6-year old jin wins Taekwondo gold

“Huwag ka umalis kasi di mo makita ang gold ko (Do not go because you might not see my gold medal),” six-year old James Paolo Ancheta told me when I was about to leave lunchtime during the 2006 Regional Taekwondo championships held at the Entertainment Center of SM City Davao last Sunday.

He was right. James did win his first gold medal during last Sunday’s Taekwondo championship. While I did not see him win the championship, I saw him win the first round of the game and was he fast! He was considered too small for his age but apparently his speed and leg reach made up for his skinny physique.

I was able to interview Alan de Francia, his coach, a week before the championships and he said he was betting on the members of his Values Team particularly Ancheta to win the gold. “Mabilis yang batang yan, maliit pero maliksi,” de Francia said.

Ancheta, who is an incoming Kinder at Values, started his official training with de Francia as coach only last July when Values School Matina offered Taekwondo for their pre-school and grade school students. However, he has been practicing Taekwondo albeit informally and playfully since he was five years old.

“Ay di ko nga sana payagan yan na pasalihin sa tournament kasi natatakot ako (I would not have allowed him to join the tournament as I was scared),” his mom Joy Ancheta said. However, when they decided to join the tournament, his mom Joy and Tita Flor were very supportive of him, and were always with him during practice which sometimes ended late at around eight in the evening.

I have always thought of him as a sumo wrestler since his father was Japanese. But joking aside, he became interested in Taekwondo, a hard martial art which originated in Korea. But I was not wrong at all since Taekwondo is in fact a combination of Japanese, Chinese and Korean styles of fighting. The word “Tae” to strike with the foot” while “kwon” means to strike with the hand. Thus, a Taejwondo jin should have fast hands and feet as well.

This tournament may be James Paolo’s first, and his gold medal, his very first. But definitely, it will never be his last tournament and gold medal.(lovely a. carillo)

Seoul-Manila-Davao flights to promote Davao as golf haven

Davao City’s tourism sector is cashing in on the emerging Korean and Chinese markets by promoting the city as a golf destination.

“We have been promoting the city as a honeymoon destination especially for Koreans but our golf facilities is one thing that the city can be proud of,” Davao Tourism Association president Art Boncato said.

He said Davao is one of the preferred golf destinations in the Philippines because of the general peacefulness of the area and the lack of traffic compared to Manila and Cebu.

Japanese and Korean golfers who find Japanese courses very expensive trek to the city because of its golf courses.

Davao has six golf facilities including the Andrew’s Driving Range in Shrine Hills, the 18-hole Apo Golf and Country Club in Dumoy and Lanang Country Club in Lanang, the Davao City Golf Club in Matina, Ranchos Palos Verdes in Buhangin and Golf Masters Sports Club in Maa.

Boncato said golf is one of the major attractions of Davao City especially for the Korean market but it has not really taken off because of the lack of direct flights between Davao and Korea.

The launch of the Philippine Airlines flight between Seoul, Korea and Manila with connecting flights to Davao City on December 16 this year will bring in the Korean tourists to the city’s golf clubs.

The Seoul-Manila (connecting Davao) flights is on its trial run and will be serviced by PAL’s Airbus 320.

A charter flight courtesy of Air Macau will also service the Macau-Seoul-Davao destination. The charter flight will start on January 3, 2007.(lovely a. carillo)

DOH XI has no way of monitoring kidney business transactions

Kidneys may be a big “buy and sell” business in some parts of the country but the Department of Health has no way of monitoring the different business transactions involving the selling of kidneys.

“We have no way to determine whether a kidney donation has been paid or if it was given voluntarily,” DOH XI Paulyn Jean Ubial said. However, she reiterated that what they are promoting is kidney donation in the real sense of the word.

A paper presented by Francis Aguilar and Lalaine Siruno (both from the University of the Philippines in Diliman) in the 5th Asian Bioethics Conference at the University of Tsukuba in Japan two years ago cited that the sale of kidneys is thriving in the world market with the kidney of a Filipino fetching a price of $1,300 or roughly P65 thousand.

Data from their paper show that cheapest kidney in the world market is the kidney of an Indian which costs a thousand dollars or P50,000 while the highest is that of a Peruvian which ha a market price of up to thirty thousand dollars.

Ubial said she is not aware of kidney business transactions in the city because what they are able to monitor are the linked donations or kidney donations that were recruited by the patient himself or his relatives.

Unlinked kidney donation means the donor was not recruited but the kidney came from cadavers of people who have been in vehicular accidents.

“We have monitored a total of thirty nine kidney transplant operations done at the Davao Regional Hospital,” she said. However, she said, they do not have control over the donations because it is between the patient and the donor.

Ubial said paid kidney “donation” is unsafe for so many reasons. She said paid kidney “donations” focuses more on the commercial value of the donation instead of focusing on the value of saving lives.(lovely a. carillo)

Fare reduction not in the offing

There is very little chance for the realization of the Filipino commuters’ wish to get a fare reduction before the end of the year.

This after the new chief of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board failed to issue a clear pronouncement on the fare reduction earlier promised by former LTFRB chair Elena Bautista.

“There is still no clear cut pronouncement on the fare reduction so the commuters will have to pay the old rate,” LTFRB XI Regional Administrative Officer Edgar Violan said.

Violan just came from Manila for the national planning workshop and a briefing on the first 100 days of new LTFRB chair Thompson C. Lancion.

It was hoped two weeks ago that the different LTFRB regions were called to Manila for an announcement on the fare reduction. However, Violan said that the fare reduction issue was not even discussed during the planning.

Violan said they were however informed that a consumers’ group already petitioned LTFRB for a fare reduction and such petition will still be scheduled for hearing.

“It is now up to the Board to rule on the fare reduction petition; it is out of our hands,” he said.

Bautista already made a pronouncement on the possibility of a fare reduction before she was promoted but the change in the leadership of the Board has resulted to a delay on the decision to approve the fare reduction.

Dabawenyos have been clamoring for a fare reduction due to the successive reduction in oil prices. The price of oil has been reduced at least five times in the last three months.(lovely a. carillo)

LTO XI investigates 22 insurance firms

The Land Transportation Office XI is in the process of conducting an investigation of the twenty two insurance firms located near its premises a day after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ordered them to look into fly-by-night insurance firms.

“We are making an inventory of the insurance firms located just outside our office in compliance with the Mayor’s order,” LTO XI director Atty. Gomer Dy said.

Duterte earlier asked LTO XI to look into complaints that some insurance agencies have not complied with their obligations particularly in paying the insurance claims to insured vehicle owners.

He also urged LTO to blacklist insurance firms that have been remiss with their obligations.

Dy said that when they receive complaints against insurance firms, they report it to the assistant secretary who will in turn write the insurance companies concerned.

“With the Mayor’s order I can now address the problem from my end,” he said. After receiving notice of Duterte’s order, Dy immediately instructed the LTO law enforcers to look into the permits of the insurance agencies concerned.

He said they are still verifying if the insurance agencies have the certificate of accreditation issued by the Insurance Commission. They are also inspecting the business permits of the insurance agencies and will double check the records with the Business Bureau.

Dy said there is no connection between LTO XI and the insurance agencies outside their office and the vehicle owners can choose their own insurance agencies.

“Ang palaging nabibiktima ng mga bogus na insurance agencies yung mga from out of the city who want to register their vehicles pero wala pang insurance,” he said. What they do, he added, is to get insurance from any of the agents outside since they are more accessible.(lovely a. carillo)

MP-Values Taekwondo Team wins 9 gold

Nine of the thirty team members of the Marco Polo-Values Team coached by Alan de Francia won gold medals during the 2006 Regional Taekwondo Championships held at the Entertainment Center of the SM City Davao yesterday.

The gold medalists are James Paolo Ancheta and Mikee Selga (both 6 years old) from Values School; Jana Bihr, Karl and Cassandta Villaruz, Prince Sta. Maria, Cyndi Amahan, Nigel Deriza and Carol Estacio from Marco Polo.

Both Ancheta and Selga are first timers in the said tournament and only had at least three months training compared to their opponents who have been into Taekwondo for more than a year already.

Selga bested her opponent who is already an advance bluebelt from Butuan and had four years training.

The Team also won 7 silver medals and four bronze medals. The silver medalists are Angelito Blataria, Kristine Miranda, Esman Abdul and Nicole Manawan from Values School and Angeli Longted, Monica Jordan and Merell Herrera from Marco Polo.

Former gold medalist Patrick Baker won a Bronze this time. Baker, 8 years old and with only one year training, was earlier bested by a 9-year old opponent who had four years training in Taekwondo.

The other bronze medalists are Eman Dignadice, Prince Muñez and Diane Nepomuceno.(lovely a. carillo)