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DENR allows limited Holy Week access to some portions of Mt. Banahaw

Let the ‘sacred’ mountain

heal itself Locals beat the summer heat by taking a dip in one of the coldest waters in the Philippines at Majayjay Falls, located at the foot of Mount Banahaw in Laguna. Others call it the Taytay Falls or even Imelda Falls, because former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos financed the promotion of tourism in this place. ALYSA SALEN

S

Off-limits

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

ome portions of Mount Banahaw are now open to tourists and pilgrims this Holy Week, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

According to Salud Pangan, protected area superintendent of the Mount Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL), a limited-access policy has been allowed in lower portions of Mount Banahaw, which, she said, is on its way to full recovery.

These are pilgrim sites in Barangay Santa Lucia and Pinagbuhayan in Dolores, Quezon, and the Tanaw Highlands in Barangay Tala, Rizal town, Laguna Other areas frequented by pil-

grims and campers are still closed, Pangan added, to allow Mount Banahaw to continue to heal itself.

“The trails are already covered with vegetation. There are no more trails to its peak. Animal and plant wildlife are back in Mount Banahaw,” she said.

The birds and monkeys are back, and there are new dipterocarp trees in the forest, Pangan said.

“We also found a rafflesia,” she said, referring to a rare flowery plant, “which means that the forest is on its way to full recovery”.

The DENR, through the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of the MBSCPL, first declared a five-year ban on all human activities in the park in 2004 to prevent further environmental degradation caused by the unregulated mountaineering activities in the area.

The ban was extended in 2009 and in 2012. Last year the PAMB again extended the ban for another three years, making it “off-limits” to human activities until 2019.

While most areas on Mount Banahaw remain closed to mountaineers and pilgrims, the park management of the MBSCPL is mulling over the opening of more portions of the sacred mountain for tourism activities.

Local government units (LGUs), on the other hand, are supportive of the ban imposed by the PAMB. “The PAMB met on March

25, and they are supportive of the ban,” Pangan said.

Tourism magnet

“The PAMB is studying the possibility of opening to the public certain areas for tourism activities,” Pangan added.

She admitted, though, that Mount Banahaw is a tourism magnet, especially for those living in Metro Manila, because of its proximity.

Even with the pronounced ban on human activities within the MBSCPL, entry to lower portions, she said, is allowed for “walk-in” visitors who do not intend to stay overnight.

“Walk-ins continue. We can’t stop all of them. What we can do is regulate. But their activities are limited to lower portions and designated areas of the park only,” Pangan said, adding they only allow a maximum of 15 persons for those wishing to stay overnight in

‘T

he trails are already covered with vegetation. There are no more trails to its peak. Animal and plant wildlife are back in Mount Banahaw.”—Pangan

camp sites in Dolores. For pilgrims, a maximum of 25 persons are allowed at a time.

The PAMB charges only P20 as entrance fee to those entering the park’s premises.

The strict protection zone, she said, is completely “off-limits” to campers, pilgrims and tourists.

Scientists wanting to do research, she said, are required to secure a permit from the park management or the PAMB one week prior to their activity.

Holy ground

Campers and pilgrims used to frequent Mount Banahaw for nature tripping and religious retreats.

Despite the ban, the peak of Mount Banahaw remains a magnet for nature trippers and campers who are able to slip through “checkpoints”.

In 2014 the peak of Mount Banahaw caught fire, destroying some 50 hectares of forest trees and vegetation, prompting the DENR to consider the idea of permanently closing the park to the public.

Hunting and logging activities within the MBSCPL are also a challenge for the park’s protectors.

The MBSCPL is divided into two zones—the strict protection zone and the multiuse zone. The multiuse zone, Pangan said, includes areas Continued on A2

Duterte’s plan to postpone barangay polls splits lawmakers

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

awmakers have mixed reactions on the legality of President Duterte’s proposal postponing anew the barangay elections, and just appoint village officials.

Liberal Party Rep. Teodoro B. Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao, member of the so-called legitimate minority bloc, said it is the constitutional right of the Filipino people to elect their own leaders.

“What is the basis for saying that 40 percent of the officials are connected to drugs? It does not make sense. And even assuming that some are, can’t we trust the Filipino people to vote for those

PESO exchange rates n US 50.1730

who they believe will be the right candidates for them? We are a free, people and we must be free to elect our own leaders,” he said.

Duterte earlier said he was inclined to no longer push through with the elections of barangay officials this year, and just appoint barangay officials.

Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez said there is enough time to pass a law to postpone the barangay elections, and allow the President to fill in the vacancies before the first regular session of the 17th Congress ends in June.

Currently on break, Congress will resume its sessions on May 2

until June 2 this year.

Baguilat said he will block any move in the lower chamber to pass a bill that will allow Duterte to declare all barangay-elected positions vacant, and then proceed to appoint his handpicked officials.

Beholden

“If this administration is so convinced that these barangay officials are into drugs, then file the appropriate cases. That is certainly more efficient than vetting over 200,000 people who will fill the barangay posts. Doing so will not address the problem, if there Continued on A2

In this March 13 file photo, President Duterte reacts at a news conference in Malacañang.

Duterte said he was inclined to no longer push through with the elections of barangay officials this year and just appoint barangay officials. AP/Aaron Favila

n japan 0.4528 n UK 62.5808 n HK 6.4579 n CHINA 7.2736 n singapore 36.7842 n australia 37.8555 n EU 53.4192 n SAUDI arabia 13.3798

Source: BSP (7 April 2017 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, April 9, 2017

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Let the ‘sacred’ mountain heal itself Continued from A1

that may be opened for tourism.

Protecting the MBSCPL is a big challenge. An active volcano, Mount Banahaw is just one part of the MBSCPL. The park has a total land area of 10,900,590 hectares.

It straddles over 10 towns in Quezon and Laguna provinces.

Covered by the MBSCPL are the towns of Lucban, Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria and Dolores, all in the province of Quezon, and in the municipalities of Rizal, Nagcarlan, Liliw, Majayjay and San Pablo City.

During the Holy Week, hundreds go on a nature trip and religious pilgrimage on Mount Banahaw, which is known for its healing powers, to take advantage of the long holiday break.

Key biodiversity area

According to the DENR-Southern Tagalog, the MBSCPL is a biodiversity-rich area. It is home to 358 species of trees, 19 species of vines, 15 species of palms, 39 species of ferns, 15 species of grasses and 42 species of fungi.

It is also home to 93 species of birds, eight of them endangered and over 20 are classified as rare bird species.

There are also 68 species of mammals, the Southern Luzon giant cloud rat, Philippine warty pig, Malay civet, common palm civet, lowland forest mouse, common short-nosed fruit bat, Philippine forest roundleaf bat and Banahaw gulantang; 38 species of reptiles in the area; 43 species of amphibians; 188 species of insects; and 76 species of butterflies.

The diversity of wild flora and

fauna makes the MBSCPL a key biodiversity area (KBPA).

The National Biodiversity Conservation Priority Setting Project—jointly undertaken by the DENR-Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB—now known as Biodiversity Management Bureau), UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, and Conservation InternationalPhilippines—declared the MBSCPL high priority for biodiversity conservation.

Mystical rivers, falls

The MBSCPL provides valuable ecosystem services and is economically important for the people living within and around the park.

It is the source of freshwater to many communities. Seven major rivers traverse the park, namely, Talong Ambon, Balayong, Maimpis, Dalitiwan, Malinao, Nagcarlan and San Diego.

The rivers provide water for domestic, irrigation and recreational purposes.

Water from some of these rivers is believed to have curing powers, such as the Kinabuhayan River in Dolores, Quezon.

It is widely believed that a dip into the water of Kinabuhayan cures illnesses.

It was also believed that even the Katipuneros cleansed themselves in the waters of Kinabuhayan before going into major battles.

The Santa Lucia, Suplina and Kristallino falls, also in Dolores, Quezon, are also believed to cure illnesses.

The most famous of the falls in Mount Banahaw near the crater of the volcano is the Talong Ambon,

Mount Banahaw, with Dolores, Quezon, in foreground. P199/CC-BY-SA-3.0

which is most visited by pilgrims even during ordinary days.

Revenue generation

Pangan admitted that preventing campers and pilgrims from entering the MBSCPL is difficult.

“Sometimes, we can see Facebook posts bragging about entering the park without our approval.

We can’t do anything about it because the faces are covered and we have no way of knowing who they are,” she said.

There are many natural attractions and religious sites in MBSCPL, including Balon ni Santong

Jacob; Prisentahan; Kuweba ng Inang Awa; Yapak or Bakas; Pinaggapusan; Pinagburulan; Suplinang Tubig; Kuweba ng Dios Ama; Malagaylay Falls; Alitao River; Tumloy Falls; Hermano Puli Shrine; and Kilangin Falls.

While measures are being taken to enhance the management of these historical, religious or famous ecotourism sites, the DENR-PAMB is not discounting the possibility of opening certain areas to generate revenue to help maintain the park.

Like other protected areas in the Philippines, the MBSCPL has very limited resources for its de-

velopment, rehabilitation and protection against various threats, including campers and pilgrims who have the habit of leaving behind tons of garbage as they descend from the mountain.

But MBSCPL is a protected area, portions of which are supposed to be opened, as a way of promoting environmental protection and biodiversity conservation while generating much-needed revenues for its operation.

“The PAMB is studying all these. But definitely, not to the extent of compromising the integrity of the park’s ecosystem,” she said.

Duterte’s plan to postpone barangay polls splits lawmakers Continued from A1

really is one as serious as the administration makes it out to be,” Baguilat added.

According to Baguilat, if Duterte was so convinced of the prevalence of the drug trade, he should file the appropriate cases against these officials.

“Barangay officials are supposedly nonpolitical and supposedly nonpartisan. With this move, the president wants even the barangay officials to be beholden to him and that will put us even closer to a dictatorship,” Baguilat said, adding that the barangay is the smallest political unit and the leaders are those closest to the people, especially those far from the center.

“By controlling these local leaders, the President will further strengthen his hold on the political system, preventing that healthy check and balance so essential to a democratic system that seeks to prevent abuse of power,” he said.

No can do

For his part, Liberal Party Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay said Duterte cannot just appoint barangay officials.

Lagman said Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution provides that: “The term of office of elective local officials, except barangay of-

ficials, which shall be determined by law, shall be three years and no such official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.”

“Verily, the Constitution itself classifies barangay officials as elective local officials although their term of office is determined by law and not fixed by the Constitution,” he said.

Lagman said Congress can only provide for the term and periodic elections of barangay officials but it cannot authorize the President to appoint barangay officials who are categorized by the Constitution as “elective local officials” who shall be elected by their qualified constituents.

Even the various barangay election laws, including Republic Act (R A) 10923 which postponed the October 2016 barangay elections to the fourth Monday of October 2017, the lawmaker said provides for hold over of incumbents.

Lagman said Section 3 of RA 10923 states that, “Until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent barangay officials shall remain in office, unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.”

Legal

Meanwhile, Nacionalista Party Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said Duterte

can appoint barangay officers in charge.

“The President is empowered by the Constitution in his plan to remove all barangay officials and appoint their successors pending new elections in May 2020,” Barbers said.

He said Article 10, Section 3 provides that Congress shall enact a local government code that shall “provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries, powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the organization and operation of the local units.”

Barbers, invoking the Constitution, said “the term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, which shall be determined by law, shall be three years and no such official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.”

“It is clear therefore that the President, through a law passed by Congress, may remove all barangay officials and appoint their successors. Any law passed to this effect automatically amends the Local Government Code,” he said.

Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, has already filed House Bill 5359 in support of the President’s call to eliminate drugs and corruption among our barangay leaders.

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ECB’s Draghi says stimulus still needed F 0.6%

RANKFURT, Germany— European Central Bank (ECB) Head Mario Draghi insisted on Thursday that the bank’s stimulus efforts were still needed, while acknowledging that the risks to the economic recovery across the 19-country euro zone appear to have diminished.

I n a s p e e c h d e l i v e re d on Thursday, Draghi said “the recovery is progressing and now may be gaining momentum.” He also said the chances that the upswing would be unexpectedly derailed appear to have dwindled and that the balance of risks “seems to be shifting upward ”.

However, he cautioned that much of the improvement depended on the ECB’s monetary stimulus efforts and that it was “too soon to declare success”.

T he bank has prev iously s a id it i nt e nd s t o cont i nu e pushing newly pr inted money i nto t he eu ro -zone economy t h r o u g h b o n d p u rc h a s e s at least through the end of the year. It has a lso kept its key interest-rate benchmark at a record low of zero.

A raft of recent economic data has stoked speculation that the ECB might start withdrawing its stimulus efforts earlier than planned. Sur veys suggest that

The euro zone’s growth in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, while official figures have shown inflation rising sharply from near zero to 1.5 percent in March, which is closer to the bank’s goal of just under 2 percent

the euro zone may have grown as much as 0.6 percent in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, while official figures have shown inf lation rising sharply from near zero to 1.5 percent in March, which is closer to the bank ’s goal of just under 2 percent.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

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Unemployment has also fallen but remains high at 9.5 percent, with sharp differences between member countries.

Bringing an end to the stimulus efforts could have wide-ranging consequences for markets, companies and consumers. It would likely mean an end to unusually low borrowing costs for governments and financially solid companies. It would also remove support for bond prices and might mean higher returns for savers, who currently get very little, if anything at all, on conservative holdings, such as bank deposits.

Draghi indicated the bank was not considering an earlier exit and that “a reassessment of the current monetar y-policy stance is not warranted at this stage.” Draghi warned that much of the gains in growth had come from lower oil prices and from the ECB’s own efforts. He said the bank needed to see that inf lation would remain stronger even after the stimulus started to be withdrawn. AP

White House tallies $10 billion saved by repeal of regulations

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he White House estimates it will save $10 billion over 20 years by having rescinded 11 Obama-era regulations under a relatively obscure 1996 law that lets Congress fasttrack repeal legislation with a simple majority.

The window to invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) is on April 28, and the Trump administration is hopeful that several other measures will pass both houses of Congress and reach the president’s desk before that date,

Marc Short, White House director of legislative affairs, told reporters on Wednesday.

“There was a huge risk to the economy,” Short said of regulations passed under former President Barack Obama. He said the Obama administration authorized a historic number of regulations and President Donald J. Trump is trying to use the CR A to roll back rules as he promised before his election.

Under the CRA, Congress and the White House can only rescind

regulations approved in the last 60 days of the previous administration. Until this year, Congress had only used it successfully once before in 2001 to kill off a Labor Department ergonomics rule adopted under the administration of President Bill Clinton.

Congress now has used the legislative tool to roll back Obamaera rules on ranging from pollution from coal mining waste to aimed at preventing people with serious mental-health problems from buying guns. are preventing oil from sinking to $45.” West Texas Intermediate (WTI)for May delivery was at $51.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 13 cents, at 2:47 p.m. in Hong Kong.

Total volume traded was about 47 percent below the 100-day average. The contract gained 12 cents to $51.15 on Wednesday.

US supplies

Oil haunted again by US supply surge as rally above $51 stalls

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n ited S tates c r ude supplies are again haunting oil prices, chilling optimism over a possible extension of an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)-led production cuts that helped drive a rally over the past week.

Futures lost 0.3 percent in New York on Thursday. US output rose for a seventh week and inventories expanded to a fresh record, government data showed on Wednesday, after which prices pared a 1.7-percent gain in intraday trading to close little changed. Still, if Opec continues to reduce supply past June, crude may advance to $55 a barrel, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Chairman Scott Sheffield said

in a Bloomberg TV interview.

The increase in US inventories is reviving concerns that American supplies will counter output curbs led by the Opec aimed at easing a global glut. Oil rallied back above $50 a barrel last week after some nations supported an extension to the six-month deal to cut production. Opec Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said on Sunday he’s “cautiously optimistic that the market is already rebalancing”.

“US output is a headwind as it continues to rise and that’s stopping the price from extending gains,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. Still, “the Opec cuts

Brent for June settlement was 10 cents lower at $54.26 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices rose 19 cents to $54.36 on Wednesday.

T he globa l benchmark cr ude traded at a premium of $2.77 to WTI for June. US crude production climbed 52,000 barrels to 9.2 million barrels a day last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The nation’s output has been expanding every week since February, the longest run of gains since March 2015.

Inventories rose 1.6 million barrels to 535.5 million barrels, the highest level in weekly EIA data compiled since 1982, while analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a 150,000-barrel drop. Refineries processed 16.4 million barrels a day of crude in the week ended March 31, up 203,000 barrels from the prior week and the highest since January, the EIA data show.

Saudi Arabia lowered oil pricing for European customers, a sign the world’s biggest crude exporter is seeking to expand market share in the region dominated by Russia. China is set to import record amounts of crude oil from West Africa this month as Opec’s supply cuts pave the way for other nations to gain a greater foothold in the fast-growing Asian market. Bloomberg News

In all, the law has been used to repeal 11 rules, with two more awaiting the president’s signature, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen.

About two dozen measures with CRA’s targeting them remain, but because the law can only be used on rules issued in the final six months of the previous administration, Congress only has only a few more weeks to use the procedure, Amit Narang, a regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen said in an interview. Bloomberg News

U.K. financiers battle govt over taxes as Brexit looms T

here are signs Britain is getting tougher on financiers just as it needs to attract them. Tax officials are pursuing probes into the residency status of HSBC Holdings Plc. CEO Stuart Gulliver and Chi-X Global Inc. Chairman-Emeritus Anthony Mackay, as the government clamps down on people— oftentimes bankers—who work in the UK but are domiciled elsewhere.

“HMRC has come under political pressure to take abuse of the non-dom rules more seriously, and there are signs that it is,” said Jolyon Maugham, a tax law yer and anti-Brexit campaigner, referring to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. Lawmakers “are doing what the Conservatives tend to do, slowly turning up the temperature and hoping that doing it that way the lobsters won’t all jump out of the pot at once.”

Starting on Thursday, those who’ve lived in Britain for 15 of the past 20 tax years will be deemed as domiciled in the UK for tax purposes, effectively putting an end to long-term “non-dom” status. All UK residential property will be subject to inheritance tax, whether held directly or in an offshore company. Those changes, likely to hit high earners in London’s financial industry, come at a precarious time for the city, with rival European capitals vying to lure bankers away as Brexit unfolds.

King George III

B r itai n ’ s n o n - d o m r e g i m e w a s introduced in 1799, when income tax was first imposed, to allow landowners in King George III’s dominions to escape levies on their colonial wealth unless they brought it back to England. Now, it’s frequently bankers who use the rules to escape tax on foreign earnings. The

Gulliver and Mackay disputes, which relate to periods when each worked in the UK but was domiciled in Hong Kong, have reached London’s High Court.

Mackay, 57, could face a £2.7-million ($3.4-million) bill, according to filings prepared for his case and viewed by Bloomberg News. He’s appealing a government order that he was “ordinarily resident” in the UK from 2004 through 2007.

Mackay’s lawyers concede he was employed in the UK and lived with his wife and children in Surrey, England during those years. But they describe him as one of a “new breed” of highly mobile individuals who “work on the other side of the globe from their spouses, from their families and from the homes occupied by their spouses and families,” the filings show.

Global nomads

His account describes the nomadic lifestyle supposedly enjoyed by the world’s top earners. The details provide a glimpse of how far tax authorities must go to prove the residency of executives running global businesses, and suggest why few cases reach the top court.

“I relied on the company tax advisers and ultimately did what I was told,” Mackay said while giving evidence on March 17. He declined to comment for this article.

Gulliver, who previously faced questions from British lawmakers over his personal taxes and offshore bank accounts, last month lost a bid to end a tax probe that started in December 2015. While HMRC isn’t making allegations of impropriety against the HSBC chief, a British resident who has spent time living in Asia, the inquiry centers on where Gulliver was domiciled for the 2013-2014 tax year.

Deep dive

HMRC has requested answers to 123 questions and asked for 33 categories of documents, involving an “examination of a number of aspects of his personal and professional life dating back to 1981,” according to Judge Jonathan Richards, who presided over the hearing. The revenue office said Gulliver hasn’t answered all of the questions and it would be premature to close the inquiry, the ruling showed.

“I pay millions of pounds of tax to HMRC at the top rate each year, as I should,” Gulliver, 58, told lawmakers on the UK Public Accounts Committee in March 2015. The chief executive officer said he has been a UK tax resident since 2003 and that his “affairs are in order.”

HSBC said the hearing sought court guidance on a technical matter related to a tax ruling made at the time Gulliver was posted to London in 2003. While their cases concern events from years ago, they illustrate the complexities of reporting earnings in the UK for those with a web of investments, according to Alex Henderson, a senior tax partner at PWC, who said things are going to get more complicated. “The non-dom regime wasn’t just about relieving tax, it was about relieving administration, and the world is now much more complicated,” he said. “Everything is potentially within the UK tax scope.”

There were 116,100 non-domiciled residents in the UK who paid £6.6 billion in the 2015 tax year, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. Ever since Britain voted to quit the EU last June, officials across Europe have set out to attract bankers leaving the City of London. That competition is bound to intensify now that Prime Minister Theresa May has started the clock on two years of Brexit negotiations. Bloomberg News

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Sunday, April 9, 2017

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Trump’s Russian fans won’t take nyet for an answer in Washington

P This photo shows solar panels near the power grid in northwestern China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. For years, cutting carbon emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change was routinely near the top of the agenda at bilateral talks between the leaders of the United States and China. As President Donald J. Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week, the world’s two largest economies and carbon polluters are taking divergent paths on climate-change policy. AP

US boosts coal as China takes lead role on climate change

W

ASHINGTON—For years, cutting carbon emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change was routinely near the top of the agenda at talks between the leaders of the United States and China.

Not anymore.

As US President Donald J. Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week, the world’s two largest economies and carbon polluters are taking dramatically divergent paths on climate policy.

The Chinese government recently canceled construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants and plans to invest at least $360 billion in green energy projects by 2020. It is a building boom expected to create an estimated 13 million jobs. China already leads the world in total installed solar and wind capacity.

Trump, who has said global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to hurt the US economy, signed an executive order last week that aims to roll back Obama-era policies regulating carbon emissions. He has pledged to reverse decades of decline in coal mining, which now accounts for fewer than 75,000 US jobs.

“Clean energy is the next, largest global market,” said Barbara Finamore, Asia director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a US-based environmental group.

“The US risks losing out.”

$360B The amount China intends to invest in green energy projects by 2020. The building boom is expected to create an estimated 13 million jobs.

With Trump threatening to pull out of the Paris climate accord negotiated by the Obama administration, Xi is poised to become the world’s foremost leader on climate change. Signed by nearly 200 nations, the 2014 agreement calls for holding global temperature increases to no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in hopes of preventing devastating droughts, storms and sea level rise.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Xi called the Paris accord a “hard-won achievement” and urged signatories to “stick to it”.

T he W hite House declined

to comment on Wednesday on whether climate change will even be mentioned at Mar-a-Lago. US officials are, instead, expected to focus on enlisting China’s cooperation on curbing the North Korean nuclear threat.

While China eclipsed the United States as the world’s top carbon polluter more than a decade ago, it is also now outpacing the US in transitioning to a cleaner energy portfolio. China is currently generating about 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, compared to about 13 percent in the US. China still burns more coal than any other nation, but its consumption of the dirtiest fossil fuel fell in 2016 for a third consecutive year. An analysis

by Greenpeace of data from the Chinese National Energy Administration showed an expected corresponding decrease in China’s carbon-dioxide emissions of 1 percent in 2017, in what would be the fourth straight year of zero growth or a decline.

That puts China on track to meet its 2030 target under the Par is accord as much as one decade early. “Given the absolute lack of leadership from the Trump administration, China is seeing a stronger role both in its self-interest as a country threatened by the impacts of climate change, and also as a diplomatic opportunity in the vacuum left

by Trump’s retrograde position,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, a senior coal campaigner for Greenpeace in Beijing.

In China’s capital, Trump’s pub-

lic statements doubting that human activity is the primary cause of global warming are greeted with a mixture of bemusement and worry.

As China has burned gargantuan amounts of coal to accelerate the development of its economy, residents of its megacities have had to deal with choking smog at levels not seen in the US since passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970.

“In the past, some Chinese officials and ordinary people even believed that climate change was something created by developed countries to curb China’s economic growth,” said Teng Fei, a vice professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy in Beijing. He said Trump’s claim that climate change is a hoax might erode public support for taking action reducing the country’s reliance on coal.

Wang Ke, a professor at the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University in Beijing, agreed: “Sometimes we joke that all our efforts are no use against one word from President Trump.”

Even as Trump suggests global warming is mostly made up, climate scientists predict the issue will someday arrive literally at his doorstep.

Mar-a-Lago, the site of his summit with Xi, is located in one of the most vulnerable regions in the US to sea level rise. Some streets in Palm Beach County already flood on sunny days during high tides, and recent studies predict Trump’s prized resort will be underwater by the end of the century. AP

resident D o n a l d J .

Trump’s fans in Moscow are fanning out across Washington, determined to salvage the rapprochement he promised despite a widening barrage of probes into the billionaire’s ties to Russia.

As the Kremlin waits impatiently for signs Trump will follow through on campaign pledges to improve relations, a growing number of the property tycoon’s Russian admirers—including two who’ve worked on Vladimir Putin’s staff—are pursuing what they’re calling a “private” reconciliation.

This includes the attendance of a dozen Putin loyalists at the exclusive National Prayer Breakfast and a private dinner with Republican congressmen that was sponsored by a Rockefeller oil heir—unofficial efforts to build backchannels to Trump that have, of course, the unofficial blessing of officials in Moscow.

“We can’t miss this chance to make up,” said Sergei Shakhov, a former Kremlin staffer who attended the February 2 prayer breakfast, a networking forum for US political and business leaders. Trump spoke at the event, upholding a presidential tradition that dates back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

‘Invade Latvia?’

The leader of the delegation, central bank Deputy Chairman Alexander Torshin, a former senator who laughs off Spanish claims that he’s a crime boss, was even hoping to shake hands with Trump, an old acquaintance. But the White House nixed the meet-and-greet at the last minute without explanation, according to two Russians familiar with the matter.

The brief meeting Torshin was due to have with Trump was canceled after a White House aide realized the Russian had been suspected of being a mafia “godfather,” Yahoo News reported, citing five people it didn’t identify.

The White House said a meeting with Torshin at the National Prayer Breakfast was never on Trump’s agenda.

Torshin declined to elaborate on his trip, saying only that he’s been to the annual event 12 times. In an interview with Bloomberg last year, the gun enthusiast said he’s known Trump for five years and the two men last had a jovial exchange at the National Rifle Association convention in Tennessee in 2015, just before the future president announced his run for the White House.

“Trump said, ‘So, you’re from Russia—when are you going to invade Latvia?”’ Torshin said in the

interview, adding that he assured Trump that Putin had no such designs on the former Soviet republic, which is a member of both the European Union and the US-led Nato military alliance.

Disputed account

The White House has a very different view, saying that Trump never had a meeting with Torshin and that no one recalls them having any encounter at all.

Torshin said in the interview he stayed clear of then-candidate Trump at last year’s N.R.A. event to avoid controversy, dining with Donald Trump Jr. instead.

A person familiar with the encounter disputed Torshin’s account, saying Trump Jr. recalls meeting a Russian that night but doesn’t recall if it was Torshin.

When mutual acquaintances introduced the two men, the pair exchanged pleasantries, then the Russian sat at a table nearby, this person said. As Bloomberg reported last August, a secret Spanish report about a probe that ended in 2013 alleged Torshin used his position as a senator to help Moscow mobsters launder funds through Spanish banks and properties, which he denies.

‘Putin stooge’

What was scheduled, though, was a private dinner for Torshin and his Russian colleagues that was hosted by Rockefeller heir George O’Neill Jr. and included Republican lawmakers Dana Rohrabacher of California and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, as well as a longtime lobbyist, a Hollywood director and editors from The National Interest and the American Conservative magazines. O’Neill said Russians need to be reassured that “very serious” Americans understand the “obvious benefits” of better relations.

“One does not have to be a ‘useful idiot’ or a ‘Putin stooge’ to hold this view, nor does one have to approve of all of Russia’s or Putin’s actions, which can sometimes be problematic,” the conservative activist said in a written response to questions. “I plan to continue these private interactions.”

Rohrabacher, who’s visited Moscow several times, said he’s interested in “lowering the temperature” of US-Russia relations and finding ways to cooperate in combating “our mutual, overarching enemy: radical Islamic terrorism.” Trump invited him for a private talk in the White House this week. A spokesman for Massie, Rohrabacher’s congressional colleague, declined to comment on the dinner with the Russians aside from confirming his attendance. Bloomberg News

Who is a better ally for united states: Russia or China?

F

orty-five years ago last February, US President Richard Nixon returned from a visit to China that shocked the world and unsettled leaders in Moscow, who were awaiting a visit from Nixon a few months later.

Soviet leaders wondered if they were finally witnessing the birth of a US-China alliance that they had feared ever since the breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance in the early 1960s.

As Washington and the media convulse over every new outrage emanating from Moscow, while President Donald J. Trump repeatedly asks “Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with Russia?,” US policy-makers are faced with the same choice between Russia and China, though this time the stakes might be even higher.

The history of persistent tensions between Russia and China suggests two choices: Accommodate and reconcile with Russia to balance against the greater power—China. Or, align with China to defend a rules-based international order from its most powerful antagonist—Russia.

It should be clear by now that we can no longer oppose Russia and China, at the same time. Though that route might seem tempting and natural, given the historical

aspirations of US foreign-policy to protect territorial sovereignty, promote human rights and provide a framework for free trade, we are no longer equal to the task.

At a minimum, that would require decisive US action in Syria, firm military support for the government in Kiev, a drastic military buildup of Nato forces across Eastern Europe and a more confrontational posture in the South and East China seas. Doing that would further stretch a US military that is already facing a personnel shortage. It would also represent a burden that the American people apparently no longer wish to carry.

Lost in the discussion of whether Trump’s “America First” bravado reflects militarism or isolationism are the ways in which our options have been shaped by the administration that preceded him.

We have only begun to reckon with the foreign policy legacy of Barack Obama, but he has clearly done more to shape the current global predicament than Trump has. When the Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers met in Moscow in the final weeks of the Obama administration to solve the Syrian crisis by themselves without inviting the US, they were making a startling declaration: The nation that had once declared itself to be “indispensable”

was now very clearly dispensable. It would have been unthinkable at any point since Pearl Harbor for American interests to be discounted so brazenly in solving the most pressing international crisis.

It is hard to separate the factors that brought us to this point. Is this simply an inevitable product of relative, or even absolute, American decline? Is it a product of a president who sought to “lead from behind” and whose fundamental foreign policy principle was that sins of commission are always worse than sins of omission? Or did Obama conclude he was dealing with a country, already exhausted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that was no longer willing to shoulder the burden of defending the free world? Either way, Trump has inherited a country that is no longer willing and able to play the leadership role it once did in world affairs.

So where do we go from here? If we cannot oppose both Russia and China, then we need to compromise with at least one of them.

Make friends with Russia?

Arguing for a Russian alignment is the notion that China already does more damage to American interests around the globe than Russia does. China damages US economic

interests through unfair trade practices, our standing in Asia by undermining our alliances, and our ability to promote democracy, particularly in Africa, by offering aid and investment without good governance conditions. As China grows more powerful and assertive, its efforts to drive the US out of East Asia, coupled with increasing challenges to American interests around the globe, will amount to a full-spectrum challenge to the current US position in the world.

In contrast, Russia’s challenges to American interests are relative pinpricks.

Russia does not have the ability to turn either Eastern Europe or the Middle East into its own sphere of influence. It is even losing the competition for economic influence in Central Asia, its own post-Soviet backyard, to China.

Putin might not be an evil dictator bent on doing as much damage to the West as possible, but rather a spurned pragmatist with a realistic view of Russia’s position in the world who had initially hoped to cooperate with Western leaders, but has been embittered by poor treatment by them.

Putin’s Russia, therefore, would represent not a mortal threat to the international world order, but rather a missed opportunity, one that can still perhaps be salvaged.

Or choose China instead?

Alternatively, we could align with China against Russia

This approach makes sense if you believe Putin began as a pragmatist, but that was only a temporary tack, given his KGB background and nationalist authoritarian inclinations. But now that he has seen how weak his opponents are and how much havoc he can wreak, he has set his sights higher. Fifteen years ago he might not have imagined he could break Nato or the EU, but now that seems within reach, and nothing will deter him from this chance to realize the fondest dreams of his Soviet predecessors.

What could we possibly offer him to match such dreams? He would revel in the chaos that would follow.

Chaos, however, is precisely the opposite of what the leaders in Beijing desire. China’s resurgence is built on a world of peace and trade, a world ultimately sustained by American military strength. For China to seek to challenge such an order, it would have to imagine that it could not only fill the role the US currently fills, but manage the transition in such a way as to avoid a chaotic interlude.

Chinese leaders are far too clear-headed for such a gambit, and in any case they see no need to rush such a transition before conditions for it have matured.

President Xi J inping is any way preoccupied with ensuring the indefinite continuation of Communist Party rule. What could jeopardize that more than a world in chaos and economic disaster?

Is the choice even ours?

With Russia against China?

With China against Russia?

There is no question such a choice is unpalatable. Not only would either alternative involve morally difficult concessions, but having to make the choice at all implies that the US is no longer capable of defending the world order it has long sponsored. This is a difficult reality to accept.

And broaching the possibility of such a choice leads to more difficult questions.

Could Russia even be persuaded to align with the US against China or China against Russia? What would we have to offer either side? What would this mean for our allies, especially in Europe and East Asia? The latter question might not be as insoluble as it may seem, because our allies have long since begun anticipating just such a scenario. But if we are no longer able and willing to perform the role we once did, we need to reckon with the consequences. AP

Science

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

BusinessMirror

Sunday

Sunday, April 9, 2017

A5

The awardees during the Annual Scientific Conference and 84th General Membership Assembly of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines are the following (from left): Dr. Socorro E. Aguja, Dr. Godofreda R. Vergeire-Dalmacion, Dr. Jovencio G. Apostol, Dr. Dionisio G. Alvindia, Dr. Danilda Hufana-Duran, Dr. Kathleen B. Aviso, Dr. Alfredo C. Robles Jr., Dr. Jose Perico H. Esguerra, Dr. Annabelle V. Briones, Dr. Carlos Primo C. David and Dr. Claro N. Mingala. Other awardees for the Outstanding Institutions and member emeritus include: Dr. Hope Sabanpan-Yu of Cebuano Studies Center; Dr. Elda B. Esguerra of the Postharvest Horticulture Training and Research Center; and Dr. Resil B. Mojares. DOST-NRCP

11 researchers recognized for work for PHL devt

By Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin & Joselito A. Carteciano

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leven Filipino researchers received recognition for their contributions to the country’s development at the recent Annual Scientific Conference and 84th General Membership Assembly of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP).

Alejo shared his research engagements in Mindanao, especially in the conf lict areas of Basilan. The hundreds of guests at the conference held recently at the Philippine International Convention Center on Rox as Boulevard, Pasay City, were researchers from various areas in the country.

Recognized for their exemplar y contr ibutions were the following: n Dr. Socorro E. Aguja for her contributions to science education, environmental studies, human capital development and citriculture, as well as for her active involvement in science education and teacher mentorship. n Dr. Godofreda R. VergeireDalmacion for her effectual influences on the areas of pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacovigilance and maternal health care. n Dr. Jovencio G. Apostol for his pioneering research on natural products and beneficial contributions to vascular pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacogenomics, pharmacy education, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice.

The researchers were cited for their various contributions in the areas of science education, environmental studies, pharmaepidemiology, maternal health care, research on natural products and toxicology, cost-effective biofungicides for important tropical crops, biotechnolog y, eco-industrial energy systems, languages, statistical mechanics, industrial and health application of carrageenan, rain-

fall forecasting and veterinary immunology and public health and others.

This year’s conference theme i s “ Ph i l ippi ne De ve lopment: Fo r e g r o u n d i n g E t h i c a l a n d Moral Values.” Rev. Fr. Albert E. Alejo, SJ, PhD, inspired and enlightened the participants to the conference on the issues of researches. He posed questions, such as, “Am I a better person by becoming a researcher?”

Filipino man has legs amputated after being bitten

by Australian spider

Why you shouldn’t walk on escalators

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YDNEY—A man from the Philippines visiting Australia had his legs amputated, and could lose his arms after being bitten by a white-tailed spider.

Terry Pareja, a father of two, was visiting his family in the Victorian country town of Birchip, 300 kilometers northwest of Melbourne, when he was bitten by the spider on his right leg.

Pareja was not aware that he had been bitten until his leg began to swell, and he developed a limp 24 hours after the incident.

After seeing a doctor, Pareja was rushed to hospital where his leg was amputated immediately, but the flesh-eating bacteria had already progressed.

He was then airlifted to a Melbourne hospital were his left leg was amputated.

Raquel Ogleby, Pareja’s sister, said it could be between 12 and 18 months until her brother was returned home.

“Last week we met with doctors and they said he will need time and rehab as well, and the whole process could take that long,” Ogleby told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.

“He has been in the hospital for 34 days, but he is slowly getting better. We will be looking to move [to a bigger] house because he will need a bigger space to move.”

Jeffmarey Pareja, Terry’s daughter, started a crowd-funding page to raise money to pay for her father’s medical bills.

“My dad went to Australia to visit my aunties and uncle, for they have not seen each other for the longest time,” she wrote on the page.

“Now my dad is in an intensive care unit having two of his kidneys not working and being aided by kidney support. Doctors also discovered that the necrotising fasciitis [flesh eating bacteria] is still there and suggested that they would also amputate... both of his arms.” PNA-Xinhua

T

he train pulls into Pennsylvania Station during the morning rush, the doors open and you make a beeline for the escalators.You stick to the left and walk up the stairs, figuring you can save precious seconds and get a bit of exercise.

But the experts are united in this: You’re doing it wrong, seizing an advantage at the expense and safety of other commuters.

Boarding an escalator two by two and standing side by side is the better approach.

It may sound counterintuitive, but researchers said it is more efficient if nobody walks on the escalator.

To be clear, this is not better for the escalator itself, although that has been a matter of dispute. The question of standing versus walking flared up recently in Washington, D.C., after the General Manager of the Metro, Paul Wiedefeld, said the practice of walking on the left and standing to the right—as outlined in the Metro’s rules and manners—could damage the escalator.

The escalator company Otis said that was incorrect, an NBC affiliate reported, and Wiedefeld clarified that standing two abreast would be safer and reduce the chance of falls if everyone did it.

For its part, Otis said in a statement that its longtime position has been that passengers should not walk on escalators, as a matter of safety.

“Codes and standards var y from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but our recommendation is for escalator passengers to step on, hold on to the rail and stay alert,” the company wrote.

The Metro is not the first mass-transit operator to try to address this issue.

Last year the London Underground promoted an experiment at its Holborn Station, one of London’s busiest, with more than 56-million passengers a year and escalators that are 77-feet tall.

The plan? To change passengers’ behaviors and get them to stand side-byside riding—not walking—during peak periods. The Underground had concluded

that in stations with escalators taller than 18.5 meters, or about 61 ft, much of the left side went unused, causing blockages and lines at the bottom. The Underground campaigned to fill the available space on the escalators with people, rather than leaving the left side of each step largely empty, except for those who chose to hike up.

An experiment in 2015 at the station found that standing on both sides of an escalator reduced congestion by about 30 percent.

Consultants at Capgemini Consulting in London explored the efficiency question by timing themselves over several days walking and standing on an escalator at the Green Park station and then using that data in computer models.

They found that walking up the escalator took 26 seconds compared with standing, which took 40 seconds. However, the “time in system”—or how long it took to stand in line to reach an escalator then ride it—dropped sharply when everyone stood, according to a blog post by the researchers.

When 40 percent of the people walked, the average time for standers was 138 seconds and 46 seconds for walkers, according to their calculations. When everyone stood, the average time fell to 59 seconds. For walkers, that meant losing 13 seconds but for standers, it was a 79-second improvement. Researchers also found the length of the line to reach and step onto an escalator dropped to 24 people from 73.

Why do the outcomes improve if everyone stands?

“Those who stand on the right-hand side tend to use every second step, whilst those who walk are likely to take three steps per person, which wastes space,” the consultants, Shivam Desai and Lukas Dobrovsky, wrote.

So everyone should stand on an escalator instead of walk because the greater good would be served, right?

Yeah, good luck making that happen, at least in the US, experts said.

New York Times News Service

n Dr. Dionisio G. Alvindia for his groundbreaking work in the development of natural and cost-effective bio fungicides for banana, mango and other important tropical crops, which led to the reduction of worker and environment exposure, as well as industry dependence on harmful pesticides. n Dr. Danilda Hufana-Duran for her pioneering research and accomplishments on the development and use of advanced reproductive biotechnologies and establishing laboratory standards and protocols that resulted in the production and propagation of genetically superior water buffaloes. n Dr. Kathleen B. Aviso for her work in the development of modeling techniques for the design and planning of eco-industrial and energy systems. n Dr. Alfredo C. Robles Jr. for his widely published scholarly work on Asean-EU relations and on the Asia-Europe Meeting process, characterized by its retrospective and prospective focus, its rigorous and theoretical approaches, and its broad empiri-

cal scope in terms of sources and languages. n Dr. Jose Perico H. Esguerra for his numerous contributions to the statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems, random walks, Brownian motion, and first passage processes, applications of fractional calculus in physics and mathematica l methods for nonlinear and quantum systems along with his two decades of educating students and professionals in physics, his mentorship of Philippine teams in international Olympiads. n Dr. Annabelle V. Briones for her studies on various innovative techniques on the use of carrageenan for an array of industrial and health applications; indigenous sources for new products; and her initiatives on the development of DOST Mosquito Ovi-Lar vicidal Trap System. n Dr. Carlos Primo C. David for his innovative contributions in short-term rainfall forecasting in the Philippines, as well as scholarly works on hydrology, climate change and environmental geology; and active

Dr. Michael Y. Roleda (right) visits a seaweed farm in Lavezares, Northern Samar. IDD/PCAARRD

Balik Scientist paves way for collaborative seaweed R&D

A

Balik Scientist specializing on seaweed and algal studies initiated a co l l a b o rat i ve re s e a rc h a n d development activity on seaweed between the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) and the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) in Catarman, Northern Samar.

To initiate the collaborative research, Dr. Michael Y. Roleda conducted a seminar titled, “Chimeras and Chameleons: Hybrids and plasticity in color expression in the carrageenophytes Kappaphycus alvarezii” early this month. Roleda is a research scientist of the Bioforsk-Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research in Bodø, Norway.

His research expertise and activities include marine botany and phycology, reproduction biology, organismal biology, carbon and nitrogen physiology, stress and ecophysiology, photochemistr y, photobiology, algal fuels and other seaweed/algae related studies. Roleda is a native of Calbayog City, Western Samar.

During the seminar, Roleda explained the morphological and phenotypical characteristics of the seaweed Kappaphycus and its complex reproduction cycle. He also discussed some factors that could affect the seaweed’s color expression (hybridism and chimerism).

Since these physical characteristics are

participation in climate changerelated research focusing on water resources, along with his service to youth education and the scientific community. n Dr. Claro N. Mingala for his contributions in the fields of veterinary immunology, microbiolog y, molecular biolog y and public health; as well as the development of DNA-based and rapid diagnostic tools for economically important animal diseases, for which he has gained national recognition.

Each awardee received a cash prize of P25,000, a medallion of excellence and a plaque of recognition. The conferment ceremony was led by the NRCP President and National Scientist Edgardo D. Gomez and Science Undersecretary for S&T Services Dr. Carol M. Yorobe, assisted by the NRCP Executive Director Dr. Marieta Bañez Sumagaysay.

NRCP is a collegial and Science and Technology advisory body of the Department of Science and Technology with more than 4,000 member-researchers, scientists and technologists across the country and around the world.

naturally expressed by seaweeds in their natural habitat, Roleda wanted UP-MSI, his host institution, to team up with UEP on this venture, as Samar is abundant in wild species of Kappaphycus alvarezii and other carrageenan-producing seaweed species.

Together with Dr. Ronelie C. Salvador, UEP seaweed researcher, and Joelyn Soldevilla-Biag, executive director of Sentro ha Pagpauswag ha Panginabuhi Inc. (SPPI), a non-governmental organization, Roleda visited the seaweed farmers in Biri Island and Lavezares, Northern Samar.

He conducted surveys on seaweed production practices being applied by farmers, as well as farmers’ position on introduction of new seaweed-planting materials. The said survey will be used in identifying project sites for pilot testing.

SPPI has an ongoing partnership with UEP in providing technical knowledge i n s y s te m at i c s e awe e d p ro d u c t i o n .

The organization also facilitates the m a r ke t i n g o f t h e d r i e d s e a w e e d s produced by the farmers.

“We support such research activities and collaborations, which will further strengthen UEP’s capabilities in research and extension,” said the UEP President, Dr. Rolando A. Delorino, regarding this initiative.

The Balik Scientist Program (BSP) is the Philippines’s brain-gain initiative, which is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It aims to strengthen the scientific and technological human resources of academic, public and private institutions to accelerate the flow of technologies and stimulate the development of new or strategically important technologies that are vital to national development and progress.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the DOST-BSP component taps the ingenuity of scientists and experts residing abroad and of Filipino-descent, to strengthen the science and technology capabilities of local researchers and scholars in addressing critical and emerging concerns in the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources sector. S&T Media Service

Faith A6 Sunday, April 9, 2017

Sunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Bishops voice commitment for Church-government ties

C

atholic bishops held talks with top government officials, during which, they expressed strong commitment to develop positive relations despite differences over the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

The initial meeting was held at the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) headquar ters in Mani la on March 31, in what could be a major step by the two parties to iron out differences.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president, in an earlier TV interview that dialogue is the best way forward.

“There are issues where we differ in principle, but we should not allow such differences to prevent us from cooperating, such as working for the poor and empowering Mindanao,” Villegas said.

“We should support him on peacema k ing, a l lev iating the situation of the poor and everything that is for the benefit of the people,” he said.

The CBCP head did not identify

the Cabinet officials, but said they have made a “breakthrough”, adding that there was a mutual request from both sides to “tone down” attacks against each other.

“You stop, we stop,” Villegas said. “You can’t tell us to stop talking when issues are so un-Christian and against our beliefs…. If they stop killings, the so-called disregard for human life, then you can trust that we will tone down statements because we will see that goodwill,” he said.

The archbishop added the bishops are concerned that if they keep their silence and do not protest the killings “people might think it’s the new normal”.

“That is the more worrisome issue when our traditionally Catholic beliefs and Filipino culture is being changed slowly. It’s like the

boiling of the frog. We should not consider killing, adultery andz swearing normal,” he said.

Vi l legas c lar if ied that the Church is not against Duterte as a person, but against issues concerning morals.

“We assured for the success of the president, but solutions should be within parameters of morality,” he also said.

‘Self-examination’ of Catholic Church

Villegas has also called on the Catholic Church to critically self-examine itself in view of President Duterte’s tirade against the institution.

And that “self-examination”, Villegas said, must begin among the Church leaders.

“It’s a call to humility. It is also a call for self-examination.

It’s an invitation for the priests to look into ourselves and see where we are wrong,” Villegas said in a TV interview.

It’s not for bishops and priests to say everything the president said is untrue, he said, but rather “we should examine ourselves and ask what has led him to make a conclusion against us”.

“We might have contributed to it, and if we have contributed to it, the time to reform is now!”

Villegas said.

Archbishop Jose Palma celebrates the Chrism Mass and renewal of priestly vows at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on April 4. Sammy Navaja

Villegas’s call came while the Catholic Church is a few days away from the celebration of the Holy Week, where Catholics are enjoined to ref lect on their sins and the myster y of God ’s forg iveness.

Duterte has repeatedly ranted against the Church for criticizing his bloody war on drugs that claimed over 8,000 lives in eight months, about 2,500 of whom were allegedly killed in police operations.

In several occasions, he also dug up several old controversies involving the bishops for supposedly ignoring their own follies and not doing enough to help the countr y’s problems, particularly on illegal drugs.

The archbishop admitted the Church is wounded by the sins of the clergy and the laity, because they are “not infallible” and “stained by sin.” But he said efforts are being made to make erring priests accountable and address the issues faced by the Church.

He said systems and tribunals are in place to handle such cases. “ Truth to tell, [we are] not new with sin. We started with Judas, and the spirit of Judas has not been diminished, it has even multiplied,” Villegas said.

“So that’s why there should be structures and institutions to make sure that the mission of the Church is not impeded by humanity and the sinfulness of its leaders,” he added.

The CBCP head went further by saying that there is no bishop, not even Pope Francis, who can stand up and say “I am all holy” because before God, “we are all sinners”.

“We have fallen, and sadly, we think in the future we would still fall, but there is a big factor that we should not forget, and that is God’s mercy, God’s love,” Villegas said.

He added: “And so if we are standing here, its not because we are better than the others, it is because God has chosen us in spite of who we are.” Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews

Destroyed by Yolanda, 16th-century church in E. Samar being restored

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UIUAN, Eastern Samar—Immaculate Concepcion Church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, a national cultural treasure, was among those ruined by the onslaught of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code Haiyan) in 2013. But with the help of the National Museum, it is expected that its restoration and reconstruction would be completed this year.

In 2016 the National Museum has provided the amount of P111,997,440 for the restoration and reconstruction of the church, with 2017 as its target year of completion under contractor J.S. Lim Construction and Trading.

“I am very grateful that after Supertyphoon Yolanda, the NCCA [National Commission for Culture and the Arts] and National Museum are restoring the church, and through them, the funding was approved and released, which paved the way to start of the restoration in one year. It is evident there is strong and fast restoration of the church structure,” Bishop Crispin Varquez of the Diocese of Borongan said.

Msgr. Lope Robredillo, the past parish priest, said a museum was created to store the remnants of the sacred images and artifacts affected by Yolanda.

One month after the typhoon, hundreds of people celebrated the Feast of Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2013, presided

by Bishop Varquez, Robredillo and several concelebrants from the diocese and some visiting priests.

Outside the church ruins and convent, several tents served as the people’s protection from the scorching heat of the sun.

Wh i l e t h e c h u rc h i s u n d e rg o i n g reconstruction, the parish has been celebrating daily Masses and liturgical activities for three years in a makeshift structure inside the

of Guiuan, are of “cultural significance that their restoration, preservation and conservation is in the highest public interest of the Filipino people”.

Based on the MOA, the NCCA has to provide technical and financial assistance for selected churches for their restoration and preservation.

The CBCP has the obligation to adhere to the master plan of the restoration and preservation and conservation work, in accordance with the “norms on heritage conservation emanating from the Holy See” in order to ensure the continued maintenance, conser vation and preser vation of the selected structures and sites.

History of Guiuan church

Parts of the in Immaculate Conception Church being restored.

churchyard, with the current parish Fr. Moises Campo Jr. officiating.

Church set for restoration even before Yolanda struck

Ev e n before Yolanda has ruined the Immaculate Conception Church, a team from the National Museum had already completed the documentation and cataloguing of the shells encrusted on the altar and walls of the church for its planned restoration to preserve its cultural structural integrity.

The church was declared as one of the national cultural treasures by the National Museum, a government institution that distinguishes and appreciates cultural heritage of churches, cultural artifacts and museums in the country to preserve and protect these cultural properties.

The memorandum of agreement between the NCCA and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Committee for the Cultural Heritage states that structures, including the Immaculate Conception Church

The Guiuan church is under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It celebrates the yearly patronal feast on December 8. With the Blessed Mother as patron of Guiuan, she is regarded as its protectress who defends the people from natural calamities.

In fact, the people of Guiuan considers the image of Blessed Virgin as miraculous since she shed tears in 1639 as a forewarning of an imminent fire that happened shortly after the miracle. The Jesuits, who were entrusted in 1595 with the evangelization of Samar and Leyte had Guiuan, Eastern Samar, as one of their assignment.

Fr. Alonso de Humanes and Fr. Juan del Campo spurred Christianity and delegated it to the Augustinians in 1768. The Franciscans continued to spread Christianity in 1795.

Guiuan was the first town pueblo in Eastern Samar that was Christianized by missionaries of Spain. Vanessa M. Puno

Passion Sunday reflections

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

B

lessed palms were carried in procession as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Others waved branches of trees, and the large crowd spread their cloaks on the road.

The crowds which preceded him chanted: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest.” (Matthew 21:8-9) Since hosanna in Hebrew meant “O, Lord. grant salvation”, somehow the people acknowledged Jesus, as a great teacher.

They have seen for themselves the signs and wonders of miracles He performed in many places.

Lifting mind and heart to God

After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James and John, sons of Zebedee. The darkness that enveloped the Garden shared the grief unto death of Jesus whose consolation he sought from his closest friends to join him in prayer fails.

“Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.” (Matthew 26:41) The time has come for the Son of Man to ransom sinful man with His most precious blood. There can never be more delay in fulfilling what the Scriptures foretold. Truly, Jesus’s disciples who were yet in the middle of their slumber were caught by surprise.

A large crowd with swords and clubs advanced in the direction toward the person whom Judas would plant a kiss. A commotion follows. A disciple in protest struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. Jesus admonished him, “Put your sword back into the sheath for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) Jesus tells us to pray. For in prayer, we sow and grow in holiness. Prayer is a shield against temptation. We pray to adore, thank and ask for God’s forgiveness for our sins.

We, likewise, ask him for favors for self and others. Sor Julieta S. Seda, Secular Institute of the Two Hearts (SITH)

Bandwagon mentality

Just as the crowd was in a frenzy to welcome Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, the same crowd shouted: “Let him be crucified!” when asked by Pilate what to do with Jesus called Messiah.

(Matthew 27:22) Pilate asked: “Why? What evil has he done?”

The crowd only shouted louder. “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:23) Barrabas was freed as preferred by the crowd, and Jesus was to be crucified. Pilate washed his hands with water in front of the crowd and declared, “I am innocent of the blood of this just man. The responsibility is yours.”

(Matthew 27:24) The destructive influence of a group of people still prevails in modern society.

Contagion theory of motivation is how sociologist call it, but it is better understood as bandwagon mentality. The Philippines is one of the countries in the world known for its beautiful and fashionable women.

Social media has greatly influenced Filipinos to dress and be instep with what is fashionable.

How many women still take time and seriously figure out if their attires complement their physical features?

As a people, are we honest, are we morally selective in our choices of clothes so as not to titillate the evil desires of others?

What thoughts come to mind when you see even grandmas in figure-hugging, short tights, which were worn as undergarments a decade ago?

Passion for fashion! Fashion trending, anyone? Sor Ma. Cristina U. Averilla, SITH

Are we like Peter?

Asked if he knew Jesus, for he was seen with him, Peter said, “I do not know what you are talking about. I do not know the man.”

(Matthew 26:70-72) Pressured to admit he did, Peter began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man.”

(Matthew 26:74) Sometimes, all of us are like Peter. We profess our faith by reciting the creed, to declare our life principles, but deny it. We all claim we are a true friend. But, when our principles are put on edge, we compromise. When friendship leads to danger, we betray.

Often, we choose convenience over truth because truth hurts our ego and self-esteem.

Too, truth demands sacrifices, to forget ourselves, to die to our desires. Often, truth demands that we hurt even the people we love for truth to prevail.

“What is the truth?” Pilate asked Jesus.

(John 18:38) This is the same question we ask today as we look at our scourged and lacerated society. Ours is a world filled with half-truths.

Mass media is brainwashing us with false

information. Our godless society is telling us that we can live without God. The New Age Movement said, “Everything and everyone is one: Monism.” Because all is one, everything, too, is part of a divine essence. Thus, the person is the standard truth, a new found self-sacredness. New Age Spirituality heralds psychic powers, enlightened consciousness, mind liberation and spirit guides among others.

Indeed, “Every mania has a pathway to follow or a dirt road to explore.”

As a religious, truth is something we teach with passion. The right to life, the evil of death penalty, abortion is murder, homosexuality is a sin, marriage is sacred and the Eucharist is God. These are truths many people disagree with.

We can choose to be like Peter and simply say “I do not know the man”, or we can be like the Blessed Virgin Mary who stood at the foot of the cross till the end. Sor Ethelinda C. Mabbayed, SITH

Suffering to win souls for heaven

Suffering is for everyone. In suffering, we are equal, and often taken by surprise. It makes us ask, why?

If God is so good, why do I hurt so badly? Why does God allow suffering? What have I done to deserve this? These questions can be answered by another question.

Why did Jesus have to die for you? What did He do to merit death on the cross?

He did no wrong to anyone. But He suffered to redeem mankind. And on the cross, Jesus spoke to God the Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This was something no one has seen, no one has heard, nor the heart of man conceived. (1 Corinthians 2:9) “That Jesus should destroy the power of the devil by allowing it to destroy Him—This is the foolishness of God, which is wiser than man, the weakness of God, which is stronger than man.”

(1 Corinthians 1:25) A cross without Jesus is not a cross. A cross without suffering is not a cross. Christianity is tested by the cross. Suffering becomes a sacrifice when offered with a full mind and right disposition. On earth, no one can have a “Christ-less cross”, or a “crossless Christ.”

Suffering, regarded as sacrifice, can change the hearts and minds of men.

In our suffering, God is there. He knows enough to understand what is happening. He is powerful enough to understand everything.

He is kind enough to respect our limits. He is loving enough to forgive our doubts. He is caring enough to calm our fears, and gracious enough to accept a weak faith. Sor Rosalyn J. Caballes, SITH

Obedience unto death

Jesus obeys unto death. He obeys from love, obeys always and will obey until the end of the world, said Saint Peter Julian Eymard.

Jesus is the epitome of the virtue of obedience. Without an iota of resistance, without a murmur, He obeyed the Father to redeem a sinful world.

Today Jesus continues to obey His Father.

He obeys the voice of the priest during consecration. He remains in the Blessed Sacrament subjecting Himself to all kinds of irreverence, sacrileges and indifference, because it is the Father’s will. Jesus bears all these desecrations with much love and victimhood, said Fr. Edgardo M. Arellano in Victimhood Book II. Man began to forget that everything that he has comes from God to be used in obedience to God’s will. Man does not fully realize that man is a thief when he uses time, talent and treasures for vested interest.

The temptation to question authority is common among those who see themselves far superior than their superiors. This emotional feeling prevails in all human organizations, including the church and religious communities.

When members do not look to their superior as a personality of Jesus because of pride, it is difficult to have a united community.

To obey a finite creature and belie that his commands are God’s holy will require patriarchal faith. But followed humbly, it brings about abundant graces in the community, according to Father Arellano. Let us imitate the perfect model of obedience, the Blessed Mother, the epitome of unconditional fiat.

To honor God, “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Pure thoughts, will keep our emotions pure and will engender obedience. “All Christians are called not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by renewing minds.” (Romans 12:2) Sor Jazeth Jimena, SITH n Santiago

is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, April 9, 2017 A7

AirAsia inspires journeys with ‘Red Talks’

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Story & photo by Gretchen Filart Dublin

n keeping with its credo of inspiring communities that “now everyone can fly”, AirAsia recently announced its new biweekly travel webisodes (web episodes) in an intimate media gathering held at the Venice Grand Canal Cineplex.

Red Talk s with Daphne are webi so d e s ho s te d b y mu lt i awarded T V host Daphne Oseña-Paez that features various Air Asia, destinations in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and China. Filmed over the course of eight days, the six-part online series takes viewers on an inspiring journey through travel, where they learn all about Asia’s most coveted attractions, vibrant cultures and insightful perspectives about helping local communities; “ inspiring you to realize your dreams”.

“AirAsia was established with a dream of making flying affordable and accessible to all, and this success story has inspired so many people, and communities across the region. The ‘Red Talks’ team led by Daphne traveled far and beyond to search for places and meet people who share the same dream and story,” Philippines AirAsia Brand Manager David Viray shared.

He added, “AirAsia Red Talks teaches you that it’s more than just traveling. It’s really about reaching a destination, whatever it may be.

It may be a specific AirAsia destination, your dreams in life, your aspirations or your goals.”

Released on March 26 the pilot episode Destination: Dream (The Man with the Red Cap) carries an in-depth interview with AirAsia founder and Chief Executive Tony Fernandes. Interspersed with a tour of RedQ—AirAsia’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—the episode delves deep into the airline’s roots and its transformation from an ailing government-owned airline to one of the world’s best.

From A Downfall to Critical S u c c e s s : D e s t i n a t i o n : D re a m (The Tony Fernandes Stor y) “I wanted to star t an airline and ever yone laughed at me,” said Tony Fer nandes.

In 2001, Fernandes, then a Time Warner executive, bought Malaysian-government owned

In the first episode of Red Talks with Daphne, TV host and producer Daphne OseñaPaez talks to AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes about dreams and success. Air Asia

Red Talks with Daphne was launched on March 20 at the Venice Grand Canal Cineplex.

AirAsia for 1 Malaysian Ringgit ($0.26). Taking his savings and mortgaging his house to pay off the airline’s $11-million debt, Fernandes relaunched AirAsia with only two Boeing carriers.

With Fernandes at the helm, AirAsia began incurring profit, and was debt-free a year after its acquisition.

Today AirAsia, eight-time SkyTrax Best Low-Cost Airline, has over 80 carriers flying in 160 destinations across 25 countries.

Fernandes intimated that Air Asia’s success is a product of passion. “I’m the most positive human being in the world. Nothing daunts me. I suppose its dogged determination. I loved what I did and just never gave up.”

Fernandes attributes this perseverance to his mother, a former saleswoman. “My mother could sell ice to an Eskimo. She sold Tupperware in Malaysia and I used to follow her around. I was like

and actua l ly being in a place to really understand it. A irAsia enables you to go places that you never thought of going. My dream is that secondar y and ter tiar y cities w il l have direct connectiv it y as wel l, so ‘Now Ever yone Can Fly’ is not just affordabilit y, it’s about accessibilit y as wel l ’, he told OseñaPaez dur ing the inter v iew.

For Fer nandes, t he d ream continues. “Don’t let anyone tell you [that] you can’t achieve your dream. It’s your dream. You got one life. Live each day as if it’s your last. Live your dream. If you fail, you fail; at least you tried.”

Travel Meetup FlipTrip.ph, an online travel agency, regularly hosts Tripkada Travel Day, where young travelers meet and plan trips to offthe-beaten-path destinations in the Philippines. Its recent event was marked by dream catcher and typography workshops, travel writing and storytelling by Instagram travel personalities Sino Pinas, Reese Lasangan and people behind Where To Next and Weekend Warrior accounts.

Angry Birds easter weekend at Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila

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op on over to Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila, on April 15 and 16 to experience an excellent Easter weekend celebration. The Angry Birds-themed Easter offers an array of enjoyable activities to keep the kids and the whole family entertained during the two-day fete.

Angry Birds Eggcellent Easter

Spend Easter Sunday at Crimson Hotel for a delicious line-up of treats and dishes at the kiddie buffet. Fun-filled activities from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. will surely keep the kids engaged—such as face painting, hair and nail salons, magic show, movie screening, cookie and cupcake decorating, Easter egg hunt and a lot more. Guests will also be treated to a meet-and-greet session with Angry Birds’ Red mascot. Ticket rate per person is P814+ (for 3 years old and above).

Easter Sunday Brunch Buffet at Café 8

At P1630++ per person, look forward to a morning filled with a selection of mouthwatering dishes.

Be delighted as Café 8 enhances its bountiful buffet with carvings of unlimited Wagyu beef, fresh seafood and an A ngr y Birdsthemed dessert station with a chocolate fountain to celebrate Easter Sunday. The rate is inclusive of one free ticket to the Angry Birds Eggcellent Easter.

Easter Weekend Escape

Take advantage of the long holiday break and have an Easter Weekend Escape at Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila! Room package includes an overnight stay on April 15 and 16, Easter Sunday brunch for two, two tickets to the Angry Birds Eggcellent Easter, complimentary access to

the swimming pool and the fitness center. Room rates start at P6,399++. For more details, visit www.crimsonhotel.com/manila and use the promo code EASTER2017.

Angry Birds Adventure Land

Every child’s imagination and creativity will be unleashed at Crimson Hotel’s Angry Bird Adventure Land on April 15. From 10 a.m. to 12 nn, there will be an egg-citing activity yard, giant slingshot, inflatables and an eggs-pedition quest by age group.

To make it more fun, kids can also watch Angry Birds Movie while delighting in a yummy kiddie buffet.

Ticket rate per person is P730+ (for 3 years old and above).

seven then. She was motivating all these women to sell Tupperware.”

During the interview, the 52year old CEO also shared that company culture plays a critical role in AirAsia’s continued success. “I can create the coolest building in the world, but if the culture is not there, it’s pointless. So one day, I came into the office with contractors and broke it [walls] down.

More openness, less hierarchy.”

Offering affordable f lights within Asia and Australia, AirAsia is known as a regional pioneer in democ r at i z i ng f l ig ht t r ave l .

Since its launch, more averageincome travelers, even outside the airline’s home countr y, became capable of f lying between cities and countries around the two regions—a dream realized for Fernandes. “ We rea l ly have succeeded in integrating the A sean, and travel is a big part of it. T here’s not h i ng l i ke hu m a n cont ac t

Succeeding webisodes

The next Red Talks pilot episode, Destination: Fly, was shown on April 8 and featured an insider story of the AirAsia cabin crew, and how they were trained for worldclass service amid a demanding work environment.

On April 22 Destination: Good (The Silversmiths of Arkomjogja) will explore an ancient Indonesian tradition and the life of Jogjakarta’s tradesmen and architects.

The Destination: Unity, scheduled for May 6, is about the entire Asean as a collective market and how to connect people across the region through affordable flights—and what this means for the average Filipino.

The fifth episode Destination: Harmony (May 20), takes viewers to Palawan to dig deep into pearl production in the context of responsible eco-tourism.

Finally, on June 3, AirAsia will release the final episode, Destination: Freedom, which zeroes in on traveling as a way of life with Shanghai, China, as its backdrop.

‘Red Talks with Daphne’ is shown every other Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (MNL time) on AirAsia Philippines’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/airasiaph.

A8 Sunday, April 9, 2017

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

GOLFING WITH TRUMP? LEAVE YOUR EGO AT CLUBHOUSE

By Nancy Benac The Associated Press

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ASHINGTON—Leave your ego in the clubhouse if you ever get the chance to golf with President Donald J. Trump.

He may well throw shade on your game.

And puff up his own.

Trump suggested to his good friend Phil Ruffin that maybe he should be hitting from the women’s tees. Years ago, he repeatedly ribbed an Associated Press golf writer after his drive didn’t go as far as a female pro’s—who happened to be ranked No. 1 in the world. As president, he’s even had the chutzpah to give grief to Ernie Els, who’s playing in the Masters this week.

“He’s very good at the needle,” says Jim Herman, who was an assistant club pro at one of Trump’s courses before Trump spotted his talent and helped him join the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour.

Since taking office, Trump has made it clear he has no qualms about spending quality time on the golf course even though he criticized former President Barack Obama relentlessly for doing the same.

And Trump isn’t shy about toasting his own skills as a golfer, even prodding a business leader who was at the White House recently to recount a time when the president got a hole-in-one years ago.

This is one area where the president’s boasts are borne out by performance.

At age 70, the president still is a very good golfer, with a strong drive, quirky but effective putts and multiple holes-in-one and 19 club championships to his credit.

While he hasn’t recorded scores for a while, his handicap was an impressive 2.9 last fall, even better than the 3.5 for 77-year-old Jack Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion.

“He’s got to give me two shots,” as Nicklaus, who is retired, explained it.

In his 10 weeks as president, Trump has turned up at one or another of his 16 golf properties at least 17 times, spending more than 63 hours in all at different clubs.

But the White House, sensitive to accusations that it’s hypocritical for Trump to golf a lot after criticizing Obama for doing just that, fuzzes up exactly what the president is doing during all those hours at his clubs.

Trump is proud to say he uses his golf game to lubricate business and political pursuits.

As he tries to revive the effort to repeal the health care law, Trump on Sunday invited Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who had opposed the latest plan, for a round of golf at his course in northern Virginia.

Paul said on Monday that Trump likes to talk about

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump drives himself around the course to watch the final round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament in Doral, Florida, in March last year. AP

“how we come together to get everybody on the same page, and he likes to do it through golf.”

Trump made a point of golfing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February, using the golden driver that Abe had given him just days after the election. The two used the Florida outing to foster deeper relationships

in Asia, according to the White House.

Els, who was part of a foursome with Trump and Abe that weekend, says the talk wasn’t all business.

“He was giving me grief about my game,” Els reported.

“He’s one of the boys. He didn’t talk anything down on the ladies or anything like that, so that was nice.”

Trump and former House Speaker John Boehner, a frequent golfer, became “texting buddies” after first getting to know each other on the golf course.

The president doesn’t just talk business while playing golf. He talks golf while conducting business.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said that during his

White House meeting last month with Trump, who has a course in Doonbeg, Ireland, “we discussed the kind of driver that the president uses—Titleist, 9-degree loft, Doonbeg, wind off the Atlantic. You have to roll the wrist at the top to get that shot straight.”

During a February meeting with CEOs at the White House, the president prodded GE’s Jeff Immelt to recount the time he saw Trump get a hole-in-one in the early 2000s.

Immelt obliged: “We were trying to talk President Trump into doing The Apprentice....

President Trump goes up to a par of 3 on his course. He goes up to the three of us and says: ‘You realize I’m the richest golfer in the world?’ Then gets a hole-in-one.”

Trump gently corrected: “It’s amazing. It’s amazing.

No, I actually said I was the best golfer of all the rich people, to be exact.”

Since becoming president, Trump has refined his criticism of Obama’s golfing habits to scold him for playing with friends when he should have been playing with people who would be useful to his presidency.

But Trump himself doesn’t always tee off with an agenda. He’s got a cadre of regular golfing buddies with whom he loves to talk trash.

“I’m upset with him about golf because he told me, ‘If you’re going to play with me, you’re going to have to play from the ladies’ tees,’ because I don’t hit the ball that far,” says Ruffin, one of Trump’s best friends and an occasional golfing companion. “He slams it. He’s a great golfer. He’s huge.”

Another frequent golf partner is John Stark, chairman of Stark Carpet, who told The Miami Herald in 2012, “I don’t know about the boardroom but on the course he’s fair and a pleasure to play with.” Stark declined to comment for this story.

In 1993 Trump got what he said was his third hole-in-one during a pro-am competition at Spyglass Hill in California.

“I just hope I don’t have to buy drinks for 25,000 people,” Trump joked, The New York Times reported at the time.

He was playing with Paul Goydos, then a rookie on the PGA Tour who remembers golfing “completely awful” that day, so he and Trump were eliminated before the finals of the three-day tournament.

For at least that one time, Trump went easy on his partner. “He couldn’t have been nicer,” Goydos remembers.

As for making golf more accessible for people without deep pockets, Trump just doesn’t want to go there.

He told the Golf Channel last year: “I’d like to see golf be an aspirational game, where you aspire to join a club someday. You want to play, you go out and you become successful.”

Freedom Trail traces Death March route

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HE inaugural Mariveles-San Fernando-Capas Freedom Trail promises to be a historic event as runner and bikers from the Philippines and other countries trace the actual route of the Death March on Monday.

The Freedom Trail has three events—160kilometer ultra-marathon which has a single and eight or 16 man relay, “Padyak para sa Kagitingan” bike trail and Freedom Ride for big bikes with engines of 400cc and up.

There are four history pit stops awaiting participants along the historic trail. These are the Flaming Sword in Pilar, Bataan; Layac Junction in Hermosa, Bataan; old San Fernando Train station in Pampanga; and the Capas Shrine at Tarlac.

Freedom Trail participants could register at any of the pit stops and get souvenir items.

World War II re-enactors would be in all the pit stops to give a short presentation and selfie opportunities for participants and spectators.

“The Bataan Death March is probably the best known Philippine WWII event in the world. There are marches, commemorations and markers around the globe. But in the Philippines, we are doing this on the actual site of the Death March.” Mike Villa-Real, Head of Veterans Bank’s Corporate and Consumer Relations Division, said.

Proceeds from the Freedom Trail will be used to fund the restoration and maintenance of World War II Historical Markers, including the Death March Kilometers along the route.

The Freedom Trail is presented by Philippine Veterans Bank and copresented by History Channel Asia and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), in coordination with the Provincial Government of Bataan and Pampanga, City Governments of Balanga and San Fernando, Municipal Government of Capas, Bataan Tourism Council, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan Investor Locator Association, ANC News Channel, CLTV-36, Asian Journal, Hotel Sogo and AAP Travel.

MAKING WAVES IN SAN JUAN

Bea Tan, Mary Mae Tajima, Amanda Villanueva and Amy Ahomiro of the Beach Volleyball Republic see action during the launch of AboitizLand’s Seafront Residences at the Bonifacio Global City recently. Three exhibition matches featuring 12 of the country’s top players highlight the event kicking off the exclusive 43-hectare beachside residential community in San Juan, Batangas, AboitizLand’s first residential development in Manila following its expansion outside of Cebu.

Capiz municipalities throw full support behind Triaksyon 2017

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OCAL leaders in the 16 municipalities of the province of Capiz has thrown their all-out support to the First Capiz International Triathlon set on April 22 and 23 in Roxas City.

Event chairman Greg Atienza said the sports tourism project of Capiz Gov. Tony Del Rosario has inspired Capiz municipalities to send participants to complement the countless support of the event concerning safety and security

of the participants and visitors, and also promotions.

Provincial tourism officer Al Tesoro and his municipal tourism officers are also upbeat promoting the event dubbed Triaksyon 2017 which is part of the main activities for this year’s Capiztahan.

Some 350 local and international triathletes are seeing action in the event to be staged in the “Seafood Capital” of the country.

Atienza said several private individuals and local business groups are also supporting the event co-presented by ACS Manufacturing Corp. and Double Dragon Properties Corp.

The categories are the Standard Distance (1,500-meter swim, 54-kilometer bike and 12-km run), Sprint (750-meter swim, 22-km bike and 6-km run) and Relay (1,500-meter swim, 54-km bike and 12-km run).