Edge Davao 7 Issue 246

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOPOST-VALENTINE HEROES

How coordination betweenpolice, military saved Mati City

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

COVER STORY

THE New People’s Army (NPA) raid on the Mati Police Station on Feb-

ruary 15 happened a day after Valentine’s and than a month after the Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash that saw the deaths of 44 members of the Special Action Forces, 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and at least seven civilians. Unlike the Mamasapano incident, however, the Mati clash was a veritable showcase of how the police and military can unite to accomplish a common goal.

The brazen attack was carried out on the night of February 15, but the response of both the police and the mil-itary was immediate. It was fortuitous that the Mati City Police Station at the time had been augmented by the pres-ence of the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) 11 which had been sent there to augment the security in the city for the Davao Region Ath-letic Association (DAVRAA) meet on February 24 to 28.

The initial firefight lasted

for 15 minutes, but the mili-tary responded quickly to aid the besieged police officers. The backup did not come without a cost, however: three soldiers were killed in a land-mine explosion. In the end the NPA band was forced to flee, leaving one of their comrades dead. No civilian was killed or injured.

The Mati police and the military were hailed for the way they handled the crisis. During a recognition ceremo-ny held last week at the vicin-ity of Mati City Police Station, Provincial Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon gave her salute to the police and the military personnel who held their line during the gun-battle against the NPAs, keeping the rebels from taking over the police station.

She spoke of the “pre-paredness and the coordina-tion” sparked by “good leader-ship and bravery” of the police and the military elements of Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) 701st Infantry Brigade based in Sitio Magay,

Barangay Don Martin Marun-da, Mati City.

Regional police director Chief Superintendent Wendy G. Rosario led the awarding to 39 PNP personnel, under pro-vincial director Senior Super-intendent Jose Carumba, who successfully defended the Mati Police Station. Twenty-three police officers received the prestigious Medalya ng Kadi-kalaan and 16 received Meda-lya ng Kagalingan in honor to their bravery and act of hero-ism.

Meanwhile, 16 soldiers of the 701st Brigade of the Phil-ippine Army under the com-mand of Colonel Bienvenido Datuin Jr., received the Military Merit Medal for their valiant bravery and great courage in pushing reinforcement to the policemen during the firefight. The Philippine Army’s Eastern Mindanao Commanding Gen-eral, Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad and 10th Infantry Division Commander, Major General Eduardo M. Año awarded the medals.

The soldiers’ fallen com-

rades who under the heat of the battle took extra step of courage and bravery in execut-ing their duties were also given honors.

The Sangguniang Bayan of the City of Mati and the Sang-guniang Panlalawigan of the Province of Davao Oriental read and awarded Resolutions commending the PNP and the Philippine Army for their ex-ceptional bravery in defending the city despite the dangers of being under heavy fire.

At the ceremony, Governor Malanyaon lauded the brave police and military awardees.

“It would have been trag-ic and different news had you wavered in your courage even for a fraction of a second in the face of unprovoked aggression, but you did not. Instead you were able to hold your line and repelled the attackers,” she told the awardees.

She congratulated the decorated military awardees and lauded them for the quick response and hard work that they always extend whenever there is a crisis, noting its role

at the height of super typhoon Pablo in 2012.

In her message, the gover-nor also underscored the word “coordination,” to which she attributed the success in tram-pling the enemy forces. She said the partnership forged by the Philippine Army and the PNP ushered this achievement and “raised the morale of a grieving nation in the midst of the tragic event in Magunidan-ao that so rocked the nation.”

“These awards would not only mean life achievement of bravery, but it is a story of suc-cessfully defending the peace and progress that we have so labored and hoped for, not only in the City of Mati but also for the province and the whole na-tion,” she said.

“Indeed, you have demon-strated courage, preparedness, and coordination but most of all you have embodied the ultimate sacrifice—the will-ingness to lay down your lives for our people,” added the governor. With a report from Jeanevive Duron-Abangan/PIA 11

How coordination between police and military saved Mati CityBy Karen Lou Deloso

POST-VALENTINE HEROESHEROES. The police officers who defended the Mati City Police Station wait to be honored. Front page photo, Davao Oriental Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon inspects the ammunition and other materials seized from New People’s Army (NPA) members who attacked the Mati City Police Station on February 15. Eden Jhan Licayan

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO


THE BIG NEWS

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte has rejected the offer of the

Partido Demokratiko Pilipi-no-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-La-ban) to be its standard bearer for the 2016 presidential elec-tion.

Duterte said when PDP-La-ban representatives told him last week that the party was considering him to be its stan-

dard bearer, he told them to look for someone else because he was not interested.

“I said I am not the one, just look for somebody else. I am not interested, I am only interested in promoting fed-eralism because it will be the fallback position if the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) fails,” he said.

He said the federal system

will be the alternative if Con-gress does not pass the BBL or if the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional.

Duterte has been going around the country the past weeks on a “listening tour” ostensibly to hear the people’s views on federalism.

Observers, however, say the tour is the mayor’s way

Duterte rejectsPDP-Laban offerBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

THE Davao City Prosecu-tion Office has indicted the police officer who

allegedly shot and killed a tri-cycle driver at a transport ter-minal in Mintal last week.

Prosecutor Stella Espara-goza-Camino charged Police Officer (PO)2 Jozel S. Jorolan, 33, a member of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO)’s City Public Safety Company, with murder for killing Mario I. Magno last February 23.

The resolution was dated February 25, 2015. It was for-warded to the Clerk of Court the following day and raffled to Branch 17 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) under Judge Eva-lyn Morales.

Judge Morales is yet to issue a commitment order to transfer Jorolan to Davao City Jail in Maa.

In her resolution, Espara-goza-Camino found probable cause to indict Jorolan based on the evidence and on the statements of the witnesses.

She said it appears “that he killed Magno in a sudden manner without affording him the opportunity to defend him-self.”

Jorolan did not opt to avail himself of his right for a pre-liminary investigation when was submitted for inquest pro-cedure last February 24.

Court records state that the three witnesses saw Joro-lan, who was in civilian attire, arriving near One Network Bank at around 7:45 p.m. and parking his motorcycle in front of the terminal.

Jorolan walked while he was speaking with someone in his cell phone. When he was about five meters away, his motorcycle fell to the ground.

Magno picked up the mo-torcycle and returned it to return its standing position, but Jorolan suddenly shot him with his service firearm.

Witnesses said the victim begged for his life and shouted for help but Magno reloaded his pistol magazine and shot the victim twice in the head and several times in the body.

Magno sustained fatal wounds and died on the spot.

The respondent tried un-successfully to evade arrest when police officers respond-ed to the incident.

The Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) seized from his possession was a 9 mm pis-tol which was identified by as his service firearm based on the serial number.

The team also recovered from the crime scene one emp-ty magazine and one loaded magazine with seven bullets,

Cop indicted for murder

BIRDMAN. A man selling various kinds of birds trapped in bamboo cages waits for buyers at a sidewalk along San Pedro Street. The birds are sold for P50 to P150 each. Lean Daval Jr.

KNOCK-OFFS. A teenager scans through a collection of knock-off sunglasses being sold openly at the sidewalk along Ramon Magsaysay Avenue in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) will still prohibit the car-

rying of backpacks and can-isters during the 78th Araw ng Davao celebration this month.

In an interview, DCPO spokesperson Senior Inspec-

tor Milgrace C. Driz told Edge Davao that backpacks and canisters will be prohibited within the areas where the activities will be held.

Driz said the security pro-cedures in the activities are still the same as in previous events of the city, although

she added that the DCPO is open to suggestions on how to improve them.

She said the DCPO will deploy more than 1,500 per-sonnel as well as an augmen-tation force from the Regional Public Safety Battalion of Po-

Backpacks still prohibited during ‘Araw’

FCOP, 10

FDUTERTE, 10

FBACKPACKS, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 20156 NEWS

PLAYGROUND. The Lumad-inspired sculptures made by Davao City artist Kublai Millan make for a perfect playground for children at Over View Park in Kipolok, Bukidnon. Lean Daval Jr.

EDGEDAVAO

THE Department of Ed-ucation (DepEd) in Re-gion 12 called on the

military and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Friday to spare the children and local schools from the armed conflict.

Dr. Allan Farnazo, DepEd Region 12 director, issued the call after Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gregorio Cat-apang ordered an all-out of-fensive against the BIFF.

Farnazo said both parties should exert efforts to make sure that school children and local schools will not be af-fected by their operations.

The official said that women and children are the most vulnerable and suffer the most when conflicts arise

in their communities.He said it could be seen

in the latest conflict in parts of Pikit, North Cotabato be-tween the BIFF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Around 2,500 pupils and students were earlier report-ed displaced by the clashes that affected 10 villages of Pikit.

“I hope both parties will put premium in their minds that women and children should always be spared from any conflict,” he said.

Farnazo said they should make sure that classes in schools will not be disrupted and used in any way for their operations.

He said the International Humanitarian Law and sever-

al other United Nations con-ventions specifically prohibit the use of schools for any pur-pose in armed conflicts.

“Schools should not be used as meeting places, op-erations base and command centers,” the official said.

Farnazo said both parties should instead regard schools in the entire region as “zones of peace.”

DepEd-12 declared all schools in the region in late 2013 as peace zones in a bid to protect pupils and students in from conflicts and various forms of violence.

The declaration was aimed to establish all local private and public schools as neutral grounds in case armed conflicts would occur

in any locality within the re-gion.

Such declaration was mainly an offshoot of a mem-orandum earlier issued by the DepEd central office that en-joined schools “in areas with armed conflict and/or peace and order problems” to post banners identifying them as peace zones.

The banners are print-ed with the message: “This school is a zone of peace, huwag po kaming idamay sa mga kaguluhan (please spare us from conflicts).”

DepEd records showed that the region has a total of 1,707 pre-schools, 1,692 public elementary and 402 secondary or high schools. (MindaNews)

FOR the first time, an American national will be among the recipients

of the Datu Bago Award, Davao City’s highest award.

The Datu Bago Awardees Organization, Inc. has included Darrell Dean Blatchey, director of the D’Bone Collector Muse-um, among the eight awardees for 2015.

Blatchley is cited for his work as a bone collector through museum located in Bucana, Davao City, the only one of its kind in the entire country.

His museum was labeled the “Smithsonian of the Phil-ippines” where collections of bones of animals are pre-served as a way to appreciate Mother Earth and its creatures.

The museum has become a tourist and educational hub of Davao City.

According to the Datu Bago Awardees Organization executive director Ma. Julie-ta Torres, any nationality can be nominated and become a recipient of the award as long as he or she has been living in Davao City for at least 10 years.

“The search is open for person in any nationality, liv-ing or deceased born in Davao City or have been a resident of this city for at least 10 years,” Torres said.

“Nationality used to be one of the criteria, but we removed this because there are many migrants and foreigners who have contributed to the devel-opment of the city,” she added.

Aside from Blatchley, this year’s awardees are Fe Bada Arobo, Amelia B. Bonifacio, Lyda Canson, Dr. Mae Concep-tion J. Dolendo, Randy H. Hala-

san, John Ryan Largo, and Dr. Virginina S. Montenegro.

The awarding will take place on March 14 at the Lan-tawan Hall of The Royal Man-daya Hotel.

The awardees are recog-nized for their outstanding, exemplary and selfless con-tribution to the growth and development of Davao City through its greatest resources, its people, and for their invalu-able contribution to the pres-ervation of the Dabawenyo culture heritage.

POLICE and jail operatives sepa-rately recaptured

on Thursday the four inmates who bolted the Malapatan District Jail in Sarangani Province in a violent jailbreak Wednes-day night.

Chief Insp. Felixber-to Gabayeron, Malapatan police chief, said Friday the suspects were re-covered in the outskirts of Barangays Poblacion and Tuyan in Malapatan through the help of village officials and residents.

He said escapee Ger-ald Lipasana was initially spotted by residents early Thursday while fleeing at the upland portion of Ba-rangay Tuyan.

Lipasana, who is fac-ing car theft charges, later

surrendered to respond-ing barangay officials, he said.

Gabayeron said the suspect was turned over at around 10:30 a.m. by barangay council mem-bers of Tuyan to the Bu-reau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-run district jail.

At around 1 p.m., he said Barangay Tuyan’s “tanods” or watchmen and a police tracker team captured escapee Rom-nick Poster, who is a sus-pect in a murder case, at another portion of the village.

Several hours later, joint police and BJMP tracker teams re-arrested the two other escapees — Ronald Uppos and Rober-to Caratayco — near the

DAVAO Light and Power Co. (DLPC) will con-duct a 15-minute pow-

er interruption on March 3, Tuesday, from 5 a.m. to 5:15 a.m. affecting customers in the southern part of its franchise.

In a statement, commu-nication officer Rossano Luga said the scheduled outage is necessary to facilitate the up-grading works of the National Grid Corporation of the Phil-ippines (NGCP) on its substa-tion facilities.

He said customers affect-ed by this service disruption are those from Ecoland up to

the whole area of Calinan. This includes the entire areas of Matina Aplaya, Matina, Bang-kal, Catalunan Grande and Ulas. Also affected are custom-ers from Mintal Public Market going to Tugbok.

Luga said DLPC apolo-gizes for the inconvenience of this scheduled power in-terruption. The company will exert all efforts to restore electric service as scheduled or earlier. However, there may be instances where resto-ration may extend beyond the schedule due to unavoidable circumstances.

DepEd-12 to military, BIFF:Spare schools, kids from war

D’Bone Collector gets Datu Bago awardBy FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

4 escapees recaptured

15-minute power outage on March 3

F4 ESCAPES, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015

WITH the use of GCTCV 219 (Giant Caven-dish tissue-culture

variant), banana growers in the Davao Region have a better alternative to resist fusarium wilt or Panama disease.

The GCTCV is said to be sweeter than those of Grande naine and has significantly higher starch levels (which convert into sugars during rip-ening), more titratable solids and fewer acids.

During the Joint First Field Day of GCTCV 219 held in Al-mocera farm in Bagongon, Compostela Valley on Tues-

day, banana farm owners and growers from Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley tackled issues regarding the new vari-ety.

They also aired their will-ingness to plant more of the variety since its fruit is accept-ed in the international and in the local market.

Gilton Almocera, research farmer cooperator said that he will be harvesting the first batch of his GCTCV 219 variety in May.

Almocera said that he lost millions with the infestation of Fusarium Wilt in his four hect-

are banana plantation.“Our revenues decreased

and our expenses for the eradication increased,” he ex-plained.

“I thank the DA for extend-ing their hands to us, you give the banana farmers and grow-ers hope to rise again,” Almoc-era said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Susan Razo, chief of Department of Agriculture (DA) 11 Integrat-ed Laboratories Division (ILD) encouraged the banana grow-ers in Davao Region to submit the necessary documents in order to acquire the tissue-cul-

tured seedlings.“After the completion of

the necessary documents, the beneficiaries will undergo training on how to grow the GCTCV 219 variety,” Razo said.

“After the training the farmer cooperators will also impart their knowledge to those who can avail the seed-lings,” she added.

This year, DA 11 has allot-ted a total of P102 million to combat fusarium wilt.

Melani Provido, DA 11 High Value Crops Develop-ment Program (HVCDP) coor-

7EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

CONSTRUCTION of Phase 1 of the Healing Garden of Asia retirement village

in Catigan, Toril is set to com-mence this April.

Carlos Vargas, chief exec-utive of World Class Retire-ment Complex Inc. (WCRCI), an internationally recognized developer, they are just wait-ing for the ECC (Environment Compliance Certificate to be issued by the Department of the Environment and Natu-ral Resources (DENR)) on the project.

Vargas said the developer of the five-hectare retirement village in the upland of Catigan, Toril District, has to change the whole plan after discovering that there is a spring passing four of its 12 buildings which will have 36 units each.

“We target to start the first phase by April of this year be-cause we have an agreement with the Japanese Tourism Bu-reau (JTB) that the first build-ing should be ready for occu-pancy by December of this year,” Vargas told reporters in a

recent interview.He said the first phase in-

clude the construction of road networks and first retirement hotel building with 36 units complemented with a club house.

“Partnered Japanese and local investors will pour in P1 billion for the completion of the development project,” Var-gas said.

He said he committed to JTB, who visited Davao City last Monday for inspection, that the whole project should

be completed after two years. The contractor will be Fuji

Construction, a Japanese firm.Once finished, the whole

retirement village will have a total of 432 units with ame-nities like heated swimming pool, golf ball field, fitness and wellness center and a medical facility.

People from the commu-nity of Toril and health and medical professionals from Filipino-Japanese Volunteers Association will be hired in the village.

“We are looking forward to providing job opportunities to villagers,” Vargas said, adding that the retirement village will be catering local, Japanese and Filipino-Canadian retirees.

“There is a growing short-age of retirement homes in Japan that’s why retirement home owners and developers are looking for secondary loca-tions,” he said.

Vargas said that he is eye-ing to construct retirement villages in different parts of the country including: Bagiuo, Pal-

awan, Tagaytay, Boracay, Butu-an and Cebu.

“We’re already in negotia-tion with the land owners and developers from these areas,” he said.

Members of JTB and re-tirement home owners and developers from Japan visited Davao City recently for ocular inspection

“They were here to check whether the city is suitable as a location of retirement villag-es and so far, it (Davao City) is okay,” Vargas said.

Construction of retirement village [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

New banana resistant to Panama diseaseRESISTANT. Gilton Almocera, research farmer cooperator and owner of Almocera Farm in Bagongon, Compostela, Compostela Valley, shows his GCTCV banana plant during the Joint First Field Day of GCTCV 219 in his farm. (Photo by ChePalicte DA-11)

TWO members of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Inc. (DCCCII) will attend the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai this month to promote the 3rd Davao Invest-ment Convention (ICON).

Architect Daniel Lim, for-mer president of DCCCII and chairman of this year’s ICON, said he will be joined in the Dubai trip by another former president, Dr. Malou Mon-teverde.

Members of Davao City In-vestment Promotions Center, Mindanao Development Au-thority (MinDA), and Board of Investment (BOI) will also join as Mindanao delegates in this year’s AIM.

Lim said the meeting in Dubai will be from March 28 to April 1 where Philippines will have a booth where pri-ority investment areas in the country will be promoted.

Davao City will be among the areas in the Philippines

that will be promoted as in-vestment hub.

“We might find foreign in-vestors there (AIM) who can enter to a joint-venture agree-ment with our local investors,” Lim said at the sidelines of the general membership meeting of the DCCCII at the Grand Re-gal Hotel last Friday.

Among the sectors that will be promoted in the four-day investment meeting in Dubai are power, real estate and agribusiness, among oth-ers.

Lim said AIM will be also a venue where he can promote ICON.

“By promoting ICON, we hope to invite foreign inves-tors to participate our event that will be on July,” he said, adding that he is expecting about 500 participants and 150 exhibitors in this year’s Icon.

He said the committee is still finalizing details of this year’s Icon. Cheneen R. Capon

FOUR of the biggest com-panies in the Philippines have formed a consor-

tium to bid for the P123.8-bil-lion Laguna Lakeshore Ex-pressway and Dike Project (LLEDP).

Holding firm Aboitiz Eq-uity Ventures, Inc. (AEV), real estate giants Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), Megaworld Corporation (MEG) and SM Prime Hold-ings, Inc. (SMPH) agreed to form Trident Infrastructure and Development Corporation (TIDC), and acting together, have formed a consortium in order to pre-qualify for the LLEDP and evaluate the fea-sibility of the project with the view of submitting a compet-itive bid proposal for what is considered to be the biggest public private partnership (PPP) project of the Aquino ad-ministration.

The project includes the construction of a 47-kilometer expressway and a 45-kilome-ter flood control dike, and the

reclamation of around 700 hectares of land in the western part of Laguna Lake.

Dubbed as “Team Trident,” the consortium’s four mem-bers will each have an effective equal share of 25 percent. It combines the infrastructure expertise of the Aboitiz and Ayala groups as well as the reclamation and land devel-opment experience of Aboitiz, Ayala Land, Megaworld and SM.

The consortium also ben-efits from the combined finan-cial muscle and the national and international network of experts that the four compa-nies have, which will be able to benefit millions of Filipinos and thousands of businesses along the western shore of La-guna de Bay.

Trident brings together the expertise, experience, fi-nancial strength, and network that is needed to successfully execute a project the size and scale of LLEDP.

THE Government Ser-vice Insurance Sys-tem (GSIS) reported

on Friday a 215.8 percent hike in its net income in 2014 to PhP 140 billion from year-ago’s PhP 44.3 billion.

In a briefing, GSIS Pres-ident and General Manager Robert Vergara attributed the huge rise in their net in-come to the continued im-provement in the agency’s collection efficiency as well as the performance of the

country’s equity and fixed income markets, where GSIS has placed some funds.

”2014 is a record-year for GSIS even without the boost that we got from the fair value accounting of our financial assets,” he said.

To date, 48 percent of GSIS’ investable funds are placed in fixed income se-curities, 26 percent in mem-bers’ loans, 17 percent in equities and four percent in real estate while the balance of five percent is in cash.

Relatively, Vergara said their revenues last year to-talled to PhP 231.5 billion, nearly twice the PhP 135 billion they got in the previ-ous year.

The state pension fund’s assets currently amount to PhP 910 billion, 15.6 per-cent higher than PhP 788 billion in end-2013.

Vergara declined to give a profit-guidance for 2015, citing the challenges such as the uptick in their disburse-ment of payments of claims

and benefits to their mem-bers vis-à-vis the imple-mentation of rationalization plan of the government.

Last year, GSIS paid a total of PhP 84.2 billion in claims and benefits to mem-bers and pensioners.

”The goal for this year is to sustain this momentum so that we can continue to provide responsive service and benefits to our 1.8 mil-lion members and stake-holders,” Vergara added. (PNA)

Lim, Monteverdein Dubai conference

4 firms form consortiumfor Lakeshore project bid

GSIS posts 215.8% jump in ’14 net incomeFNEW, 10


VANTAGE

A law against gaming addictionGAMERS beware.

A bill has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to prohibit all computer shop owners from admitting minors into

their establishments within school hours.House Bill No. 4740, to be known as the “Internet Cafe Regulation Act,”

will limit children’s access to computers and other gadgets to prevent addiction and untoward incidents on popular games, such as DOTA and Counter-Strike.

These internet games or high-stakes matches abet gambling among gamers, who are usually minors. This gambling activity tends to result in violence. Likewise, due to too much computer exposure, the risk of addic-tion to game and other unwanted sites among children increases.

Proponents of the bill say there is “a need to recognize that computers bring entertainment through games, and children have the tendency to be easily addicted to these games as they have impressionable minds that games could be easily influenced.”

While the bill may be commendable, it offers nothing new. There had been local regulations on regulated internet use involving minors and yet it is among the most easily abused laws. internet cafés abound around school campuses around the country and their number one customers are minor students.

For good measure, internet cafés thrive because they answer to the needs of the students for research or to print documents needed in class. On the negative side, minors succumb to addiction to internet gaming and spend time inside internet cafés instead of going to school.

A person is considered to demonstrate IAD or internet addiction dis-order when he has a compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on the internet, to the point where other areas of life (such as relationships, work, or health) suffer. The person becomes dependent on using the in-ternet and needs to spend more and more time online to achieve the same “high.”

If the bill could be made to expand its coverage not only to minors un-der the precept of equal protection clause, it deserves a second look. inter-net addiction is not just a problem among minors but also among adults alike. In several government offices, employees trawl upon Facebook and other social media sites even during office hours. In a government laced with too much red tape, internet addiction among government employees is the last thing our patience can take.

Include too, heavier penalties for government officials guilty of playing internet games or doodling on social media during office hours and using government property.

That should make the proposed internet regulation law more relevant.

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • HENRYLITO TACIO • 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

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SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

AQUILES Z. ZONIOFUNNY PEARL GAJUNERA

CHA MONFORTE Correspondents

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.CHENEEN R. CAPON

Reporters

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JRCirculation

PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

EDITORIAL

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

FEDERALISM should not be viewed as a pan-acea for our problems in politics and govern-ment. Shifting to a federal system can also be

a ploy of entrenched traditional politicians (trapos) to expand and prolong their de facto “franchise” on politics indefinitely.

Under present circumstances, any change is not likely to reform the system for the better. Tra-ditional politicians (trapos) and their dynasties are in power in 90% of our localities, not to mention the national government. We are a trapo-dominat-ed society.

To let the trapos tamper with the system is a sure way to strengthen their stranglehold on it. It will make them and their dynasties virtually im-possible to remove or replace.

And we must be wary of leaders with auto-cratic or strong-arm styles of governing. They will weaken our democracy further, perpetuate mendi-cancy and dependency in our sheep-like elector-ate, and make a travesty of equal opportunity. The only thing that will be strengthened will be their hammerlock on politics and the economy.

*****What our society needs are empowering lead-

ers and statesmen—people who are motivated to awaken and strengthen People Power in every community, who are not greedy or monopolistic, and who lead edifying lives, lives that enhance no-bility of purpose and idealism.

Thus we must be discriminating about whom to follow and what ideas and ideals to support, making sure we don’t fall for demagogues and snake-oil peddlers. Too many good intentions are laid waste by excessive ambition, political greed, and corruption.

Today many people who advocate for federal-

ism don’t really know what they’re talking about. They’re attracted to its seeming novelty, but in fact they have only a vague notion of it.

They don’t even know that autonomy is the basic foundation for a federal system—where peo-ple actually have a say in the affairs of government, with manifest assertiveness, and where govern-ment officials know their role as “public servants” and behave accordingly.

*****We must first work to exemplify local autono-

my to ensure that the empowerment of the people comes first before the enthronement of ambitious leaders in federal positions.

Mindanaons must be wary about indulging the desires of over-ambitious leaders posing as our champions and advocates. They may be out to satisfy their bloated egos only, by acquiring larger territories and expanded political domains to rule and dominate.

The acquisition of power and privilege is but a political game for such leaders; hardly anything to do with public service or nation-building.

Democracy and the public service are not served by the ambitions of such people, nor are the citizenry’s welfare and morale.

*****It cannot be helped, however, that there are

constituencies that actually crave the leadership of imperious or bullying leaders. It is a false sense of security, more like the secure feeling of a weakling who takes shelter under a strongman’s umbrella

and thrives on his patronage.On the other hand, there are leaders who think

they have so grown in stature and importance that the small scale of power and privilege they enjoy in their towns, cities, or provinces no longer fit them, and thus aspire to larger jurisdictions that are, in effect, empires disguised as “federal states.” They should be eschewed, ostracized even, for they will not dignify People Power or sovereignty in a dem-ocratic society.

Leaders known to be autocratic and pre-sumptuous in behavior—as if superior in outlook, breeding, or ability—should be eschewed and put in their proper place: in the servants’ quarter of the House of Democracy where sovereign citizens are the masters.

Although we cannot begrudge their ambition, but we must subject it to scrutiny and apply the proper standards of public service in vetting them.

*****Ambition, Cassius said of Julius Caesar’s dream

of empire, must be made of sterner stuff. Let us be stern and exacting in humoring the ambitions of our leaders. Let them not presume on public ap-proval for what they desire.

As for federalism, let us insist that they first lay the foundation for it—by establishing a regime of true local autonomy in their jurisdictions. They must make of every community or barangay a bas-tion of People Power by activating its mechanisms for involving the people in its direct democracy with its unique form of parliamentary governance.

This regime for local autonomy is already provided for by R.A. 7160 (The Local Government Code of 1991). But its operation has been flawed by general ignorance and the outdated attitudes and practices of the dominant trapos.

Most if not all trapos seem unaware of the changes wrought by the Code, or simply ignore them, causing our political system to be dysfunc-tional.

*****Sometimes the dysfunctions spring from the

failure of the Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG)—and other institutions and agencies—to explain the Code’s provisions and their larger implications.

As Reuben Canoy, long-time commentator and respected pundit of Cagayan de Oro, keeps saying: “Ang lungsod nga nasayud maoy makahatag kusog sa atong demokrasya; ang lungsod nga mapasaga-ron maoy makapukan sa atong kagawasan.” An informed citizenry makes democracy strong; a ne-glectful one undermines our liberty and freedom.

It doesn’t seem to strike anyone—in govern-ment or in the private sector—that we do have an ill-informed citizenry; that no one and no agency bothers to orientate constituents about their role and function in government.

There are seminars and workshops galore for government officials, as if they alone are responsi-ble for governance at any level. But none are con-ducted for the people or the constituency—who alone can impose the standards of good gover-nance and hold officials to task for wrongdoing.

Manny is former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-general, Southeast Asia Pub-lishers Association; director, development academy of Philippines; member, Philippine Mission to the UN; vice chair, Local Government Academy; mem-ber, Cory Govt’s Peace Panel; awardee, PPI-UNICEF outstanding columnist. An author of books on gover-nance, he is chairman/convenor ofGising Barangay Movement Inc. [email protected])

“IT would be a great achievement to break the Guinness record, but the primary focus is to reforest a large portion of the region to

restore the integrity of the environment and en-hance our efforts against the negative impacts of climate change.”

That was what Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said after the TreeVolution, which served as an opportunity for the people of Mindanao to take part in a larger effort to reforest the region.

Actually, TreeVolution was part of the Na-tional Greening Program (NGP), the flagship reforestation of the administration of Benigno Aquino III. It seeks to cover 1.5 million hectares with trees by 2016.

NGP is also “a national effort that aims to ad-dress food security, poverty reduction, environ-mental stability, biodiversity conservation and a mechanism for climate change mitigation strate-gy to enhance the country’s forest stock to absorb carbon dioxide.”

What was thought of as not good enough to dislodge the India’s record of 1,945,535 trees planted in one hour is now official. Yes, “TreeVo-lution: Greening MindaNow” has been confirmed by the Guinness World Records (GWR) as plant-ing the most number of trees simultaneously in multiple locations.

Last September 26, 2014, a total of 122,168 people planted 2,294,629 trees in 29 locations in the country’s second largest island. “This re-cord-breaking event saw the planting of rubber, cacao, coffee, timber and mahogany trees, as well as a range of fruit trees and other species indige-nous to the Philippines,” GWR said in a statement.

The DENR, in its website, posted this in-formation: “One significant observation made during the activity was that each participant was able to plant an average of 20 seedlings, which

were pre-po-sitioned, in 30 minutes. The assumption that 17 planters can plant an average of 340 seedlings per hectare was also achieved; hence, the con-clusion that 17 planters can plant an average of 680 seedlings in one hectare for an hour.”

At the height of the TreeVolution campaign, Joselin Marcus E. Fragada emphasized that breaking the world record “would just be an added incentive” as the real goal of the project was “to create environ-mental awareness, and to show the world that Mindanao is capable of increasing its forest cover and mitigate the effects of climate change.”

“With or without Guinness, Mindanao will still plant trees within designated areas as we are currently implementing the NGP in the region,” pointed out Fragada, who is the regional honcho of DENR.

Once upon a time, the Philippines was totally covered by forest. Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, a not-ed environmentalist and wildlife photographer, wrote in an article that forest covered 70 percent of the Philippines in the 1900s. By mid-1960s, only 13.5 million remained, of which barely 6.3 million hectares were considered primary forest.

During the administration of President Fer-dinand Marcos, forests were decimated at an as-tonishing rate of 300,000 hectares per year.

“As the timber boom gained momentum, the government was unable to supervise conces-

sions effectively or enforce logging regulations,” wrote Robert Repetto, author of The Forest for the Trees? Government Policies and the Misuse of Forest Resources. “Links between timber compa-nies and politicians further eroded government control.

“Annual outputs averaging 10 million cubic meters were maintained until 1974, when deple-tion, world recession, and competition from oth-er log-exporting countries forced a reduction,” Repetto added. “Declines continued over the next decade, and by 1984 the harvest returned to the pre-boom level of 3.8 million cubic meters.”

Towards the end of Marcos administration, there was only 7.2 million hectares that remained of the country’s forest cover, of which bare 2.7 million hectares were reported virgin forests.

Mindanao, the country’s second largest is-land, is not spared from denudation. In 2011, during the third board meeting of the Mindan-ao Development Authority, members raised the alarm on the vast disappearance of the island’s forest cover.

“There is only six percent of forestry left in Mindanao,” said Luwalhati Antonino, the chair-person of the said board meeting. “We from Min-danao must do something (now before it’s too late).”

Where have all our forests gone? “the Philip-pines is among the countries that are losing their forest cover fast, ranking fourth in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots,” deplored Pamintuan. “If the deforestation rate of 157,400 hectares per year continues, the country’s re-maining forest cover will be wiped out in less than 40 years. The area lost to deforestation ev-ery year is twice the land area of Metro Manila.”

There are several solutions as there are sev-eral causes of the problem. “It is wrong to just portray the problem of forests as a problem with logging of natural forests as it’s a problem of com-

petition for land use,” said the Bogor-based Cen-tre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “It’s a much bigger problem than good or bad logging. The real long-term problems are outside the forestry sector.”

CIFOR shares these thoughts: “Increasing population puts pressure on agricultural produc-tion which increases the demand for land and leads to forest depletion. Relaxing trade barriers also has an effect.

“Areas opened up by commercial logging are often then exploited by shifting agriculture (kaingin to Filipinos) leading to more devasta-tion and mismanagement or over-exploitation of resources.”

Indeed, there are no fast rules in curbing de-forestation. “The illness of our forest is compli-cated -- and cannot be cured -- with a one-stop prescription of a single medicine,” reminded then Senator Heherson T. Alvarez in a 1992 forestry workshop in Isabela. “A comprehensive, scien-tific and ethical strategy and coordinated efforts are needed to care for and manage the forests through sustainable development.”

Data from the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau show that combined reforestation efforts by the government and the private sector are not enough to arrest the rapid deforestation.

After the TreeVolution, Antonino was quoted as saying: “I do hope that all of us will continue to have the passion, the will and the courage to re-habilitate and preserve our environment because a healthy environment is the best gift that we can give to our children. As parents or grandparents, education is not the only best thing we can give to our kids but a healthy environment as well.”

Even at the end of the world, so goes a say-ing, we need to plant trees. “A person without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as helpless,” American President Theodore Roosevelt reminded us.

Record-breaking tree planting

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

Make autonomy operative first before going federalBY MANNY VALDEHUESA

THE WORM’S EYEVIEW

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 201510NEWS EDGEDAVAO

Cop...

Duterte...

Backpacks...

4 escapes...

New...

FFROM 4

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23 empty shells, and a de-formed slug.

Earlier, Police Regional Of-fice 11 – Regional Investigation and Detection Management Di-vision (PRO 11-RIDMD) head Senior Superintendent Joseph B. Sepulchre said that with

the murder case filed against Jorolan, the police officer will automatically be charged with an administrative case.

The maximum penalty for grave misconduct, Sepulchre said, is dismissal. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

of testing the waters to see if he could run for President in 2016.

Duterte has consistently denied planning to run, but last week he told a group of students in Dagupan City that he could run for President “if

only to save the country from being fractured.”

Yesterday, however, the mayor said he made that com-ment in jest, adding that the reporters in the area did not know him that well and took his joke seriously.

lice Regional Office 11.Driz said the security

plan is divided into three lay-ers: checkpoint, area security, and security inside the activi-ty place.

“We will have covert and overt operations which means that there will be intel

operatives to be deployed in the areas of activities to mon-itor lawlessness,” she said.

Driz said the alert status in the city during the celebra-tion is still on red alert since many people are expected to come to the city to celebrate. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

boundary of Malapatan and Glan towns, he said.

Uppos is facing theft charges while Caratayco is being tried for attempt-ed rape.

“They’re now back at the Malapatan district jail, undergoing investi-gation,” Gabayeron said.

The jailbreak ensued after two trustee-inmates identified as Ronald Up-pos and Roberto Caratay-co disarmed and took the lockup keys from duty jail guard Jail Officer 1 Sofreme Autor at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The suspects then

hastily opened one of the jail’s cells, freeing six oth-er inmates.

One of the inmates identified as Mod Lakim tried to disarm another jail guard but was shot during the struggle by responding policemen. Lakim later died due to gunshot wounds on his head and chest.

Three other inmates identified as Jerry Villo-ta, Jerald Caballes and Mitchel Macaso were wounded during the in-cident.

Citing accounts by Li-pasana, Gabayeron said

the inmates had planned the jailbreak for about two months.

He said the escapee pointed to Lakim as the brains behind the inci-dent.

Senior Supt. Daniel Dequito, BJMP Region 12 director, credited the recovery of the suspects to the joint efforts of the police and BJMP tracker teams.

He said the swift re-capture of the suspects also showed that their tracking strategies are ef-fective and in place.

“We were able to get

all the escapees within 24 hours,” Dequito said in a radio interview.

The official said they will continue with the ad-ministrative proceedings and investigation on the incident, focusing on the determination of lapses committed by their per-sonnel.

“Our jail guards defi-nitely committed some lapses, that’s why the jailbreak happened. Rest assured that anyone who will be found lia-ble would be sanctioned accordingly,” he added. (MindaNews)

dinator, said in the recent inter-view that the budget was due to the demand for appropriate interventions on such disease control and management, reg-ulatory measures, and infor-mation dissemination.

“Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala prioritized the program to eradicate if not minimize the spread of the dis-ease,” Provido said.

Fusarium wilt is a destruc-

tive fungal disease of banana plants can be described as a “classic” vascular wilt disease and it invades the vascular tis-sue (xylem) through the roots, causing discoloration and wilt-ing.

It attacks banana plants of all ages and spreads main-ly through the soil wherein it causes wilting and yellowing of the leaves. (ChePalicte DA-11)

CATHOLIC Bishop Martin Jumoad, head of the Prelature of

Isabela de Basilan, has urged people “not to drag religion” into the bomb explosion that hit Lamitan City Friday evening.

Jumoad’s call came af-ter an improvised explo-sive device exploded at around 9:10 p.m. Friday in front of the Saint Peter’s Church along Quezon Bou-levard in Barangay Magan-da, Lamitan City in Basilan province.

Senior Insp. Gean Gal-lardo, Lamitan City police chief, said the explosion did not harm anyone and also did not damage any property.

Gallardo said that an investigation is being con-ducted to determine the motive as well as to identi-fy the suspects behind the incident.

Jumoad was saddened and surprised over the in-cident, which he described as “the work of evil peo-ple.”

“Let us not drag reli-gion to let it appear that there is tension between Muslims and Catholics. This is the work of evil people and let us not be carried by our emotions. Instead, [let us] continue to work together for peace and harmony,” Jumoad said.

He urged the peo-ple to respect each other “because the only way to peace is through peaceful ways.”

The bishop also asked

the people to pray more so that this season of Lent, “the Lord will guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Meanwhile, Lamitan City Mayor Rose Furigay has urged the Lamiteños to stay calm but vigilant and to immediately report to the authorities presence of people acting suspiciously and unattended baggage in their community.

Furigay also ordered the police and military to strengthen the security of Lamitan City.

Basilan bishop on blast:‘Don’t drag religion’

SPONGE TRADE. A trader loads a batch of kitchen sponges made from overrun foam onto a vehicle which will deliver them to public markets around Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.


AFTER four years of daz-zling themes of amaz-ing success, Kalilangan

is now going back to the roots where it all began - culture.

Kalilangan 2015, during its opening day on Monday (February 23) was a throw-back of time linking memories and culture that helped shaped what General Santos City is now.

With the theme “Kalilan-gan: Ano Ang K Mo?”, every res-ident of the city is encouraged to dig deep and search for who or what they represent today.

Some have said kapay-apaan (peace) owing to the peaceful co-existence of differ-ent tribes and cultures in the city, while others said kasaga-naan (affluence) because of the teeming bounties of nature both in land and in sea; and some even said kagandahan (beauty) a testament to the

city’s natural beauty.But for City Mayor Ronnel

Rivera, K for him—as a fellow General or Gensan resident —is definitely kampeon (cham-pion).

For Mayor Rivera, Kalilan-gan is all about how Gensan overcame adversities and tra-vails before getting to where it is right now.

“Everything good must start from somewhere; it should be refined first and go under the heat of the crucible,” the mayor said.

Of course, the wealth of Gensan is not solely tuna. For Mayor Rivera it is people and the culture present in it.

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, before serving the province of Sarangani, grew up in Gensan, specifically in baran-gay Labangal.

Other stars in the showbiz today were born here in Gen-

san such as Gerald Anderson and Melisa Cantiveros. XB Gen-san is a renowned dance group that learned how to dance grew up here in the city.

New sports champs are also flourishing now in Gensan such as Jean Pierre Sabido, a Taekwondo player who bagged six gold medals in the 9th World Tae Kwon Do Poomsae Championship last 2014.

“Although we are far from perfect, we have al-ready proven that General Santos City has a culture that can shape champions,” May-or Rivera said.

“Basta galing Gensan, panalo,” the mayor added.

Before Gensan took the moniker “Tuna Capital of the Philippines”, the city was formerly an idle land settled by migrants from Luzon and Visayas headed by General

11EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

PANABO City Mayor James G. Gamao led the 2015 Programs, Works

and Financial Implementa-tion Plan review held over the weekend in Davao City with the aim of addressing and verifying issues, concerns and policies of the city.

The three-day program also tackled how funds and

programs were implemented in the previous years.

The key areas were fo-cused on anti-corruption, poverty reduction, rapid and sustainable economic growth, social improvement, good governance; budget expen-ditures where among others, have already been clarified.

The outcome of the event

will be part of the report on the upcoming State of the City Address (SOTCA) of Mayor Gamao this coming March 23.

It will allow the chief ex-ecutive to give a bird’s eye view on his thrust and guide his move towards good gover-nance especially in 2016.

The first two days, every department presented their

accomplishment reports while works and financial plan 2016 were presented during the last day, exit con-ference.

City officials both execu-tive and legislative were pres-ent during the event, includ-ing officials from the city De-partment of Interior and Local Government (DILG). (PNA)

GOVERNOR Claude Bau-tista will lead local offi-cials here in the ground-

breaking ceremony to signal the construction of the state-of-the-art new municipal hall in Magsaysay town on March 6, 2015.

Engineer Arthur D. Davin, mayor of Magsaysay, said the new building will replace the old and dilapidated structure which was built sometime in the 1960s when this town was officially created as a munici-pality from just a barangay of Bansalan.

Davin said the provincial government’s role in the con-struction of the municipal hall

building has been very signif-icant since it is setting aside P10,000,000 as counterpart.

He said the local gov-ernment unit was able to avail of a loan amounting to P35,000,000 from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to proceed with the project.

Aside from Bautista, also invited in the affair are Racquel dela Cerna, the branch manag-er of LBP-Bansalan, Vice Gov-ernor Aileen Almendras-Uy, board members, barangay captains, Department of Ed-ucation district supervisors, representatives of coopera-tives, and civil society organi-zations. (PNA)

Panabo reviews policiesto update programs

Panabo City

Digos City

Zamboanga City

Gov. Bautista to spearhead new municipal hall groundbreaking

ROTATIONAL blackouts in the city have in-creased from two to four

hours daily.Engr. George Ledesma,

Zamboanga City Electric Co-operative (Zamcelco) general manager, attributed the longer blackouts to the preventive maintenance shutdown of an-other coal-fired power plant of the Steag State Power Inc (SPI) in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.

Ledesma said mainte-nance work on Steag 1 started last Monday and will be com-pleted on the second week of March. The power plant has a capacity of 105 megawatts (MW).

Ledesma said Steag 1 was the second plant in Mindanao to be placed under preventive maintenance shutdown.

He said Steag 2, which also has the capacity of 105 MW, was also placed under preven-tive maintenance last February 19 and is set to be completed by March 2.

He said the maintenance shutdown of the Steag 1 and 2 has reduced power supply to the Mindanao grid by 210 MW, causing four-hour outages in the city.

Ledesma said the black-outs are being implemented by feeder. Zamcelco has a total of 24 feeders servicing more than 100,000 member-consumers.

He explained that every hour of blackout is equivalent to a power shortage of 4 MW, which means a total shortage of 16 MW for Zamcelco.

He said Zamcelco has a peak load demand of 78 MW. (MindaNews)

MALAYBALAY SUNRISE. Sunrise in Malaybalay City almost always looks magical especially when summer approaches as this photo taken on February 26, 2015 shows. MindaNews photo by Alexandria M. Mordeno

Kalilangan 2015 highlights Gensan iconsGeneral Santos City

Blackouts in Zambo Citystretch to 4 hours daily

Paulino Santos through the Na-tional Land Settlement Admin-istration (NLSA).

The celebration of Kalilan-gan is meant for that historic event that led to the inception

of the city.With the new partner or-

ganizers, the Ramon Magsay-say Memorial Colleges, the city government is again to relive these tales.

During the opening rites of Kalilangan, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno came to experi-ence what kind of festival Ka-lilangan is. (Gensan CPIO/ Ian John M. Lagare)

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera inducts the officers of the Sons and Daughters of General Santos Pioneers--with William Benigno Aquino as its president--on Tuesday, February 24 at KCC Veranza Mall. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 201512 CLASSIFIED EDGEDAVAO

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

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

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

GO BOLD GO COLOUR• All text

• Telephone Number (bigger point size)

• Bold Header

• Background• Text

Price: 100.00 Price: 175.00 Price: 230.00

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EDGEDAVAOINdulge! TRAVEL

PARADISE REGAINEDONCE upon a time, the Philippines was to-tally covered by forest. In the 1900s, forest covered 70% of the country. By mid-1960s, only 13.5 million remained, of which barely 6.3 million hectares were considered prima-ry forest.

Mindanao, the coun-try’s second largest island, is not spared from denu-dation. In 2011, during the third board meeting of the Mindanao Devel-opment Authority, mem-bers raised the alarm on the vast disappearance of

the island’s forest cover. Mount Talomo in Toril, Davao City was not ex-empted from destruction. In fact, one barangay named Eden was totally devoid of its forest cover. The place where Eden Nature Park and Resort

is now sitting was once a desolate area. “This was remnant of logging con-cessionaires in the 1970s and was covered only by a blanket of wild grass,” our tour guide said. The late Jesus V. Ayala saw the potential of the place in 1971. He in-structed his people to make terraces carved out of the mountain slope. As this developed, he told them to plant thousands of pine trees all over in or-der to rejuvenate the area. Native bamboos, which grow sporadically, were left to flourish. Growing pine trees cre-ated canopies, but not so densely that other trees and plants were also able to grow. As years went by, a secondary forest was developed. Today, there are over 100,000 pine trees spread across about 80 hectares, making the resort 95-percent man-made. Today, Eden Nature Park and Resort -- which is located at 2,650 feet above sea level -- offers breath taking views of Davao City and the Davao gulf. “It is truly a testa-ment to how man’s inge-nuity and concern for the

Paradise A4

Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015EDGEDAVAO

Waterfront welcomes theYEAR OF THE GREEN WOODEN SHEEP

Music-based child dev’t program opens in SM Lanang Premier

RGMA’s Tang Gawing Makulay Ang Buhay Promo winner receives one million grand prize

Team from Park Inn by Radisson Davao goes out for coastal cleanup

A leading early childhood development program from the USA is set to open in SM Lanang Premier in Davao City. Musikgarten, under its local brand name, Musikgarten Manila, is set to open its first branch in Mindanao and the sixth in the country on Saturday, February 28. Located at the 2nd Level of the metro’s premier shop-ping and lifestyle destination, Musikgarten Manila is a music school that has a unique, non-traditional approach to learning music for all ages. It aims to make music an anchor in child development and the bonding of the family. Musikgarten is the preferred early childhood develop-ment program in over 20 countries. A comprehensive program that spans the first six years of a child’s musical and brain development, it was designed by experts and specialists on neuroscience, child psychology, and music therapy, early childhood educators and pediatricians. Michelle Nikki Junia, a music scholar and cum laude graduate of the UST Conservatory of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, was the one who brought Musikgarten to the Philippines. She trained in the USA on music-based child education. Junia is also the only Filipino trained by Seth Riggs, the world-renowned vocal coach to iconic art-ists like Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and Josh Gro-ban. According to Junia, director and owner of Musikgarten Manila, the Lanang branch will offer regular group classes for infants to 5 years old, music-based learning programs for groups and individuals, a musical playhouse, and a band rehearsal studio with recording facilities. For more information, call 0998-539-1958 or check out musicgartenmla on FB, Twitter and Instagram. You may also visit Musikgarten Manila at the 2nd Level beside SM Bowling Center at SM Lanang Premier.

RADIO GMA’s Tang Gawing Makulay Ang Buhay Promo winner Janice Oandasan from Tuguegarao recently re-ceived her one million peso grand prize from RGMA Presi-dent Mike Enriquez and Tang Assistant Brand Manager Lawrence Lorico. Oandasan, a 29-year old mother of two who works in a hospital as a food server, said she will put her winnings in the bank to fund her children’s education and start a small business for her family. Tang Gawing Makulay Ang Buhay, a Luzon-wide promo involving 7 RGMA stations, also gave away P3000 each to 300 lucky participants throughout the promo’s eight-week duration. “It was my first time to join send-in promos and until now I still can’t believe that I won,” Oandasan said. Learning about the promo on Radio GMA’s Barangay 89.3 FM Tuguegarao, Oandasan recalls keeping the Tang sachets from her youngest daughter’s first birthday and christening November last year, and using them as her proof of purchase. “I dropped my entries in the grocery near [the place of] my work. Then everyday I would tune in to Barangay 89.3 to check if I won.” After more than eight weeks of waiting patiently, Oan-dasan received a phone call that brought her good news. “With this prize, we won’t [have to] worry about our kids’ education. I would like to thank Tang and Radio GMA for making our future makulay,” she shared.

AS PART of Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s com-mitment to Responsible Business, the hotel’s team gathered for a com-munity outreach and cleaned the shoreline area of a small neighbor-hood located in Boule-vard, Davao City. All in all, they were able to collect 17 sacks of garbage and a few recyclables. The Responsible Busi-ness program builds on the principles and aspects of sustainable development which benefits the people,

community and the en-vironment. As part of the program, the hotel team

takes initiative on eco-nomic, social, ethical and environmental issues

and takes action by also spreading awareness within the society.

UP AND ABOUT

ACCORDING to traditional Chi-nese belief, the lion signifies courage, stability and superiority. It is a sym-bol of power, wisdom, and good for-tune. The lion’s dance is performed to chase away ghosts and evil spirits and brings happiness, longevity, and good luck. Firecrackers, loud gongs and cymbals are used to assist in chasing away these evil spirits. And that they did as Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao ushered in the Year of the Green Wooden Sheep last Feb-ruary 19, 2015. Guests and loyal patrons all flocked to the lobby to witness the traditional Lion Dance performed by the students of Davao Central High School. Coins and candies were also showered upon the revelers by the Hotel’s tower-ing OIC for Hotel Operations, Mr. Bryan Lasala, as an added gesture to share fortuity. Every one present also helped themselves to the am-paos that were hanging in the Pros-perity Tree, as it is believed that these would also bring a person good luck for the year.

As soon as the festivities mel-lowed down, a sumptuous lunch was then served at Café Uno, spe-cially prepared by our new Executive Chef, Victor B. Barangan, and his talented kitchen team. Gastronomic helpings of Peking Duck, Shark Fin Soup, Mandrin Sweet & Sour Pork Chow Mein, Yang Chow Fried Rice and other succulent Chinese cuisine were served to hungry guests. It was

indeed a celebration to remember, and Waterfront wishes every one of its guests, clients and friends Kung Hei Fat Choi! For updates on our promos and culinary offerings, like us on Face-book at www.facebook.com/water-front.davao. You may also call us at (082) 233 2881 or 300 8881 or visit our website at www.waterfrontho-tels.com.ph.

INdulge! A3VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 EDGEDAVAO

Clavio, David reap honors in UE’s Gawad Bagani 2015

ABS-CBN restores Nora-Vilma starrer ‘T-bird At Ako’ABS-CBN Film Archives brings back to life the classic 80s film “T-Bird at Ako,” topbilled by Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos, as its digitally restored and re-mastered version hits cinemas this March. The red carpet pre-miere was held yester-day at the University of the Philippines Film Insti-tute Cine Adarna where Nora herself graced the event and personally showed her support for ABS-CBN’s film restora-tion project. Both solid Noranians and Vilma-nians also flocked to the venue. One of the most talked about and controversial movies in the 80s, “T-Bird at Ako” is the 6th film that is 30 years or older re-stored by ABS-CBN, join-ing other timeless titles such as “Himala,” “Oro Plata Mata,” and “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon.” When asked about ABS-CBN’s selection pro-cess of ‘classic’ titles to re-store, Film Archives head Leo Katigbak explained, “The definition of classic

really evolves over time. It’s not just the old criti-cally acclaimed award-winning movies per se but films that have taken on an iconic status due to director, stars, repre-sentation of an era and the like. Here in the Phil-ippines, our classics tend to be more modern.” He added, “The resto-ration campaign focuses on directors primarily. In the case of the 33-year old ‘T-Bird at Ako,’ it’s vin-tage Danny Zialcita with his snappy dialogue and witty repartee. It’s also the last time that Nora and Vilma co-starred in

a movie and with such a daring theme for its time.” “T-Bird at Ako” tells the story of a sexy dancer (Santos) accused of ho-micide. She is defended by a female lawyer (Au-nor) who tries to keep their relationship profes-sional as the latter strug-gles with confusion as to her sexual preference. “T-Bird at Ako” is among the 75 films re-stored by ABS-CBN Film Archives, in collabora-tion with Central Digital Labs, since it started its restoration project in 2011. Some of these re-

stored films were already screened internationally via film fests, screened locally via red carpet pre-mieres, aired on free-to-air and cable television, viewed via pay-per-view and video-on-demand, distributed on DVD, and downloadable even on iTunes. Watch out for the high definition version of “T-Bird at Ako” in se-lect cinemas this March. For more information on ABS-CBN’s Film Restora-tion, like its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/filmresto-rationabscbn.

HOME to various award-winning programs and personalities, GMA Net-work welcomes more achievements this year as GMA News pillar Ar-nold Clavio and seasoned reporter and host Kara David were recently hon-ored in the Gawad Bagani 2015 held at the Univer-sity of the East (UE) Calo-ocan last February 20. A joint project of the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) Studies Fo-rum and UE Caloocan’s Department of Commu-nication of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Gawad Bagani sa Komu-nikasyon: Gawad para sa Makabagong Man-dirigma sa Larangan ng Radyo at Telebisyon was launched in 2013 aiming to highlight media influ-ence among the public. It seeks to recognize media practitioners who “cham-pion social and commu-nity services” in the field of television and radio. Clavio and David

topped the survey con-ducted among select ba-rangays in the CAMANA-VA area and among the students and faculty of UE Caloocan CAS, which earned for them the award for the radio and television categories, re-spectively. Together with Ali Sot-to, Clavio hosts the daily radio program Dobol A sa Dobol B apart from his TV programs Saksi, Alisto, Un-ang Hirit (GMA) and Tonight with Arnold Clavio (GMA News TV). D av i d , for her part, is one of the hosts of I-Wit-ness; headlines P o w e r h o u s e (both on GMA); and co-pres-ents News to Go (GMA News TV) on top of

her reportorial duties for GMA News. Recognized during the first Gawad Bagani awards in 2014 were GMA News pillars Jessica Soho (television) and Mike En-riquez (radio). In addition, several commendations were

also accorded the Net-work in the 13th

Gawad Tanglaw (Gawad Tagapu-ring mga Aka-demisyan ng Aninong Guma-

galaw) last February 19 at the Uni ve r-sity of Perpet-ual Help in Las Piñas. Local

television’s longest run-ning docu-m e n t a r y p r o g r a m I -W itness , hosted by Howie Sev-

erino, Jay Taruc, Sandra Aguinaldo, and David, was hailed as the Best Documentary Program while GMA News’ spe-cial coverage on the twin canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII entitled “Saint John Paul II, We Love You” was given the Development Commu-nication Award for Com-prehensive Coverage. Pepito Manaloto, ban-nered by Kapuso come-dian Michael V., was cited as Best Comedy/Gag Show while I-Bilib, hosted by Chris Tiu, won as Best Education Program. Keempee de Leon, meanwhile, was lauded for his role in Eat Bulaga’s Lenten Special earning for him the Best Perfor-mance by an Actor (Sin-gle Performance) award. Gawad Tanglaw, made up of scholars from dif-ferent academes, aims to acknowledge those who promote the image of the Filipino values and culture in film, television, radio, print, and theater.

ENTERTAINMENT

MYX WELCOMES THREE NEW VJS. The number one music channel in the Philippines embraces change this year as it welcomes to its family three fresh and talented faces that will make the Myx viewing experience more exciting for music fans and the youth. Diego Loyzaga, Erica Abello, and Stephanie “Tippy” Dos Santos were formally introduced as Myx VJs at the Myx Music Awards 2015 nomination night. The new Myx VJs see their Myx VJ stint as a way of proving their talent in hosting this year. VJ Diego sees the opportunity as a challenge on how to strike a balance between being a VJ and starring in the top-rating teleserye, “Forevermore,” med student turned host VJ Erica is all about braving her stage fright despite having no experience in hosting, and VJ Tippy is determined to make every taping for Myx memorable and fun for Myx viewers.

R13

R18 / * R16

R1611:40 | 2:15 | 4:50 | 7:25 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

KINGSMAN:

THE SECRET SERVICE

Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson

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

FOCUS

12:40 | 3:15 LFS / * 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY / * PREDESTINATION

Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan / * Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook

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

Will Smith, Margot Robbie

CRAZY BEAUTIFUL YOU

Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla

March 2-3, 2015

A4 INdulge!TRAVEL

Paradise A1environment can create a paradise on earth, mak-ing Eden a must-visit eco-logical tourist destination in the Philippines,” said the park’s brochure. The once-barren piece of land now provides a relaxing alternative to the bustling city life of Davao with its cool weather and unpolluted air. If you happen to visit the place past five in the afternoon, you better bring your own jacket as it becomes cool-er. It’s like Baguio during the old days. Here are some of the things you can do while visiting or even staying at the resort:

1Enjoy catching fish at the Fish-ing Village. What you caught can be

cooked for you to savor or you may opt to bring them home.

2Refresh yourself at the swimming pool. It is locat-ed at the highest

point of the resort. Be sure to do it when the sun is still high as it gets colder when the sun starts to set.

3Get lost in the gar-den that is full of flowers in various forms and colors.

You can take a selfie or groupie. Or you can ask someone to take your sou-venir photo. Not far from it is the amphitheater, a reminiscent of the ancient Roman civilization.

4Understand how indigenous peo-ple’s group live and work at the

Tinubdan (which comes from the local term which means “spring”). Occu-

8Look around at the park’s Veg-etable Gardens and Greenhouses.

Here, vegetables like cu-cumbers and tomatoes are organically grown. Several varieties of lettuce are also grown using the state-of-the-art hydro-ponic technology.

9Smell some of the herbs grown at the Organic Vegetable and Herbs garden.

These are harvested and served fresh at the resort’s restaurant.

10Touch the water of the M a t i n l o Pond. It

is said that the boulders of the pond have been spewed by the raging Mount Talomo during its eruption more than a cen-tury ago. Matinlo, by the way, is a Palaweno word for “beautiful.”

11Follow the m o u n t a i n trail, that is, if you en-

joy hiking. Carved along towering trees, creeks and boulders, it is an experi-ence of a real adventure and a test of endurance and determination to fin-ish the entire course. “Be in touch with the sights and sounds of nature as you walk along the 4-kilo-meter trail,” the brochure said.

12Fly like Su-p e r m a n through its 200-meter

long zip line (with a mini-mal fee). If you are afraid of heights, you may opt to ride the kiddie zip line near the restaurant – and

it’s free!

13. Pedal your way t h r o u g h the sky

through skycycle. Yes, it’s like bicycling on top the trees. It’s one of the newest attraction and a hit among young people.

14Do the horseback r i d i n g . That is, if

you know how! But if not, there is always a guide who will help you.

15Eat to your h e a r t ’ s c o n t e n t . The re-

sort serves daily mouth-watering lunch buffet and meals. Its hearty salad bar offers freshly handpicked vegetables. Its dressings and vin-aigrettes are concocted using its very own fruits, herbs, and spices. By the way, there are rooms, cottages, moun-tain villas and suites available for rent just in case you want to stay for the night or spend the entire day there. Check with the Activity Center, the information nerve, for the accommodation and overnight rates.

How to get there? From Davao City, you must travel south to-wards the Toril District. At the corner of Mer-cury drug in the main highway, make a right and just follow the signs towards barangay Eden. From there, it is a 12-ki-lometer uphill climb (en-joy the scenery, though). Travel time is about 45 minutes.

pying over 5,000 square meters, it is an outdoor museum/cultural park. It has been dubbed as “a cul-tural excursion into the heartland of indigenous wisdom.”

5See the panoramic view of Davao City at Lola’s Garden. Be sure not to miss

going to the wishing well where you can see gu-mamela flowers in various colors. Also, have your picture taken on top of a carabao statue.

6Spot some deer in their habitat at the Deer Park. Count how many have

you seen but please don’t

ask if Rudolph, the red-nose reindeer, is around!

7Gather fun facts about butterflies and other insects at the Butterfly

Garden. Yes, there are always something new about these familiar flut-tering insects.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 13EDGEDAVAO CLASSIFIEDREPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT11TH JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFFDAVAO CITY

HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND Or Pag-ibig Fund,

Mortgagee

-versus- EJF-REM CASE NO. 15,104-15

ALLAIN LICINIUS O. ALONSO, Mortgagor/s.

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

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amend-ed, filed by the above-mentioned morgagee against Allain Licinius O. Alonso with postal address at LOT 4 , Block 4, Samantha Homes, Matina, Aplaya Davao City to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness in the total amount of ( Php 247,126.49 ) Philippine Currency, in-clusive of interest, penalty charges as of October 17, 2014, plus attorney’s fees equivalent to TEN (10%) of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the un-dersigned Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court, Davao City, will sell at public auction on April 17, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. or soon there-after, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the real property with all its found thereon particularly described below to wit:

Transfer Certificate of Title No. T- 146-2011013173“A parcel of land xxx (Lot 4, Blk. 4, xxx) situated in Barangay

Matina, City of Davao Island of Mindanao.xxx Containing an area of ONE HUNDRED TWELVE (112) SQUARE METERS, more or less”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stated time and date.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date,it shall be held on May 15, 2015 without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for them-selves the condition of the unit property/ies and encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, February 24, 2015

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF: (SGD.) NICOLAS L. SUMAPIG Sheriff IV

Noted by:(SGD) ATTY. EDIPOLO P. SARABIA, JR.Clerk of Court VI & Ex-Officio Provincial Sheriff

(3/2,9,16)

There’s abetter wayto getattention.Advertise with

EDGEDAVAO

CLASSIFIEDS


WITH innovative banking solutions earning citations

from industry stalwarts, BPI Globe BanKO’s mobile-based program for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan recently emerged as a finalist in the 20th GSMA Global Mobile Awards.

Its emergency e-transfers platform TabangKO, in collab-oration with global human-itarian agency Mercy Corp, was selected out of a record number of 800 submissions from telecommunications companies around the world, vying in the category of “Best Use of Mobile in Emergency or Humanitarian Situations.”

“We are honored to be a finalist in the prestigious GSMA Global Mobile Awards. TabangKO as a mobile plat-form has achieved its noble objective to serve our coun-trymen who have been in dire financial need in the after-math of ‘Haiyan.’ It is an affir-mation that our efforts with Mercy Corp have generated awareness among industry leaders such as the GSMA. In-deed, telecommunication and mobile technologies can be harnessed for a higher pur-pose,” said BPI Globe BanKO President and CEO John Ru-

TabangKO leads finalists inGSMA Global Mobile Awards

bio.In relation, GSMA Chief

Marketing Officer Michael O’Hara in an earlier state-ment noted that, “with a new record of over 800 entries, the Global Mobile Awards are, as always, hugely competitive and reflect the dynamic pace of growth and evolution in digital communications.”

After the onslaught of Ty-phoon Haiyan in November 2014, TabangKo as a mobile platform provided the infra-structure to directly and effi-ciently send out much-needed financial assistance to about 25,000 families adversely af-fected in the Visayas region.

Through electronic cash transfers, both institutions were able to provide financial aid directly, effectively and se-curely instead of handing out paper vouchers or money in the form of cash.

This way, beneficiaries can take out as much as they need from their registered accounts by going to any BPI Globe BanKO partner outlet nationwide. With BPI Globe BanKO targeting clients who live on less than P100 a day, Mercy Corps was able to reach those most vulnerable to the storm’s devastating ef-fects through TabangKO.

Winners of the 20th

GSMA Global Mobile Awards will be formally announced during the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 3, 2015, where BPI Globe BanKO’s “TabangKO” mobile platform will compete with four other submissions from around the world, in-cluding Iraq’s telco company Asiacell, Switzerland’s out-door safety app Uepaa!, USA’s Trice Imaging and Samsung, and a multinational conglom-eration of network entities. Entries will be judged by more than 300 independent experts, analysts, journalists and academics, among oth-ers.

BPI GLOBE BANKO’S E-TRANSFER PLATFORM

EDGEDAVAO

COMPETITIVE EDGE

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 2015 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

ONE of my favourite mov-ie scenes comes from the 1986 movie “Top

Gun” where Tom Cruise (Mav-erick) and Val Kilmer (Goose) ‘serenaded’ Kelly McGillis’ character with the 1964 hit by The Righteous Brothers “You’ve lost that loving feel-ing.”

I was trying to look for words to describe former world no. 1 Tiger Woods’ funk until my memory brought me back to that old school melody.

I ask myself, has Tiger Woods lost ‘that loving feel-ing?’

It has been seven years since Tiger’s last major cham-pionships in Torrey Pines for the 2008 US Open and eight months since he last reigned as the world no. 1. In short, Ti-ger is in a slump and is desper-ate to get out of that funk.

In three tournaments thus far after a knee surgery, Tiger has not finished twice and was cut in his first tournament this year with a ballooning 82 on the first 18 holes. For those of us who saw Tiger from his Stanford days to his 18 PGA title conquests, the images in our minds are of Tiger pump-ing his fist and roaring to vic-tory on a Sunday with his red shirt on.

There was a time when people see an invincible Tiger once he is on the golf course. On a fourth day when Tiger wears his signature red, the enemy can only see a second place trophy not the champi-onship. It seemed like the tro-phy is waiting at the clubhouse with Tiger’s name already en-graved on it.

Aahh…those were the days.

The past seven years have been a struggle. Alright, Tiger was still no. 1 by May 2014 but that was more of winning Tour titles and consistently plac-ing in the top 10 each time. Slowly, people no longer see a daunting shadow from Tiger. Slowly, he became vulnerable. He turned from kryptonite to human. In time, Tiger became a mere golfing mortal who had lost his mojo.

Greg Norman, the feisty

Australian legend nicknamed the Shark, doubts if Tiger can get back on track. He pictured it as like standing over the back of the 12th green at Au-gusta National, and chipping it down there, Rae’s Creek right in front of you, or the back of the 15th of Augusta National.

All those gremlins are going to be sitting on Tiger’s head, says the Shark.

Let’s break it down quickly. Tiger have had swing changes. Of late, his chipping was aweful. Golf analysts say it is his swing change that’s re-ally the culprit. Some say Tiger will, in time, recover his old deadly form.

But there were also oth-er events in Tiger’s career that somehow led to the downslide. His marital woes and his reported adventures with women. Early this year,

he lost a tooth while attending his girlfriend Lindsay Vonn’s medal ceremonies.

I am no golf expert nor swing analyst but I suspect it could be more than just the swing. From my own experi-ence, I know golf is a cruel, de-manding sport. It’s not just the body but the mind that mat-ters. Each shot is conceived on the mind. It’s your brains that tell your muscles to move this way or that way.

Baseball great Hank Aar-on took seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. It took him one afternoon on the golf course.

My golfing lawyer-friend Vincent Paul Montejo should know that by now. Golf is like lawyering. Practice makes per-fect. You will soon learn that golf and lawyering are actually best friends. Learn not from

me but from your partner, Atty. Ed Batacan. He will inspire you to play golf, but never expect him to teach you his secrets.

Don’t watch me play either, Atty. Paul, but take this: On ev-ery fairway, in every stretch of rough, in every clubhouse, in every golf bag, at every swing at the ball, in every set of plans for a new course, in every ap-plication for club membership, there lurks a potential lawsuit.

That said, the fairways is an extension of your office. And if your office is the golf course, there’s no bad day at all.

Now back to Tiger. Has he lost that loving feeling?

Only his balls can tell if Ti-ger no longer closes his eyes when he putts.

Postscripts: Listen to “Let’s Get It On with Neil Bravo” on 105.9 Balita FM every Saturday 8-10 a.m.

Losing that loving feeling

Neil Bravo

LET’S GET IT ON

THE Davao City Durians came through with an-other scintillating perfor-

mance as the curtains finally fell on the 2015 Davao Region-al Athletic Association Meet (Davraa) Meet Sunday in Mati City, Davao Oriental.

The Durians captured 108 gold medals, 83 silvers and 79 bronzes in emerging the over-all champion and ruling anew the region’s biggest sporting competition for elementary and secondary athletes.

Panabo City finished sec-ond overall with 53 gold med-als, 57 silvers and 49 bronze medals. Tagum City ended up third after its 38-55-46 medal haul in the five-day competi-tion.

Davao City stamped its class both in the elementary and secondary levels, drawing golden performances from its swimmers and dominating the ballgames in the meet held in the southern part of Mindanao that is known for its beautiful resorts,

The Durians finished with a 55-30-32 medal haul in the elementary division and had 53-53-47 in secondary.

After getting a gold med-al from Romeo Libuit in shot put right on opening day that jumpstarted their triumphant campaign, the Durians were unforgiving as the Meet pro-gressed.

They sustained their fi-ery form up to the last day of competition, with the boys’ el-ementary and secondary foot-ball teams delivering the coup d’ grace with victories in two gold medal matches.

The Durians edged Tagum City, 1-0, for the elementary gold and made it a double kill with a 2-0 victory over Davao Oriental in the secondary fi-nals.

Raphael Cesar Balan was the goal scored for Davao City in elementary while John Rhey Lagura and Anton Lopez had a goal each in the secondary tri-umph.

Davao City athletes rule Davraa

Earlier, Davao City turned the swimming pool into a vir-tual gold mine after grabbing 1 golds, 11 silvers and five bronze medals.

Rey Jacob Alino, Edward Alfaro III and Zoe Marie Hilario spearheaded the assault with their golden swims.

Alino ruled the elementa-

ry boys 50-meter back stroke event while Alfaro bagged the gold in the boys’ elementary 50-meter breast stroke.

Hilario, a multi-gold med-

al winner in the Batang Pinoy national finals in Bacolod City last December, won the girls elementary 100-meter back-stroke.

GOLDEN BOYS. Members of the triumphant Davao City elementary boys football team pose for posterity after taking the field to start their quest in the 2015 DAVRAA Meet in Mati City.

AFTER the Port-land Trail Blazers over-

came Russell West-brook’s third straight triple-double, Damian Lillard sensed his team was recapturing its form of earlier this season.

Oklahoma City can only hope it didn’t lose Westbrook along with the game.

Lillard and La-Marcus Aldridge each scored 29 points and Portland rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-112, Fri-day night. Aldridge add-ed 16 rebounds.

‘’I think it was one of those games where we turned back into

ourselves and late in the game we found a way to get stops. We made plays, made shots and we stayed the course over kind of a rough game,’’ Lillard said.

Westbrook, who fell and was hit in the face by the knee of onrush-ing teammate Andre Roberson in the final seconds, had 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 as-sists. He became the first player to string together three triple-doubles since LeBron Jamesin 2009.

Westbrook, who had a noticeable imprint on his right cheek, did not speak to reporters fol-lowing the game while

he was evaluated. There was no immediate word on his condition.

The Blazers over-came a 15-point, third-quarter deficit and tied it on a tip shot by Aldridge with 4:33 to go.

Rookie Mitch Mc-Gary came off the bench for a season-high 20 points - 12 in the third quarter alone - for the Thunder.

Portland took the lead with 3:56 left on Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer. Aldridge and Westbrook traded bas-kets down the stretch before Aldridge made a free throw to put Port-land up 111-110 with 44 seconds to go.

THE City Mayors Of-fice defeated Ever-ball Columbia Com-

puter Center, 98 – 95, on Thursday night in their 2015 Basketball Friendly Series at the Davao City Recreation Center.

The win was the 14 straight victory for the City Hall dribblers, who found a new weapon in JR De Guzman.

De Guzman, a reli-able big man, erupted for game-high 30 points for CMO.

The CMO win also kept the Everball Coum-bia winless in the series.

Christopher “Bong”

Go provided huge scoring support for CMO with 25 points, while Glenn Es-candor and Warren Clori-bel had 13 apiece.

Earl Angsinco paced Everball Columbia with 25 points. (Rico Biliran)

The scores:CMO (98) De Guz-

man 30, G0 25, Escandor 13, Cloribel 13, Labor 6, Reyes 4, Poliquit 2, Apos-tol 2, Aberilla 2, Peloton 1

EVERBALL (95) Ang-sinco 25, Maligro 20, Balisala 17, Suarez 9, Dela Cerna 8, Kwan Tiu 8, Cabrera 6, Avinante 2, Mending 0.

BY CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

CMO tops Everballfor 14th straight win

Blazers come from behind to beat Thunder

Arron Afflalo #4 of the Portland Trail Blazers celebrates during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 27, 2015 at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore-gon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 246 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 1 - 2, 201516 EDGEDAVAOSports

Southwoods wins by 2; Apo falters to finish 5th

BACK ON TOP

TONLITS Asistio, just over three years re-moved from surviving

an attempt on his life, fired a two-under-par 70 worth 38 points and powered South-woods to its first Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Men’s Championship in more than a decade.

Asistio barely missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th but still put an exclama-tion point to a swashbuckling effort as anchor as South-woods pooled a closing 128 at tree-lined Cebu Country Club here to dethrone Or-chard by two points with a 493 total in one of the event’s most exciting finishes ever.

Orchard fought doggedly hard in its quest for a repeat but fell agonizingly short as Raymund Sangil’s 34, and the 33s of Kristoffer Arevalo and JP De Claro made up the bulk of its final round 127 for 491 with Cebu CC finishing another seven points behind in third.

Wack Wack, which formed a team originally for the lower Founders Division, got 35 points from the veter-an Tommy Manotoc and was fourth with a 480 after 123 with the young Del Monte squad checking in another two points behind at 478 af-ter 121.

The Apo Golf and Coun-

try Club, meanwhile, failed to ride on its momentum in the third round, scoring a dismal 106 points in the final day and finishing fifth overall in the Founders Division of the 68th Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub men’s event.

Occupying second place in the team standings at the start of the day, Apo saw its chances vanish in thin air with Patrick Ryan Co and Al-bernito de Castro producing the best score at 28 points apiece.

Counting the 27 of Ben-jamin Leparto and the 23 of Jose Saaverda Jr., Apo scored only 106 points for a four-round total of 439 points,

good for fifth place.It was the worst output

by Apo in four rounds. The team from Davao City had 108 in the first, 97 in the second and 128 in the third where it started its move to stay within striking distance.

Al;abang was the run-away winner after amassing 465 points, Alta Viista and Valley finished second and third with their 449 and 441 points, respectively. Negros emerged fourth finisher with its 440.

“Tonlits just gave himself a good send off,” playing cap-tain Thirdy Escano said in the din of the celebration behind the 18th green as the Carmo-

na, Cavite-based crew won for the first time since 2001.

National pool member Justin Quiban finished bo-gey-bogey but still salvaged a level 36 as he and Asistio both eagled the par-5 16th which erased a four-point deficit to Orchard going into the last five holes.

Ryu Ken Yasuma and Es-cano fired 27s and were the last scores that counted for Southwoods, which discard-ed the 26 of Teody Pascual, who blew up in his final nine holes after hitting an umbrel-la girl with his tee shot on No. 10.

Wack Wack drew 33 points from Ernesto Marcelo

and 31 from Gabriel Manotoc with John Gobing contribut-ing 24.

Stanford fired 102 and nipped by four for second spot. Iloilo shot 100 points for 386 overall.

One Mega, People Asia, Hotel H20, Travelife, Boeing International Corp., Business Mirror and GE Aviation are sponsoring the PAL Interclub Seniors and Regular Men’s events. Other backers in-clude Manila Bulletin, Mare-co Broadcasting Network (Crossover), Whealth Inc., Aerospace, Uniglobe Travel-ware Co. Inc., Tanduay Dis-tillers and Intercontinental Manila.

CHAMPS ANEW. Manila Southwoods players

carry team captain Ramon “Thirdy” Escano

for a victory ride after winning the Champi-onship division of the

68th PAL Interclub Golf Tournament at Cebu

Country Club yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Documents

Edge Davao 7 Issue 246