Businessmirror april 30, 2017

media partner of the year

United nations

2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business

n

Sunday, April 30, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 199

2016 ejap journalism awards

business news source of the year

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week

SBMA unveils plan to make Free port Asean’s production, logistics hub

Subic’s bold strokes

Sailboats frolic at the Subic Freeport waterfront, where a US Navy ship is docked a short distance from the SBMA main office, highlighting the crucial roles of tourism and industry in the economy of the Subic Bay Freeport. henry empeño

S

By Henry Empeño | Correspondent

UBIC BAY FREEPORT — If officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) would have their way, the Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone would be the country’s next big thing after Metro Manila.

In broad strokes, SBMA Chairman Martin B. Diño and SBMA Administrator Wilma T. Eisma outlined an ambitious program to expand the Subic Bay Freeport’s infrastructure, and then leverage the same to position Subic as a major production and distribution hub in the Asean region. According to Diño and Eisma, both appointees of President

Duterte, the SBMA would echo the national mantra of “Build, Build, Build” to keep Subic Bay sustainable, as well as to help in national developmental efforts. SBMA’s wish list includes the $40-million upgrade of the Subic Bay International Airport; the $120-million expansion of Subic’s bulk cargo-handling facilities; $200-million expansion of the New

Container Terminal; $232-million bypass road from the Subic Seaport to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx); and the $40-million widening of the Tipo Road leading to Subic Freeport. Topping these are several proposals that are seen to further improve Subic’s capacity and attractiveness as a free port and special economic zone. These are the proposed $440-million bypass road connecting the SCTEx to Castillejos, Zambales, which serves as the major gateway to the Hanjin shipyard at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula; the $2-billion multimodal road from Subic Port to Manila Port that would pass through coastal areas in Bataan, Pampanga and Bulacan. Diño and Eisma both maintained during their “State of the Freeport Address” (SOFA) on Monday that keeping Subic’s competitive advantage is the only way to go. Continued on A2

Cargo ships dock at Subic Freeport’s New Container Terminal, bringing in more business to boost the local economy. henry empeño

Govt, industry players drafting plan for -P77.9-B National Broadband Network

Bridging the digital divide ESPITE clocking in an impressive 27-percent increase in Internet penetration in 2016, the so-called digital divide still persists in the Philippines, a phenomenon that has been robbing almost half of its population of the benefits of the World Wide Web for years now.

Based on data from socialmedia consultancy firm We Are Social, roughly 58 percent of the population—or about 60 million

Filipinos—now has access to the Internet. This stunning jump from 47 percent in 2015 means that more

PESO exchange rates n US 49.6990

than half of the population now enjoys the benefits of the Internet. But on the other side of that spectrum are the Filipinos who still do not have access to the Internet. According to experts and players in the digital arena, the digital divide resulted in striking gaps in three areas: education, information and communication, and finance.

Missed opportunities

Voyager Innovations Inc. President Orlando B. Vea said the digital divide has and will continue to separate those without Internet connection from the huge socioeconomic opportunities that the Internet offers. “The most striking effect is on the daily lives of those left behind. They are cut off from the vast social and economic opportunities that mobile and Internet technolo-

gies bring. That’s the main striking effect of the digital divide,” he told the BusinessMirror. Vea explained that a person without an Internet connection has limited access to information and learning resources. Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. President John M. Rubio agreed, saying this phenomenon results in many Filipinos missing out on opportunities for education. “The imbalance in access creates groups or individuals with significantly less skills in technology, which, in an increasingly technology-centric world, limits their ability to succeed—particularly against more tech-savvy individuals,” he told the BusinessMirror. The Internet has a wealth of materials that can help individuals learn almost anything. One Continued on A2

58%

Percentage of the population, or 60 million Filipinos, that now has access to the Internet

n japan 0.4474 n UK 63.8384 n HK 6.3881 n CHINA 7.2104 n singapore 35.6112 n australia 37.1450 n EU 54.2117 n SAUDI arabia 13.25340

Mikdam | Dreamstime.com

D

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

Source: BSP (27 April 2017 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, April 30, 2017

Subic’s bold strokes Continued from a1

“Expanding Subic’s infrastructure will position the free port as a production and distribution hub in the Asean region, increase the trading activities in the free port, bring in more industries, boost tourism, increase employment,” Diño pointed out. At the same time, it will “decongest Metro Manila and encourage the development of nearby communities,” he added.

Staying on top

The plan hinges much on improving on what others before them had already built and accomplished—a strategy successfully employed by then SBMA Chairman Richard J. Gordon when he first took over the mantle of managing Subic Bay after the US Navy vacated it in 1992. In Gordon’s time, the military barracks were converted into hotels and mess halls into restaurants to develop local tourism; repair shops and warehouses were turned into factories and manufacturing assemblies to boost industry; and piers, airport, medical dispensary, post-exchange stores, power and fuel stations, housing units and other military facilities were adapted for civilian use. The succeeding administrations added on new industrial parks, a container terminal, themed tourist parks and related attractions, new hotels and restaurants, as well as a mall that made Subic the country’s

premier free port and also one of the biggest tourism draws in the country today. As one of the most successful cases of conversion for military bases across the globe, the Subic Bay Freeport rose to become one of the biggest earners of foreign direct investments in the country with cumulative investments of more than $10 billion today. Meanwhile, the SBMA, which is mandated to manage the freeport zone, had announced “unprecedented” increases in its gross income in recent years, consistent with a rising trend in gross income that started out at P200 million in 1993 a year after the establishment of the free port, then rising to P800 million in 1996, P1.54 billion in 2002, P1.57 billion in 2008, P1.63 billion in 2012, P2.44 billion in 2014 and P2.75 billion in 2015. The recent record incomes reversed the agency’s dismal financial performance starting in 2012, when it posted a net income of P800 million from a P1.1-billion loss the previous year and a negative record of P2.54 billion—the agency’s biggest beating—in 2008.

Holding on

So far, Subic is keeping up with its legacy from recent years, said Administrator Eisma, who painted a picture of satisfactory performance for the SBMA in last Monday’s SOFA. Comparing the agency’s performance in the first quarter of

2017 to that of last year, Eisma noted a 7.59-percent increase in revenue from P676.3 million in Q1 2016 to P727.6 million in Q1 2017, and a 148-percent increase in net income from P18.8 million in Q1 2016 to P46.7 million in Q1 2017. And while the agency’s operating income dipped by 4.35 percent, its cash and investments record increased by 24.84 percent in the same period, Eisma said. Meanwhile, the Subic Freeport recorded a total of P1.42 billion in new investments as of February this year, a slight increase over the P1.40 billion recorded in the same period last year. Among the new projects approved were the P42-billion proposal for an industrial park and renewable-energy facility by Dynamik Konstruk Corp.; the P200million ship-to-ship transfer operations for liquefied natural gas by Teekay Swan and JOVO; and the P4.6-billion golf and leisure complex project by DM Leisure Corp. In job generation, Eisma said that Subic recently recorded an increase of 12 percent in its work force, from a total of 103,289 in February 2016 to 115,272 in February 2017. Eisma also announced positive figures for the Subic sea port, which posted a 9-percent increase in revenue this year, or from P282.7 million in Q1 2016 to P309 million in Q1 2017, even when the number of ship calls dropped by 18 percent in the same period.

She added that an increase in volume of both containerized and noncontainerized cargoes, which was recorded at 33,031 TEUs and 1,826,519 metric tons, respectively, made up for the slack in ship calls. Tourism figures, however, showed a slight drop of 5 percent in terms of visitor arrivals, or from 2,060,383 in the first quarter of 2016 to 1,958,344 in the first quarter of 2017, and a 9-percent decrease in tourist arrivals from 448,782 in the first quarter of 2016 to 409,377 in the first quarter of 2017. The ban in school educational trips and a drop in the number of meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) had apparently impacted on local tourism and caused the decline, Eisma added. “We hope that the next time we make a report, we would have better figures,” the SBMA administrator said.

Getting there

To reach the next level in managing the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the SBMA has charted a 10-point program that is anchored on the traditional Filipino values of malasakit (social responsibility) and kusang-loob (initiative). Eisma ticked off the 10-point program as: n Policy Reforms and Good Governance, which includes an intensified campaign against corruption, smuggling and illicit trade; support for amendments

www.businessmirror.com.ph

to RA 7227, the Bases Conversion Law; and support for government programs to modernize incentive package for investors and to end contractualization; n Sustainable Development, which involves maintenance of clean and environment-friendly business practices; addressing needs for alternative water sources and sewage and septage facilities; and securing ISO 14001 certification for environmental management system; n Safety and Security, which includes improvement of public safety and security systems, strengthening security capability, establishing cyber-security protocol, intensifying drug-free free-port campaign, and monitoring safety programs of locator-companies; n Community Engagement, which involves revitalization of culture of volunteerism, discipline, malasakit and kusang-loob within the free-port community; coordination with local government units for capacity-building; and provision of scholarship for deserving volunteers and their dependents; n Locator Service Excellence, which includes antired-tape measures; creation of one-stop shops; and institutionalization of red-carpet treatment for business locators; n Subic Freeport Gateway, which seeks to reestablish the Subic Bay International Airport as a world-class facility; n Attracting foreign direct investments and micro, small and medium enterprises, with focus on

high-technology industries (R&D, BPO and ICT), premier educational institutions, and launching aggressive marketing campaign to promote the free port as marketing pivot to China and Russia; n Tourism Star, which seeks to create a Subic tourism brand, promote Subic as the next cruiseship playground, expand existing tourism campaigns, and maximize Seair’s Clark-China flights; n “Build, Build, Build,” which includes improvement of road infrastructure, expansion of the Naval Supply Depot facilities, implementation of the Luzon cargo railway project, and construction of the SBMA Corporate Tower and Subic Freeport Museum; and n Free-port Expansion, which involves the identification of available areas for expanding free-port land area, and cooperation with concerned local government units for development of expansion areas. Eisma and Diño had captioned their recent State of the Freeport report as “Winning through Excellence,” an allusion to the all-encompassing change for the better on all fronts in the Subic Bay Freeport. The program could very well serve as a bold stroke that will bring all concerned to the next level and keep Subic on top of the game: from the agency that manages the free port, to the locator-companies that provide capital, and the community that contributes the work force and other essential services that keep the free port going.

Bridging the digital divide Continued from a1

may opt to get free language lessons on YouTube, Google, or even Facebook. Even class modules from renowned universities in the world are available on the Internet. “Whether it be news, emergency reports, etc., information is increasingly available in real time at close to zero cost through technology. The digital divide denies groups this valuable piece of access that allows people to remain safe, make better decisions, and live better and more informed lives,” Rubio added.

Human right

Another facet that is limited by this gap is the universal right to communicate. “The digital divide affects the right of Filipinos to communicate and to information,” Better Broadband Alliance convener Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos said in a text message. The UN has already declared that the Internet is a human right, as access to it is not merely a privilege for the rich. Explaining that it is a basic need, the intergovernmental agency said the Internet is an avenue where people can enjoy their rights to freedom of expression and opinion. “Communication technology has been shown to deepen relationships and connections with society, whether that be a phone call, over messaging, or through social networks. The digital divide deprives individuals of this connection and what the UN has confirmed recently as a basic human right,” Rubio said. This divide persists despite the fact that the Philippines is considered as the social-media capital of the world, with data from We Are Social showing that Filipinos spend an average of eight hours and 59 minutes on the Web—the highest in the world. “Disadvantaged groups— women, uneducated, disabled, elderly—become all the more disadvantaged due to lack of access to information and means to communicate,” Santos lamented.

Financial, commercial exclusion

Another missed opportunity for the digitally marginalized community is the promise of digital financial services, seen as the last mile that connects financial products and services to their endcustomers who are unreached and overlooked by traditional market players because of physical and cost barriers. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that seven of 10 individuals in the Philippines remain unbanked. This means that they are robbed of potential gains from financial tools, such as credit, savings and insurance. The Central Bank defines financial inclusion as a state wherein “there is effective access to a wide range of financial products and services by all,” such as savings, payments, credit and investments. It is, in simpler terms, the drive to expand the coverage and reach of the financial system to as many stakeholders in a society. Financial inclusion, thus, carries the potential of improving the well-being of the unserved and underserved markets, such as the low-income and marginalized, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries, agriculture and agrarian-reform sectors, the youth, women, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, among others. But this is still a far-off dream, as roughly 86 percent of Filipino households do not own a deposit account because about 36 percent of towns and cities don’t have a bank. Experts attributed this to inequalities in geographic access and economic circumstances. Thus, the BSP is looking at tapping financial technology (Fintech) to help bridge the gap in financial inclusion. “Electronic money and mobile banking offer the potential to reach remote areas, although the uptake of these financial services leaves much to be desired,” BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said. Vea noted that, without an Internet connection, people will have

no access to enjoy these services that are essential to support their needs. “It won’t be easy for you to enjoy the convenience of digital financial services. Entrepreneurs can’t easily compete and expand their services,” Vea added. “You’ll also miss out on more affordable offers, such as seat sales and digital goods. You are not able to lend your voice in online discussions of public interest.” Likewise, the gap between the digitally connected and the unconnected affects how the SMEs fare at the regional competitiveness game. “Only a small percentage of the over one million small and medium enterprises have e-commerce sites. This has put many SMEs at a great disadvantage to expand their businesses and contribute more significantly to the economy,” Vea said. Santos added: “These are missed opportunities for people to take advantage of technologies that could better their lives.”

‘Digital multiply’

Santos said the Philippines is playing catch-up with its neighbors in terms of allowing its citizens to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. “The digital divide is a fastmoving target, as ICTs advance very rapidly. Developed countries will continue to set the benchmark of what the haves could achieve while developing countries will continue to play catch-up while trying to fill the gap for their havenots,” she said. The digital divide could be attributed to the lack of telecommunications facilities in the Philippines. It is a problem that persisted due to a confluence of reasons: one is the government’s refusal to invest in digital infrastructure, another is the bureaucracy in seeking permits by private companies from local governments. “At the outset, the digital divide is not the main problem. Rather, it’s a symptom of the more persistent socioeconomic inequalities,” Vea said. Ironically, he added, the solution to the digital divide is also technology, which has been said as the great equalizer of opportunities.

“In effect, the solution to digital divide is multiplying digital,” he said. Rubio agreed, citing for instance the continued rise in smartphone technology, which has been growing more affordable by the day. “Mobile technology—data over mobile, rise of the smartphone, etc.—has helped shrink the divide as it provides easy and inexpensive access to those previously excluded,” he said. Santos was more particular in giving her recommendation. “There is no one solution to address the digital divide. It’s a combination of the following: to ensure that there is effective competition in the market so that service providers are competing to get a bigger market share based on improved and more affordable services that benefit the end users.” “Second is to create a policy and regulatory environment that allows democratic access to technology and embraces innovation that can expand access to as many members of the population as possible.” “And third is to invest in research and development on innovative solutions to fill the access gap.”

The key

Information Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima said his office’s primary role is to bring the Internet to the masses. “It is the government’s missionary duty to provide the people telecommunications access and services in the countryside unserved and underserved by the private telcos, and is confident with the government’s countryside development and industry development tasks and programs,” he said. The Department of Information and Communications Technology spearheads the creation of a National Broadband Network, whose initial draft showed that the government will focus on the development of Internet access in the countryside, particularly in areas where Web access is scarce or very limited. Under the first draft of the

P77.9-billion National Broadband Plan, key cities and provinces— particularly the rural areas where commercial telecommunications services are absent—will have Internet access by 2022. These areas are based on the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) National Spatial Strategy for 2017 to 2022 and the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) Fixed and Wireless Broadband Data Survey. Also included in the draft are key suggestions to promote new media, local content and applications; the development of a rural technology road map; the process by which the government will monitor the development of the plan; optimization of spectrum usage; development of satellite; and the institutionalization of collaborations with other agencies, among others.

What’s needed

However, for the stakeholders in the digital arena, regulation is also essential in order to achieve the goal. “The government’s primary role is to create a policy and regulatory environment that is proconsumer, pro-innovation and pro-competition,” Santos said. “Government institutions can also serve as large clients to attract investment, especially in the rural areas.” Vea added that the government has to support the digital service providers to help spur development in the arena, and thus reach the unconnected. “The role of the government in bridging the digital divide is basic yet profound: it has to enable the drivers of digital inclusion to empower the vast unconnected and unbanked population,” he said. “This means establishing regulatory and policy frameworks that can spur digital and financial inclusion without compromising the public’s safety and the economy’s stability.” He cited for example the need for regulation on consumer protection and digital adoption. “For instance, Fintechs need

regulation to bring stability to the financial sector and protect consumers. At the same time, these regulations should also adapt to the peculiarities of the unbanked and unconnected population, as well as rapidly changing technologies,” Vea said. “In other words, we need policies that don’t stifle innovations and prevent Fintech platforms from reaching those who may otherwise not be reached by businessas-usual practices,” he said.

Competitive telco environment

But for Winthrop Yu, who chairs the Internet Society of the Philippines, an ingredient to make all these work is to foster a more competitive telecommunications market in the country. “We need a more open, transparent and competitive playing field. The current regulatory framework stymies new entrants and is practically tailor-fit to dominant incumbents,” he said. For him, the digital divide also includes those who have limited or slow Internet access, which also hinders consumers and companies from reaping the whole range of opportunities found on the Internet. “Regulation should help, not hinder, new entrants, while correcting bad service and bad behavior by the incumbents,” he said. The two largest telecommunications companies in the Philippines have invested billions of pesos to provide Internet access to Filipinos. They are now in the middle of their own three-year network development programs to deliver better Internet services to their customers. There are quite a number of areas where the two carriers are not present. These are locations that are either war-torn, far-flung, or simply not commercially viable. For Yu, the entry of new competition will help solve that problem, as prospective players are advised by the National Telecommunications Commission to enter areas where there is little to no telco presence at all.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Saudis seen losing market share on oil-production cuts

S

audi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, is losing market share to Iraq and Iran as a result of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s (Opec) agreement to curb supplies to bolster prices, according to the head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

“If you’re talking about winners, you can count Iran and Iraq,” Christof Ruehl said on Wednesday at a conference in Dubai. The Opec has agreed to production limits for most of its members at a meeting in November and brought 11 other nations onboard with the deal in December. Saudi Arabia, Opec’s biggest producer, agreed to cut output by 486,000 barrels a day, while Iraq said it would cut 210,000 barrels a day. Iran was permitted to increase output by 90,000 barrels a day, according to the Opec accord. Iran has boosted production in part due to the end of sanctions restricting its oil sales in

January 2016, while Saudi Arabia has made more than its share of output cuts, said Ruehl, who previously worked as BP Plc.’s chief economist. ADIA is the sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and holder of most of the country’s oil reserves. Saudi Arabia knew it would lose share because Iran’s production was on the rebound, said Robin Mills, founder of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy. “The Saudis agreed to production cuts at a time when Iranian production was at a high.” Brent crude slipped 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $51.62 a barrel

Al-Falih AP

at 9:29 a.m. in Dubai. The global benchmark plunged from its 2014 high of more than $115 a barrel amid a global supply glut. There seems to be a consensus that the effort to curb supply should be extended, Saudi Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih told reporters Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Al-Falih said he’ll talk with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak by phone this week and meet him within the next two weeks. Saudi Arabia cut production from about 10.5 million barrels a day in December to as low as 9.87 million daily in January and 10 million a day last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Iran’s output rose to 3.8 million barrels a day in

January, the highest since April 2010, the data show. Iran insisted it needed to recover its market share following years of sanctions that penalized its oil industry. Neighboring Iraq pumped 4.43 million barrels a day in March, down 200,000 barrels for the year, according to the data. The struggle over market share is most pronounced in Asia, according to Mills and Edward Bell, commodities analyst at Dubaibased lender Emirates NBD PJSC. Iran and Iraq increased crude sales to China last month, while Saudi Arabia slipped behind Russia and Angola as the largest suppliers to the nation, data released on Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs show. “The Saudis are losing out because other countries are able to squeeze out more production,” Bell of Emirates NBD said. Saudi Arabia is cutting crude pricing to Asia to hold on to its share, Bell said. The kingdom will likely release its official crude pricing for June next week, with most other regional producers following. “The Opec market share battle hasn’t gone away,” he said. Bloomberg News

Sunday, April 30, 2017

A3

Merkel warns of UK ‘illusions’ in hard-line Brexit speech

G

e r ma n Chancellor Angela Merkel laid down a tough line for Brexit talks with the UK, reminding Britain it can’t expect preferential treatment as she warned that some officials in London were harboring “illusions”. Addressing the German parliament before the remaining 27 European Union (EU) leaders meet on Saturday to discuss Britain’s exit, Merkel said the bloc will put its interests first and that talks on departure terms must precede the crafting of a new trade relationship. The EU is heading into the “very complex” negotiations with a strong sense of unity, she said. “You might think that these things are self-evident, but unfortunately I have to put it in such clear terms because I have the feeling that some in Britain still have illusions about this,” Merkel said in Berlin on Thursday, drawing applause from lowerhouse lawmakers. “But that would be a waste of time.” Merkel’s warning echoes comments from German officials who have said negotiators in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government were underestimating the complexity of the talks and the economic reality of a UK outside the EU’s single market. The negotiations will be “a lot of work,” Merkel said. Global challenges, such as climate change, trade and migration,“ are too great for Europe to focus on itself for the next two years, regardless of Brexit,” she said. “We will conduct these negotiations in a fair and constructive way and we expect exactly

the same from the British side.” Underscoring the unity of Merkel’s three-party government, her coalition’s lawmakers later on Thursday approved a resolution that lays out a sweeping series of conditions for the EU’s talks with the UK and demands a say for the Bundestag on the final outcome. In the clearest iteration yet of Germany’s position, the document rules out any deals that would allow access to the European market for specific industries. As Europe’s biggest economy and dominant country, Germany’s stance is important to both the EU and UK sides as each prepares for Brexit talks soon after Britain’s general election on June 8.

‘Third-party state’

“A third-party state—and that’s what Britain will be—can’t and won’t be able to have the same rights, let alone a better position than a member of the EU,” Merkel said. The chancellor, who’s running for a fourth term in Germany’s election on September 24, vowed to defend both “the achievements of European integration” and the everyday interests of Germans living in the UK, whose number she put at about 100,000. Merkel said her government was in full alignment with Brussels in backing the bloc’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. The EU stood by its position that no talks would take place before May’s government triggered the twoyear divorce process last month and is now “very well prepared” for the negotiations, she said . Bloomberg News

A4

Sunday, April 30, 2017

The World BusinessMirror

All in the family: Trump mixes family, governing and business

W

ASHINGTON—Not since John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Bobby to be attorney general and his brother-in-law as director of the Peace Corps has a president leaned so heavily on his family. Even Donald J. Trump’s 5-year-old granddaughter Arabella has pitched in.

As the administration nears its 100-day mark, Trump has established a White House operation with such an unusual commingling of blood, business and government that it has surprised even his own family. Ivanka Trump, who once said she’d stick to the role of daughter, now has a West Wing office and the title of assistant to the president after she discovered that “having one foot in and one foot out wouldn’t work”. Her effort to walk a fine line has not always been easy. During an appearance on Tuesday at a women’s empowerment conference in Germany, she drew hisses and groans as she defended her father’s track record. Her husband Jared Kushner is a senior adv iser to the president w ith a bu lg ing and growing por tfolio that includes ever y thing from broker ing Mideast peace to restr uctur ing the federa l gover nment. And there was the president’s son Eric, in the unofficial role of spokesman, declaring his father would stand up to North Korea’s provocations. In an interview, at the White House Easter egg roll no less, saying on behalf of the president: “You don’t want there to be death and destruction and turmoil around the world but, again, you have to have massive backbone when it comes to dealing with awful, awful dictators.” Another Trump son, Don Jr., enhanced his profile during the campaign and early months of his father’s presidency to such an extent that there is speculation he’ll make his own run for office. And he’s leaving that door open, saying the New York governor’s seat could be a tempting destination at some point. The president’s wife, Melania, meanwhile, has been a largely distant presence so far, remaining in New York for the

most part while their 11-year-old son Barron finishes out the school year. But she is gradually spending more time in Washington and did give her husband a gentle nudge to put his hand on his heart during the playing of the national anthem at the Easter egg roll. Little Arabella chimed in to the Trump team effort by charming Chinese President Xi Jinping by singing a tune in Mandarin during the leaders’ recent meeting at Mara-Lago. There are both pros and cons in staffing up from within one’s own family, as Trump is learning. The family dynamic has added extra intrigue to the jockeying between rival power centers that is typical in the early days of any White House. The more moderate contingent led by Kushner and Ivanka Trump appears to be ascendant in recent days over those allied with senior strategist Steve Bannon, the former media executive and radio host who’s a favorite of conservatives. Princeton historian Julian Zelizer says family members may be able to give a president a tough assessment that other staf f members wou ld shr in k from providing, but they also can become “so enmeshed in the identity of their family and protec t i ng t hei r fat her t h at they can’t give honest advice or can’t even see problems as they emerge.” Ivanka Trump has

In this April 24 photo, President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by his daughter Ivanka Trump, talks via video conference with International Space Station Commander Peggy Whitson from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Not since John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Bobby to be attorney general and his brother-in-law to head the Peace Corps has a president leaned as heavily on his family as has Donald Trump. Ivanka Trump, who once said she’d stick to the role of daughter, now has a West Wing office and the title of assistant to the president after she discovered that “having one foot in and one foot out wouldn’t work.” AP

been criticized for not speaking out more forcefully when she disagrees with her father. But that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s not making her views heard. “I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence,” she said earlier this month. During her appearance this week in Berlin, she said she’s still “rather unfamiliar” with her new role as first daughter and presidential adviser, but hopes to bring advice and feedback “ back to both my father and the president—and hopefully that will bring about incremental, positive change.” Her husband, meanwhile, has traveled to Iraq with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and has been advising the president on relations with the Middle East, Canada and Mexico. The extent of Ivanka Trump’s sway with her father is suggested by Eric Trump’s recent comment that she likely weighed in before the president decided to bomb Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack. Eric Trump told London’s Daily Telegraph: “She has influence. I’m sure she said, ‘Listen, this is horrible stuff ’.” The blurry line between the

You don’t want there to be death and destruction and turmoil around the world but, again, you have to have massive backbone when it comes to dealing with awful, awful dictators.”—Eric Trump

Trump family’s business interests and its government connections is another unusual complication of this presidency. Even with sons Don Jr. and Eric tasked with running the Trump businesses while Kushner and Ivanka Trump tend to government affairs, the continuing public-private overlap has generated lots of questions about conflicts of interest. The separation between business and government is “totally artificial”, Zelizer says. Er ic Tr ump’s admission to Forbes magazine in February that “nepotism is kind of a factor of life” in the Trump family didn’t help dispel the impression of an insider’s clan, although he stressed that “if we didn’t do a good job, if we weren’t competent, believe me, we wouldn’t be in this spot.” For all the questions about Trump’s reliance on family, some see it as a net positive. The value of having a son or daughter on the inside “is honesty and love”, says former George H.W. Bush administration staffer Doug Wead, author of books on presidential children and the 2016 campaign. “ They care if your shirt-tail is hanging out. If your hair is messed up, they’ll tell you. When everybody else is trying to hide from you, they’re going to let you know.” T he power—a nd per i l— of Kushner’s place in Trump World is hinted at by Washington graybeard Henry Kissinger in a writeup for Time’s list of 100 most influential people. Kissinger said Kushner’s broad education and business background “should help him make a success of his daunting role flying close to the sun.” AP

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

Havana weathers raging political storm in Venezuela, but future looks uncertain

H

AVANA—Refineries have gone dark. Gas rations have been slashed for hundreds of thousands of state workers. Construction materials are nearly impossible to find. But Cuba’s hotels and restaurants are packed, major US airlines are adding f lights and government stores are full of frozen American chicken and US-made candy. So far, Cuba is weathering the storm as Venezuela’s economy craters and protesters fill its streets to denounce Cuba’s greatest socialist ally. A much-feared return to Cuba’s post-Soviet “Special Period” of food shortages and blackouts has yet to materialize as energy conservation and a boom in tourism and overseas remittances cushion the blow of a roughly 50-percent cut in Venezuelan oil aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Interminable bus lines and long hunts for products like milk, paint and cement seem manageable by comparison with the hunger and hardship of the early1990s that followed the drastic loss of Soviet bloc aid and subsidies that had propped up Cuba’s economy for decades. The boom set off by the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the US in 2015 shows no signs of slacking: About 285,000 American tourists visited in 2016, up 76 percent from 2015, and the Cuban government says US visitors increased 125 percent in January. The number of visitors from all countries topped a record 4 million last year and appears on track to top that in 2017. “So far we aren’t living in the Special Period again and I don’t think we will be,” said Ramon Santana, a 52-year-old bicycle taxi driver. “Before, we depended on a single country but now we’re trading with many. Before, the Soviet Union fell and everyone thought we would die. But we didn’t die. We’re still here.” Still, Cubans are nervously watching Venezuela for signs of a deeper cut in oil shipments, which are paid for with the services of Cuban state doctors on “missions” in poor Venezuelan neighborhoods. So far, the Cuban government has funneled nearly all the cuts into the state sector, cutting air conditioning and summer work hours at government offices and, most recently, eliminating the supply of higher-octane “special” gasoline for state employees. The special gas is entirely imported while regular is maintained through the small but

steady domestic oil production on Cuba’s north-central coast, which touches the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico. Owners of modern, fuel-injected cars buy special if they can afford it to prevent the lower-octane fuel from damaging their engines. High-ranking Cuban public officials often get both government cars and a monthly gasoline ration; their pay of $30 to $40 a month makes it impossible otherwise to afford gas that costs more than $4 a gallon. As in virtually every aspect of the Cuban economy, special gas cards provided to state employees to buy the fuel fed a thriving black market. Throughout the day, state officials can be seen filling the tanks of their government car, then popping the pump nozzle into a used 2-liter soft-drink bottle and filling it with gas to be sold at a discount to other drivers. Starting April 1 state gas stations were instructed to stop selling special gas to cardholders, a move that sent state employees to regular pumps, forced business people and diplomats to buy special gas with cash and set off shortage fears and panic buying that created several days of hours-long lines. Many gas stations around the capital appear to have permanently stopped selling even regular gasoline, their pumps blocked off by orange traffic cones. The column of black smoke from one of Cuba’s main refineries, the Nico Lopez facility overlooking Havana Bay, has disappeared without explanation, leaving the skies clearer but residents worried about Cuba’s future energy supplies. The replacement of oil money with tourism dollars has accelerated both the decline of Cuba’s ailing state-run businesses and the growth of its small private sector. Whereas oil money went entirely to the Communist state, much of the tourism is going to private enterprise—taxi drivers, private restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts that provide higher-value service to tourists trying to avoid the high prices and poor service at state-run eateries and hotels. “Those who work in the private sector have, in one way or another, seen improvement in their quality of life,” said Omar Everleny Perez, a Cuban economist and expert on the private sector. “The state worker on a salary hasn’t seen that.” T here’s a l so a geog r aph ic disparity, with rural areas and towns that don’t draw tourists seeing deeper, more protracted shortages. AP

America test launches unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile

V

ANDENBERG AIR FORCE B A SE , C a l i for n i a — A n unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California early Wednesday in a test of the weapon system that is part of the US nuclear force. The missile blasted off from a silo at 12:03 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base and delivered a single re-entry vehicle to a target approximately 6,759 kilometers away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said. T he l au nc h comm a nd wa s issued via an air launch control system aboard a Nav y E- 6 Mercur y jet. “Tonight’s launch was an important demonstration of our nation’s nuclear deterrent capability,” Col. John Moss, commander of Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing, said in a news statement. “Test launches like this one are vital to validating the effectiveness and readiness of our opera-

tional nuclear systems, so it is critical that they are successful.” Operational tests of Minuteman 3 missiles are conducted regularly, but the timing of Wednesday’s launch, amid US tensions with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, drew criticism from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, which has advocated against nuclear weapons for more than 30 years. “W hen it comes to missile testing, the US is operating with a clear double standard: It views its own tests as justified and useful, while it views the tests of North Korea as threatening and destabilizing,” David K rieger, president of the organization, said in a statement on its web site on Monday. “What is needed is diplomacy rather than military provocations. Threats, whether in the form of tweets, nuclear-capable aircraft carrier groups, or nuclear-capable missile launches, only increase the dangers to us all,” he said. AP

In this image taken with a slow shutter speed and provided by the US Air Force, an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test early Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The target of the test was in the Pacific Ocean. An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system. AP

Science

BusinessMirror

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

Sunday

Sunday, April 30, 2017

A5

Overfishing: The main cause of fish loss

‘O

Story & photo Stephanie Tumampos

ur fish population is declining...And this drastic decline isn’t because of climate change yet.” Thus, said Dr. Vincent Hilomen, project manager of Marine Key Biodiversity Areas of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Biodiversity Management Bureau. Managing the Philippines marine resources is a tough challenge as the country is in the center of the coral triangle and marine biodiversity. While the country is the apex of such resources, the Philippines is also a large hotspot for biodiversity. “This means there are many problems in our country concerning biodiversity, and we need to take care of it,” Hilomen said during the Visayas Regional Scientific Meeting spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Sciences and Technology held in Cebu City last week. The countr y’s fisheries resources is depleting because of overexploitation. “We need to catch the right size of fish,” Hilomen said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

Effect of climate change

Earlier studies showed smaller fishes have shorter lives. But recent researches showed smaller fishes and bigger fishes have the same long life. This means a fish grows fast, but the accumulation of biomass is slow. “If you have to catch a fish and remove too much biomass, the ability to replenish in the long run is dimished,” Hilomen explained to the BusinessMirror. This means the rate the fish is removed is higher than the rate at which the natural population can be replenished because of exploitation. “And it can be exacerbated

8

The number of areas among 12 areas in the study that were overfished, and the rest are at the brink of being overfished more due to the effects of climate change,” he said. Usually, fishes reproduce in time when food is available. If the water temperature changes, fishes are confused if they will have to spawn or reproduce when their food is not ready yet. He said a study on the ocean color was held in areas in the country where there were upwelling, or an area where nutrients from the sediments are brought up because of water movement. T he nut r ient s i nc lude n itrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK). An abundance of these nutrients favors growth of plankton. But fishes don’t eat plankton, since they are too small for their mouths to eat. Hence, zooplankton eat the plankton before the small fishes eat the zooplankton, and the bigger fishes eat the smaller fishes, and so on. In Hilomen’s study, when they wait for three weeks to about a month, an upwelling area the fish population in the area would grow. “This is their food chain. I

A diver swims with a school of sardines in Dauis, Bohol. The area is now a tourist attraction, and is part of a dive site after conservationists, volunteers, the local government unit and residents of Tangnan, Dauis, have agreed to protect the area.

think these resources [NPK] are inexhaustible,” Hilomen said. Plankton quickly grew, and in just days, their number increases. “They can double [the number], since they can both do sexual and asexual reproduction because they are single-celled animals.” Still, the main problem is “we are overfishing our resources”.

Overfishing

As an archipelago, the world’s second largest, the Philippines is at an advantage with 2.2 million square kilometres of marine-water area, including its exclusive economic zone, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. This advantage gives the Philippines an abundance of marine resources, and puts the country in one of the top major fish-producing nations in the world. Yet, in a 2008 to 2012 study of 12 major fishing grounds in the country conducted by Hilomen’s team, it was found out that eight of these areas were overfished,

and the rest are at a brink of being overfished. “Sogod Bay is one of these sites that’s overfished,” Hilomen told the BusinessMirror. “The Visayas and Mindanao are the most overfished areas in the country.” Hilomen lamented on how the fishermen have exploited the Philippine seas. He said fishermen should catch only mature fishes. “The idea is to allow the fish to spawn before you catch it,” Hilomen said. But even if the fishes haven’t spawned yet, they already catch it. “So who would spawn later on?” Hilomen also cited the size of mesh of nets used for fishing. Fishermen are required by law to use a size 16 mesh. “What they do is they stack up two to three nets with this mesh size, which makes it [mesh size] smaller.”

Resiliency and action

In a five-year data simulation of how water cur rent moves fish eggs, eggs laid by fishes in the West Philippine Sea (South

China Sea) are moved inwards to the Philippines and circulated around the islands. “If this area [reefs in the South China Sea] is destroyed, these resources will be gone,” Hilomen showed to the BusinessMirror. Hilomen recommended the fishes and their habitat must be protected from pollutants. “Plastic is one source of pollutant, and siltation is another,” he said. He also recommend alternative livelihood, although he said not all areas have the opportunity for it. He said in areas where there are very good attractions, these areas can be developed for tourism purposes by training the fishermen on how to handle tourists. Models of this kind of alternative livelihood are in Anilao and is being replicated in Palawan, he said. A drastic measure is the imposition of a moratorium, where the fishing grounds are closed for the development of marine protected areas (MPA). A MPA is only 15 percent of the

fishing grounds. It is an area used by the fishes to grow. “You allow stocks there to accumulate biomass.” Fishermen have 85 percent as fishing grounds. In an MPA, coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove must be all present. “The fish that you want to eat use these three habitats in each stage of their life cycle, and if you remove one, you compromise the growth of these fishes.” On climate change, he said adaptation through education should be pushed. “We can only do adaptive measures,” Hilomen said. “Right after, we can improve resiliency.” The country’s rich biodiversity gives so much for the people. Steps for action are already included in the Philippine Development Plan under the Philippine Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan, Hilomen said. “Our resources, if not protected, can cripple the world in terms of marine resources. Therefore, there is a need for us to protect them.”

DLSU student’s lung iSteth project can help save lives T

he advancement of technology has drastically increased throughout time. Our society is looking to create and develop ways to make our lives better. In the field of medicine and software technology, some of the brightest and most determined researchers that tirelessly apply theories to technological applications to save lives of many Filipinos are working to easily detect and immediately identify respiratory diseases. For Macario Cordel II, an assistant professor in computer technology at the De La Salle University College of Computer Studies (DLSU-CCS) and currently taking up PhD in computer science, his experience with his sibling motivated him to work on his current project—the iSteth.

Personal experience—the idea generator

Pneumonia is one of the world’s leading diseases that kill mostly children and the elderly, according to the World Health Organization. It kills 2,500 kids a day and has killed 920,000 children worldwide in 2015. The iSteth is a project of the DLSU-CCS and is part of the ehealth telemedicine program of the university, the Get Better, being handled by Dr. Arnulfo Azcarraga, a DLSU professor of

software technology. The main objective of the project is to detect respiratory problems through the sound of one’s lungs. “I became frustrated when my sibling got sick,” Cordel said, partly in Filipino, in an interv iew w ith the BusinessMirror. “I’m from Bulacan, and in our municipality, we have a small hospital where the physician knew little about the sound symptoms of pneumonia.” Exasperated, he and his sibling had to move to another hospital in a nearby municipality to be able to have a proper diagnosis of the health situation of his sibling. From that experience, he learned the sound of the lungs is very important in detecting pneumonia. “A doctor, using a stethoscope, must be skilled in performing a pattern recognition of the lungs.” Auscultation, the medical term for this procedure, is the action of listening to the sounds of the heart and lungs using a stethoscope. “I confirmed this kind of procedure with a friend who is also a doctor,” he added.

Jump-starting iSteth

Starting with zero collaborators, he was motivated and received enough confirmation from doctors of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to let his idea become a reality.

“I had several stages of deployment and interviews among doctors from the PGH until I got a financial grant from the university,” Cordel said. Cordel received P120,000 to jumpstart his concept. “The purpose of iSteth is to be an alert system,” he said. Given enough data, one could add a lot of samples to be studied and analyse the difference between a normal and abnormal lung sound. He said there are three abnormal lung sounds in detecting pneumonia: wheeze, bronchial breath and a crackle. These are individually significant to the ears of a trained doctor. These sounds are the abnormalities iSteth must detect in

order to be an efficient alert system. Cordel thought of digitizing the lung sounds. He initially planned to develop an instrument to do so, but with the electronic stethoscope already available in the market gave Cordel a relief. “If you can transfer that recorded lung sound to a mobile phone or to a laptop, perform noise reduction, extract the lung sound attributes, and put it into a classifier,” Cordel explained, “the iSteth can tell you whether the lung sound is normal or abnormal, and if abnormal, it can tell if it is a wheeze, bronchial breath or a crackle.”

Challenges in developing iSteth

The project iSteth is promising

and doable, but it has its own challenges. “The challenge in lung sound extraction is the noise cancelling and reduction, since the heart is also there [producing a sound],” Cordel said. The human body is a working machine, and every organ works simultaneously with one another. According to Cordel, literature reviews show evidence that differentiating heart sounds from lung sounds is easy. “The heart sound is around 50 to 60 Hertz, so you can remove that by a filter,” he said. “The main problem is the mechanical sound, like the friction of the skin when we transfer the instrument to another area of the chest.” The frequency range of this certain mechanical sound can affect performance, and it goes on top of the sounds of the heart and lungs. This is ver y critical in performing data acquisition. This ty pe of noise reduction is the next stage of the project, according to Cordel.

Envisioning the future with iSteth

“I want to continue doing research on iSteth and launch the first prototype in rural or farflung areas,” Cordel said. His concern is to provide a tool that can improve the efficiency of health care in the country.

“If you can empower barangay health workers and let them perform data collection, you can send data. Together, of course, with the support of a viable telemedicine system, such as our Get Better, delays of doctors will be prevented, and it will eventually help doctors analyse the case of a patient in no time.” According to Cordel, he wants to collect data and create a database of lung sounds to help and encourage researchers to investigate more how it can help save lives. “It is a continuously improving system, and we can possibly even find out more patterns for lung cancer and the like.” At the same time, he wanted to influence the government to support these kinds of research and development projects. “You should have a working prototype [to show] the research can help the community,” Cordel said. He further explained that if the government can see a prototype that shows it can help and improve the lives of the Filipinos, the government can be easily persuaded to support the project. “In the future the research will not be only part of the requirement of the academe, but also, a part of nation-building,” Cordel said—a vision shared and exemplified by the DLSU community, most especially in the CCS. Stephanie Tumampos

Faith A6 Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sunday

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

Fight fake news with the Good News, bishop urges youth

A

Participants of the recent Baclaran International Pilgrimage-Congress pose for a group photo in front of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran, Parañaque City. CBCPNews

Turn devotion into action, Catholic priest tells faithful

A

Catholic priest called on devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH) to put their devotion into action through various works of mercy. Hundreds of delegates gathered at the Nationa l Shr ine of OMPH for the four-day Baclaran Inter nationa l Pilg r imageCongress this past week. With the theme “Icon of Compassion: Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the 21st Century,” the event was in celebration of the 150th Jubilee of the Icon of the Blessed Mother. In his message to the delegates, Baclaran Church

Rector Fr. Carlos Ronquillo said the gathering seeks for a deeper understanding of debo-misyon (devotion-mission) and its implications into people’s lives. Specifically, according to him, it’s a “summon to discover God in the thousands of muted voices of the poor who come to the shrine to ask the prayers of Mary in their needs and struggles”. “Debo-misyon calls us not only

300

The number of local and international pilgrims who attended the four-day Baclaran International Pilgrimage-Congress

to strengthen our devotion to the Blessed Mother, but also to reinvigorate our missionary commitment to make God’s mercy alive in our time,” Ronquillo said. “Likewise, let us affirm in this pilgrimage that any devotion devoid

of mission would not be genuine, it could be tantamount only to a big show,” he said. More than 300 local and international pilgrims attended congress, deemed by organizers as an occasion not only to celebrate and be thankful, but also to continuously discern the significance of the devotion to the realities happening in the world. Fr. Victorino Cueto, the convenor of the Joint Commission “OMPH 150”, said when Pope Pius IX entrusted the Icon to the Redemptorists, “his instruction was very specific—make her known throughout the world ”. “Since the event is missionary in character, we are hoping that all of the participants would have the inspiration that they are now devotee-missionaries,” he said. Niceforo Vince A. Balbedina III, CSJL intern/CBCPNews

Who speaks for Islam and reform? Debate heats up in Egypt

C

AIRO—It was a startling collision of religion and politics. Egypt’s president proposed a new law that would prevent Muslim men from ending their marriages simply by saying “divorce” three times. The country’s top institution of Islamic clerics, Al-Azhar, bluntly rejected the idea, saying Islam gives men that right and nothing can change that. In the months since, that confrontation escalated into a blistering feud over who speaks for Islam and how to bring reforms. Progover nment media accuse Al-Azhar of failing to modernize its teaching to counter militant thought that breeds jihadi movements and violence, like the Islamic State (IS) group’s recent attacks on Egypt’s Christians. This weekend Pope Francis meets in Cairo with Al-Azhar’s grand imam, Sheikh Ahmed elTayeb, their second meeting in a historic initiative to improve Muslim-Christian dialogue. Al-Azhar is revered in Egypt and is prestigious across the Muslim world. A 1,000-year-old university of scholar-clerics, it teaches new generations of Sunni clerics and produces research, that for many, spells out what being a Muslim entails. Although it is traditionally touted as the bastion of moderate Islamic thought, it is also conservative in instinct—wary of new ideas and debate, and fixated on maintaining authority.

It vehemently condemns militant attacks, and denounces extremist thinkers as perverting Islam. But critics say it is plagued by the same sort of literalism and adherence to historic texts of interpretation that radicals thrive on, and that feed intolerance and discrimination against women and minorities, including Christians. In recent years it has pushed for the closing of a TV show of a broadcaster who said canonical books of interpretation should be purged of ideas promoting violence and hatred for non-Muslims. In another case, Al-Azhar suspended one of its professors on allegations of “promoting atheism” after he taught from books by liberal writers. “Our nation will never be a modern and civil state as long as Al-Azhar continues to live on its present rationale,” said Mohammed Abu Hamad, a progovernment lawmaker who has recently authored a draft bill that gives authorities more control and limits the number of years its grand imam can serve. A l-A zh a r i ssued a n a ng r y statement last week, calling the criticism “a betrayal”, and maintaining its graduates are “messengers of peace, security and good neighborliness”. T he gover nment campaig n raises another worry—that President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is trying to impose greater control on Al-Azhar. The more Al-Azhar is seen as a branch of the Egyptian state, the less legitimacy its voice

on Islam has, supporters argue. Radical jihadi sheikhs already dismiss Al-Azhar as “clerics of the sultan”, willing to skew “true Islam” to meet the ruler’s wishes. Soon after ta k ing office in 2014 e l - Si s s i c a l le d for t he “moder nizing of relig ious discourse”, say ing Muslims had to dramatica l ly rethink how to address issues to stem Islamic militanc y. He has never g iven specifics, but tasked A l-A zhar w ith leading the initiative. Last year he showed his displeasure with the lack of change, warning that Al-Azhar’s clerics would be “held accountable by God” for not modernizing discourse. He ordered his Religious Affairs Ministry to write standardized sermons for all mosque preachers, despite Al-Azhar objections. The unusual clash over divorce came earlier this year. Criticism accelerated, particularly after IS suicide bombers attacked two churches on April 9, killing 45 people. Some in progovernment media blamed Al-Azhar, saying it had not tackled extremism or had even fueled it. “Al-Azhar has failed to counter terror,” declared Ahmed Moussa, the most vocal of el-Sissi’s supporters on television. After the attacks, el-Sissi ordered the creation of a new state body tasked with fighting terror and addressing radicalism, seen as circumventing Al-Azhar. A l-A zhar has pushed back

with unusual vehemence. For weeks, its mouthpiece, the weekly newspaper Voice of Al-Azhar, has expressed outrage over the criticism, even blaming government failures for terror attacks. El-Tayeb defended Al-Azhar’s role, saying its clerics “stand firm against mistaken ideas that distort religion”. At its heart, Al-Azhar is an education network of hundreds of “ulema”, or religious scholarclerics, who study the Quran and the thousands of sayings of the prophet, as well as the vast library of interpretations of those texts written by scholars over the centuries. From that analysis, they produce explanations, dissertations and opinions on proper belief and practice. Its college produces clerics who work in mosques around the world. Those books of interpretation—some of them hundreds of years old and col lectively known as “al-turath” or “heritage”—have become nearly unquestioned canon and are used in the Al-Azhar curriculum. But some include deeply hardline ideas. For example, media have pointed to books that teach that Muslims must not greet Christians on their holidays or that building churches is a sin. Others say fighting “infidels” is a duty, or that those who convert from Islam to another religion should be killed, or call for oppression of homosexuals. AP

Catholic bishop called on the youth to fight disinformation online by helping spread the Good News. With the steep rise in trolling, Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan said it’s about time for the youth to help combat the fake news cycle and “dominate social media” with stories of God’s mercy. Trolling is the act of making deliberately offensive or provocative online posts. “You must counterattack fake news and trolls with the Good News of God’s love and mercy,” Varquez said in an article posted at the web site of Este, the news service of the Diocese of Borongan. “You can even use Facebook to spread truth and be instruments of communion in a world that hungers for God,” he said. The bishop made the statement in his recent homily during the Mass for the fifth Regional Youth Day (RYD) at the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Naval, Biliran.

Held every three years, the three-day Catholic event gathered more than a thousand youth from Central and Eastern Visayas. Hosted this year by the Diocese of Naval, delegates came from the archdioceses of Cebu and Palo, and the dioceses of Calbayog, Catarman, Borongan, Maasin, Dumaguete, Talibon and Tagbilaran. Bishop Varquez strongly challenged the delegates to use social media “wisely and responsibly”, adding there are many ways they can help evangelize others. “One way is through reading the Sacred Scriptures,” he said. “Upload Bible verses instead!” As the Church observes the Year of the Parish, talks and activities of this year’s RYD were focused on teaching the delegates about their important role in the parish. As concerns on the environment remain among the prevailing issues in the region, there were also some discussions about Pope Francis’s encyclical on ecology and care for creation, Laudato Si. CBCPNews

Saint Pius V, defender of faith By Corazon Damo-Santiago

C

ardinal Antonio Michele Ghislieri ascended the papacy of the Catholic Church when it was beset with problems. Elected as Pope Pius V in 1559, he was one of the leaders who saved the church from ruin during the Catholic Counter Reformation. It was an era when the Council of Trent (1545-1563) met to define the Catholic faith’s distinction from the Protestant theology and introduced reforms to curb the abuses of the church. There was also the problem on the spread of Protestantism and the threat of invasion from the Turks.

Battle of Lepanto

The new pope faced many challenges as soon as he became pope. Europe and the Catholic Church were threatened with the invasion of Islamic forces, a great concern for the pope. Alarmed, he prayed for enlightenment, called all European leaders to unite, formed the Holy League, gave ever y soldier a rosary and requested the entire population of Europe to pray the rosary. The 208 ships with all men armed with rosaries sailed off from the Sicilian port of Messina on September 16, 1571. Stopping at Corfu, they were horrified to witness desecrated churches. Hundreds were murdered and boys were captured and sold in slave markets of Turkey. In Famagusta City, residents were massacred and the Bragadino brave commander was flayed alive and his corpse dragged throughout the city. In the morning of October 7 the winds favored the Turkish fleet anchored in the gulf of Corinth, blowing the ships forward against the Holy Army. But the wind shifted, and hand-to-hand fighting in decks complimented arrows and cannon fires. At sunset the battle was over. About 8,000 Christians died, 16,000 soldiers were wounded and a dozen ships destroyed. Approximately, the Turks suffered the same numbers of casualties, 50 ships sunk and 117 were captured. The victory of the Holy League was credited by the pope to the intercession of the Blessed Mother, which ended major attacks on the Mediterranean.

Spiritually purposeful

Pope Pius V was born in Bosco Marengo in Piedmont, Northern Italy in 1504. At the age of 14 he received a Dominican habit and was a model of religious perfection. At the age of 24, he was ordained in Bologna. For 16 years, he taught philosophy and theology. He distinguished himself as a holy novice, a master of various houses of the Order of the Preachers. Described as a religious of solid piety, austere self-discipline and long hours of prayers, he travelled “on foot in silence and without cloak” in mission works. In 1556 he was appointed bishop, and two years after, as cardinal and Inquisitor General of the entire Catholic World. In this capacity, he refused the approval of the appointment of a 13-year-old Medici to the College of Cardinals. Too, he vehemently disapproved the efforts of Emperor Maximilian II to abolish ecclesiastical celibacy.

Portrait of Saint Pius V (c. 1578) by Scipione Pulzone. Wikimedia Commons

On January 7, 1566 he was consecrated pope through the influence of Saint Charles Borromeo. The myriad papal responsibilities did not deter him from self-renewing efforts. He still fasted rigorously and stripped the self of papal privileges and luxuries. He continued to care for the sick himself and often visited hospitals. And so his challenge to reform the church did not turn to deaf ears when the time came to do so. He walked his talk. The church leaders, as well as the people, saw his holiness.

Church reforms

During his reign bishops were required to establish diocesan seminaries, while cardinals were urged to curb their luxurious lifestyle.The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was established for young people and Roman catechism was taught. An authorized and critical edition of the works of Saint Thomas of Aquinas was published, and his Summa Theologica was required as the basic text for theology. The pope declared Saint Thomas Aquinas as doctor of the church. A New Missal was introduced. To the Mass, “Domine non-sum dignus [Lord I am not worthy]”, the “Confiteor [I confess]” and the blessing were added. Church music and liturgical worship were reformed. A new Breviary, containing the official and public prayer of the church, known as Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, were also published. Considered as a champion of faith, he stopped corruption and nepotism in the Roman Curia. He stopped simony—the buying and selling of ecclesiastical privileges like sacraments and relics because it is a violation of the honor due God and the things of God. In the political scene, in his desire to curtail the spread of Lutheranism, he came in conflict with Emperor Maximilian II. His support to Mary Stuart led Queen Elizabeth I to persecute Catholics in England. However, he was successful in forming alliances with Spain and Venice, countries which supported him in the Battle of Lepanto. He died on May 1, 1572, at the age of 68. He was beatified on May 10, 1672, and canonized by Pope Clement XI on May 22, 1712. 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 30, 2017 A7

Reliving Paoay’s storied history and rich culture with Guling-Guling Festival

B

Story & photos by Marky Ramone Go

elieved to have originated even before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Guling-Guling Festival morphed into a religious practice in the 16th century, when the Spanish friars attached it with the celebration of the Lenten season.

Happening a day before Ash Wednesday, guling, the Ilocano word “to smear,” comes to play, when the tow n mayor would smudge a white cross, made from damp and white rice flour, on to a person’s forehead to indicate one’s pureness. The townsfolk believe that this ritual washes away their sins. Today, the festival has taken greater heights in terms of revelry and cultural showcase, while retaining the spirit of age-old traditions.

Living relic of Paoay

“Guling-Guling is a living relic of Paoay’s history starting from the pre-Hispanic colonial period. As a fat Tuesday celebration during Holy Tuesday, it is a deeply rooted pagan tradition that took new form as a Christian rite; a part of the religious transfor mations under t he Spanish colonial rule. The fact that it centers on dudol, a Muslim food, only suggests that there is harmony of faith and beliefs in a town of more than 300 years, and we have always been proud of that,” explains Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero, the cultural researcher, writer and tourism officer of Paoay. “This year we brought culture closer to the kids. This can be seen

in the flash mob presented by the grade schoolers and the youth festival that gave opportunities for budding talents to showcase what they have. As part of the local government’s initiative to popularize the celebration, we added an open category so that contingents from other towns can compete,” Guerrero adds.

A weeklong revelry

I arrived at the town of Paoay just as the sun was rising. Almost beat up from an overnight bus trip, I alighted from a tricycle a nd wa s i m med i ate ly d raw n to the gleam of the sun, whose rays are kissing the outer walls a nd t he but t resses of Paoay church. The scene appeared surreal and instantly summoned a throwback feel to olden times— without the need to stretch my imagination, as the nearby heritage houses also brought forth a similar feeling. I have been in various festivals all over the countr y, but none similar to the atmosphere the tow n of Paoay br ings. A c o mp a c t l o c a l e e nc l o s e d b y pockets of historical structures and even newly dug century-old bridges—all paints a place almost removed from the rapidity of modernity.

The much-awaited performance at the Paoay Church

I spent my first afternoon walking around the town and noticed many young students partaking in the final rehearsal for the festival’s grand finale. Adorned with colorful costumes, I watched them as they danced a nd s t r ut t e d t he i r g r a ce f u l movements, while the younger children played gleefully on the lawn-covered grounds fronting the church of Paoay. One promptly senses the festival vibe rising.

The ‘Dudol’ cook-off

Among the many interesting side shows to the Guling-Guling Festival is the “Dudol” (dodol) cook-off held on a piece of farm that sits adjacent to a small pond near the highway. Known as a traditional Ilocano rice cake, it is also popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Southern India. The dudol is believed to have reached Paoay through the Malay and Indian settlements that thrived on the coastal towns of Ilocos Sur and Norte even before the arrival of the Spaniards. It is made from bel-laay (rice flour), sugarcane juice, coconut

milk and aniseed (anise). Cooking this delicacy requires patience in stirring the ingredients over a small fire and heaps of creativity to make a serving of dudol look distinctive. Fortunately, for us travel writers, some locals invited us to become part of the judging committee and was given the first dibs in tasting at least five varieties of dudol. The bucolic scene at the farm coupled by the blowing wind can almost lull one into an afternoon siesta. The prevailing mood of that moment made me escalate my appreciation, to the type of provincial ambiance reigning not far away from the heritage filled streets of Paoay.

Winding-up the Guling-Guling Festival

The Guling-Guling Festival is celebrated every year during the same day as the famed Mardi Gras—a Christian and cultural fest iv it y celebrated in ma ny countries. Mardi Gras is French term for “Fat Tuesday” and mirrors the traditional practice of indulging in savoring sumptuous

During the street parade, young couples dance in traditional costumes

foods and merrymaking before the ritual of fasting during the Lenten season that takes place the next day, Ash Wednesday. Upon waking up, I certainly felt the linger ing air around Paoay becoming more celebratory, as I spotted scores of local women donning the traditional clothes of pandiling and kimono—all of which were carefully handwoven abel cloth. The art of abel hand weaving in Ilocos is well-known and is considered as part of the provi nce’s r ic h a r t ist ic her it age. Colorful costumes made of abel would take center stage later under the moonlit night, as the contingents from various towns perform in front of the splendid façade of Paoay Church. Later in the afternoon, the street parade kicked off with well-choreographed dances participated by both men and women of all ages. The women came adorned with vibrant abel woven kimono, while the men sported a dashing set of kamisa de Chino. I watched the whole spectacle from the sidewalk among a thick

Seda Vertis North set to serve unprecedented demand for rooms in Quezon City

A

vibrant mix of business travelers catering to dynamic growth industries, tourists, balikbayan and local residents are expected to fill Seda Vertis North’s 438 guest rooms and grand function rooms when it opens in April this year in the Vertis North mixed-use development of Ayala Land in Quezon City. The sixth property bearing the Seda brand by Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts will be the biggest in Quezon City, where demand for hotel properties catering to business and leisure travelers has dramatically risen, according to a 2016 four th- quar ter repor t by Colliers, a leading global real-estate company. The same demand has also been experienced by other fringe areas in the metropolis. Seda Vertis North will be one of the centerpieces of this dynamic Ayala Land mixed-use community envisioned to be the premier business district of Quezon City. It will include a mall, offices and a proposed casino and is highly likely to capture Northern Quezon City and Central Luzon residents. The hotel will also likely

benefit from increased international flight frequencies in Clark airport, as well as the improved access upon the completion of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7. Seda Vertis North will be the first large format hotel of the homegrown chain owned and operated by Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts. In a recent briefing, Seda officials disclosed that Seda Vertis North will be a departure from its usual city hotels, which are no larger than 200 rooms. The new hotel’s size and premium amenities are in response to the warm market reception of Seda, the first wholly Filipino owned hotel brand catering to global travelers in underserved areas of the country. Seda Ver tis Nor th will also have meeting rooms, and a ballroom that can accommodate up to 700 guests. Moreover, it will have an all-day dining facility with a show kitchen and live cooking stations offering international specialties, a Chinese restaurant, and a roof deck bar that will offer rare glimpses of the Quezon City skyline. Straight Up bar is named after the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) property’s

successful roof-deck bar famous for its well-curated music and appetizer buffets. Seda Vertis North guest rooms are a spacious 32 square meters. The hotel also offers 48-sq-m studio-style Premier Rooms with club lounge access and 64-s-qm suites with a separate master bedroom and living room, bath tub, walk-in closet and club lounge access. The Premier rooms and suites were constructed to cater to the needs of guests of booming industries, including those serving business-process outsourcing and information-technology hubs in Quezon City. Project trainors and consultants may stay for as long as three to six months. Other Seda hotels in the country are found in Bonifacio Global City, where a second tower will be added to the flagship property; and also in Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, Nuvali in Laguna and Iloilo City. All the hotels, including Seda Atria in Iloilo, which is less than two years, met their targets in 2016. More Seda hotels in seven locations are set to open by 2019. All Seda hotels are found in Ayala Land mixed-use communities and offer easy access to a wide range of dining and retail options. They also focus on the needs of business and leisure travelers to the Philippines, including comfortable rooms built around a bed that promises a restful sleep, an efficient work station with free Wifi access, and a feature associated with Seda, a charging station that can accommodate a number of gadgets and devices. The hotel chain’s high guest return rate pegged at 42 percent in 2016 is largely the result of the professionalism and high service standards of Seda frontliners. At the end of the day, it is the people that contribute the most to a memorable guest experience, Seda officials believe.

TOURISM Region 9 Director Antonio Fernando Blanco (center) led the opening ceremony of Savores 2017 last Saturday at Paseo del Mar in Zamboanga City.

Food frenzy at the Savores 2017 in Zamboanga City

Young food trendsetters bring new taste, flavors to Savores 2017

S

ome new and young faces of Zamboanga City’s thriving culinary scene gathered at the pavilion by the seaside boulevard during the Savores 2017 Gastronomic Event impressing over a thousand guests with new taste, flavors and food fares. For two straight years, the venue turned into a melting pot of culture, history and fusion of Spanish, Chinese and Malay influences as presented by nine of the old generation restaurateurs and four of the emerging culinary entrepreneurs in Zamboanga. Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, who had been closely following Zamboanga’s gastronomic journey over the years, took notice how Savores has kept attracting young entrepreneurs and audience alike each year.

“The young ones have slowly caught up with the young once as Savores turns a year older again. This is positive proof of how rich the Philippines is not only in terms of gustatory offerings but of culinary advocates, as well—young food entrepreneurs joining the fray with their creative, new ideas and business savvy,” she added. Twenty-one-year-old Jomari Alfaro of Zamboanga’s iconic Alavar was among the new-generation food trendsetters who have taken the helm in presenting in this year’s food fair. On their second time in Savores, dishes using their threegeneration heirloom recipe sauces, such as curacha (mud crab) in Alavar sauce, imbao (mangrove clams) in Alavar garlic sauce as

but orderly crowd. I enjoyed a clear view of the passing performers while I took pictures in between downing shots of basi—a sugarcane wine that was being passed around by a group of socializing festival-goers beside me. The climaxing event—where the contingents took turns in performing various folk dances in front of the cheering spectators—against the beautifully illuminated portico of Paoay church, raised the festival’s merriment level into notches higher. As midnight struck, the Guling-Guling Festival came to an end. Along with its conclusion, the loud declarations of exuberance and other fun reverberations became silent. The Paoay church and itsglowing luminous colors—once again witnessed a whole town celebrate another edition of the Guling- Guling Festival. Visiting Paoay for the second time, I have no idea such festival is being celebrated here. A fter my first Guling- Guling Festival, it is safe to assume that I will definitely sign up and experience it again next year. were among crowd favorites. The young Alfaro, who quit his basketball career after realizing that culinary is his true calling, has high hopes to change the old and unfair perception of people about Zamboanga through its distinct, flavorful cuisines one dish at a time. Newly minted sports science graduate Martin Go of Chinito’s Asian Kitchen felt it is ripe to do something about Zamboanga’s image through its fusion of tastes, hoping that more and more people will consider them worth exploring and worth the stay. Meanwhile, US-trained Rob Patania of Fellini Pizza, and Tribeca Modern Kitchen and Bar, on the other hand, came onboard in this year’s Savores after learning about the huge turnout of people last year that reach over 800. Asked to describe what new tastes he brought in his aiden offerings, he said, “it’s a little of everything that the world has.” Tourism Region 9 Director Antonio Fernando Blanco noted the growing interest in food business among the next-generation Zamboangueños—the new millennial entrepreneurs, who are driven by a common goal: to showcase the province through its vibrant and progressive foodscape. When asked if Zamboanga’s cuisine can invite people back to the province, he is confident “one of the best come-ons for tourists is to taste the best of the destination. In any place you go, people will always look for and taste the best distinct local flavor. And when people start talking about your food that is the time they will start coming in and visiting your place.” Teo said Zamboanga’s diverse cultural heritage is kept alive through its people’s love for good food. “These young culinary entrepreneurs continue to whet the palate of so many with their innovative ways of presenting time-cherished dishes anew,” the tourism chief was quoted as saying, lauding their selfless act to return to their roots and get closer to home, family and friends.

A8 Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sports BusinessMirror

CURTAIN RISES ON PVL

Enriquez sizzles, nails three titles in Koronadal tilt

F

AVORITES Pocari Sweat and Creamline try to live up to expectations as they open their campaign today in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The Lady Warriors, grand-slam champions of the former Shakey’s V-League Season 13, take on the young Power Smashers at 4 p.m., while the Alyssa Valdezled Cool Smashers face fellow expansion team Perlas Spikers at 6 p.m. Balipure, meanwhile, tests its new-look roster against a veteran-laden Air Force at 2 p.m. The Water Defenders are parading a basically new team after its former players— ex-Ateneo Lady Eagles Amy Ahomiro, Ella de Jesus, Jem Ferrer and Dzi Gervacio—transferred to Perlas. Balipure will be now composed of Coach Roger Gorayeb’s wards at San Sebastian College, led by National Collegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player Grethcel Soltones and National University’s Jasmine Nabor, Risa Sato, Aiko Urdas and Jorelle Singh. The Balipure girls take on the veteran Lady Jet Spikers powered by Wendy Semana, May Ann Pantino, Jocemer Tapic and Joy Cases with the help of imports Patcharee Saengmuan and Taj Chupungco. But all eyes will be on the three-time V-League Most Valuable Player Valdez as she sees action on local soil for the first time after her stint with 3BB Nakkornont in Thailand. “The Thailand stint was very memorable and I learned a lot not only in volleyball but also off the court. I hope I could share it to my teammates and we’re hoping to give our best,” said Valdez, who is expected to carry the cudgels for the Cool Smashers with imports Laura Schaudt, a 6-foot-5 American middle blocker, and her teammate in Thailand, Kuttika Kaewpin. Valdez will also be teaming up with seasoned spikers Pau Soriano, Aerieal Patnongon and San Beda’s

S

YDNEY EZRA ENRIQUEZ upset top seed Carlyn Guarde twice in the higher age group to complete a rare threetitle feat in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Koronadal leg regional age-group tennis tournament at the Koronadal Sports Complex in South Cotabato on Friday. Janus Ringia, meanwhile, sustained his win run, sweeping the boys’ 16- and 18-under crowns to share the Most Valuable Player honors with Enriquez in the Group 2 tournament, held as part of the Mindanao summer tour sponsored Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger. The 14-year-old Enriquez stamped her class over Chloveay Pulido, scoring a shutout 6-0, 6-0 title romp in her age group then stunned Guarde, 6-1, 6-2, in the 16-under finals before out-steadying the fancied Sultan Kudarat bet in a thrilling duel, 7-5, 7-6(4), to clinch the 18-under diadem. “Winning two titles in the higher division speaks well of Enriquez’s caliber. Her rare feat should also inspire the other young players to work and strive harder in pursuit of their lofty goals,” Palawan Pawnshop President and CEO Bobby Castro said. Ringia, meanwhile, posted a pair of abbreviated victories to make it back-to-back, scoring a 4-0 (ret.) win over Nicole Gorospe in the 16-under finals then the Sultan Kudarat ace stopped Steve Sonsona, 6-0, 4-1 (ret.) for the 18-under crown, matching his two-title feat in last week’s General Santos City leg of the circuit backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s and B-Meg. Top seed Brent Cortez from Tubod, Lanao lived up to his billing to thumped Michael Padao, 6-0, 6-2, to pocket the boys’ 14-under plum; Digos City’s Andrei Padao repulsed No. 1 Al Rasheed Lucman, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals then turned back second seed Rey Napala, 6-4, 6-4, to snare the 12-under crown; while top-ranked Shieloh Ripdos crushed Mae Melendres, 6-0,6-0, to bag the girls’ 12-under diadem. Lucman, from Malaybalay, Bukidnon, earlier bested Anthony Galvez, 4-2, 4-0, to annex the 10-unisex title.

A

Francesca Racraquin, as well as Coleen Bravo and Jamela Suyat of Perpetual Help. Creamline will face an Ateneo alumni-laden Perlas Spikers, who will parade imports Rupia Inck and Naoko Hashimoto. The team is also composed of Kathy Bersola and Nicole Tiamzon of University of the Philippines, as well as seasoned players Amanda Villanueva, Sue Roces and Sasa Devanadera. Pocari Sweat, on the other hand, lost Michele Gumabao, one of the team’s stalwarts in its V-League title run last year. Gumabao is now playing in the Philippine Superliga. But the Lady Warriors stayed intact with Myla Pablo, Elaine Kasilag, Gyzelle Sy and Melissa Gohing forming the core. The new recruits include Jeanette Panaga, Jessey de Leon and former Ateneo ace Fille CaingletCayetano. They will be powered by imports Michelle Strizak and Edina Selimovic. Pocari Coach Rommel Abella warned his wards to be wary of the young but aggressive Power Smashers, who are handled by seasoned tactician Nes Pamilar. “We’ll do our best because Power Smashers has a solid team despite the fact that they are young, and they have a legendary coach in Nes Pamilar. So we really need to prepare,” Abella said. Pamilar will call the shots for his team composed of collegiate stars led by Arellano University’s Jovielyn Prado and Eunice Galang, University of Santo Tomas’s Dimdim Pacres and Alina Bicar and San Sebastian’s Vira Mae Guillema and Katherine Villegas. They tapped Thais Amporn Hyapha and Kannika Thipachot as reinforcements. The former Spiker’s Turf, now called as the PVL men’s volleyball tournament, also opens today with Spikers’ Turf Season 2 champion Air Force taking on Instituto Estetico Manila at 10 a.m. Lance Agcaoili

Vítor Frade’s great contribution to the sport is tactical periodization, an approach to management that is often characterized—much to his evident frustration—as a coaching style. NYT

NBA, FIBA to bring program to Israel S the National Basketball Association (NBA) prepares to bring its Basketball Without Borders program to Israel this summer, league officials hope that the first trip to the country can help bring children together during a time of increasing tension. Basketball Without Borders has visited countries across the globe since 2001, using the sport to promote cultural understanding and active living. The first camp was held in Italy, but brought together Vlade Divac and Toni Kukoc, teammates on the former Yugoslavian national team that grew estranged during the political turmoil that ensued as the country fractured. Now the NBA and FIBA are going to Israel, a nation that has long had a great passion for basketball, during a time of unrest in the Middle East. “We’re looking forward to the chance to bring all communities together for this program,” said Kathy Behrens, NBA president of social responsibility and player programs. “This is going to be about bringing the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze and other communities together.” The camp will take place from August 13 to 16 in Netanya. The top teenagers from over 30 countries, including Israel, Spain, Germany and France, will get coaching and tutoring from NBA and Fiba players, coaches and former stars, including former Spurs All-Star David Robinson. The teens will also perform community outreach in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israel has a strong basketball community, and several professional teams from the country have traveled to the United States to play NBA teams in exhibition games. “It’s a country that loves basketball,” Behrens said. “I think they will be a great host. It has an extraordinarily rich history. So I think the people who are going to be at the camp participating will learn a lot and certainly appreciate that aspect of it.” Behrens said the league has been talking to active players about participating in a program that has visited 25 countries on six continents since its inception. “It’s really become part of what the NBA is about in terms of trying to grow the game on a global scale,” Behrens said. “And we think this program, because of everything that it does in terms of bringing people together, bridging cultural divides, language barriers, it really has cemented itself as a key part of our calendar.” AP

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

ALYSSA VALDEZ will don Creamline’s jersey in the league formerly known as the V-League.

SOCCER’S MOST

MAGNIFICENT MIND By Rory Smith

P

New York Times News Services

ORTO, Portugal—There is an office at the end of a quiet corridor on the ground floor of the sports faculty at the University of Porto. It is not the sort of place that attracts much foot traffic, and it is not decorated as if it is intended to do so. The room’s occupant, Vítor Frade, is retired from the teaching post he held at the university for more than three decades. He keeps the office, though, as a convenient place to receive the steady stream of visitors that come from across the world to pick his brain, seek his advice or simply hear him talk. During the course of his long career, Frade achieved no little academic success, but he could not be described as famous, not in the sense that soccer usually means it. Fans do not sing his name in stadiums, or ask him for autographs

in the street. He was not a player of any great note. He has never managed a club. Instead, Frade, 73, is that rarest of things: one of soccer’s most noteworthy theorists. His great contribution to the sport is tactical periodization, an approach to management that is often characterized—much to his evident frustration—as a coaching style. “It is not a method,” he says, almost as soon as he sits down. “It is a methodology. You have a methodology so that you don’t need methods.”The last word is issued with disdain. To Frade, his approach is a management philosophy, a personal dogma and a belief system rolled into one. It is a way of thinking more than a way of playing, one conceived and crafted in this office, at this university, but that can now claim devotees around the world. Its most famous evangelist is José Mourinho, who

THE National Basketball Association and Fiba are going to Israel, a nation that has long had a great passion for basketball, during a time of unrest in the Middle East.

deployed it to considerable success at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and who now hopes it can revive Manchester United. But Mourinho is not alone. Most of the great Portuguese coaching diaspora carry some of Frade’s imprint: André Villas-Boas and Vítor Pereira most directly, from the time they spent at FC Porto, but also Monaco’s Leonardo Jardim and Hull City’s Marco Silva at one or more removes. Then there are the foreign adherents, the managers and coaches whose ideas draw to a greater or lesser extent on Frade’s work. Brendan Rodgers, the coach of Celtic, became convinced of the approach’s value while working under Mourinho early in his career. Eddie Jones, the Australian coach of England’s rugby team, is a convert, too. In recent months alone, Frade has welcomed, among others, visitors from Australia, Brazil, England and Scandinavia. Every so often, with the help of a friend, he puts together an e-mail blast for anyone who has expressed an interest in his work. It goes out, he said, to 542 people, including Mourinho. The e-mails contain poems composed by Frade—Pepijn Lijnders, a former Porto coach now working at Liverpool, shares them with the Brazilians Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Leiva—but also “articles I have read, interviews with interesting coaches, book recommendations and summaries.” Frade is as likely to include a paper on robotics or neuroscience as one on soccer itself, the product of a brain fizzing and whirring, its synapses forever fusing links between unrelated thoughts. His answer to the question “What is tactical periodization?” for example, starts with a discourse on the structure of a cell, takes in cesarean sections, where alligators might live in the Mississippi, chameleons, quantum mechanics, and ends, no small number of hours later, with a discussion of the principles of cybernetics. “He is a living, breathing genius,” said José Tavares, the head of Porto’s youth academy and a student of periodization drafted now as Frade’s hard-pressed translator. “He does not think like the rest of us.” All of it is relevant, though, to the system that Frade created. “Whenever I read something, I am always thinking how it applies to football,” he said. “That is true whether it is something on biology or epigenetics. It is always football.”

Periodization, he said, draws on everything, because it is an attempt to account for everything. “Football is not a linear process,” Frade said. “It is not a sum of things: If you do this, plus that, you will achieve this.” Instead, “the coach must consider every aspect, of the individual, of the team. Football is not two-dimensional. It is multidimensional.” It is an imperfect parallel, but the game, as Frade envisages it, is not unlike a Rubik’s Cube: Every thing a manager does, every single turn they make, has a consequence elsewhere. It does not work if they try to fix one side alone; the problem must be considered in its entirety. That is why Frade’s methodology—as employed by Mourinho and the rest—decrees that there should not be specific physical, tactical or technical training sessions, no separate fitness coaches or artificial skills exercises, such as the rondo, the one-touch passing game that forms the basis of Pep Guardiola’s approach. Because every aspect of the game is interconnected, Frade argues, they must be treated as such. That is not periodization’s only calling card. Everything is related to possible in-game scenarios: no running to build up general stamina; only running to build up the exact sort of stamina that might be required at given moments. No practicing passing; only practicing what pass is needed and when. Training is never gentle, with all sessions carried out as fast and as hard as the number of players on the field allows. And it is not scripted. Players are not told what to do; they are given a problem and encouraged to solve it for themselves. “What matters is the process,” Frade said. “They have to work out the answers.” The week’s training is governed by what Frade and his disciples call the morfocycle. Throughout the season, each day is devoted to a specific aspect of play: Tuesday, for example, might always be what to do when in possession, Wednesday when out of it, Thursday to the opposition’s strengths, and so on. The exercises can vary from week to week, from opponent to opponent, but must always be designed to reinforce the coach’s guiding principles: A team’s identity must not be compromised to stifle a given opponent. “A chameleon changes color,” Frade said, “but never forgets it is a chameleon.”

Sunday, April 30, 2017 A9

Every Disease Is A Story »A10

The Trilogy of a Dead Star The Birth of a Star, How a Star Became a Black Hole, and The Graveyard of Heroes

By Hanna Norimatsu

I. The Birth of a Star Verse: She followed the fireflies, Left us a star-child, never to be seen again. He made sure his eyes shined, Took care of our last light, And we thanked the stars For our knight, his silver tongue Will make us great again.

I

n the ages past in a place called Perlas where men and women have learned to live with the injustice of their crocodile kings, where hope has run as thin as the stomachs of its people, where the streets wailed its discontentment sunrise to sunrise, where even the eyes of children have lost their shine and the belief of a better tomorrow has gone dry, there came a boy who was of great exception. A boy blessed by the stars.

Maria swallowed a star on the fifth month of her pregnancy according to the local lore, but her husband Jose would tell a different tale. He’d cough twice and start with this: “Many years ago, on a full moon’s midnight, as we were walking in the rice fields, a star fell from the heavens and shattered in front of us. When I opened my eyes the star has gone. No shard was left—only a small crater revealed where it once was.” Then a single tear would fall off his left eye, always that one eye. On a bad day he’d say no more. On a good day he’d tell you that, when they got home, Maria was never the same again. She would talk about seeing lights and how the

sky asked her every night for its missing starlight. In the next few months she would bring life to a healthy baby boy, the famous star of the northern islands, and then vanish into the forest following the fireflies. Jose knew the moment he entered the room that the boy was his son, for even in this infant form, the boy was a reflection of the man. “He has my nose and eyes,” he remembered with great relief. He’d been worried after all the rumors started that the baby wasn’t his. Another realization came upon him, not more than a breath after the first. He also knew that his boy could, Continued on A12

A10

Sunday, April 30, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Every Disease

Is A Story

Sunday, April 30, 2017 A11

www.businessmirror.com.ph

E

By Dean Francis Alfar

very disease is a story, every illness has a beginning, middle, and ending. Sometimes, we are there at the start, when the characters and plot are introduced. We notice the body’s subtle betrayals like sudden ripples across still waters. Your occasional headache, a shortness of breath, the ignorable small pains easily attributed to too much of this or too little of that or the simple onset of age. It’s just aging, you tell me. And yes, yes, I believe you. We’re all getting there, after all. Often, we are there for the middle, when the complications of the narrative situation are unveiled. The disease is unmasked, and we learn its name, knowledge that means much to us but is of no consequence to the body it ravages. Like characters in any good piece of fiction, we struggle against fate. You fight it, I fight it, we both fight it, because it belongs to both of us, this terrible thing within you. There’s always hope, you tell me. And yes, yes, I agree. This is war. We are warriors. We cannot lose hope. But always, someone is there for the ending, when the climax and conclusion are rendered with terrible finality. There is little left of you, and it becomes a matter of counting days and nights, as we wait together, your hand in my hand, our eyes dry, all tears spent. Don’t be sad, you tell me. And yes, yes, I agree. I say I am beyond anger. But not really. The curse of both of us being writers is this awareness of everything, when we keep still and quiet, when we look around and notice details (the faded color of your hospital gown, how you keep your eyes locked on mine when I trim your beard) and overhear conversations (the relentless sound of sympathy, the whispered pleasantries when obviously nothing about anything is pleasant). We are filing things to use in future fiction, I tell you. Not me, you tell me. We are aware that we exist in a series of scenes, and because we know how to best write them, we demand that they make sense. That all dialogue is succinct and character-building, with epiphanic revelations lurking in strings of words offered casually but with deliberate thoughtfulness. We long for meaning to reach out to us, in metaphors as cliché as the morning sun gently transforming the hospital lawn outside into a field of iridescent diamonds.

Tell me a story, you say when you open your eyes. What sort, which one, I ask. Something with you and me in it, you say. Something with dragons, you say. I close my eyes and try to remember. In my head events and experiences are already colored, intertwined with details I know I must have either exaggerated or created out of whole cloth. But you and I were never truly concerned about the truth. What matters more than the facts are the truths we take away, the ones we pack and take home with us along with all our souvenirs (hotel soaps for you, uncountable digital pictures for me, and of course, dragons for us both), the memories we agree we will both remember. The tiny but powerful fictions that become the brick and mortar of our shared life. So I tell you stories about dragons, and about us. In Bangkok we were so excited that we forgave almost everything. It was our first time to travel together, and we decided to go cheap on accommodations, gearing our budget instead toward food and things we could get at the endless crowded markets. We greeted the tiny hotel room with stunned laughter, lifting our suitcases over the bed to get to the other side. We will not be spending much time in here anyway, you said. Except to sleep, I said. And we looked for pulled tea and monks and elephants and massages and sex shows, your hand in my hand. You told me about a story you read by a Thai author, about a soup so deliciously unearthly that people lined up for days for a spoonful. Your big reveal was that it was made by the regenerating flesh of a dragon. Let’s find it, I said. It’s just a story, you said. You never know, you said and I said and you said, and we found our dragon soup in a small restaurant tucked away in an alley. In Ho Chi Minh City, we packed light and imagined ourselves as Viet Cong traversing the Cu Chi tunnels, reenacted Miss Saigon to the understandable irritation of practically everyone, inhaled the fragrant spices at the colorful stalls you insisted were possessed of hidden magical herbs that the sellers would offer, if we only knew what to ask for. So we asked for sprigs of rau ram of a particularly spicy virtue, grown not in a garden but in a ceramic pot that permits the herb to spill over the edges. The vendors shook their heads in confusion. We need it to attract a rong, you told me. Yes, I said, because we both knew the story about what the old Vietnamese dragon finds irresistible. The plan was just to catch a glimpse of its châu, that precious jewel it carries in its mouth. Just to see it. We consoled ourselves instead with bowls of steaming pho that we found

Look, you told me, pointing to the dragon in the distance. It drools, I told you. So do you when you sleep, you told me. somewhere in the hive of streets and shops that offered other wonders of silk and handicrafts and peculiar fruit. Questing is hard work, I said. True, you said. Our plan for Indonesia was to spend three days in Jakarta doing the tourist thing (and so we did - climbing Monas for the view, gorging on bakwanundag in Pasar Baru while you patiently picked out all the shrimp for me, haggling for a vintage 1989 grey Gameboy in Glodok and failing miserably) before heading for Komodo National Park. It will be worth it, you told me, as I struggled in the heat as we sailed for what seemed like days through an archipelago of volcanic islands. When we finally saw one, your smile made me forget my fatigue. Look, you told me, pointing to the dragon in the distance. It drools, I told you. So do you when you sleep, you told me. Our guide refused to take us any closer, so we settled for my camera, intent on capturing the Komodo’s lazy forked tongue. This is as close as we get to the real thing, you said. This is as close as my nose can stand, I said. And I remember how we kissed, the scratch of your beard against my skin, and how our guide just kept staring at the dragon. In Singapore, we used the combined the small royalties from our books (yours more than mine) to stay in a better hotel, and laughed when we realized we could not afford the hotel restaurant, which was outrageous. We bought hats and figured out the workings of the trains and buses that went to places we wanted to visit. This place is so small that you can see most of it in one day, I told you. And we have four, you said, four days to see all of it four times over. And so we took in everything we could, with special attention to the Singapore Stone. The story goes: a man once freed a genie and was given amazing strength. He defeated all comers from across the region and defeated the powerful champion of the King of India, by hurling an immense stone into the Singapore River. The stone was destroyed decades ago, but fragments remained in the British Museum. You wanted to see it because you believed it was a dragon and not a genie, and that somehow all of Singapore got the story wrong. It happens, you said, stories change, details shift. But not like this, I told you. Some stories are just as exactly how they

What matters more than the facts are the truths we take away, the ones we pack and take home with us along with all our souvenirs (hotel soaps for you, uncountable digital pictures for me, and of course, dragons for us both), the memories we agree we will both remember. The tiny but powerful fictions that become the brick and mortar of our shared life.

are told, and there is no use in altering details because you prefer it to be something else, I said and you said and I said and you left. I found you later at the hotel. I want to go home, you told me. And so we did. I’m sorry about that, you say. Don’t be, I say. We lapse into silence, and my thoughts are about stories and endings and us and you. You ask me to pull the curtains so you can see outside. Your room at Medical City overlooks Valle Verde, and if you squint during daytime you can see Antipolo. But it is evening, so what we have is the dark sky illuminated by a pale moon. You point your finger toward the moon, then toward me. I remember a story about holy men who believed that only the moon held the truth and that their fingers represented words.

You are my story, you say. Later, when you are asleep, I sit and watch you like I do every night that we’ve been here. I know what I’m waiting for and I hate that I know that. Every disease is a story, and every story has an ending. But I’m thinking that maybe the reverse is also true. That every story is a disease, a glorious illness that devours and transforms those who read or hear it, imbuing their flesh with immaterial magic and ethereal hope, as powerful as the promise of dragons and as true as the moon and you. And the ending is just the part of a greater story which is part of something bigger and so on, and we who are infected are in fact the fortunate ones. I’m telling myself this. I’m thinking this as I hold your hand, because in the span of silence between us, I will own our ending. n

The curse of both of us being writers is this awareness of everything, when we keep still and quiet, when we look around and notice details (the faded color of your hospital gown, how you keep your eyes locked on mine when I trim your beard) and overhear conversations (the relentless sound of sympathy, the whispered pleasantries when obviously nothing about anything is pleasant).

A12

Sunday, April 30, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Trilogy of a Dead Star Continued from A9

possibly, be the child of a true star too, for he had a pale glow about him that was a touch too radiant for any of their kind to have. Perhaps those old hags were right. Maybe his wife did swallow a star. Maybe it happened just as he shielded his eyes. That was the first thing Jose knew about his son, the second was that he would do all he could to make sure this warm little boy had the world. He was a father now and he would always be one, with or without his wife. He believed that this boy was far more important than the both of them combined. The third thing he found out about his boy was, perhaps, the most startling of all: More than his son being half his and half not his, more than his newfound lesser-love for Maria. As the baby yawned he showed them a mouthful of silver. The baby was born with a silver tongue and a pale glow that reminded one of a faraway star. A single glance was enough to make one speculate about the powers this charming little boy contained, speculate that he was, perhaps, destined to do great things, to slay the gold-hoarding kings. On the nights preceding the star-child’s birth each wooden house whispered that perhaps his fate was to be the one to save their tired bones. A hero is born and their hearts filled with hope. Finally, a shining future was but a hand-span away. Many children cared not for nighttime gossip, but other children hid under the tablecloths listening to old aunts and uncles’ murmur about a special boy, and they wondered what was it like to be born already famous, to be born and to never have to beg for love. One girl in particular thought how hard it must be for a baby to have just arrived and already be expected to clean up the mess of their fathers. She blew on the embers of their only fire lamp and placed the last bottle of beer in a basket for her own father to return to the local shop keeper the moment the sun showed up. His journey from boy to man came fast, not by the count of years but by the many wars that came soon after. He would learn to climb up the ladder, making diamonds out of coals. No situation was bad enough for him not to be able to turn things his way. His light shone brightest under animosity. He realized that fighting up front wasn’t how one won. In fact, that guaranteed death, so he took a million calculated risks, was the best gambler the night had ever seen. At first, he was a simple pawn of war, but he’d quickly learned the best stances to take for self-preservation. Then he’d become the representative of the northern islands. There he’d found a seat in the higher circle where he graced the world with his wonderful laws. Iron-clad, no man could deny this star’s brilliant plans. He was beyond charismatic, hypnotic almost. Socram could talk his way into any heart he chose and it was an excess of honey to the thirsty throats of the masses. He fed their starved honors with a hundred stories tailed with another hundred promises, many of which he took measures to follow through. His words were everything these old souls wanted to hear. He got everything right, down to the quiet breaths and those small, powerful pauses. He had the perfect smile and wave. His handshakes were firm and they hinted at his confidence in his abilities. He was the face the people were looking for. The people cheered for they were right. They, too, took a big gamble—they gambled what was left of them. The scraps of pride grew like tongues of fire on paper houses because, this time, they were right and they’d found their hero. “He’s every single great thing,” the people cheered. But most glorious of all was the brain in his head. That got him

past his small town and into the center of the land. The northern star walked to their biggest city to see what other knowledge was at hand. The whispers never stopped, they stuck to his skin and followed him wherever he went. They threw gasoline to strengthen the burn of the man whom they trusted to dethrone the reptiles up in their golden chairs and ivory houses. The people would tell you this as they fanned their faces in the heat of their own flames: “With a character like that it was only a matter of time before he became the new king of this land.” That’s where, according to his preachers, the rest of the world started to see what they already knew. That was how bright this star could truly shine given the opportunity. “And believe us,” they’d say, “He took every single one.” His mind was a bright star that entranced anyone who listened, like moths to the fire. He could read a hun-

dred books of law and memorize their contents easily, like they were nursery rhymes. He wrote literature the likes of which his people had never seen, in a foreign language most of them couldn’t understand. He was a brilliant strategist too, never had to raise his own hands in order to win any fight. He was a brave man through and through who fought to defend them against the men of the red sun, the blue-eyed ones and, even, their own betraying brethren. Truly with his prowess he was becoming the hero everyone expected him to be. When the people’s prophecy was fulfilled, when he vanquished the old kings with his words and wisdom, not a hand to his sword, he became the lighthouse that all ships looked for, the guiding light the people have prayed for to dead saints buried deep in the ground. He was the one thing these many tired islands could be proud of they sang. Hail to the gods an angel has come.

II. How a Star Became a Black Hole Chorus: Save us starlight, Save us from our tired bones. Save us starlight, Save us from the closing dark. Starlight you’re our only hope, The tower we made to cope. Starlight you’re our only hope, But who will save us when you implode. (2x)

T

he biggest mistake this boy ever made when he became a man was to believe what the people sang. That was the start of his unraveling. He thought he was sent by the gods, and the people aided him by pretending he could make no mistakes. They all forgot he was only human. They fanned his flames, and he shone so brilliantly that he lost sight of the world around him. He even forgot the outlines that made him man. The people saw no one but him, and he saw no one but himself. Soon after the boy believed he could be god among men, and he thought the lives of the world was his to give or take. He took all he could, to sacrifice for the greater good, and for his own misguided desires.

The tired bones he was supposed to save, he buried in the ground, nameless, forgotten. He left them for the fairies of the forest and the mermaids of the sea. The oceans laughed with the rotting corpses, the sea foam sang back and asked if this man-god was better than the crocodile kings. The change was so sudden. The people didn’t know what to make of it. Wasn’t he our hero, our most beloved? They wondered, maybe this is just a joke; perhaps this is something only the likes of him could understand. They gave him their blind trust, believing he could do no wrong, even when blood was painted on every street, on every window, on each door the locus knocked and everyone opened their doors to be devoured. He tasted power, a taste far more addictive than any drug ever created. All the people jumped into the biggest maw of all, willingly. He, in turn, exercised that power like a lion of the fields. He was now at the top of the hierarchy, and the whole of Perlas bowed to him. No man told him he was wrong. He was what the elders told their children to strive to be: Intelligent, handsome, and strong. All these things, the formula for admiration, never predicted how a star became a black hole. Perhaps,

when man labels another as perfect, it’s hard to take back. The remainder of their pride would be nothing but shattered glass and then they’d have nothing left. For, one must remember, in this land where people believe they have nothing but their hearts to be proud of, it’s hard to admit when the heart realizes it’s wrong. The first to fight him where the men and women who never liked him, some who abhorred him even before he began to fall. Those who followed were the ones who never knew him and, thus, never loved him. They were the first to know that he was turning cruel and knew this was not the man they wanted to rule them. They saw the bodies on the floor and knew they had to fight, to the death, if it meant saving a father, mother, daughter, son, husband or wife. For others it was too late, they could only avenge the dead. Third to take aim were the ones who loved him but couldn’t hold on to what he’d become: They were the ones who felt betrayed the most, for they knew that he had taken their prides, locked it in his box of gold. The only way to take this pride back was to fight the star they’d loved the most. The last to fight were those who were afraid, but knew that if they didn’t fight now,

then they’d never say a word or fight any other injustice in the world. They all fought him with the force of a lover betrayed, for no wounded animal could be more vengeful. No greater wound could be given than the wound of a heart. Those who died were gone, but the wails they left behind echoed through time and would not cease until those who sorrowed no longer needed to pass their wounds. There are some who never fought against him but for him: Those who could not dispel his faded image of heroism and gulped down blood for the sake of their beliefs. They knew he wasn’t completely bad, he was still a man they honored, perhaps a friend, a father, a husband, or what comes in between. They loved him so much that they bore his cross. They bore what the world hurled at them and stood up with pride, despite the pool of shame they were to drown in. They showed their faces and let a million hands slap them, received the spit of a thousand mouths with honor. In the end, they cried for mercy they did not show. They formed a barricade with their bodies, but forgot how they pierced through the flesh of those who opposed them. How they shattered the bones of the young and the old to offer to their man-god a sacrifice worth making. They forgot the many beloveds they had to quiet through the slice of a knife, a gunshot, a push off a bridge, a hundred watts and a hundred nail-less hands for the sake of their most beloved one. They fought with all their shattered pieces for a man that to everyone else wasn’t worth saving. Monsters can be saved, right? Their hearts asked this every day, but never stopped long enough to listen to the answers to their question. This is, perhaps, true love, but perhaps true love shouldn’t be so selfish. There are many who cowered in fear, who didn’t fight on either side. They trembled at the opposition but they also trembled for the king. They didn’t sleep for they knew a small indication of allegiance would drown them in hate from either camp, so they shut their mouths and became like sheep. They did not oppose, they did not fight, and they only cared for their lives and those of their kin. They fought only for what was valuable to them. The rest of the world just wasn’t valuable enough, and they’d say this: No one really fights for the motherland, no one can love land that much. But they fight for the people who live there, the people we love. If you put your head close enough to their chests you would be able to hear their hearts yell: “When you say you fight for a country, you mean the people in it. And we choose to hush for the people we love just as you yell and cry and fight for those you love.” In each exchange, the heart won over the mind. Right or wrong didn’t matter quite as much when one’s beloved was at stake. Each and everyone listened to their hearts to fight, or hide, or run away. The heart, in times of great distress, overrules the brain. It was also the hearts of the many that would turn the tide for the fallen star.

I

n the end, he shot another hero down, a golden hero born to stop him—for he was now the crocodile king. That was when the people fought. He’d finally destroyed their love. Soon this dead hero’s wife would rally the people. She would know close to nothing about running government, but her heart would tell her to fight. She’d hide her own skeletons in the villas her family owned. She’d wipe her slates clean, for she knew how much people could hate heroes gone rogue. She wore her husband’s golden cloaks to battle. She was afraid, but she’d never let them know. In these islands, a leader must never let the people know that she is afraid of them, for then whom could she control?

Why would they follow her? She must be flawed, but be all the good kinds of flawed. She mustn’t act perfect like he she would depose. She must be toned down. She must be like all the wounded citizens. Whoever the people love has power, so they must love her. They have to love her, even when she’s wrong. She cast away the northern star past lands he never thought he’d need to go, and told the people now that the monster’s gone they can now call this home. But even she doesn’t believe her words are true, for even her home is empty now that her children’s father has gone where all the bones go. In exile he found a place of clear water like that of his home. There were

pearls there, too, but they weren’t the same. Nothing was the same. No gold or silver could make it the same. He remembered all the riches he took. He could spend the rest of his life here, but his mother was always calling him home among the fireflies, where she stood in all his dreams. In his dying days he’d ask an old friend to send back a message, one last request, hoping that someone out there still loved him: “I want to be buried at home,” he whispered, for all these beautiful places were simply beautiful but they were never warm. “I want to be buried at home.” His family sent the letter to the people of Perlas but no one answered his call.

III. The Graveyard of Heroes Bridge: Our star, our hero has long gone, Kept by those who still love him Covered in glass, preserving the shadows of light. They say we should forgive His young ignorance, Forget the past But how could we when our star Turned our bones to dust.

H

e died on unfamiliar land. He wanted to be buried back home, but the bones of the people he hushed screeched in protest. The new queen said no. Keep what you stole. You’ll never see even the shadow of home, they growled and the earth rumbled. To many, that would’ve been the perfect ending. To some it would be a shame to leave a once-great man out in foreign ground, so they started collecting the fragments of this star. All was quiet for a while... One day, a more forgiving king would let his remains return. From there, the shadows he left would worm their way deep into the landover which he’d reigned. Those who still loved him would fight for him once more, those who remained his friends, those who saw the man within the monster, those who saw a father in the murderer, a husband in the man who turned the seas red with the blood of sacrificial lambs. They would fight until the last breath for the man they still loved, the faded star, the black hole, even if it meant stepping, again, on the old bones that had quieted down. They’d forgotten the warning on the graves: “Best be careful lest the old bones sing of their wounds to the living.” Best be careful. The bones would indeed sing, their spirits bound, but those bones were people who were loved deeply, too, once. Love then becomes the worse curse of all, always just a breath away from hate. Those the unjustly slain had left would also fight with their own tired bones to see that he who was once a star will never be called a hero again. They can’t bury the past there where the land is already full of bones. There’s no space left to hide. ow he lies in the grave of heroes. He is truly exceptional. Even in death he stirs this world. He left a battle up where the sun shines, and went down to a place where many will never forgive him. He lies with those bones he said he’d protect but instead left for dead. No man is completely bad. That is why there are still those who calls him a hero. Perhaps he once was a

N

hero, but when he spilled the blood of the innocent for the land to drink, when he turned his back, killed, stole from those who trusted him and hailed him, he lost the right to be called a hero. You’re only meant to forgive if an apology is offered in sincerity, that’s what the elders say now. Perhaps he was never a hero, for he was only there to prove a point, to insist that he was special to the land that, from his birth, asked him to do just that. Perhaps the people shouldn’t have given so much power to one man to begin with. They should have known that a single person couldn’t save them all on his own. They gave him no rules to follow and so he followed none. There were so many of them, but not one of them could tell the man they loved that he was wrong. To some it was live and let live. But the dead cannot let live. They bring the old wounds back up for the world to see so they can be addressed properly, so the pain can heal at last. They only desire some form of apology now for the love lost that no gold or silver could ever bring back. They beg the world to forgive this black star, for they are now also tired bones. Perhaps they are right, but it’s easier to forgive when you were never hurt. It is difficult to forgive when no one you love still cannot be found after decades. To others he is still a hero, and deserves a proper place of worship, more than those he caused to perish, more valuable than even the self. Perhaps old offenses wouldn’t have been brought up if only Socram’s family respected the people enough to not insist on a hero’s burial. Even the old star himself wanted only to be buried where his mother rests—and even that, he didn’t deserve. n