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DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 20142 EDGEDAVAO

COVER STORY

“TO people used to living in the tropics, snow is good to look at and to feel the

first time around. When I was a small boy I had only admi-ration and wonder beholding those Christmas cards show-ing those beautiful winter scenes of rooftops and tree-tops laden with virgin snow and of fields all covered with pure white snow.”

That was what my friend Mar Patalinjug, who now lives in New York, wrote me some years back. Most Filipinos don’t have the opportunity of experiencing winter or the pleasure of touching snow (although they may have seen it in the movies, pictures, and television).

I had the chance of touch-ing the real thing several times. And yes, winter is good only for postcards and photos!

The first time was in 2000. That was when I went to New York to consult with multi-awarded environmen-tal journalist Don Hinrichsen about a paper we would pres-ent in Washington, D.C. a year later. It was December when I arrived and the air was very, very cold. It was good that I brought with me a winter jacket (which I won when I attended a media conference in Bangkok, Thailand a year back).

One Saturday morning, Dr. James W. Hansen (a close friend and former colleague at a non-governmental organi-zation where I work now) and his wife Merlie (the former Pagbilao and also a friend) and daughter picked me at the hotel where I was staying. The

Hansen couple works at the Columbia University in New York but lives in nearby New Jersey.

When I arrived at their house (where I stayed for two days), there was still no snow in their backyard. As we slept, snow fell down and when I woke up the following day, I saw snow right in front of my window. I went out from my room and touched the snow for the first time in my life!

The words of Christina Rossetti came rushing into my mind: “In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, / Earth stood hard as iron, Wa-ter like a stone; / Snow had fallen, snow on snow, / Snow on snow, / In the bleak mid-winter, Long ago.”

More than not, now, I knew what the Bible meant when it said: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). White bond paper, white shirts, and white paint -- these are not pure white at all. Until you have seen a snow, you can’t tell what pure white really is!

Being a tropical country, the Philippines has only two seasons: dry and wet. In the United States and in other temperate countries, there are four seasons: spring, summer, fall (also known as autumn), and winter. The latter is the season with the shortest days and the lowest temperatures. In areas farther away from the equator, winter is often marked by snow. This was the reason why when I was in Durban, South Africa some years back, despite it being

winter season, I never saw any snow.

Depending on place and culture, what is considered to be the start and end of winter varies. Contemporary meteo-rology takes winter to be the months of December, January, and February in the Northern Hemisphere and June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere. However, many cultures in Europe and East Asia consider winter to begin in November.

Astronomically, winter starts with the winter solstice (around December 21) in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemi-sphere), and ends with the spring equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemi-sphere and September 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). In meteorology, winter is by con-vention counted instead as the whole months of June, July and August in the Southern Hemi-sphere and December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere.

What happens during winter time? Frances Theo-dora Parsons shares: “During the winter I am content – or try to think I am – to make my head-quarters in town and to get fresh air and a broader outlook at intervals that are frequent, but still at intervals. Perhaps, the walk or drive out to the frozen lake among the hills for an afternoon’s skating is the more keenly relished because of a busy week else-where. For all practical pur-poses nature is at a standstill. . . .

“There is a wonderful joy

Dreaming of a white Christmas?Text and Photos By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

in leaving behind the noisy city streets and starting out along the white road that leads across the hills. With each breath of the sharp, reviving air one seems to inhale new life. A peace as evident as the sunshine on the fields takes possession of one’s inner be-ing. The trivial cares which fretted like a swarm of mos-quitoes are driven away by the first sweep of wind that comes straight from the mountains…

“The intense silence that broods over the snow-bound land is a conscious blessing. The deep blue of the sky and the purple shadows cast by the trees and plants are a feast to the eye. The crunch of the snow-rind beneath our feet and the varied hum of the telegraph wires overhead are music to our ears.”

A lot of famous authors and prominent people have written or spoken something

about winter. George Her-bert wrote: “Every mile is two in winter.” Victor Hugo quipped: “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” Rudyard Kipling noted: “No one thinks of win-ter when the grass is green.”

“Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation,” said Sin-clair Lewis. “Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the in-stinct to be half asleep all win-ter is so strong in me,” argued Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Oftentimes, winter is equated with old age, sadness, and death. Charles Kingsley wrote: “Every winter, when the great sun has turned his face away, the earth goes down into a vale of grief, and fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables, leaving her wedding-garlands to decay. Then it heaps in spring to his returning kisses.”

The second time I ex-perienced winter was in December 2002 when I re-turned to present the paper in Washington, D.C. Then, when my sister and her fam-ily transferred to Livingston, Montana, I also visited them during winter time in 2003. After attending a conference for science journalists in Montreal, Canada in October 2004, I decided to visit my sister again and stayed there until January 8.

Now that I had experi-enced winter four times in my life, all I can stay is that I still prefer summer. As Josh Billings points out: “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of ad-versity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

Yes, it’s good to be back in my native Philippines during this Christmas season!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 3EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) will con-duct its yearly synchro-

nized firearm muzzle taping on Monday in line with the celebration of the Christmas season.

DCPO spokesperson Se-nior Inspector Milgrace Driz told Edge Davao the cover-ing ceremony will be held at the Camp Domingo Leonor grounds.

Driz said the covering of the gun tips is the DCPO’s proactive measures against in-discriminate firing during the holidays.

In a separate statement, the Philippine National Police (PNP) issued a stern warning on indiscriminate and ille-gal discharge of firearms by government and civilian gun-holders as part of its support for a “gun-free” celebration of Christmas and New Year.

PNP Officer-In-Charge Po-lice Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina had already issued a memorandum to all PNP personnel for an intensi-fied campaign against illegal discharge of firearms and in-discriminate firing.

The campaign includes the

simultaneous gun muzzle tap-ing, from the National Headqa-rters down to Police Regional Offices, Provicial Offices, City and Municipal Police Stations nationwide, which will be con-ducted on December 22 to as-sure the public that PNP per-sonnel will not discharge their firearms during the holidays.

“This traditional gun muz-zle is a strong message to all gun owners, especially our policemen and soldiers who are the primary enforcers of the law, to refrain from firing their guns and help prevent casualties and injuries during

the revelry of the yuletide,” Es-pina said.

He said intensified intelli-gence efforts in coordination with AFP, other law enforce-ment agencies, and local gov-ernment units will be con-ducted to identify probable violators.

Joint PNP and Armed Forc-es of the Philippines (AFP) teams will also be organized to conduct preventive patrols to arrest or apprehend uni-formed personnel, members of law enforcement agencies, and civilians involved in indis-criminate firing.

Police to tape overguns on Monday

WELCOME. Escandor Development Corporation (ESDEVCO) president Glenn Escandor (second from left), accompanied by City Administrator lawyer Melchor Quitain (second from right) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) 11 assistant director Bong Gonzaga (right), welcomes Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte

during the inauguration and blessing of the Clubhouse at Matina Enclaves (CAMA), the mixed-use commu-nity project’s club house, on Thursday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

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

THE Department of Pub-lic Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 11

yesterday said as of Decem-ber 15, 2014, it has already surpassed its previous year’s accomplishment of the same period with a rating of 86.67 percent.

Speaking to reporters last Friday during his year-end press conference at the DPWH conference room, DPWH regional director Mariano R. Alquiza said this percentage accomplishment

will still be subject to finaliza-tion by the end of December pending the reports from the field and his office’s monitor-ing section.

DPWH 11 was allot-ted 7.893 billion in 2014 to fund 336 projects under the DPWH Regular Infrastructure Program and 2.933 billion for 844 projects under its Outside Infra Program. Proj-ects costing P50 million and below are implemented by the district offices and those above P50M are implement-

ed by the regional office.Alquiza expressed his sat-

isfaction over the accomplish-ment of his office despite the setbacks experienced due to bad weather, right of way ob-structions, and unforeseeable events.

He said he was also hope-ful that the 2013 carry-over and 2014 projects will be completed in early 2015 as to not overburden the proj-ect engineers since projects under the 2015 Regular In-frastructure Program have

already been bid out.As for the 2015 projects,

Alquiza announced that the DPWH 11 Regional Office has been given an allotment of al-most P14 billion for Regular and Outside Infra combined.

“We are thankful to the Aquino administration for their faith and support in us and rest assured that we will do everything possible to make sure that these funds will be used effectively and conscientiously,” he said.

ORION Renewables, a Manila-based renew-able energy (RE) firm,

is urging Dabawenyos to re-sort to resources like solar power due to the worsening power situation in Mindanao.

Orion sales manager for Mindanao Elvin Dayanghirang told reporters that the compa-ny is offering a loan program with a low interest rate to its clients.

The company distributes state-of-the-art RE products like solar panels and wind tur-bines. It has over 100 projects and partnerships with differ-ent institutions in Luzon and Visayas.

“The company has part-nered with a financial lending

institution for our loan pro-gram. The client has to pay only 20 percent while the re-maining 80 percent will fall in a structured financing scheme that would allow potential cli-ents to pay for the product up to seven years,” Dayanghirang said.

He said private individuals and business owners can avail themselves of the loan pro-gram for the installation of so-lar panels and wind turbines.

He said solar power is the most suitable RE source for Mindanao because of the is-land’s strategic location much nearer to the equator, making it much easier to collect ener-gy from the sun.

EXPRESSIONS of love and calls for justice highlighted Saturday’s

burial of two Central Mindan-ao University (CMU) students who were among the 10 peo-ple killed in the December 9 bombing of a passenger bus of Rural Transit Mindanao Inc. (RTMI) near the universi-ty’s main gate.

Families and friends held solemn and emotional burial rites in two separate sites–

Malaybalay’s Shepherds Meadow Memorial Park for Marielle E. Achacoso and Ba-rangay Cabangahan Public Cemetery for Kim Lloyd Va-liente.

In both funerals, there was a common call for accep-tance of their fate and a cry for justice.

Ricardo Achacoso re-called his daughter’s achieve-ments and attributes and

Use renewable energy,exec tells Dabawenyos

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

DPWH 11 hits 86.67% accomplishment rateFamilies bury kin, demandjustice for bus blast victims

FUSE, 10

FDPWH, 10FFAMILIES, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 20144 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

GOVERNMENT troops arrested last Wednes-day four suspected

Abu Sayyaf bandits trans-porting explosives and bomb-making materials in the province of Sulu, officials said Saturday.

Ensign Ian Chester Ra-mos, Joint Task Force Zam-basulta information officer, identified the arrested sus-pects as Jumli Pulah, Hassan Jubakal, Ingki Abdulah and

Bashir Alih.Ramos said Pula has an

existing warrant of arrest is-sued by a Court in Jolo, Sulu.

He said they were arrest-ed at around 9 p.m. Wednes-day by the Joint Task Group Sulu while conducting a checkpoint at Sitio Nangka in Barangay Bungkaong, Pa-tikul, Sulu.

He said the four were traveling aboard a pick-up type vehicle without a

registered plate number coming from Jolo bound for Barangay Danag, Patikul when the troops intercept-ed them.

Ramos said the troops confiscated from the pos-session of the suspects two 20-liter container full of ammonium nitrate, three hand grenades, a bottle of trinitrotoluene (TNT), two blasting caps, nylon cord, batteries and wires.

He said a case for illegal possession of explosives and bomb-making materi-als were filed Friday against the suspects before the Sulu provincial prosecutor’s of-fice.

Col. Alan Arrojado, Joint Task Group Sulu command-er, said the pick-up type vehicle is being used by the Abu Sayyaf bandits to trans-port kidnap victims, ammu-nition and equipment.

Troops arrest 4 Abu Sayyafbandits carrying explosives

THE Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)

has declared a ceasefire for the holidays and during the visit of Pope Francis in January.

In a statement sent Friday, the CPP ordered its armed wing, the New People’s Army, to observe a ceasefire during the following periods: 12:01 am of December 24, 2014 to 11:59 pm of December 26, 2014; 12:01 am of December 31, 2014 to 11:59 pm of Jan-uary 1, 2015; and 12:01 am of January 15, 2015 to 11:59 pm of January 19, 2015.

“During the aforemen-tioned days, all units of the New People’s Army and peo-ple’s militia are ordered to desist from carrying out offen-sive operations against units and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the various armed paramil-itary groups attached to the Government of the Philippines (GPH),” the declaration said.

The CPP said the declara-tion is being issued “in solidar-ity with the Filipino people in their observance of traditional holidays which coincides with

the CPP anniversary celebra-tions on December 26”.

“This ceasefire declaration is also being issued in defer-ence to the upcoming visit of Roman Catholic patriarch Pope Francis which the Filipi-no people look forward to as an opportunity for religious celebration and to raise out-standing issues such as mili-tary abuses and violations of human rights and children’s rights, Hacienda Luisita and widespread landlessness, pov-erty and exploitation of peas-ants and workers, bureaucrat-ic corruption and government neglect of calamity survivors and the poor,” it added.

But the CPP also cautioned the NPA to remain in “active defense mode” and vigilant against attacks by the military and police on rebel territories.

The CPP was founded on Dec. 26, 1968 and the NPA on March 29, 1969.

The National Democrat-ic Front, the umbrella of all underground Left-wing orga-nizations in the country, has been engaged in on-and-off peace talks with the Philippine government since 1986. (Min-daNews)

Reds declare truce forholidays, Pope’s visit

THE Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front (MILF) is busy completing the re-

quirements to set up a region-al political party – the United Bangsamoro Justice Party or UJBP) – which MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim will lead as Chair and President, Sammy Al Mansoor, Secretary-General, said.

Mansoor said there will be five vice-chairs: MILF Vice Chair for Political Affairs, will serve as vice chair for Central Mindanao, Maamor Estino for Western Mindanao, Hussin Munoz for Eastern Mindanao, Alim Ali Solaiman for North-ern Mindanao and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chair and Bangsamoro Transition Commission, for Southern Mindanao.

Mansoor said the an as-sembly of the party members and volunteers will be held on December 23 to 25 in the MILF’s Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

He estimates at least 26,000 volunteers will attend the assembly.

“There could be more. This gathering is gathering of volun-teers, volunteers in the sense that they are not yet members of the party, they have yet to be members of the political party, after this they will apply for the political party.”

Mansoor said the plebi-scite to ratify the Bangsamo Basic Law hopefully by 2015 will serve as the “test case” of the strength of the party.

“This is really the intention why we (are rushing) to make the party established now be-cause of that plebiscite,” he said.

Mansoor said they are open to alliances with local and national political parties but will have to study this issue more extensively to ensure the allies understand the princi-ples and direction of the Bang-samoro. “Titingnan naman kung kailangan ang alliance, not all the time alliance is nec-essary, bakit ka naman maki-pag alliance kung sa tingin mo sa sarili mo ay kaya mo din. (We will see if alliance is need-ed. It is not all the time that alli-

Seven persons, including a young girl, were wounded in a grenade explosion followed by an exchange of gunfire at the public market in Pobla-cion 2, Parang, Maguindanao at around 5:45 p.m. Friday.

Mohammad Ali, a broth-er of the barangay chair who helped bring the patients to the hospitals in Cotabato City, said that before the blast, there was a commotion.

“But we didn’t see who threw the grenade. It was dark, there was a power out-age,” Ali said.

Major Jo-Ann Petingly, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division said troops from the 37th Infantry Battalion reported at around 545 p.m. that a loud explosion was heard inside the town’s market, followed by an ex-

change of gunfire.The wounded victims

were rushed to different hos-pitals in Cotabato City. They were identified as s Jamila Tomas, Abdullah Tomas, Sala-hodin Tomas, Saima Raoro, Camlon Rairo, Sirikit Magay-an and a certain Locman. Police are still verifying if the conflict stemmed from a rido (clan feud).

Initial items recovered at the crime scene by the Army’s Explosives Ordnance Team, include five empty shells from a 9mm pistol and a safety le-ver from a hand grenade.

Police and Army oper-atives are going after a sus-pect named Sauto Giti from Campo Uno, Matanog, Magu-indanao, Petingly said. (Fer-dinandh B. Cabrera / Min-daNews)

DRUM AND BUGLE. Majorettes from a participating school carry colorful Christmas lanterns during the 2014 Pasko Fiesta sa Dabaw’s Banda Dasig, a drum and bugle corps competition, along Rizal Street on Friday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

Murad to head MILF politicalparty; assembly on Dec 23-25

7 hurt in grenade blastin Maguindanao market

ance is necessary. Why will you seek alliance if you believe you can do it yourself?)

Mansoor said the nor-malization process, which in-cludes the decommissioning of the MILF combatants and their weapons as well as the redeployment of the military, is ongoing.

When the Bangsamoro Transition Authority is set up, said Mansoor, “the armed wing of the MILF ceases. The MILF as an organization will still be intact pero yung military ac-tivities ay wala na yun (but the military activities will be over). (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/Min-daNews)

CHRISTMAS BREAK. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte (right) shares a light moment with Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. during Friday night’s tri-media gathering at The Royal Mandaya Hotel. Also in photo is businesswoman Cathy Binag. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014

THE National Grid Corpo-ration of the Philippines (NGCP) restored its

power transmission facilities in Ruby-stricken areas in East-ern Visayas except the Prov-ince of Eastern Samar where the typhoon made landfall last December 6.

Ma. Rosette B. Martinez, Regional Corporate Commu-nication and Public Affairs Of-ficer of NGCP Eastern Visayas, said they hope to complete the repair and restoration of pow-er lines destroyed by typhoon Ruby before Christmas.

As early as 6 p.m. of De-cember 6, NGCP restored power transmission service

to Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (SOLECO) after transferring its load from Maa-sin Substation to Ormoc Sub-station and inspection on the faulted line section which was isolated was conducted imme-diately.

Aside from SOLECO sub-stations, it likewise re-ener-gized its transmission lines supplying power to LEYECO V, LEYECO IV, LEYECO III and DORELCO substations.

To fast track the resto-ration of power supply to the other cooperatives within the week, aerial and foot patrol along the transmission lines

AIRASIA has advised its guests flying during the holiday season to uti-

lize the airline’s self check-in options, via Web or Mobile, for their travel convenience.

Check-in counters at air-ports during the festive season are expected to be congested due to the surge of passenger numbers, which could severely impede movement and cause late arrivals of passengers at the departure gate.

“Therefore, it is highly ad-visable for AirAsia guests to perform self check-in, available through Web and Mobile, be-fore arriving at the airport. The Web and Mobile Self Check-In is available from 14 days and

up to 1 hour prior to departure for all AirAsia flights, and up to 4 hours prior to departure for AirAsia X flights,” the airline said in a statement.

Guests must ensure to select the option to either re-ceive their boarding pass via email or the mobile QR code in their smartphone during web check-in. It is highly recom-mended for guests to print out their boarding passes before arriving at the airport, to ease their travel process.

Check-in kiosks are also available for guests to uti-lize, by keying in the 6-digit booking reference number or scanning the rectangular

FAIRASIA, 10

6

Davao firms urgedto join ICT awards

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

Customs suits stunG-Shock smugglers

NGCP restores powerin Ruby-stricken areas

AirAsia urges flyersto use self check-in

MORE nominations are expected from Re-gion 11 as organizers

of the 19th International ICT (information communications technology) Awards Philip-pines add six new categories to the contest.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (Cancham) president Julianne Payne said the new categories are best emerging IT-BPM company for creatives; for healthcare; for finance and ac-counting; best software com-pany of the year; and best Phil-ippine mobile app of the year.

“The 2015 ICT Awards events include six new catego-ries as a response to the broad-

ening and deepening composi-tion of the ICT industry in the Philippines, “ Payne said.

He said the enhanced ICT Awards include emphasis on Filipino-owned companies as well as companies outside the national capital region (NCR).

Payne said the organiz-ers received about a hundred nominations for the nine ma-jor categories last March and expect more for next year’s awarding event.

The other categories are best company of the year; best employer of the year; best Fil-ipino-owned company of the year; best company of the year outside NCR (National Capital Region); best global in-house

center of the year; best voice excellence company of the year; best IT-BPM (informa-tion technology-business pro-cess management) CEO of the year; and individual contribu-tor of the year.

Payne encouraged compa-nies in Region 11 to send their nomination or even self-nomi-nate.

He said companies in Davao City, for instance, have become more competitive over the years, making the ICT sector one of the main eco-nomic drivers of the city.

Davao City has been home to 97 local and foreign-based ICT firms since the early 2000’s. Among the locators

here are Convergys, Teleper-formance Philippines, IBEX, Sutherland Philippines, and Concentrix.

Aside from the 14 catego-ries, Cancham, in association with the Information Tech-nology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), will be also giving the Hall of Fame Award again.

Payne said the organizers upgraded the judging proce-dures for the ICT awards 2014 event last March to ensure in-dependence, objectivity, and transparency in the judging to keep up with the evolving best practices in the international industry competition.

FDAVAO, 10 FNGCP, 10

EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

SMUGGLED WATCHES. Samples of the 413 Casio G-Shock watches seized by the Bureau of Customs last August that were concealed inside six Balikbayan Boxes. The Bureau filed smuggling-related cases against the six consignees of the boxes.

OPEN MESA. Members of the Escandor family led by Glenn Escandor (fourt from right) gather in front of the family’s second Mesa branch located at the Annex of SM City Davao during Saturday’s blessing officiated by Bishop George Rimando. The restaurant was officially opened to the public on Sunday. Lean Daval Jr.

CUSTOMS stuns G-Shoc-Six persons face smug-gling-related cases filed

by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for allegedly attempting to sneak in a total of 413 Ca-sio G-Shock watches through Balikbayan Boxes. The watch-es have a total value of over P7.4 million.

Complaints of violating Sections 3601 and 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines were filed against Zenaida Valencia, Jen-nifer Valencia, Edward Ochave, Clarisse Karingal, Genevieve Ochave and Edmund Discutido before the Justice Department.

In a statement, the BOC said the case stemmed from the entry of six Balikbayan Boxes from Bahrain last Au-gust.

“These were shipped on the same flight and on the same day through Forex U-Mac Bahrain and its coun-terpart, U-Mac Forex Cargo Philippines. The boxes were declared to contain person-al effects such as shoes and clothing, beddings, groceries, candies and chocolates. How-ever, derogatory information

from the Bureau’s Intelligence Group prompted the 100 per-cent physical inspection of the boxes, revealing the watches inside. The misdeclaration was intended to evade payment of duties and taxes amounting to over P1 million,” the BOC said.

“While we recognize that the Balikbayan Box is vital to millions of overseas Filipinos and their families in the Phil-ippines, we cannot allow the abuse and misuse of this priv-ilege to bring in goods of com-mercial quantity or contra-band items. Let this be a lesson to traders and sellers that by il-legally concealing items meant for sale or prohibited items, you are not only taking risk by getting caught but you also delay other Balikbayan Boxes that are in the same batch,” Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla said.

Since 2001, the Bureau has continually revamped its process for monitoring and in-specting Balikbayan Boxes fol-lowing revelations that these have been used to bring-in ille-gal items such as car parts and accessories, goods for sale and regulated drugs.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 7

Paje to public: Keep it‘green’ during holidays

Measures being carried outto address port congestionBSP issues 3 commemorative coins

APEC meeting highlightssustainability, resilience

EDGEDAVAO THE ECONOMY

THE government and other stakeholders are coordinating to address

the congestion at the ports, especially at the Port of Manila, a Palace official said on Thurs-day.

Presidential Commu-nications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement that he has received information from Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras that concrete mea-sures were being carried out to address the problem.

Among the measures agreed by the stakeholders are the 24/7 operation of ship-ping lines and container yards, the unloading of cargoes at the ports of Manila, Subic and Batangas, the use of a comput-erized system at the Bureau of Customs, and the continued use of the 24-hour express

lanes for trucks traversing the north and south routes.

“Lahat ng mga suliranin ay pinagtutulungang lutasin ng Technical Working Group at patuloy ang masinsing koordi-nasyon ng lahat ng mga stake-holders,” Secretary Coloma said.

Last month, the govern-ment organized a forum to find solutions to the problems posed by port congestion.

A few months ago, Presi-dent Aquino designated Secre-tary Almendras to become the point person for addressing concerns at the ports.

The Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion, headed by Secretary Almendras, also said last month that efficiency and productivity at the ports have significantly increased after the City of Manila lifted its day-time truck ban. (PCOO/PND)

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Satur-day announced that

three new limited edition commemorative circulation coins will be available start-ing Monday, December 22, 2014.

The new coins commem-orate the following:

1.The Bagong Bayani Commemorative Coin in hon-or of Overseas Filipinos on the 5-piso circulating coin;

2.The 150th year of Phil-ippine Hero Apolinario Mabi-ni on the 10-piso circulating coin; and

3.The Leyte Landing which was a turning point for the liberation of the Philip-pines during World War II on the 5-piso circulating coin

APEC Senior Officials identified “Building Sustainable and Re-

silient Communities” as a key priority area for APEC 2015 at the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting held on December 8 and 9, 2014 at the Makati Shan-gri-la Hotel.

Sustainability and resil-ience, particularly disaster preparedness and manage-ment, took center stage as Typhoon Yolanda/Hagupit hit the central Philippines including Legazpi City, Al-bay where the ISOM was originally set to be held. To ensure the safety of all delegates and to afford the local government to focus on the preparations for the typhoon, the Philippine government deemed it best to transfer the ISOM to Ma-nila.

Seen as a testament to the resilience and pre-paredness of the host economy, the ISOM further introduced discussions on particular initiatives and work programs to imple-ment the APEC 2015 prior-ity of “Building Sustainable and Resilient Communi-ties”.

“The Asia-Pacific region has disproportionately ac-counted for the incidence of and damage from natu-ral disasters globally,” said Ambassador Antonio Basil-io, Executive Director of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “Because it is also home to the most complex and dense supply chains, the impact of disas-ters when they happen are multiplied and take a long time to restore.” APEC econ-omies must be equipped and knowledgeable of how to best prepare for and re-spond to disaster – from ty-phoons and earthquakes to health pandemics and food scarcity.

The Symposium on December 8 emphasized promoting the resiliency of infrastructure at the every level beginning at the local and grassroots level. To this end, notable experts from international organizations and the aca-deme gave suggestions in-cluding preparing business continuity plans, ensuring greater visibility in supply chains, as well as creating redundancies such as du-plicating production bas-es. At the regional level, measures such as generat-ing information on hazard risks through scientific research, facilitating con-tingency measures to en-sure business continuity, enabling the “creative re-construction” of affected regions, building resilient infrastructure, and insur-ing for economic losses were advanced.

The meeting also fo-cused on food security and the marine economy as these issues intimately affect the food supply and sustainability of commu-nities, especially coast-al communities. Experts highlighted enhancing regional cooperation in protecting the marine en-vironment and ensuring sustainable livelihood for fishing communities.

APEC 2015 will ad-vance these initiatives and boost cooperation in promoting sustainability and resilience through the Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG) and Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS). The Philippines is also set to host the Senior Disas-ter Management Officials’ Forum (SDMOF), and the High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and the Blue Economy (HLPD-FS-BE) next year. (DFA)

ENVIRONMENT Secre-tary Ramon J.P. Paje is encouraging the pub-

lic to have a “green” Christ-mas by properly managing their waste during the sea-son when most households produce more trash than usual.

“Christmas does not have to be a burden on the environment. There are a number of ways we can do in order to help reduce the environmental impact of the holiday season, including practicing the 3Rs of waste management – reduce, re-use and recycle,” Paje said.

The environment chief noted that Filipinos, who

are known to celebrate the longest Christmas season in the world, generate more waste during the holidays than at any other time of the year.

Thus, he said, it is only necessary for the public to be more conscious of the waste they generate and to observe environmental-ly-responsible Yuletide hab-its.

Since the bulk of holi-day waste comes from gift wrapping and packaging materials, Paje suggested using newspapers, gift bags and other alternatives to traditional wrapping paper that can be reused, recycled

or composted, and does not end up in the landfill.

Paje said people could consider alternatives to sending traditional Christ-mas cards like e-cards or making a donation to char-ity instead.

They could also buy gifts made from recycled ma-terials as well as toys that do not use batteries, which eventually end up as waste, he added.

He said seedlings and plants would make great gifts to send this holiday season.

At the same time, he urged the public to patron-ize locally made products

for use as gifts as the pro-cess used to make them come from shorter supply chain, which translates to lower carbon footprint.

He also suggested the use of energy-efficient LED as Christmas lights.

“These are just some of the positive things we can do to make Christmas greener,” Paje pointed out. “A Green Christmas is a step towards redeeming the environ-ment, and saving humanity and biodiversity from man-made environmental abus-es and their consequences, which now can be summed up in the crisis that is cli-mate change.” (DENR)

MY KIND OF PIZZA. A customer smiles upon receiving his slice of pizza during the opening of S & R New York Style Pizza at Abreeza Mall on Saturday. Lean Daval Jr.

As a matter of policy, the BSP commemorates signifi-cant events and heroic Filipi-nos in our country’s history through the minting of coins, medals or overprints on our banknotes.

The most recent com-memorative circulation coins issued by the BSP were for the 150th year of National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal in 2011 and the 150th year of Philip-pine Hero Andres Bonifacio

in 2013.The BSP also announced

the minting by the BSP of 50-piso and 500-piso com-memorative coins in time for the Papal visit in January next year. (BSP)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 20148 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

Yearend frenzies we likeEDITORIAL

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • HENRYLITO TACIO • MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • VIDA MIA VALVERDE • Economic Analysts: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ

LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. Photography

JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIAContributing Photographer

ARLENE D. PASAJECartoons

KENNETH IRVING K. ONGBAI FAUZIAH FATIMA SINSUAT AMBOLODTO

MEGHANN STA. INES NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN

Lifestyle

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CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OFFICELEIZEL A. DELOSO | Marketing ManagerUnit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts.Cagayan de Oro CityTel: (088) 852-4894

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NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVOManaging Editor

AGAPITO JOAQUIN JR.Associate Editor

RICHARD C. EBONAMarketing Supervisor

SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

AQUILES Z. ZONIOFUNNY PEARL GAJUNERA

CHA MONFORTE Correspondents

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.CHENEEN R. CAPON

Reporters

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JRCirculation

PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

YEARENDS are famous or infamous for frenzies, natural or man-made. Only a few days ago, this month, Taliban Islamists at-tacked a school in Peshawar, Pakistan and massacred 149 peo-

ple in a frenzy of violence that brought about international condem-nation. In swift retaliation, the Pakistan military killed 50 suspected militants and executed two prisoners convicted of terrorist activities.

In the same week, Boko Haram in Nigeria kidnapped 185 civilians, including women and children, many of them also slaughtered. In the civil war in Nigeria, some 13,000 people have perished during the last five years.

Our kind of yearend frenzies in the Philippines have been natural during the last four years with typhoon Sendong, Pablo, Yolanda oc-curring either in November or December. But they could be as dev-astating, or even worst than the manmade ones. True enough, the country continues to grapple with the widespread destruction that the typhoons wrought on us long after they actually happened.

For now, we are wishing the kind of yearend frenzies will be along the “Daang Matuwid“ (straight path) battle cry of the Aquino adminis-tration, whose last full year will be next year.

We certainly like the frenzy of the Aquino administration in its crackdown against criminal syndicates controlling the New Bilibid Prisons. Every Filipino and his uncle knows that this horrible situa-tion had been obtaining in the national penitentiary for decades, it would be a lasting legacy of the Aquino administration if it is able to dismantle the powerful criminal gangs there, and send to jail pris-ons officials and personnel in cahoots with the crime syndicates with seeming impunity inside the jail. All of them should be made to pay dearly for making a mockery of our criminal justice system.

Another kind of frenzy that we wish President Aquino will be able to do up to his last day in office is running after big and small time grafters in the government. Filipinos wish President Aquino’s accep-tance of the resignation of Health Secretary Enrique Ona would start a frenzy of firing Cabinet men who have lost the confidence of the Chief Executive and who, in the eyes of the public, have become unfit to continue holding office, due to certain improprieties. The people certainly wish Mr. Aquino can do this more swiftly, too, to the erring men and women reported to be his political partymates or perceived to be his close friends.

THE Davao visit of the President imme-diately drew great interest in Manila in the months to come. The July 1936

editorial of the Philippine Magazine pointed out that Quezon’s remark before the legis-lature that “there is nothing in the so-called Davao problem that should cause a serious concern,” helped calm down the hysteria in some quarters in Japan that were stunned by the cancellation of the leases on Japanese landholdings.

Observers theorized the President’s state-ment on the land issue was anchored on the expectation that the problem could “be solved satisfactorily, yet it is not to be assumed that the Japanese will give up their preset domi-nant position in Davao without a struggle.” In his statement before the National Assembly, he said:

“A vast and rich territory with untapped natural resources is a temptation to enter-prising nations that are looking for an outlet for their excess populations. While no nation has the right to violate the territorial integrity of another nation, people that lack the energy, ability, or desire to make use of the resources which Divine Providence has placed in their

hands, afford a excuse for a more energetic ad willful people to deprive them of their lawful heritage. If, therefore, were resolved to con-serve Mindanao for ourselves and our poster-ity, we must bend our efforts to occupy and develop it ad guard it against avarice I greed.”

Pundits in Manila also remarked that the customs figures on imports and exports at the time showed evidently that there was “a definite attempt on the part of the Japanese

to restrict the economic benefits of their ef-forts in the [Davao] region to themselves ad to Japan, and a to build a Japanese commu-nity with its own schools and churches, its own bank its own lad ad sea transportation systems, and even its own officials, separate and apart from the general life of the coun-try, secretive yet aggressive, and… expanding constantly.”

The tightening of the noose in terms of Japanese investment in Davao got a big blow when on Sept. 10, 1936, the Supreme Court, by invoking the provisions of the 16-month-old Constitution, upheld the decision of the Public Service Commission denying the pe-tition of a Japanese entrepreneur in Davao to increase his equipment by the addition of another Ford car. Although he was granted a certificate of public convenience in 1929 to operate a Ford automotive to transport pas-sengers, the high tribunal, in a ruling ,said “the petitioner is not a citizen of the Philip-pines and not a corporation or other entity organized under the laws of the Philippines sixty per cent of the capital of which is owned by the citizens of the Philip-pines.”

On October 16, the president signed into

law Commonwealth Act No. 51 elevating Davao to a chartered city. Sponsored by As-semblyman Romualdo C. Quimpo, the law was filed chiefly as an offshoot of the appre-hension the agrarian problems evolving from the expanding Japanese acquisition of large tracts of lands in Davao would eventually re-sult in foreign control of the local economy. The enactment took place two weeks after the government received reports on September 30 of the entry of Japanese in Davao claiming to be American citizens from Hawaii.

The restrictions imposed by the 1935 Constitution on Japanese-cultivated abaca farms compelled the foreigners to look for other options abroad. Mitsui Bushan Kaisha, Ltd. was reported in 1938 to have opened plantations at Tawan North Borneo using Davao seedlings and experienced Japanese workers. The farms were leased for 99 years. Eight years earlier, Yoshizo Furukawa had started scouting lands for hemp plantations in South American. A 1953 U.S. study shows that he brought planting materials, mostly the Tangongon variety, to Panama before these were exported to Ecuador, where he is the “father of the abaca indus-try.”

HOW are you doing today? Not feeling good anymore, as if the world has al-ready abandoned you? Do you sense

that no loves you anymore? Or you’re carry-ing all the problems of everyone in your back?

Don’t worry. You are not alone. If only trees could talk, they will have many stories to tell, too. Listen to one tree speaking: “When I was young, I didn’t notice it. But later on, I began to realize how different I was. I was short and crooked and all out of shape while around me stood those tall stately pines and those long-branched acacia trees. I should tell you, though, that I am hanging here onto the side of a cliff and my few roots are twined around the top of a stone.

“I often dreamed of being big and beauti-ful, with the wind bending me to and fro and the showers of rain washing my leaves. But here on the cliffside I felt so small, the wind didn’t often blow through my branches. Even the sun only warmed me for half a day and then it left me in the shade of my cliff and shone down on those majestic trees in the valley.

“Why did I have to stay here, hanging onto a cliff? I did not have enough soil to de-velop all the beauty inside me. I was dissat-isfied with my lot in life. Why did I have to stand here and be like this?

“Then early one spring morning, the perfume from all the new meadow flowers wafted up to me, a tiny bird warbled its song from my branches, and the first warm sun-rays kissed me long before they ever got down into the valley. What a beautiful panoramic view I had from up here. No other tree down there could see as far as I could.

“From that day on, I began to realize that I was something special. I was a special kind of tree made for a special kind of place. None of those big beau-tiful trees could do what I am doing. Why did it take me so long to realize that?”

A wise man once said, “Your presence is a present to the world. You are unique and one of a kind. Your life can be what you want it to be. Take the days just one at a time. Count your blessings, not your troubles. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again.”

The Daily Motivator also affirms, “No matter what kind of troubles you may have, just think of how fortunate you are to be alive and living in a world where almost anything is possible. Consider for a moment the good things you have, and the good things that you can accomplish through your willingness, de-termination and action.”

Always see the brighter side of life. As an ancient Persian saying goes, “I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.” This re-minds me of the true story of Major Frederick Franks in an article written by Suzanne Chaz-

in for Reader’s Digest. It went this way:Major Frederick Franks stared at the

Christmas tree in his drab hospital room. It was the time of year for joy, but Franks felt only sadness. Seven months earlier, in May 1970, while he was in Cambodia, grenade shrapnel had torn into the lower half of his left leg. Doctors were preparing to amputate it.

Franks had graduated from the US mil-itary academy at West Point, where he was captain of the baseball team, and he had planned to make the army his career. Now, retirement seemed the only option. Although Franks felt he still had a lot to offer the army – combat experience, technical knowledge, an ability to solve problems – he knew that soldiers with severe injuries seldom return to active duty. They must pass a yearly phys-ical-fitness test, which includes a three-ki-lometer run or walk. Franks wasn’t sure he would be up to the task with prosthesis.

After the surgery, Franks felt saddest of all about giving up his prowess on the base-ball diamond. At weekly games, he batted while someone else ran the bases for him. Waiting to bat one day, he watched a team-mate slide into base. “What’s the worst that could happen if I tried the same thing?” he thought.

In his next turn with the bat, Franks hit the ball into center field. Waving away his runner, he began a painful, stiff-legged jog. Between first and second, he saw the out-fielder throw the ball towards the second baseman. Closing his eyes, he willed himself forward and slid into second. The umpire called “Safe!” and Franks smiled triumphant-

ly. A few years later, Franks led a squadron

through military exercises in rough terrain. His superiors wondered if an amputee was up to the challenge, but Franks showed them he was. “Losing a leg has taught me that a limita-tion is as big or small as you make it,” he said. “The key is to concentrate on what you have, not what you don’t have.”

I like that. We have to count each day a blessing. No matter how small the things are now facing, consider yourself blessed. “The things that count most cannot be counted,” a friend once told me. William A. Ward agrees: “The more we count the blessings we have, the less we crave the luxuries we haven’t.”

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some,” Charles Dickens urges. Thankfully, we all have a lot more going for us than it sometimes appears. Yet, with blessings aplenty, far too many people still plod along holding tight to their scarcity state of mind. They don’t see much good happening to them and not sur-prisingly, not much of anything ever happens in their lives. It never occurs to them that what they don’t see is exactly what they don’t get.

A timely thought from an unknown author should remind us all: “Count your blessings in-stead of your crosses. Count your gains instead of your losses. Count your joys instead of your woes. Count your friends instead of your foes. Count your smiles instead of your tears. Count your courage instead of your fears. Count your full years instead of your lean. Count your kind deeds instead of your mean. Count your health instead of your wealth.”

Count your blessings

The Davao problem

BY THE ARCHIVIST

FAST BACKWARD

Mass reflections and the Christmas conspiracy

John Triaecisouth@gmail.com

MY TWO CENTS’HEARING mass last night to prepare myself for the coming of the king on Christmas day, I couldn’t help but no-

tice the different types of people in the small chapel.

One was an elderly lady on a walker. She stood, sat, and sang the hymns gracefully despite her age. There were married couples too, reveling in the rather cool weather of Ma-nila at this time of year. There were mothers and daughters taking in the gospel in their pullovers and jackets. Of course, there were young people enjoying the weather and the company of friends. There were the affluent and the not-so-rich. Many were healthy while there were those obviously hobbled by one malady or another.

Pleasantly observing them while focusing on the mass, I did not try to decipher what went on in their minds. All of them had their own preoccupations for the season, their troubles for the preceding year, their dreams

and fears, hopes and ap-p r e h e n s i o n s for the coming 2015. Maybe some antici-pate the further lowering of fuel prices and public jeepney fares, the com-ing visit of Pope Francis, next years funding for the advocacy group he works for, the pos-sibility of a new Bangsamoro evolving, the price of Christmas ham, the paying of debts incurred in the past year. Short and long term real world concerns. All valid and worth at-tending to.

But seeing them hearing the celebrat-ed mass, I could not help but reflect on the fact that for at least an hour, all cares of the

material world are cast aside. Not to escape the realities, but for many, to seek the pow-er to face these in their human life. Many of these real world concerns offered up. Cornu-copia, kaleidoscope and diaspora, for such is the Christian world with all its nuances and cultural variations seeking to overcome the world. Various expressions of faith and love flow from such a mixture of peoples. None of them came dressed in a common uniform, or wore a prescribed skirt, coat or hat. They were all themselves. Each have their own way of dealing with their world, but the collective desire of the group last night is to activate a higher power to help them face their realities. They offer up their concerns and seek the wisdom, and empowerment of a love greater than they, and I, can comprehend.

Given the myriad activities and parties they would opt to be in that evening, they chose to offer these and seek the help to face these issues. Last night’s experience can only be described as a conspiracy of hope.

Amid the rubble, the flowers, and the crowd that is material human existence, hope is the currency of those who are empowered to do so and see beyond the obvious limitations of the physical realm. Their hope turns to joy, which is the hearts ideal healthy condition when dealing with adversity. That hope and empowerment came more than 2,000 years ago and is sustained in mass events such as these. Of course there are those who ques-tion such beliefs as unnecessary and even stupid given the advances in technology that they claim can solve every problem. But, as the leader of these believers say, “Who am I to judge?”

Hope is the conspiracy of Christmas, helping us see beyond our limitations and achieve a joy to face reality that no limited and biodegradable material gain can give us. The good news is that Christmas is a free gift for all willing to have it. Join in the conspir-acy, and unravel the power inside the gift. Merry Christmas!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

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Dayanghirang said the company uses technology to accurately position solar pan-els to collect energy from the sun efficiently.

With this, institutions and households can start trans-ferring from non-RE to RE, he said.

Dayanghirang said solar panels can be mounted on roofs or placed on the ground based on the assessment of their personnel.

He said the solar panels the company distributes is a Canadian invention with a production life of 25 to 50 years and with 85 percent efficiency. However, it can go

beyond that depending on the client’s usage.

Dayanghirang said the installation of RE sources not just saves money but also pro-vides business continuity to business establishment and offices.

He said clients are mostly from the business sector in Lu-zon, one of which is the Calam-ba Medical Hospital which had an installation of a 150-kilo-watt solar panel system that can be used as source of ener-gy during power outages.

Dayanghirang said Ori-on is targeting to install one megawatt worth of RE proj-ects nationwide. [CRC]

DANCE FOR JOY. City Economic Enterprises personnel perform their dance routine during the Indayog sa Pasko held at Quezon Park along San Pedro Street in Davao City on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr. 

Alquiza also identified four of his top priority proj-ects for 2015: the widening of Davao River and Matina Pangi Bridges along the Davao City diversion road, the widen-ing of Gov. Miranda Bridge II along Daang Maharlika (Tagum City), and the much anticipated construction of the Davao City Diversion Road Extension which will traverse the Toril, Puan and Bangkal areas.

“Instead of constructing a flyover in Ulas intersection, we have decided to build an extension of the Diversion road instead to accommo-date more vehicles and help alleviate the worsening traffic congestion in the area. We are positive that this will signifi-cantly decrease the volume of vehicles passing through the Davao-Cotabato Road go-ing to the city center,” he said. [ABF]

called for the acceptance of her fate, even asking for prayers so that her soul may rest in peace.

“I am sure she lived a hap-py live here on earth. Let us allow her (with our prayers) to be happy in heaven,” he said after the funeral mass at the cemetery’s chapel filled with relatives and friends.

He said she was “a sweet, respectful girl and made the family laugh.”

Her uncle, Rene, who described her as a good girl who was “ fond of jamming,” believed that God has a plan for the family.

Her friends recalled Marielle’s strong personality and encouragement in times when they were down.

The Achacosos and many of those in attendance, in-cluding Marielle’s classmates, wore white t-shirts printed in the front with “We love you Marielle E. Achacoso” super imposed with a photo of the 17-year old first year accoun-tancy student of CMU.

Others wore shirts print-ed in the front with “Justice for Marielle E. Achacoso” and a graphics of a black ribbon next to the words.

At the back of the shirts, there is also a mix of print: “We love you Marielle E. Ach-acoso” and “Justice: 12-09-14” also next to a graphics of a black ribbon.

Marielle’s classmates from elementary to college arrived in the burial with many of them staying up un-til the last shovel of soil was placed on top of her grave. Her parents and siblings re-leased balloons tied in the form of a rosary to mark their goodbyes just after 11 a.m.

In Cabangahan, the Vali-entes also buried 16-year old Kim Lloyd, a mechanical en-gineering student, next to the grave of a younger brother and his grandmother.

After the final blessing, his casket was lowered amid the wails of the family mem-bers. His father, Jaime, cried that the perpetrators did not know how much they loved their child and that “they have no conscience.”

During the wake, Kim’s aunt said that pain and sad-ness will remain with them with his death, adding they won’t forget him.

Reports said that Kim was still able to ask help from rescuers but was declared dead upon arrival at the hos-pital.

His father recalled a memorable encounter with his son a day before the bombing happened: the son said “I love you” to his father and kissed him.

Mr. Valiente, in a forum on December 17, has lament-ed the failure of the police intelligence network to pre-vent the bombing, which happened a month after an-other bomb exploded near the CMU, wounding four pas-sengers.

During the funeral, Kim’s family, relatives and friends wore white t-shirts printed in the front with “We will miss you Kim” and at the back “Justice will prevail. Stop killing innocents. Ev-erything will be okay in the end.”

Teachers and students from CMU attended both fu-nerals, with many of them shuttled by a bus provided by bus firm RTMI.

“These changes were widely endorsed and well-re-ceived as a model for industry award competitions,” he said.

Payne added that nomina-tions for the various awards are open to all eligible com-panies and individuals in the county. Deadline for submis-sion of nominations is January 31 next year.

The awarding will be held on March 24, 2015 at the Mar-riott Hotel, Pasay City.

The ICT International Award is an annual event that

recognizes the best in the dy-namic and fast growing ICT industry.

“This prestigious annu-al ICT gala awards night has inspired and has promoted further development, growth, and innovations of the coun-try’s ICT or IT-BPM industry as a world leader,” Payne said.

Last March’s awarding event was attended by more than 400 guests from the ICT and other business sectors in the country as well as over-seas.

supplying power to the Prov-inces of Samar and Leyte was conducted. Hence, on December 12, at 1:17 a.m., NGCP resumed delivery of electricity to Leyte II Elec-tric Cooperative (LEYECO II) which covers Tacloban City and the Municipalities of Babatngon and Palo, Leyte.

This was followed by

the delivery of power to all three substations of SAMEL-CO 1 and II and NORSAMEL-CO in Northern Samar.

Typhoon Ruby has dev-astated parts of Region 8 when it made landfall in the municipality of Dolores Eastern, Samar last Decem-ber 6, this year. (ajc/cba/PIA-8)

barcode on the flight itinerary. Check-in kiosks are available at NAIA Terminal 4, NAIA Ter-minal 3 and provincial airports in Kalibo, Mactan-Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Tagbilaran, Ta-cloban and Cagayan de Oro City.

All airports throughout Malaysia including klia2 also offer the same convenience with check-in kiosks available from 14 days and up to 1 hour prior to departure for all AirA-sia flights, and up to 4 hours prior to departure for AirAsia X flights.

Guests are recommended to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours prior to their respective flights and clear all travel for-malities as early as possible, to avoid missing their flights due to the possible congestion.

For guests with baggage to check-in, baggage counters close 60 minutes before flight departure for all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights. As congestion is also expected at the security scanning and baggage clear-ance checkpoints during this holiday season, it is advisable to complete baggage drop as early as possible.

International flights pas-sengers are advised to proceed immediately to the immigration checkpoint, as increased pas-senger traffic may cause delays in reaching the boarding gate. Guests with group booking, re-duced mobility or special needs are only allowed to check-in at the counter and should allocate more time for this process due to the potential congestion, at least 3 hours before the time of departure.

The airline also remind-ed guests to ensure sufficient baggage allocation for their travels. To add more baggage allocation, guests may do so online via ‘Manage My Booking’ at www.airasia.com, up to four hours prior to scheduled de-parture time.

It is also recommended for guests to pre-book their meals online, as increased demand may result in insufficient stock on the aircraft for on-the-spot purchase. Pre-booking guar-antee that meals are served and available at any time after mak-ing a flight booking and up to 24 hours before scheduled time of departure.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 11EDGEDAVAO

COMMUNITY SENSE

UP Min, Hedcor inkbiodiversity projectHEDCOR, a whol-

ly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, re-

cently entered into a wild-life inventory and biodi-versity assessment project with the University of the Philippines-Mindanao.

The project will be an output report containing a survey of the plants and animals, an evaluation and assessment of the biodiver-sity, and the effects of Hed-cor’s environmental initia-tives within Mt Apo Natural Park in Sibulan, Sta Cruz, Davao del Sur.

A five-year biodiversity enhancement action plan will also be outlined in the

said area, which is also the home of the 42.5MW Sibu-lan Hydros and the 14MW Tudaya Hydros.

Signing the agreement are (seated from the left-most) Hedcor’s consultant Dr. Bo Puentespina, Hed-cor’s Vice President Rolan-do Pacquiao, UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concep-cion, with assistant pro-fessors Fritzie Camino and Marion John Achondo.

Witnessing the signing are Hedcor environmental initiatives officer Junessa Guimalan, UP vice chancel-lor Antonio Obsioma and instructor Maria Catherine Otero.

BRO. Karl Gaspar’s Des-perately Seeking God’s Saving Action: Yolan-

da Survivors’ Hope Beyond Heartbreaking Lamentations takes us back to the 8th of November 2014, when Su-pertyphoon Yolanda was trashing about the provinces of Samar and Leyte. It takes us back to when the strongest of winds were roaring like jet engines, when cars lying in the typhoon’s path were fly-ing around like tumbleweeds.

Through masterful sto-rytelling Karl vividly depicts the experiences of struggle, pain, and despair our coun-trymen from Eastern Visayas had to face. The stories jump out of the pages with fervor

that you could almost taste the freezing seawater that slammed the coastlines of Samar and Leyte in surges. Reading through the stories will make you feel the weight of the debris that trapped thousands of individuals to their deaths. They make you carry the countless cross-es the people of Samar and Leyte had to carry as they faced the wrath of Yolanda.

In this book, Karl kept his stories sharp yet short. They flow like shallow rivers that lead to the depths of the ocean. They may leave you hanging though, perhaps for a reason – they are not for the sensitive of heart. If you read Karl’s narratives with intent,

Monsanto addresses MSU studentson global agri, food sustainability

BOOK REVIEW

By RANDOLPH R. RESERVA

The perfect wake-up call

NOTICE OF LOSSNotice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS

CONSOLIDATED INC. that CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s)21050650 under Loyola Contract No(s). 137122-3/000130005179 issued to ANONAT, JESUS1002611 under Loyola Contract No(s). 39317-3/000112355079 issued to ANONAT, REMY

were lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

12/4,11/18

Charina Ocampo at MSU-Gen SanMonsanto staff with participants

RECOGNIZING that invest-ing in the youth is not only necessary but also has

immeasurable returns, Monsan-to Philippines recently engaged 866 university students from the Mindanao State University (MSU) in a fruitful dialogue on sustainability, food, partnerships, and career building at a seminar on ‘Monsanto and the Work that We Do’ held at the MSU gymna-sium.

The Monsanto Philippines Team of Cherie Ocampo , Human Resources Lead; Gabby Romero, Regulatory Affairs Lead; Jorgen Abellera, Corn Breeder and Plant Pathology Lead for Asia Pacif-ic and Chat Ocampo Corporate Engagement Lead exchanged

perspectives with MSU students and faculty members on the chal-lenges and solutions to achieve global food and agriculture sus-tainability; the role of farmers, better seeds, plant biotechnology products and crop management practices to produce better food using fewer natural resources; the need for new partnerships especially public-private sec-tor partnerships; and the pur-pose-filled personal develop-ment opportunities of working in a company like Monsanto.

Ocampo underscored how Monsanto values diversity and inclusiveness so that the contri-bution of every single member of the organization is recognized for maximum and wholistic im-

pact. Campaign Sales Executive

and MSU alumna, Aireen Gile, inspired the students with her talk on how her work at Mon-santo has provided her with the tools to make a significant contri-bution to society and make her reach greater even heights both at the personal and professional levels.

MSU faculty, students and staff members actively asked questions. MSU College of Ag-riculture Dean Helen Perpetua thanked Monsanto for conduct-ing the seminar saying that the young people are catalysts for economic growth and develop-ment. Dean Perpetual also said she looked forward “to a fruitful

partnership with Monsanto in providing opportunities for the Filipino youth, especially in Min-danao.”

Ocampo also encour-aged the univer-sity students to share any use- f u l i n f o r m a t i o n which they got from the seminar to their net-work of family and friends.

“We recognize that social media tools are becoming the most popular way to instanta-neously reach the young gener-ation,” Ocampo said. “This sem-inar will have more value if you can share what you have learned from this seminar via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and YouTube if you have these accounts.”

Redemptorist Brother Karl launches his latest book at the St. Alphonsus Theological and Mis-sion Institute (SATMI), Redemp-torist Compound, Davao City on December 18. MindaNews photo by BJ PATINO

you would be surprised how so succinct stories can shake your beliefs and evoke emo-tions with relative ease.

Beyond the stories, Karl’s reflections provides an ab-sorbing window into an ex-perience that will never be accessible for most of us. If Karl’s stories make you fly around with emotions, his re-flections are the anchors that keep you aground. They make you see the complex plots of disasters. His reflections also introduce the all-important characters in how disaster re-lief operations are designed. All-important characters that include us, the readers – you and me, and how we may have contributed to a world of disasters and how we can fight our way through it.

Notwithstanding the fo-cus on Supertyphoon Yolan-da, Desperately Seeking God’s Saving Action should remain relevant for years to come. This book is the per-fect wake up call to all of us to rethink our ways so as to continue revolutionizing our world whilst taking care of Mother Nature.

More importantly, let this book be one of the many glues that binds us together especially in times of disaster. For in times of desperation, God’s saving action manifests through us and our willing-ness to be there for one an-other.

(Randolph “RR” R. Reser-va is program manager of the Leyte Community Resilience Enhancement Project of Asso-ciation of Psychologists Help-ing Practitioners).

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 201412 CLASSIFIED EDGEDAVAO

Call: 224-0733 • Tionko St., Davao City

Billiard Supplies

Phone Nos. Cell Nos.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014

EDGEDAVAOINdulge!

2014 was a big year for Dabawenyo travellers as more and more areas within Mindanao are being discovered. These places include Davao Oriental, Saranggani, and even the Surigao Provinces. More and more Dabawenyos are also flying to different parts of the Visayas such as Bacolod and Iloilo.

By Kenneth Irving Ong

Where did Dabawenyos travel to?

Oriental flexed its tour-ism muscles this year as it made the bucket list of many Dabawenyos as a place that one has to visit. Just a 3-hour drive from downtown Davao, Dabawenyo urbanites are now discovering the beau-ty of the region’s eastern-most province. One of the newest at-

Destinations of 2014

YEARENDER: TRAVEL

Davao Oriental’s Subangan Provincial Museum.

Hinatuan’s Enchanted River. Photo from Agusan del Sur website.WHERE A4

Discovering Davao Oriental The province of Davao

Favourite international destinations are still the ones which allow Pinoy travellers visa-free entry such as Hong-Kong, Sin-

gapore, and Thailand, but with the easing of visa restrictions and a great economy, people are now looking more at travel Ja-

pan and even further to Europe.

TAGUM CITY is known for its long fes-tive Christmas season which begins from the official lighting of its giant holiday tree in the last week of No-vember up to Decem-ber’s grand fireworks display on new year’s eve. Big 8 Corporate Hotel-Tagum added a new highlight to an al-ready vibrant holiday mood when it recently introduced the very first color run in the City of Palms. Dubbed as the Big 8 Christmas Color Run, the paint race literally pro-vided a colorful warm up for the yuletide season in Tagum. “I never expected it to be this exciting. It was just re-ally more fun to run while you get showered with col-ors,” said Big 8 Corporate Hotel’s General Manager Roxan Obregon. “I finished 5K but it was not about the distance, it was all about seeing smil-ing faces, runners hav-ing a great time along the course. Nobody got tired. Definitely, this will not be the first and last in Tagum. See you in 2015!” Obregon guaranteed. The color run is a paint race, basically the same with the typical fun runs which promote health and wellness only that run-ners get doused in colorful powders while completing the race. Hundreds of runners registered and were very eager to practically paint their faces with colors, ready to thread the hap-piest race in Tagum. Just before the run, zumba session led by the hotel’s Aqua Gen Fitness Cen-ter instructors heated the runners up for the gun start. No sweat, no problem. While it normally takes a while to sweat, a wait-ing fire truck courtesy of Tagum City Fire Depart-ment sprinkled and driz-zled the pack or runners few meters from the start-ing arc.

The runners, drenched and all, embraced the sal-vo of green upon reaching the first color station. Ex-citement was overwhelm-ing as yellow, violet, pink and orange were hurled at them in the ensuing sta-tions just before the 5K turning point. Reaching the finish arc and looking like a running rainbow masterpieces only signaled for the most awesome part of the event. After completing the race, runners were given cups filled with color powders and they were gathered for the blast of colors.

They simultaneously lobbed color powders into the air with giggles and yells of fulfillment upon witnessing a fog of daz-zling colors and an atmo-sphere of togetherness and happiness. They started the race dry and snowy. They returned soaked and very colorific. To put icing on the cake, a buffet breakfast was served to a seeming col-orful community of run-ners. Top finishers were awarded. Gift certificates for overnight accommoda-tion, fitness center and

swimming pool member-ship, weekend buffet were raffled off to the delight of the lucky winners. NBA Car Sunshades and Tum-blers were also given away courtesy of Phoenix Petro-leum Philippines, Inc. Big 8 Christmas Color Run celebrated wellness and happiness with friends and family, promotes the beautiful City of Palms and its people. The event was made possible in partnership with Cebu-based Live House Productions, the same event outfit that spearheaded the break-ing of the Guinness World Record for the Largest Zumba Class and doing the Largest Human Pink Ribbon Formation in SM City Cebu in October this year. Visit Big 8 Corporate Hotel at www.facebook.com/big8corporatehotel.com and www.big8corpo-ratehotel.com. For book-ings and inquiries, you may contact (084)216.0888 or email to info@big8cor-poratehotel.com

FULFILLING its commitment to superior customer expe-rience by bringing the most advanced technologies to Philippine businesses, Globe Telecom launched its Busi-ness Online Portal (BOP), an advanced service platform for small, mid-size and enterprise c o m p a n i e s that promotes easy, quick, and hassle-free account management. The BOP can now be ac-cessed by Globe Business and Globe myBusiness customers as well as their autho-rized representatives through https://accounts-business.globe.com.ph/login. As an alternative channel for Globe Business customers and account managers that will establish a safe and more efficient approach in addressing billing inquiries and account modifica-tion requests, the BOP effectively empowers business customers to securely perform online and real-time transactions as well as view account-related information. According to Globe Executive Vice President and Chief Operat-ing Officer Gil Genio, “the BOP is an alternative channel for Globe business customers to establish a more efficient and direct ap-proach in addressing billing inquiries and account requests. This innovation in customer interaction effectively increases empow-erment of our clientele to access up-to-date information and per-form real-time transactions.” He emphasized that customers are the priority of business customer-facing units of Globe Telecom, saying that technology, coupled with genuine business relationships, spell the difference in gaining the trust and confidence of its corporate customers, which subsequently empower them to create a wonderful land-scape for themselves and the industries they serve.

HERO TV’s lineup for January 2015 is nothing short of amazing as it offers only the best to anime fans with the popular movie “Rurouni Kenshin” premiering on January 1, 2015 and new localized anime titles in time for the anime channel’s 10th anniversary. Consistent to its mission to offer a promising lineup every year, Hero TV is set to revamp the anime TV experience in its 10th year. “Rurouni Kenshin,” the story of a former assassin who becomes a wandering samurai, will premiere on Hero TV on New Year’s Day (January 1), 9PM. Meanwhile, much-anticipated titles such as “Gatchaman,” “Leviathan,” and “Taichi Chasers” will bring in ex-citement for 2015. “Gatchaman,” an action movie based on the anime of the same title, is about five agents who are given mysterious stones called “receptors” that hold immense power after war is declared in the world by an organization called Galactor. The action-packed show will have its premiere on January 4, 12MN with replays at 12NN and 8PM. Meanwhile, anime fans can kick off their 2015 right with “Levia-than,” a story about three young girls – Bahamut, Jormungandr, and Leviathan from the dragon clan who are chosen by the fairy syrup to stop evil creatures in their world brought by meteorites. The thrilling fantasy tale of dragons and fairies will make waves on TV starting January 1. Finally, witness an epic battle between Tigeroids and Drag-onoids in “Taichi Chasers,” a story about how the kid of Taichi battle out with the Dragonoids to recover the lost 1000 tai-chi symbols in a quest to gain ultimate power to rule an entire em-pire. “Taichi Chasers” will premiere on January 7, 6PM with replays at 12AM, 6AM, and 12NN. Hero TV’s favorite titles will also be returning this 2015 to keep the fun and excitement burning. “Tiger and Bunny: The Begin-ning,” “Gargantia on Verdurous Planet,” “Initial D 4th Stage,” Clay-more,” “Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya,” “Fate/Zero,” “Hack Legend of the Twilight,” “Kokoro Connect,” “Power Rangers RPM,” “Toaru Kagaku No Railgun,” and “Trigun” among others will be wel-comed back to the number one Anime channel. Catch all these and more this January on Hero TV, the number one Anime channel celebrating its 10th anniversary. For updates, visit Hero TV’s official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/myherona-tion).

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT

Globe launches firstself-service mobile portal for business customers

Hero TV kicks off January 2015 offerings for year-long 10th anniversary celebration

Big 8 Corporate Hotel holds first color run in Tagum City

EVENT

ASIA’S POP SWEETHEART Julie Anne San Jose held her first major solo concert last December 13 entitled Hologram at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. She showcased a personal rendition of her most favourite songs and serenaded the audience. Adding glitter to the first hologram concert in the country were Christian Bautista, Abra, Sam Con-cepcion, Jonalyn Viray, and Frencheska Farr who made the night even more spe-cial. Hologram was a combi-nation of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce inspired perfor-mances. In one of the num-bers, Julie Anne showed her versatility as a musical performer. She played her songs Baby You Are and Blinded on the piano while her holograms played the violin, guitar, and drums. One of the concert highlights was her inter-pretation of OPM classics together with GMA Artist Center stars Jonalyn Viray and Frencheska Farr. Their version of Sana’y Wala Ng Wakas, Sana’y Maghintay

ang Walang Hanggan and Bituing Walang Ningning charged the audience to a full blast of cheer. Fans of the Asia’s Pop Sweetheart remained to cheer on when she started to become emotional in the middle of her “Sana Ngay-ong Pasko” number. As Julie Anne was sing-ing, video clips of her per-formances while she was

still young in the indus-try started playing in the background. Her fans were already chanting “Iiyak na ‘yan!,” but only after the song did she turn her back from the audience, and cried. Julie Anne seemed to have kept in what’s both-ering her regarding recent issues on bashing and com-paring her to other singers.

“Hindi naman po ako nakikipag-kumpitensiya. Gusto ko lang naman pong kumanta eh. Kahit ano pang sabihin nila, ginaga-wa ko po ito para sa inyo,” the Asia’s Pop Sweetheart claimed as she wiped her tears. This emotional turn of the night only raised the energy as her fans screamed louder to show

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 INdulge! A3ENTERTAINMENT

EDGEDAVAO

Sancho Delas Alas, Prince Villanueva sign contract with GMA Artist Center

FRESH FACES Sancho delas Alas and Prince Villanueva inked contracts yesterday, December 18, with GMA Artist Center at the Execu-tive Lounge of GMA Net-work Center. Present in the contract-signing were GMA Senior Vice President for Enter-tainment Lilybeth G. Ra-sonable, GMA Senior As-sistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi Santiago-Lara, GMA Artist Center Assistant Vice President and Head for Tal-ent Imaging and Marketing Unit Simoun Ferrer, and co-managers Ai-Ai delas Alas and German Moreno. Sancho delas Alas, the son of Comedy Concert Queen Ai-Ai delas Alas, will finally be part of the GMA family. He is well sup-ported by his mom who also graced the contract signing. Sancho sees this opportunity to venture into a different field. After studying Culinary Arts, he is ready to take a different, but a very familiar path, which is acting.

“As of the moment po, any projects na ibibigay sakin, pagtatrabahuhan ko ng maayos. Okay po ako na comedy at drama pero workshops po muna. I’m starting from the begin-ning po eh. Di naman po pwedeng isasabak na agad. May training po muna, and kung sa projects, hindi rin naman po agad-agad mer-on na. I still have to work on it,” promises Sancho. Co-manager of GMA Artist Center is Sancho’s mother, Ai-Ai delas Alas. She gladly expressed her

support for her son, and shared how she encour-ages her children to do whatever it is they want as long as they have already finished college. She sees a lot of potential in Sancho and she’s sure that he will succeed in the business. “Meron siyang poten-tial. Unang-una, si Sancho, magaling yan sa mga musi-cal instruments. Magaling yan magdrums, konting kanta, magaling sumayaw, magandang umiyak. So nung nagdecide ako na dito na siya, naisip kong

siguro yun ang nakatad-hana para sa kanya, na dito siya mapunta sa Kapuso Network,” said the self-pro-claimed mommy-ger. Meanwhile, another tal-ent, Prince Villanueva, has been appearing on Walang Tulugan as a crooner and this contract signing can open more doors for him. “Masaya po ako na mag-ing part ng GMA Artist Center at nagpapasalamat po ako kay Tatay Germs na naging tulay para sa opor-tunidad na ito. Excited po ako sa mga proyektong ipagkakatiwala nila sa akin,” said Prince. Lilybeth Rasonable warmly acknowledged the new GMA Artist Center talents. She is very grate-ful for another batch of potential stars who are ad-dition to GMA Network’s stable of talents. “Sancho and Prince, welcome to the Kapuso family. Ito ay pag-papatunay na tuluy-tuloy tayo sa pagdiscover ng talent para mag-increase yung pool natin,” said the GMA executive.

Julie Anne San Jose:I only want to sing

Sancho Delas AlasPrince Villanueva

their love to the Asia’s Pop Sweetheart. Julie Anne then put her best foot for-ward and danced the night away, giving a performance to remember. Her concert was graced by the presence of GMA executives: Senior Vice President for Entertainment Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Vice President for Program Man-agement Joey R. Abacan, Senior Assistant Vice Presi-dent for Alternative Produc-tions Gigi S. Lara, Assistant Vice President for Talk, Va-riety, Musical and Specials Darling de Jesus, Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Assistant

Vice President for Talent Im-aging and Marketing Unit Simoun Ferrer. The Asia’s Pop Sweet-heart was also supported by her fellow Kapuso stars, the Primetime King and Queen Dingdong Dantes and Mar-ian Rivera, Bela Padilla, Derrick Monasterio, Diva Montelaba, Jeric Gonzales, Stephanie Sol, Mayton Eu-genio, Gabbi Garcia, Jak Ro-berto, Coleen Perez, Sabrina Mann, Phytos Ramirez and Empress Schuck. Julie Anne concluded the night by warming up the hearts of her fans and in-viting them to the stage to take selfies with her.

R 13

PG13

PG 131:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIESIan Mckellen, Martin Freeman,

Richard Armitage

PG 13

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE

OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3DIan Mckellen, Martin Freeman,

Richard Armitage

12:25 | 2:20 | 4:15 | 6:10 | 8:05 | 10:00 LFS

Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O'Hare

12:30 | 3:30 | 6:30 | 09:30 LFS

THE PYRAMID

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS

Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton

1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS

Dabawenyo photographer Kat Mercado and friends enjoying the autumn air in Japan.

WHERE A1

A4 INdulge!YEARENDER: TRAVEL

tractions in Davao Ori-ental is the Subangan: Davao Oriental Provincial Museum. A project of the provincial government of Davao Oriental, the muse-um showcases the natural and entho-cultural won-ders of the province. The highlights of the museum include the skeleton of a 53-foot sperm whale as well as an interactive ex-hibit featuring the forests of Mt. Hamiguitan, the country’s newest UNES-CO World Heritage site. The main draw to Davao Oriental though would be its wonderful white sand beaches with the 7-kilometre Dahican Beach being the most pop- nicipality of Glan just an

hour from General Santos City, the long, white sand beach of Gumasa has been dubbed by locals as the “Boracay of the South” due to the powdery fine texture of its sand. Unlike Boracay though, Gumasa is a quiet beach without the noise and huge crowds. Another draw to Gu-masa is when it celebrates its annual Sarbay Festival during Summer season where a carnival-like par-ty atmosphere takes over.

Enchanted with Su-rigao For urbanites with cars

and don’t mind the drive, the province of Surigao del Sur has been a secret get-away for 2014. The province’s natural beauty attracts families as well as adventure enthusiasts from Durianburg as well as from the surrounding provinces. One of the most famous attractions is the prov-ince’s Hinatuan Enchant-ed River. Crystal clear and a deep azure blue in co-lour, the Enchanted River attracts people to take a dip in its fish-filled, cool waters. The more adventurous travellers may want go

to Surigao del Norte and its outlying islands such as Sohoton, with its la-goon filled with schools of stingless jellyfish, as well as Siargao with its grow-ing surf and beach culture.

Hello Japan With the Japanese gov-ernment relaxing the visa requirements of Filipinos, it may seem that visiting Japan is all the rage this year with a significant number of Pinoys now opting to visit the land of the rising sun. This coupled with more and more affordable flights to Japanese cities, made sure

that Japan was within easy reach of the Pinoy travel-ler. Japan’s biggest attrac-tions include the famous cherry blossom season from March to April as well as the coming of Au-tumn when the leaves of the trees turn a bright yel-low orange hue. With the influx of the new wave of Japanese spe-cialty restaurants to the Philippines, foodies will also love to check out Ja-pan’s rich food culture that varies from one city to another.

Photo by Kyrie Baños

Photo by Kat Mercado.

Gumasa Beach during SarBay Festival.

ular. A regular hang-out for urbanites who want sand, sun and surf, Da-hican beach is a popular surfing and skim board-ing venue. The area’s idyl-lic nature lets one get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, except during Summerfrolic when some of the country’s best DJs converge on the beach and turn it into an outdoor dance club.

South to Saranggani Just as Dabawenyos are discovering new attrac-tions in Davao Oriental, the beaches of Saranggani also offered urbanites an-other option for them to get a dose of some vitamin sea. Located in the mu-

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 13EDGEDAVAORepublic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

11TH Judicial RegionBranch 16Davao City

IN THE MATTER OF CANCELLATION

SP. PROC. CASE NO. 13,310-14AND SUBSTITUTION OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATESOF MARIA ARNELOU CAMILE OLBES CHUA ANDMARIA ANGELICA ARABELLA OLBES CHUA,REP. BY HER SISTER, MARIA ARNELOU CAMILE OLBES CHUA

MARIA ARNELOU CAMILE O. CHUA Petitioner,Versus

LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF DAVAO CITY & LOCAL CIVIL REG-ISTRAR OF LAAK, COMPOSTELA VALLEY,

ORDER

Petitioner in their verified petition prays of this Honorable Court that:

1. The first Birth Certificates of the petitioners registered in the Local Civil Registry of Davao which are defective be can-celled; AND

2. The Birth Certificates of the petitioners registered in Laak, Compostela Valley be SUBSTITUTED as true and correct Birth Certificates of the petitioners.

Finding the said petition to be sufficient in form and in sub-stance. It is hereby ordered that the said petition be set for hear-ing on February 09, 2015 at 8:30 in the morning on which date, time and place, all persons who are interested may appear and show cause if anu, why said petition should not be granted.

Let a copy of this Order be published in a newspaper of gen-eral circulation at least once a week for three(3) consecutive issued at the expense of the petitioner.

The Local Civil Registrar, Davao city, and the Assistant City prosecutor are cited to appear on said date of hearing, in order to show cause, if any, said petition should not be granted.

SO ORDERED.

Davao City, Philippine, October 27,2014.

SGD. EMMANUEL C. CARPIOPresiding Judge

12/8/15/22

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

11TH JUDICIAL REGIONOFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFF

DAVAO CITY

HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUNDOr PAG-IBIG FUND,

Mortgagee -versus- EJF-REM CASE NO. 14,934-14

CHARLITA A. BALUIS, married to IRENEO D. BALUIS,

Mortgagor/s.x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended,

filed by HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND OR PAG-IBIG FUND against CHARLITA A. BALUIS, married to IRENEO D. BALUIS with postal address at LOT 16, BLK. 59 NHA ROSALINA VILLAGE III, DUMOY, TORIL, DAVAO CITY to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness in the total amount of ( P 514,101.84 ) Philippine Currency, inclusive of interest and penalty charges, as of July 24, 2014 plus attorney’s fees equivalent to TEN ( 10%) of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses inci-dent of foreclosure and sale; the undersigned Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court, Davao City, will sell at public auction on January 09 , 2015 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property mentioned and described below together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

Transfer Certificate of Title No. T- 235211“A parcel of land xxx (LOT 16 , Blk. 59, xxx Pcs- 112402-

001850,xxx) situated in the City of Davao, Island of Mindanao…xxx Containing an area of ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120) SQUARE ME-TERS, more or less” All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stat-ed time and date.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date,it shall be held on FEBRUARY 06, 2015, without further notice.

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

Davao City, Philippines, NOVEMBER 18, 2014

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO PROV’L SHERIFF: (SGD.) ROBERT M. MEDIALDEA Sheriff IVNoted by:

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

(12/8,15,22)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

11TH JUDICIAL REGIONOFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFF

DAVAO CITY

HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUNDOr PAG-IBIG FUND,

Mortgagee -versus- EJF-REM CASE NO. 14,959-14

ARNULFO S. LUMANLAN,married to VIRGINIA S. LUMANLAN,

Mortgagor/s.x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended,

filed by HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND OR PAG-IBIG FUND against ARNULFO S. LUMANLAN, married to VIRGINIA S. LUMAN-LAN with postal address at LOT 319-B, BLK.00 55 ROLLS ROYCE ST., DAVAO EXECUTIVE HOMES, MATINA, DAVAO CITY to satisfy the mort-gage indebtedness in the total amount of ( P 731,495.84 ) Philippine Currency, inclusive of interest and penalty charges, as of April 28, 2014 plus attorney’s fees equivalent to TEN ( 10%) of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the under-signed Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court, Davao City, will sell at pub-lic auction on January 16 , 2015 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property mentioned and described below together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

Transfer Certificate of Title No. T- 235211“A parcel of land (LOT 379-B-2-C-1-D-1-0, PSD -11-020047,

XXX) situated in the Barrio of Matina , City of Davao, Island of Min-danao…xxx Containing an area of ONE HUNDRED FIFTY (150) SQUARE METERS, more or less”

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

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date,it shall be held on FEBRUARY 13, 2015, without further notice.

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

Davao City, Philippines, DECEMBER 02, 2014

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO PROV’L SHERIFF: (SGD.) ROBERT M. MEDIALDEA Sheriff IVNoted by:

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

(12/8,15,22)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 201414 SPORTSEDGEDAVAOSportsFloyd: I should call the shotsFLOYD Mayweather Jr.

said he is the “A side” of the supposed super fight

with Manny Pacquiao and therefore should call the shots in the negotiations.

In his recent interview with Fight Hype, the con-troversial American boxer claimed Pacquiao’s camp has been misleading the public by claiming he (Mayweather) has been ducking the fight all this time.

Mayweather said Pac-quiao, whom he labelled as the “B side,” didn’t submit to his demands and this, he said, caused the collapse of their negotiations in the past.

“The public has been mis-led by the other side, which is the ‘B side’ because May-weather Promotions is the ‘A side,’” he said.

Mayweather said he used to be at the B side when they were negotiating for the super fight against Oscar de la Hoya back in 2007.

He said that back then, it was Dela Hoya who called the shots.

“He chose the weight, he chose the gloves, he chose the arena, basically chose every-

thing. All I had to do was show up. He chose the judges, he chose the referee,” said May-weather. “I agreed to every-thing Oscar dela Hoya wanted. Everything.”

“My job is to show as the B side, do what I have to do so I could become the A side and call the same shots that Oscar dela Hoya called when we faced each other.”

Mayweather said Pac-quiao suffered consecutive losses against Timothy Brad-ley and Juan Manuel Marquez. These losses made the Filipi-no boxer the B side.

“If we just turn the table and I was at the position that Manny Pacquiao is in at this particular time, I wouldn’t be able to have any say so at all.”

Among Mayweather’s demands were the random blood testing and the upside of the purse split. But the American boxer seemed to ignore Pacquiao’s response to these conditions.

Pacquiao has already consented to random blood testing, and recently said that he already agreed to take the lower cut of the revenue share. Floyd Mayweather reacts during his boxing match against Marcos Maidana.

World number one and defending champion Rory McIlroy during the final round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Sydney. REUTERS/David Gray

THE Philippine Azkals, despite not going home with any titles this year,

ended 2014 as the best-ranked team in Southeast Asia accord-ing to the FIFA World Rank-ings.

The Azkals dropped two spots, but still placed 130th to top regional neighbors Vietnam (137th), Myanmar (141st), Thailand (142nd), Malaysia (154th), Singapore (157th), Indonesia (159th) and Laos (160th).

The Azkals came up short in their major tournaments this year. They got beaten out by Palestine for a spot in the Asian Cup after settling for sec-ond place in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup last May and bowed out in the semifinals for the third straight

time in the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup this month.

The Filipinos also failed to defend their Philippine Foot-ball Peace Cup title last Sep-tember, with Myanmar steal-ing the crown.

World Cup champion Ger-many finished the year on top of the world ladder, followed by Argentina, Colombia, Bel-gium and Netherlands.

FIFA calculates every country’s ranking based on match results (a win, a loss or a draw), its importance (i.e. a friendly or a World Cup match), and the strength of the nation’s opponent rank-ing-wise. These points are then accumulated from the country’s past results in the previous four years.

GRAND slam titles were shared around like slices of pizza in 2014 but for

all the welcome variety Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams ended the year still setting the standard.

For the first time since 1998 the eight grand slam singles trophies on offer were lifted by eight players.

While the four women’s champions were existing members of the elite club, Switzerland’s Stanislas Waw-rinka and Croatia’s Marin Cilic marked the biggest shake-up of men’s tennis for a decade with breakthrough victories.

After years spent in the shadow of 17-times grand slam champion and compatri-

ot Roger Federer, Wawrinka came good in Melbourne, beat-ing Djokovic in the quarter-fi-nals of the Australian Open and showing no mercy to in-jured Spaniard Rafa Nadal in the final.

Nadal rebounded to claim a ninth French Open title, but the year was too prove a wor-rying one for the injury-prone Mallorcan who suffered a shock defeat by Australian teenager Nick Krygios at Wim-bledon before a wrist problem and a grumbling appendix restricted him to only seven more matches.

Federer, 33, claimed five titles but was unable to add to his record collection of grand slams.

A YEAR to forget for an injury-plagued Tiger Woods was savoured

sweetly by Northern Ire-land’s Rory McIlroy after the ‘Celtic Tiger’ won two majors in 2014 to regain his status as the game’s leading player.

McIlroy ended a stellar campaign with four victories and five runner-up spots in 23 starts worldwide, em-bellishing his credentials as a genuine golfing great in what many regard as a han-dover of the ‘Tiger’ torch to usher in a new ‘Rory’ era.

While former world number one Woods failed to add to his career major tally of 14 and played just eight tournaments during a winless and truncated sea-

son, McIlroy proved to be the player to beat virtually every time he teed off in competi-tion.

McIlroy dominated golf’s biggest events in the latter half of 2014 after American left-hander Bubba Watson had clinched the Masters for a second time in three years and Germany’s Martin Kay-mer had coasted to an eight-shot victory at the U.S. Open.

Swede Henrik Stenson, Australian Adam Scott and Spaniard Sergio Garcia each triumphed once as they also produced impressively con-sistent golf during the year but McIlroy set himself apart from his closest rivals, just as he did in 2012.

Having endured a tur-bulent 2013 on and off the

course, McIlroy was once again a picture of focus and consistency, finishing no worse than 25th in 17 starts on the 2013-14 PGA Tour and recording three victories among 12 top-10 placings.

He also claimed the Eu-ropean Tour’s money list trophy for the second time in three years and played an influential role in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the United States in September.

McIlroy never looked back after recording his first win of the year at the Euro-pean Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship in May, just a few days after breaking up with his tennis-playing fi-ancee Caroline Wozniacki.

“Every time I teed it up, I felt like I had a good chance

to win,” McIlroy said of his superb form in 2014, high-lighted by consecutive major wins at the British Open and PGA Championship sand-wiched around a victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invi-tational.

“That’s what I feel like I need going forward, consis-tency in my game and be-ing up there each and every week,” added the four-times major champion.

BACK AT THE TOPMcIlroy, who dropped

to sixth in the world rank-ings after struggling with an equipment change and off-course distractions in 2013, enhanced his standing as golf’s top player and many of his peers expect him to remain there for some time.

McIlroy emerges dominant in 2014 Azkals best-ranked team in Southeast Asia

Djokovic, Williams rule

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2014 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

THE Portland Trail Blaz-ers know firsthand how cold and methodical the

veteran San Antonio Spurs can be when they have a team in trouble.

So when the defending champions failed to close out the Blazers in the first two overtimes, Portland point guard Damian Lillard had a simple message for his team-mates.

‘’Step on them,’’ Lillard said.

Lillard provided the boot, scoring a career-high 43 points, including 16 after reg-ulation, as the Trail Blazers handed the Spurs their second straight defeat in triple over-time by rallying for a 129-119 victory Friday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games.

The Spurs overwhelmed the young Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifi-nals last season, winning three games at home in rolling to a 4-1 series victory en route to their fifth NBA title.

So, winning in San Antonio in the manner it did was par-ticularly special for Portland.

‘’This was a big win for us, probably our best win of the season,’’ Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.

The Spurs have lost three straight overtime games at home, including a 117-116 de-feat in three OTs to Memphis on Wednesday.

It was the first time a team has played consecutive tri-ple-overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did so in De-cember 1951.

San Antonio failed to take advantage of another stellar performance by veteran Tim Duncan, who had 32 points and 10 rebounds.

‘’Timmy in particular was a ‘Back to the Future’ type of

deal,’’ Spurs coach Gregg Popo-vich said. ‘’He was amazing.’’

Danny Green had 27 points and Tiago Splitter scored 14 for San Antonio (17-10).

Just as they did against Memphis, the Spurs had plen-ty of opportunities to beat the Trail Blazers.

San Antonio scored the initial six points in each of the first two overtimes, but failed to hold the lead.

‘’They had two opportuni-ties to step on us,’’ Lillard said. ‘’The door was left open a lit-tle bit and we forced another overtime two times, which is not what people do to them. They usually finish you off. We got in a situation that they got in the first two overtimes and I wanted us to know that we just did it to them two times so don’t get excited and don’t think that what we did was easy, we’ve got to be better. We did that.’’

Lillard decimated San Antonio’s hopes almost sin-glehandedly, scoring the first nine points in the third OT, in-cluding crossing up Green for a 20-foot jumper and a 120-112 lead with 3:04 remaining. Lil-lard’s ensuing 3-pointer gave Portland a 123-112 advantage, prompting Popovich to empty his bench.

‘’He’s a special player,’’ Green said. ‘’That last OT he just took over pretty much. It didn’t matter what we threw at him, he attacked the rim well for them.’’

Lillard had help.Steve Blake’s 3-pointer

with 30.2 seconds left in the second overtime gave Portland a 112-110 lead and Cory Jo-seph tied the game 7 seconds later on a floating jumper.

Duncan hit consecutive turnaround jumpers early in the first overtime, but Aldridge grabbed a missed 3 by Mat-thews that didn’t touch the rim and fed Lillard, who drained a tying 3-pointer with 13.6 sec-onds remaining.

Blazers nip Spurs in 3 OT

CHICAGO rookie Nikola Mirotic left the locker room before the media

could hear about his perfect shooting night from outside the arc.

The rest of the Bulls were willing to speak up in prais-ing the reserve forward.

Mirotic scored a career best 27 points, converting all six of his 3-pointers on Fri-day night. That, coupled with 31 points from Jimmy But-ler helped the Bulls beat the Grizzlies 103-97 on Friday night, snapping Memphis’ six-game winning streak.

‘’Niko was huge with the energy right off the bench,’’ Butler said.

‘’Some night’s it’s going to go more your way; some nights it’s not,’’ said Bulls forward Pau Gasol, who was limited to six points on 2 of 7 shooting. ‘’I think tonight he definitely didn’t play with any fear.’’

Mirotic thwarted several Memphis rallies, particularly

in the first half. In the second quarter he connected on four 3-pointers as Chicgo carried a 51-43 into the break. His six 3-pointers on the night also were a season-best.

But Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said there is more to Mirotic’s game than scor-ing.

‘’He’s not afraid,’’ Thibo-deau said. ‘’He makes tough plays. He hustles all the time. .He’s never satisfied, and I love that about him.’’

Aaron Brooks scored 17 points and Joakim Noah fin-ished with 10 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulls outre-bounded Memphis 51-45.

Mike Conley led Mem-phis with 21 points, while Beno Udrih added 15 points before leaving with a hand injury in the fourth quarter. Marc Gasol had 13 points, but was 5 of 15 from the field - part of Memphis shooting 39 percent for the game. Vince Carter scored 10 points for Memphis.

RAJON Rondo wants an-other ring and anoth-er parade and knew it

probably wasn’t happening anytime soon with the rebuild-ing Celtics.

When he was on his way to Dallas with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban as the centerpiece of a five-player trade, champi-onship talk dominated the con-versation.

The deal sends the four-time All-Star point guard from the fringe of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference with Boston to solidly in the mix in the tougher West, where the Mavericks were showing signs of returning to title contention but looking like they might be missing a piece.

In their view, that piece comes in the form of the NBA’s assists leader with a reputa-

tion as a solid defender and rebounder. In other words, one of the league’s few triple-dou-ble threats.

“To be a contender right away, there’s a goal that you have in mind and I’m dying to get a ring again,” Rondo said at his introductory news confer-ence Friday. “I want another parade.”

The ninth-year player got his first with the Celtics in 2008, and now Rondo is join-ing 2011 champs Dirk Nowitz-ki and Tyson Chandler as part of the nucleus of a Dallas team trying to win another title.

Rondo and center Dwight Powell were acquired Thurs-day for center Brandan Wright, forward Jae Crowder, point guard Jameer Nelson, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a second-round choice in 2016.

Long the subject of trade rumors, Rondo was in his sec-ond season of a full rebuilding mode in Boston following the departures of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. He also missed parts of two sea-sons to have reconstructive knee surgery.

“Well, it’s been about sev-en years now and I’ve been in trade rumors,” said Rondo, who has career averages of 11 points, 8.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds. “Bound to happen.”

The news came in a phone call from Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, a former teammate of Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. Ron-do said they talked for about 45 minutes after the deal was settled and “it was no hard feelings.”

“I believe it’s a great lega-

cy I leave behind,” said Rondo, who was the 21st overall pick out of Kentucky by Phoenix in 2006 and shipped to Boston in a draft-day deal. “I can’t re-member one bad time I had in Boston as far as where I got negative feedback from fans, no matter the first year we lost 18 straight or the following year we won a championship.”

For Mavericks fans, the trade is reminiscent of a 2008 deal that brought point guard Jason Kidd back to Dallas. It took a coaching change and several seasons, but the deal eventually paid off with a title.

Rondo joins a coach in Carlisle who has dealt with several makeovers of the ros-ter since winning the fran-chise’s only title, and Carlisle is more than happy to tweak again.

Bulls snap Grizzlies’ 6-game win streak

Rondo wants another title run in move to MavsPortland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard shoots during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 200 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 - 22, 201416 EDGEDAVAO