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With SOMO over, military to step up operations

Low arrests on firecracker violations

ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES. So much for road safety, a motorcycle transport more popularly known as ‘Habal-Habal’ carries eleven young passengers along a highway in Mati City. The passengers are loaded in a rattan-woven baskets strewn with two round timbers. John Emmanuel Pang

P2

SET wants DQ case vs. Poe junked P3

THE Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

(AFP-EastMinCom) will now return to its deliberate offen-sive operations after the lifting of Suspension of Military Oper-ation (SOMO) on Sunday.

Speaking in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex, EastMinCom public information officer Captain Al-

berto Caber said the commu-nities in the hinterlands have requested for a visitation.

“Tuloy -tuloy na po itong aming visitations, patrolya kung ano po yung naging kau-galian na ginagawa ng mga kasundaluhan ng Eastern Mindanao Command (We will now continue our visitations and patrols which is the usual routine of the soldiers of East-

ern Mindanao Command),” he said.

The AFP declared a SOMO last December following with the Christmas suspension of offensive operations by the New People’s Army (NPA).

The unilateral declaration of SOMO was recommended by the Department of Nation-al Defense but did not include law enforcement operations of

the Philippine National Police against threat groups and oth-er wanted personalities.

The NPA, however, at-tacked two military detach-ments and a community secu-rity patrol on December 23.

The NPA attacked a mili-tary detachment in Bitaugan, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur around 9:20 a.m. and another

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

FAFP, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 20162 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

THE Davao City Police Of-fice (DCPO) yesterday said it would have arrest-

ed more people violating the firecracker ban had neighbors been more cooperative with police officers.

The latest DCPO data re-corded only five arrests of vi-olation of City Ordinance No. 060-02 Series of 2002 from December 1, 2015 up to Janu-ary 1, 2016.

This is lower than last year’s record 32 arrests.

DCPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace C. Driz said the police had received in-formation through the ISUM-

BONG Mo Kay CDDCPO text hotline on people who were using firecrackers, but when police officers reached the area the violators had already escaped.

Driz said the people in the areas would not tell the police who the violators were per-haps out of fear.

The persons who were arrested on Christmas were Aljun A. Blasquez and Rogelio C. Polangcos, both residents of Garden Villas in Catalunan Grande. They were caught in possession of piccolos.

Arrested on New Year were Angel Suico, 20 and a cer-

tain Carla, 17, both residents of Crossing Bayabas, Toril; and Patrick Ian G. del Rosario, 20, of Polacion Toril.

Charges have been filed against all five.

Suico and Carla were caught in the act of lighting of “piccolos” along Crossing Bayabas and Lubogan road around 12:45 a.m. of January 1.

Police also seized 18 piec-es of piccolos from their pos-session.

Del Rosario was caught by barangay police lighting a piccolo and throwing it on the road.

A person arrested violating

the ordinance will be slapped with a P1,000 fine or imprison-ment of one month for the first offense. For the second offense, the fine is P3,000 or imprison-ment for three months, and for the third offense it is P5,000 or imprisonment of six months.

The city also recorded zero firecracker injuries during the holiday season based on the records of Police Regional Of-fice 11.

Records from PRO-11 said of the 27 health facilities in the city there were no report of firecracker injuries being confined in their hospitals and

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines-Eastern Mindanao Command

(AFP-EastMinCom) yester-day denied the allegation made by the National Demo-cratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) that the AFP was be-hind the text threat to jour-nalists who were planning to attend the anniversary cele-bration of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) last month.

Speaking in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex, EastMinCom public information officer Captain Alberto Caber said the whole AFP has no knowl-edge regarding the NDFP’s

allegation.“Ang kalaban ng gobyer-

no always yan may ibabato sa amin na hindi kanais-nais (The enemy of the govern-ment will always have some-thing to at us). They will al-ways resort to accusing us,” he said.

In a statement from the NDFP website, NDFP-Mind-anao spokesperson Ka Oris denounced Colonel Isidro Purisima, commanding of-ficer of the 402nd Brigade based in Surigao del Sur, “for using the notorious Maga-hat-Bagani paramilitary group to threaten the lives of journalists who were as-

signed to cover their 47th an-niversary celebration.”

Caber, however, said the text message might have come from NPA itself because it wants to ruin the reputa-tion of the AFP.

“Kung totoo naman, hindi papayag ang EastMinCom na merong mangyaring masa-ma sa media (If it is true, the EastMinCom will not allow any harm to the media),” he said.

He said the EastMinCom is willing to escort the report-ers because the command will not allow media workers to be endangered.

On December 25, some

Davao City-based reporters received a text message from Magahat Commander Bob-by Tejero saying that anyone covering the anniversary of the NPA will be included in an ambush.

“Kay kun mutambong sa maong anibersaryo nagpas-abot nga linya sa NPA,mao ng kinahanglan walay magtun-gas nga media arun dili maapil sa gira (If you will attend the anniversary it simply means that you are with NPA. That is why no one should go in their camp so that no media will be included in the war),” the text message said. ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

THE National Grid Corpo-ration of the Philippines (NGCP) has declared a

Yellow Alert as Agus 1 and 2 Hydro Plants remain isolated from the Mindanao Grid due to delays in the repairs of a tower that had been bombed on Christmas Eve.

“The NGCP puts the Mind-anao grid on Yellow alert with the Regulating Reserves at only 45 megawatts as of 6 PM, January 1, due to the isolation of government-owned gen-erating facilities Agus 1 and 2 hydropower plants,” Milfrance Q. Capulong, NGCP regional corporate communication officer for Mindanao said in a statement.

The generation plants, with a combined maximum

capacity of 150 MW, were dis-connected from the grid due to the bombing of Tower#25 along Agus 2- Kibawe 138kV line in Ramain, Lanao del Sur on December 24, 2016, Capu-long said.

She said restoration was halted due to failed negotia-tion with landowner of the property where the facility is located.

“The owner refused NGCP entry to repair the toppled tower, alleging that govern-ment failed to pay his claims long ago,” she added.

Despite lower power con-sumption brought about by the cold weather and the year-end holidays, NGCP still placed the Mindanao grid on Yellow

OWNERS of the Mitsubishi Montero can avail them-selves of free checkup of

their vehicles while a task force that was created for the inves-tigation of accidents allegedly caused by “sudden unintended acceleration” (SUA) is finaliz-ing the terms of reference for a tripartite party that will fur-ther probe the matter.

“All owners of Mitsubishi Montero with automatic trans-mission can test their unit for free to ensure vehicles’ road safety and quality assurance,” Department of Trade and In-

dustry (DTI)-Davao City direc-tor engineer Edwin Banqueri-go said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao yesterday.

Banquerigo said the units of 24 complainants from dif-ferent areas in the country can also avail themselves of the mandatory free testing and can have their damaged car parts replaced at no cost.

These were among the recommendations of the task force that were released on December 21, 2015 while the

YEARLY GRIND. Dabawenyos from all walks of life endure the long queue under the heat of the sun to obtain their community tax certificates outside Sangguniang Panlungsod building yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

DCPO claims neighbors refusedto identify firecracker violatorsBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

EastMinCom denies being behind threats to journalists

NGCP declares ‘Yellow Alert’in Mindanao after tower blast

Free checks for Monteroas SUA probe continues

crc@edgedavao.netBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

FDCPO, 10

FNGCP, 10

FFREE, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 3EDGEDAVAO NEWS

THE Senate Electoral Tri-bunal (SET) on Monday asked the Supreme Court

(SC) to dismiss the petition filed by Rizalito David against Senator Grace Poe-Llamanza-res over citizenship issue.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed its com-ment before the SC in connec-tion with the petition of David questioning the decision of the SET ruling that Poe is a natu-ral-born Filipino citizen.

The OSG represented the SET, who is the respondent in the case.

In a 28-page comment signed by Solicitor General Flo-rin T. Hilbay, the OSG argued that the SET did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it upheld Poe’s natural-born Filipino citizen status.

The OSG said that even without specific recognition, foundlings like Sen. Poe are natural-born under the 1935 Constitution, which was the prevailing Constitution when Poe was born in 1968.

As a legal basis, the SET cited part of the deliberation of the 1934 Constitutional Con-vention stating the intention to include the foundlings or the children who had “unknown parentage”, who should be considered as Philippine citi-zens.

In the said deliberation, the SET said it appeared that it need not mention particu-larly in the Constitution the children who had “unknown parents” because under the international law, they are con-sidered as citizens of the Phil-

ippines.Because of this, the SET

added that it appeared that the silence of the 1935 Constitu-tion on the citizenship of the foundlings should not be read in the manner that is “exclud-ed” or not considered as citi-zens of the Philippines.

The SET further argued that the recognition of the foundlings as citizens of the Philippines under the Consti-tution is based on the prime principle of justice for the innocent children who were abandoned by their parents.

It added that it appeared that there are two interpreta-tions of the 1935 Constitution, hence, it is just reasonable to favor the more important prin-ciples of the Constitution, and this was not to put the found-

lings in jeopardy.The SET also believes that

they did not commit grave abuse of discretion when they declared as “valid” the reac-quisition by Poe of her nat-ural-born citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225, or the “Citizenship and Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003”.

It added that this was also based on the pieces of evi-dence submitted by Poe such as the “Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philip-pines”, filing of the petition for the reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship before the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the order of the BI in favor of her petition.

Because of this, the SET asked the SC to dismiss the pe-tition of David. (PNA)

THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will con-duct the public interview

on the 16 candidates for the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thurs-day and Friday.

The public interview will be held at the SC Division Hearing Room to select the

nominees to be included in the shortlist for the replacement of retiring Associate Justice Mar-tin S. Villarama, Jr.

In its official website, the JBC announced that to be placed in the public inter-view in the morning of Jan. 7, 2016 are Joe Santos Bisquera, Department of Justice (DOJ)

Secretary Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Chinchona Cruz-Gonzales.

To be interviewed on Thursday afternoon are Dep-uty Ombudsman Gerard Mos-quera, Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justices Apolinario

Bruselas, Jr. and Rosmari Ca-randang, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Maria Cristi-na Cornejo.

The remaining eight can-didates will be interviewed on Friday.

The JBC will receive any opposition against the 16 can-

AS you welcomed the new year, have you synchronized your

watches with the Philippine Standard Time (PST)?

January 4-8, 2016 is actually the second Na-tional Time Consciousness Week (NTCW), and the De-partment of Science and Technology (DOST) is en-couraging every Filipino to synchronize their watches with the PST provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronom-ical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Based on Republic Act (RA) 10535 signed by Pres-ident Benigno Aquino III on May 2013, every first week of the year shall be declared as NTCW.

Also, RA 10535 or the Philippine Standard Time Act of 2013 requires all na-tional and local government offices, as well as broadcast-ing companies, to display PST in their time sources.

It may be recalled that

during the first NTCW in 2015, the DOST led all gov-ernment offices in the Phil-ippines in the simultaneous holding of the first flag cere-mony for the year at exactly 8:00 a.m.

Synchronizing watches with the PST aims to create a culture of discipline among Filipinos which allows a shift from the so-called “Filipino time” attitude to one charac-terized by punctuality. The shift in attitude will show respect to other people and value their time.

In January 2014, the DOST has launched the “Juan Time” campaign, which aims to promote the use of PST and help develop the culture of punctuality by syncing watches and bundy clocks.

DOST Secretary Mario Montejo noted that time is something that can unite Filipinos. He added that though time is a very im-portant resource, it is often overlooked. (PNA)

THE number of fire-cracker-related injuries (FWRIs) recorded by the

Department of Health (DOH) since Dec. 21, 2015 climbed to 839 after 79 more cases were reported by the DOH-Epide-miology Bureau as its moni-toring and surveillance period entered its 14th and penulti-mate day at 6 a.m. Monday.

According to Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH spokesperson, the total number of FWRIs was still lower by 11 percent or 104 cases compared with the five-year average from 2010 to 2014 for the same period.

In comparison also with

the 850 cases recorded for the same period last year (2015), the FWRIs from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan. 4, 2016 were lower by 11 cases or one percent, Dr. Lee Suy said.

He explained that al-though the DOH had earlier announced the figures they had monitored so far as of New Year’s Day indicated an “all time low,” they did not discount the fact that there would be upward changes in numbers during the remain-ing days of the monitoring and surveillance period until Jan. 5, 2016.

Based on DOH record last

EARLY BIRDS. Driver’s License applicants queue up early at the Land Transportation Office along Quimpo Boulevard yesterday morning at the start of the first official working day of the year. NJB

PASALUBONG. These boxes of Davao’s world-famous pummelos come with stickers promoting Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the “Pride of Visayan people.” The boxes of pummelo were bought by a tourist from Manila as ‘pasalubong.’ NJB

THE City tallied zero in-cidence or cases of fire-cracker related injuries

during the New Year celebra-tions.

According to the records of the Southern Philippine Medical Center, no injuries as a result of firecrackers were brought in to the hospital.

This is the usual statistics registered by the city which is known for having a tough an-ti-firecracker ordinance (Ordi-nance 060-02 series of 2002.)

The law prohibits the “manufacture, sell or offer sale, distribute, possess or use any firecracker or pyrotechnic devices or such other similar devices within the territory of Davao City”.

Violators of the ordinance will be fined from 1,000 pesos to P5,000 or imprisoned from 20 days to 3 months. Business permits of establishments violating the ban will also be

cancelled by the City Govern-ment.

The law which took in effect in 2002 was actually preceded by the City Govern-ment's move not to renew the business licenses of firecrack-er and pyrotechnics sellers.

In lieu of firecrackers, New Year revelers flock to Roxas Avenue for the annual torotot festival, where the public are encouraged to blow their par-ty horns or torotot to mark the entry of the New Year.

The event began in New Year’s eve of 2014 and has been continued ever since.

The absence of firecracker and pyrotechnics is evident in the city streets and in the suburbs where people took to clanging their pots, blowing their car horns and turning their car stereos on full vol-ume to compensate for the absence of firecracker noise. (PIA/RG Alama)

SET: Junk Poe’s DQ case

JBC to interview 16 SC aspirants

DOH: Firecracker-related injuries climb to 839

Zero firecracker injuries in DC

DOST calls on Filipinos to sync watches with PST

FJBC, 10

FDOH, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 20164 EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

THE provincial govern-ment of South Cotaba-to is targeting to start

within the next two weeks the cloud seeding operations in parts of the province as it moves to save around 7,000 hectares of standing corn and palay crops from the continu-ing dry spell.

Justina Navarrete, acting head of the South Cotabato Office of the Provincial Agri-culturist (OPAG), said Monday they are currently working for the release of an initial P1.5 million from the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 12 to facilitate the conduct of the cloud seeding.

She said the local govern-ment, through Governor Dai-sy Avance-Fuentes, signed a

memorandum of agreement last week with DA-12 in con-nection with the funding.

Once the funds are trans-ferred to the provincial gov-ernment, she said the bidding and procurement process will immediately follow.

“We’re currently fast tracking this as our affected farmlands really need imme-diate intervention,” Navarrete said.

Citing their monitoring, the official said around 7,000 hectares of corn and palay crops in the province are cur-rently at risk of totally wilting due to the lack of rains since November.

She said the affected crops are mainly planted in upland or rainfed farms in the mu-

nicipalities of Polomolok and Tantangan.

“These were planted in November and December. Some of these crops are al-ready showing signs of ad-vanced wilting so we really need to start the cloud seed-ing operations as soon as pos-sible,” she said.

Cloud seeding is the pro-cess of manually spreading either dry ice or salt into the upper part of the clouds to help stimulate the precipita-tion process and form rain.

The DA central office had identified cloud seeding as among the immediate count-er measures to mitigate the impact of the El Niño Phe-nomenon.

Navarrete said they are

currently working on the ini-tial arrangements with the DA’s Bureau of Soils and Wa-ter Management (BSWM) for the conduct of the cloud seed-ing.

She said the BSWM has been also negotiating with the Philippine Air Force for the use of its aircraft for the oper-ations.

DA-12 allotted around Php44 million for various in-terventions to counter the ef-fects of the El Nino, which has been predicted to last until the second quarter of 2016.

The lined up interven-tions include relief assistance for the affected farmers and workers as well as the con-duct of cloud-seeding opera-tions. (PNA)

BUSINESS groups in the State of Johor in Malaysia are considering putting

up big investments in Cotaba-to, Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. re-ported.

Guiani revealed this fol-lowing his recent three-day visit to the said state in re-sponse to an invitation from the Secretary General of Johor.

The local chief execu-tive, with city administrator Dr. Danda Juanday, was able to talk with several business groups in the area, including Iskandar Regional Develop-ment Authority, the planning arm of Johor’s State Govern-ment.

Iskandar RDA is a govern-ment office that assesses all the incoming investments in Johor.

Guiani and officials in Jo-hor talked about the possibil-ity of expanding their invest-ments to Cotabato City.

They discussed several opportunities such as importa-tion of goods such as coconuts from Cotabato City as these are considered essential commod-ities in Johor but are of limited supply.

One major deal, the may-or added, is the possibility of Iskandar RDA building a pro-cessing plant close to the Halal slaughterhouse of Cotabato City, which he said could open

meat export opportunities for Cotabato City.

“The Malaysians are very straightforward people. They wanted to hear the current situation in Cotabato and the areas where they can help us improve our economy. We laid down all the possibilities and thankfully, their response was very positive,” Guiani said.

The visit was highlighted by the signing of a Memoran-dum of Understanding for a partnership between the City Government of Cotabato and the cooperatives in Johor, headed by the IM Coop.

“IM Coop is handling the cooperatives or the MSMEs in Johor and they are the ones selling food and non food items to them at very low prices. This is how they are helping their little businessmen to grow—by selling them high quality products that are also found inside grocery stores but at more than half its price,” Gui-ani explained.

The MOU between IMCoop and the City Government, he said, could start a fruitful rela-tionship between the business groups in Johor and Cotabato City.

The third group of inves-tors that city officials met was the Johor Corporation that owns hundreds of compa-

THIRTEEN more Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) cooper-

atives received hauler trucks recently.

The latest beneficiaries of the PAyapa at MAsaganang Pa-mayaNAn (PAMANA)-funded project were cooperatives in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, according to the Regional Agriculture and Fishery Division of the De-partment of Agriculture in the Autonomous Region in Mus-lim Mindanao.

ARMM Executive Secre-tary Atty. Laisa Masuhud-Ala-mia and DA-ARMM Regional Secretary Alexander Alonto, Jr. led the turnover ceremony of the vehicles to the recipient cooperatives at the ORG Com-

pound in Cotabato City on De-cember 22.

DA-ARMM PAMANA Program Focal Person Engr. Guiomla Satol said the ben-eficiaries in Sulu were Bud Kaha Agricultural Coopera-tive in Indanan, Kasambuhan Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Patikul, Tandu-Tanduh Agri-Marine Cooperative in Panamao, Saladong Agri-Ma-rine Producers Cooperative in Siasi, Silangkan Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative in Pa-rang.

Kambing Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative in Ka-linggalang Caluang, Angkaya Agricultural Producers Coop in Maimbung, Lahing-Lahing

South Cotabato gears upfor cloud seeding activity

THE Regional Commit-tee on Disability Affairs (RCDA) 12 is furthering

RCDA 12 furthers effort to push for PWD rights

More MNLF coopsget hauler trucks

YEAREND ADVENTURE. A tourist enjoys the waves at Jacking Horse in Barangay Catanganan, General Luna, Siargao, Surigao del Norte. This place is a good spot for neophyte surfers. MindaNews photo by Roel N. Catoto

its effort with no let-up to push for the rights of PWDs or Per-sons with Disabilities in the region.

At a recent RCDA meeting, Erick Sabanal, RCDA 12 vice-chair admitted that although they are doing their best to make people understand and acknowledge fully the rights of PWDs as enshrined in Philip-pine laws, there are still others that either ignore or simply do not implement completely the provisions.

“There are still quite a number of establishments in the region that don’t imple-ment the minimum discount of 20 percent among PWDs,” he said.

With this, RCDA is set to conduct a consultative meet-ing where different establish-ments and institutions would be invited and they will be informed about the existing laws concerning the rights and

privileges of PWDs.According to RA 9442,

PWDs are entitled to 20 per-cent discount from all es-tablishments. This includes discount on bills from restau-rants, hotels, and recreation centers.

The law also stated that PWDs should enjoy a discount of 20 percent on public rail-ways and bus fare.

Sabanal also noticed that some tall buildings in the re-gion are not PWD-friendly since some do not have in-stalled elevators, accessible passageway or ramp with handrails, comfort rooms, easy-to-open-and-close doors, among others that would at least provide comfort and safety especially to orthopedi-cally handicapped.

Earlier the NCDA urged local government units (LGUs) to revisit the laws on PWDs as well as their policies in build-

ing permits, where, it said they can consider one of these pa-rameters if not all as require-ments in building permits.

They have also sought to mainstream the rights and privileges of PWDs among lo-cal tourism industries.

It also said that monitor-ing system for hotels and oth-er huge establishments must be in place nationwide to de-termine whether or not they are complying with require-ments of the law.

Meanwhile, the confer-ence highlight was the pas-sage of resolutions that would support the implementation of disability-relevant laws and programs, helping PWDs to get to live and enjoy their rights and privileges while feeling protected and safe.

One of the notable resolu-tions passed was the one that urges all LGUs to establish

Malaysian groups eyeingCotabato City investments

SACKS OF RICE TURNOVER.  Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. as represented by AVP for Reputation Enhancement Rossano C. Luga (4th from right) together with Community Relations Manager Fermin P. Edillon (3rd  from right) turns over 75 sacks of rice to Commander of Task Force Davao Col. Cristobal Zaragoza (4th  from left) and Lt. Christy Isis Gabasa (leftmost) last December 10, 2015 at the Task Force Davao Headquarters

in Sta Ana Wharf. This is Davao Light’s support to the “Pinaskuhan Para Sa Lumad” project, which is a gift giving advocacy that started in December 2014. This is an annual tradition through the joint initiative of Task Force Davao, Youth For Peace - Davao City Chapter and Pag-asa Youth Association of the Philippines. These groups have identified 2,000 beneficiaries from the indigenous families in Toril, Marilog, Baguio and Paquibato Districts.

FMORE, 10

FMALAYSIAN, 10

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 20166 EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

THE year 2015 was anoth-er banner one for Davao City’s economy with in-

vestments reaching a record high.

The Davao City Investment and Promotion Center (DCIPC) recorded a whooping P214 bil-lion in business capitalization as of November in 2015, which already surpassed the P211 billion business capitalization for 2014, or an increase of four percent.

DCIPC chief Ivan C. Cortez said data from the Business Bureau revealed that new businesses applied and issued with business permits had a total capitalization of P4.21, while existing businesses here have P209.89 billion business capitalizations.

“This is higher than the P211 billion declared business capitalization in 2014,” Cortez said during the weekly edition of the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex yesterday.

Investments poured into the city have been steadily in-creasing every year.

Data from DCIPC revealed that for 2011, business cap-italization was only at P187 billion. This increased in 2012 at P196.408 billion, and hiked further the following year at P203.04 billion, breaching the P200-billion mark.

The total capitalization hiked by 3.94 percent from

P203 billion in 2013 to P211 billion in 2014.

Of the 37,785 businesses that applied for business per-mit, the Business Bureau al-ready issued permits to 34,711 of these as of November 20, Cortez said.

He said although the num-ber of business applicants reduced compared to 2014, the capitalization increased because of the good business environment in Davao City.

Retiring smaller business-es are now merging with other existing firms to create a big-ger business with a higher de-clared capitalization, accord-ing to Cortez.

He later told reporters that the real estate industry as well as the service and retail sectors were the prime economic driv-ers in 2015.

The entry of international chain 7-Eleven in 2015, which will have 70 outlets by June, fuelled the city’s thriving retail sector.

Cortez said the chain is aggressive in its expansion be-cause of the untapped market here compared to the saturat-ed market in Manila, where other big players in the con-venience store industry are mostly located.

However, the 7-Eleven, an upscale sari-sari store offering 24 hours services, has a direct effect on the survival rate of

Investments keep pouring incrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

P214B in business capitalization recorded as of November 2015

small sari-sari stores here, he said.

Cortez said the business process management (BPM) also continued to thrive in 2015 with the investment on construction and expansion of more BPM spaces in the city which led to creation of more jobs in the service sector.

“We started with 20,000 jobs generated in January last year from the BPM industry. It

is now at 36,000,” Cortez said.The creation of jobs across

all industries, he added, led to the creation of market for the housing and condominium projects.

Cortez said the real estate sector of the city will continue to thrive in the next three years and will not reach its satura-tion point.

He further explained that the glut cannot be created in

the real estate sector now be-cause of the high demand for housing projects not only from subdivisions but also from high-rise condominium proj-ects as well.

The influx of migrants from nearby provinces and regions also serve as the grow-ing market for the real estate sector.

Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11

regional director, Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi, said the Board of In-vestment (BOI) recorded a to-tal of P1.4 billion investments in Davao Region, with majority of these going to Davao City.

Ambi said that based on BOI data, a total investment of P322 million was poured into the city by different real estate developers for subdivision de-velopment and expansion of BPM offices.

THE National Grid Corpo-ration of the Philippines (NGCP) will construct a

total of 13 grid projects in dif-ferent area s in Mindanao in a bid to improve the quality of power delivery as Mindanao is forecasted to be headed to-ward a regime of power sur-plus situation this year.

For areas near Davao Re-gion, the grid operator has ongoing construction of three projects, namely the Matan-ao-Malita 230 kiloVolts (kV) transmission project that would bring power from the northern area of Mindanao up to Malita area in Davao Occi-dental; the two Matanao-Gen-

san 138kV transmission proj-ect; and the two Butuan-Placer 138kV transmission project.

“These projects are all geared towards reliability and delivery of quality power to all our consumers,” NGCP-Mind-anao regional corporate and communications and public af-fairs officer Milfrance Q. Capu-long said during the Christmas party for members of media at the regional office of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) 11.

Other projects in Mind-anao include the two Auro-ra-Polanco 138kV Transmis-sion Project, the Mindanao SS Reliability Project, the Sultan

Kudarat Capacitor Bank Proj-ect, the upgrading and reha-bilitation project for Agus 6 switchyard, the Opol 75 MVA Associated Transmission Line Project; and the Opol 75MVA Substation project

Capulong said the comple-tion of these projects this year as well as the commercial op-eration of different coal-fired power plants will lessen the implementation of rotating power interruptions through-out the island-region.

This will be the first time, she said, that Mindanao will enter a power surplus regime since the last time that the NGCP announced the start of

tight power supply in Mindan-ao five years ago.

Capulong also said the recent bombing of their tow-ers continue to be their prob-lem aside from the issues on acquiring the Right of Way (ROW) in fulfilling its mandate of being the overall grid oper-ator.

As of December 28 last year, Capulong said a totalof 16 NGCP towers were bombed.

The latest was the bomb-ing of the NGCP’s Tower 4 of Balo-i-Agus 2 138kV line in Nangka, Balo-i on the morning of 28 December.

“Per intel reports, eight

NGCP to construct 13 grid projects

THE Department of Tour-ism (DOT) has revealed a list of tourist destina-

tions in the Philippines where it will be taking delegates and VIPs attending the ASEAN Tourism Forum this month.

According to the initial list, these places include Ilo-cos, Cordillera Central, South Luzon, Palawan, Bicol, Visayas (Bohol, Cebu, Boracay and Davao Region.

DOT has not yet released a breakdown of which set of

delegates/VIPs will be visit-ing.

The annual ATF is a coop-erative regional effort to pro-mote the ASEAN region as a single tourist destination and create and increase aware-ness of ASEAN as a competi-tive regional tourist destina-tion in the Asia-Pacific.

DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said that the hosting of ATF is rotated among the member countries each year. ATF 2016 marks

the 35th anniversary of the event since its inauguration in 1981.

Tourism ministers of the 10 ASEAN-member states are expected to attend the event as well as heads of international organizations, representatives from dialogue partners, and heads of national tourism or-ganizations (NTOs).

ATF will involve 200 gov-ernment meetings, 450 travel exchange (TRAVEX) buyers from 60 countries, 1,500 sell-

ers, 110 international and 50 local media practitioners.

Meetings of NTOs will be from Jan. 18 to 20, those of ASEAN tourism leaders hap-pening simultaneously with the TRAVEX will be from Jan. 21 to 22, and post tours for delegates will start from Jan. 23 until 25.

While meetings will be held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, the TRAVEX will be held at the SMX Convention Center, both is Pasay City. (PNA)

Davao among destinations eyed for ASEAN Forum tours

THE provincial govern-ment of North Cotabato started the 2016 with a

turnover of projects on Mon-day aimed at uplifting the liv-ing conditions of its constitu-ents.

A total of P14 million worth of projects that included water system, covered courts and road concreting projects were turned over today in three barangays in Matalam and two barangays in adjacent town of Kabacan towns.

Governor Emmylou “Lala” J. Taliño-Mendoza led the turn-over ceremonies of the P1-mil-lion water system in Barangay Latagan; P1.5 million covered court in Kilada Elementary School, Barangay Kilada and another P1.5 million covered court in Barangay Central Mal-amote, all in Matalam munici-pality.

Mendoza also turned over two road concreting proj-ects worth P5 million each in the village of Katidtuan (500 meters Katidtuan-Malamote Provincial Road) and Upper Paatan (500 meters) all in Ka-bacan town.

All the projects were fund-ed by the Provincial Govern-

ment of Cotabato and part of the “SerbisyongTotoo” infra-structure, livelihood and other assistance projects.

“These are priority proj-ects implemented at the ba-rangays in order to provide the people with the basic services and help them improve their living conditions,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza said she was very optimistic the projects answer some of the basic needs of the constituents, especially the farmers and the households who will benefit from the de-pendable water system and in transporting their products us-ing the newly concreted roads.

She urged the benefi-ciaries to utilize the projects properly so that it will last longer and can be benefited by more people.

For his part, Representa-tive Tejada said he will contin-ue to partner with the Provin-cial Government of Cotabato in the implementation of projects such as the ones turned over in Matalam and Kabacan.

“We will continue to real-ize our common goal of mak-ing the Province of North Co-

North Cotabato gov’tturns over infra projects

FNGCP, 10

FNORTH, 10

CONTINUED GROWTH. Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) head Ivan Cortez says the number of establishments and investments grew by 4 percent in 2015 after big retail and property development companies set foot in the city. Cortez was a guest of the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 7EDGEDAVAO THE ECONOMY

crc@edgedavao.netBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

THERMA South Inc.,, a subsidiary of the Aboitiz Power Corp. is set to

inaugurate its 300megawatt (MW) baseload coal-fired power plant in Barangay Binu-gao in Toril District, Davao City on January 8.

“This power plant is one of the critical power projects need to finally solve the long-term perennial Mindanao power shortage,” the Aboitiz Power said in a statement.

During the inauguration, President Benigno Simeon Aquino is expected to arrive as well as Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and other officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and well as Depart-ment of Energy.

Meanwhile, the power

plant will supply power to more than 20 electric cooper-atives and distribution utilities all over Mindanao.

Manuel Orig, Aboitiz Pow-er Corp. first vice president for Mindanao Affairs earlier said the second 150MW Unit 2 of the coal-fired power plant is expected to be commercially operational by next month.

Earlier, the NGCP reported that the commissioning of the other unit of TSI will improve the power supply situation in Mindanao starting March.

The Unit 2 of TSI was pre-viously scheduled to be online by March last year but was rescheduled after its broiler attained damage.

The first 150MW Unit 1 of TSI has been operational since June last year.

The TSI’s production was already contracted by differ-ent electric cooperatives and distribution utilities all over Mindanao.

The electric cooperatives are Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative, Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative, Cotabato Electric Cooperative, Cotabato Electric Cooperative (P. Pal-ma), Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative, Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative, Misamis Occidental I Electric Cooperative;

South Cotabato I Electric Cooperative, South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative, Surigao del Norte Electric Coopera-tive, Surigao del Sur I Electric Cooperative, Surigao del Sur II Electric Cooperative, Sultan

Kudarat Electric Cooperative, Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative, Zamboanga del Sur I Electric Cooperative and Zamboanga del Sur II Electric Cooperative.

The private DUs are DLPC, Cotabato Light and Power Company and Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company.

“The whole of Davao Re-gion, Sokcksargen, Caraga, parts of Bukidnon, Cotaba-to and parts of Zamboanga Peninsula have power supply contracts with Therma South,” Aboitiz Power manager for corporate affairs Willie Ro-dolfo said earlier.

Rodolfo said that major cit-ies like Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Butuan, Cota-bato, Tagum and Kidapawan will be getting power from TSI.

PNoy to openAboitiz plant

THE Department of Ag-riculture (DA) in Re-gion 12 has surpassed

its targets in terms of actual project deliveries or physical accomplishments last year as it emerged anew as one of the agency’s top performing re-gional field units.

DA-12 posted a rating of 115 percent in 2015 on their deliveries for support projects and farm machineries to local government units (LGUs) and farmers’ groups in the region, said DA-12 Executive Director AmaliaDatukan.

It received a total budget of P2.8 billion last year for its operations and implementa-tion of agricultural support programs and projects.

Also known as Soccsksar-

gen, Region 12 comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Co-tabato.

“We did not receive any additional allotment but we were able to deliver more projects and machineries through competitive bidding and transparent procurement processes,” Datukan said in a press conference.

She said the agency’s strict adherence to the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act allowed them to generate some savings, which were eventually utilized for the additional deliveries.

For instance, Datukan said they were able to generate savings of around P2.4 million for every 10 tractors with a ca-pacity of 95-horse power that they acquired.

She said they used the savings to acquire additional tractors and other machiner-ies like corn mills and thresh-ers.

In terms of small equip-ment like hand tractors, the official said they were able to increase their deliveries to 58 or 10 more from their original target due to their savings.

For the construction of warehouses and support facil-ities, Datukan said they strict-ly implemented the “remove and replace” policy to ensure their quality.

She said there were in-stances wherein they forced contractors to rebuild com-pleted projects due to prob-lems with specifications.

Datukan cited the case of an 8x8-meter warehouse that only measured 6x6 meters upon their inspection.

“We’re very strict with this. Kahitiiyak pa ang con-tractor, talagangpinapapali-tannaminyungmga projects,” she said.

DA-12 released around P2.4 billion in project grants and farm machineries to LGUs and local farmers last year un-der its 2015 budget.

It released around P538 million in November, P1.52 billion in July and P400 mil-lion in April. (PNA)

DA 12 exceeds target in project deliveries

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has placed micro, small, and

medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the forefront of its trade and investment strategies to boost the growth of the sector.

With MSMEs comprising 99 percent of business estab-lishments in the country and sharing more than 60 percent of total jobs nationwide, the sector has a huge potential to contribute to the economic growth and employment as well as to promote inclusive growth.

As said by former DTI Sec-retary Gregory L. Domingo, MSMEs should be at the front and center of the department’s agenda.

Thus, the Philippines took advantage of hosting this year the premier economic forum in the region, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), making it as platform to push initiatives that will benefit MSMEs.

As a result, the Philip-pine-led initiative Boracay Action Agenda, which was well-received during the Min-isters Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Boracay in May, has put in place concrete and detailed action plans for APEC member economies to increase the participation of MSMEs in global value chains.

Under the Boracay Action Agenda, APEC will address trade and investment barriers for MSMEs particularly by re-ducing and eliminating tariffs and non-tariff measures in the region as well as simplifying and streamlining rules for MS-MEs, providing timely and ac-curate information on export and import procedures and requirements, and strength-ening institutional support for the sector, among others.

The country also hosted MSME-related APEC meetings this year which include the SME Ministerial Meeting in Il-oilo City in September and the first APEC SME Summit in Ma-nila in November. These meet-ings had provided MSMEs big-ger voice in the region.

Few of many outcomes of APEC 2015 hosting which will benefit Filipino MSMEs in-clude the following:

--APEC MSME Market-place, an online interactive repository of information to promote cooperation and linkages between MSMEs and large firms;

--APEC Trade Repository, a web-based trade facilitation tool which MSMEs can access for various trade data to help them in global trade;

--Financial Infrastructure Development Network, a plat-form to improve MSMEs ac-cess to finance by establishing legal frameworks for Credit Information Systems, secured transactions and the use of movable assets as collateral.

Aside from APEC, the Philippines also used other international platforms to gain support in pushing the MSME agenda in global trade. These include the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November and the 10th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya this month.

But more than econom-ic cooperation, DTI this year is aggressive to push for free trade agreements (FTAs) in order for Filipino MSMEs to have better and easier access to global markets.

After the Philippines signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation with European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in June 2014, the two parties kicked of March this year the first round of formal FTA nego-tiations.

For this year, the Phil-ippines and EFTA had four rounds of formal trade nego-tiations.

According to DTI Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, EFTA is willing to provide the Philippines duty-free access on industrial goods and tariff rates on agricultural products better than any other FTA part-ners of EFTA.

The Philippines is hopeful to conclude the agreement by February 2016 during the fifth round of formal negotiations.

EFTA states include Ice-land, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, only accounting for 1.0 percent of the country’s total trade.

With the Philippines-EFTA

Empowering Filipino MSMEsin global trade, value chains

WELCOME the New Year with the best fab finds from SM

Lanang Premier! Shop till you drop at the End of Season Sale, which runs from January 2 to 10, 2016.

Get items on your wish list with big savings. Enjoy up to 70% discount on great selec-tions at participating stores.

Refine your style and up-grade your wardrobe with sale items from The SM Store, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Call it Spring, Celine, Charles and Keith, Clarks, Cotton On, , Forever 21, Guess, Ipanema, Marks and Spencer, Merrell,

Promod, Terranova and Tim-berland. Grab exclusive mark-downs on children’s clothing at Cotton On Kids and Pois Belly and Kids.

Avail as well of End of Sea-son Sale promos from JRose Fine Jewelry, Oro China, Kul-tura, Nailandia, Octagon, Our Home, Prestige, Beauty Bar, and Supreme Tactical.

Catch the End of Season Sale at SM Lanang Premier! For more information, call 285-0943. You could also visit SM Lanang Premier on Face-book, Twitter and Instagram for sale alerts and promo up-dates.

Score up to 70% off at SM Lanang’s End of Season Sale

FEMPOWERING, 10

ANNUAL REQUIREMENT. A business owner undergoes assessment process during the second day of business permit renewal at Sangguniang Panlungsod building yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 20168 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

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PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

EDITORIALA legacy of failure

AS the revelry winds down, we bear witness to yet another batch of firecracker injuries, including one death. In spite of the light rains falling all throughout December 31 in Metro Manila, a pall of pyro-

technic-induced smog nonetheless fell on the metropolis, growing even thicker as the temperatures dropped in the small morning hours due to a phenomenon called cool air inversion in which lower temperatures in-duce the air, and the substances contained in it, to lower near the earth’s surface as opposed to it rising into the atmosphere as surface tempera-tures rise during the day. The confined spaces in many inner cities ex-acerbate the smog presence, trapping it further in the crannies for resi-dents to breathe in. Woe to the asthmatic, bronchitic and the drunk, one of whom – identified as 45-year-old Ronald Vericio of Sta. Mesa, Manila – died after drunkenly detonating a “Goodbye Philippines” firecracker while he was hugging it.

While Department of Health Secretary Jeanette Garin glowingly re-ports that the incidents have gone down by 57 percent from 2014’s cel-ebrations, the main nature of the injuries remain persistently in favor of improper handling and misuse of oftentimes illegally manufactured fireworks. Some of these so-called pyrotechnics are actually improvised explosive devices that are capable of maiming and severely injuring us-ers. With such a capability, they may well be used against people. Forget about importing explosives as part of the AFP modernization program – our fireworks are just as potent.

The environmental impact of pyrotechnic use is also documented and worrisome. The Washington Post has reported that a study by the Unit-

ed States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA pub-lished in the journal Atmospheric Environment shows that firework use temporarily increases particulate pollution by an average of 42 percent. Imagine the particulate matter like dust harming sensitive breathing pas-sages amid the New Year revelry and people succumbing to massive at-tacks of asthma.

Furthermore, many firecracker injuries occur within low income neighborhoods where dwellings are colocated and where there is limited room for recreation and the proper and responsible use of pyrotechnics. Often, firecrackers are detonated near households and areas where peo-ple congregate. Hence, the latest statistics report that 30 percent of inju-ries come from the City of Manila alone, where many inner city neighbor-hoods are located. For a people barely able to make a living, a firecracker injury is an expense that should be avoided at all costs. One wonders why such injuries are absent in places where fireworks are banned. Beyond the obvious reasons, perhaps the political will of certain local govern-ments is to be admired for consistently implementing policy that protects its citizens from the health risks and environmental impact of pyrotech-nic use. In turn, the citizenry understands and adapts, using other safer means of celebrating.

Such persistent injuries are a combination of two things: a govern-ment legacy of inability to rein in the sale and manufacture of fireworks, and the legacy of people stubbornly clinging to the notion that fireworks usher in good luck and peace. Tell that to the injured and the loved ones left behind by Vericio.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

AND so it came to pass that a farmer planted three trees in his farm. Grow-ing together, the trees talked with each

other about their hopes and dreams. “Some-day I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty,” said the first one.

The second tree shared, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me be-cause of the strength of my hull.”

The third tree had this ambition, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”

Several years later, the farmer was ready to harvest his trees. “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter,” the farmer said and cut it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

To the second tree, the farmer said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” Again, the second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the farmer came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. The farmer said, “I don’t know what to do with this one but I still have to cut it anyway.”

When the first tree arrived at the carpen-ters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with

hay. This was not at all what he had hoped for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fish-ing boat; his dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fish-ing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to

stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus Christ had been crucified on it.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. “Cher-ish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements,” Napoleon Hill reiterated.

Years ago, while unearthing an ancient Egyptian tomb, an archaeologist came upon seeds buried in a piece of wood. Planted, the seeds realized their potential after more than 3,000 years!

“I visualized where I wanted to be, what kind of player I wanted to become,” Ameri-can basketball superstar Michael Jordan dis-closed. “I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.”

We are who we are because that is what we want ourselves to be. Some of us would to become stars but not everyone could reach the “impossible star.” If you cannot be a star, then be a tree that bears fruits. And if can’t still be a tree, then be a grass. But just don’t be contented of being a grass; instead, be the best grass of all grasses.

Don’t be a mediocre – even in the work you have chosen. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds, “We are challenged on every hand to work un-tiringly to achieve excellence in our lifework. Not all men are called to specialized or profes-sional jobs; even fewer rise to the heights of genius in arts and sciences; many are called to be laborers in factories. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excel-lence. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep even as Michelangelo paint-ed, or Beethoven composed music, or Shake-speare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth

will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”

Of course, you know Pablo Picasso. At one time, his mother told him when he was still a teenager, “If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general; if you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.” Instead, he became a painter and became one of the world’s greatest painters.

Our purpose in this life differs from each other. But we are the one who shape our des-tiny. “The human race may be compared to a writer,” Felix Adler once wrote. “At the outset a writer has often only a vague general notion of the plan of his work, and of the thought he intends to elaborate. As he proceeds, pene-trating his material, laboring to express him-self fitly, he lays a firmer grasp on his thought; he finds himself. So the human race is writing its story, finding itself, discovering its own un-derlying purpose, revising, recasting a tale pa-thetic often, yet none the less sublime.”

We only have one life to live in this world. We are here to uplift our fellow beings. We have to follow the golden rule: Do to others what you would like others do to you. You reap what you sow.

An unknown author penned these golden rules for living: If you open it, close it. If you turn it on, turn it off. If you unlock it, lock it up. If you break it, admit it. If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can. If you borrow it, return it. If you value it, take care of it. If you make a mess, clean it up. If you move it, put it back. If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission. If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone. If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If it will brighten someone’s day, say it. If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself.”

Just remember this. “The purpose of life,” said Robert Byrne, “is a life of purpose.”

I DON’T know about you but as for me I will always look positively as 2016 comes into my life.Why positive?Because if you understand the laws of

prosperity, there is this seed of prosperity planted into us since the days of Abraham.

Now, don’t get me wrong.I’m not preaching any kind of religion

here, incidentally nor by accident.Okay, I would presume you want to be

prosperous, not exactly wealthy as the rich are oftentimes described. (I intentionally omitted the adverb “filthy”).

We live today in an era of difficulty, marked by chaos and conflicts, economic rollercoasters, greed and avarice, injustice and terrorism, political despotism, treach-ery and betrayal.

Let us discover the biblical basis of pros-perity.

In Genesis 17:4-7, the Bible says: “As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will

you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many na-tions. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant be-tween me and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”

Right from the beginning of creation, God has already planted the seed of pros-perity in Abraham thus fulfilling His prom-ise to give him and his barren wife Sarah a son (“for I have made you a father of many

nations”).

IN SHORT, PROSPERITY IS DIVINELY ORDAINED.

Doesn’t this encourage you to be more positive in your outlook and not let fear and doubt overcome you?

What do we need to do to grow and breed that seed of prosperity?

First, a person must desire it. The seed of prosperity comes from a divine heritage, not from some business guru who pontif-icates in a prominent business school or university. It was a divine gift that only the Giver could recall. But if you have no desire to claim and harvest the crop planted by the seed of prosperity, you will remain where you are, in the quagmire of poverty and ig-norance.

A person’s character traits, habits and disposition must change for the better. If you were good last season, you must be bet-ter this year. You cannot stagnate by being just good year after year after year.

YOU HAVE TO SURPASS YOURSELF.Do not be the average person who is

satisfied with average grades in school, the person who is satisfied with his em-ployee’s income and wages, the person who exerts just average efforts.

Success follows a prosperous positive attitude.

It can never be otherwise.Believe it when someone said that

“the glory of a man lies not in his never falling but in his rising everytime he falls.”

Even if Abraham did not desire pros-perity, GOD blessed him and fulfilled the covenant He promised the former. Ergo, that divine gift of prosperity cascaded from Abraham down to his descendants from generation to generation.

God, in His overflowing grace, does not want us to live in poverty.

So, get up and go, go, go! (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com). God bless the Philippines!

This purpose-driven life

Prosperity outlook

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

Fred C. Lumba

SPECKS OF LIFE

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 201610 EDGEDAVAONEWSAFP... FROM 1

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detachment in White Kulaman, Bukidnon at 6:15 p.m.

After the detachments, the NPA attacked soldiers who were on community security patrol in Sumimao, Paquibato

District.Caber said the harass-

ments during the holiday sea-son “only indicates that the CPP leadership has no control over the NPA.”

clinics.Meanwhile, the DCPO

conducted the removal of the tape to the muzzle of all issued firearms yesterday led by out-going DCPO director Senior Superintendent Vicente D. Da-nao Jr.

“We are happy to note that the Davao City Police Office PNP personnel is committed to implement the laws and or-dinances of the City,” Driz said in a text message.

Driz said that their com-mitment not to indulge or

engage in illegal discharge or indiscriminate firing during Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve had been successfully complied with, resulting in a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season.

“This is because of our presence in all places of con-vergence with our Lambat Sibat Operations and our dis-tribution of safety tips leaflets by our police to the public that made them aware of our secu-rity measures in times of their need,” she said.

alert, with the reserves falling below required levels.

The NGCP, however, said it expects the power supply situ-ation to worsen come starting Monday (January 4) when classes and work resume.

NGCP appealed to the public, the local and national governments, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Phil-ippines (AFP) to help monitor the safety of the towers so that transmission services remain uninterrupted.

“The company also ap-peals to local community lead-ers to help identify the perpe-trators of the bombings, and to negotiate with uncooperative landowners to prevent longer power interruptions,” she said.

For its part, Aboitiz-

owned Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC) said it has not im-plemented any rotating power interruption in its franchise area, which includes Davao City, Panabo City, and some municipalities in the province of Davao del Norte.

“Although there is a sched-ule (of power interruption), implementation of rotating power interruptions will only be our last resort,” Rossano C. Luga, DLPC assistant vice president for reputation en-hancement, told EDGE Davao yesterday.

Luga said the DLPC, one of the customers of NGCP, is currently “undertaking usual contingency measures like running the 30MW diesel-fu-eled Bajada Power Plant.” CHENEEN R. CAPON

investigation is ongoing.One of the recommenda-

tions said a third party whose members will be announced by the middle of this month will conduct the testing for the units owned by complainants.

Banquerigo said the test-ing has to be done again after the task force failed to identify the cause of the SUA.

“The task force was not able to prove its two earlier hy-potheses on the possible cause of the sudden acceleration,” he said. “Hopefully, the third party will look on the computer box.”

He said results of earlier investigation revealed that the SUA were not caused by any mechanical malfunction.

At present, a total of

60,000 Mitsubishi Monteros have been sold throughout the country. Of these, 97 SUA-re-lated accidents were reported in the whole country but only 24 owners filed formal com-plaints.

One of these complainants was from Davao region, Ban-querigo said.

DTI 11 regional director Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi said simi-lar cases have been reported in Japan two years ago.

The DTI will be waiting for the result of the further investi-gation which it will use as basis for its next action.

At present, Montero units are not still subject for recall since the cause of SUA is still not yet determined.

didates until 5 p.m. on Monday.The JBC is constitution-

ally mandated to screen and vet nominees for the vacant positions in the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman).

It shall submit a shortlist of nominees to President Be-nigno S. Aquino III for the re-placement of Justice Villarama, whose early retirement due to health reasons will take effect on Jan. 16, 2016. (PNA)

year (Dec. 21, 2014 to Jan. 5, 2015), there was a total of 850 FWRIs for the 15-day surveil-lance period for the “Iwas Pap-utok” campaign.

“Everyday, figures may change… Maybe because also of our aggressive call for those who were injured to seek consultation, and have their Anti-Tetanus Shots (ATS),” the DOH spokesperson said.

He added that the figures may also change from time to time as patients go to the hospital to seek consultation because based on their experi-ence, there are some patients who only go to hospitals after they feel that they can no lon-ger manage the pain.

He said that the trend that people go to hospitals is a good sign that they are getting aware that prevention versus tetanus and other irreversible conditions is far more import-ant.

“Iyung apela natin na mag-patingin, naging maganda rin, kasi we are able to encour-age them that no matter how small the wound is, there is a tendency for that to develop into tetanus, and that definite-ly matters,” he stressed.

Majority of the FWRIs or a total of 467 equivalent to 56 percent were from the Nation-al Capital Region (NCR).

Cases of stray bullets re-mains at a total of seven.

However, one case of fire-cracker ingestion was report-ed after an eight-year-old girl accidentally ingested sparkler firecracker in Manila last Dec. 31.

The patient was brought to the Philippine General Hospital in Manila and was discharged on Jan. 2 after her condition improved.

A total of 358 or 43 per-cent of the 839 FWRIs were due to piccolo, injuring young children who were attracted in

using them.Aside from piccolo, other

causes were due to kwitis (96 cases), least known firecrack-ers (86 cases), luces (49 cas-es), and 5-Star (34 cases).

A total of 168 FWRIs were monitored in Manila, followed by Quezon City with 89 cases; Mandaluyong, 52; Marikina, 39; Valenzuela, 26; Pasig and Navotas, 20 each; Caloocan, 15; and Paranaque and Las Pi-nas, 10 each.

Of the total cases, about 83 percent or 692 involved males. The youngest victim was a nine-month-old baby while the oldest was 78 years old.

A total of 461 victims or 55 percent were children less than 14 years old.

Altogether, 511 persons or 61 percent sustained hand injuries, meaning the fire-crackers that exploded had hit portions of their hands, which happened if the hand of the one holding the firecracker was sticky due to the presence of food particles.

A total of 113 victims or 15 percent sustained eye in-juries because firecrackers when ignited or lighted have the tendency to hit some por-tions of the face like eyes upon explosion and therefore are not really safe for merry-mak-ing activities.

From the blast injuries that totaled 726 or 87 per-cent, at least 28 cases or four percent of the total required amputations because the body parts like hands, fingers, feet and legs that were hit were wrecked as a result of the strong blasting.

Majority of the victims or 578 (70 percent) were active igniters or had been using firecrackers in the past. The others were classified as pas-sive victims or did not use firecracker but were just hit or affected. (PNA)

Agri-Marine Producers Coop in Omar, Bud Daho Agricultur-al Producers Coop and Tandu Bagna Agri-Marine Producers Coop in Patikul.

Each got a six-wheeler KIA Bonggo hauler truck worth P350,000.

Meanwhile, cooperative recipients in Lanao del Sur were the Pagayawan Urban Poor MPC in Pagawayan, Sa-lipongan Producers Cooper-ative in Balindong and Front-line National MPC in Poona

Bayabao. Given to them were

six-wheeler Isuzu Elf trucks worth P800,000 each.

For this batch of trucks, the PAMANA Program of DA spent P6.050 million.

Since November, PAMANA has already distributed almost P 24 million worth of similar assistance to 37 MNLF coop-eratives in Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi at Lanao del Sur. (DEDoguiles-PIA 12 with re-port from RAFID-DA-ARMM)

nies around South East Asia. This corporation owns all the branches of KFC and Pizza Hut in Malaysia, Singapore, Thai-land and India.

Guiani revealed that in the said meeting, Johor Cor-poration executives expressed plans to visit Cotabato City for the possibility of putting up stores here.

“Our visit to Johor has been very fruitful and successful. We have talked to many business groups and we were able to see how they are doing it in Johor. This is the main purpose of this trip, we want Cotabato City to have a direct link with Malaysia for us to have suc-cessful business partnerships with them soon,” Guiani said.

Engr. Rey Trasmontero, one of the city government’s electrical engineers, also joined the team to Malaysia to

inspect the two generator sets that the Government of Johor was supposed to donate to Co-tabato City.

However, since these gen-erator sets were already used and some parts needing re-placement, the Malaysian gov-ernment has opted to give two brand new generator sets to Cotabato City.

Engr. Trasmontero said although the new generators are smaller than those origi-nally scheduled for donation, the new sets can still supply sufficient energy to the entire City Hall.

Officials from the State Government of Johor is plan-ning to come to Cotabato City anytime next year to recip-rocate the visit. (DEDogu-iles-PIA12 with report from Cotabato City Information Office)

Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) which is en-joined under RA 10070 series of 2010.

The law is labeled as ‘An Act Establishing An Institu-tional Mechanism To Ensure The Implementation of Pro-grams And Services For Per-sons With Disabilities In Every Province, City And Municipali-ty, Amending Republic Act No.

7277, Otherwise Known As the “Magna Carta For Disabled Persons”, As Amended, And For Other Purposes.

RCDA is chaired by Bai Zorahayda Taha, regional di-rector of the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment Office, Region 12. (CT Apelacio  with  Lipsy  Grace Carayo, PIA-12 General San-tos City)

towers are to be bombed by lawless elements over the hol-iday seasons. This is the 4th tower to be bombed since 24 December,” she said.

Earlier, two NGCP towers, namely the Tower 25, located at Brgy. Gandamatu, Ramain, Lanao del Sur, along NGCP’s Agus2-Kibawe 138 KV line and tower 95 located in the vicin-ity of Brgy. Aroman, Carmen, North Cotabato, along NGCP’s

Kibawe - Kabacan 138 KV lines 1&2, were also bombed last December 24.

These two towers area already repaired, the NGCP re-ported.

“NGCP is calling on the public to report any suspi-cious activities at or around its facilities, to prevent further bombing-related power inter-ruptions,” Capulong said. CHE-NEEN R. CAPON

tabato more developed and its people continue to attain their utmost potentials,” Rep. Jose “PingPing” Tejada, who accom-panied Gov. Mendoza, said.

“In behalf of my constitu-ents, I am elated to receive the water system which will be utilized by some 500 families here,” according to Jessie Hor-bidalla, Village chairperson of

Latagan.After expressing grati-

tude to the provincial officials, Rowena de Leon and Amelo-denGanyon, barangay chair-persons of Kilada and Central Malamote, respectively, vowed to protect the project and reg-ulate its usage so everybody in their respective villages could benefit from it. (PNA)

FTA, the country eyes to dou-ble trade with EFTA countries two years after the FTA imple-mentation.

Another development this year to strengthen the coun-try’s European trade and in-vestment strategy was the an-nouncement of the Philippines and the European Union (EU) to launch formal FTA negotia-tions.

Through the FTA, the Phil-ippines and the EU aims for elimination of customs duties and other barriers to trade, improving services and invest-ment, access to public procure-ment markets, as well as addi-tional disciplines in the area of competition and protection of intellectual property rights, among others.

This FTA poses improving trade and investments with 28 member states of the EU which Filipino MSMEs can benefit.

Currently, some 6,274 Philippine products enter the EU market tariff-free through the EU Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+) which took effect December 2014.

Aside from European countries, the Philippines is also engaged this year for ex-ploratory discussions for FTA with Canada.

Moreover, the United States Trade Preferences Ex-tension Act of 2015 signed by President Barack Obama mid-2015 reauthorized the US Generalized System of Prefer-ences (GSP). The US-GSP gives duty-free access to US market

among 122 designated benefi-ciary countries and territories like the Philippines.

However, the program ex-cludes textiles, watches, foot-wear, handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and other leather apparel from the ze-ro-tariff-rate benefit under the scheme.

But the Philippine govern-ment filed the petition last Oct. 16 under Section 204 of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 which will provide zero tariffs on travel goods such as luggage, handbags, pocket goods, backpack, sports and travel bags to US-GSP ben-eficiaries.

The petition will undergo hearings and the decision is expected around the first half

of 2016.More than the large manu-

facturers of bags based here in the Philippines, local MSMEs which make handbags made of recycled materials, leather, wa-ter lilies, and other local mate-rials, can also be competitive in the US market with zero tariffs on travel goods and handbags.

However, Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise De-velopment Director Jerry T. Clavesillas noted that MSMEs’ compliance to global standards is one of the major constraints for this sector to participate in the global value chain.

Hence, the government needs to push trade facilita-tion interventions for MSMEs to help them access the global market. (PNA)

Carlton Hong Kong. From the moment we stepped into the high-speed elevator that whisked us from grind level to the 103rd floor of the International Com-merce Center where the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong is located at, we knew we

were in for a one-of-a-kind experience. The view of Victoria Harbour from where we sat was truly breathtaking as we sipped our properly prepared tea, biscuits, and sandwiches. We did not notice the time while we took in the views of Hong

Kong Island which slowly turned from afternoon to sunset.

The luxe life of solo island living at Is-land Buenavista If there is an island ex-

TRAVEL

EDGEDAVAO

who showed us around his own private wine cel-lar within the resort. The secure, oak-lined, climate controlled room is where he keeps his multi-million peso wine collection and is only accessible by Man-ny and his assistant.

High Tea at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong Every visit I have to Hong Kong has been a rush to go around to look for the latest trend or shopping find. This year, me and travel buddy Otoi Mercado decided to take it easy for an afternoon and have high tea at the Ritz

THE MAIN REASON why one travels is the creation of memo-rable experiences. From the food we eat, the scenes we see, and the people we meet, travelling soothes and refreshes the soul as well as feeds the mind with new ideas.

Mwemorable destinations in2015

INdulge!

What that is mind, here is a round up of some the places I was able to visit this year, local and international, which left an indelible mark on my memory.

The Mövenpick Mactan and Manny O’s Private Wine Cellar Thanks to the invite of fellow EDGE Davao col-umnist and Movenpick Mactan’s marketing man-ager, Meg Sta. Ines-Her-nandez and Philippine Airlines, I was finally able to experience the beauty of Mactan Island at the Mövenpick Mactan Re-

sort. The sea views of the resort was spectacular as was the food and enter-tainment at the property’s trademark Ibiza Beach Club. The experience was made extra memorable by the main man him-self, Mr. Manny Osmeña,

URBANISSIMO A4

Island Buenavista lives up to its “Own your own island” promise.

Manny O in his private wine cellar at the Mövenpick Mactan Cebu.

The Mövenpick Mactan Cebu at night.

High tea at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong comes with a million-dollar view of Victoria Harbour.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016

My December kicked off with the grand opening ceremony of Paskuhan sa Gensan and the Pyrotech-nic Competition. with an awesome night out with friends at the newest and hippest club in Gensan, WAVE Superclub, at Gensan Hughstreet. That was on Dec 05 same night #1 Hottest DJ in Ma-

nila, DJ Arra Pascual, was spinning. Dec 7, had lunch and shared gifts at t DSWD’s Gensan’s Home for Boys. We played a few songs with their guitar, shared stories, played with Snapchat fil-ters and took selfies. Dec 11-12, was in Davao for Carte Blanche’s 3rd year. Had an epic weekend with friends. Fresh from the party, headed back to Gensan on Dec 13, for the The Red & White Christmas Party with Sox Bloggers and Google Business Group - Gensan powered by SMART. Laughter and cheer echoed at Paseo del Sol, as the program went on. Christmas is not all about the parties and gifts but also is a season of giv-

A very Blondie DecemberDECEMBER has always been a month of celebration, the month where we look back at all the things we did for the past 11 months, be thankful for the blessings the year gave and share some of it to those who need it, and of course, reflect on what we’ll do for the incoming new year.

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOEVENT

ing, so on Dec 17, I and fellow Sox Bloggers volun-teered and joined Doleful Cares; Piñaskuhan 2015 at Galamang Elementary School with the Matutum

Growers Department and Atty. Mel Hernandez, dis-tributing gifts to 600+ hap-py kids of the school. A few days after, Dec 19 volunteered again for the

Pasko ng Batang Heneral on its 3rd year, brought by the LGU, Gensan Tourism council, along with Gen-san’s first-lady, Jane Rivera. Where 520 children from different barangays came together and had an awe-some afternoon of smiles, faceprinting games, gift giving and a magic show at SM Trade hall 1. Ended the year with a bang, along with Up Dhar-ma Down and grand fire-works display at SM City Gensan’s Year End Party. Cheers for the New Year everyone! Follow me on Twitter or Instagram, @kyriem00n for more adventures in and around my wonderland that is Gensan, Tuna Capi-tal of the Philippines.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016

2016 is finally here and with the new year, one can be sure that he or she has gained a few pounds around the belly and hips thanks to holiday season. Being that it is difficult to avoid eating during Noche Buena and Media Noche, here are some fitness tips as shared by some Kapuso stars on GMA News for a healthier new year.

Gabbi GarciaActually matakaw talaga ako ever since so I just try to keep in mind na kailangan kong i-maintain ‘yung katawan ko.

Ruru MadridAng gusto ko sa sarili ko, kahit na gaano ako karami kumain, hindi po ako lumalaki, hindi po ako lumolobo. Kunwari ngayon [ay] kumain ako nang marami, kinabukasan gym po talaga ‘yon.

Juancho TrivinoKonting gym, nagba-basketball ako. Cardio pa rin and jog para hindi lumobo nang sobra.

Valeen MontenegroI still watch what I eat kahit na ang saya talagang magkain-kain lang. And also I still workout and run so hindi ‘yon nawawala. It’s very very hard [at first] but you’ll get used to it.

Christian BautistaSiyempre kumain kayo, magsaya kayo, pero i-workout niyo rin afterwards. Huwag niyong sayangin ‘yung lahat ng workout na ginawa ninyo sa isang taon para mawala lang nang isang buwan. I-balance niyo lang ‘yung kakainin niyo.

INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

NOONTIME SHOW “It’s Showtime” starts the year with a bang as it launches the grand come back of the classic singing contest that gave rise to today’s OPM legends, “Tawag ng Tanghalan.” Now respected artists in the music industry, Nora Aunor, Pepe Pimentel, and Bobot Mortiz started out as contenders in the said contest. With its return in 2016, “Tawag ng Tanghalan” once again calls for new talents from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Metro Manila to find the country’s next singing superstar. Four contestants will battle daily and will prove their singing prowess to the madlang people and the hurados. However, when the singer goes out of tune, “Jhong the Gong” (Jhong Hilario) will hit a gong that signals the contestants to stop singing.

Big prizes awaits the defending champion as he or she could win P25,000 while the runners up will get P5,000 as consolation prize. Last Saturday, four contestants battled it out and showed what they got to the madlang people and the hurados. Michelle Arcain from Davao City emerged as the

first weekly finalist and returned yesterday to defend her title. This week, OPM’s greatest singers Rey Valera, Rico J. Puno, and Bobot Mortiz with today’s top singers Nyoy Volante and Yeng Constantino serve as judges and give feedback on the contestants’ performances. Meanwhile, with the launch of “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” Amy Perez and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are now officially part of the “It’s Showtime” family. Amy and Mariel thanked the ABS-CBN management and the madlang people for the trust and support they are getting and greeted everyone a Happy New Year. Don’t miss the return of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in “It’s Showtime,” Mondays to Saturdays noon in ABS-CBN. For more information, follow “It’s Showtime” on Facebook and Twitter (@ItsShowtimena).

Celebrity fitness tips for a healthier 2016

‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ returns to TV

CARDO FACES NEW ENEMIES IN “ANG PROBINSYANO”. Cardo (Coco Martin) welcomes the New Year with a bang as he faces new enemies and continues his search for Demetrio (Ronaldo Valdez), the syndicate’s leader, in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.” Now that Isabel is (Maricar Reyes) in jail, the group of Raymond (Joem Bascon), Brad (Polo Ravales), and Jenna (Hanna Ledesma) takes over their syndicate’s operations. Having a target house to rob, they put their plans to work by alluring the household help and securing her trust. Can Cardo stop them in making their plans happen or will they outsmart him with Demetrio’s help? Don’t miss the action-packed scenes in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” weeknights in ABS-CBN. For more information about the program, visit the official social networking site of Dreamscape Entertainment Television at Facebook.com/DreamscapePH, Twitter.com/DreamscapePH, and Instagram.com/DreamscapePH.

PG

PG

PG 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

BEAUTY AND THE BESTIE

Vice Ganda, Coco Martin, James Reid,

Nadine Lustre

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

HAUNTED MANSION

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

MY BEBE LOVE: #KILIGPAMORE

Ai-Ai de las Alas, Vic Sotto,

Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza

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

Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel,

Jerome Ponce

WALANG FOREVER

Jennylyn Mercado, Jericho Rosales

January 1 – 7, 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016

A4 INdulge!TRAVEL

Talikud Island’s pristine white sand beaches.

perience in 2015 that was hard to top was my stay at the Island Buenavista. Promising guests their own private island, the Island Buenavista deliv-ers all that in aces. You get your own stretch of pow-der-fine white sand beach, your own private villa (there are eight different villas to choose from), your own private lounge and pool as well. Owning your own pri-vate island does not mean you get to go there alone though, as you can bring along up to 9 of your friends to tag along and experience the island. All meals, snacks, and drinks are also provided for.

Lost at Tokyo’s Ameyoko Shopping Street Many travellers love to shop and a visit to a local mall is always part of any shopper’s itinerary. My fa-vourite places to shop for unique and quirky finds though would be at the many shopping streets that can be found espe-cially around Asia. I travelled to Tokyo this year and had the time of my life going around and getting lost at the Ameyo-ko shopping street. While

many traditional shop-ping streets focused on specialty goods and are often zoned around the goos they sell, the Ameyo-ko is a hodgepodge of many different indepen-dent stores selling dif-ferent goods right beside each other. A store may be sell-ing cosmetics and right besides it is a store that is selling sports shoes and right besides that is a shop selling fresh fish. This juxtapositioning is what makes the Ameyoko so exciting for travellers and shoppers alike and that is why it made it onto my list.

Philippine Eagle Conservation Cen-ter It had been a while since I last visited the Philip-pine Eagle Conservation Center at Malagos that is why I was pleasantly surprised at how the cen-tre now looks. Diola may have passed on but new ambassador eagles such as Pag-Asa and Mindanao are now spearheading the campaign to save our na-tional bird. My recent visit to the centre truly opened my eyes to the beauty and strength of the Philippine Eagle as well as what still

needs to be done to save our national treasure.

Tracing My Roots in Xiamen Looking back at 2015, my trip to Xiamen City on the South-east coast of China was special. Given that I trace my roots back to the area, Xiamen was both familiar and unfa-miliar to me. The cuisine

of the city was familiar to me, dishes such as oyster omelette, mee-sua, and ho-pia offer familiar fla-vours to what I had tasted in Davao and in manila’s Chinatown. What was unfamil-iar to me though was how much Xiamen has changed though the years. The main city of Xiamen is modern and pulses with life, yet there are still dis-tricts such as Zhong San Road and Gulang Yu Is-land where one can have

a peek at the harbour city’s past glory and how it looked like when my ancestors left it for a better life in the Philippines.

Looking Forward to Talikud Island Looking at 2016, I be-lieve Talikud Island will be seeing more visitors thanks to the valiant effort of Davao del Norte’s Pro-vincial Tourism Council president Ms. Araceli Ay-uste as well as the island’s natural beauty.

Although there are other white sand beaches in the Davao region, Tali-kud Island’s long stretches of natural powder-fine white-sand public beach-es that can rival those of Boracay are closer to Du-rianburg with just a ferry boat ride from Davao City to the island’s Sta. Cruz port. This, together with the new Talikud Island inland tours will now al-low travellers more access to the island’s attractions beyond the shore.

URBANISSIMO A1

Going back in time at Gulang Yu.

Having fun at Tokyo’s Ameyoko street market.

Mindanao, the Philippine Eagle Conservation Center’s eagle ambassador.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 11EDGEDAVAO

ENVIRONMENT

Mangroves againstnatural disastersText and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

(First of Two Parts)

MANGROVES store up to times the carbon of tropical forests. Such

was the finding of a new study in New Guinea which high-lights the value of Indonesia’s mangrove forests, both on the global carbon market and for local communities.

“Threatened mangroves and marine ecosystems in general get far less attention than tropical rainforests in climate negotiations, despite the many useful ecosystem services they provide,” wrote Johnny Langenheim in article which appeared in the web-site of The Coral Triangle. “Mangroves are highly effi-cient carbon sinks, absorbing up to 10 times as much carbon dioxide as terrestrial forests.”

This was supported by a study conducted by a team of U.S. Forest Service and university scientists. Coastal mangrove forests store more carbon than almost any other forest on Earth, surmised the findings which was published online in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“Mangroves have long been known as extremely pro-ductive ecosystems that cycle carbon quickly, but until now there had been no estimate of how much carbon resides in these systems. That’s es-sential information because when land-use change occurs, much of that standing carbon stock can be released to the atmosphere,” says Daniel Do-nato, a postdoctoral research ecologist at the Pacific South-west Research Station in Hilo, Hawaii.

The research team exam-ined the carbon content of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo-Pacific region and found that mangrove forests, per hectare, store “up to four times more carbon than most other tropical forests around the world.”

The Science Daily gives this bit of information: “The mangrove forest’s ability to store such large amounts of carbon can be attributed, in part, to the deep organic-rich soils in which it thrives. Man-grove-sediment carbon stores were on average five times larger than those typically observed in temperate, boreal and tropical terrestrial forests, on a per-unit-area basis.

It further explains: “The mangrove forest’s complex root systems, which anchor the plants into underwater sediment, slow down incom-ing tidal waters allowing or-ganic and inorganic material to settle into the sediment surface. Low oxygen condi-

tions slow decay rates, re-sulting in much of the carbon accumulating in the soil. In fact, mangroves have more carbon in their soil alone than most tropical forests have in all their biomass and soil com-bined.”

Mangroves are a “very ef-ficient living system in terms of sequestering carbon diox-ide,” says Daniel Murdiyarso, a climate change expert at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia. The car-bon dioxide, he continues, is “stored in the leaves, and the leaves will be consumed by the feeders, including crabs and all those microorganisms below the ground.”

According to the Science Daily, the high-carbon storage suggests mangroves may play an important role in climate change management. Aside from the main greenhouse gas contributor of fossil-fuel burning, the forestry sector can play a part -- especially carbon-rich forests that are being cleared rapidly on a global scale, such as man-groves.

“When we did the math, we were surprised to see just how much carbon is likely be-ing released from mangrove clearing,” Donato was quoted as saying. This suggests, ac-cording to Donato, that where consistent with local manage-ment objectives, mangroves may be strong candidates for programs aiming to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation rates.

Mangroves are commu-nities of trees in the tidal flats in coastal waters, extending inland along rivers where the water is tidal, saline, or brack-ish. “There are 25 to 30 spe-cies of true mangrove trees and an equal number of asso-ciated species,” says Dr. Miguel Fortes, a professor of Marine Science Institute at the College of Science of University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, Biodiversity Management Bureau, says its agency has identified 42 species of man-groves in the country. None of them are facing extinction yet. But the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is considering of put-ting 11 out of 70 mangrove species assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

“Mangroves form one of the most important tropical habitats that support many species, and their loss can affect marine and terrestri-al biodiversity much more widely,” pointed out Beth Po-lidoro, who led the first-ev-er global assessment on the

conservation status of man-groves.

Mangroves are very im-portant to marine life, says Dr. Rafael Guerrero III, former di-rector of the Philippine Coun-cil for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development. They serve as sanctuaries and feeding grounds for fish that nibble on detritus (fallen and decaying leaves) trapped in the vegetation, and on the bark and leaves of living trees.

“(Mangroves) are import-ant feeding sites for many commercially important fish species (mullet, tilapia, eel, and especially milkfish), shrimps, prawns, mollusks, crabs, and sea cucumbers,” a

World Bank report on envi-ronment adds. “Fry that gath-er in mangrove areas are very important for aquaculture.”

But still, mangrove forests are being denuded. “Despite legislation and programs to protect mangroves, the country has lost most of its mangroves due largely to fishpond development, char-coal production, industrial conversion, reclamation, and pollution,” deplores Dr. Fortes.

Studies have shown the country’s original 500,000 hectares of mangroves has whittled down to 100,000 hectares or less.

To think of, mangroves are considered as the best

hope of the Philippines for mitigating climate change, according to a news item car-ried by the Rappler.

“Mangroves in general are one of nature’s best ways for combatting global warming,” Dr. Filiberto Pollisco, policy and research specialist of ASEAN Centre for Biodiversi-ty (ACB), told participants of the panel discussion on the relationship between biodi-versity and climate change.

But on the other hand, mangroves also act as “a tick-ing carbon time bomb.” The Rappler report explained that “when a mangrove forest is uprooted and deforested, the enormous amount of carbon

stored in its roots are released into the atmosphere as car-bon emissions.”

According to Dr. Pollisco, digging up only two meters of soil in a mangrove forest for conversion into, say, a shrimp pond, already releases 1,400 tons of carbon per hectare per year.

CIFOR’s Murdiyarso says mangroves account for less than 1 percent of the world’s tropical forest area, but their destruction produces 10 per-cent of all carbon emissions from deforestation. Defor-estation, meanwhile, is the second-largest source of car-bon emissions after the burn-ing of fossil fuels.

A mangrove tree.

Mangroves thrive in areas where fresh and sea waters meet.Mangrove areas are places where marine

creatures live in their earlier stages of life.

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 13EDGEDAVAO

COMPETITIVE EDGEAboitiz team members bring smilesto kids at annual Christmas OutreachTO share the spirit of the

yuletide season, Aboitiz team members in the

company’s Cebu and Taguig corporate centers simultane-ously conducted their annual Christmas Outreach last De-cember 5.

A total of 372 Aboitiz team members, scholars, and Aboitiz Future Leaders Busi-ness Summit alumni served as big brothers and sisters to the Christmas Outreach beneficiaries, composed of 250 children in Barangay Hagonoy, Taguig City and 296 children from Cebu City’s Agsungot Integrated School,

Badjao Tribe in Sitio Puntod, Alaska, Mambaling, and SOS Children’s Village Talamban.

The Aboitiz Christmas Outreach, a team mem-ber-initiated activity, has become an annual tradition for Aboitiz team members to give back and bring joy to less fortunate children during Christmas.

Led by a Christmas Out-reach Committee, Aboitiz team members this year initiated fundraising activi-ties such as a trivia night, a rummage sale, and “Love in a Shoe Box.”

Meanwhile, to supple-

ment the Aboitiz team mem-bers’ own efforts, the Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Aboitiz Group, matched the amount raised from these activities. The funds raised were used to prepare the out-reach activities and purchase gifts and grocery packs for the children and their families.

“We are here to show how we live out our core value of responsibility. You can be sure that we value our time together and hope to make a positive impact, particularly on the lives of these children,” Erramon I. Aboitiz, Aboitiz

Equity Ventures President and Chief Executive Officer, said.

“Seeing them smile re-minds us that our purpose is being fulfilled. After all, Christmas and excited kids go hand in hand,” Aboitiz added.

The Aboitiz Group en-courages active involvement from its team members for various corporate social re-sponsibility activities such as the annual Christmas out-reach. This forms part of the Aboitiz Group’s drive to make Aboitiz a truly sustainable en-terprise that can be entrusted to future generations.

ABOITIZ HOLIDAY CHEER. Aboitiz team members bring smiles to the faces of over 500 children at the Aboitiz Group’s Christmas Outreach activities in Manila and Cebu. “You can be sure that we value our time together and hope to make a positive impact, particularly on the lives of these children,” said Erramon I. Aboitiz, Aboitiz Equity Ventures President and CEO.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 201614 EDGEDAVAO

MOTORING

KIA Philippines ended 2015 with a big surprise (literally): the launch of

the 11-seater version of the Grand Carnival. Dubbed the Grand Carnival 11, this ver-sion of Kia’s large MPV offer-ing is catered towards larger families (who don’t find the second-row Captain’s Seats useful) or those who’re look-ing to maximize the Grand Carnival’s cavernous interior. At the same time, the Grand Carnival 11 starts at a much more pocket-friendly price.

The Kia Grand Carnival 11 starts at P 1,575,000 putting it squarely against the Hyun-dai Starex and Toyota Hiace Grandia. Of course, it carries less opulence than the fully loaded 7-seater Grand Car-

nival. You lose things like the 18-inch alloy wheels, leather seats, and the moon roof.

Still, it’s reasonably load-ed with anti-stain YES Essen-tials fabric seats, power side doors, and even a rear back-up camera. Furthermore, unlike the Starex and Hiace Grandia, the fourth row seats in the Grand Carnival can be stowed flat into the floor with a single action mechanical le-ver.

Like the luxury-oriented Grand Carnival, the Grand Carnival 11 is powered by the R 2.2-liter 4-cylinder CRDi engine with 200 horsepower and 431 Nm of torque. The sole transmission remains a 6-speed automatic minus the cruise control function.

A grand Kia Carnival surprise

FUJI Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles,

recently announced that the Insurance Institute for High-way Safety (IIHS; a nonprofit organization supported by auto insurers in the US) has awarded the highest standard of safety, 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ (TSP+), along with the highest possible rating of

“Good” for five crash-worthi-ness tests as well as “Superi-or” for front crash prevention with the highest possible score of 6 points, to the 2016 Subaru Legacy, Outback, For-ester, Impreza, Subaru XV, and WRX.

IIHS has strengthened the requirements for both 2016 TSP and 2016 TSP+. To quali-fy for 2016 TSP, a vehicle must

earn “Good” ratings in five crashworthiness tests – small overlap front, moderate over-lap front, side, roof strength and head restraints – as well as a “Basic” rating for front crash prevention. To qualify for 2016 TSP+, a vehicle must earn “Good” ratings in the five crash-worthiness tests and an “Advanced” or “Superior” rat-ing for front crash prevention.

HONDA Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) achieves remark-able fuel efficiency results

for their vehicles in an internal fuel economy run observed by an Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) represen-tative with the highest figure at 33.88 km/L recorded for the Brio Amaze.

Eight Honda vehicles were put to a fuel efficiency test in both highway and city courses using normal driving style with running air conditioning system. Each vehicle was assigned a driver and navigator. The City, Brio, Brio Amaze, Mobilio, Jazz, HR-V, CR-V and Odyssey were driven for 166 kilometers of highway and 55 kilo-meters stretch of city traffic.

To ensure realistic results are achieved, stringent mechanics or standards were applied in relation

to gas up, tire pressure and air conditioning settings. All settings were sealed prior to vehicle dis-patch from starting point. Further-more, third-party observer, AAP representative, Francisco Reyes strictly monitored the whole pro-cess.

For highway driving leg, par-ticipants tackled the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Tar-lac-Pangasinan-La Union Express-way (TPLEX) on the way to Ur-daneta, Pangasinan from Petron Marilao station. Meanwhile for city driving portion, participants passed through the traffic con-gested roads of EDSA, Roxas Bou-levard, Gil Puyat Avenue, Kalayaan and C5.

As a result of this activity, the most fuel efficient vehicles in the fleet for both highway and city legs were the Brio Amaze 1.3 E

MT, Brio 1.3 V Navi AT, and City 1.5 E CVT for passenger cars and the CR-V 2.0 S AT and Mobilio 1.5 V CVT for commercial vehicles.

The 4-cylinder, 1.3 liter i-VTEC engine mated with 5-speed auto-matic transmission and 5-speed manual transmission proved to be an efficient combination for the Brio and Brio Amaze to achieve re-markable fuel economy. The Brio Amaze 1.3 E MT model recorded 33.88 km/L for highway driving and 20.37 km/L for city dr\iving. Meanwhile, the Brio 1.3 V Navi AT recorded 31.92 km/L and 18.27 km/L for highway and city driv-ing respectively. Their compact size and powerful engine, enable passengers of the Brio and Brio Amaze a comfortable mobility in various driving situations – high-way or city – with exceptional fuel economy.

Subaru Earns top marks in IIHS safety standards

Honda holds fuel economy test, achieves exceptional figures

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

DAVAO City Police Office defeated City Mayors Office, 98 – 92, in their

do or die semi-final duel to ad-vance to the finals of the 2015 AFP-PNP Basketball Tourna-ment at the Davao City Recre-ation Center Almendras Gym on Saturday.

DCPO held off the gutsy City Hall dribblers as the Camp Domingo Leonor-based squad made a return trip to the finals for the first time since 2012.

Five DCPO players finished in double digits led by bull-strong forward Robinson Palo-mares who came through with 20 points.

Marlon Cabanog banked in 15 baskets as Daniel Pumecha and Estong Uganap made 14 each for DCPO which also drew 10 from Mark Innocentes.

Christopher “Bong” Go dished out a remarkable per-formance in the crucial match and CMO big men responded fairly to the challenge.

But it was not good enough to propel CMO back to the finals as breaks of the game went to the Policemen’s side.

Go, the trusted-aide of presidential contender May-or Rodrigo Duterte, put on a memorable shooting perfor-

mance finishing the game with 37 points.

The CMO scoring leader was so hot that he nailed 11 baskets from beyond the arc and all of them finding the bot-tom of the net.

JR De Guzman made 23 markers while Weng Farochil-len had 19 for the City Hall dribblers who stunned DCPO in the first encounter of the semifinal duel to force a rub-ber-match game.

DCPO entered the Final Four as the second-seed that earned the Policemen a twice to beat privilege. CMO was third-seed.

DCPO and CMO played at its best in the rubber match encounter displaying their offensive lethal weapons all throughout.

But when the dust settled, it was DCPO marched its way to the best of three finals foil-ing CMO’s own bid for a return trip to the titular showdown.

The Mayors men’s last en-try in the finals was in 2012 when they eventually com-pleted a rare “three-peat” un-der the banner of Team VMO. The team achieved the feat by sweeping the DCPO in the fi-nals. (Rico Biliran)

DCPO stops CMO, enters finals

SERENA Williams withdrew from her opening match at the Hopman Cup due to a knee

problem, an early setback in prepa-rations for her Australian Open title defense.

No. 1-ranked Williams practiced on Monday ahead of her scheduled season-opener for the US team against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the international mixed team com-petition at Perth Arena, but with-drew from the match citing knee inflammation.

Vicky Duval filled in for Wil-liams in the Group A match, losing, 6-4, 6-1, to Svitolina in the first

singles match and giving Ukraine a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three match round-robin encounter.

Williams said she was confident she’d be able to join Jack Sock in the US team to play the Australia Gold team on Tuesday.

After winning the Australia, French and Wimbledon titles in 2015 Williams had two months off after the US Open, where she nar-rowly missed completing a season Grand Slam by losing to Roberta Vin-ci in the semifinals.

The 20-year-old Duval returned to tennis in August after overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

LOU Williams scored a season-high 30 points, and the Los Angeles

Lakers sent Phoenix to its ninth straight loss with a 97-77 rout of the cold-shooting Suns on Sunday night (Mon-day, Manila time).

The Lakers, coming off victories over Boston and Philadelphia, have won three in a row for the first time since Feb. 22-27 against Bos-ton, Utah and Milwaukee. Rookie Larry Nance Jr. had 15 points and tied a season high with his second straight 14-rebound game.

Kobe Bryant sat out his second straight game be-cause of a sore right shoul-der, the same one he had sur-gery on last January to repair a torn rotator cuff.

The league’s third all-time leading scorer, who turned 37 in August, is av-eraging 17.2 points in 29 games. Bryant announced on Nov. 29 that this would be his the final season of his 20-year NBA career.

Brandon Knight had 25 points, nine assists and three rebounds for the Suns, who shot 36 percent from the field and trailed by as many as 38 points en route to their 21st loss in 27 games since beating the Lakers at Phoe-nix on Nov. 16.

Phoenix center Tyson Chandler, who was ejected midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s 142-119 loss at Sacramento, played only 19 minutes in this one and missed his first five shots before finishing with two points on 1 for 6 shooting.

The Suns were playing their fourth game in five nights and looked tired, mak-ing only nine of 46 shots in the first half (19.6 percent) and scoring just 10 points in the opening quarter before the Lakers built their lead to 43-22 by intermission.

Williams ended his 11-point second quarter with a buzzer-beating 3 off an inbounds pass after the

Lakers took a 20-second tim-eout with 1.1 seconds on the clock.

The Suns had won nine of their previous 10 meet-ings with the Lakers. But de-spite this loss, they still have a three-game lead over Los Angeles in the race to stay out of the Pacific Division cellar.

TIP-INSSuns: The Suns (12-25)

are 0-15 when scoring few-er than 100 points. . C Alex Len, limited to 6 1-2 minutes of playing time on Saturday because of a sore left hand, came off the bench for the third straight game and had six points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes. “They’ve taken X-rays and it’s not broken, but it’s really sore and he has a hard time squeezing his hand,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He’s going to continue to play and try to be a pres-ence out there — at least on the defensive end and spell Tyson in some of those min-

utes. With all the traveling, every time he goes up in an airplane, it swells up again. So it probably won’t calm down until we get back home.”... The Suns are 0-10 when an op-posing player has scored 30 or more points against them. . Phoenix is 0-5 since point guard Eric Bledsoe’s sea-son-ending injury to his left knee and subsequent surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Lakers: A fan won a $95,000 for hitting a half-court shot after the third quarter.... Nance made seven of 10 shots in his first start against the team his dad starred for during his first 6-1/2 NBA seasons... Roy Hibbert, the only Laker to start all 35 games, had 13 points and six boards. . Bry-ant’s highest-scoring game without a 3-point basket was against the Suns, when he scored 48 points on Jan. 10, 2012, at Los Angeles. . The Lakers snapped a nine-game home losing streak against Western Conference teams.

Kobe-less Lakers on a roll

Injured Serena withdraws from Hopman Cup opener

TOP GUN. CMO’s top gunner Bong Go fired 37 points in a losing cause. Lean Daval Jr.

SERENA WILLIAMS. Injury in Perth.

STEPPING UP. Lou Williams plays 34 minutes, making 11 of 17 field

goal attempts including 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. AP

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 201616 EDGEDAVAOSports

Butler rips MJ’s halftime mark

JORDAN’S RECORD SHATTERED

RECORD BREAKING NIGHT. Jimmy Butler

had 42 points over all and shot 14 of 19 in the second half on Sunday.

JIMMY Butler broke Mi-chael Jordan’s franchise record for the most points

in a half with 40 as the Chi-cago Bulls rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 115-113 on Sunday.

Butler, who scored two points in the first half before exploding for 40 in the sec-ond, surpassed Jordan’s mark of 39 which the NBA icon set against the Milwaukee Bucks in February 1988.

The 26-year-old shooting guard rattled in a clutch three pointer with 30 seconds left as the Bulls beat the Raptors for the second time in six days.

Asked about breaking Jordan’s record, Butler said, “Do not compare me to him.”

Butler’s superb second half allowed the Bulls to come from behind after trailing by as many as 15 points at the Air Canada Centre arena.

“He just couldn’t miss. It was unbelievable,” teammate Taj Gibson said of Butler.

The Bulls have now won seven straight over the Rap-tors, including a 104-97 win last Monday in Chicago.

Centre Pau Gasol added 19 points and 13 rebounds and forward Nikola Mirotic scored 17 points for Chicago.

Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 24 points but missed a shot as the final buzzer sounded.

Forward Luis Scola and point guard Kyle Lowry each scored 22 points and Low-ry added 10 assists for the Raptors in front of a crowd of 19,800.

With the game tied 109-109, Lowry hit a turn-around jumper with 40.9 seconds left to put the Raptors ahead by two points.

Butler came back with a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 112-111 lead with 30.6 sec-onds remaining in regulation.

Lowry missed a running layup and Toronto forward DeMarre Carroll was called for a foul that sent Gasol to

the free throw line. Gasol made one of two to give the Bulls a two-point lead with 23 seconds on the clock.

On the Bulls’ next pos-session Gibson made one of two free throws and Chicago led by three. Centre Jonas Va-lanciunas cut the lead to one with 4.6 seconds left.

Butler made one of two free throws and DeRozan missed a long shot from be-yond the arc at the buzzer.

The Bulls won despite injuries to key players, in-cluding guard Derrick Rose who missed his third straight game. Rose will have an MRI done of his sore right ham-string on Monday.

Joakim Noah also did not play because of an injured left shoulder.

Jack out for seasonBrooklyn Nets point

guard Jarrett Jack will miss the rest of the season after an MRI revealled he had a torn ACL and a partially torn MCL in his right knee, the team an-

nounced Sunday.Jack, 32, will

require surgery to repair the dam-age. He suffered the injury during Saturday’s win over the Boston Celtics.

Jack aver-aged 12.8 points, a team-high 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds this season in 32 games.

Faried feeling “much better”

Denver Nug-gets forward Kenneth Faried said Sunday he was feeling “much bet-ter” was released from hospital following an in-jury scare the day before in a game against Golden State in Oakland.

Faried was taken off the court on a stretcher Saturday with an appar-ent neck injury.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 200 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016