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Beauty treatments for the insecure

By
Edge Davao
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by Maya Flaminda Vandenbroeck

THE RICH (AND especially the filthy rich) are the most insecure and gullible. They tend to be easily fooled into spending thousands on improving their physical appearance. Women with unfaithful husbands (or with husbands who are about to become unfaithful) are the most vulnerable, according to this former employee of a beauty center.
Alex (real name withheld for security) says insecure wives come to the beauty center out of curiosity and are then told that it’s normal for men to have the hots for attractive women so, ma’am, why don’t you surprise your husband by undergoing our special body-wrap treatment? Whatever’s left of the insecure wives’ self-esteem is then given another jolt by the beauty center’s “free” check-up which reveals that tsk-tsk ma’am you have to lose five, 10, 15, 20 kilos (or more). Usually, the terribly insecure wives take the bait and easily spend from 50,000 to 250,000 pesos for a series of treatments that are just, well, alcohol-laced cloth wrapped around the body.
The insecure wives don’t know this of course. The concoction supposedly causes the chemical reaction of skin tightening as the coldness of the alcohol comes into contact with the heat of the human body. Thing is, when body measurements are taken before the women undergo the body-wrap treatment, the beauty center’s personnel make sure to add at least 2 inches. So the next time the women come to the clinic one week or so later, the beauty center’s personnel who take the body measurements, can easily drop off an inch to make it appear that the body-wrap procedure worked.
The insecure wives are so happy, they are easily enticed to upgrade to body-wrap *plus *plus which is actually only the same alcohol-laced cloth wrapped around the body. The difference: it’s several thousand pesos more expensive – and it’s GREEN (because of the food coloring put in the alcohol. But the insecure wives don’t know this of course.) Alex reveals that when he first joined the beauty center and underwent training, he thought he would learn about medical terms and things like that. Instead the training focused on how to relate to customers — i.e. how to entice them to get several treatments even if they do not need to lose excess weight; how to convince them that it must be their own fault (and not the beauty center’s) in case no weight has been lost, etc. Here are some everyday scenarios at the beauty center:
#1  A big-boned customer happens to drop by and gets the free check up. After taking her body measurements and BMI (body mass index), the customer is told that she borders obesity. The beauty center’s personnel tell her to take a series of body wrap treatments to help her slim down in no time. The customer hesitates when she discovers how expensive it is. “I have to tell my husband first,” she says. The beauty center’s personnel coos: “No need to tell your husband ma’am. Take the body wrap treatment to surprise him!” (Alex says there was one case when a husband did find out and got so angry at the wife for wasting so much money that they ended up getting a divorce.)
#2 While a customer undergoes the body-wrap treatment, the beauty center’s personnel on duty discreetly goes through the customer’s handbag to check out her credit cards. You see, it’s company policy to charge a client her credit card’s worth — even if she doesn’t really need to lose that much weight. Meaning to say, the kind of treatment/s that the beauty center’s personnel will recommend depends on whether a customer owns a diamond credit card, a gold credit card, and so on.
#3 The beauty center’s endorsers are beautiful movie stars who are about to give birth. Their “before” and “after” pictures are prominently displayed in one of the country’s leading newspapers. But you see, Alex explains, women who have given birth are naturally fatter even after having given birth. But it’s also expected that these women lose much of the baby fat after their babies come out. Especially movie stars who are pressured to look good all the time.
The movie stars’ slimming down has more to do with their own exercise and diet than with the body wrap thing. Take note that the beauty center does not pay the movie stars for their endorsement, but instead gives them free body wrap treatments. There are movie star endorsers who do not avail of any treatment. Alex muses that they’re probably just enjoying the free exposure in the newspapers.
Everyone, don’t ever think I’m making up any of this. Alex, the source of all this mind-blowing information, is not just a dissatisfied client but an employee of the beauty center in question. Even though he was earning some 200,000 pesos a month, he was so bothered by the deceit that he didn’t mind leaving. His foreign bosses tried to coax him into changing his mind: “Don’t take your job so personally,” they told him, “just think about it as work.” They even had Alex billeted in a luxury hotel for six months to let him get used to the good life. It didn’t work. Alex stood by his belief to be honest even when others are not, cannot, and will not.
Visit www.mayaflaminda.blogspot.com for more snippets of the author’s daily encounters with the corrupt, crazy, profound, interesting, famous at work, at home, in the jeepney, at the beach, on the plane. You get the picture.)

AOFloirendo Foundation: At the forefront of community service

By
Edge Davao
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THE Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. Foundation (AOFF), named after one of the most successful agricultural industrialists in Mindanao, if not the whole country, is also a leading institution in the pursuit of the ideals of corporate social responsibility.
From providing livelihood projects to extending medical and dental services, the foundation is at the forefront of community service particularly in the province of Davao del Norte.
Recently, to help address the perennial problem on the shortage of classrooms, AOFF donated a two-unit school building donated by the Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. Foundation (AOFF) to Ramon Magsaysay Elementary School (RMES) in Carmen, Davao del Norte.
Rep. Antonio F. Lagdameo (2nd district, Davao del Norte) led the groundbreaking ceremony of the school building construction where he said, “Alam naman natin yung programa ng AOF Foundation, nauuna sa mga eskwelahan.” Lagdameo also donated basketballs, footballs and volleyballs to the students of the school, saying that the building and the additional donation will not be the last project of the foundation.
Russell U. Barrizo, programs director of AOFF and senior manager of Tadeco Livelihood and Training Center (TLTC), added that despite having only two classrooms, the school building project will contribute in easing the problem of lack of school facilities, especially with the increasing student population.
RMES, the beneficiary school, headed by principal, Aurelia Cuarenta, gave thanks to AOFF and Rep.  Lagdameo for the donation. “This is a very timely [project] for this season because the student  population will increase due to the ‘No Payment Policy’ [of DepEd],” Cuarenta said.
The new school building is the fourth that AOFF has donated to different public elementary and high schools in Davao del Norte. This is part of the foundation’s educational assistance program. It supports the DOLE project called “Classroom Galing sa Mamamayang Pilipino Abroad” that is aimed at providing 5,000 classrooms in public schools to mitigate the school building shortage throughout the country.
Projected to be finished within three months, the building will have complete toilet facilities and well ventilated rooms. With a land area of 100 square meters, it will accommodate 45 students per classroom.
AOFF has been focusing on improving the quality of education in the Philippines by adding facilities and advance technology to public elementary and high schools. The foundation has been actively involved in providing educational resources such as classrooms and other school facilities, as well as  instruction materials to students in Davao del Norte.
The other guests who graced the groundbreaking ceremony were Mayor Marcelino A. Perandos and Vice Mayor Alberto Sarin of Carmen, councilors Jesus Atanoza and Roselyn Buen, chairman Moises V. Lura and kagawad-kaabag Jesus T. Sagayno of Brgy. Magsaysay, and the teachers and staff of RMES.

Scholarships
As part of its educational support projects, the foundation also extends financial supports to students.
Among the graduates of the last school year (2009) were the scholars of AOFF in various University of the Philippines units.
Cristina Y. Deña and Jan Kristel B. Saligan earned their degree in Agribusiness Economics at UP Mindanao last April 22. Marchie V. Pacol completed her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Major in Horticulture at UP Los Baños last April 25. Marianne P. Salmasan received her diploma in Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from UP Visayas-Iloilo last April 28. All four were with their parents and Floirendo Foundation Programs Director Russell U. Barrizo during their respective graduation ceremonies.
“Mapasalamaton kaayo mi sa Floirendo Foundation sa ilang dakong tabang sa edukasyon sa akong anak. Tungod sa scholarship, nagmalampuson usab sa pag-eskwela ang anak namo diri sa Iloilo (We are very thankful to Floirendo Foundation for its assistance in the education of my daughter. Because of the scholarship, my daughter has successfully finished her studies here in Iloilo), said Neria Salmasan, who was with her daughter Marianne on the latter’s graduation day.
“The foundation and its benefactor, Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr., are more than happy for having assisted these hardworking students to finish their studies, which is a stepping stone towards fulfilling the career that they want,” remarked Barrizo.
Other previous scholars, like Richell Argones, Abbeah Rebuta, and Angelie Vitor, who were also graduates of various UP units, have since then been working with ANFLOCOR and its sister company Tadeco.
The foundation has also recently welcomed its newest batch of scholars for SY 2009-2010. The scholarship shall cover the students’ tuition and miscellaneous fees, book and transportation allowance, and monthly stipend, according to a bracketing system.

Bayanihan
In times of crisis, the foundation has also readily extended its hand to those who suffer tragedies.
Recently, the AOFF, together with the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Incorporated (TADECO), enjoined this spirit of bayanihan with other groups and organizations in service to the victims of the recent landslide that struck Brgy. Masara, Maco, Compostela Valley Province.
Heading the team, AOFF Programs Director Russell U. Barrizo said extending donations to residents of critical areas is one of the projects of the organization. “TADECO community is nestled in a co-existent area, so we aim to spread our assistance, not only within but also beyond the boundaries of TADECO. This is also a way to widen our scope on how we can help other people,” Barrizo added.
TADECO and AOFF visited the Incident Command Center of the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council in Brgy. Elizalde, Wednesday, to deliver their donations made up of food items such as rice, canned goods, and fruits as well as medicines for common illnesses.
The team also dropped by the evacuation center at Elizalde Elementary School to see the condition of the residents and to know how they could be of help in according the other immediate needs of the victims. There, they found out from Edwin R. Lastra, principal of this said school, what the students of the school need.
Evacuees still remembered the horrifying incident that happened so swiftly, it took the lives of their close friends and neighbors. They also left some of their personal belongings in their houses. “Dagha’g nabiyaan, pero mahadlok mukuha’g gamit ang uban kay basi’g mausban,” said one Jimmy Cortez.
Nonetheless, they thanked the various organizations and groups who offered help through relief goods and other forms of assistance in this critical time. “Daghan ang nanabang [ug] nagpasalamat mi sa paghatag [nila] ug hinabang” said Norma de Leon, who especially thanked TADECO for the bananas that they received.

Medical missions
Even outside the crisis situation, the AOFF also extends free medical and dental services to indigent residents.
Recently, the foundation conducted a three-day medical mission series in three different areas of Davao City and Davao del Norte.
The AOFF started the series last December 4, 2008 in Brgy. Wines, Baguio District, Davao City where a dental service was offered for free to the residents of the community. The beneficiaries of the mission availed of tooth extraction and free medicines.
A medical and dental activity also took place in Brgy. Sto. Niño, Talaingod, Davao del Norte on December 5, where beneficiaries received free medicines after having their medical and dental consultations.
The last stop of the week was in Brgy. Nanyo, Panabo City on December 6. Beneficiaries of the activity were also given free medical and dental consultation as well as medicines.
Floirendo Foundation Programs Director Russell U. Barrizo stressed that “medical mission and other activities like feeding program will go on and will even spread to other areas outside Tadeco and Davao del Norte.”
This series of medical outreach activities, which gathered 735 patients altogether, was made possible with the assistance of the medical and dental team composed of Dr. Gladys Ogatis-Sermon, Dr. Claire Frances Miyake, Dr. Jomari M. Ancheta, Dr. Nicolas Dawi, Jr., and Dr. Andree Guada-Jumanguin. The efforts of the health workers, Hugpong officers and members, and council members of the three barangays led by their heads Neson Binobo, Vicente J. Bascon (Hugpong Talaingod President), and Demetrio C. Maligro, respectively, also contributed to the success of the activities.

Beyond the province
The foundation also extends community service even beyond Davao del Norte.
Recently, the AOFF and Southern Fresh Products, Inc. (SFPI), an exporting company of fresh Del Monte Gold pineapples, joined hands with the 29th IB of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to render dental services to the students of San Nicolas Elementary School in Don Carlos, Bukidnon.
Rollyn John Cabaluna, one of the pupils who availed of free tooth extraction, was among those who were grateful for the timely dental service.
Grade I teacher Donna Nguho emphasized the benefits of the said dental activity. “Dili na o ma-minimize na ang absences sa mga bata kay naa’y dental services nga gihatag diri (The children will avoid or minimize their absences in school because of the dental services given),” said Nguho. She added that the pupils receive dental and even medical attention only when the medical team of the Department of Education visits their school twice a year.
Aware of the high cost of dental services by dental clinics, Nguho told the students, “Chance na ni ninyo kay kita na’y gi-anhian, wala na’y rason nga dili ninyo dawaton kay gihatod na sa inyo [ang serbisyo] (This is your chance to avail of the free service).”
Before this last week’s activity, SFPI and Floirendo Foundation were also in the same school to distribute toothpaste and toothbrushes to the pupils. Along with the civi- military operations of the 29th IB of AFP, this forms part of the community outreach activities of SFPI and Floirendo Foundation which they have been doing in depressed areas in Bukidnon.

Agriculture: Davao del Norte’s real strength

By
Edge Davao
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AGRICULTURAL production is the real strengyh of Davao del Norte, which was created 42 years ago on May 8, 1967 by virtue of a law dividing the old Davao into three provinces. (the simultaneous official inauguration of Davao del Norte and two other provinces, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental, was on July 1,1967).

Crop production
The major crops grown in the province, even after a new province, Compostela Valley, was carved out from it in 1998, remain to be paddy rice, corn, coconut, banana and fruit trees.
Vegetables, root crops and other cash crops are also grown abundantly, most of which not on a commercial scale.
Known as the country’ banana capital, the province devotes 32,148.9 hectares to the cultivation of cavendish banana for export as well as other varieties for local consumption.
Corn of the white variety is planted to 7,872 hectares.
Coconut, one of the dominant crops, covers 35,297.6 hectares and produced 223,793.72 metric tons per annum as of 2007.
The province’s leading commercial fruit crops are durian  and mango, with the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) known to produce the country’s sweetest mangoes along with Guimaras Island in the Visayas and Davao del Sur. Other crops are papaya, coffee, cacao, vegetable and spices.

Fish production
The municipal waters of the province abound with fish, and so do its inland fishponds. Davao del Norte’s brackish waters produce bangus, tilapia, shrimps, and crabs. Its more than 700-hectare freshwater ponds produce tilapia and catfish. The fish cages of Panabo City are now producing bangus by the tons.
The average fish catch of the province of 3,187.80 metric tons annually in the last five years is expected to increase starting this year because of the fish cages in Panabo and IGaCoS.
The province has great potentials for the production of rubber, African palm oil, milkfish, crabs, lobsters and seaweed.
Livestock production
Livestock production is described by provincial officials as “prominently a backyard farming activity and which is gradually progressing into commercial scale.”
As of the latest inventory by the provincial veterinarian’s office, Davao de Norte had at last count a total of 190,167 heads of cattle, carabao, wine and goat, both on backyard and commercial scales.

One Town One
Product (OTOP)
Davao del Norte is a participant in the much-publicized One-Town-One Product (OTOP) program of the government.
Pursuant to this impact program, Panabo City is focused on the production of banana flour, the Island Garden City of Samal on mango, New Corella on tikog novelties, Dujali on organic  rice, Talaingod on fresh bananas, Asuncion on virgin coconut oil, Carmen on animal feeds, Tagum City on banana chips, Sto. Tomas on banana flour, San Isidro on cacao tableya and Kapalong on banana flour.

Banana industry cushions impact of unemployment

By
Edge Davao
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– Banana farms expand and hire more workers  
– 100,000 employed in banana farms, more in ancillary services
– Bank doubles loan portfolio for  growers to P1.3 billion

DEFYING the effects of the world’s economic downturn, the burgeoning export banana industry remains to be the bright spot in the employment front  this year in the Davao Region and other parts of Mindanao, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.
Aside from being grown in the three Davao provinces and some cities therein, cavendish bananas for export are also propagated in plantation scale in South Cotabato, General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and North Cotabato which are in Region 12 and in Bukidnon within Region 10.
DOLE Region 11  Director Jalilo O. dela Torre said that overall during the first five months of the year, only 1,154 employees were displaced in the Davao Region, most of them from the mining industry and the services sector. The number is even lower compared with job losses registered during the same period last year when there were 3,297 employees who were laid off.
At present, Dela Torre said that in the Davao Region alone the banana industry has about 100,000 regular workers, not including those working in ancillary services.
Records obtained by Edge Davao from the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) showed that the region’s top six banana exporters alone have generated total employment of 50,853 persons, computed on the basis of 1.5 workers per hectare. The top six firms—Dole Stanfilco, Tadeco, Lapanday, Sumifru, Marsman and AMS—have a combined plantation area of 33,903 hectares. They had a combined exports volume of 22, 041, 222 boxes of cavendish bananas last year.
Dela Torre said the healthy employment situation in the banana industry has helped in cushioning the negative impact of the economic crisis.
Encouraged by the impressive performance of the industry, One Network Bank, Mindanao’s largest rural bank with 75 branches doubled its loan portfolio for banana growers from P650 million in 2008 to P1.3 billion this year. (See accompanying story)
Secondary businesses that benefit from the banana industry include land leasing, trucking, box manufacturing, plastic manufacturing, pallet making, pole treatment, shipping, fabrication and machining shops, engineering companies and trading outfits.
Dela Torre said some banana companies have embarked on expansion of their farms, thereby needing more employees. He said one company is even eyeing on establishing banana plantations in other areas of Asia.
Based on a January 2009 figure, the industry  had a 5.8% unemployment rate, although Dela Torre expected the figure to go a bit higher when those who graduated from colleges start registering in the coming days.
Gil M. Dureza, chief of the Board of Investments in Southern and Central Mindanao, said that a banana company is looking for a 4,000-hectare farm for expansion project, but he did not name the company.
PBGEA spokesperson Anthony B. Sasin said the banana industry has remained vibrant, sustaining a high employment absorption, despite the challenges that it is facing.
Sasin explained that for every person directly employed by a banana company, there are eight others who get employed in the industry’s allied services. “So you can imagine how big the banana industry employment is,” he told business reporters.
He bared that some big companies have started establishing plantations in Indonesia because of the problem that they are facing in Mindanao, particularly on securing more farms and the continued fight against those pushing for aerial spraying.
“It is very hard to expand now considering that a company will always face difficulty in negotiating for more farms. One problem is the implementation of the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) because a company now needs to negotiate with the cooperative (of agrarian beneficiaries) before they are allowed to expand,”  Sasin told a group of business reporters recently. 
The problem, he added, is coupled with the continued advocacy of certain groups of imposing a ban on aerial spraying.
Last year, the city government passed an ordinance imposing a ban on aerial spraying, but the banana group questioned the ordinance before the courts. Early this year, the Court of Appeals junked the ordinance because of unconstitutionality, but the city government and those calling for the ban have asked the CA to reverse its ruling.
Lately, a team of researchers released the result of its 2006 study on Camocaan, a village near a banana farm in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur which concluded that there was a need to ban the aerial spraying. But experts commissioned by the banana group questioned the result of the study, saying there was no strong proof that could become the basis for concluding that the ban on aerial spraying be implemented.
The experts of the banana group also questioned the methods used in the research and concluded that the study had a lot of flaws. The group as well as the association of agro-chemical companies have asked the Department of Health, which commissioned the study, to order for an independent peer review of the study. [With AD and AMA]

Province in focus – Davao del Norte: A little bit of history

By
Edge Davao
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DAVAO del Norte was one of the three new provinces created when the original province of Davao was split by virtue of the bill authored by then Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. The other two were Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental. While the law, R.A. 4867, was approved 8 May 1967, the three became provinces simultaneously July 1st of same year.
Davao del Norte was composed of 13 municipalities, namely: Asuncion, Babak, Compostela, Kapalong, Mabini, Mawab, Monkayo, Nabunturan, Panabo, Pantukan, Samal, Sto. Tomas and Tagum.  Six additional municipalities were created on May 6, 1970.  These were Carmen, Kaputian, Maco, Montevista, New Bataan and New Corella.  As of 1996, the municipalities became 22 with the creation of San Vicente (now Laak) in 1979, Maragusan in 1988 and Talaingod in 1990.
Verulo C. Boiser, an extremely popular broadcaster carrying the nom de plume “Bonjong” and senior member of the provincial board of the still undivided province, was appointed first governor.  Boiser served the fledgling province for a total of 10 years, from July 1, 1967 to July 7, 1977, two years as appointed governor and eight years (two terms) as elected governor.
During Governor Boiser’s time, specifically in 1972, the infrastructure development of Davao del Norte was given a big boost. when the province qualified along with the 27 other provinces nationwide to be included in the development program of the then Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Under this program, the province successfully implemented the Rural Roads Program (RRP) for 15 years and the Barangay Water Program (BWP) for 11 years.
The second provincial governor was Gregorio R. Dujali. The gentleman farmer, former campus wrestling champion and municipal mayor of Panabo for several terms, was extended a presidential appointment when Bonjong Boiser stepped down on July 7, 1977.  Dujali’s stint as appointed governor lasted for only one year, as he was elective governor for two terms until March 31, 1986 when the Corazon Aquino government replaced the country’s incumbent elected officials with officers-in-charge.
Dujali’s governorship stressed on agricultural development and food production, the most notable of which was “Pagkain ng Bayan” (Food for the People), a demonstration/model rice farm administered by the provincial government, which also generated income for the province.  This economic enterprise was later expanded to include the production of other agricultural products.  The “Pagkain ng Bayan” site has been the venue of several trainings jointly sponsored by the Japan-based Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) and the Province of Davao del Norte.
Under the Dujali administration many people in the province were able to avail themselves of  livelihood projects.
On April 4, 1986, shortly after  Corazon C. Aquino was installed as president of the Philippines by virtue of the “People Power” phenomenon, or  EDSA Revolution on February 25, 1986, Prospero S. Amatong,  a veteran municipal mayor of Nabunturan, was appointed OIC governor. Together with him, six board members were also appointed, four of whom resigned when they ran for congressman a year after. As result,  four new members of the Provincial Board were appointed to fill in the vacancies.
The Amatong administration ushered in a new style of leadership.  His close supervision of infrastructure projects resulted in the completion of several public buildings, roads and bridges. 
It was also during the term of the late Governor Amatong when the peace and order situation greatly improved.  Owing to the cease-fire that he had successfully brokered with the rebels, there were mass surrenders of insurgents, a rehabilitation center for rebel returnees was established and these returnees were given an opportunity to become productive through livelihood projects.
Amatong resigned from his appointive position on November 30, 1987 in order to run for governor during the regular elections in 1988. Romeo S, Jardenico, the chief local government officer of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), took charge of the province for two weeks until the appointment of lawyer Jesus T. Albacite as OIC governor. However, the term of OIC governor Albacite was shortlived, lasting only for twenty one (21) days when, due to certain constitutional provisions, the position of OIC governor was handed over Cecilia Almendras-de la Paz, who once served as vice governor of the province. On February 3, 1988,  Amatong took his oath as the duly-elected governor of the province. Governor Amatong’s reign was marked by province’s economic economic strides. Davao del Norte was fortunate to be picked one of the pilot provinces for the decentralization program which were granted financial assistance by the national government termed the Block Grant in the amount of P120 million for social, agricultural and infrastructure development.
Governor Amatong also put emphasis on the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. He saw to it that the province acquired its own heavy equipment,  thereby eliminating the need for private contractors in the implementation of roads and bridges. The governor was known to be a hands-on executive, conducting frequent visits to the project sites to ensure that these were properly implemented.
Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, was a big boost to the Amatong administration. The law allowed non-government organizations like the cooperatives to get involved in government projects.
The LGC also inspired Governor Amatong to pursue the implementation of the first-ever reorganization of employees in the provincial government on December 16, 1991.  It is believed that the reorganization enabled the provincial government to be more responsive and efficient in the delivery of public services.
Still with RA 7160, devolution of functions of a number of national government agencies to the provincial government was made possible.
Among the most high-profile achievements under the leadership of Gov. Amatong were the three Galing Pook Awards received for three consecutive years by the Province of Davao del Norte from the Asian Institute of Management and the Department of the Interior and local Government. The award was given for having excelled in its agricultural program in 1995 and 1996 and its health program in 1997.  These were the 1995 Trichogramma; 1996 Sustainable Food Security Program and the 1997 Blood Sufficiency Program.
As a result of Davao del Norte’s getting the prestigious awards for three consecutive years, the province was installed in the Hall of Fame, for which it was awarded another plaque.
On January 30, 1998, President Fidel V. Ramos signed bills into law tha would alter the physical complexion of Davao del Norte. They are Republic Act No.8470 creating the Province of Compostela Valley out of Davao Province; the enactment of Republic Act No. 8471, creating the Island Garden City of Samal comprising the former municipalities of Babak, Samal and Kaputian; Republic Act No. 8472 converting Tagum municipality into Tagum City, the seat of the provincial government of Davao del Norte Province; and Republic Act 8473 creating the municipality of Braulio E. Dujali from the municipalities of Carmen and Panabo. As a result of all these changes, the province was now composed of eight municipalities and two cities with a total of 223 barangays.
On March 26, 1998, Governor Amatong chose to take his oath as governor of the newly created province of Compostela Valley, thus officially ending his stint as Davao del Norte’s chief executive.
The national and local election period from April 1 to June 30, 1999 necessitated the appointment of interim provincial officials headed by Anecito M. Solis as the acting governor. 
Rodolfo P. del Rosario was sworn into office as the first elected governor of the new Davao del Norte Province on July 1, 1998. 
The new governor immediately embarked on programs for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. His passion for programs designed for the  protection and preservation of our natural resources, human resource development to include education, health and employment generation, cooperative development and the review and modification of the financial policy of the province was likewise evident.
Gov. Del Rosario institutionalized the “Cluster Development“ approach that grouped municipalities and cities for better developmental complementation.
On March 31, 2001, the municipality of Panabo became a city by virtue of Republic Act 1015, thus changing the administrative composition of Davao del Norte to seven municipalities and three cities. Congressman Antonio R. Floirendo Jr. was the architect of the bill creating the City of Panabo.
One of the remarkable features of good governance exemplified under the leadership of Gov. Del Rosario is the bonding together of the elected provincial officials into an organization known as “Hugpong Dabaonon.” Under “Hugpong,” the provincial officials made a commitment to work together, setting aside political affiliation and ideological differences. Analysts credit this manifestation of unity and solidarity as instrumental in effecting the fast-paced development of Davao del Norte.
Among the priority programs and projects in Del Rosario’s time were the Integrated Water Resource Development Project wherein a feasibility study was made on the potable water supply in the province; the establishment of the Technology and Livelihood Development Center (TLDC) launched in 1999; the Davao del Norte Investment Promotion Center (DNIPC) aimed at increasing investment/business opportunities; the “Medicare para sa Masa” program; the Nutrition Program; the Surgical Outreach Program and the opening of the Carmen District Hospital; “Luntiang Paraiso” rehabilitation center for drug dependents in New Corella; the Sports Development Program and the full support for the Summer Program for Employment of Students (SPES).
Economic services anchored on the MBN (minimum basic needs) concept included projects such as the Infrastructure Project for the Enhancement of Rural Productivity (IPERP), livestock production and animal dispersal projects, the Community-Based Forest Resource Management Project, the Coastal Resource Management Project and the Upland Development Program.
Another landmark, the “Tahanan ng Punong Lalawigan,”, the official residence of the provincial chief executive of Davao del Norte, was constructed within the compound of the provincial government center. 
Davao del Norte’s membership in the  Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP) enabled it to benefit from major economic projects such as farm-to-market roads and Upland Farming Model Villages.
On March 15, 2004, a new municipality was born. Republic Act No. 9265 created San Isidro as the eighth municipality of Davao del Norte.  San Isidro is composed of six barangays culled from the municipality of Kapalong and another seven barangays  from the municipality of Asuncion.  The bill was sponsored by Congressman Arrel R. Olaño of District I. The seat of this new local government unit is in Barangay Sawata.
Governor Del Rosario served for two terms only. His decision not to run for re-election paved the way for Gelacio P. Gementiza, mayor of Tagum City, to run for governor of Davao del Norte. Gementiza’s landslide victory gave him a new mandate to head the province of Davao del Norte.
The centerpiece program of government of Governor Gementiza were social services development and peace and order stability of Davao del Norte.  In his inaugural address he pledged to continue the implementation of on-going programs and projects geared towards attaining poverty alleviation through the MBN approach.

No need to revise city’s zoning code

By
Edge Davao
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– Urban planner advises city government not to forget its vision statement

WHILE THE Davao City government is getting the flak for taking it so long to amend the  zoning ordinance, a prominent environmental planner has raised doubts over the necessity of changing the code which regulates the use of the city’s land resources in the implementation of the City Land Use Plan (CLUP).
“Urban patterns or urban growth cannot happen drastically in five to 10 years unless you are just allowing anything to happen. Pero kung magaling po ang CLUP and zoning ordinance (implementation) magkakaroon po ng controlled and regulated urban development,” said Liza Marie K. c, president of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, during the general membership meeting last Friday of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII).   
Davao City’s CLUP and the corresponding revised zoning ordinance passed in 1996, were approved for implementation by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) only in mid-2001 amid criticism that the document had already become outdated at the time of the approval by HLURB. The CLUP covers a 25-year period until 2021.
Elum said that a CLUP, as a long-term guide for the physical development of the local area, already identifies areas where development may, or may not, be located with a time horizon of up to 30 years, depending on the population growth rate.
She emphasized that an urban pattern changes when a population of a certain area doubles. In the case of Davao City, which has an annual population growth rate of 2.57% between 1995-2007, the population doubling time is 27 years or two years over than the 25-year period covered by the current CLUP of the city.
Elum also clarified that a local government unit is not obliged by law to update its CLUP and zoning ordinance every five years. “What is mandated (by HLURB) is to review and update only when necessary.”
In the midst of the fast-paced development taking place in Davao City, Elum said a controlled growth can ensure both the city’s ecological integrity and the quality of life of its people.
“It’s very expensive to overhaul physical development, but what you can do is to identify where areas that you do not want growth anymore and where you can no longer expand. You should direct growth where it should be,” she said.
Roberto P. Alabado III, consultant on planning and development of the City Planning and Development Office, said the city’s current CLUP already identifies urban settlements and growth areas.
The CLUP embodies “multi-nuclei” development strategy defining hierarchy of urban settlements that seek the establishment of a network of growth centers meant to rationalize development initiatives in the city’s vast land area.
The strategy provides “a springboard for a productive management and optimum utilization of the city’s physical and human resources” by designating district urban centers like Toril, Buhangin, Agdao and Calinan, as the city’s sub-economic centers.  
Elum, however, also emphasized that the provisions of the CLUP should be strictly enforced.
“When enacted into zoning ordinance, the CLUP becomes a statutory plan whose provisions are not merely indicative but are legally enforceable,” she said.
A case which drew a lengthy discussion during the open forum of the meeting is the proliferation of informal settlements along the city’s foreshores and waterways.
“One of the generic goals of physical planning is the rational distribution of population. Our local government officials must understand that they have the responsibility to remove settlements from danger zones,” Elum said.
“Foreshore areas are danger zones, especially now with the heightened threat (of the effects) of global warming like tsunamis and sudden rise of water levels. What is really needed is the political will,” she added.
Abalado conceded over the non-enforcement of laws prohibiting settlements along the foreshore areas.
“We Filipinos have so many laws that we don’t even enforce,” he said.
But Abalado justified the problem on the informal settlers is more  economic in nature.
“The problem of our people right now is an economic situation such as ours where we have massive poverty. We have available lands for subdivisions, for developers. However their prices are almost out of reach for our people. So, their option is to squat on public areas,” he said.
Saying that relocating the settlers is too costly, Abalado instead asked the business sector to help address the problem on squatting.
“We all know that they should not be there, but are we willing, everyone of us—city government, developers, corporations—to invest para tanggalin sila doon? It will take millions of pesos just to relocate everyone. So, if you say you are willing to contribute, then kausapin natin ang city government,” he said.
“If you have land, you contribute land, why not? But if you are going to expect the local government to act alone, we will not be able to solve that,” Abalado added.
At the same time, urban planner Elum lamented the propensity of local government units to write fancy and ambitious words as their mission statements, but completely forget about  them after hanging them on the with in fancy frames.
She said that a mission statement of an LGU should be different from the others, so that each it will be clear what a niche wants to develop for itself.
A mission statement, like a CLUP, should always be the guide or “bible” of the Sanggunian, City Hall and the entire LGU in starting projects designed to develop their areas or jurisdiction or in approving request for development permits.

Swimming with mantas

By
Edge Davao
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THE UNRELENTING rays of the sun penetrate the car’s windows and heat engulfs the small compartment, biting my skin. It is 11:30 a.m. I grumble and shift uncomfortably in my seat, wistfully watching the magnificent bay stretched out below me.
We veer away from the main road and enter a rusty gate that opens to a dirt road just wide enough for us to pass. On both sides, endless rows of trees with trunks that stick out like sore thumbs, enveloping us in all shades of brown.
The car stops in a clearing and I follow the rest towards a quaint cottage. So very Western I think of the architecture of wooden logs that reminds me of a Hollywood movie featuring a Hansel-and-Gretel-like hut located in the middle of a forest, isolating its occupants from the rest of the world.    
This cottage though is set right above a stony cliff. A spacious wooden terrace offers a fantastic view of the sea. The terrace leads to a narrow, cemented staircase that extends down to the water. So here I finally am at South Point Divers. It is located at Tampuan Point, Maasim, Sarangani Province; probably the farthest south one can get over land in the Philippines when in search for dive sites.
In 1969, when Donald Partridge, an American, moved to the Philippines to work for the DOLE Pineapple Plantation in General Santos City, he instantly grew attached to the place as it is bordered by Sarangani Bay. Don stayed and married a Filipina with whom he has three sons.
Paul, the second son, is a dive instructor and the manager of South Point Divers. He recalls that when he was still a child, his family owned a beach in General Santos City which he and his brothers made into their playground. A couple of years later, the family found in Sarangani this piece of land jutting above the sea, turned it into their getaway, and then decided to open it to the public in 2005.
Yet despite the success of their hobby-turned-business, the Partridge family is bent on preventing South Point Divers from becoming too commercialized, preferring to keep it simple; a rustic, back-to-roots kind of dive site. Paul confides he hesitates using the word ‘resort’ because people might think the place is full of half-naked people and plenty of booze. A ‘Bed and Breakfast’ or ‘Mom and Pop Store’ of divers is more what Paul has in mind for the dive site and he does not mind at all the minimal exposure that their handful of promotional brochures has given.
What the Partridge family desires is to have people add to their circle of sea-lovers, no matter how few. The measure of South Point Divers’ success for the Partridges is not based on the number of customers that come every so often. “What we want are friends to come back,” Paul says emphatically.
And come back visitors do indeed. Many return to explore the crevice located right at the corner of the property where the dive spot is. Feet after feet, the crevice of rock formations of every kind stretches from under the water’s surface to the abyss unexplored even by expert divers.
Other visitors like to hang out at the Sandbar, a small shore made of white sand and soft corals that during low tide peeks through the blue sea like the wide tip of an iceberg. From here one can swim to the opposite side where a beach of hard corals lies.
Probably the most favorite attraction at South Point Divers are the turtles and mantas, giant rays whose diamond-shaped bodies measure to 25 feet across their fins or “wings.” Thriving under the sea at varying depths, these sea creatures can be encountered depending on how deep one dives. The manta, for example, is considered a prized sighting as it can only be seen if one gets to dive deep enough.
Yet even when the turtles and mantas go in hiding, divers find themselves swimming with butterfly fishes, clown fishes, giant groupers, humphead wrasses, dolphins, sharks, sea snakes, clams, and crabs. So colorful and bursting with life is this magical underwater world amidst the traffic of fish moving in packs like one brain is directing them to turn right or left, up or down. Here at South Point Divers, all troubles are left floating on the surface as the wonders of the ocean bring true peace of mind.

Focus: Education – Ateneo, UM: 2 autonomous schools in the Davao region

By
Edge Davao
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ATENEO de Davao University and the University of Mindanao are the two higher learning institutions in Davao Region recognized as autonomous by the Commission on Higher Educations (Ched).
Being autonomous, these schools enjoy many privileges, such as offering new courses they want even without consulting the Ched.
“They are only required to inform us,” said Dr. Edward S. Aquino, chief education program specialist of Ched 11.
Aside from the authority to increase tuition fees even without the approval of Ched, autonomous schools are authorized to extend classes, introduce distance education and other alternative learning systems.
The schools can also establish campuses anywhere in the country and are not obligated to submit progress reports that are regularly submitted to Ched by schools which are not autonomous.
“Ched believes that even without government regulations, these autonomous schools are presumed to be responsible enough in the conduct of their operations and to deliver performance within excellent standards,” Aquino said.

Focus: Education – OMB chairperson hit for ‘irresponsible ad’

By
Edge Davao
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THE wife of House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles has cautioned Optical Media Board Chair Edu Manzano over an LBC commercial which “irresponsibly confuses, particularly the schoolchildren, about the concept of right and wrong”.
In letters to the Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), Rhodora B. Nograles,  chair of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI), strongly expressed concern over the new television advertisement of “LBC Remittance Service” which presented Manzano as the featured host.
“The ad, which used the spelling bee concept, directly conveyed that LBC is the correct spelling of the word “remittance. To say “tumpak” (correct) is fundamentally wrong and it is worse to propagate it using the mass media,” Mrs. Nograles said.
Ms. Nograles said she recognizes the business sector’s need to market its products and employ strategies to increase sales and improve patronage of products and services.
However, she said, there are “other responsible and more creative ways of achieving such objectives than using an educational scenario in an advertisement which conveys a message that is contrary to the educational essence of teaching what is right”.
Ms. Nograles called on the AdBoard, the agency primarily concerned with the development of the ad industry through self-regulation, to raise the matter to the advertiser, and remind other advertisers as well, on everyone’s responsibility, especially to the youth.
Meanwhile, MTRCB chair Ma. Consoliza P. Laguardia asked the Ad Standards Council, Inc. to investigate the LBC advertisement.
“The advertisement is a distortion of truth on the proper spelling of the word ‘remittance. To the young minds, without the guidance of an adult, such distortion of truth presents an instructional digression,” Laguardia said.
“The average child may not have the adult’s grasp of figures of speech, and may lack the understanding that language may be colorful, and words may convey more than the literal meaning,” Laguardia said.
Laguardia also urged the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas to immediately issue a cease and desist order against the advertiser or order the immediate withdrawal or recall from public exhibition of the advertisement until its propriety or compliance with the Broadcast Code of the Philippines and P.D. 1986 is resolved.
Laguardia cited a Supreme Court decision (Soriano vs. Laguardia) which authoritatively declared that “the welfare of children and the State’s mandate to protect and care for them, as parens patria, constitute a substantial and compelling government interest in regulating petitioner’s utterances in TV broadcast.”

LEGACY UPDATES Victims in Davao can’t raise deposits for Legacy claims

By
Edge Davao
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– PDIC asks help of forensic experts in its investigation of 13 banks

HUNDREDS of victims in the Davao region of the Legacy double-your-money schemes are having a hard time filing their multi-million-peso claims due to difficulty in putting up the required court deposits.
This was learned from lawyer Israelito “Bobit” Torreon, counsel of more than 200 Legacy victims in the Davao area.
Torreon said that in filing a civil case, the court requires around P20,000 per P1 million claim. The claims of Legacy victims being handled by Torreon total about P250 million.
With the huge amount of deposits needed, Torreon said they will be exploring other ways that would allow the court to approve deposits based per claimant and not based on the total amount.
As for the filing of the criminal case, Torreon said they are awaiting the result of the petition filed by Senator Mar Roxas before the Department of Justice which seeks to reduce, or even waive, the required filing fee. 
At present, he said they are still finalizing the complaints based on documents, many of which were secured in Manila where the Legacy’s main operation was based.
Meanwhile, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) President Jose C. Nograles announced that the Corporation has brought its investigation of 13 Legacy-affiliated banks to a higher level by engaging the services of Punongbayan & Araullo, an audit firm with expertise in forensic fraud investigation, and affiliated with Grant Thornton, International PA.
This kind of investigation is geared towards uncovering transactions intentionally hidden in a maze of paper trail and deleted computer files.  It aims to identify and document possible fraud schemes, irregularities and anomalies that may have been perpetrated against the banks and which may be used as basis for the filing of criminal, civil and/or administrative cases. 
It is also expected to establish a case management system to preserve evidence gathered during the investigation.  Asset recovery and tracing will also be conducted to enable the PDIC to lay claim to the properties of Legacy owner Celso delos Angeles and other persons found to have committed fraud. Forensic fraud investigation is used by other countries such as the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Racketeering Records Analysis Unit uses forensic fraud investigation in cases covered by the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organization (RICO Law).

Writ of attachment
Nograles said the Corporation’s own ongoing investigations that entails combing through 2,000 boxes of voluminous documents, has resulted in the filing of several cases, including syndicated estafa, directly against Delos Angeles as well as a collection case with request for writ of attachment of Delos Angeles’ properties. In the course of said investigations, they have uncovered schemes of a different level of sophistication, requiring more expertise and in-depth investigations to unravel.
“We are dealing, not just with individual banks but with a group of companies composed of several banks and pre-need companies controlled by certain persons through dummy ownerships, enmeshed in a criss-crossing labyrinth of transactions.  The endless combinations and permutations of these transactions have created a veritable empire of smoke and mirrors meant to cover up fraud and confuse regulators and the public alike,” Nograles said. 

Hold order
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a hold departure order (HDO) against Delos Angeles, his son Martin Nicolo and 19 other Legacy officers and employees in relation to the syndicated estafa charge filed by the PDIC.
The HDO was based on the syndicated estafa charge filed by the PDIC alleging that Delos Angeles, et al conspired to siphon off funds of Rural Bank of Carmen in Cebu solicited from the public by way of deposits through fictitious or simulated loans. RB Carmen is a Legacy-affiliated bank under receivership of the PDIC.
In its complaint, PDIC stated that Delos Angeles created 39 fictitious loans amounting to P16.85 million in RB Carmen, and diverted the proceeds to his son, Martin Nicolo, and to other Legacy related corporations.
Another syndicated estafa case was filed by the PDIC against Delos Angeles, his wife and son; and seven other Legacy Group officers for allegedly conspiring to misappropriate Nation Bank’s funds using a farmland in Negros Occidental known as the Hacienda Busay through fictitious or simulated loans.   Nation Bank is one of the 12 Legacy-affiliated banks placed under PDIC receivership in December 2008. Syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense and is punishable with lifetime imprisonment.
Meanwhiule, KPMG Manabat Sanagustin, the independent audit firm engaged by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to help speed up the pre-settlement examination of deposit accounts in the 12 Legacy-affiliated banks placed under PDIC receivership in December 2008, confirmed that bulk of the P6.05 billion doubtful accounts in said banks had incomplete documentation due to missing bank records and discrepancies in recording done by accountable officers.
“Documentation of bank transactions is the responsibility of the bank officers. It is incumbent upon bank officers to comply with the regulations on deposit-taking,” Nograles said.

Incomplete records
In its report to PDIC, KPMG Manabat Sanagustin said that some bank records required in the validation of deposit accounts such as teller’s blotters, proofsheets, bank copies of certificates of time deposit, among others, were found to be missing as of takeover dates. These documents are needed to show evidence of funds inflow to the banks.
“Under the PDIC Charter, PDIC is mandated not only to determine the legitimate depositors on record but also to validate that the deposit account had actual funds inflow,” Nograles added.
PDIC had earlier reported that of the P6.05 billion classified as doubtful, the examination of P5.42 billion worth of deposit accounts is being hampered by incomplete documentation. Nograles said that the verification process for these accounts have significantly slowed down because of incomplete bank records.
He clarified that bank records turned over by accountable bank officers to PDIC when these banks were placed under receivership in December 2008 were insufficient to enable PDIC to determine the validity of the bulk of the deposits. The bank records turned over to PDIC were inventoried as part of standard receivership procedures.

New rules
In the face of the Legacy controversy, Nograles said that the state deposit insurer will institutionalize new rules to help prevent deposit splitting which poses undue risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). The DIF is the funding source for payouts of valid deposit insurance claims.
Splitting of deposit occurs when a deposit account of more than the maximum deposit insurance coverage under the name of a natural or juridical person is broken down and transferred into two or more accounts in the names of persons or entities with no beneficial ownership on the transferred deposits.  This means that the transferee does not really own the deposit account, even if it is in his name and is only acting as a “dummy”. 
This practice is resorted to by individuals who put their money in risky instruments masquerading as deposits. Instead of bearing the higher risk associated with higher interest, they shift the risk to PDIC, by resorting to splitting so that each split account will be within the maximum deposit insurance coverage. This is what is known as moral hazard.
Nograles said among the measures being studied by the PDIC is the inclusion of a sworn statement in the claim form for deposit insurance. This will make the false “transferees” or dummies criminally liable for any misrepresentation concerning the claim for deposit insurance, particularly with regard to ownership of the deposit.  Introducing the risk of criminal liability is intended to discourage persons willing to act as dummies.  “PDIC will also adopt payment of valid deposit insurance claims through registered mail as a standard payment system not only for faster service to depositors, but to ascertain that only valid deposit insurance claims are paid.  Mailing the checks to claimants on record will also make it difficult for a depositor of split accounts to control receipt of the payments by their dummies,” Nograles said.
Under the new PDIC Charter (as revised by RA 9576) which increases deposit insurance coverage from P250,000 to P500,000 effective June 1, 2009, the Corporation was granted institutional strengthening powers to deal with the risks associated with higher deposit insurance coverage. This includes more stringent rules on splitting of accounts.
The new law prohibits splitting of deposits within 120 days from bank closure or declaration of bank holiday. Under the old law, deposit splitting is not allowed within 30 days from bank closure. “The longer window set by law along with the new rules will help ensure that benefits of deposit insurance are not abused,” Nograles said.

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