Manila Standard - 2016 December 18 - Sunday

DUTERTE TO SEIZE LAM ASSETS; BLAMES AQUINO

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte threatened on Saturday to sequester the assets of gambling tycoon Jack Lam and blamed deceased former President Corazon Aquino for issuing a license that allowed the Hong Kong mogul to cheat the government for so long.

“I’ll be sequestering all of his properties. All. Why? [Because] he cheated on us,” Duterte told journalists in Davao City upon his arrival from a state visit to Singapore early Saturday morning. “[Jack Lam] was parlaying a permit that was given him by Corazon Aquino.

He was paying just one percent,’’ he said.

“P***** i**, maswerte ka [Son of a

b*****, you’re lucky]. While all the others are paying 10 percent, [you only pay that much] all these years and when you talk in public it’s as if everybody in government is in your pocket,” Duterte added.

Duterte made the remark two days after Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairperson Andrea Domingo said the administration of former

President Corazon Aquino granted Lam a perpetual license that covered Lam’s casinos in Laoag City and the Clark Freeport.

“That’s the license that he got, co-terminus with the life of Pagcor. So if [the corporate life of] Pagcor is extended and extended, the contracts are automatically extended,” Domingo said in an interview with radio station dzMM. Turn to A2

BUSINESS / C1

FILIPINO INVENTOR BUILDS OUTDOOR AIR-CON UNITS

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VOL. XXX • NO. 309 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD / B4

OBAMA TO SEND ‘CLEAR MESSAGE’ TO PUTIN

SHOWBIZ / E4

GMA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ‘THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS’ RETRIEVAL PROCEDURE. The US Navy released this photograph of an ocean probe similar to the one that was seized by the Chinese navy in the South China Sea. AFP

CHINA SUB SEIZES US NAVAL PROBE

W

ASHINGTON—China “unlawfully” seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing’s military presence in the disputed area.

The underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay late Thursday in a non-violent incident, said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

The event unfolded as the civilian-crewed USNS Bowditch was

retrieving a pair of “naval gliders” that routinely collect information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity.

A Chinese Dalang-III class submarine rescue ship then stopped within 500 yards (meters) of the Bowditch and snatched one of the probes.

The Americans safely hoisted the other one back onto their ship.

Davis said he could not recall another time when something like this has happened, and the Pentagon issued a statement calling on Beijing to “immediately” return the probe that it had “unlawfully seized.”

The US personnel “were asking over bridge-to-bridge radio to please leave it there,” Davis said.

Other than a brief acknowledgment that it had received the message, the Chinese ship did not respond.

“The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: ‘We are returning to

normal operations,’” Davis said.

Washington has issued a formal request through diplomatic channels to ask for the probe back.

“It is ours. It is clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again,” Davis said.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said China had acted unlawfully.

“The UUV [unmanned underwater vehicle] is a sovereign immune vessel of the United States.

We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law,” Cook said in a statement.

Turn to A2

‘BYE BYE AMERICA,’ DIGONG SAYS AFTER MCC BROUHAHA PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte threatened Saturday to end a military pact with the United States in a “tit-for-tat” response to American aid being deferred because of concerns about his deadly crime war.

Duterte reacted angrily to the announcement by the US government this week that a decision on a multi-year aid package potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars had been put off.

“Bye bye America,” Duterte said, after threatening to end a 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement that gives the legal framework for US troops in the Philippines.

“Tit-for-tat. If you can do this, so do we, it ain’t one-way traffic.”

The American Millennium Challenge Corporation announced this week that a

decision had been deferred over whether to continue giving aid, after an initial five-year package worth more than $430 million expired in May. “This decision reflects the Board’s significant concerns around rule of law and civil liberties in the Philippines,” US embassy spokeswoman Molly Koscina said on Thursday.

The US government set up the Millennium Challenge Corporation to promote economic growth and reduce poverty around the world.

However, countries can only qualify if they “demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in its people, and economic freedom,” according to the corporation’s website.

Turn to A2

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MALL-SIDE FAIR. A young man tries to get stuffed toy at a stall outside a Pasay City mall on Saturday by setting a bottle upright with a pole and string. Ey Acasio

S

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TRUMP VOWS NEW TACK IN GLOBAL RELATIONS WASHINGTON—United States President-elect Donald Trump has once again promised a different US foreign policy approach under his leadership.

“Our foreign policy needs a new direction,” Trump said at a Friday thank you rally in Orlando, Florida, stressing that “instead of rebuilding foreign nations it’s time to rebuild our own nation.”

The president-elect emphasized that US “interventions” abroad must stop.

“A Trump administration will focus on vital national security interests,” he told the Orlando crowd.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump advocated for a more isolationist foreign policy than that of President Barack Obama and recent administrations.

Trump’s inauguration will take place on January 20.

Trump made the foreign policy pronouncement as outgoing President Obama warned his successor against provoking a “very significant” response from China by reaching out to Taiwan.

Trump has broken with four decades of US diplomacy by suggesting Washington’s “One China” stance may be reviewed and by accepting a call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.

Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has already expressed anger at Trump’s move. Turn to A2

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

HK PINOYS ALSO HID SNOWDEN A FILIPINO family in Hong Kong were among the impoverished refugees who were asked to protect former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden who hid out in Hong Kong where he initiated one of the largest data leaks in US history, fuelling a firestorm over mass surveillance.

Vanessa Rodel said she has no regrets about taking Snowden in although she has been battling an international organization that was contracted by the Hong Kong government to take care of refugees.

Rodel, 46, says she hopes her case will lead to wider improvements for refugees in Hong Kong and dreams of a new home in Canada.

In the meantime, Vanessa says her four-year-old daughter Keana and elderly mother Rosalina will enjoy Christmas as best they can and decorated a tree at home. Keana says she is hoping for a toy pony.

“Next year my dream is to go to another country, for my safety, for my freedom,” says Rodel.

“I want to do good things for my daughter, and stand by myself.”

Rodel and other refugees initially had little idea of who Snowden was until their lawyer Robert Tibbo asked them to help protect Snowden.

“They just saw a man who was distressed and in need. They wanted to help,” he says.

Tibbo feels he owes them a “moral debt” and is determined to get them resettled abroad.

“But for these heroic families, I’m not sure Mr Snowden would have made it out,” says Tibbo.

The story of how impoverished refugees helped Snowden evade authorities in 2013 only emerged in September, propelling them into the media spotlight.

After leaving his initial hotel bolthole, Snowden went underground, fed and looked after by some of the city’s 11,000 marginalized refugees.

Snowden now lives in exile in Russia where he has sought asylum but the refugees remain in Hong Kong, desperately hoping for resettlement elsewhere.

Hong Kong is not a signatory to the UN’s refugee convention and does not grant asylum.

However, it is bound by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and considers claims for protection based on those grounds. It also considers claims based on risk of persecution.

Like Snowden’s hosts, many refugees spend years in limbo, hoping the government will support their claims.

After government screening, claimants found to be at risk of persecution are referred to UNHCR, which can try to resettle them to a safe third country.

But with fewer than one percent of cases successfully substantiated

by Hong Kong authorities, most refugees live in fear of deportation. AFP

CHINA ...

From A1

Davis said the seized vessel is off-the-shelf technology that is commercially available for about $150,000. Data it gathers are unclassified and can be used to help submarines navigate and determine sonar ranges in murky waters.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly infuriated Beijing, by questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening Chinese imports with punitive tariffs.

“This was very likely a highly planned and escalatory move to show China will not take matters lightly when it comes to” Trump, said Harry Kazianis, the director of defense studies at the conservative Center for the National Interest.

“Beijing is showing it has the capability to respond in a time and place of its choosing.”

Unless it is prepared to ramp up regional tensions, Washington has few options except to ask for the underwater vehicle back.

Senior Republican Senator John McCain said the United States should not tolerate “such outrageous conduct.”

“This brazen provocation fits a pattern of increasingly destabilizing Chinese behavior, including bullying its neighbors and militarizing the South China Sea,” McCain said.

“This behavior will continue until it is met with a strong and determined US response, which until now the Obama administration has failed to provide.” AFP

BUSY BACLARAN. Merchants and shoppers fill a street in Parañaque City’s Baclaran district eight days before Christmas. Ey Acasio

LET’S DEBATE, RODY TELLS CALLAMARD P

By John Paolo Bencito and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte insisted on a debate with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial and Summary Killings Dr. Agnes Callamard and rejected her suggestion that they just hold a press conference and a debriefing after her planned visit.

“No, I want it discussed on public so she can state her case. That’s what she did and I can refute her.

Because I will ask her, where did you get that garbage?” Duterte told reporters in Zamboanga City after he visited soldiers wounded in action.

Duterte also scored Callamard for trivializing the drug situation in the country. “The reason I’m mad is because they’re trivializing the four million [drug addicts] in the

Philippines,” Duterte said.

“They’re not Filipinos. I am a Filipino. They’re foreigners [and] that’s why they cannot understand the four million,” he added.

“I’ve been very open for about everything. What I said [was I’ll] destroy the apparatus of the drug menace. I’m not for punitive police action. I’m declaring war because there are many Filipinos who cannot seem to grasp the reality of the drug menace,” Duterte said.

‘BYE BYE...

From A1 The United States has been a vocal critic of Duterte’s war on drugs, which has claimed about 5,000 lives since he took office in late June, with President Barack Obama urging Duterte to prosecute it “the right way.”

The criticism has severely strained ties between the longtime allies, with Duterte angered at what he insists is unfair interference in the Philippines’ sovereign affairs.

Duterte has made repeated threats to downgrade or even end military and diplomatic ties, while moving to establish closer ties with US rivals China and Russia.

Duterte has already curtailed many of the war games held between the two nations in the Philippines.

Duterte on Saturday said he was hoping for bilateral relations to improve when US Presidentelect Donald Trump took office next year.

“I will just wait, I will let Obama fade away,” Duterte said in a long press conference in his hometown of Davao that began shortly after midnight when he returned from a state visit to Singapore.

But Duterte, a socialist who has said he admires the leadership styles of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, also signaled he would lead the Philippines away from the United States even with a friendly Trump as US president.

“I am not inclined to side with you [the United States] any more,” he said. AFP

Duterte made the remarks after Callamard dismissed as unacceptable the conditions imposed by the Philippine government for her to be allowed to investigate the growing number of deaths related to the war against drugs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had earlier said Callamard would be allowed to conduct her probe if she agrees to public debate with Duterte, to allow the President to question her or any member of her team and that she takes an oath to tell the truth before answering questions.

“As per the [UN Human Rights Council’s] code of conduct, I act in a manner consistent with my status at all times. This includes treating people with the utmost respect and offering them guarantees of confidentiality, respect and non-retaliation, while carefully interviewing them. These standards cannot be upheld when publicly debating these sensitive

matters,” she said in an email.

She instead suggested that she give Duterte a standard private debriefing at the end of her probe and hold a joint press conference with Duterte.

“This press briefing would be an opportunity for me to introduce briefly my preliminary findings and for the President to offer his own analysis, reply or rebuttal. Such a format would exclude debate between us, but allow the President to make immediately public his initial reactions to my preliminary findings should he so choose, and for me to uphold the principles that must guide my mission,” Callamard said.

Callamard said that her intended visit to the country only aims to examine the level of protection of the right to life in the Philippines, including in relation to the alleged extrajudicial killings in the context of the war on drugs.

DUTERTE...

TRUMP...

From A1

“Iyan lang ang may forever [That’s the only thing that lasts forever],” she added.

Domingo said Lam pays only a one percent tax for all junkets in Fontana resort—as opposed to the 10 percent paid by all other gaming operators—because he claims that he only gets gets 10 percent of earnings from foreign junkets in the casinos.

“Ten percent of 10 percent is 1 percent but it should be 10 percent of junket operations should go to Pagcor,” Domingo added.

When Pagcor lawyers wanted to renegotiate Lam’s license, the mogul’s lawyers agreed only to increase the tax to 7.5 percent but on the condition that junket gamblers, or the high rollers Lam brings in from abroad, also be allowed to bet in pesos.

Domingo said she disapproved the proposal because she knew as a lawyer that the Supreme Court ruling Lam’s lawyers were banking on was limited only to the manner of the earlier revocation of Lam’s contract and never ruled on the “perpetual license” granted to Lam.

From A1

Meanwhile, Duterte fired two of his fraternity brothers in the Lex Talionis of San Beda College of Law, Immigration Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, who were accused of extorting P50 million from Lam for the release of illegal Chinese workers.

“I have directed the dismissal of the two deputy commissioners now tainted with corruption,” he said. “They will face the full force of the law.”

Also dismissed from service was the bureau’s intelligence chief, retired police general Charles Calima.

“I give you my word: as president, I shall work tirelessly to assure all these [campaign] promises become a reality,” he added.

“So that this is the warning to everybody: If you have proof that anyone in the government is asking money from you, report it to me immediately. I will protect you if you tell me the truth. But if you are corrupt yourself, I will not wait.

You know I will not wait for the case to be filed,” he said.

Tension between the world’s two greatest powers is running high, as was underlined Thursday when Chinese sailors seized an unmanned US naval probe in the South China Sea. Obama, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for Trump, has taken a cautious stance with the Asian giant and urged the president-elect to proceed with care.

“The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation,” he told reporters at an end of year news conference at the White House.

“And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they’ll treat some other issues.

“This goes to the core of how they see themselves, and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant.” PNA/Sputnik

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NO MORE TUITION FEES IN PUBLIC TERTIARY LEVEL FROM AY 2017

By Joel E. Zurbano

GRATITUDE TO COUNTRYMEN. President Rodrigo Duterte thanks members of the Filipino community in Singapore during his visit—his first as President—at the Max Pavilion on Friday for their contribution to the Philippine economy.

PH TO WORK FOR FIRST PAN-ASIA TRADE DEAL T

By John Paolo Bencito

HE Philippines will shift gear in efforts to carry through a free trade deal with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with its six major trading partners when the country takes over the chairmanship of the 10-nation regional bloc next year.

In a media briefing, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country was working towards closing the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with other members of the Asean next year.

“We all look forward to a very good series of meetings in Asean, especially bringing to conclusion the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that we in Asean are all working for because that will include [Free Trade Agreements] with six partner countries of Asean,” Lopez said.

“You know RCep will involve Japan, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. Combined population would account for one-half of the world’s population. Combined economies would account for one-third of the world’s economy,” he added, cit-

15.4-HA LANDFILL ORDERED CLOSED PERMANENTLY CEBU CITY—The Court of Appeals Special 19th Division in Cebu City has granted the “writ of kalikasan” and ordered the permanent closure of the Cebu City Government-owned 15.4-hectare Inayawan Sanitary landfill until it is fully rehabilitated.

In its 25-page decision, the CA ordered Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to permanently cease and desist from dumping garbage or solid waste at the Inayawan landfill.

Penned by Associate Justice Edgardo L. delos Santos, the 19th Division chairperson, and concurred by Associate Justices Edward Contreras and Germano Francisco Legaspi, the decision also ordered Osmeña to continue the rehabilitation of the Inayawan landfill.

The Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 7 was directed to regularly monitor the Cebu City Government’s strict compliance with the CA’s decision.

The EMB-DENR 7 was the co-respondent of the case that includes EMB 7 OIC-Director William Cuñado, DENR 7 Director Emma Melana, in representation of DENR Secretary Gina Lopez.

In case of non-compliance, the EMBDENR 7 is directed to file or recommend the filing of appropriate criminal, civil and administrative charges before the proper authorities against the responsible persons.

The EMB-DENR 7 is also ordered to submit to the CA a monthly progress report on the Cebu City Government’s compliance until such time that the rehabilitation of Inayawan landfill is complete and sufficient according to the agency’s standards. PNA

ing the benefits of a revitalized trade under the China-led RCep. “So it’s really an important regional grouping for us in Asean, especially Philippines being part of this Asean RCep. And after several years of discussion, I think we have a good chance of getting to a conclusion and coming to an agreement by next year.”

With the United States becoming more protectionist under a Donald Trump presidency and given President Rodrigo Duterte’s foreign policy pivot towards a regional integration, his economic managers signified it was likely they would shelve plans to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership in favor of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—

the countries with which the Asean already has free trade agreements.

As the world’s first pan-Asia free trade deal, the RCep boasts a list of impressive statistics, like covering almost 30 percent of global gross domestic product and roughly half of the world’s population.

Unlike the TPP, Lopez said the RCep would be of importance to the country as part of the Asean, which accounts for over 20 percent of Philippine business, economy and trade.

“So it’s a big part of our economy, so it’s quite important that we really have that robust and vibrant trading arrangement, among the RCep countries,” the Trade chief added, citing the reliance of over 50 percent of Philippine trade to RCep member-economies.

With the Philippine chairmanship up next year, Lopez said the Philippines was trying to urge Singapore, and other Asean countries as well to “consider” signing up on the RCep. An online report by The Edge Markets quoted Citi analyst Kit Wei Zheng as saying the pivot to China within the Asean countries would continue to pick up speed.

In particular, Citi said Singapore would be the hardest hit among Asean countries as its estimates show that 8.4

percent of that country’s gross domestic product was exposed to the US, particularly in the services trade.

Vietnam would also be affected as it has an 8 percent exposure, followed by Malaysia with a 6.3 percent exposure, although the latter also relies heavily on China.

Even before an impending pivot to China, Asean has seen increasing FDIs from the Asian economic giant.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier said President Duterte made the right choice when he had apparently foreseen correctly the need to turn Asean’s attention toward China, the world’s second largest economy that wants to establish a larger economic presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The RCep was conceptualized about a decade ago but was launched only in November 2012.

Its membership of 15 Asian countries account for almost half of the world’s population, almost 30 percent of the global GDP and over a quarter of the world’s exports.

In terms of merchandise exports, RCep is larger than the TPP, as China’s exports of $2.3 trillion alone as of 2014 are larger than the combined exports of the US ($1.6 trillion) and Canada ($474 billion), the two lead members of the TPP.

SENATOR Ralph Recto on Saturday gave assurances all students enrolled in any state university and college in the country, including the University of the Philippines, will no longer pay tuition starting next school year.

He said the disbursement of the P8billion budget for free public college education and the implementation of its policy will not be affected by the present disarray in the Commission on Higher Education’s organization, the agency that will handle the budget.

Subordinates of CHED chairwoman Patricia Licuanan are calling for her resignation following a walkout during a national directorate meeting last Monday.

The CHED personnel also issued a manifesto of support for the Duterte administration and called for the ouster of Licuanan, recently barred by the President from attending Cabinet meetings.

“Even without a chairman, this will not affect the [free public college education] program,” said Recto.

Recto explained CHED, to which the P8 billion will be lodged, would not have to go through the individual records of every student enrolled in Suc. “This will not be retail spending on their part. All it has to do is to disburse to the 114 state universities and colleges the amount that their students would have paid for tuition,” he said.

Recto said apprehensions from some quarters in CHED may have been prodded by its experience of failing to spend billions of pesos in scholarship fund several years ago.

He also downplayed fears his sponsored provision in the 2017 general appropriations bill would be vetoed by Malacañang.

“All presidential candidates in the last election issued the promise that tuition in state colleges will be free, that included President Digong,” said Recto, adding the free tuition in public colleges provision was a factbased advocacy.

The P8-billion fund will be distributed among 114 Sucs based on the amount of tuition each school is projected to collect next year as reported in the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing document.

For 2017, forecast Sucs’ earnings from tuition is P7.78 billion out of total expected internally-generated income of P17.62 billion.

Recto said the P8 billion would fund “free tuition” and would not cover other school fees like dormitory use and laboratory fees.

NEARLY 2,000 MEMBERS OF PHA FACE 2017 WITH NEW MANDATE THE close to 2,000-strong hospital members of the Philippine Hospital Association elected their new board of directors last November 17 during their 67th Annual National Convention at The Manila Hotel.

The PHA, composed of hospitals from both the government and private sectors, affirms a formidable and unified front towards accessible, safe, quality and patient-friendly health care for all, it said in a press statement.

The 2017 Board of Directors and Officers are Jesus M. Jardin, Capitol University Medical Center/President; Jaime A. Almora, Almora General Hospital/VP for Luzon; Leo O. Olarte, Adventist Hospital-Calbayog Inc./ VP for Visayas; Conrado M. Braña Jr., South Cotabato Provincial Hospital/VP for Mindanao; Ma. Lourdes K. Otayza, Mariano Marcos Memorial Medical

Center/Secretary; Huberto F. Lapuz, Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research & Medical Center/Treasurer; Edmundo B. Lopez, Las Piñas General Hospital & Satellite Trauma Center/PRO; Bu. C. Castro, Bernardino General Hospital II/Director; Rustico A. Jimenez, Medical Center Parañaque, Inc./Director; Mutya Kismet T. Macuno, Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital/Director; Edgardo V. Salud, Acebedo General Hospital/Director.

Jardin reiterated his platform of governance in his acceptance speech which hinges on L.E.A.D., the acronym for Legislative agenda, Engage with regulators, Advocate for PHA, and Develop PHA. He also vowed to provide the leadership that shall enable PHA to continue as a catalyst of positive change in health care through

an engaged and empowered membership.

The PHA draws its strength from the support of its 15 Councils and 81 Chapters nationwide, the organization’s backbone.

PHA president emeritus Ruben C.

Flores and Jardin jointly inducted the officers of various Councils and Chapters during the three-day event.

In closing, Dr. Huberto Lapuz, the 2017 convention chairman, thanked everyone for the support extended.

MMDA’S ORBOS PLANS TO PRIVATIZE TOWING OPERATION ACTING Chairman Thomas Orbos of the Metro Manila Development Authority said Saturday he was planning to privatize the towing operation beginning next year to further improve and professionalize the service.

“We need to professionalize it because we are receiving many complaints about [erring] personnel of towing firms tied to us,” Orbos told Manila Standard in a phone interview.

In June last year, 54 towing personnel had tested positive for drugs, while 24 others were also found out to be using drugs last January.

Those towing personnel found to be using illegal drugs were immediately terminated by their respective

companies and were put on blacklist and are now banned from entering the MMDA impounding area.

Apart from drug abuse, some towing personnel were also engaged in extortion activity.

Orbos said a public bidding would be held early next year for the private sectors who are interested to be part of the project.

The move, according to Orbos, will also solve the continuing illegal parking on both major and secondary roads, among major reasons of traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

He added the MMDA would formulate the towing regulations while the service would be privatized.

“This is being done in other countries.

In New York motorists transfer their cars during the 7 a.m. rush hour. Or else the person is fined or the car is towed. We need multi-faceted solutions. That’s the only way we can address this,” he said.

An average of 50 vehicles are being towed daily and being redeemed at the impounding site but, according to Orbos, the number jumped to 100 vehicles hauled at the height of the operations on Mabuhay Lanes, the alternate routes for private vehicles avoiding the congested Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

The MMDA is also looking into the possibility of developing one of its impounding sites to accommodate the increasing numbers of apprehended

out-of-line and colorum public utility vehicles.

At present, there are 30 accredited towing firms while more than 100 tow trucks are operating in the metropolis.

Meanwhile, Orbos appealed to the public for more patience over the traffic mess, saying the government will come up with permanent and long term solutions to the problem once President Rodrigo Duterte is granted emergency powers.

“We understand the sentiments of the people but we have to be patient and wait for the long term solution. Right now, we need the public’s support and understanding,” he said Joel E. Zurbano

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Francis S. Lagniton, Issue Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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CARITAS PROTESTS DRUG WAR KILLINGS

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HE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ social action arm joined a “silent protest” against extrajudicial killings in the country and condemned them as morally unjustifiable even if done for a just cause.

The CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, also known as Caritas Philippines, issued a statement announcing that it would follow the lead of the Archdioceses of Jaro in Iloilo and Nueva Segovia in Ilocos Sur in the silent protest.

Caritas Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez said mission of fighting the proliferation of illegal drugs and rampant criminality is a just cause but the method is unjustifiable.

“Killing of drug traffickers without due process, even in the name of a just cause, is morally unaccept-

able,” Gariguez said. “Unfortunately, reports show that majority of those killed are poor people residing in squatter areas.”

“President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim of ensuring and protecting those who have less in life becomes merely lip service should the State continue to violate and disregard the rights of the poor,” he added, noting that parishes all over the country have joined the call against the killings.

The charity agency issued the statement after Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo earlier said

the Church cannot be silent as the body count in the government’s war on drugs reached more than 6,000 in five months.

“We cannot afford to keep silent.

This is another way of terrorizing the people. But now is really the time to speak,” said Pabillo, who chairs the bishops’ Commission on the Laity.

“I hope we have learned from the Edsa experience. It is time to speak out now. Let us not wait again for 14 years before speaking out,” he said.

“Running priest” Fr. Robert Reyes said the war on drugs has ended so many lives and actions are needed in order to bring peace and justice.

“We will unite against those picking on the poor as being drug addicts. We will unite against those that are addicted to power. We will

unite for life,” said Reyes.

The two church leaders made the remarks at a traditional “Panunuluyan” reenacting of the search of Mary and Joseph for an inn to stay.

But this year, the activity, organized by the Urban Poor Associates, was staged to condemn the series of extrajudicial killings.

“The sight of a neighbor drenched in his own blood brings indescribable traumas, especially in children, comparable to the effects of a tsunami. The culture of fear in our communities cripples our families,” the group said.

“We have lost our right to a fair hearing. Are we being frightened so as to throw our unwilling support to the violent war that is destroying our communities?” the group added.

LONGEST NIGHT HAPPENS DEC. 21 THE Philippines will experience this year’s longest night and shortest day on Wednesday when the winter solstice will occur, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Pagasa astronomy chief Dario dela Cruz said the sun will be at its southernmost position at 6:44 p.m. of Wednesday as seen from Earth so the night will be longest for the year.

Dela Cruz said the year’s longest night duration will vary in areas north of the equator and the night will be longer in areas that are farther from the equator.

“In the Philippines’ case, that means the duration of the longest night will be most lengthy in extreme Northern Luzon and shortest in Mindanao,”he noted.

Solstice is the astronomical event during which the sun is at its greatest northerly or southerly distance from the equator, the imaginary line dividing Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.

Dela Cruz said during this month’s solstice, night will be about 13 hours and five minutes long in Basco municipality, capital of extreme Northern Luzon’s Batanes province. Night then in Metro Manila will last about 12 hours and 46 minutes, he said.

For the Visayas’ Cebu City, he said night will be about 12 hours, 28 minutes long.

General Santos City in Mindanao will experience night that is about 12 hours, 14 minutes long, he said, noting that the duration of night is measured beginning sunset.

He also said that the duration of day during the December 2016 solstice will be only about 10 hours, 55 minutes in Basco; 11 hours, 14 minutes in Metro Manila; 11 hours, 32 minutes in Cebu City; and 11 hours, 46 minutes in General Santos City. PNA

MUSLIM LEADERS PROMOTE FEDERALISM

DAWN MASS. Catholic faithfuls brave rain as they attend the first of nine dawn Masses at a church in Las Piñas City to signal the official start of the Christmas season. The tradition of dawn Masses dates back to the Spanish era, which culminates on Christmas Eve and it is a popular belief that anyone who attends all nine Masses will have his wishes granted. AFP

PALACE GREETS POPE ON 80 BIRTHDAY TH

GREET ME NOT EARLY. Pope Francis smiles as he is given a giant globe-shaped cake during his weekly general audience where he said: “In my country, expressing greetings ahead of time brings bad luck and those who do it are jinxers.” AFP

MALACAÑANG on Saturday wished “good health and good humor” for Pope Francis who turned 80 years old on the third year of his pontificate.

“We wish Pope Francis good health and good humor as he continues to guide us to build a more humane world,” the Palace said in a statement.

“For more than three years as head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has successfully inspired people around the world with his humble example, concern for the poor, and strong attention on God’s mercy.”

“His touching homily in Tacloban has left an indelible memory in the hearts of thousands, especially survivors of typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan,” the Palace added.

Pope Francis visited the Philippines last January 15-19 last year to console victims of the typhoon that killed 6,340 and left 1,061 missing with damages amounting to $2.86 billion.

The Archdiocese of Palo opened the Pope Francis Center for the Poor in

his honor on July 12, 2015.

The pope was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires. He was the eldest of five children of Italian immigrants Mario José Bergoglio (1908-1959) and Regina María Sívori, who fled Italy during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

He was elected pope at the age of 76 on March 13, 2013, 14 days after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who is now pope emeritus.

According to the Vatican, Francis continues to be healthy although he suffered one attack of sciatica in 2007 which prevented him from attending a consistory of cardinals and delayed his return to Argentina for several days.

His doctors have stated that his missing lung tissue, removed in his youth, does not have a significant impact on his health and the only concern they have is of decreased respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection.

MUSLIM leaders banded together to declare their support behind the federalization of Mindanao under the Duterte administration.

The Muslim leaders, Amina Rasul, professor Moner Bajunaid, lawyer Adel Tamano, former congressmen Omar Fajardo and Arden Anni, ARMM secretary Atty. Anwar Malanog, Sultan Hadji Nur Hassan of the Supreme Council of the Royal Sultanate of Jolo, Chancellor Lorenzo Reyes of the Mindanao State University in Tawi-Tawi and lawyer Rex Panumpang of the Greenhills Moro Traders, pushed the bid for federalism during a forum organized by the Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy in San Juan City.

Federalism advocates former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and lawyer Raul Lambino also attended the forum. Pimentel gave his presentation justifying why it is crucial for Mindanao to federalize immediately.

Rasul, PCID convenor, said they gathered leaders from the Muslim diaspora to be able to get their views on ongoing efforts at federalism. The forum is the first event organized which gathered Muslim leaders since the failed adoption of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. In a quick survey held at the forum, 76 percent or 48 out of 63 Muslim leaders expressed their support for the federalization of Mindanao through a constitutional convention while 34 leaders said Charter change should be undertaken through constituent assembly with the Senate and Congress voting separately.

Rasul said most Moros have a positive view of federalism, which they believe is the right model for archipelagic and culturally diverse Philippines.

“For many years, Filipino Bangsamoros have expressed a somber view of autonomy as realized by the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

Many even say that the ARMM was just a pacification tool of Malacañang to arrest the rising tide of Bangsamoro independence in early 2002,” she said.

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016

Opinion

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TRUMP’S ECONOMIC STIMULUS, ONE TWEET AT A TIME

EDITORIAL

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By Conor Sen THERE’S a paradox in what Rust Belt voters want economically from the new US government. They want the government to facilitate job creation, but they don’t want the creation of government jobs. Donald Trump may have figured out a way to thread this needle with the help of his Twitter account.

Trump’s challenge is simple— how do you create a resurgence for workers in the Rust Belt when decades of market forces, automation and trade deals have led to employment stagnation in much of the region? So far, it would appear that he’s using his Twitter account as a bully pulpit to change the mentality of corporate America.

One recent indication that this would be his style came from his feud with Carrier over its plans to move some jobs to Mexico.

Through tax incentives and leverage against parent company United Technologies because of its government contracts, Trump got Carrier to agree to keep 1,000 jobs in Indiana. It may be bad economics, but it sent the kind of political message he wanted to send.

An announcement from SoftBank adds further evidence for this new model. On Dec. 6, Trump tweeted that Masayoshi Son (“Masa”) of SoftBank had agreed to invest $50 billion in the US. and create 50,000 jobs. He said that Masa told him it wouldn’t have happened if Trump had not won the election.

While much of this investment was probably headed for the US anyway, and it’s unlikely that SoftBank’s investment plans in the US will ramp up as a direct result of Trump’s win, it shows that Trump will use carrots, on Twitter at least, with firms that serve his interests.

And Trump has shown he’ll use sticks as well. On the same day as the SoftBank tweets, Trump tweeted that Boeing’s cost controls on the new Air Force One were “out of control” and said to cancel the order. He tweeted similar comments about Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program this week. Lockheed’s stock initially fell 4 percent in response before recovering somewhat.

Trump’s prolific tweeting may have won him a pre-emptive victory when—ahead of this week’s summit between Trump and tech leaders— IBM announced plans to hire 25,000 US workers over the next four years.

As in SoftBank’s case, much of this investment was probably already in the works, but the announcement shows that both Trump and corporate America are interested in playing this public relations game.

Trump tweets something flattering or threatening about a specific company, and then the company makes at least a token PR move in response (perhaps not by actually changing business plans, but by announcing them with fanfare).

Where could this eventually lead?

It’s certainly an unexpected way to address regional job inequalities.

Trump needs job growth, or at least the appearance of job growth, in the geographical territory he won, particularly the industrial Midwest, if he is to remain popular with his base. Corporate America wants policy certainty and to stay in Trump’s good graces. And at the moment, much of corporate America, particularly the

THE PERFECT EXCUSE

T

HE holiday season in the Philippines is mayhem. Commercial establishments are packed, with malls and restaurants extending their operating hours until late evening or even midnight.

Nowhere is the Christmas rush more felt, however, than in the unbearable transport situation in the metro. Public transportation is more challenging—costlier—to hurdle, and the roads are even more congested.

We know better than expect to reach our destinations at the usual length of time it takes to get us there.

In a little over two weeks, however, the holidays will be over. The packages will be put away, copious amounts of food consumed, the new year will begin and people will ease back into their regularly daily schedules. Not a few will be thankful at being able to go back to the usual routines.

But will traffic and public transportation improve then?

Alas, no.

In fact, these twin evils have hounded metro commuters and motor ists since the previous administration, and even on the most ordinary of days. Exasperation with transport officials has led to

resentment of them and the straight path they claimed to represent.

Th a t w a s t h e p re v i o u s administration, and at the beginning of this one we had hoped there would be some immediate respite from our transport woes. Alas, it has been half a year and it is obvious that mak ing the lives of commuters—who simply want to get to work or school and back home in one piece and without too much aggravation— easier is not a priority of this administration.

They have in fact asked repeatedly for emergency powers so that the Executive can supposedly fix the problem. But what ex tra powers are needed when all the means to effect changes have always been there but have not been used wisely.

When the holidays come and go, and transport remains as bad as it is, officials will no longer have a convenient cover for their apathy and ineptitude.

Turn to B2

1898: LOS ULTIMOS DE FILIPINAS—A SPANISH LOOK AT THEIR COLONIAL PAST POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

IF WE have our epic film Heneral Luna, the Spanish now have their own look at their colonial past in 1898: Los Ultimos de Filipinas (Our Last Men in the Philippines), based on true accounts.

The directorial debut of Salvador Calvo, the film’s events take place during the summer of 1898 on

the village of Baler in Luzon. A detachment of Spanish soldiers led

by Captain Enrique de las Morenas and Lieutenant Cerezo are sent to the village to protect it against Filipinos, “rebel insurgents.” The captain later succumbs to beri-beri and dies, leaving Cerezo in command.

The soldiers turn the church into a military stronghold and endure against attackers for an unbelievable 337 days, almost a year, with Cerezo unable to accept that Spain has ceded the Philippine islands to the United States at the end the Spanish-American War. One by one, the soldiers fall to fighting

and illness, until one of them—Carlos, a painter and opium addict—finds a way to end the conflict and preserve the lives of his remaining comrades.

The film’s tagline is: Hay hombres que quieren medallas y hombres que quiren volver (There are men who Turn to B2

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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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B2

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TRUMP’S..

THE POETIC JUSTICE AND IRONY OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION

From B1

tech sector, is in high-priced coastal metro areas that overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton. The presidentelect is not stopping by their offices on his “thank you” tour.

But it’s not too late to earn his gratitude. Profit margins are historically elevated, and a good deal of knowledge work, while perhaps needing some level of urban scale to find suitable pools of talent, could be done in places like Scranton, Pennsylvania, or Gary, Indiana, just as easily as it’s done in San Francisco or Seattle. Corporate America might decide that accepting somewhat lower profit margins to create less-profitable jobs in key Trump regions might appease the Trump administration, and would give them leverage with Trump on future issues.

How sustainable would this sort of thing be? A cynic would say that at the end of the Trump administration, corporate America would go back to the way things were before and would eliminate any excess jobs (if indeed any were ever created to placate Trump), restoring profit margins to their more elevated level. Except that future candidates from both parties might be expected to pledge they would continue Trump’s pressure campaign in order to prevent jobs from disappearing.

It’s a new style of economic stimulus, and it may not go away when Trump does. His legacy for the executive branch may be “tweet loudly and carry a big stick.” Bloomberg

1898:...

From B1 want medals and there are men who want to return). This is a succinct characterization of Cerezo, whose pride renders him unwilling to surrender, and Carlos, who wants to stop fighting a war that has ended and that no longer has meaning.

There are at least two Filipinos in the cast, Alexandra Masangkay, who plays Teresa, “an indigenous woman,” and the versatile Raymond Bagatsing as Comandante Luna.

Film critic Jonathan Hopper, who reviewed “1898” for the Hollywood Reporter, says it “offers little that’s new but is still about as close as Spanish cinema has come of late to anything approaching epic cinema. Though its subject matter and general focus are utterly Spanish, its purely cinematic qualities makes it deserving of offshore exposure.”

Hopper goes on to praise the acting skills of the cast, while lamenting that the story is stereotypical and clichéd.

His bottom line: “Spectacular and striking, but none too subtle.”

However, Miguel Juan Payan, writing for accionsine.es, has a deeper appreciation for the film and its impact. He says, “The important thing is that behind the shots, the races, the attacks, and the deaths, there are people, characters well-drawn in the script” that between the actors’ and director’s efforts “translate into moments of good cinema.”

What the film lacks in the subtlety that Hopper seeks, it makes up for in its grand visuals, ambitious scope, and finely-wrought characterization.

As Payan points out, the “shades in each character” and the “epic planes of the film and the action of the same” remind him of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam in Apocalypse Now and Oliver Stone’s Vietnam in Platoon; which, he explains, is “logical because, were not the Philippines for Spain what years later would be Indochina for France or Vietnam for the United States?”

Payan’s bottom line: “Highly recommended. Among the best Spanish cinema that has been released this year, and that’s saying a lot because we had a good movie crop here in 2016.”

The film trailer can be viewed on the internet, and I confess it got me excited. The visuals are beautiful—the film was shot in the Canary Islands and Equatorial Guinea—and the acting that I could see in the trailer seems sincere and honest.

My enjoyment of film is simple: filmmaking is storytelling, and any missteps in accuracy and production can be forgiven if the narrative touches the heart and mind, and evokes emotion or stimulates thought. There is much praise on the internet for the high quality of the script and the dialogue, and if it tells a good story, then it’s worth watching.

The film is of much interest for Filipinos, because this is a look at how Spaniards understand and construct their past as colonizers of the Philippines. Heneral Luna is our own examination of the same time period. It’s time to find out how the other side has come to terms, if at all, with this historical event that has had enormous repercussions on our society and psyche as a people.

Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember

By Pecier Decierdo THIS is a story about ripples, of light and in space and time. This also is a story about one of the most poetic turns of events in the history of science.

In the early years of the 1800s, Thomas Young performed a series of experiments that showed light is a wave. Young did this by showing that underwent interference, which is what happens when different waves meet each other and occupy the same place at the same time.

The result of Young’s experiments led to the following question: what was light a wave of?

Water waves are waves in water.

Seismic waves are waves in the ground that spread from the origin of an earthquake. Sound, meanwhile, is a wave in air. Waves seem to require a medium, stuff through which to travel. What stuff did light travel through? This stuff came to be called the “luminiferous aether.”

If it existed, it had to fill all of outer space to allow light to travel between stars and planets. It also had to be extremely thin because the planets had to move through it as if unobstructed. It was also very difficult to detect, so scientists tried to devise different ways of detecting it indirectly.

Throughout the 1880s,

physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley devised a series of experiments to measure the speed of the “aether wind.” This “wind” would be a result of the Earth moving through the aether in the same way a moving car would experience a “wind” when moving through air, even when the air is not moving relative to the ground.

At the heart of Michelson and Morley’s setup were two beams of the same length. They put the beams at right angles so that they formed an L shape. Then they placed mirrors at the end of each beam. Light was sent up each beam, and the mirrors at the end would reflect the light back. If light in one beam moved in the same direction as the aether wind, it was expected to move faster. This is similar to sound traveling faster along the direction of a wind. If the light happened to move against the aether wind, it was expected to move slower. (Try to scream at someone who is upwind of you.)

This difference in the time it takes for light to go to and fro the beams will result in wave interference when they meet again at the corner of the L shape. That’s why the L-shaped setup was called an interferometer.

Michelson and Morley did not find any interference. They

measured again and again, in different times of the year. They checked their setups. Other physicists copied their setup and ran the same experiment. The same results: no interference. They couldn’t measure the speed of the aether wind.

Many proposals were put forward to explain this most famous negative result. The one that turned out to be true was put forward by a young Swiss patent clerk. Doing physics in his spare time, the clerk proposed the following: there was no aether wind because there was no aether.

Light did not need a medium. That sounded simple enough, except that for the proposal to make sense, the patent clerk had to revise our view of space and time. In fact, there was no longer any space and time, there was only spacetime. The clerk’s name was Albert Einstein.

In the decade that followed, Einstein’s project of revising our view of spacetime culminated in his theory of general relativity, our best theory to explain the behavior of the cosmos. As radical as it was, Einstein’s theory passed all the tests given to it with flying colors.

All except one. Einstein predicted that spacetime itself could ripple and form waves. This effect, called gravitational waves, eluded the detection of scientists for a century.

Almost exactly a century. About a hundred years after they were predicted, gravitational waves were finally detected last year and their detection was announced this year.

Now for the poetic justice. The experimental setup scientists used to detect gravitational waves?

An interferometer. That’s right.

The same setup that spurred Einstein’s scientific revolution was the very setup that gave him his final vindication. Scientists at the Large Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory (LIGO)—a gargantuan version of Michelson and Morley’s experimental setup —detected gravitational waves using interference of light. These interferences were created when one beam of the L-shaped setup became longer or shorter as a result of a passing gravitational wave.

But did I speak too soon?

The latest data gathered using LIGO seem to suggest that the gravitational waves detected from spiraling black holes might actually carry signals that suggest a breakdown in the theory near the edge of the black holes. If this result holds, you can add irony to poetic justice.

Decierdo is resident astronomer and physicist for The Mind Museum.

WHY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WON’T DISPLACE HUMAN ARTISTS

By Leonid Bershidsky THIS year’s news about what artificial intelligence can do in the arts has been both exciting and scary.

Neural networks have learned to paint like masters and compose sophisticated music. Those of us in creative endeavors might be as endangered by technological advances as blue-collar workers are often said to be—though we are protected by certain limitations that technology is never likely to overcome.

Last summer, a team of Russian developers released Prisma, a mobile app based on the work of some German artificial intelligence researchers. The neural network behind it could redraw an image using techniques it had learned from studying the oeuvre of a number of painters, including Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. The end product was impressive: Prisma could reproduce brushstrokes and palettes, using only a photo for guidance, almost the way a human painter could have.

This month, Gaetan Hadjeres and Francois Pachet from the Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Paris published a paper about an artificial intelligence model called DeepBach, which can compose polyphonic chorales even professional musicians can mistake for the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The chorale is a rather formulaic piece of Lutheran church music that usually reharmonizes a well-known melody.

Bach composed hundreds, so there’s plenty of material for a neural network to learn. Musicians who listened to Bach and DeepBach music were more likely to correctly attribute the great composer’s work than the machine’s, but about 40 percent of them misidentified DeepBach chorales as works composed in 18th century Leipzig—even though the machine didn’t plagiarize Bach but produced genuinely new work.

The researchers wrote: Despite some compositional errors like parallel octaves, the musical analysis reveals that the DeepBach compositions reproduce typical Bach-like patterns, from characteristic cadences to the expressive use of nonchord tones.

The success of DeepBach follows work by the same team that produced a surprisingly hummable pop song in the style of The Beatles, and a separate effort by a team at Google in which an artificial neural network composed jingle-like piano pieces. Computers, of course, have generated music before, but these recent experiments are different because the machines aren’t programmed to perform specific tasks—they learn from big datasets to create music without further human

Gustav Klim’s The Kiss input. Models like DeepBach also allow human intervention, or, rather, collaboration.

Machines also have been getting better at producing literary work.

This year, an AI-written novel passed the first round of a Japanese fiction competition.

Obviously, these creative efforts are, at this point, somewhat short of stunning—but only if one considers their origin. Unlike most overhyped human creations, these only represent the first steps for a technology that most of us only know for its frustrating and often hilarious implementations

in the digital assistants on our mobile phones: Siri, Google Assistant and Cortana.

Researchers are working to overcome a number of practical problems: The need for huge amounts of data to train the algorithms, the narrow specialization of the neural networks (a chess-playing one can’t write music, for example), the logical errors the networks make when discerning and interpreting patterns.

Given more time and effort, these will probably be solved, at least to a degree that makes consumer applications of the algorithms widespread. There is, however, one boundary that no research team has approached and that, I suspect, will forever protect creative professions from displacement.

It’s a problem described in David Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature,” published when Bach was still alive: “Even after the observation of the frequent or constant conjunction of objects, we have no reason to draw any inference concerning any object beyond those of which we have had experience.”

It’s possible to teach a machine Van Gogh’s painting technique, but only if it already exists. An algorithm can write chorales like Bach because it can “study” Bach. Even when the work produced by AI is less specifically derivative than it is today—say, when the algorithms learn to combine various techniques they learn in an intelligent manner—they will never rise above previous work because the way they work is based on experience.

They are constrained by Hume’s piece of wisdom.

The one way in which we’re radically different from machines is in our ability to step into the unknown, to do things that have never been done before with paint, form, sound and the written word. Most of the rewards to creative professionals today accrue to that ability, not to skill or the extensive knowledge of predecessors’ work.

Even a derivative work of art needs to be derivative in groundbreaking ways to be appreciated.

It works this way because that’s how the infrastructure—critics, publishers, curators, performers—is set up. One could imagine work produced by machines getting some appreciation, but ultimately, we appreciate art through extremely human social mechanisms. Humans will take care of their own, and they’ll continue to prize originality.

Human creators will probably use AI for narrow tasks, training it on specific datasets to write dialogue, orchestrate music or produce variations to make a print more unique. But they won’t be displaced as long as they have the courage to do new things. Bloomberg

World CANADA POLICE RAID POT STORES IN MONTREAL MONTREAL, Canada—Police in Montreal over the weekend raided six cannabis shops one day after they opened, following a warning by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that recreational marijuana is not yet legal in Canada.

Ten people were arrested in the raids, police said, including veteran pro-cannabis activist Marc Emery.

Trudeau, who campaigned last year on a promise to end nearly a century of pot prohibition, warned that the government is still at least one year away from legalizing pot use.

“We haven’t changed the legislation yet,” Trudeau told reporters earlier in Montreal. “It is coming, but we’re going to take the time to do it right.”

Until that happens, the current ban on the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use remains in effect, he said.

Emery on Thursday however went ahead and opened in Montreal six boutiques of the Cannabis Culture franchise chain, which already exist in other cities.

Police raided the stores at the end of the day as buyers braved frosty conditions to crowd into the boutiques to buy marijuana.

“The prime minister is a disgrace, as is the Mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre,” Emery cried out as he was being taken away by police.

Under the proposed rules, individuals would be allowed to grow up to four plants at home for personal use. Personal possession, however, would be limited to 30 grams (one ounce). AFP

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

VENEZUELA CASH CRISIS SPARKS LOOTING

CHINA PROTESTS DALAI LAMA MEETING IN INDIA BEIJING—China has objected to the Dalai Lama meeting with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month, saying the talks had negatively impacted ties between the Asian neighbors.

The Tibetan spiritual leader met with Mukherjee at the Indian presidential palace in New Delhi during a child welfare summit attended by Nobel laureates and world leaders on December 10-11.

“The Chinese side is firmly opposed to any form of contacts between officials of other countries with him (the Dalai Lama),” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular media briefing Friday.

“We urge the Indian side to... fully respect China’s core interest and major concerns, (and) take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident, so as to avoid disturbance to the China-India relationship.”

India’s external affairs ministry brushed off Beijing’s objections, saying the Dalai Lama and Mukherjee had met at a “nonpolitical” event, local media reported.

The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959, but is still deeply revered by many Tibetans in China.

Beijing vigorously lobbies against foreign leaders meeting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate “in any form” and accuses him of seeking Tibetan independence through “spiritual terrorism.”AFP

People tie 100-Bolivar notes to a post during a protest over lack of cash as the new bank notes have not yet appeared, at the “Troncal 5” road in San Cristobal in Venezuela’s Tachira state. Venezuelans are stuck in currency limbo after President Nicolas Maduro ordered the 100-bolivar note – the largest denomination, currently worth about three US cents – removed from circulation in 72 hours. AFP

C

aracas, Venezuela—Desperate Venezuelans looted delivery trucks and clashed with police as a botched plan to introduce new banknotes left people without cash – the latest shortage in a spiraling economic crisis.

Late Friday President Nicolas Maduro blamed opposition politicians for the unrest, claiming that there were pictures and videos of some opposition members of the National Assembly involved in “attempts of vandalism and some acts of violence.”

He warned that “parliamentary immunity does not reach that far,” but did not give any names.

Maduro mentioned that rioters

had torched two state banks in the town of Guasdalito, near the border with Colombia.

He blamed unnamed opposition leaders who were also part of a “contraband mafia” for the incident, and warned that they “will be captured and put behind bars in the next hours.”

Faced with world-high inflation that has made its money increasingly worthless, the government

is trying to introduce new bills in denominations up to 200 times higher than the old ones.

But the plan went off the rails when Maduro ordered the 100-bolivar note removed from circulation before the new bills arrived.

Formerly the highest denomination bill, the 100-bolivar note was worth about three US cents, and accounted for 77 percent of the cash in circulation in Venezuela.

Angry protests erupted around the country as the chaotic reform left people without money to buy food or Christmas presents.

In the second city of Maracaibo in the west, groups of protesters hurled stones at police, reports said.

THOUSANDS PROTEST ALEPPO SIEGE NEAR TURKISH BORDER

SRI LANKA GETS $1.34-B WORLD BANK LOAN COLOMBO—Sri Lanka has secured $1.34 billion in loans from the World Bank to boost the cash-strapped island’s economy over the next three years, the finance ministry said Saturday.

The loans would be at concessionary rates and repayments spread out over 15 years, the ministry said in a statement.

“This is a great victory for us and it will help us in the fiscal consolidation programme that the new government has started,” Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

There was no immediate comment from the World Bank.

The new government, which came to power in January last year, also secured a $1.5 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in June after facing a balance of payments crisis.

The IMF last month described Sri Lanka’s performance since the rescue as “broadly satisfactory,” but said it needed to build its dwindling foreign reserves.

On Wednesday, the ports minister said talks were under way to sell part of Sri Lanka’s loss-making $1.4 billion harbour to a Chinese company in January to help pay off crippling debts. AFP

In the eastern city of Maturin, dozens of people blocked off a major avenue and looting broke out.

“I went by the market and it was being guarded by the military. A chicken truck was looted,” Juan Carlos Leal, a farmer in Maturin, told AFP. In the eastern city of Puerto la Cruz, “people rioted because they wanted to take out money and they weren’t allowed to,” said Genesis, a local baker.

“By removing the 100-bolivar bills, they are jamming up the economy,” said economist Alberto Martinez. “Cash registers have no money. The system is under stress.”

AFP

A woman holds a placard reading “Arrest Park Geun-Hye” during a small rally in central Seoul following the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. AFP

CILVEGÖZÜ, Turkey—Several thousand people protested Saturday on the Turkish border against the siege of Syria’s second city of Aleppo that has prevented deliveries of muchneeded aid.

The crowds arrived in bus and car convoys from across the country under the slogan “Open the Way for Aleppo” close to Turkey’s Cilvegozu border gate which has become a key hub for transporting the wounded from Aleppo.

They unfurled banners reading “Aleppo cannot be left under bombardment.”

The action was organised by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) Turkish Muslim charity, which is playing a large role in the transport of aid for Aleppo and pressing for greater access.

Evacuation from the rebelheld areas of Aleppo has been suspended after renewed clashes – putting on hold a fragile ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey.

Ankara has stepped up di-

plomacy with all major actors including Iran, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaking 13 times on the phone with Iranian counterpart Friday alone.

“Murderer Russia, get out of Syria!” chanted the crowds gathering around three kilometres from the Turkish border crossing Cilvegozu that faces Syria’s Bab al-Hawa. “Iran will have to defend its actions in front of the ummah (Islamic community)!”

The convoys also brought aid to be delivered to Syrians being evacuated from Aleppo. According to the IHH, thousands of cars and over 1,500 aid trucks have arrived in the border area as a result of their appeal.

“God willing, we will not leave our brothers to the hands of the tyrants,” Kubra, a young female protester, told AFP. The UN Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow international observers in Aleppo and ensure urgent aid deliveries. AFP

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World

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com Joyce Pangco-Pañares, Issue Editor

VIETNAMESE COMEDIAN JAILED FOR SEX CRIMES LOS ANGELES, United States—A popular Vietnamese comedian was sentenced in California to 18 months in prison on a charge of sexually assaulting a minor.

Minh Quang Hong, who goes by the stage name Minh Beo, had pleaded guilty in August to the felony charge as well as another charge of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child under the age of 14.

According to Orange County prosecutors, the 38-year-old entertainer – well known in Vietnam as an actor, comedian and stage director – had easy access to children and in March had traveled to the United States for shows in the states of Georgia and California.

While in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, he met with a group of dancers at a radio station talent show and told them he would be auditioning for a video project, prosecutors said. AFP UNDERWATER CHEER. A South Korean diver wearing a Santa Claus outfit swims with fish in a tank during a Christmas event at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul. AFP

OBAMA TO SEND ‘CLEAR MESSAGE’ TO PUTIN

W

ASHINGTON—President Barack Obama vowed to send a “clear message” to Russia for trying to sway the US election, while calling on Donald Trump and Republicans to put national security before politics.

Obama all but accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering an audacious cyber hack that many Democrats believe gravely wounded Hillary Clinton in a closely fought election.

The US intelligence community has concluded that a hack-andrelease of the Democratic Party emails was designed to put Trump – a political neophyte who has praised Putin – into the Oval Office.

But with tensions rising between the world’s two preeminent nuclear powers and US political anger near boiling point after

Trump’s shock election, Obama sought to exude calm while promising a measured response.

Assuring Americans that the ballot itself was not rigged, he promised to “send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you.”

Noting that “not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin,” Obama said he had personally told the former KGB officer when they met in September to “cut it out.”

“In fact we did not see further tampering of the election process,”

he told journalists before heading for his Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

Regarding specific acts of retaliation, Obama said some would be carried out publicly, but that in other cases, “the message will be directly received by the Russians and not publicized.”

Despite those coups, Obama belittled Russia as a second rate power with little going for it, using language that is sure to infuriate the status-conscious Russian leader.

“The Russians can’t change us or significantly weaken us. They are a smaller country, they are a weaker country, their economy doesn’t produce anything that anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. They don’t innovate.”

But Obama’s sternest message may have been for Trump and other Republicans who have played down the cyber attack.

“Over a third of Republican vot-

ers approve of Vladimir Putin,” Obama said citing a recent poll.

“Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave. How did that happen?”

Obama urged the president elect – who has repeatedly questioned Russia’s involvement – to accept an independent nonpartisan investigation.

“My hope is that the presidentelect is going to similarly be concerned with making sure that we don’t have potential foreign influence in our election process.”

While Obama has ordered his own inquiry, a political battle is already being waged in Washington between Republicans who want a Congressional process they can control and Democrats who want to see something like the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

“One way I do believe the president-elect can approach this that would be unifying is to say that we welcome a bipartisan, independent process,” Obama said. AFP

MISSING CHINESE ACTIVIST ‘HANDED OVER STATE SECRETS’

People pay a three-minute silent tribute at noon to mark the fifth anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s death in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on December 17. AFP

BEIJING—A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer who had been missing for almost a month was held in police custody and “confessed” to handing over state secrets, official media said.

Jiang Tianyong took on numerous high-profile cases, including those of Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan protesters and victims of the 2008 contaminated milk powder scandal before being disbarred for his activism in 2009, according to campaign group Amnesty International.

He disappeared on November 21 en route to Beijing from Changsha, the capital of the central province of Hunan, where he had gone to inquire about the situation of a detained human rights lawyer.

On Friday, a Communist Party newspaper reported that he had been arrested after using another person’s documents to board the train and was held in administrative detention for nine days.

“Investigations showed... that he was in possession of documents containing state secrets and was in contact with foreign structures, organisations and persons, and illegally handed over state

secrets abroad,” the website of Fazhi Ribao (Legal Daily) said, citing police sources.

The newspaper reported that since December 1, Jiang had been subject to a “criminal coercive measure” – a vague term which indicates a restriction on freedom of movement.

“Jiang Tianyong confessed the relevant crimes,” the daily added.

Forced confessions are common in China, where courts are overseen by the ruling Communist Party.

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston met Jiang on a visit to China in August and said last week he feared the disappearance was in part a retaliation against the lawyer’s assistance to UN experts.

President Xi Jinping has overseen a tightening of controls on civil society since assuming power in 2012, closing avenues for legal activism that had opened up in recent years.

While the government initially targeted political activists and human rights campaigners, it has increasingly turned its attention to the lawyers who represent them. AFP

SEVERAL WOUNDED IN CAR BOMBING IN TURKEY ISTANBUL—Several people were wounded on Saturday in a car bombing close to a public bus in the central Turkish city of Kayseri, television reports said.

Initial television pictures showed that the bus had been reduced to a smouldering wreck by the impact of the blast.

The Dogan news agency said that the blast took place opposite the Erciyes University in the city. NTV television said that there could be fatalities as a result of the blast.

The explosion comes a week after 44 people were killed in an attack in Istanbul claimed by Kurdish militants.

Turkey has seen a spate of deadly bombings in 2016 blamed both in jihadists and Kurdish militants that have left dozens dead.

One of the main cities of central Turkey, Kayersi is a key industrial hub that is usually seen as a peaceful area. AFP

GUNMEN KILL FIVE FEMALE AIRPORT WORKERS KANDAHAR, Afghanistan— Gunmen shot dead five female airport workers and their driver in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, underlining the threat to employed women in the country.

The women were in a van driving to the airport in the southern Kandahar province when at least three gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at them, provincial spokesman Samim Kheplwak told AFP. “All the women and their driver aboard the van were killed.

The attackers fled the area and we have launched an investigation,” he said.

Kandahar International Airport Director Ahmadullah Faizi said the women were employees of a private company who would provide luggage and body search services for female passengers.

He said the women were concerned about their security after receiving death threats from people who disapproved of their career. AFP

Business

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 business@thestandard.com.ph

BINONDO...

From C1

dental center with known celebrities, politicians and socialites as clients.

GAOC is also active in its corporate social responsibility program that provides dental care for indigents in partnership with corporations and organizations such as JCI and Operation Smile Philippines.

Gan says the expansion aims to extend its reach across the nation to further strengthen its CSR Program that focuses on educating people on oral hygiene and provide free dental services to specific target communities.

The two new locations will expand its network to nine clinics with a complement of over 30 doctors.

Gan says the expansion will bring the company’s services closer to clients. “We are after their convenience where a GAOC clinic will be near their location,” he says.

Gan remains bullish of the continued growth of dental services in the Philippines.

Gan, a former chairman of the board of dentistry of the Philippine Regulatory Commission, makes sure that the level of professionalism of Filipino dentists are raised to world-class standards, allowing them to compete globally.

GAOC is now one of the biggest chains of dental centers in Metro Manila that adheres to world-class standards.

Its services include dental implants and related surgical procedures, cosmetic dentistry and general dentistry.

CASH...

From C1

when shopping, next only to cash, and slightly ahead of credit cards.

According to the survey conducted in one of the country’s biggest malls, 80 percent of the total respondents will pay in cash if they have enough budget or resources, while 11 percent will apply for a financing/installment loan, followed by credit cards (9 percent).

While the rankings for payment options may have changed, shoppers’ gift buying (and gift receiving) preferences remain the same. Almost half or 39 percent of the respondents— including married and single men and women—cited gadgets as their most preferred gifts this Christmas season, followed by appliances and cash. On the other hand, 38 percent prefer to give their loved ones shoes and clothing as presents for the holidays.

For single respondents, there were striking similarities in preferred gifts, with both males and females opting to receive high-tech gadgets as Christmas presents.

The study reveals that 32 percent of married respondents preferred Christmas gifts that would be more useful in the household. Majority are inclined to receive appliances (32 percent), followed by gadgets (29 percent), from their loved ones this Christmas.

With most of the respondents typically buying gifts through full cash payments, more than half of all respondents allocate a budget of almost a fifth of their monthly salary for gifts, with some even allotting almost half of their total monthly income for shopping.

While shoppers have different gift preferences and spending habits, consumer finance groups such as Home Credit help many Filipinos purchase gadgets and appliances through convenient and affordable payment terms—thus freeing up more of their budget during the expense-heavy holiday season.

“The preference for gadgets doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the increasing smartphone and internet penetration in the Philippines. And when it comes to purchases, budget is always a consideration, even more so during the holidays,” says Annica Witschard, chief executive of Home Credit Philippines.

“This is where consumer financing services such as ours can help. Through installment financing options, especially the 0 percent interest offerings, Filipinos can have a much easier time in managing their budgets—so they have more than enough budget left for Noche Buena and other holiday activities,” Witschard says.

Home Credit Philippines offers affordable loan installments for gadgets, appliances and other electronics in over 1,500 stores of 220 retail partners across key cities and provinces such as Metro Manila, Cebu, Pampanga, Batangas, Cabanatuan, Baguio and Iloilo. Since it was established in the country in 2013, Home Credit has already served over 500,000 customers.

“Our aim is for greater financial inclusion in the Philippines, and we at Home Credit are focused on offering affordable loan installments that can help consumers,” Witschard says.

Rusty Lopez opens new store at Sogo Lippo Mall in St. Moritz, Jakarta.

(Photo from Facebook Page of Rusty Lopez-Indonesia)

MARIKINA SHOES A HIT IN INDONESIA

F

ilipino fashion retail brand Rusty Lopez has recently opened a new store in Jakarta, featuring comfortable sandals and casuals made from Marikina City, the Philippines’ shoe capital known for producing durable and highquality footwear, according to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Trade and Investment Center – Jakarta.

The store in Sogo Lippo Mall Puri located in St. Moritz central business district is the brand’s ninth outlet following the opening of stores in Seibu Grand Indonesia, Sogo Emporium Pluit,

FILIPINO...

From C1

oil indicator and automatic water pump.

A unit can cover an spray area of 85 square meters.

Vazquez says misting works by forcing water through a brass and stainless steel mist nozzle, producing a micro-fine mist.

Vazquez says the mist is so fine— about half the diameter of a strand of hair—that it quickly evaporates to create the cooling effect. He says the misting system can cool off different open areas, porches, backyards, gardens and patios.

He says it can also be used in restaurants, hotels and resorts with open areas, sports venues, churches with open doors, gardens, playgrounds,

Sogo Central Park, Sogo Alam Sutera, Lotte Shopping Avenue, Metro Plaza Senayan, Metro Gandaria City and Metro Taman Anggrek.

Philippine commercial attaché to Indonesia Alma Argayoso said the sales of the newest collection during the opening were brisk. The other stores also received positive feedback.

“It is exciting to bring to the Indonesian market the Philippines’ world-famous Marikina-made shoes. This affirms our belief on the potential of fashion retail products in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy,” Argayoso said.

The first overseas store of Rusty Lopez opened in Jakarta on March 6, 2016 at the Seibu Department Store of Grand Indonesia Mall and featured

event venues, concert grounds, zoos, veterinary clinics, wildlife parks, poultry farms, greenhouses, construction sites, manufacturing facilities and public places. He showcased his line machine at a station of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 last year and deployed five units of Misty Kool electric fan-type units during the recent boxing bout of Manny Pacquiao to cool off a gymnasium in Malasiqui, Pangasinan.

Vazquez says for every pound of water that evaporates in the air, 1,100 Btu (British thermal unit) of heat is used out of the air. When heat is removed from the air, it becomes cooler. The Misty Kool machine can cool the air down to a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius, he says.

Vazquez, who studied Commerce at San Beda College at the time President Rodrigo Duterte was taking his Law

carefully selected designs suited to the Indonesian market.

DTI said the increased interest in Philippine-made shoes abroad helps revive the local shoe industry and is expected to open more opportunities for small enterprises to generate employment within their communities.

As part of the DTI’s industry promotion group, PTIC-Jakarta said it would continue to support and assist Filipino homegrown brands in globalizing their products and accessing regional markets by continuously looking for potential partnerships.

Aside from Rusty Lopez, other Filipino fashion retail brands in Indonesia are Karimadon, Penshoppe, Gingersnaps and Ann Ong Jewelry.

degree, says he learned his common sense from the streets of Manila and his technical know-how from his father, who was an engineer and architect.

His father taught him how to fix the family car and work on the fuse box, when the lights were out. “My father told me that the day would come when he won’t be there, and I had to do what he was doing. Then somebody could not fool me, because I knew what needed to be done. All of these, combined together is one big common sense. Life itself is one big common sense,” he says.

Now, he passes on his skills to his son, Edgardo Vazquez Jr., who is a chef and restaurateur.

The father-and-son tandem is now promoting Misty Kool to provide comfort to millions of Filipinos seeking respite from the heat of the sun, especially

during the dry months.

Vazquez says he has already obtained a patent for Misty Kool. He also owns patent for more than 200 innovations, mostly in the construction industry. “In everything that I do, in every step, I have it patented,” he says.

Vazquez, a supporter of Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative, says he also wants to teach his skills to other people. “I cannot do it by myself.

The only way you can see a product fly is when people look for it, and people use it. If the inventor just keeps it to himself, it is useless. But when you see everybody using it, it is not about money, but about contentment that you help mankind. The moment you start teaching people, that’s when you succeed,” he says.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Sports

Star Hotshots guard Paul Lee (3) displays excellent form as he unloads another outside shot.

Foton Tornadoes players, led by their two imports Lindsey Stalzer and Ariel Usher (6), celebrate after winning a point during their match against Petron Blaze. Roman Prospero

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PSL GP CHAMP FOTON?

By Reuel Vidal

I

S there a Foton dynasty looming on the horizon?

Could be. After the way the Foton Tornadoes dominated the field to rule the past 2016 Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix the team looks poised to dominate the competition in the following months.

Petron was supposed to put up a good challenge. But they were brushed aside by the Tornadoes who tallied back-toback victories to sweep their championship.

After a controversial first game victory Foton didn’t take any chances to post a decisive victory over Petron Blaze in the second game. Foton thus repeated as PSL Grand Prix champions.

In game two Foton dominated Petron. They won the first two games convincingly, 25-20 and 25-20. Foton stumbled in the third set, 22-25 after Petron’s Stephanie Niemer came alive. But the Tornadoes put it all together in the fourth to prevail, 25-17.

Foton’s American import Ariel Usher tallied 19 points for the Tornadoes. Lindsay Stalzer scored 14 markers. Jaja Santiago, eventually chosen Most Valuable Player, chipped in 10.

As dominant as Foton already has been, its head coach Moro Bra-

nislav insists the team will be even better in the coming months.

Petron’s American imports, Niemer and Serena Warner, were equally prolific with 31 and 10 points, respectively.

It wasn’t quite so easy for Foton in the first game when Stalzer delivered 26 kills and three blocks for 30 points.

Foton climbed out of a two-set deficit to escape with a five-set, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-9 victory to take Game 1.

Foton leaned on Stalzer who delivered 26 kills and three blocks for 30 points. Stalzer unloaded crucial hits down the stretch in the fifth and deciding set that powered the Tornadoes from a 3-8 deficit to a 12-8 advantage in the electric fifth set.

Stalzer won her personal duel against the prolific Niemer. The Blaze reinforcement outscored her Foton rival by finishing with 32 points. Stalzer confessed her team was shaky in the first two

Petron spiker Aiza Maizo-Pontillas (8) powers a quick spike over the blocking hands of Foton Tornadoes blocker Dindin Santiago-Manabat (16) while Ariel Usher (6) tries to close out. Roman Prospero

sets but finally sorted everything out starting in the third set to win the final three sets.

It was Usher’s turn to support Stalzer in the first game. She contributed 19 points while Santiago finished with seven. Santiago didn’t see as much action after sustaining a sprained ankle midway in the second set.

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 reuelvidal@yahoo.com

As winners of the PSL Grand Prix, the Tornadoes earned the right to represent the Philippines in the 2017 Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan.

But that’s still a long way off. In the meantime, there’s the PSL conferences to dominate as the Tornadoes establish a new volleyball dynasty.

LEE FACES OLD TEAM ONE of the biggest trades of the past off-season was the Paul Lee for James Yap exchange which had the two players swapping teams.

Lee went from the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters to the Star Hotshots in place of Yap who left the team he has played for the past decade. All eyes will be on the pair when they face off today, Sunday, December 18 especially after Lee’s outstanding performance of the past week.

After struggling to get his game going in Star’s first two games this season, Lee managed to regain his deadly form by leading the Hotshots to back-to-back lopsided victories. The feat earned him the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week.

The six-foot Lee finally overcame his shooting woes when he drained four triples as he finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead Star past the NLEX Road Warriors, 99-75.

The victory allowed Star to bounce back after starting the Philippine Cup at 0-2. It was new coach Chito Victolero’s first win as a Star Hotshots mentor. Lee had the last laugh when he faced off against his former mentor Yeng Guiao, who is now NLEX coach.

Three days later, Lee scored 18 points, issued four assists and collected three boards as he led Star’s vicious first-half explosion on the way to a 44-point destruction of Phoenix, 123-79 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Lee was the no. 2 overall pick in the 2011 PBA Draft. The past week he averaged 19 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as he was chosen as the Player of the Week.

After such a stellar week people are looking forward to Lee playing against his former team Rain Or Shine when the Star Hotshots take the floor against the Star Hotshots for the first time this season today, Sunday, December 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

CATALAN CHALLENGES DANGEROUS INDONESIAN FIGHTER VETERAN Filipino fighter Rene Catalan wants to string up more wins when he battles ONE Strawweight Indonesian Tournament Champion Adrian Matheis (3-1) at ONE: Quest for Power in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 14, 2017.

The 38-year-old Filipino Wushu veteran sees his marquee match-up against Matheis as an opportunity to extend his success inside the ONE Championship cage.

“This is my chance to establish my first winning streak in ONE Championship. It’s not impossible. That’s why I am exerting a tremendous amount of effort in training. I want to keep on winning,” Catalan said.

Winning has been closely associated with the Filipino in international Wushu tournaments after he brought home numerous gold medals for the Philippines.

However, having his hand raised as the winner in mixed martial arts (MMA) has been elusive since he transitioned to the world’s fastest-growing sport in 2013.

Like capturing the gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, one unforgettable moment in his illustrious fighting career was when Catalan finally claimed his first victory as an MMA competitor last September.

With an incredible work rate and accurate striking, Catalan dominated Chinese combatant Zhang You Liang to win the three-round strawweight encounter via unanimous decision at ONE: Unbreakable Warriors.

Catalan said he is inspired to win against his Indonesian foe because this gives him another opportunity to give honor to the Philippines.

“I am inspired to win the fight because I am representing the Philippines.

It is always an honor to fight for my country. My goal in this fight is to win and bring pride to my nation,” he said.

Although both men possess superb striking pedigrees, Catalan believes that he still has the upper hand in the stand-up department.

“I still believe that my striking is better than his stand-up game. I am very comfortable in that aspect. If he wants to strike with me, it will be my pleasure,” he said.

Catalan revealed that he worked extensively on his ground game in training camp.

“For this fight, I added more emphasis to my ground game. Even though I am coming off a win, I shouldn’t be complacent. I trained with the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the country to hone my grappling skills,” he said.

Catalan hopes that if he secures a decisive win over Matheis, it will grant him a date with Yoshitaka Naito for the ONE Strawweight World Championship belt.

“Every fighter dreams of becoming a world champion. I really hope that ONE Championship will give me an opportunity to fight for the title in the future. This fight might be the door to a world title fight. Let us all hope for the best,” he said.

Veteran Wushu fighter Rene Catalan (left) unloads with a left-legged side kick at opponent Zhang You Liang. ONE Championship

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Sports

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

ELITE’S BELO: GOOD AS ADVERTISED

With a wider audience watching, expect Blackwater’s Mac Belo to live up to his billing as the best in his class.

By Peter Paul Duran

A

LL the hype on this guy is certainly legit and after only five games into his Philippine Basketball Association career, expect so much more from this soft-spoken rookie.

Mac Belo, arguably the best among the crop of new recruits in the 42nd season of the PBA, is certainly as good as advertised.

But don’t take just my word for though as his numbers are a living proof.

Lifting his team to fourth place with a 3-2 winloss record, the Midsayap, North Cotabato native has been averaging 21 points, eight rebounds and an assist for the Blackwater Elite.

Although his lowest output was a

measly nine points in his team’s win against the NLEX Road Warriors on Wednesday, this just goes to show how squads from around the league are beginning to become wary of his potential.

And who wouldn’t?

The former Far Eastern University Tamaraw has been named this season’s first PBA Player of the Week after carrying his team to a surprising 2-0 start for the season The no. 1 pick in the Gilas draft pick put the Elite on his shoulders as they copped their first win via a 94-87 opening-day triumph over Phoenix.

Then, the 6’4” forward registered 25 points to help Blackwater escape past the Meralco Bolts, 86-84, for their second straight win in the Philippine Cup. His team might have lost twice already in this conference, but the 23-year-old standout still managed to average near double-doubles in the Elite’s losses to Rain or Shine and Talk ‘N Text with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Leo Isaac, Blackwater’s head coach, also feels

that in the games to come, teams will start ganging up on his top ward.

“Teams have started taking notice of him. He has been scouted so we have to make adjustments and he also has to improve his craft,” Isaac said in an interview after seeing Belo get limited numbers in their win against NLEX that sent the Road Warriors to three straight losses.

The Elite’s next game on Dec. 21 will be against catapulting GlobalPort, which is currently second in the standings as of now with a 3-1 record.

Belo will also be part of the Christmas Clasico match-ups as their game against skidding Mahindra Floddbusters will open the Dec. 25 affair between the Purefoods Star Hotshots and Baranggay Ginebra San Miguel.

The twinbill will once again be held at the massive Philippine Arena.

And with a wider audience watching, expect Belo to live up to his billing as the best in his class.

FOOT INJURY WON’T HALT THIS SKATER Mikayla Shalom ‘Misha’ Fabian decided to finish the competition and even managed to clinch third place for a surprisingly smooth longprogram execution.

ATENEO de Manila sophomore student Mikayla Shalom “Misha” Fabian rallied to the finish despite a painful foot injury to settle for fourth place at the Asian Junior Figure Skating Challenge held in Kowloon Tong recently.

Nursing a swollen foot sustained from a bad fall during practice on the eve of the competition, Fabian executed her short program with a good start, but could not save a fall on her second jump after landing on her injured foot on her first jump element.

This resulted in a deduction in her final program score.

With less than 24 hours

before her long program, the second and final leg of the competition, Fabian consulted a Hong Kong doctor who ruled out a fracture but advised her to rest for at least four weeks until the pain and the swelling subside.

Fabian, nevertheless, decided to finish the competition and even managed to clinch third place for a surprisingly smooth long-program execution.

Fabian’s artistry and extraordinary audience impact did wonders for her overall performance at the 2016 AJFSC. Some of her component scores which rate skaters on various aspects of performance

were the highest in her category.

As testament to Fabian’s connection to her audience, an unknown spectator tossed a yellow stuffed toy into the rink as a gesture of appreciation as a tearful Fabian, overwhelmed by a miraculously clean finish, was taking her bows at the end of her long program. Sportsoho. com, Hong Kong’s top sporting portal, featured Fabian with the most number of photos of any 2016 AJFSC participant in their website.

Fabian, a part time model and singer, is currently back in her studies with a full academic load.

THE RIGHT GIFT FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE AS MORE and more people are discovering the fun and excitement of life outdoors, it appears that the most ideal gifts to give our loved ones are presents that will suit the many adventures they wish to soon embark on. From relaxed weekend getaways to an itinerary packed trips with the gang, R.O.X., the country’s biggest outdoor concept store, extends a helping hand in the quest to find the right gifts for our loved ones’ next big adventure!

Introducing the R.O.X. Gift Coach, a holiday campaign which seeks to help shoppers find the right gift/s for their loved ones’ adventures!

With R.O.X.’s very own pool of outdoor experts—who have mastered the ins and outs of the outdoors—gift-givers are guaranteed to pick out presents that will make their loved ones’ next adventure a truly memorable experience. The best thing about the R.O.X. Gift Coach?

One can easily get in touch with one online.

So how does one exactly enlist the help of the R.O.X. Gift Coach? Easy! One may simply send a private message to ROX Philippines on Facebook on weekdays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. From advice about well-suited gifts for different kinds of adventures to personalized recommendations based on a person’s favorite outdoor activities, the R.O.X. Gift Coach can certainly cover a wide range of topics.

Apart from getting in touch with the R.O.X. Gift Coach on Facebook, one may also approach the R.O.X. Gift Coach in all R.O.X. stores daily, from 11am to 9pm. With the assistance of the R.O.X. Gift Coach, one may easily choose among the wide array of premium adventure and outdoor lifestyle products housed inside the store.

Plus, exclusively available at R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street are customized cards and gift wrapping to further make one’s gift/s truly special.

You can check out R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street Manila, R.O.X. Solenad 3 Nuvali, Laguna, R.O.X. Marquee Mall Pampanga, R.O.X. Camp John Hay Baguio, R.O.X. Ayala Cebu, R.O.X. Abreeza Davao, R.O.X. The District Cagayan De Oro, and R.O.X. Ayala Mall Legazpi. You can also follow @ roxphilippines on Facebook for news and updates on your favorite outdoor brands!

R.O.X. is the only store that lets you in so you can get outside!

R.O.X. is owned and operated by the Primer Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant.

The R.O.X. Gift Coach is a holiday campaign which seeks to help shoppers find the right gift/s for their loved ones’ adventures.

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MMDA, BRITISH COUNCIL PROP UP 'URBAN LIVABILITY' FOR MEGA MANILA

“W

ITH problems such as traffic congestion and lack of public spaces, cooperation and creative ideas on improving urban livability are more needed than ever.”

This in a nutshell, described the ongoing joint advocacy program of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the British Council of the Philippines.

Nick Thomas, British Council country director, said “that as countries around the world grapple with the complex challenges of urbanization, the evidence is clear that culture and creativity can play an essential role in making cities more inclusive, sustainable and economically vibrant.”

“We are delighted to be working with MMDA on this new project along the Pasig River,” Thomas said, during the recent launch of their joint project dubbed as “Art for Urban Change’ held at the First United Building in Escolta.

In a statement, MMDA and BCP officials said that the partnership aims to contribute to more livable and creative cities and it includes the creation of site-specific artworks on pumping stations found along Pasig River, a traveling art exhibition, and the creation of a public art advisory group.

The first work was unveiled during the partnership launch, located at a pumping station on Burke Street corner Muelle del Banco Nacional. Leeroy New created the artwork alongside collaborator Janno Abenoja.

Pumping stations are vital in the city’s flood management as they regulate the water levels of Pasig River and sewers.

The traveling exhibition features works from Rivers of the World, a project that enables young people to explore their local environment.

Six art pieces created by students from Marikina and local

art collective, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, will be displayed in selected Pasig ferry stations from November 2016 onwards to 2017.

Pasig River is historically an important transportation route and water source in Metro Manila but has since been declared overly polluted by ecologists.

The artworks were first shown at the Totally Thames Festival in London last September 2016.

“MMDA welcomes the British Council as a partner in our effort to revive Pasig River as a place that people can enjoy for commuting, recreation, and leisure” shares Julia Nebrija, MMDA’s assistant general manager for Operations.

“We are excited to offer artists an opportunity to inspire citizens to return to the river,” Nebrija enthused.

“In addition to restoring ferry transport and preserving environmental quality, it’s important to celebrate the river as part of our city’s culture,” she added.

Leeroy New is an artist-designer whose works address the issue of art and art practitioners’ (in)visibility in the Philippines through cultivating a language for large scale public art.

New, originally trained as a sculptor, tried everything from production design for film to working with fashion designers, to creating 3D mock ups for commercial purposes.

He integrated this inclination to move from one mode of creative production to another as the spine of his creative practice.

For more information on this project, visit www.britishcouncil.ph/programmes/arts.

The country’s vice governors led by its president Tonypet Albano (Isabela), Chairman Humerlito Dolor (Oriental Mindoro) and Secretary General Carlo Loreto (Leyte) light the symbolic lamps with Anthony Catajan and James Donovan of My Shelter Foundation.

LITER OF LIGHT

VICE GOVS INK MOA ON SOLAR LIGHTING THE country’s most far-flung areas would soon get night light as the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines recently forged a memorandum of agreement with My Shelter Foundation’s Liter of Light program for the provision of affordable, sustainable solar light to people with limited or no access to electricity.

Under the MoA, which was facilitated by and LVGP PRO Jo Kristine Revil (Masbate), the provinces through the vice governors, Sangguniang Panlalawigan, private sector and civil society groups will endeavor to provide inexpensive lighting to remote barangays across the archipelago.

Founded by Filipino social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, the project has

Local Gov’t Units

installed more than 350,000 bottle lights in more than 15 countries and taught green skills to empower grassroots groups.

A recipient of the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize and the 2014-2015 World Habitat Award, its open source technology has been recognized by the United Nations and adopted for use in some UN refugee camps.

ECO-TOWN PROGRAMS STEERED FOR RIZAL LGUS DISASTER-PRONE areas in Rizal have adopted climate change policies in an “eco-town” program covering five LGUs in Rizal province.

An ecotown is an environmentally sustainable community that is developing to have zero emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG), according to a Climate Change Commission.

Dr. Ancha Srinivasan, ADB climate change specialist, in a statement said that among specific measures piloted in the Protected Area Management Board of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) will primarily include bio-charcoal briquetting for Marikina, San Mateo, Rodriguez, Tanay, and Baras, species establishment and rehabilitation in Tanay, Rodriguez, and Baras, and check dams piloted in Antipolo City and San Mateo.

Commissioned by the Asian Development Bank to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the project dubbed as “Marikina Watershed,” has adopted the Climate Resilience and Green Growth Road Map developed under the ADBfunded “Climate Resilience and Green Growth in UMRBPL: Demonstrating the Ecotown Framework.”

The project is by and large a realization--of previously thought of--as vague or unreal concept of climate change as LGUs implement proper agricultural and environmental management practices.

These activities prevent the disastrous effects of climate change such as flooding and landslides.

Instead of cutting trees in the protected area to produce charcoal, natives turn to bio-charcoal briquetting as livelihood. Check dams also prevent soil erosion and excessive flooding as these become water storage and source of irrigation for farming, too.

Dr. Lope B. Santos III, SEARCA program specialist, cited specific activities and undertakings involved in the eco-town development planning process.

These include baseline analysis, natural resources assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory, sectoral vulnerability and risk assessment, cost benefit analysis of identified priority adaptation and mitigation measures, preparation of climate resilience and green growth road map and local climate change action plan .”

Another ADB and CCCC, Climate Resilience and Green Growth in Critical Watersheds were also commissioned to SEARCA and applied the same eco-town development planning process.

CLARK EXPANSION TO ADD 9,000 JOBS TO C. LUZON CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—The new expansion program of the Clark Investors and Locators Association here will generate about 9,000 additional jobs this month up to next year, an official said.

There are still many jobs waiting to be filled inside Clark as shown by data from the External Affairs Department of the Clark Development Corp., said Noel Tulabut, chief of the communication division.

During the recent job fair here, about 132 applicants were hired on the spot, while 269 qualified for tests and 2,227 were scheduled for further interviews, Tulabut said.

“This is still very far from the actual labor needs inside Clark Field,” he added.

The arrival of additional locators,

mostly Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese businessmen, and the expansion of businesses already operating inside the former US Air Force base led to the increased demand for workers inside the Freeport, he said.

CILA is an organization of firms operating inside the Freeport.

To solve the mismatches between the labor force required and the availability of manpower, CDC is proposing a Dual Training System that would assure future locators and investors in the Freeport of a steady stream of job hunters.

This is in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the colleges, universities, and local government units of Pampanga, Tulabut added. Romeo Dizon

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CAROLING CHOIR. San Juan City Mayor Guia G. Gomez (seated left) welcomes to her home on Monday Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones and the Manila Concert Choir, which dished out Christmas songs—the first ever to echo across the mayor’s home this Yuletide season. The Manila Concert Choir, established in 1951 with a by-invitation membership basis, is composed of people from different disciplines and of various ages. It is currently headed by Dr. Briones of the University of the Philippines. The conductor of the group is Dr. Romulo Pizana, a mathematics professor at Far Eastern University.

LGUs

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

BATAAN UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP MOBILE APP BALANGA CITY—The Bataan Peninsula State University is in the process of developing a mobile application for training agriculture and aquaculture technology aimed at educating farmers, fishermen, and animal growers in the province.

Engineer Kristine Ortega, BPSU College of Engineering and Architecture faculty member and project leader, said the mobile application called eCulture Application will contain researches of the university determined to be useful to target beneficiaries.

She said they will develop the mobile based on 50 researches done by the BPSU Abucay Campus that would focus on providing instant access to new processes and best practices for both agri and aqua culture to some 5,000 farmers, fishermen, and animal and crop growers from the 12 towns of the province.

As part of the extension program of the university, the project will provide actual training to beneficiaries on the proper use of the mobile application.

The project likewise aims to benefit agriculturists, researchers, and students.

The eCulture application will be launched in different municipalities of the province, and agriculture and fisheries agencies.

The project is funded by Commission on Higher Education, National Agriculture and Fisheries Education System. Its extension period is from January 2017 to December 2018.

Ortega said the information on the application will be disseminated through web and Facebook page development, distribution of app.

Training modules will be provided to thousands of target beneficiaries including production of IEC materials among others.

Other members of research and extension project are Engr. Christopher V. Maglaque, Project Co-Investigator; Mark Anthony S. Colentava, Project Technical Expert; Dr. Hermogenes Paguia, Project Expert (Agriculture); Adrian Deil C. Manliclic, Project Expert (Aquaculture); and Dr. Rina Paguia, Project Member-LGU Coordinator.

Project members also include Christopher DL. Sarile, Project MemberAdmin Staff; John Kevin B. Gamiao, Project Member-Document Specialist; Analyn Bonifacio, Project MemberAdmin Staff; and Kristine Joy G. Roque, Project Member-Admin Staff.

Pagcor board members led by Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo (center) join Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (fourth from left) and Resorts World Foundation and Travellers International president Kingson Sian (beside Domingo) during the groundbreaking ceremony of the drug treatment and rehabilitation center in the city.

IN DAVAO CITY

PAGCOR, RESORTS WORLD

PARTNER TO BUILD MODEL DRUG REHAB CENTER

A

S THE government intensifies its crackdown on illegal drug abuse, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and Resorts World Philippines Cultural Heritage Foundation Inc. (Resorts World Foundation) led the groundbreaking and capsule laying ceremonies of the recent Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Malagos, Davao City.

Together with their partner agency, the Department of Health and the City Government of Davao, represented by DOH Assistant Secretary for Mindanao Cluster Dr. Abdullah Dumama and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the simple rites were held sand the pomp and pageantry.

Funded by Resorts World Foundation, (the beneficiary foundation of Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., “Travellers”), the two-

story drug rehabilitation building will house an infirmary, administrative office, staff quarters, dormitory, laundry area, dining hall, and recreation area, among others. Its design which has been approved by the DoH is patterned after the existing treatment and rehabilitation centers in the country.

The rehab facility will be built on a 19,909-square-meter property with target completion and delivery on December 2017.

Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo who graced the groundbreaking ceremony said the drug treatment and rehabilitation project came into fruition when Travellers’ Vice Chairman Andrew Tan paid her a courtesy visit in Pagcor.

“He said that he would like to put up two drug rehabilitation centers.

We suggested putting one in Davao to service other surrounding areas in Mindanao. We likewise asked Travellers to put the other one in Camp Bagong Diwa,” Domingo said.

Kingson Sian, President of Travellers and Resorts World Foundation, meanwhile, said the drug treatment and rehabilitation project is a manifestation of their support to the government in its fight against illegal drug abuse.

“Today, we are partnering with Pagcor, the local government of Davao and the DoH to establish this

world-class center for rehabilitation of drug dependents here in Davao as we hope that this project will serve as a lasting and meaningful contribution to the government’s effort to make our country a better one under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Sian said.

Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio likewise expressed her gratitude to Resorts World Foundation and Pagcor for choosing their city as the pilot site of the drug treatment and rehabilitation project during the event. ”This facility will enable more drug dependents to wean off their destructive habits, lead more productive lives and contribute to nation-building.

The lady mayor said that with the construction of this facility, “we hope to encourage other localities to find ways to improve their drug rehabilitation centers so we can attain our collective aspirations of a drug-free Philippines."

TO EASE TRAFFIC WOES

BAGUIO-BENGUET OUTER ROAD PROJECT SLATED

THE GRADUATES. The Secretary of the Directorial Staff, PCSupt. Amador V. Corpus (Center in police officer’s uniform and acting Regional Director PCSupt. Valfrie G. Tabian, PRO 4A, led successful graduates (Class 05-2016) of the recent Motorcycle Riding and Safety course held at General Ricardo C. Marquez Hall, Multipurpose Center, Camp Vicente Lim, Barangay Mayapa, Calamba City.

Roy Tomandao

PESO SLATES 2ND PANGASINAN ’NIGHT JOB FAIR‘ LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—The country’s first night job market is slated for its second staging tomorrow at the Provincial Employment Services Office (PESO) Compound, Capitol Complex in Lingayen.

This announcement came through PESO manager Alex Ferrer in a recent statement.

“In response to a strong clamor from jobseekers, Governor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino III has approved the holding of the 2nd Pangasinan Night Job Market,” Ferrer said.

More than 2,000 local and over-

seas vacancies are waiting to be filled in by the nighttime career expo from 20 local companies and licensed overseas placement agencies.

Job vacancies range Taiwan-bound factory workers, sales and service crews, local hotel and restaurant personnel, skilled construction and industrial workers, medical workers such as nurses and technicians, among others.

To assist—not only the unemployed but also the underemployed—the slated job fair principally aims to pro-

vide the chance to individuals secure better career opportunities.

Most job fairs are conducted during daytime—denying those employees and workers—the chance to seek other employment options as they have to be at their places of work during daytime.

The night job market will start at 6 p.m. until 12 midnight.

The first of its kind in the whole Philippines, the maiden edition of the night job market debuted in May this year as an additional highlight of the Pistay Dayat. Dexter A. See

TUBA, Benguet—A total of P5.5 billion has been allocated by the national government for the construction of a circumferential road to help decongest Baguio City and spur economic growth in the various communities surrounding the thickly populated city.

The proposed Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) outer circumferential road starting from Tublay to Sablan will start next year with the inclusion in the 2017 national budget of around P5 million to jumpstart the ambitious road network project that will inter-connect the BLISTT communities.

The road project will connect the towns of Sablan and Tuba through barangays Bayabas and Nangalisan before the outer circumferential road and will inter-connect Tuba and Itogon and eventually Itogon and Tublay.

Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan in a statement said the construction and funding of the road project and full scale construction will commence by early 2018.

The lawmaker noted that “We no longer have problems in the building of the road networks in Baguio and La Trinidad because the inter-circumferential road project that would connect these urban centers were al-

ready completed way ahead.”

“We just have to pursue the major infrastructure development in the remaining areas of BLISTT to be able to attract the influx of more investors and help increase economic activities in the said localities,” Cosalan stressed.

He underscored the cooperation and assistance of concerned local governments for the success and realization of the much-needed road project as he cited the road-rightof-way problems—should remain unresolved—will definitely cause undue delays for the planned threeyear program completion of the road project.

“Unity and cooperation is paramount among BLISTT officials in order for this project to be finished as scheduled,” the solon said.

The realization of the major road project is deemed crucial in spurring economic activities that will translate to increased job generation, improve sources of livelihood and infrastructure, agriculture and ecotourism growth in the areas to be traversed by the road-line.

The circumferential road is also envisioned to serve as an alternate route in going around the BLISTT communities and reduce the worsening traffic congestions in the Baguio and La Trinidad areas. Dexter A. See

Gadgets & Games

D3

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

BEST WAY TO ENJOY THE SEASON

Lenovo Yoga Book

LENOVO OFFERS ULTIMATE XMAS SHOPPING TECH GUIDE

O

UR country has the distinction of celebrating the world’s longest Christmas season. Once the ‘ber’ months kick in, something magical unfolds right in front of our very eyes.

Public places become riddled with Christmas lights, speakers in malls blare out Christmas tunes and the air around us becomes cooler.

There’s also one thing people look forward to once the holidays begin and these are the flurry of sales with special discounts that barrage us left and right.

As a way to assist you in purchasing gifts for your loved ones this coming holiday season, Lenovo has rounded up great tech gifts for everyone on your list.

For the visionary Lenovo PHAB2 Pro

When Augmented-reality technology broke into the mainstream this year thanks to Pokémon GO, people became ecstatic. Suddenly everyone can interact with fictional beings in real time and in the real world but AR is more than that. With it, visionaries who always have an eye for the future can imagine in a whole new level; by simply clicking a button they can create immersive environments that are highly interactive and can be easily manipulated.

Knowing the limitless potential AR technology has, Lenovo released the Lenovo PHAB2 Pro—the world’s first smartphone compatible with AR, all thanks to Google’s Tango platform. The phone is capable of creating a 3D space around its user by using a combination of cameras such as a regular camera, an integrated depth sensing camera and a motion tracking camera.

The latest of the Lenovo PHAB line to enter the Philippine market, it has a standard retail price of P24,999 and will be available by mid-December.

Plus! Capturing stunning images has never been easier with its Milbeaut® image processor—the same technology found in professional-grade cameras.

You can also shoot super-sharp selfies with the 8 MP front camera featuring a 75º wide-angle view.

Whatever you do with your Phab 2 Plus photos, you can be sure they’ll look PHABulous!

Similar to the PHAB2, it comes with an impressive

For the shutterbug Lenovo PHAB2 Plus

Photographers are in for a treat with the dual 13 MP f/2.0 rear camera setup of the Lenovo PHAB2

Lenovo IdeaPad Y700

avail of a Windows 10 or an Android version. The Windows 10 costs P28,999 while the Android version is P23,999.

For the gamer Lenovo IdeaPad Y700

6.4 inch screen and also sports a 1.3GHz octacore processor and 3GB of RAM. You can get your hands on it for P14, 999.

For the movie buff Lenovo PHAB2

If binge-watching movies or TV shows all day is a favorite hobby, then the PHAB2 is perfect for that person on your gift list with its 6.4-inch 1280x720 HD IPS Screen and Dolby Atmos speakers that enable the device to play sounds in crisp and clear 5.1 surround sound quality.

Watching for countless hours shouldn’t be a problem as the PHAB2 comes with a 4050mAh battery and has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. The PHAB2 is now available nationwide in all Lenovo stores and authorized dealers for P 9,999.

the stylus or with a real pen.

Boasting an exceptionally thin and light design, the Yoga Book weighs only 690g and is as thin as 4.05mm, making work or play on-the-go effortlessly easy. Buyers of the Yoga Book can either

Lenovo PHAB2 Plus

For the artist Lenovo Yoga Book

Mobile productivity enters a new era with the Lenovo Yoga Book, a 2-in-1 tablet that is definitely first of its kind and never before seen. With its Create Pad, the Yoga Book is the perfect gift for the artist in your family as users can scribble notes or sketches using

Booming is definitely the appropriate term to describe the gaming scene today. The year 2016 saw major gaming titles being released one after another and what perfect way to enjoy these games (and the upcoming games, too) than to experience all of their 720P or 1080P Full HD glory using the Lenovo IdeaPad Y700.

Built for no-nonsense, on-the-go gaming, this 15- or 17-inch laptop has the hardware that hardcore gamers look for in a laptop. Overheating is a non-issue with its thermal fans keeping things nice and cool under the hood and its backlit keyboard is perfect for gamers who want an enhanced gaming experience.

Oh, what a time for a gamer to be alive! Price starts at P69,995.

FOR a diabetic like this writer, I grab at every chance to get some saddle time and rack up some miles with my trusty old mountain bike.

As the weather continues to be nicer and with a chill around the air, there is nothing more satisfying than unplugging yourself to enjoy nature on two wheels.

Since it is only me in my block that dedicates time to wake up early and bike around in the mountainous side of Antipolo, Rizal, it can be a bit lonely out there. So one can just imagine my elation when the guys at Nyne Audio Ph sent a Nyne Edge test unit to try out for a couple of days.

For starters, the Edge looks like a shrunken, miniature version of the Nyne Rock, and it fits easily in your hand. The contours lend itself nicely to portability and the double injection rubber housing feels great to the touch and very convenient to lug around.

Bike friendly

Designed specifically for bikers, this Bluetooth speaker comes with a handlebar clip and the rubber housing is IPX5 rated, which means

better protection for the device in any weather.

Using the Edge is a no-brainer, just clamp it on the handlebar, connect your iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth or NFC touch and voila, you are ready to hit the road for an all-day adventure listening to your soundtrack. With up to 15 hours of battery life, there is no fear of running out of juice, music or terrain to explore, because this device is also shock resistant.

Aside from its portability and superb sound quality, another noteworthy feature of this device is the multi-function LED light (with emergency strobe setting) that acts as your bicycle’s headlight.

When my schedule permits me from riding in the morning, I usually sneak in a trail ride in the early evening just to rack up some significant physical exertion for my health.

The LED lights provide the convenience and safety required by those who ride at night.

A control panel across the top has buttons for power, a multi-function button that controls playback, call management, soundtrack navigation and volume. The volume control syncs with your iPhone or Android phone. Underneath the snap-shut protective cover on the rear panel of the Edge is a USB connection for charging mobile devices, and a micro USB port for charging

Grand Videoke PLUS

For the travelling yuppie Lenovo Yoga 900

All of us know that traveling can be a burden.

Packing heavy bags filled with clothes and gear can be draining, and with laptops becoming a necessity, it’s important for it to be durable, flexible, and light at the same time.

Fortunately for backpackers, the Lenovo Yoga 900 meets those very requirements. Weighing at a mere 1.3 kg and just 14.9 mm thick, the Yoga 900 is ultraportable—it’s perfect for life on the go.

It features four different modes for users: Laptop, Stand, Tent, or Tablet. How, you ask? The secret is on the laptop’s watchband hinge and touchscreen which allows the screen to flip up to 360 degrees.

Get it for P78,995.

NYNE EDGE: THE EDGE OF SOUND

Text and photo by Dino Ray V. Directo III

FOR FILIPINOS, especially the modern day heroes–OFWs and balikbayans, who deserve a grand Christmas homecoming celebration, a Grand Videoke is the best way to entertain and share songs from the heart on top of their lungs.

For over 15 years, the makers of Grand Videoke have had the heritage of providing world-class premium videoke experience.

Fulfilling its commitment in creating more Grand moments, Grand Videoke is introducing its new line—the Grand Videoke PLUS series.

With the newest Grand Videoke PLUS, celebrations and parties will never be the same. Everyone will surely love the GeeVee™ Voice Command function that allows finding songs in just about five seconds, a game changer in the industry. With this unique feature, one simply needs to say the song title directly to the microphone, wait a few seconds and start singing. Speaking of the microphone, the Grand Videoke PLUS’ clarinet-inspired wireless microphone is remarkable in its own right. Aside from the stylish and iconic design, it utilizes professional microphone technology for louder, clearer, and more natural voice pickup.

The Grand Videoke PLUS produces grand sound as it is equipped with Dream 2634+ Sound Module for more realistic, concert-like sound. With a selection of more than 6,000 unique songs, from favorite classics to hot contemporary tracks, the carefully curated song library ensures each member of the family will have a grand time singing. And when it’s time to rest those vocal cords, Grand Videoke PLUS is a full-featured multimedia player capable of playing movies, music, and pictures through SD card or USB drive.

Christmas is a time of giving, and this is why Grand Videoke is giving away a promo for all the singing stars. Customers can get a free WOW Digital TV Box worth PhP 1,500 for every purchase of Grand Videoke Symphony 2.0 PLUS (TKR372MP PLUS). Promo is available at SM Appliance, Gadgets Hub at The SM Store, Astroplus, Odyssey, Robinsons Appliance, and other leading appliance and music stores. It can also be purchased online via Lazada (http:// www.lazada.com.ph) and The WOW Store (https://thewowstore.com.ph)

the speaker itself. After a period of inactivity, the device will shut itself automatically to preserve battery life. Once you turn it on again, it automatically pairs up with the last device used when it powered up.“Nyne Edge is the ultimate portable speaker for all of your outdoor adventures,”adds Johann Tiu of Nyne Audio Ph.

Small yet loud and crisp

For a compact device, it can hold its own in blaring out my selection of artists from Motown, down to Bruno Mars. On a cool down session after an hour of biking, I decided to put on Barry White’s “Can’t get enough of your love.”

White’s deep baritone voice was handled with relative ease by the Edge by maintaining the rich vocals of the song, while there’s a strong high-mid and high frequency element, allowing for a clarity and contour of the vocals, and percussive hits.

Next I played Depeche Mode’s “People are People,” which is a song full of bass. Again, the Edge delivered with a solid sense of deep bass without distortion and it does so by avoiding the deep frequencies required from a subwoofer or more powerful drivers to reproduce. But still, this device manages to deliver decent sense of lows and low-mids. Bass fanatics will probably yearn

NYNE EDGE for more low-end, but on this price range, you get decent play time for your favorite tunes.

It may not be bass heavy that some hardcore listeners are after, but the Edge compensates for its powerful and clear audio output for outdoor listening. Combined with LED lights, rugged design and a host of user friendly features, you’ve got a winner with this device.

ANOTHER OPPO F1 PRICE DROP HEADS up, Christmas shoppers: there’s another P1,000 off on the OPPO F1.

The discount applies to OPPO’s P9,990 holiday promo on the F1, further dropping the price to a mere P8,990.

The OPPO F1 is the first smartphone in the mobile technology brand’s camerafocused F series, which made its debut in the Philippines last February.

“We always want our selfies to be upload-ready as soon as we take them, and this is especially true during the holiday season,” said OPPO Brand Marketing Manager Stephen Cheng.

“The OPPO F1 would make a great gift for anyone who wants to immortalize their holiday moments. Our newest discount just makes that even more possible,” he added.

The smartphone features an 8-megapixel front camera with a wide f/2.0 aperture lens and a 1/4 inch sensorto capture vibrant selfies even in less-than-ideal lighting.

Selfies taken by the front camera are 30 percent clearer than photos captured by a 5-megapixel camera. They are also 44 percent brighter than those taken with an f/2.4 lens.

The OPPO F1’s front-camera is also equipped with the Beautify 3.0 app, which has three beautification modes and various filters to give selfies a flawless look.

The discounted OPPO F1 is available at concept and dealer stores nationwide.

For more information, visit OPPO Philippines’ Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/oppophilippines/ or log on to http://www.oppo.com/ph/index.html.

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Gadgets & Games

TAYONA.PH: PROUDLY PHILIPPINE MADE

The TayoNa Team (from right) Frederick R. Puno, Director / IT Head;Atty. Arthur C. Corpuz, Chairman/CEO; Arlene de Vera, Director/Marketing Manager; Dexter Banastao, Mobile Developer; Liwayway A. Benitez, Sales Consultant; Manuel G. Eviota, Director/COO; Jade O. Bernabe, Director/ Social Media and Brand Manager.

By Randy Caluag

N

OW, there’s a social network intended solely for Filipinos.

With the theme, Selfie Generation for Selfless Generation, Tayona.ph was launched recently at the QCX Quezon City Circle.

The site’s Filipino name, which means “Let’s Go,” urges Filipinos to take a more active participation in nation building and help elevate

the socio-economic standing of the country.

One of the basic features of the site is e-gift giving or sharing, wherein the gift giver automatically receives “Wish Gems,” which can be used to “wish” for prizes such as “educational assistance,” plane ticket, gadgets etc.

At the same time, the gift recipient is automatically credited with points which can be used to send eGifts to earn Wish Gems.

Another light, fun feature of Tayona.ph is the Selfie and Groupie-themed photo contest to win prizes.

Members of the site can enjoy for free the usual features of social sites such as chatting, video and photo upload, wall postings etc.

On a serious note, members may use the site to promote his or her business, which is really the intention of the site —use it as a tool for socio-economic empowerment.

“TayoNa.ph is actually a social advocacy, a movement of Filipinos for social change towards a better society. We’re hoping to turn the Selfie generation into Selfless generation for better Philippines,” said lawyer Arthur Corpuz, Tayona.

ph’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Tayona.Ph is definitely more than just a social network site.

The Selfie for a Cause program is aimed at sustaining its scholarship program.

It also has a Sipag Pinoy campaign intended for the Filipino workers, whether based locally or abroad.

“TayoNa is very optimistic that Filipinos can achieve better lives which we truly deserve. We truly believe that the Filipinos can, and only we Filipinos can help ourselves and our country,” added Corpuz.

DARE TO SHINE WITH ALCATEL SHINE LITE TODAY’S young and active generation has the potential to shine in whatever field they choose. After all, we have access to information and can get things done with a tap or swipe of a finger. The power to enjoy life, seize opportunities and dare to shine is in our hands.

Alcatel, a mobile device brand of TCL Communication, brings Shine Lite, a stylish new smartphone that delivers innovative, feature-rich experiences to young Filipinos who appreciate both premium design and competitive pricing.

Alcatel aims to bring joy to everyone through its SHINE LITE and its features.

and fun life. The Shine Lite has all the features needed to help users stand out from the crowd, achieve one’s goals, and shine!

This Alcatel phone comes in two variants: Pure White and Satin Gold. Head to the nearest Alcatel store nationwide and buy the Alcatel smartphone that suits your young, savvy, active lifestyle.

Dare to shine!

About Alcatel Mobile Devices

Stylish Performer

Shine Lite offers a sophisticated symmetrical design with 2.5D glass on both sides and a stylish metal frame. With its glass and metal design, it gives you a smooth feel while swiping. Its curves have a stunning, ergonomic look; and the metallic finish gives it a sleek, premium appearance.

Private Safekeeper

Easy on the eyes and packed with useful features, the Shine Lite has a private Safebox, where users can store private photos, videos, music and documents. Users can also preprogram up to five fingerprints to effortlessly launch five favourite apps directly from standby mode.

Fun Photo Shoot When it comes to capturing moments, Shine Lite’s camera features are a delight to use, making selfies and everyday moments post worthy.

The front camera comes with front flash that makes photos brighter and

front and rear cameras; and making it much easier to create collages.

The most exciting feature about the Alcatel aims to bring joy to Shine Lite camera is the “V” gesture everyone through its SHINE LITE snapshot. When taking a selfie, simand its features. ply make a V with your fingers and the timer will automatically start a more vivid under any lighting condi- count down. Count three seconds tions. Its rear camera has a dual tone and strike a pose for a well-comflash that allows for more natural and posed photograph. accurate color toned images under low Built For Those Who Dare To Shine light conditions.

The newest addition to the Alcatel Meanwhile, the Split Catcher app allows users to create a multi-view family makes it easy to experience joy, collage, capturing scenes from both and live a more confident, exciting

TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (TCL Communication) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of mobile devices in more than 170 countries worldwide under the Alcatel brand, which represents over 90% of the TCL Communication’s total sales and ranks as the world’s #6 mobile device manufacturer and the #1 Chinese vendor in overseas markets, based on Q1 2016 telecommunication research firm Gartner and company’s data.

Its products and solutions resonate with millennial and Gen Z consumers with a simple, personal, authentic and fun approach. By combining an understanding of local markets and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel branded devices from TCL Communication delivers customized user experiences with innovative, feature-rich, high-performance mobile devices that allow consumers to explore and amplify the joy in the everyday.

TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation, one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Alcatel is a trademark of Alcatel-Lucent used under license by TCL Communication.

SAMSUNG'S AUDIO 360 DELIVERS AMAZING SOUND AS DEMAND for listening preference focusing more on going wireless without sacrificing sound quality, Samsung gets ahead of the game with their Samsung Wireless Audio 360 speakers.

This product revolutionizes the way people consume music nowadays. It gives audiophiles a treat of a smooth listening experience and tastemakers a speaker with an avant-garde design—proving that technology and art can come together.

Playing music at home without hearing it audibly in other parts of the room is now a thing of the past.

The Samsung Wireless Audio 360 produces sound evenly in all directions through its patented Ring Radiator technology; which was developed in Samsung’s Audio Lab in California.

Whether you’re resting in your bedroom, cooking in the kitchen, or hosting a dinner with family and friends in your balcony, you can enjoy the 360-degree balanced sound wherever you are.

More than just a speaker, the Samsung Wireless Audio 360’s sleek design with a matte black finish also works as a cutting-edge ornament for the living room or dining area.

On top of its aesthetic value, Samsung audio engineers have determined that its unique shape is ideal for producing perfectly balanced sound.

The Samsung Wireless Audio 360 produces sound evenly in all directions of your room through its patented Ring Radiator technology; which was developed in Samsung’s Audio Lab in California.

These speakers also connect seamlessly with other Samsung products. Wirelessly connect it to your Samsung TV to maximize your movie viewing experience, to your mobile phone or tablet to watch your artist’s performance videos; or to other Samsung Wireless Audio 360 units to fill the house with your favorite music with Samsung’s Multiroom App 2.5.

For music and style enthusiasts, who are looking for a groundbreaking piece of audio equipment to change the way they listen to and enjoy sound wherever and whenever, the Samsung Wireless Audio 360 line-up is the perfect speaker that meets your interest. The line-up includes four different speakers having their own distinct design: the elegant R7 unit, the portable compact R6 unit and the harmonious ambient R3 & R1. To know more about these speakers, visit the Samsung Facebook page or log on to samsung. com/ph/.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions.

For the latest news, please visit Samsung Newsroom at http://news. samsung.com

E1

Young Life

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Isah V. Red, Editor / Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com.ph

Light up your home with lamp shade in Color of the Year 2017

Scan this icon to view the PDF

HOW TO ADD A BIT OF

GREENERY INTO YOUR

LIFE

Y

DOABLE COSTUME IDEAS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY

OU received an invitation to a Christmas party: found out the time and date work well with your schedule, realized the venue is accessible from your place, and knew that some of your closest friends will be there. But you sank down in your seat when you saw the required attire for the shindig—“Red carpet-ready.”

“Why don’t they just let us spend three hours munching Themed parties are here to stay. So instead of being labeled on food, drinking booze and participating in parlor games “the grinch” and missing your chance to celebrate with famin our half-drunk, comfortable self, wearing the clothes that ily, friends or colleagues, you can be resourceful in putting we want?” together your “party look” and still have fun.

Theme: Red Carpet

An Oscars- or Emmys-themed party can be overwhelming when you think about the essentials you need to have and the preparation you ought to do to look like the Hollywood actors we see on the red carpet.

But even if you don’t have a glam team and designer sponsors to help you achieve that red carpet-ready look, you can still RSVP to that invitation wearing a fool-proof black dress-for the female. Up the ante by picking a bejeweled or sequined dress so you’ll sparkle and stand out from the crowd. Pair it up with stud earrings, bangle, a silver clutch and black pumps.

Finish the look with messy updo and rouge lipstick.

For women who value comfort above everything else or want to try something new and young, can cop Sarah Hyland’s look during Emmy Awards 2016, in which she wore sleeveless, floor-length bodice and black capri pants.

Men can wear tuxedo and leather shoes or play it up a little, ala Mark Ruffalo, and pair a royal blue jacket with traditional black pants, or do it like Chris Rock and don a white jacket and black bottoms. Keep the hair sleek or play it up a little to tone down or put a rebel touch to a rather classy and stiff look.

Theme: Fantasy/Superhero/Sci-fi

Dressing up like your favorite non-fiction character is exciting in thought but exhausting in application.

The fun of such theme is diffused by the fact that most, if not all, of the elements to look like a Stormtrooper or Jon Snow are not yet available in your closet. Thus, pick a character whose look or outfit you can re-create using things you already own.

Choose a human character who worn an iconic ensemble, like Eleven‘s pink dress, blue jacket and blonde wig. Or repurpose a gray blanket, and wear it with brown belt, trousers and boots to cop Rey’s look in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Got a black trench coat and navy blue scarf? If your answer is yes, you only need a Deerstalker hat to attend the shindig dressed like Sherlock Holmes.

You can always wear a Spiderman costume to this kind of party, though, but where’s the fun in that?

Theme: Nineties

Decade-themed parties are also popular during Christmas celebration. The good thing about this is that many trends from the past are coming back today. It also helps that your older folks most likely have these decades-old items in the back of their closet.

Invitation requires you to be “Dressed to the Nineties”? That should be easy.

Choker is one of the iconic accessories of the 90s and is currently on a comeback trail, so take advantage of that. The everpresent Doc Martens shoes are another icon, as well as leather biker jacket—them together will give you a Winona Ryder circa 1990 vibe.

Wear a flannel shirt to channel the 90s grunge. Or sport accent braids or pigtail buns for a teeny bopper look.

ALL DRESSED UP. Themed Christmas parties are here to stay, so be resourceful in putting together a holiday look for your Oscars-. Superhero- or Nineties-themed shindig.

Sarah Hyland, Taylor Swift, Winona Ryder © Getty; Rey, Crazy Music Video © Everett Collection; Sherlock Holmes © BBC

WHAT with intense political situation in and out of the country, various pressing social issues and growing disconnect between humans and the natural environment, it could feel like the year 2016 has been too much.

We all need a fresh start. A clean slate, so to speak.

The Pantone Color Institute felt it, too, thereby moving them to announce the Color of the Year for 2017 is a refreshing and revitalizing shade of Greenery.

Greenery (Pantone 15-0343) is “a fresh and zesty yellowgreen shade” that evokes the first days of spring—the time when plants and trees revive, restore and renew. It is the hue that symbolizes new beginnings.

Pantone executive director Leatrice Eiseman said in a statement, “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.”

It serves as the perfect background for people to take a deep breath and reconnect with nature, and the ideal accent to unify a surrounding or perhaps, an ensemble.

Want to try out Pantone’s Color of the Year 2017?

The simplest way to have a Greenery in your beauty kit is by having a green concealer whose primary use is to cover red spots and blotches on the face. See the world in a fresh perspective with green eyeshadow paired with black eyeliner or green eyeliner worn on itself.

Painting your nails green is also an easy-peasy way to wear 2017’s hue. Or if you’re feeling more adventurous and want to try a new look, dye your hair green like Katy Perry.

Michael Kors, Max Mara and Kenzo, among other designers have led the pack of including Greenery, or shades close to it, in their Spring 2017 collection.

Since it’s a fairly easy color to wear, you can take advantage of the cold, or, in Metro Manila’s current case, cold-ish weather to don a green parka or knitted sweater. A pair of platforms or sneakers in this shade packs a lot punch, too.

Or if you prefer to inject it to Turn to E2

Greenery throw pillow is a refreshing sight to see in the living room

Young Life

E2

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

GIFTS FOR MILLENNIALS A

H, THE youth of today! They are labeled “selfish,” “entitled” and “lazy,” but they are also regarded as the health-conscious, ambitious, and openminded generation.

Campus Ambassador Sosy Orsini from Colegio De San Juan De Letran

FROM THE KIDS OF NEW YORK TO THE KIDS OF MANILA TODAY’S “cool kids” led the opening of Pony’s first pop-up store in the country.

In collaboration with Complex Lifestyle Store, the first pop-up store of the American footwear label is located on the 2nd floor of Trinoma.

Inspired by the grunge of New York’s streets, the store features exposed bricks, industrial ceiling design, wood panels and a matte black color theme.

Being inspired by basketball and street culture, Pony tapped a set of young ambassadors who channel the brand’s core values. Waf Al Hassawi from National University, Stephen Quizon from UP Diliman, Chelsea Manalo from De La Salle Araneta University and Sosy Orsini from Colegio De San Juan De Letran are named the Campus Ambassadors.

EDM artist Bea Valera, actor Alex Medina, sneaker Youtuber Ralph A.K.A Woohooligan, indie artist Craig A.K.A Graceson, former Rivermaya vocalist Jason Fernandez, and recording artist Isabelle De Leon delighted the guests with their presence at the opening.

Pony officially introduced the Return of The Icons with the complete Archive. The NYC sneaker brand boasts of basketball-inspired pieces of the new collection, including everything from Top Star ’77, Pro-Model, Slamdunk and the iconic PONY City wings.

They like versatile items that can do more than one thing because many of 18 to 35-year-olds are multi-taskers. Millennials are also keen and less afraid to try something new--may it be a food, a place or an experience.

If, up until now, you are stumped as to what to give the Gen Y peeps on your gift list this Christmas, perhaps this guide can help you: For the retro fan Gen Y are known for their love of bringing back anything vintage or retro. Relive the nostalgic and simpler times of playing on Family Computer with this 30th Anniversary Compact FamiCon edition.

Get it at lazada.com.ph

For the gal who loves anything personalized

Give a monogrammed necklace to someone you know loves to see her initials on stuff she owns.

Get it at @pulserasbykim

For the photography enthusiast

She’ll appreciate that you want to help keep her gizmos in safe and stylish bag with this classic leather Camera Bag from Bags by Rubbertree.

Get it www.bagsbyrubbertree.com

For the always forgetful

We all know someone, or have become that someone, who always forgets where he left his keys. A practical present would be this key finder which lets you know where your keys— which are attached to it—are when you whistle.

Get it lazada.com.ph

For the runner

Give your friend a new pair of durable running shoes because his old ones are probably worn from all the 21Ks he had been to.

Get it at Saucony

For the music freak

For the foodie Always up to try the latest in food trends?

Give him a tub of Manila’s newest food craze, salted egg potato chips.

Did anybody say “new favorite snack”? Well, it will definitely be.

Get it at House of Crisps

For those who will never be caught without their earphones in, give them a premium subscription to Spotify.

Get it at www.spotify. com

For the health conscious

Medicard Health Check Card for that loved one who’s always on top of his health—or that someone you want to be more responsible for his wellbeing.

Get it at www.medicardphils. com

For the guy who hates sharing

Never touch his food, otherwise you will never hear the end of it. Give him this statement mug, and who knows, he might finally let you borrow his stuff (under strict conditions, of course!).

Get it at www.etsy.com

For the bookworm

For that young person who wants to learn what contributed to the success of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, give him Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers is a book about success and how to attain it aside from being smart and working hard.

Get it National Bookstore

San Beda’s Frank Romua

For the ‘offensive’ friend

HOW TO...

From E1 your ensemble sparingly, you can do so with wayfarers, scarf or stole, belt and jewel accessories.

You can also try this color on your mobile phone case or laptop sleeve.

Bring the reinvigorating Greenery into your home through plates, glasses, throw pillows, lounge chair or dining stools, rugs, placemats, and a set of pots and pans in this color.

You may also opt to go all out and paint an accent wall in this shade. But indoor plants such as succulents are perhaps the easiest way to reconnect with nature while introducing this color to your space.

These are just a few of the many ways you can add a bit of Greenery and hope to your life. At the end of the day, we believe the possibilities are endless. So go ahead and have fun!

For the travel bug

A scratch map for that friend who’s almost always traveling somewhere.

Get it at www.quirksph.com

You know that pal who always have the wittiest or dirtiest jokes? He’d probably be the king every time you play Cards Against Humanity.

Get it at www.lazada. com.ph

For the supporter of local goods

Give him a stylish knapsack from Akaba, a social enterprise known for their bags made of Filipino indigenous handwoven textiles.

Get it at @akabaco

For the binge watcher

That friend who binge watched Stranger Things in one day will love to wear this statement shirt featuring no less than his favorite characters.

Get it at @awesomeprintph

Showbiz

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016

E3

GIL CUERVA IS PHILIPPINES’

KIM SOO HYUN

By Nickie Wang

fashion scene. His long locks, defined jaw and chinky eyes are his main selling points as a model.

In a recent interview, Gil admitted that he’s very nervous in his first acting stint and it was pure determination that gave him the guts to audition for the coveted role. He also shared that he was surprised upon hearing the news of his casting since he didn’t expect to get it. He then started watching the entire series and underwent a series of acting workshops facilitated by Joyce Bernal, who is directing the local adaptation of the hit Korean drama.

“Right now, I’m still getting familiar with the whole experience. I’m trying to embrace everything including the pressure that comes with it. I promise to always put my best foot forward. Pagdating ko sa set, remove all inhibition, 100 percent ang effort ko,” says the 5-foot-11 model turned actor.

In this romantic fantasy series, Gil plays Matteo Do (or Do Minjoon in the original version of the series), an alien who landed on Earth in the Joseon Dynasty and, 400 years later, falls in love with Steffi Cheon (originally played by Jun Ji Hyun), a top actress in the modern era.

Last week, Gil and Jennylyn started taping for the upcoming series. Behind the scenes photos have flooded social media, too, an indication that fans are content with Gil being cast to play an important role.

“Madali siyang katrabaho at magaling siyang artist. I learned a lot from her,” says Gil who also feels very excited to work with the rest of the cast.

J

ennylyn Mercado has already found her Matteo Do and the lucky actor’s name is Gil Cuerva.

Early this year, there were speculations that Alden Richards would star opposite Jennylyn in the local adaptation of My Love from the Star, the romantic Korean drama that took Asian TV by storm in 2014. Other names surfaced including Ken Chan, Richard Juan, Lharby Policarpio, Jake Ejercito and Ken Alfonso as some of the Kapuso actors who auditioned and being considered for the role originally played by Korean superstar Kim Soo Hyun.

In an announcement that rather surprised Kapuso fans, the network introduced a virtually unknown newbie to star opposite the more experienced and seasoned actress.

Now, people are asking: How can Gil Cuerva measure up to Jennylyn Mercado?

Is he a reasonable investment for GMA 7?

We haven’t seen Gil acted before, but we know that the 21-yearold showbiz green apple is half-Spanish and he’s one of the most sought-after print and ramp male models on the local

ALDEN AND MAINE IN A TV SERIES, FINALLY EVERY popular love team has their own TVCs (a lot of them), big screen projects and a television series. Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, otherwise known as AlDub, have done almost everything except starring in a soap opera.

Since their astronomic rise as one of the most popular love teams in local tinsel town, fans have been clamoring to see their idols in a regular show other than the Eat Bulaga segment “Kalyeserye.” There were even jokes that The Baes were given their own show first while AlDub’s debut in a television series is still on hold.

But the wait is finally over. Almost two years after becoming a TV phenomena, the Pambansang Bae and the Dubsmash Queen are finally set to star in their own soap opera on GMA next year. The romantic drama is entitled Destined To Be Yours and will start taping next week in Quezon province. The show will be directed

by Irene Villamor, who helmed the surprise box office hit, Camp Sawi.

Initially titled Hiling, Destined To Be Yours revolves around the story of a rich architect (Alden) working on a development project in a certain province. On the other hand, Maine’s character is a barrio lass and an environmentalist who rallies against the construction project. In the process, the two characters that started out as enemies suddenly find their way in each other’s arms.

Joining the onscreen couple in their much-awaited debut are senior actors Gardo Versoza, Lotlot de Leon, Boots Anson-Rodrigo, and Janice de Belen. - Nickie Wang

Model turned actor Gil Cuerva, 21, is one of the latest discoveries of GMA Network.

The 5-foot-11 former Candy Cutie will star opposite Jennylyn Mercado in the local adaptation of 'My Love from the Star.' Photo courtesy of Gil's Instagram Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards will now star in a TV series that they can call their own

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Sunday, December 19, 2016

ACROSS 1 Gaiters 6 Alien tour buses?

10 Freezer maker 15 Piano exercise 20 Asian capital 21 Sound a bell 22 Proboscises 23 Snert’s master 24 Vocally 25 “— vincit amor” 26 Anvil user 27 Walking — — 28 Flinch 29 Inert gas 30 Evasive speech (2 wds.)

32 Determine value 34 Bandleader — Miller 36 Iris locale 37 Neat as — — 40 Sturdy tree 41 Expertise 42 Green parrot 44 Mouse-colored 48 Rascal 49 Game piece 50 Jungle crushers 53 Chinese mammal 55 Fiesta cheer 56 Calorie counter 58 Immature butterfly 59 Jug and cooler 61 UCLA player 63 Fish basket 64 Aquarium’s — ray 65 La femme 66 Pursued 67 Unfavorable 69 MOMA artist 70 Reporter — Lane 71 Raise (abbr.)

74 Lamprey 75 Most boring 78 Impassioned 81 Ms. Peeples of TV 82 A law — itself 83 Cravat 84 Symphony or tome 86 Delts neighbor 87 Insist on 89 Gives money back 93 Support 94 Canvasback 95 Sugar-cane cutter 96 Full-strength 97 Strict 100 Frankfurter 102 Sketch 103 Mongol tents 104 Poet W.H. — 108 Speedy jumpers 109 Shoestrings 110 A famous 500 111 Leblanc’s — Lupin 112 Mellow

113 115 116 117 118 120 121 123 124 125 127 129 131

Clan members Vulcan high priestess Compass pt.

Pledge Method ER personnel Future bks.

Pep Old masters Depot (abbr.)

Oregon capital Whispers loudly The heart of the matter (hyph.)

136 — we all!

138 Butler of fiction 142 “Let’s Make — —!”

143 Chew the scenery 144 Town for Miss Kitty 145 Auto-safety advocate 146 — Cristo 147 Hardens, as clay 148 Pilot’s OK 149 Hindu sage 150 Chief’s adviser 151 Upriver spawner 152 Was very thrifty 153 Fills a pipe DOWN 1 Bernard — of CNN 2 Sanskrit dialect 3 By and by 4 Colorful bird 5 Factions 6 Reveal 7 Wards off 8 Mishmash 9 Street lingo 10 Grab the phone 11 Instant 12 From India 13 Hockey goals 14 U.S.Open winner Arthur — 15 Gaudy 16 Went over the rapids 17 Microbiology gel 18 Reclined 19 Goofs up 21 Seoul food 31 Main role 33 Prices may do it 35 Refrain syllables 37 “Moneytalks” group 38 Couple 39 — fixe 42 Leafy vegetable 43 USN officer 45 Philosopher JeanJacques 46 Never tell — — 47 Make crooked 49 Blend 50 Chignons 51 Made a choice 52 Rte. mappers

53 54 57 58 59 60 62 64 66 68 69 71 72 73 76 77 79 80 82 85 88 90 91 92 94 98 99 100 101

Dock foundation Can’t stand Run like crazy Ice cream — Congealed Toward shelter Police bust Shake hands with Monet or Debussy Peddler Actor Kevin — Terre Haute’s st.

Never, to Wolfgang Slightly arched One-eighties (hyph.)

Warm and cozy Brokaw’s network My, my!

Except if Quarries Primo (hyph.)

DeMille movies Sulk angrily Resort amenity — ex machina Pakistan language One in a million Pow! “Othello” heavy

102 103 105 106 107 109 111 114 115 116 119 121 122 123 124 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 137 139 140 141

Back muscles Puppy plaint Shiva’s consort Lab compound Current events Chaney of horror flicks Nile reptiles Rugged cliff Mao — -tung Nun, to a nun Legacy Barbie’s producer Least to be trusted Criticized severely Lake Ontario city Mary — Moore Feed the fire Mexico’s Sierra — Line of bushes — & Young Repute Archaeology find Water the fern Bull Run fighters Mosque official Castle, in chess Party-tray cheese Weather info Slugger — Speaker

E4

Showbiz

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

Phenomenal love team Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza

CONSTELLATION OF STARS. Kapuso network stars and talents join together to stage the grandest Christmas special on TV. Pictured above are 'Meant To Be' lead cast Barbie Forteza (center), Ivan Dorschner, Ken Chan, Jak Roberto and Addy Raj.

GMA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Lovi Poe and Tom Rodriguez

‘THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS’

G

MA Network, Inc. proudly presents this year’s Christmas special entitled The Magic Of Christmas airing today.

This will be the Network’s best opportunity to express its gratitude to the loyal Kapuso viewers for making GMA the top-rater nationwide.

The program will highlight five Christmas values, namely Gratitude, Peace, Hope, Faith and Love.

GMA’s constellation of stars will make a grand appearance onstage

Matinee idols Rocco Nacino and Ruru Madrid and comedian Sef Cadayona dance for their fans

TV darlings and 'Encantadia' lead cast Kylie Padilla, Gabbi Garcia, Glaiza de Castro and Sanya Lopez in a musical production

from start to finish, where viewers will see their Kapuso idols sharing the stage with each other.

The program opens with a medley of lively Christmas tunes belted out by no less than Asia’s Songbird and Full House Tonight host Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Asia’s Romantic Balladeer Christian Bautista, Asia’s Pop Sweetheart Julie Anne San Jose, and many more worldclass Kapuso singers.

GMA’s KiliTV family led by Kapuso Comedy King Michael V., Manilyn Reynes and Eugene Domingo together with the cast of Bubble Gang, Pepito Manaloto and Tsuperhero will also present a fun way to celebrate Christmas.

Kapuso favorites Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana, Rhian Ramos, Solenn Heussaff and Heart Evangelista will also regale the audience with their fun Christmas “aguinaldo” for their fans.

The stars of the upcoming program My Love From The Star Jennylyn Mercado together with her co-star, one of GMA’s newest discoveries, Gil Cuerva; Meant To Be lead star Barbie Forteza with her leading men, Kapuso heartthrobs Ken Chan and Jak Roberto, and new Kapuso faces to watch out for, Ivan Dorschner and Addy Raj; Julie Anne’s co-stars in Pinulot Ka Lang Sa Lupa Benjamin Alves, Martin del Rosario and LJ Reyes; and Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza from Destined To Be Yours will deliver performances that will surely make the audience anticipate their new programs for 2017. Alden will also have a surprise for his fans and Christmas mall shoppers that you wouldn’t want to miss out on.

You also wouldn’t want to miss appearances by Lovi Poe, Tom Rodriguez, Max Collins of Someone To Watch Over Me; Megan Young, Andrea Torres, and Ms. Jaclyn Jose of Alyas Robin Hood; Gabby Concepcion, Ryza Cenon, Mike Tan and Sunshine Dizon of Ika-6 Na Utos; Yasmien Kurdi, Katrina Halili, and Gabby Eigenmann of Sa Piling Ni Nanay; and the cast of Hahamakin Ang Lahat led by Snooky Serna and Thea Tolentino.

Rocco Nacino, Ruru Madrid and Sef Cadayona and the well-loved Kapuso loveteams: Miguel Tanfelix-Bianca Umali, Kristoffer MartinJoyce Ching, Jake Vargas-Inah de Belen and Derrick MonasterioBea Binene will have dance performances. Mikael Daez, Betong Sumaya, Mike “Pekto” Nacua and Paolo Contis together with Sheena Halili and Kim Domingo team up for a fun musical skit. There will also be performances by the 4 “Sang’gres” of Encantadia: Glaiza de Castro, Gabbi Garcia, Sanya Lopez and Kylie Padilla.

People vs The Stars’ host Iya Villania joins the celebration together with the talented child stars of GMA and the other cast members of Encantadia.

The Magic of Christmas will be capped off by a touching performance

by GMA’s Primetime King and Queen, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera.

Throughout the show, audiences will also be witnesses to truly magical real-life stories of inspiration that showcase the true meaning of love, gratitude, faith, peace, and hope.

Celebrate The Magic Of Christmas tonight after Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on GMA’s SNBO.

Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista

Kapuso primetime royalties Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera

Andrea Torres, Jaclyn Jose and Megan Young