P 15.00 • 24 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

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DAVAOA NEW EAGLE COMETH

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

COVER STORY

A NEW EAGLE COMETH

AMIDST the bad news you read in newspa-pers today, there is

always good news. And the good news comes from the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a nongovernment or-ganization on the front lines of saving the endangered raptor since 1987.

Last week, the PEF an-nounced that it has successful-ly hatched another eagle. The new chick, the 26th since the start of its breeding program in 1992, joins 33 other eagles at the conservation center where they live in massive cages.

“This (new chick) gives us hope that we can somehow supplement the Philippine ea-gle population,” Anna Mae Su-maya, PEF’s curator, was quot-ed as saying in a news report. She added that the eaglet was the outcome of the natural pairing of male eagle named “MVP Eagle” and female bird called “Go Phoenix.”

“The monogamous eagles breed only once a year and each pair produces just one egg every mating season,” a news report said. According to Sumaya, the chick was the first fertile egg and also the first offspring of the pair since they became partners in 2013. It took about 56 days to incu-

bate the egg before it hatched on December 7.

The PEF made history on January 15, 1992 when it hatched in captivity an eagle which was named later on as “Pag-asa” (the Tagalog term for “hope”). “Pag-asa connotes hope for the continued surviv-al of the Philippine eagle, hope that it people get together for the cause of the Philippine ea-gles, it shall not be doomed to die,” Dennis Salvador, the foun-dation’s executive director.

Locally known as “hari-bon” (from the words, hari, which means “king” and ibon, “bird”), the Philippine eagle can be used as an indicator of a forest’s health since it is the largest predator in the coun-try’s ecosystem.

A few years back, Salva-dor said: “When the last eagle dies, it shall be the sign of the worst yet to come: The death of our environment.” In an-other interview, he pointed out: “By saving it, you provide an umbrella of protection for all other species living in the same habitat.”

The Philippine eagle is second only to the Madagas-car sea eagle in rarity. In size, it beats the American bald eagle; it is the world’s second biggest after the Harpy eagle of Cen-tral and South America.

It was in 1896 when the bird of prey was first discov-ered by English naturalist John Whitehead in Samar. At first, it was called “monkey-eating eagle” because he thought it fed primarily on monkeys. So he gave it the scientific name, Pithecophaga jefferyi. The sci-entific name came from two Greek words: pitekos (“mon-key”) and phagien (“to eat”). Jefferyi was the discoverer’s tribute to his father, Jeffrey, who funded his expedition.

In 1978, the old name was dropped and given its present

name through Presidential Decree No. 1732 after it was learned that monkeys com-prise an insignificant portion of the bird’s diet, which con-sists mostly of flying lemurs, civet cats, bats, rodents, and snakes.

In July 1995, then Pres-ident Fidel V. Ramos signed Proclamation No. 615 naming the Philippine eagle as the country’s national bird. He said that the eagle is found only in the Philippines and as such should be a source of na-tional pride.

General Charles Lind-bergh, an American avia-tor, was the first person to spearhead a drive to save the bird from vanishing in this part of the world. He called the bird as “the air’s noblest flier.”

A majestic bird, the Phil-ippine eagle stands a meter high, weighs anywhere from four to seven kilograms and has a grip three times the strength of the strongest man on earth, according to PEF.

With a wing span of nearly seven feet and a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour, the Philippine eagle can gracefully swoop down on an unsuspecting prey and carry it off without

breaking flight.In the past, Philippine ea-

gles were found abundantly in the forests of Mount Apo and other parts of Mindanao. They can also be seen flying over in the forests of Sierra Madre in Luzon and Samar and Leyte in the Visayas.

Today, Philippine eagles still inhabit in some of those places but their number has dwindled. “There are only about 600 monkey-eating ea-gles in the wild as their num-bers have been slashed by hunting and loss of their nat-

ural habitat to development,” reported Agence France-Pres-se.

The Swiss-based Interna-tional Union for the Conser-vation of Nature and Natural Resources has declared the Philippine eagle as “critically endangered.”

Human beings have been singled out as the primary culprit of the decimation of eagles in the wild. A person guilty of killing any critically endangered Philippine species can be imprisoned by up to 12 years and fined of up to one million pesos.

The biggest threat, how-ever, still comes from denu-dation of the country’s forest cover. “In each territory, the eagles are faithful to their nests and they like to live in large and old growth trees,” Salvador said. “Unfortunately, based on deforestation data since the early 1900s, when nearly everything was green, now we are left with few old growth forests.”

Studies have shown that a pair of Philippine eagle needs at least 7,000 to 13,000 hect-ares of forest as a nesting ter-ritory. “If time will come that we have enough stocks, where shall we release them?” Salva-dor asked.

Are you listening?

By Henrylito D. Tacio

“Our gift to the Filipino people and the rest of the world this Christmas.” -- the Philippine Eagle Foundation said of the newly-hatched chick

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

THE petitioners against the “No Bio, No Boto” policy of the Commis-

sion on Elections (Comelec) on Friday filed a manifesta-tion before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to counter the Comelec’s allegations with re-gard to the ramifications of the SC’s temporary restraining or-der (TRO) against the assailed policy.

In their eight-page sup-plemental manifestation, the petitioners, led by Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon, cited Comelec Chair Andres Bautista’s recent statement wherein he warned that the TRO “materially impacts” the election preparations, and that the Comelec may even have to postpone the May 9, 2016 elec-tions if it fails to meet its prepa-

ration targets.“COMELEC’s technical pre-

dicament stems from the fact that the poll body excluded the estimated 2.5 million active voters without biometrics in the forward planning for the upcoming elections, despite the fact that these voters have already participated in past elections and are well in their right to participate in the next polls, if not for the assailed ‘No Bio, No Boto’ policy,” the peti-tioners argued.

“It implies that the respon-dent has in fact systematically planned to disenfranchise the said number of registered vot-ers, even from the beginning of the election preparations,” they added.

The manifestation also

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) repudi-ated presidential candi-

date Mar Roxas’ claim that the peace and order in Davao City is just a “myth.”

In a statement posted at the Isumbong kay Cddcpo Facebook page, which is the DCPO’s social media hotline, the city police said the statis-tics Roxas gave did not show the true picture of the situa-tion in the city.

The DCPO was reacting to a statement made by Roxas at a presidential forum at the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City last Friday that some 18,000 crime incidents were recorded in Davao City in 2014.

Roxas also said Davao City has the fourth the high-est crime volume next only to Quezon City, Manila, and Zam-

boanga.“So myth, kathang isip,

imagination lang ‘yung payapa ang Davao City. Hindi ko sila di-na-down, sinasabi ko lang kung ano ang istatistika (It’s a myth, a figment of the imagination that Davao City is peaceful. I’m not putting them down, I’m just giving the statistics),” Roxas was quoted as saying during the forum.

The DCPO, however, said Roxas lumped together both index and non-index crimes.

It said the crime volume in the city reached a total of 18,119 in 2014 but only 36 percent of this, or 6,548, were index crimes or crimes against person or property such as theft, murder, physical inju-ries, homicide, rape, and rob-bery.

The DCPO said 64 percent

OPERATORS of passen-ger boats going to and from the Island Gar-

den City of Samal (IGACOS) will soon require senior citi-zens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and those below 18 years old to wear life jackets.

This after the City Council passed on second reading last week a resolution mandating all boat owners to require se-nior citizens, persons with dis-abilities, and minors below 18 years old to don life jackets.

The proposed ordinance is set to be discussed for third and final reading in the City Council’s regular session on Monday.

Based on the draft ordi-nance of the committee on so-cial services headed by Coun-cilor Victorio Advincula Jr., there is a need to implement the ordinance because these sectors are the most vulner-able since their abilities and

capabilities are limited.The association of boat

owners bound for Talikud Is-land in IGACOS represented by Mario Reta opposed the proposal during the commit-tee hearing last September 10, saying wearing life jackets on board causes discomfort to passengers.

Advincula, however, said the mandatory wearing of life jackets while riding boats is in-tended to safeguard the lives of passengers in case of maritime emergencies and accidents.

In his resolution, Advincu-la said the ordinance is in line with the national policy to en-hance maritime safety stated in Flag State Advisory No. 021 and in response to the petition of the public that all ship oper-ators and officials of motorized bancas shall require to wear or hold their life jackets at all times. ARMANDO B. FENEQ-UITO JR.

Mar claim of peace, order ‘myth’ debunkedBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

Life jacket ordinancenears Council approval

SC asked not to lift TROon ‘no bio, no boto’ policy

DOUBLE VIOLATION. A police auxiliary personnel rides along San Pedro Street without a helmet on board a motorcycle with no license plate. Lean Daval Jr. FDCPO, 13

FSC, 13

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THE Philippines will re-main diplomatic in case China decides not to

honor the decision of the Per-manent Court of Arbitration on the maritime dispute on

the West Philippine Sea which is set to come out in June next year.

“War is too expensive for the Philippines to choose,” Su-preme Court Senior Associate

Justice Antonio Carpio said in his presentation during the South China Sea/West Philip-pine Sea Dispute at the Ateneo de Davao University last Fri-day.

Carpio said the Philip-pines lack the necessary war machinery and manpower to battle China.

He also said resorting to war would not provide solu-

THE tropical depression outside the Philippine Area of Responsibilty

(PAR) has intensified into tropical storm with interna-tional name “Melor” and has been renamed as “Nona” as it enters PAR on Saturday morning, according Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Admin-istration (PAGASA).

In an interview, PAGASA weather forecaster Glaiza Es-cullar said “Nona” entered PAR at 4 a.m., the 14th tropical cy-clone to affect the country this year.

Escullar explained the tropical storm should have been “Nonoy” but was later on changed to “Nona” due to its landfalling characteristics and in respect to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s name.

She said that as of 4 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm “Nona” was estimated based on all available data at 1,110 km east of Maasin, Southern Leyte (10.2N, 135.0E) packed with maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the cen-ter and gustiness of up to 80

THE final approval of a proposed law exempting persons with disabilities

(PWDs) from the payment of 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on certain goods and services is nearing with the nomination of seven lawmak-ers to the bicameral confer-ence committee.

The House of Represen-tatives has chosen Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means; Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, Baguio City Rep. Nicasio Aliping, Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, An Waray Party-list Rep. Victoria Isabel Noel, and Abakada Par-ty-list Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz as bicameral conferees to final-ly pass the PWD measure.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Mar-tin Romualdez, the primary author of the measure, has strongly appealed to the House and Senate leaders to imme-diately approve the bicameral conference committee report as Congress is scheduled to ad-journ next week for Christmas break.

“The Aquino government and Congress leaders can fur-ther show its care and com-passion to PWDs by finally ap-proving the bill upholding the rights and promoting the wel-fare of PWDs in the country,” said Romualdez, a senatorial candidate in next year’s polls.

“I appeal to the national government to consider my proposal so that we can extend additional genuine assistance to PWDs. This is very import-

ant to help their plight,” he pointed out.

The veteran lawmaker aims to “amend Section 32 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7277, otherwise known as the Mag-na Carta for Persons with Dis-ability,” as amended byR.A. No. 9442.

He said his proposal is an equalizing measure because this will accord PWDs exact-ly the same privilege enjoyed by senior citizens who are ex-empted from the VAT by virtue of R.A. 9994.

“This will help give justice to the disadvantaged sector, the PWD,” he stressed.

“Persons with disability effectively enjoy only PhP12 for every PhP100 worth of goods or service because the law does not exempt them

from VAT, which is imposed on the net value of the goods or service or 10 percent of the PhP80 after deducting PhP20, representing the 20 percent discount granted in R.A. 9442, for every PhP100 worth of goods or service purchased,” Romualdez explained.

He said the proposed VAT exemption shall apply on the-following: medical and dental services; purchase of medi-cines in all drugstores; public railways, skyways and bus fare; admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carni-vals and other places of cul-ture, leisure and amusement; and all services in hotels and similar lodging establish-ments, restaurants, and recre-ation centers. (PNA)

STALWART of the Liberal Party on Friday said Sen-ator Grace Poe is still a

presidential candidate until af-ter the Supreme Court decided on her case with finality.

This after another division of the Commission on Elec-tions (Comelec) cancelled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Poe, disqualifying her to run in the 2016 presidential race.

The First Division chaired by Commissioner Christian Robert Lim voted 2-1, to cancel Poe’s COC for president. Com-missioners Luie Tito Guia and Rowena Guanzon disqualified Poe.

The Chairman of LP’s Po-litical Affairs and Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice said Poe’s camp still has a chance to ap-

peal her disqualification to the Comelec en banc.

“If ever she failed to get the nod of the poll body, she can bring her case to the Supreme Court who is the final arbiter,” Erice said in the vernacular in a text message to the Philippines News Agency.

Recently, the Second Di-vision of Comelec who voted 3-0 also disqualified Poe to run in the 2016 presidential elec-tions.

Erice said the decision of the two poll divisions clearly says it is almost final that her appeal to Comelec is almost the same result since 5 of the 7 commissioners have ex-pressed their belief that she is disqualified to run.

Phl won’t resort to war vs China: Carpiocrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

tion to the long-time maritime dispute which could lead to expropriation of Philippine’s 80 percent of its exclusive economic zone (EZZ) and 100 percent of its extended conti-nental shelf by China through its nine-dash line national maritime boundary.

Carpio said the nine-dash line claim of China over the South China Sea would leave the Philippines with thinner maritime territory.

He said as China mass pro-duces warships and aircraft to guard its claimed territory in the South China Sea, the Philip-pines will “ask the world com-munity to encourage China to comply with the decision of the tribunal.”

China, as an economic su-perpower, “needs the world to survive,” he said. “When China refuse to follow the decision, we will go to the rest of the world to help us convince Chi-na to comply.”

“China has to export and import (goods and services) to survive. They cannot just ignore the world,” Carpio said.

He said for instance, China needs the approval of other countries with which it also has maritime disputes like Vietnam and Malaysia for its maritime sea route that will start in the South China Sea.

Carpio said the South China Sea not only serves as

a maritime sea route but also as a source of livelihood and resources of surrounding na-tions that have jurisdiction over the water.

He said in the Philippines, the on-going reclamation for construction of military bases as prevented fishermen from catching fish in our own wa-ters.

The power supply of the Luzon and Visayas grid is also threatened by the projects of China now that its military forces have occupied the Scar-borough Shoal. China has also done reclamation in the Mis-chief both near Palawan where the Malampaya Power Plant is located.

Carpio said China is “bounded to comply with the decision of the tribunal and with the treaties of the conven-tion (United Nations Conven-tion of Law of the Seas)” or else it will be branded as an inter-national outlaw.

The United States, he said, obeyed the decision of the in-ternational body despite be-ing one of the most powerful countries in the world. In the 1980s, the International Court of Justice told the US to stop its paramilitary activities in Nica-ragua.

While then-president Ron-ald Reagan was against the de-cision, the US Congress eventu-ally complied with it.

PWDs will soon enjoy VAT exemption

Poe can appeal her case to Comelec en banc, SC

Tropical storm ‘Nona’ enters PAR

READY FOR HANGING. A man stands in front of a Christmas greeting sign which is yet to be installed and still hanging outside the General Services Office (GSO) of Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE? National Nutrition Council (NNC) 11 coordinator Dr. Maria Theresa Ungson shows a “Pinggang Pinoy” (Filipino Plate) leaflet which suggests proper menus for Filipino meals. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

FTROPICAL, 13

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PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino cited Davao Oriental’s typhoon

Pablo rehabilitation program let by Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon during the Open Forum at the Annual Bulong Pulongan held at Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City on December 11, 2015.

During the forum, the President was asked about his thoughts on three things—the people power, the media and who Benigno Aquino is now.

Responding to the third question about who he is now, President Aquino said he has grown as a person because of some unimaginable challeng-es he had to face. “I tend to be a person who prepares for the worse but hopes for the best,” he said. Among these challenges, he said, was the Super typhoon Pablo that hit Davao Oriental on December 4, 2012.

“We go to Davao Oriental and as far as the eye can see there is no single coconut left standing. Everybody depends on coconut for their livelihood and the coconut needs five to seven years to grow. What do we actually do for this peo-ple for the next five to seven years?” he said.

“And lo and behold, Cora Malanyaon does not talk

about increase poverty in her province, she talks about ris-ing inflation. There is so much cash awash in terms of the re-building that has been going on and the livelihood opportu-nities,” the President said, em-phasizing his astonishment of the Provincial Government’s determination to rise from the ruins of ‘Pablo’ through the local government’s initiatives and the downpour of support coming from the national gov-ernment.

Pablo (Bopha) that hit the province three years ago was the strongest typhoon and the first of its kind then that hit the country, as it happened before Super typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda. It hit Davao Orien-tal even before its people had fully enjoyed the fruits of sev-eral development initiatives.

Three years after Pab-lo, Davao Oriental’s massive rehabilitation efforts have gained significant headway through the “Davao Orien-tal’s Way Forward for 2013-2016” or the Building Back Better Program—a term now adopted by the national gov-ernment in its rehabilitation efforts.

At the final year of her term, Governor Malanyaon still navigates her administra-tion in line with Provincial De-velopment Plan, but this time,

Aquino cites Malanyaon, DavOr’s Pablo rehab

File photo shows Governor Corazon Malanyaon visiting President Aquino in Malacañang in June 2014 after Mount Hamiguitan Range and Wildife Sanctuary in Davao Oriental was successfully inscribed as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Photo Courtesy of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)

she puts premium on environ-ment, eco-tourism and rural tourism.

The provincial govern-ment wants to fully maximize its resplendent landscape and seascape, making the province a new beehive of Eco-Tourism activities that boosted tourist arrivals from 17,000 in 2011

to 277,542 in 2014. Her focus on such particu-

lar sectors was highlighted by the inscription of the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, adding interna-tional prestige to the province.

The provincial govern-ment initiates development

of eco-tourism sites and parks, setting the foundation for world-class development standards of tourism-relat-ed projects. These are the: Subangan Provincial Muse-um in Mati City, Pintatagan Welcome Park and Dalan sa Cruz Shrine at the provincial entrance in the municipality

of Banay-banay, Aliwagwag Falls Eco Park in Cateel, Cateel Riverview Park and Memo-rial Shrine, Baganga Sunrise Boulevard, Boston Pacific View Park, Mt. Hamiguitan Eco-Park in San Isidro, Pusan Point in Caraga, and Cape San Agustin Eco Park in Governor Generoso. PIO

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ECONOMY

STATE ministers formu-lated the Brunei Darus-salam, Indonesia, Malay-

sia, and Philippines (BIMP-EA-GA) Vision 2025 during the recent 19th BIMP-EAGA Minis-terial Meeting last Thursday at the Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Ma-laysia in a bid to develop a “re-silient, inclusive, sustainable, and economically competitive sub-regions.”

The 10-year development plan will serve as the successor document to the Implemen-

tation Blueprint 2012-2016 that will support and compli-ment the ASEAN 2025: Going Ahead Together roadmap, the state ministers said in the joint statement furnished by the Mindanao Development Au-thority (MinDA).

MinDA chair Luwalhati Antonino was the Philippines’ signing minister during the one-day ministerial meeting, held annually and attended by signing ministers from each of the four member nations.

This year’s high-level meeting, chaired by Senator Dato’ Sri Wahid Omar of Malay-sia, served as one of BIMP-EA-GA’s consultative platforms to set the future direction of sub-regional cooperation.

“We endorse the guiding framework for the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025 and call upon all BIMP-EAGA stakeholders es-pecially the private sector and the local governments to take advantage of this opportunity to bring their views, inputs,

and projects that will generate economic growth and devel-opment in the sub-region,” the signing state ministers said in the statement.

The statement also said the senior officials are direct-ed to finalize the development blueprint in time for the 12th BIMP-EAGA Summit that will be held in the Philippines next year.

The signing ministers from each nation also urged

GOVERNMENT econom-ic planners are confi-dent that the Philip-

pines can achieve its target of 6 to 7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

This means that the ex-pected economic growth of 5.9 percent for the fourth quarter of the year should be achieved, said Rosemarie Edillon, Na-tional Economic Development Authority (NEDA) assistant director general for policy and planning.

Edillon said the growth will be fueled by government’s spending, the industry, busi-ness process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism sectors in September to December quar-ter.

She added that because of a stronger economy and a sta-ble inflation rate, household

consumption will also contrib-ute to faster economic growth during the period.

This year, the country posted a 5.7 percent unem-ployment rate, the lowest in a decade.

NEDA attributed this to employment generated by the industry sector, led by con-struction and manufacturing, and the services sector led by the trade sectors and tour-ism-related sectors.

In 2016, Edillon said con-struction and manufacturing will still play an important part for the country’s econom-ic growth especially now that the government is ramping up its infrastructure spending.

“The IT-BPO will still be a growth engine,” she added. “In fact, we are climbing up

BIMP-EAGA setsvision for 2025

crc@edgedavao.netBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

NEDA says Phl can meet2015 GDP growth target

EXPECTATIONS of higher income due to increase of family members with

jobs, 13th month pay, and stable prices among others resulted in the improvement of consumers’ outlook in the forth quarter of 2015.

Results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) consumer expectation survey (CES) for the last quarter of the year showed a still neg-ative overall index of -8 but it is better than the previous quarter’s -11.6 percent.

Other factors cited by the respondents as reasons for the improvement in their out-look are effective government policies, improvements in in-frastructure and brisker busi-ness activity leading to higher household income.

The index for the next

quarter is broadly stable against the previous quarter at 5.7 percent.

In terms of selected economic indicators, the re-spondents expect inflation to remain steady in the next 12 months, the peso to depreci-ate to the dollar and unem-ployment to rise.

The nationwide survey was conducted from Oct. 1-12, 2015 and respondents were taken from the Phil-ippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Master Sample List of Households.

It has a sample size of 6,020 households and 2,904 or 48.2 percent came from the National Capital Region (NCR) while 3,116 house-holds or 51.8 percent of the respondents came from areas outside NCR. (PNA)

Consumer sentimentimproves in Q4 2015

PRICEY COFFEE. An exhibitor displays bottled civet coffee at the exhibit area of the Mindanao Trade Expo Christmas bazaar 2015 at the activity center of Abreeza Mall over the weekend. Civet coffee is one of the most expensive kinds of coffee in the world. Lean Daval Jr.

DCCCII elects Tan, Gaisano as new president, chairman

NEW CHAMBER OFFICERS. Flanked by members of the election committee –outgoing president Antonio dela Cruz on the left and past president Robert “Boyet” Quinto on the right—the newly-elected officers of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. pose for posterity after they were elected last Saturday afternoon. Seated from left: VP for agribusiness Teresita

M. Pascual, president Bonifacio T. Tan, reelected chairman of the board John Y. Gaisano Jr. and VP for professional and service ventures Belinda L. Torres. Standing from left: Luciano Frederick “Dicky” Puyod III, Sofronio M. Jucutan, lawyer Enrique M. O. Diola, Arturo M. Milan, Ronald C. Go, and Antonio M. Ajero. LUZ SUAN

BONIFACIO T. TAN, a rubber grower and ex-porter, was elected new

president of the multi-award-ed Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), during an election last Saturday administered by outgoing President Antonio dela Cruz and past president Robert Quinto as election committee.

Tan, whose company is Farma Rubber Industries, Inc., is a former chamber president.

John Y. Gaisano Jr. of JHG Trading Company who be-longs to the famous Gaisano clan of topnotch retailers in the Visayas and Mindanao was re-elected chairman of the board.

Other officers elected were Sofronio “BJ” M. Jucutan, an-other past president, of Stan-dard Global Source, Inc., ex-

ecutive vice president; Luciano Frederick F. Puyod III of Philip-pine Green Farm Development Corp., vice president for trade and commerce; Ronaldo C. Go of Ecotrans Car Rentals, VP for industry; Teresita M. Pascual of Mahayag Country Farms, VP for agri-business; Belinda L. Torres of Jobs Ejobs Solutions Inc., VP for professional and service ventures; lawyer En-rique M.O. Diola of ACCRA Law Office, corporate secretary, and Alvin M. Pinpin of SGV & Co., corporate treasurer.

The trustees are: Arturo M. Milan of Davao Light and Power Co., Inc.; Antonio M. Ajero of Edge Davao and Zion Accuprint; Yvonne F. Cabada of CCTechnologies & Allied Ser-vices; architect Daniel T. Lim of FarEast Associates; engineer

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HEALTHPoison in your favorite peanutsBy Henrylito D. Tacio

IF you love peanut butter, boiled peanut (nilaga), or fried peanut (adobo),

you better watch out. The favorite snack food you may be eating is loaded with fungal contaminant that could cause liver cancer.

The Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA) tested some samples of peanut products made here and abroad and found they contained aflatoxin B1 be-yond the acceptable limit. As such, it warns the pub-lic from consuming peanut products.

“Aflatoxin (Aspergillus flavus) is also known as anti-nutritional or anti-nu-trient toxin,” FDA explained in an advisory. “Aflatoxin binds proteins, vitamins, and minerals so that the body cannot absorb the nutrients. In children, afla-toxin can stunt growth and can lead to kwashiorkor, a debilitating disease of nu-tritional deficiency in chil-dren.

“If ingested over a pro-longed period of time in large doses, the poison can also inhibit the immune system,” warned the advi-sory, which was signed by FDA Acting Director Ken-neth Hartigan-Go.

Actually, there are two main ways people are usu-ally exposed to aflatoxins. The first is when someone takes in a high amount of aflatoxins in a very short time. This can cause: liver damage, liver cancer, men-tal impairment, abdominal pain, vomiting, convulsions, edema, pulmonary edema, hemorrhaging, disruption of food digestion, absorp-tion or metabolism, coma, and even death.

The other way people suffer aflatoxin poisoning is by taking in small amounts of aflatox-ins at a

time, but over a long peri-od. This might happen if a person’s diet has a small amount of aflatoxins, for example.

Peanuts, when not properly dried after har-vesting, can grow molds that cause them to rot. FDA authorities note that as the molds feed on the grain, they leave behind their waste product known as mycotoxins. One indication that peanuts have grown aflatoxin is when it already tastes bitter, according to the FDA.

The word “aflatoxin” was created around 1960 after the discovery that the source of turkey X dis-ease was Aspergillus flavus toxins. According to med-ical science, aflatoxins are

a m o n g

the most carcinogenic sub-stances known.

At least 14 different types of aflatoxin are pro-duced in nature. Aflatoxin B1 is considered the most toxic. Aflatoxin G1 and G2 are produced exclusively by Aspergillus parasiticus. While the presence of As-pergillus in food products does not always indicate harmful levels of aflatox-in are also present, it does imply a significant risk in consumption. Aflatoxin M1 and M2 are metabolic products which are found in the urine and milk pro-duced by animals which have been given feed with aflatoxins in it.

Aside from peanuts, other staple com-

modities reg-u l a r l y

contaminated with aflatox-ins include cassava, corn, cotton seed, millet, rice, sorghum, sunflower seeds, tree nuts, wheat, and a va-riety of spices intended for

human or animal con-sumption.

When pro-cessed, afla-

toxins get into the g e n e r a l food sup-ply where they have

b e e n fo u n d

people are exposed to afla-toxin through food grown at home,” CDC points out. “Inadequate harvesting and storage techniques allow for the growth of af-latoxin-producing fungus and homegrown crops are not routinely tested for the presence of aflatoxin. As a result, an estimated 4.5 billion people living in de-veloping countries may be chronically exposed to afla-toxin through their diet.”

Dr. Go urged consumers to be careful when buying peanut products sold in streets or sidewalks. “There is a possibility that the pea-nuts (adobo and nilaga) sold or offered for sale by ambulant and street ven-dors, who are under the purview of local govern-ment units, contain afla-toxin beyond the allowable limits,” he warned.

Peanuts for sale

Fried peanuts

Photo from the net

in both pet and human foods, as well as in feed-stocks for agricultural an-imals (swine, goats, cattle, sheep, and chickens). In fact, aflatoxin transforma-tion products are some-times found in eggs, milk products and meat when animals are fed contami-nated grains.

“In developed coun-tries, commercial crops are routinely screened for afla-toxin using detection tech-niques that are performed in a laboratory setting,” the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC) notes. “Food supplies that test over the regulatory limit are consid-ered unsafe for human con-sumption and destroyed.”

But such is the case in developing countries like the Philippines. “In de-veloping nations, many

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 201510 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

EDITORIALShow some class

ONE distinctive of the internet in general and social media in particular is that it is a medium that allows participation from virtually anyone. It used to be that for a person to

be heard by the populace, he or she would have to be a celebrity, politician, or someone who has the money to buy advertising space or air time. Letters to the editor would have democratized things, but they have always been a hit-or-miss thing, with newspapers typically choosing which ones to publish and which ones to throw away. With the internet, it has become easier to engage publications simply by posting comments on their websites. Indeed, media outlets are being beaten in this game by social media where Facebook or Twitter posts can often become viral and seen by thousands and even millions of people without having to be published or aired in traditional media.

The problem with social media, however, is that it can also be a breeding ground for intolerance. With everyone free to engage each other, it is not uncommon for those with less than benevolent mindsets to take the low road and resort to bullying those who happen to believe in something else or support another cause. This happened in the Philippines in the 2010 national election — the first polls in which social media were already common — and

it is happening at an even greater magnitude as the 2016 election approaches.

And whether we like it or not, supporters of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte are fast gaining a reputation for being online bullies, and their attacks and tirades against those who support other candidates or who make the mistake of criticizing the mayor are doing the campaign serious harm. Several personalities have already fallen victim, including popular tour guide Carlos Celdran and celebrities Gab Concepcion and Ramon Bautista, and there is no telling if it will stop. The bullying can be as benign as simply calling people names or as vicious as actually threatening them with physical harm. This sort of behavior validates what many people accuse Duterte of being: a human rights violator who resorts to violence to accomplish his goals.

It’s not like it’s not possible to be civil. After all, from the same group of people come true innovators who have pioneered the use of “citizen ads” in promoting the presidential campaign of Duterte. If this were harnessed, it would go a long way in convincing non-Dabawenyos that Duterte is, in fact, a viable candidate who can go head-to-head with the other candidates in a civil discussion. In other words, show some class, people.

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

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S P E C IA L S U P P L E M E N T

Green BananaBusiness Hotel

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

Green Banana Hotel: Elevating Davao’sHotel Scene

NESTLED in the middle of Davao City’s downtown area is a hospitality haven that aims to make your every stay a most mem-orable one. Yes, amidst the noise, there sits a hotel that will make you think twice before booking that ticket abroad or outside Davao. Now, Davao has a convenient hotel that will lull you into slumber without going beyond your budget.

By Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto

On its grand open-ing, Green Banana Hotel will let you in on a secret – that you can stay, en-joy, and fall in love with Davao minus the extrav-agant hotel fees.

Green Banana Busi-ness Hotel is the fresh-est hospitality find in Davao and the whole of Mindanao. Its five-sto-rey building boasts of 33

fully furnished rooms perfect for a night or two in the city. Aside from its restaurant, it will have an al-fresco dining area to cater to passersby and walk-ins who want to sit back, relax, and nibble on something gastronomi-cally delicious while be-ing one with nature.

GREEN BANANA A4

Ms. Allexy A. Flores,marketing head Green Banana Business Hotel

EDGEDAVAO

...you’d feel at ease from the moment you step inside

until you decide to leave.

A2 EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

A3EDGEDAVAOVOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

Green BananaBusiness Hotel

A4

Its first floor will be home to Jingo’s, its in-house restaurant, bar, and cafe, and to 7 Eleven, the coun-try’s biggest convenience store chain which will operate 24 hours a day.

On its second, third, and fourth floors are the rooms, while the fifth floor is where the function room, with mezzanine, will be located. Be it for business or pleasure, you’ll surely have a grand time here.

Invigorating, fresh, and bud-get-friendly – three powerful words from Green Banana’s Marketing Head Allexy Flores when asked to describe the hotel. According to her, Green Banana Business Hotel’s sim-plicity is what will pique your curi-osity to step inside and book a room in an instant. “It’s very convenient, with close proximity to the malls, has great customer service, and it’s relax-ing ,”

GREEN BANANA A1

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

she adds. True enough, at Green Ba-nana Hotel, you’d feel at ease from the moment you step inside until you de-cide to leave.

Today, as it formally opens its doors to the public, you’ll surely be amazed to find a hotel in the middle of one the bus-iest places in Davao. Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, there stands a green hotel ready to serve you any time of any day.

Green Banana Business Hotel is located in front of Pryce Tower, Pryce Business Park, J.P. Laurel Avenue, Baja-da, Davao City.

CONGRATULATIONS, Green Ba-nana Business Hotel!

Now, Davao has a convenient hotel that will lull you into slumber without going beyond your budget

GRACE Poe was recently dis-qualified from the presiden-tial race because as a found-

ling, she failed to meet the natu-ral-born standard of the citizenship requirement for presidential eligi-bility. This raised multiple discus-sions regarding the basis for citizen-ship, and nationalism, and even the current limitations of our democra-cy in choosing a leader that people believe deserves to be in the highest position of the executive branch.

But why exactly does the Presi-dent of the Philippines need to be natural-born?

The Philippines was, for hun-dreds of years, occupied by colo-nial powers—largely by Spain and America. The revolution and the fight for freedom gave birth to an independent and democratic nation. To make sure that the country would no longer suffer under colonial rule or any subsequent oppression from another country, the writers of our Constitution made sure that the highest executive position will be free from any foreign influence and will only be governed by leaders who have a strong sense of patrio-tism and understanding of our own country.

That is the reason all Presiden-

tial can-d i d a t e s must be n a t u -ral-born citizens, that is, c i t i z e n s born to F i l i p i n o parent/s, c i t i z e n s having Filipino blood, instead of be-ing naturalized whose citizenship in this country is based only on the number of years they’ve lived here.

It is the minimal standard that protects the country from any ambi-tious foreigner that could easily be-come naturalized citizens from be-ing the Head of State of this country, and being the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines, both of which belong to the presidency.

That provision is, of course, im-perfect, because having Filipino blood is not an assurance for being patriotic, nor does having foreign blood automatically mean that the candidate can’t feel a strong sense of nationalism for the country. But the electorate, the people, can also be imperfect and have the capacity

to misjudge.So in order to balance the imper-

fection of the governing institution, and the imperfection of the people, provisions were set up to drasti-cally reduce the instances in which misjudgment can occur. That’s why we have an age requirement, to lim-it the selection to candidates who have had enough lived experience to have reliable moral judgments, and why we have a residency require-ment to limit the selection to candi-dates who have lived in the country long enough to be engrossed in its culture, its strengths, and its prob-lems.

This is how we can best balance the right of the people to choose their leader, and to have a safety net to ensure the capabilities of the peo-ple running for office.

But more than the responsibil-ities that the President has that come along with his job, s/he is also the face of the country, the symbol who represents the Filipinos to oth-er nations, and the symbol to whom the citizens draw inspiration from. This subjective aspect is the reason that, at all times, the President must be someone whom all Filipinos, re-gardless of ethnicity, religion, or class, can relate to, and with whom

they can share a common identity.If you take as an example a Eu-

ropean man as a Filipino president, no matter how patriotic he can be, he cannot represent the nation in a way that a Filipino by blood can. It makes the independence of our nation questionable when it is gov-erned by someone who represents the colonial oppression committed to our country in the past.

The case of Filipinos particularly matters because unlike most coun-tries in the West, our democracy is still a baby and we are still strug-gling against a culture of colonial mentality and dependence on for-eigners for protection and econom-ic development. The leaders of our country are one of the few threads that still hold our national identity together, one of the few spaces that can still be protected from the cor-ruption of influence that can dam-age the interest of our own people.

While we do envision a democra-cy that can freely choose its leaders based on individual merit, we are far too premature as a nation, far from being repaid for the destruc-tion of social institutions caused by colonialism, to be lax on nationalis-tic provisions that protect our coun-try from foreign influence.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 11EDGEDAVAO

21 LEADERS joined the APEC summit last week in Manila to discuss how regional co-

operation can contribute to the well-being of the member countries and stay relevant. The APEC meet-ing was held only a few days before the ASEAN summit which paved the way for the ASEAN Economic Com-munity, further integrating South-east Asian nations.

APEC is not, however, designed to form legally-binding cooperation; APEC summits are meant to provide a forum for leaders to discuss is-sues of regional concern. The theme for this year, “Building Inclusive Economy, Building a Better World”, reflected the global situation. The economic wealth of the past de-cades, propelled by technological advances, has not been fairly dis-seminated. In the past decade, the top earners have captured a dispro-portionately large share of the total

i n c o m e in many markets e c o n o -mies, in-c l u d i n g the Phil-ippines, at the ex-pense of the ma-jority of people at the lower end of the earning scale. To build sustainable and balanced economies, APEC will hopefully im-plement how countries can create an environment that allows to pro-portionately spread wealth to every member of society.

For instance, APEC guidelines should give more encouragement to small and medium enterprises, in-stead of letting the richest and best connected reap unfair benefit at

the expense of free competition (in the Philippines, it is high time that the Philippine Competition Com-mission is formed and starts work-ing on and then implementing the IRR). The agricultural sector and environmental protection should be developed in parallel with the growth of industries to form a solid socio-economic foundation.

The timing of APEC this year pro-vided an opportunity for countries to inquire about the prospective Trans-Pacific Partnership Agree-ment (TPP), which includes many APEC members, and the planned Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will in-clude ASEAN and its six free-trade partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korean and New Zea-land.

The APEC summit faced the challenge of staying relevant amid the legally-binding regional agree-

ments such as the ASEAN Economic Community, TPP and RCEP. APEC ac-commodated many working groups which function at senior official lev-els (and which have met in various parts of the Philippines during this year). Looking back, there are ques-tions as to whether it is necessary to host an expensive annual gath-ering of prime ministers and pres-idents (crippling business in Metro Manila for at least a week) which does not produce concrete policies that legally bind the participating countries. But its loose cooperation format can be a plus as it may en-courage leaders to show their po-litical will and exchange views ear-nestly, covering the enhancement of economic integration, fostering SME participation in both the re-gional and global economy, invest-ing in human capital development and building sustainable and resil-ient communities.

Henry J. Schumacher

EUROPE BIZ

Why the President needs to be a natural-born citizen

APEC and ASEAN

Vanessa Kate Madrazo

MY MILLENNIAL MIND

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 201512 EDGEDAVAO

MOTORING

NOTHING says that you care about your car than by keeping it in

tip-top shape. And the most visible sign is to keep it clean. Now, most people take good care of their skin by applying sunblock or moisturizer, but just how does one care of a car’s exterior? Seeking help on this matter, we consulted with the local distributors of Sonax, the premium German car care specialist to find out more about car pampering.

Car Washing 101A car’s paint isn’t as sim-

ple as it looks. It’s actually composed of several layers that give it its unmistakable luster. Thus, proper car wash-ing is the simplest and most

cost-effective way of keeping it protected. Washing even on a daily basis to remove built up dirt and grime is alright for any car, only if the correct product like a car shampoo is used. Unlike laundry soaps which tends to strip off the protective layers of paint or its clear coat, a proper car shampoo acts as softener and lubricant to remove the grime. With that, it makes re-moving most residues easily without causing water marks and the like.

Preparing a Home WashThe key to getting your

car properly washed is prepa-ration. According to Sonax, you can easily achieve the same level of cleanliness on

your car whether you use a hose or buckets. What’s more important is that you park your car in a shaded area be-fore doing a wash. This is so that water won’t dry as quick-ly causing water spots. Next, always have all the required materials and tools ready. Aside from a good car sham-poo, always have a microfiber cloth or foam with you. Never use a rag or else you risk leav-ing scratches. Ditto if you use the same cloth (microfiber or otherwise) on multiple areas of a car. It’s a good idea to use one for the upper part (clean-er) and the lower portion (dirtier). Wipe in a circular motion in order to make sure every surface is applied with the appropriate cleaner and

to minimize unsightly gashes.

Waxing and DetailingOf course, after all that

washing, the next step is to wax your car. This is actually very different to polishing. Waxing is simply adding a layer of protection to your car whereas polishing is when you give the paint an extra sheen. Waxing every time you wash your car is fine, but it’s best to do it once a month.

Now, detailing is the thor-ough process of cleaning a car. Drilling down to exterior detailing in particular, this entails taking out scratches, polishing it, and finally giv-ing it a coat of wax. And since you’re actually scraping off a bit of the top coat every time

you detail, twice a year detail-ing is the maximum.

Removing Nature’s Haz-ards

The most typical paint hazard occurs when your car gets hit by tree sap, bird droppings, and the like. It’s important to actually re-move them or else you risk damaging the top coat in the long run. Once you get home, douse it with car shampoo to soften it and just wipe it off. For asphalt, this is tougher. You need to use a clay bar and not kerosene to remove it. A clay bar is a mildly abra-sive cleaning agent but won’t damage the clear coat. If you will need to use a clay bar, it’s best to actually apply a new

coat of wax for protection. For cars which tend to accu-mulate brake dust, you can use a quality car shampoo or a specialized brake cleaner to remove them. At this point, do not use anything with acid nor use brushes to remove accumulated brake dust.

Well, there you have it. It pays to keep your car’s exteri-or clean to make sure it lasts longer. Your car helps you live the life you live, so it’s good to pay that back by giving it some TLC. Always remember to use the right products for the purpose, the right tools and equipment, and be mind-ful of your technique.

Of course, when in doubt, you can always consult a pro-fessional.

The art of keepingyour car clean

ONLINE car platform Carmudi has expressed its firm belief that the

automotive sales done online would continue to flourish, fol-lowing the rapid sales growth in the automotive sector as it approaches the end of the year.

Carmudi Philippines Man-aging Director Subir Lohani, said, “That the second-hand car market would also grow side-by-side with the influx of sales for the brand new ones, attributing it to the introduc-tion of new features from vari-ous automotive manufacturers and importers.”

“2015 is being a good year to the automotive industry. With the projection made by key executives in the industry, we believe that it would con-tinue to rise. Following that thought, buyers and sellers of second hand vehicles can also expect an increase in number,” adds Lohani.

Lohani cited that based on the combined figures from the Chamber of Automotive Man-

ufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and Trucks Manufactur-ers Association (CAMPI-TMA), November 2015 sales rose to 26,979 from 21,422 units tallied for the same month in 2014, reflecting a 25.9 percent increase.

He also learned that their year-to-date sales grew to 261,930 units for the first 11 months of the year, which is a 22.7 percent higher compared to the 213,427 units in the same period in 2014.

The promos and other of-fers of the car dealers, Lohani added, has given potential buy-ers more power to buy new models.

“That is just for CAM-PI-TMA alone, what more if combined with the sales from the members of the (AVID) Association of Vehicle Import-ers and Distributors, Inc. That means around or more than 310,000 new vehicles more will be added in a span of one year,” Lohani said.

“And if there are more

brand new vehicles, some of the pre-loved vehicles are like-ly to be given a new owner,” he said, as he urged all online sell-ers to keep their prices low yet competitive to keep the com-merce flowing smoothly.

Meanwhile, CAMPI presi-dent Atty. Rommel Gutierrez of Toyota Mo-tor Philippines was quoted as saying that that they are most likely to achieve their annual target. “With another im-pressive growth in November 2015, we are most likely to achieve our tar-get of 310,000 units for the year”, Gutierrez said.

Moreover, Lohani advised the public to be wary of bogus

seller s as they are expecting high cases of fraud if the trans-action is not done appropri-ately. “Fraud happens every day. But during the Christmas season where many are get-ting duped because of the bo-nus usually happens this time of the year,” he said.

Online sales influx eyed by yearendA SUDDEN unintended acceleration (SUA) case

involving a Mitsubishi Montero Sport was re-ported by a driver in Iloilo City on Monday

evening (December 7) inside a house in Monte Rosa Subdivision in Hibao-an Sur Village, Mandurriao.

According to driver Gregorio Deloeste, he was about to park the 2012 automatic transmission Montero Sport owned by his nephew, when the SUV accelerated and plowed through the living room and dining area.

Deloeste claimed that he was in the garage when the vehicle mysteriously drove off at high speed, while he shifted the gear stick to neutral and applied the hand break even before the car “self-propelled.”

Also read: Montero Sport ‘victims’ share their stories; UK expert weighs in

Deloeste said he decided to crash the vehicle into one of the house’s foundations to prevent it from running.

The impact caused part of the house’s ceiling to collapse. Several furniture and appliances were also destroyed.

No one was injured in the incident.Laurence Kaizer Deloeste shared several pic-

tures of the incident on his Facebook account. The family said they would file a complaint against Mit-subishi. (CNN Philippines)

Iloilo owner reports Montero‘sudden acceleration’

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015 13DCPO... FROM 3

Poe... FROM 4

NEDA... FROM 8

BIMP... FROM 8

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NEWSEDGEDAVAO

or 11,571 were non-index crimes, which refer to such crimes as possession of illegal drugs, illegal possession of firearms, and gambling, and the like.

“These are police-initi-ated operations that yielded positive results especially on anti-drugs and other special laws,” the DCPO said.

In a telephone interview with EDGE Davao on Satur-day, DCPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace C. Driz said the persons who handed the data to Roxas may not have ex-plained clearly why the crime volume in the city reached that high.

“Wala nilla gi-specify, gi-generalize nila (They did not specify the crime rate, they just generalized it),” she said.

Driz explained that index crimes are crimes perpetrated by criminals while non-index crimes are the operations on special laws such as anti-ille-gal drugs, illegal possession of firearms, and anti-illegal gam-bling.

She said the non-index crime rate is high because the police in the city are working hard, resulting in a big num-ber of solved crimes, appre-hensions, and cases filed in the court.

“Kanang atong mga na-ap-prehend og mga na-solve na crime gina-tally man pud gud na siya didto’g apil (Those apprehensions and crimes

solved were also tallied in the crime rate),” she said.

Driz said the PNP central office should also explain to the people why the crime rates reach so high to avoid miscon-ception.

“Dapat mag-base pud sila sa non-index og index crime rate (They should also base it on non-index and index crime rates),” she said.

She said DCPO director Senior Superintendent Vicen-te D. Danao Jr. emphasized that it is better to have a high non-index crime rate because it simply shows that the police are working hard to arrest vio-lators of the law.

“The 11,571 in non-index crime rate is more on accom-plishments in implementing the special laws,” Driz quoted Danao as saying.

The DCPO had earlier re-ported a decrease in crime rate in the city compared with last year’s statistics.

Based on DCPO records from January to September, there were 10,362 crimes this year compared with13,039 last year, a difference of 2,677 or a 20.5 percent decrease.

For index crimes, the city recorded 3,870 this year com-pared with 5,935 last year, a difference of 2,065 or a 34.8 percent decrease.

The city also a recorded a non-index crime rate of 6,492, lower than the 7,104 last year or an 8.6 percent decrease.

took a swipe against Comelec’s argument that the “No Bio, No Boto” policy aims at cleaning the voters list and weed out flying voters.

“By consistently raising alarm over ‘flying voters,’ is the COMELEC insinuating that there as much as 2.5 million il-legal ‘flying voters’ in the coun-try? Without actual data strat-ifying the identities and num-ber of registered voters with-out biometric information, nei-ther party can assert the exact reason why 2.5 million have failed to submit themselves to COMELEC again between May 2014 and October 2015,” the petitioners argued.

“Whether they are actually ‘flying voters,’ and whether the lapse has been on the part of COMELEC or of the voter, the certain fact is this: 2.5 million registered voters cannot vote at the next elections,” they add-ed.

“More importantly, what COMELEC fails to explain in detail is that the whole point of biometric registration and val-idation will prove to be moot, as the backend technology that will enable the poll body to dig-itally verify and validate voters’ identities come Election Day will not be used,” the petition-ers argued.

They noted that instead of providing an electronic Vot-er Verification System (VVS), Comelec Chair Bautista an-nounced to the public in No-vember that a hard copy of the voters’ list will still be used in the upcoming elections to veri-fy the identities of voters.

Bautista has earlier said that the VVS, which will sup-

posedly check a voter’s bio-metrics such as fingerprints electronically on Election Day, is seen by Comelec as “a want rather than a need.”

“Without the VVS, there will be no means for teachers and poll employees manning the precincts on Election Day to actually use the biomet-rics information gathered by COMELEC... Given these cir-cumstances, there is in fact no compelling need for COMELEC to continue insisting on imple-menting the ‘No Bio, No Boto’ policy,” the petitioners argued.

In their manifestation, they also said that the right of over 2.5 million voters set to be disenfranchised by the “No Bio, No Boto” policy trumps any argument on logistical concerns.

They cited the Internation-al Covenant on Civil and Polit-ical Rights, to which the Phil-ippines is a signatory, which requires the country to respect the people’s right of suffrage without unreasonable restric-tions.

“This Honorable Court is now entrusted with the pow-er to provide the people relief from unreasonable burdens and the freedom to exercise their rights. Petitioners ask that this Court maintain and continue the temporary re-straining order against the deactivation of voters without biometric information, for equal dignity and respect,” the petitioners added.

The SC is expected to hold a special en banc session on Dec. 16, 2015 to render a rul-ing on the “No Bio, No Boto” case. (PNA)

kph. It is forecast to move west northwest at 25 kph.

She said so far the tropical storm has no direct effect in the country. But starting Sun-day night, it will affect the east-ern side of Luzon and Visayas as it will raise a public storm warning signals (PSWS).

She also noted the tropical storm is expected to intensify into typhoon category.

With maintaining its speed and movement, tropical storm is expected to make a landfall in Bicol region by Tuesday night, said Escullar.

Meanwhile, Escullar said that Northeast Monsoon will affect Northern Luzon.

The northeast monsoon or “hanging amihan” is the cold wind from China and Siberia that blows into the country from late October un-til mid-February. It is usually associated with the Christmas season.

Escullar said fair weath-er is seen in most parts of the country on Saturday except for

isolated rainshowers.For Saturday forecast, the

presence of northeast mon-soon will bring cloudy skies with light rains expected over the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera and Cagayan Valley, while part-ly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains will be ex-perienced over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshow-ers or thunderstorms will pre-vail over the rest of the country.

In its advisory, PAGASA said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Northern Luzon and eastern section of Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters along these ar-eas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the northeast to north with slight to moderate seas.

The state weather bureau said no gale warning has been issued as fisherfolks is safe to venture into the seas. (PNA)

Daang Matuwid spokes-man Barry Gutierrez in a sep-arate text message said Poe should respect the decision of the institution.

“There are still legal ways to appeal her case considering that this is not yet final,” Guti-errez said.

He added that she should not blame the poll body if the decision is not in her favor be-cause there are laws to follow.

On the other hand, Erice urged Poe to stop accusing the Aquino administration of masterminding her disqualifi-cation, saying that the problem was created by her when she files her candidacy in 2013,

The latest blunder of Poe was based on the petition filed by former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, former UE Law Dean Amado Valdez, and De La Salle University Professor Antonio Contreras.

In its decision, the first division cited Poe’s claim that

she had been a resident of the Philippines for 6 years and 6 months, which means that Poe shall have been a resident for only 9 years and 6 months up to the election day on May 9, 2016.

The division added that Poe should not have been con-fused since the COC form clear-ly states that what is required to be stated is the period of residence up to the day of the polls.

“It is indeed incredible to think that Respondent, a well-educated woman and already then a public servant with full staff support, includ-ing a legal team, would not know how to correctly declare the facts material to her candi-dacy for the 13 May 2013 Elec-tions,” it said.It also pointed out the “inconsistency” in state-ments of Poe who has said she has actually been a resident of the Philippines since May 2005. (PNA)

the so-called value chain. So although we ranked number one in voiced accounts, we are moving to the non-voice sec-tor of BPO, such as animation, accounting processes, and medical transcriptions, which is higher in value.”

In terms of assisting this sectors, Edillon said the gov-ernment is already working on the various stages of busi-ness processes to improve the “ease of doing business” in the country.

Government also ensures that the manpower needed by these sectors will be provided accordingly, she said.

“Let’s say, in the IT-BPO industry, they need a certain

set of skills in their field. So, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), in partnership with the Business Process Associa-tion of the Philippines (BPAP), provides six months of train-ing to those who are interest-ed to enter the BPO industry. This program is ongoing and is expected to expand,” said Edillon.

Edillon was guest at the Kapihan sa Media ng Bayan on Friday. Kapihan airs live every Friday over Radyo ng Bayan DZRB 738 AM from 10am to 11am, and delayed telecast over PTV4 from 7 pm to 8pm, and IBC 13 from 10.30 to 11.30 pm. (PNA)

HOLIDAY BUSINESS. Food vendors enjoy brisk sales at the Rizal Park in Malaybalay City, which has been lighted up for the yuletide. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno

senior officials and clusters in consultation to identify the second generation of Priority Infrastructure Projects (PIPs) in the development blueprint “to further enhance connectiv-ity and elevate the connectivity agenda beyond 2016.”

“We continue to recognize that improvement in connec-tivity is vital for the seamless movement of goods and peo-ple from the EAGA and for its integration to ASEAN and the rest of the world,” the minis-ters said.

Also taken up during the meeting was the current im-plementation of the first PIPs which involved the improve-ment of roads, seaports, and airports.

“We are pleased with the significant progress in the implementation of PIPs,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the sub-re-gion members are following the BIMP-EAGA Implementa-tion Blueprint (IB) 2012-2016 as development plan for the BIMP-EAGA sub regions.

As the implementation of each country of the five-year development blueprint prog-ress, the signing ministers said in the joint statement that senior officials and the sector clusters are tasked to expedite the work on the projects and implement them according to the timeline, including their integration to national policy, budget, and programs.

Wilfred T. Teves of Eagle Mul-tipurpose Cooperative; and Annie E. Veloso of the Develop-ment Bank of the Philippines.

The chamber is supported by a formidable group of pro-fessionals and entrepreneurs

doing volunteer work in more than 20 committees and a pro-fessional management team (PMT) composed of young men and women headed by Maan Doromal, DCCCII execu-tive director.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 201514 EDGEDAVAOCLASSIFIEDS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015 15HISTORY OF DAVAOIglesia’s influence-peddling circa 1965

By Antonio V. Figueroa

EDGEDAVAO

CULTURE & ARTS

AN internet revelation writ-ten by Antonio Ramirez Ebanghelista—obviously

a nom de plume—in his 2015 blog turned inside out the homegrown sect Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).

Allegations of extravagance, abduction, factionalism, and kidnap squad reached in no time the attention of the press, and the disturbance created by the claims placed the leaders of the denomination on pins and needles.

In support of the belea-guered ministers, the INC mem-bers, starting on August 28, 2015, held an extended rally at EDSA Shrine in Quezon City. The rallyists, although non-violent, disrupted traffic. The speakers reminded the government of the separation of the State and the

Church. The INC wanted to un-derscore its clout at a time when the filing of certificates of candi-dacy was just months away.

But there were aspects to the protests that were glaring. While the street blockade was going on at Edsa, some mem-bers of the sect held a vigil out-side the INC’s headquarters, demanding the release from ‘detention’ of the mother and brother of the minister. The con-trasting pictures put to doubt the vaunted unity of the sect, which is highlighted during elections through its bloc-voting scheme.

Influence-peddlingBloc-voting, described in

some commentaries as an INC ‘electoral culture,’ is probably as old as the sect itself. In the

December 1965 ‘A Monthly Re-view of Facts, Trends, Forecasts, by Manila Businessmen’ that appeared in the American Cham-ber of Commerce Journal, three entries talk about ‘influence peddling’ associated with the denomination.

On Nov. 4, Jose Erestain, leader of the Knights of Colum-bus, called on the Catholics to support the position of then President Diosdado Macapagal to remove the ‘sword of Damo-cles’ poised by the INK over the head of state officials. It’s unclear what the threat was about but5 given that 1965 was an elec-tion year, it could have meant the sect’s bloc-voting. (INC was originally known as the Iglesia ni Kristo, or INK.)

Earlier, The Sentinel, a Ma-nila Catholic organ, in its Oct. 27 issue, printed a front-page story quoting an unnamed Cebu cleric claiming Senate President Ferdi-nand E. Marcos promised Eraño Manalo, INK executive minister, a say in the appointment of the Secretary of Education in ex-change for the sect’s support. The President, however, refused to ‘kowtow’ to the group.

No single-party ‘bloc voting’In the Nov. 5 entry, posted

five days before the 1965 pres-idential elections, Manalo’s re-sponses to a Manila Daily Bulle-tin questionnaire came out with surprising revelations.

For instance, the INK ex-ecutive minister answered it was not Marcos who courted the sect’s poll support but Ma-capagal who even offered “con-cessions which we refused.” To strengthen this assertion, Mana-lo said he has “evidence [on the supposed bribery] which would be released if the situation war-rants”.

Contrary to popular no-tion, there’s no such thing as single-party bloc voting o the sect. The INK head admitted his sect members voted together but not as a bloc given that the list endorsed by the Executive Minister and the Provincial Min-isters who “come to a meeting of minds” included candidates from various parties.

Moreover, Manalo disclosed that the roster of candidates the sect was supporting in the Nov. 9, 1965 elections included Mar-cos for president, Sen. Gerardo Roxas for vice-president, and LP Senate candidates Sergio Jr. Osmeña, Estanislao Fernandez, Cesar Climaco, and Jovito Salon-ga, and Nacionalista Senate bets Genaro Magsaysay, Constancio

Castañeda, Wenceslao Lagum-bay, and Alejandro Sr. D. Almen-dras.

Asked to comment on the Cuenco religious instruction bill, the executive minister also lam-basted it doubtful constitution-ality as it would give the Catholic Church, INC’s bitter rival, control of public education.

Before EDSABefore the INC launched its

August 2015 EDSA protest rally, more than half a century earlier its members staged a strike in support of the 1961 amendment of Republic Act (RA) 3350, or the Magna Carta of Labor, which changed RA 875 (repealed by PD 442), a law that promoted in-dustrial peace, by resigning from the labor union.

The amendment stated that nothing in the new law “shall preclude an employer from making an agreement with a labor organization to require as a condition of employment membership therein, if such labor organization is the repre-sentative of the employees… but such agreement shall not cover members of any religious sects which prohibit affiliation of their members in any such labor orga-nization.” (Underscoring mine)

But the court reversed this measure and declared the reli-gious provision illegal.

In the Aug. 15, 1964 entry of the American Chamber of Com-merce Journal, Judge Arsenio I. Martinez of the Court of Indus-trial Relations, ruled that R. A. 3350, excusing “members of any religious sect from joining labor unions on account of religious prohibition, as unconstitution-al.”

As a forewarning, the magis-trate gave “the 115 members of the Iglesia ni Kristo, laborers on the Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac, 10 days to reconsider their resigna-tion from the hacienda workers’ union, authorizing the manage-ment to discharge them if they do not withdraw their resigna-tion; he states the INK rule im-pairs the freedom of workers to form unions and the obligations arising from collective bargain-ing.”

How far will the touchy is-sue of separation of State and Church between the govern-ment and the INC will go, is any-body’s guess. As it is now, the INC is in deep trouble trying to fight the state in its determina-tion to uphold the rule of law. On the side, doubts about sectarian unity in the INC, especially its bloc-voting clout, is in jeopardy.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 201516CLASSIFIEDS EDGEDAVAO

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THE Philippines hauled 16 gold, 17 silver, and 26 bronze medals to finish in

seventh place overall at the end of the 8th Asean Para Games in Singapore.

The chess team collected six golds for the Philippines in the biennial meet for different-ly-abled athletes. Junnie Menan-dro led the way with four gold

medals, winning the men’s indi-vidual rapid B2/B3 and individ-ual standard B2/B3 events then teaming up with Arman Subaste and Israel Peligro to take home the gold in the men’s team rap-id B2/B3, and men’s team stan-dard B2/B3 competitions.

Sander Severino also claimed gold in the men’s indi-vidual rapid P1 chess and the

men’s team rapid P1 with Henry Lopez and James Esto.

Athletics claimed five gold medals behind Jerrold Pete Mangliwan and Prudencio Panaligan, who ruled two sprint events each in the 100m T52 and 200m T52, and Joel Balatu-can who topped the men’s shot-put F53/54/55.

Ernie Gawilan scooped two

golds in swimming in the 200m individual medley SM8 and 400m freestyle S8 in record time while Gary Begino also claimed the team’s third mint at the pool in the men’s 400m freestyle S7.

Adeline Dumapong-An-cheta ruled the women’s +86kg category in powerlifting while Josephine Medina topped the women’s singles class 7-8 in ta-

ble tennis.Thailand took the overall

crown with a 95-76-79 gold-silver-bronze medal tally while Indonesia finished second with 81-74-63. Malaysia (52-58-37), Vietnam (48-58-50), Singapore (24-17-22), and Myanmar (16-17-29) all finished ahead of the Philippines.

Brunei (3-3-6), Cambodia

(1-2-6), and Laos (0-2-3) round out the rankings in the week-long event held from December 3 to 9.

There were also silvers and bronzes for the Philippine team in athletics, chess, sailing, swim-ming, table tennis, and tenpin bowling. The wheelchair basket-ball squad also came home with two bronzes.

SEVENTH PLACE FOR PH

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015

DABAWENYO CHESSER. James Infiesto (right) in action

during the men’s individual rapid chess event of the 8th

AseanmPara Games.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 2015 19EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

NONITO Donaire sur-vived a game Cesar Juarez via unanimous

decision to regain the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight title on Saturday (Manila time) in San Juan Puerto Rico.

The 33-year-old Filipino scored two knockdowns ear-ly in the 12-round fight, but found himself in trouble the

last few rounds behind the re-lentless pressure put on by the Mexican.

Donaire though, managed to hang on and scored a unan-imous decision in winning his fifth world title.

Judges scored it 116-110, 116-110, and 117-109.

The ‘Filipino Flash’ im-proved his record to 36-3, with 23 KOS as he got back a

piece of the 122-lbs title belt which he lost to Cuba Guill-ermo Rigondeaux in 2013. Rigondeaux was stripped of the crown last month for in-activity.

Juarez is now 17-4 (13 KOs), but made a brawl ouf the potential Fight of the Year by coming back from two knockdowns he suffered in the fourth round.

BRANDON Vera wasted little time in atoning for the losses of his com-

patriots as he knocked out Paul Cheng right in the first round to become the first ONE heavyweight champion in Spirit of Champions on Friday night.

The Filipino-American MMA star connected on a left hook and a left kick to the face the floored his Taiwanese foe, a last-minute replacement, with only 26 seconds gone by in the opening round for the quickest win of the night to the delight of the Mall of Asia Are-na crowd.

“Itong title na ‘to, hindi lang sa kin, pero para sa in-yong lahat,” Vera said. “Ma-ligayang Pasko.”

Vera was one of only two Filipino fighters who emerged victorious, the other being Eugene Toquero. The Cebua-

no fighter scored a technical knockout victory over Li Wei Bin after his Chinese oppo-nent refused to get get out of his stool at the start of the third and final round following a beating from Toquero in the previous round.

Vera and Toquero thus atoned for losses of country-men Ana Julaton, Mark Striegl, and Ruel Catalan.

Julaton lost to Russian Iri-na Mazepa via unanimous de-cision after the Pinay former boxing champion tried to take the fight to the ground and proved unsuccessful.

Striegl failed to sustain his early gains as he tapped out of rear-naked choke by Austra-lian Reece Mcalren late in the last round after dominating the fight early with takedowns.

Catalan, for his part, like-wise lost via submission to Brazilian Alex Silva late in the

first round of their flyweight fight.

That left Vera to be saving grace, and he didn’t disappoint as the former UFC contend-er sent Cheng to the canvass quicker than it took him to en-ter the ring with Diddy’s “Com-ing Home” on the background.

Vera, though, admitted it wasn’t an easy transition preparing for Cheng, who re-placed Chi Lewis-Parry three nights before the fight.

“Mahirap,” he said. “I’ve been preparing for twelve to sixteen weeks then the camp changes overnight. I didn’t sleep that night (of the an-nouncement of change). I stayed up the whole evening. I fell asleep with my iPad on the face, hitting myself watching Paul Cheng’s videos.

“It was a big deal and nerve-wracking,” Vera added as he never underestimated

LOS Angeles Lakers super-star Kobe Bryant has al-ways loved competition,

and the San Antonio Spurs have always been among his fiercest.

Bryant said he will miss his “home away from home.”

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points, Kawhi Leonard had 16 points and they each had 11 rebounds to lift the San Anto-nio Spurs over Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers 109-87 on Friday night (Saturday, Manila time).

A lack of depth and experi-ence proved too much for the young Lakers to overcome but not before they gave the Spurs a few scares.

Rookie D’Angelo Russell had a career-high 24 points and added six assists and six rebounds for Los Angeles. Bry-ant had 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting in 29 minutes.

“They force us to be our absolute best whenever we’ve played against them,” Bryant said. “We are constantly think-ing about them throughout the course of the year and always

looking at what they’re doing and how they’re playing. We’ve had some epic battles.”

As time expired, Bryant ran over to give San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich a long hug, and the longtime compet-itors spoke for a couple of min-utes. Bryant tapped his chest and pointed to the crowd, ac-knowledging the cheers and chants of “Kobe” as he walked off the court.

Bryant announced Nov. 29 that he is retiring at the close of the season. He’s helped beat the Spurs in the postseason four times, including the 2001 and 2008 Western Conference Finals.

Despite his success in San Antonio, Bryant is extremely popular in the city and a large contingent of fans came to see what could be his penultimate appearance at the AT&T Center. There were huge ovations on every Lakers’ basket and even “air ball” chants when Leonard badly missed his first 3-point attempt.

“It felt good to see all those jerseys in the crowd,” Bryant

said. “That’s very rare to have that here in San Antonio.”

The crowd cheered wild-ly when Bryant made his first four attempts, scoring nine points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. He made only one more field goal while being closely guarded by Leonard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and athletic 6-foot-6 rook-ie Jonathon Simmons.

“I’m always out there com-peting and want to play hard and play good against him,” Leonard said.

The Spurs and their fans were silent for much of the first quarter until the second unit energized both, as they have all season.

Aldridge fed a cutting Manu Ginobili for a reverse layup, and Ginobili returned the favor on the following possession, lob-bing the ball into Aldridge for a layup. The Spurs outscored the Lakers 14-2 to close the first quarter, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Patty Mills.

Mills finished with 22 points, including three 3-point-ers.

CAGERS ON WHEELS. Players in their Team Philippines kit, battle Vietnam in the ongoing

event of the 8th Asean Para Games.

HARD DRIVE. A player from Thailand drives inside the paint. Team Philippines defeated Thailand in the ongoing event of the 8th Asean Para Games.

Spurs hand Rocketstheir 5th straight loss

Donaire is champ again

Vera is first ONE heavyweight championCheng, who sent his last foe, Mahmoud Hassan into retire-ment after getting knocked out.

It was a double celebration for siblings Angela and Chris-

tian Lee as the won their re-spective fights, with the female forcing Lena Tkhorevska with a rear-naked choke, and his younger brother knocking out David Meak in another quick

victory, just three seconds slower than Vera’s win.

Bruno Pucci also forced Anthony Engelen to submit with rear-naked choke in featherweight bout.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 186 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 14, 201520 EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 184 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

REMINDER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OFDAVAO DOCTORS HOSPITAL (CLINICA HILARIO), INC.In relation to the Tender Offer made by Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc. to acquire shares of Davao Doctors Hospital, Inc., this is a reminder to the shareholders that the last day to submit applications is on December 19, 2015 (Saturday).

The accomplished Application Form together with the stock certificates and other requirements shall be submitted to the Tender Offer Agent at the following address:

Atty. Dominador Maphilindo O. CarrilloSyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan Law Offices

The Penthouse, 17/F, Landco Corporate CentreJ.P. Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City 8000

Telephone No. : (6382) 221-3917Email : dmocarrillo@syciplaw.com

For inquiries or clarifications, you may contact the Tender Offer Agent.

16 EDGEDAVAO