FIGURES OF THE WEEK

A & A Securities, Inc.JIFFYCAR Bldg., Ecowest Drive

(Beside SM City Davao), Davao CityTel. Nos.: 299-0199, 297-7233,

303-0555, 297-8090, 0917-7000911, 0922-8831358

Important: The information contained herein is based on sources which we believe are reliable but is not guaranteed by EDGEDAVAO and A & A SECURITIES, INC. This report is provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the security mentioned herein.

STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE

PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX

US DOLLAR = PHILIPPINE PESO

As of February 03, 2012

VOL. 4 NO. 49FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012

T h e B u s i n e s s P A P E R

www.edgedavao.nete-mail: editorial@edgedavao.net / marketing@edgedavao.net

THIS ISSUE: P15 20 PAGESHIGHLIGHTS

COMPETITIVE EDGE P10

AGRITRENDS P7

COMPETITIVE EDGE P11

Raking in millions

Long haul travel

Call Center

As of February 03, 2012

in all Roomsin all Rooms

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

2 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

ON THE COVERIT FIGURESRate of population in poblacion down

46.6 percentINCREASE of the

country’s abaca export revenues from January to November 2011, com-pared to figures during the same period in 2011 (from $90.093 million in 2010 to $132.051 million in 2011). According to data of the Fiber Industry Development Authority (Fida), there was signifi-cant increase in demand, particularly for pulp and cordage.

P14 billionESTIMATED total

amount involved in the so-called Legacy Group scam which victimized many Dabawenyos. Bang-ko Sentral ng Pilipinas is the complainant in vari-ous syndicated estafa and falsification cases against officers of the Legacy syn-dicate headed by Celso delos Angeles.

P25 billion

AMOUNT of financial assistance that the Bang-ko Sentral ng Pilipinas is directed to extend to Banco Filipino within 30 days in a 50-page decision of the Court of Appeals or-dering the reopening the bank.

P1.1 billionNET INCOME of Tan-

duay Distillers Inc. in 2011, according to the company’s filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange last Wednesday. Based on still unaudited figures, the net income jump is almost two times (92 percent) its 2010 profit.

$3.4 millionCLAIMS of state-

owned Power Sector As-sets and Liabilities Man-agement Corp. (PSALM) against Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. According to Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., PSALM presi-dent and chief executive, Pinsent Mason has been engaged as counsel after a negotiated bid. Pinsent Mason will provide legal services to facilitate the claims filed by PSALM be-fore the New York bank-ruptcy court.

P500 millionCOST of the Mindanao

Topographic Mapping Project, funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (Jica) which seeks to update the 1960 topographic maps of Mindanao as tools for planning and investment programming of govern-ment agencies as well as the private sector.

n Most thickly populated are now in Buhangin, Talomo

Customs men discover contrabandupon opening of 23 container vans

Nanay Soling bids goodbye

By Greg G. Deligero

By Maya Coy Antonio

ALABADO

THE RATE of population growth in Davao City’s downtown area had

slowed down and is believed to slow down some more, a trend being closely watched both by the business community and government planners.

The downtown area is no longer the most thickly populat-ed unlike in the 1970’s when al-most two-thirds of Dabawenyos resided in the city proper, also called poblacion.

Current demographic data obtained by Edge Davao from the City Planning and Develop-ment Office (CPDO) indicated that of the city’s total population of 1.3 million, the poblacion is now home to only 11.22 percent.

The most thickly populated area now is Talomo district with 26.41 percent, followed by Bu-hangin, with 17.08 percent.

The least populated are the districts of Baguio with 2 percent, Paquibato with 2.81 percent, Marilog with 3.13 and Calinan with 5.58 percent.

In the 1970s, the poblacion carried 31.18 percent of the city’s total population which stood at only 392,473 at the time. This percentage share decreased gradually over time to 21.47 percent in the 1980s and then to 16.60 percent in the 1990’s. In 2007, the percentage share went down some more to only 11.22 percent.

In contrast, the percent-age share of Talomo gradually increased from 11.34 percent in the 1970s to 17.78 percent in the 1980s and to 21.57 percent in

the 1990s. In 2007, the percent-age share hit an all-time high of 26.41 percent.

A similar trend was shown in Buhangin district which had only 8.10 percent of the popula-tion in the 1970s. However, its percentage share grew to 11.19 percent in the 1980s and then to 13.94 percent in the 1990s. By 2007, the percentage share reached 17.08 percent.

Among the City’s 182 ba-rangays, the most populated and the least populated are found in the Poblacion district: Barangay Bucana, which has a population of 74,113 and Barangay 13-B which has a population of only 176.

Bucana shared 5.4 percent of the city’s total population. It was followed by barangays Bu-hangin proper with 4.2 percent,

Talomo proper with 3.9 percent, Sasa with 3.8 percent and Ma-a with 3.8 percent.

Of the 10 barangays with the smallest number of residents, five are found in the downtown area. Aside from Barangay 13-B, these are Barangay 35-D with 529 population followed by Ba-rangay 3-A with 597, Barangay 16-B with 868 and Barangay 12-B with 974.

City Planning and Devel-opment Coordinator Roberto P. Alabado III said the population trend is “very instructive” by way of identifying the city’s develop-ment priorities.

He said the data are useful in the allocation of the city’s fi-nancial resources, delivery of so-cial services and identification of economic activities and projects. “Even the land developers would now know where our people are exactly located.”

Alabado pointed out the er-ratic changes of population in the urban area.

In 1970, the urban popula-tion comprised 45.47 percent of the total population. Ten years later, it had increased to 66.97 percent on an average annual growth rate of 8.64 percent. The urban population further increased to 71.12 percent in 1990 and to 72.53 percent in 2000.

However, in 2007, the proportion of urban population dropped to 69.99 percent as the proportion of population in the rural areas increased by 2.54 percent, from 27.47 percent in

2000 to 30.01 percent in 2007.“This clearly shows the

increasing number of people now residing in the rural areas,” Alabado said. Of the 182 city ba-rangays, 98 are categorized as urban areas.

With the urban sprawl, he acknowledged the resultant ef-fects such as the increased mo-torization, increased expenses in travel of residents to their places of work, the increase of sales of vehicles, worsening traffic and the likelihood that people spe-cially workers will now spend more time on the road—less-ening time in their homes and places of work.

Alabado said one way of addressing the impact is to es-tablish sub-commercial centers

in districts outside the down-town area and provide them with livelihood opportunities within their localities.

“With the availability of these commercial centers, they will no longer need to travel to the poblacion to buy their basic needs like groceries not unless they want to drink Starbucks,” he quipped.

Alabado said the city gov-ernment would also encourage the establishment of high densi-ty residential areas in the down-town area like condominiums, apartments, townhouses and tenements.

“We have still so many idle lots in the downtown area for these types of residential areas,” he said.

THE Bureau of Customs at the Port of Davao sent out a strong mes-

sage last Friday when it opened 23 container vans on suspicion they contained misdeclared contraband items.

“We will never tolerate false declaration of goods and value here at the Port of Davao,” said Bureau of Customs Port of Davao Dis-trict Collector Martiniano Bangcoy.

Rice, cars, onions, and the infamous ukay-ukay are the top four things be-ing closely monitored by the bureau. The importation of ukay-ukay is outright illegal while cars and rice are often undervalued, and onions need special permits.

Last Friday, Customs men opened 23 container vans they earlier flagged

for suspicious declarations. Contrary to its declared con-tents of margarine, shorten-ing, yeast, and lanolin, the cargo yielded onions and potatoes believed to have come from China.

In an interview with Edge Davao, District Col-lector Bangcoy said that a warrant of seizure and de-tention will be issued by Monday or Tuesday, and notices will be sent to the consignees by Wednesday.

The consignees on of the container vans are D’ Golden House Trading Co., with 13 container vans, Aya Day Trading, with 6 container vans, and Alvee Trading, with 4 container vans.

While Bangcoy do not expect any of the consign-ees to show up to claim the flagged container vans, he

assures that due process will be followed.

“A decision of forfei-ture will then be issued in favor of the government, which then shall become final 15 days,” said Bang-coy. Unlike other products, onions and potatoes cannot be auctioned.

What ticked off the Bu-reau of Customs to flag the cargo was the vagueness of the products declared, among many others.

“We do a profiling of cargo based on the port of origin, the broker, the volume, and what is being declared. Unlike regular imports which have tariff descriptions, this cargo had vague descriptions,” said Bangcoy. The container vans declared its contents to be margarine, shorten-ing, yeast, and lanolin.

MISDECLARED. Bureau of Customs district collector Martiniano Bangoy and some of its officers inspect 23 suspected container vans which they positively identified as misdeclared goods that came from China and Hongkong. Consignees from AYA Day Trading, ALVEE Trading, and D Golden House Trading

declared their items as margarine, savory products, lanolin, shortening, and yeast yet what was found inside were potatoes and onions with a total value of P18,400,000 inside Sasa Port, Friday morning. According to Bangoy, all items will be turnover to the City Government for proper distribution.

SOLEDAD “Nanay Soling” Roa Duterte bade good-bye as she succumbed

to cardiopulmonary arrest on February 4. She was 96 years old.

For her children, family, and friends, Nanay Soling’s demise does not mean an end but time to rekindle the legacy she left.

At her ripe old age she was an epitome of a coura-geous woman, a visionary, a noted civic leader—traits that also run in the blood of her son Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and grand-daughter Mayor Sara Duterte.

A woman who once took up the cause for the people of the city during Martial Law, Nanay Soling was among the pillars of Davao’s Yellow Fri-day Movement at the height of the People Power Move-ment; she was a role model to other women.

A retired public school teacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan, this great lady never got tired. Apart from being a convenor of the Yellow Fri-day Movement in the l980s, she also established the Soledad Duterte Foundation which pursued various proj-ects in Marahan District, an area of the indigenous people where she has devoted her time teaching them liveli-hood skills for the commu-nity.

Museo Dabawenyo, which opened in 2008, was also her brainchild.

The widow of the late lone Davao Province Gover-nor Vicente G. Duterte, she is also a collector of mementos. Her home in Juna Subdivi-sion is a museum of collec-tions from her teenage years up to the present. Verses and prayers are displayed in her house. She also loves to write her reflections.

A mini-museum lo-cated in the upper floor was opened in November 2010. Inside that room, Nanay Sol-ing kept photographs of nu-merous events in her life as first lady of then Governor Duterte when Davao Prov-ince was undivided.

Photographs on the wall took guests in memory lane when the Davao City Women’s Club, composed of prominent ladies and heads of civic organizations, was established. There were also photographs of her as a Davao Girl Scout Council Board president, a director of the Davao Nurses Associa-tion, and various other clubs during the early 50s and 60s.

A chapel in her home also reflects Nanay Soling’s close relationship with the Creator.

Last year during her birthday, while lying in bed due to a fractured ankle, she prayed for a fast recovery because she wanted to visit Marahan District where her training center is located. It is also in this site where her Sacred Mountain for pilgrim-ages will soon stand. The site will be completed with 14 Stations of the Cross, a grot-to, and a chapel.

Her eldest daughter Eleanor is thinking of put-ting out a biography for her mother. She said she thought of the book because her mother was also an aggres-sive writer. She said 50 per-cent of the book will be on Nanay Soling’s writings and commentaries for a certain chapter of her life, as well as some prayers and verses.

“She had a colorful life. She had visionary dreams in her semi-conscious state. She could recall everything, even in tracing our family tree,” she said.

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

3FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

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the economy

“HUNGER is humanity’s old-est enemy.” – World Food Programme, United Nations.

FOUR and a half million Filipino families, mostly chil-dren, went hungry in the third quarter of 2011.

That translated to around 22.5 % of the total population without food or running short of food daily, according to the survey of the Social Weather Stations conducted between December 3-7, 2011..

Government downplayed the survey result, pointing out that it was a negligible 1% higher than the 21.5% (esti-mated at. 4.1 million families) in the previous quarter.

Statistics are frigid, unfeel-ing, but the hunger that gnaws at the insides of millions of Filipino children is a continuing tragedy, an indictment against the inability of government’s inability to salve the problem. Year in, year out.

Hunger is the body’s way of signaling that it is running short of food and needs to eat something. Hunger can lead to malnutrition, disease, starva-tion, and eventual death

When a body is hungry, it compensates for the lack of food by slowing down its physical and mental activities. A hungry mind cannot concen-trate, a hungry body does not take initiative, a hungry child becomes abstracted from the

living world around him. For a country that hopes

to be the 16th strongest world economy by 2050 and pro-claims it will achieve First World status in 20 years, this bleak picture of continuing and growing hunger in the cities and countryside is a stunner.

Simply put, the Filipino is growing hungrier by the day.

Antonio “Tonyo” Bagun-say is a fish peddler. His family is among the 200 families in the coastal village of Badiang in Di-gos City , Davao del Sur, eking a living from the sea.

Until last year, life was bearable for Tonyo, his wife and four children. His rounds in the subdivisions of the city netted him between 400-500 pesos a day. His children could eat properly and he could send them to school, too.

But sometime in March last year, a number of events that Tonyo could not explain suddenly happened: fish to peddle grew scarce; the price of rice catapulted and everything

else became costly. Almost half the fishermen

in Badiang did not want to go fishing. It was extremely dif-ficult for Tonyo to find fish to peddle and feed his family.

Next to rice, it is fish that Filipinos eat most. Every Filipi-no consumes an average of 38 kilos of fish a year. To the poor Filipino, fish and other marine products are his primary sourc-es of protein.

The Philippines, with a population of over 100 million, has one of the highest popula-tion growth rates in the whole of Asia. Unless the population surge is checked, the country is likely to face a dramatic fall in the supply of locally produced fish in the next few years, says the Philippine Environment Monitor of the World Bank. Instead of the 38 kilograms of fish for consumption each year, only 10 kilos was available per Filipino per year by 2010.

Almost 90 per cent of the income of coastal communi-ties comes from fishing, says

the World Bank. The drop in fish production is exacerbated by the relentless destruction of the country’s coral reefs, from where 10-15 per cent of the to-tal fisheries come.

“Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philip-pines ,” says marine scientist Don McAllister.

The Philippines is pro-ducing people faster than it replenishes marine life, its secondary food.

This early, Tonyo is feeling the crunch. Last year, he could peddle up to 50 ki-lograms of coral and shallow-water fish -- lapu-lapu, maya-maya, talakitok, danggit, ketang, gusaw and salmo-nete – stacked in his tricycle. Today, the tricycle is gone, foreclosed by the financing company. The fish is almost gone, too.

“Many fisherman who use motorized bancas do not fish because diesel fuel is very costly,” Tonyo explained. “Most of the time, the catch is not enough to pay for fuel.”

A Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources re-search shows that the share of gas and oil to the total fishing expense of a coastal fisher-man ranges from 31 percent, for those who use shrimp gill-net, to a high 80 percent for “drift, hook and line” fishing.

By Rene Ezpeleta BartoloSpecial Feature

Hunger

(Part 1)

(to be continued)

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

4 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

THE ECONOMY

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - January 2011)

Month 2011 2010 2009Average 45.11 47.637December 43.95 46.421November 43.49 47.032October 43.45 43.44 46.851

September 43.02 44.31 48.139August 42.42 45.18 48.161

July 42.81 46.32 48.146June 43.37 46.30 47.905May 43.13 45.60 47.524April 43.24 44.63 48.217

March 43.52 45.74 48.458February 43.70 46.31 47.585January 44.17 46.03 47.207

1. GNP Growth Rate(At Constant 1985 Prices) 2. GDP Growth Rate(At Constant 1985 Prices)

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rate 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2000=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2000=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate /7

18. Unemployment Rate /7

INDICATIOR LATEST1.9 %

2nd Qtr 2011

3.4 %2nd Qtr 2011

USD 4,128 million

Jun 2011

USD 4,503 millionJun 2011

USD -376 millionJun 2011

USD 222 millionJun 2011

P4,423,849 millionJun 2011

4.48%Apr 2011

P100,139 million Jun 2011

P 4,777 billion May 2010

P 42.81Jul 2011

4,503.6Jul 2011

126.4

Jul 2011

4.6Jul 2011

3.7Jul 2011

317,443Apr 2011

19.4%Apr 2011

7.2 %Apr 2011

STAT WATCH

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Silk Air Mon/Wed/Sat MI588 / MI588 18:55 Davao-Cebu-Singapore 13:35Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05

Silk Air Thu/Sun MI566 / MI566 18:55 Davao-Singapore 15:20Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45Cebu Pacific Daily 5J967 / 5J600 16:35 Manila-Davao-Cebu 17:05Philippines Airlines Daily PR813 / PR814 16:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 17:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat 5J215 / 5J216 18:00 Cagayan de Oro-Davao-Cagayan de Oro 18:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5971 / 5J970 18:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 19:10Cebu Pacific Tue/Sat/Sun 5J973 / 5J974 20:00 Manila-Davao-Manila 20:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J969 / 5J972 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Airphil Express Daily 2P987 / 2P988 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Philippine Airlines Daily except Sunday PR821 / PR822 21:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:50Philippine Airlines Sunday PR821 / PR822 22:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 22:50

as of august 2010

Hospitality, wellness industries upbeat in 2012

THE spiralling cost of fuel products and the purse seine

fishing ban in pockets of the Pacific Ocean have cut down frozen tuna landings at the fish port complex here last year, the Bureau of Agricul-tural Statistics (BAS) said, citing preliminary data.

In the BAS 2011 fisheries situationer re-port released on Tues-day, the agency noted that unloading at the fish port complex de-clined by 47,049 metric tons (MT) or about 18 percent from 2010.

In 2010, the un-loaded volume at the fish port complex, which is managed by the Phil-ippine Fisheries Devel-opment Authority, was

pegged at 144,812.05 MT. Last year, it went down to 117,315.29 MT.

“The closure of [pockets of the] high seas as imposed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Com-mission (WCPFC) on its member countries to replenish stocks of the highly migratory tuna species…was another contributing factor to the output reduction,” said the 20-page BAS annual report, which also includes other ma-rine commodities.

The other factors cited for the decline in tuna unloading, besides fuel price hikes, were dry-docking of some commercial vessels for repair or maintenance and lesser fishing expe-

ditions due to weather disturbances.

With the WCPFC ban on purse-seine fish-ing in two pockets of the high seas in the western and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean starting January 1, 2010, for-eign fishing vessels have dominated the unload-ing of frozen tuna in this city for the needs of the canneries.

Owing to the ban, local tuna fishing com-panies have complained that they could not af-ford the additional costs in operating in farther fishing grounds. As a re-sult, thousands of work-ers in the tuna fishing industry have lost their jobs, according to the regional Department of Labor and Employment,

which had extended as-sistance to them.

The two-year ban in pockets of the Pa-cific Ocean should have lapsed last December, but a meeting that would have discussed the matter was cancelled and moved to March this year.

Marfenio Tan, di-rector of the Socsksar-gen Federation of Fish-ing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), said orga-nizers of the eight regu-lar sessions of the Com-mission for the Conser-vation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the West-ern and Central Pacific Ocean (or WCPFC8) also moved the venue from Palau to Guam.

He said the post-

ponement of the meet-ing extended for another three months the resolu-tion of the purse seine fishing ban in pockets of the Pacific Ocean that practically slowed down the tuna fishing indus-try here in the last two years.

Asis Perez, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources national di-rector, earlier said a per-manent Philippine team was created last year to push the country’s agen-da in the WCPFC.

The team is com-posed of representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry, the Mindanao Development Authority and other fishing indus-try leaders.[PNA]

High fuel price, fishing ban reduce2011 tuna output in GenSantos City

WITH the theme “Blooming at 2”, the Hos-

pitality and Wellness Industries Furnishers and Services Providers Association (HW Pilipi-nas) is upbeat about the prospects of the industry in 2012 citing the strong business confidence in the country.

HW Pilipinas, com-posed of players in hos-pitality and wellness such as personal care, furniture, furnishings, interior design, architec-ture and other related services, recently cel-ebrated its second year anniversary with opti-mism.

Dr. Rashmi Tolen-tino Singh, HW Pilipinas president, noted that hospitality and wellness were industries that stood out in 2011.

“All we have to do is put our acts together,” she said.

HW Pilipinas was founded for the asso-ciation to serve as the one-stop shop for the growing hospitality and wellness industries.

Singh was among the first businessmen to submit a list of projects that can possibly avail of promotion funds through the Export De-velopment Council. The Council started to line up projects aligned with the Philippine Export Development Plan for funding. These projects are expected to create immediate positive im-pact.

Aside from modest funding assistance for advocacy, marketing and promotion capac-ity building through the industry associations, Philippine Export Con-federation (Philexport) also provided enter-prise-level services to their members’ needs,

President Sergio Ortiz Luis, Jr. said.

Consistent with the Department of Indus-try’s earlier statements, Ortiz-Luis noted that the non-electronics sector is now improving. This is considering that the decline in total exports was minimal compared with the 34.5 percent drop year-on-year in electronic exports. Prod-ucts covered by the as-sociation’s sector like co-conut and by-products, fruits and vegetables are doing well globally.

“As we aim to carve a niche in the export market, it is important to note that the world market for your sector [hospitality and well-ness] was estimated to be worth at least US$ 100 billion for bulk in-gredients and US trillion for natural products, both food and non-food,“ Ortiz-Luis said.

Ortiz-Luis also added that there are encouraging signals coming from consum-ers. He said that people are getting conscious of their well-being now re-gardless of class. Aside from going to the salons or spas, people also take food supplements.

With the new tour-ism slogan, ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines,” he said saying he was positive that the 10 mil-lion tourist target this year can be achieved.

“This spells huge opportunities for medi-cal tourism and health and wellness sector in terms of sales and ex-posure of products and services,” Ortiz-Luis said.

While 2012 is a challenging year, social and environmental con-cerns are still a primary concern for the structur-al design industry vis-à-

vis revenues as noted in the best practice men-tioned by Architect Fe-lino Palafox Jr during the occasion.

“We give up 30% of potential clients. Last year, I gave up US$ 1 million architect fee [for a project] in Subic be-cause our client wants to destroy 366 trees. The 366 trees that we protected in Subic are worth more than the US$ 1 million I gave up in architect’s fee.”

He said that a 50-year old tree is worth P9 million in replacement cost – the oxygen it pro-vided, fertilizer it shed on earth, water it held, and the beauty it gave to the environment.

Congressman Teo-doro A. Casiño also ex-pressed support in ad-dressing the hospitality and wellness industries’ concerns and possible areas of legislation. [PNA]

5

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

DA turns to high-yielding coffee varietyTHE Department of Agri-

culture (DA), through its Bureau of Plant Indus-

try (BPI) is pursuing a project towards the production of high-yielding specialty Arabica coffee and help the country re-lieve itself of importing some P4 billion worth of the com-modity yearly.

Initially, the project will establish pilot clonal gardens at higher and lower elevated areas in Baguio City which later will be replicated nation-wide when found successful, said Jose Dayao, DA regional executive director for Bicol.

In Bicol, Dayao said many areas could be used in the commercial production of Ara-bica coffee applying the clonal technology.

“The farms near the foot of Mt. Mayon in Albay, the vast sites on the slope of Mt. Isarog in Camarines Sur and the wide planting areas near Mt. Bulu-san in Sorsogon are some of these places,” he said.

The project will be spear-headed by the BPI’s Baguio National Crop Research and Development Center (BN-CRDC). According to its lead agriculturist Avelina Galacio, the Bureau would be funded by the DA’s Bureau of Agricul-tural Research (BAR).

Arabica cuttings will be used as planting materials for this project as the BPI found it provides high yields averaging 4.38 MTs per hectare which is about double the 2.25 MTs per hectare yield from seeds, or even many times more than the very low average yield of 300 kilos per hectare in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) despite being a priority crop in the region, Ga-lacio said.

BPI studies based on

green coffee bean’s market price of P150 per kilo, the re-turn on investment (ROI) from cuttings is high at 181 percent, compared to seeds’ at only 58 percent.

BPI’s project “Arabica Cof-fee Rooted Cuttings as Plant Materials” won a gold, the highest award for the Applied Agriculture category from the BAR’s 2011 National Research Symposium. It garnered a P1 million award now being used in pursuing more researches.

In a statement, BAR Di-rector Nicomedes Eleazar said his agency has been sup-porting excellence in research among different government and academic agencies aiming to further support agricultural productivity and raise income opportunities for farmers.

“It is through researches such as this one on Arabica coffee that we can really find out how we can help farmers improve their income using the same crop they are used to planting but with newer, proven technologies,” Eleazar said.

Eleazar said, there are 410,000 farmers nationwide who depend on coffee for live-lihood. In order to uplift their livelihood, techniques such as the use of cuttings should be learned by them.

Seedlings from cuttings substantially shorten coffee gestation period from plant-ing to harvest to just 1.5 years. It usually takes three to four years for coffee trees to be harvested when seeds are used as planting materials.

Planting materials from cuttings are still limited, how-ever, and farmers have not yet fully adopted the cuttings technology, that is why, the BAR chief said, information

ARABICA

AGRITRENDS

dissemination and trainings for farmers are required by this new system.

BPI also noted that coffee plants from cuttings were less susceptible to diseases. This was at a lower 2.3 incidence for coffee leaf rust rating com-pared to seeds’ 2.9 incidence. A lower 3.06 incidence was also noted for anthracnose in cuttings compared to seeds’ 3.25.

Arabica coffee was used in the study because it thrives well in upland areas like Ba-guio. The study obtained the stem cuttings from 30-year

old Arabica trees rejuvenated seven years earlier.

The selected stems were cut into six-centimeter long cuttings, soaked in a Hormex solution for 15 minutes, stuck in coir dust, and allowed to mist to develop roots for plant-ing in plastic bags after one month. The seedlings were subsequently transplanted to the field after six months.

Galacio said BPI already has seven strains of Arabica coffee which it has collected from various parts of the Phil-ippines, including those from Davao. [PNA]

CONGRATULATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS

Greetings from:

B. Gempesaw St., Davao CityTel. Nos. (082) 221-1877 / 225-1656

In Page 19 of the September 26-October 2, 2011 issue of Edge Davao, the LTFRB Notice of Hearing for the petition for renewal of certificate of public convenience of Romeo M. Manto was inadvertently published as PUJ Ordinary instead of PUJ Dual Regular Service. Our apologies. –Editors

Greetings from:

RJ HOMES BUILDING ST., DAVAO CITYTel. nos. 226-4145 / - 300-8288

Email address: rjhomes_davao@yahoo.com

Erratum

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

6 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

Frances Inn: Raising Davao’s standards of comfortEVENT

Ms Florita Delos Reyes (center) lead the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon with Mr. Avelino Delos Reyes

(right) and Arch. Iluminado Quinto Jr.

FATHER Ritchie of San Pablo Church

RESTAURANT

SUITE ROOM

LOUNGE

OPENING for business today, Frances Inn, located at Quimpo

Boulevard, Davao City, is another pride of Davao, raising the standards of comfort of accommodation in this part of the country.

Frances Inn provides all the amenities and ambi-ance of a hotel from its ar-chitectural and interior de-signs, to facilities and cus-tomer services. All rooms have a cable TV with LCD monitor and remote con-trol, hot and cold shower, wireless internet connec-tion, and PABX.

With a total of 19 rooms, its first floor has two suite rooms and two single rooms; while two twin beds, two semi-double and 11 single beds are available on the second floor.

For bookings in this “affordable business class type hotel ambiance” inn, one can call (082) 301-8549; 295-6463, or e-mail at frances_inn@yahoo.com.

Frances InnMs Florita Delos Reyes

(center) lead the ceremo-nial cutting of the ribbon with Mr. Avelino Delos Reyes (right) and Arch. Ilu-minado Quinto Jr.

For bookings in this “affordable business class type hotel ambiance” inn, one can call (082) 301-8549; 295-6463, or e-mail at frances_inn@yahoo.com.

By Lorie Ann A. Cascaro

Frances Inn

7

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

Diversified banana farm coop rakesin millions for the Kapalong farmers

Minda to receive 40% of national budget by 2013

NIA intensifies drive vs land conversionA top official of the National

Irrigation Authority (NIA) the government would

step up its campaign against land conversion as substan-tial government investments in agriculture would be lost if landowners continue to convert their farmlands into commer-cial, industrial and residential areas.

NIA Administrator Anto-nio S. Nangel over the week-end warned landowners whose farmlands are covered by NIA’s irrigation service areas, and sub-sequently converted into other estate, would affect the coun-try’s food sufficiency program.

Nangel said unabated con-versions from agricultural lands to commercial, industrial and residential would slow down the government’s agriculture target to be a rice sufficient country by next year.

The government is infus-ing substantial amount of funds this year with P24.7 billion for irrigation projects, including dams, canals, other water facili-ties to boost agriculture produc-tivity across the country.

“With this huge invest-ment it would be a big loss for the government if landowners continue converting their farm-lands into other land ventures,” Nangel said, adding that land conversion cases have been re-ported in other regions, specifi-cally in Southern Luzon -- Cala-barzon (Cavite, Quezon, Batan-gas, Laguna and Rizal) and the Bicol region.

He said in Bicol there are 239,660 hectares of irrigable areas of which 121,442 are in irrigation service areas, where farmlands are provided with ir-rigation structures and facilities.

He said land conversions would affect the government’s investment on new irrigation projects as well as ongoing proj-

ects. NIA is spending P150,000

per hectare for the construction of new irrigation canals while spending P60,000 per hectare for repair works.

Another operational prob-lem that the agency is facing in Bicol is the illegal use of its irrigation facilities by landown-ers engaged in the recreation (swimming pool) and fishpond business.

Nangel directed William Ragodon, NIA Bicol chief, to look into this matter as this would also affect the delivery of irrigation services to farmlands.

He cited a resort owner from Baao town in Camarines Sur whose business is located beside a government irrigation canal whose water he is using to fill his swimming pool.

Nearby farmers tilling their farm lots are complaining that the irrigation water flowing in their farm are tainted with “chlorine” which, they say, is de-stroying their ricelands.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is on the right track in meeting its target for rice self sufficiency by 2013.

He said the country would no longer rely too much on rice importation, with importation down from 660,000 metric tons to 500,000 MTs this year and 500,000 MTs to 400,000 MTs in 2013.

Alcala said with the right irrigation system and agricul-ture technology, the agency’s program for rice sufficiency would be attained. Noting that the agriculture sector pro-duced 16.8 million metric tons (MMTs) of rice last year, and that the DA intends to increase this yield eo 18.75 MMTs this year and 20.44 MMTs in 2013. [PNA]

EXPORTING bananas is a lucrative business by itself. Yet, the AMS Employees

Fresh Fruits Producers Cooper-ative or AMSEFFPCO does not just settle for this one venture.

AMSEFFPCO has found ways at diversifying benefits from its banana plantation other than exporting, making it today one of the biggest farm-er cooperatives in the Davao region with over P25 million worth of current assets as re-ported in the coop’s financial statement for 2010.

Located in Barangay Sampao, Kapalong, Davao del Norte, the cooperative, whose members were once planta-tion workers, owns the land it is tilling which was awarded to them under the Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Program.

From getting its main in-come from export receipts, the cooperative ventured into the production of flour from ba-nana, and the use of their man-ufactured organic fertilizers.

Four years ago, the coop put up its own Banana Flour Livelihood Center where its food grade banana flour is be-ing processed and packed with high quality and safety and best for cakes and pastries.

AMSEFFPCO also devel-oped bio-organic fertilizer from the wastes of the banana flour production that collects an av-erage volume of three tons of banana peelings and stalks per day.

Banana productionSince the Department of

Agrarian Reform in the region awarded the plantation to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in 2002, AMSEFFPCO has been growing exportable bananas as its main business, continuing their work when they were then workers for the corporate farm owner.

Its first production came to 1,416 boxes and sold to the AMS Farming Corporation at $2.15 per box. It earned them a gross income of P136,118.24.

For the first three years, the coop collectively managed the operations of the banana plantation with the coop mem-bers as workers who were each paid a minimum daily wage.

The banana production for this period was said to be sufficient, but the high cost of farm inputs and labor resulted to low income for the coop.

Noting the slow returns of investment, the coop ad-opted in 2005 the individual farming system wherein ARBs are provided an equal share of 0.73-hectare farm for them to work on.

The ARBs grow and tend their own bananas in their re-spective farms and sell their products to the coop.

The coop expanded its coverage by developing nearby farms with an aggregate area of 50 hectares in Barangay Sam-pao. The new area involves 25 farmer growers who are now registered as associate mem-bers of the coop.

Today AMSEFFPCO sup-plies Dole Philippines at $2.94 per box, of which $0.15 rbox goes to the coop.

Banana flour productionInstead of throwing away

Class “C” fresh bananas, consid-ered reject and unqualified for export due to failure to meet standard calibration, AMSEF-FPCO turned it into a valuable and money-spinning enter-prise, making flour out of it.

The Department of Trade and Industry helped the coop test the product suitability for a baking ingredient. The flour has been tested in bakeries, and is confirmed to be 100 per cent

flour, a good substitute for rice flour.

AMSEFFPCO’s Musa Ba-nana Flour has penetrated the local market, and has been ad-opted as Kapalong’s One Town One Product (OTOP).

Presently, the coop pro-duces five tons of food grade banana flour and 15 tons of feed grade per month, and sup-plies Butuan and Manila catsup processing corporations.

At a plant gate price of P15 per kilo, the food grade flour generated more than P1.5 million gross income for the coop last year. The amount also covered income from the feed/

industrial grade flour at P8 per kilo.

AMSEFFPCO had put up the business through the P1 million funding under the Poverty Zone Program the De-partment of Labor and Employ-ment (DOLE-11). The money was used to acquire its process-ing equipment in 2007 for feed mill.

The Department of Sci-ence and Technology (DOST-11) also extended technical support for the analysis and upgrading of the quality of the product. The Department of Agriculture provided funding of P1 million for upgrading technology on banana flour production.

Barangay and municipal governments, private firms and non-government organizations have also reached out to help the coop manage and operate the flour enterprise.

The banana flour produc-tion livelihood has provided employment to 38 men and women, including indigenous peoples’ families in the com-munity. The workers are called peelers who remove banana peelings.

Bio-organic fertilizerThe usefulness of the ba-

nana rejects does not end from the meat being dried and pow-derized into banana flour. AM-SEFFPCO also developed the bio-organic fertilizer from the wastes of the banana flour.

According to the Coop, processing of bio-organic fertil-izer and vermi composting is made up of 50% banana stalks and peels, 40% hog manure, 10% carbonized rice hulls, or-ganic composter and enzymes as enhancer for early decom-posting.

The coop produces 175 bags per heap bio-organic fer-tilizer at 50 kilos per bag, with three heapings per week.

The bio-organic fertilizer addresses the pressing needs

‘THE income tax paym-ents of the professionals should drastically increase by year-end. And I asked BIR to increase the average payment.’

--Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who wants to increase average of P5,600 income-tax payment of professional to P100,000.

BizQUIPS

AGRI TRENDS

AGRICULTURE Secretary Proceso Alcala bared that 40% of the Depart-

ment of Agriculture budget, including its line agencies, will be devoted to Mindanao by 2013.

Speaking before a Min-danao Rural Development Program (MRDP) press con-ference in Davao City last January 30, Alcala said this is the first time a huge percent-age of the Agriculture budget will be going to programs in Mindanao.

“From our General Ap-propriations Act allocation of P61-billion, about P24-billion will be for Mindanao. Even in infrastructure, malaki ang na allocate (the allocation is big),” Alcala said.

Among the reasons, the agri chief said for the huge share in the budget is climate change mitigation. He added “if the government wants to have a lesser effect by climate

change, then it has to invest in Mindanao.”

“The soil is rich, there is water, you have lands and it is far from the path of ty-phoons,” Alcala said in citing Mindanao’s agricultural ad-vantages.

He said that the govern-ment is expanding to Mind-anao agricultural investments on crops regularly planted in Luzon and Visayas. He added that if more powerful typhoons strike Luzon due to the advent of climate change, agricultural supply will not be threatened because of the in-vestments in Mindanao.

Davao del Norte Gover-nor Rodolfo del Rosario asked Secretary Alcala to continue helping Mindanao as it is only in the Aquino administration that the region is receiving a significant allocation of the national budget, particularly in the areas of agriculture and health [PIA 11/RG ALAMA]

FLOUR

FERTILIZER

of the cooperative members for farm inputs in their banana plantation that requires 40 bags of fertilizer per hectare at two applications per year.

The total organic fertilizer requirement per quarter reaches 7,480 bags, and a total of almost 30,000 bags per year.

AMSEFFPCO has also come up with the development of the bio-organic fertilizer in support to the government’s ad-vocacy on wastes recycling and utilization.

Other livelihood projectsThe varied enterprises of

the coop are not only based on its banana products, but also in consumer, oil palm trees and cassava productions, pharmacy and shop business, and a bio-organic vegetable production.

In its oil palm production, the coop provides financial assis-tance to farmers with lands not suitable for banana, but viable for oil palm trees.

The coop has forged a marketing tie-up with the Agu-san Mill of Agusan del Sur and Kapalong Cooperative for fi-nancial assistance for this proj-ect that will involve a 50-hect-are area. As of now, about 50 hectares have been developed and planted to oil palm in Sitio Marquez, Barangay Sampao and Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Mamacao.

AMSEFFPCO’s bio-organic vegetable production is located at a 3,000-square meter area where flowers and vegetables grow.

According to the coop’s financial statement in 2010, over P 4.4 million earning was obtained from the rice produc-tion, while about P5.6 million was gained from the agriculture supplies and materials.

The cassava production earnings reached to P204,271 last year.

With its best practices and innovations the coop has become one of the agri-indus-

trial tourism destinations in Kapalong, where visitors and business groups drop by to get a brief lecture on its business and achievement.

Effective managementThe coop was first man-

aged by Rizalie Calma who is now a barangay kagawad in Barangay Sampao. Today, AM-SEFFPCO is operating under manager

Sincere Casimina and chair Anselma Ronquillo with seven female and six male office staff who are all members of the cooperative.

Calma once raised the im-portance of consulting with the proper agencies that are knowl-edgeable in the agriculture and business aspects.

She said “hard-work and patience are also keys to success in every endeavor we take.”

This millionaire coop is comprised of 97 agrarian re-form beneficiaries (ARBs) col-lectively awarded with 72 hect-ares of agricultural land fully planted to exportable cavendish bananas in the municipality of Kapalong, Davao del Norte. The land was formerly owned by the AMS Farming Corporation.

The diversified business undertakings of AMSEFFPCO are a unique practice that brings in constant progress and pros-perity for a farmers’ cooperative in the Davao region.

The coop’s exemplary and laudable achievements in farming, entrepreneurship and ecological contributions have earned it several recognitions and awards from government agencies and private sectors.

The citations include Most Outstanding Small Farmers Or-ganization in Kapalong; Gawad Saka Award as Outstanding Small Farmers Organization of Davao del Norte; and Most Outstanding One Town One Product (OTOP), among many others. [PIA-11, CARINA L. CAYON / WITH

REPORTS FROM DOLLY AMAUT/DAR-11]

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

8 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

EDITORIAL

VANTAGE POINTS

EDITORIALEditor In Chief | Antonio M. AjeroAssociate Editor | Gregorio G. DeligeroEditorial Consultant | Ramon M. MaxeySection Heads | Lifestyle | Kenneth Irving K. Ong Sports | Moses P. BillacuraStaff Writers | Maria Teresa UngsonCartoonist | Arlene D. Pasaje Columnists | Alex C. Roldan • Aurelio A. Peña • Nicasio

Angelo J. Agustin • Nikki Gotianse-Tan • Edcer Escudero • Zhaun Ortega • Jet Villamor

Photos | Joseph Lawrence P. GarciaPre Press | Raymund R. Lumapas

Door 14 ALCREJ Building, Quirino Avenue, 8000 Davao City, PhilippinesE-mail:

editorial@edgedavao.netmarketing@edgedavao.net

Tel: (082) 301-6235Telefax: (082) 221-3601

Printed weekly by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc.T h e B u s i n e s s P a p e r

MARKETING & ADVERTISINGGeneral Manager | Olivia D. VelascoDirector of Sales | Jocelyn S. PanesAdvertising Specialist | Richard C. Ebona Imelda P. LeeFinance | Rogelia E. MamaedCirculation | Cheree P. Pajarillaga

Marketing Manager | Angelica R. GarciaMarketing Manager | Liezl A. DelosoBlk. 1, Lot 10, La Mar Townhomes, Apitong St., Marikina Heights, Marikina CityTel. No.: (02) 942-1503

Unit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez - Yacapin Sts.Cagayan de Oro CityTel. No.: (88) 852-4894

Manila Marketing Office:Cagayan de Oro Marketing Office:

HELPING YOU MAKE INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS.

Understanding advisories

CONSUL General Michael R. Schim-mel of the US Embassy Manila, who jokingly calls himself “hari ng visa” in

reference to his power to grant or deny ap-plications for visa to visit his country, was in Davao City last Friday to speak before the members of the Davao chapter of the Amer-ican Chamber of Commerce of Philippines, Inc.

Instead of giving tips on how may an applicant get his/her visa application approved with less difficulty, Congen Schimmel spoke lengthily on the hated travel advisory and its raison d ‘etre.

The advisory is issued to tell nationals not to travel to an area where their safety can not be guaranteed.

We use “hated” to describe the document because it has become anathema to government and private sector promoters of tourism and investment.A local government unit and its collaborating stakeholders do everything to make their place attractive to domestic and foreign tourists and potential investors. Just one travel advisory would put to naught months, if not years of promotional effort and sacrifices.

The travel advisory is issued in connection with foremost function of an embassy, in this case the US Embassy, which is to protect its nationals.

Schimmel bared that the US government fully understands the grave implications of the advisories, but advisories have to be issued for the protection of their citizens. There are more than 300,000 Americans are permanently living in various parts of the Philippines. Added to these are more than 600,000 American tourists visit the country every year. They, too, need to be protected, and warned what places to avoid.

It is therefore the right of an embassy to issue travel advisories in fulfillment of its responsibility to protect its nationals. So, like it or not, travel advisories are here to stay.

We’ll have to do everything to remove all the reasons why travel advisories are issued. This means wiping out kidnapping for ransom, insurgencies, terrorism, other forms of criminality in Mindanao and other hotspots.

The Philippine government also issues travel advisories to its citizens in dangerous places like

Iraq and other areas in turmoil. However, we still have to hear about our

country issuing a travel advisory against any place in the United States of America. But if it does, given the hardheadedness of some Filipino travelers the fate of such an advisory is predicable. This is because ignoring advisories is not even a crime.

Needed: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

BizQUIPS‘SO I am announcing to

colorum operators, this is your last warning.I have ordered that you be tracked down and your vehicles impounded.’

--President Aquino, saying that reduction of colorum vehicles would decongest traffic and remove unfair competition.

THE Joint Foreign Chambers of Com-merce (JFC) con-

vened once again on Janu-ary 26, 2012 at the Marri-ott Hotel in Manila. The event, dubbed “Arangkada 2012” business forum, brought together a more than 500 business people, development workers, government officials and international development partners.

It may be recalled that in late 2010, the same group – the JFC – came up with more than 400 rec-ommendations meant to accelerate the growth of the Philippine economy. Hence, the January 26 conference allowed the participants to look back and reflect on how the Philippines has responded – positively or passively - to those recommenda-tions. Then, a new set of recommendations were forwarded by the speakers and panelists to enable us to move forward.

The theme of the con-ference – “moving twice as fast” – gave some hope that despite the global eco-nomic setback the Philip-pines can move faster than anybody else around us. Or probably, it was meant to challenge all of us to move faster before we find ourselves way ahead in a race to the bottom. In one of the presentations made, we ranked only better than Cambodia among ASEAN countries.

Arangkada 2012 identified seven “winner sectors” – agribusiness, business process outsourc-ing, creative industries, infrastructure and logis-tics, mining and tourism (including medical travel and retirement). In his keynote address, the Presi-dent specifically chose his three top growth drivers – tourism, agribusiness and infrastructure. Looking at the seven sectors, only the President’s three sec-tors qualify to align with the government’s thrusts on equitable progress and inclusive growth. These two thrusts, according to the President, would benefit the common Fili-pino people who, in turn, would be the instruments to move the other sectors to achieve their fullest po-tentials.

Who doesn’t believe that the Philippines can move twice as fast? Vari-ous forecasts have pre-

dicted that the Philippines would be a giant economy four decades from now. We have great potentials – we abound in human resources, untapped natu-ral resources, and positive global economic trends which we can benefit from.

What I know is that this will not happen un-less we make it happen. It is a challenge for us to wake up and start mov-ing. One speaker, former Secretary Roberto de Oc-ampo, after saying that we can’t double our growth in 2012 and pinpointing the real situation of the coun-try vis-à-vis the seemingly positive outlooks put for-ward by the conference, said that he is not skepti-cal about the capacity of the country, but he em-phasized the need for the Philippines to gather itself together and start moving.

The seeming skepti-cism of former finance secretary de Ocampo has its valid grounds – the Eu-ropean and US economic slowdown, the persistent political disturbances all over the Middle East, the recent devastating natu-ral disasters in Japan and Thailand and to some ex-tent the Philippines, and the slow progress in some sectors in of country.

“Arangkada” means to accelerate. But for a ve-hicle to accelerate speed, its driver should be able to gas up and start the engine. Then the vehicle picks up speed and goes faster. Its speed is not solely determined by the conditions of the vehicle and the road ahead, but more importantly how it is made to run.

As the President said “the race to progress is both a sprint and a mara-thon, in that we have to improve our economy as fast as possible, while at the same time optimizing conditions so that growth might be sustained. We cannot be left behind by competitors in the global arena, especially now that opportunities are ours for the taking, and invest-ments are flowing towards the region. But we are also determined to not lose steam and stumble; we are keeping the long term in mind.”

With that, let’s fas-ten our seat belts. We’re on our way and the road ahead is long. The race is on!

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

9FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

SHORT LETHAL PUNCHES – Politics Philippines style is a game played by the mon-

eyed and the powerful through dubious means if only to ensure their perpetuity in power. Politi-cal leaders of both the struggling leadership and the blabber-mouthed opposition really have to change their ways. Unless they change their bad habits people do not see great changes in the near future.

CHEAPER CONSUMER ECONOMY – A rapidly changing economy is making the higher and fabulous lifestyle available only to the filthy rich and more of Toronto’s affluent population. Even with the rising cost of living in the city of Toronto, Canada’s biggest and most progressive city, and recently rated as one of the world’s most expensive cit-ies, small spenders and medium income families still have the op-tion on how to spend their hard-earned money wisely.

They are willing to spend more on affordable and cheaper stuff, notably on food. But where can you find a much economical and delightful food, it might be asked? Where else but oin the city’s side streets? What we mean actually are the colorful and nice-ly painted food trucks and food carts that had been for years be-come a permanent feature on the streets of Toronto similar to those that can likewise be found in the big cities of the US and other well-

developed countries.Food trucks and food carts

are proliferating, specifically in front of the city’s parks, famous landmarks, historical sites and towering business structures. While I was still in Toronto, I read somewhere in the pages of a leading newspaper that the food truck and food cart business had been in existence for years, owned and operated by some locals, and of course of different nationalities, notably Chinese and Indians who have already been granted citizenship sharing the business trend. Owners and op-erators are supported by the city government by way of extending loans intended primarily for small businesses. After years in the food truck and food cart business own-ers were already able to establish a market niche especially during the changing times.

But unlike here in the Phil-

ippines, Davao City for example where food street vendors con-duct their trade with impunity and anywhere as they please, food truck operators in Toronto conduct their business only in designated and strategic areas where many people converge – public parks, entertainment and amusement places. Nobody is allowed to obstruct the free flow of human and vehicular traffic. Understandably enough, their target market is the middle-in-come bracket and ordinary work-ing force that form part of a huge consumer audience. The cutting edge of the food truck consumer boom is in full display, probably not only in the city of Toronto but likewise in other bustling Cana-dian cities.

Taking one’s meal at one of the food trucks that dot desig-nated side streets, notably along the busy Queen St. West area, is

a unique experience. Aside from homegrown entries the menus in every food truck vary, ranging from burger, hotdog, pasta, sand-wiches and other staple food with juices, to soft drinks and ice cream as refresher and thirst quenchers. Food truck chain operators and food cart owners are banking on this social trend: consumers’ need for a fast and cheaper food, and the end result has been a boom in the prepared food truck business.

Well, attitudes toward spending money are fast chang-ing. The intonation nowadays for the average Canadian family as in most of the world’s middle-income populations has always been--save, save and save. People today, many affected by lesser income and lack of job opportu-nities, have switched to spending less and less on everything, in-cluding food. Thanks to innova-tive and enterprising people like the food truck and food cart own-ers who painstakingly strive hard to obtain success in their chosen field, and who can dish out food fast enough for small spenders at very affordable prices.

Right now, economists and business analysts see a big-ger chance that the food truck boom will continue and the ris-ing number of customers will p rovide more encouragement to the owners and operators to strive even harder because their business symbolizes a cheaper consumer economy.

SMART, skilled, and full of spunk. That’s how I see Ma. Theresa Marañon Espino,

fondly called Iteet by family and friends.

While we were formerly colleagues, it was only when we both retired from our cor-porate jobs that we got to know each other better. I was thrilled to experience she had a cheeky humour, a far cry from the no-nonsense persona she exuded while we were in San Miguel. I realized I missed a lot not know-ing her well then.

Iteet had always struck me as a woman who knew where she was going, keeping her eyes on the ball and being careful not to lose herself in the vortex that is the corporate world. But work-ing in a male-dominated com-pany – one that pushed male-centric products at that – wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for any woman.

It would be easy for any young woman to fold beneath the pressure, or unravel under the stress of proving she was at par with her mostly male col-leagues. Or feel intimidated by a mostly male presence in the boardroom.

Iteet proved to have more fortitude and sensibility to rise above all that and shatter the so-called glass ceiling. She was sharp, competent, strong, and no challenge was big enough to derail her. These helped her sail through a career growth that was nothing short of phenomenal.

Starting as a Sales Informa-

tion (SI) Assistant in San Miguel Corporation Beer Division – Davao in 1996, she moved up to head the SI function for the whole of Mindanao in less than four years. After several months, she once again rose to SI Man-ager - Philippines. In less than five years, she was appointed SI Manager for the whole division, a post she held for over a year.

Iteet didn’t stop there. In 2008, she became San Miguel Beer International SI Manager, a post that no woman in SMB had held before. It seemed there was no stopping this powerhouse of a woman, despite her petite build and girlish look.

The women in the organi-zation were amazed and proud of her achievements. Each time we heard she was moving up, in our minds we let go of a re-sounding ‘Go Iteet!’ So it came as a surprise to many when she left a thriving corporate career in 2008 to come home to Davao to be with her family.

Iteet is married to Dr. Vic-tor Espino, a urologist, and has two adorable kids, Yves Angelo,

14, and Ymari Victoria, 8. As her work in SMB entailed a lot of in-ternational travel, time with her family had been greatly compro-mised. A combination of factors, mostly personal, brought her to the decision of retiring early. This showed her the real priority in her life – family.

Now, Iteet expends her time and energy at the Ateneo de Davao University College of Engineering and Architecture as a member of the BS Industrial Engineering Faculty. Where once she held power in her corporate job, now Iteet holds the power to mould the young minds of students.

“Teaching had always been my ultimate goal. After gradu-ation I went out to gain experi-ence in the workplace, so that I would have something concrete to share to my students later,” she said.

If you think it’s a shame for Iteet to keep her talents in only one organization, you’ll be glad to know she is also a consultant in an Oxfam-assisted program for enterprise development, as

well as a coach under the UP-STREAM’s Management Devel-opment Program for Dole Phils. and Stanfilco.

Prior to her stellar career in SMC, Iteet was a Technical As-sistant at the Office of the Presi-dent-Mindanao. She had gradu-ated Cum Laude from Ateneo De Davao University in 1994, with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and tak-ing with her the title of Engineer-ing Division Awardee.

She finished Master in Management at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao in 2010, achieving Academic Excel-lence and acclaimed as having the Best Strategic Plan Paper.

“I really love mentoring and coaching. When I was in San Miguel, I was so passionate about developing people; it gave me a real sense of accomplish-ment,” she added.

Iteet’s wise words to wom-en who aspire to blaze trails in the corporate world are inspir-ing: be firm and focused; treat failure as a learning experience; start small, think big; keep a strong faith in God and in your-self.

“Most important, establish your personal values and don’t compromise them. In my case, I knew family comes first, that’s why I didn›t have a hard time deciding what direction to take,” she said.

With what she has achieved so far, Iteet very well deserves to retire early and engage in what she loves doing best.

MY sister and I were about 8 or 9 when my parents took us to bowl-

ing tournaments of the Davao Insurers Club. At one time, we were both muses of two differ-ent competing teams. We were surrounded by my Uncle who managed a Non-life Insurance company and his colleagues. Mama would volunteer Trixie and I to do a dance or song number. Then, with practice and experience, the word “shy” was no longer in our vocabu-lary. This is probably what got us to where we both are now. Insurance. That’s a different story altogether. Watch out for the next topic!

It’s a thrill whenever I meet somebody who knows Tito Tom or my father. They would tell me stories of how they met papa or my uncle at “almost-secret” circumstances. What I mean is, they would recall their younger days and the things that they’re not too afraid to mention now. What makes me proud though is how, even at their naughtiest, they would not forget to say how my father or Uncle helped

them in one way or another.I was in church with my

two boys last Sunday. When the choir was already singing hymns, I took the chance to tell them something very impor-tant. When I brought them to Zamboanga, the real purpose was for them to appreciate their father’s ancestry. I also brought them to the reunion in Batangas for my side of the family. Both families honored the memories of our predeces-sors. How they came to the country, what they have done and most especially, what they are remembered for…

So, what’s in a name? Literally, your name may have

meaning. Where it’s derived, who coined or invented it (if you can actually use that word). For our country, it could be the combination of your parents’ name. It could mean strength or weakness. But go-ing deeper, when a friend or an acquaintance hears your name, what reaction would it draw out? A smile or a smirk, love or disdain?

I am writing about this now because I have encoun-tered people who do not put too much weight on their name but on their title. Head, Manager, Atty., Doctor, Engr., Architect, VP, EVP, SEVP, FVP and the rest with all the charac-

ters on it. I am not discounting the fact that some people have really worked hard for it. But what is really in a title?

I don’t think it automati-cally elicits respect. Respect is earned. It does not say that you are mighty and power-ful because power dies with one bullet… or maybe even a heart attack. I remember a talk given by my former Sales and Marketing Head, he said, “In-fluence is more important than power”. A title, in my opinion, tells me of your service, of what you do. Even the President of the Philippines vows service to his country. Like the line from a Batman movie, it is not who you are, but what you DO… that defines you.

I don’t want to be remem-bered for my title, my rank, my success but for the service I have done. I want to be remem-bered for the positive impact that I had in a person’s life, for how I have made them feel. My wish is that when somebody I know hears my name, I would absolutely want a smile and definitely not… disdain.

vantage POINTS

Mining’s window of opportunity

THE recent two-day 2012 International Conference on Mining

in Mindanao hosted by the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) highlighted the wid-ening gap between the min-ing industry and its opposi-tors. Too bad that it turned out to be a monologue which dwelt solely on the negative side of mining because rep-resentatives of mining were not invited to the confer-ence. Which is understand-able, given the apparently irreconcilable views of both sides which would have only resulted in a meaningless ex-ercise “full of sound and fury signifying nothing”.

It is clear that neither side is about to give way to the other considering the stakes involved. The bil-lions that the industry—for example, the Tampakan project of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI)—which is put-ting billions into its ambi-tious extractive venture, on one hand, and the alleged cost in human lives and the environment as pictured by those who oppose such min-ing activities, on the other. In Mindanao or anywhere else, for that matter.

At the press conference that preceded the Ateneo event, resource speaker Clive Montgomery Wicks, reportedly a conservation and development consultant specializing on the impact of extractive industries on the environment, expressed alarm over SMI’s Tampakan project which he described in no uncertain terms as “very dangerous and could cause a bigger disaster” be-cause of the large amount of toxic materials surrounding the project.

Most of the media prac-titioners listening to him expound on the negative aspects of mining certainly had read and heard about such dangers, but still could not imagine the amount of potential damage to the en-vironment and human lives the way “experts” say they foresee. But then, we are no experts. We can only listen and wonder trying to make heads or tails of what the

“experts” say.Like for instance, when

Wicks was quoted to have said: “Digging a hole in the earth 800 meters deep tends to cause more seismic ac-tivities. With a number of volcanoes under, there is the probability of these vol-canoes erupting. When they blow up, I don’t think there is hope for survival.” Did he really say that?

OMG, what a dooms-day scenario that is. I cannot imagine what an 800-meter deep hole in the earth looks like, in the first place. And how come there are volca-noes down there? Our volca-nologists never told us about it. I am not aware of it and I’m no “expert”.

Wicks seems to know a lot about Philippine mining activities, and he does not like what he sees. But he said something that should make us sit up and take notice. To correct lapses in the con-duct of mining activities, he did say that there is a need “to put in place a structure that would look into mining policies to avoid the negative impacts of mining on the en-vironment!”

There you are. A win-dow of opportunity for the government and the mining industry to do what is right for the sake of the environ-ment and, above all, people’s lives. Despite all the nega-tives inherent in the extrac-tive industry that is mining, there can be a win-win so-lution to the controversy, as Wicks says. The problem with most mining activities in this country is the sense-less willy-nilly extraction of mineral deposits in to-tal disregard of the conse-quences to the environ-ment and humanity. Wicks has pointed to the window of opportunity: The need for a structure that would STRICTLY ENFORCE POLI-CIES TO AVOID NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF MINING ON THE ENVIRONMENT!

After all, God, who cre-ated the Earth, must have put all those minerals down there for a reason. One does not have to be an expert to realize that.

BizQUIPS‘OUR lawyers are

reviewing the decision of the Court of Appeals to determine the remedies available to us. Beyond this, we have no further comments.’

--Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Juan de Zuniga on the Court of Appeals decision to reopen Banco Filipino.

What’s in a name? What’s in a title?

Food truck boom taps into Toronto’s changing lifestyle

From boardroom to classroom

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

10 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

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trv business consultancySME Center - Chamber building

JP Laurel Ave., Davao City

PIA, Globe partnership aimedat faster news dissemination

P1.3 B earmarked for electrification

in Mindanao areasTadeco gets PhilGap certification

DaLight Panabo implements‘One Number to Remember’

BizQUIPS‘WE lost an average of 2

percent of our GDP due to damage caused by extreme events during the last three years. Economic damage due to disasters have increased 18-fold since 1970.’

--Climate Change Commission head Mary Ann Lucille Sering

CALL CENTER. Davao Light Call Center Service representatives using the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone system now receive calls through one number, (084) 822-3572(DLPC), coming from customers in Panabo City and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali and Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, which are under the area of responsibility of the utility’s Panabo Branch.

“One number to remem-ber, when customers want to talk to us,” says

Engr. Reynold B. Felix, AVP and branch manager of the Panabo office of Davao Light and Power Company. Starting this year, customers of Davao Light in Panabo City, and the municipalities of Carmen, Du-jali and Sto. Tomas can call the Davao Light call center and emergency services using one number (084) 822-3572 (DLPC). Just like placing a regular call, Davao Light cus-tomers in the above men-tioned Davao del Norte fran-chise areas will not incur long distance charges when they call the number. This number can actually receive 10 simul-taneous incoming calls, there-by increasing the number of calls that can be accommodat-ed. Unlike before when there were three different numbers that could only accommodate three calls at any given time. The new telecommunication set-up called E1R2 trunkline is like a dedicated highway exclusive for Davao Light and

its customers, thus ensuring smooth flow of voice calls and data transfer. The new system utilizes a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) which will allow Davao Light customers in Davao del Norte to experience services

that will be made available in the future via internet telephony. For easy recall, customers only have to re-member the prefix “822” and “DLPC” which represents “3572” in a landline tele-phone set’s numeric keypad.

THE Philippine Infor-mation Agency (PIA), the official information

arm of the government, part-ners with Globe Telecom for a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast facility that aims to use text messaging as a faster means to disseminate relevant advisories, news and updates nationwide.

“The use of text mes-saging as a tool for keeping our citizenry informed and aware is timely, given that cellphones are now the most pervasive form of commu-nication,” said Atty. Jose A. Fabia, Director General of the Philippine Information Agen-cy, “Our partnership with Globe Telecom shows that the government and the private sector can work together and maximize resources to de-liver public service to Filipinos from all walks of life.”

The PIA’s Text Blast is part of the agency’s initiatives to automate and expedite its

operations, specifically the dissemination of advisories, news and warnings to na-tional and local government officials, police and military personnel, barangay officials and media nationwide. The PIA will utilize the TxtCon-nect service of Globe Business, the unit within Globe that ser-vices corporations as well as small-and-medium-scale en-terprises (SMEs) with infor-mation and communication technology (ICT) services that match a company’s needs for cost efficiency, security, mobil-ity, IT integration and reliable connectivity. TxtConnect enables companies, schools and other organizations to transmit high volume of text messages to a pre-registered group of recipients, up to a thousand mobile users, in one sending.

It is better than doing individual text messaging as it is more efficient and of-fers reduced SMS rates. As a

web-based service, TxtCon-nect can be accessed any-where at anytime and it is easy to manage, as it allows users to view transactions and summary reports online to know message recipients. “We are honored to be part of this worthwhile initiative of the PIA which demonstrates a practical and relevant use of our ICT services to keep our citizens informed, warn them of impending disasters and even potentially save lives,” said Yoly Crisanto, Head of Corporate Commu-nications of Globe Telecom. Aside from the PIA, Globe also has partnerships with oth-er government agencies and non-government organiza-tions, using ICT services for a variety of initiatives, such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, PAG-ASA and the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment.

THE Tagum Agricultural Development Com-pany Inc. (Tadeco),

which is engaged in the production and exportation of Cavendish bananas, has been bestowed a Philippine Good Agricultural Practices (PhilGAP) certification for meeting high quality stan-dards in its operations.

Tadeco) announced that it is now PhilGAP-certified starting January 4 this year until January 3 of 2013, after embracing Phil-GAP requirements in assur-ing food safety.

The Bureau of Agri-culture and Fisheries Prod-ucts Standards of the De-partment of Agriculture awarded the certification to Tadeco after verifying the firm’s compliance with food safety standards.

Tadeco quality man-agement system manager Reagan Navarro confirmed this, saying that Tadeco vice president for research, information and compli-ance division Dr. Benny M. Corcolon received the certi-fication from DA-BAFPS di-rector Angelina Bondad.

Navarro said PhilGAP’s programs are parallel with

the aspiration of the compa-ny “being a good corporate citizen.”

She explained that PhilGAP standard is pri-marily designed to assure consumers on how food is produced on the farm.

Aside from assuring food safety, the requirement is also meant to minimize detrimental environmental impacts of farming opera-tions, and ensuring a re-sponsible approach to work-ers’ health, safety, welfare and hygiene.

Navarro said the Tadeco has complied with PhilGAP standards, adding that the company has estab-lished several programs that guarantee food safety.

She cited one program, the installation and en-hancement of facilities for workers health, safety and hygiene.

Programs and policies for environmental protec-tion have also been estab-lished, documented, imple-mented and maintained, she said.

Another best practice of the company is the strength-ened partnership between management and workers

that “solidifies good labor relations,” she added.

Navarro said that en-suring food safety has been one of the priorities of Tadeco “in order to become competitive in the global market.”

“That is why it invested considerable economic re-sources on food safety pro-tocol to ensure that the pro-duced items have met the highest quality standard,” she added.

“Tadeco is the first pro-ducer and exporter of Cav-endish bananas in the coun-try to acquire PhilGAP cer-tification, which further so-lidifies the tagline of Tadeco that says total quality is our way of life,” she said.

PhilGAP standards were set by DA-BAFPS which is mandated to for-mulate and enforce stan-dards of quality in the pro-cessing of agricultural prod-ucts.

Last year the DA-BAF-PS inspected Tadeco’s pack-ing houses, warehouses and field operations to check on the firm’s compliance with PhilGAP and the sustain-ability of its programs. [PIA 11/

CARINA L. CAYON]

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino approved recent-ly the release of P1.31

billion for rural electrification program in Mindanao.

This was announced at the 1st Mindanao Congress of the Advocates for Renew-able Energy and Rural Elec-trification and Development (MinCARED) organized by the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (AMRECO) in Davao City last week by Administrator Edita Bueno of the National Elec-trification Administration (NEA).

Bueno said the program will benefit 100 barangays and 1,320 sitios in the island-region.

She said the govern-ment will provide for the distribution system including the supply of kilowatt-meter to beneficiaries.

She added that ben-eficiaries from the sitios will each receive a P2,500 sub-sidy from NEA.

The amount will enable them to buy two bulbs and two outlets as well as pay for the installation fee, according to Bueno.

“It is rather difficult for people from the sitios to cash out for the said materials and pay for the installation fee,” she said, adding that the ben-eficiaries are capable of pay-ing the monthly bill which would amount to P75.00 at the minimum.

“The new lines will be turned over to electric coop-eratives in the long run,” she said.

As of November 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported that in terms of barangay electrification, Mindanao is already 99.84% connected.

The rural electrification program is aimed at gener-ating jobs and stimulating small businesses in the coun-tryside which are among the priorities of President Aqui-no’s social contract with the Filipino people.

While the rural electric cooperatives in Mindanao welcome this development, AMRECO President Sergio Dagooc said the rotating brownouts as a result of load curtailment by the National Grid Corporation of the Phil-ippines (NGCP) is a major

blow to their customer ser-vice.

Mindanao is confronted with “red alert” status since the start of the year as a re-sult of supply shortfall by 100 MW which prompted South Cotabato II Electric Coopera-tive (Socoteco II) to imple-ment 45 minutes to one hour rotating brownouts within its franchise area: the whole of Sarangani, Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato.

“Power consumption in Mindanao has been steadily increasing at an average an-nual growth rate of 4.7% from 2002-2009,” said Sec-retary Luwalhati Antonino, Mindanao Development Au-thority (MinDA) chairperson during the second day of the congress.

She added that in the second quarter of 2010, the average and peaking capa-bilities of the hydro power plants at 982 MW dropped to 771 MW and 860 MW, respectively, resulting to 4-6 hours of daily brownouts in several areas in that year.

Antonino emphasized that the demand would in-crease by an average of 4.6% annually over the next 10 years.

“To meet and sustain this demand, at least 1,000MW new capacities must be in-stalled over the next decade and still another 1,500MW from 2021 to 2030,” she said, adding that there is a need to ensure a dependable power supply in Mindanao and install a reliable power generation system that maxi-mizes renewable energy and efficient distribution mecha-nism.

The Mindanao 2020

Peace and Development Framework Plan (Mindanao 2020) being pursued by Min-DA has pointed to diversifica-tion as a recognized strategic move to cushion the impacts of supply shortfalls.

“However, this must veer more towards increased use of clean, renewable and indigenous sources of power to minimize costs attendant to importation, foreign ex-change risks, and environ-mental impacts,” Antonino said, adding that MinDA will continue to do its share of making the necessary repre-sentation before the national government in collaboration with Mindanao LGUs, private sector and industry stake-holders.

Signed into law on Feb-ruary 17, 2010, MinDA is mandated to advocate for po-lices that will foster Mindan-ao’s integrated and balanced development.

MinDA aims to accel-erate the socio-economic growth of the island-region by increasing its trade and in-vestments, encouraging pri-vate enterprise and advanc-ing efforts towards peace and development.

“All these years, energy and power infrastructure plans, programs and projects were largely prepared and decided upon in the national capital,” said Antonino.

Along this line, MinDA will ask the House of Repre-sentatives through the House Special Committee on Mind-anao Affairs and Committee on Energy to investigate the power shortage which gained strong backing from the Min-danao electric cooperatives. [MinDA]

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

11FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

competitive edge

Camella eyeing moreproperties to develop

DA asks World Bank for MRDP’s extension

Cebu Pacific going into long haul travel in 2013

BizQUIPS‘IF the sin-tax indexation

bill is passed, a big chunk of that –as much as P30 billion – is being earmarked for health.’

--Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, arguing it is too early to talk about additional spending on health and education.

CEBU Pacific, in a bid to rep-licate its domestic success in the airline industry, will

enter into long haul travel in the third quarter of 2013. To do that the no-frills airline will acquire eight wide-bodied A330-300 aircraft.

Lance Y. Gokongwei, CEB president and chief executive of-ficer, said the plan is to capture the growing number of overseas Filipino workers, particularly those working in areas that are underserved by local carriers.

“We would like to offer (the opportunity for them) to come home (as many times as pos-sible),” said Gokongwei, citing that in some long haul routes like Saudi Arabia, US and Europe, there are no direct flights.

This is the reason that the company is leasing the aircraft, at $220 million each, “all brand new” and can fly for 11 hours be-

fore refueling.The company also chose

the aircraft because Gokongwei explained, it will give the com-pany “the lowest cost per seat,” he said, adding that the 16-year old company decided to acquire this type of aircraft because it will allow the company to “drive long haul fares 35% lower than those currently offered by other airlines.

Alex B. Reyes, company vice president for network and commercial planning, said the entry of the airline in the long haul market will also reduce fares from the average of about $1,000 a flight to even as low as about $500 a flight.

Reyes pointed out that this development will have a similar “Cebu Pacific effect” on the long haul travel like what happened in the domestic travel as well as the international short haul

travel like the four points in Asia.Reyes cited as an example

the case of Singapore, Hong-kong, Malaysia and Taiwan, the total seats of the company be-tween them and the Philippines in 2005 were at about 250,000 seats. Last year, he added, the traffic was at about 1.9 million.

“That goes to show that malaki ang tinaas namin,” he said. Gokongwei said the ab-sence of local players in most international long haul routes pushed the company to venture into it. He pointed out that of the top 10 long haul routes, only two of them are being served by local airline. “Is there a market? I think so,” he pointed out Reyes pointed out that the company is looking at increasing traffic between the Philippines and the long haul markets from 400 passengers a day to about 700 a day.

THE Agriculture Department has asked the World Bank to extend the second phase

of the Mindanao Rural Develop-ment Program and add addition-al P6 billion ($139.275 million @ $1=P43.08).

Both the additional funding and the extension are necessary, said Agriculture Secretary Pro-ceso J. Alcala, considering that there are still projects that need to be implemented in the coun-tryside.

In a press conference held Monday afternoon, Mr. Alcala pointed out that the additional funding will address the “excess demand” of some local govern-ment units, while the extension

will be the answer to the delay that the program suffered during the initial stage of implementa-tion.

Of the $123 million fund-ing, 30.5% of it was already implemented, he reported as he noted that disbursement will be faster as projects have already been implemented. Of the fund-ing, $83.75 million comes from the bank in the form of soft loan while the rest is the counterpart

both of the national govern-ment and the local government units.

The excess demand of the local government units are for more infrastructure facilities ex-pected to drive economic growth

in the rural areas, he added, pointing out that the proposal is already

included in the shopping list that the government submit-ted to the bank November of last year.

The bank, in response to the request, will grant it if by its evaluation, the implementation of the projects is “satisfactory,” said Carolina Figueroa-Geron, its team leader monitoring the project.

Ms. Geron pointed out that a satisfactory rating means that project implementation is on time and that there are no major problems encountered. So far, Ms. Geron said, the rating of the

bank of the implementation of the project is satisfactory.

The Davao Region, repre-sented by Gov. Rodolfo P. Del Rosario, chair of the Davao In-tegrated Development Program, pushed for the extension and expansion of the program as this will help local government units address the need for more proj-ects.

In the same press confer-ence, Mr. del Rosario pointed out that through the program, local government units were able to streamline their systems in pro-gram implementation as well as in paying their loan obligations.

“This project,” he said, “in-volves the community in the con-

sultation stage. It starts from the Barangay Development Council where each sector of the commu-nity has a representative to have a voice in the

planning stage.He even urged other na-

tional agencies to come up with similar programs as part of the devolution of their functions to the local government units as specified in the Local Govern-ment Code of 1991.

“We need not only the re-sponsibilities (spelled out in the devolution process), but we also need the money to implement them,” he added. When the implementation of the second phase of the program started in 2007, some local government units found it hard to avail of the loan as they claimed they could not afford to fund their share.

The initial concept was the loan would be equally divided between the national govern-ment and the local government units. There was even a proposal that part of the share of the local government would be converted to grant if the specific local gov-ernment unit was able to in-crease its revenue collection and improve its governance.

Despite the incentive, some local government units com-plained that they could not afford to pay their share.

After the delay of 18 months in the implementation as a result of the problems of some local government units, the Agri-culture department decided that these local government would only pay one-fifth of their share as the rest would be shouldered by the department.

CAMELLA Communities, the subsidiary of the pub-licly-liste Vista Land Co.,

is looking at dominating the property development market in this part of the country as it scouts for more properties to

develop.The company, which is

implementing two big proj-ects in the city, has already been negotiating with some landowners, although com-pany manager Marlon Nino B. Escalicas said all these ne-gotiations are still in the initial stages.

“Our plan,” Escalicas said, “is to develop projects both in the southern and northern parts of the city.” He took note that these new proj-ects will take place as soon as the negotiations are finalized. “We want to immediately start these projects as soon as possible,” Escalicas said, pointing out that

both two ongoing proj-ects – the Cerritos in Mintal and the Northpoint in Bajada – are already 60% sold.

Cerritos, a 15-hectare project named after a place in Southern California, will have a mall component, the Star Mall. Escalicas said the company is planning this year

to build the mall.The other project, the

condominium Northpoint, already has three of the five buildings, with the fourth building also to be construct-ed this year.

“We still bullish with the market here,” said Escalicas, adding that last year was an unprecedented last year as its revenues increased by 70% compared with the previous year, although he did not mention the actual revenue as this was the policy of the mother company.

Escalicas said the compa-ny’s plan to put up more proj-ect is anchored on the contin-ued entry of big companies willing to invest in the city, particularly mall developers Ayala Land Inc. and SM

Development Corp.The Ayala’s Abreeza,

its joint venture with Anflo Management and Investment Corp. opened mid last year, while SM’s second mall, SM North, is expected to open in the first half of this year.

His company, he added, is going fullblast even when the city government decided to suspend the incentives granted to property develop-ment.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 11TH JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFF DAVAO CITY

BALIKATAN HOUSING FINANCE, INC.,

Mortgagee/Assignee, EJF-REM CASE NO. 13033-11ROEL V. ELDUAYEN Mortgagor/s.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -xNOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for foreclosure and sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc., with postal address at the 24th Floor, BPI Buendia Center, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, against ROEL V. ELDU-AYEN, with postal addresses at 88 Lopez Joana, Mt. Apo St. DAVAO CITY and Lot 20, Blk. 6, Topaz St. (road Lot 6),CRYSTAL MEADOWS SUBD., BO. SASA, DAVAO CITY ,DAVAO DEL SUR, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of January 25, 2010 amounts to One Hundred Ninety Eight Thousand Three Hundred Thirty Four Pesos and 85/100 (198, 334.85.00), Philippine Currency, exclusive of interest, penal-ties and charges, plus attorney’s fees equivalent to 25% of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the undersigned will sell at public auction on March 22 2012, at 10:00 A.M., or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland, Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property together with all the improve-ments thereon, to wit: Transfer Certificate/s of Title No/s. T-201353 “ A parcel of land of the subdivision project (Lot 20, Blk.6 , of the subdi-vision plan Psd-112402-034126 being a portion of Lot 26 (LRC) psd-97023) situated in the Barangay of Sasa, City of Davao, Island of Mindanao. xxx containing an area of EIGHTY ONE (81) SQUARE METERS, MORE OR LESS. xxx” All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stated time and date. In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on April 19, 2012 without further notice. Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.Davao City, Philippines, January 11, 2012 FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF: (SGD.) NICOLAS L. SUMAPIG Sheriff IVNoted by: SGD) ATTY. EDIPOLO P. SARABIA, JR. Clerk of Court VI & Ex-Officio Provincial Sheriff

Copy furnished:The Mortgagee- Balikatan Housing Finance,Inc.The Mortgagor- ROEL V. ELDUAYENPUBLISHER – EDGE DAVAOPOSTING – 3 conspicuous places ( Edge- 2/13,20,27)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT11TH JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFFDAVAO CITY

BALIKATAN HOUSING FINANCE, INC.,Mortgagee/Assignee, EJF-REM CASE NO. 13032-11

SPS. JOEL P. ENERO AND REBECCA A. ENEROMortgagor/s.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -xNOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for foreclosure and sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc., with postal address at the 24th Floor, BPI Buendia Center, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, against SPS. JOEL P. ENERO AND REBECCA ENERO, with postal addresses at Bunawan Davao City and Lot 1, BLK 3, Jade cor. Road Lot 14, MARIETA VILLAGE, BRGY. TIBUNGCO, DAVAO CITY ,DAVAO DEL SUR, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of Fbruary 18, 2010 amounts to Two Hundred Eighty Thousand Six Hundred (280,625.00), Philippine Cur-rency, exclusive of interest, penalties and charges, plus attorney’s fees equivalent to 25% of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the undersigned will sell at public auction on March 22 2012, at 10:00 A.M.., or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland, Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

Transfer Certificate/s of Title No/s. T-195753“ A parcel of land (Lot 1, Blk.3 Psd-11-013698 being a portion of Lot A-2 , Psd-

11-007077) situated in the Barrio of Tibungco, City of Davao, Island of Mindanao. xxx containing an area of ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE (181) SQUARE METERS, MORE OR LESS. xxx”

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

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on April 19, 2012 without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, January 11, 2012 FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF: (SGD.) NICOLAS L. SUMAPIG Sheriff IVNoted by: (SGD) ATTY. EDIPOLO P. SARABIA, JR. Clerk of Court VI & Ex-Officio Provincial Sheriff

Copy furnished:The Mortgagee- Balikatan Housing Finance,Inc.The Mortgagor- SPS. JOEL P. ENERO AND REBECCA A. ENEROPUBLISHER – EDGE DAVAOPOSTING – 3 conspicuous places( Edge- 2/13,20,27)

n No-frills airline to acquire 8 A330-300s

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

12 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

SUBURBIA

BizQUIPS‘IT is necessary not to invite

the mining companies because as like-minded advocates and anti-mining activists, we should be given time to share each other’s experiences and lessons in order for us to consolidate our position before we face them outside.’

--Party-list Rep. Luzviminda C. Ilagan on the recent International Conference on Mining in Davao City

Rescued wildlife released into Tagum City’s forest

South Cotabato studying proposal to declare Tampakan mountains a protected watershed

Taliño-Mendoza grants P4 M for USM lab

WB: DA program boosts income of Mindanao’s poor

DavNor to launch special programs

AFTER three months in captivity, wild animals were finally released

into the forest of Hijo Planta-tion Resources in Barangay Madaum, Tagum City last Feb-ruary 1.

Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy ordered the release of the animals which was acknowl-edged by the Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau of the De-partment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Office 11 headed by Leonilo Rivera.

Engr. Elias Ragos of the City Environment and Natural

Resource Office (CENRO) - Tagum said it was Mayor Uy’s desire to release the animals in their natural habitat.

It may be recalled that the animals were rescued by operatives of the National Bu-reau of Investigation (NBI), from people who had report-edly illegally caught them, and turned them over to the DENR 11 who allowed the Tagum City government to keep them in the aviary section of the wildlife rescue center at En-ergy Park in Barangay Apokon for three months.

The local government re-

leased the animals when they showed poor appetite and some had not eaten since their captivity according to City Vet-erinarian Jesus G. Edullantes.

The release was wit-nessed by Director for Lei-sure and Tourism Roberto C. Solitaria of the Hijo Resources Corporation, who assured the authorities that the animals would survive in plantation’s forested area. Hijo forest is home to wild boars, monkeys, monitor lizards and wild birds, animals. Unfortunately, it was not reported what kind of ani-mals were released.

MACAQUE MONKEY. Personnel from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office of Tagum City carry the cage containing the set-to-

be released macaque monkey in Hijo Forest in Barangay Madaum, Tagum City.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT. Governor Migs Dominguez, with wife Tisha, receives the Edu-cation Lifetime Achievement Award from the Department of Education - Sarangani Schools Division head Allan Farnazo, with his assistants Evangeline Pacumba and Socrates Mabalot,

during the surprise tribute party honoring the governor Wednesday, February 1, at Paseo del Sol. For more news and updates, please visit the <a href= http://www.sarangani.gov.ph/ > Prov-ince of Sarangani </a> [Cocoy Sexcion/Saran-gani Information Office]

THE provincial government of Davao del Norte will set its special programs into

motion to make the province a top tourist and investment draw, as well as, to attain inclu-sive sports development and a highly-skilled work force.

The undertaking will con-solidate into one mini-conver-gence the programs, projects and activities of the Provincial Tourism Division, the Technolo-gy and Livelihood Development Center (TLDC), the Provincial Sports Development Division, as well as, the Provincial Invest-ment and Promotions Center.

Gov. Rodolfo del Rosa-rio, in his maiden 2012 press conference at the Capitol, told members of the media the prov-ince will be launching its special programs on February 27, 2012 at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, Mankilam, Tagum City.

He said the venture intends

to support his human-centered P.E.O.P.L.E. agenda, which stands for: People empower-ment, Education, Optimum health and social services, Pri-vate-public partnership, Linking to the world and Employment and livelihood opportunities.

Del Rosario said the special programs are primarily aimed at “making Davao del Norte a premier tourist destination in Mindanao; attain effective and efficient implementation of comprehensive provincial sports; and, develop competent and highly skilled work force and entrepreneurs, as support system to the tourism growth and sports development.”

In order to achieve these goals, the governor revealed the province shall identify new tour-ism sites while improving exist-ing ones, develop tourism allied skills and livelihood opportuni-ties and develop sports tourism

in the province.He acknowledged the

tourism sector as the easiest source of revenue, since mini-mal resources are needed to de-velop the destinations.

“We shall provide access to these destinations and train the local people on how to produce indigenous products for the tourists,” he said.

Del Rosario further re-vealed the special programs will be under the helm of newly-ap-pointed Assistant Provincial Ad-ministrator Romulo D. Tagalo, who is also the concurrent offi-cer-in-charge of the Provincial Information Office.

He said, the Provincial In-formation Office, along with the Information Technology Divi-sion, shall provide the necessary support mechanism in order to bring development to depressed barangays that have tourism po-tential. [NOEL BAGUIO]

THE South Cotabato pro-vincial board is studying a proposal of local Catho-

lic church leaders to declare the mineral-rich mountains in Tampakan town as a protected watershed.

South Cotabato Vice Gov-ernor Elmo Tolosa said the board has received the letter submitted by Fr. Gillarme Joy Pelino, Social Action Center director of the Diocese of Mar-bel, seeking such declaration.

“We have discussed the proposal and came to an agreement that it should be studied carefully,” Tolosa said.

Once the Tampakan mountains are declared a pro-tected watershed, any form of mining and other environmen-

tally-destructive activities will eventually be banned in the area.

Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), which is backed by Xstrata Copper, the world’s fourth largest copper produc-er, has been pursuing a large-scale copper and gold mining project in Tampakan, which reportedly hosts the largest known undeveloped copper-gold deposit in Southeast Asia.

But the bid to bring it on commercial stream suffered a major blow early this month after the Department of Envi-ronment and Natural Resourc-es (DENR) rejected its appli-cation for an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

An ECC is one of the re-

quirements before a mining venture is allowed to proceed to commercial phase.

The denial of SMI’s ECC was due to the open-pit min-ing ban imposed last year by the provincial government of South Cotabato.

With the ECC rejection, Catholic Church leaders in the area urged the board members to continue protecting and up-holding the environment code and pass an ordinance for the declaration of the mountains in Tampakan as a protected watershed area.

Marbel Diocese Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez separately wrote South Cotabato Gov. Ar-thur Pingoy Jr. to facilitate the declaration of the mountains

in Tampakan as a protected watershed area and to stand firm in banning open-pit min-ing method in the province.

Board member Jose Madanguit, vice chair of the board’s environmental protec-tion committee, said he favors the declaration of Tampakan as a protected watershed.

Madanguit was chair of the committee on environ-mental protection of the pre-vious SP that approved the environmental code that bans open-pit mining in the prov-ince.

But as a whole, Tolosa clarified that the provincial board has no common stand yet regarding the proposed declaration. [PIA/CARINA L. CAYON]

THE World Bank sees a 15.46 percent rise in in-come of Mindanao poor

as the effect of the Depart-ment of Agriculture’s (DA) rural program.

WB lead rural devel-opment specialist Carolina Figueroa-Geron told report-ers in a press briefing recent in Davao City that DA’s Min-danao Rural Development Program (MRDP) has con-tributed to the increase in in-come of its beneficiaries who are mostly small farmers and fisherfolk.

Geron said that from the baseline of P71,822.00 income in 2007 it increased to P82,926.00 by midterm implementation of MRDP.

“Despite the 18-month hiatus in the earlier part of implementation, the program is almost on-track in its imple-mentation but has exceeded a number of its targets as of midterm,” Geron said.

In terms of household in-come, the Program targets an increase of at least 7% higher than the baseline by midterm.

Program director Lealyn Ramos said the strong part-

nership of the local govern-ment units and the Program’s holistic approach to develop-ment has seen positive results in the rural community.

“Aside from the Pro-gram’s design of holistic ap-proach to development, we owe this feat to the strong support of the local chief ex-ecutives who are at the fore-front of project implementa-tion,” Ramos said.

The program has a total fund of $123.57 million for its four major components: Ru-ral Infrastructure (RI), which implements agri-infra critical to enhance productivity, like irrigation, farm-to-market roads, bridges, potable water supply, pre- and postharvest facilities; Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) that provides re-source-based livelihood activ-ities; Natural Resources Man-agement (NRM) that puts in place environment con-servation mechanisms; and Investment for Governance Reform, which prepares and capacitates LGUs in the deliv-ery of basic services.[SHERWIN B.

MANUAL/DAMRDP]

ASSISTANCE. Gov. Em-mylou “Lala” J. Tali-ño-Mendoza signs a

memorandum of agreement with University of South-ern Mindanao president Dr. Jesus Antonio G. Derije for the enhancement of existing laboratory facilities at USM at the governor’s office in Amas, Kidapawan City.

NORTH COTABATO Gov. Emmylou “Lala” Tali-no-Mendoza signed last month a memorandum of agreement with University of Southern Mindanao presi-dent Jesus Antonio G. Derije providing P4 million for the upgrading of the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Mobile Vet Clinic and the Agriculture Mobile Labora-tory guarantee a low cost neighborhood health clinic for animals and offer techni-cal assistance to farmers.

Equipped with up-to-date amenities, the CVM

Mobile Vet Clinic is de-signed to reach out to more areas throughout the prov-ince offering a convenient nearby clinic that will pro-vide health care services to animals, pets, livestock and poultry.

Also furnished with the necessary tools, sup-plies, and equipment of outpatient service for dogs, cats, and livestock, the mo-bile clinic will be providing FREE physical exams, vac-cinations, dental care, para-site control treatments, and render diagnostic proce-dures, including ultrasound, blood, urine and fecal test-ing for animals with the same high quality, complete healthcare of a standing vet-erinary clinic.

On the other hand, the Agriculture Mobile Labora-tory program aims to per-form diagnostic services for the nutritional management

of oil palm, rubber and other crops. Besides offer-ing technical assistance to farmers regarding the in-terpretation of laboratory analyses results, it will also educate them on the appro-priate fertilizer requirement of high-value commercial crops in different soil types.

The mobile labora-tory will also provide pro-cedural instructions about the production technology of crops included within the program. And while all other services shall be given

FREE of charge, laboratory analysis shall be paid based on USM prevailing charges.

The services that will be provided by these two programs under the su-pervision of the provincial government and USM are going to be available for the period of five years unless terminated by both parties.

Expenses for the up-grading of both mobile fa-cilities worth P2 M each will be drawn from the 20% General Funds of the Cota-bato province.//IDCD-LAF//

13

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

COMMUNITYSENSEPBSP touts ‘PlaCEs’ as business solution platform against poverty

OFWs urged to fight humantrafficking thru social media

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT11TH JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFFDAVAO CITY

BALIKATAN HOUSING FINANCE, INC.,Mortgagee/Assignee, EJF-REM CASE NO. 13030-11

MAE LYNN D. DORINGUEZMortgagor/s.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -xNOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for foreclosure and sale under Act 3135, as amend-ed, filed by Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc., with postal address at the 24th Floor, BPI Buendia Center, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, against MAE LYNN D. DORINGUEZ, with postal addresses at 7-1 Del Pilar St., Agdao, DAVAO CITY and Lot 18, Blk. 4, LA VERNA HILLS SUBD., BO. PAMPANGA ,DAVAO CITY DAVAO DEL SUR, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of February 09, 2010 amounts to Two Hundred Eighty Nine Thousand Six Hundred Twenty Five Pesos (289,625.00), Philip-pine Currency, exclusive of interest, penalties and charges, plus attorney’s fees equiva-lent to 25% of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale;the undersigned will sell at public auction on March 22 2012, at 10:00 A.M.., or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the follow-ing real property together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

Transfer Certificate/s of Title No/s. T-179643 “ A parcel of land of land of the consolidation-subdivision project(Lot 18, Blk.4

of the consolidation –subdivision plan Pcs-112402-001422 , situated in the Baran-gay of Pampanga,,City of Davao, Island of Mindanao. xxx containing an area of ONE HUNDRED FORTY FIVE (145) SQUARE METERS, MORE OR LESS. xxx”

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

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on April 19, 2012 without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, January 11, 2012 FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF: (SGD.) NICOLAS L. SUMAPIG Sheriff IV

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

Copy furnished:The Mortgagee- Balikatan Housing Finance,Inc.The Mortgagor- MAE LYNN D. DORINGUEZPUBLISHER – EDGE DAVAOPOSTING – 3 conspicuous places( Edge- 2/13,2027)

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

11th Judicial Region Branch 17, Davao City

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, CIVIL CASE NO. 32,378-08 Plaintiff, FOR: ESCHEAT

-versus-

DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES,DAVAO BRANCH; EQUITABLE PCI BANK (NOW BANCO DE ORO), AGDAO, BANGOY,BANKEROHAN, C.M. RECTO, R. MAGSAYSAY, AND SAN PEDRO DAVAO BRANCHES; LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, DAVAO (RECTO) BRANCH; MAYBANK OF THE PHILIPPINES , DAVAO CITY BRANCH; METRO BANK, AGDAO, BAJADA, BANKEROHAN, DAVAO CENTER, DAVAO DOCTORS, RIZAL, STA. ANA, AND D. SUAZO BRANCHES, PHILIPPINE BANK OF COMMUNICATION, MONTEVERDE BRANCH, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK, TORIL ,DAVAO BRANCH; PHILIPPINE VETERANS BANK, DAVAO BRANCH; AND ALL CREDITORS/DEPOSITORS AS LISTED IN ANNEXES “A” TO “I” THEREOF,

Defendants,

x------------------------------xORDER

The plaintiff Republic of the Philippines filed the instant Complaint, pray-

ing that after publication and hearing, judgement be rendered declaring that the deposits with the defendant banks, credits and unclaimed balances in question be escheated to plaintiff Republic of the Philippines, and commanding defendant banks to forthwith deposit the same with the Treasurer of the Philippines.

Finding the Complaint to be sufficient in form and substance, set hearing of this case to May 21, 2012 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, directing all interested persons to appear on the said date ; and to show cause, why plaintiff’s prayer should not be granted.

Plaintiff through counsel, is directed to publish this Order, at least once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, prior to-the-date of hearing, in a designated and assigned qualified newspaper of general circulation, pursuant to Act No. 3986.

Furnish a copy of this Order to the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Davao City, for raffling of the publication.

SO ORDERED. Given this 16th day of January 2012 at Davao City, Philippines (SGD) EVALYN A. MORALES Presiding Judge

Serve on:Asst. City Prosecutor Carlos Castaños- City prosecution OfficeSolicitor General- 134 Amorsolo St. Legaspi Vill. Makati CityThe Clerk of Court-RTC hall of Justice, Davao City (Edge 2/06, 13 ,20)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT11TH JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFFDAVAO CITY

BALIKATAN HOUSING FINANCE, INC.,Mortgagee/Assignee, EJF-REM CASE NO. 13031-11RETCHEL P. DIABORDOMortgagor/s.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -xNOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for foreclosure and sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc., with postal address at the 24th Floor, BPI Buendia Center, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, against RETCHEL P. DIABORDO, with postal addresses at 30 Juan dela Cruz St. Davao City and Lot 20, Blk.48, Turkey St., CABANTIAN COUNTRY HOMES, BO. CABANTIAN, DAVAO CITY ,DAVAO DEL SUR, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of May 06, 2011 amounts to Two Hundred Eleven Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Pesos (211,250.00.00), Philippine Currency, exclusive of interest, penalties and charges, plus attorney’s fees equivalent to 25% of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale;the undersigned will sell at public auction on March 22 2012, at 10:00 A.M.., or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the high-est bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

Transfer Certificate/s of Title No/s. T-215056“ A parcel of land of land of the consolidation-subdivision (Lot 20, Blk.48 of the

consolidation –subdivision plan Pcs-112402-001696 , situated in the Barangay of Ca-bantian, ,City of Davao, Island of Mindanao. xxx containing an area of NINETY SEVEN AND 100/65 (97.65) SQUARE METERS, MORE OR LESS. xxx”

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

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on April 19, 2012 without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, January 11, 2012

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

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

Copy furnished:The Mortgagee- Balikatan Housing Finance,Inc.The Mortgagor- RETCHEL P. DIABORDOPUBLISHER – EDGE DAVAOPOSTING – 3 conspicuous places( Edge- 2/13,20,27)

THE country’s first and largest private sector-led social development orga-

nization is touting a platform of collective effort among the cor-porate sector, government, and other investors and stakehold-ers as an innovative business solution to eradicate poverty in the country.

The corporate-led Phil-ippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) dubbed this new strategy as “Platforms for Collective Engagements,” or PlaCEs, with the aim of scal-ing up successful private-public partnership (PPP) models pri-marily in the areas of health, education, livelihood, and the environment.

Rafael C. Lopa, PBSP executive director, said a con-crete translation of the PlaCEs strategy was already seen in the launch of the Bayanihang Pampaaralan (BP) campaign, a collaboration of PBSP, the League of Corporate Founda-tions (LCF), the Philippine Busi-

ness for Education (PBEd), and other advocates of education reform in the country.

Lopa said this collective ef-fort had set the goal of building 10,000 classrooms nationwide to help bridge the classroom backlog of over 66,000 class-rooms of the Department of Education (DepEd).

“It is in these PlaCEs where we hope to mobilize strategic fi-nancing from our members and donor agencies that can pave the way to more dynamic and coordinated multi-stakeholders partnerships,” Lopa said.

Given the positive re-sponse in the education-related PlaCE, the establishment of other PlaCEs is being pursued in the other PBSP focus areas of health, environment protec-tion, and livelihood and jobs generation, Lopa added.

“Beyond our collective ac-tion strategy, we will keep on working closely with compa-nies to take social development at the heart of their businesses

by integrating core business solutions to development ef-forts, and providing policy and advocacy platforms for social change,” Lopa stressed.

Moreover, he said the PlaCES strategy will underscore efforts to establish PPP models, specifically in the delivery of public services and the devel-opment of infrastructure that would spur social development and improve climate change ad-aptation.

On the recent commemo-ration of its 41st year, PBSP has further strengthened its ef-forts with the business sector in reaching out to the country’s marginalized sectors.

“To truly effect collective impact, we saw the need to en-sure that every program must have a common goal, a cohesive strategy, and a uniform param-eter that synchronizes all the ef-forts of the business sector and other development stakehold-ers. Certainly, the sum is greater than the parts,” Lopa said.

COACHING ENUMERATORS. DSWD enumerators are all ears as Kristine Capalongan [center], Project Coordinator of DSWD National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction [NHTS-PR] provides technical assistance during a recent household validation of Indigenous Peoples and Informal Sector in Davao Region. To determine the tribe and

occupation, the validation was conducted involving some 396 enumerators, 66 area supervisors and 11 area coordinators. NHTS-PR is a data management system that makes available a database of poor households as reference in identifying beneficiaries of social protection services. [DSWD/Carmela Cadigal-Duron]

A former domestic helper and migrant worker advocate here

has urged Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are working in safe environ-ments to unite in a fight against human trafficking through the social media.

Myrna Padilla said OFWs who are in a position to help should connect with each other via social media to provide a network ca-pable of assisting the most vulnerable among the OFW communities.

Padilla developed the

recently-launched social media website called OFW-watch.com after seeing the need to help the govern-ment protect migrant work-ers, especially those who are abused by their employers, victims of human trafficking and other distressed OFWs.

“Although many of our OFWs are working in safe environments, the horror stories of abuse are an al-most daily occurrence with the impact hitting the most vulnerable sector of the OFW population made up of unskilled women work-ers,” she stated.

She said that OFWs “in secure and safe positions should rally together via social media to look out for the most vulnerable among the OFWs community.”

Padilla, who now owns a business process outsourc-ing (BPO) in Davao City, said social media could empower migrant workers to watch out for each other and to combat abuses and human trafficking.

She said the OFW-watch.com is a combina-tion of Facebook and mo-

bile technology that allows OFWs to register their mobile and Facebook ac-counts.

The website has devel-oped a database of thou-sands of addresses, tele-phone numbers, maps and emails of organizations in-volved with the OFWs, Pa-dilla disclosed.

She cited that their da-tabase includes list of over 3,400 recruiting agencies nationwide licensed and registered with the Philip-pine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

A directory in the web-site contains the normal addresses, telephone num-bers, maps and descriptions of the OFWs, Padilla bared.

She added that the di-rectory also has a link to POEA’s database “to check on the validity of a recruit-

er’s license and a sophis-ticated rating and review system.”

“If we can use social media to rate restaurants, then we can use social me-dia to rate recruiting agen-cies and other businesses delivering services to the OFWs,” she said.

The OFWwatch.com has a long-term objective “to create an intercon-nected network of OFWs all over the world and pro-vided them with the tools required to help each other.

Padilla was a domestic helper for over 20 years and was the founder of the Min-danao Hong Kong Workers’ Federation. She returned to the Philippines in 2006 and has since established her own BPO business called Mynd Consulting. [PIA 11/CA-

RINA L. CAYON]

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

14 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

Facebook poised for $5-10 billion in IPO

ICTHUB

Philippine IT-BPO company builds social media application to fight modern slavery

Google employs ‘Bouncer’ to keep malware out in app

BizQUIPS‘THE lessons of past

tragedies should by now already strengthened and stabilized disaster management and responsive in every nook and cranny of our local units as natural disasters could now strike anytime…’

--Senator Chiz Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources.

THE Philippines is a nation of migrant workers or Overseas Filipino Workers

(OFWs). At any given moment, there are over ten million Fili-pinos, or roughly ten percent of the country’s population work-ing abroad. Although the ma-jority of Filipino migrant work-ers are successful, the horror stories of abuse are an almost daily occurrence. Unfortunate-ly, the impact of that abuse hits hardest on the most vulnerable sector of the OFW population made up of unskilled women workers.

According to Myrna Pa-dilla, founder of a Mynd Con-sulting the Business Process Outsourcing company in the Philippines that specializes in mobile and social media ap-plications, Facebook and mo-bile technology can be used to empower the strongest OFWs to watch out for the weakest among us and to provide the world with an example of how to apply technology to fight hu-man trafficking.

“Let’s face the facts.” says Padilla. “The sheer size of the world’s migrant population makes it very difficult for any government agency charged with protecting the migrant to do their job without help. We want to use platforms like Face-book, combined with check-in and mobile technology, to help fight the evils of modern day human slavery.”

Padilla said, “The Philip-pines supplies the world with millions of highly educated and technically advanced profes-

sionals and dedicated domes-tic workers. These are migrant workers who are making sig-nificant contributions to the success of their employers and to the societies of their host countries. “

“We are not a nation of helpless victims,” says Padilla. “We are a nation of innovators and we can provide an example for other migrant communities to follow.”

Using a combination of Facebook and mobile technolo-gy, her team has built a website called OFW Watch, that allows OFWs to register their mobile and Facebook accounts. The long term objective is to create an interconnected network of OFWs all over the world and provide them with the tools required to help each other and help the world fight modern day human slavery.

According to Padilla, the Philippines IT-BPO Industry has been developing a reputa-tion for innovation. The indus-try already has overtaken India as number one in voice services worldwide and is quickly estab-lishing itself in other areas as well. The industry has been de-veloping a growing expertise in both mobile and social media application development.

As for the Filipino people, the OFW Watch group points out that the Philippines is con-sistently one of the top coun-tries in the world in the use of Facebook with over 90% of the OFW population with internet access having a Facebook ac-count.

As for her new initiative, Padilla says,” There is no name for what we are trying to do. OFW Watch is not just another social network, although it does take advantage of Facebook and Twitter platforms. And our intended use of check-in tech-nology and mobile applications are not traditional. Maybe one day the experts will refer to it as a social monitoring and mobili-zation platform.”

Padilla sums up what they are doing by saying, “We can hear a cry for help, even in the dark.”

The group behind OFW Watch contends, the first sign an OFW or migrant worker is suffering enslavement or abuse is when the employer cuts off the victim’s communication with the outside world. They refer to this as ‘going dark’.

Through the use of check-in technology, the anonymous monitoring of login activity on

PADILLA

social networks and mobile applications, the group claims they can detect when someone is forced to go dark. This in turn triggers alerts to the network to take action.

However, detecting a cry for help is only half the prob-lem, the other half of the prob-lem is taking action. With 10 to 12 million OFWs, the task of helping can be daunting. For example, within the Philippine Department of Labor there are a total of 9,800 employees and only a small number of that group are tasked with OFW/migrant issues. The numbers are simply overwhelming.

OFW Watch seeks to turn the problem of overwhelming numbers into the solution. They point out that because there are literally millions and millions of OFWs scattered throughout the world, no matter where an OFW may need help, there are usually hundreds, if not thou-sands of fellow OFWs within a few kilometers. The group be-hind OFW Watch believes they can mobilize nearby OFWs by using call center technology developed by the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry to help government agencies or NGOs in reaching out to the distressed OFW.

Ms. Padilla says, “Hav-ing been an OFW myself for over 20 years, I know 70 to 80 percent of the OFWs would re-spond to a call for help from a fellow OFW, if only given the opportunity to do so.”

The OFW Watch group believes it is not just a case of the Filipino caring for each oth-er, but when someone is torn from their family for years at a time, they seek something to bind them back home. Helping each other serves as a way of reestablishing that bond.

To get things started and deliver immediate benefits to the OFW community, the OFW Watch website has developed a database of thousands of ad-dresses, telephones numbers, maps and emails of organiza-tions involved with the OFW. The database includes the nor-mal address, telephone num-ber, maps and descriptions, but there is where the familiar directory ends. The Directory also includes a real time link to POEA’s database to check the validity of a recruiter’s license and a sophisticated rating and review system.

“If the world can use social media to rate restaurants,” said Padilla, “then we can use social media to rate recruiting agen-cies and other businesses deliv-ering services to the OFW.”

When asked about the con-cerns of some that the internet and mobile technology are out of reach of the most vulnerable sector, the OFW Watch group points out that today’s high-end smart phone will be next year’s mid-priced or low-end solution and that the number of people with access to the internet is growing not shrinking.

THE prospectus for an IPO could be filed with the US Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) as early as Wednesday morning, ac-cording to US media reports, although they stressed there was still a possibility it could be delayed.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news of Facebook’s impending IPO last week, say-ing the Palo Alto, California-based company planned to raise $10 billion at a valuation of between $75 billion and $100 billion.

The $10 billion target had been halved to a more con-servative $5 billion in reports emerging late Tuesday in The New York Times and Interna-tional Financing Review.

The publications stressed, however, that $5 billion was only a preliminary fund-raising target and could always be raised after gauging investor interest.

The initial IPO filing was not expected to specify how many shares were being of-fered or their list price.

It would also not put a valuation on the company nor identify which exchange Face-book shares would be traded on -- the Nasdaq stock market or the New York Stock Ex-change.

In any case, Facebook shares are not expected to be-gin trading until at least May, once the IPO process is final-ized.

With a deal size of $10 bil-lion, Facebook would slip into sixth place on the list of largest US IPOs between AT&T Wire-less Group ($10.62 billion) and Kraft Foods ($8.68 billion), ac-cording to Renaissance Capital.

Even at $5 billion, it would still be the largest IPO ever by a US Internet company, surpass-ing that of Google which raised $1.9 billion in 2004 and valued the Web search giant at $23 bil-lion.

A market capitalization of $100 billion would put Face-book on a par with McDonald’s ($101 billion), well ahead of Boeing ($55 billion) but be-hind Apple ($426 billion) and Google ($189 billion).

A Facebook IPO would be “the biggest financial event in the tech industry for 2012,” Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff said, and would eclipse those of several other Internet companies that went public in 2011.

Career-oriented social net-work LinkedIn was underval-ued while online daily deals site Groupon and social games titan Zynga have both been trading at or below their list price.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has deflected IPO talk for years, saying he is focused on building the com-pany and not on going public.

But Zuckerberg, who launched Facebook from his Harvard University dorm room in February 2004 and has seen it grow to more than 800 mil-lion members, has recently seemed to bow to the inevi-tability of selling stock to the public.

Morgan Stanley is ex-pected to be the lead bank for the IPO and IFR said Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan would also play a role.

According to eMarketer, Facebook’s global revenue was $4.27 billion last year, mostly from online advertising.

GOOGLE announced that it has commenced automat-ic scanning of all applica-

tions found in its Android Market in the wake of malware scares and consumer concerns over in-app spyware.

Google’s automated scan-ning service is codenamed Bouncer and “provides automat-ed scanning of Android Market for potentially malicious software without disrupting the user expe-rience of Android Market or re-quiring developers to go through an application approval process,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of engineering, Android in a post on the Google Mobile Blog.

Bouncer is used to scan both existing apps within the store and new apps that are submitted to the store. It is also intended to prevent repeat of-fenders from signing up for a developer account under a new pseudonym.

Prior to the introduction of Bouncer, Google usually only investigated apps if users downloaded, installed and then flagged an app after they discov-ered something was awry.

In December security company Sophos revealed that at least ten thousand us-ers had downloaded malicious

apps from the Android Market. Google, however, reported that downloads of potentially mali-cious apps in its app store de-creased by 40 percent between the first and second halves of 2011.

“While it’s not possible to prevent bad people from build-ing malware, the most impor-tant measurement is whether those bad applications are being installed from Android Market -- and we know the rate is declining significantly,” said Lockheimer.

Google said it reached a record 11 billion app downloads from its Android Market in Janu-ary. Apple announced that users had downloaded 18 billion apps from its App Store in October 2011.

Apple is notorious for its rig-orous and stringent app approval process -- application approvals in the App Store can sometimes take months.

Both Android owners and developers are praising Google’s enhanced security measures. An-droid owners say that Bouncer will help protect them from harmful apps while developers are pleased that Google is not changing its relatively fast and easy process of submitting an app to the Android Market

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

15FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

‘Love is in the air’ at Eden Nature Park

E-mail: edgedavao_editorial@yahoo.com.phEVENTS

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THE Love Month kicks off this February in Abreeza Mall with

events and promos sure to tickle your romantic side and provide the perfect ambience for that moment to remember.

LOVE TO SHOP! Grab the best selection of HIS and HERS items in the LOVE MARKET, a unique fair for couples who want to be seen as a pair from February 4-9 at the Activi-ty Center. Find the perfect gift for your loved one in SWEET TREATS BAZAAR from February 10-14, 2012. From chocolates, flowers, cuddly bears and whatnot, make it memora-

CELEBRATE LOVE IN ABREEZA MALLble for that special someone this Valentine’s Day.

LOVE TO DINE! Val-entine’s Day is more spe-cial with surprise gifts for couples who dine in the wide array of restaurants and food outlets in Abreeza Mall. Good food and music come together in MOON-LIGHT SERENADES at the GF Restaurant Row and 3F Roof Garden on February 14, with live acoustic ren-ditions from our best local talents.

LOVE TO WATCH! Go stargazing in Abreeza Mall this February. Catch Xian Lim on February 10 as he walks the ramp in a Pre-Valentine Fashion Show by Orotime. Watch John Lloyd Cruz and the cast of Unoffi-cially Yours on February 13, be a part of the Valentine Concert of MYMP on Febru-ary 14 and have the unique privilege of watching Char-lie Green, British-Filipino singing star on February 17.

Shop and dine in any store in Abreeza Mall and get a chance to pick an in-stant prize for your Val-entine! With all the things we love to do happening in Abreeza Mall, love is truly in the air. Happy Hearts Day!

Bring back that lovin’ feeling on Valentine’s Day as Eden Nature Park and Resort, Davao’s most ro-mantic nature getaway, presents “Love is in the Air”, a romantic Valentine dinner on February 14, 2012.

Take part in this one-night only rendezvous and enjoy a delectable feast with your loved ones while being serenaded with heart-warming love songs. Din-ner and event tickets are available for only PhP 475 (adult)/ PhP 285 (kids).

Experience the warmth of the season as you spend a chilly night in a pine forest. Stay at the resort on Valen-tine’s Day and enjoy their specially priced overnight rates for as low as PhP1,610 (Aster Room, standard twin) inclusive of dinner, breakfast and entry to the swimming pool and fishing village.

Special overnight rates for Holiday Lodge, Vista Cottage, Camellia, Gardenia and Begonia room accom-modations are also avail-able.

Re-ignite the passion and fall in love all over again, only at Eden Nature Park and Resort. Make your reservations now at the Sales Office at Matina Town Square, Matina or call tel. nos. 299.0313/299.1020/ 296.0791, mobile no. 918.930.7590, email info@edennaturepark.com.ph. Check out their website at www.edennaturepark.com.ph

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

16 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

VALENTINES is one of the most popu-lar holidays

in the world and is celebrated by differ-ent people in differ-ent ways. Whether you would want to whip up some food and drinks for your Valentines date, or throw a party for the family or a group of friends, you would appreciate this col-lection of simple recipes that are per-fect for Valentines.Creamy Garlic-Aspara-gus Soup This smooth soup leaves a sexy feel in your mouth while giving off much-appreciated aphrodisiac properties from the aspara-gus and garlic—two of the most popular aphrodisiacs in the world. To make it, simply melt a dab of butter in a soup pan and then add three cloves of minced gar-lic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add two cups of water, a pound of asparagus and two whole potatoes and allow it to boil until the veg-etables are for tender. Put this mixture in a blender or food processor and blend it until you get a smooth mix-ture. Then put the blended mixture back to the soup pan, add two cups of milk and boil some more. Add a dash each of dried oregano and basil and one bay leaf then season (add salt and pepper) to taste. Boil until all the flavors have com-bined and serve hot with sprigs of boiled asparagus or fried garlic chips.Garlic-Oyster Pasta This delicate pasta fills the tummy and contains one of the most popular

aphrodisiacs: Oysters. To make it simply sauté ten cloves of minced garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil and a dab of butter until it becomes fragrant. Then, add a teaspoon of dried basil and about a pound of oyster meat (removed from the shells) until it is all cooked through. Add grated par-mesan cheese to taste and some cracked black pep-per. Then, add some cooked spaghetti or linguine to the hot pan and combine until the pasta absorbs the sauce. Serve hot.Flirtini Cocktail This refreshing cocktail is perfect for special occasions and is the perfect accompa-niment to your aphrodisiac-laden meal. To make this gorgeous cocktail, simply combine an ounce of vod-ka, and two ounces each of pineapple juice and cham-pagne in a champagne flute. Drop a piece of cherry as a garnish.Death by Chocolate This cocktail/dessert has some of the sexiest ingre-dients: alcohol, chocolate, cherry, and coffee, com-bined in a smooth slush. To make it, simply combine

two scoops of plain choco-

late ice cream, an ounce of chocolate syrup, an ounce of coffee liqueur (Kahlua is a popular brand), an ounce of vodka, and a cup of crushed ice in a blender until you get a smooth slush. Pour the mixture in a hurricane glass and top with whipped cream and a piece of cherry.Strawberry Skewers This simple dessert is not only sexy, but it is a treat to eat. To make it, simply push through fresh strawberries on bamboo skewers and top with store-bought choco-late syrup.Easiest Red Velvet Cup-

cakes These cute cupcakes are the perfect ending to a per-fect Valentines dinner. To make this easy-as-pie pas-try, simply combine two cups of sifted self-rising flour, one and a half cups of white sugar, and two table-spoons of cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, combine three-fourths cups of oil and two eggs. Then, simply add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients while stirring. Once the mixture is fully combined, add in two ounces of red food coloring and place the red mixture into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Bake this at 350 degrees Celsius until inserted toothpick comes out clean. This should take about twenty minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting. To make the frosting, com-bine the following ingredi-ents using an electric mixer: a stick of softened butter, a stick of cream cheese, a cup of powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Listen to Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) on 105.9 Mix FM every Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 in the evening. For comments, suggestions, and more confes-sions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph or fol-low the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun

Valentinesparty menu

TRAVEL YOUTH TRENDSUP AND ABOUT

VALENTINES is sweeter at SM City Davao! The country’s top string musicians play music for the heart and soul this Valentine weekend at SM Davao. On February 12, The Manila String Machine, a quartet composed of 3 violinists—Ferdie Dumlao, Silke Hipolito and Rommel Camba; and one cellist—The-odore Amper, is set to make everyone fall in love with their music. The four members of the group, products of the UP College of Music, are actively involved in professional orchestras. The ensem-ble regularly performs symphonic and classical pieces with foreign artists, as part of their musical discipline and profession in concerts nationwide and abroad, as well. This Valentines, SM City Davao brings exquisite melody for ev-eryone. Experience a unique kind of music, from classical to rock with stringed instruments! Enjoy Manila String Machine’s edgy rendi-tions of pop and classical favourites specially arranged for the string ensemble. Admission is free. On Sunday, bring your ‘special someone’, be-loved family and your friends at The Event Centre of SM City Davao, where we all come together! Show starts at 5 PM. For inquiries please call 297.6998 local 126. Visit www.smcity-davao.blogspot.com or like SM City Davao on Facebook for event and promo updates.

IT’S all about the right pairings on the love month of February as Waterfront Insular Hotel brings you perfect combinations. Impress your date with La Parilla’s Black Angus Surf and Turf. A perfect combination of Black Angus beef, tempura prawns, and calamari with a dash of black peppercorn sauce for only Php990 nett. Everything is better in twos this Valentine’s Day at the Pirata Bar as you share a mixed grilled seafood platter for two with that spe-cial someone. Dine on fresh squid, tuna belly, mussel and scampi, served with salted egg and seaweed salad, and of course, rice good for two. Have a spicy sweet Valentine’s at the Vinta Bar with Pacman Chicken, chicken wings lollipop wrapped with minced chicken and wanton skin, served with our very special Waterfront chili sauce. Say “I love you” better with a heart shaped pizza, topped with diced chicken, bacon and minced beef, pineapple bits and moz-zarella cheese at Pizzaiolo or share the love with friends and family all month long with Café Uno’s 4+1 promo at only Php650.00+ per person. And finally, make her heart will skip a beat, after a bite of Jupiter

Terrain, the Pizzaiolo’s Cake of the Month, a chocolate mousse with nougatine, lemon crème and chocolate sponge; coated with chocolate glaze and garnished with chocolate heart at Php260 per slice. For more informa-tion call the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao at +82.233.2881 extension 8701 or visit our website at www.waterfrontho-tels.com.ph.

The Manila String Machine performs at SM Davao

Celebrate the Love Month at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

17FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

FEBRUARY is Heart Month! We should take time out

and think about our hearts. Are we kind to our hearts? Are we taking care of our hearts? The human heart is one of the most important or-gans in your entire body and if you don’t take care of it prop-erly, it could cost you your life. The choices you make to-day will impact your life to-morrow. This may sound like advice parents give their chil-dren, but it is especially true when it comes to taking care of your heart. While some risk factors for developing heart disease are beyond our con-trol, such as age, race or fam-ily history, certain lifestyle choices we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s will definitely im-pact the quality of life in our 50s, 60s and 70s. There are a few things that are absolutely essential to keeping your heart healthy. This includes eating healthy, exercising regularly and tak-ing supplements to keep yourself in tip-top shape. Heart disease does not de-velop overnight. It is a gradu-al, lifelong process that people cannot see or feel. Physical inactivity, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and dia-betes have all shown to influ-ence the development and severity of heart disease. For-tunately, you can take steps now to prevent heart disease and enjoy a healthier life in

the years to come.Put out that cigarette. People who smoke run twice the risk of having a heart attack as a non-smoker. There are more than 4,800 chemicals in tobacco smoke, including tar and nicotine. This toxic mixture can raise blood pressure, increase the tendency for blood to clot, harden the arteries and re-strict blood flow to the heart. Smokers are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers.Start moving. Exercising 30 to 60 min-utes most days of the week has shown to improve heart function, lower blood pres-sure and cholesterol, boost energy and help maintain a healthy weight. Walking is a good activity that is easy to in-corporate into a daily routine. According to the American Heart Association, every hour spent exercising now can add about two hours to your life expectancy, even if you don’t start working out until middle age. Eat a nutritious, healthy diet. A diet rich in fruits, veg-etables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products should be the routine. Try to limit your intake of saturated fats (beef, butter, cheese or milk) and trans fats (deep fried foods, margarine or crackers), which

can raise blood cholesterol levels. Adding fish, a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, to your diet can help decrease the risk of heart attack, lower blood pressure and guard against irregular heartbeats.Maintain a healthy weight. Your heart has to work harder if you are overweight. You also have an increased risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabe-tes. Waist measurements of more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women are

considered indicators of be-ing overweight. Exercise and good nutrition are the only ways to maintain a healthy weight, not fad diets or sup-plements. Other steps you can take to prevent heart disease in-clude limiting alcohol, being screened for high blood pres-sure and high cholesterol, reducing stress and manag-ing diabetes, if you have the condition. Taking care of your heart now doesn’t mean a life of self-deprivation. Eat one more serving of fruit instead of chips. Take a walk after a meal instead of a nap. Heart disease may be the leading cause of death in the United States, but by adopting a healthy lifestyle today you may avoid heart problems in the future.Blood Pressure If you want your heart to be healthy, you need to keep your blood pressure in line. Thousands of people suffer from high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is very, very bad for your heart. I f you have high blood pressure, you should regulate the cho-lesterol in your diet and take a dietary supplement recom-mended by your doctor. By controlling your blood pres-sure you’ll be doing your heart a big favor. By watching your blood pressure and diet and exercis-ing regularly, your heart will reap the benefits of greater health and you’ll reap the ben-efits of a healthy heart. Let’s take good care of our hearts! Wishing you a healthy and happy heart!

HEALTH

Heart care

There are a few

things that are

absolutely essential

to keeping your

heart healthy. This

includes eating

healthy, exercising

regularly and taking

supplements to

keep yourself in tip-

top shape.

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

18 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49

THE dictionary defines inspiration as the process of being men-tally stimulated to do

or feel something, especially to do something creative. And oftentimes when I am in need of such, I take a few days off to catch some inspiration. Inspiration comes in many ways, shapes, and forms. It may come in the way the architecture and surroundings, the smell and taste of food, or even just

from something you see or read while walking. And that is why i was extremely excited with a walking tour around Bugis, Singapore’s culturally rich Arab quarter which I was not able to explore the last time I was in Singapore. I started the day with break-fast at the Landmark Village Hotel’s Club Lounge together with the hotel’s General Man-ager, Chew Yun Meng, Far East Hospitality MarCom Executive,

Dennis Yong and Business De-velopment Manager, Eugene Lee. Conversing while enjoying the view, I learned that Village Hotels and Residences, owned and operated by the Far East Hospitality Group, offers au-thentic, friendly, comfortable and memorable stays, where guests get a unique experience of the Singapore’s local culture and indigenous offerings of the

communities where its proper-ties are located. And since the Landmark Village Hotel is right in the middle of Bugis, I become more excited and did not want to waste another minute. From the Landmark Village Hotel and with the knowledg-able Andrew Tan, Landmark’s Assistant Front Office Manager, leading the way, me and Sunstar Davao’s resident traveller Jing-

goy S. were given an insider’s tour of the many streets and al-leyways of the district. The most prominent land-mark in Bugis would be Sin-gapore’s largest mosque, the gold-domed Masjid Sultan that is just diagonally across the hotel. History and architecture buffs will love the many beauti-ful shophouses that is the norm in the area. One can also visit the Malay Heritage Centre which used to be the official residence of the Sultan of Johor before it was converted into a museum. if you look hard enough, you can find the Children Little Museum along Bussorah Street where one can step into Singapore’s past. Shopaholics can shop for Per-sian rugs, fabulous textiles and exotic perfumes from the many shops lining Arab Street. If you are looking for quirky things, try visiting Haji Lane, Singapore’s “smallest street”, where artisan food shops, services and bou-tiques flourish. Mallrats can also opt to shop at the Bugis Junction and Iluma malls which is just a short walk away. And don’t even get me started on food! Bugis hosts an eclectic mix of many different restaurants

from many regions of the world. Name a type of cuisine, be it French, Italian, Indonesian, Ma-lay, Mexican, Chilean, Swedish, Bugis is just full of restaurants and eateries. “Every road has a place to eat and chances are that when you turn a corner you will find discover a new restaurant of cafe” beams Andrew “there is even a cafe here that serves great Tea Tarik but has no name, but it has been there for years yet it still has no name and the locals still flock to it.” And after thousands of steps and perhaps as many calories from tasting the food, we re-turned to the Landmark Village Hotel. Where I finally noticed the little details of the hotel that pay homage to the area around it following the Village Hotel’s brand philosophy of embracing the area’s local culture. Now I can definitely say that I am inspired, correct that, amazed. Amazed that in the face of modernism, Singapore still retains its natural and unique “kampong” or village appeal. You can learn more about the Landmark Village Hotel and its 393 rooms and suites by visiting their website at www.stayvillage.com/Landmark.

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EVERYTHING is set for the 16th Kalilangan Festival and the 73rd Foundation An-

niversary celebration of General Santos City on the theme “ CON-VERGENCE IN DIVERGENCE: Enriching Heritage, Bridging Cultures.”

Festival Director Mimi Ab-iera presented the activities and the highlights which, unlike other festivals, focuses mainly on the cultural aspect.

But it prides itself as a fes-tival of excellent folk choreogra-phy, a showcase of the tri-people’s (Christians, Muslims and Lu-mads) heritage and culture and the fostering of mutual respect for their diverse beliefs and values.

A Soft Opening will be held as early as Feb. 10 with various amenities inside the Oval grounds to be opened--like the Agri Fair, Mini Zoo, Plaza Bazaar, Food Galore and Carnival rides.

Institutional events like the Grand Opening ceremony is slat-ed on Feb. 21, the Cultural Night (“Lambigitan”) on the 23rd and the Closing or Salubungan on Feb. 27, 2012.

On the festival day’s finale, contingents from all over will show their dancing prowess in the Kadsagayan or Street Danc-ing vying for the biggest prizes at stake.

The Kalilangan has also its yearly favorites which draws crowds because of its uniqueness and sheer attraction to the public.

The ethnic sports competi-tion “Laro Ng Lahi” will again dazzle audiences with traditional games like Kadang Marathon, Sack Race, Patintero, Palosebo, Tug of War, Sungka, Skipping Rope, Tabanug (kite-flying) and the board game Dama.

The Cosplay, short for Cos-tume Playing, is a new and up-coming excitement for the young and the techno-savvy, only this time, Pinoy characters will be highlighted, not foreign ones.

For 17 days, the people of Gensan will witness song, dance and theatrical presentation, sports tournaments, visual arts exhibit, agricultural exposure, free seminars, cookfest, animal shows, gadgets demo, a fun run and parties.

All set for Kalilangan Festival

19

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 49

GAMES

DavSur to launch ‘Run to Plant’for Green Philippines, Feb. 20

Beckham sent off at kids’ match

Undefeated boxer dies

Mayweather to fight Cotto, not Pacquiao

Wilson aims for 2nd straight win at Phoenix Open golf

Powerade rewards Gary David with lucrative 3-year contract

A Private-Public-Part-nership involving local government units, pri-

vate sector, academe and civil society in Davao del Sur set to launch the Run to Plan for Green in Philippines on Feb-ruary 20, 2012.

In fulfillment of the National Greening Program (NGP), the provincial gov-ernment, the Holy Cross of Bansalan College, the Ra-mon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) and the Lao In-tegrated Farms, Inc. agreed last January 23 to carry out together the run for the envi-ronment activity.

A memorandum of agreement will be signed dur-ing the launching activity that will involve the signatures of Governor Douglas Cagas representing Davao del Sur and Holy Cross of Bansalan

president RVM Sr. Maria Fe Gerodias.

Also among the MOA signatories will be RAFI chief operating officer Dominica Chua to represent the civil society and LIFI owner and chief executive office Benja-min Lao, who will stand for the private sector.

Prior to the launching, an orientation activity to tackle the NGP as well as the rationale and details of the run is scheduled on February 8 at the Sangguniang Panlala-wigan Session Hall in Baran-gay Matti, Digos City.

Davao del Sur provincial information officer Nilda Ani-non said the orientation will be participated in by the 14 municipal mayors the Digos City mayor, and the provin-cial officials of the Depart-ment of Environment and

Natural Resources (DENR) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Aninon said the Run to Plant for Green in Philippines is an initiative of RAFI that aims to help the local govern-ment in its sustainable refor-estation program as mandat-ed under Executive Order No. 26 or the NGP in a bid to fight against climate change.

The Green in Philippines initiative stands for Genera-tion, Redemption and Expan-sion of Natural Resources.

President Benigno Aquino signed the EO 26 on February 24, 2011 that aims to plant 1.5 billion trees cov-ering about 1.5 million hect-ares nationwide for a period of six years from 2011 to 2016.

Aninon said Gov. Cagas issued on November 23 last

year the provincial Executive Order No. 37 for the imple-mentation of the NGP in the province.

In April 2011, the con-vergence initiative of DENR, Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrar-ian Reform in Davao del Sur also started implementing the NGP by identifying an aggregate of a 200-hectare area for the convergence.

About 500 hills of trees are planned to be planted per hectare, which would bring about 100,000 planted trees as required per prov-ince under the NGP.

The DENR-DA-DAR convergence has also begun employing its social mobili-zation program that involves students, religious sector, academe and the civil soci-ety groups. [PIA/CARINA L. CAYON]

FOOTBALL icon David Beckham was shown the red card and ordered

out of a park while watching a children’s match, he said in an interview to be screened Saturday.

The former England captain was sent off after protesting a decision to send off one of the youngsters, he told ITV television.

The Los Angeles Gal-axy midfielder, 36, who was waiting for a match his nine-year-old son Romeo was due to play in, had to go and stand outside the park gate until the game was over.

“I was watching the kids play the other day, it was the game just before they were playing,” he said.

“It was the younger kids of Romeo’s club, and they’re playing in the game and there was a penalty given.

“He sent the kid off. And I was like, ‘Come on, he’s seven years old, referee, you can’t send him off’.

“And he looked at me and was like, ‘Yes, I can’. And I was like, ‘OK, well, you can’t, he’s seven years old’.

“And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For

real.“The gate was only 20

yards away and I waited and went back in when my son’s game was on.”

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star said his family was happy in California and did not rule out having more children with his wife, former Spice Girls singer Victoria. The couple have three sons and a daughter.

“We might have one more or two more, you never know. We’re not thinking about it yet, but if it hap-

pens, great. We’re enjoying the kids as it is. It’s always a thought.”

Beckham, England’s most capped outfield player, has set his sights on cap-taining Great Britain at the Olympic Games in July and August, to be held in his na-tive east London.

Beckham’s contract was up at LA Galaxy but last month but he has agreed a new two-year deal contract with the US champions, rejecting offers from Paris Saint-Germain and two Eng-lish Premier League clubs.

BECKHAMWILSON

GARY David is getting his due as the acknowledged franchise player of the

Powerade Tigers.Joining the ranks of the

PBA’s elite stars following his A-1 performance in the just-concluded Philippine Cup, David will be rewarded accord-ingly by his team, to be given a three-year contract-extension deal worth P15.1 million.

Powerade top official JB Baylon has confirmed they’re giving David the maximum monthly pay –P420,000 -- al-lowed under the league’s amended salary cap rule.

“Masayang-masaya ako nagbubunga ang pinaghihira-pan ko,” said David. “Wala pa naman formal na signing. Pero umoo na si Boss JB. Wala ng mahabang negosasyon.”

Worth emulating is Da-vid’s story.

From a mere college in-trams player, the Dinalupihan, Bataan player has risen to be a PBA major star, emerging the

best of them all in the 2011-12 Philippine Cup.

“Pinagtrabahuhan ko ta-laga ng husto iyon. I just don’t stop trying to improve my game,” said the Best Player of the Conference winner.

He doesn’t intend to slow down.

“Hindi ako hihinto mag-pakondisyon. Wala pa naman talaga akong naa-achieve. Hahabolin kong magkaroon ng championship,” said David

So far, he has got two fi-nals appearances, including the one rewarding him a lucrative contract-extension deal.

As merely 10th draft pick in 2004, David started in the PBA with a monthly pay of only P70,000.

With his improvement came his wage increases. He received P250,000 a month in 2009, P300,000 in 2010 and P350,000 at present.

Realistic that he can’t play forever, David has made some investments, having a 10-door

residential/commercial apart-ment in Pandi, Bulacan.

“I’m planning to add more apartment units and enter into livestock business,” said David, married to Jenny Rose with two kids in Maxene (turning nine on Feb. 8) and Gariel (4).

David has gone a long way from being just an intra-mural player at Lyceum, the same school he later powered to three runner-up finishes in the NCRAA versus a star-stud-ded St. Francis of Assisi team led by brothers Yancy and Ra-nidel de Ocampo.

From Lyceum, he hooked up with the Montana Pawn-shop team in the defunct PBL, winning an MVP award in 2003.

In the same year, he made the Philippine team to the Viet-nam SEA Games, starring with De Ocampo, James Yap, Rich Alvarez, Marc Pingris, Celino Cruz, Ervin Sotto and Wesley Gonzales in bringing home the gold medal.

UNBEATEN US boxing star Floyd Mayweather an-nounced Wednesday he

will fight Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto on May 5, ending hopes for a showdown with Manny Pac-quiao before November.

Mayweather will step up from the welterweight ranks and fight for Cotto’s World Boxing Association super welterweight crown in Las Vegas before he begins a 90-day jail sentence on June 1 after a domestic violence conviction.

Boxing fans have long sought a matchup between May-weather and Filipino icon Pac-quiao.

Mayweather even made a Twitter challenge for the Asian star to “Step Up, Punk”, but they could not work out a deal so Mayweather went to Cotto.

“Miguel Cotto is a world

class fighter who can never be taken for granted and continues to prove he is one of the best in boxing,” Mayweather said.

“It will be a challenge for me to compete with him at this weight, but this is the type of test I thrive on and gives me the moti-vation to train even harder. I have no doubt in my mind that my title belt collection will increase once again and Cotto’s reign as champion will come to an end on May 5.”

Mayweather, who has won titles in seven weight classes, won his only other fight at super wel-terweight in 2007 with a split de-cision over Oscar de la Hoya for the World Boxing Council title.

Cotto defended his crown last December by stopping Anto-nio Margarito in the 10th round.

“I am here to fight the big-gest names in boxing,” Cotto said.

“I’ve never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted everything to give the fans what they like — great and exciting fights.

“Stay tuned because I will convincingly beat Floyd May-weather.”

Mayweather had made a deal for a May 5 fight but Pac-quiao had wanted a June date to maximize revenue for what figures to be the biggest-paying blockbuster in boxing history, if it happens, which now cannot hap-pen until late this year.

Pacquiao is still deciding who he will face in a fight to be staged in May or June.

Cotto and Mayweather have agreed to Olympic-style drug testing for the fight. May-weather’s insistence on such methods helped scuttle prior talks for a Pacquiao fight.

AN undefeated Fili-pino boxer has died after sustaining head

injuries during a fight and falling into a coma, a hos-pital official said Saturday.

Flyweight Karlo Ma-quinto, 21, died in hospital on Friday, Dr. Chester Tan, a surgeon at the Far East-ern University Hospital told Agence France-Presse.

The right-hander, fighting only his ninth bout as a professional boxer, was taken to hospital last Saturday after rallying from two early knockdowns to salvage a majority draw against fellow Filipino Mark Joseph Costa.

Maquinto, 8-0-1 with six wins by knockout, col-lapsed after the four-round bout in northern Manila.

Rhoby Orata, another member of the hospital

medical staff, told ABS-CBN television in an inter-view that Maquinto was diagnosed with brain swell-ing, with a blood clot also detected at the right side of his brain.

“From the start Karlo’s prognosis was not good,” Orata added.

Boxing is an extremely popular sport in the Philip-pines, which has two reign-ing world champions in welterweight Manny Pac-quiao and bantamweight Nonito Donaire.

Pacquiao, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, is regard-ed as one of the greatest boxers in history, amass-ing a 54-3 win-loss record with two drawn bouts. He holds a record eight world titles in as many weight di-visions.

MARK Wilson has a wealth of experience when it comes to de-

fending PGA Tour titles, and No. 1 on his list of do’s and don’ts is to set modest goals.

“I guess the main thing is try to keep the expectations out of it and just go out there and play golf and add it up and see how well I’ve done,” Wilson said Wednesday.

Wilson comes into the Phoenix Open as one of the favorites after already posting one victory this year at the Hu-mana Challenge tournament.

The 37-year-old American will be making his first start since his two-shot victory 10 days ago when he tees it up Thursday in the Arizona desert.

“The main thing, I guess, is that any tournament that I’ve won I’ve gone into with very low expectations,” said Wilson who posted his fifth career win and third in the past 13 months at the Humana.

“I am not trying to win the tournament, just go out there and play the best I can and see what I shoot.

“When you tend to go back to a place where you’ve won, you start comparing your-self to the previous year.

“My idol I think is Bruce

Lietzke. I don’t want to mis-quote him, but I thought I re-member him saying, he doesn’t want to get better, he wants to stay the same, and what I think he means by that is if he hits a seven iron 160, he doesn’t want to get stronger and all of a sud-den start hitting it 165 because then he’s going to be past the hole.”

Wilson is looking forward to playing the TPC Scottsdale course this year because tem-peratures are expected to be much warmer than last year. He won last year in a Monday finish, beating Jason Dufner on the second extra hole.

“I don’t really think of this as a bomber’s course too

much,” he said. “It was cold last year so it played a little longer than normal.”

Wilson will get plenty of competition from Scotland’s Martin Laird, Americans Phil Mickelson, Johnson Wagner, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker who is fresh off an improbable win at the Farmers Insurance Open.

“I think when I miss the cut, it’s not enjoyable for me to watch on the weekend. I feel like I kind of beat myself up over it, so I try to let it go,” said the left handed American who is hoping to rebound from a disappointing first round five-over 77 and a missed cut at the Farmers.

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

20 FEBRUARY 06 - 12, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 49