Manila Standard - 2016 November 27 - Sunday

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VOL. XXX • NO. 288 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

JIHADISTS OCCUPY LANAO TOWN HALL

By Francisco Tuyay

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T LEAST eight Islamic militants were killed while two government troops were wounded after extremists fled to the abandoned town hall of Butig town in Lanao del Sur amid a military operation to capture the leader of the Maute jihadist group on Saturday morning.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said about 200 Maute group members fled to the abandoned town hall after the military mounted an operation to capture their leader Abdullah Maute, a Jordanian-trained terrorist who formed the jihadist Dawlah Islamiya.

“We launched an operation more than two days ago with the aim of capturing the leader of the group that is sowing chaos in parts of Lanao, Maguindanao and Cotabato,” Padilla said in a radio interview. “They are also respon-

sible for the bombing in Davao.”

“They fled and occupied the abandoned town hall of Butig which is located in an area where they have relatives and supporters,” Padilla said, adding the military also launched artillery fire and air strikes against the group.

Padilla said the clash took place just five months after the military captured the Maute group’s Darul Iman stronghold in June.

Padilla said the fighting began around 10 a.m. Saturday after troops of Turn to A2

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CUBAN LEADER FIDEL CASTRO DIES AT 90

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HEAVY FIRE. Government troops train the heavy guns of the First Infantry Division on Butig town in Lanao del Sur where members of the jihadist Maute Group ensconced themselves as the military ran after their leader. Radio Mindanao Network

TRAINING SEEN AS BOON TO TERROR WAR

By Maricel V. Cruz THE planned joint military training among the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will help fight homegrown terrorism and piracy as well as lead to improved trade in a vital sealane where more than 100,000 vessels

pass every year, a congressman said on Saturday.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House defense committee, said the planned training is crucial to the Duterte administration because neutralizing Abu Sayyaf terrorists and protecting the Sulu-Sulawesi

Seas from pirates will go a long way in addressing the festering peace and order problems that have hampered the growth and development of Mindanao.

“On top of being a defense initiative, the joint military training agreed upon by the Philippines with Indonesia and Malaysia

would also be a big help in facilitating the movement of international navigation, trade and commerce in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas, which has relatively received little attention compared to other more prominent maritime interests in the region,” Villafuerte said.

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PACQUIAO DEFENDS DRUG WAR

DUTERTE OPEN TO TALKS WITH ABU SAYYAF TERRORISTS ZAMBOANGA—President Rodrigo Duterte raised the prospect of holding peace talks with Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group which has abducted dozens of foreign sailors in recent months, offering federalism as a possible solution.

In an apparent about-face, Duterte appealed to the Abu Sayyaf, who are also blamed for the country’s deadliest terror attacks, to come to the negotiating table.

“We cannot be forever treating human beings here, seriously wounded,” he told reporters at a military hospital in the southern port of Zamboanga where he visited troops wounded in an offensive he had ordered against the militants.

“Let us talk. Let us give our people a chance.”

The Philippine government is already observing a ceasefire

with the region’s largest Muslim guerrilla force, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Earlier this year, Duterte had said he could not talk peace with the Abu Sayyaf because they were not driven by ideology.

Many analysts say the Abu Sayyaf is mainly focused on running a kidnapping business rather than religious ideology.

However, Duterte conceded Friday military strikes on militants could prove devastating for civilians living in remote islands where the militants are embedded.

“I can bomb more if I want to,” Duterte said. “At the end of the day, what can I say to the Filipino? That we have wiped out almost all of our Yakan, Sama, Tausug (Muslim ethnic groups) brothers? Even those not connected with the violence now?”

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AN EAR TO GRIEF. President Rodrigo Duterte listens to Mrs. Maricel Navarro whose husband Corporal Ronnie Navarro was killed in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf group. Malacañang Photo

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TOKYO—The Philippines’ drug problem is “beyond imagination,” boxing legend Manny Pacquiao said on Saturday in Tokyo, defending his hard-liner president’s controversial anti-drug campaign.

Pacquiao, an elected senator, is a high-profile supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on crime that has left more than 3,700 people dead in four months.

“The problem in our country is beyond of our expectation, beyond of our imagination that these illegal drugs in our country is really bad,” he said at a press conference held by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

“A lot of our government officials, elected officials are involved Turn to A2

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PALACE CONDOLES WITH CUBANS MALACAÑANG on Saturday extended its condolences to Cuba following death of Fidel Castro.

“The Palace extends its sincerest condolences to the family and people of Cuba on the demise of former President Fidel Castro. ”Mr. Castro was a revolutionary who upon assuming his island’s highest political office reasserted his nation’s dignity and self-worth, stood up against the West and capitalism,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

“We are one with the family of Mr. Castro, the Cuban Government, and the Cuban nation during this period of deep mourning,” he added.

The Palace also extended its admiration to Castro’s efforts in promoting health, education and literacy as one of the “few societies that remain untouched by commercialism.”

“His achievements in social development, such as establishing a universal health care and providing free education, became models for many developing nations with limited fiscal resources.”

“The passing of former President Castro will surely be felt by the peoples of Cuba and the world.” John Paolo Bencito

JIHADISTS...

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the 49th Infantry Battalion engaged 15 Maute group members in a 45-minute gun fight at Barangay Bayabao Poblacion after which the terrorists withdrew.

Government troops pursued the fleeing rebels and eventually caught up with them at the old municipal hall where they sought cover against the attacking security forces.

The rebels even raised an Islamic State flag at the old town hall and positioned themselves in the nearby national high school and mosque.

Major Filemon Tan, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said they are carefully analyzing the current situation in Butig to prevent collateral damage.

Tan said Maute renamed the group Dawla Islamiya to impress foreign terrorists so that they could get funding.

The group was responsible for the Davao City bombing last September that left 14 people dead and wounded 70 others.

The Maute group, which operates mainly in the Lanao provinces, is also believed to have links to the Parojinog narcotics ring based in Ozamis City.

Many members of the Maute group are members of the Alkhobar kidnapping ring which used to be led by former lieutenants of Moro Islamic Liberation Front chieftain Hashim Salamat who broke away from the MILF after Salamat’s death.

TRAINING...

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Villafuerte noted that the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas facilitate the cross-border movement of some 18 million people as well as the passage of more than 100,000 ships carrying 55 million metric tons of cargo each year, based on estimates made by the Indonesian foreign ministry.

“This is a vital sea lane that obviously needs to be protected from pirates and terrorists. We hope this planned defense cooperation among the three countries would continue and intensify so that the joint patrols and training would extend to countering other equally grave crimes such as drug traf-

THROWBACK CUBA. Cuban leader Fidel Castro tours former First Lady Imelda Marcos and her daughter Imee during their trip to Havana in 1978. Castro has passed away on Nov. 25. From the website of Imelda Marcos

‘DE LIMA STILL HAS TO ANSWER RAPS’

By John Paolo Bencito

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HILE Vice President Leni Robredo insisted that slutshaming is intrinsically wrong, she also maintained that Senator Leila de Lima should answer the accusations that she received drug money and used her power as justice secretary to condone the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

“I think she still needs to answer what needs to be answered,” Robredo said, adding that she has yet to talk to De Lima personally.

On Friday, Robredo expressed disappointment with some members of the House of Representatives who she said pried too much into the personal life of De Lima.

“That’s slut-shaming. First of all, they are demeaning not only Senator De Lima, but all us women,” she added.

In last Thursday’s hearing, lawmakers took turns prying into the past romantic relationship between

De Lima and her driver-lover Ronnie Dayan. They asked questions like how the relationship started, the intensity of their love for each other, what they did, where they went, and how they called each other when they were alone, and if they had ever made a sex video.

Dayan had earlier alleged that he received money from suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on behalf of De Lima at least five times in 2014.

De Lima, however, denied receiving drug money, saying she has not met Espinosa, despite an alleged photo of them together.

DUTERTE...

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PRETTY MISS. Actress Anne Curtis applauds as her audience takes up her offer to sample Swiss Miss chocolate drink which she endorses. Ey Acasio

ficking and human smuggling,” Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte made the remarks in response to reports that military training of army personnel of the three countries will take place in Indonesia’s Tarakan in North Kalimantan, Malaysia’s Tawao Island and the Philippines’ Bongao Island in January 2017.

Citing reports quoting Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, Villafuerte said each of the countries would first begin its own army personnel training in January 2017 before conducting the joint training later in the year.

The three countries aim to form a special task force whose primary goal is to face the ASG, which was responsible for a series of recent kidnappings in Sulu waters. The move also forms part of the actions taken by the Association of Southeast Asian Na-

Duterte added: “Either we talk, if you want autonomy or if you want something else, federalism, I am ready. I am committed to (a) federalism set-up to appease the Moro,” he said, using a general term for Filipino Muslims.

The Abu Sayyaf, designated a “foreign terror organization” by the United States, was set up with the help of the Al-Qaeda group in the early 1990s.

The militants have publicly pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq in recent months, though some security analysts consider them a bandit group motivated only by money.

Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed a German sailor and abducted her elderly male companion from their yacht earlier this month. They are also holding a Dutchman abducted in 2012.

In recent months, the Abu Sayyaf has been accused of kidnapping dozens of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors in waters off the southern Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf militants this year beheaded two Canadian hostages after demands for millions of dollars were not met. AFP

tions to secure the region.

Asean groups the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, along with Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Villafuerte said this trilateral initiative, which began under the previous administration of President Aquino and sustained by the Duterte administration, would prove to be a key factor in developing Mindanao into a magnet of investments.

“The government is right in giving unprecedented focus on Mindanao’s development as a magnet for investments, but this might be all for naught unless decisive actions are taken to free the island of peaceand-order problems that have for long scared away prospective investors. Thus, this trilateral military training exercises will go a long way in not only improving peace

and order in Mindanao, but also in revving up trade and commerce in the South,” Villafuerte said.

He cited, for one, recent efforts to develop the Southern Philippines into a transhipment point for goods enroute to Japan, China and other neighboring countries from a consolidation port in Indonesia, which were later stalled because of Jakarta’s concerns over having its shipments pass through Philippine seas infested with ASG bandits and pirates.

Suppliers from Indonesia have also restricted coal shipments to coal-fired power plants in Mindanao following a spate of ASG-led kidnappings of Indonesians who navigate the waters shared among the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to reach the Southern Philippines with their coal cargo, Villafuerte recalled.

PACQUIAO...

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with this illegal drug,” he said, defending Duterte’s crackdown which has drawn global condemnation for alleged extrajudicial killings.

Pacquiao, who was elected to the Senate in May, also supports Duterte’s call to restore the death penalty for drug traffickers in the mainly Catholic nation.

He himself is a convert to a conservative Christian sect.

“My main focus is to change our country and hold our president’s advocacy because the president and I are very close and join together to clean these illegal drugs in our country,” he said.

He was visiting Tokyo to prepare for the opening of a new gym in his chain, the first to appear outside the Philippines.

The 37-year-old boxing superstar shocked the world of sport in September when he admitted in an interview he had used narcotics in his youth.

He said he “sampled” marijuana and “shabu,” the local name for the cheap and highly addictive crystal meth stimulant, when he was 15 or 16.

At the Tokyo press conference, he made no secret of the fact he had tried illegal drugs before.

“But when I realized it’s not good and I don’t like it, then that’s why I strongly oppose and fight these illegal drugs,” he said. AFP

News

DOH TO GET P570M FOR 16 DRUG REHAB CENTERS

By Maricel V. Cruz

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HE Department of Health will spend a total of P570 million “to construct, upgrade, expand and repair” 16 public drug treatment and rehabilitation centers across the country in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said over the weekend.

Pimentel, a member of the House appropriations committee, said the fresh funding “will be spent entirely to build up the infrastructures of governmentrun residential TRCs, with the aim of enabling them to accommodate a larger number of users.”

The neophyte lawmaker welcomed the added funding to create rehab centers in the country as this, he said, will boost the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“The new money has been included in the House-approved 2017 General Appropriations

Act. It will be sourced from the budget for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program,” Pimentel said.

The amount also includes a supplemental P150 million at the disposal of the DoH central office for the infrastructure requirements of TRCs, the lawmaker added.

“We have to improve public access to TRCs. We are worried about users from marginal families. We are not that concerned about users from wellto-do families who can afford to pay for private centers,” Pimentel said.

The lawmaker said the P570 million has been allocated for public TRCs in Bicutan, Taguig City (P51.31 million); San Fernando, La Union (P15 million); Bauko, Mountain Province (P65 million); Ilagan, Isabela (P20.26 million); Pilar, Bataan (P20.02 million); Pampanga (P60 million); San Fernando, Camarines Sur (P24.20 million); Pototan, Iloilo (P8.25 million); Argao, Cebu (P54.08 million); Cebu City (P11.7 million); Dulag, Leyte (P4.19 million); Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte (P20 million); Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay (P20 million); Cagayan de Oro City (P11 million); and Davao City (P34.99 million, for two centers).

He stressed the need for government to send as many users as possible to TRCs, in order to effectively address the “demand side” of the drug problem.

“There will always be suppliers —traffickers and pushers—as long as we have users generating the demand for drugs,” he pointed out.

Pimentel said the “supply side” is

already being addressed by Camp Crame, which has been running after suspected traffickers and pushers, including their coddlers embedded in the criminal justice system.

Considering that six out of 10 users are also pushing to finance their costly addiction, Pimentel said sending more drug users to TRCs would simultaneously shrink both the demand and supply sides of the drug problem.

Pimentel said the P570 million is on top of funding for the Dangerous Drugs Board.

Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law of 2002, the DDB receives every year a combined P72 million in mandatory contributions from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, for the establishment and operation of TRCs. Pimentel said these budgets are apart from grants, donations and endowments from various sources, domestic and foreign, received by government for TRCs.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

10 MORE FAIL CAAP DRUG TEST, TOTAL AT 30

By Joel E. Zurbano TEN more personnel under the supervision of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines have tested positive for drug use following a series of urine testing on more than 5,000 workers at 81 airports nationwide.

The result of the drug testing, conducted by the Office of Flight Surgeon and Aviation Medicine, brings to 30 the number of airport workers who have been fired for using prohibited substances.

Three months ago, 20 personnel were also found positive and later dismissed from the service after examinations conducted during the first half of the year.

“We’re still waiting for the transmittal of result of outsourced drug testing of the remaining eight percent of CAAP employees from other facilities and stations,” CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said.

CAAP, meanwhile, declared five airports under its supervision as drug-free facilities.

These are the Davao International Airport, Laoag International Airport, Tuguegarao Airport, Puerto Princesa Airport and Tacloban Airport.

The agency oversees 81 airports nationwide, 44 of them handling commercial operations, and manages airside operations in four others that are controlled by other airport authorities, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Subic, Clark and Cebu-Mactan International Airports.

CAAP employs 5,555 personnel nationwide and 3,500 are regular workers, most of whom are technical personnel involved in air traffic management.

“To ensure that all employees are completely drug-free and are fit to serve, the agency conducted the series of urine examinations,” said Apolonio.

The agency’s Anti-Illegal Drug Testing Program is based on a March 7, 2013 memorandum, which cites provisions from Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002, the Civil Service Commission’s memorandum circular 13 series of 2010, and the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulation on Psychoactive Testing and Reporting.

Last August, more than 400 members of the Airport Police Department went through drug testing in line with the government’s program to rid the country of drug users and dealers.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Villanueva Monreal said the APD personnel was the first batch of airport workers to undergo urine testing.

All 3,000 airport personnel are required to test for drugs to determine if they are fit for the job and ensure the facility is run by non-drug users, Monreal said.

UNITED VS DRUGS. Superintendent Edward Quijano, training director of the Public Safety College in Eastern Visayas, hands a plaque of appreciation to Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, who vowed to support the police’s fight against criminality and illegal drugs. Ver Noveno

ANDANAR ORDERS PROBE OF NPO BAC RESIGNATIONS

By John Paolo Bencito EVEN as he admitted he wanted to “give away” the corruption-riddled National Printing Office, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar has ordered an investigation into the mass resignation of the members of the government-owned agency’s Bids and Awards Committee owing to alleged pressure from officials favoring certain bidders.

“The problems in the NPO are endless,” Andanar, whose office supervises the government printer, told reporters in an interview late Friday night.

“Pinamimigay ko na nga yang NPO, kaso wala naman may gustong humawak ng NPO e. Pinamimigay ko na nga yang NPO, ayoko nang hawakan ‘yan [I’ve been giving away the NPO, but no one wants to handle it. I’ve been giving away the NPO, I don’t want to handle it anymore],” he added.

Last Monday, the chairman and members of the BAC resigned en masse amid alleged pressure from new NPO director, Francisco Vales Jr., for favoring Topbest Printing Corp. for the leasing of the machines it runs, contrary to bidding rules.

The BAC’s secretariat members also

resigned, citing the same reasons.

“This resignation is prompted by ‘too much’ pressure in the bidding of leasing of printing machines,” the committee members said in their resignation letter addressed to Vales.

A political appointee who assumed office last June, Vales was once an employee of the City Government of Davao, which President Rodrigo Duterte governed for over two decades.

Andanar vowed to present the “entire picture” of the problems inside the agency, which has long been marred by allegations of graft.

He directed Communications Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Enrique Tadan to oversee the probe on the NPO, an attached agency under the Presidential Communications Office.

“It’s my call. I called for an investigation. Why would the entire BAC resign en masse for no specific reason?” he said. “After two weeks you will see the entire picture.”

Tensions had been simmering inside the agency after Vales was seen fraternizing with former NPO officials who were previously suspended, if not dismissed, by the Office of the Ombudsman for irregular transactions.

ECONOMIC GAINS PUSH ALBAY POVERTY DOWN TO 17.6% LEGAZPI CITY—Tourism and significant economic gains in related fields have cut poverty in Albay by half, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in a recent report.

Albay’s poverty incidence rate went down to 17.6 percent in 2015 from a high of 33.9 percent in 2012, the PSA report said.

The national poverty downgrade average for the same period was just 3.6 percent, from 25.2 percent in 2012 to 21.6 percent last year. The Bicol Region’s average was 4.5 percent, from 32.2 percent in 2112 to 27.5 percent in 2112.

Albay’s 16.3 percent reduction makes it the least poor among Bicol’s six provinces. Trailing its poverty threshold are Camarines Sur with 27.15 percent, Camarines Norte (up 29.3 percent from 21.7 percent), Sorsogon (31.7 percent from 31.3 percent), Masbate (35.5 percent from 40.6 percent), and Catanduanes, (33.6 percent from 27.1 percent).

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who was governor of his province for nine years until his recent return to Congress, attributed the drop to their Albay Green Economy program, tourism gains and “unprecedented unity of purpose among Albayanos.”

As governor, Salceda oversaw Albay’s tourism growth from 8,700 foreign tourist arrivals in 2006 to 374,949 in 2015.

The number becomes even more impressive with domestic tourists counted. From 124,675 in 2006, it rose to 1,042,646 in 2015, for a total of 1,417,646 arrivals.

Salceda expressed confidence that Albay’s tourism industry, supported by related programs in place, will continue to prosper and hit its goal of five million tourists, US$1 billion in investments and 235,000 jobs created in 10 years, especially after the completion of the Bicol International Airport in 2019 and a faster modern train system to Legazpi City by 2023.

DON’T PASS DEATH PENALTY BILL, GROUP TELLS HOUSE

By Vito Barcelo THE religious group Council of the Laity of the Philippines has urged Congress not to pass the death penalty being proposed recently by some lawmakers, saying it has no place in a civilized society.

CLP national president Zenaida Capistrano said capital punishment was abolished in 1987 because it does not work and “there is a wealth of mounting evidence that proves this fact.”

“Its abolition clearly reveals a strong message that it has no place in our society, where preservation and respect for human life is of utmost importance,” Capistrano said in a statement.

The group made the appeal as the House of Representatives recently started deliberations on a proposed measure that seeks to restore the death penalty, a move supported by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the House is keen on passing the bill before it adjourns for the Christmas break.

The CLP said the death penalty is “discriminatory” because poor people have no access to legal resources to defend themselves.

“Further, it breaks essential human rights such as the right to life,” Capistrano explained.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Francis S. Lagniton, Issue Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News CODING PLANS GARNER SUPPORT

By Joel E. Zurbano

PUSHING PEACE. President Rodrigo Duterte greets Norway Foreign Minister Børge Brende and other Norwegian officials who called on the President at Matina Enclaves in Davao City on Saturday.

DECEMBER TRUCE POSSIBLE—BELLO

By John Paolo Bencito

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ABOR Secretary and government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III remains confident of forging a truce with communist rebels around December 10 even after the Communist Party of the Philippines dismissed the possibility because the government has not released political prisoners.

“The talks are ongoing. We continue to talk and hopefully if we reach a consensus. We can have a signing and hopefully for symbolism. We can do the signing of the agreement by December 10, which is the International Human Rights Day,” Bello said in an interview over state radio dzRB.

Bello likewise countered claims made by the CPP that the government isn’t doing anything to release political prisoners.

“Our friends from the NDFCPP-NPA that the process of releasing political prisoners is already under way. We are doing everything legally possible and they know that the release of

political prisoners or detainees should not be a precondition to ceasefire,” he said.

“The reason why we could not have an agreement on joint and permanent ceasefire yet is because we cannot agree on the terms of reference. There are things that we need to agree upon so we can sign [the agreement,]” he added.

On Friday, the CPP issued a statement criticizing the failure of the government to release all political prisoners in accordance with the August 21-26 Oslo talks which, they said, “discourages the revolutionary forces from pursuing negotiations to forge a bilateral ceasefire agreement.”

“The longer the GRP takes to fulfill its obligation to release all political prisoners, the prospects

of such an agreement ever being forged become ever dimmer,” they added.

The government and the NDF earlier agreed to transform their separate unilateral ceasefires into a joint, bilateral ceasefire within two months from the signing of their Joint Statement last August 26—but both negotiating panels have to agree further on some terms and conditions, including the definition of hostile acts, identification of battle zones, and members of the team that will monitor the ceasefire’s implementation and compliance.

At a forum in Baguio City, former NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni said Friday that AFP violations “would bring grave danger to the peace talks” in spite of progress already made to reach a “just and lasting peace.”

CLEANER POWER SOURCES PUSHED THE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries Foundation Inc. congratulated its annual business partner, First Gen, on the inauguration of its 414-MW San Gabriel combined-cycle and 97-MW Avion open cycle natural gas-fired power plants in Santa Rita, Batangas, last November 11.

First Gen owns the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita and the 500-megawatt San Lorenzo natural gas-fired power plants that are actually generating electricity that lowers the bills to consumers of Manila Electric Co. another Seipi ABP. SEIPI welcomes the inauguration of the new power plants, which provides much needed additional generating capacity to the Luzon Grid.

As noted by Dr. John Mor-

CLEAN ENERGY. The 414-MW San Gabriel combined-cycle and 97-MW Avion open cycle natural gas-fired power plants in Santa Rita, Batangas were launched recently as part of efforts to provide cleaner options for the country’s energy supply needs. ris of the International Energy of Electricity Tariffs” study, the generation to meet rapid deConsultant in his May 2016 Philippines should “focus on mand growth and promote “Regional/Global Comparison facilitating investment in new competition.”

Seipi said that these new investments will create more competition, not just among power plants, but also among fuels.

Based on July data from Meralco’s website, natural gas can be a cheaper source of power.

“One of the major challenges faced by the electronics industry is the high cost of power, which is the 2nd worst in Asia. The additional 511 MW from these natural gas power plants is a welcome development for our Philippine electronics industry,” said Seipi president Dan Lachica.

In 2015, the Philippine electronics industry accounted for $28.9 billion, or 49 percent of our country’s merchandise exports. The industry employs 2.8 million direct and indirect workers.

VARIOUS public transport groups support the government’s expanded number coding scheme and other measures being enforced to ease road congestion in Metro Manila.

This developed shortly after Metro Manila Development Authority acting chairman Thomas Orbos met officers and members of the Pasang Masda led

by Zeny Maranan, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap) led by Efren de Luna and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Altodap) headed by Boy Vargas at the agency’s main office in Makati City on Friday.

The move is in line with the MMDA’s consultative planning to come up with a concrete and specific stakeholder solutions to traffic in the metropolis, especially along the 23.8-kilometer Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

Traffic in Metro Manila resulted in an estimated productivity loss of around P2.4 billion a day or more than P800 billion a year.

Orbos said his meeting with transport leaders was aimed at addressing the concerns of the public transport sector regarding their operations and discussing the groups’ proposals to improve the worsening traffic situation in the National Capital Region.

During the meeting, the transport leaders expressed support to the number coding scheme and the suspension of its window hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., noting it had improved travel time which in turn benefitted the public transport sector as it enabled public utility jeepney drivers to make more trips.

The groups also suggested that emergency power, if given to President Rodrigo Duterte, should include the MMDA’s supervisory authority over traffic enforcers of the 17 local government units in Metro Manila.

The power to suspend driver’s license of repetitive reckless violations should also be given to the agency, the transport leaders added.

AIRPORT FOCUSES ON FLIGHT DELAYS

THE Manila International Airport Authority has started preparing measures to ensure safety and convenience of passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in anticipation of the heavy volume of travelers this Christmas.

In a press conference, MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal said the airport management was implementing a slot management system to make sure airlines depart as scheduled.

He added the system had helped improve the on-time performance of airlines, effectively reducing incidents of flight delays.

Records show that OTP of airlines at the Naia improved from 47 percent to 71 percent since the new administration took over.

Coordination has been made with airlines regarding the efficient processing of their passengers especially at the check-in counters. Additional airline personnel will be deployed as needed to accommodate the increase in travelers.

To improve the flow of traffic to and from the airport, Monreal said they were coordinating with Villamor Air Base officials to allow passengers to pass through and decongest traffic especially along Andrews Avenue.

“Security issues are currently being discussed,” he said.

A two-minute waiting time is also being implemented for people fetching passengers at the airport.

Monreal appealed to the public to cooperate and refrain from turning arrival gates into a parking area.

The MIAA is also hoping the stretch of Naia Expressway covering Terminal 3 will open in December. Capt. Jim Sydiongco, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, also reported that Legazpi, Butuan, Dumaguete, and Caticlan airports were now night-rated while Roxas airport to follow before Christmas. Joel E. Zurbano

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Opinion

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA

TEMPESTS

Manila film festival 2016

REVENGE and bitterness on the one hand, and loss and guilt on the other.

The Philippine Educational Theater Association, together with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the British Council and The Japan Foundation, merges two stories, centuries apart, into a third one that tells of redemption, forgiveness and resilience as it transcends time and space.

The Tempest Reimagined, well, reimagines The Tempest of William Shakespeare and intersperses it with stories of survivors of Typhoon “Yolanda,” which swept the Philippines in November 2013.

A fisherman, Jaime, acts as narrator.

The duke Prospero engages the help of the spirit, Ariel, in causing a tempest that would break a ship apart. It is no ordinary ship; it is one that contains his sister Alonsa and her companions on whom he wants to exact revenge. They plotted to throw him out of power 12 years ago just because he was too wrapped up in his books to actually rule. Alonsa and the queen of a neighboring city put Prospero and his daughter Miranda on a leaky boat which they set off into the unknown.

It was a miracle father and daughter reached the island alive; they have been living on it ever since.

On the same island are trapped four survivors of typhoon Yolanda, each with harrowing stories of destruction and loss. They confront their memories of that terrible, terrible day when the water rose and swept everything along its path.

Talk about how they were caught unprepared even as they, being fishermen from Leyte, are supposed to have been used to typhoons all their lives. Discuss how the term “storm surge” was never explained to them. Remember what they were doing and how they felt amidst the storm. Come to terms with how they are gripped with terror at the softest sound of rain or thunder.

Ponder why they may have survived when thousands died: What made them any better, worthier?

They also behold the “gods”— representatives of the private sector, the national government and the local government—who so pointlessly discuss the matters of providing aid in terms of shelter, fishing boats, sanitation kits, and functioning kitchens and bathrooms.

The survivors try to elevate their issues to these gods but they get so taken up with blaming each other that the issues are never resolved.

These experiences are not imagined. They are culled from the accounts of actual people who participated in PETA’s Lingap Sining Project. Established in 2014, it is “geared towards developing safe schools and resilient communities using art- and culture-based approaches.” *** Finally the characters from Shakespeare and from Yolanda meet.

The four survivors first chance upon Miranda and her newfound love, which turns out to be Ferdinand— her cousin and Alonsa’s son whom everybody thought perished in the

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INDEPENDENT CHOICES Y ear after year, cinema-going Filipinos find themselves with not much choice of movies to watch over the Christmas holidays.

Among the usual titles are franchises of movies that have aired for decades, with versions and actors changing but the stories revolving around the same themes.

Usually they take the form of fantasy films. There is a hero who slays enemies, and the hero is funny and virtuous and frail all at the same time. The villains are eventually defeated—and the hero gets the beautiful girl, as well.

Sometimes there are horror movies even if what is truly scary is the gall with which these pass themselves off as genuine entertainment.

Yet other movies thrive on sentimen-

ies, which surprisingly do not include the usual titles that producers have imposed on us over the years. Instead, the festival’s organizers, the Metro Manila Development Authority—perhaps during a lucid break from the maddening traffic situation here— have chosen eight independent movies made by emerging filmmakers.

The eight entries approved by the selection committee, chosen for their quality and representation of all genres, are “Die Beautiful,” “Vince & Kath & James,” “Seklusyon,” “Kabisera,” “Sunday Beauty Queen,”“Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2,”“Oro,” and “Saving Sally.”

The producer of one of the usual film outfits notorious for feeding the public junk has aired her grievance on the matter—and it is amazing how just a few words betray the industry’s extremely low regard for the Filipino audience.

tality—playing on the Filipino’s penchant for melodrama, stereotypes and tried-and-tested formula.

In recent years, other means of watching movies have emerged. Technology has allowed us to still be able to see movies of our liking without necessarily waiting for what is playing at the cinemas. Then again, this is for those Filipinos with home entertainment systems or at least personal computers and internet access. The rest of the population, though, is consigned, for a full week, to choose from the inane offerings during the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Comes now the list of this year’s mov-

“All these poor people, they have bonuses. Once they get their bonus, they bring their whole family to the movies to watch. It’s just a pity—I feel sorry for the children,” said Regal Films’ Lily Monteverde.

As far as we know, squandering one’s hard-earned bonus is not enough reason to inflict an entire bad movie on one’s family.

On the contrary, we feel great about the children and the entire viewing public, whether they get their bonuses or not, who will this year be able to have a better range of movies to choose from. It’s a festival worth looking forward to, indeed.

Woe to those who insult the people’s intelligence by thinking they are shallow, uncritical viewers who just want a quick fix. It’s time to prove them wrong and, with any luck, put them out of business.

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THE LIMITS OF FIRSTHAND REPORTS AND IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY

By Pecier Decierdo RECENTLY, it became common to hear people belittle the discipline of history.

To understand a past event, some say, you must have been there. It is said that the opinions of people who weren’t alive at the time are null.

At first glance, this sounds like a tempting notion. We humans, after all, have firm confidence in the accuracy of memories, which is why we put a premium on the stories told by firsthand witnesses. Reading about something in the news or from an academic source just doesn’t feel as convincing

as hearing it from someone who was really there in the thick of it, especially if that someone is a person you know and trust.

The science, however, is clear: eyewitness reports, on their own, are never as reliable as hard data.

Before we return to that point, let us

first look at how absurd the claim that only those who witnessed a past event can understand it. If we only relied on firsthand reports, both science and history would not be possible in the first place.

Think for a moment about the fact Turn to B2

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Opinion

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE...

From B1

that no one alive today was there to witness most of history. Worse, no one alive today was there to witness the evolution of humankind, the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, or the formation of the Solar System.

Both science and history are possible only because we can connect the evidence and indirect observations in a logical way to form consistent and testable stories. We understand past events not because we have lived through them, but because science allows us to act like good detectives.

Like good detectives, we arrived at the scene some time after the event. There, we collect the evidence and piece them together to form a scenario that best fits the evidence.

Treating science and history as detective stories rather than as firsthand narratives becomes even more important in cases when there are eyewitness reports available. Firsthand accounts can be very convincing.

However, their accuracy is very limited.

Ever since the 1990s when DNA testing was first introduced, an organization called the Innocence Project has been collecting data on court convictions and DNA evidence.

The results of their research are devastating. Just to give one example, they found that out of 239 court convictions that were overturned

by DNA evidence, 73 percent were based on eyewitness testimony. In other words, nearly three quarters of those first found guilty and later found innocent were pronounced guilty because of the testimony of witnesses.

Research has shown that the testimony of eyewitnesses, especially confident ones, can have a very strong influence on the decision of jurors.

However, given the data from the Innocence Project, that is worrying.

What makes it even more worrying is that other researches have shown that the confidence of an eyewitness is not a predictor of the accuracy of their testimony.

Because of these findings, there are many moves today to educated jurors of the limitation of eyewitness reports and the importance of other sources of evidence such as the forensic sciences.

There are many reasons why careful investigation, even by people who have never witnessed an event firsthand, can be more reliable than eyewitness reports.

First, the human senses and their recording into memory are flawed.

Second, recalling a past event is also a deeply flawed process.

Many of us imagine recalling a past event as something comparable to playing a recorded video. We now know that this is wrong. When we try to remember things, our mind actually reconstructs our memory.

Decades of research by psychologists have found many biases and flaws in this process of reconstruction. For example, we tend to recall only facts that agree with our beliefs and forget those that don’t. We also tend to remember events that put us in a good light and forget events that put us in a bad light. The emotions we felt at the time of an event also affect how we remember it.

Even more damning, research has shown that people can be easily given false memories. In one well-known study researchers asked respondents to recall the details of four events, three of which were true and one was fictional. Close to one-third of the respondents reported remembering the false event. In a follow-up study, 25 percent still reported remembering the untrue story.

Equally damning, other studies have shown that the way we are asked about a past event affects how we remember it, how our brains reconstruct our memories of that event.

All this should make us take a somber view of the accuracy of eyewitness reports and make us appreciate the power of the methods of science and historical analysis. Our grandparents’ stories have value, but they alone do not constitute history.

Decierdo is resident astronomer and physicist for The Mind Museum.

TEMPESTS From B1 storm. They build a home for the lovers, despite the fact that they have just lost their own homes recently.

Prospero laments how he has lost everything. Even Ariel the spirit, whom he bids to do whatever he wants, desires to be free from him. He has also lost Miranda, his daughter. He feels alone and rejected; hatred and bitterness fill his heart.

But what of loss, the Yolanda survivors tell him. Tell us about

LAWYER PRODUCES PETA PLAY FOR THE DELIGHT OF MARGINALIZED CHILDREN CONGRATULATIONS to lawyer Roy Allan Magturo on the success of his Nov. 25 production of the play “The Tempest Reimagined,” a presentation of the Philippine Educational Theater Association at the PETA Theater in Quezon City.

The sold-out show is a PETA production in collaboration with the British Council, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and Japan Foundation.

Directed by Nona Sheppard, with script by Liza Magtoto and stage design by Marsha Roddy, the play is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” based on the real stories of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors.

Many members of the audience were public high school students and special needs children from marginalized families. Magturo and physician Lorraine Marie T. Badoy worked together to ensure their attendance and provide them with a rare experience that for some could prove to be transformational: “For one moment,” said Badoy in a Facebook post, “it will be as it should be—a world where there is no ‘us’ or ‘them.’”

She describes the reaction of the kids from the National Orthopedic Hospital School for Crippled Children upon learning about their “field

trip” to PETA: “Nabingi ako (I was deafened) from the wild cheering that happened when pandemonium broke out. And I was pulled this way and that from all the hugging that happened. I wish you had been there to see and hear and smell and taste their joy. A joy so pure, it felt like rain on my face.”

This is truly an instance when Magturo combined his passions for theater arts, music, charity, and social justice (he is a staunch activist as well).

Take note of this rising impresario’s future projects. Magturo is deeply cause-oriented by nature and anything he organizes or produces is certain to be in aid of some worthy advocacy. *** Last Thursday was my first Thanksgiving in the United States, and I have to admit that I didn’t understand the hype that surrounds this oh-so-American celebration.

Sure enough, it was a public holiday, and work was suspended for most. Many took Wednesday off to travel to their homes and be with their families. I would compare it to the way we Filipinos observe Undas— All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days—when a vast chunk of Manila’s population makes for the provinces, leaving the

cities quiet and traffic-free.

In the US—specifically San Francisco and Los Angeles, which I had the opportunity to observe— traffic jams were prevalent the day before Thanksgiving, especially in LA. The airports were crammed and flights to and from many destinations on the mainland were nearly impossible to get unless one had bought tickets well in advance.

Many hotels and budget inns were likewise fully booked.

Contrary to popular belief, turkey isn’t always on the menu; it is the tradition, but quite a few folks here are practical and they feast on what they want. A roasted Butterball is too big even for our family of six to consume, so we had a honey-baked ham and prawns halabos-style.

Dessert was my mom’s homemade leche flan, made with 12 egg yolks that contain no traces of white, not even the chalazae—strings of white tissue—nor the thin film that covers the yolk and holds it together; she picks them off carefully with her fingers, and each swallow of that flan represents a great deal of labor and attention to detail.

My teenage daughter doesn’t feel Thanksgiving yet either; she covered a fellow partner’s shift at their Starbucks branch, moved by

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE his imploration and tempted by the time-and-a-half pay and healthy holiday tips. She also argued, “Why should we celebrate it when that marks the time the Pilgrims wrested this land from the Native Americans?”

We have not embraced this holiday yet because we are so new here, so raw, that at the moment we are Filipinos who are strangers in a strange land. It will take years before we are acculturated, before we feel, as Americans do, that Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas, if we will at all. We might come to understand this phenomenon, but not fully subscribe to it, not when our souls tingle more to the jingle of carols and church bells in the cool dark mornings.

Filipinos, moreover, are always grateful. “Ay, salamat, masarap ang ulam!” or that we were able to get that last seat on that bus, or our child comes home safe from a field trip. For each thing, no matter how little, we give thanks. Every day is, and should be, Thanksgiving Day. Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @ jensdecember

KENYA’S UNFORGETTABLE ELEPHANTS

A herd of elephants walk in front of Mount Kilimanjaro in Amboseli National Park. AFP

By Carl De Souza AMBOSELI National Park, Kenya— Elephants are such magnificent creatures. They are always fascinating to photograph. Especially since the logistics involved usually make things even more interesting.

One of my favorites is to accompany a collaring, when conservationists collar an elephant, which helps them gather data on them. They are fitted with a heavy-duty collar with a tracking device inside it. The information that’s gathered has really expanded our knowledge of these animals, who in recent years have come under increasing threat, poached for their tusks that are in high demand in Asia.

For example, the elephants that roam the Amboseli Park in Kenya were generally assumed to have mostly stayed within the park’s confines. But data from the last collaring have shown that in fact they wander much, much further, as far as the Masai Mara, near the Serengeti, and the Tsavo National Park.

The last time I accompanied a collaring was in 2013 and it was unforgettable. I went with the same group as this year, the International

losing everything, says the man who witnessed his home—and 15 members of his family—swept by the water. He narrates how he sat on a waiting shed for many, many days after the tragedy, saying nothing, doing nothing, just staring out into the distance contemplating his grief.

In the end, Prospero forgives those who have wronged him. They are not evil, after all—just people who have made bad judgments. He reconciles with his sister Alonsa and gives away Miranda in marriage.

The storm people also come to their

Fund for Animal Welfare, better known as IFAW. At the time, among the target group of elephants they wanted to collar was a juvenile elephant.

To collar one, you go up in a helicopter to look for the animals. Once you’ve identified the one you want, you get as close as possible and tranquilize them.

There’s a whole ground team waiting to collar them, take some blood samples and measurements and administer an antidote to revive them.

You have limited time—15 minutes—to do this from the time the tranquilizer dart penetrates their skin.

If the animal stays under the influence of the tranquilizer too long, there could be complications, including death. On operations like this, there has to be military precision and speed, there is always someone with a stopwatch, who starts the timer as soon as the dart goes in.

So on that day, we found our juvenile and shot the dart. He lay down. So far so good. But then the complications started. His mother, who was with him, became agitated. Understandable—as far as she was concerned, her child has just collapsed. So she began to try and raise him. She tried again and again. It

Shakespeare meets Yolanda own resolutions. The man who lost everything finds himself marrying one of the other storm survivors, a teacher who wishes she could do more to help other people recover from the typhoon. A double wedding ensues; everyone dances.

It is not, however, a purely happy

was really heartbreaking.

Meanwhile we’re running against the clock. We had no choice but to drive her away, to give the vets a chance to collar him and, more importantly, administer the antidote in time. Usually you drive the elephant away by bringing the helicopter a bit closer—they get spooked and leave. But this was a mother with her child. She just wouldn’t leave, she kept trying to raise him.

At one point we had to get so close, the helicopter was nearly level with her.

If I wanted to, I could have stepped onto her back. And still she kept trying and trying. I didn’t realize this at the time, but one of the guys who was watching from the ground said later that at one point she lifted her trunk and it looked like she was going to wrap it around the helicopter skids!

Eventually we managed to drive her away and collar the offspring and revive him in time. They were reunited shortly afterwards. But it was definitely scary.

That’s when you thank your stars for the pilots involved in these operations. They are usually super, super professional and what they can do with the chopper is just amazing.

I never tire of photographing them.

Because every time is different. You’re looking at different elephants, the scenarios are different, it’s different terrain, light, circumstance.

It’s fascinating, really. You can shoot it 10 times and you’ll always get different angles, different images. Plus of course being in a helicopter so close to them and flying over beautiful terrain never gets old.

They’re really very fascinating animals. They’re very, very smart.

They are capable of teaching each other things and working together. I remember some footage that I saw of elephants who would go to people’s farms and find ways around the electrical fences. They would rip them up so they could go over. The footage showed them working together to do it and has helped conservationists studying human/animal conflict in areas that have been newly developed and were once only the elephant’s habitat.

The thing about them never forgetting? I’ve never witnessed it firsthand. But I may be leaving Africa soon and I know that I won’t forget the moments I had photographing these emblematic creatures. AFP

ever-after. The characters retreat, knowing there will be more storms, stronger ones, coming their way.

They will prepare to face them better.

Sometimes we conjure our own tempests because of our own naivete or, to use a fashionable term, frailty.

At other times, the tempests come anyway despite our best intentions.

They take on a life of their own, whack us on the head when we least expect it, make us re-evaluate who we are and what our negotiables and nonnegotiables are.

Oh, some storms do kill. They throw others onto the sea or crush them with their power. For the rest of us, the pounding eventually stops. It does not rain forever. When the heavens quiet down, when the water recedes, when the wailing stops and when the debris settles, our tempests leave us with a fresh, just-washed feeling that gives us clear vision and emboldens us to begin again. We become stronger, wiser— and blessed with greater capacity to forgive and love. adellechua@gmail.com

World

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DRUG GANG’S KILLING FIELD HAUNTS MEXICAN MOUNTAIN

Z

itlala, Mexico—At the end of a rocky mountain road lined with pretty fields of corn, marigolds and palm trees, a Mexican drug gang turned a picturesque hill into a gruesome cemetery.

PLAYING HARDBALL. A picture taken on November 25 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin playing with an official match ball for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, named “Krasava,” after a meeting with FIFA officials at the Kremlin in Moscow. AFP

SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS TWO SOLDIERS IN PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—A suicide attack on Saturday killed two Pakistani soldiers and wounded 14 others in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border, the military said.

At least four suicide bombers attempted to enter the Ghalani camp in Mohmand tribal region and attack a mosque in a residential area where a large number of soldiers were attending morning prayers.

“Wearing suicide jackets, the attackers opened fire and tried to rush inside the mosque,” the military said in a statement.

“Security forces surrounded the attack-

ers. Two of the attackers blew themselves up while two others were shot dead,” it added.

The latest incident comes a month after an overnight militant attack on a police academy on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta killed 58 people, mostly cadets, on October 25.

The army launched an operation in June 2014 in a bid to wipe out militant bases in northwestern tribal areas and so bring an end to a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. AFP

POLLS OPEN IN KUWAIT AS OPPOSITION RETURNS KUWAIT CITY—Polls opened in Kuwait Saturday for the oil-rich Gulf state’s seventh general election in a decade, at a time of sharp disputes over subsidy cuts due to falling oil revenues.

Analysts are expecting a large turnout in the snap polls triggered by the return of the opposition, which boycotted the previous two elections to protest the government amendment of the electoral law.

The emir dissolved the last parliament after MPs called for ministers to be grilled over

Between Tuesday and Thursday, investigators pulled 32 bodies from 17 shallow graves hidden among small trees and rocks in the southern state of Guerrero. They also found nine heads stored in coolers.

Alejandro Toriz, coordinator of the health department’s morgue in Chilpancingo, said the human remains were in various states of decomposition.

Many of the victims found in the pits had been strangled, suffocated, struck violently in the head or their throats were slit, Toriz said. Bloods stains and bullet casings found at the site suggest some were executed on the hill.

The victims included 29 men and three women.

Forensic experts were trying to determine whether the nine heads, which were still “fresh,” belonged to nine bodies that were dumped on a roadside near the town of Tixtla last Sunday, he said.

The grim discovery near the village of Pochahuizco, in the municipality of Zitlala, put another dark spotlight on the brutal violence perpetrated by drug gangs battling for supremacy in Guerrero.

For families of scores of people who have disappeared in the area in recent years, it revived fears that their loved ones may have been killed.

Half a dozen people flocked to the morgue at the state capital, Chilpancingo, on Friday, only to

be told it would take a few days to identify the victims.

“I felt bad, I felt nervous. I don’t want to find my husband here. I want to find him alive,” said Beatriz Zapoteco, 44, with tears running down her cheeks after leaving the morgue without an answer.

On January 5, around seven masked men with assault rifles burst into her home and snatched her husband, Santiago Tixteco, a former town councilman who defended the rights of local farmers.

“That day was as if the world collapsed around me when they kidnapped my husband,” said Zapoteco, who doesn’t know who took her husband, or why.

Authorities say the Ardillos drug gang and rival Los Rojos have been battling for control of opium poppy production in the region while both terrorize the population through murders, kidnappings and extortion.

The Rojos have also waged battles with the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, which has been implicated in the disappearance of 43 students in September 2014 in Iguala.

Violence is on the rise: official figures show 1,832 murders have been committed in Guerrero in the first 10 months of this year, compared to 1,651 over the same period in 2015. More than 1,300 people have been reported missing across the state since 2007.

AFP

TRUMP TAPS NATIONAL SECURITY VETERAN FOR WHITE HOUSE ROLE US President-elect Donald Trump has hired as a senior adviser a Republican national security veteran who first worked in the White House situation room under Richard Nixon.

As deputy national security adviser, 65-year-old Fox News commentator Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland, will return once again to the executive mansion as number two to former general Mike Flynn.

“She has tremendous experience and innate talent that will complement the fantastic team we are assembling,” Trump said, in a statement issued from his luxury Florida

golf resort.

White House national security roles do not need to be confirmed by the Senate, so McFarland will take up her duties when President Barack Obama passes Trump the baton on January 20 next year.

She would, in any case, have been an uncontroversial choice, with decades of experience under three former Republican presidents and as a former aide to foreign policy heavyweight Henry Kissinger.

She has never herself held elected office, but in 2006 was defeated in a bid to seek the Republican nomination to challenge then New York

senator Hillary Clinton’s successful re-election bid.

Her most prominent roles before joining Fox News were as deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs under president Ronald Reagan and between 1982 and 1985 as defense secretary Caspar Weinberger’s speechwriter and spokeswoman.

McFarland’s appointment came as Trump was ensconced with senior advisors in his Mar-a-Lago resort drawing up transition plans.

A spokesman said no more major decisions are expected before Monday. AFP

subsidy cuts, in a state with a traditionally generous cradle-to-grave welfare system.

Female voters were lined up to cast their ballots at the women’s polling station in Jabriya, just south of the capital Kuwait City.

Voting is taking place at 100 polling stations set up in schools, with separate centres for men and women, and some 483,000 people eligible to cast their ballots.

The government’s austerity measures, mainly hiking petrol prices, were the top issue at election rallies. AFP

HURRICANE KILLS 9 IN COSTA RICA SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica—A hurricane that churned its way across Central America before sweeping into the Pacific on Friday killed at least nine people in Costa Rica and caused millions of dollars in damage, officials said.

President Luis Guillermo Solis declared three days of mourning, starting Monday.

In neighboring Nicaragua, officials reported no casualties but dozens of homes were damaged in low-lying areas.

Hurricane Otto had sparked red alerts

in both countries when it spun in from the Caribbean on Thursday with winds of up to 175 kilometers (110 miles) per hour.

A Costa Rican police official, Walter Espinoza, told a news conference: “The number of people killed is nine. We have recovered eight bodies, only one remains.”

Solis said the storm dumped a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours in Costa Rica. Authorities said it caused around $8 million in damage to roads. AFP

Kathleen McFarland (from the US Naval Academy)

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com Joyce Pangco-Pañares, Issue Editor

World

CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY ICON FIDEL CASTRO DIES H

avana, Cuba—Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, a towering figure of 20th century history, died Friday aged 90, his brother, President Raul Castro, announced.

END OF AN ERA. This 01 May 2002 file photo shows Cuban President Fidel Castro waving a Cuban flag during a May Day rally in Havana. The Cuban revolutionary icon died late November 25, his brother, President Raul Castro, announced on national television. AFP

One of the world’s longest-serving rulers and modern history’s most singular characters, he defied successive US administrations and assassination attempts.

He crushed opposition at home to lead the communist Caribbean island through the Cold War before stepping aside in 2006.

He eventually lived to see the historic restoration of diplomatic ties with Washington last year.

“The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 hours this evening,” the president announced on national television just after midnight Friday (0500 GMT Saturday).

Raul Castro, who took power after his elder brother Fidel was hospitalized in 2006, said that the revolutionary leader’s remains will be cremated early on Saturday, “in compliance with his expressed will.”

The bearded, cigarpuffing leader, renowned for trademark army fatigues and hours-long public tirades, grabbed power in a January 1, 1959 revolution.

Living by the slogan “socialism or death,” he kept the faith to the end, even as the Cold War came and went.

His rule endured numerous assassination attempts and the disastrous US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion attempt in 1961.

“If I am considered a myth, the United States deserves the credit,” he said in 1988.

AFP

UK CITIZENS COULD PAY TO RETAIN EU PERKS LONDON—Britons wanting to retain benefits of European Union membership after the country leaves could pay Brussels for individual citizenship, European Parliament’s lead Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt told The Times on Saturday.

“I like the idea that people who are European citizens and saying they want to keep it have the possibility of doing so. As a principle I like it,” he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by March, setting the ball rolling on two-years of negotiations to set the terms of the divorce.

Trade and immigration are set to be the key issues, with European leaders saying they will not compromise on open borders within the bloc.

Brexit-supporting MP Andrew Bridgen accused Verhofstadt of trying to sow division in Britain.

“It’s an attempt to create two classes of UK citizen and to subvert the referendum vote,” he told the Times. “The truth is that Brussels will try every trick in the book to stop us leaving.” AFP

AUSTRALIA ASKS TURKEY: EXTRADITE TOP ISIS TERRORIST SYDNEY—Australia is seeking the extradition of its most wanted Islamic State terror suspect who was thought to be dead but has been caught alive by Turkey, the government said Saturday.

The announcement followed a New York Times report that so-called Islamic State group operative Neil Prakash had been caught by Turkish forces several weeks ago as he tried to enter their country from Syria.

“An individual we believe to be Neil Prakash has been arrested and detained in Turkey,” a government spokesperson said in a statement. “Prakash is subject to a formal extradition request from Australia.”

Prakash was a senior recruiter for Islamic State and has been linked to terror plots to kill Australians.

In May Prakash was reported dead by Canberra on advice from Washington that he had been killed in a US airstrike in northern Iraq. However, the Times said he was only wounded, not killed, in Mosul on April 29. AFP

LOVING: HOW AN INTERRACIAL COUPLE’S LOVE CHANGED US HISTORY JUST as a caustic election has laid bare loose threads in the US social fabric, a new film has returned to the country’s all-toorecent era of deep racial segregation.

“Loving” – which entered wide release in time for the US Thanksgiving holiday – follows the romance of a black woman and a white man in mid-20th century America, when laws in some states forbade interracial marriages.

The historical drama is based on a decade-long legal battle that culminated in a landmark Supreme Court decision, declaring unconstitutional legislation banning interracial marriage, known as anti-miscegenation laws.

After they wed in Washington DC, Richard and Mildred Loving returned to the US state Virginia – part of the secessionist confederacy during the Civil War – where marrying across the racial divide was forbidden.

Childhood sweethearts, Richard and Mildred wanted little more than to build a home – but in the eyes of Virginia law, the lovers were criminals.

The Lovings ultimately found themselves

on the front lines of a civil rights case that would change the course of US history.

Half-a-century later, the 1967 ruling’s impact is still reverberating: the historic judgment helped pave the way toward legalizing gay marriage in 2015.

The film, which received critical acclaim following its premiere at Cannes, stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga whose portrayal of Mildred Loving has her tipped as a possible Oscar nominee.

The lead actors portray the couple not as militants or intellectuals, but as a shy, working-class pair determined to defend their right to love.

According to Robin Lenhardt, a law professor at Fordham University, antimiscegenation laws existed in 30 states at one point, which many people saw “as a crucial dividing line between whites and blacks.”

“For that to be removed was a bitter pill for many communities,” she said.

“The film is a reminder of the need to guard against the kind of racial bias that we’ve seen in the distant past,” Lenhardt said, “but also our recent.” AFP

Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga and Australian actor Joel Edgerton portray Richard and Mildred Loving whose interracial marriage was declared illegal. The case reached the US Supreme Court in 1967. AFP

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mong the conflictof-interest questions swirling around US Presidentelect Donald Trump’s global business interests, Trump Tower at Century City in Manila’s financial district stands out.

Century Properties Group Inc. of Manila, the company behind the $150 million tower that’s set to open next year, paid as much as $5 million to use the Trump name, in a licensing agreement that’s common for the president-elect.

Trump has at least 10 similar licensing deals around the world, each of which might complicate his administration’s international diplomacy, according to ethics specialists.

But in Manila, there’s an extra connection: Century Properties’ chief executive and controlling stakeholder, Jose Antonio, was appointed last month to serve as a special government envoy to the US for President Rodrigo Duterte, who has vowed to expel American troops from his country and ranted against President Barack Obama.

Antonio says he sees no conflict between his public role and private partnership.

“My role is to enlarge the relationship bet ween the two countries,” he said in an interview. Of his business tie to Trump, he said: “I guess it would be an asset.”

Antonio told Bloomberg News that he visited Trump Tower in New York days after the US election; he didn’t speak to the president-elect, Antonio said, but he saw Trump talking with potential appointees.

Asked about his account, Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman said: “They did not meet.”

Business

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@thestandard.com.ph

MANILA’S MAN IN WASHINGTON Duterte was quoted as saying earlier this year. He changed his tone after Trump’s victory, saying: “Long live Mr. Trump!

We both curse at the slightest reason. We are alike.”

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‘SMOOTH RELATIONSHIPS’

POTENTIAL CONFLICTS

Regardless, Antonio’s dual roles as private business partner and official government envoy underscore the global scale of the potential conflicts facing Trump and his family even before he’s sworn in as the 45th president.

Questions have been raised in two instances: Trump took a break from transition discussions to meet with three business partners who are building Trump-branded towers in India, according to media reports. And a spokesman for Argentine President Mauricio Macri odenied a report in La Nacion newspaper that Trump had asked for help with permits for a Buenos Aires real-estate project during a post-election call with Macri.

Trump rejected concerns about his potential conflicts of interest. “Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world,” he posted on Twitter Monday night. “Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!”

Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump aide, told reporters Monday that while Trump’s widespread business interests mean “we’re in unprecedented times,” he’s getting advice from “various lawyers, accountants and advisers telling him what he can and can’t do.”

“I’m very confident he is not breaking any laws,” Conway said.

COMPLICATIONS

There’s nothing illegal about Trump interacting with Antonio as a special envoy to the US on trade and economic policy while also being his business partner but it creates unnecessary complications for US diplomacy, according to Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who was President George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer.

The arrangement means that as president, Trump may have to respond to requests from a business partner who has paid

TRUMP TOWER.

Century Properties Group Inc. chairman Jose E. B. Antonio (right) is building Trump Tower in Makati City. him millions, he said.

“We have a president in the Philippines who is clearly volatile,” Painter said of Duterte. “We don’t want a situation where the U.S. president is financially involved with a whole bunch of his supporters.

That will have an adverse impact on our policy and our ability to figure out how to deal with Duterte and try to put back together our relationship with the Philippines.”

US-Philippine relations have soured since Duterte won the presidency in May. A key US ally in Asia since World War II, the Philippines under Duterte has sought rapprochement with China and tried to pivot away from the U.S. In an October visit to Beijing, Duterte announced his “separation” from the US and vowed to resolve his country’s dispute with China over the South China Sea through talks and closer commercial links.

“America has lost,” Duterte told a gathering of business leaders in the Great Hall of the People.

Earlier that month, Duterte had told Obama to “go to hell” after US criticism of his war on drugs, which has resulted in more than 3,000 people being killed since he took office.

Trump spent much of his campaign promising to counter China’s growing economic power, but also railed against US protection of overseas allies in Asia and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which was designed in part to stem China’s influence.

Some analysts have compared Duterte to Trump, a comparison Duterte rejected. “He’s a bigot, I am not,”

The Trump Organization’s interests in the Philippines “might do something to smooth relationships” between the two countries, said Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Affairs.

Those interests may expand.

Antonio said he’s discussing additional projects with the Trump family in the Philippine resort and leisure sector. For now, though, Trump and Antonio are partnered in Trump Tower at Century City in Makati, Manila’s financial district. At 280 meters, it will be one of the city’s tallest structures. Antonio said the tower will open in the second quarter of 2017; it has already sold all its 250 condo units, he said.

Trump has said he’ll avoid conflicts of interest by having his oldest children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, take over the management of his businesses.

But ethics specialists have questioned whether that move would be effective in walling off his private interests from his public duties. And his children’s involvement in his transition planning has raised further questions about the plan.

Antonio said that he visited New York days after Trump’s Nov. 8 victory. He said he went to Trump Tower, where he saw the president-elect talking with several “cabinet contenders,” including Michael Flynn, his eventual choice to become national security adviser.

While he didn’t speak directly to the presidentelect during that visit, he did talk with members of Trump’s family, Antonio said.

Hicks and Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., didn’t respond to e-mail requests for comment, sent after normal business hours M onday, about discussions with family members.

Antonio said he first met Trump in 1990 in New York, introduced by a mutual friend. Their children know each other, he said.

Antonio’s 39-year-old son, Robbie, is listed as a resident of Trump Tower New York and is a real-estate investor and ar t collector. A feature in Vanity Fair magazine in 2013

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Xurpas Inc. president and chief operating officer Raymond Gerard Racaza

XURPAS COO BAGS GLOBAL AWARD R O M E, I taly—Xurpas I nc. president and chief operating officer Raymond Gerard Racaza w a s re ce n t l y c i te d a s t h e 2016 Executive of the Year in the consumer non-durables category of the International Business Awards, the world’s only international, all-encompassing business awards program.

The IBAs is part of a confederation of seven programs generally referred to as the Stevie Awards, which garners over 10,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 60 countries.

As president and COO, Racaza is responsible for managing the overall growth and expansion strategy of Xurpas Inc., after its highly successful initial public offering in 2014. Since joining the local bourse two years ago, the company has successfully entered the most critical Pan-Asian markets like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and China.

He also helped shape Xurpas to become the Philippines’ leading technology firm with a total of six subsidiaries and five investee companies, employing more than 900 people, and having capabilities for mobile content creation and distribution, enterprise solutions management, HR technology solutions, search, casual games development, and most recently mobile advertising.

“As we grow our business to new heights it will be anchored by a robust mobile content creation and distribution platform, through in-house development and via local and international technology acquisitions. Our investments have been very strategic and it is a vertical integration with our core products and services,” says Racaza.

He attributes the growth of Xurpas to this brand of creative and strategic administration.

Raymond Racaza is a technology executive who knows how to pitch, how to win, and how to code. A computer engineer with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, major in Information Technology, he was part of the original development team that built the first dynamic wireless application protocol or WAP site in the Philippines and deployed the country’s first mobile internet site in 1999, as well as the country’s first interactive SMS service called SMS Chat.

Business

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 business@thestandard.com.ph

HOPE BRINGS JOY TO GENSAN HEALTH drinks company Vita Coco and a non-profit group behind the “Hope In A Bottle” brand have added a basketball court to facilities it has built for one of General Santos City’s poorest schools.

The new basketball court, built for the General Santos City National Secondary School for the Arts and Trade, was inaugurated last month.

Top executives from Vita Coco and Friends of Hope were at the ribboncutting ceremony.

Vita Coco was represented by Patrick Baskin and Sophie Higgins, global brand managers for the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, and Tyler Humes, from Nashville, and Chris De Vos, from South Africa.

Hope program director Jorgen Abellera and General Santos City mayor Ronnel Rivera were also there.

Vita Coco and Hope have already built six new classrooms for GSCNSSAT under the Education Department’s “Adopt A School” program.

The classrooms are now being used by 508 students in Grades 7 to 9. Before Vita Coco and Hope stepped in, some of the students have had to hold classes beneath trees or a shed.

Bienvenido Ruedas, the school principal, said the new basketball court has led to an increase in student participation and attendance”.

“What’s more important, though, is that the school no longer has to worry about the safety and welfare of its students. Whether it’s sunny or rainy, we are sure that the students are safe and dry. Extreme change of weather is no longer a problem.” he said.

The school is also jump-starting an initiative to increase the reading proficiency of their students, said Ruedas.

“We designated a portion of the classrooms as reading corners to encourage the students to read. Even during lunch breaks, the teachers stay in the classroom and make use of these spaces to develop the students’ reading habits,” he said.

FUND MANAGER NAMES NEW CEO P

HILAM Asset Management Inc., a leading mutual fund manager, announced the appointment of Eric Lustre as its new president and chief executive effective Nov. 21, 2016.

Philam Asset Management Inc. chief executive Eric Lustre

Lustre will succeed Nanjo Berba who has been the company’s president and CEO since 2014. Berba will remain in PAMI as its new chairman of the board.

PAMI, a wholly owned company of Philam Life, is an asset management company that administers, distributes and provides investment advisory to nine mutual funds. Philam Life is a life insurance company and a member company of the AIA Group, the largest panAsian life insurance group.

Established in 1992, PAMI had more than P40 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2014.

Prior to his appointment, Lustre was the head of corporate finance and real estate department of the investment division of The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company.

Berba said “Eric’s appointment will bring a breath of fresh air to PAMI, and I believe that with his leadership the company will be able to maintain its current standard of excellence. Eric has held multiple positions both with Philam Life and with other organizations.

His experience will undoubtedly be a major contributionto PAMI.” Lustre received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management

from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Master’s degree in Business Management with a major in Finance at the Asian Institute of Management.

From there, he went on to hold various positions within the financial sector. He is a director in the following companies representing Philam Life: Phinma Corp., PhilamEquitable Life Assurance Company, ICCP Holdings Inc., Science Park of the Philippines Inc., Regatta Properties Inc., Beacon Property Ventures, Inc. Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation, Cebu Light Industrial Park Inc. and RFM-Science Park of the Philippines Inc. With these qualifications, Lustre was the optimal choice to be at the helm of a company that is regarded as one most successful asset management companies in the Philippines.

As PAMI president and CEO, Lustre intends to propel the company to new heights, providing Filipinos with smart investment opportunities, while still promoting the current PAMI products that have given multiple Filipinos financial success.

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan- Asian life insurance group.

CAVITE STUDENTS WIN HACKATON CHALLENGE

MANILA’S...

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titled “The Museum of Me” detailed how he commissioned a series of portraits of himself by renowned artists, including Julian Schnabel. Robbie Antonio didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Century Properties is known for branding deals with global names, including American socialite Paris Hilton and Versace; it commissioned French designer Philippe Starck to design high-rise developments in Manila. Ivanka Trump markets her jewelry on the company website that promotes the Trump-branded tower. Antonio said he hopes to see one of the Trump children at the opening ceremony for the tower next year.

The company may not be immune from softening in the luxury residential real-estate market. Vacancies in luxury apartments in the Makati central business district rose to about 13 percent in the three months ending September from 9.8 percent in the second quarter, broker Colliers International estimates. Century’s real estate sales fell to 4.19 billion pesos ($84 million) in the nine months through September from 6.62 billion a year ago.

The decline “is attributable to a significant portion of revenue recognized in 2015 and prior years from completed projects, as well as less pre-sales and less new project launches,” according to Century Properties.

Antonio said owners of the Trumpbranded units in Manila are “probably very happy” Trump won the election and that the skyscraper now bears the name of the incoming US president. He hopes Trump will still make time for him once he takes office, Antonio said, but either way he expects to remain close to the rest of the family.

“We interact with everyone—Donald, the kids,” he said. “I guess he’ll be very busy now in his new job.” Bloomberg

Team Pentagon demonstrates their winning solution, PLDT TechGo, to the judges.

Team Pentagon from Cavite State University was awarded as the ultimate winner in the #PLDT88 Hackathon Challenge for its innovative solution called PLDT TechGo that enables a PLDT subscriber in need of technical support to contact the nearest technician around the area.

Team Pentagon received a cash prize of P100,000.

Special awards were given by the board of judges to Team White Cloak for best in idea and implementation while Daniella Javilles, a member of Team DUitYUSIP from Davao, was cited as best presenter.

Six winning teams from the Luzon and VisMin legs who created innovative digital solutions to enhance customer experience competed in the Ultimate Pitch, set in PLDT Innolab at the ePLDT Vitro in Makati.

“Our commitment is clear continuously improve customer service and we are doubling our efforts to become the leading proponent of digital ser-

vices and solutions in the country as we celebrate PLDT’s 88th anniversary,” said PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan.

“This hackathon to develop innovative customer solutions is fully aligned with our digital pivot,” Pangilinan said.

Team Pentagon is made up of four students from Cavite State University.

Carlo Pastoral, Abel James Lualhati, Marck Ivan Camama and Gideon del Mundo, were hailed as winners of the first ever #PLDT88 Hackathon Challenge, which was proclaimed by the board of judges composed of PLDT top management with extensive experience in innovation and customer experience.

The other teams who competed in the Ultimate Pitch are Teams White Cloak and Pocket Market from the Luzon leg, Team Logic from Cebu, and Teams Sweet and Halang and DUItYuSip from Davao.

PLDT TechGO, the solution developed by Team Pentagon, is an android

communication app that is able to search and contact the nearest certified PLDT technician to the customer in need of technical support instead of the usually demanding customer service-technician flow using the landline.

The team members, whose ages range from 19 to 23, are Computer Engineering students from the Cavite State University. The team’s winning digital solution will have the opportunity to be further developed and used.

In an interview, Pastoral, leader of Team Pentagon, said his team was initially intimidated by other “professional and more experienced” competitors in app development.

“This [victory] hasn’t sunk in yet.

We still couldn’t believe we won. I guess we made it because of our close friendship and our empathy to customer issues and eagerness to help address problems in network troubleshooting,” Pastoral said.

The winning TechGO app uses GPS

technology and is able to immediately contact PLDT technicians within a five-kilometer radius from a customer’s home and features a rating system for technicians to enhance customer service and productivity.

“PLDT helped to bring out the best in us by making an application in a short period of time, working on it under pressure and under crucial circumstances,” Camama, also a member of Pentagon, said.

“Despite the lack of resources, we were inspired [by PLDT] not to stop and to continue to the end. Now we hope this app we developed will help customers save time in troubleshooting and in solving their network problems,” he said.

Reinforcing its commitment to enhance its customer experience, PLDT’s hackathon challenge is part of its 88th anniversary celebration on Nov. 28. It is also an avenue through which the company provides support for local developers nationwide.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 reuelvidal@yahoo.com

SAN BEDA LADY RED SPIKERS SURPRISE FIELD

A young goalkeeper (right) deflects the football after a spirited challenge between two boys during heated action in the Alaska Football Cup at the Ayala Alabang Village football field.

ALASKA MILK HOLDS 21ST FOOTBALL CUP

By Reuel Vidal

T

HIS one’s for the children and the sport.

Alaska Milk continues its advocacy of helping children learn positive values through an active healthy lifestyle by holding the 21st Alaska Football Cup at the Alabang Country Club in Ayala Alabang Village this weekend.

The Alaska Football Cup is the biggest grassroots development competition in the country with over 4,000 athletes representing close to 400 teams from all over the Philippines participating.

Players as young as six years old will gather once again at the Ayala Alabang Village football field to participate in the longest-running and most successful nationwide competition in local football.

“This marks another monumental event for Alaska. We will have football players from all over the Philippines together in one venue, all united by their love for football. It is with great pride that we witness how the Alaska Sports Program has engaged young athletes into this kind of culture, and how they live by the values inherent in sports,” said Wilfred Uytengsu, President and CEO of Alaska Milk Corporation.

The annual Alaska Milk Football Cup allows children to participate in sports like football. But other than just football skills children also learn discipline, hard work, determination, teamwork and sportsmanship through their training.

This year’s Alaska Football Cup follows closely the quest of the Philippine national football team the Azkals to advance to the semifinals of the Asean Football Federation’s Suzuki Cup. The Azkals narrowly missed accomplishing that goal after suffering a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to Thailand last Friday night in home territory at the

Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. With the loss the Azkals failed to tally their fourth consecutive appearance in the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup. The Azkals seemed on the way to a scoreless draw against the Thailand War Elephants until Thailand’s Sarawut Masuk broke free late in the match to slot the winning goal past Filipino keeper Roland Mueller.

The Azkals failed to exploit their home court advantage to bow out. Still the interest in the competition was sky high with games broadcast live to a wide national audience.

School teams and football clubs from Masbate, Baguio, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Davao, Palawan, Legaspi, Laguna, Batangas, Bukidnon, Zambales, Pampanga, Tarlac, Ilocos, Bicol, Romblon, Davao Sur, Compostela Valley, Quezon, Cavite, Albay, Pangasinan, Bacolod, Iloilo, Mindoro and Metro Manila will converge in Alabang to participate in the event.

The Alaska Football Cup hopes to wean children from passive activities such as watching television, surfing the Internet, or spending too much time on social media. Alaska Milk encourages children to go out and play in sports like football as an active alternative and avoid a sedentary lifestyle.

The National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) said health issues are best addressed by adopting an active life-

Alaska Milk President and CEO Wilfred Uytengsu (center) prepares to kick off the ceremonial ball during the launch of the Alaska Football Cup last year.

style along with a healthy diet and regular drinking of milk, at least twice daily.

Alaska Milk hopes to develop the athletic and social skills of children through participation in sports tournaments. These programs allow children to experience healthy competition among members of the same age group which boosts physical and mental development.

For more information about Alaska Milk visit www.alaskamilk.com. For general information about the 21st Alaska Football Cup visit www.alaskapowercamp.com/football; and for live updates follow PlayPH on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

OLYMPIAN SCHOOLING SCHOOLED IN MMA

Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling manages a wry smile as he is submitted with a rear naked choke

by ONE Championship Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee. ONE Championship

RIO Olympics swimming gold medalist Joseph Schooling learned a thing or two about Mixed Martial Arts thanks to siblings Christian and Angela Lee. Schooling was the special guest of the MMA seminar that was spearheaded by the Lee siblings at the Evolve MMA Gym in Far East Square in Singapore on Thursday, November 24. Christian and Angela taught Schooling some basic MMA techniques as the swimming prodigy engaged in a plethora of both striking and grappling drills.

Christian taught Schooling the proper execution of various kicks and punches. ONE Championship Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela shared the trade secrets of her highlyregarded submission skills.

Angela said the athletic Schooling actually had potential as an MMA fighter. Angela, who held up the punch mitts for Schooling, said the 21-year-

THEY came into NCAA Season 92 Women’s Volleyball tournament with a modest goal. To make the Final Four.

They’ve since surprised the experts with back-to-back resounding victories over powerhouse teams.

The Lady Red Spikers defeated the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Lady Altas in four sets, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21, and 2521.

This after an equally impressive victory over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Lady Generals, 2725, 25-17, 25-22.

Against Emilio Aguinaldo Chesca Racraquin unleashed 20 points, 19 from attacks, to lead her squad. Team captain and setter Becca Cuevas orchestrated the San Beda attack with 35 excellent sets.

Racraquin again topscored for the Bedans against Perpetual with 14 points off 12 attacks. Nieza Viray added 11. Rebecca Cuevas produced 28 excellent sets.

The victory over the Lady Generals made everyone sit up and watch. The victory over perennial title contender Perpetual Help have the other top teams worried and experts picking the Lady Red Spikers as title contenders.

The hard-earned victory over Perpetual showed the composure of the Lady Red Spikers.

The Lady Altas started slow and committed unforced errors as the Bedans posted a 17-13. Perpetual scored off tips and blocks, but could not execute their power game off spikes. SBC on the other hand was humming as the Lady Spikers nailed down-the-line and through-the-block smashes by Racraquin and Viray. San Beda eventually won, 25-19.

old Olympian possesses power in both hands.

“Joseph (Schooling) is a strong athlete, which I find very impressive.

I know Olympic swimming doesn’t involve anything even remotely near fighting, but he just has that natural power. I was able to feel it while I was holding the pads,” she said.

Schooling is a natural athlete who can easily adapt to any sport according to Angela.

“Joseph is really strong and flexible, his body composition is perfect for martial arts. He’s a natural,” said Angela.

Christian himself reiterated that even though Schooling belongs to a sport with less physical contact, he respects his dedication as an athlete.

“MMA and Olympic swimming are two different sports, but as athletes, I feel we are all the same. We spend tremendous amounts of time and effort to reach our goals. The swimming pool

is Joseph’s battlefield just as much as the cage is ours. I tip my hat off to him with respect,” Christian asserted.

Schooling made history at the 2016 Rio Olympics by becoming the first Singaporean to capture a gold medal in the quadrennial multi-sport competition.

He clocked 50.39 seconds in Rio to win the 100-meter butterfly category, beating childhood hero Michael Phelps and making it to Olympic stage in first place.

“He has done so much for Singapore. It’s an honor to share the cage and train with him,” Christian said.

Christian asserted that the Evolve MMA Gym’s doors are always open for Schooling.

“We will always welcome Joseph with open arms. If he decides to train MMA in the future, even for sport or just for fun and fitness. We are here to help him,” Christian said.

San Beda Lady Red Spikers iddle blocker Satrriani Espiritu (10) smashes the volleyball through the blocking hands of Shyra Mae Umandal (12) of University of Perpetual Help System during the women’s NCAA season 92 Volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

The Lady Altas came roaring back in the second set to equalize through a 25-20 victory. The Lady Red Spikers were not disheartened as they went on to post a 25-21 victory in the third to go up 2-1.

Both squads played with composure in the fourth as neither team could pull away. The Perps actually took a two-point lead, 19-17. But they couldn’t contain the attacks by the Lady Red Spikers who unloaded an 8-2 scoring spree capped by a vicious Racraquin down-the-line smash. San Beda won the set 25-20 to prevail 3-1 in four sets.

The ever-demanding San Beda head coach Nemesio Gavino could only speak about their lost second set which prevented his team from scoring a sweep.

San Beda (2-0) will look to go up 3-0 against a relatively lightweight Lyceum Lady Pirates tomorrow Monday, November 28.

Reuel Vidal

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

QUE, TABUENA READY FOR HK OPEN

A return to the Fanling course where Anquelo Que posted a tied 13th result in last year’s showpiece and finished in share of fifth place in 2013 will give the Filipino an extra spring in his step at the US$2 million event.

F

ILIPINO golfer Angelo Que is somebody who doesn’t give up just like that.

That is why in the coming UBS Hong Kong Open, an event where he has enjoyed solid results including a runner-up finish, he will once again try to win that elusive title.

The bubbly Filipino, who is a three-time Asian Tour winner but not since 2010, finished second in the 2014 showpiece, losing on the first extra hole to Scott Hend of Australia at the venerable Hong Kong Golf Club.

A return to the Fanling course where he posted a tied 13th result in last year’s showpiece and finished in share of fifth place in 2013 will give the Filipino an extra spring in his step at the US$2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour from Dec. 8 to 11.

“I love Hong Kong and I think it is a great event. The course is great because you can play it so many different ways. After playing at Fanling for so many years, you kind of get used to it. Things become comfortable and that’s why I love playing in the event,” said Que. The Filipino golfer, who speaks fluent Mandarin, will contend for the prestigious title

alongside defending champion and Olympic Gold medallist Justin Rose, Masters champion Danny Willett and Ryder Cup stars Patrick Reed and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Currently Order of Merit leader Hend, Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines an Thai stars Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee, who holds an unprecedented three Order of Merit crowns, will also feature in the event.

Que remembers the 2014 edition vividly, especially the final birdie on the tricky 18th hole where he hit a superb nine iron from the rough for a tap-in birdie.

“That is the best shot I’ve hit in my career,” said Que. “I was under a pressure to get a birdie and I hit it to a foot. I hit it exactly how I wanted it from the rough. It had the right shape and it came out pretty high. As soon as I hit it, I knew it would be good but I didn’t expect it to be that good!”

“I remember I had a lot of people supporting me.

Hong Kong is close to the Philippines so there’s a lot Filipinos working in the country. I like the food in Hong Kong and the course suits my eye so it would be nice to win one there,” he added.

Tabuena, ranked sixth on the Order of Merit, hopes to end his best year on the Asian Tour with a victory at the UBS Hong Kong Open. The young Filipino posted two runner-up results this year

and also represented his country in the Olympic Golf and World Cup of Golf.

In hopes of doing well at the tree-lined Fanling course, Tabuena will put a two-iron in his golf bang.

“I never had a good finish in Hong Kong but I’m swinging it well and I have some course knowledge now. You have to drive the ball well in Hong Kong. I have a two-iron in my bag now.

It is a stinger and goes about 270 yards so that will help,” he said.

“My goal this year is to win at least one tournament. I won the Philippine Open and that was the last event of the year (2015) so hopefully I can replicate that in Hong Kong and end the year with a bang,” added Tabuena.

Entry to the first two rounds of this year’s tournament on Dec. 8 and 9 will be free of charge.

Those aged under 21 will be admitted free of charge for all four days of the tournament, as the organisers push to introduce the game to wider segments of the Hong Kong community in 2016.

Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the UBS Hong Kong Open Charity Cup will return on Dec. 14 with local singer and artist, Alan Tam, as Official Ambassador. The $2.3 million was raised in 2015 for three local charities, making it the most successful fundraising initiative for the entire European Tour season.

BATANG PINOY: WHERE DREAMS BEGIN TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte—The Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy National Championships kicks off today with over 9,000 young athletes set to compete in 26 sports at the Davao Del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex.

Twenty-four gold medals are offered in swimming on the first day of competitions, while action in arnis, archery, lawn tennis, rugby football, baseball, softball, chess, judo and taekwondo also commence in the games, where sporting dreams of the youth begin. ``We are focused and committed on grassroots sports development,’’ said Davao del Norte governor Anthony Del Rosario during Saturday’s press conference.

Del Rosario will officially open the weeklong sports conclave for athletes 17 years old and under, along with House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez. ``When I was told about the Batang Pinoy’s goal of producing future national athletes, I knew right away that this is the event that I want to host,’’ said Del Rosario.

Also present during the presser were PSC commissioner Celia Kiram, Batang Pinoy overall project director Ronnel Abrenica and project manager Dr. Lauro Domingo. ``We’re expecting to find more talents to increase the number of athletes in the national training pool,’’ said Ramirez.

Basketball will also start today, along with the one-day cycling races in criterium, road race, BMX and mountain bike events.

Medal-rich athletics is calendared tomorrow along with weightlifting, the sport that gave the Philippines an Olympic silver medal through the efforts of Hidilyn Diaz.

Gymnastics and wushu will be played at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila on Dec. 4 to 11 and Dec. 5 to 8, respectively.

ARAYI GIVES BACK TO PHILIPPINE BASKETBALL

By Lito Cinco WOMEN’S basketball in the Philippines is a very far cry from its counterpart in the men’s side.

The sport is a national pastime of Filipinos, but unfortunately, only for the men’s side.

And that is why you have to give it to this half Filipina-half Nigerian, Ewon Rosete Arayi, a long-time member of the national women’s basketball team as she has been doing her share for the national squad since she made it to the team in 2007, making her the longest-serving player of the nationals.

Arayi got into basketball at an early age in Bolinao, Pangasinan, where her uncle used to bring her to watch him play the game. She got interested too, playing in small tournaments in the province, but it was in 2003 when she first got a chance to play organized basketball as she made it to the Adamson women’s team in the UAAP, where she won back-to-back titles.

After finishing her Banking & Finance degree in Adamson, she was asked to try out with the national team and played

under former PBA cager Fritz Gaston and Heidi Ong. “These two coaches gave me the opportunity, especially coach Fritz, who taught me to be a defensive player,” said Arayi, who was cut off afterwards when Fil-Am players arrived to reinforce the team.

Fortunately, she was recalled as a reserve player in the same year and had her first SEABA championship in 2010.

This year, Arayi was also on the SEABA champion team handled by NU’s Patrick Aquino, but as a cheerer and not as a player because she was hospitalized with dengue about a month before the tournament started.

It was in 2014 when without fanfare, she first launched her Pinay Ballers League, a no frills-just-play-the-game league exclusively for women.

This was after realizing that after collegiate basketball, female players here have practically nowhere to go.

She wanted the players to continue playing the game, and did so to the extent of spending her own money sans corporate sponsorships. Arayi succeeded in attracting ex-UAAP players who either

got companies to support them or the players pooled their resources to pay the entry fees.

Arayi did not receive allowances or salary as an organizer as her priority was for the league to survive.

“I wanted to make sure first that the venue rental and the payment to the referees and the table officials were paid. I was lucky I had a small group led by PBL Commissioner Cai Lim, who supported me with the same objective of helping women’s basketball here,” Arayi said.

She admitted though that she had mixed feelings when other women’s league emerged like the Liga Filipina, Liga Manila, and the Next 5 Hoops, though it was only Liga Filipina that was exclusively for women as the other two league also featured men’s competitions.

“I believe it would be better if all of us got together and pool our resources, I am not after taking the credit, I just want to see women’s basketball get off the ground and grow. That is why I am happy that the PBA has introduced its 3 on 3 women’s basketball and created more awareness to the fact that there are a lot of women basketball players out there, just waiting

for a real women’s league to emerge where they can continue playing, “ added Arayi.

In the PBL, Arayi has three different divisions, one for Aspirants, another for Elite or those with UAAP experience, and lately, an Open one, where two elite players reinforce aspirants. She has also started the Philippine Collegiate Championships for school-based teams.

Now, she is looking at helping establish an Under-18 league for women.

On the side, Arayi conducts basketball clinics for kids and has invested in her own equipment to enable her to bring the game to the provinces with some LGUs, companies, and kind-hearted individuals giving support.

Now, Arayi is in a crossroads of sorts, torn between the desire to continue playing for the national team or go full time into coaching (she mentors One Cainta) and basketball organizing. But whatever choice she makes, basketball will always Ewon Rosete Arayi: I just want to see women’s basketball get off the ground and grow. remain her focus.

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Local Gov’t Units

IN SEARCH OF BETTER QUALITY COFFEE

By Dexter A. See

Makati Mayor Abby Binay delivers her first State of the Children Address during the Children’s Assembly held Friday at the Makati Coliseum. Before some 1,000 young residents from public schools and barangays, the mayor vowed to upgrade the city’s public education system using modern technology to develop ‘techie’ or IT-savvy citizens capable of excelling in an IT-driven workplace.

‘EACH KID IN MAKATI TO BECOME A TECHIE’

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

he city government of Makati assured Friday it will prioritize programs that will promote children’s access to modern public education system and further protect their rights and welfare.

During her first State of the Children Address at the Makati Coliseum, Mayor Abigail Binay spoke to more than 1,000 children from the city’s public schools and barangays and discussed what the city government is planning for them.

Binay said that since today’s workplaces are “IT-driven,” her administration will prioritize the upgrading of the city’s public education system and facilities using the latest innovations in technology.

“I want each Makati student to be a ‘techie’ —one who is conversant with the language of technology, and adept with the tools of technology,”

she said.

Binay also discussed a report containing significant accomplishments and plans of the city government, anchored on theTen Rights of Every Filipino Child, which were based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

She reported a further reduction in the malnutrition prevalence rate of the city, from 0.57 percent in 2015 to 0.48 percent this year.

Binay attributed this to the good nutrition program of the city and its aggressive breastfeeding advocacy in the barangays. Other factors she cited were the full immunization package given to newborns in health centers,

feeding program and micronutrient supplementation—all implemented by the Makati Health Department.

The city chief executive, however, expressed concern over the rising rate of overweight and obese children in the city. She encouraged the participants to eat more vegetables and fresh fruits, and avoid unhealthy food and beverages.

Binay also underscored the efforts of the city, through its City Civil Registration Office, to promote the right of a child to have a name and nationality. The CCRO has processed and issued hundreds of birth certificates for free to unregistered children through its Civil Registration sa Barangay Project.

Since August, children of Makati have gained more access to basic services through the Makati Lingkod Bayan Caravan, a one-stop-shop offering various frontline services in the barangays at least twice a month, according to Binay.

Services of the caravan include birth registration, medical and dental services, laboratory services, and educational activities, among others.

Citing related city ordinances, programs and activities, and facilities built by the city government over the years, Binay said her administration will continue to provide a secure and healthy environment for children in Makati.

The mayor’s report gave primary focus on the right of a child to have a good education in line with the theme for 2016, “Isulong: Kalidad ng Edukasyon Para sa Lahat ng Bata!”

Meanwhile, the audience erupted into cheers and applause when Binay announced that the city will be treating all winners of recent academic and sports competitions to a trip to the Enchanted Kingdom theme park in Laguna.

“To show our appreciation of your extraordinary achievements that have brought pride to our city, we will bring you all to Enchanted Kingdom,” she said.

BIG BUSINESS BUYS INTO QC LAND VALUE AUDIT QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista welcomed the participation of big businesses in the consultation of the proposed revised schedule of fair market values of land within the city.

He tasked the city council’s committee on ways and means to comply with the recommendation of the Commission on Audit and Department of Finance to update the city’s obsolete land and property values.

Among those who took part in last Thursday’s consultations at the city hall were SM Prime Holdings and Megaworld Corp.

“Quezon City is merely complying with the provisions of Republic Act 7160

and adjusting the schedule of the fair market values based on real-estate market realities, and to support various urban and social developmental projects of the administration,” city administrator Aldrin Cuña told the Manila Standard.

Cuna said the big businesses posed no objection to the proposed adjustment of property values.

Still, SM Prime Holdings and Megaworld Corp. urged the city government to grant tax incentives to small players or businesses with small capitals.

Fe Wong, tax officer of SM Prime Holdings, the parent company of the SM Group, said they are not objecting to the

proposed legislation.

“Yes we support it. We will submit our position paper later,” she said.

“We are definitely very supportive of this measure,” Megaworld corporate advisory and compliance division manager John Joseph Sy added.“We have always been supportive of the endeavors of the city government as long as it is beneficial to us and to the interests of our clientele, tenants, and buyers.”

Megaworld owns and developed the 17-hectare Eastwood City, the commercial and residential property in Bagumbayan area.

Trade organizations such as the

Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. said they will look into the proposed adjustments.

“Yes, we support it. As much as we want to oppose it, we would appreciate having no increase, but the city government was able to explain that it has been a long time since the last increase,” said Rafael Canare, executive director of AFFI. Canare appealed to Bautista to provide small businesses with tax incentives since they would expect an increase in leasing fees to be imposed by property owners, such as malls and commercial buildings affected by the adjustment of real property tax. Rio N. Araja

BAGUIO CITY—A local coffee industry player pointed out the importance of quality planting materials coupled with the adoption of proper farming, storage and processing techniques to be able to produce quality coffee beans that command higher buying prices in the local and international markets.

Dr. Melvin Hipol, the founder of the Kape Ti Uma Inc., observed that coffee plantations in most parts of Benguet are not properly maintained that results in the infestation of coffee plants and poor quality coffee beans that are bought at lower prices in the market.

“We learned that there were some agencies who had been encouraging farmers to shift to coffee production, but when harvest time came, the personnel could no longer be contacted to help them market their produce,” Hipol said.

“Thus, the farmers decided to cut the planted coffee trees and replace them with cash crops that provide them periodic income.”

“We were challenged to organize ourselves into a company to help small coffee farmers in the rural areas to market their produce,” Hipol stressed.

Apart from planting quality coffee trees—around 800 to 1,000 trees per hectare for the Arabica variety and about 2,000 trees for Robusta—Hipol suggested that coffee farmers must immediately depulp the harvested coffee beans within the day, soak the same in water for 18 to 24 hours before drying them in direct sunlight for 15 to 20 days, depending on the weather.

Coffee beans must have a moisture content of 11 to 13 percent because if the moisture exceeds that, the aroma of the coffee beans and its taste will no longer be maximized, Hipol said.

If it is below 11 percent, it will be premature to roast the coffee beans.

The dried coffee beans could be stored in hermit bags for at least 2 months for Arabica and 5 months for Robusta before being roasted through full city roasting, or the border of medium and dark roast.

However, Hipol claimed small farmers could not afford the hermit bags, that is why they are advised to put the coffee beans in clean sacks and make sure that they are kept in airy portions of the house while waiting for the produce to be sold.

Hipol’s company is eyeing the grading of 8 to 10 tons of Arabica coffee beans and 20 to 30 tons of Robusta after the harvest season

by February next year to help small farmers market their produce, considering they buy the product of small farmers from the different parts of the province and sell them to interested buyers.

K ape Ti Uma will remain transparent in the grading of the coffee beans, for farmers to be aware of the quality of their produce and to encourage them to continue planting coffee in their respective places as part of promoting the industry.

The company intends to help some 150 coffee farmers in the different parts of Benguet in accessing local and international markets.

783 FARMERS FROM FIVE LEYTE TOWNS GAIN PARCELS OF LAND BARUGO, Leyte—About 783 farmers from five Leyte towns became landowners when Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano distributed 1,058 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) recently at the Apostol Gymnasium here.

The CLOAs covered a combined area of 1,427.5 hectares of farmlands in the towns of Barugo, Alangalang, San Miguel, Carigara and Jaro.

Lolita Candaza, one of the beneficiaries,

said with the award they could now avail of the various assistances extended by the different local and international nongovernment organizations to Typhoon “Yolanda” survivors.

Marianowas assistedbyLandRegistration Authority Deputy Administrator Robert Leretana, Mayor Maria Rosario Avestruz, Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Director Sheila Enciso, DAR Assistant Regional Directors Ma. Fe Malinao and

Ismael Aya-ay, Leyte Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Renato Badilla, and Riena Reyes, Project Coordinator of Rights Inc. an NGO that has been assisting the farmers.

According to Badilla, San Miguel has the most number of beneficiaries at 245 with 321 CLOAs covering 233 hectares.

Barugo has 222 for 398 CLOAs covering 280.1 hectares; Jaro has 147 for 230 CLOAs covering 684.6 hectares; Carigara has 123

for 102 CLOAs covering 129 hectares; and Alangalang has 46 beneficiaries of the 7 CLOAs covering 100.6 hectares.

Mariano stressed that it is DAR’s goal to free farm workers from“the bondage of the soil.”He also announced that the department is creating a national LAD (land acquisition and distribution) action team that will help strategize and hasten the land distribution process nationwide.

DAR is also reconstituting CLOAs that

were destroyed when the Registry of Deeds office in Palo burned down in the ‘90s.

Enciso thanked the LRA for cutting the requirements in the registration of CLOAs, resulting in the release of land titles pending at the ROD. For the beneficiaries to understand, Leretana explained that in the registration of an original certificate of title (OCT) as in the case of these CLOAs, tax declaration is required as proof of ownership.

LGUs

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TAIWAN DONATES P1M TO BATANES

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE government of Taiwan has donated P1 million to Batanes to help the province recover from severe damages caused by Typhoon “Ferdie” (international name Meranti).

Citing his country’s proximity to the Philippines’ northernmost province, Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Taiwanese Representative to the PH, said the donation would help rebuild houses and infrastructure damaged by the typhoon.

Taiwan’s assistance to Batanes is part of its “New Southbound Policy” where it sees the Philippines’“significant importance” as the gateway to Asean countries, Lin said.

“Batanes is not alone. Taiwan is a genuine friend and close neighbor of the Philippines. A friend in need is a friend indeed,” the Taiwanese official said in his speech during the donation ceremony.

“Taiwan wishes the best for the victims and hopes that they can return to their normal lives soon, and that the reconstruction may be carried out smoothly to regain its charm in no time.”

Taiwan also donated instant noodles to Batanes through Gov. Marilou Cayco and other provincial officials.

Lin noted an urban legend in Taiwan that says one could hear a rooster crow in the morning in Batanes from the southernmost tip of Taiwan. In addition, people in Batanes can even listen to radio programs from Taiwan.

“For a Taiwanese, it truly feels like being home when staying in Batanes,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s ships dock in Batanes to resupply during the fishing season from March to June.

“This shows that Taiwanese and Filipinos enjoy longstanding friendship.

Therefore, when Batanes needs assistance due to the wrecking of typhoon, Taiwan of course will extend a helping hand through caring disaster relief efforts without any hesitation,” Lin said.

PAGADIAN FIRST TO ‘MASA MASID’ IN REGION 9 PAGADIAN CITY—The Department of the Interior and Local Government in Region 9 (DILG-9) recently lauded the city government for being the first local government unit in the region to launch the program “Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga” (MASA MASID).

DILG-9 Regional Director Paisal O. Abutazil, in his message during the formal launch of MASA MASID at the Taclobo Stage in Plaza Luz here, congratulated city officials for “sincerely implementing” the program.

MASA MASID is a community-based anti-criminality, anti-corruption, and anti-illegal drugs program. It encourages multisectoral partnership to intensify the spirit of volunteerism at the community level.

The purpose of the campaign is to heighten community involvement by mobilizing the support of local s t a k e h o l d e r s, vo l u nte e r s, c i v i c organizations, faith-based organizations, and the private sector against illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.

A b u t a z i l c i t e d t h e n e g a t i ve consequences of illegal drugs, saying it not only affects individuals but also their families and friends.

“The government is very serious in this campaign to make the Philippines a drug-free country,” he added.

M e a nw h i l e, M ayo r R o m e o P. Pulmones also launched the “Barkada Kontra Droga,” a flagship program of the city that encourages everyone to drive out illegal drugs in their communities.

He expressed confidence that with the program, it will not only make Pagadian drug-free but also a peaceful and livable city.

The Philippine National Police also recently launched the “Kontra sa Krimen at Katiwalian” (KKK) mobile application projec t at Liga City Convention Center.

KKK will support the MASA MASID campaign, said police provincial director Senior Supt. Sofronio Elcadre.

“It is a reporting system that encourages every concerned citizen and volunteer to report to the authorities those involved in illegal drugs, criminality and corruption,” Elcadre explained.

RELIEF FOR TALITAY. Kamid Buisan, acting mayor of Talitay town in Maguindanao (in checkered polo), leads the distribution of relief packs to 900 fami-

lies displaced by law enforcement operations against town mayor Montasir M. Sabal, one of the alleged narco-politicians on President Rodrigo Duterte’s list. The ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) and the 6th Civil Military Operations (CMO) Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 6ID command led the groups coming to Talitay’s aid. Omar Mangorsi

HYBRID RICE LEADS TO BUMPER CROP IN ILOILO

T

hanks to hybrid rice seeds, the rice harvest in Iloilo soared in this year’s wet season, with some farmers yielding over 10 metric tons per hectare, provincial agricultural officials said.

With 10,000 hectares now “organically grown” on hybrid rice, the yield average of 12 farmers using SL-8H seeds rose to 10.71 metric tons per hectare, they added.

Despite the severe El Niño drought, Iloilo remains a rice surplus province, especially as farmers ventured into SL-8H hybrid rice that sent their yield average to 4.09 MT per hectare.

This is an overall increase of nearly one MT (0.86) per hectare compared to the 2015 average of 3.23 per hectare, based on Philippine Statistics Authority data, for the entire Iloilo, according to Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Elias V. Sandig Jr. The trend to plant hybrid rice in Iloilo rose as a farmer registered a high yield last year.

“In 2015, Marilyn Duco of Patlad, Dumangas obtained an average yield equivalent to 14.51 MT per hectare from SL-8H hybrid seeds at 14 percent moisture content,” said Sandig.

Iloilo farmers have also adopted what is realized now as a superior fertilization technique—Crop Stand Fertilizer Management.

“An honest to goodness campaign was made to accept SL-8H with instruction to adopt Crop Stand Fertilizer Management. A total of 10,000 hectares (of hybrid area) was realized,” said Sandig.

Applying fertilizer based on crop stand means

that fertilizer is applied in reduced amounts. It is applied only when the color of rice plant is light yellow, signifying a need for fertilizer.

“To date, the 12 top SL-8H farmers had an average production of 10.71 MT per hectare equivalent to 9.713 MT per hectare at 14 percent moisture content,“ said Sandig.

Iloilo farmer Teresita S. Setiar of Leganes reaped the highest yield equivalent 17.921 MT per hectare at 14 percent moisture content. She used organic fertilizers with reduced artificial fertilizer, Sandig added.

“Suffice to say that it is only in Iloilo where hybrid rice is grown organically,” he said.

With the hybrid rice, those who were able to plant only once a year are now able to harvest twice as much. “Some areas are just rainfed, so farmers don’t plant during the dry season. But with their high yield—double from hybrid rice—it’s as good as they would have planted two times a year,” said Rich Recoter, SLAC hybrid rice specialist.

From his rain-fed 6,000-square meter farm, Andres Corras Jr. got this last wet season an equivalent of an average of 9.68 MT per hectare.

Allan Tabefranca got a yield of 8.5 tons per hectare from 8,000 square meters. He is in an irrigated area and even used direct seeding, which means he had lesser cost than if he transplanted seeds.

“Our campaign is that using the same technology of rice planting, you just change the seed, but your expense is the same. The seed is for free, so they get a higher income. Because of this, they have been convinced to go into hybrid,” said Iloilo Provincial Agriculturist Ildefonso T. Toledo.

With proper fertilization management, hybrid rice in irrigated areas in Iloilo as of October 2016 produced 4.77 MT per hectare. This is higher by

1.28 MT compared to the July to September 2016 inbred average yield of 3.491 MT per hectare.

Farmers have traditionally avoided the use of hybrid rice in the wet season due to bacterial leaf blight infestation or BLB. But fertilization based on crop stand has apparently eliminated this problem.

“It’s the first time for many farmers to plant hybrid in the wet season,” said Geron E. Magbanua, also of the Iloilo provincial agriculture office. ”And (impressively), there are farmers who harvested 10 tons (per hectare) as shown by the contest (Palayabangan introduced by the Philippine Rice Research Institute).”

One Ilonggo farmer, Ramon Dagohoy Jr. got 13.95 MT per hectare from his irrigated, transplanted SL-8H. “From his 2.2-hectare area, he got a total of 615 cavans at 47 kilos per bag summing up to 279 bags (13.95MT) per hectare,” said Magbanua.

Despite these increased yields, Iloilo’s rice production is expected to reach only 700,000 MT for 2016 owing to the impact of El Niño during the first semester of the year.

Without hybrid rice, production would have been even lower for Iloilo. Hybrid rice area in Iloilo in 2015 was just at 4,500 hectares.

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority, Iloilo produced 877,076 MT of rice in 2015 with an average of 3.23 MT per hectare. It ranks fifth in rice production, after Nueva Ecija (1.580,620 MT), Isabela (1,256,390 MT), Pangasinan (1,081,157 MT) and Cagayan (884,334 MT).

The province has a total of 135,964 hectares of ricelands consisting of 48,860 hectares of irrigated ricelands, 85,779 hectares of rainfed ricelands and 1,325 uplands devoted to rice, tilled by 110,000 farmers.

WOMEN IN VISAYAS FISHING GET TRAINING

Elsa Chavez of BFAR Central Office (second from left) receives her certificate of appreciation as a resource person from WINFISH president Dr. Marieta B. Sumagaysay, IARRD-PCAARRD director Dr. Dalisay DG. Fernandez, and BFAR 7 GAD focal person Ana C. Belga (from left).

SEVERAL government agencies led by the Department of Science and Technology banded together in a forum to enhance entrepreneurial skills of women in micro, small, and medium enterprises at the Central Visayas Multispecies Nursery Demonstration and Training Center in Bentig, Calape, Bohol.

The forum was titled “Fisheries Wo m e n E n t r e p r e n e u r s Fo r u m : Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of SMEs for Enhanced Export Market of Fresh and Dried Seaweeds.”

The Inland Aquatic Resources Research Division of the DOST ’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, the National Network on Women in Fisheries in the Philippines Inc. or WINFISH, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Regional Office 7, and BFAR Central Office teamed up for the event.

It was the second in a series of fora for women entrepreneurs in the fisheries industry held throughout the country.

Previously, women entrepreneurs in Pampanga were trained on the export of live and frozen shrimp and shrimp products at the EPHATHA Development Center, SACOP, Maimpis in San Fernando, Pampanga.

The forum became a venue for industry representatives from Regions

6, 7, and 8 to share their personal experiences and successes on the production and marketing of fresh and dried seaweeds.

Areas of concern and science and technology intervention needs for the development and improvement of seaweeds per region were discussed during the workshop.

Challenges in the industry, which include unstable prices due to supply and demand, absence of pr ice standardization, DTI registration, lack of facilities and equipment, quality of products, market, and packaging and labeling, were identified.

A Memorandum of Understanding between an expor ter and five processors was signed at the end of the forum.

A total of 75 participants attended the two-day event, consisting of representatives from IARRD-PCAARRD, WINFISH officials and staff, BFAR 7 (Cebu) Gender and Development (GAD) and Secretariat, BFAR CO in Quezon City staff, BFAR 6 (Iloilo) and 8 (Tacloban) officials and staff, and exporters or processors of seaweeds from Regions 6 to 8.

Dr. Dalisay DG. Fernandez, IARRDPCAARRD director, was the proponent of the project funded by the BFAR Central Office.

Gadgets & Games

IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS TO STEAL PHONE DATA

Leeor Ben-Peretz, the Executive Vice President of the Israeli firm Cellebrite's technology, shows devices and explains the technology developed by his company in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva. It only takes a few seconds for an employee of Cellebrite's technology, one of the world's leading hacking companies, to take a locked smartphone and pull the data from it. AFP

P

ETAH TIKVA, ISRAEL—It only takes a few seconds for an employee of one of the world’s leading hacking companies to take a locked smartphone and pull the data from it.

Israeli firm Cellebrite’s technology provides a glimpse of a world of possibilities accessible to security agencies globally that worry privacy advocates.

The company has contracts in more than 115 countries, many with governments, and it shot to global prominence in March when it was reported the FBI used its technology to crack the iPhone of one of the jihadist-inspired killers in San Bernardino, California.

There have since been reports that Cellebrite was in fact not involved, and the company itself refuses to comment.

Regardless, it is recognised as one of the world’s leaders in such technology.

It can reportedly take a wide range of information off devices: from the content of text messages to potentially details of where a person was at any given moment.

Even messages deleted years before can be potentially retrieved.

“There are many devices that we are the only player in the world that can unlock,”Leeor Ben-Peretz, one of the company’s top executives, told AFP in English.

But privacy and rights activists worry such powerful technology can wind up in the wrong hands, leading to abuses.

‘Cat and mouse’

Cellebrite’s technology is not online hacking. It only works when the phone is physically connected to one of the firm’s devices.

The company recently demonstrated its capabilities for an AFP journalist.

The password on a phone was disabled and newly taken photos appeared on a computer screen, complete with the exact location and time they were taken.

The phone in the demonstration, an LG G4 run on Google’s Android operating system, is a model Cellebrite had already cracked, so the extraction did not take long.

The real challenge, Ben-Peretz agrees, is staying in the lead in a race where phone manufacturers constantly launch new models and update software with ever more complicated security.

In the firm’s lab they have 15,000 phones— with around 150-200 new models added each month.

When a new phone is launched, Ben-Peretz said, their 250-person research team races against competitors to find a chink in its armour, a process that can range from a few days to months. iPhones present a particular challenge be-

cause, unlike many firms, Apple designs everything from the device’s hardware to software, making its technology particularly difficult to hack, explained Yong Wang, a professor at Dakota State University in the United States.

Ben-Peretz remains confident his company can crack even the newest iPhones. “iOS devices have strong security mechanisms that give us a challenge, but if anyone can address this challenge and provide a solution to law enforcement, it is Cellebrite,” he said, referring to Apple’s operating system.

E-COMMERCE continues to gain ground in the Philippines permeating the traditional consumer journey towards purchase.

Merchants on the other end of the consumer purchase spectrum have also reshaped how they do business, and for good reason.

Online sales is a different animal.

Where once merchants enjoyed reigning over a proximate region, today e-commerce makes everyone and anyone accessible, anytime and anywhere, allowing for SMEs to proliferate rapidly.

SMEs contribute about 99% of economic growth in the Philippines yet access to finance still remains to be the biggest hurdle for them. The age-old issue is the impetus behind why First Circle was built. The growthfinance company aims to give small businesses the chance to compete, enabling them by providing easy access to finance.

The length of time saved means giving these businesses an avenue to, for example, but not limited to, win purchase orders which they would otherwise miss. This business model is replicated to a huge volume of online retailers, with Lazada being one of the strongest partners of First Circle.

Catering to varied industries online, the growth-finance company provides a solution-suite based on business need, size and type ensuring bespoke business needs are provided with bespoke business solutions.

The nature of the business solutionsuite of First Circle is highly agile, recognizing that one of the pain-points of SME growth was a speedy delivery of operations.

“We realized what we needed to do in order to empower small businesses was to reduce the amount of time it takes to open an account with us and also reduce the time it takes for them to avail of finance,” said Patrick Lynch, President & CEO of First Circle declares when asked how First Circle was built.

Legitimate means?

Eastern Communications product management and development head Mike Soriano

the transformation of business.

Mike Soriano, Eastern Communications product management and development head, echoed this challenge in his talk on connectivity and digital transformation, asking his audience to “begin with the end in mind”, citing author Steven Covey. He said it is through this clear objective that they can

FIRST CIRCLE FUELLING E-COMMERCE

According to Ben-Peretz, there is no phone on the market that is impossible to crack.

“Yes it is getting harder, it is getting more complex,” he said. “But we still deliver results and they are results on the latest devices and latest operating systems.”

Among the data the firm claims to be able to access are text messages deleted years previously.

“In some devices even if you would format the device and you would believe the data is deleted, still a significant portion of it exists,” Ben-Peretz added.

The company sells its products largely to police and law enforcement agencies across the globe, though also increasingly to private firms doing corporate investigations.

It has seen particularly high growth in Asia, multiple times the 15 percent global growth rate, Ben-Peretz said without providing specific numbers. AFP

GETTING READY FOR PH'S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THE country’s top information technology agents came together during the CIO Summit 2016 to vouch for digital transformation in business.

Executive Networks Media and IDC Philippines, together with lead partner, Eastern Communications, organized the whole-day affair for chief information officers and senior IT officials from all over Asia.

The team opened the floor for discussion on the importance of investing in technology and hosted the exchanges on groundbreaking topics such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, business optimization, and other technological disruptions unfolding in the Philippines.

Sudev Bangah, IDC country manager for Indonesia and Philippines, opened the summit by presenting the foremost challenge for the country’s digitalization today: the top-level struggle between CIOs and chief executive officers, and reconciling their visions for technology and business.

“Digitalization means creating new business models, opening new opportunities, and generating ROIs never had before.

While most of the CIOs in this country are extremely talented, having that understanding of business is key to realizing these advantages,” Bangah said.

“Philippine CEOs are aggressive, 60% of them want to help you and get involved in the digital transformation,” Bangah added as he invited his audience of CIOs to lead

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

identify the opportunities taking form in the country today.

Reaching the cloud for business

The CIO attendees weighed on the feasibility and challenges of digitally-transformed business during the breakout discussions.

Panelist-experts from IT companies and service providers offered solutions to the top executives, sharing technology hindrances and opportunities.

LBC Inc. senior vice president and head of IT Alfie Deato and Eastern Communications marketing head Alfredo Solis also talked about cloud computing as they engaged the daring proposition and addressed the infrastructure gap noted by the table of IT executives from the academia, industry, and government sectors.

Deato shared LBC’s business model of nationwide delivery systems, while Solis explained the technologies out in the market. The survey on cloud computing highlighted the crucial role of developing reliable, customized internet connections in delivering outcomes for growth, as the roundtable audience shared the intent to move further into the digital world.

IDC Philippines operations head Jubert Alberto affirms this trend as he noted that, even with some CEOs still keeping to their established methods of success and having reservations on investing heavily in technology, more are recognizing its inevitability.

Alberto explained that there is a general consensus on the cost of lagging behind innovations, “The CEOs have to imagine themselves as their customers.

If they don’t ride technology’s wave of change, then they lose so much of the market and, of course, the business.”

Officials of First Circle at their PH headquarters—Tony Ennis, CTO; Patrick Lynch, president and CEO, and Timothy Glynn, CFO

First Circle’s cornerstones are built on its promise to enable SMEs by providing them access to financing in the most convenient way.

“The full end-to-end solution from the moment a consumer engages with us is done online. There is no paper exchanged. This also allows us to have great control in the customer journey” added Ly. In contrast, what takes 14 hours on average to complete for manual applications to traditional institutions takes only 2-3 minutes with First Circle’s proprietary-built secured system.

The development of this financial technology leapfrogs decades of struggles of SMEs to find access to finance.

“Building a wonderful technology stack has been geared towards improving availability of finance to small businesses” said Tony Ennis, Chief Technology Officer for First Circle.

First Circle points to the fact that the Philippine economy is growing at a 6% annual rate. With a 95% return rate for its customers and loan offers returned in under 24 hours for approved applicants, it surely is making huge strides in reshaping how small businesses in the Philippines can expand their wings. Randy Caluag

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Gadgets & Games

FOCAL OUT TO CONQUER LOCAL AUDIO INDUSTRY

The Sphear, Spirit One S, Spirit Classic and Spirit Professional are the result of a risky challenge: to offer an audio experience worthy of the brand’s high-fidelity loudspeakers through these line of premium headphones.

Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

A

byword in the home and automotive audio industry, Focal of France recently unveiled its latest line of earphones, headphones and home audio systems at the Edsa Shangri-La. Johann Tiu of Focal Multimedia said that the earphones and headphones reflect the company’s core values that combine technological innovation, audio excellence and quality that have made the brand the benchmark in the audio industry.

With production based in Focal’s high technology lab in Saint-Etienne, France, the Sphear, Spirit One S, Spirit Classic and Spirit Professional are the result of a risky challenge: to offer an audio experience worthy of the brand’s high-fidelity loudspeakers through these line of premium headphones.

Focal design and audio engineers crafted the line of new audio products to individually meet the requirements of the target market.

The Focal Sphear breaks with conventions and proves that high-fidelity, in-ear headphones can be

used for hours on end without the slightest discomfort!

Sphear is faithful to Focal’s historic acoustic signature, the“Spirit of Sound,” with a particularly rich mid-range, which is never muffled, accurate and with clear sound. It is extremely faithful to the original work, and offers harmonic richness, from the low end to the high end, for true listening pleasure.

Thanks to their unbeatable performance in this price category, Sphear is the most accomplished in-ear headphones to date, the most comfortable and the most generous for getting the most out of your music, wherever you are.

Spirit One S was developed to take full advantage of Focal’s technological advancements and the company’s expertise.

I t is destined for all those who are searching for more than just

Focal Sphear

Spirit Professional

a stylish product, but also for real acoustic equipment.

For the discerning audiophile, Focal’s Spirit Classic headphones offer a warm sound combined with the dynamics of the drivers, enabling one to find the pleasure of listening to music with all the wonderful details.

Spirit Classic’s sound tuning is perfect for listening at home: extended low end, a detailed mid-range and linear top end for a lighter, open sound--just what you would expect from Focal. Spirit Classic gives its best when the user is at home in a relatively quiet background. There is no need to mask the surrounding noise to enjoy a faithful listening session. Its frequency response curve has been sculpted accordingly: flat in low frequencies as Spirit Classic has around 3dB less bass in comparison to Spirit One. For the professional, who demands the absolute best, Focal’s Spirit Professional headphones have been specifically designed to meet the expectations and requirements of Recording Studios, Home Studios and

Broadcasting Studios.

The extreme care paid to the design of the Mylar-Titanium alloy driver enables it to combine rigidity, lightness and high damping properties to preserve the dynamics of the audio signal and provide remarkably neutral sound without any distortion.

The highly accurate reproduction of bass frequencies will reveal the smallest defects in the mix, while avoiding acoustic constraints of the workspace.

Spirit Professional offers excellent acoustic insulation to address the constraints of the often noisy environments specific to Broadcasting and Home Studios.

Estimated prices for the Focal earphones and headphones start at P7,500 for the Sphear, Spirit One S at P12,000; Spirit Professional at P17,500 and the Spirit Classic at P20,250.

For details on how to experience audio nirvana, contact Focal Multimedia Philippines at 721-9742 or 0917-5754812 or e-mail at Waido. info@gmail.com

LENOVO GIVING AWAY TRAVEL VOUCHERS TO celebrate the coming holiday season, Lenovo, the company that brought the groundbreaking Yoga Book to the Philippines, will be giving away travel vouchers for every purchase of participating Lenovo products.

From now to Dec. 31, buyers of participating Lenovo products with Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors will be rewarded with P1,000 to P2,000 worth of travel vouchers, depending on the purchased product. The vouchers can be used to pay for domestic and international flights, baggage allowance, as well as in-flight meals with Lenovo’s partner airline.

Travel vouchers also await those who purchase the Lenovo PHAB 2 PLUS until Dec. 31.

“The year 2016 has been an unprecedented year for Lenovo as we launched two revolutionary products, the Yoga Book and Yoga 900. These two products perfectly embody our customers’ identity of being bold, energetic, and progressive,” said Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Michael Ngan. “Just like our products, this holiday campaign is suited for our consumers who never stand still in the pursuit of continuous improvement and innovation.”

For every purchase of participating Intel Core i3 products, consumers will be given a travel voucher worth P1,000, while P1,500 and P2,000 worth of travel vouchers await those who purchase participating Intel Core i5 and i7 products, respectively.

P1,000 worth of travel vouchers goes to the buyers of the Lenovo PHAB 2 PLUS. All vouchers may be claimed at the designated claiming centers in Metro Manila, and for those who shopped in the provinces, the vouchers will be sent via courier.

Some of the participating products include the popular Lenovo Yoga series, such as the Lenovo Yoga 510-15 and Lenovo Yoga 900-13 which can get a buyer 2,000 pesos worth of travel voucher for each purchase, and the IdeaPad 500 and 510 series.

Desktop PCs are also part of the promo such as the Lenovo IdeaCentre 300S. “Aside from giving them a free getaway, through this holiday promo we also hope to impart to our loyal customers Lenovo’s ‘Never Stand Still’ mindset which is ingrained into all our products—the attitude of constantly seeking new experiences and consistent progress by always moving forward,” added Ngan.

For a full list of Lenovo’s participating stores, please visit Lenovo Philippines on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

POWER MAC CENTER WELCOMES IPHONE 7

Power Mac Center brand ambassador Marc Nelson (third from left) leads the unboxing of the new iPhone 7 as his co-ambassadors Jay Contreras, Champ Lui Pio, and Cesca Litton look on.

PREMIER Apple partner Power Mac Center staged the highly anticipated launch of the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 2 at midnight of Nov. 11.

The event, which was held at Power Mac Center Greenbelt 3 in Makati City and graced by celebrity brand ambassadors, saw people lining up as early as 11 a.m. on Nov. 10 to be among the first to get their hands on the new devices.

The first 22 customers who bought the iPhone 7 during the special midnight shopping event

also took home up to P15,000 worth of freebies including PAL Mabuhay Miles credits, Adam Elements iKlips iOS storage, Urban Armor Gear rugged case, thecoopidea™ lightning cable, Whoosh cleaning kit, Belkin screen protector, and Bobino cable organizer. The rest of the midnight buyers also received a PhP 500-worth gift card from Power Mac Center. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus SRPs at Power Mac Center: iPhone 7 32GB – P37,990; iPhone 7 128GB – P43,990; iPhone 7 256GB – P49,990;

iPhone 7 Plus 32GB – P44,990; iPhone 7 Plus 128GB – P50,990; iPhone 7 Plus 256GB – P56,990.

Flexible payment terms are also available for: BPI and PNB

credit cardholders can get them at 0% interest for up to 24 months.

For other major credit cards: available at 0% interest for up to 3 months only.

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Young Life

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Isah V. Red, Editor / Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com.ph

Emma Watson at MoMA 9th Annual Film Benefit (photo from @biancaxmoran)

IRON MAN

FLIES TO HONG KONG

By Bernadette Lunas

T

ONY STARK, the eminent philanthropist and innovator, has selected Hong Kong to host Stark Expo, where he will show off his latest high-tech creations. He has also chosen the country to be Stark Industries’ Asian headquarters.

But action follows Stark wherever he goes, so he must don his powerful suit of armor and assume his character as Iron Man to fight the evil forces of Hydra above the Hong Kong skyline.

This is not a plot for a new Iron Man movie, but the story of Hong Kong Disneyland’s first Marvel-themed ride Iron Man Experience, which will open on Jan. 11, 2017.

The much-awaited attraction, which was three years in the making, will bring guests to a heroic flight with the iron-clad superhero.

“The Iron Man Experience is a unique immersive motion experience using Hong Kong as the story background for the very first time. We are proud to give local and overseas guests a different perspective and experience of Hong Kong while promoting our vibrant city to the world at the same time,” shares Hong Kong Disneyland Resort executive vice president and managing director Samuel Lau. Iron Man Experience features flight simulators, 3D projection, surround sound and other special effects that will immerse guests in the Marvel story. The fly-through ride will also serve as a sort of Hong Kong tour as elements of the country are injected to the attraction.

“After putting on a pair of StarkVision glasses and taking off on Stark Industries’ special Expo-edition Iron Wing (which can accommodate 45 people), guests will make their way to the Hong Kong Stark Tower powered by the arc reactor and whizz alongside Iron Man through streets that resemble those in West Kowloon and downtown, and fly over iconic Hong Kong landmarks like Tsing Ma Bridge, Victoria Harbour and the city’s pristine mountain ranges,” said Disneyland Resort in a press release.

Aside from the Iron Wing ride, which is essentially a large Iron Man suit, the Iron Man Experience extends to the various exhibition halls—the Hall of Legacy, the Hall of Protection, the Hall of Energy, and the Hall of Mobility—featuring Stark’s latest and greatest products.

Other Iron Man-themed experiences were unveiled at Tomorrowland in the run up to the grand launch of the Stark Expo.

The Expo Shop offers over 70 HK Disneyland exclusive Iron Man merchandise and more than 250 Marvel memorabilia, among them collectibles and toys, glowing key chains, souvenirs as well as apparels and accessories. Some of the exclusive apparels at the shop feature Hong Kong’s postcard-perfect scenery or Stark Expo themes.

Further, Iron Man fans get to try on their favorite superhero’s armor suit in the interactive game Become Iron Man at The Stark

Expo. Through interactive motion-sensing technology, guests can experience the various functions of the armor and feel what it is like to be a supehero as they fight the forces of evil.

The park and hotel restaurants, meanwhile, have prepared more than 25 Iron Man inspired food and beverage choices such as Iron Man Waffle, Iron Man stein, Iron Man desserts at Chef Mickey Buffet and Iron Man beverages served at the resort’s two hotels.

Scan this icon to view the PDF

EMMA WATSON WEARS SUSTAINABLE FILIPINODESIGNED SHOES

HARRY POTTER star and United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson strutted the red carpet of the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) 9th Annual Film Benefit wearing a pair of heels made by Los Angeles-based Filipino designer and restaurateur Bianca Moran.

The black shoes seen on the feet of the new Disney Princess—Watson will play Belle in Disney’s upcoming movie Beauty and the Beast—are from SUSI Studio, a footwear brand that designs vegan and sustainable shoes for the modern woman.

“Tuesday night was pretty monumental for me, for @susistudio. The inspiring @emmawatson wore our shoes to Chanel’s film benefit at MoMA. Someone pinch me. #LongLiveHermione,” Moran wrote on her Instagram post.

Watson is a known advocate of sustainable and environmentfriendly fashion. In this year’s Met Gala for instance, she wore a Calvin Klein Eco Age gown made from recycled plastic bottles.

The 26-year-old British actress wore the Hey Simone, a pair of three-inch heels made of recycled microsuede and rubber, from SUSI Studio’s Summer collection. The sleek shoes perfectly matched Watson’s silk black dress, black choker, low bun and minimal makeup look for the event.

Hey Simone is named after French philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir, a fitting choice for a women’s rights advocate like Watson. “Hey Simone is designed for women on their never-ending quest for form and function with just the right mount of lift,” SUSI Studio said on its website.

Emma Watson’s patronage of the lifestyle company’s product affirms Moran’s advocacy to promote conscious living. SUSI Studio was born to bridge the gap in the fashion industry for versatile, cruelty-free footwear.

Moran aims to show women that they “should never compromise their femininity or personal style in order to uphold their values.”

The Filipina designer and entrepreneur also owns the SUSI Green Gastronomy, a plantbased restaurant, deli and bakery in Burgos Circle.

TONY STARK IN ASIA. Hong Kong Disneyland welcomes 2017 with the opening of its first Marvel-themed attraction, the Iron Man Experience.

Hey Simone in black (photo from susistudio.com)

Young Life

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

A skateboarder showcases his moves

SKATEBOARD SHOWDOWN AMATEUR Filipino skateboarders from across the country had an adrenaline-charged showdown of moves and tricks at Circuit Makati for the second staging of Mountain Dew’s Dew Tour AM Series in the Philippines.

“We had a great time when we held the Dew Tour AM Series for the first time in the Philippines last year,” shared PepsiCo Flavors Category Manager Katrina Paras.

The face-off on Nov. 20 to 21 brought the winners of three grassroots events, called bootcamps, that took place in Laguna, Cebu and Davao to the skate park in Makati City.

Paras said the decision to add bootcamps for the first time this year was aimed to invite more skateboarders outside Metro Manila to showcase their talent at the international competition.

Mak Feliciano, Rasheed Al Rasheed and Rap Santos are the named Dew Tour AM Series winners. The first placer will represent the Philippines to the Dew Tour USA, one of the biggest and mostawaited events for skaters around the world. He also took home P75,000 in cash.

“Skateboarding earned a unique energy and color over the years and Mountain Dew is proud that it has become a part of the growing momentum through the Dew Tour AM Series,” enthused Paras.

Prior to the competition, Mountain Dew brought its professional skateboarders Theotis Beasley, Chris Colbourn and Reemo Pearson. The three skating legends performed their best tricks to inspire Pinoy participants and show their support for the local skateboarding community.

“The Philippine skate scene has overwhelming energy and I am really glad that I was able to witness an extraordinary display of talent,” said Beasley. “I hope skaters here will sustain the skating passion which is growing around the world.”

For more information about the Manila Dew Tour AM Series, visit Mountain Dew Philippines’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mountaindewPH/.

6 THINGS YOUR COLDPLAY IN MANILA VIP TICKET CAN BUY

F

ILIPINO fans of Coldplay were ecstatic when the band announced that the Philippines is included in their A Head Full of Dreams Asia tour. The Manila leg is happening on April 4, 2017. But the excitement was extinguished as quickly as it came when the ticket prices were announced.

Those who want to see the British rock band up close in Manila have to shell out P22,500 in cold cash for a VIP ticket. Nobody said it was easy, right?

However, it seems like many are willing to spend that much money as tickets for the much-awaited concert were fought over and immediately sold out.

While we don’t think it’s wrong to spend 22 grand on a concert ticket—didn’t they say we should spend more on experience?—we have a few suggestions of other things that you can do with that amount of money other than see a band perform eight songs live (this is especially helpful if you weren’t able to score a ticket, not even General Admission).

3 years of Netflix subscription

With a monthly subscription of only P550, your P22,500 can get you 40 months or more than three years of premium subscription to Netflix. And the best thing is, you can share this subscription on four gadgets.

Now you no longer have to borrow your friend’s Netflix account just so you can re-watch the first season of Stranger Things or check out the new A Series of Unfortunate Events.

296 bottles of below-zero-degree beer

Drink your feelings because you weren’t able to see Coldplay perform in Manila live. Or better yet, invite friends and have a party because your P22,500 can buy 12 cases of 330ml Red Horse beer colder than your heart at BBZ restaurant in Poblacion, Makati.

We strongly suggest, though, that you drink 296 bottles of beer in one sitting.

An iPhone 7 postpaid line

Yes, you can have the hottest gadget at the moment with your VIP ticket-appropriated money. Get an iPhone 7 through a postpaid plan with any of the country’s major carriers.

For P22,100 cashout, you can take home a 128gb unit. You can then use the remainder of your money on phone accessories.

6 visits to Spiral buffet

Treat yourself six times to a gustatory trip at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila’s Spiral restaurant buffet, dubbed as one of the best buffets in the country. Because for P3,499 nett per person, you get to enjoy different cuisines all in one place.

But because some things are better when shared, why not invite five companions and see who among you can get the most out of his visit to the famed buffet.

A business franchise

3days/2nights Sagada tour for 7

Even if you’re not at the MOA grounds, you can still sing along to your favorite Coldplay songs in a cold place up in the mountains for three days.

For roughly P3,150 per person, you can see the stunning mountain ranges, revel in magnificent rock formations and try spelunking, among others, in Sagada with six of your closest friends.

Instead of being someonewho-saw-Coldplay-perform-inManila-live, why not be a businessman? Your P22,500 can actually be used to start a new business or buy a small franchise.

Look for opportunities and invest your money in something that you believe in. This way, your hard-earned cash has a chance to grow when managed properly.

Chris Martin would be so proud of you.

NO TICKET? NO PROBLEM. Wonder where P22,500—the price of Coldplay in Manila VIP ticket—can take you?

Dew Tour AM Series returns to Circuit Makati for the second time this November

In Sagada or at Spiral restaurant, for instance. Photo of Coldplay from @coldplay Twitter account; beer bottles from BBZ Manila; Kiltepan Peak from sagada.org; Spiral buffet from spiralmanila.com

Showbiz

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016

E3

LEE MIN HO IS BACK

KATHRYN AND DANIEL AS SUPERNATURAL BEINGS IN

‘LA LUNA SANGRE’

and Imortal, which both previously starred Angel Locsin with Piolo Pascual and then with John Lloyd Cruz, respectively.

In a Twitter post by Boy Abunda, he confirmed that Locsin will also be part of the cast of the KathNiel starrer TV project.

Meanwhile, the network has not officially released the plot of the upcoming series but based on the premise of Imortal and Lobo, La Luna Sangre’s story will revolve around the lives and conflicts between vampires and werewolves. It will also be a more mature material compared to the couple’s previous works.

The series will be KathNiel’s sixth TV project together and 12th overall earning them the distinction as one of the most successful onscreen tandems of their generation.

But even with limited information on the upcoming series, KathNiel fans unleashed their creativity through fan-made posters featuring their idols. And most of them, which were posted immediately after the trade event, appeared to have borrowed inspiration from the Twilight movie series. And while fans hype up the series, it’s also hard not to notice the detractors that compare the series to rival network’s ongoing fantasy series Encantadia. It features four “Sang’gres,” which the series describes as Diwata of royal blood, and who as such possesses special powers and destinies above those of a common Diwata.

N o n e t h e l e s s , La Lu n a Sangre, which directly means “the blood moon” in English, remains as one of the most anticipated programs lined up for next year.

By Nickie Wang

K

ATHRYN Bernardo and Daniel Padilla have come a long way from the very first time we noticed their chemistry in Princess & I, also the first series where they worked together as an onscreen partner.

It’s interesting to note though that their first meeting was a bit off, the onscreen couple said in their previous interviews that there was no spark when they were initially introduced to each other. But of course, that awkward first meeting is now irrelevant as the couple has an undeniable chemistry that most of their fans love.

Now, following the box office success of their film Barcelona and their television soap Pangako Sa ‘Yo in 2015, Kathryn and Daniel , otherwise known as KathNiel by their legion of fans, will soon top bill a series dubbed as Kapamilya’s biggest TV project for 2017.

The announcement was made on Nov. 22 during the network’s Christmas Trade Launch at the Marriot Grand Ballroom.

As soon as the news reached their fans the hashtag “lalunasangre” instantly snatched the top spot in the trending topic list on Twitter on Tuesday.

La Luna Sangre is the working title of the series that will star KathNiel sometime next year.

It was revealed that the upcoming romantic fantasy drama is the sequel to the series Lobo

Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo return to the small screen via the fantasy series ‘La Luna Sangre,’ which is scheduled to air sometime next year

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Sunday, November 27, 2016

ACROSS 1 Euro casualty 6 Gets tired 11 Parcels out 16 Football coach Mike — 21 Mercutio’s pal 22 — renewal 23 Hunger for 24 Tatum or Ryan 25 Push and shove 26 Shake awake 27 Comic-strip warrior 28 Esteem 29 “Livin’ Thing” gp.

30 Continue (2 wds.)

32 FYI notes 34 Peau de — 36 Insect resin 37 Spy’s file 39 Bay transport 40 Snooty attitude 41 Garage sale tag (2 wds.)

42 California fort 43 Can’t stand 44 Relaxed in the pool 46 Bar companion 49 Foreshadowed 50 Bounding — 51 Jungle scavengers 55 Drift here and yon 56 Beau 57 What the hen did 58 Flow from 59 Teahouse attire 60 Blokes 61 Stubbornness 62 Calories’ kin 63 Do yardwork 64 Cecil and Prince 66 Hoist 67 Rocket trajectories 68 It may be spliced 69 Toughed it out 70 Refresh the fern 71 Ho-hum 72 Sniffed at 73 Rank above maj.

74 Beatles hit 76 Jigger 77 REM phenomenon 80 Baby goats 81 Have the nerve 82 Less obvious 86 Tosses out 87 Fall guys 88 Dose the dog 89 Actress Shirley — 90 Arith. mean 91 Dunaway of films 92 Yegg’s target 93 In poor taste 94 Refrain syllables 95 Wildflower habitats 97 Abyss 98 Carefree adventures 99 London art gallery

100 101 102 103 104 106 107 108 111 112 113 117 118 119 120 121 122 124 126 128 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137

Posh hotel lobby Boone, informally Croupiers’ tools Aspect Goofs (hyph.)

Wives, to lawyers Part of RSVP Scout for trout Tempt Doesn’t just sip Steakhouse order Arab outer garment Vast number Piano pro Speck of dust Jackie’s tycoon Bamboo swordplay Has status Alphabetic quintet Kind of gloves Wolfed down Small pleasure Pancake go-with Boadicea’s people Hazy conditions Strangely Double curves Mid-afternoon

DOWN 1 Turned loose 2 Rich boy in “Nancy” 3 Pulpits 4 Opposite of “paleo” 5 Rodeo miss 6 Turmoil 7 Hubbard of sci-fi (2 wds.)

8 Monkey in “Aladdin” 9 Utility gauge (2 wds.)

10 Was disdainful 11 “Star Trek” doctor 12 Mythical archer 13 Neutral shade 14 Tax no-no 15 Pedro’s wife 16 Went in headfirst 17 — — flash 18 Recounts 19 Hawaiian island 20 Baldwin and Waugh 31 U.K. lexicon 33 Bride’s title 35 Land bridge 38 Type of survivor 39 Withers away 40 Put — — on it!

41 Yemeni port 43 Cagers’ goals 44 Go belly-up 45 Falcon nestling 46 Composer Ferde — 47 Herald of spring 48 Vine-covered 49 Piece of lumber 50 Beer ingredient 52 Appoints 53 Repair a wrong

54 Stitched 56 Bicycle part 57 Headed skyward (2 wds.)

58 Draw on glass 60 Data holder (hyph.)

61 Into the sunset 62 Donkey serenade 65 “Star Wars” director 66 Whisper loudly 67 Botanist’s wings 68 Must, informally 70 Some T-shirts 71 House ad abbr.

72 Selflessly 74 Egad!

75 Red on the inside 76 Fixes a shirttail 77 Video category 78 Bolt for a girder 79 — Lee Masters 80 Starr and Kyser 82 Gives the pink slip 83 Delicate hue 84 Related to mom 85 Stopwatch button 87 Wood processor 88 Partition 89 Oats enthusiasts 91 Bad-smelling

92 93 96 97 98 99 101 102 103 105 106 107 108 109 110 112 113 114 115 116 118 119 120 123 125 127 129

Catches some rays Walks off with Potluck choice Stare at Eels Like most cagers Scott’s “Quentin —” Software version Romantic, perhaps — Rico Good times Perch Phonies Steel joist (hyph.)

— Domingo Windy Tureen contents Lone Ranger movie Castle that danced Undeliverable mail Daughters’ brothers River duck Wry face Univ. offering Koppel of the news W-2 collectors Fritz’s sigh

FOR Koreanovela fans, especially those who follow Korean superstar Lee Min Ho, the actor is back on the boob tube with the highly anticipated series called The Legend of the Blue Sea. The series that tells the love story of a mortal man with a mermaid is part of the lineup of primetime programs scheduled to air next year on ABS-CBN. The announcement was made during the Christmas Trade Launch of the network where new and upcoming shows were unveiled to the public.

Inspired by a classic Joseon legend from Korea’s first collection of unofficial historical tales about a fisherman who captures and releases a mermaid, this drama tells the love story between the son of a Joseon noble family named Damlim (Lee Min-ho) and a mermaid named Shim Chung (Jun Ji-hyun).

Shim Chung finds herself transplanted to modern times. She is caught by Heo Joon-jae, a charming but cold con artist who is the doppelganger of Dam-lim. But in the present time, Joon-jae works with Jo Nam-doo (Lee Hee-joon), a skilled conman who guides Joonjae to become a genius scammer.

Coincidentally, Joon-Jae’s junior, Cha Shi-ah (Shin Hye-sun), who works as a researcher at KAIST, may be Shim Chung’s only hope for surviving in her strange new world.

Currently being shown in South Korea, the series is now on its fifth episode and made a historical premiere telecast according to AGB Nielsen and TMnS Ratings, two of the most reliable ratings provider in that country.

While the series show a very strong debut, it was also swept with a few controversies surrounding its plot. Viewers of the show noticed uncanny similarities between the cinematography of the drama and the British TV series Sherlock. Some viewers also compare it to the 1984 movie Splash.

The plot of Splash revolves around a successful young businessman who falls in love with a mermaid who saved him from drowning in the ocean.

Likewise, The Legend of the Blue Sea focuses on a genius con man that falls in love with the last mermaid on earth.

Perhaps these accusations will be immaterial once Lee Min Ho fans finally see the series air on TV. Besides, they will watch the drama not because of the story but because of the actor to begin with.

Korean superstar Lee Min Ho

E4

Showbiz

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

WILL THE MILLENNIALS WATCH

MMFF MAGIC 8?

By Nickie Wang

A

REPORTER took to Instagram to air his sentiments on the films that made the official list of Metro Manila Film Festival this year. The scribe said that these films can encourage people to have meaningful discussions after watching them.

VIRAL

GOING CRAZY OVER

PIA AND LIZA

LOOK-ALIKES

Given that films are generally made to entertain audience, the scribe rather contradicts the real purpose of the MMFF and the big screen entertainment in general. First, you don’t watch a comedy, an action, a drama, a fantasy or a thriller film for that matter then sit down with your friends and family members to dissect the film as if you’re doing a film review. That doesn’t just happen in real life. In reality, moviegoers would just ask: How was it? And you would get an instantaneous response: It was lit, it was good…you should watch it. You may also get this response: The film was bad, you can watch it but don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Similarly, audience would not look for hidden symbolism, thoroughly analyze a film’s characterization and delve into the conflict it presents. Unless, the viewers are part of the academe or a group of people who passionately do film critiques or discussions, then it’s easy to understand where they are coming from.

This general idea, however, does not validate Mother Lily Monteverde’s claim that all her films are entertaining or Vice Ganda’s statement that all of his films are of high quality. The viewing public, although in high spirits during Christmas season, still think and can determine whether or not the film offered is worth their money.

In this year’s list though, Vince, Kath and James, Die Beautiful and the sequel to Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank come as the frontrunners based on their commercial appeal. The moviegoers already have the idea of the kind of big screen entertainment these films can provide as they seem to be easy to digest unlike the other films that made the list in this year Tagalog film fest.

We understand that for the longest time there has been an antagonistic relationship between indies and mainstream. While indies are regarded for their creativity and substance, mainstream movies are known for their commercial appeal. Marrying the two is possible, there are a few indie films that were able to make it big at the tills and at the same time win the approval of the critics for keeping their purity and for successfully

Pia Wurtzbach look-alike Glenn Krishnan

battling the constant restriction they face in terms of budget and marketing.

While we can hurl all the negative remarks on mainstream movies like shallow and contrive, in the spirit of fairness, have provided general public a good kind of entertainment.

It’s a challenge for big production outfits to explore edgy territories, which indies have masterfully perfected, because at the end of the day, movie making for the mass is a business venture. A production company wouldn’t release a product that wouldn’t sell.

In this respect, don’t challenge or even insult the intelligence of the moviegoers specially the millenials who comprise a big percentage of the movieoing public. They know exactly what they want as evidenced by the type of films that emerge successful at the box office and in the hearts of the more discerning viewers.

So, going back to the question posted above, whether or not the millennials would watch all of these films come Christmas season…the answer is maybe. If your idea of a Christmas movie is something that presents poverty porn, made with limited budget, a story not commonly discussed by mainstream cinema, or a film project created by someone who is frustrated to tap mainstream audience but miserably failed, please don’t count us in.

Perhaps, if the movie is presented by Cinemalaya, which is known as venue to this alternative cinema, then the answer would be a resounding yes.

And maybe, the meaningful and critical conversation the scribe has pointed out may finally happen.

THE idea of having a doppelganger somewhere in the world is both fascinating and creepy. But it seems that recent celebrity look-alike discoveries ensues some interesting discussions online.

The internet is abuzz because of the model that looks almost the same as 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.

Her name is Glenn Krishnan.

Krishnan is a student from the University of Sto. Tomas and also works as a fashion model. She is born to a Filipino mom and an Indian-Singaporean dad. Her sister is FEU courtside reporter Ganiel Krishnan who also recently represented the country at Miss Asia Pacific International 2016.

After netizens saw her photos, they got reminded right away of the reigning Miss Universe saying that Krishnan would pass as Wurtzbach’s twin sister.

The online world noticed that Krishnan resembles the beauty queen’s deep-set eyes, full lips, and tantalizing stare.

Meanwhile, another teen darling is making the wired community amused and surprised. Her photos became viral when netizens noticed her striking similarities to Kapamilya actress Liza Soberano.

Sixteen-year-old Nancy Mcdonie is one of the contestants of Finding the Momoland, a reality show in Korea. As of now, the young lady is a Duble Kick trainee which is under the Duble Kick Entertainment.

Nancy McDonie a.k.a South Korea’s Liza Soberano