Businessmirror june 19, 2016

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EARTHQUAKE DRILL To prepare students once deadly earthquakes hit the upland campus of Eastern Nueva Vizcaya National High School in Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, an OceanaGold (Philippines) Emergency Response Team and faculty members train students on how to execute the right move when confronted with real disaster. The province has recently experienced a series of alarming tremors. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Smartphone use rose by 20% in Q1

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

S

M A R T PHO N E use in the country rose by a fifth in the first quarter of 2016, making the Philippines the fastestgrowing smartphone market in Southeast Asia to date.

There were 3.5 million smartphones shipped to the Philippines during the last quarter, data from the International Data Corp. (IDC) showed.

IDC Philippines Market Analyst for Mobile Devices Jerome Dominguez attributed this growth to the stronger support from Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc., both of which are pushing for higher smartphoneadoption rates, as they are banking on data to drive up their revenues.

“While many of the more mature smartphone markets of the world already displayed signs of saturation, the Philippine smartphone market continues to enjoy robust growth owing to a relatively low smartphone-penetration rate at 30 percent in 2015, active local brand presence and healthy consumer spending,” Dominguez said.

The market is mainly saturated by local smartphone vendors, who offer cheaper phones for as low as P888 per unit. This was a promo launched by Smart during that quarter.

“Smartphones priced below P3,500 still make up the majority of smartphones shipped to the Philippines. MyPhone’s successful See “Smartphone,” A2

Q1 exports down 33%; BSP remains optimistic

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

@BcuaresmaBM

HE poor export performance of the country caused a sharp decline in its current-account surplus, the core component of the balance of payments (BoP), in the first quarter of the year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that while the country’s current account remained in surplus at $2.2 billion in the first three months of 2016, it is significantly lower than the $3.3 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2015.

The current account is the biggest and most stable component of the country’s BoP, or the summary of the Philippines’s transactions with the rest of the world. This component is usually buoyed by the strong inflows from overseas See “Exports,” A2

Washington honors Filipino women suffragists from 1920s

By Recto R. Mercene @rectomercene

‘I

T is worth noting that Philippine society has always been blessed with strong and powerful women who shape the course of our history. Filipinas are active in diverse fields, pouring their talents, skill and passion into many areas of human endeavor. It is, therefore, no wonder that the Philippine Suffrage Movement in the early-1900s was composed mainly of Filipinas who were able to carve an identity and a mission that were separate from those of the influential men in their lives.”

Thus said Minister Patrick Chua­soto, deputy chief of mission of the Philippine Embassy, as he formally opened the exhibit The Washington Home of the Philippine Suffrage Movement on June 16 at

PESO exchange rates n US 46.3510

U.S. First Lady Florence Harding (center, foreground) receives a group of women from the Philippines, led by Sofia de Veyra, wife of the Philippine resident commissioner, at the South Lawn of the White House on June 19, 1922. The women visitors were the wives and daughters of the Philippine delegation that went to Washington, D.C., to lay before President Harding the plea for Philippine Independence. WHITE HOUSE photo

the embassy’s Romulo Hall.

The Washington Home of the Philippine Suffrage Movement stems from the research of husband-andwife team Erwin Tiongson and

Titchie Carandang-Tiongson, who also spearheaded the ongoing project Philippines on the Potomac, or POPDC. It was an initiative of See “Women Suffragists,” A2

MVP reaffirms vow to develop Clark International Airport

By Joey Pavia Correspondent

M

AK ATI C I T Y— Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan reaffirmed his commitment to fully develop the Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga, saying it’s a “better option” compared to planned airports in Cavite and Bulacan.

Pangilinan, in an interview with Pampanga-based journalists shortly after the PLDTSmart stockholders’ meeting here on June 14, said, “We must retain the Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport], but go for it [CRK].”

He was referring to the Naia in Pasay City being plagued by flight delays and passenger congestion.

Pangilinan said he had tried to develop five regional airports, including the CRK, which sits on a 2,000-hectare land, but failed during the rule of outgoing President Aquino.

“It’s up to the incoming President [Rodrigo R. Duterte] what they want to do with Clark. We will support if they want,” Pangilinan said.

He said Duterte and his people should make a study on the viability of the other airports in the country, in-

cluding the one pushed by outgoing Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya in Sangley Point in Cavite. Earlier, Ramon S. Ang of the San Miguel Corp. also proposed the construction of the airport in Bulacan.

“We have lots of reclaiming of lands to do at Sangley,” he said.

Pangilinan said the study should be immediately made to complement the flights at the Naia.

The chairman of the PLDT and Smart said a railway train should be constructed to connect Clark to Makati City and the Naia.

“The airlines and their passengers just want to be brought via train to Metro Manila after landing at Clark,” he said. “It’s doesn’t have to be a fast train, because Manila is not too far from Pampanga.”

Last month the Clark International Airport Corp.

(CIAC) noted an 8-percent increase in the volume of passengers at the CRK in the first four months of 2016.

CIAC President and CEO Emigdio P. Tanjuatco III cited figures indicating that a total of 316,656 passengers used Clark from January to April this year, compared to 292,659 passengers over the same period last year.

n japan 0.4446 n UK 65.8370 n HK 5.9741 n CHINA 7.0317 n singapore 34.3799 n australia 34.1097 n EU 52.0475 n SAUDI arabia 12.3636

Source: BSP (17 June 2016 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, June 19, 2016

Exports…

Continued from a1

Filipino workers’ remittances and the revenues from the businessprocess outsourcing sector.

In the first quarter of the year, however, the two powerhouse dollar-generating sectors for the Philippine economy were partially offset by the weakness in the country’s trade sector.

“The sharp decline in the current-account surplus was attributed to the significant widening of the trade-in-goods deficit, as merchandise exports fell while merchandise imports increased,” the central bank said.

In particular, the trade-ingoods deficit widened to $8 billion in the first quarter of 2016, from $4.8

billion in the same period last year.

The trade-deficit figures rose due to the combined effects of the decline in exports of goods by 11.9 percent and the expansion in imports of goods by 12.8 percent.

Exports of goods reached $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2016, from the $10.5 billion posted in the same period last year.

The weak export performance of the country during the period has been attributed by the central bank to the slumping economies of the Philippines’s major trading partners, notably the US, China and Japan.

Weaker exports were attributed mainly to manufactures, which fell

Women suffragists…

Continued from a1

Maria Victoria Cuisia, wife of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr.

Another remarkable Filipina, Monique Bascon, lent her artistic talent as exhibit designer.

The exhibit focuses on the lives of Mercedes Tiongson Sandiko, Clemencia Lopez, Sofia de Veyra, Pura Villanueva Kalaw, Aurora Quezon, Ines Villa Gonzalez and Pilar Hidalgo Lim, who pursued their advocacy for the extension of suffrage to Filipino women during their stay in the United States in the early part of the 20th century.

“The exhibit celebrates a group of extraordinary women and their ties to Washington. And coming so soon after the last Philippine elections, this exhibit, we hope, serves to remind us that suffrage rights have been hard won through the struggles of many people who came before us.

“And by coincidence, that photo of the women from the Philippines at the White House, around which the exhibit is organized, was taken almost 94 years ago today,”

the Tiongson couple said.

“The exhibit draws materials from our Philippines on the Potomac Project. Discovering all these fascinating women and their ties to our adopted DC home has been a deeply rewarding experience. And the process of discovery has been made so much easier, thanks to the generosity of so many people who shared memorabilia, photos and family stories,” the Tiongsons added.

The embassy is hosting the weeklong exhibit in line with its Gender and Development (GAD) program and the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Philippine-US diplomatic relations.

“We must remember that while diplomatic relations between our two countries turn only 70 years old this year, the ties that bind our nations have existed for over a century. Moving forward entails being open to outside partnerships and, at the same time, harnessing the cooperation of your own people to be united in pursuit of common goals,” the Tiongson couple said.

Smartphone…

budget my28S model catapulted its lead in the smartphone market in the first quarter of 2016. However, this is no reason for the homegrown brands to rest on their laurel, as global and Chinese vendors are gradually catching up on the budget segment,” Dominguez said.

The past few quarters have shown vendors, like Samsung and Asus, playing more aggressively in the lower-than-P6,000 range.

China-based vendors Oppo and Huawei are also on a steady growth track, as they continue to expand channel coverage.

“As the Philippine smartphone market matures and shifts

Continued from a1

from being an acquisition game to a replacement one, consumers are expected to demand more from a smartphone in terms of specs and performance,” Dominguez said.

The market today is maturing, he added, explaining that more and more users are shifting from one device to another.

“One sign of the local smartphone market’s gradually maturing is the move among entry-level players away from less than 1GB random access memory [RAM] toward higher RAM chips. From a 44-percent share in 2015, less-than-1GB-RAM smartphones dropped to 38 percent last quarter, as consumer demand rose

by 9.2 percent, particularly lower shipments of chemicals, garments, machinery and transport equipment, processed food and beverages, and other manufactures.

Meanwhile, higher import of goods at $17.3 billion was due mainly to increased imports of capital goods, raw materials, and intermediate goods and consumer goods.

Despite the widening trade deficit, Diwa C. Guinigundo, central bank deputy governor for the monetary stability sector, said the trend is encouraging as the kind of imports that are increasing in the past months are important materials that can be used by manufacturers to export goods.

Thus, Guinigundo said the higher importation by the Philippines may signal a possible recovery in exports down the line.

“The Philippine Suffrage Movement had its own allies and supporters here at the US capital and we similarly honor their role in the movement’s eventual success,” the deputy chief of mission said.

The movement triumphed as the right of suffrage was extended to Filipino women on April 30, 1937.

Almost eight months later, on December 14, 1937, the Philippines held the first general election, where Filipino women were allowed to vote and run for public office.

“It truly takes a village to put together an exhibit. We are grateful to the Philippine Embassy, the Public Diplomacy Office, the Gender and Development Program and, of course, Mrs. Cuisia for the wonderful opportunity to share our discoveries with the FilipinoAmerican community,” the Tiongsons concluded.

Mitzi Pickard, president of the Philippine Arts, Letters and Media Council, was the master of ceremonies.

Members of the public may view the The Washington Home of the Philippine Suffrage Movement at the Romulo Hall until 12 p.m. on June 23. Romulo Hall is closed on Saturday and Sunday. for higher RAM for new mobile applications to run smoothly,” he said.

He advised smartphone makers not to be complacent with their current share, as the mobile-brand war grows more intense by the day. He said they should continue to foster innovation and improve product quality and after-sales to stay ahead of the game.

“Defect issues and poor aftersales service continue to plague the smartphone market. It is only a matter of time before the majority of Filipino consumers put more premium on smartphones that are not just easy on the pocket, but also offer good value for money,” he said.

By year-end, smartphone shipments should grow by 25 percent, IDC Philippines Country Head Jubert Alberto predicted, citing the upward trend in smartphone adoption in the country.

Filipino telecommunications companies then should keep an eye out for further network congestion and adjust accordingly.

“Mobile-data explosion is an inevitable consequence of the growing smartphone-user base, so telcos should carry on with further expansion of their capacity and footprint nationwide,” he said. “In terms of increasing accessibility, it is also not enough for the telcos to provide subsidies to device manufacturers.

Rather, it should also keep in check the price of mobile Internet, which still continues to be among the most expensive in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations area.”

Globe and Smart are beefing up their network capacities. Globe is spending $2 billion over the next five years to deploy fiber-optic cables in 20,000 barangays all over the country to provide faster and more reliable Internet access to about 2 million homes nationwide.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. will be spending P48 billion in capital expenditure this year, the bulk of which will be invested in increasing the capacity and reach of its mobileInternet and fixed-line networks.

It is in the middle of a three-year network-modernization program that aims to provide customers with superior Internet service.

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‘Lost’ village of Buhawen overcomes Pinatubo tragedy

Buhawen residents Ernie Barron and Joel Linggay return home from working on their farm at Barangay Aglao across the Mapanuepe Lake. The spire of the Bajaoen Church sticks out of the lake, which was formed when volcanic debris dammed the exit of the Mapanuepe River. henry empeño

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

B

UHAWEN, San Marcelino, Zambales—All that remains now of the old village of Buhawen is the spire of the Bajaoen church, a giant stairway of white concrete topped by a rusty-colored iron cross that sticks out of the calm Mapanuepe Lake.

If you looked closely enough, you can see faintly part of the church’s nave under the deep green water, but the other features of the once-bustling village seem to have been permanently erased from view when it was entombed in watery lahar after the Mount Pinatubo eruption 25 years ago.

“Wala na. That’s all you can see,” boatman Ernie Barron gestured at the spire, as we crossed the Mapanuepe Lake one recent Saturday. He said there were some people who tried to take underwater pictures, but failed to get good results because the water was murky.

Facing the church steeple, one can see in the distance the scarred remains of Cullen Peak, where mining companies dug out gold-bearing ore two decades ago. Nearer the lake were a series of dams supposed to contain the mine tailings and prevent them from spilling into the village.

Buhawen, one of the 18 barangays of San Marcelino, was a thriving community of farmers and miners, and home to the Benguet-Dizon gold and copper mines, when Mount Pinatubo erupted in June 1991.

The village, about 25 kilometers deep into the mountains of San Marcelino, was among the upland communities heavily damaged by ash, sand and other volcanic debris spewed by Pinatubo.

But it was only during the ensuing rainy season that Buhawen really fell. As rains washed down the volcanic materials from the surrounding slopes, the debris dammed the Mapanuepe River downstream and soon flooded the Mapanuepe Valley, where the villages of Buhawen and Aglao were located.

Despite the heavy odds, residents here have not only survived the Pinatubo eruption; they have prevailed.

Today, a new Buhawen stands at Sitio Pili, growing back at the old hillside site where miners were allotted their living quarters by Benguet Corp., which then operated the Dizon mines.

Retaining the order at the old corporate village, Buhawen now looks like a model community with a gated entrance, an orderly row of houses mostly surrounded by small flower gardens, and paved roads lined on the sides by painted stones.

At the village plaza, happy-looking children played tag that rainy Saturday, sheltered by the roof of the covered basketball court.

“Maybe because we’re a resilient lot,” said Mylene, a store owner, who offered to cook our lunch of boiled rice and dry pork adobo during our visit. She said the old folks—mostly

of Ilocano stock that intermarried with native Zambals and some members of the Aeta tribe—experienced a lot of hardship, “but they’re used to the hard life so they adapted well.”

Mylene was born at the new Buhawen after the eruption, but she can recall the stories her parents and other relatives told about the evacuation and their subsequent return to Pili when it was already safe.

She learned that, after the eruption, the Buhawen residents took on odd jobs—mostly serving as laborers in construction sites in town, planting and harvesting rice in lowland barangays. In between jobs, they cleared their old lots in Pili, scraping 1 to 3 feet of Pinatubo sand off their property, until it was again habitable.

With a new home, the residents of Buhawen said life soon returned to normal.

That Saturday when we visited Pili, Ernie Barron and Joel Linggay had just returned from plowing their farm in Aglao across the lake. That is where most of the farms are, Ernie said, because Pili is a hilly area and permits little farming.

Most of the local farmers grow palay, vegetables and root crops, like sweet camote and cassava, which they sell at the town market.

Aside from farming, Buhawen residents now mostly earn their livelihood from working out of town. Her husband, for example, works at the Hanjin shipyard in Subic town. Some have found work in Manila, and not a few “more fortunate” residents have secured well-paying jobs abroad, mostly in the Middle East, Mylene said.

Still others earned their keep by engaging in black-sand mining, using magnets mano-a-mano to separate magnetite from the tons and tons of sand deposited by Pinatubo eruption on the Santo Tomas River. This activity, however, was only possible during the rainy season, when the strong river current churned the sand, making it easy to separate the light volcanic deposits from the heavier magnetite.

Then lately, Mylene added, more and more locals have turned their attention to what was apparently the Buhawen residents’ first love—gold mining.

As a mining community, Buhawen was famous for its mineral deposits that included gold, silver, copper and chromite.

In the heyday of the BenguetDizon mining concession, it was estimated that at least 500 hectares of the mountain in Buhawen, specifically its three sitios of Naban, Tikis and Sayasay, have been exploited by the mining firms.

That time, the employees were paid about P15 per hour, making them one of the highest-paid workers in the province, said Edward Barron, 41, whose father worked as all-around equipment operator at the Benguet mines.

After Benguet Corp. ceased operations in 1997, some locals scavenged for silver-copper con-

centrates at the old mine sites, Edward said. “But later on, we learned from Igorot natives who were miners here about small-scale mining and, since then, we have been mining on our own.”

As of now, Edward said about 40 percent of the menfolk in Buhawen engage in this rediscovered passion—digging for gold.

“Those who are not into farming, and those who have no permanent jobs, naturally turn to mining,” Edward noted.

Small-scale mining in Buhawen seems to be an easier alternative for local menfolk, most of whom are children of former workers at the Benguet mines or former miners themselves.

Along the road to Camalca, another Buhawen sitio farther east of Ipil, are the easily recognizable entrances to small mine shafts, most of them shored by timber and barred with makeshift gates made of tree branches.

These lead down to small one-man tunnels from where the brown-colored gold-bearing rocks are pried out.

In front of these entrances are parked the motor scooters of miners, the choice means of transportation that allows them easy movement along the dirt road. Also seen are some small trucks that collect sacks of gold rocks from the small mine sites and bring them to makeshift mills that grind the rocks to bring out the gold inside.

Small-scale mining is hard work, and bereft of any scientific survey, it is mostly depended on luck, said Noel Antonio, 39, one of the locals digging along the Camalca road.

“Tsamba-tsamba lang [We operate on pure luck],” Noel said. “Oftentimes, we make an average of P250 to P300 a day, but there are times when we earn less than P50 a week.”

Tunneling for gold is also a dangerous occupation, said Vilmer Caceres, a 56-year-old former Benguet worker who was a tunnel worker for 20 years.

At Camalca, Vilmer has his own tunnel, but he advises against digging too deep.

“Delikado ang mahabang tunnel dito kasi malambot ang lupa,” he said. “Mahaba na iyong 20 meters.”

At a makeshift ore mill in Pili, Hermie Dagun, 39, was washing the crushed ore with water to remove the mud-like detritus and allow the heavier gold-bearing grains to settle.

Hermie, the son of another former mine worker, also works with a gang to mine gold-bearing rocks in Camalca, and here they pay the mill owner P500 to crush their 15 sacks of rocks they have collected.

The 15 sacks take about two hours to grind, but with just a few sacks done, Hermie already had some grains to show, although the small shiny grains hardly looked like the gold everyone at Buhawen seemed to be crazy about.

But the small grains of gold, upon reaching a weight of 1 gram, would fetch him P1,000, Hermie said.

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NewsSunday BusinessMirror

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Sunday, June 19, 2016 A3

Youth group worried on Oplan Rody implementation

A

RECENTLY organized youth organization, the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK), has expressed “deep concern” on the ongoing police operations in several cities in Metro Manila and provinces.

In a statement, the group claimed that Oplan Rody or Rid the Streets of Drunkards and Youth, which enforces antivice, decency and curfew decrees, “shows utter disregard to realities” of an evolving and booming metropolis and will “harken back to the darker days of our history.”

SPARK said Oplan Rody and the various city council resolutions have failed to account for major societal changes in the country, making hundreds of thousands of enrolled, working and even out-ofschool youth automatic prey to the absolutist and unrealistic decrees.

The youth activists also called for the immediate end of Oplan Rody, until “city councils modify their resolutions and take into consideration the realities of present-day conditions, lay down the mechanisms that will safeguard the youth from human-rights abuses possibly by law-enforcement units and, more important, address the societal roots of petty crime.”

Implementation of Oplan Rody is reported to be in full swing in the cities of Quezon, Las Piñas, Manila, Pasay, Caloocan, Malabon, Mandaluyong and Makati.

Recently, the group said the cities of Bacoor in Cavite and Lipa in Batangas have, as well, “activated” their long-standing ordinances to

prohibit minors outside their homes from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Police officials in Mandaue City in Cebu province also intend to implement their curfew ordinance that was passed in 1999. The mayor of Baguio City has also publicly expressed his support for Oplan Rody.

“On one side, we admit that local governments have the responsibility to curb petty crime and vice but then again, it counteracts other programs that the national government has implemented only recently,” said Joanne Lim, member of the National Secretariat of SPARK. The Diliman-based activist said the city mayors and the police have mindlessly and indiscriminately enforced their “Jurassic” ordinances

in an effort to get into the good side of the Duterte administration without taking into account the day-to-day struggles of commuting and working students.

“If Oplan Rody’s implementation in Metro Manila systematically and indiscriminately victimized students in the past weeks, how much more if implemented, as well, in the cities and municipalities around Metro Manila, where they are enrolled and employed,” Lim said.

“If only students do not suffer from horrendous traffic jams, flooded streets in the rainy season and inadequate public-transport systems on a daily basis, then it can be implemented as early as 10 p.m., but that is not the case. The immense

volume of people traveling to and from Cavite, Rizal and Laguna, many of them students, will require longer traveling hours,” she added.

Lim said senior high-school students, as well as working students, will need more latitude and consideration from authorities.

“To implement the curfew in the manner which is done as seen on television is not only traumatic but also indiscriminate. Such draconian measures and methods cannot be implemented without violation of human rights, because all minors found past 10 p.m., are under the presumption of criminal activity, not unless proven to be enrolled or came from their graveyard shift at work,” she said.

Pangilinan optimistic on coco-levy fund release

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ETURNING Sen. Francis Pangilinan is optimistic on the release of the coco-levy funds, after the recent pronouncements by President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte made through incoming Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, that the administration will pursue the release of the funds.

“I hope that justice for the exploitation and the deprivation suffered by our coconut farmers for over four decades will soon be rendered,” said Pangilinan, who served as chairman of the Senate Committee of Agricul-

ture and Food from 2010 to 2013 during his second term as senator.

The coco-levy fund started in 1973, when a levy of 55 centavos for every 100 kilograms was collected from each coconut farmer as means to “stabilize” market prices of coconut-based consumer goods, like cooking oil.

The levy was increased to P20 in 1974 to “finance” the development of a hybrid coconut tree, with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PLA) acting as conduit and oversight. The coconut farmers protested that they did

not benefit from the levy. However, protesting farmers were subjected to harassment, imprisonment and even killed during the imposition of martial law. Until 2012, the fund has been stuck in court disputes, and now amounts to P72 billion.

Pangilinan, however, raised concerns about the reported plan to return the funds directly to the farmercontributors of the levies.

“There is a need to determine the mechanism to be put in place to release the coco-levy fund to the real farmers, as envisioned by the

incoming administration. There are over 3 million coconut farmers nationwide. How will the fund be released? If it is an outright distribution of the cash, now in the national treasury amounting to some P72 billion, this will mean each farmer will get P20,000. This is about the same amount a copra farmer earns in one year and will clearly not go very far in addressing the plight of the impoverished farmer,” Pangilinan said.

The Supreme Court ruled the coco-levy fund to be public fund and that it is to be used only for

the benefit of the coconut farmers and the coconut industry. As public funds, the utilization should be in pursuant to a law.

“I will refile a bill establishing the coco-levy trust fund, measure that will place the amount of P72 billion in a perpetual-trust fund in which only the interest income will be used to support programs that will aggressively push for coco-enterprise development for the benefit of the coconut farmers and the industry,” Pangilinan added.

As a complementary program,

the PCA under Pangilinan’s leadership spearheaded the establishment of Kaanib Coconut Agro-Industrial Hubs in several parts of the country.

It was conceptualized as a strategic partnership linking Kaanib micro and small enterprises, cooperatives and organizations to central business units serving as the secondary processor of coconut products into value-added products, such as coco sugar. The business units also help integrate the products into the market and provide information and technology to coconut farmers. Butch Fernandez

A4 Sunday, June 19, 2016

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

More than 1 million now enrolled in SHS

M

ORE than 1 million students are now enrolled in senior-high school (SHS) nationwide, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Friday.

Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro boasted that the number of SHS enrollees has breached the 1-million mark with a total of 1,039,047 students recorded as of 4:30 p.m.

“We have hit one million online registration of senior-high schools at 11:17 this morning. This is not the official enrollment. The enrollment is actually per school. We asked every school to submit to us, per student, per learner reference number, plus additional information on the actual enrollment,” Luistro said, as he expressed optimism that the number of enrollees will hit 90 percent of the expected number

by August, when all private schools have already opened.

“If I could start at the bottom, if you will notice, our number of participating schools is at 9,504. That’s the total number of schools offering senior-high school that have submitted [reports]. The total number of senior-high schools is around 11,000,” he added.

Luistro said only around 9,500 have actually entered the system and entered their partial list of enrollees as of Friday “It is a critical element in our monitoring because, even if this is only at 87-percent submission, and the schools participating may

not have fully submitted a 100 percent, because some of them have still ongoing enrollment, we have already hit one million students,” he reiterated.

The DepEd expects the number to rise, as it earlier estimated that about 1.5 million learners will enroll in SHS. “Napatunayan ng Pilipino na handa tayo sa pagbabago. Nakatawid na tayo sa liwanag. Kaya naman pala ng Pinoy kung ating pagtutulungan,” Luistro said.

Of the number of enrollees, at least 690,602 SHS students are enrolled in public schools; more than 337, 511 are in private schools; and 10, 934 enrolled in state universities and colleges.

The DepEd’s real-time Learner Information System revealed that at least 629,703 chose to take the academic track; 404,932 the technical-vocational-livelihood track; 2,835 in arts and design track; and 1,577 in the sports track. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco with Leandro Anton Castro

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Federalism gaining adherents–Pimentel

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

F

ORMER Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Friday claimed that the federal form of government, being pushed by Presidentelect Rodrigo R. Duterte, is now gaining more support and interest from the public.

“Mukhang nae-excite na sila [it looks like they are already excited],” Pimentel said, noting that Filipinos are starting to gain interest on the system.

Pimentel was interviewed by reporters after a forum hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of the Philippines at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

To prove his statement, Pimentel said: “we [proponents of federalism] are getting more invitations to talk about it and that is a good thing,” Pimentel added. The former senator said he had received an invitation from Iba, Zambales, and will be in Bacolod City later to discuss the system.

During the forum, Pimentel maintained that a federal form of government would better

PIMENTEL: “They will have the power to start their own development, meaning to say, attraction of investors, which will, in effect, result in the employment of people.”

address concerns of communities and different sectors, adding that a shift to such system would grant more power to local government units in steering their respective jurisdictions.

“They will have the power to start their own development, meaning to say, attraction of investors, which will, in effect, result in the employment of people,” he said.

In a presentation of his 1982 proposal, Pimentel recommended a 20-80 split of the country’s revenues, with 20 percent going to the federal government, and 80 percent to the proposed 11 federal states. This is a big jump from the current 60-40 split, with the bigger share going to the national government.

In addition, Pimentel also

proposed the creation of an equalization fund that will be enshrined in a new constitution.

He added that the creation of the said fund would “address the reality that not all the federal states are born equal, in terms of resources and opportunities.”

The fund shall be disbursed by the federal government to states in “dire need of development.”

Pimentel also allayed fears that the 80-percent share would be more prone to corruption, especially from political dynasties or warlords.

“I-specify na kung ilan doon sa 80 percent na pupunta doon sa federal states ang pupunta doon sa mga gobyerno-lokal. At, huwag kalimutan na hindi natin ina-abolish ang Commission on Audit,” he said.

Pimentel is one of the founders of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), the party of President-elect Duterte.

During his campaign, Duterte was vocal of his support for federalism. In 1986 Pimentel appointed Duterte as officer in charge of the Davao City office of the vice mayor. With Leandro

Anton Castro and Denise Maisie Joven

Dela Rosa to police commanders: Get your tan in the streets, not on the golf course

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

T

HE incoming National Police (PNP) chief wants unit commanders to personally lead the operations against illegal drugs and other crimes, and not be regular fixtures in golf courses. Chief Supt.

Ronald dela Rosa, who will replace Director General Ricardo C. Marquez on July 1 as National Police chief, said he would send commanders to the streets to lead their men in operations and not merely monitor operations within the confines of their air-conditioned rooms.

Dela Rosa said he wanted police commanders and station chiefs to “tan their skin [by] joining the hunt against criminals, including drug lords and pushers, out on the streets and not in playing golf.

“Not only directors, all chiefs of police, station commanders, we will make sure that you will not see those smooth-skinned commanders because they stay inside air-conditioned offices,” dela Rosa added.

“My requirement for field commanders...they should tan their skin by being out in the streets and not by playing golf,” he added.

Earlier, dela Rosa announced that one of his first orders would be the reshuffle of 15 PNP regional directors to ensure that he has the

right man at the right position.

Meanwhile, dela Rosa said he would welcome illegal-drug peddlers who are willing change and lead government authorities to their suppliers and protectors, including police officers.

“Those people are very much welcome. We all want change. If we want to change, we should welcome them,” he added.

De la Rosa said his first six months in office will be focused on curbing the proliferation of illegal drugs and cleansing the police ranks of scalawags, including officers who are involved in the illegal-drug trade.

“It does not mean that we will concentrate only on illegal drugs. We will just prioritize drugs, but at the same time, we will operate against all forms of criminality, including petty crimes,” he said.

“Also, when we address the proliferation of illegal drugs, we also solve petty crimes…if you notice, snatchers are those who are into shabu [methamphetamine hydrochloride],” dela Rosa added.

He said policemen should take their duty in fighting criminality as personal crusade.

“It should be personal and not just a job. This is the kind of thinking that policemen should have so that we can finish these criminals,” dela Rosa said.

Bill tightening antigraft law waiting for Aquino signature

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

MEASURE extending the prescriptive period in the filing of graft and plunder cases from 15 to 20 years is now awaiting the signature of President Aquino.

The bill seeks to amend of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as amended.

The Senate and the House of Representatives approved the final version of the proposal prior to the congressional sine die adjournment on June 6. The adopted bill seeks to amend Section 11 of RA 3019, so that “all offenses punishable under the act shall prescribe in 20 years.”

When RA 3019 was enacted on August 17, 1960, the original prescriptive period was 10 years.

When the law was amended on March 16, 1982, by virtue of Batas Pambansa Bilang 195, which amended Sections 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13

of RA 3019, the prescriptive period was changed to 15 years.

House Deputy Speaker and Nationalist Peoples’s Coalition Rep. Giorgidi B. Aggabao of Isabela, one of the authors of the measure, said extending the prescriptive period would ensure that those who violate the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act would not be able to escape liability by mere technicality of the current 15-year prescription period.”

Aggabao said the extended prescriptive period is also in compliance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption that the Philippines has signed.

“Violations of the antigraft and corruption law are considered to be one of the most difficult crimes to investigate and prosecute,” he said.

“They thrive in secrecy and the uncovering of new information to build up the case relatively takes considerable amount of time,” the lawmaker said.

Pressing the case Party-list Rep. Jonathan A. de la Cruz of Abakada and lawyer Jose Amor Amorado of the campaign camp of Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. attend the continuation of the

preliminary investigation of the violation of the cybercrime law they filed against personnel of Smartmatic and Commission on Elections over their unauthorized change in the script of the transparency server. They, however, learned that one of the respondents, Mauricio Herrera, had already left the country for his country of Panama despite earlier assurances that none of the Smartmatic personnel would leave the country.

DILG unseats Negros Oriental gov

By Juancho Gallarde Philippines News Agency

D

UMAGUETE CITY— Re-elected Vice Gov. Edward Mark Macias of Negros Oriental has assumed as governor of the province by operation of law effective on Friday, following the service of the dismissal order of the Ombudsman by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to Gov. Roel Ragay Degamo at past 4 p.m.

Interior Negros Island Region (NIR) Acting Regional Director Margie Biligan implemented the decision of the Ombudsman to dismiss Degamo from the service, even if Degamo refused to receive the order saying that he has not received a copy of the Ombudsman decision.

Biligan was provided heavy security in serving the Ombudsman order with more than 100 policemen, headed by Senior Supt. Harris Fama, Negros Oriental police commander, as hundreds of Degamo’s supporters blocked the main door of the Capitol.

However, cooler heads prevailed as the DILG regional director was met by Degamo’s lawyers—Assistant Provincial Administrator Froilan Pinili and Justo Paras, assisted by Nevino Cardente and Jose Baldado.

Interior Provincial Director Dennis Quiñones accompanied Biligan.

After posting the order of the Ombudsman on the walls of the provincial capitol, Biligan went directly to Royal Suites Inn in Bantayan, Dumaguete City, where Macias was waiting for his assumption as governor.

Biligan said she was merely bringing the order for Macias to assume as governor.

Macias took his oath as governor past 5 o’clock in the afternoon before Executive Judge Gerardo Paguio Jr. of the Regional Trial Court in Dumaguete City.

The dismissal of Degamo stemmed from the complaint filed by a certain June Vicente Manuel Gaudan for malversation of public funds and grave misconduct in the use

of the P480-million calamity fund in 2012, after the province was badly devastated by Typhoon Sendong.

Degamo had refused to step down as governor, saying the DILG’s implementation of the Ombudsman order was illegal and highly irregular, as he being the respondent has not received a copy of such order, which he said is so unfair.

The governor earlier said legal remedies have been exhausted in telling the people of Negros Oriental that he is still the governor of the province. Degamo considers the case against him as political harassment by his opponents who cannot accept defeat.

Since Macias has assumed as governor, the vice governor’s position is vacant.

By operation of law, Board Member Liland Estacion would have assumed as vice governor, but the DILG did not have any order for her to assume office as vice governor.

In an earlier interview, Estacion said she will not assume

as vice governor even for two weeks out of respect to the governor, “who was unfairly judged without the benefit of the due process of law.”

Dumaguete Mayor-elect Felipe Antonio Remollo earlier said the order may be executory but it is not final, as Degamo, upon receipt of the order, has five days within which to make an answer.

T he problem in this case is that Degamo did not receive such order and the DILG ig nored the pleadings of Degamo’s law yers not to implement the same.

In his first day in office as governor, Macias said he will issue a memorandum informing all department heads that he is now the governor of the province of Negros Oriental.

Since Degamo will not vacate his office, Macias said he will discharge his duties and functions as governor at his office inside the legislative building.

Initial plans of Macias is to look into the records and the job orders of the provincial capitol.

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

FATHER’S DAY Sunday, June 19, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A5

HOW BIG BOYS TELL PAPA ‘I LOVE YOU’ T

By Vernon Velasco

HERE are days when us men realize our dads need caring.

They’ve neglected themselves and are always worn out from work.

We begin to worry, but are afraid to go drama queen on them, because it might look cheesy and over-the-top.

Big boys, sometimes, find it hard to articulate their feelings; it’s harder expressing our worries to other boys.

Nowadays, we don’t say “dude, take care” or “dude, you rest na,” lest we’re complicit in “bromance”.

We’ve become so concerned of our sexuality and always felt the need to break our necks like a man.

But I’m falling short of my filial duty. And so I express it as macho as I know how, which is not to sound as soft and corny as my doting sister.

Here’s what I did:

Give him a glass of water

DOTING on parents isn’t really amorphous—it’s as simple as giving them a glass of water.

But why I muster all my manly strength to wake up and serve pop in the middle of the night isn’t as much borne out of doting as of paranoia.

As a child, I heard a lot of stories of men, young and old, dying a sudden death in their beds.

I’ve felt this haunting vulnerability for my dad and eventually

grown uber vigilant, having sleepless nights watching my father sleep.

Still, I do it very discreetly and in a way that is detached and macho. It’s not a scene from Sleeping Beauty.

When I learned that a drink before bedtime is all it takes to wean off nightmares, I’ve since been handing dad the quencher and with Enervon at the ready—all that and my momma’s endearing jealousy when I call her from my room to ask for a glass of water.

Spend time alone with dad

IF dad and I ever bond, it’s not over bottles, but while watching TV.

He asks me about what I think about the news. Then he goes about reciting history and personal opinion I don’t want to hear to begin with. It’s out of the context. It’s obviously a silly move to initiate an idle talk.

I know aging people go through midlife crisis sometimes, but dad is too young to be so papansin.

I remember dad would refuse to carry me in his arms because “you’re damulag already.” But now

that I and my brothers are big boys for real, he always seems at lost as to whom and when he can give his fatherly advice. Tell you what, it isn’t a male menopause.

It’s a male pride.

Fathers are not really snobby; they’re corny people. Like your mom, your dad cried, too, when he learned that you’re gay. But they could not get their panties in a twist, because they’re old enough—they’re afraid we might laugh at them.

Our dads didn’t change. We do.

Help dad quit smoking

THE day my parents realized that I’ve really taken to cigarettes, my mother almost cried and my father was surprisingly composed.

My father, 41, has been smoking since he was 16, and I was always the first, among the family, who secretly worried about him, so as to talk him into quitting. Even now that I’m smoking myself, still I’ve never been remissing in my effort to take it out of his system.

No good parent would take it

sitting down that their son is engaged with something fundamentally “wayward,” but really, how does a father reprimand a son with the same sin he’s guilty of?

I took my father’s silence, not that he’s past caring. I took it as an implicit sign of fear I think we, caring people, all share—the fear of something, be it deteriorating health—we are rather not as much afraid of when it happens to us, as when it happens to our loved ones.

Make him worry about me

LIKE any other, dad loves beeping frantic calls when I’m out at 12 a.m.

I don’t drop the call, because I know he’s worried—really worried!—he’ll go out to fetch me at the kanto.

I’ve had enough of dad’s histrionics. But I can only get used to it.

We grow up; our dads grow old.

And I learned that all it takes to make up is to put my arm on his shoulders, while I ask him about his day homeward-bound.

A FATHER’S DAY TREAT AT THE BODY SHOP

G

IVE dad a gift of great grooming on Father’s Day with bodyand skin-pampering products from The Body Shop. These are not only made from natural ingredients, but products that support community-trade principles globally.

Introduce him with The Body Shop’s “Spa of The World” range for an at-home spa experience. There is the Hawaiian kukui cream with kukui oil that helps restore skin’s natural suppleness. Help him relax after a hectic day at work with Spa of The World French lavender massage oil with lavender essential oil, from the south of France, which has a natural relaxing scent, which promotes a

sense of well-being; or the invigorating Thai lemongrass massage oil, which boosts vitality, awakes senses and revitalizes the skin. The Polynesian monoi radiance oil, on the other hand, leaves skin and hair silky soft, and can be used as a hair treatment, massage oil or bath soak.

Other great ways to pamper dad from The Body Shop: Maca Root shave cream, Kistna hair and body wash, Activist shower gel, White Musk Sport antiperspirant deodorant and Red Musk Eau de Parfum, all made with organic and cruelty-free ingredients.

The best part is that The Body Shop offers 30-pecent off on its Men’s

1

2

3

4

category from June 2 to June 29.

The Body Shop now accepts SM Advantage Card for points earning and redemption, and SM and Sodexo premium pass in all its stores nationwide.

The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick in Littlehampton, England. The beauty brand pioneered corporate activism and was built on a philosophy that “business can be a force for good.” With its brand expression “Beauty with Heart,” the company continues to be focused on five core values: Against animal-testing, support community-fair trade, activate self-esteem, defend human rights and protect the planet. All products are created using the finest ingredients sourced from the four corners of the globe, which are not tested on animals and are 100-percent vegetarian.

The Body Shop has been in the Philippine market for 18 years, with over 55 strategically located stores nationwide.

1 The quick drying White Musk Sport antiperspirant deodorant for men has a zest citrus scent, with a hint of warmth and lasting freshness.

2 Defy conventions with Red Musk Eau de Toilette.

Spiced musk with hot notes of cinnamon and intense tobacco for a distinctly different fragrance. No flowers—just a bold blend of musk and spice, containing cruelty-free musk.

3 Activist shower gel is a soap-free shower gel for men that has a warm, spicy scent. It comes in a squeezable tube, making it perfect for travel or the gym.

4 Shop for dad at The Body Shop and enjoy 30-percent off on its Men’s category from June 2 to June 29.

A6 Sunday, June 19, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

Govts slow to respond to elder abuse

L

ONDON—Although instances of elder abuse are widespread around the world, many government responses have been inadequate.

Although there is evidence that elder abuse is a global problem, many governments fail to even collect data on the problem. In 2014 a World Health Organization, UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Development Program Global Status Report on violence prevention showed that, of the 133 countries surveyed, only 17 percent reported any survey data on elder abuse, and of these, the majority were in high-income countries.

In Tanzania the Legal and Human Rights Centre reported that 630 older people had been murdered in 2012; a year later this number had risen to 765.

Family members carried out many of the killings, accusing older women of witchcraft and stealing their property, land and assets.

On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, we remember the many older women who have been chased away by their husband’s relatives following his death. The main cause for this kind of abuse is said to be property, with witchcraft often being used as an excuse. Witchcraft is associated with old age and, unbelievably, allegations are often still believed when an older person is accused. Those whose husbands are alive tend not to suffer so much.

Any new international legal instrument on older people’s rights should provide the right to make advance directives, living wills and other legally binding documents setting out a person’s preferences for their end of life.

Mariam, 61, married with two children and six grandchildren, is from Mwanza, Tanzania, where many of the killings have taken place.

Mariam told Help Age International, an international organization working to reduce the prevalence of elder abuse, about why addressing this problem is so important to her. “I feel really bad about this, which is why I and others have volunteered to play an advisory role,” said Mariam, one of many older women working to change negative community attitudes, behaviors and practices through human-rights training and awareness raising.

Mariam grows maize and rice, and keeps chickens and 30 ducks, which she plans to leave her two children.

She has also learned how to write a will and is happy that she has had a chance to decide how her property will be distributed, ensuring that all her children benefit. She has now made sure that her property will go to both her son and daughter. In the past, only her son would have benefited.

She recounts how she had a brother who died without leaving a will.

All his property was lost and his children have suffered. She is determined that only her daughter and son will benefit when she dies and nobody else.

Help Age’s Age Demands Action campaigners in Tanzania will be calling on their government to attend the seventh session of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing in December, prepared to talk about what they would like to see in a new convention on older people’s rights.

Their action will be echoed around the world, where the civil society organizations that are part of the HelpAge Global Network will organize a concerted effort to lobby their national governments. Inter Press Service

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WO people with sensitive information have responded to this column last Tuesday. (Breaking tradition and status quo is honorable even if it’s a thankless, excruciating job.) One suggested to incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte to:

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

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Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP-Corporate Affairs VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Intelligence funds and benchmarking T

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Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

1. Require outgoing President Aquino to submit a detailed accounting of the more than P3 billion in anticrime intelligence funds, at P560 million per year in six years.

These funds were placed directly under the Office of the President and administered by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. They must be required to explain why they have such a big amount of money when, in fact, both departments (defense and local government) have separate huge intelligence funds for the same type and description of work.

In addition to these, the military and police organizations, under these departments, have also their own separate intelligence funds.

2. Require former Justice Secretary and now Sen. Leila M. de Lima and her successors to submit detailed expenses on how the multibillion-peso Witness Protection Funds were spent.

During her tenure at the justice department, the allowance of witnesses was only P7,000 per head, but when she left office to run for the Senate, her successors gave P12,500 for each witness.

The difference of P5,500 computed with the number of witnesses is, indeed, a huge amount.

3. Another revelation reaching database came in the form of a query, as to why the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not been conducting raids against illegal online gaming rampantly operating in the country, particularly in Manila, Makati and Quezon City.

Pieces of information relayed to this column disclosed that millions of pesos of monthly payola from online operators are being funneled to unscrupulous officials.

The other man who reacted to this column suggested to incoming Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III to look into the existing benchmarking policy in the Bureau of Customs, which has become “a very serious source of multibillion-peso corruption in that agency.”

It was suggested that the incoming NBI director should consider relieving the people involved. “Otherwise, he will soon realize that the matter is already in his own backyard.”

Benchmarking policy

THE other man who reacted to this column suggested to incoming Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III to look into the existing benchmarking policy in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which has become “a very serious source of multibillion-peso corruption in that agency.”

“Benchmarking is also the reason there’s always a critical shortfall in the collection of taxes by the BOC,” the information said.

It was mentioned that, since the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 40-footer and 20-footer containers are benchmarked at certain amounts, say P180,000 and P140,000, respectively, regardless of the taxable imported items and other goods in the containers, without requiring first the examination and appraisal of the true value of the shipment.

This is a very serious method of smuggling, because a container can load dutiable items worth between P20 million and P50 million without the BOC knowing it.

In addition to the benchmarked amounts, importers have to shell out additional 30 percent to 40

percent more for under-the-table transactions for the corrupt people in the office of the commissioner, deputy commissioners and other officials and their underlings, the information said.

This huge payola is the cause of rampant corruption in the BOC, considering that the major customs ports in the country averages 7,000 containers of goods a day, mostly consumer items, including rice, corn, wheat, sugar and peanuts, which are usually declared as tiles and other construction materials to compensate the true weight of the smuggled shipment.

This benchmarking practice is illegal per se because the country is now under a transaction-value regime, where shipments must be transparently examined, appraised and the true tax value collected based on the prices agreed upon between importers and exporters as required by the rules of the World Trade Organization and the World Customs Organization, under which the Philippines is a signatory member.

This column humbly suggested earlier that since incoming President Duterte has already started the thankless and excruciating job of breaking the deeply rooted tradition and the status quo in this country, he would no doubt be doing a first and an exemplary job in modern history to do serious, honest-to-goodness radical changes in the government, beginning with the offices of the outgoing President, to do away with the old corrupt practices.

Lest we forget, the Constitution commands in Section 28, Article II, that: “Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.”

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

It’s a bitch S

HOULD we go into bilateral talks with China before or after the Hague decision comes out? Or never? Or should we tell the Chinese we will never talk only to them on this issue?

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

A killer for God H

By Richard Rodriguez | Los Angeles Times/ TNS Forum

ERE is the plain and dangerous truth facing the cosmopolitan world: In the opinion of many millions of Jews and Christians and Muslims, the Abrahamic God of the desert is a homophobe.

Omar Mateen, the nightmare killer of Orlando, Florida, may have been, as his ex-wife tells us now, crazed; he may also have been, as she says, abusive. He may have been, she suggests, a closeted gay. His father tells us that Omar Mateen took offense at the sight of two men kissing.

Mateen spent many hours each day in the gym. He left behind selfies taken in the ghost-realm of the bathroom mirror; his face, his form, obviously interested him. In the end, like many mass terrorists we have gotten to know, Omar Mateen was a killer for God. Murder was his confession.

A few weeks ago, Far rok h Sekaleshfar, who is described on Internet sites as a Muslim scholar, was traveling through Orlando, encouraging male listeners at mosques to believe that the remedy for homosexuality is to “get rid” of the vermin.

I have no idea whether Mateen ever heard any of Sekaleshfar’s sermons.

But when he entered the nightclub on Sunday morning, Mateen had evidently convinced himself that he was in league with Islamic State and that murder is prayer.

Almost a year ago, Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish resident of Jerusalem, stabbed six marchers in that city’s gay-pride parade. Schlissel had just been released from prison after serving

Talking only to them is like tantamount to a Philippine recognition that China’s claim is paramount with the possible exception of ours. That way, we are on their side against the US, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.

My answer is three words: “I don’t know.” And I dare anyone to say he knows the right answer now before the decision comes out.

The Hague may refuse finally to decide or render a decision, saying nothing. It may not risk being ignored by the world’s second superpower. That would render the Hague obsolete.

If we deal bilaterally with China now and, shortly after, get a good decision, we throw away good leverage.

On top of which, since we capitulated to China’s only demand—to sit down with it to the exclusion of others, including the Hague—the Hague may not decide after all.

If we don’t deal with China now,

a 10-year sentence for exactly the same crime—stabbing several gaypride revelers in 2005. He told the police in 2015 that he had come to kill “in the name of God.” Last Sunday, within minutes of the terrible news from Orlando, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas, a Baptist, tweeted a verse from Galatians (6:7): “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

After an angry response from other tweeters, Patrick deleted the biblical quote and consigned his views of homosexuality to silence.

Because I am a Christian, I suppose I more easily mock the views of another Christian, like Dan Patrick, toward my homosexuality, than I would mock a Muslim. But the wider problem with the Abrahamic religions remains: How will the new sexual freedoms of the West meet the religious conservatism of the East, especially as immigration has made distinctions between West and East moot in West Detroit or East London?

The desert religions of Abraham —Judaism, Christianity, Islam— were shaped by an encounter with a God who revealed himself within an ecology of almost lunar desolation. In such a place, the call to belief was tribal, not individualistic.

Sexuality was an expression of faith to increase the tribe. Allegiance to God and to one’s ancestors was fulfilled by giving birth.

And it is not only some radical Muslim teacher in a Florida mosque who professes such a theology. Saint Augustine, one of the most sublime teachers of the Christian church, argued that the primary reason for marriage is having children.

Sunday, June 19, 2016 A7

On yet still another hand, if we wait for the decision and it turns out good and then offer the talk, not only will China be pissed with us but the US may cancel the mutual defense treaty just the same, and we will be up the Yangtze without a paddle. By this time, we have more hands than a Hindu deity but none of its options.

I am laying all this down before you to show, that while it is our business in the media to second guess the government, we aren’t much better in a guessing game of this importance.

The only thing I can confidently say is that this is a matter on which we cannot take any foreign advice; and it is a matter that we, the government and the media, must ponder deeply before letting any decision be made.

And don’t forget: the media can be bought and so can a government.

It is hard enough predicting the present, which is to say, predicting if we will ever truly understand the

present before it becomes the past and too late; it is near impossible to predict the past, which is to say the truth of what really happened in the past; and it’s a real bitch predicting the future. Even the collapse of the Metro Rail Transit isn’t obviously the worst government failure in history. We have yet to see what alternative the incoming administration has in mind.

It may opt to use donkeys in line with its vaunted simplicity to pull the coaches on the elevated rails, not least because it is eco-friendly; though there will be plenty of droppings on the street below.

So let’s keep an open mind to all prospects and possibilities, and not be too fast to judge the past or make sense of the present; let alone safely guess the future. The only thing we can be sure of is, if our trust can be betrayed, it will be; so trust no one.

Keep watch.

Arabian and Afghan societies, where men stroll arm in arm and enjoy the night at cafés without women.

My sexual liberation is a Western liberation. I credit my freedom as a gay man to the woman’s movement of the 19th century.

When Oscar Wilde was in jail in England for loving another man, increasing numbers of women in Europe and America were marching for equal civic stature with

men, regardless of whether they were mothers or wives.

Women’s insistence on suffrage expanded in the 20th century to become the demand by women to exist in public as freely as men, and in private to govern their own bodies. In the 21st century, women in Cologne and Stockholm have come to realize that there are immigrant men watching the way they walk down the street, men who take offense at what they are wearing— how little—and their obliviousness to male lust.

As a gay man, walking in East Jerusalem or Dubai or smalltown America, I have to be careful in holding my partner’s hand, or seeming too gay. As a Roman Catholic, I long ago learned to duck my head when the talk was all about love. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that 18 percent of all hate crimes in the US are antigay. The problem with the term “hate crimes” is that it doesn’t get at what is making the world most dangerous. Hate crimes too often are the product of religions affronted by love.

You will say that I exaggerate the problem. America is not Kabul. You would think, perhaps, that Orlando today is relatively safe for two persons of the same sex to dance for their own pleasure. After all, Disney World, a few miles away, has gay nights. And yet, there was the need obviously this last Saturday night for many homosexuals to seek their freedom in a large nightclub of noisy permission, to dance at the joy of being free—free until they were cut down by a believer in the desert God.

we are sure to get a bad deal from China after we get a bad decision.

And if we got a good decision, no power on earth could enforce it without unacceptable cost. So we have nothing, and China will not forget we humiliated it.

On yet another hand, we could simply refuse to deal with China in any event and put all our eggs in the American basket, which may not exist. Unlike during the Cold War, the US has no stable foreign policy today. The US is interested only in freedom of navigation, with which we have nothing to do and from which we have less to gain. We have nothing navigable to speak of.

But if we deal with China now, the US may cancel our mutual defense treaty, even if it does not amount to much in practical terms, because it requires a vote of the US Congress to trigger a US response to a Chinese attack.

Having multiple wives is often excusable in cultures where the woman, as mother, is more important than the woman as wife. Indeed, where women are treated as mothers rather than wives, a certain separation often occurs between male and female societies.

Omar Mateen might have been offended by the sight of two men kissing in Orlando, but one wonders what he have would made of

The first Father’s Day without Dad M

By Laura Black | The Baltimore Sun/ TNS Forum

Y mother calls me and says, “We need to figure out what to put on Daddy’s headstone.”

“How about beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather?”

“No, that’s so ordinary.”

She’s right. It doesn’t begin to capture who he truly was.

“Can we think about it for a couple of days?

“OK, but keep in mind, the funeral home said inscriptions cost $15 a letter.”

Fifteen dollars a letter. With the meter running, I try to think of as few words as possible to capture my father’s life story. He was a 6-foot tall, bespectacled, bald-headed man with an extraordinary spirit. He died from a heart attack, just six months ago, while playing poker in a South Florida casino.

Adjusting to a world without

him unnerves me in unpredictable ways. Just the other day, as I was rushing through the aisles of the grocery store, I automatically steered my cart toward the Father’s Day cards—and stopped cold. It hit me hard. For the first time, I would have no need for one. I would no longer have to choose between funny and sentimental or worry about mailing it early enough to get there by Sunday.

I miss the things I knew I’d miss—his love, kindness, wisdom, steadfastness and ability to see humor in the mundane. I smile remembering the time he jumped up, flapped his arms and danced in sync to the song of the cuckoo clock hanging on our living room wall. I often think of him in his sportinggoods store, where I would help out.

He put out a basket of batteries by the cash register with a sign, “33 cents each or three for a dollar.”

Whenever a customer said, “I’ll

take three,” he’d nudge me in the side with a conspiring nod, paying homage to PT Barnum.

What I didn’t realize I’d miss are the parts of him he never shared. He was not a “do what I say not what I do” parent. He took his patriarchal role seriously and modeled the values he demanded from his children: hard work, integrity, responsibility and optimism.

And now I wonder—what are the feelings and qualities he didn’t show? How wide was the gap between who he was and who he allowed us to see? Did he experience guilt, jealousy or fear? Did he have secret joys or hidden pleasures?

Were there bits of sadness behind the stoicism? Did resentment piggyback on responsibility?

Like so many men of his generation, he kept his feelings to himself and loathed excuses and complaints. Right before his 80th birthday, I asked him to write about

his life. A few weeks later, he sent me a one-page sheet chronologically listing the bare facts: When he and my mother were married, the births of me and my siblings, and his career highlights. I wanted more. I knew he was too content to have demons—but too human not to have vulnerabilities.

Did he simply sweep away doubt, like an annoying gnat, and redirect his energy toward achievement? As a parent of adult children, I sometimes wonder how much of ourselves we should expose to our kids. What are appropriate boundaries? We want them to know they need not be perfect, but is it advisable to expose our own warts and blemishes? We urge them to “find their passion;” is it necessary to disclose if we are stifled in a tedious career? We extol the importance of savings; must we share if our credit cards are maxed?

We tell them to marry for love; do we divulge if we settled for like? How do

we balance authenticity with responsibility? I know there is not a simple or correct answer.

Some fathers are comfortable sharing feelings and emotions with their children, and through the years they develop healthy, friendlike relationships with them. Other fathers, due to aging or illness, have no choice—the parent becomes the child. Still others, like mine, are firmly planted in patriarchal roles, revealing only that which they wish their children to emulate.

In the end, I am grateful that my father stood steadfast on his pedestal. That he was always strong allowed us to sometimes be weak. There was comfort in “father knows best.” He gave us gifts of consistency and predictability. His sense of responsibility and generosity would never allow him to burden us with his own angst. I just need eight letters: $120. “Thank you.”

Sports BusinessMirror

CARGO MOVERS WIN 1ST GAME

F

2 Logistics jump-started its season on a high note with a 25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 25-11 impressive win over Cignal at the start of Philippine Superliga (PSL) AllFilipino Conference on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

F2 Logistics had a hot start, but fumble in the second set before regaining its rhythm in the next two sets to notch the win interclub trournament bankrolled by Asics, Grand Sports, Mikasa, Mueller, Senoh, Focus Athletics, KLab Cyscorpions, Islandrose.net, LGR and Petron, with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

Meanwhile, Petron opened its title retention bid on a high note after dominanting Foton in straight sets, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.

“First set maayos ang performance, kaso nung pangalawa na parang overconfidence kaya siguro nagkaroon ng miscommunication

sa loob ng court at nagkaroon din ng kumpiyansa ‘yung Cignal kaya nahirapan maka-survive nung second set,” F2 Logistics Head Coach Ramil de Jesus said. “Actually, hindi lahat nung nasa starter maganda ‘yung performance, buti nag-deliver ‘yung mga coming from the bench kaya nakatulong sa team,” he added.

The Cargo Movers allowed the HD Spikers to come back in the game with a lethargic performance in the second set. But F2 Logistics, composed mainly of University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion squad De La Salle, regained its composure to deny Cignal of a comeback win. Aby Maraño wounding up with17 hits on nine spikes, five blocks and three service aces, including seven digs and five excellent receptions. Lance Agcaoili

LADY WARRIORS STAY PERFECT

P

OCARI Sweat continued its sizzling start, beating Iriga City, 25-16, 25-18, 24-26, 25-20, for its fifth straight win in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference on Saturday at the Blue Eagle Gym. The semifinals-bound Lady Warriors showed their full domination in the first two sets before allowing the Lady Oragons to get back in the third frame, but recovered in the fourth set to preserve the victory.

Pocari missed the services of Michele Gumabao and Myla Pablo but others stepped up, particularly Elaine Casilag, who led all scorers with 17 points on 11 kills, four service aces and two blocks, including eight digs.

Rossan Fajardo, Luth Malaluan and Cai Nepomuceno all chipped in 12 hits each for the Lady Warriors, who are two wins away of sweeping the elimination round.

But Head Coach Rommel Abella wants his wards to take it one game at a time, as they head to their toughest test, so far, in this season against tournament favorite BaliPure.

“We’re focusing first on BaliPure kasi sila naman game namin next Saturday,” Abella said.

“Para sa akin, ang sinasabi ko sa kanila from the start one game at a time lang and, hopefully, makuha namin ‘yung sa BaliPure.” Iriga City dropped to 1-4 and bowed out in the running for a semifinals berth. Lance Agcaoili

A8 | S

unday, June 19, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

DUSTIN IS BACK C O

AKMONT, Pennsylvania—Dustin Johnson unleashed another powerful tee shot that got lost in the darkening sky over Oakmont.

Positioned some 200 yards away on a forward tee, his caddie tried to track the flight of the ball until he gave up and said, “Where did it go?”

Like he even had to ask.

One year after Johnson let the US Open slip away from him at Chambers Bay, he drove his way to the top of the leaderboard on Friday at Oakmont on a marathon day of 36 holes, with rounds of 67-69 that left him poised for another shot at a major.

“I’ve got a good game plan for this course,” Johnson said. “And if I keep driving it like I am, I’ll be tough to beat.”

More than the long ball, Johnson has a short memory.

For all his chances in the majors—four of them and counting—he has the remarkable capacity to move on. The most crushing was last summer at Chambers Bay, when Johnson had a 12-foot eagle putt to win the US Open and three-putted to finish one behind Jordan Spieth. When asked if last year motivated him, Johnson deadpanned, “What happened last year.” This year has been nothing short of impressive. Johnson played 27 holes before making his only bogey in two rounds. He still hasn’t made a birdie on a par 5. And he was at four-under 136, the best score by two shots of the 50 players, who finished two rounds in the rain-delayed championship.

Andrew Landry had a much shorter day.

The 28-year-old qualifier only had to hit one shot on Friday when he returned in the morning to make a 10-foot birdie putt for a 66 and the lead. It was the best opening round in 10 majors at Oakmont, beating a record shared by Ben Hogan and Tom Watson.

Landry also became the first player in 30 years to have the sole lead after his first US Open round. Now his name shares billing with Johnson, whom Spieth recently described as “arguably the most talented player on the Professional Golfers’ Association [PGA] Tour.”

Landry doesn’t start his second round until Saturday morning.

Three storm delays on Thursday left a disjointed schedule and no clear picture of who’s in control. The nine players who completed the opening round on Thursday, including 19-year-old Scottie Scheffler and his 69, had the entire day off on Friday. Those who had to return to finish the first round initially were given tee times deep into the evening until the US Golf Association decided it best that everyone from that half of the field—including Spieth at two over—start on Saturday morning.

Sergio Garcia, who also knows his share of heartache in the majors, stayed with Johnson as best he could. He made a tough par on No. 4 by playing his third shot from the fifth fairway. And he finished his round with a 50-foot par putt for a 70. Garcia was at two-under 138, along with Scott Piercy, who also went 68-70.

“I’m too old for this,” the 36-year-old Spaniard said. “We know how difficult the US Open is, and here at Oakmont

Warriors to bank on home-court edge

even tougher.” On the leaderboard, they were one shot behind Lee Westwood, who closed with two birdies in the morning for a 67. Daniel Summerhays had a tournament-best 65 and joined Andy Sullivan (68) at one-under 139.

Jim Furyk, a runner-up at Oakmont in the 2007 US Open, also was at one under with one hole remaining before play was halted by darkness.

Johnson made his only bogey when he found a deep bunker left of the first fairway, a rare miss off the tee. He could only advance the ball about 40 yards and narrowly missed a 20foot par putt. He missed plenty of other birdie chances along the way, not alarming because Oakmont’s greens are difficult to putt. AP Dustin Johnson lines up his putt on the seventh hole during the rain-delayed second round of the US Open. AP

LEVELAND—The level of tension is growing rapidly for the Golden State Warriors. Someone gets suspended, someone gets hurt, someone gets ejected and lots of someones make no effort to hide their frustration. A comfortable two-game lead in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals becomes a dicey one-game lead, then no lead at all.

The biggest moment awaits.

The biggest challenge does, too.

Shots aren’t falling for the Warriors at the same rate they were in the regular season, stops aren’t coming like they were a couple months ago either, the aches and pains are piling up and what looked like a sure-fire title not long ago is at best a shaky proposition now. Game Seven of the Finals is on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State is hoping being at home helps deliver a championship-saving elixir.

“Things haven’t gone our way despite how the regular season went,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. “The playoffs haven’t been easy. Hasn’t been a breeze. Hasn’t been anything perfect about it. So, yeah, it’s frustrating, but the work we’ve put in and the opportunity we’ve given ourselves with a Game Seven to win the finals at home, you’ve got to be excited about that.”

The Warriors got questions for months—starting around December, believe it or not—about whether they were concerned that the strain of chasing Chicago’s 72-win mark that stood as the NBA’s gold standard for 20 years would leave them ailing or fatigued at playoff time. Questions like those seem a bit more valid now.