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MVP TO YOUTH DURING RVR AWARD ACCEPTANCE, ‘BE BOLD BECAUSE YOU’RE YOUNG ENOUGH TO FAIL’ MANILA – PLDT chair Manny V. Pangilinan urged the Filipino youth to continue striving for greatness during his acceptance speech of the Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. award for nationbuilding Wednesday night in Makati.

Pangilian shared that he often tells students and young entrepreneurs today, “Be bold because you are young enough to fail.”

He also encouraged the audience— composed of esteemed members from the private and public sector— to continue the good work of helping marginalized Filipinos with their work.

The JCI Manila conferred the annual award on Pangilinan this year “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to nation-building and exemplary corporate citizenship.”

“Over the past two decades, Pangilinan has been a stalwart in today’s local business scene, leading game-changing milestones for some of the country’s biggest companies, and directing corporate foundations for various causes,” JCI said.

Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, chair of the RVR awards board of judges, said Pangilinan personified the essence of the award.

Manuel V. Pangilinan receives the 2015 Ramon V. Del Rosario award for nation-building from retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban (left), chairman of the board of judges during simple ceremonies at Tower Club in Makati City. Also in photo is Mr. Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., president and CEO of Phinma group of companies. Photo by Bernard Testa ©InterAksyon.com

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Davao economic growth tops other Philippine regions in 2014 DAVAO CITY - The Davao regional economic grew the fastest among 15 Philippine regions in 2014.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Davao’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew 9.4 percent. This was announced during the 2014 Report on the Economic Performance of Davao Region held jointly by the PSA Region 11 office and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday at the Ritz Hotel in this city.

“Indeed, 2014 was a banner year for Davao Region, not only because it has sustained its high growth levels in the past three years,” said NEDA director Ma. Lourdes Lim. Lim said the region’s GRDP growth was higher than the national average of 6.1 percent, and marks the third consecutive year that the region surpassed its growth targets.

Lim said the region also contributed 3.9 percent to the Philippines’ GDP, which was valued at P7.2 trillion last year.

Davao Region produced P281.5 billion worth of goods and services, with services contributing the highest at 52.2 percent; followed by industry at 33.4 percent; and agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing at 14.4 percent.

Lim said services grew by 8.3 percent, which was spurred by wholesale/retail, financial intermediation, real estate subsectors given the region’s strategic position as the financial and trading center of Southern Mindanao.

Lim said Davao’s advantage gave way to expansion of business enterprises that increased demand for real estate, not only for office space but also for residential purposes as well.

According to Lim, the expansion of malls and restaurants contributed to the robust wholesale and retail activities in the region.

Davao City, which is ranked first among 37 Philippine outsourcing destinations, hosts 32 ICT companies with an estimated 21,000 fulltime employees and combined earnings of P2 billion per annum.

The industry sector grew the fastest in 2014 at 14.6 percent, propelled by the manufacturing, mining, quarrying, electricity, gas, water supply subsectors.

Under the industry sector, manufacturing contributed the biggest share at 66 percent and grew by 18.8 percent as it sustained performance of processing industries such as cement, food and beverages, and steel billets.

Other sectors also continue to post positive growth such as the construction industry.

Lim said the agriculture sector also rebounded from the devastation of Typhoon Pablo. Agriculture grew 2.4 percent, a turnaround from the 8.1 percent contraction in 2013, and was

slightly short of the 4-percent target.

Lim said the fishing sector contracted by 27.9 percent due to lesser harvest following the imposition of a temporary ban in the Davao Gulf.

According to Lim, the decline can also be attributed to the adverse effects of

climate change such as increase in sea temperatures.

For 2015, Lim said Davao is targeting GRDP growth of 7.5 percent. “By all indications, we are optimistic to be able to achieve that,” she added. n PNA / July 30, 2015 / 8:38 PM

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OFWs encouraged to invest in PTT Philippines’ mini gas stations MANILA - The Philippine unit of Thailand’s PTT is encouraging overseas Filipino workers to invest in its “mini” gasoline stations so that they no longer have to leave their families in order to work abroad.

At the “Talakayansa PTT” press conference Friday in Quezon City, PTT Philippines Corp. (PTTPC) director for operations and logistics Korawat Sungmongkol announced that the “PTT Mini” concept was approved the head office in hai and ear this ear and that co pan officia s prototyping the 600 to 700-square meter gasoline station.

While a typical “compact-size” gas station costs about P7 million to P8 million to build, the mini gas station would cost just P5.5 million to P6 million to build, not counting government fees.

The franchisee would have to build everything except the signage and the dispensing pump.

Sungmongkol explained that the franchisee’s invest amounts to such an amount because of the strict standards and regulation that have to be complied with, such as the thickness of the driveway and the structure of the canal that will catch a possible oil spill and convey it to a treatment area.

But he assured potential partners that PTT was a good choice as it had an international brand, high standards, and a support system.

t was a so e i e in its in est ent terms. “We can talk,” Sungmongkol said.

The mini gas stations were also conceptualized to cater to more areas in the Philippines. The archipelago has less highways and roads compared to Thailand, Sungmongkol said. Just as Petron had already done, PTT fuel stations need to scale down in size to reach more communities.

“We want to go smaller,” he said.

“But we will strike the standard between being small and being worldclass.”

The subsidiary of Thailand’s ar est oi fir etro e thorit of Thailand Public Co (PTT Plc)., PTT Philippines plans to have at least one or two mini gas stations in Luzon by the end of the year to test the market. he first few ini as stations wi e company-owned.

PTT Philippines now has 85 gas stations in the country, a number that is targeted to reach 300 over the next fi e ears with a ost a i ion pesos in investment, president and chief e ec ti e officer an a eri othin said.

There are 74 gas stations in Luzon and in the isa as. he first as station in Mindanao will rise early next year.

Although it has a small market share at aro nd fi e percent the co pan is determined to bring the Asian touch

to an industry dominated by western players. For Sungmongkol, they can succeed in the Philippines through its safety standards, environmental compliance, and attractive design touches.

He took pride in the company being known for their clean restrooms, especia a fi e star one in its “platinum” station in Lucena, Quezon which he promised was “even nicer than in a hotel.”

Although it was a luxurious setup, anyone could use it for a donation that would go to a local association of persons with disabilities. It was a fee that many were willing to give, with some even donating as much as P1,000 because of the posh amenities.

“We were even asking them to make sure they did not make a mistake, thinking it was a P100 bill,” n on o said. he first ro nd of donations reached about P100,000.”

The company planned to put up the same in Metro Manila because these clean, luxurious restrooms made people happy, Sungmongkol said. A restroom that travelers would not mind using was no longer a rarity. n ne ne t ear the first phase of hi ippines first e astation along the northbound lane of SCTEX would also be completed. This would have car repair facilities, a convenience store, a canteen, and a restroom.

Phase two will be the rise of

PTT Philippines Foundation president Paul Senador, director for operations and logistics Korawat Sungmongkol, president and chief executive officer Sukanya Seriyothin, and corporate communications manager VittayaViboonterawud. Photographed by Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com

a commercial complex similar to what motorists see along NLEX. The construction will be in partnership with real estate developers. There will be restaurants, boutiques, and pasalubong centers in a building that is designed to be relaxing and natureinspired, Sungmongkol said.

The company’s vision is to have a “green, clean, and friendly station,” he added.

PTT Philippines would continue growing, Seriyothin said, despite low oil prices. While other companies had laid employees off, PTT Philippines would continue to increase its staff.

This was because the company

is bent on being the top brand in the Philippines, Seriyothin said.

“Other segments such as aviation, commercial, bunkering, and lubricants would be growing, as well.”

PTT Philippines Foundation president Paul Senador also noted that the company was sustaining its environmental activities in the country, having planted 100,000 trees in a 50-hectare spot in Bataan Natural Park.

The company is also supporting the Magbukun indigenous tribe by making a livelihood out of protecting the trees that they planted, he said. n Tricia Aquino / InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 6:03 PM

Threat of water shortage in Metro Manila looms as El Nino intensifies MANILA - The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned that it sees only “below normal” rainfall in Bulacan, where Angat Dam lies, following what it foresees as an intensification of the El Niño in the country starting in October this year.

“Majority of the provinces in Region 3 are expected to have way below normal rainfall,” said Pagasa senior weather specialist Anthony Lucero Thursday during an inter-agency forum of Pagasa, National Water Resources Board (NWRB), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), with Manila Water and Maynilad also in attendance.

According to data compiled by Pagasa, 7 up to 11 tropical storms will enter the Philippines starting in August until January 2016, but the country will experience most of the rains before October this year.

Out of the rains spawned by these storms, only 30% of historical normal rainfall will fall in Bulacan when October comes, particularly at Angat Dam, from where Metro Manila sources its water supply.

To make matters worse, the NWRB estimates that even though there will be rains until September, the water level of the dam will reach only 197 meters at the end of that month, way below the 210 meters the dam needs to ensure sufficient water supply for consumers in Metro Manila.

As the agency sees it, this may bring about a water shortage when the dry season comes next year.

“With the projection of Pagasa, there is the threat that a constraint on the water supply will happen. But we are managing it, hopefully the situation will improve, and with proper management we can address the requirements of our consumers,” said Sevillo David Jr., executive director for NWRB. Due to this, the NWRB will maintain

the water allocation to MWSS at only 41 cubic meters per seconds until August. At the end of August, the agency will review again whether to reduce it further because of the impending strengthening of the El Niño.

Water concessionaires preparing.

According to the MWSS, the water concessionaires are already preparing for the possibility of a water shortage next year, and in reality, they are more prepared now than during the El Niño in 2010.

“During a simulation, a longer period was set wherein one cannot expect any rains. In their (Pagasa’s) forecast, the rainfall one can expect during the months of October, November, and December was below normal. And then after that comes the summer season. So that is what one needs to preprare for. The objective now

is to conserve water at Angat Dam so that you will have water supply during that extended period,” said Atty. Nathaniel Santos, senior deputy administrator for MWSS. Even if the water allocation of Manila Water and Maynilad stood at only 41 cubic meters per seconds now, they have voluntarily reduced their allocation from Angat whenever water is stored at the Angat and Ipo dams during rains.

Aside from installing infrastructure such as water reservoirs, boosters, and pressure-regulating valves, Maynilad has now even set a time when to decrease water pressure.

“In case of a water shortage, it will be done at the least inconvenient time to the customers, such as at night time, when water pressure can be decreased. This is one way where Maynilad helps to preserve the water stored in Angat Dam,” said Engr.

Ronaldo Padua, head of water supply operations for Maynilad.

The Manila Water on the other hand pointed out that it had reduced its systems losses, or water leaks in its systems, and was able to decrease these to 11-12%, which was way below the industry standard of 20%.

In addition, the company has

constructed 44 treatment plants and 38 water reservoirs to store water.

Consumers’ contribution. But they said water conservation at the level of the consumers cannot be discounted.

“While the concessionaires are doing their best to really bring down nonrevenue water, we still feel a lot of water is lost internally in plumbing systems.

So this is really where households can contribute. Baka isipin ng mga tao umuulan naman, may nakikitang baha, bakit pinag-uusapan ang tubig (People might think that with rains, floods may follow, then why are we discussing water)? I think this is the best time, hangga’t meron. Mahirap magtipid pag wala ka nang titipirin (while there is still one. It is hard to scrimp when there is none left),” said Jeric Sevilla, head ng corporate communications for Manila Water.

The MWSS will start the prequalification bidding for the P24-billion Kaliwa Dam in Tanay, Rizal up to Quezon province next week.

The Kaliwa Dam is expected to supply Metro Manila with an additional 600 million liters per day (MLD) by 2020. n Michelle Orosa-Ople / News5 / July 31, 2015 / 10:36 PM

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One-time provision halves Belle’s net income MANILA - Belle Corp., a property and gaming unit of SM Investments Corp., booked a 51-percent decline in net income in the first ha f of to million from the previous year’s . i ion.

The company told the local o rse a . i ion re ersa of provisions for probable losses by its re i eis re orporation s sidiar ast ear res ted in lower earnings.

Excluding this non-recurring

item, Belle’s underlying net income increased a o t percent to i ion d rin the first ha f of .

Belle’s operating revenues surged percent to . i ion in an ar to ne fro . i ion in the same six months last year.

The company’s operating growth in was attri ta e to hi her revenue from its lease of the City of Dreams Manila property to hi ippine entities contro ed

by Melco Crown Entertainment

i ited and hi her inco e from sales of real estate and increased income from its listed s sidiaries and acific Online Systems Corporation. s operations d rin the first ha f of were hi h i hted the grand opening of City of Dreams ani a on e r ar . has an operatin a ree ent with MCE that accords the former a share of gaming revenues or earnings at City of Dreams Manila.

importing these waste materials be punished in accordance with the law,” said Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina.

“Aside from filing charges, we are making sure that the Customs

accreditation of companies engaged in the importation of heterogeneous wastes like Live Green Enterprise and Chronic Plastics are cancelled,” he said. n InterAksyon.com / July 30, 2015 /

n PNA / July 31, 2015 / 8:19 PM

Customs sues importer of Canadian waste MANILA - The Bureau of Customs today sued for smuggling the importer of 48 container vans bearing Canadian municipal solid waste that were misdeclared as plastic scraps.

Sued before the Department of Justice (DOJ) were Nelson Manio, owner of Live Green Enterprises, which holds office in IE 5 M.A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. The 48 container vans entered the Philippines through the Clark Freeport.

Under the Customs Law, homogenous plastic scrap materials can enter the country provided they secure pre-shipment importation clearance from the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) In misdeclaring its shipment, Live Green Enterprise allegedly violated Sections 3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines and DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 1994-28 entitled “Interim Guidelines in the Importation of Recyclable Material Containing Hazardous Substances.”

The 48 container vans were discovered after a Customs inventory of overstaying cargo conducted last May. Import documents show the exporter is a certain Demetrios Jim Makris of Chronic Inc. Canada, the same exporter of the 55 container vans of

heterogeneous wastes discovered last year consigned to Chronic Plastics.

Customs already filed similar charges against the owner and Customs brokers of Chronic Plastics last February 2014.

The case is pending with the courts.

Waste analysis by the EMB last June 3 showed the container vans contain non-hazardous municipal solid wastes of used mixed and unsorted or heterogeneous wastes, including household and street garbage.

“This is a wakeup call for all of us. It is very clear that these waste materials were shipped to the Philippines illegally.

That is why we have filed the necessary case against Live Green Enterprises, to make sure that those responsible for

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Comelec declares bidding for PCOS refurbishment a failure MANILA - The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Special Bids and Awards Committee-2 (SBAC-2) on Saturday declared as a failure the second bidding for the P3.1 billion project to refurbish the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

In the Opening of Bids, SBAC2 announced that two bidders, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. and Miru Systems Co., had withdrawn from the process.

The joint venture of Dermalog dentification ste s ante Technology and Stone of David Technical Equipment, on the other hand, was declared “ineligible” after failing to meet certain technical and

eligibility requirements.

This second competitive public bidding was to be for the supply and delivery of refurbishment (with systems upgrade) of the existing PCOS machines, consumables and ballots.

In withdrawing, Smartmatic-TIM and Miru manifested their concerns on conditions set by the Comelec for the refurbishment of more than 81,000 PCOS machines.

Miru also indicated that one of its partners had backed out from the project, prompting them to withdraw from bidding.

Smartmatic-TIM, on the other hand, cited the implementation schedule of the Comelec as the “biggest hurdle” for them because the

election day is barely nine months away.

“At this point in time, Smartmatic has serious doubts and legitimate concerns whether this project is still feasible,” the joint venture said.

Smartmatic-TIM said the contract involves various aspects, including refurbishment, systems upgrade of the PCOS machines, and consumables and provision of ballots and modem, and fina testin and a it ass rance.

“The pressure to meet such a schedule is too great for us, with a possibility of over committing, which brings with it unthinkable repercussions for our company and for the country,” Smartmatic-TIM said. n

Jet Villa / InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 6:23 PM

PCOS machines in use. File photograph by Bernard Testa, InterAksyon.com

Sunlife Philippines bullish on insurance industry growth in 2015

Sunlife Philippines president Riza Mantaring

MANILA - The chief of Sunlife of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (SLOCPI) is confident of strong growth for the Philippines’ insurance industry this 2015 as domestic fundamentals continue to back financial markets.

SLOCPI president Riza Mantaring said growth of the economy remained robust even with the slowdown in the first quarter, which decelerated to 5.2 percent from 6.6 percent in the previous quarter.

She said liquidity remained robust and

people were still looking for investment options.

Mantaring said other drivers of the economy such as the business process outsoucing (BPO) sector and the inflows from overseas Filipinos are still strong.

“So generally economic climate has been very good and its driving the growth of the industry,” she said.

In 2014, the insurance industry ended the year with total premiums of P188.96 billion, a drop of 4.63 percent from the

record-high P198.13 billion in the previous year.

At the end of the first quarter of 2015, the insurance industry registered total premiums of P56.29 billion, up 45.53 percent from year-ago’s P38.7 billion.

Mantaring said the first half of the year is a slow business period than the second half “so if the first quarter is any indicator, this will probably a record year for life insurance.”

She said external developments

normally drive market sentiment and not fundamentals, adding that negative situations such as the ones in Greece and in China normally have a short term impact.

“Over time as things lay out you will see its back to fundamentals. People tend to look more on a longer term... Longer term you’re going to see the strength of the economy... the fundamentals take over in the longer term,” she added. n PNA / July 31, 2015 / 1:34 PM

Rice glut, price slump seen amid generous Philippine import plan MANILA – The Philippines may soon have a happy problem: a glut in rice, with prices seen to slump in the coming months.

Edilberto de Luna, Department of Agriculture (DA) assistant secretary and director of the National Rice Program, said additional rice imports are likely to depress farm gate prices for the next harvest season in September, which marks the end of the lean period.

The National Food Authority (NFA) Council had programmed 1.8 million metric tons of imports. It has so far procured 500,000 metric tons from abroad through two rounds of government-to-government transactions.

Another 300,000 metric tons imported last year arrived only early this year.

In the imports pipeline are 250,000 metric tons programmed for the lean season, 250,000 more for reserves, and 805,200 under the minimum access volume (MAV) allocated to private importers.

The Philippines usually imports rice in preparation for the lean season and to offset losses brought

about by typhoons and other weather disturbances such as the El Nino dry spell.

Weather-induced losses however have yet to take their bite, with the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) last week hiking its forecast for second-quarter production.

As of June 1, the country had enough rice for the next 89 days even, according to BAS. The country’s rice inventory stood at 3.02 million metric tons, up 30.9 percent from last year’s 2.31 million.

De Luna said the initial 500,000

metric tons of rice imported last February are enough to offset losses brought about by typhoons.

“Traditionally, losses to the country’s palay sector due to typhoons and other weather-related disturbances amount to about 600,000 metric tons annually,” he said.

A glut in the local market would pull down the price of the staple, thus requiring NFA to prop up its buying price so farmers don’t get squeezed.

“If farm gate price drops below P17 per kilo, the grains agency

should be moving to stabilize the price of rice and to ensure continued planting for food security,” de Luna said.

Citing DA estimates, de Luna said the NFA should buy at least a million metric tons to ensure stable prices

by September, which also marks the start of the wet cropping season.

The higher NFA buying price however comes at a cost, which in the fina ana sis wo d e passed on to taxpayers.

“No oversupply”. Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Modernization (PAFSAM) Secretary Francis Pangilinan however said it has yet to decide on the rice import plan.

“Wala pang desisyon dahil hinihintay pa ang data regarding the projected last quarter harvests from PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority),” Pangilinan, who also chairs the NFA Council, said, adding that the wet cropping season accounts for 60 percent of the country’s total harvest.

Separately, NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay ruled out a glut,

saying that grain inventories at the agency’s depositories remain below the mandated 30-day buffer stock requirement during the lean season.

“Our present supply is in accordance with our mandate to maintain 15 days buffer stock and 30 days during lean months. Because of s fficient s pp rice prices are stable even during lean months,” Dalisay said.

“Walang oversupply. Humina lang ang benta dahil pumapantay ang commercial rice sa NFA rice. That is good for the public,” he said.

In any event, the NFA is ready to buy if the farm gate price drops below P17.70 per kilo, Dalisay said.

The agency’s buying price is set at P17, but could fork out as much as P17.70, including P0.20 per kilogram as delivery incentive, P0.20 as drying incentive and P0.30 as cooperative incentive fee.

As of the fourth week of June, farm gate prices averaged P17.98 per kilo, up 0.12 percent from the previous week but 16 percent lower than a year ago. n Orti Despuez / InterAksyon.

com / July 20, 2015 / 6:31 PM

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Philippine stock index closes July above 7,500-mark MANILA - Local stocks ended the month with an upsurge as investors continued to seize buying opportunities after tepid trading the previous weeks.

The barometer Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) surged 39.61 points to 7,550 from previous day’s 7,510.39 close. The benchmark index dropped to as low as 7,497.33 within 30 minutes into trading before clawing back above the 7,500 line at the noon break.

First Grade Finance Inc. managing

director Astro del Castillo expects the market to trade within the current level next week, as more companies are set to announce their secondquarter earnings. ”The market still has room to increase before the ghost month starts mid-August,” he said.

For the Chinese, the “ghost month” is considered an unlucky period to open a new business and start new construction work or renovations.

Complementing the assertion that markets weaken during this period

is that it coincides with the summer months in the West, when fund managers take a vacation for about a week or two. he ho din fir s ind stria and property counters closed higher. inin and oi ser ices and financia s declined slightly.

Some 3.11 billion shares worth P8.36 billion changed hands. Market breadth was negative as decliners outnumbered advancers, 87 to 74, while 42 issues were unchanged. n PNA and InterAksyon.com / July 31, 2015 / 12:41 PM

Two-cornered fight between Ayala Land, Filinvest Land for South Transport Terminal PPP Project MANILA – Two of the country’s top property developers are bidding for the public-private partnership (PPP) project to build, operate and maintain for 35 years a transport terminal south of Metro Manila.

During today’s opening of bids for the P4-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS) South Terminal Project, Transport Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla identified the two companies as Ayala Land Inc (ALI) and Filinvest Land Inc (FLI).

“Two bidders have submitted their bid documents—Ayala Land and Filinvest Land. We are quite

happy with the turnout. These bidders are really experienced in this kind of business,” Lotilla said.

Two other companies that were pre-qualified—MWM Terminals and DatemInc, failed to submit their technical bids.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) bids and awards committee has 20 days to evaluate the technical bids of ALI and FLI. Evaluation of their financial offers would take another 15 days.

“But, we will try to accelerate it and award the project by August,” Lotilla said.

The project, which will serve passengers coming from south of Metro Manila, will be located on a 4.7-hectare lot inside the Food Terminal Inc (FTI) compound in Taguig. ALI earlier bagged the PPP contract to develop the FTI property.

DOTC aims to award the project in the third quarter this year so construction can start by the second quarter of 2016.

The new terminal is slated to open in December 2017.

The ITS-South Terminal is the second of three transport terminals that the government is bidding out under the PPP Program. MWM Terminals, a company led

The ITS-South Terminal will rise within the FTI compound.

by Megawide Construction Corporation, had topped the bidding for the first, the P2.5-billion ITS-Southwest Terminal.

A third terminal, the ITS North

Terminal, will be built within the grounds of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. n Cassandra Lee / InterAksyon.com / July 31, 2015 / 2:05 PM

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www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

PHL still hoping to get clemency for Mary Jane Veloso THE Philippine government is hoping to get clemency for convicted dr traffic er ar ane e oso e en as Indonesia declared that the legal actions taken by Manila against the Filipino’s recruiters will not prevent her execution. report the a arta ost otin ndonesia s ttorne enera s ffice said the death sentence on Veloso, 30, who was fo nd i t of s in . i o ra s of heroin in wi sti be carried out. n re est to free ar ane wo d e diffic t to rea i e as she has been proven to have smuggled heroin into the country,” Attorney General M. Prasetyo told the Jakarta Post.

However, Prasetyo hinted that if

hi ippine co rts find e oso s a e ed recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, guilty of h an traffic in then the i ipino death convict could try to use the ruling as “new evidence to be considered in a case review or clemency appeal.”

“Please note that...in the news report, the AGO opened the possibility for Veloso to use the result of the

case versus Sergio ‘as new evidence to be considered in a case review or clemency appeal.’ This is exactly what we’re hoping for,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose told GMA News Online.

Veloso, a single mother of two, was among the nine foreign and local death row prisoners, who was scheduled to e e ec ted firin s ad on pri for drug-related charges.

She was spared from death at the last minute when the Indonesian government ordered a stay in her execution following President Benigno . ino s ast in te appea to counterpart Jokowi Widodo to turn her into a witness.

The Philippine government is

hoping the Indonesian government would reconsider the death penalty on Veloso and commute her sentence to a lower sentence.

Veloso maintains her innocence, saying she was tricked by Sergio into bringing the tainted suitcase to Indonesia.

A Philippine delegation composed of officia s fro the orei n ffairs and Justice departments met on Wednesday with their Indonesian counterparts from the AGO and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Jakarta.

“The meeting was aimed to clarify both procedures from both countries, update the Indonesian side on the case fi ed a ainst er io and others in e a

Ecija and consult on the way forward especially in the implementation of the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in this particular case,” Jose told a press riefin on h rsda afternoon.

The treaty signed by the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, of which the Philippines and Indonesia are members, allows states to cooperate on combating transnationa cri es i e dr traffic in . t was invoked by the Philippines in a last ditch effort to save Veloso’s life.

Jose, meanwhile, said the Home ffice in ani a is sti waitin for a formal report from the delegation on the outcome of the meeting in Jakarta.

n

Michaela Del Callar / KBK, GMA News / July 30,

2015 / 7:04 PM

Campaign honors 25 Pinoy migrants as modern heroes IN recognition of their contributions to society, 25 outstanding Filipino migrants from various countries will be recognized by a remittance company as part of its global campaign celebrating the “bravery, creativity and courage” of OFWs worldwide.

Three Filipinos have already been featured on the campaign website, beginning with “Barefoot Hero” Eddie Vega from the US. Barefoot Hero. Vega first broke into the scene in 2013 when he attempted to set a Guinness World Record for running a full marathon in Antartica barefoot.

But what the Filipino-American became known for was his runs for

Soles4Souls, a non-profit that distributes shoes and clothes around the world, inspired by a shoeless childhood in the Philippines.

The Guinness World Record holder for “Most Barefoot Marathon Runs in One Year” managed to raise thousands of dollars for the organization, allowing 13,000 impoverished children around the world their own pairs of shoes.

Neighborhood’s

Champion.

Adelaida Saito’s journey began in more dire circumstances when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami swept through the Miyagi Prefecture, briefly pulling her out of her family’s reach.

Though the experience was traumatizing, the outpouring of support within the Filipino community in Japan

inspired Saito to spearhead “Ishinomaki Hawak-Kamay,” an organization dedicated to helping typhoon and earthquake victims around the world.

Since 2011, Hawak-Kamay helped victims of Typhoon Yolanda and the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal through financial aid, relief goods, and spiritual support.

“We believe that aside from material support, spiritual support is most important during the time of sorrow, during the time of mourning and during the time we feel alone and hopeless,” Saito said.

Pencil Crusader. Before his trip to Banaue, Edmond Corpuz thought he would merely document the stunning rice fields and share the images with his

students back in Manila.

Yet a single bag of pencils he gave to children in the mountains drove him to organize the “Black Pencil Project,” a social-media based organization promoting primary education and welfare in remote and indigenous Philippine communities.

Since its founding in 2008, the Black Pencil Project has collected more than pencils for barrio schoolchildren, gathering donations of crayons, learning kits, and even stuffed toys to aid children in typhoon-stricken areas recover from the traumatic events.

“Sama-sama nating abutin ang bawat bata sa pinaka-liblib na pook sa Pilipinas, abutan sila ng lapis; hikayating gumuhit at sumulat ng mga magagandang

mga pangarap,” Corpuz said on the organization’s website.

A better world through OFWs. Western Union SE Asia & Oceania SVP Patricia Riingen said in a statement that the campaign aimed to motivate Filipinos, already hailed as unique for their familial sacrifices, to take “positive action towards a better nation and eventually, a better world.”

“We wanted to find a way to show the nation the heroism that Filipino migrants display every day... Overseas Filipinos have dedicated their lives for something other than themselves and that by itself is an act of heroism that should be told and never be taken for granted,” Riingen said. n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 29, 2015 / 3:31 PM

OFWs take #DiAko4Sale selfies for World Day Against Trafficking SEVERAL overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) around the world on rida posted se fies earin the hashtag #DiAko4Sale to demonstrate their support for the global observance of or d a ainst raffic in .

Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center that helps distressed OFWs, said the hashtag was created as part of a joint social media campaign between them and Pinoy Blog/OFW Awards (PEBA) aimed at raising awareness on modern-day slavery.

“The use of social media has become the norm, rather than the exception, when it comes to handling urgent OFW cases, particularly those

involving maltreatment and sexual exploitation,” she said.

PEBA founder Kenji Solis explained that dehumanization occurs in human traffic in as s are seen as a commodity to be sold” than a “parent, sibling or spouse.” an traffic in ta es p ace when money prevails over decency and moral values,” Solis said.

Among those who participated in the campaign was Gemmalyn Comiso, a caregiver based in Taipei.

Red Bual, a Filipino community leader based in Saudi Arabia came out with an e a orate se fie to show his support to global efforts to end slavery: Katherine Millares, a Household

Service Worker based in Kuwait, p oaded a se fie with the caption i o a e eca se can find decent work to earn money.”

The campaign coincided with the categorization of the Philippines as a ier co ntr in the raffic in in ersons eport.

According to the report, the Philippines needed to “increase efforts to ho d o ern ent officia s administratively and criminally acco nta e for traffic in and traffic in re ated offenses.

Moreover, it needs to increase the protection for traffic in icti s and programs to reduce the demand of commercial sex acts and child sex tourism. he ffice o onitor nd o at raffic in n ersons descri ed ier co ntries as co ntries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are a in si nificant efforts to rin themselves into compliance with those standards.” ther se fies of s as part of the or d a ainst raffic in can be found on www.facebook.com/ blasoplepolicycenter. n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 30, 2015 / 6:23 PM

‘Disruptive’ passenger forces Cebu Pacific to divert flight to India A “disruptive” passenger forced Cebu Pacific to divert its Dubai-Manila flight on Thursday. The air carrier said in an advisory, that 5J-7945 had to make an unscheduled stop at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

“The passenger has been offloaded from the flight, and is now in the custody of the Philippine Consulate in

New Delhi, India,” Cebu Pacific said.

It added it informed the passenger’s family of the situation and is coordinating with authorities in India and the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific did not immediately give further details about the incident. n Joel Locsin / ELR, GMA News / July 31, 2015

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IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Former Pinay nurse now owns large wellness company in US FOR many years, registered nurse Catherine Salimbangon of Cebu worked in nursing homes in the US and Canada.

Seeing the effects of poor lifestyle habits on people, Catherine and her husband Elton decided in 2009 to put up Organique in Pasadena, Califonia, a company that manufactures and distributes a health drink based on the so-called superberry acai (pronounced as a-sah-ee).

During a press launch for Organique in Makati on Thursday, Catherine recalled that going into the health drink business was not easy.

She said obtaining a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) certification a one was er diffic t.

It took them four years to have their prod ct certified the but Catherine now proudly says they are the only Filipino company with a USDA seal of approval.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Catherine credited her husband, a former manager for a US beverage company, for developing the Organique Acai Premium Blend.

Elton’s company had planned to produce an acai drink and worked with the research and development department in concocting a formula for it.

However, Catherine said, “It was far from a success. The consistency was so thick that it was easily comparable to toothpaste.” The company did not pursue this project.

Own formula. Catherine and Elton then decided to put up Organique and create their own product. Elton told GMA News Online, “I created my own formulation based on the enefits of acai and the i ipino taste.”

Extracting puree from the acai err is diffic t as the fr it is ade

up of 90 percent seed and only 10 percent esh atherine said. ot only that, the puree is also rich in enzymes and thus, easily spoils. They had to find a s ste where their supplier in Brazil can ship the puree immediately to their company in the US. They also had to meet the stringent US standards for organic products: no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers and dyes, no industrial solvents, and no genetic engineering. Even the bottles they use for their product had to pass USDA standards.

The company now distributes Organique acai health drink to different parts of the world, including the US, Japan, and Hong Kong, but Elton said, “We’re far from being successful. We still have a long way to go. Our only consolation is that people actually get better and they find reat res ts fro o r prod ct and their learning a healthy lifestyle and that to us is success.”

“My husband and I believe in our product so much,” Catherine said. “We had put our life savings into Organique. As with every other business, we experienced various road bumps on our journey. Acai was not popular in the Philippines. People even had trouble pronouncing the word!”

“Though times were tough, we had a very strong vision. We believed that acai co d rea enefit a Pinoys. We believed that our fellow kababayans deserved a quality health drink that offered amazing health enefits witho t an o tra eo s price,” she added.

The company has now expanded to include skin care as well as other food and beverage products.

Business-minded couple. A nursing graduate of Cebu Doctors College,

Catherine Salimbangon with celebrity Regine Tolentino

Catherine has also pursued other businesses in her hometown. “My husband and I put up a small school in 2014, because we admired the curriculum in the US and Canada.

They had focused on nurturing the child’s creativity and ethics before introducing them to subjects such as science and math. We wanted to bring this curriculum to the Philippines as well because we truly believe it wo d enefit o r fe ow Pinoys.”

As for managing businesses in the Philippines while overseeing their company in the US, Catherine admitted that it was not easy. “Since our product is manufactured in a ifornia we often find o rse es doing business talks at three in the morning due to time differences,” she said.

She and her husband also could not go on business trips to or from the US at the same time because one of them had to stay with their children. Two are now old enough to be on their own and are studying in Canada. Only one is left with them in Manila, where they are spending

much of their time at present as they are strengthening the presence of Organique in the Philippines.

Acai health benefits. Acai is known as the king of superfruits because it has more anti-oxidants than all other berries such as blueberries, cranberries, raspberries or strawberries.

The acai fruit contains these health-giving nutrients: polyphenols to protect the heart, sterols that lower blood pressure, anthocyanins that are eneficia for eins and arteries, lutein for healthy eyes, among others.

Acai berries grow in only one part of the world: the Amazon rainforest in South America, the world’s largest rainforest co erin o er fi e and a half million square kilometers, an area bigger than the US. Catherine said acai palm trees are the tallest in the Amazon jungle, growing up to over 80 feet. The berries are deep purple, almost black, and are a staple in the diet of the indigenous people of Brazil.

During the press launch, Filipino

wellness expert Dr. Sonny Viloria said he can attest to the health enefits of acai as he has prescri ed Organique as a health supplement to his patients with cancer and other diseases.

The common dosage of Organique, sold in Philippine drugstores at P2,500 per bottle, is only one tiny jigger per day. However, Viloria said for very ill cancer patients, he recommends ¼ cup three times a day. Then he lowers the dosage as their health starts to improve.

He admitted that the price of Organique was a bit steep for many Filipinos but considering the high price of medicines for heart ailments, diabetes, or cancer, Organique was a good option especially as he has seen how his patients had quickly recovered.

At the press launch, Filipina celebrities Regine Tolentino and Cory Quirino who are known for their healthy lifestyles, claimed that Organique was their health and beauty secret.

Regine, a licensed Zumba instructor, said she stopped taking other supplements since she discovered Organique acai drink in 2014. Since then, she said she hasn’t “gotten sick, no colds, cough and fever” despite her extremely busy schedule.

On the other hand, Cory, health and fitness r who said she hates aging,” said Organique helps her look and feel young even though she is already in her 60s, even proudly displaying her Senior Citizen’s card.

“Go back to the natural way,” Cory said as she urged people to embrace “what is green, what is organic.”

“Let’s go back to what God gave us,” she said. n Veronica Pulumbarit / KBK,

GMA News / July 31, 2015 / 9:08 PM

Pinoys in Kuwait raise $26k blood money for kababayan jailed since 1990s FILIPINO groups in Kuwait have raised some $26,000 (P1.183 million) in dia (blood money) for the release of a Filipino who accidentally killed a Bangladeshi co-worker nearly 20 years ago.

The groups turned over the money to Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa and Consul General Raul Dado at the Philippine Embassy in Faiha, according to a report on Kuwait Times on Tuesday.

Expected to benefit from the dia is Joseph Urbiztondo, who a Kuwaiti court sentenced to life in jail for accidentally killing co-worker Azizur Rahman in 1996.

Rahman’s family in early 2011 had agreed on the amount of the blood money, but Urbiztondo’s family could not raise the amount at that time.

But now that the amount is raised, the embassy is to deliver the money to Rahman’s family via the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka in Bangladesh.

There, the formal turnover will be done, including the signing of a “tanazul” or letter of forgiveness.

Villa said Urbiztondo may “have to stay in jail for a few weeks or so, and he will be freed soon.”

Filipino communities. Participating in the fund-raising are: Alliance of Filipino Organizations in Kuwait headed by Dr. Chie Umandap, KD2,400 Holy Family Cathedral headed by Fr. Ben Barrameda, KD2,000 Filcom (Oliver Diong) and LCC (Pastor Allan Dytianquin), KD1,600. an anonymous donor contributed KD1,850 through Dado Villa thanked the Filipino community n

n

n

n

for raising the money — an effort that took years.

“I am really proud of what the Filipinos could do for their compatriots, if they are acting in unity,” he said in the report.

For his part, Barrameda said the fund-raising was with the permission of Bishop Camillo Ballin.

“To all Filipinos who helped and shared something … thank you. We don’t condone wrongdoing but Urbiztondo already paid the consequence of his action: he has been in jail for almost 20 years. For Urbiztondo, we will wait for your freedom and [the time you will] be with your family,” he said.

Pastor Allan Dytianquin also thanked

God for the gift of realization and acceptance.

“Urbiztondo served his prison sentence in the Kuwaiti jail. It is about time for him to face a new chapter in his life,” he said.

Concerts. Mildred Lacson, one of the coordinators for the Alliance of Filipino Organization, said the money they contributed to the dia stemmed from concerts they organized.

“We collected the amount through a series of concerts called ‘Musika at Tawanan.’ So, we did not just give Filipinos an outlet to be happy, we also give hope to Urbiztondo,” she said. n Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / July 28, 2015 / 1:48 PM

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IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Pinoy couple brings ‘unli-rice’ concept to Abu Dhabi AL AIN, United Arab Emirates – After just nearly three years in the United Arab Emirates, two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have already opened two restaurants in Abu Dhabi.

For their second venture, Rice Overdose, the couple — Joseph Ronald Calara and Maria Eleanor Calara — decided to bring the concept of unlimited rice or unli-rice to the UAE.

“New concept ang itinayo kasi malapit sa TFKR ang pwesto na nakuha namin,” said Joseph, 32, in an email, referring to The Filipino itchen esta rant the co p e s first restaurant.

“Kaya nag-isip kami ng ibang concept na malayo sa TFKR na kayang i-cater kahit ibang lahi,” he said.

He said most of the expenses used for establishing Rice Overdose were so rced fro the profits of he i ipino Kitchen Restaurant.

“Mga 70% ng ginamit namin para maitayo ang ‘Rice Overdose’ ay galing sa profit ng TFKR,” he said.

Four variants. Rice Overdose serves the Philippines’ staple food in either binagoongan, bistek, adobo, or plain variant.

“Ang mga main dishes ay may kasama nang rice na kahit ano sa apat na pagpipilian. Bukod dito, ang way ng pag-serve namin ng pagkain ay nakalagay sa chopping board and jars,” Joseph said.

Asked on what steps they are taking to avoid wastage, Joseph said: “We are as in the c sto ers first how ch more they need to avoid wastage.”

“We are also not giving them a bulk of rice on the first ser in he added.

“We are only giving what is enough for one person that’s why the wastage of rice is lessened.”

Tatak Pinoy. The couple also made sure that the restaurant still has its distinct Filipino appeal.

“Nilagyan namin siya ng ‘Tatak Pinoy.’ Nag-angkat kami ng machine

galing Pilipinas para makapagluto ng putobumbong at bibingka. Sa ibang resto kasi ay seasonal lang ang pagbebenta nito,” he said.

The restaurant also serves “dirty” ice cream or sorbetes from the Philippines.

“Nag-angkat din kami ng ice cream cart galing Pilipinas at ng gumagawa ng ice cream,” Ronald said. “Gusto kasi talaga naming dalhin dito ang mga hinahanap ng Pinoy.”

Rice Overdose also serves “Lackjaw Burger,” a three-layered burger patty with cheese and in-house sauce.

“Ang mga pagkain po namin na sineserve ay mas masarap kainin ng naka-kamay. [Pero] nagbibigay kami ng gloves, kutsara o tinidor upon request,” Ronald said. n KBK, GMA News

Migrant group: PHL Consulate in Dubai partly to blame for death of OFW A migrant group on Friday criticized the Philippine consulate in Dubai, claiming that the labor office’s “lack of facilities” is partly to blame for the death of an OFW who allegedly died of heatstroke early this week.

Alex Lapore, 37, died after collapsing and falling face down on the pavement near the entrance of the Philippine labor office next to the consulate in Al Ghusais, a report on Gulf News posted on Friday said.

Consulate officials said the presumed cause of death was heatstroke but they said they are awaiting the official medical report from UAE authorities, the report added.

However, Migrante International-UAE criticized the consulate, saying “Alex’s death is partly the fault of the lack of facilities at the consulate. He was in a queue” on July 28.

“There is no proper ventilation in that place,” Ryan Kim Pescadera, Board of Director of Migrante, told Gulf News.

Also, the Gulf News report said paramedics immediately administered medical assistance to Lapore at the time of the incident. His brother, Federico, 40, was quoted as saying the victim had a history of heart enlargement when he was younger. But it was not a cause for alarm when he came to Dubai in 2009.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-

Middle East regional coordinator, blamed the Philippine labor office for allegedly not allowing Filipinos to go inside its offices to queue inside to protect them from the heat.

Consul-General Raymound Cortes said the accusations are baseless, saying there were no queues outside the labor office when the incident happened.

He assured Federico that his office would provide assistance in the fullest extent possible to his brother, the Gulf News report said.

Summer temperatures in Dubai could hover in the high 40s. The average maximum temperatures on July 28 were around 45 degrees Celsius.

Cebu to hold screening for nursing jobs in UK, Singapore this month FILIPINO nurses looking for jobs in the UK and Singapore will have a chance to apply for openings through the Cebu provincial government this month.

Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. announced on Saturday that a government-licensed recruitment firm will screen qualified nurses for possible deployment to either country at the Cebu Provincial Capitol’s Public Employment Service Office from August 17 to 18.

Gullas promoted the event after announcing an increase in nurses taking the National Licensure Examination for the first time from January to June this year.

“The number is up 28.6 percent versus the 1,951 Filipino nurses who took the NCLEX for the first time, excluding repeaters, in the first semester of 2014,” he said in a statement.

In the same statement, Gullas said monthly pay rates for nurses are £1,500 (P107,000) in the UK and SGD

1,950 (P65,000) in Singapore.

The Cebu representative added that, based on data from the US (National Council of) State Boards of Nursing Inc., Filipinos remain the most active jobseekers in the US.

Compared to Filipinos, only 395 Indians, 236 Puerto Ricans, 195 South Koreans, and 130 Jamaicans took the NCLEX for the first time from January to June 2015. n Rie Takumi / JDS, GMA News / August 1, 2015 / 3:05 PM

In the past, Filipinos securing an exit clearance at the labor office used to queue up inside and even in the make-shift tent outside. But this practice was discontinued

when the labor office introduced an online appointment system in December 2014, the report added. n LBG, GMA News / August 1, 2015 / 11:38 AM

Pinoys in California rally vs. PNoy’s SONA COMPLETE with street theater performances, artwork, song, and speeches, about 50 Filipinos in Southern California rallied in front of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles to protest against President Benigno ino s fina tate of the ation Address.

The protesters, all members of BAYAN USA, said Aquino failed to address human rights violations, pork barrel corruption, labor export of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and the defense of Philippine sovereignty in his latest SONA. “The Filipino people are fed up with Aquino’s lies and self-serving politics,” said Nikole Cababa of BAYAN USA Southern California. “It’s important we host a real state of the nation address to re ect the harsh rea ities and aspirations of Filipinos and migrants around the world.”

Center of the rally was a lechonthe ed effi disp a in ino s face and star spangled top hat.

BAYAN USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino organizations, mobilized community members from Los Angeles, South Bay, Inland Empire, and San Diego. raffic in s r i ors of i rante Los Angeles, a Filipino migrant

organization organizing for their rights and welfare, also attended the rally. The group performed theatre skits to portray the situation of OFWs, highlighting the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a single mother of two and a h an traffic in icti facin execution in Indonesia. n the fi e ears of his re i e he has done nothing respectful,” said Nap Pempeña of Anakbayan Los Angeles.

“There is nothing respectful about the state of Mary Jane, the state of OFWs right now, along with 80 other OFWs on death row right now.”

During his SONA, Aquino cited the decrease in the number of OFWs from 9.51 million in 2011 to 9.07 million in 2014. He attributed this to an expanded job market and labor training, though an OFW welfare group said OFWs ret rned d e to ar ed con ict in a or receiving countries, a weaker global economy, and old age. n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 29, 2015 / 1:25 PM

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INTERNATIONAL / GLOBAL NEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

All-male Pinoy choir wins in Japan chamber chorus contest AN all-male Filipino choir eca e the first ro p fro the hi ippines to win the a ara a nternationa ha er hor s ontest in apan estin other ro ps ast . he ationa o ission for t re and the rts ac ed eron chora ense e earned o d pri es in the o ore and onte porar cate ories in the presti io s ann a contest. irst he d in the was initiated with the p rpose of

spreadin the ha er hor s wide to the oca peop e a so with the hope of rowin internationa friendship a on choirs thro h the sic. inners of the are i en the chance to perfor at a specia concert in sa a nown for the a ara a e e an a fe a e sica theater tro pe esta ished in the s. eron pre io s won the rand pri e distinction in the th san hora esti a and o petition in

cto er and p aced first in the oca nse e of the ina ra ndrea . eneracion nternationa hora esti a in ani a in st . o posed of teneo de ani a i h choo ee e ers the ro p wi contin e to represent the hi ippines as a est choir in the first nternationa ederation for hora sic or d hora in aca fro o e er to . n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 28, 2015 / 4:59 PMOmnis est harum sa con estemqui

Pinoys with immigrant visa told to register online before PDOS, PCP STARTING August 17, Filipinos with immigrant visas will have to register online for their PreDeparture Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and the Peer Counseling Program (PCP) before they can leave the country, the Commission on Filipino Overseas announced Tuesday.

The CFO said the Filipinos may

schedule their appointments using the CFO’s Reservation and Registration (R&R) Online system through their website or the PDOS reservation site.

According to the CFO, only those with a “confirmed reservation slot and who have accomplished the on-line registration form, with the corresponding barcode reference number” with the confirmed date

and time of the PDOS or PCP will be allowed into the programs.

The PDOS is a two-hour seminar required for Filipino emigrants aged 20 to 59, while those aged 13 to 19 are required to attend two PCP sessions.

Each of the following PDOS sessions has 70 slots open every day: USA - Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 10 a.m. to 12 noon; n

Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Canada - Mondays to Fridays at 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon Europe - Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. to 12 noon Australia and New Zealand Tuesdays and Friday at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Asia - Mondays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. n

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PCP sessions are held everyday for all destination countries from Mondays to Fridays, with 25 slots open for the 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. sessions.

A CFO registration sticker will be affixed to the emigrant’s passport upon completion of either program, allowing their departure. n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 28, 2015 / 8:37 PM

UAE court sentences Pinay to 6 months over embezzlement case A nited ra irates co rt sentenced a ear o d i ipina hea th coordinator to si onths in ai for e e in so e h . i ion ro h . fro her co pan fro to . he ai o rt of irst nstance con icted the i ipina for for in receipts of hea th card renewa s fro to arch news site f ews reported. he i ipina who entered a not i t p ea and denied the acc sations which she said were nfo nded was ordered deported after she ser es her ai ter . eanwhi e the r in is s ect to appea within da s. o rt records showed the i ipina started wor in as a n rse at a hote in ai and was appointed as a hea th coordinator hand in e p o ees hea th fi es in . n in esti ation showed the fra d was disco ered when the i ipina prod ced two receipts of

two e p o ees who resi ned in o e er . he a ditin ana er said that when the ot s spicio s a o t the receipts the carried o t an in entor and disco ered receipts that had een rep icated. he had s itted photocopies of receipts to renew hea th cards for the sa e e p o ee ore than once at ai nicipa it s c inic. he ad itted that she had for ed photocopies of receipts and e e ed one .

pon confrontation she said she ta pered with na es and cost of fees and chan ed e p o ees photos the ana er said. so the ana er said the in entor showed the i ipina had e e ed ore than h . i ion etween and . t the f ews report said records showed the hea th coordinator ad itted she had poc eted h ro h . on . n Joel Locsin / LBG, GMA News

/ July 31, 2015 / 7:41 AM

www.interaksyon.com

www.interaksyon.com

Kuwait authorities probe alleged rape, robbery of Pinay by ‘detective’ AUTHORITIES in Kuwait are investigating the alleged rape-robbery of a Filipina in Ahmadi town, supposedly by a man claiming to be a detective, a Kuwait news site reported Tuesday.

The Filipina told authorities she was raped and mugged inside her apartment in a complex in Ahmadi, Kuwait Times reported.

Citing a security source, the report said initial investigation showed the woman was in her bedroom while her

boyfriend was in the living room at the time of the assault.

According to the Kuwait Times report, someone knocked hard on the door, claiming to be a detective. He kicked the boyfriend out, locked the apartment door, then supposedly pulled a knife. The suspect then ordered the Filipina to open a safe and took KD1,100 (P165,231), then raped her before escaping. n Joel Locsin / ELR, GMA News / July 28, 2015 / 11:02 PM

PHL students win 2nd place in World Sudoku tilt, help set Guinness record THE Philippines bagged two second and one third places in the team contest of the recent 2015 World Junior Sudoku Championship (WJSC) held in Beijing, China.

The Under 15 team, comprised of Jonathan Conrad Yu, Albriz Moore Bagsic and Kirsten Dominique Chan, and the Under 21 team of Kaye Janelle Yao, Natalie Beatrice Dy and Alvin Chan placed second behind host country China.

Meanwhile, Under 18 team members Gerrick Spencer Limsiy, Bryan Russel Esperanza and Jan Vincent Simbol took third place behind India, with China taking the first place.

“We fared better in the team rounds as compared to the individual rounds.. I think we work better together as a team compared to the other countries and that is what attributed to our second place finish,” Yao said.

In the individual contest, Yu finished fourth, Bagsic seventh and Chan eight in the Under 15 category, and Limsiy got fifth, Esperanza eighth and Simbol tenth in Under 18. Yao got fourth place, Dy placed seventh and Chan wound up eighth in Under 21.

The Philippine delegation was accompanied by team leader Robert Degolacion.

The nine Filipino contestants also

became part of 200 students who set an official Guinness World Record at the contest for the largest multi-Sudoku puzzle consisting of 200 standard sudoku grids.

Authenticator Cheng Dong, an official representative from the Guinness World Records, was present and issued an official certification for the world record event.

Countries that joined the contest are China, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Russia and the Philippines.

The nine contestants who represented the country in the Beijing contest won in the 9th Philippine Sudoku Super Challenge last January. n Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / July 28, 2015 / 2:14 PM

18

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

FREE LISTING of events in HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper.

Please email info@hello-philippines.com to include your event.

DISCLAIMER: The Events Diary listing does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favouring by HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Hello Philippines newspaper and/or the Publisher. What’s On is a Filipino Events Diary listing for UK and Europe.

2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS – UK & EUROPE Saturday, August 8 10:00 - 17:00 OFBA 6th Barrio Fiesta 2015 Hewitts Farm Court Road, BR6 9BX Orpington, Bromley, United Kingdom Organiser: OFBA Orpington

8th August 2015 09:00 – 17:00 Fun Familia Mini Olympics 2015 The Parks Sports Centre Tyne and Wear, NE19 6TL Organiser: Fil Brit Contact Fil Brit (Via Facebook) SALLY SELLARS 07886742417, BONG BANGAYAN 07824338251 29th August 2015 RODGER MANINGDING 07725892489 2nd Ipswich Pinoy Festival 2015 Bourne Park, Wherstead Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP2 8LT Mike Baclayon - 07581376504 Jonathan Doblados - 07598278880 Neil Bacalso - 07736235014 Yol Jayme - 07982237924 Every Sunday 14:00 - 18:00 Lahing Kayumanggi Rehearsals St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church Hall, Frognal Lane (corner Finchley Road), London NW3 7DY. Nearest tube: Finchley Road.

Organiser: LKDance Contact Laurence at 07840 602 944 or Avery at 07805 239 801 or email info@lkdance.org.uk

22nd – 23rd August, 2015 3:30 & 18:00 The Love Affair - London Screening Prince Charles Theatre, 7 Leicester Place, London WC2H 78Y Lolita Boddy Tel: 07973 469450

6th September 2015, 15:00 - 20:00 FASHION EXTREME PARIS 2 LE PAVILLON CHAMPS ELYSEES 34 rue Marbeuf 75008 Paris, Paris, France Organiser: Suzette Riego Founder/Creator - together with: THE EXTREME TEAM - in partnership with SIGNE COUTURE PARIS - for the benefit of COEURS A COEURS FOUNDATION #HelpUsRebuildLives www.facebook.com/FashionExtremeParis”>Suzette Riego

Every 2nd Sunday 14:00 Filipino Family Mass at English Martyrs Catholic Church English Martyrs Catholic ChurchChalkhill Road, Wembley Park, HA9 9EW Hosted by: Alyssa Gonzales Becky at 07949857699 / Lina B at 07579418510

FREE LISTING of your events in HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper. If you know of any events please contact us via info@hello-philippines.com to submit your event.

DISCLAIMER: The Events Diary Listing does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by Hello Philippines newspaper. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Hello Philippines newspaper. This is merely an Events Diary Listing of what is happening within the Filipino Communities in Europe. This is for general information only.

1st Saturday 5:00pm Devotion in Honour of Our Lady of Fatima (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament / Rosary / Benediction / Mass) St Pius X Catholic Church, 108 Orme Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 3SB Oliver Abasolo – 07782 661 922

1st Sunday 2:00pm Five Precious Wounds Parish, Brentfield Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 8ER MervicMonocillo – 07894 636 140

1st Sunday 5:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Friary Road, Peckham, London SE15 1RH Allen Abeleda – 07713 625 888

2nd Saturday 4:00pm St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 103 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6EF Moises Espanola – 07894 648 639

2nd Sunday 2:00pm English Martyrs Church, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 9EW Becky Sarinas – 07949 857 699 / 07425 761 519 Lina B – 07579 418 510

2nd Sunday 2:00pm St Dominic Catholic Church, 243 Violet Lane, Waddon, Croydon CR0 4HN Merlie Mirto – 07722 216 462

2nd Sunday 4:00pm St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, 70 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JA Feliciano Ramirez – 07733 680 748

3rd Sunday 3:00pm Sacred Heart of Jesus, New Priory, Quex Road, Kilburn, London NW6 4PS Sheidrick de Leon – 07738 210 202

3rd Sunday 3:00pm Blessed Sacrament Parish, 157 Copenhagen Street, Islington N1 0SR Christy Sangalang – 07709 119 969

Last Saturday 6:00pm Our Lady of Dolours, Servite Parish Church, 264 Fulham Road, London SW10 4EL Fr Allan Satur – 020 7352 6965 / fulhamroad@rcdow.org.uk Roland Adap – r_adap@hotmail.com

Last Sunday 12:00pm St Pius X Catholic Church, 108 Orme Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 3SB Oliver Abasolo – 07782 661 922

Last Sunday 2:00pm St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 218 Roehampton Lane, London SW15 4LE Rafael Santiago – 07795 254 451

Every Sunday 5:00pm Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 20 Brixton Road, Oval, London SW9 6BU Ben Ortiz – 07723 318 486

First Wednesdays 6:30pm Filipino Mass and Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception (Jesuit House Chapel), access on 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AY Josie Ramos – 07723 024 591

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20

HEALTH and Lifestyle

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Cardiovascular disease CARDIOVASCULAR disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels. ood ow to the heart rain or body can be reduced as a result of a: ood c ot thro osis i d p of fatt deposits inside an arter eadin to the arter hardenin and narrowin atherosc erosis

Types of CVD

here are fo r ain t pes of coronar heart disease stro e periphera arteria disease aortic disease

ach t pe is disc ssed in ore detai e ow.

Coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease occ rs when o r heart s ood s pp is oc ed or interr pted a i d p of fatt substances (atheroma) in the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are the two a or ood esse s that s pp o r heart with ood.

If your coronary arteries become narrow d e to a i d p of athero a the ood s pp to o r heart wi e restricted. This can cause angina (chest pains . f a coronar arter eco es

co p ete oc ed it can ca se a heart attac .

Stroke. stro e is a serio s edica condition that occ rs when the ood s pp to the rain is dist r ed. i e a or ans o r rain needs a constant s pp of o en and n trients to f nction proper . his is pro ided the ood so if o r ood ow is restricted or stopped rain ce s wi e in to die. his can ead to rain da a e and possi death. herefore a stro e is a edica e er enc and pro pt treat ent is essentia . he sooner a person recei es

Cardiovascular disease - Prevention adults MOST risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are linked, which means that if you have one risk factor you will probably have others as well.

For example, people who are heavy drinkers usually have poor diets and are more likely to smoke. Also, obese people are more likely to have diabetes, high cholesteroland high blood pressure.

Addressing one risk factor, such as giving up smoking, will bring important health benefits, but to significantly reduce your risk of developing CVD, you need to look at your lifestyle as a whole.

In particular, you need to consider: • our diet • our eig t • t e ount o o o ou drin • t e ount o e er ise nd p si activity you do • et er ou need to stop s o ing Each of these is discussed below.

Alcohol. If you drink alcohol, you should not exceed the recommended daily limits of 3-4 units for men, and 2-3 units for women.

A unit of alcohol is roughly equivalent to half a pint of normal strength lager, a small glass of wine or a single measure (25ml) of spirits.

You should see your GP if you are finding it difficult to moderate your drinking.

Counselling services and medication can help you reduce your alcohol intake.

Diet. For a healthy heart, a low fat, high fibre diet that includes whole grains and

plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (at least five portions a day) is recommended.

Your diet should include no more than 6g (0.2oz or one teaspoon) of salt a day. Too much salt will increase your blood pressure. Limit the amount of salty foods you eat, such as readymade meals and canned or tinned food.

Do not eat foods high in saturated fat because this will increase your cholesterol level.

These foods include: • e t pies • s us ges nd tt uts o e t • utter nd g ee t pe o utter o ten used in Indian cooking) • rd • re • rd eese • es nd is uits • oods t t ont in o onut or p oi Eating some foods high in unsaturated fat can help decrease your cholesterol level. These foods include: • oi is • o dos • nuts nd seeds • sun o er oi • r peseed • o i e oi Exercise and weight management. If you are overweight or obese, you can lose weight using a combination of regular exercise and a calorie-controlled diet.

The recommendation for adults is 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise every day for at least five days a week.

Read more about the physical activity guidelines for adults.

Cycling or brisk walking are examples of moderate intensity exercise. Other activities you could incorporate into your exercise programme include: • s i ing • running • i ing If you find it difficult to do 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week, start at a level you feel comfortable with.

For example, do 5-10 minutes of light exercise a day and gradually increase the duration and intensity of your activity as your fitness level improves.

Smoking. If you smoke, it is strongly recommended you give up as soon as possible.

The NHS Smoke free website provides information, support and advice. Your GP will also be able to recommend and prescribe medication to help you quit.

Medication. If you have a particularly high risk of developing CVD, your GP may prescribe medication to help reduce your risk. Medication used to prevent CVD includes: • ood pressure t ets su s angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors – used to treat high blood pressure • st tins – used to o er ood cholesterol levels • o dose spirin – used to pre ent blood clots n NHS Choices

Cardiovascular disease - Risk factors s a ha e hi her THERE are nine ain ris factors for the to ins in to acco can da a e and e ercise re ar

cardio asc ar disease inc din hi h ood press re s o in poor diet ac of e ercise and ein o erwei ht or obese. an of the ris factors are in ed which eans that if o ha e one of the ris factors o are a so i e to ha e others. he ris factors for are disc ssed in ore detai e ow.

High blood pressure h pertension is far the ost i portant ris factor for CVD. Poorly controlled high blood press re can da a e o r arter wa s and increase o r ris of de e opin a blood clot.

Smoking (or other tobacco use) –

narrow o r coronar arteries a in you more vulnerable to coronary heart disease.

High blood cholesterol – can cause o r arteries to narrow and increase o r ris of de e opin a ood c ot.

Diabetes – the high blood glucose s ar e e s associated with t pe dia etes or t pe dia etes can da a e the arteries. an peop e with t pe dia etes are a so o erwei ht or o ese.

Poor diet a hi h fat diet can speed p the for ation of fatt deposits inside o r arteries eadin to oth hi h blood cholesterol levels and high blood press re.

Lack of exercise peop e who do not

cho estero e e s hi h ood press re hi h stress e e s and are a so ore i e to e o erwei ht.

Being overweight or obese – being o erwei ht or o ese increases o r ris of de e opin dia etes and hi h ood press re. eop e who are o erwei ht or o ese often ha e poor diets and do not e ercise re ar .

Excessive alcohol consumption – can increase both your cholesterol levels and ood press re.

Stress – stress can increase your ood press re and the hor ones associated with stress are tho ht to a so increase your blood glucose levels. n NHS

Choices

treat ent the ess da a e is i e to occur. he ain stro e s pto s can e re e ered with the word which stands for Face the face a ha e drooped on one side the person a not e a e to smile or their mouth or eye may ha e drooped Arms the person with s spected stro e a not e a e to ift their ar and eep it raised d e to wea ness or numbness Speech the person s speech a e s rred or ar ed or the a not e a e to ta at a despite appearin to e awa e Time – it is time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these si ns or s pto s

Peripheral

arterial

disease.

eriphera arteria disease a so nown as periphera asc ar disease occ rs when there is a oc a e in the arteries to your limbs (usually your legs). he ost co on s pto of periphera arteria disease is pain in o r e s when wa in . his is s a

in one or oth of o r thi hs hips or calves. he pain can fee i e cra p a d pain or a sensation of hea iness in the muscles of your legs. It usually co es and oes and ets worse d rin e ercise that ses o r e s s ch as wa in or c i in stairs.

Aortic disease. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. It carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body. he ost co on t pe of aortic disease is aortic ane r s which is where the wa of the aorta eco es wea ened and es o twards. o wi s a e perience pain in o r chest ac or a do en t .

Preventing CVD. Most deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are pre at re and co d easi e pre ented a in ifest e chan es such as eating a healthy diet and stoppin s o in .

It is estimated that CVD is responsi e for aro nd in pre at re deaths in en and in pre at re deaths in wo en. n NHS Choices

Cardiovascular disease - Prevention children

THERE is a significant amount of good quality evidence to show that eating and drinking habits established during childhood can continue for many years into adulthood.

Therefore, while bad eating habits in childhood may not pose an immediate health risk, they could lead to serious health problems in adulthood.

Four important things to consider are the amount of: • t in our i d s diet • s t in our i d s diet • sug r in our i d s diet • e er ise our i d does Salt. Eating high levels of salt in childhood has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart diseaseand stroke in adulthood.

For babies and children, the current recommended limits of salt are: • ess t n 1g o s t d or i dren aged 0-6 months • 1g d or i dren ged 12 months • 2g d or i dren ged 1 e rs • g d or i dren ged e rs • 5g d or i dren ged 10 years • g d or i dren ged 11 1 years It is easy to underestimate how much salt is contained in food. For example, a Happy Meal consisting of small fries, a hamburger and a coke contains 1.8g of

salt, which is over half the recommended daily limit for a five year old.

Pre-packaged and ready-to-eat foods, particularly those not specifically designed for children, often contain high levels of salt. For example, a 200g tin of tomato soup contains 1.4g of salt.

You should always check the label of any foods you give your children so you can keep an eye on their daily salt consumption.

Fats and sugar. You should also limit the amount of saturated fat and sugar your child eats.

Too much saturated fat and sugar in our i d s diet n e d to ig cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure in later life. They can also in re se our i d s ris o e o ing overweight or obese. A diet high in sugar can also cause tooth decay. i dren s oods ig in s tur ted fats and sugar include: • o o te • s eets • st ood su s urgers or chicken nuggets • i drin s • i e re • is uits • risps • pro essed oods su s i ro e meals, hot dogs and breakfast cereals that contain additional sugar n NHS

Choices

22

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HEALTH and Lifestyle food

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

School packed lunches THANKS to Jamie Oliver, school dinners have had a radical overhaul.

But what about the lunchboxes we pack for our children?

It’s just as important to make sure the lunchbox your child takes to school provide a healthy, balanced lunch as when they eat at home.

This means plenty of foods that contain the nutrients that children need, and fewer foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat. ing t e un o . A balanced packed lunch should contain: tarch foods. hese are read

rice, potatoes and pasta, and others. rotein foods. hese are eat fish e s eans and others. dair ite . his co d e cheese or yoghurt. e eta es or sa ad and a portion of fruit.

Starchy foods are a good source of energy, and should make up a third of the lunchbox. But don’t let things get boring. Instead of sandwiches give kids bagels, pitta bread, wraps and baguettes. Use brown, wholemeal or seeded bread, not white bread.

Children often like food they can

eat with their fin ers so chop p raw veggies such as carrots or peppers, and give them houmous or cottage cheese to dip the veggies in. Breadsticks and who e ea crac ers are reat fin er foods and they can be spread with lowfat soft cheese or eaten with reducedfat cheddar and pickles.

Replace chocolate bars and cakes with fresh fruit, dried fruit or unsalted nuts. Vary the fruit each day and get them to try new things, like kiwi or melon.

You could also make up a tasty fruit salad. Be inventive and encourage your

Underweight children aged 6-12 EN ged 12 re sti gro ing i e ns t e need ot o energ or t eir si e. our i d is under eig t t e not e getting enough calories. ou re on erned t t our i d is under eig t or not gro ing nor t e t e to see our . o eig t can occur for a number of reasons.

Your GP will weigh and measure your child and talk to you about t our i d is e ting. t ere is a possible problem with your child’s diet our n pro ide nutrition advice that will help bring them up to a healthy weight. edi tri dietiti n ui o den from the Manchester Children’s ospit e p ins si id nutrition and what to do if your child is underweight.

A e t n ed diet or children. “All children need energy and nutrients from a varied and n ed diet s s ui. our i d is under eig t it might seem tempting to fill them up it ig orie ut un e t oods su s s eets e o o te nd fried fatty foods. But it’s important that your child gains weight in a e t nd t is e ns e ting balanced diet. n e t e re t e ge o i e you can start to make your child’s diet si i r to t e e t n ed diet recommended for adults (children under five need a diet higher in fat and lower in fibre). That means three meals a day and healthy snacks.

A balanced diet includes: • st r r o dr tes su s p st ri e nd pot toes i should form the basis of every meal • e n protein su s e n e t is pu ses e ns nd eggs • i e portions o ruit nd vegetables a day • o int e o s tur ted ts ound in is uits es nd pies • o int e o ni ts ound in processed meats such as sausages and bacon) • gri ed or ed oods inste d o fried food

• di uted ui e or ter inste d o fizzy drinks • o o te s eets nd e on occasionally Children’s meals at home. “This is a good time to sit down and think about o our i e ts s s ui. o you take time for proper meals or do ou re on sn s nd ui i es so that might be part of the reason your i d isn t onsu ing enoug ories.

Make time for a proper breakfast and dinner and eat together as a family.

Make mealtime a fun part of the day. en possi e oo ro s r t instead of using ready meals. That way ou no e t t is in our ood. o e p our i d g in eig t increase their servings of healthy r o dr tes su s ro n ri e wholemeal pasta and potatoes.

Children’s lunches. uring t e ee our i d i e t un t s oo . t s i possi e to onitor e t t our i d e ts ro o e ut you can help your child make healthy choices.

• to our id out t e importance of a healthy and balanced diet.

• i e our i d p ed un or prep id s oo dinners inste d o gi ing money that your child can spend on food.

• ind out t t e s oo s e t eating policy is.

Packed lunches are a great way to provide a nutritionally balanced lunch.

A good packed lunch should include r o dr tes protein iu nd portion of fruit and vegetables.

• nd i es it i ing o e n e t tun eggs or eese pro ide carbohydrates and protein.

• ui e or p st s d re t st alternatives to sandwiches.

• A i s e og urt or pie e o cheese will provide a serving of calcium.

• ut eget es into s seg ents to e t e e sier to e t. ried ruit counts as one portion of fruit.

• on t orget drin . ter i or ruit ui e is est. n s or ids. our i d isn t onsu ing enoug ories ou n e p

boost their daily intake by providing healthy snacks.

Younger children in particular will need snacks between meals because their stomachs are not large enough to allow them to consume all the calories they need in three meals. n s oo d s ou n pro ide healthy snack for your child to eat at morning break.

Great snack ideas include: • dried ruit •s s nd i es it protein i ing su s eese or eggs • eese nd r ers or eese on wholemeal or brown bread • og urt i ont ins protein and calcium • re st ere it i or great bedtime snack • ot er energ dense oods su as bananas and avocados Keep your child active. Physical activity burns calories your child has consumed. But even if your child is under eig t it s sti i port nt t t they’re physically active.

Physical activity helps them de e op strong e t ones nd us es. t s ru i p rt o t e they learn about themselves and the or d. And est o it s gre t un.

Children over five should do a ini u o 0 inutes o t e st oder te intensit ti it e d .

But the amount of physical activity your child should do may be different i t e re under eig t. our practice nurse or school health visitor can advise you on this. n NHS Choices

children when they try something new.

Making healthier food. It may take a while for your children to get used to a healthier lunchbox. But it will be worth it for their health, so keep trying.

You can help by eating a wider range of foods at home, as a family. For ideas on how to introduce more fruit and vegetables into your family’s diet.

Reading supermarket food labels can help you to buy healthier foods for your child’s lunch, and for family meal times.

Save chocolate and cakes for occasional treats. Remember to praise your child when they’ve tried something new, to show your encouragement. n NHS Choices

When your child is overweight IF you’ve learned that your child is overweight, there are simple steps you can take, with support if you want it, to help your child move towards a healthy weight.

Your child’s weight matters, because it can affect their health now and in the future.

Overweight children are more likely to grow up into overweight adults, who face all the health risks that carrying excess weight can bring.

If your child is overweight, it’s time to take action.

Help your child get slim. The good news is that there are steps you can take that will set your child on the road to a healthy weight.

If your child is very overweight, or if they have other health conditions, it’s a good idea to ask for support. Your GP can help (see below).

Children are growing, so it’s usually not necessary for overweight children tolose weight. Instead, it is usually better that the child maintains their current weight while they continue to grow in height.

This will depend on how overweight your child is, and other factors.

If you’re unsure about this or other issues, ask for advice from your GP or practice nurse.

Get healthy as a family. A healthy, balanced diet and plenty of physical activity will lead to a healthy weight for your child.

Making changes to your family’s lifestyle can make a real difference to your child’s weight. These changes work best, and are easiest, when the whole family joins in.

Eat regular meals, together and without distractions (such as TV) as a great first step towards a healthier diet.

Cook yourself rather than relying on ready-made meals to help you to lower the fat and sugar content in your meals.

If your family eats snacks and meals that are high in fat or sugar, such as chocolate, biscuits, sweets and fizzy drinks, aim to replace these with healthier alternatives such as fruit.

Physical activity is also an important part of achieving a healthy weight.

The amount of physical activity that is recommended for children depends on their age, and children who are

overweight may need to do more than the recommended amount in order to lose weight. For more on how much activity children should do, and what counts as activity: Aim to reduce the amount of time your child spends on inactive hobbies, such as watching television and playing video games.

It’s also important to help your child develop a positive body image and good self-esteem. Habits in childhood will remain as they grow into adults, so praise them when they try healthier foods or when they swap a sedentary activity for an active one.

How the school can help your child.

The school that your child attends should support you in helping your child to achieve a healthy weight.

All schools should provide opportunities for physical activity, and healthy food at lunch time. Some schools will also help to ensure that your child does not bring unhealthy foods to school, by working with parents to set guidelines on packed lunches.

If your child is overweight, talk to your child’s teachers about your plans to help your child slim down, and how the school can support this.

Getting support. If you feel uncertain about helping your child to achieve a healthy weight, or the changes you’ve made don’t seem to be helping, then seek support.

This is also a good idea if your child is very overweight, has a health condition or any other special needs such as a learning difficulty.

Your GP or practice nurse can assess your child’s weight and provide further advice on lifestyle changes.

They may also be able to refer you to a local weight management programme for children, such as those run by theWeight Management Centre, MEND and Carnegie Weight Management. These programmes are often free to attend through your local PCT, and typically involve a series of weekly group workshop sessions with other parents and their children.

At these workshops you’ll learn more about the diet and lifestyle changes that can help your child to achieve a healthy weight. n NHS Choices

Scoop & GMA Network offers awe-inspiring Beautiful Strangers 24

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY

IN its newest drama series, GMA Network delves into the intricate beauty of love and the love of Beautiful Strangers.

The show premieres on August 11 on GMA Pinoy TV. It is a story of two beautiful strangers who start off as friends and end p as fierce ri a s. t i ewise validates how powerful a woman is, to bring about joy or to cause heartbreak in every person’s life.

Beautiful Strangers features the country’s most talented artists in plum roles headlined by Heart Evangelista as Kristine and Lovi Poe as Joyce/Lea.

Both actresses are very excited for their reunion project on GMA. GMA Network is proud to present a stellar cast of the country’s ost respected artists in fi and television: Christopher de Leon as Ronaldo, the owner of Castillo Realty who is a philanderer; Dina Bonnevie as Alejandra, Ronaldo’s wife who cleans up her husband’s dirt for her family, especially her son, Lawrence, whom she loves dearly; Rocco Nacino as Noel, a mechanic who loves Joyce so much however he falls for Kristine; Benjamin Alves as Lawrence, the only son of Alejandra and Ronaldo Castillo,

Lovi Poe

Diane Medina

Kier Legaspi

Christopher de Leon

Heart Evangelista

Rocco Nacino

Ayen Laurel

Benjamin Alves

Lovely Rivero

Nar Cabico

Mariel Pamintuan

Renz Valerio

and the half-brother of Kristine.

Playing equally important roles in the series are Emilio Garcia as Nestor, the supportive father of Noel; Ayen Laurel as Lourdes, the mother of Kristine who loves her and Ronaldo so much; Lovely Rivero as Imelda, the mother of Joyce, who depends on her for survival; Kier Legaspi as Rigor, the asti o fa i s efficient hench an Gab de Leon as Rex, the troublemaker Fil-Am cousin of Noel; Dyanin Cruz as Hannah, the ex-girlfriend of Lawrence; Nar Cabico as Shakira, a street wanderer and a friend of Joyce; Diane Medina as Monica, the secretary and protective best friend of Kristine; Mariel Pamintuan as Leslie, the cute and kikay but dependable cousin of Kristine; Renz Valerio as Jason, the younger brother of Joyce.

Beautiful Strangers presents the interconnected lives of Joyce (Lovi) and Kristine (Heart). Joyce is a woman motivated by her big dreams.

She applies at the Castillo Realty, one of the biggest real estate companies in the Philippines, to establish her name in Interior Design so that she may start a family with Noel (Rocco) and provide for her family.

But all her dreams are shattered when Ronaldo Castillo (Christopher) rapes and accidentally pushes her down the stairs. All along,

Rocco and Heart

Ronaldo thinks that he killed Joyce.

Fortunately, Joyce is able to survive everything but she suffers from selective amnesia. She crosses paths with Kristine and will be called Lea. What will happen if Lea regains all of her e ories ow wi she fi ht back and seek revenge against the people who abused her? Can Joyce/ Lea and Kristine’s friendship heal their wounds and stop them from seeking vengeance? Can they be at peace once more?

Under the direction of Albert Langitan, see how Heart & Lovi become sweetest friends then fiercest ri a s on ea tif tran ers premiering on GMA Pinoy TV. n

Emmanuel “Manny” Vass’ crowdfunded Sonic Waves, entered the UK Classical Music chart at No 3 THE only thing stopping his rise to the top was Andre Rieu & Johann Strauss Orchestra and Essential Einaudi by Ludovico Einaudi. Manny is not too upset however, as he is amongst classical music royalty and that’s not bad for a Yorkshire carpenter’s son.

Emmanuel as named as ‘one to watch’ by The Independent and ‘rising star’ by BBC Music Magazine and as ‘unsigned artist of the month’ by Yamaha and 26 year old Emmanuel Vass is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most charismatic pianists on the contemporary scene. saw the a nch of his first recording From Bach To Bond and his first recita to r nder the same heading, which took in seven venues across the North of England and columned in his London debut at Steinway Hall with a subsequent performance at St James’ Piccadilly both of which attracted considerable media interest, including a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.

He was also broadcast on Classic FM in October 2014.

The From Bach to Bond title Emmanuel chose for the recording and to r re ects oth his ec ectic taste in music and his versatility as a pianist. He is at was with the challenges of Bach as with the demanding pianistic technique

required for his own arrangements - in the manner of Liszt - of the James Bond theme and Bohemian Rhapsody. (His performances of these have drawn huge attention on Youtube).

Emmanuel’s supreme versatility is also revealed in the calibre and variety of his recent engagements His busy solo recital day has included performances at The Bridgewater Hall anchester heffie d athedra Leeds College of Music, the Long Gallery at Castle Howard and Hexham Abbey. He has also performed at the Steinway Hall, Queen’s Theatre, West End; 1901 Arts Club Waterloo, St Lawrence Jewry and St James’ Piccadilly. He has performed for Lord Levy and the Russian Ambassador in the Golden Room in Kensington Palace Gardens, for the Filipino ambassador at St Sepulchre’s Church, London and for the French Ambassador at The Lowry Theatre in Salford. At the Variety Club Jubilee Ball her played for the Prince and Princess of Monaco on the same programme as The Manfreds, Blake and Lulu.

In September 2012 he made his first adio appearance as part of a Radio 3 Masterclass. Presented by a id wen orris and fi ed in front of a live audience at BBC Broadcasting House, London the Masterclass is

available to watch on the BBC YouTube channel.

Notes for Editors: Emmanuel Vass was born in Manila, Philippines and grew up in East Yorkshire. Having passed Grade 8 piano with distinction at the age of 15 he subsequently studied with Robert Markham at Yorkshire Young Musicians, the Centre for the Advanced Training for Gifted Young Musicians based at Leeds College of Music. This was followed by four years at the Royal Northern College of Music, where Manny studied with John Gough and was supported by scholarships from the Leverhulme Scholarship Trust and the Sir John Manduell Scholarship Trust. He graduated in 2011.

Tour Dates: 2nd June - Chatsworth House, Derbyshire 5th June - National Centre for Early Music, York 6th June - St Peter’s Church, Nottingham 12th June - St Paul’s Church, Manchester 13th June - Grassington Festival 16th June - Holy Trinity Church, Leeds 19th June - Arts Centre, Pocklington 26th June - St Philip’s, Church, Alderney

Edge 27th June - St Mary’s Hall, Sandbach 3rd July - St Andrew’s Church, Sheffield 4th July - St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham 6th July - The Forge, London 11th July - Castle Howard, York 13th July - Fringe Festival, Buxton 17th July - St George’s Church, Preston 13th July - Bolton Abbey, Skipton

All ticket enquiries: emmanuelvass.co.uk http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/classical-artist-albums-chart/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWqDKX-Yf0

23rd August - Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow 24th August - Edinburgh Festival Fringe 25th August - St Michael’s Hawkshead, Lake District 7th September - The Atkinson, Southport 8th September - St Mary Le Tower, Ipswich 12th September - St Peter’s Church, Woking 13th September - Chapel Royal, Brighton 26th September - St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol

www.emamuelvass.co.uk www.twitter.com/mannyvass www.facebook.com/mannyvass

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ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Barbie Forteza turns 18, does not want an extravagant party “LIKE every girl, excited ako at the thought of turning 18. Pero pwede bang magwish? Pwede po bang wala ng party?,” says Kapuso teen actress Barbie Forteza, who is looking forward to celebrating this important milestone in her life on July 31.

Barbie emphasized that instead of spending so much on a grand debut, she would rather use the money for other more meaningful things.

Children have always had special place in Barbie’s sweet heart, thus, in celebration of her debut, Barbie adopted a room at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Diliman, Quezon City. She has been helping PCMC in the past 4 years and plans to continue sharing her blessings

to the kids in the hospital.

The “Adopt-A-Room” program of PCMC enables entities or individuals to choose and adopt a private room which they want to renovate and convert into a special private room.

Once renovated and occupied, the proceeds of the room will go to “charity rooms”.

Other private institutions and brand giants have already adopted rooms from PCMC, but Barbie is the first e er ce e rit to participate in this worthy cause.

The renovation for Barbie’s adopted room is currently on-going with the talented young actress actively participating in the process with the help of GMA Artist Center

and Architects Jose Ricky Martinez and Richie Ongteco.

Barbie’s partners in making her dreams come to life include her generous sponsors BNY, Unisilver Time, Posh Nails, BS Mobile, Fruitas, Belladona Bags, Megawide, Happy Haus Donuts, Pizza Pedricos, CrisCarl Stuffed Toys, Megasoft Diapers, Muebles De Cristina Furniture, Fernando’s Bakeshop, Chocovron, Ritz Biscuits, Jao Ming Glutathione, Rotary Club of Makati and Flawless.

Barbie stars as the other half in the highly successful GMA drama The Half Sisters, which airs worldwide on GMA Pinoy TV. She will also be part of the new Sunday noontime show, PinaSaya. n

Den and Jen, together again!

LOVE seems to be sweeter the second time around. For a Kapuso love team, that is.

This August, the award-winning actors – Drama King Dennis Trillo and Kapuso leading lady Jennylyn Mercado – reunite for GMA Network’s upcoming series My Faithful Husband.

The two first starred opposite each other in the GMA program Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak.

Exuding undeniable chemistry onscreen, the two play a married couple in the new series, with Dennis as Emman, a doting husband to Melanie, portrayed

by Jennylyn, and a devoted father to their children.

The pair’s marriage is tested, however, when Melanie comes across her exboyfriend and her feelings get confused.

And while the series has yet to air on GMA Network, fans are already eager to see Dennis and Jennylyn’s reunion project as the two have been posting photos showing them together on their personal Instagram accounts.

Their seemingly sweet posts, along with the hashtag #emmanie (a cross between their characters’ names), have viewers and netizens buzzing about a possible rekindled romance. The two had dated in the past and fans have been clamouring for a real life reunion.

However, the duo remains tight-lipped

regarding the issue and prefers to focus on their new show.

Both are thrilled to be working with each other once more on another Kapuso series. “Siyempre excited ako na makatrabaho si Jen. Last time ko siya nakatrabaho five years ago, dramarama sa hapon yung ginawa namin. Ngayon naman sa primetime,” says Dennis.

On her part, Jennylyn is looking forward to how their pair-up will be received. “Excited ako kasi gusto ko rin namang makita kung anong kakalabasan lalo na pag nagsisimula na talaga kami kasi dun natin makikita kung inaabangan ba talaga kami, papanoorin ba kami.” n

Filipino Community of Aberdeen and The North East of Scotland celebrated the Philippines Independence Day June 2015 THE committees: Minnie, Alma, Myra, May, Ladelle, Ruchelle, Filamae, Jona, Patricia, Maricel, Mabel, Elisa,

Jennylyn and Dennis on set

Jennylyn and Dennis wrap up a scene for the series

Felix and honorary committee member Lhiza and Yoly. Mabuhay ang bansang Pilipinas!

Dennis and Jennylyn at the gym together

Camille Prats’ second chance at love Kapuso actress and host Camille Prats got the surprise of a lifetime as her non-showbiz boyfriend VJ Yambao proposed to her in front of family and friends last Saturday, July 18.

Posting a photo of himself kneeling in front of Camille on Instagram, VJ wrote, “Once in a while right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale. Never did I imagine that the day will come that I will kneel down on one knee and ask you to be my wife. I have always dreamed of giving you something you will never forget. With God’s grace and

His perfect timing, this is where we are today. I thank God for all the things that are happening to us right now. o fiancee o deser e nothing but goodness and happiness, I love you so much! Thank you to our family and friends who witnessed one of our milestones, thank you for all your love and support.”

Camille happily reposted the photo of their special moment, saying, “A thousand times over, yes, yes, and YES!” She also shared a photo of her with athan her son fro her first marriage to Anthony Linsangan,

who succumbed to nasopharyngeal cancer in 2011. “Today, this little boy and I got engaged,” she wrote.

“I thank God for giving you to us mahal. Thaaaaank you my love for such a sweet surprise. Di ko to kinaya in fairness. I love you my future husband.”

The actress, whom Filipino viewers have watched blossom from a promising child star to one of her generation’s most talented personalities, is currently a host on the GMA lifestyle talk show Mars with Suzi Entrata-Abrera on GMA Life TV. n

VJ Yambao proposes to Camille Prats

Camille Prats and son Nathan

VJ Yambao and Camille Prats

Camille Prats engagement ring

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AFTER 12-round war with undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao admitted that he was surprised at the outcome as he e pected to win the e afi ht between two of this generation’s reatest fi hters. t s a ood fi ht. tho ht won the fi ht. e didn t do nothin ac iao said as he was inter iewed in the rin . e a wa s o ed o tside. ot hi an ti es with so id p nches. e ie e won the fi ht.

Pacquiao was pressed during the interview on why he wasn’t able to fi ht his s a wa in the contest. he officia o p o stats showed

him connecting on only 81 of his 429 punches (19%) while Mayweather anded of his . e s o in aro nd. t s not eas to throw a lot of punches if he’s moving aro nd. t if he sta ed can throw a ot of p nches. e added tho h that he was not bothered by Mayweather’s size and stren th in this one. can hand e his power. e s not strong like (Antonio) Margarito or other opponents i e i e otto i e that. e s not i er than e. t s not the si e. i e doesn t atter. e een fi htin i er than hi . o pro e .

MANILA - Manny Pacquiao’s life story, with its inspiring triumph over adversity after each fall, has been irrored et a ain in his fi ht with Floyd Mayweather, despite his loss nani o s decision. h s ran the co on thread of officia s reactin to the o tco e of the fi ht.

Malacanang Palace, in a statement re eased ecretar er inio o o a r. on eha f of resident

Aquino, said: “Filipinos can hold their heads up high: our national pride, on ress an ann ac iao did us all proud when he stood his ground against one of the best boxers of o r ti e o d a weather.

“President Aquino reiterates his thanks to Manny for serving as an inspiration to every Filipino in overcoming the daily challenges in the p rs it of a etter ife and f t re.

n InterAksyon.com / May 3, 2015 / 1:31 PM

Pacquiao’s good fight inspires Filipinos, say Philippine officials nd then reiteratin his pre fi ht unsolicited advice for the Filipino boxing icon to devote more time to his family while he is still healthy,, r. ino e pressed hope that “Manny may now be able to devote more time with his family and that he is able to maintain good health that

will serve him in good stead in all his f t re endea ors. ther officia s reactions had similar themes of thanking Pacquiao for inspirin i ipinos a araw na ito, ipinakita ni Manny na tayong mga Pilipino ay handang humarap at an on sa an an pa s o .

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EL GAMMA PENUMBRA THANKS SUPPORTERS FOR ‘ASIA’S GOT TALENT’ VICTORY THIS time, the votes were more than enough to put them over the top.

Four years ago, shadow play dancers El Gamma Penumbra dazzled local viewers of ABS-CBN’s “Pilipinas Got Talent”, the Philippine edition of the famous “Got Talent” franchise, where they made it all the way to the Grand Finals.

Despite being a crowd favorite, however, the group did not get enough public votes to even land in the top three. The eventual winner that year was the singing group the Maasinhon Trio, which was largely criticized for not being in the same league as El Gamma Penumbra and the two runners-up in terms of talent.

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VP Binay: No need to waive my right to bank secrecy Story on page 12

El Gamma Penumbra with ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ host Rovilson Fernandez.

Donations from the heart

GMA Network turns over 1,783 blood bags to the Philippine Red Cross Story on page 24

UK & Europe Edition

March 2015

CONTROVERSIAL actress and TV host Kris Aquino has dropped another bombshell again.

One day before the 29th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that swept her mother to power in 1986, the self-styled Queen of All Media posted a blog entry called “The State of My Heart” that revealed more details about her short-lived romance with Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista last year.

Kris’ recollection of her special relationship with the actor-comedian turned politician dubbed as Bistek included a marriage proposal from the latter, which she described as “probably the least romantic proposal any woman has ever received.” n the first rida of pri near a year ago during merienda, he said he was tired, he didn’t want to play games, he was tired of chasing and of running away, and he wanted to feel secure with someone he could grow old with. He said, walang romance, walang lokohan, walang bolahan. Okay na raw ba ko to marry him kasi nga PAGOD na sya?,” Kris wrote.

Kris Aquino and Herbert Bautista.

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Although she did not categorically state that she said yes to his proposal, Kris agreed that she wanted to grow old with Mayor Herbert.

“I knew we’d never be bored conversing, and maybe this was where God led 2 individuals who deserved a chance at life long companionship with maturity, and full acceptance of equally colorful pasts.”

Quoting a line from her favorite Sharon Cuneta movie, “Minsan Minahal Kita”, Kris also wrote, “He made me believe, he made me believe we had a chance.”

As Kris further recalled all of her happy moments with Mayor Herbert, she also revealed that it all came crashing down after she made their relationship public on “Aquino & Abunda Tonight,” her nightly talk show with Boy Abunda.

“I made the mistake of speaking about him the following night on A&A. The next day, over the phone he broke up with me, right before Bimb’s 7th birthday party.

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KRIS AQUINO SAYS HERBERT BAUTISTA PROPOSED MARRIAGE LAST YEAR

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Entertainment Complex, and will be anchored on a 22-story, five-star hotel with 128 all-suite rooms whose chief draw will be its nearly a hectare casino floor.

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a ha a ann . a i an ipagmamalaki ng bawat Pilipino [Today, Manny showed that we Filipinos are ready to face whatever cha en e. ann e er i ipino is pro d of o ca e the cheer on statement from Vice President e o ar ina .

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na namin. Kasi pag may nakikita, biglang magtatago siya. Ibubuka niya ulit, magtatago uli siya.”

Madalas naman binibiro si Marian na dahil tila lalo siyang gumaganda, baka babae ang kaniyang dinadala.

Natatawang sagot niya, “Iba ang pakiramdam ko! Pero baka mali ako. Tignan natin.”

Sa kabila nito, magpapasalamat raw sila sa Panginoon at magiging masayang mga magulang sina Dingdong at Marian anuman ang maging kasarian ng kanilang panganay.

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MANNY PACQUIAO: ‘I THOUGHT I WON THE FIGHT’

Another casino rising, right in the heart of gridlocked Manila FOR casino habitues from the Santa Cruz and Balintawak areas frustrated by the dailly gridlock from driving to Solaire and City of Dreams for their regular fix, a neighborhood solution is under way.

Construction of a hotel-casino complex within the former San Lazaro racetrack is going full-blast, hopefully in time for its soft opening this December.

The project is called Winford Leisure and

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DINGDONG, MARIAN ‘WILL BE GRATEFUL’ WHETHER FIRST BABY IS A BOY OR A GIRL KAGAYA ng lahat ng soon-to-be parents, excited narin sina Marian Rivera at Dingdong Dantes na malaman ang kasarian ng kanilang unang baby.

Ayon sa ulat ni Nelson Canlas sa “24 Oras” nitong Martes, nagtungo na sa OB-gynecologist si Marian kasama ang kaniyang asawa nitong Lunes upang malaman kung boy o girl ba ang kanilang panganay.

Gayunpaman, tila binibitin pa ng kanilang coming baby ang kniyang mga magulang dahil hindi pa raw makumpirma ang kasarian nito.

Kuwento ng aktres, “Akala naming makikita

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August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Short films take spotlight in rebooted Cinemalaya filmfest SINCE its founding in 2005, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has always included a short fi cate or that has eco e a reedin ro nd for a ood n er of toda s acc ai ed indie fi a ers.

Names such as Lawrence Fajardo, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, Pam Miras, epe io no in apan ara en er er heron a oc or orre ino . antos h c tierre a e a e es i hai ed and annah spia ha e a ade their ine a a a de t in this partic ar cate or .

Over the years, however, the hort i section has often ta en a ac seat to ine a a a s ew reed and irector s howcase feat re fi cate ories and were re arded ost iewers as a ere side attraction. hat chan es this ear. s a res t of the withdrawa of financia s pport of on ti e enefactor on o o an co ine a a a fo nd itse f in re oot ode. he ate appro a of the festi a s re ested increase of fi rants pro pted it

to s ip the feat re fi co petition for this year and consolidate it under one main section starting ne t ear. his a so eans that at east st this once the short fi co petition wi ta e center sta e on ine a a a s th sta in e en as the festival has added a new Asian Showcase section featuring awardwinnin fi s fro a odia hina ndia apan a a hstan r stan an ar and r e . ere are the trai ers and posted s nopsis of the short fi fina ists for this ear s ine a a a fi festival scheduled from August to at the t ra enter of the Philippines and selected a a ine as. he winner in this cate or wi recei e cash pri e.

GATILYO NG BARIL irected Eoro Eves Francisco and Glenmark Doromal ear s. stre a in esti ates the case of Carlito Dimahilig, the assassin who atte pted to i for er irst ad e da arcos.

APASOL (CHASING SUN) irected Ryan Joseph Murcia fi a o t o e and farewe as ar and spend their ast afternoon together wishing on a tree and waiting to fade with the s n.

MATER irected Annemikami Pablo When extreme devotion and unconditional love collide, a mother and her da hter find their escape o t of the oopho e that inds the to ether.

FOLLOWING the rave reviews that “No Filter” received from critics who also singled out her outstanding stage debut, Jasmine Curtis-Smith is hoping that the original play by The Sandbox Collective would extend its limited run.

“Actually all of us in the cast are praying and hoping [for an extended run] because just about everyone who has seen the play is hoping that we can reach a wider audience,” Jasmine recently told InterAksyon during the story conference for her next project for TV5, an adaptation of the popular Koreanovela, “My Fair Lady”.

She is very pleased with the results

of her very first theater venture.

“It’s exciting to hear all the feedback and at the same time, it’s also surprising that there’s so much rave going on about it. I’m just really happy that I got good results in my first theater project. While we were all able to deliver performances that audiences liked, the real stars of ‘No Filter’ are the writers who gave us all those wonderful monologues,” Jasmine pointed out.

Written by 17 writers, the two-act play about “millennials by millennials for millennials” are about five young friends who discuss what people have been saying about them. Individually, they talk about love, work, hopes, fears and each other—basically what it’s like to live in the age of the internet and social media.

Aside from Jasmine who was riveting in “The Interview” and “Coming of Age”, all other cast members were standouts in their solo spotlights. Theater veterans Cai Cortez, Sarah Facuri, Khalil Kaimo and Micah Muñoz were naturally excellent in their respective monologues with Micah contemplative in “Best Chance” while Cai, Sarah and Khalil downright hilarious in “Love Me Tinder,” “I Sucked When I was Happy” and “Apps You Should Check Out Right Now”, respectively.

Not to be outdone, Jasmine’s fellow showbiz stars also had their moments.

Saab Magalona delivered a moving performance in “Moving Out ”, Lauren

KYEL irected Arvin Belarmino tro ed an finds his own c re in the ast dar ness of his roo .

While trying to persuade his lover to co e ac he disco ers a new for of therap .

LISYUN QNG GEOGRAFIA irected Petersen Vargas i chances pon an o d ap that triggers him to retrace the places that are special to him and his high schoo est friend ric.

A scene from ‘Papetir’, one of the entries in Cinemalaya’s short film competition this year.

NENOK irected Rommel Tolentino eno a nine ear o d street id in a o os acan adopts the cit s historic Barasoain Church as a temporary home and his personal space for ischief.

PAPETIR irected Darwin Novicio During a performance, a entri o ist s dden finds hi se f ta in with his past. i he continue the conversation or remain tight-lipped from a voice on ept PUSONG BATO irected Martika Ramirez Escobar

inta e a r a idd e a ed faded actress, tries to relive her glorious days as a movie star in the s watchin fi s at ho e every day SANCTISSIMA irected Kenneth Dagatan arisa i es a one in the dar with an e en dar er secret.

WAWA irected Angelie Mae Macalanda o n o s o rne as the ta e his father to his fina restin p ace. n Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / July 28,

2015 / 8:17 PM

Jasmine Curtis-Smith wants more theater roles after ‘No Filter’ rave reviews

Jasmine Curtis-Smith in a scene from ‘No Filter’.

Photos by Erickson dela Cruz

Jasmine Curtis-Smith with her ‘No Fillter’ castmates, from left: Cai Cortez, Mikael Daez, Sarah Facuri, Micah Muñoz, Khalil Kaimo, Saab Magalona and Lauren Young

Young shined in “Social Media Change” and the usually mild-mannered Mikael Daez showed his vulnerable side in “Confession.”

Being one of only two performers (the other being Khalil Kaimo) to appear on all shows provided Jasmine with extra motivation to give her heart and soul into every performance.

“It’s a bit harder for Khalil and myself but it’s more fun. It fuels us even more to put in that extra effort and to fulfill each monologue with character and passion.

With their alternates, the others can attack their parts in a different way and ask each other and our director Toff de Venecia for feedback. But me and Khalil, it’s just us and the director,” she confessed.

The support she got from her parents and sister Anne Curtis who watched her third show last Sunday was also very encouraging for Jasmine.

“Oh, I think the show that they watched was the one where I made the most mistakes,” she admitted. “It was a Sunday afternoon and I was too relaxed but I was also a bit nervous. When the high and the low mixed, I was all over the place. But at the end of the day, the audience still thought it was an excellent show, thank God.” Minor mistakes aside, Jasmine said she felt very fulfilled as an actor in “No Filter” and hopes to do more theater projects in the near future.

“It’s a different kind of fulfillment.

The energy, time and discipline that you put into it is on a whole different level. The bonds that you made, it’s a whole different world. At the end of the day, it’s all about the acting and I love acting so I’m just glad that I got to experience it in a different medium.”

As discipline and effort goes, Jasmine is now seriously preparing for “My Fair Lady” where she plays “a brat who can fire whoever she wants in seconds.”

“I’m familiar with the synopsis and I started watching the episodes of the original version. But from what the writers and director Ricky Rivero were explaining, the story will evolve to make it adaptable to our Filipino culture as well,” she revealed.

“My Fair Lady” also stars Vin Abrenica, Luis Alandy, Joross Gamboa, Eddie Gutierrez, Marjorie Barretto, Yayo Aguila, DJ Durano, Jenny Miller and Katrina Legaspi. It will succeed “Baker King” when the latter ends its run.

“No Filter” will run with three more shows scheduled this July 31 (8PM), August 1 (8PM) and August 2 (3PM) at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City. For ticket information, please call The Sandbox Collective at 5856909 or 0917-8996680 or Ticketworld at 891-9999. n Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon. com / July 31, 2015 / 11:44 AM

Scoop & Si Junjun ni Vilma, si Ding ni Darna, at ang lalaking sinampal ni AiAi sa bilyaran August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

May kasabihan sa showbiz na walang maliit o malaking role na ginagampanan sa pelikula. Ang mahalaga raw ay tumatak sa mga manonood ang eksena; tulad ng karakter na batang may autism sa “Ipagpatawad Mo”; ang batang si Ding na kapatid ng Pinay superhero na si Darna,; at ang binatilyong nasampal sa bilyaran ni AiAi Delas Alas sa Tanging Ina.

‘Walang kasalanan si Junjun’.

Sumikat noong 1990’s ang batang actor na gumanap sa “Ipagpatawad Mo” bilang mentally-challenged na si Junjun. Siya si Benette Ignacio sa tunay na buhay.

Ginampanan ni Benette ang role ng mas batang si Junjun, na naging anak sa naturang pelikula nina Vilma Santos at Christopher de Leon.

Dahil sa kondisyon ni Junjun, laging nag-aaway ang karakter nina Vilma at Christopher.

At kabilang nga sa tumatak na linya sa pelikula ang naging komprontasyon ng mag-asawa.

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ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY

“Hindi kasalanan ni Junjun na ipanganak siyang kulang!” banggit ni Vilma.

Madiin namang sagot ni Christopher, “Inutil si Junjun!”

Ang kaawa-awang bata noon na si Benette nagumanap na si Junjun, 27-anyos na ngayon at graduate ng Hotel and Restaurant Management.

Kasalukuyan siyang nagtatrabaho bilang receptionist sa isang paaralan.

Sa nakaraang episode ng GMA show na “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” sinabi ni Benette na kahit challenging para sa karamihan ang pagganap niya bilang mentally-challenged na si Junjun, pero ang totoo ay parang naglalaro lang daw siya noon.

“Hindi ko pa alam na umaarte ako, na ang kasama ko na pala ay big stars at director—Laurice Guillen at Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon,” kuwento ni Benette, na unang nakilala sa showbiz matapos nanalo sa isang baby contest.

Ibinahagi naman ng lola ni Benette na “itlog” ang naging susi para mahusay na magampanan ng kaniyang apo ang role bilang si Junjun.

“Sa itlog lang siya pinapatingin noon. Hindi puwedeng tumingin kahit saan. Kahit sa iba pa niyang pelikula at endorsement, sa itlog lang talaga siya pinapatingin,” kuwento nito.

Si Ding na ‘di nakahawak ng mahiwagang ‘bato’. Sa bawat pelikula ng Pinay superhero na si Darna, hindi mawawala ang kaniyang sidekick na si Ding.

At isa sa mga unang gumanap na Darna noong 1960’s ay si Liza Moreno para sa Si Darna At Ang Impaktita at sequel na Isputnik vs Darna.

Sa dalawang nabanggit na Darna movies, ang gumanap na si Ding ay ang child star nang panahong iyon na si Danilo Jurado o Jose Jurado III sa tunay na buhay.

Ngayon, 64-anyos na si Danilo, may asawa at dalawang anak.

Bukod sa pagdidirek ng independent fi s napapa in an din n a on si Danilo sa radyo.

Maliban sa Darna movies, nag bidarin noon ang child star na si Danilo sa ilang pelikula gaya ng Ama Namin at movie adoptation ng Marcelino ng Pilipinas.

Nang mawala siya sa showbiz, naging singer/entertainer siya sa ibang bansa at sa Pilipinas.

Pero hindi pala gaya ng ibang gumanap na “Ding,” sinabi ni Danilo na kahit minsan ay hindi niya nahawakan noon sa dalawang pelikula ang mahiwagang “bato” na isinusubo ni Narda para maging si Darna!.

“Sampalan sa bilyaran”. Samantala, sino ang makalilimot sa madramang eksena sa pelikulang “Tanging Ina” ni Ai Aidelas Alas kung saan nagkaroon sila ng komprontasyon ng bolakbol na anak na ginagampanan ni Carlo Aquino sa isang bilyaran.

Pero ang madramang eksena, naging comedy nang sa halip na si Carlo ang masampal, ang sumalo ng palad ni AiAi ay ang ekstrang napagitna sa kanila—si Teody Allado Jr. Ayon kay Teody, 3rd year high school siya noon at nag-cutting class para makasamang ekstra sa pelikula matapos ayain ng mga kaibigan.

Maigsi man ang kaniyang papel, Masaya si Teody dahil instant sikat siya sa kanilang lugar hanggang ngayon kapag ipinapalabas sa telebisyon ang pelikula.

Napunta raw sa kaniya ang markadong papel dahil siya ang napagkaisahan ng kaniyang mga kaibigan na sa sampalin ni AiAi. Pero dahil na rin sa kakapusan sa pera, hindi na natapos ni Teody ang kaniyang kursong criminology.

Ngayon, ang pagiging delivery boy ang

29

kaniyang pinagkakakitaan.

Kung bibigyan daw ng pagkakataon, gusto muli ni Teody na umekstra sa pelikula.

Ang hindi alam ni Teody, gumawa ng paraan ang programang KMJS upang magkita silang muli ni AiAi at muli nilang ginawa ang markadong eksena.

Ayon kay AiAi, nang gawin nila ang huling sequel ng Tanging Ina, ipinahanap niya si Teody para makasama sa pelikula pero nabigo ang produksiyon.

Kaya naman laking gulat ng Kapuso comedienne nang makita niyang malaki na si Teody...si Teody nakahit maliit lang ang naging papel ay naging malaking bahagi ng matagumpay niyang pelikula. n FR Jimenez / GMA News

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PHILIPPINE EMBASSY AROUND THE WORLD

www.hello-philippines.com

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

PHL Embassy in Austria joins Celebration of Annual Filipino Community Barrio Fiesta THE much anticipated Barrio Fiesta of the Filipino community in Austria was held on July 25 at the Sportplatz ATV Liesing in Vienna.

Attracting Filipinos from all over Austria, Slovenia, and as far as Switzerland, the day-long annual

event was a showcase of Filipino talent, ingenuity, culture and cuisine.

Philippine Ambassador to Austria Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, in her remarks as guest of honor, hailed the annual event as a venue for thanksgiving for the Philippines’

PHL Consulate General welcomes First International Fruit and Vegetable Industry Fair in Xiamen THE Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen welcomed the announcement of the staging of the International Fruit and Vegetable Industry (Xiamen) Fair at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center scheduled to be held from December 11 to 14. his is the first internationa fr it and vegetable industry fair organized in Xiamen which has chosen the theme “Green Technology and Healthy Lifestyle.”

Philippine Consul General Julius Caesar Flores met with the organizers of the Fair and assured the latter that

the Consulate General will encourage Philippine participation in the event underscoring that the Philippines prides itself globally with its major fruit exports such as bananas, pineapples, mangoes and coconut, which could all be highlighted by Philippine exporters at the forthcoming fair.

The event would be a great opportunity for Philippine fruit and vegetable producers to promote their products, strengthen their presence in Fujian province, and explore business partnerships with their Chinese and other foreign counterparts. n Philippine

Embassy Philippines / July 31, 2015

PHL Ambassador joins ASEAN Head of Missions in Brasília in meeting Chairwoman of Foreign Relations and National Security Committee of Congress

impressive performance as the second fastest growing economy through the years. Noting that next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Austria, she vowed a bigger and better Barrio Fiesta in 2016.

The Ambassador likewise exhorted the Filipino community to retain their Filipino values and at the same time become responsible citizens of their second ho e. he affir ed that “Filipinos may be taken out of their country, but the Philippines cannot be taken out of the Filipinos.” In enjoining Filipinos to maintain their patriotism and excellence, she encouraged them to continue to intensify their efforts in mastering three languages – Filipino, the country’s national language, English, the language that gives Filipinos the edge in its efforts to be globalle competitive, and German, to facilitate Filipino integration in their adoptive home, Austria.

As part of the efforts of the Philippine Embassy to encourage more Filipinos to vote in next year’s election, onsite overseas voters registration was held at the booth of the Embassy. Eleven (11) new registrants were received as well as 11 applications for various services including transfer of registration records, application of correction of entries, change of address and reactivation of registration records.

To attract tourists and investors, the Embassy displayed posters featuring scenic spots in the Philippines and distributed tourism promotional and investment infomercials.

Led by the Philippine Embassy, Filipino organizations and business establishments participated in a parade which was the highlight of the day’s activities.

Throughout the day, cultural presentations from various groups

entertained the event goers.

Numerous booths featuring Filipino food, groceries, travel services, real estate investment opportunities, cargo forwarding and money remittances attracted the attention of the crowd. Several awards were given, including Best Regional Ethnic Costume, Best Booth, Best Parade Performance and best Business Booth in recognition of the ingenuity and put standing efforts of the participants. n Philippine Embassy Philippines / July 31, 2015

DFA Rescues Filipinas from Trafficking in Indonesia THE DFA reports that 12 Filipinas have been rescued from a human trafficking syndicate who brought them to Manado, Indonesia enroute to certain jobs in the Middle East.

Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Jesus I. Yabes led a consular team to Manado to look into the situation of the rescued Filipinas who are temporarily being accommodated at the Immigration Detention Center in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia while awaiting their repatriation to the Philippines.

In their meeting, the Filipinas narrated to Undersecretary Yabes the circumstances which brought them to Indonesia. Undersecretary Yabes counseled them to go through regular

deployment channels for migrant workers by submitting their documents to the Philippine Overseas Employment Association (POEA) to ensure that they are covered by the safety nets provided by the Philippine Government.

The rescued Filipinas come from different regions of the Philippines. They are expected to be brought back to Manila as soon as the Philippine Consulate General in Manado has obtained their plane tickets and completed departure procedures set by Indonesian authorities for their repatriation.

When in Manado, Undersecretary Yabes also coordinated the preparations for the repatriation of 20 Filipino fishermen who were arrested by Indonesian authorities for illegal entry and

illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.

The Filipino fishermen are housed in the Manado Immigration Detention Center but are otherwise permitted to roam around the premises unguarded.

Their fishing bancas and vessels were confiscated by Indonesia authorities but the fishermen were released for eventual repatriation to the Philippines.

The DFA reports that 225 Filipino fishermen have been repatriated from Indonesia during the first half of 2015 after they were arrested for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. In 2014, data from the Philippine Consulate General indicated that 327 Filipino fishermen were arrested by Indonesian authorities. n Philippine Embassy Philippines / July 22, 2015

DFA and DOJ Meet with Indonesian Attorney General’s Office to Discuss Developments on Mary Jane’s Case

of forging closer partnership with ASEAN starting with the establishment of the ASEAN-Brazil Parliamentary Council to be headed

by Congressman Átila Lins, Deputado from Manaus, Amazon. A working group will be set-up to draw the details of formally establishing the ASEAN-Brazil Parliamentary Council within a few months in 2015. n Philippine

THE Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, headed by Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta, together with officia s fro the epart ent of Justice and Department of Foreign ffairs et with the officia s of Indonesia’s Attorney General’s ffice.

The meeting was aimed at esta ishin confidence i din and exchange of information on the legal systems of the Philippines and Indonesia, especially in the area of cri ina proced re. he officia s of the two countries indicated their desire to institute closer cooperation on matters relative to initiatives upholding the rule of law. n Philippine

Embassy Philippines / July 31, 2015

Embassy Philippines / July 31, 2015

Singaporean CDA Siew Fei Chin, Philippine Ambassador Jose D. R. Burgos, Myanmar Ambassador Thiri P. U. Tun Nay Linn, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Van Kien, Thai Ambassador Pitchayaphant Charnbhumidol, Deputy Maria do Socorro Jô Moraes, Chairman of Foreign Relations and National Security Committee of the Chamber of Deputies (CREDN); Deputy Átila Lins, President of the Secretariat of International Relations of the Chamber of Deputies (SRI); Indonesian Charge d’Affaires Mochammad R. Safay, Malaysian Ambassador Rahimi bin Harun.

PHILIPPINE Ambassador to Brazil Jose D. R. Burgos together with the Heads of Mission of ASEAN in Brasilia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam) met with Congresswoman (Deputada) Maria do Socorro Jô Moraes, Chairwoman of the Foreign Relations and National Security Commission of Brazil’s Parliament to discuss the possibility

NEWS

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

www.hello-philippines.com

31

MVP TO YOUTH DURING RVR AWARD ACCEPTANCE, ‘BE BOLD BECAUSE YOU’RE YOUNG ENOUGH TO FAIL’

personifies nation i din or what an entreprene r can do for the co ntr an ani an said. an i inan who started his corporate career nder s hi ippine n est ent ana e ent and ons tants said after the e ent that he was er honored to ha e recei ed the award. er honored to e i en the award as wor ed for and he ta ht e an thin s a o t ife. ratef for that and sed to wor for hin a an i inan said. e ow is the f te t an i inan s acceptance speech enate resident ran in ri on ecretar ert de osario ecretar esar risi a ecretar ene endras ecretar re o in o rother r in istro hief stice rte io an ani an r. ashin ton cip r. te e e re a on nior scar friends fro hin a co ea es at irst acific distin ished ests ood e enin to a of o . ar wain once said that o co d i e for a onth on one co p i ent the enero s words of this award ha e st ass red e of i orta it . han o so ch for this honor co in fro a pro d and ratef son of hin a. than s to the oard of d es chaired for er hief stice an ani an for their ind est re. s a not i en to acceptin tri tes t the award is e ceptiona and persona ratif in . hin a a e e first o after rocter and a e t rned down app ication despite ein their scho ar at harton.

The Phinma story. ar os a anca fa o s to d that he was a foo to ea e hi a ife at the o n a e of to esta ish a co pan of his own. s rep i orta i ed in the hin a stor was si p to point to the we sprin of his darin a o n eno h to a e a ista e he to d a anca. f wait an on er d e too scared. fter hin a too own ris e i ratin to on on ta in inspiration fro s e a p e. owada s a wa s te o r st dents and o n entreprene rs to e od eca se o re o n eno h to fai . oined hin a in . hin a was a read a eader in hi ippine siness then and an o n en and wo en were een to wor for hin a. nd ade s re hin a proc red the est o n ta ents a ai a e or as the es its sa quam plurimiet quam aptissimi as an as possi e of the er est. t it wasn t on the s ccess for which it was nown that peop e oined. t was a so

the pride in ein i ipino. i ipino fir e er in fro post war ani a which e ie ed in o r peop e whose core a es in i din ana eria co petence and e ce ence co p ed with inte rit ha e end red since its fo ndin .

Many lessons learned. oined the hin a ro p as e ec ti e assistant to the president of i oi ar etin iton h idian. ne of the ear ier tas s iton as ed e to do was to reco end an increase in the pett cash f nd that he hi se f appro es. antin to show oat new inted harton de ree st dio s oo ed into this and s itted a si pa e e o f of n ers and statistica ana sis. iton ca ed e to his office and with e o on hand cas a said et s st raise this fro to pesos a onth. esson eep it short and si p e. was a so assi ned to o ersee hin a s cocon t p antation in iasi . ne afternoon in pri recei ed a essa e fro iasi p antation nder attac . d ah at i ed. s i s atters and o r sec rit detai had a s ir ish that ornin and their eader was i ed in the enco nter. had to to iasi assess the sit ation inc din the prospect of sec rin a hectare p antation the sea. st confess to nr nnin da s in iasi proc rin ar a ites ets rownin a to atic ri e an ar ored eep and other assorted ar a ents for o r sec rit force. n one of those trips scar and ret rned to ani a with a et ho e in the hin a s p ane s eft win . s to sec rin the p antation was inspired the ietna ar and tho ht h not i d a trench aro nd the p antation peri eter i o eters on with poisoned spi es hen presented to the i a ro oard this ri iant so tion oo ed at e with a se ent with ewi der ent

i ed with that e pression hat a d idea. esson eep it rea .

FCR the blade. f were hin a s ri ht side of the rain was the eft side of it. was ana tica and conser ati e creati e and enterprisin . was s t e and i ipino direct and western. was the s ed eha er the sharp ade. espite their contrastin st es the ade the perfect ana e ent a che . was a so assi ned to s per ise hin a s s ar p antation in e ros. his inc ded the se in of raw s ar e idenced edans or wareho se receipts. so d o r s ar thro h arner arnes o r s a ro er dea er. n the da that we had to t rn o er the edans to horror we were short. had no reco rse t to fro the ar et. chec was prepared to sett e. dreaded sendin the chec to so sent it to instead. he chec ca e ac si ned t with a note of ent e re e ann tho ht we re se in s ar not in the . esson e the tr th. h s three in a a e essons earned eep it si p e eep it rea te the tr th.

A look at the future. o ch of the past. rnin to conte porar ti es o a as how do we at irst acific re ard the enor o s tas of nation i din ation i din st e considered with reference to the asic p rpose of en and instit tions the rowth of we fare. he test of their efficienc wi ti ate rest on so e standard which each perfor s its respecti e tas s in i pro in the i es of o r peop e. he award is not i en so e for aesthetics or presti e it co es with the ad onition to contin e the wor of a an who it the fire in so an of s to reatness. t there s po ert standin in the wa of nation i din and to prosperit . o ert is the ene addressin it st e the siness of siness. he opti so tion in o r iew is ore o s not st the ant of o s created t o s capa e of ind cin a tric e down effect on the poor. his f nda enta ideo o defines who we are and what we do at irst acific.

The First Pacific way. h s iewed inc si e and s staina e rowth pro ides the pre ise on how we at irst acific cond ct o r sinesses se ectin the in est ents which can achie e the twin oa s of a decent ret rn and a atin po ert and sharin prosperit . his is wh we e in ested in p ic infrastr ct re i e to wa s to open

p new econo ic corridors power and water to s pp asic ti ities and hospita s to pro ide socia safet nets.

Where to invest. n addition we consider these opport nities to he p a e iate po ert irst sinesses ni e to their eo raphic and reso rce ad anta es s ch as to ris and inin . ost of these are ocated in the r ra areas where po ert e ists. econd sinesses that are prod cts of o r a or i ration i e edica to ris and retire ent ho es. hird a ric t re. e ent two percent of o r peop e e on to the and c sters. nd of o r poor i e in r ra areas. sta nant a ric t ra sector e acer ates r ra po ert and inc ates an enc a e r an poor econo forcin assi e i ration into o r cities. r aws on a ric t ra de e op ent are si p not in estor friend . e need to enco ra e ar e sca e co ercia far in re considerin o r a rarian refor aw. itness the s ccess of ar e sca e a ric t re in ndonesia a a sia and hai and where hectarea es are ade a ai a e in the h ndreds of tho sands. r o erarchin oa st e to feed o r peop e first. o rth techno o . hese past two ears we e spent ti e at i icon a e to i erse o rse es in a tota different wor d. hat rian hes fo nder of ir n to d s ast a descri es the reason for o r isits f o thin a o t it ir n is a iant ship. s the captain of the ship. t rea ha e two o s. he first is to worr e er thin e ow the water ine which can sin the ship. he second are areas passionate a o t prod ct rand and c t re. et e share e ta e awa essons fro the a e u ai re is not frowned pon. f o st fai fai fast and o e on. ne of the co on otes we heard co es fro a e ec ett who wrote e er tried e er fai ed no atter. r a ain fai a ain fai etter. v isr ption happens an ti e an where not on in e cos t now in the power ind str and e sewhere. sinesses operate in a arwinian andscape. t wi not e the i est or s artest a on st s which wi s r i e t those ost adapti e to chan e. w he ha c on da s of an fact rin ric s and ortars iron and s o estac s are o er. new era of techno o and inno ation is pon s e phasi in the s pre ac of inte ect a capita . hat s wh this co ntr has to o e c oser to and en ineerin .

Continuation from page 1 oo at er and ir n the didn t e ist a few ears ac . t er is now the ar est transportation co pan in the wor d with a ar et a e of i ion. ir n is the i est od in co pan with a ar et a e of i ion. nd et neither one owns a sin e asset no otor ehic e or hote roo .

Conclusion: A boy named Nico. t is ti e to c ose. er ear we sponsor a edica ission to ho etown of pa it a pan a. e i e o t prosthetics cr tches whee chairs edicine food and edica assistance to the poor. he ines are disheartenin on . he saddest part is that so e of these ai ents are not the res t of a cr e twist of fate t of pre enta e po ert re ated ca ses. or e a p e c eft pa ates ca sed fo ic acid deficienc re ects aterna a n trition which in t rn is rooted in po ert . et a o n an fro oncepcion ar ac na ed ico who ost his e whi e p a in as et a . hat was not the rea tra ed . i en p as se ess at a e he had stopped schoo in and had ost hope. as ed to eet his fa i and iet offered he p. e cannot i e p too soon on the ico s in o r idst. now that when o e ost o r e or when o re s eepin on the oor of o r shant or sittin on the steps of o r ooded ho e it is hard to i a ine an f t re. t we st e ie e that that f t re wi co e that after dar ni hts st co e ri ht ornin s. ndia s first pri e inister ehr capt red the essence of what we a sho d stri e to achie e as we i d this nation. ehr said in st on the e e of ndian independence and soon after the assassination of his entor ahat a andhi he achie e ent we ce e rate toda is t a step an openin of opport nit to the reater tri phs and achie e ents that await s. he ser ice of ndia eans the ser ice of the i ions who s ffer. t eans endin po ert and i norance and disease and ine a it of opport nit . he a ition of the reatest an of o r eneration has een to wipe e er tear fro e er e e. hat a e e ond s t as on as there are tears and s fferin o r wor wi not e o er. hi st o r wor in o r co ntr is indeed far fro o er a e er one in this roo reso e to wipe e er tear in e er e e of e er i ipino. f were here with s toni ht ite s re he wo d a ree. han o a ain. n Jose Bimbo Santos / InterAksyon.com / July 30, 2015 / 9:22 AM

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Shock & Awe in the 15th Century: China’s 27,000 sailors, 300 ships, 7 voyages, Part 2 of 4 (EDITOR’S note: In view of the presentations made by the Philippines before the UN arbitral tribunal on the country’s suit against China regarding the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, key aspects of China’s history can help produce insights into the dynamics of the rising superpower’s possible future relations with its neighbors, specifically the Philippines.

Author Cesar Polvorosa Jr. is a business school professor of economics, world geography, and international business management in Canada. He is also a published writer in economics, business, and literature.)

Read Part 1 of 4, ‘21st Century wi e the acific ent r here.

An integral myth on China is the supposed moral exceptionalism of the co ntr a on the reat powers.

China was after all Chung Kuo the Middle Kingdom and historical China was “a shining civilization in the center of All-under-Heaven radiating a splendid and peaceloving culture” (Yuan-kang Wang, The Myth of Chinese Exceptionalism, orei n o ic arch .

China is a benevolent power as it did not acquire overseas colonies as the Europeans, the Americans, and the Japanese did - in fact, at critical periods, they subjected the country to ne a treaties. he cent r before the 1949 Communist takeover was known as the “Century of i iation. he wor d iew of this oppression of the Chinese especially in modern times by the Japanese and Westerners is for instance, a common the e in n f o ies.

Indeed, in the past few centuries as Western imperialism subjugated entire continents China was largely a “benevolent” power that did not actively interfere with its neighboring countries such as the hi ippines. s it fro a state po ic of peaceful coexistence with its nei h orin co ntries o wh didn t China create an overseas empire in the European fashion?

Conquest of Asian mainland is part of ancient history. China is primarily

an sian continenta power. t expanded from its core region of the Huang He or Yellow River which was the ”Cradle of Chinese Civilization” and one of the original cultural hearths of the wor d. s it e panded it conquered non-Han nations i.e. non hinese t this was so ancient that it has drifted to present irre e anc and o i ion. his is unlike the US whose westward expansion and conquest of native tribes was relatively recent that it was well documented and continues to e po e ica . ropean powers by the time of the Renaissance had no viable frontiers except to venture o t into the t antic. st the sa e

the ra ifications of hinese e pire building in mainland Asia continue to re er erate to the present da .

Tibet had been independent for centuries but by the 1700s was controlled by Qing China, and incorporated the eop e s ep ic in . he a ai a a ed to ndia d rin the i etan re e ion.

Thus, there are active Tibetan groups opposed to the present hinese r e.

Xinjiang is the huge, mountainous, and desert region in the northwest frontier of hina. he re ion s population of Uyghurs and Kazakhs ha e c t ra affinit with entra sia rather than with an hinese.

Some Uyghurs are struggling for independence which has caused tension and ethnic strife in in ian .

Vietnam was a Chinese province for o er a i enni . he Vietnamese gained independence after defeating Imperial China in a decisi e att e. h s the str e against China was also instrumental in forming Vietnamese national identity and provides context to their strident opposition to the Chinese sa er ratt in in the re ion.

Taiwan came under Chinese r e in the s. he paniards were apprehensive that Chinese General Koxinga would invade the Philippines; this was only averted by his death. he e pansion tra ector of China suggests that if the Philippines was not a Spanish colony, the Chinese would next gradually co oni e on. hen hina ost the 1894 war to a rapidly modernizing Japan and the latter consequently occ pied aiwan.

Chinese settlements of course are found in various sites in Southeast sia e. . an e oint t as the country gradually declined after the 1600s, their expansion were constrained by the European co oni ers. ationa wea ness and the presence of European colonizers prevented China from further expansion and possible colonization of ariti e sia.

As a continental power, ancient China alternated between expanding to its natural frontiers and defending against mostly nomadic tribes especially against the Mongols of en his han in the ear s.

The Mongols established the Yuan dynasty and China under the reign of Kublai Khan would invade apan twice. he fai res of the in asions profo nd in ence Japanese history and beliefs though the burning issue had been on the Japanese invasion of China because it was ore recent. he anch s then invaded China and established the last imperial dynasty, the Qing nast .

With their concentration on the

Asian mainland, Chinese naval and maritime technology relatively lagged ehind nti after the i enni . hen it wo d o rish and ead the world and for a brief interlude during the voyages of Admiral Zheng He, Chinese imperialism would be on full display when it had the resources and opport nit to do so.

Admiral Zheng He’s gunboat diplomacy preceded the Europeans by centuries. A century before

Magellan and the European Age of Exploration, China assembled an i pressi e eet of ore than treasure ships, battle junks, and supply ships manned by 27,000 sailors, soldiers, and crew led by d ira hen e. a acco nts the Chinese treasure ships were more technologically sophisticated and several times bigger than the Spanish galleons that were to sail a cent r after.

This was 15th century shock and awe he assi e eet pro ected stunning Chinese might into the coastal regions of Southeast Asia, a of en a ndian cean e on and the Malabar Coast of India), Saudi Arabian peninsula (Yemen), and ast frica. his wo d e the odern da e i a ent of i it class super carriers (or the newest era d . ord c ass acco panied Zumwalt destroyers, littoral combat ships, amphibious assault ships, and numerous supply cargo ships making port ca s.

While there is a debate among scholars ranging from the “proto scientific ar ent of oseph eedha that the o a es ain purpose was to collect rare materials and scientific now ed e the evidence is more supportive of Robert in a s and an an an s argument that Admiral Zheng He implemented the militarist ambitions of the Yongle emperor (The Voyages of Zheng He, The Journal of the istorica ociet ept. . he eet s se en o a es were not primarily for exploration as they tra ersed ost o d tradin ro tes.

This was intelligence gathering and a de onstration of hina s stren th.

It sought to establish trading posts along the sea routes which as the Europeans would manifest centuries later became the prelude to invasion and co oni ation.

In the course of the voyages, hen e s na a force in aded and defeated e aswara s otte in do of e on ri an a in . he eet ro ted hen is pirate eet and e andar s forces both in Sumatra bringing security and stability to the region through hinese contro . tho h the Chinese intervention was supposedly we co ed in officia acco nts these

China coast guard blocks Philippine supply ship, 30 March 2014.

engagements were unequivocal demonstrations of the formidable military power of Ming China to the countries of Southeast Asia and the ndian cean.

The expeditions showed that if China had the military capability, it will not hesitate to use them even in the distant ndian cean. ow ch more then will China not hesitate to use its military force in its own backyard, in the West Philippine Sea in disputed territory that it explicitly claims as its own and with 21st century naval and military techno o and firepower ow different is this from US military intervention during the past century in many small countries including the Philippines? hen e s e peditions were a remarkable achievement but they also constituted an early use of gunboat diplomacy, which is the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power - implying or explicitly becoming a direct threat of military force should terms not be agreeable to the superior force (Cable, James, n oat ip o ac nstit te of trate ic t dies . s historians o ser e hen es assi e and powerf eet wo d ha e een a terrifying sight as it appeared on a co ntr s shore. his was cent ries before the Europeans would use gunboat diplomacy as an instrument of forei n po ic .

After the death of Admiral Zheng e in the treas re ships o a es ceased. he on o s threatened once ore hina s sta i it . t e en after the on o s passed on to historical obscurity, the Chinese never ventured out again to e p ore the oceans in s ch stren th.

Apparently, the conservative Confucian scholars who disdained the pursuit of commerce won over the innovative, forward-looking eunuch faction (Zheng He was a e n ch in a power str e.

Internal conflict. This battle for supremacy over the policy course of China represented wild swings of the

pendulum between modernity and tradition, openness and insularity, soft power s. hard power and would periodically plague China in the centuries to follow including the present generating disruptions and discontin ities.

Alternative scenarios of historians and economists speculated on the consequences on the world had China not pursued an isolationist po ic after the era of hen e.

Ming China to early Qing marked the zenith of Chinese civilization before the country would rise again in the present era. f hina s assi e eets contin ed their explorations they, instead of the Europeans, would have colonized the ericas. hina wo d ha e dominated the world for the past ha f i enni . nstead hina turned inward and gradually became decrepit that accelerated in the t t o s th cent r .

Meanwhile, the western powers rapidly industrialized and oderni ed. n its own nera e moment, China became easy prey for the Western powers especially from the id th cent r . hina was humiliated by the western Gunboat ip o ac where it was forced to open more areas of the country to forei ners in ne a port treaties.

Thus, with Chinese defeat in the pi ar on on eca e a ritish co on .

Japan also would succumb to the n oat ip o ac of the est when it ended its isolation after o odore err not ewe as earlier posted) forced open the co ntr in . n i e hina which was locked in prolonged power struggles between the conservatives and the progressives, the Japanese quickly realized the advantages of Western technologies and adopted them to modernize the army and na . apan wo d defeat China and become like the other Western powers participating in the di ision of the hinese e on. n Cesar Polvorosa Jr. / Special to InterAksyon.com / July 29, 2015 / 9:43 AM

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PROFILE Neal Cruz and the changing of the ‘media guard’

MANILA eteran o rna ist ea who wi e aid to rest at rda st once he ped or ani e a ro p ca ed s ans.

With feigned hubris, he described it as a fraternit of o n writers at a ti e when the ontifica ni ersit a horred ree etter fraterna or ani ations. t t t rned o t the recr its were not e ers of so e societ with secret initiation rites the were a st c ass ates in the def nct ac t of hi osoph and etters of the ni ersit of anto o as where he was then a so iterar editor of the ca p s paper arsitarian. e ater e p ained the eanin of s ans to asi n di pa si at aos na ot e en a risin star a read a has een .

“Kaya walang sumali sa amin [No wonder no one wanted to oin s he added ch c in at the reco ection. he were str in ca p s writers then t their se f deprecatin tag of “laos has eens was is eadin . n a atter of ears ost of the wo d ater e er e as topnotch no nonsense o rna ists. r hi se f wo d end p as editor and we fo owed co nist in at east fo r a or newspapers. p nti his death at the t. es ospita ast onda peop e had ca ed hi Mang ea o t of respect for the an who spent o er ears of his ife as a newspaper an. prefer to ca hi ito ea he ein a r

ood friend of ate father ante aredes a o rna ist aw er and a fe ow s an. e had a so o t i ed ost of his od s an co ea es and edia conte poraries a on the ito o ina i orp aran and ara in h. i e an at onton and rno d oss re e ered with fondness ost of s editoria staff as their ra ar po ice nonparei ea stri ed to fi ht the a ein process ref sin to fade awa fro the s a stressf ife of a newspaper an. of the were the fo ndin and on e ers of the s ans. nd now ito ea is dead. is on ti e friend on aranda said ea fina s ipped awa despite a s ccessf rain operation onda . t was his second s r er after an accident the wee efore. his at rda his re ains wi e cre ated after o d co ea es friends and fa i e ers ather for o Mass and necrological rites at the o nt ar e h rch in ew ani a e on it .

‘Last kapihan’. s eteran o rna ist an ariano p t it thin of it as o r ast kapihan with ea . n the edia ind str ea r wasn t st a seasoned ate eeper in the c assic edia o d. e was acti e in the wee edia for s nown as Kapihan’ - his idea of findin a for for free e pression so the edia practitioners of the so ca ed

TAPOS NA ANG HELE HELE

VP Binay says the race is on

Vice President Jejomar Binay in Cavite. Screenshot from News5 broadcast.

MANILA - “Today is the day, tapos na ang hele hele (the prologue is over),” so declared Vice President Jejomar Binay Friday after President Aquino formally announced his endorsement of Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas as the Liberal Party’s standard bearer for the presidential election next year.

“One of my advantages is that the electorate still remembers how I defeated him in the last election,” Binay added.

The Vice president said he is banking

on experience, “hindi palpak (not sloppy leadership),” alluding clearly to deep public displeasure over Roxas’ handling of things at the Department of Transportation and Communications and at the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Binay also said Roxas would be doing a good turn to immediately relinquish his Cabinet portfolios in order to avoid possibly being tainted with suspicions of leveraging his position to boost his election campaign. n JV Arcena / News5 / August 1, 2015 / 3:14 PM

cron owned edia in the arcos re i e co d find a wa to en a e news so rces in a ess restricted i ie and then write a o t the e chan e.

Neal started the trend with the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel and then eca e a re ar participant in the Kapihan sa which ater transferred to nna e s esta rant. efore his death he was the ain host of the onda edia for at the ia ond ote . re e ered est ea defendin the edia for s he pop ari ed when so e p ic infor ation rea crats wo d tr to nder ine these as an i dis ised p atfor to critici e o ern ent.

He said that the “kapihan was the on socia acti it ein or ani ed o rna ists where the can as estions of edia so rces whi e at the sa e ti e enti ate their opinions on the issues being raised in the no-holdsarred disc ssions. he didn t e pect an thin ateria fro the e ercise t a ood c p of rewed coffee which was rea afforda e to ordinar news en e en if the apihans were he d in posh hote s. ea wasn t a so the t pica news an who ere considered o rna is as a o or career. t was his ife the one and on ife that he had a wa s wanted to share with co ea es nti the da he wrote . rin the artia aw ears ea had to wor in a so ca ed cron newspaper and he rea i ed his i itation. t he earned the respect of an for a wa s findin creati e wa s to encourage those who tested the i its occasiona snea in in stories otherwise critica of the re i e iet enco ra in and co erin p for o n o rna ists whose ea in co erin and e en oinin protests and nions co d ar the o t to the onitors. e did not oin street protests. e concentrated on his wor as ana in editor of the Daily Express. hen he earned that o rna ists were federatin the edia nions as the rotherhood of nions in edia of the hi ippines at the hei ht of artia aw in the co ntr he iet ad ised the to anticipate the conse ences. e preferred then that the ationa ress re ain as the ain en e for edia rie ances and that the nions e i ited to the a or iss es in the ind str . t on the ni ht that the edia nions athered at the s arade a for the ed in s eetin he eft the office ear and proceeded to the c s ar at the third oor and sta ed there nti the atherin was o er. t was apparent his si p e wa of satisf in hi se f that his oc the an o n o rna ists he entored were o a .

After that, we learned that Neal was once an active union organizer, but had to sacrifice his o in one a or dai for their union to be recognized and forge a co ecti e ar ainin a ree ent with ana e ent. s two ti e president ea wasn t rea nown to e a hi h profi e press freedo ad ocate. t he participated in a the edia atherin s.

He would even assist the club’s staff in preparation for the eetin areas. hen de ocrac was restored in ea s pported the ai press nion s atte pt to ta e o er the co pan t ana e ent decided to c ose down the newspaper.

Change after EDSA. i e an other news en ea fo nd hi se f a icti of the new edia order. hi e o ern ent ta ed of the restoration of a free press ea fo nd hi se f a on the an news en who were forced to transfer fro one wor p ace to another eca se the post artia aw newspapers wo d c ose down as fast the wo d open.

It was then we learned that Neal tried to o into far in easin o ern ent and in the p and areas of ntipo o. ent a he had to a andon his far . t was eatin ch of his sa in s he fo nd o t e ated that his far hands co dn t e p ain the disappearances of their i estoc and their har est. n he retired fro acti e des wor to oint the Philippine Daily Inquirer as a co nist. et it wasn t eno h that he had ained pro inence as a hard hittin opinion writer. e he ped or ani e Samahang aride an or ani ation of eteran o rna ists after e ership in the a on wor in news en waned. ea ater said that he had a wa s o ed the to the point that he ed a ro p of news en who critici ed the oard when it so d the ra of the ate ationa rtist icente anansa a. t was considered a price ess piece of artwor and one of the few re nants of its orio s past a on with its r stic i din and nser icea e e e ator. e participated in one enera asse where the iss e was

open raised. rin that atherin eteran o rna ists o ie sta i o and o ando spina were confronted one oard e er who said “Matagal kayo na wala sa ress tapos ngayon magpapakita kayo at manggugulo o were on a sent fro the and now o t rn p here and a e tro e .

When Neal learned about it, he said it was ti e to ea e. e then as ed his co ea es to st oin hi for ate nch at the o d on on ea o se. hat was the t pica ea r . e had a wa s e ie ed that edia co ea es were a fa i and he oathed s ch di isi eness. he oss of the anansa a ra was painf for ea t he didn t want the issue to continue to hound the organization, which had built a rep tation as a defender of press freedo in the co ntr in the t t o s da s of protest efore artia aw in the dar est da s of artia aw and the ast h rd e of the anti dictatorship o e ent. he was a ha en for a sorts of protesters not st edia en settin p nions there were st dents a or eaders opposition po itica eaders e en concerned o ern ent peop e who so ht to e whist e owers. n fact it was at the e anine oor of the where the os ito ress trai a er ose r os r. set p his or office in . he also landed in the headlines when news an t rned re e at r ca po o t on a specia da pass fro the to ote in e ections ade his darin escape. hate er differences ea a ha e had with the s new eaders it was obvious he loved it for what it s o i ed in his ife a co nit of peop e passionate a o t their wor and a it represented in societ . ndeed ea s o i ed for ost of us the fast-vanishing breed of oldschoo o rna ists for who wor is t a part of a i er ad ent re in the so ca ed o rth state. ood e ea . han s for the co pan and idance. n Joel C. Paredes / InterAksyon.com / July 31, 2015 / 4:56 PM

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JESSICA ZAFRA SWOT Analysis: PNoy’s Last SONA

THIS is a review of the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Benigno S. Aquino III on 27 July 2015.

We are evaluating the speech, not the President—everyone is already doing that. Besides, we are largely ignorant of politics because we prefer our drama to come from books and movies—they tend to be more exciting, they involve very good-looking people, and they are over in a matter of hours or days. We will stick with what we know, which is reviewing the text.

Strengths. One of President Aquino’s assets is his mastery of the Tagalog an a e. e spea s a e i o s Tagalog that sounds natural, not studied or memorized. The language moves easily from the formal to the colloquial, incorporating popular expressions and jokey asides so that it connects with a wider audience.

He and his speechwriters chose to stick with the metaphors he used in his inaugural address: wang-wang (car sirens), the eradication of; Daang Matuwid (The Straight Path); Kayo ang boss ko (You are my boss). A wise decision, as these metaphors are effective visceral shorthand—wangwang immediately brings to mind the self-entitled asshats who cut through traffic i.e. the ene . Daang Matuwid provides an instant visual. Boss emphasizes that the voters put him in that position, so he serves them and not the other way round. So whoever thought up these metaphors—take a bow.

The play of words in lines like “May pumapasok nang madilim pa, at may umuuwing madilim na—pero lahat sila, naiiwan sa dilim dahil hindi sapat ang oras ng pag-aaral” (Some went to school when it was still dark, others went home when it was already dark, but everyone was in the dark…) gave it rhythm.

Use of colloquialism and a pilosopo tone made the speech more palatable to the general audience. E.g. “Paano nauuna ang response? Para mo na ring

sinabing nag-reply ka sa taong hindi ka naman tinext.” (How do you respond before a situation arises? It’s like replying to a text that hasn’t been sent.)

Self-deprecation is always good.

Recalling his decision to run for president, he says “Hindi naman ako masokista.” (I am not a masochist.)

He even mentions his hair loss when he thanks his hairstylist: “Cherry Reyes, na nag-aayos ng aking buhok, at nagmimistulang economics practitioner dahil pinupunuan niya ang unlimited wants with limited resources.” (…who could be an economist because she f fi s n i ited wants with i ited resources). ar on he entions the officia s at the frontlines of the war against corruption: Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno, Commission on Audit Chair race ido an rea of nterna Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who are all women. is c ai s are s pported fi res and percentages: dividends from s re en es enerated budget reform, global competitiveness and economic growth, investmentgrade credit rating, net foreign investments, domestic investments, growth of the manufacturing sector, lowest unemployment in a decade, better opportunities so OFWs can return to the Philippines, improved labor relations, support for education, wider heath coverage, etc. Admittedly numbers are not thrilling and many listeners may have tuned out, but how else do you illustrate improvement?

Besides, we will know that we have matured as a nation when our politics becomes boring. Perhaps aware that reciting numbers makes listeners sleepy, he closed out the math section by quoting Aiza Seguerra: “I thank you, bow.” Later he provided a helpful summary for listeners who had just woken up.

As the SONA came to a close, he ac now ed ed his deficiencies and apologized to the people.

Weaknesses. In enumerating the achievements of his administration, Aquino repeatedly chastised the previous administration for its sins. Of course it is fair to make comparisons with the predecessor, the SONA being a scorecard, but the constant repetition accompanied by blame and condemnation grew tiresome. It sounded like the refrain in a country song by someone who refused to relinquish the microphone: all that lyin’, cheatin’, stealin’. It made the President sound vindictive. Also, it o ersi p ified the pro e s of the nation: Everything is their fault. What about the system that made their crimes possible? It’s about time we took some responsibility for our history.

The use of sarcasm, while amusing, could sound defensive bordering on hostile. Why be defensive when you’ve already won? Addressing critics of the Pantawid Pamilya program: “Ang akala kaya nila, itong Pantawid Pamilya ay parang mahiwagang tabletang kapag ininom ng kinder, pagkatapos ng ilang oras ay college graduate na? Tulungan natin silang magbilang: 13 taon ang K to 12, samantalang 6 na taon lang ang aking termino. Nahahalata tuloy kung sino ang medyo matinding nambobola.”

(They seem to think it’s a magic tablet that when swallowed by a preschooler turns him into a college graduate in a few hours. Let’s help them count: K to 12 takes 13 years, and my term ends in 6. Who’s fooling whom?)

Aquino absolves Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya for the atrocious state of the MRT, heaping the blame on the private corporation maintaining it. “Di po ba maski sinong kumpanya, dapat sinisigurong masusulit ang kanilang investment?

Pero hinayaan lang nilang lumala nang lumala ang situwasyon hanggang

umabot sa puntong ipinasa na sa atin nang ora-orada ang pagsasaayos ng MRT.” (Whatever the company, shouldn’t they be ensuring a return on their investment? But they let the situation get worse and worse…) Why are you complaining to us about how your private partner runs the MRT? You’re the government! The MRT is a public utility!

He also gripes about how some local governments put obstacles in the path of necessary projects such as the retrofittin of ada pe rid e. ain You’re the government! Why are you making sumbong to us? (as his relatives might say). If the bridge is a danger to p ic safet find a wa to a e the local government work with you! ranted we ha e seen too an movies and TV shows written by Aaron Sorkin, but it would be great to hear Aquino say, “I AM the President of the Republic.”

Opportunities. Addressing the critics who say he should “move on” and stop dwelling on the past, he quoted Santayana: Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. By all means, let’s dwell on the past, and not just the previous administration. Our history is a litany of people getting away with bloody murder. For instance, Cory Aquino was president, Benigno Aquino III

is president, but the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr remains an unsolved mystery. People get kicked o t of office for corr ption and et re-elected the following year. Nobody pays.

Aquino points out that politicians exploit the forgiving nature of Filipinos (which we ascribe to very poor memory and a refusal to do anything that might cause other people to dislike them), chanting “Kawawa naman kami” (Poor pitiful us) all the way back to power.

This is the closest he got to criticizing his “bosses”. “May naalala ba kayong nagsabing, ‘Sorry sa pagnanakaw at pang-aabuso, handa na akong magbago?’” (Do you recall anyone saying, ‘Sorry for the theft and abuse of power, I am ready to change?’”)

Threats. In detailing efforts to upgrade the Armed Forces (the Air Force now has actual planes) and the National Police, he cited these statistics: In Metro Manila, from January to June 2014, there were 37 murders and homicides every week. The number is now down to 23 murders and homicides. There were 919 cases of robbery, theft and carjacking every week, but they’re down to 444 cases a week. What! That many?! The stats may be down, but it still sounds like a crime wave. n Jessica Zafra / July 28, 2015 / 10:45 AM

Grace wishes Mar well, hopes campaign for 2016 centers on ‘issues and programs of govt’ MANILA – Senator Grace Poe congratulated Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II after he was endorsed as the Liberal Party standard bearer by President Benigno Aquino III even as she hinted that she would turn next year’s presidential derby into a three-way race including Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“I wish him well,” Poe said in a statement soon after Aquino endorsed Roxas late Friday morning at an LP gathering at Club Filipino in San Juan City.

She then hoped “the 2016 election campaign will be one of open discussion of issues and proposed programs of government that will build on what President Aquino has started.”

“This way, the Filipino people can arrive at a clear choice on Election Day,” she added.

For a while, Aquino had been seen to be wavering in choosing between Roxas, the original LP bet in the 2010 polls who stepped aside to let him run soon after the death of his mother former President Cory Aquino, and Poe, the independent neophyte who ran under the administration coalition in 2013 and has been surging in recent surveys of potential presidential candidates, matching or even overtaking erstwhile front-runner Binay.

Roxas, in contrast, has been lagging badly in opinion polls although LP stalwarts believe Aquino’s endorsement will see his ratings skyrocket.

Poe also thanked Aquino for having considered her among those who could continue his “daang matuwid” (straight path) vision of governance.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), for its part, belittled Roxas, saying

he “wants to be Noynoy 2.0” and continue what it called Aquino’s “failed legacy.”

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. predicted Roxas would be rejected at the polls next year, saying: “The people

do not want a continuation of the sham daang matuwid. The people demand real change.”

He also downplayed the presidential endorsement, saying, “Let us not forget

that the person chosen and praised by Aquino is the same person he kept in the dark about Mamasapano,” referring to the disastrous January 25 Special Action Force mission to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.”

While Marwan was killed, 44 SAF commandos, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and three civilians also died in the ensuing clash.

The debacle became a major administration crisis after it was learned that Aquino had allowed now sacked Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima to oversee the mission even if he had been suspended over graft charges, while Roxas and then acting PNP chief Leonardo Espina, as well as the military, were kept in the dark until it was too late. n Ernie Reyes / InterAksyon.com / July 31, 2015 / 12:44 PM

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August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

What is future of China-PH relations? 21st Century will be Pacific Century, Part 1 of 4 (EDITOR’S note: In view of the presentations made by the Philippines before the UN arbitral tribunal on the country’s suit against China regarding the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, key aspects of China’s history can help produce insights into the dynamics of the rising superpower’s possible future relations with its neighbors, specifically the Philippines.

Author Cesar Polvorosa Jr. is a business school professor of economics, world geography, and international business management in Canada. He is also a published writer in economics, business, and literature.)

“The Mediterranean is the ocean of the past, the Atlantic, the ocean of the present and the acific the ocean of the future.” - John Jay, U.S. Secretary of State, 1889 The economic transformation of China is simply stupendous. During the past quarter century, China’s GDP growth averaged a sizzling 9% per annum. From the late 1970s to 2010, the size of the Chinese economy grew ore than fi e ti es which a tered the lives of majority of its 1.4 billion people a ost a fifth of h anit in a in of an eye in historical terms. From an underdeveloped country China’s GDP per capita income has reached $12,900 as of 2014 (PPP) (CIA World Factbook).

China is now the number one trading country in the world.

The downside of heady economic growth though had been severe pollution levels and worsening income inequality - ironic in a country that prided itself on socialist egalitarianism.

The magnitude of such performance has some staggering implications. Thus, as an example consider the following: In 2014, the Chinese economy grew

by 9.4% to reach $10.36 trillion (GDP current prices) (IMF) compared to the $9.47 trillion of the previous year.

The increment of $890 billion (10.36 less 9.47 in trillions) is the size of the Netherlands economy or an addition of three Philippine-sized economies in just one year of growth.

Such profound developments in China herald the emergence of the acific ent r or the a ost universal expectation that the East Asian economies principally China will dominate the world of the 21st century. Thus, the 20th century was the “American Century” when the US was the superpower (and still is) while the 19th century was referred to as the “British Century” when Britain ruled a far n o erseas e pire. ach ti e the country with the world’s biggest economy became preeminent in global affairs - in business, military, culture, diplomacy, and political spheres. Thus, English became the lingua franca of the world because of the legacy of empire of the British and spread in turn by the Americans. Anglo-Americans heavily in enced the wor d s prod ction of knowledge. The US, which spends more on defense than the next seven countries combined, has often been assertive militarily to advance its nationa interests as defined its leaders - e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq.

Britain cut a bloody swath to create a vast overseas empire especially in South Asia and Africa.

Thus, as China is poised to grab the mantle of economic leadership from the US, the issue is how will China be as a superpower? By purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations of the IMF, World Bank and CIA, China is already the biggest economy in the world.

TV5 screenshot of suspected fake, or plastic rice. The NFA is conducting simultaneous inspections following reports some people are selling “fake rice” from China - with plastic resin ingredients, among others. NFA also discovered smuggled Chinese rice in Pasay City, and is checking whether this is part of smuggled stocks auctioned off by Customs in October. ©Interaksyon.com file

So what happens as China displaces the US as the world’s number one economy?

Having the biggest economy translates into possessing huge resources to build up the armed forces.

How will China behave as a superpower when in 2035 it is expected that its defense expenditures will exceed the United States? (estimate of R.S., Kalha, Institute for Defense Study and Analysis comment 17 Jan. 2015). What will be its implications on the world but especially on the Philippines with which it is embroiled in a territorial dispute?

The history of the country is always a guide to its possible future. In the case of China it can offer us a glimpse of its superpower future by giving us insights into the dynamics of its past glories, struggles, priorities, power shifts, and major endeavors.

The great divergence and convergence. This emergence of China (including India) as a superpower

in the 21st century comprises the compelling global narrative of the end of the existing World Order and the coming of a new one. Famed British historian Niall Ferguson (6 Killer Apps) referred to the time when the Europeans developed way ahead of the rest of the world starting around the 1500s as the “Great Divergence.” Now, the rest of the world particularly China and India are catching up with the West in a new “Great Convergence.”

In fact, for much of the past millennia China had been paramount in global affairs far longer than the West. While Egypt and Mesopotamia can claim to be the oldest civilizations, China is arguably the longest continuous civilization. Thus, from this perspective, China in the early 21st century is only reverting to its former hegemony.

Such a wealth of historical experience should confer on China the collective wisdom of the Ages, the virtues of good governance, maturity,

and grace in its relationship with other neighboring countries. What does the historical and contemporary evidence suggest?

In its long and rich history, China produced exemplary philosophers who played vital roles in guiding both the morality and pragmatism of individual and state behavior. The most prominent of these was Confucius who emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. For Confucius, what characterized superior rulership was the possession of de or “virtue” which was conceived of as a kind of moral power that allows one to win a following without recourse to physical force (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Confucianism had been so in entia in ast sia in enera that the region is sometimes referred to as the “Confucian Crescent” (e.g. as discussed in The East Asia Edge by Hofheinz and Calder). n Cesar Polvorosa Jr.

/ Special to InterAksyon.com / July 25, 2015 / 12:18 PM

Social Watch blasts lack of transparency on Yolanda funds for 2016 MANILA – Social Watch Philippines has urged Congress to examine the P44.49-billion item for the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program in the 2016 national budget and compel the Department of Budget and Management to specify the allocation for each program, activity and project.

Judging from the Special Provisions of the 2016 budget for Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, the Executive continues to neglect our call to make the budget for Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Plan (CRRP) transparent with specific amount for each of the programs in the list. This despite that climate change adaptation and mitigation is one of the five key result areas of the Aquino administration. For us citizens, it is important that the information is clear to facilitate citizens participation and accountability will be upheld, Social Watch convenor Leonor Briones said.

The watchdog also responded to the DBMs contention that criticism on the tracking of Yolanda funds should not mislead or use erroneous data.

Indeed, we want to believe DBM that all is well, but the affected communities and even the agencies implementing the reconstruction efforts are giving

Social Watch’s Leonor Briones

us a different picture, Briones said.

The data that we used in our study are official government data. We have been requesting this information from concerned agencies since February of this year but to no avail. We checked the press releases of DBM in their website but these, too, do not contain details of the allocation

according to the CRRP. Briones noted that the DBM itself admitted in a media release that the budget for Yolanda reconstruction is shared with relief and rehabilitation efforts for calamities that preceded the November 2013 super typhoon such as the storms Quinta, Emong and Juaning and the 2013 Bohol earthquake.

In other words, the amount they gave is not for Yolanda victims alone. Sharing resources with victims of other disasters is understandable, even desirable, but the government should be transparent about this, she stressed.

The DBM release showed that almost half, or P41.9 billion, of the P88.9 billion total releases as of June 30, 2015, supposedly for Yolanda reconstruction, also went to relief and rehab for other calamities.

Social Watch earlier shared the major findings of its study on the tracking of funds for Yolanda reconstruction in 14

towns and one city in Samar, Leyte, northern Palawan and Iloilo.

Among others, it found the reconstruction plan poorly implemented, the release of funds delayed, and the sources of funds, allocation and status of spending unclear.

The group said while construction for permanent housing had already started in most Yolanda-affected areas, there were snags in land acquisition, pricing, resistance by target beneficiaries, and documentation.

Immediate resolution of these snags in the implementation of the reconstruction plan can be addressed if only President Aquino will designate a separate entity that has technical and administrative competence to implement the CRRP and other reconstruction efforts in the future, with the necessary budget and mandated to steer the recovery process, Briones said. n InterAksyon.com / July 31, 2015 / 9:40 AM

NEWS

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

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37

N expert scores govt for plight of refugees from conflict, ‘development’ MANILA – The United Nations expert on internally displaced persons scored the government for its failure to protect communities displaced or threatened by armed con ict and de e op ent s ch as mining despite laws and institutions meant to address the problem.

In a statement released Friday, at the end of a da officia isit to the co ntr to address not on displacement caused by disasters, but also other forms of displacement aro nd the co ntr r. ha o a Beyani noted in particular how militarization and the incursion of large-scale commercial mining have impacted on indigenous people’s communities in Mindanao. t is c ear to e that e istin legislation and institutions, including the exemplary Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, cannot provide adequate protection from displacement unless f i p e ented in practice Beyani said.

He also lamented how o ern ent s response to con ict induced displacement … differs si nificant to its co enda e response to disaster and climate change induced displacement e sewhere s ch as in areas

devastated by super typhoon Yolanda.

Among the places Beyani visited were a oan a it where a month-long battle between government forces and the Moro National Liberation Front displaced up to 120,000 persons in 2013; a pa an in o th ota ato where mining threatens to drive out up to 5,000 lumad from their ancestral ands and a ao it where authorities violently attempted to evict and forcibly return more than 700 Manobo who have sought refuge in a church compound after eein the i itari ation of their communities.

However, a planned visit to Maguindanao was limited by sec rit iss es and o ern ent sensiti ities in this re ion.

In Zamboanga, he questioned the closure of the city grandstand where thousands of displaced persons had een sta in since the crisis st prior to my visit without ensuring ade ate ho sin so tions for those who wished to return to their original communities. e a so ca ed the transitiona site in a pan pro e atic on an e es ac in ade ate

provision of water, electricity, adequate access to essential and basic services including health care and ed cation as we as a in access to livelihoods extremely diffic t eca se of its distance. n a pa an e ani noted that the Guiding Principles on Internal isp ace ent which re ire a threshold of ‘compelling and overriding public interest’ in order for development-induced displacement to ta e p ace ha e not een o ser ed notin that tri a eaders reported that their communities were consistently being manipulated and divided and that they had been harassed and received threats when the e pressed their opposition. ndeed so e eaders and members of the indigenous co nities ha e een i ed o er the past years reportedly due to their anti inin acti ities he added. e ani said he was concerned the p i ht of the lumad at the nited h rch of hrist in the Philippines Haran Mission House in a ao who ade it c ear that it is (the military’s) presence and that of the paramilitary groups in their communities that continues to create anxiety amongst the indigenous

Dr. Beyani at a meeting in Quezon City with human rights defenders and a leader of the lumad refugees in Davao City. Photo courtesy of Karapatan

co nities contrar to the r ed orces of the hi ippines assertion that it is see in to protect the communities and provide services to the in con ict re ions.

He also noted the occupation of tribal schools by soldiers and the Alamara militia.

However, while Beyani said lumad eaders de n ed c ai s i e that of orth ota ato epresentati e anc ata co that the were ein he d a ainst their wi at the co po nd their c rrent sit ation is neither accepta e nor s staina e.

t is essentia to find a rapid and peaceful solution to their situation in full consultation with their legitimate leaders, with their voluntary and secure return to their ancestra ands ein a hi h priorit he added. r e the o ern ent in consultation with indigenous peoples themselves, to give greater attention to addressing the causes of displacement whether it be due to the militarization of their areas or d e to de e op ent pro ects. n InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 10:17 AM

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PNoy’s dig at presidential aspirants who lack experience: Magsanay muna MANILA - In an obvious dig at possible presidential aspirants who may be seen as lacking experience in national leadership, i.e.

Senator Grace Poe, President Aquino told a packed audience at Club Filipino Friday that it would be good for them to have a chance to season up first.

“Maganda nga po sana, na ang mga kailangan pang magsanay ay talaga pong magkakaroon ng pagkakataong mahinog at maunawaan ang tunay na lalim ng pagkapinuno (It will be good for those who still need practice to have a chance to learn the ropes and understand the real depth of leadership),” President Aquino

declared during his speech endorsing Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas as the Liberal Party’s standard bearer for the 2016 presidential election.

“Mas maganda pa nga po kung mahaba-haba ang karanasang basehan ng pagsusuri, dahil doon natin makikita ang maraming ebidensya ng pagiging tapat at mahusay niyang kabalikat sa Daang Matuwid (It will be better to have long experience as the basis for assessing a candidate, because there we can see the proof of his strengths and keeping faith with our Straight Path mantra), Aquino added. n Roices Naguit / News5 / August 1, 2015 / 4:16 PM

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August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

Why we still listened to the President’s SONA

MEL STA. MARIA

THE last State of the Nation address of President Benigno Aquino was not exactly historic. It was not all bad, but it was not all good either.

Uncharacteristically long compared to his previous ones, but nevertheless delivered with eloquence.

Perhaps knowing that his listeners i ht et anno ed he stified his usual “blame-game” against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration by saying: “Talaga nga pong napakalayo ng ating narating.

Para isakonteksto ito, magbalik tanaw tayo.” Then he referred to the NBNZTE deal, the executive privilege issue, the fertilizer scam, the “hello Garci” incident, the martial-law-like “calibrated pre-emptive response” policy and the “Jose Pidal” account.

This reference was not needed. It was a waste of time. The very reason why he is in office is precise a reaction to a these. That has never been lost in the consciousness of the Filipino psyche.

Reiteration was not necessary.

Another negative is his rehash of a number of already-used-speech-items, whether unfavorable or favorable to him, such as the unbelievable perks of the OGCC previous to his administration and the favorable ratings given to his administration’s economic performance by international rating-entities. But if there were replays,

there were also omissions of certain issues which riveted the whole nation, such as the Mamasapano tragedy, the Mary Jane Veloso Indonesian death sentence, and the continuing premeditated killings of media people.

The Freedom of Information Bill was not even mentioned.

The highlight of the good points dealt with government spending.

Assisted by video-presentations, the President impressively explained where public money went. He mentioned the building of classrooms, provisions of educational materials, recruitment of teachers, the conditional cash transfers (CCT), the purchase of military equipments, the construction of various infrastructure projects, the e ectrification of r ra areas and the health services to the people.

And as to matters of government regulation, President Aquino cited enacted laws such as the AntiCompetition Law, the amendment to the Cabotage Law, the Sin Tax Reform Act, the Responsible Parenthood Act and the Act allowing the full entry of foreign banks. He continued to encourage the legislators to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law enhanced with video-productions but, noticeably, without the usual verbal fervor accompanying his endorsement. Then he said “panahon

na para ipasa ang isang Anti-Dynasty Bill” - a fundamental and laudable objective but an obvious riposte to the statements of Vice-President Binay that he is against term limits for local officia s and sees nothin wron with families in government.

He cited a number of personalities, but the most important one is Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. He said “ngayon may sapat na panahon na siyang magpatupad ng reporma sa Hudikatura.” The President knows that the appointment of Chief Justice Sereno can be his greatest contribution to the Judiciary, a separate and independent branch of government. She will remain as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for 15 more years and this will be under three future presidents. The effect of this constitutional appointment will be felt for a long time.

Then the President went on to thank his family, Cabinet members and sec rit personne . i nificant he praised Secretary Mar Roxas more than the others - a clear endorsement for the Presidency. This expression of thanks was an attempt to convert the SONA to a valedictory speech which, ordinarily, has two purposes: to express gratitude and to inspire.

President Aquino was successful in the former but, as to the latter, it is anybody’s opinion. But thanking his

Photo of PNoy delivering the 2015 SONA, with Senate President Drilon and Speaker Belmonte behind him.

Malacanang Photo Bureua

Cabinet individually sounded out of place. It does not concern the public.

And so why do we still listen to this President? It may be because we understand that his position gives him a vantage point of knowing things we do not know. And that, perceived as honest, he will not intentionally commit covert acts prejudicial to the country. We listen because we know that we now live in a complicated world where every decision taken may mean rapid results and irrevocable consequences. We want to hear innovative solutions beyond the ordinary. For if the remedies were “business as usual,” that can hardly be a measure of his capability. Neither can they inspire nor spur more enthusiasm for progress. But ultimately, we listen because, simply, he is still the President who makes priorities and tough choices that determine the direction of this

nation, hopefully for the better and not for the worse.

At the end of the day, the “tuwid na daan” might not have been so straight, but certainly it has led us somewhere - to a reasonable expectation that accountability and transparency can be achieved. Despite all the criticisms regarding the manner of their implementation, they still make us want to build on them because there is still so much to be done. As the President said, he is not perfect.

Perhaps, his parting words: “simula pa lang ito” may have been accurate.

And this, most importantly, may have provoked in us a desire that the next President must not give us a “daan” paved with betrayal, hypocrisy, corruption and thievery. More than anything else, this “provocation” may have been the greatest point of his SONA. n Mel Sta. Maria / July 28, 2015 / 11:35 AM

COCKTALES One-way bet: Ayala triples Fort condo pricing in just a decade AYALA Land has just confirmed that it had tripled the price of its high-end condos in just a decade, a remarkable pricing power that outpaces the growth in the per capita income of Filipinos.

Ayala Land Premier managing director Jose Juan Jugo told a press briefing Tuesday that the demand for its latest top-end residential condo project in the Fort, West Gallery Place, has been brisk even though the average price of P234,000 a square meter is nearly triple the P85,000 sqm of the Serendra, its first condo project in the Fort, when the latter was launched in 2004.

The jump in the condo pricing even becomes more pronounced in US dollar terms.

At today’s exchange rate, P234,000/ sqm translates to about $5,142/sqm, as against the equivalent of $1,517/sqm that P85,000/sqm commanded in 2004 using the prevailing P56-$1 exchange rate at that time.

Using the current US dollar rate, the average per capita GDP income of Filipinos within the same decade on the other hand had risen, according to the World Bank, to $2,843 in 2014 from $1,084 in 2004, representing a 2.6-times increase.

broadcast network in the wake of the collapse of the sale agreement with San Miguel president Ramon S. Ang. At the same time, Gozon looped back in retired GMA executive Jose Marcelo Jimenez to take a more active role as vice chairman of the powerful executive committee.

In just a month since the RSA deal collapsed, Gozon’s FLG Management and Development Corp. has scooped up over 1.095 million GMA depository receipts and, also according to regulatory filings, another 872,500 shares of the country’s second-largest network.

The depository receipts will allow Gozon the right to convert each receipt into one GMA share at any day in the future at the current low share prices, anywhere between P6.10 and P6.35.

With an exercise price of five centavos each, the depository receipts have notionally enjoyed five-fold return every year since 2013.

Just last May, each depository receipt received a cash dividend of 25 centavos, the same dividend enjoyed by GMA shareholders, on top of the 27 and 25 centavos distributed in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Going by previous filings, the Gozon company would have obtained the additional depository receipts by transferring the equivalent number of GMA shares to GMA Holdings, essentially warehousing the stocks.

In return, GMA Holdings has the contractual obligation to pay out to Gozon or any of the depository receipt holders the cash flows it shall receive from its

Gozon loads up on share rights.

GMA chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon appears determined to strengthen his control over the

Artist’s perspective of the penthouse and top floors of West Gallery Place at the Fort, where condo prices have tripled in just 10 years.

PAL starts Cairns, Auckland adventure. Philippine Airlines will start

on December 1, with the PAL website posting an introductory, all-in fare of under $1,200.

The flight leaves Manila before midnight and arrives in the mythical land of the long white cloud, after a onehour stopover in the Australian city of Cairns, at around 4:30 pm.

For flight buffs, that translates to slightly over 11 hours of total airborne time, with the Manila-Cairns corridor taking up six hours. The return leg leaves Auckland 7:30 pm and arrives in Manila 3:30 am, well before the notorious daily traffic jam builds up.

Money-go-round. • e isted Ever Gotesco Resources has thrown in the towel on the retail operations of its debt-burdened Ever Gotesco Ortigas, allowing taipan Henry Sy’ SM Prime to take over the department store and supermarket operations of the sixhectare Pasig mall.

• e N tion ousing Aut orit is auctioning this Thursday three squatter-infested properties adjoining the Trinoma-Vertis North developments of Ayala, before the election ban scaremongering kicks in.

One of the properties is by the corner of North Avenue and Agham Road, right across the Veterans hospital; another is by the equally choice intersection of Quezon Avenue and BIR Road. n Victor C.

a four-a-week direct service to Auckland

Agustin / July 29, 2015 / 4:47 PM

investments in the broadcast network.

The Gozon depository receipts transactions are essentially transfers from one pocket to the other, as GMA Holdings is also chaired by Gozon, with his nephew Jimenez as vice chair and GMA Network president Gilberto Duavit Jr. also as president.

Viewed in a different prism, Gozon has effectively entrusted a significant chunk of his shareholdings, about 11.3 percent of the entire GMA depository bloc, to the network’s ruling triumvirate.

And to those trying to divine the tea leaves as to the GMA succession issue with Gozon turning 76 on December 8, the network just provided a vital clue.

GMA last week announced the creation of a vice chairmanship position in the network’s executive committee for Jimenez, despite the latter having retired from a management position in 2011.

The unannounced subtext to Jimenez appointment: Gozon also upgraded his relations with his elder brother-in-law and Jimenez’s father, former GMA Network chief executive Menardo Jimenez, whom Gozon had effectively sidelined.

Jimenez’s son is incidentally 51, the same age as Duavit, the network president, who represents the third family in the GMA triumvirate.

SPORTS

August 2015 – No. 15 • UK & Europe Edition

www.hello-philippines.com

39

FOOTBALL

Ceres wins UFL title in Division One debut CERES - La Salle FC made a splash in its Division One debut after taking home the United Football League title at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Bacolod City-based Ceres, a team composed of former and current national team players as well as a couple of imports, thrashed Team Socceroo, 6-nil, on Saturday to formally hoist the trophy.

The squad, despite being newly promoted to Division One, simply do inated the fie d sportin a win draw oss card for points — a record which is already beyond reach of rival teams.

Perennial contenders erstwhile cha pion o a points Kaya FC and the Loyola Meralco par s oth points co dn t catch up anymore with Ceres

despite having remaining games left in their schedule.

Ceres also piled up 56 goals and on a e p for an i pressi e oa difference of .

With the win, Ceres earned the right to represent the hi ippines in the Asian Football Confederation Cup, a tournament for second-tier domestic clubs in the continent. n InterAksyon.com /

July 26, 2015 / 10:59 AM

BOXING

©Sports5 file

Continuation from page 40

Nonito Donaire demolishes French foe in just 2 rounds

FOOTBALL

Screengrab from News5

11-year-old Pinoy shines in Manchester United youth football camp A o n i ipino id f fi ed his dream after attending the prestigious youth training camp of Premier League side Manchester United.

Eleven-year-old Gabriel Aguilar, was the only Filipino in the camp this onth where chi dren fro all over the world went to the United Kingdom to get world-class training.

Aguilar, a striker for the Makati Football Club, shone during the camp

as he was hailed as the third best player in his batch and also the best striker, according to a News5 report. o st ha e to fo ow the ids dream. Kung meron naman, bakit hindi a rie s father srae said.

Manchester United previously has had ties with the Philippines, with the club conducting a three-day training camp in the country last year. n

InterAksyon.com / July 27, 2015 / 3:00 PM

BASKETBALL BATA PA LANG - Terrence Romeo says playing for national team a childhood dream for him

WHILE most PBA players are taking time off to rest their bodies, recover from injuries and even enjoy some personal time, Terrence Romeo is working round the clock for the sake of a and co ntr . he s ost pro ed a er has been working double-time in the past few days, attending practices for oth the hi ippine nationa en s as et a tea s poo nder i as Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin and Team ani a est one of the co ntr s representati es to the or d Tour Manila Masters here. or o a ort s star ard he s willing to work extra hard when national pride is at stake.

“Sobrang importante sa akin yan kasi bata pa lang ako dream ko na ang maglaro sa national team,” Romeo told a small group of sportswriters right after eadin ani a est to a win over Auckland on Saturday.

“Kung ano yung ibibigay sa akin, kung saan ako makarating at kung papalarin na makuha ako, ibibigay ko yung best ko,” he added.

The high-scoring guard has become the biggest draw for the Manila leg of the especia when he breaks out his killer crossovers and fanc finishes. e ad itted that the work he has put in has made him a better player, giving him the chance

Former US Olympian Jose Ramirez had a facile win after also travelling halfway around the world to the southern Chinese city when his Japanese opponent Ryusei Yoshida quit on his stool at the start of the fourth round.

Ramirez (15-0, 12 KOs) was awarded a technical knockout in an anti-climactic end to the junior welterweight contest after catching Yoshida with several heavy shots towards the end of the third round.

Chinese fight fans earlier had plenty to be delighted about at Cotai Arena. ©AFP There was a stirring display by local favorite “Macau Kid” Kuok Kun Ng who knocked out awkward southpaw Phompetch Twins Gym two minutes into the fourth round of their welterweight contest.

“KK” as he is known took his record to 8-0 (4 KOs) when he landed a peach of a right uppercut on the Thai southpaw who was out even before he hit the canvas.

And the super flyweight “Wonder Kid” Rex Tso from nearby Hong Kong continued his march towards a world title shot by taking his record to 17-0 (10 KOs) with a fourth-round stoppage of Thailand’s Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth.

It appeared the referee may have stepped in a little early to save Wisaruth (21-12-1, 14 KOs) from further punishment, but the heavy-punching Tso was dominating the fight and the outcome was inevitable. n AFP / July 19, 2015

Troy Rosario using FIBA 3×3 experience as build-up for PBA- ‘Hinahanda ko na sarili ko’ BASKETBALL

TROY Rosario will be heading to the soon and he s hopin his e perience in the or d o r Manila Masters will make him better prepared for the transition to the pro league.

The Gilas Pilipinas cadet had a little taste of the physicality awaiting him on the next level, getting his lip busted open in a physical game against a tall and tough Ljubljana team from Slovenia.

“Nasiko ako nung malaki,” Rosario told InterAksyon.com after the game.

“Pero laro lang. Malayo naman sa bituka eh.”

The talented 6-foot-7 Rosario, who wi e part of the pco in Rookie Draft, was quick to shrug the rough-housing off, though, getting the last laugh on his visiting opponents by tipping in the game-winner with time

winding down to give his Manila North team a second straight victory in Day One of the competition. e s e pectin ore of the sa e when his team continues its campaign in the arterfina ro nd of the to rna ent and he e ie es it wi a enefit hi especia as he ets set to enter the ion s den that is the .

“Sa akin malaking opportunity ito para makapaglaro sa bansa,” he said.

“Pero training na rin ito at learning experience para pagakyat ko sa PBA hindi ako mabigla.”

Rosario has done plenty in the past few months. The former National University Bulldog was part of the Gilas cadet squad that was pushed to its limits in the Southeast Asian Games.

Since then, he joined the Gilas pool for the sia ha pionships as we as the Philippine contingent to the

FIBA photo

or d o r here.

He believes that at the end of it all, the sacrifices he s had to end re wi all pay off when he steps into the pro ranks in the near future.

“Parang ganito rin sa PBA. Ganito kapisikal. Hinahanda ko na rin yung sarili ko.” n Rey Joble / InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 8:11 PM

MORE SPORT Former PBA import Sam Monroe feeling right at home in FIBA 3×3 Manila: ‘It’s great to be back’

Photo Paul Ryan Tan ©Sports5

to perform well in front of the adoring hometown crowd.

“Mahirap pero malaking tulong sa akin. Pero kaakibat ng hirap yung magandang resulta,” Romeo said.

He is one of the backcourt players being considered by Baldwin for the sia ha pionship and for the second ear ard findin his ro e and fittin in wi e his pri ar goal should he be included on the roster.

“Iisipin ko muna kung paano ako makakatulong,” Romeo added. “Tsaka ko naiisipin yung challenge.” n Rey Joble / InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 7:40 PM

FORMER PBA import Sam Monroe is back in Manila and he’s making his presence felt.

On the first day of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters leg, the former Barako Bull import made his return with a bang, bringing his A-game while suiting up for former 3×3 champion Team Doha of Qatar.

In front of an appreciative crowd, Monroe reintroduced his vicious form as he helped lead his squad to easy wins over Japan’s Kobe and Taiwan’s Kaohsiung en route to topping Pool C of the competition.

Monroe has not forgotten what the fans are like over here and he’s happy to have had the chance to experience it yet again.

“It’s a great atmosphere, great fans.

I love being here and it’s great to be

back,” Monroe told InterAksyon.com in an exclusive interview.

“I played in South America, I played in Europe and I played in the Middle East.

But fans here in the Philippines are the best,” he added.

Monroe, who usually plays in tournaments with a 6-foot-5 height limit, said he would like to have a return stint in the PBA and is in touch with his agent Sheryl Reyes, who represents him in the country.

“I’m always available for the PBA,” he said. “It will always be a priority.”

“It would be great to be back here either playing in the PBA or an ABL team.” n Rey Joble / InterAksyon.com / August 1, 2015 / 8:34 PM

sport

11-year-old BATA PA LANG Ceres Troy Rosario using FIBA 3×3 experience Terrence Romeo says wins UFL Pinoy shines title in in Manchester as build-up for PBA- playing for national team a childhood Division United youth ‘Hinahanda ko na dream for him One debut football camp sarili ko’ Story on page 39

Story on page 39

Story on page 39

Story on page 39

BOXING

NONITO DONAIRE DEMOLISHES FRENCH FOE IN JUST 2 ROUNDS FORMER five-division world champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines showed he was back to his very best with a sensational second-round stoppage of France’s Anthony Settoul in Macau on Saturday.

The 2012 Fighter of the Year improved his record to 35 wins and three defeats (23 KOs) and is now in line for another world title crack, probably for the WBA super bantamweight belt against Britain’s Scott Quigg in Dubai later this year.

The classy and powerful “Filipino Flash” soon had the Frenchman (20-4, 8 KOs) in trouble in the opening round of their scheduled 10-round super bantamweight fight with stunning body shots that twice dropped him to his knees.

In the second round more telling punches to the diaphragm were followed with a bone-shaking right cross to the chin that put Settoul down once more.

Although he bravely managed to just beat the count he was visibly unsteady on his feet, staggering backwards across the ring as his corner threw in the towel to save him from further punishment with 1min 41sec gone in the second.

“We worked really hard for this fight and I did everything I needed to do,” said a barely sweating Donaire afterwards.

“I wanted to set him up with the body shots and finish it from there.”

Two other fighters had very easy nights as their opponents quit in confusing and slightly unsatisfactory fashion.

American-based Russian Denis Shafikov enjoyed an easy win when his Indonesian lightweight opponent Roy Mukhlis decided he no longer wanted to continue halfway through the third round.

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Photo by Ver Marquez ©InterAksyon.com