Culture

Emata Returns

Pastor Emata at Wednesday's press conference (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? More than anything else, the homecoming was a marketing event, with Erwin ?Pastor? Emata, the Davaoeno who recently conquered Mount Everest, the product.

It seemed that, on Wednesday, June 7, the organizers — companies who sponsored Emata?s historic ?summeting? of the world?s tallest mountain ? made sure that their investments in the mountain climber from Tagum were worth it.

A ?grand welcome? was prepared for Emata at the Davao International Airport in the morning. That same day, he rode to Tagum City, his home, with a motorcade behind him. There, at the town pavilion, a program attended by government officials was held.

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Sixteen years ago, Carlo Perez, then an 11-year-old boy, got hooked on kites. Today, he has turned his passion into a booming business. And while more and more kids are turning to computer games for amusement, Carlo remains devoted to his kites. The day he lets go of the string, he says, is the day he lets go of his dreams.

By Jeffrey B. Javier
davaotoday.com

Photos by Barry Ohaylan

DAVAO CITY ? Carlito ?Carlo? Perez kicks up some dust as he brushes past the children toward the center of the oval field of the Davao City National High School (DCNHS).

“It is good,” he remarks as he looks up at the clear, blue, afternoon sky and feels the strong summer breeze. It is the first time Carlo’s Kite, the kite shop Carlo owns on V. Mapa Street, to hold a seminar workshop on kite-making. He is afraid that it will end with dark clouds hanging over us, literally. The weather has not been good for the past days. Even if the weather forecasts promised sunny days, the climate here in Davao has been unpredictable.

As Carlo fixes the contraption he carries, the children gather around him with wide eyes and eager curiosity. The workshop participants are children of Baranggay 10-A, the barangay (village) in which the shop is located. They have been waiting for Carlo to build his great kite. As Carlo finishes assembling the kite, he points out its different parts: the skeleton made of carbon fiber plastic, the leaf or the body made of taffeta, and the nylon string that, as if telling the kids, lets you hold on to your dreams.

Carlo, 27, considers every kite he makes a dream.

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On Mount Apo, Trails of Waste and Destruction

Although the amount of garbage collected during this year?s clean-up drive has significantly decreased compared to the summer of 2000, trash left behind by irresponsible trekkers still accumulate on Mount Apo.

Trash collected on Mount Apo. (photo courtesy of MAFI)

By Keith Bacongco
davaotoday.com

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Despite the campaign by the local government and some nongovernment organizations to maintain cleanliness on the country’s highest peak, garbage continue to pile up at the Mount Apo natural park.

Although the amount of garbage collected during this year?s clean-up drive has significantly decreased compared to the summer of 2000, trash left behind by irresponsible trekkers still accumulate on Mount Apo.

Ermelo Libre, executive director of the Mount Apo Foundation Inc., told davaotoday.com that there is a big improvement in the collection of garbage on Mount Apo. “Way back in 2000, we hauled 1.5 tons at Venado lake and around 30 sacks of assorted garbage at the peak,? Libre said. ?Comparatively, the garbage and graffiti have decreased tremendously. I give credit to LGUs that religiously conducted pre-climb orientation and onsite monitoring of climbers activities.”

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