The Standard - 2015 March 15 - Sunday

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK VOL. XXIX  NO. 31  3 Sections 24 Pages P18  SUNDAY : MARCH 15, 2015  www.manilastandardtoday.com  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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NEW YORK

The Rest of the World Can Wait

‘REPORT’ SUPPORTS COVER-UP — CRITICS Next page

Papal anniversary. Pope Francis

leaves at the end of a penitential ceremony on March 13, 2015 at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. Pope Francis declared an extraordinary jubilee year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a landmark Vatican council and said the Church was bound to continue its reforming work.

The year will be dedicated to the theme of mercy and will begin on December 8th, the date the Vatican II council closed in 1965, Francis said in St Peter’s cathedral on the second anniversary of his election as pope. AFP (Story on B4)

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2 IN MILF PANEL AREN’T PINOYS? PROBE SOUGHT

Carabao gores butcher, scares 200

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

critics hit boi cover-up

By Maricel V. Cruz and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

THE report of the Philippine National Police board of inquiry into the Mamasapano incident raised more questions on Saturday as critics deplored the supposed coverup of President Benigno Aquino III’s direct responsibility for the January 25 operation that led to the death of 67 people.

At the same time, government lawyers, led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, scrambled to answer fundamental questions raised by the report with Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issuing a late statement on Saturday evening warning of “hastily-made conclusions and opinions” in the report.

“It is very questionable why the BOI did not get President Aquino statements or testimony when there are a number of questions they should have raised,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, who raised the following questions: Did Aquino authorize the suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima to take command

and control and supervise Special Action Force chief Getulio Napeñas on Oplan Exodus?

Why was Purisima reporting directly to Aquino when he was already suspended by the Ombudsman? Why was Napeñas reporting to Purisima and not to Aquino if Napenas was given “delegated authority” as claimed by Purisima?

What did Aquino and Purisima talk about when Napeñas left them during their January 9 meeting and why did Purisima order Napenas to tell Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP officer in charge Leonardo Espina when troops are already on site

and that Purisima will tell Catapang?

Why did Aquino lie on national television about Purisimas’s involvement?

Why did Aquino allow US involvement in the operations? What is his legal basis for this when this is not covered by the VFA or EDCA? “The report just confirms what we already know, like the presence of US personnel at the tactical command post and that Purisima was calling the shots,” Colmenares said. “But the report stops short on the accountability of President Aquino.”

Late Saturday morning, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte, herself a lawyer, tried to answer some of the questions by saying that Aquino was well within his prerogatives when he dealt directly with Napeñas.

“Let’s just point out that based on the actual BOI report, it was stated that it was the prerogative of the President to talk or coordinate with any of his subordinates.

So that’s one of the statements in the BOI report,” Valte said in Filipino during

an interview on government radio station dzRB. “It is also clear in the findings of the BOI that SAF commander Napeñas disobeyed the orders of President Aquino,” she added.

Yet, Valte could not explain why Purisima was issuing orders to Napeñas, who also reported to Purisima and not to Aquino.

A few hours later, De Lima issued a statement saying the BOI was based on the “wrong premise insofar as the role of the President as commander-inchief of the PNP is concerned.”

“Based on a wrong premise, the BOI Report on the nature of the President’s role can only arrive at a wrong conclusion,” she said.

De Lima reiterated her earlier argument that Aquino the principle of command responsibility only applies to the military and not to the PNP, which is a civilian agency.

“In relation to the PNP, the President is the Chief Executive, in the same way that he acts as the Chief Executive to all the civilian agencies of the Executive bureaucracy,” she

continued.

However, De Lima did not reply to the argument of legal experts, including former University of the Philippines law dean Pacifico Agabin, that Executive Order No. 226, issued by then President Fidel Ramos on February 17, 1995, instituted command responsibility in the PNP. De Lima also did not mention that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a treaty to which the Philippines is a signatory, also states that “the concept of command responsibility is applicable also to civilians, and that would include the police.”

A few more hours later, Lacierda said “we must, therefore, separate the facts from potentially hastily-made conclusions and opinions.”

“A case in point is the portion where the Board of Inquiry arrives at certain conclusions about the lines of authority in the Philippine National Police,” Lacierda said.

“The first and most basic fact is that the Philippine National Police is a civilian institution... As a civilian

institution in the Executive Branch of government, the President, as Chief Executive, exercises full and absolute control and supervision over every official in that branch,” he said.

“However, the BOI subsequently contradicted itself when it suggested that the President should have followed the PNP chain of command. In invoking the chain of command rule, it is important to point out that this rule applies only within the PNP,” he added.

“But even setting aside this internal contradiction in the BOI report, one other fact should stand out. The President himself instructed the suspended Chief PNP, Alan Purisima to inform the OIC Chief PNP of the mission.

“The President therefore left nothing to chance. His direct orders to Purisima if obeyed, would have ensured that the OIC Chief PNP would not have been kept in the dark. However, the President was disobeyed by Purisima,” Lacierda said.

‘iDES OF MARCH.’ The skies cleared up over Cavite province on Saturday even as a strong storm hit South Pacific islands and threatened to enter the country. SONNY ESPiRiTU

2 in milf panel malaysian citizens? probe sought

By Florante S. Solmerin CONGRESS, which is now deliberating on the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law, should look into allegations that Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim and MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal are Malaysian citizens, lawmaker said on Saturday.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles asked the House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL to look into the claim of former interior secretary Rafael Alunan that the two are Malaysian citizens before continuing with its deliberations on the pending measure.

Nograles made the appeal as the head of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers scored the MILF for its

“arrogance” in not giving a copy of its probe into the Mamasapano incident to the government, but submitting it instead to the Malaysian government.

“According to former Secretary Rafael Alunan III, both Chairman Murad and Chairman Iqbal travel with Malaysian passports, and are in fact Malaysians. This is a very serious allegation and must be investigated immediately, even before we continue deliberations on the BBL,” Nograles said.

“I raise this concern because if it is true that we are writing the BBL Law for Malaysians then we in Congress will be criminally liable for acts of treason,” he added.

“We are all for peace but we should achieve peace in Mindanao without sacrificing our sovereignty as one na-

tion and one people,” Nograles said.

“I call on our Ad Hoc Committee chairman Rep. Rufus Rodriguez to immediately call the officials of the Bureau of Immigration and subpoena all travel documents of Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and Mohaguer Iqbal to shed light on this matter and confirm whether or not these allegations are true,” he said.

Nograles made the appeal as retired general Ediberto Adan Jr., AGFO chairman and president, slammed the arrogance of the MILF in not giving a copy of its report to government but giving one to the Malaysian government.

“That is to me is not really a good move in connection with the peace process,” Adan said at the sidelines of the pre-graduation rites of the Phil-

ippine Military Academy at the Fort Del Pillar in Baguio City.

“While there is a third-party facilitator, the Malaysian government, to show good faith, to show that they recognize the authority of the Philippine government, they should submit their report to our government,” he added.

“There are certain protocols as the MILF claims that’s why they are submitting this to Malaysia but for purposes of building trust and if they are sincere in building that trust, then that should have coursed through the Philippine government,” Adan insisted.

Earlier, leaders of the MILF such as Jaafar Ghadzali and Mohagher Iqbal said they will submit their investigation report to Kuala Lumpur through the International Monitoring Team be-

cause of supposed protocols and if the government wants a copy, they should ask for one from Malaysia.

Adan said the MILF’s behavior will aggravate public uproar against the proposed BBL, especially since many of the BBL’s provisions have been deemed unconstitutional.

“The Association of Generals and Flag Officers does not believe that these provisions augur well for peace because it violates the fundamental law of the land,” Adan said. “[The BBL] grants certain powers that diminishes the role of the commander-in-chief. It gives them an opportunity to maintain an armed force which is a violation of the Constitution, because the Constitution only provides for one Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added.

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

BINAY SCORES ELUSIVE JUSTICE

By Francisco Tuyay VICE President Jejomar C. Binay vowed on Saturday to do everything in his power to make sure that justice will be given to the families of the 44 Special Action Force commandos who died in the Mamasapano incident.

“Like you and millions of our countrymen, I am also seeking answers to important questions that are begging for answers that will show the attainment of justice that has proven to be elusive,” Binay said during the 35th alumni homecoming of the Philippine National Police Academy in Silang, Cavite.

“Before you and on this day, I give you my word that wherever we may be and to the best of my ability, we will deliver justice to our 44 heroic SAF commandos,” added Binay, who was the homecoming’s guest of honor.

Binay also said that he understands the plight of the police and that he is one with them in calling for added benefits for members of the police force.

Trooping the line. Vice President Jejomary Binay troops the line at the 35 th homecoming of the Philippine National Police Academy in Silang, Cavite where he promised to deliver justice to the 44 police commandos slain in the Mamasapano incident. DANNY PATA

MAR SHOULD SHOW MATURITY—JUNJUN

3 INJURED IN CARABAO RAMPAGE AN angry carabao on the way to a slaughterhouse in Quezon City escaped her handlers before dawn on Saturday, rampaged through the busy commercial district of Cubao and injured three people before being subdued by the authorities.

“I’ve been a policeman in this city for 15 years. I have never seen anything like it,” said SPO1 Kingly James Bagay.

Bagay said the carabao, a threeyear-old femaleweighing nearly half a ton, was one of 30 carabaos and nine cows that had just arrived at the slaughterhouse inside the Mega-QMart on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue from Naga, Camarines Sur. But the carabao managed to escape as it was being unloaded from

the delivery van at around 3 a.m. and ran around the market and attacked butcher Jonet Rufino.

“I ran, but it was faster. It tossed me into the air with its horns and when I woke up, I was being stitched up in hospital,” said butcher Jonet Rufino, the first victim.

“In my 14 years at work, this is the first time I was attacked by an animal,” said the 35-year-old, who required 14 stitches to a wound on his backside.

The carabao rushed out of the market and fled through one of the side streets toward nearby Aurora Boulevard, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city.

While on the side street, the carabao attacked Willy Aries who was out with a

nephew to buy something from a store before heading toward Aurora Boulevard where it attacked its third victim, call center agent Maria Tanion, who hit her dead on the pavecement.

The three victims were rushed to the Quirino Medical Center in Quezon City and were later discarged.

Bagay said the carabao continued to rampage and entered the lobby of a small hotel and tossed some furniture, before breaking into a call center building.

It broke some glass panels at reception, but no one was hurt—although the building had to be evacuated, he said.

The huge animal was eventually trapped about two hours after the rampage began.

Under control. A three-year-old female carabao from Naga, Camarines Sur cools its hoofs at the

Quezon City Police District’s Station Seven after it injured three people in a rampage at Cubao, Quezon City before dawn Saturday. MANNY PALMERO

INTERIOR Secretary Mar Roxas should stop pontificating about the law and instead respect due process, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay said on Saturday after Roxas dismissed as juvenile and dramatic the mayor’s decision to stay at the Makati City Hall while he is appealing the suspension order against him.

“We understand the situation of Secretary Roxas. He is under a lot of stress. We are also undergoing a stressful situation but we rise above it. We do not resort to pettiness and namecalling. Secretary Roxas is a lot older than me. I would have expected him to show some maturity,” Binay said in a statement.

“I find his description of our decision to bring the Ombudsman’s irregular and unlawful order before the courts as ‘juvenile mentality’ petty and condescending. It also betrays either an ignorance of or total disregard for the rule of law and due process,” the mayor added.

Binay stressed that the right to question the supposedly undue haste of the Ombudsman in issuing a suspension order against him is part of due process.

“Secretary Roxas says no one is above the law. Yet, the DILG under the Liberal Party leadership has displayed several times its selectiveness in applying the law, especially when it involves LP members,” Binay said.

“The DILG chief should stop pontificating about the law. This is all about politics. This is all about the 2016 presidential elections, Secretary Roxas,” he added.

Binay issued the statement after Roxas said on Friday that Binay’s decision to stay at the Makati City Hall was an appeal to the dramatic and his challenge for Roxas II to personally serve the suspension order was juvenile.

“The people can now see these people’s way of thinking, that is like that of high schoolers. Governance is serious business,” Roxas had said. “I don’t

want to blow this issue out of proportion because this is ordinary course of business.... There is no need to have drama around it.”

Roxas reiterated that the “drama” in Makati has inconvenienced thousands of people who were not able to carry out transactions inside the city hall’s offices after Binay decided to hole up in the Makati City Hall amid fears that a second wave of suspension orders would soon be issued against city councilors.

Once all the councilors are suspended, the Department of Interior and Local Government would appoint an officer-in-charge, circumventing the mandate from Makati voters, the mayor added.

He said the goal of his suspension was to keep him out of office until the 2016 elections.

The mayor asked the Court of Appeals to issue a temporary restraining order on the suspension order issued by the Ombudsman on the ground that the order is void because it suspends him for actions done during the previous local administration, when he was not even the mayor.

Late last year, Binay exposed the plan of their political opponents to unseat him and members of the city council to pave the way for the designation of Vice Mayor Romulo Peña, Jr, a Liberal Party member, as acting mayor.

He added the plan is to have him and the entire city council suspended to pave the way for the designation of their LP ally and the council would be filled with LP, Nacionalista Party and other people who have not won a single election in the city.

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opinion [ EDI TORI A L ]

The BOI repOrT, accOrdIng TO Mar rOxas It was a touching moment, really, when Interior and Local government Secretary Manuel Roxas II vigorously came to the defense of his embattled boss, President Benigno Aquino III, as he presented the Board of Inquiry summary report on the Mamasapano incident that killed 44 commandos of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force.

Roxas said the president has “no liability” over the tragic incident, and instead blamed suspended Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima who he said failed to follow the president’s order. “the President, as commander-in-chief, gave guidance to coordinate with the AFP because of its capability to reinforce. Purisima was instructed to coordinate but failed,” Roxas said. the dILg chief said Aquino tapped Purisima to head the operation even before the former PNP chief was suspended, conveniently skirting the fact that Aquino, Purisima and sacked SAF chief getulio Napenas met several times to discuss oplan Exodus after the ombudsman imposed the suspension on Purisima.

“Based on what I read, he (Aquino) as the commander in chief correctly and rightly authorized that (Zulkifli bin Hir) Marwan is a target. there is no liability with that. He gave the order to apprehend or to serve the warrant on Marwan and (Basit) Usman.

Nothing wrong with that. trabaho niya ‘yan. In fact, kung hindi niya ginawa ‘yan, may pananagutan ang Pangulo no’n,” Roxas said.

But in exonerating his boss, Roxas has only perpetuated the canard that Aquino himself tries to ram into the public’s consciousness that he was not to be blamed for the tragic end that befell the slain commandos.

And if Roxas really believes in what he is saying, then it is has become clear that he has lost whatever self-respect that he had.

In swallowing the Palace line hook and sinker, Roxas chose to gloss over the fact that it was the president who ordered Purisima to keep him and PNP officer In Charge Loenardo Espina out of the loop in oplan Exodus.

In doing so, the president did not only deliberately broke the chain of command, he also relegated Roxas and his position as dILg chief as a mere adjunct to Purisima’s vast powers.

Roxas has no choice but to endure the embarrasment of being “out of the loop” in the operation because he did not want to displease Aquino, who, as the nominal head of the Liberal Party, could suddenly decide that the party may be better off with another candidate for the presidency in 2016.

Roxas actually could have taken the high moral ground (and perhaps a better survey result) right after the Mamasapano incident if he had expressed his anger and indignation publicly over the rude treatment that he got from both Aquino and Purisima.

But that chance had passed because Roxas has chosen the path of political expediency instead of rising over the muck of lies and half-truths that his boss, the president, continues to peddle.

In the end, Mar Roxas has only himself to blame, because the voters now know that the Secretary, like his boss, lacks the courage to speak for what is just and true.

HealtH is still tHe best wealtH are We There YeT? BOng c. aUsTerO A good friend of mine recently suffered a heart attack. Fortunately for him, he did not ignore the symptoms – heaviness in the chest area, pain that vibrated through his left arm – as most reportedly do. When he felt the pain, he took a cab and brought himself to the emergency room of a nearby hospital where he promptly announced with understandable urgency “I am having a heart attack, please attend to me now.” The ER doctors

slapped an electrocardiogram machine into his body, which automatically confirmed my friend’s suspicions – the lines in the graph were more erratic than a rabbit in heat hopping around like crazy. He was rushed into a special room where they performed an emergency angioplasty on him, barely an hour since he arrived in the hospital. He has since then made it his mission to explain heart disease, at least initially to friends.

Up until my friend’s heart attack, I didn’t know angioplasty could be performed at a moment’s notice. Apparently, most of the major hospitals have the facilities to perform the procedure and already have a ready

team on standby for the purpose.

What this tells us is that, heart disease is truly a serious problem in this country and that heartrelated medical procedures such as an angioplasty and an openheart surgery have become quite common. I think we do not need to highlight the fact that the cost of such medical procedures can be quite prohibitive. My friend’s bill came to about a million pesos.

My friend has since then embarked on a major lifestyle change. He has decided to finally follow what his doctors have been urging him to do in the last three decades: eat healthier, exercise regularly, reduce stress, and give up harmful vices such

...heartrelated medical procedures such as an angioplasty and an openheart surgery have become quite common.

as smoking and excessive drinking. Hindsight is always 20/20 vision, of course, but my friend has been posting what passes off as commonsensical advice in his Facebook page. two that struck me most were “If you do not take care of your body, where are you going to live?” and “If I can only take back the 40 years I spent smoking, I would do it in a heartbeat.” the latter advice struck home because I was a smoker from the time I was 18 up until about a year ago. of course I knew about the serious dangers that nicotine did to the lungs and the rest of the body but as the cliché goes, wisdom is wasted on the young. I only stopped smoking when I became borderline diabetic and I was warned by my doctor that smoking is one of the leading causes of blindness

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

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CHASING HAPPY ADELLE CHUA

‘RELAXED’

and amputations among diabetics. At least I take comfort in the fact that I was strong enough to quit before I had extended coughing spells, unlike someone we all know who is supposed to be the paragon of virtue and monopoly of the truth.

The past few weeks have been very stressful for most of us in this country, and must be taking its toll on our health.

I figure it would be as good a time as any if we spend this Sunday in some reflection about health and living. Here then are top five health-related memes that I have seen floating around in social net-

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working sites which we can all imbibe: The first one seems like good advice because it offers workable options and choices: Less alcohol, more tea; less meat, more vegetables; less salt, more vinegar; less sugar, more fruits; less eating, more chewing; less words, more action; less greed, more giving; less worry, more sleep; less driving, more walking; and less anger, more laughter.

The second is something that many among us work drones must be reminded of everyday: So many people spend their health gaining wealth and then end up spending all their wealth trying

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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

to gain health.

Aesop’s fables always offer an advice or two we can put to good use: A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken with anxiety. “If you cannot pronounce it, don’t eat it” is a good rule of thumb at a time when all kinds of gastronomic inventions can be easily had.

And finally, Mark Twain’s knack for delivering wisdom with simplicity and humor always comes in handy: “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.”

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I HAVE more than once encountered this kind of reaction. When people find out that I was once married but am no more, because I have had my marriage judicially declared null and void, they say: “Wow, mayaman (rich)!”

I have always been aghast, and disappointed. What ever happened to being a strong, principled woman? Being the face of empowerment? Rejecting a toxic home environment? It is true, though: Having a marriage declared null and void is a privilege for those who can afford it.

Not that I am rolling in dough – oh no, far from it. I was only able to go through the process because many people helped me. My lawyer and my psychologist both provided their services at generous discounts, and I did not shell out any amount to the courts aside from the regular filing fees. Certainly, there were no extra payments to, uhm, “facilitate” the resolution of my case. I filed the case in the city where I was married and where I still live. I paid through the nose for these fees, often on installment.

I had to wait for two years and nine months before the decision was handed down.

I have known however of some who had to pay hundreds of thousands to get a decision in their favor, often swiftly.

Perhaps they were in a hurry. Perhaps they could not bear to be legally bound to the same person a minute longer. Perhaps their case ran the risk of falling into the lap of an unsympathetic, closedminded judge. Everybody has his or her reasons for trying to go around the rules.

These thoughts are occasioned by this week’s reports that the Supreme Court has “relaxed” the on the nullity of marriages.

There are several reasons for the declaration of nullity, but what is most commonly used is provided for in Article 36 of the Revised Family Code – psychological incapacity. Some psychological conditions and disorders are enough to render a person incapable – not unwilling, but incapable – of performing the basic obligations attendant to married life.

Articles 68-71 of the same Family Code lists these basic obligations.

Among them are to live together, to observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help or support. The spouses shall fix the family domicile.

They are jointly responsible for the support of the family, and the management of the household shall be the right and duty of both husband and wife.

In 1997, the Supreme Court (through its decision on the case Republic vs.

Court of Appeals and Roridel Olaviano Molina) laid out what is now referred to as the Molina Doctrine. According to the court, there are eight guidelines that Continued on A6 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Rolando G. Jojo Estabillo Publisher A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Jojo A.L.Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito Tomeldan Managing Editor Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Chin Wong/RayJoel S. Eñano Associate Editors P. Palacios News Editor Francis Lagniton CityCity Editor Francis Lagniton Editor Arman Armero Senior Deskman Arman Armero Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Leo A. Estonilo Senior Deskman Roberto Cabrera Chief Romel J. Mendez ArtPhotographer Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Is Obama TOO Old fOr supreme COurT?

By Jonathan Bernstein

If Hillary Clinton wins the White House next year, should Barack Obama be her first Supreme Court pick?

The idea was suggested by Washington Monthly’s Steven Waldman. Here’s Ed Kilgore’s response: Obama was, of course, a constitutional law professor, and there’s plenty of precedent for former pols being appointed to the High Court (Charles Evans Hughes, Hugo Black, Earl Warren, James Byrnes, and of course former president William Howard Taft, all being twentiethcentury precedents). The average age of newly appointed Supreme Court justices is 53; Obama will be 55 upon leaving office.

The political scientist Jonathan Ladd made a good point on Twitter: “His age alone wouldn’t disqualify him. But I think no rational president would nominate a smoker to the court.”

As far as I know, no president has demanded evidence of good physical health of any Supreme Court nominee. But it wouldn’t be surprising if they

did. In fact, failure to do so seems almost negligent.

The truth is that the strong partisan polarization on the Supreme Court and the rise of constitutional hardball (and, for that matter, of statutory interpretation hardball), mean there are only two critical criteria for nominations: partisan reliability and likely longevity.

Should the considerations for Supreme Court selections be that narrow? Probably not, though it’s also true that the court is a political body and

always has been. And there is nothing any president could do in the foreseeable future to change that.

Now, that may be a good reason to support term limits for Supreme Court justices (I’m ambivalent about the proposal for staggered 18 year terms). Or perhaps it’s just something we have to live with until something changes somehow -- less partisan polarization in our politics, fewer important issues before the courts? Neither seems likely.

Until then? We’re likely to

get younger and younger new justices. The trend is already in place with selections by Obama and George W. Bush, which means Obama would be on the old side even for an immediate vacancy. And Hillary Clinton (or any Republican who beats her in 2016) better wheel out the MRI and “the machine that goes ping” (see below) before making any appointments to the high court. Otherwise, the new president is not going to be doing what he or she was nominated to do.

Japan’s CauTIOnary Tale fOr sOuTh KOrea

By William Pesek THE Bank of Korea has no shortage of diplomatic ways to explain yesterday’s surprise rate cut, including weak domestic demand, sluggish business investment and anemic exports. But it’s worth being clear what this move was really about: Japan.

For weeks, South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung Hwan and other politicians have been demanding that the BOK weaken the won so Korean exporters could better compete with their counterparts in Japan. Which was fair enough: Since midNovember 2012, when Tokyo began devaluing its currency, the won has surged 44 percent against the yen. Yesterday, BOK Governor Lee Ju Yeol finally bowed to the pressure, slashing the central bank’s repurchase rate a quarter of a percentage point to a record low 1.75 percent.

In some sense, however, South Korea still isn’t taking Japan seriously enough.

South Korea should be less concerned about its short-term export woes and more concerned about the prospect of mimicking Japan’s lost economic decades since the 1990s. Unless policymakers act far more aggressively in the near future, they still risk a long term state of “Japanization,” a semi-permanent deflationary funk that strangles living standards. Here are three ways Seoul can avoid that fate.

First, it should end its monetary stinginess. With inflation at the slowest pace since 1999 and exports down 3.4 percent last month, Lee should lower interest rates even further -- immediately. Considering monetary policy shifts can take six months to affect the real economy, South Korea can’t afford to wait.

South Korea’s high household debt levels -- currently at a record $962 billion, or

70 percent of gross domestic product -- are said to have dissuaded Lee from cutting rates sooner. And he’s right not to take that problem lightly. But Seoul can offset the risk that lower rates will exacerbate household debt by introducing so-called macroprudential policies: tighter regulations on future loans; bans on risky, low down-payment mortgages; and even new taxes to deter households from becoming overly indebted in the first place.

Second, South Korea should prod companies to raise wages. Beginning this year, South Korea’s family-owned conglomerates, or chaebol, will be subject to a 10 percent tax on excessive hoarding of cash that could be better spent on wages or investments. But Korea also must address the breakdown of the labor market over the last 15 years. Today, about a third of the workforce is employed on temporary contracts that offer lower pay than full-time employees -- about 56 percent less, on average -- and limited benefits. The Japanese example underscores that this is a serious impediment to economic recovery: part of the reason that the combination of fiscal stimulus and monetary easing initiated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has failed to gain traction is that 38 percent of people in his country are working under similarly precarious conditions.

South Korean President Park Geun Hye could help change this situation by using her bully pulpit to shame companies that underpay workers. She could also push for tax laws that would give those companies financial incentives to hire their part-time staff to full-time contracts.

As Employment and Labor Minister Lee Ki Kweon told Bloomberg News recently: “Management at companies should stop this misuse -- hiring temporary workers just for cost-cutting purposes. Profits

should also be used to improve conditions at subcontractors, whose workers are paid much less.” He added that “this isn’t just about philanthropic capitalism” -- it’s good business practice, as fatter paychecks give workers more disposable income to spend on the things they’re helping to produce.

Third, South Korea needs to stop obsessing over exchange rates. The country needs to become more competitive, but it would be a mistake to pursue that goal solely through depreciation. (Japan has discovered over the past two decades that depreciation can’t counteract persistent deflation.) The South Korean government should instead be focusing on structural reforms that would give companies more incentive to innovate and raise productivity. (It could change the tax system, for example, to support new startups, rather than the chaebol who are privileged under current arrangements.) In that sense, South Korea should be modeling itself on Germany. As I’ve written before, German exporters don’t grumble about currency rates when times are tough; with encouragement from their government, they adjust and find new ways to maximize profits.

Park seems to recognize that South Korea must learn to thrive even when exchange rates move against it. She has pledged, for example, to build a creative economy that produces new industries, generates good-paying jobs and reduces the dominance of the chaebol. But for too long, South Korea has relied on depreciation to shield the country from creative destruction.

The BOK’s recent rate cut was the right move for now; in the short term, it should help exporters keep pace with their competitors. But if South Korea wants to avoid ending up in Japan’s economic rut, its ambitions will have to go beyond interest rates.

Relaxed..From A5 must be present for a declaration of nullity: that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, that the root cause of the incapacity must be medically or clinically established and alleged in the complaint, that the incapacity must exist at the time of the marriage even as it may have manifested after, that it must be permanent or incurable, and that it must be grave enough to disable the partner to assume the essential obligations, among others.

But in January 2015, the Supreme Court’s decision on Kalaw vs. Fernandez brought these guidelines to fore.

This decision, penned by Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, declared the marriage between Valerio Kalaw and Maria Elena Fernandez null and void, reversing its 2011 decision by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo which denied, for lack of merit, the petition for nullity.

So was the relaxation inferred from the fact that the Supreme Court overturned an earlier judgment as it rarely does?

Explanations from the High Court’s spokesman, Theodore Te, came swiftly: No, there was no relaxation. What the 2015 decision said was that sometimes, the “foregoing guidelines have turned out to be rigid, such that their application to every instance practically condemned the petitions for declaration of nullity to the fate of certain rejection.”

It’s a matter or argument. Some say it was not a relaxation but of choosing where to look. The 2011 decision which denied the petition said the wife (it was the husband who had wanted the nullity) may have been gambling, but she did not gamble frequently enough as to constitute neglect of the family. The husband failed to show thus the frequency, hence the gravity, of the act.

The 2015 decision on the other hand said that the frequency of the gambling as supported by evidence was not as glaring as the fact that the wife even brought her children with her when she played mahjong. The court said the wife should have known that bringing them along would expose them to a culture of gambling and other vices, thus eroding their moral fiber given their tender ages. *** Then again, I have always believed that some relaxation is in order, even as it does not pertain, per se, to the guidelines set in the Molina Doctrine of 1997.

The perception that only those who can afford to get a declaration of nullity can do so is an unjust one. People trapped in unhappy, oppressive, or abusive unions should have access to legal relief regardless of their socio-economic status or educational attainment.

It is a fact of life that some marriages work and some do not. It makes little sense to stay trapped in a relationship if it prevents you from achieving your fullest self, if it endangers your self-esteem, or if it exposes you or your children to physical or psychological harm.

People make choices that sometimes end up being bad ones. After you’ve tried your best to make it work, and it doesn’t, why should you wither away for the rest of your life paying for the consequences of your poor judgment?

Conversely, those who are cavalier in their view of marriage or who simply want to change partners like exchanging an ill-fitting pair of shoes can easily get a declaration of nullity.

They can pretend to live in a “favorable” jurisdiction, pay off the judges, exaggerate the grounds for psychological incapacity JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN AFFORD IT. This makes the process a sham.

Unfortunately, because of prohibitive costs and the social stigma attached to having a failed marriage, not many people see nullity, much less divorce, as a real option. They stay to keep up appearances, or separate in fact and then cohabit with other unofficial partners while remaining legally bound to their spouses. A sham, as well.

Alas, it will take a generation or two for our society to “relax” its rigid, and often hypocritical view, of “keeping the family intact.” I wonder if we can all stick around long enough to see this happen. adellechua@gmail.com

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ARMM spends p12M/ week to feed evAcuees By a. Perez Rimando

RoweRs’ Race. At least 18 dragon boats compete in the 2015 Manila Bay seasports festival on saturday March 14 at Manila Bay Roxas Boulevard.

Apart from dragon boats, 12 bancas from different provinces will also compete in the race. DaNNY PaTa

Rights advocates hit ‘encampments’ By alvin T. guanzon

BUTUAN CITY—The International Solidarity Mission, a contingent of human rights advocates from European Union and Asia last week discovered military encampments in day care centers, multi-purpose centers and barangay halls in some areas of Agusan del Sur. The mission disclosed its finding after a visit to Balit, San Luis, Agusan del Sur last March 9 and 10. The HR mission said in a statement that the military was using barangay halls, daycare centers and multi-purpose centers as camps.

Sister Mary Francis Anover,

RSM, who is national coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, said the encamped military in barangay halls and other public facilities invited threat to the civilian community.

“In the guise of conducting census and consultations they are putting the lives of

the civilians, especially the children in the community at risk,” Sister Anover said.

Bishop Raul Amorcillo, Bishop of Iglesia Filipinia Independiente (IFI) of the Diocese of Bukidnon said he observed during the mission that in the indigenous communities in Agusan del Sur, “martial law is present”.

The two religious leaders were among the “Balit Mission” contingent that visited and sleep with evacuees in Barangay balit, San Luis Agusan del Sur last March 9 and 10, 2015.

“There is indeed violation of the law as in Article 10, Section 22 of Republic Act 7610

states that public infrastructures such as schools, hospitals and rural health units shall not be utilized for military purposes such as command posts, barracks, detachments, and supply depots”, Karapatan Caraga secretary general Eliza Rose Pangilinan said in an interview.

Pangilinan, Alvin Ygot of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGPCaraga) and Atel Hijos, Chairperson of Gabriela Caraga were among local progressive group leaders who accompanied the ISM Mission to Balit.

The “Balit Mission was initiated by various groups

in Mindanao such as Kasalo, Kalumaran, Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), and the Northern Mindanao Religious and Bishops’ Ecumenical Forum.

It is part of the “Mindanao Bakwit Solidarity Mission” organized by the Mindanaowide alliance of indigenous peoples, Kalumaran.

International human rights and lumad groups like International Alliance for Asian Indigenous People and IP People’s Pact in Asia were the international component of the Balit Mission who went to Balit, San Luis, Agusan del Sur last March 9 and March 10.

COTABATO CITY—The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has been spending P12 million every week for food packs of thousands of families displaced by the military operations since last month against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in several areas of the province.

Amir Mawallil, executive director of ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information, said latest report from the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response (HEART) said a total of 14,517 displaced families composed of 72,585 people from 11 municipalities are affected by the conflict.

Mawallil listed the concerned towns as Mamasapano, Datu Salibo, Shariff Sadona Mustapaha, Daru Saudi Ampatuan, Shariff Aguak, Talayan, Date peridu Anggal, Midtimbang, Guindulungan, Datu Unsay, Talitay, and Rajah Buayan.

The regional government through Gov. Mujiv Hataman, has already carried out several humanitarian missions to deliver food and medical assistance to the evacuees who rely on assistance for food, Mawillil said.

Each food pack costing P450 contains rice, canned goods and noodles —enough to feed a family for three days.

He noted that every family of internally displaced persons (IDP) “needs at least two food packs every week to get by” which indicates that the Muslim Mindanao government “would need to spend at least P12 million during the period on food assistance alone to support 14,517 displaced families.

LAndowneRs sue BAtAngAs MAyoR

A BATANGAS town mayor is facing graft and administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman filed by 11 residents from Muntinlupa City for alleged misrepresentation five years ago.

In a five-page complaint, Oscar and Efren Camerino; Dionisia, Gerardo, Conrado, Bernardo, Ramon and Virgilio Enriquez, and Mildred, Nick and Nelbert del Rosario del Rosario from Victoria Homes, Barangay Tunasan, Muntinlupa sued Lipa City Mayor Meynard Sabili for estafa, grave misconduct, dishonesty, op-

pression and grave abuse of authority.

Sabili must be placed under preventive suspension, they urged the Ombudsman, accusing him of deception to appropriate upon him the right to their parcels of land under transfer certificate title nos. 15895, 15896 and 15897.

According to the complainants, the disputed properties were part of cases pending before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court since 1983.

The complainants claimed they wanted to sell their real-estate properties

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through Sabili in 2010 so they could take on the costs of litigation of the cases at CA and SC. “Meynard Sabili introduced himself as a lawyer and licensed broker, and convinced us that he can sell our land and help us in the case we are involved in.

He encouraged us to allow him to handle the transaction for the sale of the land,” the group said.

Sabili allegedly coerced them to sign two memoranda of agreement dated March 1, 2010 and Sept. 9, 2010 for him to broker the sale, it added.

Fag-makeR’s DelighT. A man carries a bundle of newly harvested tobacco leaves at Barangay urbiztondo in san Juan, La union, where tobacco is grown for commercial purposes. chRisTiNe JUNio

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editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Cordillera, the movie, Coming soon

SAF 44 MURAL. roselle nacino, widow of po2 nicky nacino, one of the 44 saF commandos who died in mamasapano, takes a long, hard look at the saF mural during a break at the 35th pnpa grand alumni homecoming on saturday march 14 at Camp gen. mariano Castaneda in silang, Cavite. DANNY PATA

dole cites phividec as labor compliant

By Bobby Lagsa

Cagayan de Oro City – the Department of Labor and Employment has granted the Labor Laws Compliance award to the Philippine Veterans Development Corporation (PhiVeDeC) Industrial Estate, the country’s largest Industrial zone with three thousand hectares of industrial lands.]

All 76 companies and contractors were conferred with Labor Laws Compliance award by DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz at the PhiVeDeC headquarters in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental.

Dante Carlito, Port Manager of Mindanao International Container Terminal congratulated all companies and contractors as the

PhiVeDeC became the first economic zone in Mindanao that achieved such feat, and the 4th in the country.

“We must give to our workers what is due to them, we must give their benefits full and on time and we must take it upon ourselves to apply to the labor laws,” Carlito said.

“It does not matter whether you are a small of big companies, we must give it all to our workers,” Carlito said.

Lawyer Jackey Mateo of the provincial government of Misamis Oriental said that the achievement “shows good faith in labor management and sincerity of the companies and their contractors to their labor practices.”

Baldoz said that when President Benigno Aquino, III gave her the DOLE portfolio, she then look for ways to change the image of DOLE as labor management partner, instead of being a Labor police.

“It used to be that when our labor law compliance officers visit companies, they are not allowed to enter because they thought we are

looking for faults in their labor practices,” Baldoz said.

“Companies look to us as very regulatory, which also breeds corruption because companies not complying with labor laws will surely provide settlement under the table,” Baldoz added.

Under the new system, DOLE innovates its role as labor partners and allow companies to see labor laws not as deterrent in doing business but as a reward.

In turn, innovations in labor practices eliminate corruption, she said.

“To be able to ease in doing business in the country, all companies are assessed for labor compliance. We make the system transparent for the business establishments,” Baldoz said.

As a reward to the labor compliant companies, services at DOLE are given free, “We have to do our job at no cost, we train, mentor and assist you in the labor system,” Baldoz said.

Companies who gain Labor compliant Certificates are exempted from annual assessments and inspection for two years.

BAGUIO CITY—An international award-winning directorhas pledged to direct and produce an alternative movie depicting the rich history, culture and traditions of the Cordillerans by next year.

Brillante Mendoza, who was in the city for a two-day film appreciation workshop at the SM City Baguio, said preparations for the production of the Cordillera movie are now on the works in order to ensure its smooth production by early next year.

“We will continue with our research so that all things will be placed in their proper places.

We want to produce a quality film that will depict the real life of Cordillerans through generations,” Mendoza stressed.

In the case of the production of his movie Captive that dwelled on the celebrated 2001 Dos Palmas kidnapping in Palawan which was staged by the Abu Sayyaf Group, Mendoza cited it took them more than one year to conduct the research on the culture, traditions and beliefs of the Muslims which were used in the production of the movie.

When asked of the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy will be included as part of the film for the Cordillerans, Mendoza cited it will form part of their research in preparation for the ground works of the Cordillera-inspired movie.

Mendoza cited the importance of alternative or independent films as educational and informative tool as they reflect the true to life stories of individuals, tribes, groups among others and also teach the present and future generations about the rich history, culture and traditions of the Filipinos.

He said that the growing interest among the youth on alternative or independent films is considered an achievement for independent film directors and producers like him because it will open greater opportunities for independent films to have a bigger market in the future. Dexter See

new manila-sagada line opens

By Dexter A. See SAGADA, Mountain Province —Foreign and domestic tourist arrivals in this mystical town are expected to shoot up in the coming weeks following the opening Thursday of the Manila-Sagada and Sagada-Manila VIA Banaue, Ifugao route operated by a local bus company.

Lawyer Francis Rey Camtugan, legal counsel of Coda Lines, said there will be three daily trips from Sagada to Manila and two daily trips from Manila to Sagada to cater to the rapidly increasing demand for

the bus service.

He said Coda Lines’ schedule for the Sagada to Manila daily trips are 2:30 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm while the Manila to Sagada trips are 8 pm and 8:30 pm.

The company’s station here is at Poblacion while its Manila station is located at No. 18 E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue, barangay Don Manuel, Quezon City.

The trips will pass through the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, the capital town of Bontoc, Mountain Province up to its destination in Sagada and vice versa.

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Camtugan, a home-grown lawyer, said the operation of the Manila - Sagada route was one of their aspirations considering that their family has been in the transportation business for over a decade.

Gov. Leonard Mayaen welcomed the operation of the Manila-Sagada line, saying it reignite tourism that has slumped aafter the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board suspended the operation of Florida bus due to the vehicular accident on February 7, 2014 that led to the death of 15 individuals and injured 32 others.

BAMBoo DANce. participants dressed in their bambooinspired costumes dance to impress the judges during the pindangan Festival held at san Fernando City, la Union. the street dance competition is part of san Fernando’s 17th cityhood anniversary celebrations . cHRISTINe JUNIo

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Roderick T. dela Cruz EDITOR business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

BANKER BECOMES AUTO MATCHMAKER

By Rochelle Campos

HE SEEMS a bit shy during the first minute of the interview, but Carmudi Philippines managing director Subir Lohani becomes quite savvy, as he talks about online trading business, showing he is in control of himself and the new company he leads.

“The job is very exciting. I just want to try something different.

I might as well do this while I’m younger and not yet married and have commitments,” the former investment banker who was born in Nepal, but grew up in the Philippines, says in an interview.

Lohani heads Carmudi Philippines, an online matchmaker between car buyers and sellers.

“The web works like an auto matchmaker, either a business or somebody who wants to sell a car, or buyers looking for a deal. So we created this platform. What we do is we provide high-quality data, pictures about a specific vehicle when we put them online and also search functionality,” he says.

“This is a new learning for me, about the industry, online trading and automotive. I am also learning about public relations, effective e-marketing, and on the operational side, how you handle the business, revenue generation, that sort of things,” says Lohani.

Car trading Lohani says he is excited to wear this new hat and see how he can expand the company’s footprint as an online platform for trading new and used cars in the Philippines.

As the company gains momentum, a year after it was launched, Carmudi is revving up with plans to expand to cities in Mindanao and the Visayas. With a hub in Manila and a satellite office in Cebu, Carmudi also mulls over putting up offices in Davao and Subic.

“From our Cebu office, we can actually do both Cebu and Bohol.

North Mindanao is also covered

by Cebu. We’re evaluating Davao to see if it makes sense or if it’s too spread out. Also, we’re likely to put a few people on the ground in Subic to cover Pampanga and Tarlac since it’s too difficult to do it from Manila which is three-hour drive away. Plus, they have a very high concentration of commercial vehicles like trucks that they do import from Japan and auction

here,” Lohani says.

Raised in PH Having been raised in the Philippines, Lohani has a soft spot for the country and anything that it offers. When he was offered a job to be at the helm of the online automotive trading company, he says he did not have any second thought.

“I left investment banking. I want to try something different,” Lohani says, after spending six years in Singapore as an investment banker.

He had worked for three different investment banks in Singapore for six years, before moving back to Manila.

His family migrated to the Philippines from Nepal when he was young, as his parents took on assignments for a development bank based in the Philippines.

“My parents moved to the Philippines when I was only six months old. Basically I grew up here my entire life before I went to university in the US,” says Lohani, who now lives in Ortigas.

From kindegarten to high school, Lohani took his primary and secondary education at the International School Manila. He went on to study at the Boston University in the US. He also studied at the Beijing Language and Cultural University in China for a certificate in Basic Mandarin.

“Then I moved to Singapore to work with investment banks. I just actually came back last June [2014],” he says.

Multi-lingual Lohani is well-versed in Nepali, English, Filipino, Spanish, Mandarin and Hindi, a trait he found useful working for multinational companies such as Rocket Internet, the parent company of Carmudi.

He came from a family of bankers, as both his parents work for a developmental bank in Manila while his sister works for the International Finance Corp., which is a unit of the World Bank.

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Subir Lohani

What we provide is a different user experience, compared to what the general classifieds do.

“My mom and dad still work here and my elder sister is always travelling, part of her work at the IFC,” he says.

With his new job at Carmudi, Lohani is always on his toes for innovations that will enhance the company’s online site and the way they do business. “The company started out testing for other countries. They were Mynamar, Mexico Nigeria.

Once they saw it work in those markets they they rolled it out in ten plus countries including the Philippines. Beginning last year, we went from zero on the ground in January to almost 35 people by end of the year,” he says of the company’s origins.

He says compared to the dedicated car platforms, the company is number one in terms CONTINUED ON B3

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ChoColate expert Cites ph potential

The Philippine is home of the pure Mesoamerican Criollo

Social entrepreneur alyssa Jade McDonaldBartl, the woman behind the world-famous Blyss chocolate, sees the potential of the Philippines to become a major player in the global cacao and chocolate-making industries.

Alyssa Jade McDonald-Bartl, founder of BLYSS Chocolate

In a visit to the Philippines organized by the

Center for Culinary Arts Manila, Alyssa reminds Filipinos that the country is the home of Mesoamerican Criollo, the highest quality cacao bean in the world.

The Philippines is said to be the first country to cultivate cacao outside the Americas. The first beans were brought to the country through the Galleon trade.

Alyssa, the wife of a Bavarian and daughter of Papua New Guinean, founded the Blyss Chocolate, which grows, harvests and sells pure arribanacionale cacao in Ecuador.

Alyssa discussed “The 6 Hot Topics That Really Melt Chocolate” during the Manila visit, where industry players, concerned government agencies, non-government organizations and chefs attended to better understand and address the issues affecting both the local and international cacao and chocolate-making industries.

The seminar, held at Lucia Ristorante in Hotel Celeste, Makati City, is one of the four short courses offered under the “The Chocolate Business as a Social Enterprise” expert training series which CCA Manila collaborated on with Blyss, a global chocolate business that makes “single bean virgin chocolate.”

Issues and solutions One of the complex challenges besetting the cacao industry is the shortage of cacao by year 2020, she says. Lyss says the demand for chocolate from emerging markets such as India and China is predicted to rise 30 percent.

“Since the early 1900s, there is increased demand of about 3 percent year-on-year.

But keeping pace with the growing global demand is proving to be no easy task.

Without empowering and investing on small-scale farmers, the chocolate industry —from the world’s biggest chocolate makers to the new players—will struggle to provide supply to meet the demand,” she says.

Without investing on farmers, many, specifically the next-generation cacao growers, will be forced to leave the industry to seek other profitable businesses, she says.

“No farmers, no cacao, and no cacao beans mean no chocolate bars. We need to act now,” Lyss says.

She also cites the need for production of high-quality cacao beans. She says like wine, cacao exhibits its own unique characteristics in flavor caused by the beans’ region of origin. “This and other post-harvest factors influence the flavor and overall outcome of the product,” she says.

Cacao supplier Revisiting history, cacao, a highly prized raw material for many cocoa products such as butter, powder, chocolate confectionery and liquor, has been a crop of the Philippines since the 1670s.

With climactic and soil conditions perfect for cacao cultivation, not to mention a ready global market, the country’s potential stands to benefit many growers, retailers and chocolate makers.

Lyss says while the Philippines is very much ready, it needs to help first the Filipino planters in order to put its name back on the world cacao map. Current data show Turn to next page

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Banker Becomes auto matchmaker of total listings or total number of vehicles on its website.

Matchmaker He says usually, people search for two things. “Either they know the brand or they’ll just put in a price range,” he says.

“From our dealers they can request for more information or whether they want to see it. It makes the initial process to identify significantly easier than sort of walking around.”

Carmudi currently has more than 2,000 dealers across the Philippines and close to 700,000 visitors on the website every month.

He says of 700,000 visitors, 50 percent are first-time users.

Lohani says the company can quantify those using the site but they have no means of tracking point-to-point end of sales.

“It’s very difficult. We’re working on it with a lot of dealers. The dealers are very different in terms of sophistication,” he says.

Apart from the usual dealers, the company also deals with banks as dealers of repossessed cars.

Global presence Globally, Carmudi operates in 20 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Asia and Mexico are the largest markets of Carmudi’s operation while Africa is still developing.

The Philippines is actually one of the main focus markets in Asia along with Indonesia with 350 million people, says Lohani.

“It’s fun to still go into markets that are still emerging. They don’t have limited competition. We just want to win in the markets we are in. The middle class goes up and people are going to end up buying cars or motorcycles. The Internet savvy and mobile penetration here [Philippines] is 111 percent. You have more mobile phones than people,” says Lohani.

Lohani says Carmudi is focusing on developing and emerging markets with vast potential for Internet penetration.

“Rocket International in general, wherein Carmudi is a part of, we hardly touch China in the same breath that we hardly touch the US because those markets are very specific,”

he says.

Lohani says the automotive market in the Philippines is just starting to take off, but economic developments show that the growth may be sustained over the next ten years.

He says among the factors that will lead to continued growth are the propensity to buy more vehicles whether motorcycles or cars; introduction of cheaper vehicles that are either China or Korean made and the rise of more manufacturers.

“They need to make vehicles more affordable in this country. For instance, you see high penetration rate of vehicles in Thailand and Indonesia, simply because the cars are there. They’re cheaper, the

servicing is there. The problem here is that if you buy a foreign car in the Philippines, sometimes just to get that car serviced is amazingly expensive because they have to bring in the parts from somewhere else,” he says.

“But if they manufacture here, the entire supply chain gets created. You need to have somebody supplying the parts and somebody who’s assembling that. Then everything becomes more efficient,” he says.

Market dominance With over a year in operations in the Philippines, Carmudi believes it will maintain its dominance in the market, “simply because we’ve already established market leadership in a way for the dedicated

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online vehicle platforms”.

“We don’t compare ourselves to the general classifieds because we think that what we provide is a different user experience compared to what the general classifieds do. People can try to come in, but it will be difficult for them to compete with us, even on how we do account management, how we deal with the clients and also the sources we put in the market,” Lohani says.

He says in 2015, the company will try to reach out to the larger segment of the population in the cities they operate in, as the B to C market is almost saturated.

Despite this, Carmudi will not sacrifice the quality of information which it is known for, Lohani says.

“For private people posting their vehicles, it’s still 100-percent free. But for the commercial car dealers we do charge them, because we provide all kinds of services. Like we actually go and collect the data, take pictures and write down all the information, bring it back and upload. Then you have a dedicated account manager who’s calling you for updates,” he says.

The company has 45 people on the ground across Manila and Cebu. It is also looking at other cities with dense concentration of registered vehicles, says Lohani.

Facebook users One good thing about the Philippines, compared to other countries where Carmudi operates in, Lohani says, is that people are relatively more educated with young demographics and nearly everybody is on Facebook with 93 penetration rate, the highest in the world next to Brazil.

“Most people have been introduced to buying and selling stuff online or on the e-commerce website. They’re used to doing it. It’s like a natural progression. If they want to see a car why not check it online as well,” he says.

Given the size of the economy, the volume of registered cars remains very low, he says.

“Last count was 850,000 registered cars, 4 million motorcycles and total of 6.9 million plus commercial vehicles. There’s still a huge room to expand,” he says.

chocolate expert cites ph potential that 70 percent of the world’s cacao comes from Africa.

“It is perhaps unknown to the rest of the world but the Philippines is the home of the Mesoamerican Criollo. I think the country needs to highlight this unique element, since there is no original bean left in Mexico,” Lyss says.

The sweet, acid notes that are native here, she says, can be developed for future cuisine. “A stronger connection between farmers and chefs is needed, to put together the whole story to the map,” she says.

One such approach is through culinary business. Chefs, as influencers, can help farmers and chocolate makers develop cacao into products with unique offerings, Lyss says.

“Extend the brand experience by connecting with the culinary community. Talk their language; teach them the importance of cultural preservation, of creating a menu strategy like a limited edition signature series,” she says.

“It’s about transparency and great quality. You now have already Malagos, Kablon, Theo & Philo, and Magdalena, and amazing farmers who would dedicate heirloom seeds; they are going to be the foundation. But they need support to maintain the quality standards and prices,” Lyss says.

chefs and representatives from the local chocolate industry with lyss Bartl of BlYss chocolate (seated, third from right) and Badjie trinidad, chief executive cravings Group (seated, second from right).

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world

Ukrainian soldiers man a position on front line near small eastern Ukrainian city of Kurakhove, Donetsk region on March 11, 2015. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) handed Ukraine a 17.5 billion US dollar lifeline on March 11 as the United States agreed to send military aid to bolster its forces against pro-Russian rebels— but stopped short of promising weapons. AFP

‘Ukraine COnFLiCT HaS De-eSCaLaTeD’

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed Friday a “gradual de-escalation” in fighting between government forces and prorussian separatists, a month after a ceasefire agreement came into effect.

“The fact that we have not had military losses for several days... is a clear indication of a gradual

de-escalation,” Poroshenko told Ukraine’s private 1+1 television network.

Poroshenko’s remarks tallied with those of international ceasefire monitors, who said Thursday that the February 12 truce was “broadly” holding up, despite sporadic clashes in a handful of flashpoints.

Poroshenko said he was confident that Ukrain—which so far have fallen on deaf ears—would receive a favourable response if the rebels mounted a renewed offensive.

“If there is a new upsurge in the aggression against Ukraine, I can say with certainty that we will immediately receive lethal weapons and a new wave of sanctions against the aggressor. We will act in a tough and concerted fashion,” he said. on Wednesday the US announced plans to send Kiev military equipment worth $75 million —but not weapons.

KERRY: ‘IMPORTANT gAPS’ REMAIN IN IRAN NUKE DEAl US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme have made progress, but there were still “important gaps” to overcome.

Kerry, who is attending a three-day international investor conference in Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, said the purpose of these talks was “not just to get any deal, it is to get the right deal”.

“We made some progress, but there are still some gaps, important gaps.”

The Iranian nuclear talks are entering their critical end-game with Kerry due to meet his Iranian counterpart in Switzerland after the Sharm el-Sheikh conference ends.

Six world powers—the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany—aim by the end of this month to nail down the outline of a deal that would put making a nuclear bomb out of Tehran’s reach.

“The deadline is approaching.

Time is critical,” said Kerry.

“We continue to remain focussed on reaching the right deal.”

The parties hope to reach a full

US Secretary of State John Kerry Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a news conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on March 14, 2015, a day after the Egypt Economic Development Conference. AFP

accord by July 1.

But Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticised the negotiations, and is to give a closely watched Iranian New Year’s address on March 21. on Thursday Khamenei said

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the other side in the talks was “deceitful and stabs in the back,” according to Iranian news agency ISNA. Kerry will travel to the Swiss city of Lausanne Sunday to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad

Javad Zarif.

The US negotiating team, including chief negotiator Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, are scheduled to join him in Lausanne. AFP

POPE MARKS 2ND YEAR IN VATICAN PoPE Francis marked the second anniversary of his election on Friday by giving an interview in which he says he expects his time at the Vatican to only last for another two or three years.

“I have a feeling my pontificate will be brief,” the 78-year-old told Mexico’s Televisa channel.

“Four or five years, I don’t know. Two years have already gone by.

“It is a vague feeling I have that the Lord chose me for a short mission. I am always open to that possibility.”

The first pope from Latin America has hinted in the past that he could retire, emulating his predecessor Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to resign in seven centuries when he stepped down in February 2013.

Francis said Benedict had “opened an institutional door” but stopped short of repeating previous hints he could also resign, which drew criticism from some conservative theologians.

“The idea of fixing an age limit of 80 is not one I like very much,” he said, arguing that it would create lame-duck pontiffs.

Francis said he visited and spoke by telephone to Benedict, who lives a monastic life in a former convent inside the Vatican.

“He is happy, satisfied and respected by everyone,” he said.

“He can be asked for advice and he is loyal to the death.”

Intriguingly, when asked if he liked being pope, Francis replies: “I don’t not like it,” before expanding on his dislike of travelling and his fondness for the comforts and familiarity of home. AFP

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WORLD

ArMAN ArMErO EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

B5

in resPOnse TO KurDs’ Plea

US leadS air StrikeS VS iS

The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group launched air strikes against the jihadists in a key Syrian village overnight after Kurdish forces appealed for action, a monitor said Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes near the northeastern village of Tal Tamr were the first by the US-led coalition in the area since an IS advance there began in late February.

There were no immediate details on casualties in the raids, which the Britain-based monitor said hit IS positions near the village in the northeastern province of Hasakeh.

The strikes came just hours af-

ter the Kurdish forces battling to prevent IS from seizing Tal Tamr and the nearby border town of Ras al-Ain appealed for international action.

In a statement, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) called on “the international coalition forces to take part in the battle for Tal Tamr”.

The village is one of a number that IS has attacked in Hasakeh province since it began an offensive there in late February.

It has so far seized several villag-

es and kidnapped more than 200 Assyrian Christians in the area, prompting thousands of residents to flee to the safety of nearby cities.

Tal Tamr, while small, has strategic value because it lies on a road that runs across the Iraqi border to the east and on to IS’s bastion there, Mosul.

It also sits on a road leading north to the Turkish border and the town of Ras al-Ain, which is also under IS assault.

On Friday, YPG spokesman Redur Khalil said IS was bring-

ing reinforcements to the Ras al-Ain area and Kurdish fighters there were expecting an “imminent attack”.

The IS offensive in Hasakeh came after Kurdish fighters backed

by US-led air strikes expelled the jihadist group from the key border town of Kobane.

More than 210,000 people have been killed in Syria since an antigovernment uprising that began in March 2011 descended into a civil war that has attracted thousands of foreign jihadists. AFP

egyPT hails arabs’ $12 bn PleDge as suPPOrT fOr sisi EGYPT said Saturday that the $12 billion dollars pledged to it by three Arab states to help its economy shows their strong support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his fight against jihadists.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates each offered $4 billion (3.8 billion euros) in investment aid at a conference attended on Friday by hundreds of business and political leaders in the coastal resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Sisi, who ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and brutally crushed his supporters, has sought to persuade allies that his country is on the front lines of a war against regional militants.

He has called for building a unified Arab force to fight the Islamic State group that has captured territory in Iraq and Syria, and which commands an affiliate in Egypt.

Cairo has carried out air strikes against the jihadist group inside Libya, where IS

also appears to have gained a foothold.

Planning Minister Ashraf El-Arabi said the Gulf nations’ pledge showed their support was “political, and this political support is very important in this phase”.

“I believe that the message is clear that most of the world is supporting Egypt in building the new Egypt,” he told AFP. “The (funding) announcement... makes us very comfortable, and it is a certificate of trust that Egypt will develop and become better than before.”

About 100 countries and international organisations are attending the three-day conference aimed at attracting billions of dollars for Egypt’s economy, which has been battered by years of political turmoil.

Sisi, who has positioned himself as a bulwark against jihadists, said investing in the Arab world’s most populous country would help stabilise the entire region. AFP

members of the Kurdish People’s Protection units (yPg) monitor the positions of islamic state (is) group in the syrian town of ras al-ain, close to the Turkish border on march 13, 2015. yPg spokesman redur Khalil told afP that is was bringing in additional forces to the ras al-ain area from its strongholds in raqa city and Tal abyad. AFP

Taiwan sTages mass anTi-nuclear rally

Tsai inag-wen (center), chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), leads in the chanting of slogans during an anti-nuclear rally in Taipei on march 14, 2015. Thousands of people took to the streets calling for an end to nuclear energy and to oppose a controversial plan to ship nuclear waster abroad. AFP

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THOUSAndS of people took to the streets in Taiwan on Saturday to call for the island to scrap its use of nuclear energy and to voice opposition to controversial plans to ship nuclear waste abroad, organisers said.

Protesters in central Taipei waved placards and dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with slogans including “Goodbye to nuclear energy” and “We don’t need nuclear power”, just days after Japan marked the fourth anniversary of an undersea earthquake which triggered a massive tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Taiwan’s government has faced growing public pressure over its unpopular nuclear energy facilities.

Concerns have mounted in particular since 2011, when Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant

was hit by a tsunami which knocked out power to its cooling systems and sent reactors into meltdown.

Last year, Taiwanese authorities were forced to seal off a nearly-completed power plant due to open in 2015, pending a referendum on its future.

But anti-nuclear groups said that was not enough, and demanded the government scrap the plant altogether. They have also called for the authorities to promise to decommission two older plants at the scheduled dates.

“We urge the government to reform its energy policy and focus on green energy and saving energy,” said one of the rally’s organisers Tsui Shu-hsin.

“Politicians should listen to the voices of the people...

so Taiwan can become nuclear-free.”

The government says that Taiwan will run out of energy if it ditches nuclear power, which currently supplies about 20 percent of the island’s electricity.

The Taipei rally drew around 30,000 people, while two other rallies held simultaneously across the island had a combined turnout of 15,000, according to estimates by organisers. Police estimates were not immediately available.

Organisers were also collecting signatures in a bid to stop a plan by the state-run Taiwan Power Co. to process its nuclear waste abroad, which they said was aimed at extending the operations of two plants which are approaching capacity. AFP

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S u N d aY : m a r c h 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

reuel vidal EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

Tara

rules AlAskA IronkIds

Tara Borlain crosses the finish line with plenty to spare as she rules the Girls 11-12 category of the 2015 alaska IronKids Triathlon held in Subic last the weekend.

TrIAThlon

W

inning has become a habit. Tara Borlain ruled the girls 11-12 category of the 2015 Alaska ironKids Triathlon held in Subic over the weekend.

No surprise there. After all she has won virtually every triathlon, duathlon and long distance foot race that she joined. This includes the 2014 National Finals of the Milo Marathon last December where the 11-year-old girl beat adult women to win the threekilometer distance.

Open to children 6 to 14 years old, Alaska IronKids is the local junior version of the international triathlon series, Ironman.

Tara trailed her sister Samantha in the swim and bike part of the race but relied on her strong finishing run to prevail with Samantha taking second. A third sister Franchezka Borlain grabbed second place in the Girls 6-8 category. The Borlain siblings are daughters of former World Bodybuilding champion Ringo Borlain.

Other 1st place winners in the girls category are Nicole Danielle Eijansantos (13-14), Alison Ann Noble (9-10) and Justicia Mariearl Tan (6-8).

Brent Valelo also relied on a strong run to rule the Boys 13-

Pia Francesca Suarez picks up speed as she rides her bike during the 2015 alaska IronKids Triathlon held in Subic last weekend. Suarez was part of a large contingent from Davao who flew to Subic to compete in the triathlon.

14. Other 1st place winners in the boys category are Juan Francisco Baniqued (11-12), Mark Grist (9-10) and Dayshaun Karl Ramos (6-8).

Alaska Milk Corporation President/CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu said he is ecstatic with the huge turnout.

“It’s really nice to see the parents supporting their kids promoting a healthy lifestyle, a lot of kids today spend a lot of time on their iPads or playstations. It’s important to develop your technical skills but you also have to be physically fit,” said Uytengsu.

Christine Levi Gaspar and Una Janus Sibayan placed second and third in the Girls 13-14.

Everly Janarie Macalalad finished third in the Girls 11-12. Patricia Tolentino and Ana Maria Mempin placed second and third in the Girls 9-10. Caitlin Gaw finished third in the Girls 6-8.

Sabino Czar Manglicmot IV and John Caleb Barlin placed second and third in the Boys 1314. Jose Manuel Arao and Karl Rafael Pamakid placed second and third in the Boys 11-12. Matthew Thomas Alumbres and Juan Miguel Tayag placed second and third in the Boys 9-10. Jabrielle Marcos Delizo and Reggeal Victoria placed second and third in the Boys 6-8.

Alaska IronKids Philippines

is an annual sporting event that aims to promote a healthy and active lifestyle among children through the winning combination of proper nutrition and physical activity. The Alaska IronKids Race Series is just one of many sports development programs that Alaska conducts yearly to engage children to come out and play.

Four races are lined up for 2015—two aquathlons and two triathlons. The next races will be the Alaska IronKids Aquathlon Apr. 19 at The Village Sports Club; the Alaska IronKids Aquathlon June 6 in Subic Bay; and the Alaska IronKids Triathlon Aug. 1 in Cebu.

The races will have three categories: Race Category (with Podium Medals) with four age groups; Play Category (with finisher’s medal but no age categories) with short and long distances to promote outdoor play and increase participation for non-competitive participants; and the Relay Category (with Podium Medals) with two mixed age groups.

Pioneering athletic programs like the Alaska IronKids Philippines Triathlon has managed to take children away from their video game consoles, cellphones and cable TV remotes and out into the sun to swim, bike and run in triathlon races.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK S U N D AY : M A R C H 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

ARMAN ARMERO EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

FORMULA ONE:

DOMINANT HAMILTON STORMS TO AUSSIE POLE

WORLD champion Lewis Hamilton scorched to pole position more than half-a-second faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg as he led a Mercedes one-two at Australian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton’s 39th career pole came from a dominating performance, with a sizzling lap time of one minute 26.327 seconds at Melbourne’s Albert Park.

It was Hamilton’s fourth pole in Australia as he bids to win for the first time in Melbourne since 2008.

Rosberg, who looked as if he would miss out on the front row after taking to the grass, hit back with a flying 1:26.921 final lap, still sixtenths off his fierce rival.

Brazilian Felipe Massa in a Williams was third fastest in 1:27.718, ahead of four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel for his new Ferrari team.

Last year Hamilton also started off the pole in Melbourne but was forced out with mechanical problems after just four laps.

“It’s a great start to the weekend. We found a good balance today and it was about trying to push those laps,” Hamilton said.

“Last year showed that even though I didn’t win that first race it wasn’t the end of the world.

“But of course the plan tomorrow is to have a better start to the season and today is the first step in that direction.”

Rosberg, who went on to win last year’s race, is optimistic about his chances even though he was significantly slower than Hamilton’s best lap.

“It’s not because of the pace difference, for sure, Lewis was quick but I didn’t get my laps together today,” the German said.

“So I’m not worried about pace at all to be honest. But

(Top) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s British driver Lewis Hamilton speeds through a corner during the qualifying session at the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 14, 2015. Hamilton is all smiles after qualifying fastest in race with teammate German Nico Rosberg (left) second fastest, and Williams Martini Racing’s Brazilian driver Felipe Massa (right) third. AFP

races are always a different thing so maybe I can even turn it around tomorrow.”

Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was fifth ahead of Valtteri Bottas in a Williams and Australian Daniel Ricciardo struggled to keep up, finishing seventh in his Red Bull.

“Mercedes are in a differ-

ent category,” Massa said, reflecting the mood of the other teams.

“For sure it’s not great to see this difference, but we keep working, we keep fighting and I hope we can get as close as we can.

“Red Bull is not really there for the moment and I am sure that Red Bull

SPORTS CHAMPS. National College of Business and Arts men’s volleyball team present their Universities and Colleges of Luzon [UCLAA] championship trophy to NCBA president Cesar Menez during the awarding ceremonies held recently at Wildcats Gym in Fairview, Quezon City. Technological Institute of of the Philippines, meanwhile, topped the women’s volleyball. while in basketball, Philippine College of Criminology won both the juniors and seniors titles.

Philippine College of Aeronautics topped the badminton team events and Asian Institute of Maritime Studies dominated the single, doubles and team events in table tennis. DANNY SIMON CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

will get there but for now Ferrari is really strong and they have made a big step forward compared to last year.”

Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) filled out the top 10.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, set to become the

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youngest ever Formula One driver at 17 years and 166 days in Sunday’s race, was among the five drivers eliminated in Q2.

Verstappen, driving a Toro Rosso, finished 12th fastest and missed out along with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr, Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Force India pair Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.

After Sauber’s legal turmoil this week, finally resolved when Giedo van der Garde gave up his seat despite a court ruling in his favour, Nasr got to within 0.076sec of Q3.

The struggling McLarens of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen both failed to make Q2 after finishing 16th and 17th in the first stage and will start on the back row of the race grid.

Button, a three-time Australian Grand Prix winner, was a substantial 2.836sec off the pace, emphasising the McLaren’s problems since their incomplete offseason testing.

The last time Button qualified as low as 17th was at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The McLarens were behind the Sauber pair of Nasr and Marcus Ericsson. Brazil’s Nasr scraped into the last spot in Q2 ahead of his team-mate Ericsson.

The Manor pair of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, who were unable to take part in practice as the new team gets on its feet, did not take part in qualifying. AFP

POOL SHARKS. Architects Teodorico Salud and Louis Bejer

pose with the King of Sports usherettes after their ceremonial break in the MSW (Mega Sports World) Executive 10-Ball Tournament at the KoS Resto Bar in Quezon Ave., Quezon City. The two pool sharks are among the 64 participants in the 3-month long billiards event open for businessmen. DS

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B8

SUNDAY: MARCH 15, 2015

Riera U. Mallari EDITOR sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Manny Pacquiao meets a swarm of reporters.

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WHAT is a day in the life of Manny Pacquiao like?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF

MANNY The eight-division world and current World Boxing Organization welterweight gamely went through an incredibly hard day’s work on Thursday (Manila Time) fulfilling his obligations.

An obvious darling of the international media, Pacquiao did a string of TV interviews in a schedule that respected columnist Kevin Iole remarked was packed to the point of being cruel, while Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a comparatively easier day and even noted that Manny was “doing a lot of media, talk shows, which is great. I prefer him to do it, so I can train.”

The Filipino ring icon with TV host Jimmy Kimmel (second from left) and actor Liam Neeson (right) during his appearance at the Jimmy Kimmel Live.

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Longtime Pacquiao publicist Fred Sternburg CBN of the Philippines. He turns down an provided a rundown of the unbelievably hard day. opportunity to do yet another live appearance 7 a.m.: Sternburg arrived at Pacquiao’s on SportsCenter because his schedule is so Hancock Park home to find Pacquiao in his packed. bedroom reading the Bible with his pastor.

4:10 p.m.: He goes to Nat’s, a restaurant near the WildCard Gym, where he trains. He 7:20 a.m.: Breakfast at home.

7:45 a.m.: Pacquiao leaves home to head literally has seven minutes to eat his dinner.

4:25 p.m.: Pacquiao arrives at the Wildto downtown Los Angeles for the start of his Card Gym after dinner for another interview. day of promotional obligations.

8:40 a.m.: Pacquiao arrives at ESPN in Los This time, it is a sitdown interview for the preAngeles and appears live on 10 different shows view show being put together. When he’s done, on various ESPN networks. Among them he and his crew take off down Hollywood Bouwere First Take, SportsCenter and His & Hers, levard to get to the studio to tape a surprise appearance on Jimmy where he said he thought Kimmel Live.

Ronda Rousey could 4:55 p.m.: Pacbeat Mayweather in an quiao arrives at MMA fight. This session Kimmel’s show and ended at 10:40 a.m.

An obvious darling of the tapes his segment, 11:05 a.m.: Paca comedic skit in international media, Pacquiao quiao begins to walk the red carpet at Nokia did a string of TV interviews in a which he dresses Theater and does two schedule that respected columnist as a security guard.

He also meets actor hours nonstop of video interviews.

Among Kevin Iole remarked was packed to Liam Neeson, who is a guest on the show, them are live shots on the point of being cruel for the first time. the sets of CNN, ESPN’s Neeson narrated a SportsCenter (again), movie about PacTelevisa and TV Azteca quiao. in Mexico and GMA in 6:15 p.m.: After the Philippines.allery a 20-minute drive, 1:10 p.m.: Pacquiao heads downstairs at Nokia Theater and speaks Pacquiao arrives at a television studio in East Holto a large group of boxing writers for 35 min- lywood, where he is required to sign hundreds of boxing gloves and then tape a commercial. This utes.

1:45 p.m.: Pacquiao heads upstairs at process takes three hours.

9:45 p.m.: The commercial is finished and Nokia Theater for the news conference. all the gloves are signed. A very weary Pacquiao, 3 p.m.: After the news conference ends, who had little to eat all day, gets home and gets to Pacqiuao departs Nokia Theater and does bed sometime after 10:30 p.m. live television shots with Univision and ABS-

S U N D AY : M A R C H 1 5 : 2 0 1 5

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BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

NEW YORK

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

NEW YORK CITY GIRL I didn’t grow up “ridin’ the subways, running with people, up in Harlem, down on Broadway,” but once, a woman, backpack on her shoulders, came up to me just outside MoMA, at 53rd and 6th, and asked where she could catch the 6 because she wanted to go uptown to the museums. I told her she would have to go east and cross three avenues to get to Lexington, and then two blocks south to get to the Lexington Avenue Station at 51st. But, I added, it’s far more pleasant to walk up to Madison Avenue and hop on the M2 bus going uptown, and get off close to the Met at 83rd. It’s a much more scenic route.

At times like these, I feel a little bit fraudulent, acting the native when in fact I’m just as much a visitor and a gawker, but I also feel a sense of accomplishment, simultaneously smug and thrilled, that I can now, after regular extended twice yearly visits since 2011, navigate New York’s streets with the confident ease of a native.

Yes, I think to myself, I could be a New York City Girl.

On a glorious sunny day last spring, I told my date I would meet him for cocktails at the rooftop terrace of The Viceroy on 57th. The views from the top floor were impressive, but he was more impressed by the fact that I knew about this place and he, a native New Yorker, had never even heard of it.

Another time, coming from a gala benefit, dressed in satin and stilettos, I traipsed downtown for the afterparty, to a famous artist’s apartment decorated in a style that, in the kindest possible words, could be described as papal baroque meets Dante’s Inferno. Which prompted one of the ladies in our little group to exclaim, “But what am I doing here? I’m from Park Avenue!”

So from there, we headed towards the Village, into a basement club, décor nondescript, but ambience show-stoppingly contagious, as gay men were huddled around the piano belting out Broadway showtunes with camp abandon.

It’s impossible not to ever be excited about New York. Oh, you can affect jaded detachment from time to time, but you’re not fooling anyone but yourself. You never know whom you’ll meet just walking down the street, or along the High Line, what you’ll discover in a gallery or a bookstore, what sweeping views of the city await you from a rooftop terrace in a hotel you didn’t even know existed.

And that’s the great thing about New York. It seethes with the best energy of all: that of possibility.

I know, because I’m a New York City Girl.

THE VIEW FROM MY IRONY TOWER

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE Speaking of possibility, our cover art is a specially commissioned illustration by New York-based artist John Jay Cabuay.

His work regularly graces New York Observer, Washington Post, Boston Globe and now, The New Standard. Watch this space.

FILIPINO IN NEW YORK

We all know that New York is an unparalleled culinary melting pot, with the cuisines of almost every nation in world represented within its five boroughs. New York has everything to suit every appetite and every budget, from a chic, ultra-refined restaurant serving a 10-course menu degustation by a celebrated chef, or a hole-inthe-wall dive with nachos or burgers that just hit the spot. And for the times you are simply craving the taste of home, New York has great Filipino restaurants, too.

TALDE

Chef Dale Talde, a “Top Chef ” alumnus, is the Fil-Am star of this Brooklyn restaurant specializing in casual Asian-American cuisine with a creative twist. Many standout dishes on the menu feature distinctly Filipino flavors, such as the Beef Short Rib Kare Kare, Filipino Pork, and Dale’s signature version of Halo-Halo. Talde has been reaping critical acclaim since it opened in 2012, and locals love this neighborhood restaurant, too.

369 7th Avenue Park Slope, Brooklyn taldebrooklyn.com

PIG & KHAO

Another “Top Chef” alum, Leah Cohen boasts a seriously impressive resume, having honed her craft at restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park and David Burke’s Park Avenue Café in New York, and the Michelin-starred Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. HalfFilipino and halfRomanian- Russian, Cohen opened Pig and Khao in 2012 on the Lower East Side, which instantly took off. The Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine has some Filipino favorites like Crispy Pata, Pork Belly Adobo, Chicharron and Sisig, 68 Clinton Street pigandkhao.com

JEEPNEY

Kamayan night every Wednesday and Thursday, you can’t get more authentically Filipino than that. In fact, call it authentic with a touch of camp.

Jeepney, a Filipino gastropub in the East Village has all the Barrio Fiesta fare: noodles, pancit, chicharon, and balut, plus pictures of bomba stars from the sexploitation heyday of Philippine cinema in the 70s and 80s.

201 1st Avenue jeepneynyc.com

SCAN THIS ICON TO WATCH JEEPNEY’S 2ND ANNUAL BALUT EATING COMPETITION & LECHON ROAST IN NEW YORK

THE SCENE IN QUEENS Queens has an amazing array of Filipino

restaurants serving what many in New York consider to be the best Pinoy food in all the five boroughs. In fact, with restaurants like Tito Rad’s, Ihawan, Payag, Fiesta Grill and Sariling Atin, you could call this stretch of Woodside in Queens Little Manila.

I MET ME IN NEW YORK

FILIPINOS OF

NEW YORK How do you explain the allure of the Big Apple? We asked a few Filipinos who now – or at one point in their lives did – call themselves New Yorkers.

Tito Rad’s Grill and Restaurant 4910 Queens Blvd, Woodside, NY titorads.com

I met me in New York. That’s the answer I give whenever anybody asks me why I love New York so much. I had dreamed of coming to the big city and pursuing a career in fashion. I left the comforts of home and a small design business for greener pastures and the unknown.

It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I’ll never forget my first night in New York coming in from the bridge and seeing the city lights and the skyscrapers from a distance. I could feel the energy and I was filled with excitement at the possibilities of what my new life could be. That night my sister took me out to a club to go dance off my jet lag. By the time we came home I had fallen in love and felt that I had come home. I still feel that burst of energy every time I come home from a trip.

New York still has that kind of effect on me.

And that’s why I love this quote:

There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.

-Simone De Beauvoir

RAFE TOTENGCO Founder and Designer, Rafe Creative Director, Handbags Nine West Group Inc.

PURPLE YAM

Purple Yam – ube in other words – is the restaurant Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan opened after their well-loved SoHo establishment Cendrillon closed down in March 2009. While essentially a Filipino restaurant, it blends Asian flavors into the menu, offering abodo alongside Korean bibimbap, for instance. But perennial Filipino standards remain: ukoy, lumpiang Shanghai, tocino, tapa, pancit bihon and lechon kawali, to name a few.

1314 Cortelyou Road Brooklyn purpleyamnyc.com

Ihawan Woodside 4006 70th Street, Woodside, NY facebook.com/ pages/ihawan

Fiesta Grill 6912 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside, NY fiestagrill.net

KUMA INN

Yes, pun intended.

Kuma Inn is very obviously a play on the word kumain, which is exactly what one should be doing in this cozy Southeast Asian restaurant on the second floor of a Lower East Side building. Chef King Phojanakong’s menu is heavy on avantgarde “Asian tapas,” fusing the cooking of his Filipino mother and Thai father, plus stuff he’s picked up along the way while under the tutelage of David Bouley and Daniel Boulud. The menu changes, but expect to find staples like lechon kawali with atchara, pancit bihon, and Tita Em’s chicken wing adobo.

113 Ludlow Street kumainn.com

Payag 5134 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside, NY payagrestaurant. com

Engeline’s Restaurant 5828 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside, NY engelineswoodside. com

WHY I HATE NEW YORK

Sorry everyone, I hate to break it to you, but I hate New York. I’ve hated it since I moved here seventeen years ago. Let’s tackle the clichés first: the skyline isn’t all that. I mean, who wants to see the Empire State Building every day from the backseat of an Uber, especially if you are running late? It gets tired. Times Square? Hurts my eyes. Central Park? Wifi is weak, you can’t upload to Instagram. And the Statue of Liberty? Never even been there.

What’s up with all the stunning people of from all corners of the world running around downtown, like packs of sleek gazelles? Is every single modeling agency based in New York City, their girls and boys making us all look fat? Why are the Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret models hogging all the bikes in my spinning class? Why does my barista look like Jake Gyllenhaal? Why is Jake Gyllenhaal also in line with me for coffee? Oh I’m sorry, it’s not coffee, it’s a $6 skim soy latte made with hand-harvested sustainable Ethiopian Arabica beans. Annoying!

I have a migraine every time friends assign me to pick a restaurant for dinner. The choices make me dizzy. Craving for Afghan kebabs but can’t travel to Kabul this year?

Let’s go to Ariana. Been a long time since you last had moss and lichens foraged in Norway? Reserve Aska.

Molecular gastronomy is passé, but there’s nothing like a good foam, n’est-ce pas? Meet you at Alder. I would rather

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

C3

MAD MEN (2007 – )

The show about the glamorous but damaged world of advertising in the 60s.

SEINFELD (1989 – 1998)

The show about nothing.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

You’re picky and neurotic.

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

You’re picky and neurotic.

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

You want to be Don Draper.

WHAT YOUR

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

FAVORITE

You want to do Don Draper.

FRIENDS

SEX & THE CITY (1998 – 2004)

(1994 – 2004)

The show about six friends who end up being each other’s family.

Also, they end up with each other, except for Joey and Phoebe.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

You believe Ross and Rachel were meant to be.

IF YOU'RE A MAN:

You believe “We were on a break!” is a valid excuse.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (2005 – 2014)

The show about how Ted met his wife and then she died, so he went back to Robin, the love of his life.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

You’ll never trust a man named Lorenzo von Matterhorn.

Or a man in a scuba suit.

Or Barney Stinson.

The show about shoes, and four girlfriends looking for love, but often ending with just sex, in the city.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

You want Carrie’s life. Or Charlotte’s. Or Samantha’s.

But not really Miranda’s.

TV SHOW

SAYS ABOUT YOU

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

You’re probably gay.

New York was made for movies – just ask Woody Allen. But it’s also provided a perfect backdrop for TV, with shows ranging from gritty crime dramas to sitcoms about friends sitting around a sofa in a café named Central Perk.

And if Buzzfeed is to be believed, you are what you watch, so here’s what your favorite TV show set in New York says about you:

WILL & GRACE (1998 – 2006)

The show about a gay lawyer, his straight BFF, his gay BFF and his gay BFF’s spoilt, wealthy, pill-popping, alcoholswilling bitch of a sidekick who happens to be…

Never mind, it’s hilarious.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

You’re a fag-hag.

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

You love show tunes and you’re probably gay.

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

You think MacLaren’s Pub is legen – wait for it – dary.

LAW & ORDER (1990 – infinity)

The show about the criminal justice system, where the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime, and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.

30 ROCK (2006 – 2013)

The show about a show on NBC – so meta - where hot damn, Tina Fey rocks.

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN:

Ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party.

IF YOU’RE A MAN:

Ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party

stay home and order in Chinese delivery, but do I order Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong, or Cantonese? Oh god never mind, just mix me a vodka martini, but please use Death’s Door Vodka, three drops of angostura bitters, in a glass misted with dry vermouth, I’m really not picky.

Who has time to eat anyway, we’re all overscheduled in this city. It’s impossible to keep track of anything. Yesterday I brought my yoga mat to SoulCycle class, and my spinning shoes to Barry’s Boot Camp. Hilaire! I might have to give up my West African dance class to make way for mindfulness training. And didn’t someone say that rowing was the new barre? Help me, I can’t keep up!

And then there is the NYC dating scene, which is out of Dante’s Inferno. The straight crowd is going through a new sexual revolution courtesy of Tindr. But why is every gay in the city in a perfect J Crew photoshoot-worthy marriage, or desperate to be in one? Since gay marriage was legalized back in 2011, it’s all been wedding photos, artificial insemination, and perfect little families that all want to be Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. Grrr, can someone lower the standards just a bit for moi, PLEASE? If you still want to come visit NYC, feel free. If this city gives you a nervous breakdown, don’t come crying to me. My favorite phrase: I told you so.

NYC, I just can’t quit you.

RAMON PADILLA Director, Browhaus NYC and Strip: Ministry of Waxing 56 Spring Street, New York

YOU’RE A MAN.

ELECTRIC CITY

I’ve lived most of my life in New York, having first come here in 1964 for college.

It was in the suburbs, not in the city, but I came to the city as often as I could, until I eventually moved permanently to Manhattan.

New York is amazing. Once you’ve lived there and have that experience, it’s difficult to live anywhere else. And the energy! It’s indescribable. If I felt that energy 50 years ago, can you imagine what it’s like now? Today, it’s even more electric!

But it’s a different feeling today, compared to when I was a student. It’s so global now, so built up, and more so than ever it is the center of everything – business, finance, arts, fashion, and more and more, tech and entertainment.

The hustle and bustle of New York is simply on another level. I am really consumed by work when I’m there, and my days are quite hectic, but every now and then, it’s nice to be able to slow down and see the city through different eyes, like I did recently when an old classmate – actually my roommate, whom I hadn’t seen in 20 years – came over for a visit and I gave her a tour. But really, it was like giving myself a tour, too!

The face of New York has changed, and that’s another fascinating aspect of New York. Downtown is amazing, the East Side is vibrant and look at the Bowery today.

What was anathema before is the coolest place now.

Same with Brooklyn. Years ago, it was, like, “Brooklyn? What’s that?” It was another country. Today it’s the cool place to go to and live in. With townhouses going for $30 million!”

Yes, New York is expensive, but there are so many things you can enjoy for free, if you are just resourceful.

Concerts, shows, Central Park… In the end, it depends on what you want. You can be anonymous in New York, or you can be famous. But what you can never be is lazy.

JOSIE NATORI Founder and CEO, The Natori Company

MY NEW YORK

There are so many ways I would describe NYC, the city I’ve been living in since 1994. It’s so magical, interesting, always changing, ever inspiring, and never a dull moment!

I started to live here when I was offered the opportunity to open the US head office of my sister’s home accessories business, which is based in London and Paris. I remember taking a red-eye flight from San Francisco, and landing half-asleep seeing stars from sleep deprivation. But as soon as I went through the door of JFK airport and saw a sea of yellow cabs, I took a deep breath, and I Continued to next page : C4

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

PROUDLY FILIPINO IN NEW YORK BETINA

Sweatshirt with mesh and tribal weave pattern

Barneys snapped up young designer Betina Ocampo’s first collection, which consisted tops in unusual combinations like neoprene and lace, with ethnic woven panels or embroidery.

Moda Operandi carries her as well, too, along with a growing number of boutiques in Europe.

Quirky, cheeky, edgy and with lots of charm and a touch of luxe, Betina the label is pretty much like Betina the designer, and New York, she says, is the enabler that makes it all happen. Here are some of the latest looks from A/W 2015. betina-ny.com

Sweatshirt with lace overlay and collar detailing

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS

Baseball-style jacket with fringe detailing

Denim jacket with detailling

by Ken Samudio

˜ INIGO ELIZALDE

The New York-based rug and textile designer Inigo Elizalde takes inspiration for his designs from everywhere, ...and elements from his native Philippines always manage to weave their way into his work. His collection of cushions are jaunty, vibrant and bursting with geometric patterns that evoke Philippine tribal

FILIPINOS OF

NEW YORK

From C3 : Filipinos of New York

instantly knew this was my city. That unmistakable NY energy was palpable. And I was completely up for it.

Over two decades of living here, I’ve seen the skyline change, neighborhoods born and gentrified, and experienced the very best of the culinary, art and social culture that NYC is so well known for.

My 15-year old daughter was born here, and is every inch a New Yorker – independent and is part of the Soho youth creative movement and culture. I now own and run my own luxury retail store as well in Soho, so we are very much a part of this great community we call Manhattan.

And occasionally, I still find myself, as I exit my building in the West Village, pinching myself thinking how lucky I am to be here. The city and that feeling of gratitude really never gets old.

RONA MACASAET Managing Partner, Savoir Beds 54 Greene Street, New York

JUST CALL IT SPRING

In case you weren’t aware, VMV Hypoallergenics, the skincare brand CEO Laura Verallo de Bertotto likes to call “the last resort for the desperate and severely sensitive,” has not only gone mainstream; it’s gone global, with its New York outpost in Mott Street in SoHo. Dermopathologist-formulated, validated hypoallergenic, with each product the result of extensive rigorous research and exhaustive clinical trials, VMV is not just one of the safest ranges out there, it’s also a rarity in a hyped-up industry: it delivers the results it promises and more. vmvhypoallergenics.com

I am writing this on one of those days at the tail end of winter, where the temperature outside has risen up just enough for the leftover snow and ice to melt off roofs and ledges, sending streams of water from winter’s melts down streets, cleaning it somewhat. The tempo of the city is slowly shifting towards a brisk and snappy hop, and everyone starts to walk with their heads up, facing the sun with eager smiles that need less Chap Stick. Spring is here. Another new season unfolds in the city.

The second season of the year, spring means switching clothes, going into storage to store thermal jackets and simultaneously unpacking picnic baskets, mats, hats and many other requisites of spring. This season also means checking the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, along with tulips and other spring blossoms that are truly enchanting and inspiring, and a great way to switch into the season. This also means returning to our living room: Central Park, for that long awaited stretch out at the sheep’s meadow field across trees dotted with vibrant shades of green buds, and onto the skyline of the city looking south, now with its out new sprouts of their own, in tall skinny skyscrapers.

For me, spring means change, or maybe merely a reboot. It’s a good time in the year where it is early but not too early, to simply maybe rearrange, or drastically

SCAN THE ICON TO SEE THE VMV STORE IN SOHO

NEW YORK:

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES TAKES YOU THERE

purging one’s past needs and making room for what the rest of the year has to offer. After which, it is time to arm yourself with the essentials of the season. For the girls, start by sorting out cute separates; I see the need for a good statement skirt, a collection of comfortable and flattering cotton tops, and an accent pump. And for the gents, get ready to go for that straight cut cool print chino pants. Not skinny fit, it’s time to relax a little bit and let loose. Pair these up with a lightweight cardigan and a statement eyewear.

Now is also the time to venture further out into the different neighborhoods. I look forward to checking out Talde, one of the newest Filipino restaurants, adding to the growing Filipino Food invasion of NYC. On the retail end of things, it won’t be long before the independent retailer markets will be setting up, selling a range of finds from original art to kitsch house ware. And for AC (not Anderson Cooper but Arts and Culture), I also like to go and welcome spring at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and there I sit back and enjoy the outdoor space out back as I involuntarily listen to the city beat its intense pulse, and this year it hosts a highly anticipated Bjork retrospective. There are indeed many things to look forward to the season, a good reason to pick up the tempo and face the sun once again.

ROBIN TOMAS Fashion Designer and Founder TOMAS

PAL 'MLA x NY' PA 7cols x 40cm.pdf

3/13/15

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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SHOWBITZ

EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

A LOVE STORY SET IN NEW YORK

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he music came before the images in the upcoming endearing romantic movie Song One starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland who also worked as an assistant to the director in Devil Wears Prada.

Song One tells the story of how music connects and transforms people. Hathaway brings a soulful characterization of Franny, an anthropologist doing research in Morocco. She returns to New York when her brother Henry (Ben Rosenfield), a young musician, suffers an accident that leaves him comatose. Being emotionally and geographically distant from Henry and their mom Karen (Mary Steenburgen), Franny finds herself reconnected to her family and begins to understand and appreciate the depth of her brother’s commitment to music. She eventually sought out the performers and venues that Henry loved, in the course of her quest, she meets James Forester (Johnny Flynn), Henry’s idol whose success and fame belie a shy and private man.

Soon, a strong romantic connection sparks between Franny and James, set against the backdrop

T Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn in Song One

of Brooklyn’s modern-folk music scene.

“The way this film came to be is another such testament to music’s power,” says director Kate. “For years, I’ve wanted to capture the music that’s such a big part of the community fabric in my Brooklyn neighborhood and surroundings—Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick. As I wrote the script for Song One, I thought about shooting at the places where I like to listen to music. I wanted to portray what it’s like to go to shows, to be absorbed in the performances with a crowd around you. Of course, the landscape of the neighborhood has changed quite a bit since I began the script about five years ago. As places I loved closed down or were razed to accommodate new buildings, I would rewrite the script with new locations and newly-discovered venues.”

Making a movie about music creates its own backstage soundtrack, in parallel with the music the audience hears onscreen. To capture a vibrant music scene with genuine appreciation and authenticity, writer/ director Kate Barker-Froyland and Song One’s tight-knit creative

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 89 93 94 95 97 98 99 100 101 103 104 106 107 108 110 111

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Dissemble 6 Chopin opus 11 Luau 16 Quinine water 21 Shale, once 22 Model — Crawford 23 Earth tone 24 Geologic period 25 No longer wild 26 Rapidity 27 Groovy 28 Ditto (2 wds.)

29 Moon or planet 30 Hit a home run 32 Streisand’s “— We” 34 Water source 36 Naval off.

37 “El Condor —” 39 Polygraph flunkers 41 Grabs a cab 43 Frothy dessert 45 Potato jackets 47 Laments loudly 49 Actress Dianne — 51 “Six geese — —...”

ISAH V. RED

54 55 56 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 82 83 84 87 88

In competition Dollywood loc.

In — — (soon) Sandy expanse Buffalo puckster Cloud-seeding compound — — premium Slogan River transport Leggy bird Seabed formation Ms. Balin of films Eddy Leather items Dumbfound DEA operative Bakery display Round numbers?

Roman ships Haik wearers Souvenir Free-for-all Postal deliveries Battle of the — Get one’s second —

112 113 115 116 117 120 122 124 128 129 131 133 135 136 138 140 142 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151

Hoarfrost Rock tumbler stones Sartre contemporary Charm Wallace’s “Ben —” Hindu mystics 1960s fashion Heard too often Prince Valiant’s wife Before, to Blake Dice throw Thunders Meadow plaints Maneuver slowly Osiris’ beloved “Cheers!” in Chihuahua Opposite Yma — Gave tickets Donor When mammoths roamed (2 wds.)

New Orleans pro “The final frontier” Gym org.

AMA members Deadly snake Join, as hands Ring-shaped island Sighs of relief Down the hatch X-rated Move a fern Lab slide dye Links champ Sam — More attractive In plain view Stand of trees Earth, to Pliny Silent screen’s — Bara Vice follower Less loopy

team immersed themselves in the modern urban folk and Indie music that serves as the romantic drama’s backdrop.

“It was folk camp, and so much fun,” says Hathaway who also produced the film, describing the collective love of music that informed the film’s development and production. The movie’s making entailed countless hours spent sharing, swapping, and discovering great sounds, seeking out onscreen performers with serious musical and acting chops, finding the songwriters to weave characters into music and lyrics; and marathon shooting days filming live performers in their natural habitat at real-life New York City venues.

Barker-Froyland credits a lifetime of cinematic exploration and a love of international film for her sure sense of what she wants to achieve onscreen. “I’ve wanted to be a director since I was very young,” she says, citing such powerful directorial influences as the French New Wave, Wim Wenders, Pedro Almodovar, and Jonathan Demme himself as creative influences.

Song One opens in cinemas on March 25 from Pioneer Films.

SEAN PENN, JAVIER BARDEM FACE-OFF IN ‘THE GUNMAN’

he latest high-octane action movie starring Academy Award winner Sean Penn pits him against Academy Award winner actor Javier Bardem. Penn isJim Terrier, an ex-special forces government contractor who is betrayed by the organization he once worked for and goes on a relentless cat and mouse game across Africa and Europe.

Pierre Morel, director of Taken where Liam Neeson was catapulted to full-action star status, launches and elevates the action genre and takes on Penn as his latest action hero to beat.

The Gunman is a dynamic and exciting action film produced by Silver Pictures that reinvented Hollywood blockbuster action movie with Lethal Weapon and Die Hard franchises, also with Matrix that pushed the genre even further. Now, with The Gunman, the producers, director and actors create a whole new challenge upping the action genre a notch higher than its predecessors.

Based on the bestselling novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette, the film follows Terrier on a wave of rush on a nearby beach of an African village. He runs towards the NGO office where he’s assisting with providing clean water to the villagers.

Soon the piercing sound of a bullet exits a sniper’s rifle. Shortly after, news reports flood the TV with images of the assassination of the minister of mining; genocide and civil war begins.

Terrier is convinced that the attack on him is connected to his old firm.

Eight years ago, Terrier and his associates, were paid to execute the Minister of Mining of the Democratic Republic of Congo. As he begins to connect the dots as to who ordered the hit,

he discovers that his old boss and former comrade now works for the company that contracted them to complete the assassination and now finds himself dealing with his actions of the past and present.

Penn shares on taking his latest action role, “We always felt there was chemistry to be explored. Based on the choices I’ve made, and the material they have gone after, there had probably been a missing link that we’ve been looking for to make a movie together.

Silver Pictures is notorious as a bulldog that gets things done. In everything we do, we are trying to make it the best we can, and with Silver Pictures it goes even beyond that.”

When Penn boarded the project, he immediately sat down with the scriptwriters to update and expand the character of Jim Terrier, an ex-special forces military man who then took on jobs as a mercenary contractor. “I’ve always looked at movies as individual movies, rather than genre. What we have here is by definition territory that is going to involve a lot of dynamic cinema, we are dealing with a high-octane environment, but there is a lot of the real world,” Penn further shares of the film’s theme.

Get ready for the latest action hero when “The Gunman” opens March 18 in cinemas nationwide from OctoArts Films.

Sean Penn star in action-packed thriller The Gunman with E. Javier Bardem as his antagonist

SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2015

DOWN 1 35mm feature (hyph.)

2 A moon of Jupiter 3 Poets’ feet 4 Verizon predecessor 5 Jarrett and Sparks 6 Bouncing off the walls?

7 Diadems 8 Al of Indy fame 9 Banned insecticide 10 Gazed at 11 Financial support 12 Fixes a manuscript 13 Subside 14 Clique 15 Run slowly 16 Maestros’ concerns 17 Unfold, to Blake 18 Jots down 19 Desktop pictures 20 Picked out 31 Dirty Harry 33 Pop singer — Cara 35 Improve upon 38 Up till now (2 wds.)

40 Step up from the bleachers 42 Nobel and Garbo 44 Ms. Hagen of films 46 Bolshoi rival 48 Patrick’s domain 50 No future — — 51 Mgmt.

52 Helmsley of hotels 53 Wish upon — — 54 Weathercocks 55 Unlawful acts 57 Canal sight 58 Austria neighbor 59 Fish stories 61 Cloys 62 Dome home 63 Pierre’s school 66 Cattle stalls

67 69 72 73 74 76 78 79 81 82 83 84 85 86

Spine-tingling Gawker Aussie minerals Liner sinkers Loses hair Prickly flora Bantu people Aladdin’s servant Della or Pee Wee Curry herb Oven gloves Check endorser Mall for Plato Flies off the handle

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Harmful things Spooky “— — You Knocking” Mongrels Destroy data Sociology course Hoaxes Split Flat-topped hill Painted tinware Suspicious Green fruit Screams and shouts

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Carpentry joint NASA counterpart Rat Pack member Lasagna cheese Where Kampala is Brimming over Swamp critters That is (2 wds.)

Heron Organic compound Sudden Cover the walls Bricklayer Spud garnish

127 Lou Grant portrayer 130 Cartel 132 Que. or Ont. 134 Centipede feature 137 Teacup handle 139 “Like, stupid!”

141 Night before 143 Zoologists’ mouths

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

KAPAMILYA NAMES NEW COO From C8

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BS-CBN Corporation, the country’s largest multimedia conglomerate, announced the appointment of Carlo Katigbak as chief operating officer effective March 1.

Prior to the appointment, Katigbak served as ABS-CBN’s head of Access, helping pave the company’s forays into promising technologies and ventures, as well as overseeing strategy formulation and performance of SKY Cable Corporation, ABS-CBN mobile, and the newly launched digital TV business now called ABS-CBN TVplus.

Katigbak is a member of the ABS-CBN Board of Advisors. He is also actively involved in the ABS-CBN Programming Committee, and is currently the president of SKY Cable and managing director of Bayan Holdings Corp.

Katigbak, who has 20 years of experience in financial management and business operations, corporate planning, and general management, played a crucial role in the turnaround of SKY Cable Inc. and ABSCBN Interactive, transforming them into profitable enterprises for the Lopez Group.

He started his career at SKY in 1994, culminating with his appointment as managing director of Pilipino Cable Corporation and concurrent VP for Provincial Operations of SKY. After that, he became managing director of ABS-CBN Interactive, Inc., for six years and was later on appointed as chief operating officer of SKY from 2005 to 2011.

Katigbak completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, and graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering degree. ★★★★★ GMA Network’s musical-variety program Sunday All Stars (SAS) welcomes the return of the multi-talented artist and awardwinning theater actress Rachelle Ann Go as she takes the SAS stage for a special performance.

Before she left the Philippines to pursue a career theater in London, Rachelle Ann was one of the front liners of Sunday All Stars and a send-off concert was staged by her home network GMA prior to her West End stint in celebration of her 10th anniversary in the entertainment industry.

Continuing to make a mark in the international scene, she was recently chosen by

Disney Channel Asia to sing her version of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” for the music video of Disney’s Cinderella.

Rachelle Ann has proven that she is indeed a world-class performer. She won the Best Featured Actress award in a Musical during the 2014 Broadway World West End Awards as well as the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical trophy in the 2015 WhatsOnStage Awards for her performance as Gigi Van Tranh in West End’s revival of Miss Saigon.

Sunday All Stars airs today at 2 p.m. only on GMA7. ★★★★★ Pop star Princess Sarah Geronimo will remain as the brand ambassador of Xtreme Magic Sing for the 8th year.

She renewed a contract with the brand on Feb. 4 at The Malt Room, Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City.

Xtreme Magic Sing and Sarah Geronimo have been mutually supportive of each other’s growth and success since 2007.

Astra Group Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Xtreme Magic Sing. ★★★★★ TV5 won Awards of Excellence at the 13th Philippine Quill Awards, the country’s most prestigious awards in business communication.

The network’s Radyo5 Taxi Squad: Todo Radyo Serbisyo and Rescue5 Activity Book for Visayas bagged Excellence awards in the Communication Management division and Communication Skills division, respectively. Both campaigns are under News5, highlighting the network’s public service excellence and commitment to cause journalism.

Aside from winning the Excellence Awards, both Radyo5 and Rescue5 further made it to the five finalists that competed for the Top Award in the Communication Management and Communication Skills divisions, respectively.

Radyo5 Taxi Squad: Todo Radyo Serbisyo empowers cab drivers by forming a sustainable community of taxi drivers who serve as citizen journalists and role model to others. Rescue5 pioneered a fun and innovative way of teaching disaster preparedness to kids in calamity-stricken Visayas through activity books in their mother tongues such as Waray and Sinugbuanong Binisaya.

With Sarah (center) are (from left ) Viva CEO & Chairman Vic del Rosario, and Astra Group Inc.’s Executives, President Eric Owen Singson Jr, CEO Jun Asuncion and EVP Gilbert Garrovillas.

ABS-CBN appoints Carlo Katigbak as chief operating officer effective March 1

Reigning beauty queens of Bb. Pilipinas with the pagean’s candidates

Miss Saigon’s Rachelle Ann Go is back in Sunday All Stars today

Present to receive the awards were, from left Rescue5’s Chester Batongbakal, News5 anchor Paolo Bediones, TV5 Public Service Head Sherryl Yao, and TV5 legal analyst and Radyo5 anchor Atty. Mel Sta. Maria

ALL EYES ON 34 BINIBINI CANDIDATES AT ANNUAL PARADE OF BEAUTIES

Janice Lubina (candidate no. 11) is currently the top favorite of beauty pageant

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hirty-four of the country’s loveliest, all riding the trendiest Miata cars, toured Araneta Center in the grand Parade of Beauties.

The ladies glamorously arrayed in stylish swimsuits and ornate headdresses captivated the throng of loyal fans and spectators. The convoy paraded on the streets of the Center.

Adding luster to the event were the Binibining Pilipinas reigining queens who also joined the parade atop a giant float – Bb. PilipinasSupranational 2014 and Top 20 finalist at the Miss Supranational 2014 Pageant Yvethe Marie Santiago, Bb. Pilipinas-Intercontinental 2014 and Miss Intercontinental 2014 2nd runner-up Kris Tiffany Janson, Bb. Pilipinas-Tourism 2014 Parul Shah, Bb. Pilipinas-International 2014 Mary Anne Bianca Guidotti, and Miss Universe Philippines 2014 and Top 10 finalist at the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant Mary Jean Lastimosa.

Since the official press presentation last month, the Binibining Pilipinas 2015 delegates have participated in various activities including promotions on TV, outreach activities, and sponsor visits.

On Feb.21, the candidates participated in a Mural Painting activity at the Navotas row house project of Habitat for Humanity Philippines. They also helped in constructing houses at Bistekville 4, Barangay Culiat, Quezon City for Habitat for Humanity & Women Build Event on Feb. 28.

The annual Parade of Beauties is a grand prelude to the Coronation Night tonight to be telecast live on ABS-CBN. – Eton B. Concepcion

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S U N D AY : M A R C H 1 5 : 2 0 1 5

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ GMA’S BIGGEST STARS IN DAVAO TODAY SIMPLY RED ISAH V. RED

‘Davao is GMA artists’ favorite place because of the warmth the Davaoeños extend to them. The Network highly values the relationship it has with the city and its people’ – Oliver Amoroso, AVP for Regional TV

Grand celebrations mean even grander stars. That’s why the Kapuso Network sees no reason not to send its premier stars to this year’s celebration of the Araw ng Dabaw.

Today, Dennis Trillo and Tom Rodriguez will be at Davao City’s Gaisano Mall Atrium in a Kapuso Mall Show bat 4 p.m.. TomDen fans in this town will be thrilled to see the two in one show again.

Tomorrow, the recently wed couple and what GMA Network acknowledges as its primetime royalty, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, will be at the Activity Center of Abreeza Mall at 3 p.m. to meet with their Davaoeño fans.

Dingdong and Marian star separately in the network’s primetime drama bloc. Dantes plays a priest in Pari ‘Koy and while Marian will be in the upcoming series The Rich Man’s Daughter. The couple will treat Davaoeños to an afternoon of excitement and romance.

Meanwhile, Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid will be at SM City Davao for a 5 p.m. Kapuso Fans’ Day at the Annex. Supporters of “Ate”, as she is fondly known among her fans, will see her singing hit songs. They are also given the opportunity to participate in amusing games and surprises.

Assistant Vice President for Regional TV, also Head for Regional Strategy and Business Kapuso stars incuding Dennis Trillo, Tom Rodriguez, Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera, and Regine Velasquez join Davao’s annual Araw ng Dabaw

Development Division, Oliver Amoroso says, “Davao is a favorite place when it comes to our artists primarily because of the warmth the Davaoeños extend to them. The Network highly values the relationship it has with the city and its people that’s why it’s only appropriate that as they celebrate the Araw ng Dabaw, they be accorded the gratitude they deserve by bringing over GMA’s brightest stars to rejoice with them.”

Highlights of the Network’s participation in this year’s Araw ng Dabaw can be seen via Let’s Fiesta! on April 19 airing on all nine GMA regional stations in Ilocos, Bicol, Dagupan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, GenSan, and Cagayan de Oro. ★★★★★ People say, do not to come looking for love, because it will eventually find you. But you can’t put the blame on someone for trying not to get attached with anything, or anyone if he had spent all his life knowing nothing is permanent.

On Monday, GMA brings back the most celebrated Koreanovela of 2014, My Love from the Star. Kapuso fans will once again be captivated by the love that transcends the universe.

In the story, Matteo Do (Kim Soo Hyun) promises himself that will never fall in love again after someone broke his heart. But everything changes after he meets the obnoxious and self-centered celebrity named Steffi Cheon (Jun Ji Hyun).

Will Steffi open the heart that Matteo closed for a chance at love? What will happen when she finds out that Matteo is not from this planet?

My Love From the Star airs Monday to Friday at 6 p.m. after Fall In Love With Me on GMA 7.

Continued on C7

Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun are back as lovers in My Love From the Star