SM Group sets P100M to help fund efforts vs COVID-19

The SM Group has allocated up to P100 million to help the Philippine government’s efforts to fight the health scare caused by the corona virus (COVID-19) outbreak.

SM indicated that the funds will be used specifically for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) which is a health research facility based in Muntinlupa and other government hospitals.

SM, a Philippine company with diverse business interests in retail, banking and property, with blue-chip listed assets such as SM Prime Holdings, China Banking Corporation and BDO Unibank.

“To ensure the safety of medical frontliners, SM is bringing in personal protective equipment (PPE) - face masks, gowns, visors, hoods, gloves, and shoe covers, as well as urgent medical supplies to help government hospitals who badly need them,” SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans Sy said.

Sy said assistance has also been extended to PGH and the RITM for their urgent needs and for improving their laboratory testing capacity. SM has also allocated PPEs and medical supplies to the UP Medical Foundation Inc. to reach a wider network of hospitals.

“To improve availability of tests, SM has reached out to Manila Healthtek Inc. to distribute 20,000 tests for free to government hospitals, once approved for use,” the statement read.

While the city has been placed under a “community quarantine” which means Dabawenyos are strongly urged to stay inside their homes except when they need to work, buy food or medicine, go to the hospital or take out garbage, SM stores in the city have remained open.

However,  both SM Ecoland and SM Lanang Premier have adjusted mall hours to 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. from the previous 10 a.m. to 9 p.m..

“SM Cinema, bingo, and playrooms have temporarily stopped their operations following the directive of the City Government of Davao,” the mall advisory read.

On the other hand, the Ayala Malls Abreeza also issued an advisory which adjusted its operating hours effective March 16, in line with the management’s thrust of prioritizing the health and safety of  everyone.

Abreeza Mall has also adjusted its hours effective March 18: Monday to Sunday 11AM to 7PM.

Ordinance to institutionalize permeable paving systems in Davao

The City Council has approved last week an ordinance institutionalizing Permeable Paving Systems in the construction of car parking spaces, walkways, open spaces, low-traffic roads of establishments in Davao City is set to be institutionalized with the approval last week of the ordinance

“Permeable Paving System (PPS) is a storm water management facility that allows water to move through void spaces within the pavement and eventually infiltrate into underlying soils,” said Councilor Jesus Joseph P. Zozobrado III, chair of the committee on public works.

Zozobrado said Article 3, paragraph 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provides as a guiding principle that the Parties to the convention should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects;

“The use of the PPS is one of the alternative options eyed to solve the environmental problems caused by conventional concrete,” he said.

Zozobrado said Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution declares that the State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. He added that the Local Government Code (LGC) expressly and/or impliedly grants the Local Government Unit the powers to efficiently and effectively carry-out its function and promote the general welfare.

“The local government code also empowers the Sangguniang Panlungsod to enact ordinances aimed at regulating the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, parks, and other public places and approve the construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of the same,” he said.

Zozobrado said the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of Davao City (Zoning Ordinance) was enacted for the purpose of, among others, promoting and protecting the environment, health, sanitation, safety, peace, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the inhabitants in the locality; 

The committees on Public Works and Highways and Environment and Natural Resources jointly convened in July to push for the ordinance after the Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) Inc. requested the passage of more environment-friendly construction policies in the city.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale goes to Davao

Dabawenyos have been salivating for months now after the Big Bad Wolf, perhaps the biggest book sale in the world, went to Manila and then to Cebu. The wait is over because the BOOK SALE will finally come to Davao City particularly at The Tent at Azuela Cove from November 23 to December 2 this year.

Malaysian book shop BookXcess has finally relented to the unceasing demand from Davao bookworms. The venue may be a lot smaller than the usual venues of the Big Bad Wolf BOOK SALE but they are definitely not letting that issue stop them from letting Dabawenyos experience the event.

“Any book sale event usually costs an estimated US$3 to US$5 (roughly P160 million to P288 million) depending on the country and the size of the event,” BookXcess co-founder and executive director Jacqueline Ng said in Monday’s press conference where they officially declared Davao as venue of the next Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.

While she did not mentioned the exact amount needed to mount the event, Ng said staging the world’s biggest book sale requires costly logistics to include rental of the venue and the payment for hundreds of event workers, not to mention the cost of the books.

“In Davao the venue is quite small and we will be selling one million books compared to Jakarta where the venue is a 20,000 square meter area with up to five million books,” she said. The Davao venue is a lot smaller with a 2,000 square meter area with only a million books up for sale which means the overhead costs involve could be lesser.

The brand new books, which includes fiction, non-fiction bestsellers, young-adult fiction as well as an extensive collection of children’s books, will be sold at a discounted price of 50 to 90%.

Ng did not disclose the target sales they expect from Davao but given that the one million books will be sold at P200 each, the book sale will have an estimated sales of P200 million.

However, she said they do not really consider the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale as a business-for-profit venture since the objective is to just “make ourselves sustainable and we do not go bankrupt.”

She said they work with sponsors who help with the logistics and in the event publicity. The goal is to provide people with better access to books and at a cheaper price, she added.

“If we looked at it in cents and dollars then the company would not have started at all,” she said.

Big Bad Wolf Philippines Marketing Head Miguel Mercado said it took a lot of effort to bring the Big Bad Wolf in the city given the challenge of choosing a venue for the book sale. The book sale, which will be open to the public 24 hours a day, will be held for 10 days.

Mercado said the Big Bad Wold Book Sales has always attracted hundreds of thousands of people, with the biggest number of visitors recorded in Jakarta with 700,000 people. This is followed by Kuala Lumpur with 500,000, Bangkok with 300,000, Manila with 250,000 and Colombo with 150,000.

Since the Big Bad Wolf Book Sales was first held in 2009 at Dataran Hamodal, Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, it has been to eight cities. The largest number of books sold so far was in Kuala Lumpur with 4.5 million books.

“In the next year or two we will be in 30 cities. Dubai Book Sale just happened, then Europe, South America and Central America,” he said.

A miracle called Padre Pio

“Health and wealth,” were among the things Bon Camores wished for through the intercession of Padre Pio or Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. Camores started lining up at the Ateneo Grade School Gymnasium as early as 1pm Sunday to get the chance to see, and even touch Padre Pio’s incorrupt heart relic, and hope for a miracle. After all, Padre Pio, who was born Francesco Forgione before he joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, was known for many miracles including the miracles of healing and conversion. While he looked like most of the devotees who were lining up for favors, he stood out from the rest as he was holding his three-week old baby. He said he went there because he wanted to ask for a very special favor.

Septuagenarian Diosdado Maloto (77 years old) came all the way from Makilala, Cotabato to wait for the arrival of Padre Pio at the Ateneo. He was at the venue as early as 8am to make sure he does not miss this once-in-a-lifetime event of seeing Padre Pio’s heart relic.

“Deboto ko ni Padre Pio ug ang akong kalipay nisangko sa atop (I am a devotee of Padre Pio and my happiness is over the roof),” he said. His wishes were good health for everyone and peace for the country.

Camores and Maloto have different personal circumstances and reasons for braving the throng which Fr. Ilde Dimaano, representative of the National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Batangas and social communications director of the Archdiocese of Lipa, estimated at 50,000. But just like everyone else, they wanted to pay their respects to Padre Pio and maybe get the miracle they were hoping for.

Padre Pio became popular for exhibiting the stigmata, or wound-like bleeding marks much like the wounds of Jesus Christ. He had the stigmata for 50 years up to his death but no one could explain its cause and why the blood smelled like flowers or perfumes.

He also had a vision of having been pierced on his side which the religious call transverberation or “piercing of the heart.” Fr. Ilde called this an indication of Padre Pio’s union of love with God. Surprisingly, when Padre Pio was exhumed on March 3, 2008, 40 years after his death on, they saw his chest part already decayed but his heart showed signs of transverberation.

“The heart of Padre Pio is a national treasure of Italy and they try hard to protect it that it is never allowed to be out in public,” Fr. Ilde said. Davao and the Philippines is considered so blessed since it is only the fourth country to be visited by the heart relic following America, Argentina and Portugal.

Fr. Ilde believes that this occasion should inspire the Filipinos to change the nation’s social and political ills. The visit of the heart relic was chosen by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as a good model for the Year of Clergy and Consecration. This is also the longest visit made by th

e heart relic since it usually just stays for four days but it will be in the Philippines for 20 days, from October 6 to 26.

The people who lined up to touch the relic heart of Padre Pio led busy lives. Others had obligations to fulfill. And yet, they left everything and braved the heat and the long queue, and armed with their handkerchiefs and faith, touched the glass-encased relic heart. Each one praying, and hoping that the miracles they hoped for would indeed come true.

For the skeptics, hoping for a miracle is just a waste of time. But as Fr. Ilde said, “miracles are only for believers.”(lovelycarillo)

Davao down one step, but still among top 5 competitive RP cities

The city has gone one rank lower from its previous ranking as the third most competitive highly-urbanized city in the country, but still made it to the top 5. 

Davao City bagged the Fourth Most Competitive City in the Highly-Urbanized category during the 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index Awards at the 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center on August 16, 2018.

“The skid from 3rd to 4th can be explained by the different concepts in the business permitting processes,” Davao City Planning and Development Office Chief Ivan Cortez said.

He said last year “it was okay to count actual time spent per office then accumulate spent time per office divide by eight hours per day.The imposed system this year is that every office or every step in the process, regardless if it will only take a few minutes, they counted it as equivalent to one day. “

Cortez said that with the new system, the whole process of getting a permit is counted as a 5-day process if the applicant has to go to different offices even if the permit is released in just one day.

“Davao City has consistently ranked among the top 5 most competitive cities in the Philippines in the past years,” he said.

The city ranked fifth most competitive highly-urbanized city in 2015 and 2016 but got the third place in 2017. The award is given annually by the Department of Trade and Industry-National Competitiveness Council on the basis of each city’s ranking in economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure.

In 2016, Davao City ranked 8th for economic dynamism category, 4th for government efficiency category, and 6th for infrastructure.  A new category, the resiliency award, was added last year and Davao City ranked first in this category. Last year, it was also the only city in Mindanao that made it to the top five, following Quezon City and Manila City.

“The award is the testament of all the efforts made by all of the departments of the City Government to bring development to Davao City. With this award, we can see that the government is unceasingly giving its best to continue to improve its services,” Cortez said.

Davao City placed third in Economic Dynamism, one step higher from the previous year’s ranking according to the Davao City Investment Promotion Center. Among the factors considered for this category are the size of economy, sources of material, structure of economy, safety compliance of businesses, cost of living, financial deepening involving the number of financial institutions within the city and number of people employed.

The city also got third prize in the Infrastructure category, which include roads, water and power utilities, telecommunication, number of transport vehicles, education and health facilities and financial technology capacity.

From its previous first place ranking, the city this year ranked second in Resilience, which is measured based on land-use planning, disaster risk management plan, early warning systems and emergency infrastructures.

The cities and municipalities competitiveness index measures a local government unit’s competitiveness and presents an opportunity for local governments to better understand their performance against global standards.

Mayor Sara Duterte earlier attributed the city’s awards and achievements to the vibrant partnership between the city government and the private sector.

33rd Kadayawan Festival kicks off, highlights tri-people

Mayor Sara Duterte bangs the gong to officially open the 33rd Kadayawan sa Davao (photo courtesy of the City  Government of Davao)

Unity amidst diversity might as well be the theme of the 33rd Kadayawan Festival.

The peaceful co-existence and cooperation among its tri-people consisting of the Christians, Lumads or Indigenous Peoples and the Muslims has never been more evident as the festival kicked off Friday (August 10) at the Kadayawan Circle, Magsaysay Park.

Mayor Sara Duterte led the “Pag-abli sa Kadayawan” which was highlighted by a Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Romulo G. Valles who is also president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Unlike most festival in the Philippines that have religious origin, the Kadayawan sa Davao is a thanksgiving festival for the bountiful harvest in the city, It focuses not just on the city’s agricultural produce but also its rich culture specifically on the 11 tribes namely the Sama, Kagan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Iranun, Tausug, Klata Bagobo, Obo Manobo, Ata, Matigsalug, and Tagabawa. 

“Every year we celebrate Kadayawan but this year we have made it bigger and grander with more events lined up to encourage greater participation from Dabawenyos from all walks of life,” Sara said.

What made Kadayawan sa Davao the festival of festivals is its ability to provide a venue where the city’s tri-people unite to produce something beautiful.

Valles, who also joined representative from the city’s Indigenous Peoples and the Muslim community in their presentation of petitions, during the opening, was elated when he realized that the Muslims and Lumads were also present during the mass.

“We are not only a community of faith in Davao. I presume there are people who truly believe in God but in different styles and proclamations of faith,” he said. Mass is a beautiful tradition, he said, “but your presence here people of other faith is telling another beautiful truth in Davao that in prayer we can come together.”

Valles said he is touched by the manifestation in the part of the mass where we present our petitions to the lord, that is beautiful (referring to the presence of the Muslims and Lumads).

“There is fear, darkness in life but we in Davao are very hopeful, happy and resilient that everything will be Madayaw (good) and maayo (become better and will get by),” he said. He also recognized the limitations not just of the church but of the whole community to respond to difficulties like fire incidents, trouble and violence.

It can be recalled that the church has not given the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte a honeymoon period and has criticized the president for his anti-illegal drusg campaign.

Valles said many national church conventions are scheduled to be held in the city. This includes the next CBCP Plenary Assembly which, he said, is tentatively eyeing the city as a venue. The three-day CBCP 4th National Media Convention, with up to 80 diocese participants, was held in the city last week. 

“During the convention, a bishop said he supported the holding of the convention here and they were able to see that martial law is not actually felt here and it is very peaceful in Mindanao,” Valles said. They are beginning to see the other side of the story, he added.

Valles thanked the city for its support to the convention and said that by doing that, it helped show the real face of Davao to these people.

Kadayawan sa Davao is officially held from August 10 to 21 but it is usually a month-long celebration for the city.

City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) Generose D. Tecson said they expect this year’s Kadayawan celebration to attract more visitors given the city’s popularity not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of the globe.

The peak season for tourist arrivals in the city is usually during August during the Kadayawan festivity. Tourist arrivals during the Kadayawan has continuously increased since 2016 when it was recorded at 171,851 and in 2017 at 185,660.

The city expect this year’s Kadayawan celebration to attract more visitors.  Kadayawan Festival Director Renato Gatchalian, Jr. said around 35 visitors from HongKong have confirmed their booking for the Kadayawan experiential rides. 

Sending money through rural banks now cheaper with blockchain

Sending money anywhere in the Philippines is now a lot easier thanks to the various money remittance centers like Palawan Express, Cebuana Lhuillier, Western Union and LBC. However, sending at least P1,000 can set you back by at last P20.

But with the launch of UnionBank's Project i2i in Davao City which makes use of the Blockchain technology, sending money through the participating rural banks will now cost only P1 regardless of the amount sent, at least during the pilot stage.

The full implementation and commercialization of the blockchain platform for rural banks is expected not only to reduce money remittance fees but make the whole process faster and more efficient.

“The blockchain initiative aims to  provide a real-time, cost-effective and secure retail payment system in the blockchain,” UnionBank Chairman Justo Ortiz said.

                               UnionBank Chairman Justo Ortiz

Ortiz, who also chairs the Blockchain Association of the Philippines, said they might have finally cracked the hole of financial inclusivity with the project which aims to bring the over 30 million unbanked Filipinos to the financial system.

UnionBank Fintech Business Group head Arvie de Vera said the cost of sending money which used to be from P50 to P150 will be reduced to only P1. 

Sending money through the bank used to require up to 26 steps following manual recon and verification compared to the only five steps following automatic recon and verification using the Blockchain technology.

Processing time is also reduced from five days to only five minutes, utilizing five departments to only one department now and from five persons involved in the process to only one to two persons.

Through UnionBank, rural banks now have access to the main banking network which allows them to perform important banking functions that universal banks can also do.

Ortiz said most rural banks in the country are not members of the Philippine Clearing House and the SWIFT Network. These banks lack Information Technology systems so the processes are very manual and paper-based.

UnionBank eyes the use of the Blockchain technology to make the whole ecosystem more efficient. The technology will be piloted in the following rural banks: Cantilan Bank, PR Savings Bank, City Savings Bank, FairBank and Progressive Bank

Sara’s hashtags, skinhead stirs Dabawenyos

 photo courtesy of indaysaraduterte

In her Instagram post the previous day (October 13), Sara posted the following hashtags    “indaysaradutertesending #goodvibes to #Digong #Duterte2016 #pussyfooting.”

Sara’s Instagram followers took her posts and hashtags as a good sign that there is still a chance for Duterte to run for president. Duterte cited Sara’s letter telling him not to run for president because he does not owe anybody anything and that he has done enough for the country as one of the reasons for his decision.

“THIS IS IT!!! Magstay nako ng pinas for good!!! Babangon na ang pinas,” a certain Karen Atienza commented on Sara’s post.
 

Other followers expressed their thanks that Duterte finally had the guts to run for president, win or lose.

A netizen previously criticized Sara for her “selfishness” in not giving her blessings to her father’s rumored presidential bid. Sara told her critic to shut up even as she questioned the latter’s intellectual ability.

As of this time, no one from the Duterte family has filed a Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) even if the last day for filing is on October 16.

Davao sends 60 emergency personnel, P8M to Leyte

photo courtesy of Pil Yong Gogo

Davao City is set to provide a total of P8 million cash assistance and send more than 60 disaster personnel to assist the victims of Typhoon Yolanda in the province of Leyte.

Duterte officially sent off Team A consisting of 50 people to Leyte at 12 midnight Saturday. A convoy headed by Central 911 officer-in-charge Emmanuel Jaldon left Davao midnight and will travel by land to Leyte.

“Naghangyo lang ko sa mga rebelde na ayaw hilabti ang convoy kay para man ni sa mga nanginahanglan sa Leyte (I am begging the New People’s Army rebels not to harm the convoy since they were sent to assist the victims in Leyte),” Duterte said.

Team B which will be headed by Duterte will be leaving for Leyte today (Monday). Duterte said the city will give P2 million to Tacloban, P3 million to Southern Leyte and P3 million to the province of Leyte.

Jaldon said Central 911 has been on standby even before the landfall of Typhoon Yolanda to assist those who will suffer the brunt of the typhoon in the city,. However, he added, we are ready to provide assistance to other areas as per approval by the Mayor.

photo courtesy of GMA's Una Ka Bai!

“Ang Central 911 equipment dili lang kini para sa mga taga Davao; para pud kini sa laing manginahanglan (Central 911 equipment is not only for Davao but also for others who might need it),” Duterte said.

Team A consists of rescue and retrieval operations, medical, engineering, police and military personnel. Some people from The City Social Services Development Office (CSSDO) also joined the team.

Among the Central 911 equipment ready for dispatch anytime according to Jaldon are six rubber boats with a capacity of seven people, two rigid hulls made of fibreboard with a capacity of 10 to 12 people and one kayak with a capacity of two to three people which is being used for immediate rescue needs.

Peaceful Elections in Davao

“Peaceful.”

This was the description made by Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Chief Sr. Supt. Vicente Danao, Jr. said after the polls closed at 3 P.M. yesterday. The same description was echoed by Chief. Supt. Wency T. Pascual, Philippine National Police (PNP) XI Regional Director even as he made his rounds early this morning of the different polling places in the city as well as in Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur.

“The election was fundamentally peaceful,” Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said after casting his vote at the Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School at 2 P.M. yesterday.

He said he is happy with the peace and order during the conduct of the election in the city and hopes it will continue even during and after the counting of the ballots.

While he could not say how many candidates he has supported during the barangay elections, he said he has a supporter in every barangay. “Mga 90% halos lahat sila personal choice ko,” he added.

“Si Angging (referring to former councilor Angela Librado Trinidad who was one of those seeking a barangay captain seat during yesterday’s election) personal choice ko yan,:” he said. I am a resident of this barangay so I have a right to my personal choice but I am not bringing the party into this, he added.

Pascual was concerned about the peace and order in some Areas of Concern (AoC) in the city specifically Barangay 23-C. However, Danao said even this barangay had a peaceful and normal election.

Davao joins World Vasectomy Day

At this time when almost everything looks at age decisively, it is only in Vasectomy when age actually does not matter. But unfortunately, only less than one percent of Dabawenyos who use a contraceptive method prefer Non Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV).

“We are pushing for NSV because it is one of the most cost effective Reproductive Health Program available to the local government,” Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Samuel Cruz said Thursday during the iSpeak media forum.

He said age does not matter on vasectomy because what matters is the couple’s decision to plan their family. Thus, even and 18-year old guy can already get NSV if he and his wife thinks they have enough children already.

Cruz said NSV is one of the cheapest contraceptive available and yet only 15 local government units all over the country offer this to their constituents, with only two LGUs here accredited by a world vasectomy organization.

Only Davao and Cebu cities have been accredited by the worldvasectory.org to participate in the World Vasectomy Day on October 18 which targets at least 1000 vasectomies across 25 countries in 25 hours.

“Less than 15 LGUs have a vasectomy program for their constituents,” Cruz said. Among the accredited doctors in Davao are Doctors Samuel Cruz, Miguel Ababon, Titus Antonio, Laredo Rabang and Ashley Lopez.

Cruz said it is definitely not the cost that has kept the country’s various LGUs to implement a vasectomy program since it is very cheap at a cost of less than P100 per vasectomy. The only things needed, aside from a well-trained doctor, are bandaid, one amp anaesthesia and betadine.

Perception is an important part of a family planning program and most LGUs may not consider Vasectomy a priority compared to other methods like pills and Bilateral Tubal Ligation (BTL).

This is ironic, he said, considering that up to 60% of men in the United States who are at least 35 years old are vasectomized and they pay between P20,000 to P100,000 for the procedure. This is so cheap in the Philippines and yet not all LGUs are taking advantage of the program, he added.

Davao City has implemented the No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) Program since 2008. A total of 300 Dabawenyos have availed of the NSV since then but more are expected this year.  But even before its formal implementation, a group of doctors who went to Caraga in Davao Region to train on NSV had a hard time getting volunteers for the program.

“This needs behavioral change and acceptance; family planning is not solely for women but men should also participate and the best way is through NSV,” he said.

The city shoulders the P2,500 payment per person for the whole procedure and another P2,500 is provided to the volunteer to compensate for the loss of income during the vasectomy day. “But this is not the main selling point of our Program,” Mr. Cruz said.

Moises F. Villacorta, Information Officer of the Commission on Population (PopCom) XI said Dava0 had a 50% rating in the latest 2008 National Demographic Health Survey and the highest method used at 60% contraceptive prevalence rate was oral contraceptives. He said NSV got a prevalence rate of less than 10%.

Among the reasons cited by Mr. Villacorta for the 22% increase in unmet Family Planning needs in the city are misinformation, lack of information, culture, preference for a big family among Filipinos and the macho culture.