Culture

Marco Polo Hotel Davao Gets Child Labor Free Award

DAVAO CITY — Marco Polo Hotel Davao was awarded ?Child Labor Free? title besting other top companies all over the country. The search was organized by the Employers? Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

During the Club 888 business and tourism forum last Wednesday, Marco Polo Hotel general manager Stanley Lao of Davao disclosed that they bested the award against other big multi-national companies around the Philippines like Johnsons & Johnsons and Globe Telecom.
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DOT, PAMB Are Washing Hands Over Mount Apo Death: Kabataan Partylist

DAVAO CITY ? Kabataan Partylist said the Department of Tourism, the
Mt. Apo Range Natural Park, and Protected Area Management Board’s
(PAMB) are just washing their hands over the drowning of a mountaineer
in Lake Venado in Mt. Apo, April 5, Maundy Thursday.

The youth partylist said the state should be the first and foremost
guardian of the security of its citizens, be it the victim’s fault or
a natural disaster.

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Samal Bat Cave: The World’s Largest

DAVAO CITY — The Monfort Bat Cave on Samal Island was recently determined to house the world?s largest colony of Geoffroy?s rousette fruit bats (Rousettus amplexicaudatus) with approximately 1.8 million bats. Bat Conservation International (BCI) the leading bat conservation organization based in Austin, Texas, U.S.A. came to visit the Monfort cave last June 2006 to evaluate the cave and determine its relative significance. BCI identified potential threats and provided management and research recommendations. The current colony exceeds the carrying capacity of the cave as large numbers of bats roost in risky locations, even on the ground which is very unusual and under large rocks on the cave floor making them very susceptible to predation by rats, crows, snakes, cats and dogs. Hunting by humans and disturbance of this species in other bat caves in the region has likely driven many bats to seek refuge in the protected Monfort Bat Cave.
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A Davao Mountaineer?s Final Adventure


Ian’s Last Climb. Ian Caasi on the peak of Mount Apo on April 5. A few hours after this photo was taken, he drowned in Lake Venado. (Photo courtesy of Alexander Caasi)

The beauty and majesty of Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak, have a way of enchanting young people like 23-year-old Alexandrous Ian Caasi. On Maundy Thursday, hours after reaching the peak, Ian went for a swim in the mountain’s freezing but beguiling lake. Minutes later, he was dead.

By Angely Pamila M. Chi
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY — The skies were beginning to dim over Lake Venado at past five that afternoon of Maundy Thursday. Inside their tent, MJ Lapi?a and Alexandrous Ian Caasi were sipping coffee.

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