Wednesday Movies: Igor At Davao Cinemas

Kids have one more reason to smile this week as the much-awaited Igor Movie is now showing in Davao cinemas.

Aside from having the handsome and funny John Cussack (remember him in ConAir and War Inc.?) in the lead role as the voice of Igor, the movie is also a welcome respite from the horror and violent action films that has invaded the Davao cinemas in the past months.

Igor is not a who but a what. An Igor is a hunchbacked assistant of a mad scientist whose only purpose in life is to obey his master. Not this Igor who got tired playing a yes-man so he decided to join the annual evil science fair and that's where his misadventures with the land's brilliant but mad scientists began...

Shia LaBeouf (more popularly known to fans as Sam Witwiki in Transformers and Mutt, the son of Professor Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) is also back in theaters today via the successful "Eagle Eye".

Here's the movie schedule for this week:

Igor
SM Cinema 5 12:15/2:00/3:45/5:30

Eagle Eye
SM Cinema 1 12:20/2:30/4:40/6:50

Davao Internet Cafe's Up

photo shows NeBiTh Computer Systems at Central Park in Bangkal. For only P20 per hour you get to try the facilities of the first cafe in the city to feature high-end units design for hardcore gamers.

The number of Internet Cafes in Davao City has mushroomed to about 400 cafes making the Internet Cafe business not as feasible as it used to be. Of the total number, only 70 are accredited cafes and are guaranteed to be following the guidelines set by City Ordinance No. 0227-04 otherwise known as the Internet Cafe Ordinance.

The Internet Cafe Ordinance requires the procurement of a business permit before operating a cafe. It also prohibits students from playing in the cafes during class hours.

The proliferation of Internet Cafes even in subdivisions has made it difficult to monitor them, Internet Cafe Association of Davao president Yvonne Cabada said during a media forum held at SM City's cafe Rysus Tuesday.

Cabada said most of the small Internet Cafes are owned by Overseas Filipino Workers who invest in the business out of a personal need. An Internet business is more practical for OFWs as it also allows them to communicate with their families for free. However, most of them are faced with technical and operational problems.

Gaisano Pours P100M For Newly-Opened Panabo Mall

Panabo City's economy is expected to get a big boost with the infusion of at least P100 million for the construction of the Gaisano Grand Mall of Panabo which opened its doors to the public last October 18, 2008. Residents of Panabo used to travel at least an hour to Davao City for their shopping needs. Prior to the opening of Gaisano, residents of Panabo had to shell out at least P100 for their fare going to the Davao City malls so most of them only went to the mall once a year. With the opening of the city's first mall however, Panabo residents can now go to the mall everyday.

With 72 commercial spaces, a spacious grocery store on the ground floor and a department store on the second floor, the 3.5 hectare Gaisano Grand Mall of Panabo is a testament not only to the city's growing economy but also to the efforts of the Panabo City officials in encouraging investors to invest in the city.

Gaisano Grand Group of Companies chair Benito Gaisano said they did not experience any red tape in the processing of their papers making Panabo City a sure investor-friendly city. Once fully operational, the mall is expected to provide at least 2,000 employment opportunities to the city.

The mall aims to serve the 170,000 residents of Panabo City as well as the nearby town of Carmen. The mall management has promised to offer god quality merchandise at very low prices comparable to the price being offered by Gaisano Cebu.

thanks to junax for the photos

DCPO XI Canine Dog Retires From Service

Spike has finally retired from the Davao City Police Office after 12 years of service.

Spike is a bomb sniffing canine and was brought into the folds of the Davao City Police Office in 1996 under the leadership of then City Director PSupt. Isidro Lapeña. Spike became a member of the DCPO's Canine Unit along with Snappy, a drug sniffing dog. Both dogs were handled by PD1 Roger Dy, a certified canine trainor from the Special Response Group.

Spike was a hardworking canine and he was responsible for the clearing operations during important events in the city including the Kadayawan and the Araw ng Dabaw celebrations. He was also utilized for clearing and paneling operations whenever the President of the Philippines and other high ranking official came to visit.

Spike is known for the following accomplishments:

• finding and recovery of an IED at the Gaisano Mall basement on March 5, 2001
• finding and recovery of an IED inside a plastic container which was left in a public utility vehicle on March 11, 2003

Pandesal For Davao Police

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has offered to provide "pandesal" for the city's police force if they are hungry to discourage them from mulcting and extorting money from motorists.

"Kung gusto ninyo ug painit, palitan ta mo ug pandesal. I-distribute nako na sa mga presinto. If you are in need, go to the City Hall kay basin ug makatabang ko ninyo (if you go hungry then I will buy pandesal for you or go to City Hall if you are in need as I might be able to help you)," Duterte said during last Sunday's Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa TV show.

He said he has become exasperated with the various complaints against traffic cops mulcting the city's drivers for their traffic violations. This is the very reason why I overhauled the traffic group, he added.

Duterte said the city, through Davao City Police Office director Ramon Apolinario, is set to hire new traffic personnel from the new police graduates. This will ensure the infusion of uncorrupted blood into the traffic group, he added.

All Systems Go For The DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Davao Networking Event

Bloggers all over the country will have the chance to meet in the city of Durian tomorrow! The DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Davao Networking Event will be held at the Grand Regal Hotel in Davao City on October 21, 2008

The networking event will be an opportunity for bloggers to network and update each other about the country's growing blogging industry. The event is sponsored by Pagcor.

As per Ms. Janette Toral, tomorrow's meet-up will run as follows:

6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
Welcome Remarks - PAGCOR Branch Manager Arthur Malatag
7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette

* DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2008
* DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates (online workshop and other efforts)
* Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 2008 (blogs that had big moves in 2008)

8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR Updates by President and COO Rafael "Butch" A. Francisco
8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Davao Trade Expo Slated At DAVCON This October

The Davao Trade Expo is slated at the Davao Convention Center from October 23 to 25, 2008. The three-day expo will feature speakers from the business, academic and government sectors.

Among the speakers are Mr. Freddie Serapio who will talk on “The Influence of the
Macro-Cultural Environment to a Marketing Strategy”, Dr. Eufemio Rasco of the University of the Philippines in Mindanao who will make a "Presentation on Ethics and Biotechnology and Dr. Myrna Viado who will talk about the importance of Training on Human Resource Management: “Taking Care of People for Competitive Advantage".

A three-day job fair to coincide with the 10th Davao Trade Expo is also scheduled at the Davao Convention Center from October 23 to 24, 2008. If you are interested in overseas and local work opportunities then bring your resume, photo and other important work documents to the venue.