In early 2008, bare-ly a year after Zion Ac-cuprint Publishing, Inc. started operating, gen-eral manager Olivia D. Velasco, who for many years held the same po-sition in a local news-paper before resign-ing to venture into the publishing business, thought of putting up a newspaper to keep her machines busy.

She invited former colleague and veteran newspaperman Anto-nio M. Ajero to head a team to launch a busi-ness paper. Ajero was formerly editor in chief of the newspaper she had worked for.

In no time at all Velasco and Ajero formed the core group of what is today Edge Davao by bringing

into their fold Ramon M. Maxey as editorial consultant, Gregorio G. Deligero as associate editor, Kenneth Irving

C. Ong as lifestyle edi-tor, now Canada-based Moses B. Billacura as sports editor and Joc-elyn Panes as director

of sales.Working together

as a team was not re-ally difficult as most of them had worked for

the same newspaper for decades. The challe nge was how to make a difference in local jour-nalism with new ideas

and creativity. After a series of

meetings and brain storming, the design and content of the sec-tions of the paper were finalized.

The staff realized that the business land-scape in Davao and the rest of the region was changing at a fast pace and decided to ride the wave of progress and make the most of the opportunity that pre-sented itself for advanc-ing the newspaper’s mission and vision.

It was in this milieu

that Edge Davao was born to give sharper fo-cus on local and region-al business reportage. The time had come, too, for a differently packaged delivery of business news, features and views, all designed to achieve the vision to help readers make in-formed decisions.

The first issue of Edge Davao came off the press and hit the streets on March 10, 2008.

Decidedly, Edge Davao’s entry quickly stirred a positive re-

EDGEDAVAOFORMAL LAUNCH AS A DAILY

VOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012

Edge Davao: 3 years a weekly, now a daily

The ZION-EDGE FAMILY. Five years after, ZION Accuprint Publishing Inc. has grown into one of the most trusted publishing companies in Metro Davao. This year it’s a double celebration with ZION’s anniversary and EDGE DAVAO’s formal launching as a daily newspaper. Thank you our clients and readers for sup-porting our growth!

“That Edge Davao has raised the bar of excellence in reportage is evidenced by the accolades it has so far notched. “

THE emergence of Edge Davao as a daily publication was not an over-night affair. It existed for three years

as a weekly achieving modest gains de-spite the myriad challenges it faced.

ANTONIO M. AJEROeditor-in-chief

RAMON M. MAXEYeditorial consultant

OLIVIA D. VELASCOgeneral manager

GREGORIO G. DELIGEROassociate editor

JOCELYN S. PANESdirector of sales

KENNETH IRVING K. ONGlifestyle editor

FEDGE, S6

S2 SUPPLEMENT VOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012EDGEDAVAO

By Lorie A. Cascaro

BEFORE Zion Ac-cuprint Publish-ing, Inc. joined

the publishing industry and proved to be a com-petitive player, there was Olivia Velasco, a lady who already had years of experience in the business as general manager of another publishing company.

Velasco was not content being em-ployed in a business which she had come to believe she could run better if she was the boss. She decided to reinvent herself within her forte.

That was when she opted for early re-tirement to follow her longtime dream, which was to establish her own company, Zion Ac-cuprint Publishing, Inc.

As it turned out, Velasco was not ventur-ing into the unknown. Her vast experience in the business proved valuable. Her 23 years in publishing helped her overcome the hur-dles that usually stand in the way of starting up a business as she

ventured into her ex-pertise.

“ C a p i t a l i z a t i o n was a challenge, but thanks to friends and the network I devel-oped through the years, I was able to assemble a team and the basic equipment needed to start a publishing ven-ture,” she said. It had been decided that the best way to begin, was to start small and grow from there.

“The little money that we pooled togeth-er was augmented by friends and network connection. Being a member of PIADI is also a big help,” she said, referring to the multi-purpose printing industry cooperative.

With her huge ex-perience in the “ins and outs” of the business, Zion invested in the right machines, giving Zion the advantage of a more advanced tech-nology than that of her former company.

On April 21, 2007, Zion was launched with a team of five persons headed by Velasco.

Only a year after,

the Edge Davao week-ly business paper was born, with Antonio M. Ajero as editor in chief, winning journalistic awards along the way and, after four years, has transformed itself into a daily.

Publication is Zi-on’s core competence, Velasco bared, adding that the management is prudent while maxi-mizing with a lean, but

mean, organization.“We give incentives

to our employees. Asset gyud ang workforce,” she said.

Aside from the two color machines, Zion acquired a multi-mil-lion computer-to-plate (CTP) machine to cater its own needs.

After five years, the publishing house has increased its capac-ity by three-fold. It has

established clientele in printing and publica-tion.

Its clients and busi-ness partners include multinational and local companies such as Ca-mella, SM City Davao, Kisan Lu, Abreeza Mall, Santos Land, DMCI and other big companies and non-government organizations.

Cheree Pajarillaga, an awardee of the com-

pany for her five years service, has witnessed the fast growth of Zion from its infancy.

“Sa five years, gikan sa gamay nga collection hangtud sa first million peso nga naresibuhan nako,” she said, admit-ting her blooper on the first million-peso re-ceipt she issued as she was only used to hun-dreds of pesos.

Responsible for ac-

Zion, five years and beyondSapphire Anniversary

PajarillagaNomenzo

BLESSING. Two priests bless the printing and Computer-to-Print machines

FZION, S6

S3SUPPLEMENTVOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

The Marketing, Accounting, and Circulation Teams with ZION’s president as well as EDGE DAVAO’s general manager, Ms. Olivia Velasco.

S3SUPPLEMENTVOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

The Marketing, Accounting, and Circulation Teams with ZION’s president as well as EDGE DAVAO’s general manager, Ms. Olivia Velasco.

S4 SUPPLEMENT VOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012EDGEDAVAO

(Above)YOUR EDITORIAL TEAM. EDGE DAVAO’s (L-R) Gregorio Deligero, Lorie Ann Cascaro, Ramon Maxey, Jade Zaldivar, and Antonio Ajero, along with (Not in photo) Carlo Mallo, Neilwin Bravo, Kenneth Irving Ong, Kar-los Manlupig, Joseph Lawrence Garcia, Arlene Pasaje, and Moses Billacura.

(Left)THE MEN OF THE HOUSE. ZION and EDGE DAVAO’s Production Team.

S5SUPPLEMENTVOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

EDGEDAVAOfor engaging the services of both

Thank YouTop Unique5Customers

zionACCUPRINTPUBLISHING, INC.

during the past five years.and

CONSULATE GENERALREPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

S6 SUPPLEMENT VOL.5 ISSUE 53 • MAY 17, 2012EDGEDAVAO

action among all the community media players. First, the perk-ing up of the once ho-hum business pages of local newspapers. And then, the phenomenal migration of economic news into the front pages.

All these, the staff realized, only serve to whet the regional reader’s appetite for more.

This is the raison d’etre of Edge Davao’s eventually becoming a daily.

Thus, on March 5, 2012, three years after the first weekly edition saw print, came the first daily issue.

From a core group of six, there are now over 25 personnel be-hind Edge Davao who are assigned to edi-torial, marketing, ac-counting, circulation, admin and production departments.

On top of the many considerations for the daily publication is the fast changing Dabawe-nyo lifestyles.

As Davao’s eco-nomic drivers rev up and the peso’s buying power strengthens, the people’s taste for the good life is stimulated.

INdulge, Edge Davao’s lifestyle sec-tion reflects the latest in Davao’s fashion, arts & culture, food, well-ness, entertainment, and the social scene. Keeping Dabawenyos up-to-date with the newest lifestyle trends.

Another cutting edge of the paper is the superior printing

technology employed by Zion Accuprint Pub-lishing Inc.

Employing the lat-est in Computer-to-Print technology, Edge Davao’s pages are crisp, vivid, and clean. Where every letter of the story and every color in every adver-tisement is crystal clear and easy to read.

That Edge Davao has raised the bar of excellence in report-age is evidenced by the accolades it has so far notched. In two years, the paper received three awards in the an-nual Philippine Press Institute-Coca-Cola Ex-port Philippines Com-munity Press Awards –Best in Business and Economic Reporting and Best in Science and Environment Report-ing in 2011 and Best in Science and Environ-ment Reporting 2012.

By keeping Da-bawenyos informed, it will soon conquer the Digital Divide.

Edge Davao is Davao’s first e-paper with all pages –news and editorial, adver-tisement and adver-torial –intact. It is a virtual version of Edge Davao’s hardcopy available for viewing anywhere in the world.

And, going digital is not an impossible dream. Watch Edge Davao migrate to the next level of news de-livery. In real time. With moving images. And interactive, too.

Edge Davao—serving a seamless society.

FFROM S1

FFROM S2

Edge...

Zion...counting, delivery and collection, Pajarillaga, fondly called “Buga” by officemates, was one of the pioneers of Zion, together with Zaldy Nemenzo, Rogelia Ma-maed, Imelda Lee and Velasco.

“I learned that it is not easy to achieve your goals. Paghirapan gyud nimo kay sama sa Zion, nagsugod gyud mi nga dili sayun as not all things come on a silver platter,” she said.

She has been mo-tivated to excel in her field of expertise, es-pecially that the “boss” (Velasco) manages her people with a personal touch.

“Tanang klaseng bonus naa. Gikan sa bugas padulong sa tambal. From 13th to 14th month pay naa,” she said.

Buga has woven her dreams along with Zion’s, seeing herself

advance in life as the company progresses.

Having seen how the company has de-veloped, she said, five years from now Zion will have its own build-ing, and will become one of the top players in the industry.

“Ang mga tao diri well-trained kay dili lang siya sa job descrip-tion. Multi-tasking diri. Gwapo nga training ground. Kung wala ang isa, makapadayon gi-hapon kay kabalo ang tanan sa tanang traba-huon,” she said.

Zion has been the training ground for machine operator Zaldy Nemenzo as well, also a five-year service awardee.

Coming from dif-ferent printing compa-nies for years, Nemen-zo has remained with Zion ever since.

The company is strict in implementing

quality and prudence, and he can attest to that.

“Sa amo pa lang daan dili na makapasa imong trabaho, unsaon na lang sa customer? Charge gyud na sa akoa kung mamali,” he said.

However, he ad-mits that he was dis-ciplined and trained with precision and effi-ciency, especially when Zion started printing Edge Davao daily.

But, it was not re-ally a problem to him at all working on both commercial printing and daily newspaper.

“Walay problema basta wala lang koy waiting time. Dako na kaayo ang isa ka oras nga wala pay plate,” he said, adding that he was the only operator for a year before Edge Davao hit the streets.

Comparing himself to fellow operators in other companies, he

said working in Zion is quite an advantage as he has to deal with delicate tasks every day.

“Delikado perman-ente. Basta mga delika-do nga trabahuon, dili

na na bag-o sa amoa. Lahi man sa uban, magtira silag resibo unom ka bulan, resibo ra. Kung naay colored mokalit og abot, siy-empre mawala ka sa rhythm nga pang com-

mercial nga tirada. Ang instruction gani sa amoa bisan dyaryo dapat commercial gani ang quality. Dili kay dyaryo nga lamo-lamo lang basta mad-isplay,” he said.

CTP. Employing the latest in Comput-er-to-Print technology, Edge Davao’s pages are crisp, vivid, and clean.

Where every letter of the story and every color in every advertisement is crystal clear and easy to read.