SUPPLEMENT 7 ISSUE 251

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015

MALE chauvinist pigs who used to consider the opposite sex second class citizens, can now eat their heart out because many women of today have become empowered. Women

of substance, those whose sphere of positive influence has gone be-yond the confines of the home, their traditional turf, no thanks to the patronizing mindset of their traditional husbands. Take the print and broadcast media industry, banking, malls, name the business sectors, where men used to reign supreme, and most likely, they are now in the hands.Of the four local dailies, only one is led by a male

editor. All five television stations and even the dominant cable tv are headed by lady managers. Ladies now manage the oldest mall and newest one, and many of those in between. Women now head many banks and majority of the tour and travel agencies.

Here, as a tribute to empowered women, Edge Davao is featuring eight (?) women of influence, admittedly a limited number due to limited space and time. We know there are hundreds of other de-serving ones and we commit to feature them in some future time. AMA

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

DR. Mae Concepcion J. Do-lendo is a native of Iloilo but came to Davao City

because her husband, engineer Gabriel dela Cruz Dolendo, is from this city. The two met during a national conference convened by YMCA Rizal Youth Leadership Training Institute.

Dr. Dolendo is one of the re-cipients of the Datu Bago this year, cited for “her outstanding work in pediatric oncology.” The citation added that she has placed Davao City in the world map of pediatric oncology “due to her international linkages.”

“I am deeply honored and truly humbled,” she says of the recognition. “It means I have contributed something signifi-cant to Davao City, my home. It

means a bigger voice, hope and inspiration for the children I ad-vocate for and the people who tirelessly work for these chil-dren.”

Dr. Dolendo is the driv-ing force behind the House of Hope, which is located inside the Southern Philippines Med-ical Center (SPMC). She heads the Children’s Cancer and Blood Diseases Unit.

“SPMC is the biggest public tertiary hospital and serves as a referral center for Mindanao,” she says. “We have patients who come from as far as Zamboanga, Surigao, and Sarangani. In fact, recently we have patients com-ing from Bohol, Tacloban and even Bicol region.”

On why she founded House

of Hope, she says, “Treatment for child cancer is long term and requires repeated visits to the hospital. The children and their families need a place to stay which is clean, wholesome and conveniently near the hospital. House of Hope served as a tran-sient home for these patients for the duration of their outpatient treatment.”

Over the past ten years, DC-CFI has successfully realized its vision and mission. “We are trying to further strengthen its capacity so that it can respond to the increasing number of pa-tients it serves and continue to advocate for legislation that will promote sustainability of sup-port for child cancer,” Dr. Dolen-do says.

ANGELY Chi is a young Dabawenya who is now making a name

for herself in the field of art owing to the events she has initiated. Some of these nota-ble events are “Litorgy Meta-morphoSIX” which brought together many literary art-ists and enthusiasts last month and the BLTX (Better Living Through Xeroxogra-phy), a small press forum which aimed to teach writers and artists to publish its own works at a minimal cost.

Angely, who is known as “Chi” to her friends, shares some of her thoughts on arts with Edge Davao:

An artist should not be a pigeonholed or com-partmentalized in a sin-gle genre. Chi said an artist should learn other mediums of art to present their differ-ent views and perspectives

of the world. She said the job of an artist is to make other people see the beauty and uniqueness of the world through various perspec-tives.

“An artist should live oth-er experiences to appreciate the value of different crafts that make a masterpiece a one of a kind. Some artists have the anti-social mentali-ty, thinking that they do not belong to the society,” she said.

Chi herself is involved in different interests such as creative writing, painting, and filmmaking.

Artist should be collab-orative. Chi passionately or-ganizes events in the city be-cause she wants to promote art and culture. She said there many potential artists in the city but there are no platforms to convene them

here.She wants different artists

such as painters, sculptors, creative writers, and film-makers to meet in one event to talk about the best things that Davao can be known for. Chi said she is willing to help other art groups in the city -- but it does not mean that she should work alone. She said she realized during her events that little impact is created on audiences if art-ists work alone.

The young artist said col-laborative effort will lead to success in promoting the art and culture of Davao City. She said it is easier to work with like-minded people, but working with those with opposite views can also cre-ate positive results. The last thing she wants is for Davao City to be known for only one thing.

AVOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015 EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO Womenofinfluence

DR. MAE CONCEPCION J. DOLENDO

ANGELY CHI

Pediatric Oncologist

Event Organizer

Hope for Children with Cancer

Promoting art and culture

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

MA R G A R E T Thatcher once said: “If you

want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

Today (March 8), the world celebrates International Women’s Day and that popular line enshrined with Thatcher’s iconic lega-cy fittingly provides us of how the late British leader views women’s role in the society.

In honor of women, we present a collection of unforgettable and in-teresting lines from the so-called “women who dare.”

From Nancy Rath-burn: “A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, deci-siveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.”

From former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt: “A woman is like a tea bag—you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”

From Diane von Furstenberg: “I always wanted to be a femme fatale. Even when I was a young girl, I never re-ally wanted to be a girl. I wanted to be a woman.”

From pop star Ma-donna: “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.”

From Gloria Stei-nem: “A feminist is any-one who recognizes the equality and full hu-manity of women and men.”

From Maya Angelou: “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

From Malala

B VOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015EDGE Serving a seamless society


Women of the world speak on women empowermentWOMEN POWER

“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

strong. Women are al-ready strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”

From Erin McKean: “You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, es-pecially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to your mother, you don’t owe it to your children, you don’t owe it to civiliza-tion in general. Pretti-ness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.’”

From Bill’s wife Me-linda Gates: “A woman with a voice is, by defi-nition, a strong wom-an.”

From first woman aircraft pilot Amerlia Earhart: “Women, like men, should try to do the impossible, and

when they fail, their failure should be a chal-lenge to others.”

From actress Bet-te Davis: “When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.”

And from Angelina Jolie on her double mas-tectomy: “I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way dimin-ishes my femininity.”

The collection of quotes could go on and on as women empow-erment has become a global beat. To the cou-rageous women of the world—from the ordi-nary housewives to the working women in fac-tories and in offices, to the women in politics and women CEOs—we doff our hats and offer our heaps of respect. (NJB)

Yousafzai: “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”

From G.D. Anderson: “Femi-nism isn’t about making women

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S3VOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015 EDGE Serving a seamless society


SANDRA CONCEPCION DOS REMEDIOS

PRISCILLA N. RAZON

IN the far-flung villages of Paquibato and Mari-log Districts of Davao

City, some indigents and poor families are enlist-ing themselves to become beneficiaries of the gov-ernment’s conditional cash transfer program called Pantawid Pami-lyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). These families are just among the 700,975 target beneficiaries of 4Ps in Region 11 for this year that will receive monthly allowance from the gov-ernment.

Alleviating poverty and providing sustainable livelihood programs to Davao region’s poorest of

the poor is just among the tasks of Department of So-cial Welfare and Develop-ment (DSWD) 11 regional director Priscilla N. Razon.

Recently, the soft-spo-ken director was given the Best Manager award during the celebration of the 64th Founding Anni-versary of the department in Quezon City. This was another feather in her cap since she had won best as-sistant manager in 2011. She was also a semi-final-ist to the 2007 Lingkod Bayan Awards of the Civil Service Commission and was conferred best Divi-sion Chief in 2006

But for Razon, the

awards do not seem to matter as much as the op-portunity to serve those who truly need help.

“DSWD 11 is serving more than 290,000 4Ps beneficiaries who are re-ceiving conditional cash which will be used for education and health,” Razon said. For this year, the national government increased Region 11’s budget allocation for 4Ps from P4.5 billion to 109 billion. This translates to bigger task for Razon, but she said it also means the agency will be able to help more Dabawenyos seek-ing assistance to give their children a better future.

Athlete

Regional Director, Department of Social Work and Development

Dedicated public [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

NOT only did this lady fight to live, she com-peted to win and

showed the world all is not lost for an individual suffering from the dreaded Big C.

This is the story of San-dra Concepcion Sarenas Iñi-go-Dos Remedios, a breast cancer survivor from Davao City, who accomplished sport-ing glory with her determina-tion.

Sandy, as she is called by friends, is a paddler who won four gold medals and one sil-ver as a member of an Aus-tralian team that dominated the 1st IPDBC Breast Cancer Dragon Boat World Cham-pionships in Singapore nine years back.

“I’m the only Filipino in the event,” says a teary-eyed Sandy while recalling that one glorious moment in her life in the 2006 Singapore cam-paign.

Sandy said she even cried the moment she saw the oth-er participants of the race in Singapore, all in their 50s and 60s and she was only 46 that time.

“You really can’t imagine seeing older participants, and they really joined the race,” she said.

Just seven years before the event, Sandy, who was 38 then, woke up one day from a surgery after doctors discov-ered she has breast cancer. Luckily for her, the cancer

was in its first stage and she immediately went under the knife to rid of the disease.

She went on to live and now enjoys life with husband Raymund and their four sons. Not only that, she gets to do what she loves to do—water color painting.

“I have to be strong for my children,” Sandy said.

Today, Sandy is still very much involved in the sport of dragon boat, practicing four times a week and competing when there are races here and abroad as a member of the Manila Dragons Dragonboat Rowing Team.

“There is really life after sickness, after cancer,” she says with a smile this time.

Fighting to live, competing to winBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY



S5VOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015 EDGE Serving a seamless society




THE name Lizabel “Wit” Holganza is synony-mous to dedication.

Give it to this lady’s com-mitment that the flourishing information and communi-cation technology-business process outsourcing (ICT-BPO) industry of Davao City grew by leaps and bounds.

From only 1,600 jobs available for the ICT-BPO in 2006, there are now over 20,000 people employed un-der the industry to date.

“That’s a very, very great contribution of the indus-try,” says Holganza.

She cited the Informa-tion and Communication Technology-Davao’s aggres-sive campaign to promote the career of young individ-uals and the collaboration of government and the pri-vate sector in attaining this growth.

“I want to be able to claim that it is the cooper-ation between us, private stakeholders, and govern-

ment in promoting the ca-reer and even inviting inves-tors,” Holganza said.

Holganza was the pres-ident of ICT-Davao for al-most four years and really worked hard during her reign to promote jobs and attract investors. Some of the activities she and her fellow officials did were or-ganize events, roads shows and job fairs.

Aside from getting deep-ly involved in the industry, Holganza also established the MTC-Academy, a school that offers course offerings specifically on medical tran-scription.

One of the areas that Holganza pioneered was the education for the blind in medical transcription. She did this by introducing the first program here in Davao using some technology.

“I feel very happy about it. They wanted their world to expand beyond the four walls of their homes. They

became more self suffi-cient,” Holganza said of her students.

Holganza was working with Jollibee Foods Cor-poration for 19 years, in-cluding five years in the US where she was director for operations of the fastfood company when she decided to come home.

“I would like to provide jobs for my fellow Dabawen-yos. Instead of setting up a business in Manila I decided to come home because my heart is here in Davao,” Hol-ganza said.

“I wanted to promote the BPO as an alternative career for the Dabawenyo,” added Holganza, currently the vice president of ICT-Davao.

Today, there are more than 100 BPO companies in Davao City, a big leap from the 2006 number of only 16 firms.

That’s the fruit of Wit Holganza’s superwoman ef-fort.

FOR University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP Mindanao) Chan-

cellor Sylvia Concepcion, setting one’s priorities is the key to success. She has placed God first, followed by country, family, and career.

“It is very important for young women to set their priorities because it is easy to be sidetracked by urgent things that are not import-ant,” Concepcion told Edge Davao.

When Concepcion went to Cebu as a newly married woman 35 years ago, all she wanted was to work in a pro-fession that would give her time for her growing family. She felt that her teaching job at UP Cebu would give

her just that. Little did she know that the job would make her a mother not just to her three children but to hundreds of students who were just starting to weave their dreams.

And now as UP Min chancellor, she wants her second home and “children” to grow and prosper. UP Min is already known for its high quality graduates and research studies produced by faculty, but she believes there’s still much room for it to grow.

“Twenty years from now, UP will have many roads, but before that the campus should be able to engage the community living around it. So that development will be

inclusive,” Concepcion said.She believes that col-

leges and universities should produce patriotic students that are innova-tive. “That’s the problem with our country. We are late in everything – tech-nology development, edu-cation. We all have the ideas swinging in our heads but when we put it down to something commercially viable, we sell it to the Japa-nese or the Americans,” she said.

However, she believes that when the facilities of UP Min are completed, the school will be able to sup-port the ideas and studies of faculty and students who want change.

SYLVIA CONCEPCION

LIZABEL “WIT” HOLGANZA

UP Mindanao Chancellor

Vice president of ICT-Davao

Educating for [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

The IT lady and her dedicationBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

S7VOL. 7 ISSUE 251 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, MARCH 8 - 9, 2015

Annual Awards - Elite Eagle

Annual Awards - Quota Achievers

Annual performer Apolonio Realty

Annual performer Homeadvisor Realty

Annual performerLayague Realty

Annual performerMaturan Realty

Annual performerLucky Star

Top producer Fernan U. Maturan of Maturan Realty

Top producer Miguel LysanderManimbo of Homeadvisor Realty

Top producer Alma Apolonio of Apolonio Realty

SLDC family

Liezel Serna belts out a song number during the affair

Monette Cutler, emcee

Renowned singer-comedianne Kay Brosas entertains the crowd during the Santos Land Development Corporation Awards night at the SM Lanang Premiere’s SMX Convention Center.

Nora R. Morada, SLDC Chairperson of the Board

Quota achiever Sales Director Aimee P. Maturan of Maturan Realty

Quota achiever Sales Manager Quota achiever Sales Executive Homeadvisor Realty

May Ann Plana and Estela Aguilos SLDC Staff

Special Performance Award-Annual Committment Bonus

Special Performance Award-Outstanding Salesman of the Year

International Travel Incentives Award

THE awards given were split into categories. The appropriate event

was not just about the fig-ures, sales and quotas – it was about a whole range of disciplines that made it even more exciting. For those in attendance, it was a night of inspiration and opportuni-ties. For those who made it to the roster of superlatives, it was an unforgettable eve-ning, more than enough to motivate them to further hone their craft in marketing and notch more successes.

Last February 26, 2015 at the SMX Lanang, the men and women of Santos Land Development Corporation, SLDC for brevity, reigned su-preme. Dressed in their most beautiful and handsome cou-ture, it was a night of memo-ries as SLDC honored its top performers through their Sales and Marketing Annual Recognition.

With Monette Cutler on the microphone, everyone was grinning from ear to ear and occasionally exploding in guffaws – adding flare and

SLDC honors top sales,marketing men, women

By Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto

mirth to the already festive night. Invocation was led by Miguel Lysander Manimbo while Nora R. Morada, SLDC Chairperson of the Board, gave a rousing opening re-marks that were both inspir-ing and motivating.

Mr. Antonio “Tonyboy” S. Domingo, SLDC President, together with the Chairper-son of the Board handed out the certificates in recogni-tion of the top Sales Perform-ers and special awards for Quota Producers for the 4th quarter and Annual Perform-ers of 2014. For the latter, Sales Directors, Sales Man-agers, Sales Executives and Top Producers for the 4th Quarter of 2014 were duly recognized.

Special annual citations in different categories were given to Annual Top Produc-ers, Annual Quota Achiev-ers, Annual Cash Producers, Outstanding Salesman of the Year, Annual Commitment Bonus and Annual Interna-tional Travel Incentive.

Of course, the night would not be complete with-out the usual sumptuous dinner and an exciting raffle draw that made everyone giggly and on their feet in an-ticipation of the handsome cash prizes!

Renowned comedianne extraordinaire, Kay Brosas, made the night even more special with her witty and funny antics. In addition, Lie-zel Serna kept everyone re-laxed with her special num-bers.

As the night came to an end, Top Producer Alma Apolonio gave an inspiring message that talked of pas-sion and dedication while President Tonyboy Domingo thanked everyone for mak-ing 2014 another prosperous and triumphant year.

The Bankers

EDGE Serving a seamless society




MARY ANN MONTEMAYORPrivate Sector Tourism leader, businesswoman

MARY Ann “Baby” Montemayor at-tends to a family

hotel and catering business, add a new venture in fur-niture crafts to that. On the side, she tends to a small and medium enterprise advocacy, local handicrafts, sits as tourism sector repre-sentative, wracks her brains on providing opportunities to local entrepreneurs, goes around empowering wom-en and families, speaks at seminars and conferences, and does her part with sev-eral civic organizations.

Oh, before we for-get, she’s a wife to hote-lier-sportsman Leon Mon-temayor, mother to emerg-ing entrepreneur Marga and granny to three.

We asked this woman whose name is synony-mous to local tourism if she still has time for family and she said she has enough.

“It’s a balancing act,” she

said over a cup of brewed coffee out of native beans grown in the hills of Bukid-non at her newly-opened Habi at Kape at the third floor of Abreeza Mall’s cor-porate center.

“I am glad that every-thing falls into place and I don’t have to manage my time. I just go on doing what I need to do and more, and then I still find quality time with the family. It’s amaz-ing. It’s really a blessing. I think it’s when you give unselfishly that everything comes back to you,” Monte-mayor said.

Of her engagements, the list is almost eternal we can only ask her for the most re-cent and major ones.

Since 2013, she sits as vice chair of the Small and Medium Enterprise Devel-opment Council headed by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory Domingo, and like-

wise represents the private sector for Mindanao. She heads the Davao Region-al Tourism Council which is a six-year mandate, the Davao Eco Crafts which has some 20 member establish-ments, and sits as rep for the tourism private sector in the Regional Develop-ment Council (RDC).

Recently, she and hus-band Binggoy opened Le-Mar Arts and Crafts in ad-dition to running the Villa Margarita Hotel operations and their catering business, one of only a few accredited suppliers of SMX Conven-tion Center.

“I look forward to see-ing my grandchildren after work or weekends. Binggoy is a very happy Popsy to the three kids of Marga and Karlo (Rep. Karlo Nograles) and oftentimes they stay with us when their parents are travelling.”

Amidst all her accom-

plishments and her engage-ments, we asked what moti-vates a woman like her.

“It’s a calling. I look at it as servanthood. When you work for something good for others, it will pay off. I just leave everything to Him to manage how I do things and surprisingly, things just move on like it’s planned,” she said.

She looked up to her mother-in-law Patria Mon-teverde Garcia as an inspi-ration.

“She introduced me to civic works starting with the Soroptimist. She is re-ally the epitome of women empowerment,” said Mon-temayor who will turn 60 this year.

“I am excited to be a senior citizen in the year of the sheep. Now, I can enjoy the benefits like 20 percent dining and free movies,” she said as we wrapped up the interview in laughter.

Servanthood and a balancing [email protected]

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

DR. Malou Monteverde is a mul-titasker who can spend quality time on her family, her chosen

profession, and her advocacies. Now in her late 50’s, Dr. Mon-

teverde is a selfless and independent leader in various industries in Min-danao. She is a wife and nurturing mother, an OB-Gyne practitioner, a consul, and a pioneer in pushing the establishment of a Roll on-Roll off (RoRo) route between Indonesia and Mindanao.

Dr. Monteverde believes that women can do anything for of Davao City and Philippines, and she has proven this with her own life. She was appointed the First Honorary Consul of Mexico to Mindanao, work-ing for the Consular Corps of the Phil-ippines. She is also the Governor of the Philippine Medical Association, founder and President of the Philip-pine Institute of Real Estate Service Practitioners (PhilRES)-Davao City Chapter, a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Real-tors Association, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Gusi Peace Prize.

Monteverde was the first female doctor to be the president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Inc. (DCCCII) and played a vital role in the creation of Davao City’s Public-Private Partner-ship (PPP) ordinance in 2012.

The support from her family, es-pecially her husband Dr. Tomas Mon-teverde, enabled her to do everything

DR. MALOU MONTEVERDEAMBASSADOR-DOCTOR

Multitasking is her cup of [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

even under pressure. “In general, women have broken barriers in the workplace, sexism and racism, and in-equality of standards,” she told Edge Davao in an inter-view. “But a lot still needs to be done.”

There are still some gaps in attaining true equality, Monteverde said, and proper education, not ignorance, will empower women.

“A woman is a biological female who is God’s gift to humanity. She is basically nurturing but independent and selfless. In general, women tend to care for others beyond themselves,” she said.

“Our young women should be empowered by get-ting a proper education, to keep on reading and learn-ing, to be surrounded by loving and nurturing positive people, being confident, to believe that good things will happen when you do good and should keep their faith,” she said.

Monteverde said young women should celebrate their own identities, be educated, have their own ca-reers, be financially independent, and keep on improv-ing themselves through positive education.

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SUPPLEMENT 7 ISSUE 251