expects 800 exhibitors – half of whom are inter-national – and 15,000 vis-itors, the official website reports.

Focused on the theme “Best-Kept Secret for Food Business in Asia,” the SIAL ASEAN will be held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila on Roxas Boule-vard on 11-14 June 2014, in conjunction with the Manila Food and Beverage Expo (MAFBEX) of MAF-BEX Events Management, which will be conducted in a separate venue inside the WTC complex. It also coincides with SIAL’s 50th anniversary.

PHL to host biggest food show in ASEAN

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 201412 CLASSIFIEDS

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 201414 EDGEDAVAOSPORTS

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- While Kobe Bryant heals from his latest

injury, he has an unusual campaign message for the fans who select the NBA All-Star game’s starters: Don’t vote for me.

The Los Angeles Lak-ers’ superstar guard is hoping fans elect young-er, more deserving play-ers to start next month’s showcase in New Orle-ans.

Bryant is a 15-time All-Star selection, a four-

time All-Star game MVP and the top scorer in the game’s history. He says he’d be honored if he’s voted in again, but isn’t even sure he’ll be ready to play.

Bryant has played in just six games this sea-son, and he’s out for sev-eral more weeks while a broken bone near his knee heals.

He made his sea-son debut Dec. 8, eight months after tearing his Achilles tendon.

BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel forward Japeth Aguilar has

been making believers out of people all confer-ence long.

Count his Gilas Pili-pinas teammate and San Mig Super Coffee Mixers star Marc Pingris among them.

“Hindi naman siya ganyan dati. Mga past game niya before, strug-gle. Ngayon, laging best player. Parang NBA player eh. Yun na yata yung si-nasabi nila,” he said.

“Talagang pinapakita niya sino si Japeth Aguilar. Dati naririnig ko, matang-kad lang yan. Mataas lang tumalon. Pero ngayon hindi. Talagang ginam-panan niya yung trabaho niya.”

Pingris and the Mix-ers pulled out a gritty win against the Gin Kings on Sunday, but had to fend off a second half charge led by twin towers Agui-lar and Greg Slaughter.

“Grabe yung dalawa. Average ni Japeth, five blocks ata per game. Kani-

na hindi ko na nga nakiki-ta yung ring eh. So bahala na lang, shoot ko na lang,” Pingris said.

“Grabe yung tinaas ng laro ni Japeth tsaka ni Slaughter, pero especially si Japeth. Sa ‘kin talagang bilib ako sa laro ni Japeth ngayon.”

Aguilar finished with 26 points, leading the Gin Kings’ fightback from an 18-point first half deficit. He also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked six shots.

Pingris spent plenty of

time going against Aguilar in practices prior to the FIBA Asia Championship held in Manila last year. Pingris feels that their experience in that tour-nament is a major reason for Aguilar’s development and hopes the best for his younger Gilas teammate.

“Laking bagay rin nung paglaro niya sa FIBA. Andami niyang na-experi-ence dun na mas malalak-as yung mga nakalaban niya. Mas matatangkad pa. And then ngayon, ting-nan mo yung nilalaro niya sa PBA,” he said.

“Hopefully tuloy tu-loy na yung gagawin niya hanggang [FIBA World Cup].”

AFTER his dou-ble-double per-formance against

the Utah Jazz, Kendall Marshall shared that he gained 8,000 to 9,000 followers on Twitter the following day at practice. While it was a nice boost for the former 2012 lot-

tery pick, Marshall is still waiting for one person in particular to follow him back on Twitter.

An hour after Kobe Bryant tweeted that a new follow system was coming, Marshall asked the five-time champion for a follow back:

Unfortunately for Marshall, Bryant hasn’t followed him back as of Sunday morning. Maybe it’ll take another dou-ble-double for Bryant to consider adding his newest teammate. Bry-ant follows ‘only’ 853 on Twitter.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points,

Kevin Durant added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight as-sists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder halted their home-court swoon with a 119-96 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.

Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which had

lost three of its previous four home games after starting the season 13-0 at Chesapeake En-ergy Arena. The Thunder (27-7) have the best record in the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City is 4-2 since All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook had arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 27.

Jeff Green and Avery Brad-ley scored 19 points apiece for Boston, which has lost four

straight games and seven of its last eight.

A day after the Thunder narrowly avoided a three-game losing streak - rallying from a 13-point fourth-quar-ter deficit to win at Minnesota behind Durant’s season-high 48-point effort - they seized control early against the Celt-ics, going on a 10-0 run in the first quarter and never trailed again.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- There were no sports channel

highlight shows the last time the Golden State War-riors won nine in a row in the same season. Even if there were, the top-10 com-pilers surely would have been hard-pressed to find a Gus Williams-to-Rick Barry moment that looked any-thing like the off-the-back-board play executed Sun-day night by Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut.

Klay Thompson scored 26 points, Curry and Bogut connected on a play worthy of the NBA’s slam dunk con-test, and the Warriors won their ninth in row, beating the Washington Wizards 112-96.

The Warriors pulled away by turning a tie game at halftime into a laugher in the third quarter, opening the period with a 30-5 run that included a sequence in which Curry drove into the paint and sent the ball

flying out of his hand and off the glass. The carom went right to a leaping Bogut, who timed the play perfectly for a dunk, then stared at his right hand with mouth agape as he ran down court.

‘’I didn’t know what was going on,’’ Bogut said. ‘’I didn’t know if he was shooting or throwing a lob, but I kind of knew it was a bad shot if it was a shot. I just tried to get where the ball was coming.’’

Bryant on All-Star: Don’t pick me

Pingris: Japeth now plays NBA level

Warriors win 9th straight

OKC routs Celtics 119-96WEIRD WISHNew Laker point guard asks for Twitter follow from Kobe

NEW Laker point guard Kendall Mar-shall is awaiting Kobe Bryant’s follow on Twitter.

BIG GAME JAMES. San Mig Coffee forward James Yap shoots over Dylan Ababou of Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup won by the Mixers on Sunday night. PBA Images

ABOVE THE RIM. Gienbra forward Japeth Aguilar goes up for an easy slam as San Mig Coffee defenders Rafi Reavis, PJ Simon and Mark Baroca look on helplessly. PBA Images

2013 had been a whirlwind of a year with many happenings and just as many places to visit and explore.

INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

EDGEDAVAOTRAVEL

Looking back at 2013 and looking forward to 2014

As usual, there was my annual Hong Kong romp. What I love about Hong Kong is the afford-able food as well as the energy the former British Crown Colony has. From the tip of Kowloon all the way to the heart of Hong Kong Island, there are many streets and alley-ways that can be explored. I also love the art scene as the galleries as well as the malls and public spaces of Hong Kong are filled with many creative ideas and design concepts. Another memorable trip was to Singapore to-gether with “Bi-polar” friends. Thanks to Silk-Air’s direct connection from Davao to SIngapore, we never missed a beat on our Lion City food trip. I love the fact that Singa-pore’s food scene is as di-verse as the many cultures and people that populate

it. On the list of must-do’s were of course the hawker centres, the food courts as well as some shopping.

Tale of two islands2013 was also the year where I got to visit two world famous islands that were known for their white sand beaches as well as vibrant island scene. These two islands are Bo-racay and Phuket in Thai-land. I was hard to believe that I was a Boracay virgin until this year, but thanks

to my Chinoy friends, I was able to visit the is-land and had to much fun romping on its powder-fine white-sand beaches as well as have a bite at it’s eclectic food scene. Some of my favourite meals would include dinner at Hawaiian Bar-B-Que, the Kalamansi Muffins at Real Coffee, and going market-ing and having the fish and ingredients we bought cooked at D’Talipapa. Compared to Bora-cay though, Phuket was a much bigger island (Thai-land’s biggest), in fact the size of the island did not sink into me until I found out that it took 40 to 60 minutes to get from Phuket International Air-port to Patong City (yes, there are four cities on Phuket Island). In fact, Phuket Island has four of the top ten best beaches in the world making it THE place to be if you love the sight of sun and sand.

A misadventure here and there2013 also had a couple of misadventures one of which was an aborted trip to Taipei with Davao’s Queen of Pastry Booboo whom I was supposed to go on a Taipei food trip along with her family. As excited as I was, I had my visa, pocket money and schedules fixed. We even had our itinerary planned and ready, but then the fisherman incident hap-pened and we had to can-cel our trip. On the bright side, I was able to avoid

taking in some calories. Another misadventure would involve a planned Dipolog and Dapitan trip together with fellow travel writers and DOT Region 9. We were supposed to take the direct flight from Davao to Dipolog but due Yolanda, we were rerouted to Cebu and had to wait for our plane there. Un-

fortunately the sun set and we were no longer allowed to take off due to safety concerns and had to fly back to Davao the next day. We honestly did not mind though since prior-ity was given for the relief operations flying to and out of Tacloban City. Looking back, 2013 was a year full of new horizons

and I look forward to what the new year has to give. A prosperous new year to everyone and may you have new horizons this 2014. Follow me on Instagram or on Twitter at @kenneth-kingong for more foodie and travel finds as well as happenings in, around and beyond the city.

Jumping with Bruce Lee at Hong Kong.

Enjoying the beach at Koh Kai Nai near Phuket.

Chilling out at the Maxwell Hawker Centre.

Nothing beats sunset at Boracay.

GMA International, the business unit that manages the operation and distribu-tion of GMA Network’s in-ternational channels, marks another year of success as it continues to strengthen its presence abroad. The year 2013 saw GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV In-ternational reaching more Filipino households abroad with Palau and Malaysia being the latest addition to over a hundred countries and territories where the channels are available. In an effort to provide its viewers with better servic-es, the channels were also launched on new carriers in Singapore, Canada, and, most notably, in the Middle East which has the second largest Filipino population next to North America. Consistent with the Net-work’s purpose of providing superior news and enter-tainment, GMA Pinoy TV and GMA Life TV present-ed its subscribers with new original shows such as The Balikbayan Project, the first original series produced by GMA Pinoy TV, which follows the Basco family as they rediscover their roots in the Philippines, and Home Away From Home, a docu-series that features the homes of noteworthy Filipinos from all over the world. Furthermore, GMA News TV International has included regional news-casts in its programming lineup, in order to connect our kababayans overseas with their home provinces.

As a testament to its successful endeavors throughout the year, GMA International has also been recognized by vari-ous award-giving bodies for their business practices and original programs. GMA won a record of eight NAMIC Excellence in Multicultural Market-ing Awards (EMMA), a prestigious global market-ing competition, which is the most the Network has received in its history of inclusion in the said com-

petition. GMA Pinoy TV’s lon-gest running program on immigration law, Pusong Pinoy sa Amerika, gar-nered a bronze Telly Award in the Information Cat-egory and won for Best TV Show in the Migration Ad-vocacy and Media Awards. Moreover, the program was cited for its Outstanding Reporting on Civil Liber-ties Ethnic Communities in the NAM Ethnic Media Awards. Furthermore, Power ng Pinoy, a program that showcases success stories of Filipinos abroad, also accumulated major wins in three prestigious com-petitions, receiving two gold Hermes Awards, two bronze Tellys, and an Hon-orable Mention in the Pla-ridel Awards. Continuously upholding its promise of bringing Fili-pinos closer to home, the Network’s international op-erations unit goes beyond developing original and rel-evant programming for its Filipino subscribers by also initiating on-ground events for the Filipino community abroad. To celebrate its eighth year, GMA International, with My-HD, its new part-ner in the Middle East, brought Christian Bautista, Rachelle Ann Go, Julie Ann San Jose and Marian Rivera to Dubai for a concert en-titled Kapusong Pinoy sa

Dubai which attracted scores of supporters from the Middle East. Likewise, Kapuso artists were on hand to join their fellow Pinoys in the differ-ent celebrations of Philip-pine Independence Day outside the country. Apart from these festivities, GMA International also took part in the OPM Festival and Pista sa Nayon event in Canada, which highlighted the best of Filipino Music; Battle of the Barrios, a tal-ent competition for the Fil-Am youth in New York; and the eagerly anticipated My Husband’s Lover US Tour that solidified the show’s status as a ground-breaking success. Owing to recent events, some carriers of GMA In-ternational broadcast the channels free of charge, ef-fectively keeping our over-seas countrymen updated on the developments since the Yolanda tragedy. GMA International also showed solidarity with the Filipino community abroad in the fundraising initiatives for the victims of the typhoon. “GMA International re-mains one at heart with Fil-ipinos abroad,” expressed GMA VP and Head of International Operations, Joseph Francia. “We look forward to continuing our efforts of sharing the Ka-puso experience to our kababayans in the years to come.”

THE smartphone’s undeniable ubiquity has made it more than a communication device. These mobile devices have become ex-tensions of our selves; it is a means for us to express our thoughts via the 140-character world of Twitter, the square pixels of Insta-gram, or the clickable thumbs-up on Facebook. Because we are rarely seen without our smartphones, brands have put a premium on design in a bid to give the user not just functionality but also style, Usability and visual appeal are inextri-cably linked when it comes to choosing what gadget best fits us, our personality, and our lifestyle. Apple is no stranger to good design. Jonathan Ive, who has been at the helm of the brand’s design hub since 1997, has strived to create mobile devices that boast of superb style and design. More than aesthetics, his focus is on creating and putting togeth-er elements that provide a seamless experience for the user. This design principle was once again brought to life with the creation of the iPhone 5s, dubbed by Apple as its “forward-think-ing” handset. The latest iteration of its flagship smartphone prom-ises a technologically-useful experience, with features meant to serve the user. Get to know the 5 reasons why you should start the year right with this season’s smartphone sensation:

Superb sensor The most significant feature is the fingerprint identity sensor, where users can unlock their iPhones or authenticate purchases via the App Store or iTunes Store using one’s nominated finger-print--it’s a brilliant approach to providing an extra layer of secu-rity for devices that house sensitive user information.

Slim and stylishApple has also man-aged to squeeze in an A7 chip with 64-bit mobile architec-ture into the iPhone 5s’s slim and stylish frame, an engineer-ing feat achieved without weighing down the phone.

“Selfie” expert The smartphone as a camera is not a mere alternative to a digital camera, it has evolved as a legitimate way to document memo-ries, and the iPhone 5s’s camera update recognizes this need. The camera’s sensor has been enlarged to let in more light, letting you take great photos even in low-light conditions.

Sleek and smoothThe iPhone 5s retains its classic metallic look, adding another pre-cious element--gold--to its space gray and silver lineup. It’s a pre-mium device with more color options to cater to more discrimi-nating users.

Speed and strength More than style, the iPhone 5s is also a powerhouse device equipped with up to 13 LTE bands, enabling users to experience fast download and upload speeds wherever, whenever.

Enjoy these amazing specs with a postpaid plan that will give you an enriched and full-featured iPhone experience. “Welcome the wonderful new year with an iPhone 5s from the one who knows iPhone best. With our long-standing partnership with Apple in bringing the iPhone to Filipinos, Globe is poised to of-fer iPhone users the best deals, offers, and customer experience,” says Raul Macatangay, Head of Postpaid Business and Devices at Globe Telecom. The iPhone 5s is available from Globe under its iPhone Forever plan, where subscribers can get the device for free at Plan 1999 complete with 1GB of LTE surfing and monthly consumable for calls and texts. With the iPhone Forever, iPhone fanatics and loy-alists can get the latest iPhone year after year. Subscribers with other smartphone devices can also avail of the iPhone Forever and swap their handsets with minimum cash-out. Meanwhile, subscribers can also avail of the iPhone 5s for free for as low as P1,799/month for a 24-month contract period with Globe mySUPERPLAN, complete with unlimited LTE surfing and free calls and texts. Each postpaid plan subscription also comes equipped with peace of mind via Globe Gadget Care, which protects your phone against accidental damage, robbery or theft, as well as free access to Facebook until January 25, 2014, so you can send out post-holiday greetings or share your New Year’s resolutions at no cost. For more details about Globe iPhone plans and offers, visit www.globe.com.ph/iphone, call the Globe Sales Hotline at 730-1010, or drop by the Globe Store nearest you.

A2 INdulge!

Welcome the wonderful new year with the iPhone 5s

UP AND ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014EDGEDAVAO

GMA International bringing the Kapuso experience abroad

Rachelle Ann and Christian Kapusong Pinoy sa Dubai.

Dennis and Glaiza.

Kapusong Pinoy sa Dubai Meet and Greet.

GMAI PIDC parade Vallejo, California.

Carla and Tom US tour. Kuh and Jonalyn US tour.

INdulge! A3

Star Cinema jumpstarts 2014 with Bride For Rent

Marc and Amy join forces to bring good news in ‘Sakto’

FRESH from its critical and box-office triumph in the recently concluded Metro Manila Film Festival, Star Cinemas continues its 20th anniversary celebration as it opens 2014 with a bang with Bride For Rent – a ro-mantic comedy starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. Directed by box-office director Mae Czarina Cruz, whose most notable re-cent work is 2013’s smash hit She’s The One, Bride For Rent marks the much-awaited silver screen re-union of Kim and Xian who are arguably considered as one of the hottest block-buster love-teams in the country today. Bride For Rent is a hilari-ous love story centered on Rocco Espiritu (Lim) and Rocky Espiritu (Chiu) who are both in desperate need of money. Rocco needs to get married to have access to his sizable trust fund while Rocky on the other hand is frantic for rent mon-ey lest her whole family gets evicted and homeless. Rocco conspires with Rocky who agrees to act as his “pseudo wife” in ex-change for a huge “talent fee.” A series of sidesplitting problems arise as Rocco and Rocky implement their deceitful plot. Would their plan work or would it back-fire on them with the pos-

sibility of them developing actual feelings with each other? It should be noted that Bride For Rent is the very first film collaboration be-tween Kim and Xian after their 2013 smash hit Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo? The film also features the grand comeback of Asia’s Queen Of Songs Pilita Corrales to the big-screen as she portrays a very spe-cial role. Both film buffs and fans of the Kim-Xian love-team can look forward to

an unforgettable and feel-good cinematic experience with Bride For Rent which is the perfect way to jump-start the New Year. Bride For Rent is showing in all cinemas nationwide starting January 15. For more information and latest updates about “BRIDE FOR RENT” and other Star Cinema’s 20th anniver-sary movie offerings, simply visit www.StarCinema.com.ph, http://facebook.com/StarCinema and http://twit-ter.com/StarCinema.

“Kaka” Marc Logan and “Chang” Amy Perez are your new companions on radio discussing the latest issues, hottest topics, and relevant day-to-day information ev-ery weekday morning start-ing on January 6 in their newest magazine-talk show “Sakto” on DZMM. With Marc and Amy’s lively and well-loved antics, “Sakto” tackles social issues in a lighter but engaging manner and delivers ex-tensive discussions on fam-ily matters, human interest stories, and success tales that will inspire the masses. In the segment “Panalo Ka Diyan,” parents are given a chance to showcase and take pride in their children’s achievements by show-ing photos of their notable moments. Moms and dads, meanwhile, are the stars in “’Nay Ko Po” and “’Tay Na-man.” Marc and Amy also help listeners and viewers, es-pecially the housewives, in

fixing the family’s weekly food budget with their rec-ipe ideas in “Lutong Bahay.” The program also features trending personalities in “Guest Who.” Real-life dad and mom Marc and Amy also offer ad-vice to parents for common problems at home. “Sakto” is replacing the program “Rated Korina” an-chored by Korina Sanchez. The award-winning broad-cast journalist takes a leave on DZMM to concentrate on her postgraduate stud-

ies. She informed the man-agement about her plans in the middle of the year 2013. Don’t miss “Sakto” every Monday to Friday, 10AM on DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, DZMM TeleRadyo (SkyCable Channel 26), and the online livestreaming on dzmm.com.ph. For updates, follow @DZMMTeleradyo on Twit-ter or like www.facebook.com/DZMMTeleR adyo. Express your thoughts on social media by using the hashtags #FunFunChang and #FunFunKaka.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014EDGEDAVAO

PG 13

PG 13

PG 13

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

R-16

PAGPAG 2D

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

MY LITTLE BOSSINGS 2D

11:35 | 1:40 | 3:45 | 5:50 | 7:55 | 10:00 LFS

GIRL BOY BAKLA TOMBOY 2D

Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla

12:25 | 2:20 | 4:15 | 6:10 | 8:05 | 10:00 LFS

KIMMY DORAL: ANG KIYEMENG PREQUEL 2D

Eugene Domingo, Sam Milby

Vic Sotto, Kris Aquino,

Ryzza Mae Dizon, James “Bimby” Yap

Vice Ganda

Paskuhan sa Gensan is organized by General San-tos City Tourism council, headed by the Gensans First Lady, who’s also the councils chairperson, Ms. Jane Gollon-Rivera, in cooperation with DepEd Gensan, and the added support of the Depart-ment of Tourism Region 12 and Philbest Canning Corporation. The opening of the Pamilihan ng Bayan (Christmas Bazaar) and Christmas Carnival kicked-off the celebra-tion, on Dec 6 at the Oval Plaza. The whole month of December featured dif-ferent fun, inspiring and entertaining events from various private and gov-ernment sectors. Variety shows from

NDDU, MSU & STI College, on Dec 10,11& 14.  Born is the King, an inter-church band com-petition on Dec 12 & 13. Ginoo at Binininning Heneral Santos, Dec 20 at SM City Gensan. Ang Pas-ko ng Batang Pinoy that took place on December 21, where up to 520 kids, plus 100 kids not included in the list arrived, were all

made happy with food, games, face painting and toys handed to them by the first lady herself, but also special parties like ACLC night , highlighted by guest celebrities Gwen Garci, Cheena Roses, Bonz Andre Militar and James Monson and Gen-san Campus Idols per-formed for the indigent citizens of Gensan.  The feel of Christ-mas lit up the whole city and warmed the hearts of many with first-time events like, the Lantern Parade, Paskuhan sa Ba-rangay, Mayor’s Night, Christmas Carols and Movies at the Park that took place on Dec15, 24, 25 and 26.  The major streets, to-gether with the Oval Plaza

A4 INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014EDGEDAVAOEVENTS

PASKO ng Pagkakaisa, Hudyat ng Pag-asa, is the theme of Pasku-han sa Gensan 2013, it’s a shoot-out to spark hope and inspiration for our brothers and sisters who’re victims of the recent superstorm Typhoon Yolanda and earthquake in Visayas. No matter how much difficult or miserable things are, they should know that they are not alone. It is true that 2013 has been tough for the Philippines, but it is always amazing how Filipinos are able to pick themselves up, shake-off everything bad, and learn from the events that took place then later on just smile and carry on. 

Paskuhan sa GenSan 2013

and Plaza Heneral Santos were transformed into a bright and joyous display of lights, and streetlights with parols bearing the logo of Paskuhan sa Gen-san, brought by the added help from the diligent business people of the city. Paskuhan sa Gensan culminated on December 31, 2013 with a Count-down to 2014 at the Oval Plaza, with free food, en-tertainment, a 15min. grand fireworks display and raffle prizes, lead by the City Mayor, Ronnel Rivera and his family.  Each and every event brought Christmas cheer to  many. Undoubtedly, Paskuhan sa Gensan gets better and better every year. In the spirit of this holiday, let us rejoice, cel-ebrate and anticipate the goodness coming to us this 2014. Follow me on Twitter or Instagram, @kyriekoutre for more adventures in and around my wonderland that is Gensan, Tuna Capi-tal of the Philippines.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

BRISBANE (Reuters) - Lleyton Hewitt will go into the Aus-

tralian Open as the player the top seeds will hope to avoid in the first round, af-ter digging into his famed store of resolve to beat Roger Federer in the Bris-bane International final on Sunday.

Hewitt dominated Federer in the first set and then survived seven break points in the third to cap-ture a morale-boosting 6-1 4-6 6-3 victory ahead of the first major.

“If I play like I did this week I have a chance of doing damage to some se-rious players,” the 32-year-old Hewitt told reporters.

“It just gives me a lot more confidence going out there believing in how well I’m hitting the ball at the moment and that I can

match-up with the best guys.

“Obviously it’s a differ-ent stage, winning three (sets) out of five against those guys (but) that’s why I still play the game.”

The 2005 Australian Open finalist will move back into the world top 50 on the back of his success and could enter the Aus-tralian Open as his coun-try’s number one player with Bernard Tomic de-fending ranking points in the Sydney International this week.

The win made Hewitt reflect on his injury bat-tles in recent years, having been forced to undergo surgery on five occasions, most recently in February 2012, when he had a plate inserted into his toe in an attempt to extend his ca-reer.

Doha (AFP) - Rafael Nadal sounded re-lieved on Sunday

to be flying to Australia in better condition than he might have expected for the first Grand Slam event of the year and one that he described as “strange”.

A fine two-hour fi-nal at the Qatar Open, in which the world num-ber one beat Gael Mon-fils 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, dragged some of Nadal’s best tennis from him and gave him a physical and psychological test he cer-tainly needed.

It will have given him confidence that he is in good enough shape to challenge in a week’s time for a major title he has not won for five years.

“It’s difficult because the Australian Open is very early. It would be better to play it a bit lat-er. It can be only the sec-ond tournament (of the year) that you are com-peting in, and it’s one of the most important, so it’s a bit strange,” said Nadal after sealing his 61st career title.

“But it’s strange ev-ery year. I hope to have a good week’s preparation in Melbourne and try to adapt.”

Nadal nevertheless reckoned that what he most probably will have to adapt to is good for his style of play -- the Melbourne heat makes the balls quicker, and it also makes them bounce more, both characteris-tics which he believes suit him.

The Spaniard be-lieves, however, that by competing in Doha rather than travelling straight to Australia to practise or to play a tour-nament there, there are

positives and negatives.The final with Monfils

enhanced the positives, and still leaves him, he believes, with enough time to acclimatise after the long journey.

“If you haven’t adapt-ed in six days it means you will never be adapt-ed,” he said.

“But I don’t go think-ing about adapting. I think about things I want to get practising, to be competitive. I want to play the way I did today, and if I can do that more often my game will be at a higher level.

“Today was the first day that I did that (this year) and I want to go on doing it until it becomes natural and normal.”

The things which particularly pleased the Spaniard were playing with a much higher in-tensity than previous-ly, hitting more ground strokes from inside the baseline -- where he can more easily attack -- changing direction much better with his forehand drive.

When he does this it can become the most po-tent weapon in tennis.

“It’s important to have these feelings,” he

emphasised. “I played a good match. In the sec-ond set I think I played only two bad shots and yet Gael still won it.

“I knew that I had to go for winners and I played much more ag-gressively today, and that’s important. It’s important to leave this tournament with these feelings.”

He thought for a mo-ment and then he added: “I would rather prefer to arrive in Australia with these feelings. After five matches here I will have positive confidence, but of course it doesn’t guar-antee that I will be play-ing well in Australia.”

The stakes will be high, but Nadal has fur-ther reasons for opti-mism.

They relate to the world number one rank-ing which he wrenched from Novak Djokovic at the tail end of his remark-able 2013 season.

Djokovic is the Aus-tralian Open titleholder, and so has a lot of ranking points to defend.

Nadal, by contrast, missed Melbourne last year because of his trou-blesome injured knees and has no points to defend.

MANNY Pacquiao sent a clear mes-sage to Floyd

Mayweather. If he wants a fight without having to deal with Top Rank Pro-motions boss Bob Arum, he will have to wait until 2015.

In a telephone inter-view with Philboxing’s Eddie Alinea, Pacquiao clarified that a fight against Mayweather is not possible this year without Arum’s blessing.

“Floyd has also been saying, he will only fight

me if I separate from Top Rank and Bob Arum. That’s impossible be-cause my contract is valid until the end of this year,” Pacquiao explained in Fil-ipino. “If my contract is not renewed, we can only talk about a possible fight

next year.”The eight division

world champion also ad-dressed the rumors that the mega-fight is set to September.

“If it was already a done deal, is it possible for me not to know about

it? I know nothing about the reports in the news-papers,” Pacquiao said. He also denied that he will be flying to the United States to meet with Mayweather. “I have no plan to go to the U.S. to talk to Floyd; that’s also not true,” he added.

“I have been saying this over and over again, I am not afraid to fight anybody, but if somebody doesn’t want to fight me, same here. I, too, won’t face him who doesn’t want to face me,” Pac-quiao shared.

Hewitt: I can do some damage in Melbourne READY FOR OZ

Nadal expects ‘strange’ days in Australian Open

Manny charges back at Floyd: Wait until 2015

LLEYTON HEWITT. He can give the top seeds a run for their money plus he’s got the home crowd rooting for him. RAFAEL NADAL. Strange days in Australia are expected and he’s ready for that.

TRAINING EARLY. Dusstin Brown of the USA trains ahead of the 2014 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. (Getty Images)

2014 AUSTRALIAN OPEN PREVIEW

VOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

A BANNER field of 80 squads from schools all over Davao City and

neighboring cities see ac-tion in the 10th season of the longest-running private-run school-based league Gaisano South Cup (formerly Gaisano Grand Cup) which opens on January 18 and will culminate on March in time for the cele-bration of the Araw ng Dabaw.

The league will have four divisions according to Karla Giorgia P. Corcino, Gaisano Grand Mall Ad and Promo chief.

Of the 80 teams entered this season, 16 are vying in the centerpiece men’s senior (col-legiate) division, 12 schools will compete in the Boys Mini 12-Under category while 14 will be playing in the Boys Ca-det 14-Under class.

In the Boys Junior 18-Under Division 1, 7 schools will dispute for the crown while 20 in the Divi-sion 2. Girl’s Junior will have six squads.

Six schools will also see action in the Women’s se-nior division.

Corcino pointed out

that the tournament is for the student-athletes, the school’s and their respective fan base which is credited to the league’s unprecendent-ed achievement over the years.

“In providing an avenue where the young one’s com-pete for title and, of course, school pride in showcasing

their talents and potentials, we make sure that the the spirit of joy and excitement remains that enabled the league to continually lure patronage year after year,” she said.

A coaches meeting will be conducted on January 11, 1:30 pm, at the Gaisano Grand Citimall 5th floor En-

tertainment Area. All coach-es are required to attend.

“Everybody is excited to get the ball rolling, antici-pating high action and dra-ma, for another breakout season,” Corcino said.

The league is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Regional Director Regino “Boy” Cua.

16 EDGEDAVAOSportsEDGEDavao Davao Partners

DANNY Ildefonso walked into the wooden floor of the

MOA Arena donning an unfamiliar hue. Not the San Miguel red and white. Not the Petron blue but Mer-alco’s bright orange. He jogged into the court as the eyeballs of those present adjusted to his new look.

“Sana makapaglaro,” was the general consensus among his fans that night. Spot minutes. Spot sec-onds. Something. Anything. They just wanted to see Lakay in action again.

During his last appear-ance in the PBA, Ildefonso barely saw the floor for Petron. He was used spar-ingly in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals against the San Mig Coffee Mixers. He bare-ly played five minutes in the series and he was in perfect shape then. Now, coming off a layoff, five minutes for this game was all the two-time PBA Most Valuable Player could ask for.

“Feeling ko kanina para akong rookie,” Il-defonso said. “Gusto ko nga sanang halikan yung flooring e, kaso madu-mi,” he joked. The player was in a jolly mood. Not expecting much, Ildefon-so somehow played 29 minutes in the game. The spot minutes he wanted morphed into important minutes for the strug-gling team. He totaled 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, shooting turnaround jumpers and jump hooks like it was 10 years ago.

In the game, the Air21 Express refused to give in. They hung tough, not wanting to give Ilde-fonso the perfect ending to his comeback game. A three point shot from

Nino Canaleta forced overtime. And with sec-onds left in the extra pe-riod, another triple from the Express shooter could have extended the game some more. At this point, Ildefonso found himself at the free throw line.

He missed the first and but made the sec-ond to seal the win for the Bolts; their first in five games. As the buzz-er sounded, Ildefonso broke down. His eyes welled at the magnitude of the moment. He pulled his jersey over his face to hide the tears, taking a moment for himself be-fore celebrating with his new teammates.

It was a random Sat-urday PBA game. It was between two struggling teams and the arena wasn’t even half full. But for Ildefonso, this will be one of the most memo-rable in his career.

“Parang first game ko ito sa pagbabalik ko e. First game ko ngayon tapos ang ganda pa nung nangyari sa akin,” Ilde-fonso said.

“Nakabaon na ako e. Binuhay pa ako ng Mer-alco. Wala na e. Tapos na ako pero itong Meralco nagtiwala sa akin. Bini-gyan ako ng opportunity. Mahirap sayangin ang ganitong opportunity.”

Ildefonso signed a one-conference pact with the Bolts. It could be a short contract for him as the Bolts could be eliminated early if they lose all their remaining games. Ildefonso needs to help Meralco win their last three games includ-ing the last one against Petron.

Future looks orange for DI

80 squads in Gaisano South CupVOL. 6 ISSUE 208 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2014

BASKETBALL SEASON. The year’s basketball season opens with the 2014 Gaisano South Cup and SBP regional director Regino “Boy” Cua (second from left), shown here in file photo during the So Kim Cheng Awards Night, couldn’t be happier with another banner year ahead.

NEW HUE. Danny Ildefonso wears his no. 10 jersey with hAis new team Meralco Bolts. DI debuted with a 16-point perfor-mance with the Bolts. PBA Images