Manila Standard - 2017 June 18 - Sunday

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 124 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

US, PH SHIPS COLLIDE OFF JAPAN; 7 MISSING

COLLISION. Guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald incurred damages on its side off the Shimoda coast after it collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship ACX Crystal (inset) on June 17, 2017. AFP

DUTERTE URGES VIGILANCE VS ISIS

By John Paolo Bencito

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday urged Mindanaoans not to let Islamic Stateinspired groups gain new ground even as local officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were told to prepare for more attacks in the coming days.

Resuming his public engagement after getting out of public sight for almost a week because he was “extremely tired”—Duterte admitted that the government may have ‘taken for granted’ the arms trade between and among Moro groups and private armies that allowed them to stockpile firearms as the ongoing siege in Marawi escalated.

“These Maute and ISIS, what they knew only is killing people. Do not let them enter,” Duterte said in a speech at Cabadbaran City amid reports that extremists were slowly slipping out of war-torn Marawi City.

Duterte told his fellow Mindanaons not to

believe in the extremists’ ideology of killing non-Muslims.

“Huwag ninyong isipin ang idea na tayong lahat ay magpatayan... You rise to become the symbol of unity and cooperation in the region,” Duterte said.

“I ask for your continued vigilance as we restore public order in the fight against terrorism,” he added.

The President made the appeal as ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman met with Lanao del Sur mayors on Saturday telling them to prepare amid impeding attacks by the Maute group.

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MARTIAL LAW: PUBLIC SAFETY A PRIME FACTOR

By John Paolo Bencito and Maricel V. Cruz THE Palace on Saturday insisted on the need to continuously impose martial law in Mindanao despite its assurance that the resistance coming from extremist groups was already “dwindling.”

During the regular “Mindanao

Hour” over state radio dzRB, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that the government likewise stressed the need to benchmark first public safety amid the proposal of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to extend martial law until the end of the President’s term.

“As far as the Palace is concerned, the Executive branch wishes for all

of this to end as soon as possible.

However, our bottomline [consideration in implementing] martial law is public safety. Public safety as mandated by the Constitution,” Abella said.

“Speaker Alvarez has voiced his opinion regarding the matter and we respect that. However, the provision of the Palace will be bench-

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marked upon the agreement on whether or not public safety is already sufficiently guaranteed,” he added.

On Thursday, Alvarez said that House leaders were open to extending the 60-day martial law period in Mindanao following the continued terrorist attacks of the Maute group.

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YOKOSUKA—Seven US sailors were missing and a skipper injured after their Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship off the coast of Japan early Saturday, with the badly damaged US vessel partially flooded.

Aerial television footage showed one sailor lying on a stretcher and a rescuer being pulled up to a helicopter that was hovering above the USS Fitzgerald, its right side partially crushed.

Three sailors were injured in the predawn collision, including the guided missile destroyer’s commanding officer Bryce Benson.

“Two sailors, in addition to the commanding officer, have been medically evacuated from USS Fitzgerald to US Naval Hospital Yokosuka for lacerations and bruises,” the navy said.

“There are seven sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them.”

The accident between the Fitzgerald and Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal happened around 2:30 a.m. (1730 GMT Friday) off the coast off the Izu peninsula southwest of Tokyo, the US Navy and Japan’s coastguard said.

The area is a busy shipping channel near major container ports in Yokohoma and Tokyo.

“The volume of ships is heavy in this area and there have been accidents before,” coastguard official Yutaka Saito told Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. It was not immediately clear what caused the collision, but NHK said the massive 222-meter (730 foot) container ship made a sharp turn-around the time of the accident.

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SINGER WRITES TWITTER HISTORY WITH 100M FANS WASHINGTON—Pop superstar Katy Perry has made history by becoming the first user to garner 100 million followers on Twitter, the social media platform announced.

“Today we #WITNESS history,” Twitter said Friday in a tweet, referencing the title of Perry’s recently released fifth album.

“Congratulations @katyperry, the first to reach 100 million followers! #LoveKaty.”

The 32-year-old singer recently livestreamed her life for 96 hours, inviting fans to watch as she slept, cooked, did yoga, cuddled with her dog Nugget, and chatted with a stream of celebrities who showed up at her door.

Despite putting her life temporarily under observation with 41 cameras, Perry—born Katheryn Hudson to conservative Christian parents in California—said she struggled to handle the attention to her life more broadly.

“I built up this Katy Perry thing that everybody knows and that’s the reason why they’re tuning in and it’s fantastic, but it’s more of a facade,” she told the therapist Siri Singh.

“I’m human and I’m living under this crazy microscope,” she said, tears smudging her mascara.

Singer Justin Bieber trails on Twitter with just under 97 million followers, while Perry’s pop rival Taylor Swift has 85 million. AFP

GADGETS / D3

YOUNG LIFE / E2

BUDGETFRIENDLY PHONES

DAD JOKES THAT ARE SO CORNY THEY'RE FUNNY

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US,...

VIETNAMESE HOSTAGE RESCUED FROM SAYYAF

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Japan’s coastguard, which is probing the incident, has sent five vessels, two planes and a team of specially trained rescue personnel to help in the search for the missing crew, a spokesman said.

The USS Dewey and two Navy tugboats were helping out in the search and rescue, the US military said, while Japan’s Self-Defense Forces also joined the operation, sending three ships and several aircraft.

The 154-metre Fitzgerald—which was commissioned in 1995 and was deployed in the Iraq war in 2003—is based in Yokosuka and operates in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

The accident happened 56 nautical miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Yokosuka, the navy said.

“My daughter is on the Fitzgerald,” a parent wrote on the 7th Fleet’s Facebook page.

“So worried. Just need to hear she is ok. Thinking of all of our sailors and their families!!”

US chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson said in a statement: “As more information is learned we will be sure to share it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public.

“All of our thoughts and concerns are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families.”

Video by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed heavy damage to the right side of the Fitzgerald just ahead of the control tower, and that the ship had taken on water.

An orange hose was visible on the ship’s deck, with many crew members seen checking the damage.

The destroyer, piloted by two tugboats, was sailing to Yokosuka.

“The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline. The collision resulted in some flooding,” the Navy said.

The Fitzgerald was still under its own power “although her propulsion was limited”, the navy said. It is not in danger of sinking and is headed back to port on its own power.

The footage, meanwhile, showed relatively light damage to the ACX Crystal.

Twenty crew members were aboard the container and none was injured, another Japanese coastguard spokesman said, adding that the vessel was separately sailing back to a Tokyo port.

“We are now investigating the case as further details, including the weather conditions at the time, are not available,” the spokesman said.

The ACX Crystal is a commercial container ship that, according to marine tracking websites, was on its way to Tokyo.

The ship carries a Philippine flag but is listed as owned by Japanese shipping giant NYK Line.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government said it was closely monitoring developments in the collision.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the extent of the damage and the condition of the Filipino nationals were being assessed by Japanese authorities.

AFP with Sara Fabunan and John Paolo Bencito

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AMBOANGA—Philippine troops have rescued a Vietnamese sailor held hostage for seven months by Islamist militants in Mindanao, the military said Saturday.

Hoang Vo, 28, was rescued by troops on Friday after an airstrike and artillery fire on an Abu Sayyaf camp in the island of Basilan dispersed the kidnappers, regional military spokeswoman Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said.

She said the sailor was being treated for an unspecified wound on his back.

There is no way to independently verify the military’s account of the rescue.

The Abu Sayyaf network has been kidnapping foreigners and locals for years and holding them for ransom

on its remote island strongholds in the southern Philippines.

Vo was seized last November along with five other Vietnamese crew members of a vessel that was boarded by the militants off Sibago island in the southern region of Mindanao.

A statement issued by the military’s regional command based in Zamboanga City said Abu Sayyaf militants are holding a total of 26 hostages, including several foreigners, in Sulu and Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf is known to behead its hostages unless ransom payments are made.

German national Jurgen Kantner, 70, was beheaded earlier this year after the kidnappers’ demand for P30 million ($600,000) was not met.

Last year, the Abu Sayyaf also beheaded two Canadian hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf, originally a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network, has splintered into factions, with some continuing to engage in banditry and kidnappings.

One faction led by Isnilon Hapilon has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, with members among those holding parts of Marawi, the largely Catholic nation’s most important Islamic city, where the government has launched air-strikes and deployed artillery and ground forces against them.

In another development, combined police and military operatives

on Saturday, June 17, arrested a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group and recovered bomb-making materials from him.

Arrested was Hamsi Marani, a resident of Barangay Muti, according to Supt. Diomarie Albarico, Zamboanga City Police Office director.

Albarico said Marani was arrested during an operation whose original target was Asbi Ahaddin alias Pogie, who is charged with the crime of attempted murder.

Ahaddin managed to elude arrest when the troops swooped down on his residence in Barangay Muti.

But Marani, who was at Ahaddin’s residence, was arrested after an informant recognized the suspect as a member of the ASG. Police said the arresting team has also recovered at the residence of Ahaddin a detonating cord and two blasting caps. AFP, PNA

BRUTAL SKED MADE ME FEEL TIRED—RODY

By John Paolo Bencito PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday admitted feeling “overwhelmed” with stress that is why he took a much-needed five-day rest.

Duterte, who skipped the Independence Day activities Monday

last week, said he felt “extremely tired” amid his very brutal schedule.

“It’s not that I snubbed Independence Day. My body was overwhelmed. I really needed to rest,” the President said at Cabadbaran City in Agusan del Norte on Saturday.

“Last night, I went to Davao. I

slept. I needed to conserve energy because you know, it’s important because it adds to one’s happiness,” he added.

Prior to his speech yesterday, Duterte’s last public event was on June 11 when he led the honor rites for the soldiers slain in conflict-torn

Marawi City at the Villamor Air Base.

The Palace on Thursday released photos of Duterte to dismiss speculations on the President’s health.

The 72-year-old leader earlier admitted suffering at least four ailments, including Buerger’s Disease and Barrett’s Esophagus.

MARTIAL...

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But on Friday, the Davao del Norte representative and secretary-general of President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDPLaban said he was open to the idea of extending martial law in Mindanao until Duterte steps down in 2022, citing that it has been well-received by majority of the more than 20 million people in the Philippine south and that critics, particularly those who were not from Mindanao, had no reason to oppose or worry about it.

Alvarez’s proposal drew support in the House, with at least five House leaders also voicing their agreement to extend martial law in the country’s southernmost island.

Reps. Rodolfo Albano of Isabela, Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, Gus Tambunting of Parañaque City, Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar and Harry Roque of Kabayan party-list said Alvarez and President Duterte would know better the situation in the South

being Mindanaoans.

“If the conditions warrant the prolonging of ML to save lives, who are we to [oppose],” Albano, majority leader for the House of Representatives’ contingent to Commission on Appointments, said.

Albano said the President and his military and police personnel knows fully well the situation in Mindanao, especially in Marawi and so only them could tell the real score.

Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, echoed Albano’s expression of support to Alvarez.

“Yes, I will support any extension as long as there is still imminent threat of terrorism, rebellion and invasion perpetrated by ISIS, Maute and Abu Sayaf groups.''

Evardone also said he is for the martial law extension “if the situation so warrants.”

Tambunting, House committee on

ways and means chairperson, shares a similar view.

“If it remains necessary and the situation is still not under control, I will not object to an extension [of the 60-day martial law period] in Mindnao,” Tambunting said.

Roque, for his part, said that Congress will support the President for peace’s sake in the war-torn region.

“That is for President to declare. If he does, Congress will support him,” Roque said.

But Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said it is too early to discuss the martial law extension.

“We will assess the situation by then but it is still a month away,” he said.

The President declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23. It will lapse on July 23.

Alvarez, secretary-general of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, said the House may approve

the martial law extension “if necessary” as the Armed Forces of the Philippines has yet to gain full control of the situation in Marawi City.

But more than three weeks since Duterte imposed martial rule in the whole island of Mindanao, Abella flaunted that “enemy resistance continues to dwindle and enemy-held areas continues to grow smaller as the troops advance” in Marawi city and proceed with clearing operations.

Abella, however, insisted that there are still “compounding developments” that necessitates the need to implement military rule, including the use of civilians as human shields and mosques being used as staging areas and safe havens.

“Therefore, the schedule for the lifting of martial law is whether or not it is already totally, completely guaranteed or sufficiently guaranteed for the safety of the general public or not,” Abella said.

DUTERTE...

From A1

Speaking to reporters, ARMM Assemblyman and Crisis Coordinating Committee spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong said Hataman told mayors in the besieged province to strengthen their defenses against extremists.

“The governor of ARMM together with some mayors of Lanao del Sur discussed the strengthening of the civilian defense security plan in order to mobilize civilian force … as first line of defense to prepare for possible attacks by the ISIS-linked local militant group,” Adiong said.

“Mayors and the municipalities [should] proactively prepare a plan in so far as the possible of attack by the same group,” he added.

Military officials earlier confirmed that some of the Islamist militants who stormed Marawi City may have already left the conflict zone by mingling with fleeing residents, with security already tightened in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro as to with the ongoing lookout for suspicious characters who might “attempt to sow some confusion or sow terror.”

This was the same assessment made

by Professor Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research Inc. “May nakalabas na dahil ... ˆ-anticipate ng threat groups na ito na magkakaroon ng airstrike at pinaghandaan talaga nila na i-confront sila ng government forces [Some of them got out. They anticipated that there would be air strikes and they

had prepared for this, to confront government forces. So they built tunnels, they stockpiled arms and food],” said Prof. “Napaghandaan nila ito, gumawa sila ng tunnels, nag-imbak sila ng mga armas at pagkain,” Banlaoi said.

Banlaoi earlier claimed that terrorist groups in Mindanao have formed a stronger coalition under the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The new terrorist group is called “Daulah Islamiyah Wilayatul Mashriq” or the “Islamic State East Asia Division.”

Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon was reportedly appointed as an “emir” of ISIS in the Philippines and will lead the establishment of a “wilayat” or a provincial ISIS territory in Lanao del Sur with the Maute group.

Banlaoi also pointed out that calling militants in Marawi City as Maute group is inaccurate as other terrorist groups have joined the attack on the Muslim-majority city.

“Yung threat groups na kinaharap ng government forces sa Marawi City ay hindi lamang Maute group yan... Ang kinakaharap ng ating pamahalaan ay isang unified group ng mga ISIS followers sa Pilipinas [The threats groups that government troops are fighting are not only from the Maute Group but a unified group of all ISIS followers in the Philippines],” Banlaoi said.

“Pero balwarte talaga ng Maute group ang Marawi City, kaya nga mismong si Isnilon Hapilon ang bumaba sa siyudad

[But Marawi City is really Maute’s territory, that’s why Isnilon Hapilon descended in the city],” he added.

At least 14 terror groups have already unified and pledged allegiance to ISIS, Banlaoi added.

“Ang na-count namin na nag-pledge ng allegiance ay umabot na sa 14. Pero meron pang ibang grupo pero ang pinakaarmadong grupo na talagang nag-deploy ng kanilang combatants ay nanggaling sa Abu Sayyaf group, sa Maute group, Bangsamoro Islamic freedom fighters, at sa Khilafah Philippines at Khilafah Islamiyah Mindanao [We counted 14 groups of those who had pledged allegiance to the ISIS. But there are other groups as well.

And the group with the high-powered weapons is the Abu Sayyaf].”

Banlaoi said it would be even harder for the government once the skirmishes in Marawi would be over since most militants have already fled to other areas in Mindanao.

“Tingin ko dito na mas malaking hamon ang kahaharapin ng ating government forces pagkatapos ng Marawi incident dahil magkakalat-kalat sila sa Mindanao.

In fact karamihan ng combatants nila ay pumunta na sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Mindanao [The government forces faces a bigger challenge once the Marawi incident is over, since these groups will be scattered all over Mindanao],” he added. However, he pointed out that the ISIS would not be able to establish a

caliphate in the country as government remains strong in thwarting such threat, and that the international community also is giving its support.

Air raids continue to flare anew and pockets of fierce ground combat rage between security forces and ISIS-inspired terror groups as the battle for Marawi continued on its third week.

More than 300 people have been killed in the battle for Marawi according to official estimates, including 225 militants, 59 soldiers and 26 civilians.

Talking to troops at nearby Butuan City, Duterte in a separate speech admitted that the ‘very soft policy’ of the government towards Moro rebels may have led to some lapses that have allowed extremist groups to continue stockpiling armaments, which may have aggravated the ongoing siege in the country’s south.

“It was not a question on the failure of intelligence on the part of the government, but we have adopted a very soft policy towards rebels. They’re bringing in arms, but we are thinking of getting peace with the MNLF and MI[LF] but the arms trade, and we took it for granted,” the President said.

While he admitted that at one point the government never really knew who their real enemy is—the President insisted that there was no “failure of intelligence” even as extremists continue to round up government forces in the continued fighting.

“What it turned out, the Maute were bringing firearms surreptitiously and we never got their number of armaments and firearms,” he said. “They were claiming they were MN or MI, [because] then, the standing offer is ‘baka sakali, mapakiusapan pa natin ang mga kapatid natin.’”

“But all the while, these Maute were in connivance with warlords, these Maute were stockpiling. Kaya hindi maubos yung M203 na bala, at napakarami. Magpaputok gubyerno ng isa—ang ibalik sa atin lima.”

“When the Maute rose to fight against the government, they were waiting for a reason which is an everyday occurence in the Philippines—they fought that’s why there was an exchange of fire,” he said, referring to the botched attempt to serve arrest warrants against top Abu Sayyaf Isnilon Hapilon, who is leading efforts to build a province in Southeast Asia.

Among the foreign fighters who came here in the country were a “conglomeration” of ISIS fighters from Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lankans, and Kuwaitis, Duterte said.

“The fighting is winding up, but at the cost of many soldiers also. And that is the danger ng Maute and ISIS.” Meanwhile, the military said that the number of Maute members fighting the government forces in the strife torn city of Marawi has already “dwindled,” as soldiers continue to advance in areas the extremists used to have a strong hold. With PNA

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PALACE TO NYT: SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE

By John Paolo Bencito

RETRIEVED. Peace Corridor volunteers from both the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front facilitated on Friday the retrieval of the three civilians trapped in the conflict area in Marawi City, bringing the total of retrieved civilians to 240 since June 4. JCMAC, which mans the Peace Corridors, reported that the retrieved Marawi residents were consolidated at Masjid Bato, a mosque within the city proper.

They are currently undergoing processing from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for their identities and medical checkup from the Lanao del Sur Provincial Health Office.

OSLO-BASED REDS ASK NPA: STOP ATTACKS ON TROOPERS

By John Paolo Bencito

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OMMUNIST leaders in Oslo on Saturday told its armed wing, the New People’s Army to refrain from launching new offensives against government troops as it renewed calls for a ceasefire with the Duterte administration to focus on the ongoing crackdown against Islamic Stateinspired groups.

“For all forces to be able to concentrate against Maute, Abu Sayyaf and AKP groups, the NDFP has recommended to the CPP to order all other NPA units in Mindanao to refrain from carrying out offensive operations against the

Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] and Philippine National Police [PNP],” National Democratic Front chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili said, provided, however, that the government orders the military “to refrain from carrying out offensive operations against the NPA and people’s militia.”

“The NDFP is ready to discuss and agree in detail with the GRP on how ceasefire, coordination and cooperation can be achieved in Marawi City by both forces unilaterally keeping safe distances between each other,” Agcaoili added.

The NDF panel likewise reiterated its declaration opposing and fighting terrorism saying that they were “determined to counteract the Maute, Abu Sayyaf and Ansar Al Khilafah Philippines [AKP] groups which are wrecking havoc in Marawi City.”

“As a matter of fundamental principle and constant policy, we condemn and

combat terrorism. By terrorism, we mean actions that intimidate, terrorize, harm and murder civilians solely or mainly and in violation of human rights and international humanitarian law.”

The supposed fifth round of talks between the government and communist rebels broke down last May 27 after President Rodrigo Duterte slammed the communists’ pronouncements to intensify attacks against government forces amid the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

The NDFP earlier heeded Duterte’s call to help fight terrorists in Marawi by directing NPA units “to redeploy for the purpose of mopping-up, holding, and blocking operations.”

The President, however, retracted his calls for the communists and Moro fighters to join his war against his war against terror, saying that they “no longer fit into the picture.”

MARAWI EVACUEES’ SAFETY, HEALTH A PRIORITY—PALACE

By John Paolo Bencito and Vito Barcelo

BONDING. Fathers from all walks of life spend quality time with their children on the eve of Father’s Day on Saturday at Manila’s Rizal Park.

Ey Acasio

MALACAÑANG assured the public on Saturday that it would prioritize the health and safety of evacuees displaced by the ongoing siege in Marawi City amid reports that some were already dying or getting sick as a result.

“We are doing something about it. And [our] priority and interest is the health and safety of those who evacuated,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told state radio dzRB. Displaced residents of the besieged city of Marawi have been reported to be suffering from various illnesses, including fever and diarrhea, as they were forced to stay in evacuation centers amid the ongoing government offensive.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial earlier said that some 40 residents who were not in evacuation centers died of dehydration as a result of the ongoing conflict while 19 of them,

who were previously hospitalized, died in evacuation centers, where their existing health conditions were aggravated.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund in the Philippines has begun implementing a psychosocial recovery program for thousands of children displaced by the ongoing conflict in Marawi City.

Andrew Morris, Unicef Philippines chief of field office, said the intervention aims to reach over 40,000 displaced children to help them recover from the trauma of war after more than 160,000 children were estimated to have been displaced since clashes started May 23.

“Widespread fear is apparent. The lives of many of those children are in turmoil. They ran away from their homes in Marawi. It’s important that we do everything we can to help them return to a sense of normalcy,” Morris said in a television interview.

Morris said that sanitation remains a major concern for the evacuees.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s strongman tactics in trying to resolve the extremist crisis in the country’s south was “partly to blame for the escalation” of the now ongoing conflict with the Maute group in Marawi City, a New York Times editorial said.

Malacañang, however, told the celebrated newspaper to “see the whole picture” after it pinned blame on Duterte’s provocation to IS-inspired groups on December last year to proceed with their threats to raze Marawi into ashes and calls to “restart negotiations with militant groups.” “[The] media and to the public at large have to understand the context and … it is really best to view it and see the entire picture,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told state radio dzRB on Saturday.

“First, it is the interest really of the President, the foremost intention of the President is peace within our borders. Peace, especially within Mindanao,” he said.

Citing Duterte’s pronouncements, Abella said that while the President doesn’t want to “wage war against my own countrymen,” he, however, insisted that violence in the south “has to end.”

“Malinaw pong sinabi niya na hindi naman siya pwedeng patuloy na pabalikbalik doon and every month makikipagusap, pagtalikod niya patayan nanaman [It is clear that he said he doesn’t want to keep in coming back to Mindanao every month to talk peace and then the fighting continues after he leaves],” Abella said, in defense of Duterte. Despite Duterte’s braggadocio, Abella said that everything that he said had a purpose.

“Let us give the President enough credit ‘no. Na he was also ano—hindi siya basta nakikipag-away lang. Syempre hindi naman alam ng ibang tao ‘yan, lalo na ‘yung mga nakikinig lang sa peryodiko, sa media, at namimili lang sila ng gusto nilang pakinggan [He’s not the kind of man who only wants to quarrel. Some people don’t realize that, especially those who only read the newspapers and the media outfit that they choose to listen to],” Abella said.

“Pero sa totoo lang po, ang Presidente natin ay maka-Pilipino at lagi po niyang interes ang safety, lalo ng Christians and Muslims alike. Hindi po siya nakikipag-matigasan ang ulo. Hindi po. May konteksto po ‘yan. It is always the public safety, it is always the public interest [The truth is, our President is pro-Filipino and his main interest is the safety of both Christians and Muslims. He’s not being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. The context is always public safety, public interest],” he added.

PHILCONSA BACKS MARTIAL LAW

THE Philippine Constitution Association, through its Board of Governors and Officers, manifested its support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 216 declaring martial law and suspending habeas corpus in Mindanao.

Philconsa president Martin Romualdez regrets that some sectors have questioned Proclamation 216, notwithstanding that the great majority of the people and Congress have expressed their wholehearted support of Proclamation No. 216.

Chairman Manuel Lazaro remarked the unfolding of the horrendous or heinous activities of Maute/IS every day since the Proclamation have justified and warranted the judicious wisdom and propriety of President Duterte’s actions.

Romualdez and Lazaro intoned: “Now is the time for all citizens to stand united in support of President’s Duterte’s fight against the Maute/IS rebels to secure the safety of the people and the very existence of the state.”

FRENCH FRIGATE DOCKS AT MANILA PORT

THE French Floréal-class surveillance frigate Le Prairial docked at the port of Manila this week to reinforce friendly ties between the French and Philippine navies on the occasion of the 70th year anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and the Philippines.

Le Prairial, which has been in service since 1992, is the second of six surveillance vessels of France’s Marine nationale and is currently based in Papeete, French Polynesia.

Surveillance frigates such as Le Prairial respond to specific operational needs, such as controlling and monitoring French maritime territories outside its metropolitan area.

With a length of 93.50 meters and width of 14 meters, she is made to engage in missions such as monitoring, information gathering, responding to threats, policing exclusive economic zones, and evacuating French nationals.

Le Prairial is equipped with navigation radars, excocet missiles, and a Panther helicopter, among others. Over 100 staff report to her commanding officer, Christophe le Coz. At a cocktail reception organized on board Le Prairial, French Ambassador Thierry Mathou emphasized the developing bilateral cooperation between France and the Philippines in the field of defense through the signing of the Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2015, which provides for further exchanges in information sharing, logistics, training, equipment, and bilateral visits between defense officials.

Ambassador Mathou also took the occasion to highlight the long-standing friendship between France and the Philippines as the Embassy of France to the Philippines marks the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries through “PhilFrance: Feel French !”

The year-long festival seeks to give Filipinos the opportunity to “feel France” in various aspects of everyday life and to illustrate the growing and diversifying cooperation between France and the Philippines through events organized under five key themes: “Arts and Culture,”“Art de Vivre,”“the Youth and Knowledge,”“High Tech and Entrepreneurship,” and “Sharing Values.” Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017

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HOUSE CONDONES FARMER/FISHER LOANS

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

WO party-list lawmakers on Saturday expressed hope that the Senate will consider a measure seeking to grant farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries relief from unpaid loan obligations through a new condonation program.

COOP-NATCCO party-list Reps.

Anthony Bravo and Sabiniano Canama, principal author of House Bill 187, appealed to senators to support their proposal that aims to promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform through measures that will free farmers, fisherfolk, and agrarian reform beneficiaries from the bondage of debt and poverty.

The proposed “Agrarian and Agricultural Loan Restructuring and Condonation Act” was passed on third and final reading at the House of Representatives before

it adjourned sine die last May 31.

Once enacted, they said the measure would provide farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries the opportunity to regain access to government and commercial credit facilities through the condonation of unpaid interests, penalties and surcharges on their existing loans obtained through government lending programs.

Such loans were secured by farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries from the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agricul-

ture, People’s Credit and Finance Corporation, Cooperative Development Authority, National Food Authority, and Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp., they added.

Under the bill, the new scheme is expected to free farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries from the “bondage of debt” through the condonation of unpaid interests, penalties and surcharges of their existing loans.

The bill provides that in order to provide safeguard and prevent abuse, the proposed condonation shall be granted only on the following conditions: (1) it is limited to force majeure, which the measure defines as “events whether natural or political, beyond the reasonable control of a loan borrower, which have a material adverse effect on the ability of the borrower to pay an obligation,” or to market aberration and shall, in no case, be applied for the wilful default of the borrower to pay

such loans; and (2) the accumulated payments of not less than five percent of the loan principal shall have been paid at the time of application for condonation; (3) to encourage borrowing discipline and enhance creditworthiness, a graduation process shall be followed in consonance with the plan of payment such that a borrower shall be granted a onetime condonation only; and (4) the condonation of unpaid interests, penalties and surcharges from loans acquired through conduit banks and financial institutions and the agencies mentioned above shall be in conformity with the applicable general banking laws and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Upon approval of the condonation, the borrower’s financial capacity will determine the payment period for the restructured loan, and payments will be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury under the Agrarian Reform Fund.

MILLION-TREE CHALLENGE. MWSS Administrator General Reynaldo Velasco (5th from left) raises seedlings to be planted in watershed areas at the kickoff celebration of the Annual Million Tree Challenge. With him are (from left) Joel Yu, MWSS Regulatory Office chief; Joel Palma, president and CEO, World Wide Fund; Geodino Carpio, CEO, Manila Water Company Inc; Roel Espiritu, head, Corp Quality, Environment, Safety and Health, Maynilad Water Services Inc.; Lourdes Wagan, director, DENR-NCR; Norie Garcia, director for Partnership and Advocacy, ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya; and Anette de Ocampo of Maynilad Water.

OMBUDSMAN DISMISSES CASES VS PEÑA

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the criminal and administrative cases filed against former Makati City mayor Romulo Peña Jr. in connection with the alleged anomalous contract signed by the city government with Goldilocks for the birthday cakes given to senior citizens.

The complaint filed by one "John Doe" said that the Goldilocks cake project intended for the Makati elderly on their birthdays was anomalous and overpriced.

But based on the decision signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on May 15, 2017, the Office found that the contract was not malicious and disadvantageous to the City Government, and that Peña

did not exert any influence upon the Bids and Awards Committee that granted the contract to Goldilocks.

It stated that partiality of Peña in favor of Goldilocks was not proven and the elements of Grave Misconduct under Republic Act 3019 were not established by the complainant.

“During my tenure, it is my goal to give the people of Makati, especially the senior citizens and the disadvantaged sector, the best and whatever contract that the city government entered into during my term was for the good of the people of Makati and the city government,” Peña said in a statement.

Peña said he sees no problem with the cakegiving benefit, but he believes that the city government should give Makati elders more than just cake during their special occasions.

“Goldilocks offered the best cake for our senior citizens and at a cost most favorable to the city government. I thank the people of Makati for supporting me, and the Office of the Ombudsman for dismissing the case maliciously filed against me,” he said.

Peña said he has consistently provided assistance and services to the people of Makati even in his personal capacity. To date, he has granted 300 wheelchairs to senior citizens, not counting those given to the persons with disability.

Aside from birthday cakes, the senior citizens of Makati under the BLU Card program are also entitled to cash gifts ranging from P2,000 to P4,000 a year, based on age brackets, while centenarians were granted P100,000 cash gift.

DOLE HOLDS JOB SEMINARS FOR MANILA YOUTH

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Labor and Employment has intensified its program to improve the working conditions of Filipinos by conducting livelihood and job seminars for students and residents of Manila to help them get decent and sustainable jobs.

More than 600 students from the six districts in the city of Manila, as well as citizens who aspire to put up their businesses, were trained under the DoLE’s Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan Caravan program.

DoLE National Capital Region

Labor and Employment specialist Ryan Robert delos Reyes provided the student-participants with strategies, knowledge, and techniques in finding jobs that match their skills and capabilities.

He said that many employers look for applicants who have good communication skills and has the ability to work with various conditions that require multi-tasking abilities.

He taught the participants on how to draft an attractive resume and ace the job interviews.

He also emphasized the need to become familiar with general labor stan-

dards and social benefits of workers, as well as harness the services offered by the PhilJobNet, the online jobmatching portal of DoLE. The Labor official said the DoLE, DTI, and the City Government of Manila signed a Declaration of Commitment to achieve the goals of “Ambisyon 2014: Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Buhay,” and the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” of the Philippine government.

The agreement calls for the agencies to provide decent jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities, employment seminars, and other training to the public.

VIDEO SPARKS CEBU PAC PROBE THE Civil Aeronautics Board is investigating if Cebu Pacific Air violated a government policy after a post went viral on social media showing passengers in panic and deplaning from the aircraft due to hot temperature inside a plane bound for Cebu.

The probe came following the directive of Department of Transportation undersecretary for aviation Capt. Manuel Antonio Tamayo to CAB officials to act accordingly if the airline is found to be liable on the matter.

"This pertains to a video posted on Facebook showing passengers of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 575 bound for Cebu in panic, while forcing airline personnel to let them deplane from the aircraft," the DOTr said in a statement.

"In a statement, Atty. Wyrlou Samodio, Chief Legal Officer of CAB, has directed Cebu Pacific to investigate the matter thoroughly and submit an incident report within one (1) hour from notice."

Tamayo, in his directive, said should the DOTr and CAB find out that Cebu Pacific went beyond the prescribed two-hour period to deplane its passengers due to long tarmac delays, the airline shall be held liable for the penalty prescribed under the regulation.

"Further, if found to have violated the regulation, the pilot shall likewise be held liable as he has the obligation to order the deplaning.

CAB shall indorse the case of the pilot to CAAP [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines] for appropriate action, since the latter exercises jurisdiction over airmen," Tamayo said.

Tamayo said that his office will objectively monitor the incident and will update the public of any development.

The Cebu Pacific management issued a statement on Saturday, saying Flight 5J575 bound to Cebu from Manila encountered a delay due to debris that had to be cleared from the runway.

It admitted that during that time, one passenger fainted, prompting emergency medical assistance.

"Following reports from our crew that the cabin temperature was warm, Cebu Pacific decided to change the aircraft for the comfort of our passengers. Our cabin crew and ground personnel assisted all passengers and handled the transfer to the replacement aircraft," the airline explained.

The airline said the flight departed Manila at about 7:32 p.m. and landed safely in Cebu at 8:52 p.m.

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these incidents may have caused and appeal for understanding," it added.

In a Facebook account post, Gin Durano, one of the passengers, said "Babies are crying, old people are complaining and there's a woman got suffocated and now she has oxygen on because she can't breathe.

We've been here for more than an hour inside the plane. Freaking damn hot!"

"They didn't even do anything to deplane us until the woman pass out.

I Super Love You Cebu Pacific!"

The flight was supposed to leave the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:05 p.m. Joel E. Zurbano

VOLT IN.

Cosplayers from Voltes V Philippines gather in front of the Luneta Park in Manila over the weekend to call for peace and unity in the country, much like their characters in the popular Japanese animated show Voltes V which symbolizes unity.

Norman Cruz

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Adelle Chua, Editor

Opinion

Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

HANDMAID’S TALE ON TV: SURVIVAL MODE

one of their patients started out by going to cockfighting events, which do not take place every day.

The excitement grew with each winning, however, so that the weekly “sabong” no longer sufficed.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA—Interest in books dealing with totalitarian states has increased with the election victory of Trump in the US. One of the books that has surged to the top of the radar is “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1985) by Margaret Atwood, which is now a Hulu TV series.

Although preparations for the series were under way before Trump’s win, its release is timely.

Here’s the synopsis on TV that also pretty much sums up the storyline of the book: “In a dystopian near-future, the totalitarian and Christian-fundamentalist government of Gilead rules the former United States amid an ongoing civil war and subjugates women, who are not allowed to work, control money, or even read.

“Widespread infertility due to environmental contamination has resulted in the conscription of young fertile women—called Handmaids, according to Biblical precedent— who are assigned to the homes of the elite, where they must have ritualized sex with the men in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.”

The protagonist, Offred (played by Elizabeth Moss)—her name comes from the possessive “of” and the name of her Commander (the elite man to whom she is assigned), Fred—is traumatized, dealing with the collapse of society and the rise of a new order, as well as the tearing apart of her family, her husband and daughter taken away by the new government.

The first episode opens with the scene where the family tries to run away into the forest—this came a bit later on in the book. Chronologically, however, this arrangement makes the story easier to understand.

Next, we see Offred in Fred’s (Joseph Fiennes) household, where she meets his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), who tells her in no uncertain terms not to have any ideas about seducing her husband – “If I get trouble, believe me I will give trouble back.” TV Serena Joy is younger than in the book, which takes some getting used to, but her bitchiness and jealousy are therefore more believable.

Atwood makes a cameo in the flashback scene at the Red Center, slapping Offred when she hesitates from participating in the collective shaming of another handmaid.

Chillingly, this indoctrination, says the Center’s leader Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), is something that they will get used to, in time—“This will become—ordinary.”

The first season earned 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s a welldeserved assessment. The tone of the series is finely tuned. The scenes are fraught with tension but not overwrought. The acting is restrained, as befits the new norm of behavior in a society where the elite struggles to control everyone else, who live in fear of punishment and torture for offenses they might be accused of.

As the series progresses, we see Offred negotiating her assigned role.

Handmaids are reproductive surrogates, Marthas keep house, Econowives are wed to those below elite ranks. Those who despair attempt to escape or commit suicide (as the previous Offred did), rebel, and are sent to “The Colonies” where they clean up toxic waste and can expect extremely limited lifespans.

Offred declares her intention at the end of the first episode. “I intend to survive for her [her daughter].

Her name is Hannah. My husband’s name is Luke. My name… is June.”

(In the book, Offred’s true name is not known.) By affirming her identity, she maintains her sense of self and increases her mental strength and chances at survival.

This is one of the central themes

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WHEN THE SPEAKER SPEAKS

T

HE leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, appears to take his job too literally.

He speaks a lot, letting his words betray the arrogance of a man heady with the knowledge that he is the fourth most powerful person in the country.

Earlier this year, he was threatened with the prospect of losing his plum post at the Legislative Department and even with a disbarment case. This stemmed from the revelation that he did not only have a paramour—he was bringing her to official functions on government expense. His honorable colleagues say this was an open secret among them.

“Who does not have a mistress?” macho man Alvarez said. As to the case he faced, he was confident: “Bring it on!”

This is not the only time Mr. Alvarez has regaled us with his braggadocio.

Faced with the possibility that the Supreme Court, after hearing arguments on President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, might rule that Congress should convene to discuss the same, Alvarez said he would disregard any such decision. “They [the justices] do not have the right to dictate on Congress what we should do,” he said, citing separation of powers among the three branches of government.

He is a lawyer and could have argued his point objectively, but then he took one step further.

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“Punitin ko yan [I will tear it up]!” he said, referring to the piece of paper that would contain such a decision from the court. Even the Palace said the President would respect whatever the Supreme Court decides.

But wait, there’s more.

Mr. Alvarez said last week three justices of the Court of Appeals were ignorant of the law when they ordered him to explain why he should not be cited in contempt for refusing to release six Ilocos Norte provincial government employees who have been detained at the House since May 29. They are accused of misusing P66.45 million in tobacco funds but said they could not remember the transactions anymore.

Again, he could have shown a good example and explained, in elegant and convincing language, why he was in the right.

What he said in fact was: “Mga gago yang three justices na yan!”

He proceeded to threaten the abolition of the entire appellate court, which he said was a congressional creation in the first place. Granting that it is—what could be more spiteful than a House leader causing the nixing of a body that has been around for a certain function, just because it holds a different, even adverse, opinion.

Now he says he wants martial law in Mindanao extended until 2022, but is quick in clarifying that it is his personal view. Does he not realize the weight of the words of a Speaker of the House?

Indeed Mr. Alvarez is an interesting character.

He may be imitating his boss the president, known for his colorful language, or he may just be revealing who he really is. Either way, it does not inspire much confidence—or respect.

WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH (PART 2) LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA

LAST week I wrote about behavior associated with gambling addiction, and cited some examples of how they can be treated in a professional facility.

Junjun and Ces Gonzales, the couple running The One Algon Place in Cabuyao, Laguna (licensed as both a

drug abuse and psychiatric rehabilitation facility), share more of their experiences in helping patients diagnosed to have some form of gambling addiction—an impulse control disorder.

It often starts innocently—one is not a big gambler right away. For instance,

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HANDMAID’S...

HAS ASIA LEARNED FROM THE 1997 CRISIS?

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of the book, and it is portrayed effectively in the series. Here and there are pockets of incident that reinforce Offred’s goal, handmaids encouraging each other to hang on. Offred finds a line scrawled in her bedroom closet, presumably by the previous Offred: “Nolite te bastardes carborundum”— don’t let the bastards grind you down.

The best survival advice comes from Moira (Samira Wiley), Offred’s friend from the life before—“Keep your fuckin’ shit together.” This is wisdom fit for anywhere and anytime.

I suggest both reading the book and watching the series, to learn what a well-made book-to-TV adaptation is like. “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu is a must-watch, for those who love the book, the speculative fiction storyline, and good cinema.

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

WHEN...

From B1

This particular patient was not some bum. He was a mechanical engineer, from a well-to-do family, who later on confessed he felt unenthusiastic about his career. Much later, through the center’s art therapy, he discovered he really wanted to pursue a different career.

Then again, addiction is not limited to the moneyed. The tragedy is that even those who have less in life can still find themselves hooked on gambling.

Ces talks about a mother who played tong-its the whole day. “She would look for places where there are wakes, and she would camp out and play.” Alas, it was this woman’s seven-year-old daughter who stepped up to the role her mother neglected, scavenging just so she could eat something.

It was a social worker who brought the matter to the attention of The One Algon Place, which provides one “scholarship” slot for every 25 paying patients they have in their facility.

“We have to remember, you can get addicted not only to substances,” Ces says. “We say it is an impulse control disorder because you can no longer control yourself.”

And indeed it is unfortunate when human beings, imbued with a sense of free will and self-determination, are no longer able to master their desires.

Instead, it is the desires that control them and lead them to do things that a rational person would not do.

And just like in any addiction, it is the family who feels the effects and bears the burden of the gambling addiction of their loved one.

Woe to those who gamble their possessions—their future, their dignity—away.

The children, for instance, suffer because the money that is supposed to go to their food or education goes instead to the gambling establishments. Parents suffer because of the frustration of not seeing their children as productive, responsible, functioning citizens however much they invested in their education.

Addicts, like the Gonzaleses’ many patients, go to such depths as stealing from their parents and compromising family resources.

In the case of Jessie Carlos, the man who burned casino tables at Resorts World Manila earlier this month, killing 37 people, and who killed himself, it was his estranged wife who had asked that he be kept away from gambling establishments because he had owed so much money already.

It is not a surprise then that it is the family who proves instrumental in rehabilitating the gambling addict. It is they who, after acknowledging that love does not mean giving in to what their family member wants, makes the painful decision of committing him or her to the establishment despite protestations.

And these protests can be loud. “They cry, bang their heads against the wall, curse or threaten our staff,” says Ces. It is they who determine that therapy takes a long time and is not an instant solution, because the causes are deeply rooted in the first place. It is the family who will learn to keep watch, no matter how draining it is, whether rehabilitation has indeed taken place or not.

Finally, it is the family who will ensure that no such loss of control over behavior happens again in other kin. They will instill values in their impressionable young members so that when they go out into the

By Michael Schuman KIM Dae-jung, the former president of South Korea, once told me a story that perfectly captures the spirit of reform that followed the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He was on an official trip to Vietnam when a panicked visitor from Seoul sought an audience. It was Kim Woo-choong, the flamboyant founder of Daewoo Group, then Korea’s second-largest business house. Over breakfast in Hanoi, the businessman said his companies were spiraling toward financial ruin and begged the president for help.

In the past, such an appeal probably would’ve worked.

Korean presidents had routinely supported the country’s sprawling conglomerates, called chaebol, as the engines of rapid economic growth. But their shady business practices—which led to debt, excess capacity and graft—were also a key cause of the crisis.

President Kim realized a new approach had become imperative, no matter how painful. He sent Daewoo’s chief back home with nothing more than a lecture: Fix your own problems. Daewoo fell apart shortly thereafter.

It was a gutsy decision—but just one of countless tough choices made by officials around the region to rescue their economies from crisis. Twenty years ago, starting in

July, some of Asia’s best-performing economies—Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia—fell into severe debt crises that saw investors flee, currencies collapse, companies fail and growth contract.

I was a correspondent in Seoul at the time, and it seemed practically every week brought new reforms.

Banks were shuttered, companies restructured, conglomerates dismantled and markets opened.

Indonesia transformed from an autocracy to a democracy. In some cases, policy makers were dragged kicking and screaming toward reform, and many people suffered.

Jakarta smoldered from vicious communal riots. Salarymen in Seoul, too embarrassed to tell their families they had gotten laid off, donned their usual dark suits each morning and loitered in local parks.

But Asia emerged stronger from the crisis because, for the most part, presidents, ministers and technocrats didn’t shirk difficult responsibilities.

Unfortunately, that spirit of ‘97 has largely been lost. Asia in more recent years has been marked instead by the slow pace of reform, even in the face of rising risks and worsening distortions. Faced with these new threats, its governments have to recapture some of the sense of urgency that propelled change two decades ago.

Look, for instance, at the last

decade in Seoul. Kim Dae-jung pulled the plug on Daewoo, but his recent successors have been more inclined to pardon chaebol chiefs accused of various crimes than to continue weakening their power and improving governance.

The consequences became clear over the past year, as yet another chaebol-fueled corruption scandal toppled the last president.

Two decades on, a sense of urgency is needed once again.

Inertia among policy makers has also hurt economic growth.

Indonesia should be one of the world’s premier emerging economies, but thanks to excessive regulation and poor infrastructure, growth is meandering along at only 5 percent. China’s President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have talked big about reform but generally acted small.

China, in fact, is falling into the same debt trap that foiled the old Asian Tigers, while seeming to ignore the warning signs, just as they did. Its debt relative to gross domestic product reached

257 percent at the end of 2016, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Indeed, debt has been rising across Asia.

Although not at crisis levels, it is impeding growth in countries such as Korea and Malaysia.

Perhaps, though, another wave of change is afoot. Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s new president, has signaled that he intends to rein in the chaebol and the families who control them, thereby leveling the playing field for smaller companies. Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has pushed through an ambitious tax amnesty while numerous sectors have been opened wider to foreign investment. Now hopefully he’ll tackle some knottier problems, such as an overly regulated labor market that scares off the factories Indonesia needs to diversify its economy.

Reform is always easier when a crisis leaves policy makers no other options. But without further change, Asia will continue to rely too much on debt instead of productivity gains for growth. In poorer nations, improvements in household welfare will lag. As in the years before 1997, economic irregularities could build up to the point where the region faces another crisis. Will the next Kim Dae-jungs be there when you need them? Bloomberg

A ‘FRENEMY’ RELATIONSHIP

By Eli Lake YOU would be forgiven for thinking the US backs Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their current standoff against Qatar. President Donald Trump himself has taken the Saudis’ line against their fellow Gulf monarchy, tweeting last week that Arab leaders all pointed to Qatar as a serial financier of terrorism.

This was certainly the impression the Emirates’ ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, gave to journalists this week. When asked about his meetings at the Pentagon and the State Department, the ambassador said, “I don’t think we have a problem with the State Department. I don’t think we have a problem with the Pentagon.”

Earlier this week, General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Saudi-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar would not affect military operations out of Qatar’s Al-Udeid airbase.

This is why it’s so strange that Defense Secretary James Mattis would sign a $12-billion deal to sell F-15 fighter jets to the Qataris on Wednesday.

To be sure, the deal was in the works well before the current crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors. And the sale is nowhere near as large as recent multi-billion arms packages negotiated between the US and the Saudis or the Emiratis.

Nonetheless, the symbolism matters.

At the moment the Saudis and Emiratis are

world, they will be able to say no to temptations, however lucrative they might present themselves to be.

It is indeed difficult to counter addiction in a place where the culture permits, even encourages it, says Junjun. Casinos, for one, reserve the best suites—and everything else—for their high rollers. There is an incentive for being a big winner, and when you are losing, your desire to turn things around is magnified.

Junjun also says casinos should keep track of who among their customers are losing big already.

When they identify who they are, their participation must be capped so that they incur no further losses.

“But what happens? You have financiers—loan sharks—on standby, ready to provide instant credit to whoever needs it.”

Indeed it’s a profit-driven industry.

Winner takes all. And what of the losers?

Woe to those who find themselves unable to control their impulses and gamble their possessions—their future, their dignity—away. adellechua@gmail.com

compiling a list of demands for Qatar to meet as a condition for lifting the economic and diplomatic boycott. United Arab Emirates ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba on Tuesday told reporters this list would include things like expelling extremists; shutting down or reining in Qatari media operations that have been hostile to Gulf states; and implementing reforms to how the state tracks and counters terrorist financing. Otaiba expects the list of demands will be presented this week.

In other words, it’s the worst possible moment to give the Qataris any reassurances. The kingdom will soon be asked to take dramatic steps to realign its foreign policy and no longer play both sides in the Arab’s hot war on radical Islam and cold war against Iran. The F-15 deal could give Qatar the sense that it can defy its Gulf neighbors and still enjoy a good relationship with the US, despite Trump’s own statements that he backs the Saudi position.

A Qatari official was quoted as saying: “This is of course proof that US institutions are with us, but we have never doubted that.” Qatar’s ambassador to the US made sure to tweet out a photo of the signing ceremony yesterday, saying Qatar’s purchase would create 60,000 new jobs in the US. The US relationship with Qatar has long been love-hate. The US military relies on Qatar to host the al-Udeid Air Base, and in turn both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations have rarely criticized in public Qatar’s hosting of extremists

or lax regulations on terror financing. As I wrote this month, the outgoing US ambassador to Qatar briefed participants in a policy conference in Washington on progress Qatar has made in cracking down on terror financing, a view that is not shared by the Treasury Department or experts inside the intelligence community.

At the same time, there is at least a chance to pressure the Qataris at this moment to make a course correction. That course correction could emulate the same kind of strategic decisions that the Saudis and Emiratis have made in the last decade with regards to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda and other adherents to radical Islam. Today, the state at least has played a more active role in rolling up these networks and shutting down their financing than it did in the early 2000s.

Back then, the Saudis hosted telethons to support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood chapter that builds tunnels from Gaza into Israel for terror attacks and stockpiles crude rockets to launch into Jewish population centers. Today, the Saudis work closely in the shadows with Israel to fight against Iran and the Islamic State. Such a future is possible with Qatar as well—with the right mix of sticks and carrots. That’s why it’s important at the moment for the US to refrain from offering the Qataris any carrots when its neighbors have brandished sticks. Bloomberg

BEWARE OF BLAMING GOVERNMENT FOR LONDON TOWER FIRE

By Megan McArdle A FEW days ago fire swept through Grenfell Tower, a large apartment building in London. It’s not yet known what caused the fire, and we aren’t conclusively sure how it spread so quickly, consuming the entire 24-story building. Nor is it known how many died in the fire; as of Friday, the count is at least 30.

What we do know is that there are ways to help control the spread of fire in apartment buildings, such as sprinkler systems. This has the makings of a scandal for Prime Minister Theresa May’s beleaguered government. Her immigration minister, Brandon Lewis, was formerly the housing minister. He declined to require developers to install sprinklers. The Independent quotes him as telling Parliament in 2014: “We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation… The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building—something we want

to encourage—so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has.”

People who died in the Grenfell fire might be alive today if regulators had required sprinkler systems. This does not play well for the Tories.

But before we start hanging them in effigy, there are a couple of things we should consider. The first is that, even if the regulation had passed, and required existing developers to retrofit sprinklers into older buildings, Grenfell Tower might not have gotten a sprinkler system before the fire occurred. Regulations are not implemented like instant coffee; they take time to formulate, and further time for businesses to comply.

This, however, is only a quibble; even if Grenfell Tower could not have been saved, there are surely other buildings where fires will soon occur that would benefit from sprinklers. Must we wait for those deaths before we can say that his was a bad calculation? Well, no. But we should wait until we can establish that it was actually a bad calculation.

It may sound heartless to discuss lifesaving measures as a calculation. But the fact is that we all make these sorts of

calculations every day, about ourselves and others. We just don’t like to admit that we’re doing it.

It’s completely possible that the former housing minister made the wrong call. But his comment indicates he was thinking about the question in the right way—taking seriously the fact that safety regulations come at a cost, which may exceed their benefit. Such calculations have to be made, no matter how horrified the tut-tutting after the fact.

And he is certainly right about one thing: When it comes to many regulations, it is best to leave such calculations of benefit and cost to the market, rather than the government.

Grenfell Tower, of course, was public housing, which changes the calculation somewhat. And yet, even there, trade-offs have to be made. The government spends money on a great number of things, many of which save lives. Every dollar it spends on installing sprinkler systems cannot be spent on the health service, or national defense, or pollution control. Would more lives be saved by those measures or by sprinkler systems in public housing? It’s hard to say. Bloomberg

World RODMAN: NORTH KOREA VISIT WAS ‘REAL GOOD TRIP’ BEIJING—Flamboyant former basketball star Dennis Rodman landed in Beijing Saturday after a visit to North Korea, describing the escapade as a “real good trip.”

Sporting a baseball cap, sunglasses, green nail polish and a black t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of sponsor PotCoin – a cryptocurrency for the legal cannabis industry – Rodman declined to comment further as he was swarmed at the Beijing airport by journalists.

He had arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to “open the door” to the regime and claiming that US President Donald Trump would be pleased with his mission.

“Dennis is working hard for both countries, trying to, you know, mend the tension as much as possible,” his assistant, who accompanied him and asked to be called “Vo,” told reporters.

“With sports that’s what happens, right? Sports unite, sports and music unite,” he added.

While in North Korea, Rodman was shown in video and photos presenting the isolated country’s sports minister Kim Il Guk with off-the-wall gifts that included a copy of Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal,” soap, two autographed jerseys, and a copy of “Where’s Waldo? The Totally Essential Travel Collection.”

Trump was Rodman’s boss when he appeared on the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality TV show. AFP

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SYRIAN REBELS IN TIGHT POSITION

EIRUT, Lebanon—A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.

They continued supporting the mostly Sunni rebels when unrest spiralled into conflict between the armed opposition and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the country’s Alawite Shiite minority and is backed by Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran.

But six years later, the rebellion has been plagued by rivalries between Riyadh and Doha, as well as weakened by Russia’s military intervention in support of Assad’s forces.

Moscow’s support for regime forces led to a series of setbacks for the rebels, including their landmark loss in December of second city Aleppo.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and allies, including the United Arab Emirates, severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism, claims Doha has denied.

“The current rupture puts the Syrian opposition in a very awkward position politically, as nobody wants to have to take sides publicly nor can afford to alienate either side,” said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East

Centre.

A rebel official in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus said he hoped the crisis between Doha and Riyadh was just “a temporary storm.”

“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have supported the revolution of the Syrian people and shown solidarity throughout years of tragedy,” the rebel official said.

In a sign of the embarrassment the crisis is causing, several rebel groups approached by AFP refused to comment, saying it was a “sensitive” issue.

But Sayigh said the latest flare-up in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will have a limited impact on the Syrian conflict.

“It probably won’t have a major financial impact, nor a military one since the US and Turkey have stepped up their support for factions that previously were close to Qatar or to Saudi Arabia,” Sayigh said.

Riyadh “reduced its funding sharply starting” from the summer of 2015 “after it launched its intervention in Yemen” earlier in the year, he said.

Six years into the war, Syria’s fractured rebellion controls just around 10 percent of the war-torn country, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the United States.

Pro-Doha rebels including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group are present in the north of the country.

In Eastern Ghouta, pro-Doha opposition groups exist alongside the pro-Riyadh Jaish al-Islam rebel alliance.

Rebels in the south, meanwhile, are trained by Amman and Washington.

Another influential player is Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which now leads the Tahrir al-Sham group and which some analysts and Syrian factions say has links with Qatar, although Doha has denied this. AFP

RAPE VICTIM SEES OPERA INSPIRED

BY HER STORY LOS ANGELES—Fifteen years after her horrific gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal – and courageousness – through a US opera inspired by her story.

“I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind,” Mai, 37, told AFP on Friday, after attending the Los Angeles premiere of “Thumbprint.”

“But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage,” she said in Urdu, speaking through a translator.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai’s 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court – an unusual move in maledominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

“Thumbprint” first opened in New York in 2014 but Mai had never seen the opera. She traveled this week from her home in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala to attend the West Coast premiere. AFP

S. KOREA JUSTICE CHIEF NOMINEE WITHDRAWS SEOUL—A scandal-hit law professor bowed out of the running to become South Korea’s justice minister Saturday over his controversial views on women and admissions of drunk driving and other transgressions.

Ahn Kyong-Hwan withdrew his candidacy in the wake of a public outcry centered on his 2016 book “What is Man?” and past behavior, including the revelation that he had once forged a marriage registration with an ex-girlfriend without her knowledge.

The move is widely seen as a serious blow to South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-In’s efforts to reform state prosecution authorities under the command of the justice ministry, who have a checkered history of corruption and abuse of power.

Ahn’s nomination sparked a storm of controversy immediately after it was announced last Sunday, with concern focusing on his confessions in a newspaper column three years ago that he had repeatedly driven drunk and had cheated in a tax return.

Ahn, a former head of the state human rights watchdog, also came under fire for his views on the role of women, outlined in his book, which featured musings such as “female company is essential for drinking.”

“Women can live selling their bodies rather than begging. There are men in abundance who are willing to pay for sex,” he said in the book. His nomination sparked a public outcry. AFP

GOING ‘OUT’. This photo taken on June 14, 2017 shows gay couples including Ren Weilian (third from left) and Zhu Tiantian (fourth from left) waving before departing on a five-day cruise, during which they will have an unofficial wedding ceremony, in Shanghai. China does not recognise same-sex unions, but that’s not stopping couples like Ren and Zhu from tying the knot in informal ceremonies as the country’s sexual minorities quietly assert their rights. AFP

SLEEP APNEA AMONG FACTORS IN CARRIE FISHER’S DEATH

This file photo taken on June 10, 2004 shows actress Carrie Fisher attending the premiere of the MGM film “De-Lovely” at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California. The actress of “Star Wars” fame, died from sleep apnea and “other undetermined factors,” the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Carrie Fisher, the actress of “Star Wars” fame, died from sleep apnea and “other undetermined factors,” the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday.

The brief statement also cited conditions of drug use and atherosclerotic heart= disease, a buildup of plaque in the artery walls.

Under “how injury occurred,” the report noted the intake of multiple drugs, the significance of which remained unclear, it said.

The office said the manner of death would be listed as undetermined.

The actress – who catapulted to worldwide stardom as rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy – suffered a medical emergency on a transatlantic flight in late December. She died four days later at the age of 60.

In January, the LA coroner listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest.

Fisher had suffered from numerous addictions and was searingly honest about her bipolar disorder, as well as prescription drug use.

The actress’s mother Debbie Reynolds, who won moviegoers’ hearts as a star of “Singin’ in the Rain,” died the day after Fisher.

In a statement to People magazine, Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd connected her mother’s death to drugs.

“My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life,” Lourd said. “She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.” AFP

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

World

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

JOHN AVILDSEN, DIRECTOR OF ‘ROCKY,’ DIES AT 81

ROGER’S TIME. Recording artist Roger Waters, co-founder of the famous rock band Pink Floyd, performs at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Waters’ concert was considered an openly anti-Donald Trump performance despite not mentioning the US President by name at any time during the show. AFP

ANGER BOILS OVER AS FIRE TOLL HITS 30

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ONDON—Angry London residents heckled Prime Minister Theresa May and stormed local authority headquarters Friday as they demanded justice for the victims of a tower block fire that left 30 people dead, with dozens more unaccounted for.

May was criticised for avoiding locals when she visited the burntout shell of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower on Thursday, but faced cries of “shame on you” and “coward” when she returned the following day.

Dozens of police officers held back booing crowds and broke up scuffles as her car drove off from a local church, where she had met survivors, residents and volunteers and promised new funds for those affected.

There were also angry scenes outside the offices of the Kensington and Chelsea council, which was responsible for managing the 1970s social housing block, in a working-class enclave in one of London’s richest areas.

There are questions about why the block was not fitted with sprinklers or a central smoke alarm, and whether a recent refurbishment, including new external cladding, helped fuel the flames.

“It was a death trap and they

knew it,” one person shouted as demonstrators swelled outside the council building, with dozens going inside and clashing with police and security guards.

“I have friends in the tower and they are not telling us anything,” said Salwa Buamani, 25, who took part in the peaceful protest outside with her three-year-old niece.

Protesters later marched to the edge of the police cordon around the tower, shouting “no justice, no peace,” where a few young men tried unsuccessfully to break through.

Another demonstration took place outside May’s Downing Street office, while later in the evening, hundreds of mourners gathered near the tower for a candlelight vigil.

The death toll rose to 30 on

Friday but authorities warned it would increase further, as fire crews picked their way through the wreckage of the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

May has announced a judgeled inquiry into what happened, and on Friday promised £5 million ($6.4 million, 5.7 million euro) for emergency supplies, food and clothing.

But accusations of a slow official response have heaped pressure on the premier, whose Conservative government remains in limbo after losing its parliamentary majority in last week’s election.

In an interview with the BBC late Friday, May insisted she was “deeply affected” by the “horrifying” stories of survivors, and repeated that she was determined to help. AFP

TRUMP ANNOUNCES HE’S BEING INVESTIGATED WASHINGTON—US President Donald Trump announced Friday he is under investigation in connection with a probe into alleged Russian election meddling that is gnawing away at his administration – and gathering pace.

The Republican leader also lashed out at the Justice Department’s number two, the man tasked with organizing the probe.

The furious early morning barrage of tweets – his second in as many days – came as the special counsel investigating Russia’s influence over his election pieced together a high-caliber legal team and readied to begin interviews.

Trump is accused of firing FBI director James Comey over his refusal to steer the Russia investigation away from former national security advisor and Trump ally Mike Flynn.

The US president has denied trying to influence the investigation, but has acknowledged in an interview that Russia was on his mind when he dismissed Comey.

“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt” he tweeted from the White House shortly before a day trip to Miami.

That appeared to be the first public confirmation that Trump is being inves-

tigated for obstruction of justice – and a digital salvo trained at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who wrote a memo criticizing Comey.

A source on Trump’s legal team attempted to clarify the missive, claiming he was reacting to media reports about the investigation rather than offering public confirmation.

Meanwhile, special counsel Robert Mueller – a respected former FBI director – has sought to beef up his investigatory firepower.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, told AFP he now has “13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline.”

That will only add to a sense of foreboding that pervades the White House, from the crammed collective workspaces of junior officials all the way to the Oval Office.

The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Trump’s presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses and sucking even more political oxygen out of the West Wing.

Trump was set to escape the Washington pressure cooker on Saturday.

Accompanied by First Lady Melania, he will make his first trip to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. AFP

CRY FOR JUSTICE. Protestors carry a portrait of Philando Castile on Friday in St Paul, Minnesota. Protests erupted in Minnesota after Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on all counts in the shooting death of Castile, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, on July 6 last year. AFP

LOS ANGELES—John Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director whose blockbuster films like “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid” championed the ascent of underdogs, has died. He was 81 years old.

The filmmaker died of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing Avildsen’s eldest son.

The 1976 hit “Rocky” – an adrenaline-pumping story that captures the rise of a down-andout boxer from working-class Philadelphia – earned Avildsen an Oscar for best director.

The tight-budget drama was a sleeper hit, propelling actor Sylvester Stallone to Hollywood fame and growing into a beloved franchise. Avildsen returned to direct just one of his original film’s six sequels, Rocky V. Stallone took to Instagram to pay tribute to Avildsen, who helped usher the actor to stardom: “R. I. P. I’m sure you will soon be directing Hits in Heaven- Thank you, Sly.” AFP

BOEING, AIRBUS TAKE DOGFIGHT TO PARIS SHOW PARIS—The aircraft industry descends on Paris Monday for the world’s biggest airshow, a prime battleground for bitter rivals Boeing and Airbus, but also a chance for new kids on the block to snap at the heels of the two giants.

Single-aisle planes for short and medium distances are the hottest ticket in the world’s civil aviation industry, with airline demand for models in the Airbus A320 family giving the European company an edge, for now, over its American opponent which is racing to return in force to the mid-range segment.

But the duopoly is not without challengers: Competition is looming, notably from Russia and China who have each been test-flying their own mid-range models.

The airshow comes a little too early for either Russia’s Irkut, with its MC-21, or China’s Comac, with the much-flagged C919, to be able to showcase their aircraft there, but both will leave little doubt that they expect to win a big slice of the aviation pie in the future. AFP

MEME HUMOR HELPS BRAZILIANS COPE WITH TIMES SAO PAULO, Brazil—Political corruption, economic crisis, rampant crime – the headlines in Brazil are grim, so locals have taken to online memes that often go viral to relieve the stress.

A flurry of memes -- funny images or video coupled with text that are spread online -- making light of the country’s bleak situation have taken the internet by storm in a country that has the world’s second largest number of Facebook users.

One popular meme has tourists taking pictures next to a leaning Tower of Pisa with the face of the deeply unpopular president Michel Temer on it.

Another has Tite, the coach of the national football team, being proclaimed president.

Sandro Sanfelice says that the meme creators are like the orchestra aboard the Titanic: they’ll keep playing even as the country sinks under a flood of scandal and corruption.

Sanfelice, a 28-year-old who works for a phone company in the southern city of Curitiba, has 1.3 million followers on his specialty Facebook page Capinaremos. He claims that some of his memes have reached five million users. AFP

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Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@manilastandard.net

YOUNG CENTRAL BANKERS SING, DANCE AND HAVE FUN

By Siegfrid Alegado

K

RISTEL Cabuling isn’t your typical central bank auditor.

She climbs mountains, sings for a choir and studies poledancing in her off hours.

“My friends wonder where I get time to do a lot of other things,” Cabuling, 29, Philippine central bank compliance specialist said while taking a break during choir practice. “Some of them, those working in other companies, even sleep in the office just to meet deadlines.”

The Philippines is home to one of the world’s youngest populations and labor forces and that presents special challenges to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the nation’s central bank. Some 44 percent of its staff belong to the Millennial generation, broadly defined as age 37 or lower.

I t ’s a generation that seeks a better work-life balance and is perfectly willing to jump ship to global and local commercial banks also vying for talent. “ We need to adapt to changing attitudes of a younger generation,” Deputy Governor Cyd Amador said in an interview. “It’s a generation not just fixated on monetary benefits but is also concerned about their wellness, hobbies, skills development and personal growth.”

The Philippine’s youthful population—almost half the workforce is below 34, the statistics authority estimates—is a huge economic advantage. The demographic dividend from a rising supply of young workers and their spending power is one reason why companies such as Unilever NV and Toyota Motor Corp. are expanding in the Philippines, helping drive an economic boom this decade. That’s in contrast to countries like Japan and South Korea where the workforce is declining.

Manila’s working-age population, at about 8.5 million, will increase by as much as 2.5 million by 2030 –equivalent to Rome’s total workers today, according to McKinsey & Co. Consumption by those of working age in the Philippine capital will grow by $74 billion during the period, it estimated in a report last year.

Kiel Cortez fulfills his exercise regiment at the rooftop track of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headquarters in Manila.

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Accenture Philippines managing director JP Palpallatoc

ACCENTURE LAUNCHES MODERN PH STUDIO

By Kristin Mae Cortez and Aletha Jasmine Dela Cruz

Kristel Cabuling

The median age at the Philippine central bank has dropped to 38 from 48 in the decade to 2016, and may go lower with the upcoming retirement of Governor Amando Tetangco, 64, in July. His successor Nestor Espenilla is 58.

Yet for employers there are trade offs and challenges: recruiting and retaining top talent is more difficult with younger workers who demand benefits and enjoy employment opportunities across the financial industry in Asia.

Art club From art and fishing clubs to gym classes, the Philippine central bank is trying new ways to keep workers happy. A decade ago, it started offering free group exercises including yoga, hiphop and zumba while trainers stand ready for one-on-one coaching on weight training.

The central bank has a 400 square-meter gym complete with a running track on the roof where employees can be seen after work. Policy makers are also studying flexible hours, work-from-home options and sleeping pods for the staff.

It’s also paying competitive salaries to keep their loyalty, said Amador, who’s in charge of human resource management. A new college graduate

working in financial services can earn as much as $5,300 a year, higher than wages in sales and almost as much as what a masters degree holder would earn in human resources, according to advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.

Millennials prioritize well-being programs and career development, said Iris Anne Hamada, a senior consultant at management firm Aon Hewitt in Manila. Only one in three Filipino millennials plan to stay with their company for more than five years, according to a 2017 study by Deloitte LLP. Biggest loser Kiel Cortez, 26, was working long hours at the graveyard shift reconciling cash and stock transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. for four months before he got tired and quit in 2011.

Now a financial market research officer at the central bank’s treasury department, where he studies the lender’s asset allocation and investment policies, he’s using his free time to exercise and lost 26 pounds in the bank’s “Biggest Loser” contest.

“I definitely see myself staying here,” he said. “With JP Morgan, I normally miss Friday nights out because I have to work. But here, as long as I finish my job, I can go and do basketball, gym, or go out with friends.”

Businesses with fewer turnover among millennials communicate career development plans better, offer customized learning and personal development opportunities and engage workers regularly, according to Aon. About 5 percent of workers in finance leave their company, the second highest ratio among 17 industries, according to the statistics agency.

“One important workplace differentiator for millennials is communication,” Aon’s Hamada said.

Cabuling, a soprano, is already preparing for her next mountain ascent in the Cordillera range north of Manila in July. The journey to reach the peak at over 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) will take two days and will be one of the toughest she’s done.

“Frankly, I don’t know where life will take me, but it’s safe to say that I’m very, very happy where I’m at now,” Cabuling said.

Bloomberg

ACCENTURE, a global professional services company, has launched a new liquid studio in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig where clients can experiment with and learn from latest technologies and sof t ware application such as artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, augmented and virtual reality, cloud, Internet of Things and blockchain.

The 2,000-square-meter facility aims to help Accenture’s clients reduce development time from months to days by applying rapid development approaches including Agile methodologies and DevOps, and experimenting with disruptive technologies.

Accenture technology services group chief executive Bhaskar Ghosh, technology lead in the Philippines Ambe Tierro and managing director JP Palpallatoc led the launching of the liquid studio where clients can discover new concepts, applications and solutions with speed and agility.

The Accenture team agrees that the Philippines would greatly benefit from the studio because it is one of the large global delivery centers all over the world, including London, Milan, Paris, Kronberg, Singapore, Sidney and Silicon Valley.

“We promise to take ideas from conception to actual prototyping for our clients, so you can actually see it develop very rapidly, which is what innovation should be. Having one [liquid studio] in Manila would be a good way of showcasing Accenture innovations,” said technology lead Tierro, referring to the different architectures found in the studio.

“The liquid studio, which is the first to be co-located in an Accenture Delivery Center, helps clients create real-world solutions at speed and at scale through rapid prototyping, testing their viability in real-time. It is a great example of how Accenture leads with innovation to help clients ‘imagine and invent’ the future,” said Tierro.

One of the fascinating features in the studio is a room controlled by Google Home. Google Home follows commands such as “turn the lights on,” “play this music,” or “change the channel.”

In addition to serving clients, the liquid studio will be used to train and rotate Accenture professionals to new IT, providing them with experience in emerging technologies and ways of working. “ The liquid studio offers a ‘sandbox environment’ for Accenture employees, where they can experience emerging technologies first-hand and adopt an experimental culture. With this, they can build, test and deliver software with speed and agility. Combined with Accenture’s structured mentorships, this becomes an invaluable part of their career and learning journey at Accenture,” said Tierro.

COMPANY PROVIDES VENUE WHERE FILIPINO ARTISTRY THRIVES

By Kristin Mae Cortez and Aletha Jasmine Dela Cruz SEVERAL entrepreneurs have benefited from the works of Filipino artists during the three-day Art Mod Fair which showcased different techniques and styles of Filipino culture at Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Ar tisteSpace, a company that organized the event, aims to promote a broad collection of art pieces that include photography, painting and drawing. ArtisteSpace also helps small and well-known organizations that focus

Filipino artists Joe Datuin, Migz Salazar, Oz Mendoza and Boysie Villavicencio and ArtisteSpace managing director Anton Magpantay answer questions from guests during the three-Day Art Mod Fair.

on buy-and-sell of artworks.

“We give importance not only to wellestablished artists. Of course, we also need them, but at the end of the day, we are also giving opportunities to other artists from the provinces,” says Anton Magpantay, managing director of the marketing company.

Among the well-known Filipino artists whose works were put on display at Art Mod Fair are Philipp Badon, Joe Datuin, Migz Salazar, Oz Mendoza and Boysie Villavicencio.

Magpantay is particularly excited about Ang Buhay at Hugis sa Paete, a heritage shop where authentic paete

wood carvings are priced according to their design, style and the wood used.

Meanwhile, one exhibitor said they used recycled gadgets and toys to catch up with the present innovations.

Art also has a different meaning to other artists and business owners like William Borja, who found a way to raise money for his wife who was diagnosed with ALS in 2014.

Jam Ramos, a photographer from Artvan and a contributing photographer for Top Gear Philippines, says the exhibition helps the public become aware of the value of art.

Business

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DOT ASKED TO TAP LOCAL AD TALENTS A S CO N G R E S S calls for an investigation on the rescinded P650-million advertising contract bet ween the Depar tment of Tourism and multinational company McCann Worldgroup Philippines, an advertising and public relations expert says both parties have to answer to the Filipino people not only for deceiving the world but for putting hard-earned people’s taxes to waste.

“I think both the Tour ism Department and the ad agency are to blame for this fiasco. There were numerous procedure before the promotional material came to life. They must have had several discussions for research, script, shoot and the people who will be involved in the project,” says media and ad expert Alejandro Danao, who has a 38-year experience in the industry.

It’s high time people in the ad industry take responsibility for their actions.

He says the ad agency has the full responsibility in the creation of the ad material and that it should have been honest enough to inform the client—the DOT—of the similarities with the South African campaign material.

“Integrity and honesty are of prime importance to a business relationship,” he says.

The biggest picture at stake, he says, is the spending of the P650-million ad budget which came from the Filipino people.

The government should be able to discern who is responsible and accountable for the publicity disaster, he says.

“What is also troubling is the department’s seeming lack of confidence on local talents,” Danao says.

“It’s high time people in the ad industry take responsibility for their actions. We shape the minds of the consuming public. Therefore we should be transparent enough to know want the client wants and what the consumers need. And if we want public respect, we should have ethics in the first place,” he says.

“There is this one liner that I always tell my people, ‘anything that matters to your clients’ survival, matters to you’,” he says.

The international promotional campaign ‘Sights’ of the DOT was the subject of debate on who should be held liable for such misinformation.

The ad material was allegedly a rip-off of another tourism campaign in South Africa produced by the same McCann outfit.

The DOT cancelled the contract with McCann, demanded a public apology and is mulling over the filing of a case against the multinational ad agency. Othel V. Campos

SHOPEE TURNS TWO, THANKS TO MILLENNIALS

By Othel V. Campos

M

OBILE-FIRST app Shopee is turning two years old in June, solidifying its status as one of the first mobile shopping platforms in the Philippines that brought an entire marketplace closer to consumers.

Macy Castillo, Shopee head of commercial business, said while there are similar platforms, Shopee remains unique because it is purely 100-percent market-based.

“This is like our second birthday here in the Philippines. We’ve been around, starting with our headquarters in Singapore. We’re now in seven countries including the Philippines. We’re mobile first, so that sort of differentiate us from those who came earlier. They are more of the desktop users. And what’s great about us that we’re very social. That’s what we really thought about when we started the business,” Castillo said.

For Shopee, being a virtual marketplace makes trade and commerce a whole lot easier and cost-neutral as the actual operations are done by the vendors themselves.

There is no capital investment needed to creating and maintaining a business like warehousing cost for physical inventory.

“Ours is just a platform. The real commerce happens between the sellers and the buyers. We encourage the buyers to be more pro-active in their buying habits, to engage the vendors to disclose more about their products to prevent miscommunication,” said Castillo who used to work for Zalora, the fashion online site.

She also worked in an e-commerce startup after her stint at Zalora.

The beauty of the marketplace, she said, is that it offers shoppers a whole range of products at different price points.

“They can compare the published prices so there’s more value for money. The more they visit and browse the app, the more they will learn about unique and novel products not yet offered in the malls and other shopping sites. What we did was we made sure that our buyers and sellers could talk to each other. If there’s a problem or question before they buy the product, the sellers and buyers can chat on the app real time. We localize everything so we have market support.

And also what’s very different for us compared to other buy-and-sell stores is that we have Shopee guarantee,” Castillo said.

She said there are buyers who have concerns about buying online so the only way they can assure the buyers that online shopping is safe, secure and convenient is by providing the socalled Shopee Guarantee.

With guarantee, Shopee makes sure that buyers receive the order before the payment is remitted to the sellers.

“We created all of these features for Shopee because we know people are hesitant to buy via the web. We want them to feel secure.That’s one of the things that we tell our buyers,” Castillo said.

She also noticed that the Philippines is the only market where sellers and buyers are both very engaging and are comfortable to chat on the app.

Compared to other countries where engagement is estimated at 75 percent, about 85 percent of Shopee buyers in the Philippines actually chat with sellers before a purchase is made.

“But what also makes us different aside from being social is that we really have full support to the sellers. We have all these tools that even for new sellers, it’s very easy for them to manage

Macy Castillo, Shopee head of commercial business

their inventory, to manage their income. They don’t need the desktop. They can do everything on their phone. All they have to do is take pictures of the products they intend to sell on our platform, register with us and post the photos,” Castillo said.

Shoppe’s support to sellers have come a long way since it started operating in the Philippines.

With the Shopee University, the app helps local entrepreneurs in setting up their online business and succeed in an increasingly competitive mobile-centric environment. It is a series of in-depth tutorial modules to educate sellers.

The first Shopee University class was held in February 2016, and since then, has visited 29 cities around the country and attended by thousands of participants.

Shopee plans to further expand and improve Shopee University across the Philippines which includes extending the curriculum and getting more prominent lecturers from m-commerce backgrounds to share their expertise with Shopee sellers.

A great deal of Shopee’s buyers are very millennial, an age group who are more confident buying online. Transactions at Shopee are still predominantly female-led with beauty and women’s crafts leading the growth.

In recent months, Shopee noted that more men are actually doing their shopping online.

“What is more amazing is the fact that male shoppers are actually buying beauty stuff on the net. Things like toner, facial wash, anti-aging creams, perfume, the likes,” said Castillo.

Shopee boasts of huge stock keeping units reaching 60 million at any given time, and the number is still increasing as more vendors join the market place.

In 2016, Shopee reported sales of $2.5 billion, a 900-percent growth over the previous year making it the top online shopping app in the region.

“I can’t reveal the targets but we’ve exceeded it already, I can tell you that. Midyear, we’ve exceeded targets. We’re growing it and we’re hoping to exceed the $2.5 billion this year,” said Castillo.

58 ‘LIGHTHOUSE’ SCHOOLS TEACH STUDENTS ON GARDENING F I F T Y - E I G H T “lighthouse” schools have been put up in Region 4A by the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction which teaches K-12 pupils gardening as a reliable solution to malnutrition that can be prevalent among schoolchildren.

IIRR says the lighthouse schools in its Gardening and Nutrition Education with School-based Supplementary Feeding is a viable way to source food right from one’s garden.

These gardens are now a source of food for a feeding program in public schools in Region 4A or Calabarzon (Cav i te, L a g u n a , B at a n g a s, R i z a l, Quezon).

Likewise, the gardens enlighten pupils and parents on nutrition education.

The program takes inspiration from Cornell University’s International Nutrition program. It uses nutrition education among children or parents as tool in mitigating malnutrition.

“Improved nutrition education has been one of the key factors to prevent

12,000 deaths a year worldwide,”according to the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

When one looks at the list of vegetables that IIRR teaches the schoolchildren to plant, he may doubt whether this battle for capturing pupils’ mind for agriculture can be won.

The vegetables are amaranth (kulitis), long-fruited jute (saluyot), Philippine spinach (talinum), horseradish (malunggay), rice bean (tapilan), cowpea (paayap), lima bean (patani), hyacinth bean (batao), ash/white gourd (kundol), pigeonpea (kadios), wiged bean (sigarilyas), and okra.

“We’re interested in influencing their thinking. We have a very powerful device to influence young people on basic environmental natural resource concepts.

By growing indigenous vegetables through Bio-intensive gardening[Big], you’re actually conserving our indigenous varieties for future use,” says IIRR farm expert Dr. Julian Gonsalves, who is also the senior program advisor.

Nourishment The apparently more important role of the GARNESSUP lighthouse schools is the nourishment of children in public schools.

An IIRR study shows that “schoolbased supplementary feeding using produce from school gardens effectively improved nutritional status and reduced

anemia rates.”

It notes a significant decrease in anemia prevalence from 20.8 percent to 4.2 percent in a group of children with feeding program using iron fortified rice compared to the children with ordinary rice and those that never had a feeding program at all.

Moreover, savings from the use of indigenous vegetables from school gardens in six months reached P8,851 and benefited 146 schoolchildren.

Schools studied were the Felipe Calderon Elementary School in Tanza, Cavite and the Gen. Aloha Elemenetary School in Gen. Trias, Cavite.

The study was conducted with the Department of Science and TechnologyFood and Nutrition Research Institute, International Development Research Centre, and the Department of Education.

DOST-FNRI noted in its National Nutrition Sur vey that 3.35 million children aged 4 and below were found undernourished under the MDG Philippine Progress Report 2010.

Sports

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 reuelvidal@yahoo.com

MYANMAR HERO BEARS THE HOPE OF A NATION

N

ATIONS’ heroes have risen from the sporting arena. Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis are bigger than life heroes in the USA. There’s Manny Pacquiao and Eduard Folayang in the Philippines. Myanmar has Aung La N Sang who carries the hope and dreams of a nation whenever he fights.

The 32-year-old is set to challenge Vitaly Bigdash once again for the ONE Middleweight World Championship. The epic rematch takes place in the main event of ONE: Light of a Nation on June 30, Friday at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in his old stomping grounds of Yangon, Myanmar.

While the “Burmese Python” is now Myanmar’s foremost martial artist and national icon who inspires millions, there was a time when the challenger lacked passion and direction.

As a teenager, he attended the Yangon International School and scored impressively high grades.

Despite being an active and popular student, he did not have many aspirations.

“When I was younger, I did not have much inspiration to succeed and I wish my mind was a little different. I was more easygoing and free. I guess I was not as focused as I am now. My mind was like, ‘Whatever, as long as God leads the way, I am ok.’ I did not have much ambition, and that was the problem,” he said.

Over time, however, Aung La N Sang developed a deep admiration for his father. His father’s impeccable

Roger Pogoy

TNT ROOKIE SELECTED PBA PLAYER OF THE WEEK Aung La N Sang of Myanmar enters the ONE Championship arena to raucous cheer from fight fans. The 32-year-old will challenge Vitaly Bigdash for the ONE Middleweight World Championship on June 30, Friday at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium. ONE Championship

Men, women and children join Aung La N Sang as he visits his hometown of Myitkyina in the Kachin state for the first time in 14 years. ONE Championship

Aung La N Sang (right) stalks ONE Championship World Middleweight Champion Vitaly Bigdash during their first fight. The two will again meet on June 30 in Myanmar. ONE Championship

work ethic and tirelessness struck a chord within the Myanmar native.

“He always worked very hard. He was gone most of the time when we were younger, and he would come home and bring gifts for us. What inspired me about him is that he is not educated—he only had elementary school education—but he always sought learning,” he said.

“He speaks seven different languages, including Burmese, English, Thai, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

For somebody who has very little education, speaks that many languages, does business, and is able to succeed? That inspires me.”

Aung La N Sang’s father also gave the future middleweight contender many gems of advice throughout the years. But out of all those words of wisdom, there is one in particular that has become Aung La N Sang personal motto.

“He would always tell me that you should always remember your roots, you should always remember where you came from, and you should always help out,” Aung La N Sang said. They are words that he is living up to, more than a decade later.

Nearly a year after leaving Myanmar to study Agriculture Science at Andrews University in Michigan in 2003, he witnessed a Samoan student

hitting a heavy bag in the school’s gymnasium, and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

A week later, he went to a Carlson Gracie dojo affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, and he has been hooked on martial arts ever since.

It may have taken him twelve years to get to this point, but Aung La N Sang’s hard work paid off. He is now a world title contender and will challenge for the ONE Middleweight World Championship.

Along with being a world title contender comes international fame, and he is using that fame for the greater good and the advancement of his Myanmar countrymen.

For the first time in 14 years, the middleweight visited his hometown of Myitkyina in the Kachin state to auction off some of his fight gear, with the proceeds going to Internally Displaced People, or IDPs, in the local community.

In addition to that, he is leading a mixed martial arts movement in Myanmar, and helping young competitors like Phoe Thaw, make a successful transition from lethwei into the sport he loves.

Clearly, Aung La N Sang remembers his roots. What’s more, he is nurturing those roots and his father could not be any more pleased.

“One thing I always wanted to do was make my dad proud, and it just makes me happy I am on the right road. It gives me peace of mind and it makes me appreciate it, and it makes me want to work even harder,” he said.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www. onefc.com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like on Facebook at h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / ONEChampionship.

PRFU ANNOUNCES U20 NATIONAL SEVENS TEAM THE Philippine Rugby Football Union has announced their 17-man training roster for the upcoming U20 Asia Rugby Sevens Championships.

The Philippines will compete against the heavyweights of Asian Rugby including Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Sri Lanka, just to name a few.

The U20 Sevens Program is aimed at developing the next batch of future Volcanoes to represent the Philippines on the international level. It is an opportunity for the youth to showcase their skill on the international scene.

“For the U20s, Dave Johnston and I are looking at the PRFU’s future. We want to see who can step up and match it with Asia’s best. Last year we sent a team

of 18-year-olds to compete at an U20 level. This year we are looking forward to seeing them one year older, one year wiser,” said Jake Letts, National Teams Head for the Philippine Volcanoes.

The Philippines selected the best of both local and international Philippine heritage players. The key members making their return include Rhys Jacob Mackley, Andrew Rodolfo Baldado and Joshua Golimlim Aragon. The U18s Captain from 2016 Ryan Ralston Santos also looks to make his first appearance in the national U20s program.

The tournament will be played at Kings Park, Hong Kong on August 5 and 6.

Seventeen players have been selected to attend the official

training camp on Saturday July 29 at the Southern Plains High Performance Facility in Calamba, Laguna.

They are Andrew Rodolfo Baldado, Donald Gregory Fontillas Anderson, Ethan Cuison Chen, Francis Paul Castro, Gabriel Lingan, James Halasan Ryan, Jan Philip De Gracia Ninalga, Jay Vincent Del Rosario Enriquez, Jeff Patrick De Gracia Ninalga, Josh Heredia Miller, Joshua Golimlim Aragon, Lyndon Cabano - Ang Adlao, Mark Joseph Llanera, Mike Joshua Llanera, Rhys Jacob Mackley, Ryan Retes Padilla and Ryan Ralston Santos.

Coach is David Johnston, Assistant Coach Jake Robrigado Letts, Physiotherapist Steph Yee and Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Everingham.

Gabriel Lingan (left) tries to sprint past a defender during rugby football action. Raymond Braganza

ROGER Pogoy may only be a rookie, but the young TNT wingman plays with the confidence of a veteran.

The 6-2 former Far Eastern University showed just that on Sunday, firing 17 points, none bigger than his three-point shot with under two minutes left to help TNT KaTropa beat a rallying Barangay Ginebra side, 100-94 in the opening game of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series.

A deadly gunner, whose confidence grew further with his recent stints at Gilas, Pogoy’s headsup play earned him the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of June 6-11.

Pogoy, who only turned 25 this past Friday defeated TNT teammate Ranidel de Ocampo and Star forwards Allein Maliksi and Aldrech Ramos for the weekly citation.

The Cebuano shooter’s transition to the pros is seamless considering that he is now playing under Nash Racela, his coach back in college where they won a UAAP men’s championship in 2015.

TNT is on the verge of a stint in the finals of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. After TNT’s Game One victory Anthony Semerad had a breakout game in TNT uniform as the KaTropa powered to a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five semifinals.

Semerad converted four threepointers in the fourth period, including the goal that pushed the Texters ahead for good which eventually led to a nail-biting 107103 victory Tuesday.

Import Joshua Smith helped preserve the win after he blocked Justine Brownlee’s shot during the Ginebra possession. He then followed up a miss by Jayson Castro at the other end.

Ginebra managed to cut the gap with an emphatic 125-101 victory over Katropa in Game Three Thursday night.

The trio of Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson found their range early to power the Kings to an early lead and then go on to score the most lopsided victory in the series.

But the biggest factor may have been the absence of Smith who complained of a hurting right foot early in the second period.

The hulking TNT import went out at the 6:54 mark of the second period and never came back.

He finished with only four points and seven rebounds in nine minutes of action. This after exploding 35 point in the Texters’ Game Two victory.

As we went to press TNT and Ginebra are playing a Game Four which could extend the series or send TNT to the finals of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The 6’2” Pogoy was born June 16, 1992 in Minglanilla, Cebu.

He first shone in basketball as a high school varsity player at the University of Cebu.

He then joined the Far Eastern University Tamaraws under Racela and helped the team win the 2015 University Athletic Association of the Philippines crown in 2015.

He was a member of the Philippine team which won the gold medal during the 2016 SEABA tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. He again joined the team for the 2017 SEABA held in the Philippines where the country retained the crown.

He joined TNT KaTropa after the 2016 PBA Special Draft. He was among the 2017 PBA All-Stars.

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Sports

SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor / Randy Caluag, Issue Editor

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

ALASKA POWERCAMP KID ON A MISSION

By Marjaleen Ramos

Conor Mcgregor showing his boxing skills during practice (Photo from Conor Macgregor twitter account)

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FOR MCGREGOR?

By Randy Caluag

T

HE odds were out in Las Vegas and Conor McGregor has been tagged the underdog.

Quite not surprising since the oddsmakers and experts have not given even a speck of a chance for the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star since his superfight with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr., was announced few days back.

Many are not aware though that the Irish fighter has been training hard since May even before Mayweather agreed to the multi-million boxing bout set on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC champion posted last month on his twitter account a picture of himself following a conditioning training.

“Today we are in the Red Zone on the @conormcgregorfast conditioning program. I must always take a brief moment to myself before I begin this intense zone. I ask myself one simple question— “How bad do I want this?”

He really wanted the fight badly. Not just for pride but for the money, of course.

As per estimates, McGregor is set to receive US$75million while the 40-year-old Mayweather will get US$100 million for getting out of retirement and stepping back into the ring.

McGregor is fighting his first professional fight against an opponent who had battled the best boxing champs in the world, including Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao whom he defeated via a unanimous decision.

Is McGregor out to pull off a surprise?

“They say I’ve got no chance. But they say that every fight,” McGregor twitted.

Manila Standard interviewed some of the local and international personalities in boxing and asked for their pick in the McGregor-Mayweather superfight that has been attracting interest in the fight world.

They’re all for Mayweather.

The match-up was so one-sided for the American boxer that an international matchmaker, Warren Elliot, wondered why the fight even got sanctioned by

the Nevada State Commission.

Here’s what they said about the fight.

Warren Elliot, international matchmaker Mayweather. Why? Because it is his promotion and his opponent is fighting a debuting boxer.

Mayweather is 49-0.

“Meaningless fight.”

His opponent is a debut boxer…McGregor has never fought professionally in his life.

Why is this even being sanctioned I have no idea why. Money talks.”

Monsour del Rosario, taekwondo Olympian and Asian champion “Kung boxing ang laban, Mayweather. Kung MMA, si macgregor.

Floyd is a master boxer while Connor is a master MMA fighter. They are both (masters) in 2 (two) different disciplines.”

“It’s like making a badminton champion play against a tennis champion… different rules and different worlds .. similar but different.”

Monsour del Rosario with Barcelona Games boxing bronze medalist Roel Velasco

Rennie Ross, MMA coach of UFC campaigner CJ De Tomas “Boxing ang laban kaya Mayweather ako jan dahil sa excellent foot work nya. Mga 70 percent ako jan dahil sa wide stance ni McGregor, mahirapan siya ipasok ang killer straight punch nya.”

Oliver Garcia, international judge and referee “Sa tingin ko kapag umabot ng decision ang bout pweding makuha ni Mayweather kasi mas may advan-

tage sya pag dating sa defense at offense. Pero mas aggressive si Mcgregor fatal attack kungbaga.”

Brico Santig with boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., during the International Boxing Federation (IBF) convention

Brico Santig, international boxing promoter and matchmaker “For sure Mayweather yan, sawsawan yan …pag MMA pwede pa manalo si Mcgregor Pero di rin masabi kasi matagal na rin sa MMA si mcgregor and matagal na rin nagbo-boxing (striking).”

“Kung may tsamba for Mcgregor?

Oo. Boxing is boxing dahil bago nag mma yan sure nag boxing din sya saka malaki sa laban. For sure, ayaw din nya mapahiya.”

Emmanuel Sabrine, Kickboing champion, now president of National Muay Thai and Kickboxing Council of the Philippines Kung mag abot man sila sa taas ng cage, sempre McGregor. Lahat alam ni McGregor, solid lamang siya pero kung boxing ang pinag usapan sempre, Mayweather tayo.

Ray Biagtan, international muay thai trainer and MMA fighter “Boxing ang paglalabanan, kahit sabihin nating magaling si Connor sa MMA, alanganin siyang manalo kay mayweather. Forte ni Mayweather ang boxing at balwarte nya ang squared ring.....in fairness magaling naman si connor, mananalo siya kapag na KO niya si Mayweather.”

Eduard Folayang, MMA fighter, ONE lightweight champion “Mayweather sa tingin ko dahil boxing ang laban.”

THE Filipinos’ love and passion for playing basketball isn’t just a hobby anymore—it’s has become a culture.

Kurt Vinluan, a nine-year-old baller, is just one of the many kids who went all the way to Baguio to join the Alaska Powercamp basketball program at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio under Philippine Basketball Association legend and Alaska Aces assistant coach Jeffrey Cariaso.

Unlike a normal kid who idolizes professional basketball players, Kurt’s two elder brothers, Kenneth and Kevin, served as his major inspirations and were the ones who urged him to join his first Alaska Powercamp.

“I get my inspiration from watching my kuyas, watching basketball,” Kurt said.

Kurt’s passion for basketball showed off and it didn’t seem like it was his first time at the Powercamp after topping every kid at the obstacle course challenge and channeling his inner Stephen Curry, winning the Best Shooter award.

“I joined the Alaska Basketball Powercamp so I could be a good basketball player like the other players that play in the NBA finals.”

The 4th grader who resides in Kuwait does not take his young age as an excuse on working out and continues to prove that it’s never too early for him to strive for greatness as it is his dream to be one of the best to ever play the sport.

“We always do exercises; sometimes push up, jumping jacks and some stretching.”

“I set my goals by doing them one by one and be better by doing them,” he shared.

Kurt is a firm believer that what every basketball players need to do to become the best is to practice and never stop practicing.

Likewise, it is also the same advice of their coach, “to just keep on practicing at home and use the exercises, the ones we do here and do it also at home so that we can improve here also.”

There’s no denying how almost every kid in the Philippines has a strong passion and enthusiasm to learn and play basketball in order to achieve their dreams of becoming a successful player one day.

Kurt, who lives thousands miles away, is no exception.

Kurt Vinluan was adjudged the best shooter in the recent Alaska Powercamp in Baguio City

VALDEZ VOWS FULL COMMITMENT TO NAT’L TEAM

Alyssa Valdez (5th from left), MVP of the PVL inaugural season, with her Creamline teammates

VOLLEYBALL star Alyssa Valdez reiterated her full commitment to the national team and vowed to go all out to give honor to country.

“It’s really an honor to represent the country po talaga. As an athlete, that’s the [ultimate] dream and goal,” said Valdez, who was recently named to the national team that will compete in the Southeast Asian Games set Aug.19-30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From the very beginning, Valdez had already committed herself to play for the national team as she took time out from her stint in Thailand and attended a whole-day tryout in Davao City.

There was a time when her full

commitment was questioned due to her absence from some activities put up by the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas, the national association for the sport of volleyball, but it was only due to the conflict in her schedules.

“Everyone’s really committed naman talaga. If you really love the sport, we can’t question the commitment,” she said during a meet-and-greet with their fans at Gerry’s Grill to celebrate her Creamline team’s recent third-place finish in the inaugural season of the Philippine Volleyball League.

Valdez, who was adjudged the PVL Most Valuable Player, has already attended at least three practices of the national team at the Arellano

Gym and said that the focus of training is more on putting cohesiveness to the team.

“We had team plays and we’re working on the jelling and communication. Important talaga ang pag jell ng players because we all came from [different] club teams. Pero veterans and talented naman lahat players kaya it would be easier for us.”

Valdez was named to the team along with other volleyball stars Jaja Santiago and team captain Mika Reyes.

The women’s volleyball team, seeing only for the second time in the SEA Games after a long, long while, is looking for a bronze medal finish although a silver or even a gold

finish is not far-fetched. Expected to crowd the top are Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Other members of the national squad are Denden Lazaro, Kim Fajardo, Rhea Dimaculangan, Maika Ortiz, Gen Casugod, Aby Marano, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Ces Molina all made the cut.

Making it to the reserves list are De La Salle star libero Dawn Macandili and veteran Rachel Anne Daquis.

They will get the chance to gauge their performance when they compete in the AVC Asian Seniors Women’s Championship slated in Manila on Aug. 9 to 17 before heading to Malaysia. Randy Caluag

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017

Jimbo Gulle, Editor

Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

mslocalgov@gmail.com

PERKS FOR SENIORS, PWDS

MAKATI PAYS OUT P7M FOR MOVIE TICKETS

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Makati City government announced on Saturday it paid five theater owners more than P7 million for the free movie tickets given to elders and persons with disability who availed of the privilege in the city during the first quarter of the year.

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BYE FOR NOW.

A woman walks among sunflowers in a field run by Blooming Petals Agri-Tourism Park—the first of its kind in the country—in Tupi, South Cotabato, before it officially closed this week. The park will reopen in September as the staff replant and prepare the land for the next flowering season. Entrance fees to the park is P30 for adults and P20 for children. Omar Mangorsi

In a report to Mayor Abigail Binay, city chief accountant William Dayrit said his office paid a total of P6,604,171.27 for the free tickets of senior citizens and P486,441.78 for PWDs. The amounts represent the 25-percent share of the city government in the cost of movie tickets used under its free movies program being implemented in partnership with cinema owners in the city, Dayrit said.

Mayor Binay acknowledged the support of the city’s partners, which include ALI Commercial Center Inc. for Glorietta and Greenbelt cinemas, Rockwell Land Corp. for Power Plant cinemas, Century City Development Corp. for Century City Mall cinemas, Willimson, Inc. for Waltermart cinemas, and Adebe Realty Co. Inc. for Cash and Carry cinemas.

“The city government is very grateful to our program partners for sharing our commitment to raising the quality of life of elderly and PWD Makatizens in every way possible. We thank you for your consistent support to this program which has given priceless joy to our beneficiaries for several years now,” she said.

For the period of January to March this year, Makati paid ALI Commercial Center P2,973,700.68 for senior citizens and P215,362.62 for PWD; Rockwell Land Corp., P2,026,421.25 for senior citizens and P157,353.25 for PWD; and Century City Development Corp., P438,558.00 for senior citizens, P29,575.87 for PWD. Other payments made were to Willimson Inc. which received P824,004.35 for senior citizens and P64,926.80 for PWD; and Adebe Realty Co. Inc., P341,486.99 for senior citizens and P19,223.24 for PWD. The program entitles some 77,685 senior citizens and 8,110 registered PWDs of Makati to free admission in any of the previously mentioned cinemas.

The free movies benefit for the elderly started in 1997 with the passage of City Ordinance No. 97-085, appropriating P500,000 as the 25-percent share of the city in cinema admission costs for senior citizens.

The program was institutionalized almost three years later through City Ordinance No. 2001-035 granting the inclusion of appropriations in the annual City Executive Budget for its continuous implementation in succeeding years.

Turn to D2

DUTERTE INDUCTS LADY SOLONS LEAGUE PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte recently administered the oath of office to the newly-elected national officers of the Lady Local Legislators League (4L) of the Philippines during a mass induction of local officials held at the Malacañang Palace.

The group is headed by Masbate Vice Gov. Kaye Revil (eighth from left in photo), who is also the public relations officer of the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines.

4L is the national league of lady lawmakers from the provincial to the barangay levels aimed at enhancing governance through sensitive legislation.

Directors members Butuan people-centered and genderAlso in photo are Board of City councilor Rema Burdeos;

Local Gov’t Units

Impasug-ong, Bukidnon councilor Mai Okinlay Gumban; Taytay, Rizal councilor Pia Cabral; Mabini, Bohol councilor Myra Colis; vice president for Visayas Eastern Samar board member Karen Alvarez; executive vice president Laguna Vice Gov. Karen Agapay; secretary-general Pola, Oriental Mindoro Vice Mayor Jennifer “Ina Alegre” Cruz; vice president for Luzon San Manuel, Tarlac Vice Mayor Doña Cresencia Tesoro; Dasmariñas City, Cavite councilor Pay Poblete Tapawan; Quezon councilor Yna Liwanag Asistio; and vice president for Mindanao Compostela Valley Nena AtamosaCalim.

VIZCAYA TOWN HONORS ‘BUGKALOTS’

By Ben Moses Ebreo KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya— Garbed in their native attire, Bugkalots from all over the province flocked in Barangay Poblacion in this town to join other indigenous people in their recent celebration of the annual ‘Pugungan’ Festival.

Excitement was etched in the faces of young Bugkalots as they performed their native dances and songs including their hunting practices and their skills in playing indigenous musical instruments.

This year’s ‘Pugungan’ or gathering was conceived to promote and showcase the rich culture and traditions of the Bugkalot tribe in Nueva Vizcaya.

“Our festival was intended to showcase and promote the Bugkalot culture and tradition in recognition of their being the first settlers of our municipality,” said Mayor Alberto ‘Chito’ Bumolo Jr. He said the Bugkalots have long been laid their ancestral domain claim in the vast forest and mountains of Nueva Vizcaya, especially in upland towns.

Holding the ‘Pugungan’ Festival, Bumolo said it will help promote and foster camaraderie and friendship between the Bugkalots and other tribes of their municipality where ifugaos compose its major population.

“This positive relationship between the tribe will result into a peaceful coexistence which is an important component of development and progress,” the mayor said.

“Thirty years ago, the Bugkalot tribe are the dominant tribe in barangays Talbec, Sanguit and New Gumiad in Dupax del Sur, several barangays in Dupax del Norte and six barangays of Alfonso Castañeda,” said Rep. Carlos Padilla.

The yearly holding of tribal festival’s such as the ‘Pugungan’ in Kasibu town and ‘Ammungan’ of the province are helping much in the collaborative effort to preserve and promote the Bugkalot culture and tradition.

Also known as Ilongots or Ibilaos, the Bugkalots were the known and feared headhunting tribe in Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora provinces before the Spanish era.

Their transformation into Christianity came with the teachings of missionaries from the New Tribes Mission, backed by local officials in the said provinces.

Bungkalots’ head hunting practice finally came to a halt in the 1980s as most of the tribe have embraced the Christian belief.

At present, few Bugkalots are now scattered in the upland towns of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora provinces.

“They are versatile tribe. Those who have lived in Aurora province knows how to speak Tagalog, those in Nueva Vizcaya adopted Ilocano while others have adopted the Isinai dialect,” Padilla said.

SPECIAL FATHER’S DAY BASH AT ‘EK’ IN CELEBRATION of Father’s Day on June 18, Enchanted Kingdom treats our beloved dads to a magical day out.

EK pays tribute to all fathers who deserve to spend a day of enchanting moments with his family by offering a “Dads Come In Free” promo. Check out this fun-filled treats from the county’s premier theme park and create a perfect day to let your dad know how much you appreciate him.

A perfect Father’s Day gift is a fun day where they can enjoy worry-free bonding moments with the family. EK offers a special promo where “Dads Come In Free” for every purchase of 4 Agila and Park tickets.

The package, which is worth P4,300,

is inclusive of a group meal for 5 at the Amazon Grill and a raffle entry for an SKK smartphone. This magical treat is available all weekends from June 17 until July 16 only.

Enjoy an exciting afternoon of science, technology, innovation and creativity with EKstra Special Daddy & Me Robotics Class at the Boardwalk Party Place. Available sessions are 3: p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Get ready for fun activities, games and exciting prizes.

This event is in partnership with Felta and Lego Education Philippines.

Catch the winners of ABS-CBN’s “Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids” as they perform an extravagant concert at Enchanted Kingdom on Sunday, June 18, 6 p.m. at the Agila Grounds.

See the First Grand Champion Kid Jhon Clyd Talili of Surigao del Sur live on stage with his vocal prowess together with the finalists, Keifer Sanchez, Mackie Empuerto, Sheena Belarmino and Francis Concepcion. The runners-up namely, Sidro Quilicol, Shaina Allaga, John Jamiel and John Ramirez will also take part in the musical concert. Don’t miss this chance to witness the power of vocal greatness.

Dads will surely enjoy a magical day at EK, where they can spend a day of thrilling adventure and bring home more enchanting memories! To know more about the Father’s Day promo and other EKciting activities, please visit www.enchantedkingdom.ph or call (02) 5843535 or (02) 8303535.

SAFE WATER FOR ALL. Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi inspects

the newly constructed Water Laboratory Facility at the City Health Office, Centennial Avenue, Tunasan recently. Muntinlupa opened the CHO’s Glass Cellar Division Bacteriological Area, a first in South of Metro Manila, to check and monitor the chemical content of drinking water in the city as preventive measure against water-borne illnesses.

LGUs

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PCSO, POLICE MONITOR ‘DOBLE CARA’ IN NEGROS IN RESPONSE to the government’s effort to stamp out illegal gambling activities and support the operation of expanded Small Town Lottery implemented by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office nationwide, the Philippine National Police is monitoring 11 illegal gambling personalities in Negros Oriental.

This was based on the report submitted by Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office Director Police Sr. Supt.

Henry F. Binas to Police Regional Office 18 Director Police Chief Supt. Renato Amador Gumban.

In his report, Binas said they are monitoring the movement of 11 personalities known to be engaged in illegal gambling activities in their areas.

They were named as Salvador “Jun” Garet, Bryan/Ryan Regalado, Bambie Calumpang, Pedro Divinagracia alias “Batchoy,” Raner Divinagracia alias “Roner,” Orlando Fonollera alias “Lando,” Marlou D. Ablay alias “Marlo” Florendo D. Balubar Jr. alias “Bongbar,” Rizaldee S. Cortez alias “Ady,” Tom Aledro, and Michael Vincent Lopera alias “Alo.” Based on the report, Garet is a close friend of Bambie Calumpang, who was engaged in illegal gambling activities operated through cellular phone and text messages. “The latter is willing to go on STL but could not afford to raise the amount for his bond on Four Aces so he can to be allowed to handle STL in Tanjay City,” the report added.

Accordingly, Bambie tried to borrow money from his friend Jun to raise the P5-million bond required by Four Aces so he can be allowed to handle STL in Tanjay City, the police report said.

Batchoy reportedly has a Lotto outlet in Sibulan, Negros Oriental, police said.

His brother Raner was previously into illegal gambling, but when the STL started the latter stopped his operation and secured certification from their barangay captain saying that he is no longer into illegal gambling.

Just like Raner, Fonollera, Ablay, Balubar, Cortez and Aledro were previously engaged in illegal gambling, but stopped when the STL started in their areas.

Lopera, on the other hand, joined STL under Benny Arsenias in Pamplona, but the operation was withdrawn due to allegation of being engaged in “doble cara” (two-faced or double-sided).

Binas assured PCSO police will continuously monitor the movement of the said personalities and if they resume their illegal activities, the PNP will immediately arrest against them to ensure there is no illegal gambling activity in the area.

“Whenever any of them resumes any illegal activities, a police operation will be conducted to ensure that no illegal numbers game will sprout again in our area of responsibility,” Binas said.

He said the PNP is also monitoring possible “doble cara” STL operations due to the report that some police operatives arrest personalities believed to be using STL only as front to avoid arrest and continue to remit some of their collected bets to their illegal financiers.

As of June 16, 2017, the PNP already conducted 4,563 anti-illegal gambling operations nationwide that resulted in the arrest of 10,561 persons and confiscation of P4,693,295 in bets.

MAKATI...

From D1

In 2006, the perk was also granted to registered PWDs of Makati through the enactment of City Ordinance No. 2006-066.

All they have to do is present their senior citizens Identification card or PWD ID card, together with their citygovernment issued movie tickets booklet, at the ticket booths whenever they go to any of the said cinemas.

In 2016, cinema partners were paid a total amount of P23.2 million, as follows: P21,081,297.20 for senior citizens and P2,203,721.54 for PWD. This year, the city government has allocated P35 million for the movie tickets of senior citizens and P4 million for PWDs. Senior and PWD Makatizens also enjoy other benefits from the city.

Makati “señoritas” and “señoritos” receive birthday and golden wedding anniversary cakes, and bags of groceries every December.

Under the BLU Card program, senior citizens are also entitled to cash gifts given in two equal instalments every June and December. Those who are 60 to 69 years old receive P3,000; 70 to 79 years old, P4,000; and 80 years and older, P5,000.

To date, 38 Makati centenarians have been awarded with P100,000 cash gift, also under the BLU Card Program.

PWDs in Makati are also granted the Access Display Card, a special car sticker for private vehicles they use that entitles them to being given priority for a parking space anywhere within Makati, as mandated by City Ordinance No. 2006-036.

They also have the PWD transport ID card plus, which entitles them to fare discounts on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), provincial buses and local transport groups.

M

LEPANTO PIONEERS ESL IN PH MINING INDUSTRY

ANKAYAN, Benguet— Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., one of the oldest mining companies in the country, has pioneered the operation of an engineered sanitary landfill in the Philippine mining industry.

The ESL, constructed in an area near Lepanto’s mill site is designed to contain residual wastes from households within the mining community and nearby barangays in Mankayan, Benguet.

Lepanto started utilizing the ESL since January of this year, according to Mine Environment

Protection and Enhancement Department manager Rolando Reyes.

Reyes said that the ESL construction cost Lepanto over P4 million with the main ESL component fast-tracked and completed in less than two months utilizing 30 locally hired workers while the other components, i.e., the material recovery facility and the project site office, will be completed by June 2017.

The two-meter wide concrete base of the ESL can withstand strong typhoons with its slope planted with tiger grass and sunflowers and further stabilized by coco-fiber.

The ESL site is covered with a high-density polyethylene liner, ensuring that liquid waste is filtered towards the leachate tank where it is bio-remediated or detoxified using naturally-

occurring organisms prior to discharge.

Baguio journalists who toured the ESL site noted that it was odor-free.

Reyes said the ESL has a life of four years but this may be expanded to serve the community for another two years.

He added that this early, Lepanto is already negotiating with community residents for a potential new site for the next ESL. Meanwhile, in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, LCMCO said that, following TUV Rheinland Philippines’ audit of the Environmental Management System of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. on March 22-24, 2017, it has been recommended that the ISO 14001 certification of Lepanto dated May 12, 2016 be maintained.”

Dexter A. See

BISTEKVILLE 9 LAUNCH. Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista leads national and city government officials in

a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the inauguration of the Bistekville 9 housing project along Nenita Extension at Barangay Gulod in Novaliches on Friday. The project, made up of 192 three-storey walk-up condominium units, forms part of the city government’s continuing effort to provide decent resettlement areas for the city’s underprivileged residents. To date, more than 20 Bistekville housing projects are being developed by the city government. With the mayor are Cabinet Secretary and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council concurrent chairman Leoncio Evasco; Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor chairman and chief executive officer Terry Ridon, and other city and barangay officials. Manny Palmero

PAMPLONA’S INDIGENOUS BIOETHANOL BARED

By Abe Almirol THE town of Pamplona, Cagayan in the far end of northern Luzon takes pride of its success in the operation of backyard-based distilleries that supplies “rubbing alcohol” sanitizer to a hospital in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Local travel writer Benjamin De Yro was elated when he saw a wonderful livelihood in Barangay Cabaggan in Pamplona town while his group was exploring the Malagabavi falls in Marag Valley in the town of Luna, Apayao Province —a tourist destination in a frontier known in the ‘90s as a haven of the communist New People’s Army.

“Barangay Captain Crisanta Leaño

said the distillery has a capacity of 850 liters of production in a day,” reported De Yro. Nipa (Nypa fruticans) is a known rich source of bioethanol. The successful tapping of abundant indigenous material paved way to the establishment of the “first local trading center of ethanol supply in the country,” according to De Yro. Scientists at the Don Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte has selected Barangay Cabaggan as the site of the distillery project. DMMSU, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Energy and the LGUs joined hands to upgrade the operation of the local distilleries, De Yro added.

A village-based distillery in Barangay Cabaggan, Pamplona, Cagayan uses the indigenous knowledge in distillery operation that dates back to the production of traditional ‘binarayang‘ liquor. Benjamin De Yro

SHARING YOUR EXTRAS AT SM STORE

Children under the catechetical program of San Bartolome de Novaliches Parish were some of the beneficiaries of The SM Store and SM Foundation’s Share Your Extras project. In photo are Lucena Calamayan, president of 1-Aasenso Pinoy, Father Noel Bacasnut, and Jun Senor of San Bartolome Parish.

Also present during the turnover were SM Representatives headed by The SM Store Fairview Branch Marketing manager Marrie Garcia and Customer Service manager Eds Castillo.

THE SM Store’s recent “Share Your Extras” campaign brought smiles to thousands of family members all over the Philippines as they received slippers and clothes from SM shoppers.

A joint project of The SM Store and SM Foundation, Share Your Extras encouraged customers to clean their closets, and share their pre-loved clothes and slippers with the less fortunate. Booths, where they could also buy new slippers, were set up in all SM Store branches nationwide for this purpose.

Each donation entitled a customer to a P50 coupon which can be redeemed for every minimum P500 single receipt purchase of regularpriced items from the Children’s Shoes Department of The SM Store.

Customers were very generous with their donations, and Share Your Extras was able to gather a total of 28,687 pieces of clothes and slippers from all The SM Store branches nationwide.

These were in turn brought much joy to recipients when distributed to various Social Action Centers in the Metro area and in the provinces.

Among these were the San Bartolome de Novaliches Association, the Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Commission (LASAC), Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center (JASAC), Social Action Center of Pampanga (SACOP) and Social Action Center of Bacolod.

Share Your Extras is one of the ways The SM Store reaches out to the communities. Other store-based projects include Donate-A-Book, Gamot Para sa Kapwa and Share-A-Toy.

Gadgets & Games

OPPO A57: BUDGET FRIENDLY BUT PACKED WITH FEATURES

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PPO is introducing the A57, the newest A-series device that brings users a flagshiplevel 16 MP selfie front camera, bokeh enabled selfies, lightning-fast solid-state fingerprint scanner, a long-lasting battery with a perfect 5.2” body size that perfectly holds grip at a price of Php 11,990.

FREEBIES UP FOR GRABS IN LG G6 PROMO

• Superior sound— The G6’s unmatched picture quality is well-complemented by its Hi-Fi Quad DAC feature with produces rich and powerful audio.

• Camera and UX 6.0—The camera technology of the G6 is also naturally advanced with its standard and wide angle settings for both rear and front cameras, dual 13MP rear cameras (including a 125-degree lens on the wide angle) and

an expanded 100-degree field of view with the wide angle 5MP front camera. The G6 features Android’s first-ever Square Camera Mode, with a function that can divide the 18:9 screen into two identical squares for simultaneous photo taking, editing and uploading, as well as creative Instagram shots. Users can also up their food photography game with the popular Food Mode function.

• IP68 protection standard and durability— The G6’s durability is further developed with its water, dust and overheating resistance. It can be immersed in up to 1.5 meters of water for as long as 30 minutes, and users can worry less about accidental drops and other rough environments during everyday use. For greater reliability against overheating, the G6 is designed with a metal frame and heat pipe to dissolve heat. The powerful device has passed 14 different militarystandard 810G tests involving rain, fog, humidity and temperature, among others.

For more details on the promo, visit lg.com/ph, like @LGMobilePH on Facebook and follow @LGPhilippines on Twitter and Instagram.

ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR PH BUSINESS THE age of intelligence is here. Today there is an immense opportunity for enterprises to differentiate themselves from the competition by leveraging big data and advanced analytics solutions.

This was the key lesson learned at Data Amp, an online event staged by leading enterprise cloud provider Microsoft. At the event, Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Microsoft Cloud + Enterprise, and Joseph Sirosh, corporate vice president, Microsoft Data Group, demonstrated the possibilities offered by big data and cloud technology, and provided insights on how innovation in data, intelligence and analytics help companies achieve true digital transformation.

The Philippines is itself seeing a boom in cloud adoption, both in the public and private sectors. The Philippine government, following the establishment of the Department of Information and Communications Technology in 2016, has adopted a “cloud first” policy in order to provide improved services to citizens. Many private companies are followingsuit,withorganizationslikeManila Water demonstrating how digital transfor-

AMA TIPS: HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN ONLINE SCHOOL WHILE online learning has removed physical and geographical boundaries that inhibit learning, it also presents new challenges for students looking to subscribe to its system. Overcoming distractions, managing priorities, and getting ahead of the game are arguably tougher for online students who mostly guide themselves in completing their courses and finishing their degrees.

AMA Online Education believes that hurdling these challenges starts with simple steps that allow for a balance of priorities. Whether you are a current or prospective student, below are tips that can help you as an online enrollee this coming school year.

The A57 sports a 16MP front camera similar to that of the F1s, with a new bokeh feature. It has a f/2.0 aperture lens, Beautify 4.0, palm shutter gesture and OPPO’s Screen Flash feature for amazing selfies even at dim lighting conditions.

The A57’s rear camera pairs a Sony IMX258 sensor with a large f/2.2 aperture.

The rear camera of the A57 uses a Sony IMX258 sensor paired with a large F2.2 aperture that provides high light sensitivity and clarity OPPO A57 offers the best value and performance in a budget, that works even in night setup. It right size, performance, style and price for everyone also has Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) that delivers an auto focus time of as little as 0.1 seconds, The A57’s triple-slot card tray 5 . 2 - i n c h u n i b o d y w i t h 2 . 5 D perience to a broader market. said and Ultra-HD mode allows users means users can enjoy the flex- Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 screen. Stephen Cheng, OPPO Philippines to capture stunningly detailed 52 ibility of two 4G SIM cards, while The A57 manages to pack a power- Brand Marketing Manager. “The A57 MP images. still expanding storage by up to an ful 2900 mAh battery, providing just brings consumers premium photogadditional 256 GB. One of the few the right weight in the hand and raphy and advanced features, the Flagship-level Touch Access smartphones in its price range to offering excellent battery life per- best that is offered in its price range.”

The A57’s sports a flagship- feature this. formance. Leveraging smart power Cheng added. level solid-state fingerprint scanoptimizations in ColorOS 3.0 (based The A57 will be available in colors ner that is very responsive and Strong, seamless, on Android 6.0), the A57 clocks in at Gold and Black, in all OPPO concept reliable. The reader uses a hydro- long-lasting performance 11 hours of continuous video watch- and dealer stores nationwide startphobic zirconium surface, which The A57 cruises on a new 1.4GHz ing, 23 hours on the phone, or about ing June 16, 2017 for Php11,990. operates on the same principle as Snapdragon 435 Octa-core proces- 13.5 hours in a scenario of varied For more details about the a naturally water-resistant lotus sor and 3 GB RAM, ensuring snappy continued use.

OPPO A57, please visit https:// leaf, giving the the fingerprint performance and seamless multi“Filipinos love taking selfies. With www.facebook.com/OPPOPH/ or scanner a boosted success rate tasking for today’s generation. the spectacular success of F1s, we log on to http://www.oppo.com/ even when finger is moist.

Even in its attractively slight thought of bringing the same ex- ph/index.html.

FOR those who are interested in getting the multi-award-winning social media phone LG G6, now might be the ideal time. Not only did the G6’s retail price mark down from Php 37,990 to Php 34,990, but every G6 purchase now also comes with a premium case and a 64GB micro SD card, amounting to a total of Php 3,000 worth of free items. The promo is available in selected LG dealer stores nationwide and will run until July 31, 2017.

Available in Astro Black, Ice Platinum and Mystic White colors, the LG G6 projects itself as the ideal social media smartphone for today’s digitally-savvy users. Among its unique selling points are: • FullVision display—The G6 has a 5.7-inch QHD+ FullVision display and the industry’s first 18:9 screen-to-body ratio for a more immersive viewing experience, all encased in a sleek, minimalist body. It’s also the first smartphone to support Dolby Vision and HDR 10 formats, which are world standards for picture technology, enabling users to enjoy videos, movies and TV series in stunning imagery.

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

mation can at once improve operational efficiencies and overall service delivery.

“This is a key moment for companies that wish to go digital,”says Herns Hermida, Cloud and Enterprise Business Group Lead.

“Already we’ve seen how Microsoft cloud services give our local partners better business data than ever before, and the tools they need to put that data to good use. That the Philippine government itself is going all-out for the cloud is testament to the benefits offered by digital transformation.”

A recent McKinsey research study found that companies that use analytics extensively are twice as likely to outperform the competition in terms of sales, profit, growth and ROI. This has manifested in a rapid adoption of big data and cloud services – a trend that is only expected to accelerate.

According to IDC, the worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics will grow from $130.1 billion in 2016 to more than $203 billion in 2020.

The top three benefits emerging across multiple industries and use cases, as well as a glimpse into how Microsoft customers are

accelerating their digital transformation, are explained below.

1. Optimize manufacturing with real-time analytics Manufacturers large and small have transformed by capturing and analyzing live streaming data from production lines. Hershey Company uses big data and advanced analytics services on Azure to optimize licorice production using intelligent sensors on factory line extruders.This“internet of licorice” allows Hershey to dynamically manage production. Deschutes Brewery, an American craft brewery,uses big data and advanced analytics services to drive operational efficiency and saves an average of 48 hours for every batch of beer it brews. Deschutes achieved this by optimizing its production process through real- time data analytics, saving millions of dollars in expansion costs.

2. Make decisions fast with accessible data insights Modern banks thrive on data, but accessible insights from this data are the true differentiator. Heartland Bank, a leading New Zealand bank, wanted a new analytics

platform that would give its business users direct access to customer credit insights and performance KPIs. Its legacy analytics systems were only accessible to IT, and hence delayed decision-making. Using SQL Server R Services, Hartland built a new, open platform that’s not just accessible for business users, it’s also faster than anything it used before. “We are using R Server to build a data-first culture at the bank by ensuring that executives have the numbers to back up their instincts,”says Chris Murray, head of Enterprise Data at Heartland Bank.

3. Cut costs with intelligent demand forecasting Gaining value from historical data to better predict future needs can increase efficiency and save costs. Carnival Maritime churned an ocean of data to improve demand forecasting. Keeping track of the consumption of water onboard a cruise ship is a complex equation.

Carnival used Cortana Intelligence Suite to better predict how much water a ship will need for a specific route, saving each ship more than $200,000.

Establish routines for better time management

Managing expectations is the first step towards optimizing your learning experience. Always remember that while classes are conducted online, learning through an online program requires just as much work as a traditional classroom. Procrastination in an output-based system is a habit you would not want to develop.

Find a system that effectively weaves in your school work with other activities.

Start by getting into the habit of regularly checking your e-mails or your school’s learning management system to keep up to speed with new projects, tests, and announcements.

Visualize your upcoming projects, exams, and tasks by crafting to-do lists, and plotting out your schedule on a planner or even your mobile phone. Keep track of your progress by updating your to-do list to make sure you don’t miss anything important, and help you allocate time and effort.

Quality workspace and gadgets spell productivity

Investing in a quality workspace that allows you to focus on your coursework is important. A workspace helps you to segment your school work from other tasks. When taking your classes, a clutterfree space that allows you to concentrate is best.

Ensure your gadgets are also upto-date by installing necessary applications, and implementing software updates as needed. Find yourself a reliable service provider or a location with a stable internet connection to avoid unnecessary hassles. For online learners, technology is essential to helping you accomplish your work in a timely and efficient manner.

Keep laser focus amid distractions

An organized workspace is futile if you are subject to many personal distractions.

Learn to lessen your social-media use while you listen to your lectures or browse through important course readings. This way, you create headspace that help streamline your study process.

Normal classroom settings typically discourage the use of social media during class hours. Challenge yourself to mirror the learning environment in traditional schools.

Go beyond the limitless walls of an online classroom

Take learning to the next level by exploring resources beyond what is available in your online library or discussed in your online classes. Utilize the internet and the information available on the web to learn beyond the syllabus. While course materials such as online books are helpful, doing extra research goes a long way in retaining knowledge.

From specialized websites to video tutorials, the internet is full of tools that can help you learn at a faster and more comprehensive rate. But do remember to critically evaluate your sources for credibility.

MOTOROLA...

From D4 front camera supported by a selfie light.

Posting these photos while on the go to share with friends and family will not be a problem with the smartphone’s 4G capabilities. The 8GB built-in storage capacity, expandable to 32GB with a microSD card, allows users to access their favorite memories anytime and anywhere.

Availability and Pricing

With the new Motorola smartphones, one’s mobile experience is taken to the next level. The Moto C is available starting June 15 for P3, 699 and the Moto C Plus is priced at P6, 299. Pricing for the Moto E4 Plus starts at P8, 999 available at major Lenovo retailers nationwide by the end of June.

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Gadgets & Games

VIVO V5S: BEST GROUFIE PHONE IN ITS PRICE RANGE

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ELFIE-CENTRIC smartphone brands have slowly dominated the mobile market in the Philippines, given their relatively low prices compared to other giant international brands.

Knowing the consumers’ love for selfies or selfportrait shots, these brands are appealing to prospective buyers by boasting of their respective camera features.

Since it entered the Philippine market, top five premium global brand1 Vivo has successfully captured the hearts of selfie-loving Filipinos with its “perfect selfie” V5 line, the latest of which is the new Vivo V5s. Launched just in May, the V5s already proves to be the best smartphone deal compared to other brands in its price range.

Equipped with a 20-megapixel front camera with f2.0 aperture, the V5s takes crystal-clear and headturning selfies for just a price of P14,990.

But the newest and most exciting feature of the V5s is the Group Selfie technology, which allows panoramic and up-close panning effects in “groufies” or group shots, without squeezing in our missing out anyone in the barkada.

This new feature’s portrait and landscape orientations likewise

Marvel at Vivo’s new “perfect selfie” V5s phone that brandishes a 20-megapixel front camera, enhanced selfie tools like the Selfie Softlight, and the newest Group Selfie technology.

help capture outdoor ‘groufies’ or family portraits without needing to squeeze in or cut out anyone.

The V5s’ 20-MP sensor guarantees that the smallest of details can be captured in your selfies. The lightsensing area is larger than usual at 1/2.78 inch. This allows more light to come in which in turn enhances photo brightness.

Its high-end front camera is also supported by its 13-megapixel rear camera with f2.2 aperture and an ultra-high-definition mode that can render stunning ultra HD images of up to 52 megapixels.

Another edge of the V5s over its competitors is its all-new and improved Selfie Soflight that is now even softer, making one’s face and

skin tone look even brighter even in poor lighting conditions, no matter what time of the day.

The Vivo V5s also uses Face Beauty 6.0, a face-retouching and skincare tool that makes your selfies look even more radiant. The V5s’ Face Beauty mode 6.0 has three new features, namely buffing, whitening, and skin tone. This can also tailor more user-specific solutions based on one’s skin condition and features.

Unlike most smartphones that allows user to log in to only one account for social media applications, the V5s also introduced its App Clone feature that can run two accounts using the same app. This is very useful to millennials and professionals who want to better separate their personal and social lives online.

As for its appearance, the V5s’ slimmer bezels make it smaller in size than any ordinary 5.5-inch smartphones, making it easier and more comfortable to grip. The V5s is also more resilient and protected than most mobile phones’ screen glass because of its 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass that also gives it a more minimalistic and elegant design.

Other notable features of the V5s include its 4G RAM and 64GB internal memory, Hi-Fi music technology, and 0.2-second fingerprint unlocking.

For what it’s worth, the new Vivo V5s is indeed the best smartphone deal for selfie-loving Filipinos.

For inquiries about Vivo V5s, visit the Vivo website at vivoglobal.ph, or check out their Facebook (https:// www.facebook.com/ VivoPhil), Instagram (https://www.instagram. com/ vivophil/) and Twitter (https:// twitter.com/vivophil) accounts.

MOTOROLA PHONES FOR YOUTH GENERATION MILLENNIALS today are highly driven, dynamic and always on-the-go. To reward this go-getter and hustle attitude, this vibrant group only chooses to get the best things in life, whether they’re choosing between restaurants, picking the right gadget or getting hyped up for their travel plans. For the latter, only highly functional and feature-packed gadgets can keep up. And this is why Motorola is releasing three new powerful smartphones that address Filipino millennials’ diverse needs without draining their wallets: the Moto C, Moto C Plus, and Moto E4 Plus, which feature stylish builds and power-packed features ready to accompany Filipino society’s young and mighty in all their adventures.

Moto C Plus: Power that Moves You

On-the-go, busy users can take their mobile life to the next level with the Moto C Plus’s battery power. Unlike most smartphones in the market today, the Moto C Plus has a 4,000mAh battery that can last up to 30 hours, which means users never have to worry about running out of juice while going through their day’s travels.

Step up to the high-definition life with the Moto C Plus. Its 5-inch HD display ensures optimal viewing of photos and movies for a richer multimedia entertainment. Swipe through favorite movies and heavy-duty game while

waiting for the next flight. Worry not about posting all the stunning snapshots of travels with the phone’s 8MP rear camera, and capture crystal-clear selfies with the 2MP front camera.

Moto C: Make a Smart Move

The Moto C is a powerful smartphone that gets the job done without hurting the pocket.

Running on a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and Android 7.0 Nougat OS, the Moto C is a milMoto E4 Plus: The Best of What Matters lennial’s trusted everyday essential. Its 5-inch Travel buffs can step up their game with the display lets users watch and enjoy photos and Moto E4 Plus, Lenovo’s answer to mobile users’ videos with greater detail and clarity. thirst for more. The embedded 5,000mAh battery Take at-the-moment provides nonstop fun and connectivity, emsnapshots even in powering users to do more, enjoy more and get low-light conditions more out of life. with the Moto C’s 5MP Enjoy movie time while sitting through the rear camera with an ride, with the Moto E4 Plus’ 5.50-inch full-HD LED flash. Capture grand display fashionably enfolded in smooth selfie moments with the metal for a sleek and stylish feel. Snap Turn to D3 and share heart-stopping sceneries with friends and loved ones with the smartphone’s high-end 13MP rear camera.

Take social-media ready selfies with its front camera that boasts 5MP resolution. Never worry about where to store tons of photos with 16GB to 32GB internal storage capacity.

For the young and tech-savvy users who are all about convenience, the Moto E4 Plus offers enhanced phone and data security with a simple interface.

2MP Moto E4 Plus

HOME CREDIT SURVEY REVEALS MILLENNIALS' PREFERENCES HOME Credit, a Prague-based fintech company that provides in-store financing of smartphones and other goods, recently conducted a survey among 600 job applicants, to gain insights on their career and workplace preferences.

With close to 80 percent of the respondents falling under the 18-29 range—Home Credit Philippines (HCPH) itself is an employer to more than 4,800 millennials, or 82 percent of HCPH’s nearly 6,000-strong workforce—the survey revealed a number of key insights regarding the career and workplace preferences of millennials, considered by many companies as key targets for recruitment.

Work location a key consideration

In the survey, respondents were asked to choose between two opposing choices per category, such as working close to home versus working in a top business district. For this category, the results showed that millennials are virtually split between preferring to work close to home (48 percent), or work in a top business district (52 percent). A similar split is seen from respondents 30 years old and up, with 49 percent wanting their office to be near home.

Good benefits trump high basic pay

Respondents were also asked to choose between having a high basic pay, or getting good benefits for themselves as well as their loved ones. 67 percent of Home Credit’s 30 years old and above respondents chose having good benefits for their families over simply having a high basic salary.

On the other hand, an even higher percentage of millennials—73 percent—chose good benefits for loved ones over high basic pay, possibly an indicator of Filipinos’ strong familyoriented culture, even among modern millennials.

Work-life balance is a must

Respondents were also quizzed on working long hours and getting commensurate overtime pay, versus having work-life balance. For both the millennial and 30-and-up segments, workaholics comprise a very small minority, as an overwhelming 76 percent of surveyed millennials put a premium on work-life balance, almost equal to the 77 percent preference rate of the 30-and-above group.

Size (and name) matters

The survey also asked respondents how much they care about the name or image of the company they work for, specifically on whether they prefer to work at a big-name company, or help a startup grow.

The results indicate that 54 percent of young respondents would rather work for a big company than a start-up, while 46 percent said that they prefer helping a start-up grow.

The discrepancy is even smaller for thirtysomethings, with 48 percent preferring to work at a big company and 52percent wanting to offer their services to a start-up.

Are millennials job hoppers?

The survey also sought to determine whether millennials are prone to moving from one job or company to another. 86 percent of Home Credit’s millennial respondents said that they prefer to grow their careers in the same company—with the 30-and-above group having the exact same rate.

PLDT HOME LAUNCHES ROKU-POWERED TVOLUTION IT’S here! PLDT Home creates history once again with the launch of Asia’s first Roku PoweredTM TVolution.

The country’s leading digital services provider introduces the game-changing device, Roku PoweredTM TVolution, an all-in-one, plug-and-play box that will take TV viewing to a whole new level with its worlds of entertainment.

With this all-in-one powerful box, you can watch HD TV channels from Cignal, the Philippines’ largest pay TV provider; biggest selection of top Hollywood, Asian regional, and local TV shows and movies from iflix, the world’s lead-

ing Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) service for emerging markets; critically-acclaimed TV series and films from Netflix, the world’s leading internet television network; over a billion hours of videos every single day from YouTube, the world’s largest streaming website; plus over 100 free streaming channels. This means easy, one-click access to all your favorite entertainment content without having to switch between multiple boxes.

For families whose viewing habits have evolved into individual screen viewing – whether through mobile, tablet, or PCs

– they can now enjoy all their favorite shows on TV. The Roku PoweredTM TVolution brings Filipino families together by allowing them to bond over extensive selection of video entertainment in one convenient screen.

“PLDT Home has always been at the forefront of innovation, both in technology and in content, and today, we mark another milestone for internet TV, not just in the Philippines, but also in the region,” PLDT FVP and Home Business Head Oscar A. Reyes, Jr. said. “The Roku PoweredTM TVolution will change the way Filipino families enjoy entertainment together in the com-

forts of their homes. We look forward to ushering in the new age of family video entertainment, thanks to our partners.”

A new era in entertainment

To mark this breakthrough innovation and partnership, PLDT Home recently hosted an exclusive launch at the posh Shangri-La at the Fort. The powerhouse event brought together industry titans, led by PLDT Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, and A-list celebrities and influencers, with no less than Miss Universe 2015 and PLDT Home ambassador Pia Wurtzbach hosting the night’s affairs.

PLDT Home, led by PLDT Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, and renowned partners welcome the new age of family video entertainment with the Roku PoweredTM TVolution box.

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor

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Young Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com.ph

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DAD CAN AFFECT YOUR LOVE LIFE

By Bernadette Lunas

E

VER wondered why your male romantic partner has the same traits as your dad? Or that you are drawn to someone whom, without you realizing, is a version of your father?

This could sound gross, but hear this out: experts posit that our relationship with our father can affect our love life.

“Growing up, you were completely at the will of your parents,” said author and relationship coach Jordan Gray. “Depending on how much love, time, and attention your parents gave you, their involvement in your life undoubtedly affected how you show up in your romantic relationships.”

Basically, the way our parents treated us when we were younger can affect the way we view other relationships. However, there are some to which this doesn’t apply; but experts say they are the exception, not the rule.

“It’s not just a myth that our relationships with our parents impact our love lives,” licensed psychotherapist and relationship coach Shirani Pathak said in an interview with hellogiggles.com.

According to Pathak, those who had great relationships with their father will most likely have few struggles in their relationships with men, while those otherwise expect Turn to E2

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YOUR RELATIONSHIP...

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to find themselves struggling. The reason for the latter is that the individual is carrying their childhood struggle into their adult life.

For instance, those who lived with alcoholic fathers find themselves with a person who also has a drinking problem.

“Only, this time, you have unconscious hopes to ‘win’ the love, affection, attention, or whatever you feel you didn’t receive when you were growing up, from your partner. As terrible as it might sound, your romantic partner unconsciously becomes your replacement parent,” explained Pathak.

It is unintentional and entirely due to our subconscious, but, sadly, it happens to many people.

Apart from being drawn to a version of your dad, our relationship with him can affect the way we act in other intimate relationships.

Those who have had absentee fathers tend to be clingy and co-dependent as they always worry being left behind, according to therapist Sonja Keller.

Those who are a child of a terrible father might expect all men to be horrible, too, or might not lead other men get too close emotionally.

Those who grew up without trust or reassurance, are likely to always expect reassurance and find it difficult to trust people—even their loved one.

And if you think you have broken yourself free from the cycle by refusing to date someone who’s like your dad, it still means that your relationship with your father has a great impact to your love life. “A choice to go opposite is still a choice based on dad,” Jennifer Kromberg, Ph.D said on Psychology Today.

The only way to break the cycle, according to Pathak, is to consult a therapist. “This will help you stop turning your adult romantic partners into replacement parents, and you can start to enjoy your love life.”

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY FROM AVIS WE’RE celebrating 45 years in the Philippines so take 45 percent off on time and mileage on our Self-Drive car rental service.

Simply Like Avis Facebook page at facebook.com/AvisPhilippinesOfficial and send a message, or call (02) 462 2881, or email reservation@ avis.com.ph.

Offer is until June 30, 2017.

ADVT

Homer Simpson drinks a lot, eats too much, and likes to fool around—much to Marge, Bart, and Lisa's annoyance (Photo from Fox Broadcasting Company)

DAD JOKES

THAT ARE SO CORNY THEY’RE FUNNY

L

EAVE it to dads when it comes to delivering the most embarrassingly awful jokes.

There is just something about them that even if they tell the funniest jokes or puns in the world, it would still sound awkward.

Perhaps it’s the lack of humor or the actual delivery, but nonetheless, a dad joke won’t be a "dad joke" if it doesn’t illicit an annoyed response from its audience.

Here are some dad jokes we gathered around that will make you ask yourself whether fatherhood comes with a book of corny jokes.

*Kaming dalawa lang [ni Dad] sa bahay nung umaga, and the night before sinabi niya sa ‘kin na maaga siyang aalis kinabukasan. Nung ginising niya ko, mukhang nagmamadali na siya* Dad: Uy, aalis na ko ha! If may maghanap sa ‘kin sabihin mo hinahanap ko rin siya.

-Jernille Gonzales, 21 ***

*One night while having dinner, we were disMe: Dad, paki-abot nung chili powder. cussing what movie we were going to watch* Dad: Wala na.

Me: ‘Deadpool’ na lang.

Me: Ugh, I want to eat spicy food!

Mama: Ano ba yung ‘Deadpool’?

Dad: Kawawa ka naman, hindi na chiliPapa: (dead serious) Patay na tubig. cious yung food mo.

-Maxine Lagman, 20 -Bianca Go, 21 ***

***

Hal Wilkerson (Bryan Cranston) is a lenient father to Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey and Jamie (Photo from Malcolm in the Middle Wiki)

Me: Ano ‘tong prito, galunggong?

Papa: Oo, pero iba ang klase.

Me: Bakit, may iba pa bang klase ng galunggong?

Papa: Oo. Galunggong na babae, galunggong na lalaki.

Me: Lahat naman ng isda may kasarian.

Papa: Bakit, yung dalagang bukid? May dalagang bukid ba na lalaki?

-Maybelle Gormate, 25 *** Papa: Kilala ko yung nanay niya.

Me: Sino?

Papa: Nanay niya yung babae.

-Karen Manuel, 26 *** *Mom shows us her new glasses* Mom: Sale ito, 50 percent off! Mura!

Tingnan mo yung brand.

Dad: Patingin nga... Calvino Klein! Kaya pala mura!

-Ida Anita Del Mundo, 30 *** Me: Dad, tell me your best joke.

Dad: You. -Michael Hernandez, 32 *** *Ed's note: Responses were edited for cohesion and clarity

Phil Dunphy (Ty Burell) always emphasizes that he is a cool dad to Haley, Alex, and Luke

By JR Padlan

–Marjelle Sy

THINGS TO DO WITH DADDY ON HIS SPECIAL DAY

IMAGINE how incomplete your life would be without a dad. Sure, you may not really miss the presence of a father. And sure, you may have a productive and accomplished life even without him in your life.

But then again, think of how much more fun and fulfilling life could be with him around, teaching you life lessons without you realizing it.

Your dad may be the first one who taught you how to play soccer. It was then you learned the principles of sportsmanship. He may be the one who bought your first ever PSP and let you share it with your friends. It was then you learned to be generous to others.

And all those times when you fell off your bike, and he was there to say, “It’s okay.” It was those times you learned to suck it up and be brave.

He was the most excited, (and we’re pretty sure the most emotional) after your mother gave birth to you. And truth be told, he’s probably the one you’re always waiting to come home at night—hoping that he bought your favorite doughnut.

Fathers are our source of strength. They guide us, assist us in our difficulties, and often give us a head start in life.

Knowing this, it is only fitting that we set aside one day in the year to celebrate what he means to us.

This Father’s Day, take the opportunity to let dad know you appreciate and cherish all his sacrifices and hardships. It may not be as grand as a plane ticket to the Bahamas, or car keys to a brand new BMW. It may just be a handwritten letter, or a simple cup of brewed coffee. The important thing is to make him feel important and appreciated.

Fathers are really not into material things— and you can use this to your advantage. Here are a few suggestions that will make him feel appreciated and important: Enjoy a meal with him. You may take him out for a hearty meal. If your budget doesn’t permit you to take him to his favorite restaurant, he might appreciate it even more if you prepare the meal yourself.

Share an adventure with him. Indulge him in whatever he wants to do and we’re pretty sure

he will love it. Especially if it’s a shared experience with you.

Attend mass with him. It is a good way of reminding him and yourself of the many blessings you have in life. Let your family get closer to each other and develop your relationship.

Pamper him. Bring him to a spa or a healing center for a soothing massage and other relaxing therapies. You can also take him to a salon for a makeover that may help him unwind, get some rest, and feel rejuvenated.

Go on a weekend getaway. Treat your dad to a weekend stay at a hotel. There are many promos and packages offered by hotels and resorts for Father’s Day, one of them is bound to suit his style.

Have a heart-to-heart talk. If there’s a wall between you and your dad, a meaningful conversation could help break that down. If you’re not vocal or afraid to do it verbally, write a letter instead that says how much you love and appreciate him At the very least, give him a hug. Go hug your dad and say, “Dad, you’re the man.” And be prepared to receive emotional bear hugs in return.

He always carried you on his shoulders when you were young, now it's your turn to make him feel loved.

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VIRAL‘DADVERTISEMENTS’ PAY TRIBUTE TO FATHERS

M

ASS media has depicted our dads in many ways. Probably, being emotionless, indolent, and strict are the most famous clichés that put our fathers as the contravidas in many spots on TV. But for one day in a year, the industry collectively puts that caricature aside to embrace a different side of our tatays.

This year’s crop of Father’s Day ads goes straight to the heart, dispensing almost entirely with humor or even levity in favor of tear-jerking sentiment. In case you needed a reminding (to send a text message or a Facebook shoutout) of just how special your old man is, we present four “dadvertisement” that pull at our heartstrings and get us thinking about dear old dad.

Gil Cuerva and Jennylyn Mercado

‘MY LOVE FROM THE STAR’

PILOT EPISODE REACHES 1M VIEWS ON YOUTUBE

SM Supermalls – Daddy’s Girl With over 7 million views on Facebook as of this writing, the ad by SM Supermalls for Father’s Day features the story of a father who seemed to be uninterested in helping his wife and daughter prepare for the young girl’s 18th birthday celebration. At the end of the video, the reason why her dad seems to be less affectionate is revealed – he is just very sad that his daughter is growing up too fast. The video already has more than 32,000 shares, and over 76,000 reactions proving that a lot of people, in one way or another, have somehow feel for the character.

McDonald’s -- #LoveKitaPa On June 8, on McDonald’s Philippines official Facebook page, a clip that runs for 1 minute and 28 seconds was uploaded. The video shows different dads patiently waiting for their daughters and sons: at home while his kid goes out to party; in a department store coach while his family is doing shopping; in a parking lot while his daughter is attending JS prom; in a bus station while waiting for his son’s bus to arrive; and in the hospital outside the delivery room while waiting for the birth of his child. The emotion filled ad has been viewed more than 12 million times since its posting.

San Miguel -- Brown Belt Bag San Miguel Pale Pilsen’s latest digital video pays tribute to all the fathers who continue to provide unconditional love and support to their families and children. The video features the feel-good story of a lovable tatay and the brown belt bag that seems to be permanently attached to his waist, whether he be at work, at home or even at formal gatherings. At the end of the clip, his son is heartbroken, and his way of consoling his young man is by giving him their favorite beer. He pulls out two cans of beer from his belt bag and started sharing funny stories with his son.

Jollibee - Powers This Father’s Day, Jollibee showcases an ad called Powers, the latest addition to their hit Kwentong Jollibee series. The ad showcases a playful and creative take on a child’s perspective wherein dads are regarded as real-life superheroes. It tells the story of a young boy asked by his teacher on who his superhero is. The kid, who is mighty proud of his father, a utility worker in a BPO office, explains why his father is like a superhero and why he wanted to be like him when he grows up. Nickie Wang

KAPUSO Network’s latest primetime drama, My Love from the Star, the local adaptation of a popular South Korean series, is making a lot of buzz online specifically on the popular video sharing site, YouTube.

According to an announcement published on GMA Network website, the pilot episode of the series top billed

by Jennylyn Mercado and Gil Cuerva has already reached 1-million views on You Tube as of June 12.

“Many are falling in love with My Love From The Star!

The pilot episode of the Philippine remake made 1M views on YouTube,” the announcement said.

My Love from the Star, is a romantic fantasy TV series that premiered on May 29 on GMA Network’s Telebabad block. The story revolves aroud an alien who lands on Earth during the Spanish period and 300 years later, falls in love with a top actress in the modern era.

In the series, Mercado is the actress named Steffi Chavez while Cuerva is the alien hottie, Matteo Domingo. Other members of the cast include Christian Bautista, Jackie Rice, Glydel Mercado, Melissa Mendez, Nar Cabico, Migo Adecer, and Analyn Barro .

TIPS TO KEEP KITTY HEALTHY AND WELL THEY are such bundles of joy! Cute, cuddly, sweet, and soft.

They are kittens.

Both kinds—with breed or what we call pusang Pinoy or Puspins—are good pets if you are a good owner.

Just like dogs, cats follow their owners’ commands if they were treated and trained well when they were babies.

Kittens also grow into healthy, welladjusted, happy cats if given PROPER CARE. Today, I give way to the expert on animal care: Dr. Cerdy Deloso.

Here are his tips on proper cat care: 1. Have your pet vaccinated Cat vaccines are typically divided into core and non-core vaccines Core vaccines protect against diseases that commonly affect kittens and adults such as rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia, and rabies. (Note: these diseases will be discussed in another article) Non-core vaccinations are given only to cats who are at risk of getting infected with peritonitis and leukemia, to name a few.

Core vaccines are given for the first time at around 6 to 8 weeks of age when the effect of maternal antibodies start to wane. The vaccine is given every three weeks until the kitten reaches 16 weeks of age.

Anti-rabies vaccine can be given at around 12 weeks of age.

2. Deworm your pet Intestinal parasites (internal parasites) are a big threat to the health of cats and a good deworming program should be scheduled. Typically, cats are dewormed at the age of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, and again at 12 and 16 weeks of age. The deworming is repeated every 6 months thereafter.

3. Grooming is good but it depends on several factors Some cats require complete grooming, but all cats definitely need ear cleaning.

Grooming includes giving a bath, hair trimming or hair cut if needed, ear cleaning, and nail clipping.

Getting your cat used to grooming early will make this moment less stressful for you and your cats.

To groom or not to groom?

This depends on several factors: A. Kind of breed. Does the cat have long or short hair? Long-haired cats need frequent grooming.

B. A cat with a skin problem definitely needs a medicated bath usually once a week.

C. If your cat sheds a lot, it needs frequent grooming. Your cat will have hairballs if you do not groom him/her.

D. Your cat enjoys grooming.

4. Keep cats safe from external parasites Keep your kitten/cat safe from external parasites as they carry certain

Dr. Cerdy Deloso cutting the nails of Nagui, a kitty abandoned along Naguillan Road in La Union and was rescued by Save ALL

diseases.

Prevention will depend on the following factors: A. Your cat’s lifestyle (indoor, outdoor, roams) B. Age C. Season D. Environment A lot of preventives are available in the market which include soap, shampoo, sprays, and spot-on application, among others.

To choose what is best for your kitten/cat, please work with your vet who can come up with a preventive program depending on your cat’s condition.

5. Give nutritious food Cats, like other animals, have different life stages which means they will have a different nutritional requirement for every stage of their growth.

Kittens need more nutrients for their growth and development. This is why

kitten food contains higher amounts of nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Adult animals require a different level of nutrients for maintenance.

A pregnant or lactating cat will also require a different level of nutrient for themselves and their kittens.

Supplements can be given to support the immune system but this should not be regarded as a replacement for good food. (In another column, the best food for cats will be discussed further) DO RESEARCH ON PROPER CARE FIRST BEFORE GETTING A PET. The best advice I can give is for you to research first on the proper care of cats before getting one.

Ask yourself if you can do what a responsible cat owner should do: 1. Can you bring your pet to the clinic for regular check-ups?

2. Can you provide regular disease prevention shots?

3. Can you give good food that meets the necessary requirement of your cat so that he/she will always be healthy?

I also encourage you to have your cat spayed or neutered as desexing will lessen or eliminate the possibility of your pet acquiring some illnesses.

This will also reduce the number of unwanted animals who may later become strays.

Lastly, instead of buying a pet, please ADOPT one. There are many kittens out there looking for a loving family or a kind, compassionate human.

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Showbiz

SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

KIM DOMINGO

TO LAUNCH INFLUENTIAL. Leading fashion magazine named (from left) Gabbi Garcia, Nadine Lustre, Anne Curtis, and Maine Mendoza as local showbiz's most influential personalities

MILLENNIAL STARS UNITE TO SUPPORT

SEXY PHOTO BOOK

#THENEWPH MOVEMENT

Relevant millennials James Reid (second from left) with his siblings Jack and Lauren (rightmost) joined by Nadine Lustre and Alex Diaz (first from left) at the Grand Ball's fashionable photo booth

By Nickie Wang

A

popular fashion magazine has launched a movement that celebrates and recognizes leaders and game changers of this generation. Called #TheNewPH, this social media campaign that promotes “a new and better Philippines” named Maine Mendoza, Gabbi Garcia, Anne Curtis, and Nadine Lustre as the most influential personalities.

The campaign was unveiled to coincide with the celebration of the country’s 119th Independence Day and culminated in a grand Pinoy Pride Ball attended by both emerging and established showbiz personalities from the country’s leading networks.

Among the Kapuso stars who took part in #TheNewPH Grand Ball were Alden Richards, Meant to Be leading men Ken Chan, Addy Raj, Jak Roberto, and Ivan Dorschner, showbiz newcomer Gil Cuerva, and stars Andrea Torres, Ruru Madrid, Sanya Lopez, Klea Pineda, Ameera Johara, Rita Daniela, Sofia Pablo, and Ayeesha Cervantes.

Meanwhile, James Reid, Elmo Magalona, Janella Salvador, Mccoy de Leon, Elisse Joson, Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber, Kisses Delavin, Marco Gumabao, Daniel Matsunaga, Bailey May, Enzo Pineda, and

Iñigo Pascual, led the Kapamilya stars who were in attendance in a Grand Ball akin to the network’s Star Magic Ball where stars arrive in their most fashionable outfits.

Viva artists Julian Trono and Ella Cruz, and beauty queens Megan Young, Kylie Versoza and Pia Wurtzbach with Marlon Stockinger also walked the red carpet.

Prior to the event held on June 12, these celebrities were photographed with yellow, blue and red backgrounds which symbolized hope, courage, and love, respectively.

“In these times when fear and uncertainty have seemingly taken over, as a united nation, we remain steadfast and unfazed in the midst of challenges. We believe what we need as one nation now is hope, courage, and love, as we celebrate our country’s independence.

Let us march forward towards the future, in

the hopes of building a better nation. This is our stand and our pledge for humanity,” reads the common caption for each of the photos that appeared on MEGA magazine’s official Instagram page.

According to the fashion magazine’s website, the Pinoy Pride Ball is a yearly, prestigious invite-only event hosted by MEGA magazine in order to honor Filipinos who are excelling in different fields. All the guests are required to attend in their best version of the modern Filipina look, with all the possible reiterations of the classic ensemble.

Every year, the MEGA ball’s theme is interlaced with the Pinoy Pride. Although this 2017, the MEGA team decided to make the event more different by changing the list of invites–they focused more on tapping the most relevant millennials.

FANS of Kim Domingo are definitely in for a treat as the sexy star will soon unveil a photo book that chronicles her rise from a hard-working model into one of the most sought after leading ladies in showbiz today.

While she is very generous when it comes to raunchy posts on Instagram, where she has around 2.5 avid followers, the 22-year-old model-turnedcomedian will delight all of her fans with Kim Domingo: State of Undress, a guided titillating tour that reveals her celebrity journey.

Shot by FHM regulars Shaira Luna, Ejay Leung, and Paolo Pineda, the collection of intimate and provocative images lets fans connect with Kim as she reveals the details of her humble beginning to becoming the new “Pantasya ng bayan.”

In an interview with showbiz reporter Nelson Canlas for GMA News’s 24 Oras, Kim said that she’s extremely glad to launching this project, which will allow her fans to know her more.

“The book will show a lot of transitions. May transition from innocent then to sexy. Sa book na ‘yon mas makikilala ako ng mga fans ko, yung mga taong sumusuporta sa akin. Kasi doon nila makikita kung paano ba nagsimula si Kim Domingo,” she said.

Meanwhile, in the latest update on FHM 100 Sexiest Women poll, Kim is currently ranked two, behind frontrunner Nadine Lustre.

CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY WITH BASKETBALL MVPS ARANETA Center, in partnership with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), is holding a series of activities today dedicated to our lives’ biggest MVPs – our fathers.

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., PBA MVP star Johnny “The flying A” Abarrientos, and fourtime PBA MVP Alvin “The Captain” Patrimonio will be available for fan meet at the Gateway Mall Activity Area. Event registrants will have the chance to play a 3-on-3 basketball shootout with the two as well.

Another PBA MVP dad, San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos, will also be on hand for a meet-and-greet and another shooting game with the dads and basketball fans.

Called “My Dad is my MVP Father’s Day Celebration,” the event is centered on kids recognizing their dads as key role models while growing up in a world filled with challenges. Guests in the

From left: PBA MVPs (from left) Johnny Abarrientos, Alvin Patrimonio, and Arwind Santos

event can bond over basketball-themed side activities like basketball shooting arcade care of Timezone, a basketball trick show by Buhay Bola, and other games where they could win special prizes.

Only lucky Facebook user, meanwhile, will have a chance to win six (6) tickets to

the PBA commissioner’s Cup finals or the June 30 game at the Big Dome, as well as a group dinner from the Araneta Center.

To qualify, FB fans must post a comment to Araneta Center’s “My Dad is my MVP” post to share why they consider their dads their MVP, and use the hashtag

#MyAranetaDadStory. The winner will be announced on June 19.

For more information on “My Dad is my MVP Father’s Day Celebration,” visit www. aranetacenter.net, The Araneta Center Facebook page, as well as its Instagram and Twitter pages at @thearanetacenter.

A sneak peak of Kim Domingo's intimate photos for a book she's about to launch soon