Bomb Scare Disrupts NCCC Centerpoint Operations

A bomb scare yesterday caused disruption in the operations of the NCCC Centerpoint in Matina after employees and shoppers were asked to leave the premises in a hurry.

Panic ensued in the establishment after the discovery of a bag thought to contain a bomb. Upon investigation of the bomb experts it turned out that the bag contained a cellphone and a baby's feeding bottle and some wires. Experts however claimed this would not explode as the cellphone had no battery and there were no traces of explosive materials on the package.

Braga to DOTC: Prioritize Radar Allocation For Davao Air Transportation Office

Councilor Pilar Braga has passed a resolution today urging Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza to prioritize the Braga to prioritize the allocation of a radar for the Davao City International Airport.

Braga's resolution came in the aftermath of the ill-fated C-130 Hercules aircraft that crashed near Samal Island last August 25. Retrieval operation for the C-130 has been hampered by the lack of radar equipment to track down the aircraft. Davao City's Air Transportation Office control tower does not have a radar to track down aircrafts flying in and out of the Davao International Airport and relies only on radio communication to control air traffic.

Chief Colonel Isagani Silva of the Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group earlier admitted the importance of a radar to pinpoint the location where the helicopter crashed. Reports also show that even the Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group in the region does not have this equipment.


Even the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard lacks the necessary sonar equipment to determine the location of the helicopter somewhere in the Davao Gulf. Braga said the Philippine Navy makes use of fathometers instead of sonars.

Mang Pandoy Is Dead

Mang Pandoy, the urban poor man who rose to popularity when he was used by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as an example of a Filipino whose economic status would improve once her administration's economig reforms are in place, is DEAD. Still poor, with his family agonizing not only as to his death but as to where to get the money for his burial.

Mang Pandoy died of Tuberculosis, a diseases which the society claims is also curable with continuous medication. But poor as he is even after PGMA's promise catapulted him to the limelight, he could not even prepare for his own casket and burial fees. He could not even purchase his Tuberculosis medications in the first place if ever he knew he had the disease considering he might not have money for medical check up when he was still alive.

Easy for the government to say there are free medications and check up in the barangays but try to go to the barangays and most of those poor souls, underpaid and too lazy to entertain the poor masses, would only give youa run-around and have you accomplish so many forms and requirements it would be easier to just sleep your illness off until you die.

Mang Pandoy's death also signifies the death of thousands if not millions of Filipinos. If not death from lack of hope then death literally from lack of food to satisfy their hungry stomachs. Mang Pandoy's death will temporarily be in the limelight with some government officials if not the Office of the President itself offering financial help for his burial or even for the education of his kids.

But these are temporary, band-aid remedies. And soon enough, his death will be forgotten. In the meantime, poor Filipinos will die everyday from poverty, from illnesses and from lack of economic opportunity.

With

Ateneo-Anvil Book Fair To Generate Funds For Sick Children At DMC

The book fair which is being held at the Ateneo de Davao Grade School from August 26 to 29 not only highlights the celebration of the Buwan ng Wika but is also aimed at raising funds for sick children hospitalized at the Davao Medical Center.



"This is the first time we are holding a book fair as part of the Buwan ng Wika and also the first time that we have chosen Kythe Child Life Program as our beneficiary," Ateneo Filipino area head Flordeliza Deloria told Datelinedavao.



Deloria said a percentage of the proceeds of the Book Fair, which features the Lola Basyang Series of Anvil Publishing will go to the Foundation. Dubbed as "Aklat Ko, Buhay Mo", the fund-raising program seeks to help all child patients at the DMC and not just those who have cancer.



Aside from the Book Fair, Anvil has also conducted Story Telling Activities for the Ateneo Pre-schoolers and grade school students.

Gensan Sari-Sari Stores Face Closure Due To NCCC Gensan's Retail Activities

General Santos City welcomes the entry of NCCC, a large retail store from Davao City. NCCC opened a wholesale center in Leon Llido Subdivision in Gensan just last year. Even the small sari-sari store owners welcomed the entry of NCCC's Wholesale Center since they have another option aside from KCC. However, such investment is proving to be detrimental to the small sari-sari store owners in the subdivision whose incomes are important for their daily subsistence because NCCC Gensan which is supposed to be a Wholesale Center, has started to retail its goods.

Store owners in the area said this is unfair competition because since they also buy their goods wholesale from NCCC, they no longer have a competitive advantage since NCCC's retail is much lower than their prices. Sari-sari stores usually get a few cents to a peso profit from their items. With NCCC selling retail to everyone, how can these small sari-sari stores compete?

NCCC is a well-known department store in Davao not only because it is homegrown but because of its owners kindness when treating their employees. It is in fact one, if not the only store in Davao City which stops all operations during 12 noon just for the 12 o'clock prayers and this shows the owner's religiosity.

I am wondering if the owners of NCCC are aware that their Gensan Branch is already into retail and that it is already killing the several sari-sari stores in the area? Unfair competition is one thing but coming from a Davao-based establishment makes it more unacceptable. Will the Gensan local government allow their residents and small investors to suffer and close shop despite the fact that they have invested their lives in Gensan when these big investors where nowhere to be found?

I just hope the local government of Gensan will do something about this and check the operations of NCCC Wholesale if it is really what it is supposed to be.

Davao Movies: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Most Dabawenyos will be spending their holidays (August 22-Friday and August 25-Monday are non-working holidays) outdoors due to the Kadayawan Festival so it is understandable that there's nothing much to see in the theaters expect extended flicks like Wall-E (which is a very good environmental movie that simplifies the effects of waste mismanagement and global warming to both kids and adults) and A Very Special Love.

However, there is a new movie showing so tag along your children to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It is really much like the Star Wars movie version and focuses on the Galactic Republic conflict. See the Jedi Knights along with their clone army fight it out with Chancellor Palpatine's separatist movers. Not sure though if this is a cartoon version since the posters seem to be more like cartoon images rather than humans.

Movie schedules

Star Wars: War of the Clones
NCCC Mall Cinema 3
12:00/2:00/4:00/6:00
SM City Davao Cinema 1
12:00/2:15/4:30/6:45

Dobol Trobol
NCCC Mall Cinema 4
11:35/1:40/3:45/5:50
SM City Davao Cinema 2
11:20/1:45/4:10/6:35

RP's Biggest Gold Ring On Display At Museo Dabawenyo

The P1.5 million Solidarity Ring, the biggest gold ring in the Philippines, is now on display at the Museo Dabawenyo in time for the Kadayawan Festival celebration.

The ring was created thanks to gold donations from local officials, businessmen and miners from Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte.

While not as big as Saudi Arabia's Star of Taiba which is considered the biggest gold ring in the world, the Solidarity Ring has an exterior diameter of 6 inches and an interior diameter of 5 inches. This is an 18-karat ring made of 306 kilograms of 99.99% pure silver of diamond finish as well as 1.18 kilograms of gold.

Get a closer glimpse of the Solidarity Ring at the Museo Dabawenyo only until August 24. If you miss that, you can still see the ring at its regular exhibition area at the lobby of the Provincial Capitol in Barangay Cabidlanan in Compostela Valley.