Sterling Bank of Asia signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Santos Land Development Corporation (SLDC) to expand its home loan offering to its current and prospective clients in Davao. The MOA signing held at The Ivory Residences marks the official partnership of SBA and SLDC.
SBA’s First Vice President for Vismin Consumer Lending, Ms. Leila Amante, and Senior Vice President for Consumer Lending Group, Ms. Mary Rose Mendez, together with SLDC’s Chairman, Ms. Nora Morada, and Chief Finance Officer, Ms. Maria Lourdes Estanislao, forged the agreement.
“We are excited about the recent expansion of partnerships in the Davao region,” said Ms. Amante. ” This partnership with SLDC will allow SBA to offer our current and future clients more home ownership options,” she added.
The Ivory Residences is the latest addition to the existing home loan offering of Sterling Bank of Asia under the SLDC projects. The 18-story residential condominium stands steps away from malls, hospitals, schools, and public offices, making it an excellent choice for local business people, professionals, and foreigners. The property features a limited number of private homes with some of the most spacious floor plans in Davao City.
For more home loan offers and information, visit the nearest Sterling Bank of Asia branches near you or check www.sterlingbankasia.com.
Sterling Bank of Asia (SBA), one of the leading thrift banks in the country, inks a partnership with Damosa Land Inc. (DLI), a member of the ANFLO Group of Companies, to provide financing for credit-worthy buyers of its residential and condominium units.
“We are happy to partner with the leading and one of the region’s trusted developers, Damosa Land Inc.,” said Leila Amante, SBA’s First Vice President for Vismin Consumer Lending. “We are in one goal with DLI in giving access to eco-friendly housing and support uplifting the lives of our fellow Davaoeños,” Ms. Amante added.
Under the MOA, Sterling Bank of Asia will grant housing loans to qualified borrowers through its retail mortgage financing program specifically for Ameria and Seawind Condominium projects.
“At Damosa Land, we have always wanted to give our clients as many options for financing assistance as possible. So we welcome this recent move as an opportunity to help them get their dream home with us,” said Ricardo F. Lagdameo, President of Damosa Land Inc.
DLI’s Ameria project is an award-winning and the first premier subdivision in Davao del Norte. Aside from its strategic location, it boasts of generous lot offerings and open spaces, encouraging future residents to bring farming into their backyards. On the other hand, Seawind Condominium is the perfect choice for startup families or single professionals who delight in waking up to a resort-like environment in the heart of Davao City’s next growth area. It offers a spectacular view of the Davao Gulf and boasts of one of the most open living spaces in the real estate market.
“We are looking forward to making more strategic partnerships and extending easily accessible, value-adding loan services in the region,” said Ms. Amante.
For more information about the recent offerings and services of Sterling Bank of Asia, visit the nearest SBA branch near you or check out www.sterlingbankasia.com.
About Damosa Land
Damosa Land, Inc. (DLI) is a premier real estate and agro-industrial developer in Davao, the property development arm of the ANFLOCOR Group, which has been at the forefront of development in Mindanao. DLI continues to evolve into a company with intense pursuits of achieving valuable innovations in the real estate industry. Powered by an inspired, dynamic and proactive organization, Damosa Land, Inc. assures Mindanao of enhanced real estate experiences for years to come.
DAVAO CITY – First Congressional District Representative Paolo Z. Duterte ranked first in the Top Performing District Representative Survey in Davao Region conducted by the RP-Mission Development Foundation Inc. (RPMD).
Duterte garnered 81.3 percent of the vote followed by Maria Carmen Zamora, of Davao de Oro province, with 80.5 percent. Duterte welcomed the survey results and thanked the general public for their support.
Meanwhile, Davao City third district Rep. Isidro T. Ungab scored 77.6 percent followed by Claude Bautista of Davao Occidental (73.5%), John Tracy Cagas of Davao del Sur (70.3%), Cheeno Miguel Almario of Davao Oriental (70.5%), and Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte (70.9%).
Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental province got 68.2 percent followed by Davao City second district Rep. Vincent Garcia (67.4%), Alan Dujali of Davao del Norte (67.2%), Ruwel Peter Gonzaga of Davao de Oro with 65.3%.
The RPMD recently assessed the public officials’ performance nationwide through the “Boses ng Bayan” initiative, which encourages openness and accountability among public officials.
The RPMD evaluated the effectiveness of Davao Region district representatives based on three critical parameters: district representation, legislation, and constituent service.
Firstly, district representation refers to how effectively the representative addresses their constituents’ concerns and needs. This parameter assesses the representative’s ability to be responsive and proactive in addressing issues related to their district.
Secondly, legislation evaluates the representative’s performance in terms of their legislative output. This parameter considers the representative’s role in proposing and passing bills that positively impact their constituents and the community they represent.
Lastly, constituent service refers to how well the representative can assist their constituents in accessing government services and programs. This parameter evaluates the representative’s responsiveness and effectiveness in helping their constituents in matters related to government services, such as health care, education, and social welfare.
According to Dr. Paul Martinez, of the RPMD, assessing district representatives based on these parameters comprehensively evaluates their performance and ability to serve their constituents effectively. It highlights the importance of the representative’s role in addressing the needs and concerns of their constituents, passing meaningful legislation, and providing quality constituent service.
“It is crucial to assess the performance of district representatives regularly, as they play a vital role in ensuring that the needs and concerns of their constituents are addressed. By evaluating their performance, we can determine if they are fulfilling their duties and responsibilities to the best of their abilities,” Martinez said.
He added that regular assessments of district representatives’ performance are essential to ensure that they are effectively fulfilling their obligations.
The “House of Representatives Public Satisfaction” Davao Region survey was part of the national poll “RPMD’s Boses ng Bayan” conducted from February 25 to March 8, 2023, by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc., a nationwide survey performed per district in every region with a total of 10,000 respondents who were registered voters.
The sampling margin of error is ±1 percent with a 95% confidence level. They were randomly chosen, and the number of respondents per district was distributed proportionally based on official voting population data.
The Supreme Court has acquitted former Davao del Norte representative Antonio Floirendo Jr. from the graft charges he was earlier convicted of by the Sandiganbayan.
In its August 26, 2020 decision, the Sandiganbayan found Floirendo Jr. “guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of violation of Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019 for having a direct or indirect financial interest in the 2003 JVA, such interest being prohibited under Article VI, Section 14 of the 1987 Constitution.”
“While members of the House of Representatives are not prohibited from having a direct or indirect financial interest per se, they are, however, prohibited from having a direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the Government during the representative’s term of office,” ruled the anti-graft court.
It pointed out that Floirendo Jr. should have divested his shareholdings in TADECO and in Anflo Management and Investment Corporation (ANFLOCOR), a corporation owned by the Floirendos, which was engaged in investing and managing the operations of the Anflo Group of Companies, which included TADECO.
Floirendo was sentenced to a prison term ranging from six years and one month as minimum to eight years as maximum with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
But the Supreme Court however stated in its January 23, 2023 decision that Sandiganbayan’s view that the mere holding of an interest in a corporation to whom a contract was granted by the Government is enough to put a member of Congress within the purview of the constitutional prohibition cannot be accepted by the High Court.
The SC said that “the Constitution must not have envisioned such a myopic view, for members of Congress would be at the mercy of the Anti-Graft Law for their nominal shareholdings in just about any corporation in whose favor the Government has actually granted and will in the future grant contracts to, even without doing any act in relation to, nor benefitting from, the same.”
In a criminal charge sheet filed with the Sandiganbayan, the OMB accused Floirendo Jr. of “willfully, unlawfully and criminally have direct and/or indirect financial interest in the May 21, 2003 Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO), in which company he then owned 75,000 shares of stocks worth P7.5 million and which company’s (TADECO) majority stocks were in turn owned by and under the control of accused’s family through Anflo Management and Investment Corporation, despite being prohibited by Article VI, Section 14 of the 1987 Constitution from having such financial interest.”
It was in 1969 when TADECO and BuCor entered into a joint venture agreement on the development of 3,000 hectares within the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte into a banana plantation.
The said JVA was amended in 1979 and was signed by then TADECO’s chairperson Antonio O. Floirendo Sr. and then BuCor officer-in-charge Ramon J. Liwag and approved by then Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong.
In 2003, the agreement was renewed for another 25 years. At the time of the renewal of the agreement in 2003, Floirendo Jr. was Davao del Norte’s 2nd district congressman.
Floirendo Jr. told the court that he is not an incorporator of TADECO which was incorporated in 1950 before his birth; and that he owns about 0.89 per cent of TADECO’s total outstanding shares which he acquired between 1977 to 1996; that he had no involvement in the negotiation and execution of the 2003 JVA; and that he was neither TADECO’s director nor officer; and that the House of Representatives had no participation in the review or approval of the 2003 JVA.
The SC said that in convicting Floirendo Jr., the Sandiganbayan banked on the 2003 JVA’s provisions on production and profit sharing.
“It hastily concluded that because TADECO and BuCor entered into the 2003 JVA with the objective of obtaining profits therefrom, then automatically, Floirendo Jr. was financially interested in the 2003 JVA by simply owning 75,000 shares in TADECO and 537,950 shares in ANFLOCOR,” the SC ruling stated.
“In other words, the Sandiganbayan considered mere ownership of shares of stocks on the part of Floirendo Jr. to conclude that he has a financial interest in the 2003 JVA. For sheer lack of evidence to prove that Floirendo Jr. was financially interested in the 2003 JVA, the Sandiganbayan casually declared that Floirendo Jr. never denied his financial interest in the 2003 JVA. This is unfounded,” the SC said.
The High Court ruling stated that “in no instance did the prosecution present evidence that Floirendo Jr. obtained a monetary gain or benefit when the 2003 JVA was entered into with the government. In fact, Floirendo Jr. has consistently testified that he had no involvement in the negotiation of the 2003 JVA.”
“In the present case, the prosecution merely relied on the existence of Floirendo, Jr. ‘s shares in TADECO and ANFLOCOR as basis for Floirendo Jr.’s pecuniary interest.”
“Without proof of such monetary gain or benefit, this Court cannot say with certainty that he was financially interested in said contract granted by the government, which will catalyze the prohibitive effects of Article VI, Section 14 of the Constitution.”
“More importantly, the records do not show that Floirendo Jr. used his influence to push for the 2003 JVA. There is also no proof that he used his membership in Congress as a leverage to have the contract executed.”
“Borrowing the language of the Constitution, Floirendo Jr. did not intervene in any matter before any office of the Government for his pecuniary benefit or where he may be called to act on account of his office. It was not shown that he was a member of the House Committee that approved the contract with TADECO. It was likewise not shown that he performed acts that influenced the grant of the contract to TADECO.”
“The mere fact that TADECO and ANFLOCOR were stock corporations capable of distributing any future profit from the 2003 JVA to its stockholders, Floirendo Jr., does not automatically prove that he obtained a monetary gain or benefit from the 2003 JVA.”
The SC said that they were to give its imprimatur to the Sandiganbayan’s conviction, ‘then it would open the floodgates to abusive prosecutions through speculations and surmises”.
The Supreme Court acquitted Floirendo Jr. as it reversed the 2020 Sandiganbayan’s decision that convicted the former legislator of graft.
“FOR THESE REASONS, the instant Appeal is GRANTED. The Decision dated August 26, 2020 and Resolution dated January 22, 2021 of the Sandiganbayan in SB-18-CRM-0101 are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accused-appellant Antonio R. Floirendo Jr.· is ACQUITTED of violation of Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019. Let entry of final judgment be issued immediately. SO ORDERED.”
The graft complaint against Floirendo Jr. was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017 by then House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez who had a falling out with Floirendo.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go continues to help communities in distress and promote better fire prevention and response measures as he sent his team to assist fire victims in Koronadal City, South Cotabato on Friday, February 10.
In his video message, Go cited that the government continues to strengthen its fire prevention efforts through the Bureau of Fire Protection’s modernization program.
The senator principally authored and co-sponsored Republic Act No. 11589 or the BFP Modernization Act which mandates acquiring modern fire equipment, hiring more fire personnel, and provisioning of training programs, among others.
It also directs the BFP to conduct monthly fire prevention campaigns and information drives in every local government unit, particularly in informal settlements and economically depressed areas.
“Sa pag-iikot ko ng bansa, marami na po kaming napuntahan na mga nasunugan. Kaya naman alam natin kung gaano kahalaga para sa ating BFP na palakasin ang kanilang kapasidad sa pagpugsa ng sunog sa mga komunidad,” underscored Go.
“Napakalaki ng tiwala ko na palalakasin pa lalo ng BFP ang ating fire protection efforts. Karagdagang kagamitan, firefighters at education campaigns para turuan ang ating mga kababayan na mag-ingat, ‘yan po ang BFP Modernization Act. Dahil bawat bahay na nasusunog, nadadamay ang kapitbahay. Kaya dapat doble ingat tayo,” he said.
To give support and hope to the 13 fire victims whose houses were damaged by the fire incident, Go’s team gave them grocery packs, shirts, vitamins, masks, snacks, and a ball for basketball. The activity was held at Purok Callejo, Brgy. General Paulino Santos Hall.
Representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development also provided cash assistance as part of the government interventions to uplift the lives of Filipinos in crisis situations.
Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, also offered to help those in need of medical care to ensure the victims’ well-being. He encouraged them to visit the Malasakit Centers located at South Cotabato Provincial Hospital in the city and Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital in General Santos City.
Under the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which was principally authored and sponsored by Go, all hospitals that are administered and managed by the Department of Health plus the Philippine General Hospital in Manila City are mandated to have their own Malasakit Center that shall provide convenient access to medical programs offered by concerned agencies, such as the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
To date, there are 154 Malasakit Centers that have already assisted more than seven million Filipinos nationwide according to the DOH. The program celebrated its fifth year anniversary on February this year.
Go noted how the country’s healthcare system struggled due to the global health crisis. He then underscored the need to improve access to public healthcare services to ensure that more disadvantaged Filipinos will receive the medical attention they need.
In this regard, the senator supported the establishment of Super Health Centers in the province, including in the towns of Lake Sebu and Tampakan in 2022. Another center will be established in Tampakan in 2023.
Super Health Centers are medium versions of polyclinics and are bigger than rural health units, which offer basic services such as out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit.
Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service, oncology centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation center and telemedicine, where remote diagnosis and treatment of patients will be done.
Through Go’s initiative, some 307 SHCs were funded in 2022. The senator likewise earlier successfully pushed for sufficient funds for the centers in this year’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the DOH.
To help create more opportunities for the province amid difficult situations, Go, who also serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, has supported the construction of roads in Banga, Lake Sebu, Norala, Tantangan and Surallah; acquisition of a dump truck for the local government of Norala; construction of riverbank protection in Koronadal City and T’boli; installation of street lights in Koronadal City, Norala and Tupi; and the construction of a slaughterhouse in T’boli.
“Basta, ‘wag kayong mag-atubiling lumapit sa amin. Huwag din kayong magpasalamat sa amin dahil trabaho naman namin ito sa gobyerno. Kami ang nagpapasalamat sa inyo dahil binigyan niyo kami ng pagkakataon para makapagserbisyo sa taumbayan. Ibabalik namin sa inyo ang serbisyong dapat sa inyo sa abot ng aming makakaya,” pledged Go.
DAVAO BREAKING NEWS 