Manila Standard - 2017 June 25 - Sunday

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 131 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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PRICE STABILITY, TETANGCO’S LEGACY

YOUNG LIFE / E1 WATTAH-WATTAH. Residents of San Juan City on Saturday celebrate the annual 'Wattah-Wattah Festival,' a long-held tradition observed every 24th of June, which is also the feast of St. John the Baptist, the city's patron saint. During the festival, residents, visitors and even passersby get splashed with water, which takes its inspiration from the Biblical account of Jesus' baptism by St. John the Baptist in Jordan River. Ey Acasio

'TERROR LEADER MAY HAVE FLED MARAWI' M

ARAWI—One of America’s most wanted terrorists may have escaped a five-week battle with Islamist militants in this city, which began with a raid to capture him, the military said Saturday.

Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran Filipino militant, said to be the leader of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, has not been seen in the battle zone in Marawi City, said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, head of the military’s Western Mindanao Command.

An attempt by government troops to arrest Hapilon in Marawi on May 23 triggered a rampage by Islamist militants flying black IS flags who seized parts of the mainly Muslim city.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Marawi and the entire southern region of Mindanao, unleashing an offensive to crush what he said was an attempt by the jihadist group to establish a strong-

hold in the area.

“He [Hapilon] has not been seen in the area. We have some reports that he was already able to slip somewhere but as of now we are still confirming the reports,” Galvez said in a radio interview.

Asked if Hapilon was on the run, he said: “Yes, yes because reportedly he suffered a lot of casualties. Majority of his group, more than half, were casualties.”

Hapilon was indicted in Washington for his involvement in the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans in the Philippines, and has a $5-million bounty on his head from the US government, which has his name on its “most wanted” terror list.

He leads a faction of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf that has pledged allegiance to IS. Security analysts said he has been recognized by IS as its “emir” or leader in Southeast Asia, a region where the group wants to establish a caliphate.

The military said Hapilon’s group had joined forces with another armed militancy, the Maute group, to launch the Marawi siege, now on its second month.

On Saturday, security forces continued intense air raids and artillery fire on pockets of Marawi still occupied by the militants, while troops fought house-to-house gunbattles on the ground.

“The operation is going on, the firefights are intense. We have gained substantial ground,” said Galvez.

Nearly 300 militants and 67 government troops have been killed in the fighting, according to official figures.

ISNILON HAPILON

Galvez said there are “strong indications” that two or three of the Maute brothers—among the key players in the siege—had been killed, including Omarkhayam Maute, believed to be the group’s top leader.

Only one brother, Abdullah, has been visible in the fighting, Galvez added. AFP

GOVT SETS TRUCE ON EVE OF EID'L FITR AS THE Muslim world observes the religious feast of Eid’l Fitr that marks the end of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers during the month-long Ramadan today (June 26), the military said it would suspend offensive against Maute jihadists still holed up inside a few establishments in Marawi City.

Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez said the “humanitarian pause” will take effect from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

“To give reverence to the supposed peaceful, joyous and festive spiritual celebration, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, upon

the approval of the Chief of Staff, intends to declare a stop in our current operations in the city on June 25 to serve as a gesture of our strong commitment and respect to the Muslim world, particularly to the local Muslims of Marawi City,” Galvez said in a statement.

“The ‘humanitarian pause’ will be lifted immediately if any of the following conditions ensue: (1) our troops’ security is jeopardized; (2) safety of civilians is threatened; and (3) if the enemy starts firing and at which point anyone can exercise their right to self-defense,” Galvez added.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said at least four of the city’s 96 barangays still need to be cleared of Maute members and other terrorist groups.

Government forces and the Maute terrorists have been fighting for more than a month since May 23.

Crisis management committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said the clashes have destroyed at least 30 to 40 percent of the city and displaced some 246,000 people.

At least 69 government troops, 280 Maute members and 26 civilians have been killed in the longdrawn war.

“That (280 Maute killed) is actually a modest estimate because sometimes we cannot recover the body,” Adiong said.

“However, those bodies which have yet be confirmed by way of body count, were actually confirmed by witnesses. We don’t include those for validation, which means the body count could be higher,” he added.

Meanwhile, Padilla said that the military establishment it was mindful of the public clamor to end the fight against the jihadists soon, but said they cannot rush it to prevent more casualties in the long run. Turn to A2

WHAT HAPPENED AROUND THE WORLD ON PRIDE MONTH

PALACE PROBES ABUSES

By John Paolo Bencito

MALACAÑANG on Saturday announced plans to investigate allegations of abuse of the military and the police in light of President Rodrigo Duterte’s imposition of martial law in Mindanao.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the President, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police “do not encourage or tolerate abuses by the military or the police in Mindanao or elsewhere.”

“We will investigate and if evidence warrants, prosecute and punish all those who committed abuses, especially sexual violence against women,” Abella said.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter in Lanao del Sur previously raised “serious concerns” after receiving “first-hand data and information” of righ ts violations by the military and police in Marawi City, which has been under siege by the terrorist Maute group for over a month now.

The group called on Lorenzana, the martial law administrator, to stop the alleged abuses, including warrantless searches in houses and Turn to A2

SHABU SEIZED FROM VICE MAYOR'S HOUSE

By Francisco Tuyay

SUNFLOWERS OF DILIMAN. Graduating students take a 'selfie shot' backdropped by sunflowers along University Avenue at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City on Saturday. The state university holds its 106th general commencement exercises. Manny Palmero twitter.com/ MlaStandard

AT LEAST five kilograms of suspected“shabu” were recovered by security forces at abandoned houses of incumbent vice mayor and former mayor of Marawi City during a houseto-house search for terrorist in the strife-torn Islamic capital.

The five kilos of shabu were seized by police and military forces at the houses owned by former Marawi City mayor Fajad Salic and incumbent Vice Mayor Arafat Salic in Barangay Cabingan Sabado Friday.

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Last Friday, two kilos of shabu worth P10 million were also recovered by ground troops at the house of former Marawi City mayor Omar Solitario Ali. The Department of National Defense has released several names of personalities and Ali’s was among in the list that may have direct and indirect links in the Marawi City crisis and other parts of Mindanao.

Chief Insp. William Santos of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the Salic family were suspected drug lords in Marawi and were included in the drug list by President

Rodrigo Duterte.

Fajad Salic was earlier arrested for his supposed links with the terrorists that attacked Marawi City and rebellion charges has been filed against the former local executive.

He was transferred to the Camp Bagong Diwa detention cell in Taguig City to prevent terrorists from spiriting him out of jail.

Reportssaidthatbothhouseshavebeenabandoned in the early stages of the intense fighting betweensecurityforcesandtheMautegroup.The area was also reportedly used as a staging area of the terrorist group during the attack. Turn to A2

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GOVT...

NPA DEFYING REDS' TRUCE CALL—PALACE

From A1

Padilla said fighting in an urban terrain, such as Marawi City, is one of the most difficult situation for troops because they are dealing with enemy snipers, improvised bombs, mines, and use civilians as hostages. “[Urban fighting] is complex. It is not that easy. People are very impatient but they don’t know he sacrifices of their soldiers,” he said.

Padilla cited the experience of one Marine unit last week as they were clearing a building in Marawi City.

“The Marines found an IED so they tried to deal with it by trying to explode it remotely. When it exploded, there were 10 huge explosions, like a ‘Judas Belt’ firecracker. It turns out that the IED was part of a (booby trap consisting of a series of IEDs laid together), which if triggered, would likely kill or injure troops unwittingly,” he said.

Padilla said neutralizing the remaining terrorists is complicated due to the urban terrain and with the enemy well aware of their positional advantage.

He cited the case of military units in the Middle East, who, despite their firepower and numerical superiority, encountered extreme difficulty in combating ISIS terrorists in an urban setting.

“The Battle of Mosul [in Iraq] is still ongoing. [Having] started in October 2016, it is not yet finished. [It has] been going on for eight months. In Libya (which conducted operations against) ISIS/Daesh (terrorists), the battle started May 12 (last year) and ended only last Nov. 6, so it lasted over six months,” Padilla said. PNA

By John Paolo Bencito

M

ALACAÑANG on Saturday expressed serious doubts on whether the administration should continue peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines, saying recent attacks in Mindanao showed insincerity on the part of the rebels.

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the attacks were carried out by the New People’s Army despite directives from CPP leaders to refrain from launching offensives while the government is engaging the Maute group in Marawi City.

“Several recent serious offensives in Mindanao and elsewhere in the country allegedly committed by the CPP-NPA-NDF forces further fueled the public’s doubts on whether it is still worthwhile to continue the peace negotiations with them,” Abella said.

“We are disturbed by the recent NPA attacks considering that their leaders in Europe issued a statement condemning the incident in Marawi, even offering to refrain from undertaking offensive operations in Mindanao to enable our government forces to deal with focus on the rebellion still happening,” he added.

Abella warned that the NPA attacks would have serious repercussions on the peace talks.

“These NPA attacks disrupt the conducive and enabling environment indispensable in peacemaking and peace building,” he said.

The NPA reportedly staged attacks in Mati City, Davao Oriental; Calatra-

va, Negros Occidental; and Panabo City, Davao del Norte amid the ongoing conflict in Marawi, which has already entered its second month.

On June 17, members of NPA allegedly engaged government troops in an hour-long firefight. A sugarcane planter and his driver were also killed in Minapasuk village in Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on June 22 after they were waylaid by 15 armed men believed to be NPA members.

In Panabo City, Davao del Norte, at least three NPA insurgents and a policemen were killed on June 23, following a foiled attack by the communist guerillas on a police outpost.

SHABU...

From A1

Authorities are still verifying the source of the shabu that were found in the two houses of the Salic clan.

Santos also said the vice mayor is an alleged supporter of the Islamic Stateinspired group.

“Yes, he is also a supporter of the Maute group along with his arrested brother (Fajad). We have also recovered foils inside the of Vice Mayor Salic house.

We also saw “I love ISIS” writing at a wall inside the house,” Santos said.

“It clearly shows that the house situated at the Marawi State University (MSU) compound was used as the staging area,” Santos added.

A field testing of the shabu confirmed that the substance is of “high grade” quality.

MALAYSIAN TERRORIST KILLED IN MARAWI?

By John Paolo Bencito

THE military is still validating reports that a Malaysian terrorist who helped lead and finance the siege of Marawi City in Mindanao has been killed as the Maute terror group becomes increasingly constricted after a month of fighting, Malacañang said Saturday.

“The military is validating the intelligence report that Mahmud bin Ahmad, a Malaysian national who helped finance the rebellion in Marawi, died from wounds he sustained during the early days of the Marawi rebellion,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

“We have been told that the military has information of the spot where he was buried and government troops are now trying to locate it and recover the remains. Once done, only then can we make an official confirmation,” he added.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Eduardo Año on Friday said that Mahmud was wounded in the fighting in Marawi last month and reportedly died on June 7 from his wounds.

Año, citing intelligence shared by foreign counterparts, said Mahmud was suspected of channeling more than P30 million ($600,000) from the Islamic State group to acquire firearms, food and other supplies for the attack.

A former Malaysian university professor who later turned into a jihadi and received training in Afghanistan, Mahmud appeared in a video showing terrorist leaders planning the Marawi siege in a hideout, a sign of his key role in the uprising.

JUST PASSING THROUGH. An Army armored personnel carrier navigates a stretch of Edsa in Quezon City going to Camp Aguinaldo for deployment in Metro Manila where the threat of terror attack has cops and soldiers going on high alert. Manny Palmero

FRANCE KEEN ON 'INTEL SHARING' WITH PH

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan ly it is not part of our agreement. But FRANCE is willing to support the fight against the terrorist Maute group in Mindanao “through intelligence sharing” but not by sending troops, French Ambassador to Manila Thierry Mathou said Saturday.

Saying that terrorism “is a global challenge,” Mathou said countries must now start working together to face this problem and fight terrorists everywhere.

However, the ambassador said the French government may not offer specific assistance to Manila, such as troops on the ground in embattled Marawi City, noting that it is not under the countries’ scope of agreements.

“Yes we are willing to assist, [but] not on the ground because obvious-

in this kind of issue, the exchange of information and intelligence is always important,” Mathou told the reporters in an interview at the sidelines of a book launching showcasing Philippines-France diplomatic relations.

He admitted that when the Maute group, who have pledged allegiance to the terrorist Islamic State or ISIS, attacked Marawi City on May 23, the government of France expressed its grave concern, given previous terrorist attacks to their country and other parts of Europe.

France would be the fifth country to assist the country’s efforts to quell the Maute group and terrorist movements across the country after the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.

Mathou noted that the Philippine government “was able to contain the terrorist threat made by the attack of the Maute group.”

“We are all very concerned. All the partners of the Philippines are concerned. We are quite happy to see that it seems the government now has control of the situation. But of course, this overall issue of terrorism is a concern for all of us,” the French envoy said.

Noting the situation “is also of interest for all the Philippines’ partners globally,” Mathou said France will continue to support the country’s development.

“As we know, we had attacks in Europe, in France, now it’s in the Philippines, so it’s an interest for all of us to fight together... It can happen everywhere, in all cities, in all coun-

tries. It was the case in France couple of months ago, now it’s a case in the Philippines in Mindanao,” he said.

Despite the ongoing fighting in Mindanao, Mathou said more French companies still want to invest to the Philippines, citing the potential market in the country for their goods.

Since bilateral relations were signed by Paris and Manila 70 years ago, more than 80 French companies are operating in the Philippines, the ambassador noted.

“France and the Philippines have entered a ‘golden age’ in their bilateral relations in recent years. We have seen an exchange of high-level state visits from the French and Philippine presidents, while more and more French companies are taking a renewed interest in the Philippines as a potential market in the region,” Mathou said.

PALACE...

From A1

businesses, “ransacking” of residential and commercial establishments, and “total disregard of plain-view doctrine in searches and seizure activities.”

Abella said the Commission on Human Rights has not received any complaints of rights abuses in Mindanao since Duterte placed the entire region under martial law last May 23.

He said individuals who experienced violations arising from military rule should go to the proper authorities.

“In the meantime, unless based on fact and evidence, we ask critics and advocates to be more considerate in their judgment of the efforts and context of our soldiers’ challenges and be more supportive of their efforts to protect the Filipino way of

life,” Abella said.

The Islamic State-linked Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups, supported by foreign terrorists, besieged Marawi after government troops attempted to arrest senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, known as the Islamic State’s emir in Southeast Asia.

The terror groups had planned the attacks days ahead, authorities said.

Continuing firefights have prompted more than 230,000 residents to flee, while hundreds are still trapped in the conflict zone.

Recognizing the efforts “to put this crisis to a close,” the CHR urged the government “to equally intensify initiatives that would address the plight of the IDPs—especially those vulnerable and marginalized, such

as children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.”

“Attention should be given to providing a more systematic, organized, and gender-responsive approach to delivering services, as well as better facilities for the evacuees, including those that address the specific needs of women, such as private spaces for breastfeeding mothers,” the CHR said.

Apart from lawyers under IBP-Lanao del Sur, party-list group Gabriela expressed fears of military abuses amid reports that government troops allegedly threatened women with rape if they did not leave Marawi.

“I have personally heard the stories of women who sought refuge in evacuation

centers in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur after government troops threatened to rape them, as encouraged by no less than President Duterte in his public remarks,” Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said after visiting the evacuation centers.

“These are alarming accounts, which prove that the martial law and President’s rape remarks have actually emboldened the military to dangle rape threats against women in Marawi City. We fear that there are actual victims of rape and we encourage them to speak out and seek justice,” Brosas added.

Abella added the government is providing enough support to its forces in Marawi after the AFP launched its “Support our Troops” campaign.

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200 LABOR AUDITORS TO LOOK INTO SMES

By Vito Barcelo

COLLECTOR. A man collects shellfish from his farm in Kawit, Cavite. Ey Acasio

D

ANOTHER ARREST ORDER OUT AGAINST DE LIMA

ETAINED Senator Leila de Lima faces arrest over allegations she abetted the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as Justice secretary, her lawyer said on Saturday.

An arrest warrant against De Lima was issued by Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 205 on June 21, 2017. Her co-accused Jose Adrian Dera alias Jad De Vera, was covered by the arrest warrant, her counsel, Alexander Padilla, said.

De Lima’s camp said it would ask the court to recall the arrest order, as it described the case as the “weakest” among the three drug-related cases filed against her by the Department of Justice with the Muntinlupa RTC. The senator is also facing illegal drug trading cases before Judge Patria Manalastasde Leon of Branch 206 and Judge Juanita Guerrero of Branch 204, who first ordered the senator’s arrest and detention on Feb. 23.

De Lima is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp

Crame in Quezon City on charges of drug trafficking.

The Justice department said De Lima had conspired with Dera in committing illegal drug trading when the latter “demanded, solicited and extorted” money and vehicles from Peter Co, a high profile inmate at the national penitentiary.

In his affidavit, Co said that on March 25, 2016, Dera received P2 million out of the P5 million he demanded for the release of Co’s

niece Sally, who together with her husband and companions had been detained and threatened to be charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Dera also allegedly seized Co’s four vehicles to be used for De Lima’s senatorial campaign.

Co further alleged that Dera got from Sally on March 28, 2016 the additional P3 million he demanded for the former Justice secretary’s election bid.

“Dera denied knowing Senator Leila and there’s clearly no trail of the supposed vehicles and the alleged campaign donation that would have any link to Senator Leila. It’s the weakest case for the prosecution,” Padilla told GMA News Online.

The senator’s camp said Judge FabrosCorpuz issued the arrest order despite the pendency of their petition before the Supreme Court seeking to nullify the first arrest warrant.

The high court had submitted the petition for decision last April after the parties issued their respective memoranda following oral arguments held in March.

De Lima and her former lover were also accused of defying House summons.

Rio Araja, Joel Zurbano

PROBE MRT CONTRACTOR FOR TAX FRAUD—SOLON

By Maricel V. Cruz

WATER AND THE ECONOMY. Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu commits to prioritizing the rehabilitation of water bodies that have significant potential in contributing to the local economy during the 2017 Water Quality Management Area Summit held Wednesday at the Hotel H2O in Manila. He cited Malandog River in Antique as initial site of the DENR’s Sustainable Rivers Action and Conservation Program. The river was chosen for its strong socio-cultural and historical importance to the people of Antique and the whole Panay Island.

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Saturday urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue to investigate the Metro Rail Transit-3 contractor Busan Universal Railway Inc. for misdeclaring its taxable financial assets to deprive the government of millions of pesos in potential revenue.

“This is already beyond greed. BURI wants us to pay them P3.8 billion for very sloppy service and still wants to cheat us by misdeclaring in their tax filings. They have perjured in Congress before and it is not surprising that they have falsified documents through the years, “ Rep. Jericho Nograles of PBA party-list said on Saturday.

In a letter to Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Commissioner Cesar Dulay, Nograles asked the BIR to look deeper into the tax filings of

the BURI incorporators namely: Busan Universal Rail Inc. with company tax information number (TIN) 009-197-694; Elpidio Silvestre Uy ( Edison Development and Construction) with TIN 100-457776-000; Tramat Mercantile Inc. with TIN 000-330-611-000; TMIcorp Inc. with TIN 007-352-105; Castan Corp. with TIN 008-536-964-000 and Busan Transportation Corp. with TIN 457-732-838-000.

Nograles said that based on his investigation, at least four of BURI incorporators have misdeclared their taxable financial assets obviously to deny the government its muchneeded tax revenues.

“It came to my attention that the aforementioned companies have invested huge amounts of money but have not appropriately filed or declared the same,” Nograles said.

THE Department of Labor and Employment has asked Congress for additional budget to hire 200 new labor laws compliance officers to conduct assessment and inspections of at least 1 million small, medium and big establishments in the country, Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Saturday.

Earlier, the Department of Budget and Management approved DOLE’s request to create 36 senior labor and employment officers to reinforce the implementation of the labor laws compliance system in the country.

DoLE will start hiring of personnel for the newly created positions and the successful applicants, who will be under the Office of the Secretary, will be deployed across the country to beef -up the existing 574 labor laws compliance officers across the regions.

Based on the Civil Service Commission minimum qualification standards for senior labor and employment officers with Salary Grade 19, the applicant must be a bachelor’s degree holder, preferably in the field of Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering; Nursing; or Law; and must have two years of relevant experience in engineering, occupational safety and health, labor laws, and human resource policies.

The applicant must also have attended a total of eight hours of relevant training, preferably in labor laws, safety and health, and quality management systems; and a Career Service Professional/Second Level Eligibility passer.

The salary of a labor officer under the 2016 Philippine Salary Standardization Law is P39,151 per month, including a personal emergency relief allowance of P2,000, plus other benefits allowed by the government.

Bello said the new employment officers will be assigned in key regions where non-compliance with labor laws and standards is high.

“These new positions will augment our current corps of labor inspectors in the assessment and inspection of business establishments in the country, particularly on their compliance with Department Order No. 174,” Bello said.

TAX BILL DEALS DOUBLE PUNCH ON THE POOR, SAY SOLONS A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Saturday voiced concern that new tax measures being pushed by the Duterte administration would be a “double punch” against the poor who rely on cut-price manufactured goods as their staple meal.

Anakpawis party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao said House Bill 5636 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusive Act and HB 5845 Trans-fat Tax or HB 5845 was counterproductive.

“While TRAIN will add more taxes on petroleum products, aside from its other features, the trans-fat will be targeting the already desperate choice of the poor for food such as noodles, canned goods and even ‘chicheria’,” Casilao said.

Casilao said the trans-fat tax bill “will totally condemn the already hungry poor to worsened starvation.”

Casilao said that there are other remedies to promote good health and nutrition among Filipinos.

Another lawmaker on Tuesday said that the proposed excise tax on processed products with salt was “antipoor” as it will result in an increase of prices of noodles, sardines and similar food products.

Based on the computation of the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. during the last congressional hearing conducted by the House committee on ways and means, chaired by Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, a P6.85 noodle pack now would be around P800 if the proposal is enacted.

HB 3179, filed by Masbate Rep. Scott Davies Lanete, proposes to impose P1 excise tax for every milligram of sodium “in excess of one-third of allowable daily intake of sodium chloride as prescribed by the Department of Health.”

“Clearly, the primary goal of these measures is to increase taxes and the poor ordinary people will be burdened once again. The poor have little or no income at all and most of the times they have no choice but to buy cheap non-nutritious food,” Zarate said. “This bill is definitely anti-poor and must be opposed,” Zarate added.

Maricel V. Cruz

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‘SPEED UP NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN’

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

HOUSE leader on Saturday urged Malacañang to bridge the country's digital divide by fasttracking the implementation of its National Broadband Plan to keep the country’s internet connectivity and access in pace with the massive infrastructure buildup that the Duterte administration will carry out over the next five years.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte noted that the government’s ambitious infrastructure program should not only involve building physical structures, but also speed its national broadband program to achieve the administration’s economic inclusion for all Filipinos.

“For the government to attain economic inclusion for all sectors, it needs to invest soon enough in expanding wireless connectivity so

as not to leave behind millions of Filipinos from the information technology that now drives the global economy,” Villafuerte said.

“Filling our infrastructure backlog should be complemented by dramatic advances in digital technology access to remote, impoverished communities so that people in the countryside can take advantage of the Internet in exploring and expanding eco-

nomic opportunities available to them,” he added.

Villafuerte noted that seamless, fast access to the Internet would provide Filipinos with more opportunities to increase their incomes, broaden their access to education, communications, healthcare information, and electronic commerce, to mention a few.

He said that aside from putting up a National Broadband Network as the third player to toughen competition and force PLDT/Smart Communications and Globe Telecom to improve their broadband services, the government should streamline the approval of permits secured by telcos in various levels of the bureaucracy and attract overseas investments by fast-tracking efforts to relax the 60-40 rule in the 1987 Constitution.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved last March the draft National

Broadband Plan of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, whose program involves providing at least 10 Mbps connection to all households by 2020 at a much lower cost than the ones now offered by telcos like Globe Telecom, PLDT and Smart Communications at P1,299 a month.

The government’s “north-tosouth” broadband plan would cost about P77.9 billion as stated in the DICT’s draft NBN blueprint.

Other than the fiber optic networks of PLDT and Globe, the DICT could tap the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ lines comprising about 5,000 to 10,000 fiber optic cables.

The Philippines’ Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors have already started establishing their respective NBNs, Villafuerte said.

MUD PEOPLE. Devotees wearing costumes made of banana leaves attend a Mass as part of a religious festival in honor of St. John the Baptist, also known locally as the ‘mud people’ festival in Aliaga town, in Nueva Ecija on June 24.

Farmers coated in mud paraded in villages to mark one of the Catholic nation's most colorful religious festivals. AFP

PPA HIKES CARGO HANDLING TAX FOR NORTH HARBOR

By Rio N. Araja DESPITE protests from all major clients of Manila North Harbor, the Philippine Ports Authority has approved a 24 percent increase in the cargo handling tariff for the Manila North Harbour Port Inc., a move that an umbrella group of consumer stakeholders said was unjustified and would lead to higher cost of goods.

PPA's technical working group made the recommendation to approve the tariff hike even after receiving position papers from Manila North Harbour clients opposing the upward adjustment.

The increase was upheld by PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago

through Memorandum No. 4.

“The members of the technical working group are going against what President Rodrigo Duterte had laid down in his 10-point socioeconomic, which is to increase business competitiveness, attract investments, and protect Juan dela Cruz from economic shocks,” United Filipino Consumers and Commuters president Rodolfo Javellana Jr. said.

“Consumers will ultimately bear the brunt of this tariff increase because traders will just pass on the added costs to the public. The public will always be at the losing end. MNHPI says it wants to upgrade its facilities to justify the tariff increase, but they want consumers to pay for their upgrade.

It is as if MNHPI wants to be the only one who benefits from this setup and the technical working group sided with them,” Javellana added.

Javellana also slammed the double profit that San Miguel Corp., which holds majority share of MNHPI through Petron Corp., will enjoy with the tariff adjustment.

“This adjustment serves two purposes: on one hand, tariff increase for MNHPI, and on the other hand, more profit for Petron because of what they claimed to be increases in fuel cost. That is double profit for Petron and a double-whammy for all consumers,” he said.

“The technical working group that recommended the approval of the tar-

NEW RULES FOR TOW TRUCKS IN THE WORKS THE Metro Manila Development Authority said it is formulating new guidelines on towing operations of accredited firms to prevent abuses and further improve and professionalize their services.

In a meeting with owners and operators of accredited towing companies last Friday, MMDA chairman Danilo Lim said they will come up with the new Implementing Rules and Regulations on towing operations next month.

“We now have the draft and getting inputs from various groups. If they [towing firms] will not comply, there will be a problem on their accreditations,” said Lim during the meeting held at the MMDA central office in Makati City.

The MMDA came up with the decision to create a new guidelines following nu-

merous complaints from motorists about the illegal activity and abuses involving towing personnel in cahoots with some erring officers of the agency.

"We need to professionalize because we are receiving many complaints. Some of them wearing shorts, or maybe under the influence of drugs. Some engaged in a modus with the help of men from the MMDA," said Lim. The MMDA recently suspended indefinitely the accreditation of one of the units of Iron Wing Towing Co. after its crew members allegedly flagged down and hauled off a closed delivery van.

The revocation of a tow company’s accreditation effectively grounds its operations. MMDA has the authority to screen, approve, and revoke the accreditation

of all towing service providers in Metro Manila.

Previously, MMDA also indefinitely suspended unit number 145 of Iron Wing Towing Co. over a similar complaint of illegal activities from a motorist.

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

Towing personnel found to be using illegal drugs were immediately terminated by their respective companies and were put on blacklist and are now banned from entering the MMDA impounding area.

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

Joel Zurbano

iff increase is aware of this. In fact, during the consultations held by the PPA, almost all stakeholders have opposed the plan of MNHPI. Yet PPA still favored the increase,” Javellana said.

In his memorandum, Santiago said the upward adjustment will be implemented in three tranches.

The first tranche of eight percent from MNHPI's January 2015 tariff rates will take effect this year, while the two succeeding tranches of eight percent increase each will be implemented in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Javellana said MNHPI virtually has a monopoly on domestic trade, which means it should actually reduce cost rather than increase it.

MMDA STARTS PASIG RIVER CLEANUP

By Joel E. Zurbano GOVERNMENT agencies have started cleaning up the polluted Pasig River aimed at mitigating flood in Metro Manila and to attract more people to patronize the River Ferry Service operating from Manila to Pasig cities.

The Metro Manila Development Authority spearheaded the cleanup operation in close coordination with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission after international researchers tagged Pasig River as the world’s second biggest source of plastic waste.

Researchers from The Netherlands and the United States revealed that the Pasig River is the world’s second worst contributor of plastic waste to the ocean that dumps up to 63,700 tons of plastic every year.

They added that the river is also the eight worst plastic contributors in the world.

MMDA chairman Danilo Lim attributed the problem on the presence of informal settlers living along and near the 25-kilometer river that connects Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay. Lim said the agency's Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office personnel are now regularly declogging and clearing the river of garbage and other debris. He added his men and those coming from the local government units and PRRC used floating garbage boats in collecting the waste.

Other studies showed that 65 percent of the pollution in the Pasig River is caused by household waste, 30 percent from industrial waste, and 5 percent from solid waste coming from informal settlers living along the river.

The cleanup operation also aims to minimize the river's stench and add comfort to ferry passengers.

MMDA general manager Thomas Orbos, for his part, said the inter-agency cleanup will be a continuing effort and that other local government units have signified their desire to join the campaign.

He said despite the magnitude of the garbage problem, the MMDA is optimistic that restoring life along Pasig River is no longer far-fetched now that the government and the private sector have started to pool their efforts to revive it.

Aside from the cleanup operation, the MMDA, in partnership with the British Council and the private sector, also commissioned international and local artists to mount murals on the agency’s pumping stations visible along the Pasig River.

The project aimed to inspire residents of Metro Manila to explore the river while riding the River Ferry where they can appreciate the river’s potential and also be made aware of the challenges such as cleanliness that affect its rehabilitation.

The artists will be painting murals on eight different pumping stations along the Pasig River beginning this month up to July this year.

The project also brings attention to the pumping stations, which are often overlooked as common infrastructures in Metro Manila, but are vital facilities to address the massive flooding in the metropolis especially during the rainy season.

PARADING FOR PEACE.

During the parade at the annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Bahaghari at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, participants chanted Just Love, Just Peace Not War and also demanded an end to martial law in Mindanao.

Manny Palmero

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Opinion

Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor

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SAUDI ARABIA’S NEW HEIR CAN’T GO SOFT ON TERROR

EDITORIAL

By Bloomberg Editorial THE new heir to the throne in Saudi Arabia has great ambitions to modernize its economy. The West can and should help—so long as he keeps his kingdom committed to the fight against terrorism.

The timing of the promotion of Prince Mohammed bin Salman from his role as deputy crown prince was perhaps a surprise, but the fact of it was not. Prince Mohammed, favorite son of King Salman, was already dictating the country’s foreign and military policies, in addition to its oil strategy.

The man in charge of the Saudi counterterrorism effort, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, was stripped of power in Wednesday’s shakeup.

The Saudis’ contributions to the fight in the region were inconsistent, to be sure. Yet Nayef was sufficiently competent to merit both an assassination attempt by al-Qaeda and a medal from the CIA. The new crown prince, with his focus on the economy, has paid little attention to the threat Sunni extremism poses to the kingdom. He is also unlikely to cut off government support for domestic Wahhabi clerics who preach violence, as he may need their support to calm any public opposition to his reform plans, which will require cutting subsidies and payouts Saudis have long enjoyed.

Prince Mohammed was also the driving force behind the flailing efforts to wipe out Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and to lead several other Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to cut off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar, needlessly destabilizing the Gulf Cooperation Council at a time of war and of increasing Iranian influence across the Middle East.

Prince Mohammed and President Donald Trump seem to have hit it off, first when the prince got a one-onone in the White House in March and then when Trump visited the kingdom last month. Trump needs to make something clear to the young prince: If his economic changes and plan for a Saudi Aramco IPO are to have any chance of success, he will need lots of foreign investment and cooperation.

Any lessening of his nation’s efforts against Islamic State and alQaeda, or to crack down on “charity” money going to fund terrorists and hate-preachers abroad, will make Saudi Arabia a vastly less appealing business partner for the West. Ditto failure to resolve the Qatar imbroglio and find an exit from the Yemen war.

Vision 2030, the 31-year-old prince’s ambitious plan to diversify the monarchy’s economy, is both popular and necessary. Non-oil revenue has risen by nearly half in the last two years, but still comprises just 12 percent of gross domestic product. Budget deficits have been rising, shocking for a nation with that ran a surplus of nearly 30 percent of GDP a decade ago. To be successful, the prince’s reforms will probably require both higher oil prices and lower public spending – and a receptive market for what is expected to be the largest IPO ever.

The rest of the world needs a modernized Saudi Arabia. But for that to happen, Saudi Arabia needs the rest of the world.

LEGISLATING CIRCUMSPECTION

T

HERE are many ways to fight fake news.

One can go the German way. In early April, the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a bill that would threaten social media platforms with fines if they did not give their users the option to complain about fake news or hate speech, or if they did not remove illegal content. The objective is to provide better options for its voters ahead of the elections in September. Apparently, German officials do not want to experience what happened in the United States leading to last November’s polls.

Critics, however, say this is dangerous territory because it might trample on freedom of speech, especially now that other European leaders have said they wanted to make social media companies like Facebook and Twitter accountable for hate speeches or statements inciting to terrorism.

Another option is to target individuals fabricating or spreading fake news. This was what Senator Joel Villanueva, through a bill filed this week, said he wanted to do.

Senate Bill No. 1492, An Act Penalizing the Malicious Distribution of False News and Other Related Violations, penalizes “any person or entity creating and circulating false news in print, broadcast or social media.” Public officials doing the same would be meted stiffer penalties.

Fake news is described as “an information causing or tending to cause panic, division, chaos, violence, hate” and “those exhibiting, or tending to exhibit propaganda to blacken or discredit one’s reputation.”

Those found guilty will be fined anywhere between P100,000 and P5 million and will be locked up between one year and five years. Mass media enterprises or social media platforms that do not remove such news will also be penalized by fine and imprisonment. Public officials found guilty have to pay twice the fine and spend twice

the time in jail. They will also be disqualified from public service.

But it is not difficult to imagine how Villanueva conceived of this bill in reaction to recent blunders by members of the Duterte administration.

An assistant secretary of the Presidential Communication Coordination Office, a woman who said it was her mandate to fight fake news, was exposed to have used photos of Honduran soldiers while talking about our own soldiers in her social media account. No less than the Philippine News Agency published a story that said many countries did not believe there were extrajudicial killings here—patently false. Most recently, the Secretary of Justice alleged some members of the opposition were in Marawi City days before the still-ongoing siege began.

A University of the Philippines professor said such a bill would be too dangerous because even ordinary, well-meaning people could fall under the conditions stated in the proposed law.

A third way, obvious and commonsensical but all-too-often ignored, is for people to educate themselves and refuse to fall prey to false information.

Fake news should die a natural death when it fails to have takers. The key is to resist being a taker. The problem is, it is often difficult to be circumspect in this age when information flows so freely.

All political groups should be wary of creating and spreading false information. They just make people ignorant and undiscerning. More importantly, people should be more critical of the information that is fed them. There are steps to ensure that what we read about is true. There are ways to be angry—indignant—about how some people believe they can get away with misleading us, or lying to us outright.

Circumspection need not be legislated at all.

We just need to be armed with a healthy dose of skepticism, and this starts at home, in school, in the workplace, and the people with whom we constantly interact.

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AVENUE OF MYSTERIES: A RAMBLING, MESSY, TRUTHFUL READ POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

THERE are many instances of the Philippines being mentioned in novels by non-Filipinos, sometimes positively, more often not.

Remember that time Dan Brown called Manila “the gates of hell” in his

book “Inferno” because of the city’s “six-hour traffic jams [and] suffocating pollution,” prompting an out-of-tune defense from then-MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino?

Then there’s “My Hollywood” by

Mona Simpson, which tells the story of Lola, a Filipino nanny, juxtaposed against that of her wealthy white employer Claire, and the disparities between them.

Now comes John Irving’s “Avenue

of the Mysteries.” I saw it on display last April at Fully Booked Power Plant, and, flipping through it, was surprised to find it was partly set in Manila.

Published in November 2015, it seems to have gone under the radar, perhaps Turn to B2

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AVENUE...

THE INVISIBLE GLOW OF THE UNIVERSE

From B1

in part because of the muted reviews it got.

Here’s one: New York Times’ Dwight Garner called it “an exhausting novel” of “magic ordealism” that reminded him “of an advisory from William S. Burroughs: ‘If, after being exposed to someone’s presence, you feel as if you’ve lost a quart of plasma, avoid that presence.”

John Irving’s earlier novels—among them “The World According to Garp” (1978), “The Cider House Rules” (1985), and “A Prayer for Owen Meany” (1989)—reaped popular acclaim. Five of his books were made into movies, including these three (the latter as “Simon Birch,” 1998).

The “Avenue of Mysteries” is convoluted and complex. Juan Diego and his sister Lupe are “niño de la basura” who grew up in a dump in Mexico. The New York Times’ Tayari Jones calls the dump “a forlorn setting, like hell with children.”

Lupe can read minds and predict the future; her speech is garbled and can only be understood by Juan Diego, a child prodigy who rescues books from the dump and taught himself to read in two languages, Spanish and English.

After the dump owner runs over his foot with a truck, Juan Diego walks with a limp. Later he is adopted by ex-Jesuit trainee priest Edward and his transvestite partner Flor. The three move to Iowa.

Forty years later, Juan Diego, now a successful writer pushing 60, fulfills a long-ago promise he made to a hippie draft dodger he met in Oaxaca and visits the Philippines. There he reminisces about his childhood, the people he has met, the tragedies in his life, and other experiences that define his identity and sense of self. We also meet and not-meet his sex partners, mother-and-daughter tandem Miriam and Dorothy who fade in and out of sight and whose images do not appear in mirrors and photographs.

There are copious references to the Catholic Church, prostitutes, sex, AIDS, death, poverty, and prescription medicines, particularly Viagra and the beta-blocker Lopressor that Juan Diego claims affects his memory. It is the latter, perhaps, that triggers his trip to the past over 460 pages.

“Avenue of Mysteries” is dense with tiny details that pad out the lengthy narrative. The scenes set in Manila refer to actual places. Sofitel is described as being “in the Pasay City part of Manila—even from his slumped-over position in the limo’s rear seat, Juan Diego noticed the bomb-sniffing dogs.”

His driver Bienvenido says, “It’s the buffet you have to worry about… that’s what I hear about the Sofitel.”

“What about the buffet?” Juan Diego asks, but Bienvenido meanders on for several paragraphs until they drive away “without Juan Diego setting foot inside the place.”

They make for the other hotel recommended to them—the Ascott.

“It’s in Glorietta, back in Makati City,” sighs Bienvenido, who now has to turn them around. “The Ayala Center is right there—you can get anything there.” There is a paragraph about the mall, another on how to access the Ascott from an elevator at street level, and a reference to the cancellation of a reservation “at the Makati Shangri-La.” And so on.

It’s a lengthy slog and not for light reading, but if you like namechecking, then there many Philippine places mentioned—Bohol, Panglao Bay, Palawan, El Nido, Lio Airport—it goes on. It’s tempting to highlight them in the text just to see how many there are.

There are also the now-usual references to poverty, beggar children, pollution, exhausted women, loitering men—“usual” in the sense that these are things Westerners notice and include in their stories about the country.

It’s a rambling, tumbling, mess of a story, like something an old man will tell in his maudlin moments. But truths are hidden in it, like gems in garbage, and will reward the patient reader.

Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving.

Simon & Schuster, 2016. Paperback, 460 pages.

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

By Pecier Decierdo WE LIVE in a world of color mostly invisible to us.

We now know that light is a wave. To be more specific, light is an electromagnetic wave, that is, it is a disturbance in the electromagnetic field analogous to the way waves in the beach are disturbances in water.

Like all waves, light can also have different wavelengths. The wave can be long, it can be short, or it can be anywhere in between.

Recall the colors of the rainbow. Of them, red has the longest wavelength. Violet, at the opposite end, has the shortest wavelength. The other colors that we see have wavelengths between red and violet. Color, therefore, is just a way for your brain to know the wavelength of the light your eyes are detecting.

Our brains can also perceive combinations of wavelengths. When your eyes detect a combination of long (red) and intermediate (green) wavelength light, your brain goes, “Oh that’s yellow.” When it’s a combination of intermediate (green) and short (blue or violet) wavelength light, your brain says, “Ah that’s blue-green or cyan.”

When your eyes detect long (red) and short (blue) wavelength light, but not intermediate ones, it says, “Now that’s pink!” Pink is not on the spectrum from red to violet. It’s not one of the colors of the rainbow. It’s just a way for your brain to say, “The eyes are not detecting any green light.”

When your eyes detect all the colors of the rainbow, your brain perceives the combination as

EVERYMAN

By Dindo A. Danao IT IS unfortunate that the Department of Tourism’s latest campaign drew negative reactions, instead of the desired positive attention to the Philippines.

This should not have been the case, if the parties involved understand a principle widely observed in the advertising industry. Any campaign output is a work in progress with the conjugal consent of the client and the ad agency.

To recount the issues at hand, it is essential that we tackle first the root cause of the controversy— the alleged copying by McCann WorldGroup Philippines of a 2014 South African tourism campaign.

After several netizens pointed out the similarities between the two ads, the DoT itself denied copying the South African and noted that the campaign material was based on a true story of a Japanese retiree in the Philippines (PNA, June 13).

Following this, McCann WorldGroup also released a statement on June 13, acknowledging that the flow of the story in the Philippine tourism ad “may have similarities with the South African tourism campaign” but denied that it was copied (PNA, June 13).

McCann Worldgroup Philippines underscored that there has never been any intention to copy others’ creative work, and stood by “the integrity with which this campaign was developed.”

McCann explained that their

white light. When your eyes are not detecting any of those colors, your brain perceives black or, in some contexts, darkness.

But darkness is not the absence of light. That’s because there are so many different kinds of light our eyes can never detect. We can be in what we feel as total darkness and still be drowned in a flood of invisible light.

Remember when I said that red is just light with long wavelength? Well, you can stretch that wavelength a bit longer to get infrared. We humans and many other animals glow in infrared!

The hotter we get (such as when we have a fever), the brighter we glow in this color. But this color, this redder than red, is invisible to us. When we enter a dark room, we shine this light into the room without our knowing.

There are animals, such as some species of snakes, which can see this light. That means they can see us in the darkness.

But you can stretch the wavelength even longer to get microwaves, the waves we use to cook our food in microwave ovens.

Microwaves are also the kind of light in which the entire universe glows. The afterglow of the Big Bang is in microwaves. If your eyes could detect microwaves, you’d see this afterglow permeating the entire sky at night. If you could see microwaves, the night sky would not be total darkness punctured here and there by the light of stars. Instead, it will be a sea of this dim afterglow of the universe’s violent birth.

Longer still than microwaves are waves of radio, the very same kind of invisible light we use in the communication technology with the same name.

It’s also the same kind of waves we use to transmit TV. Right now, as you reading this, you are basking in the glow of radio waves carrying the voices and images of thousands of TV and radio stations. But you see and hear none of them, unless you turn on a TV or radio.

Radio waves have the longest wavelength and can stretch the entire length of the known universe.

Now let’s go the other way. If you squish violet light a little bit, it suddenly becomes the invisible ultraviolet light that we have to protect our skins from. Some insects such as bees can see in UV. Shorter still than UV are X-rays. Because of their short wavelength, X-rays can easily pierce through our flesh, allowing doctors to use them to see underneath our skins.

Squish X-rays even further and you get gamma rays, which can have wavelengths so short they are less than the size of an atom. If your eyes could see gamma rays, the night sky will be lit by the glow of the most violent explosions in the galaxy, from the explosive simultaneous birth of millions of stars to black holes sucking up neighboring stars.

If you stretch all the kinds of light from radio (longest wavelength) to gamma rays (shortest wavelength) along the length of the Philippines from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, the part that we see (ROYGBIV) will occupy the space the size of a cell somewhere in Visayas.

How fantastic is it that science can make us “see” what our eyes never can?

Pecier Decierdo is resident physicist and astronomer of The Mind Museum.

AN AD CAMPAIGN IS A CONJUGAL WORK OF CLIENT AND AGENCY latest film, “Sights,” was particularly inspired by the story of a visuallyimpaired foreigner who has made the Philippines his home and who has come to experience the Philippines in different ways.

However, as the issue developed, mounting from their original position to keep the ad and the advertising group, the DoT on June 16 decided to discontinue its partnership with McCann Worldgroup Philippines, giving in to the pressure of the public.

Now, I am no expert to lecture on the legal aspect of the issue but the accusation of plagiarism was denied

by McCann WorldGroup Philippines.

The allegation of plagiarism was not proven and is therefore a challenge for legal authorities to address.

Proof of plagiarism must come from the court. Pertaining to its consequent actions, the Department of Tourism has seemingly overreacted.

As a professional in the advertising and public relations industry, I would like to emphasize that formulating a campaign material entails a long process, with each of its subset requiring approval from the client.

Ergo, in the relationship of clientagency, the success or failure of one is also the success or failure of the entire team or partnership.

I am concerned that McCann WorldGroup Philippines was unfairly thrown under the bus, apparently receiving the standing that it was solely the one at fault in the controversy. It is wrong.

As I’ve said, the creation of an ad

is a conjugal consent between the client and the advertising agency.

To give our honorable legislators, who want to probe the controversy, an insight on protocols of creating advertising materials between the client and the ad agency, let me cite the step-by-step process globally recognized by international clients and multinational agencies.

1. The first step involves the client giving the communication brief to the agency.

2. Afterwards, the agency gets market insights through market research.

3. The client then is informed on the results of research, which may be rather through qualitative, quantitative, focus group discussions or other means.

4. After this, the client gives conformity to research data.

5. The agency sits down with the client for strategic planning, which entails a series of client-agency meetings.

6. After concluding client-agency meetings for strategic planning, the latter then presents the strategic plans on a wholistic approach.

7. With the presentation, the client either approves or rejects the campaign strategy framework.

8. Once the client gives the go signal, the agency prepares creative materials for television commercial, radio, print, new media, activation and other related supports for the campaign.

9. With this long process, story

boards and concepts are developed, revised, and repeatedly until the client again gives the green light.

10. Once approval is given, production cost estimates are prepared by the agency and signed in conformity by the client.

11. After the above mentioned process, long and arduous production works now begins, from filming, editing, dubbing, color enhancements, quality assurance and etc.

12. Post production works and outputs are approved by the client.

13. Pre-airing researches are also done with the consent of the client.

14. Only through consultation and repeated approvals will airing come next, which was devised from a media plan, again, with the approval of the client.

When the issue surfaced, the DoT has stood by the data gathered by their team, which included McCann WorldGroup Philippines. They stood firm that the copy was based on a true-to-life story, and that it is “not a rip off ” (ABS-CBN, June 13).

It is unfortunate that drastic action, such as the termination of McCann WorldGroup Philippines’ contract, was taken. In a partnership such as this, there has to be a shared responsibility, since again, a TV production is a work in progress, with the conjugal consent of client and agency.

Dindo Danao is a public relations and advertising professional with a 38-year experience in the industry.

NORTH KOREA IS NO PLACE FOR US TOURISTS

By Bloomberg Editorial IT’S EASIER for American tourists to travel to North Korea than to Cuba.

It’s also more dangerous, as the death this week of college student Otto Warmbier after 17 months of North Korean captivity shows.

But never mind the absurdity of President Donald Trump’s reimposition of travel restrictions to a relatively open and safe island 90 miles off the American coast. To prevent future deaths and protect US national security, Congress should ban US tourist travel to Kim Jong Un’s reclusive police state.

True, North Korea is not exactly a popular destination for US tourists.

Of the 100,000 foreigners who visited North Korea in 2016, slightly more than 1 percent were American (most were Chinese).

North Korea’s efforts to spark a tourist boom—including by loosening

This file photo taken on Feb. 29, 2016 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on March 1, 2016 shows US student Otto Frederick Warmbier (right), who was arrested for committing hostile acts against North Korea, speaking at a press conference in Pyongyang. Warmbier died June 19, 2017 of severe brain damage, following 18 months of captivity in North Korea. His family has asked that no autopsy be performed on the body of the US student who died days after being evacuated in a coma from North Korean detention. AFP

its restrictions on US tourists in 2010— have been a bust.

What US travelers to North Korea have provided the regime, unfortunately, is a ready supply of hostages. These Americans are then used as pawns in diplomatic negotiations with the US. Over the last decade, at least 17 US citizens have been detained in North Korea, and three remain in captivity.

A bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives would ban US tourist travel and penalize those who seek to arrange it. (Travel for other purposes— humanitarian assistance, for instance— would still be possible on a case-by-case basis.) Congress should pass it speedily.

The US should also make clear to South Korea that, under current conditions, plans to use a North Korean ski resort in the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul would be seen less as a peace gesture to the North than as a slap in the face to Americans.

World US SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN QUITS WASHINGTON—Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan stepped down on Friday, just as the United States is preparing to send thousands more troops to the region.

A senior State Department official told AFP that acting special representative Laurel Miller left the post without a replacement being named.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Miller is returning to a position at the Rand Corporation and that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has not yet decided what to do with post.

The office was created when US officials decided that the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan are inextricably linked and ought to be dealt with together.

President Donald Trump came to office planning to slash diplomatic spending and Tillerson plans to cut several special envoy roles.

Miller’s responsibilities will now fall under the department’s South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau, which has a much bigger footprint that includes India.

But this bureau is itself leaderless, with no assistant secretary appointed to lead it and no one nominated by the new administration for Senate approval.

But, also speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior official told AFP the decision was part of a broader policy review.

Tillerson thinks the issue is best handled at a regional level, the official said, arguing that it made sense to consider India part of the equation. AFP

D

QATAR GETS SAUDI LIST OF DEMANDS

OHA, Qatar—Qatar on Saturday confirmed it had received a 13-point list of demands from Saudi-led allies in a major escalation of the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.

The list – which apparently includes a call for Qatar to close down broadcaster Al-Jazeera – are the demands that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt want met to end a diplomatic and trade “blockade” of Qatar, lasting almost three weeks.

Doha has been told that it faces “divorce” from its Gulf neighbors unless it takes their demands seriously.

As the crisis deepened and the United Nations offered to help resolve the regional diplomatic row, Qatar said it had received the list of demands from its neighboring

countries.

“Qatar announced its receipt of a paper, on June 22, containing demands from the siege countries and Egypt,” read a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published in the early hours of Saturday morning local time.

“The State of Qatar is currently studying this paper, the demands contained therein and the foundations on which they were based, in order to prepare an appropriate response.”

As well as the closure of Al-Jazeera, a long-standing source of conflict be-

tween Doha and neighboring countries which accuse it of fomenting regional strife, the wide-reaching list makes other demands on Qatar.

These include calls for Doha to cut any ties to groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State organization, Al-Qaeda and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

Qatar has also been asked to hand over opposition figures wanted by its three neighbors and Egypt, downgrade diplomatic ties with Iran and shut a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Al-Jazeera has denounced the move as an attack on media freedom.

However, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs, who is due to hold a press conference on Saturday, said Qatar should cede to the demands.

DOCTORS’STRIKE STRANDS OVER 10K IN SRI LANKA COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Tens of thousands of patients have been left in the lurch by a doctor-led strike at Sri Lanka’s state-run hospitals, a consumer rights group said Saturday.

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), the island’s biggest trade union of doctors, stopped work on Thursday to demand the government close down a private medical college established in 2008, protesting its allegedly poor standards of education.

The strike has affected tens of thousands of mostly poor people who seek free medical care at state-run hospitals, unable to afford treatment at private facilities which have remained open, an official at the National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection said.

Local media reports said the affected hospitals were turning away patients requiring emergency medical attention in some cases.

“Poor people in hospitals are pleading for their lives as doctors refuse to treat them,” the consumer group’s chief Ranjith Vithanage told AFP. “My own mother is in a state hospital battling for her life.”

He said striking doctors should face criminal prosecutions over any deaths resulting from the action. AFP

“It would be wiser that (Qatar) deal seriously with the demands and concerns of the neighbors or a divorce will take place,” he wrote on Twitter.

The demands confirm that “the crisis is profound,” Gargash added.

The list of demands was given to Qatar by Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the dispute, the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

A statement from Kuwait’s staterun KUNA agency said Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had also held calls with the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Friday as the diplomatic push continued.

Qatar is the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hosts the biggest American airbase in the Middle East. AFP

Manila

Standard Republic of the Philippines TODAY

ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE FEED-IN TARIFF ALLOWANCE FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2017 PURSUANT TO THE GUIDELINES FOR THE COLLECTION OF THE FEED-IN TARIFF ALLOWANCE AND DISBURSEMENT OF THE FEED-IN TARIFF ALLOWANCE FUND, WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY,

VOTING UNDERWAY IN SPRAWLING PNG ELECTIONS PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Voting began in Papua New Guinea elections Saturday with the Pacific nation’s leader urging peaceful polling to show it has “come of age”, as he seeks another term to fix an economy under siege.

Peter O’Neill’s People’s National Congress won the last election in 2012, and he has campaigned on delivering key infrastructure and providing free education and health to a country that remains mired in poverty.

He also points to more stability in a sprawling crime-ridden land where elections have been marred by violence in the past.

“I appeal to all our citizens to peacefully cast their votes,”said the prime minister, with more than 3,000 candidates from over 40 political parties jostling for support.

“Let’s show the international community that PNG has come of age and will express its democratic principles in a manner acceptable to the community.”

Polling for the 111-seat parliament runs for two weeks until July 8 with staggered voting across the vast and remote country. A result is not expected until late July.

There is no opinion polling in PNG, so it is unclear who holds the advantage. But no party has ever won a majority, meaning a coalition is likely, held together by strategic political appointments. AFP

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

ERC CASE No. 2016- 192 RC NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORPORATION (TRANSCO), Applicant. x - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 1 December 2016, the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) filed an application dated 28 November 2016 seeking the Commission’s approval of the Feed - In Tariff Allowance for Calendar Year 2017 pursuant to the Guidelines for the Collection of the Feed-In Tariff Allowance and Disbursement of the Feed-In Tariff Allowance Fund, with prayer for provisional authority.

On 26 April 2016, the Commission issued an Order setting the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on the following dates and venues: DATE

TIME

VENUE

PURPOSE

15 May 2017 (Monday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Hearing Room, 15th Floor, Pacific Center Building, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

Jurisdictional Hearing and Expository Presentation

19 May 2017 (Friday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Visayas Field Office, St. Mary’s Drive Banilad, Cebu City

Expository Presentation

2 June 2017 (Friday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Mindanao Field Office, Mintrade Bldg., Monteverde Ave, cor.

Sales St., 8000 Davao City

Expository Presentation

9 June 2017 (Friday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Hearing Room, 15th Floor, Pacific Center Building, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

Pre-trial Conference and Evidentiary Hearing

On 29 May 2017, the Commission issued an Order cancelling the Expository Presentation scheduled on 2 June 2017 in Davao City and the Pretrial Conference and Evidentiary Hearing scheduled on 9 June 2017 in ERC Head Office, Pasig City.

FAN’S FACE. A New Zealand All Blacks fan smiles before the start of the Test match

between New Zealand and the British and Irish Lions at Eden Park in Auckland. AFP

TALES IN DAMASCUS CAFÉ LURE WAR-WEARY SYRIANS DAMASCUS, Syria—With a slender sword in one hand and an antique storybook in the other, Ahmad al-Lahham captivates a packed Damascus coffeehouse with tales of ancient kingdoms and brave conquerers.

Every evening, the 58-yearold heads to the cosy Nawfara cafe in the Old City of Syria’s war-torn capital to perform as a traditional Arabic storyteller or “hakawati.”

He sheds his furniture maker’s outfit and dons a bright red Ottoman-style cap, or tarboosh, reading out handwritten stories from the curling, yellowing pages of an old book.

“This occupation is steadily going extinct. I am the only hakawati left in the Old City,” he says. “If I stop, there will be no storytellers left.”

Lahham, who also goes by the stage name “Abu Sami”, settles into an ornatelycarved wooden chair on a raised platform overlooking the cafe, where young men

sip tea and smoke on bubbling water pipes.

Clearing his throat, he opens with a well-known tale of 13th-century ruler Baibars before moving on to the heroic antics of Antarah Ibn Shaddad, a pre-Islamic knight.

He says such tales of courage and conquest have become much more popular, at the expense of traditional poems or romantic stories, since Syria’s war erupted in 2011.

“We went through a period where we wouldn’t come out much, but the owner of this coffee shop insisted that hakawatis continue to tell stories – even if he and I were the only ones left,” Lahham says.

“But today, as you can see, the situation is much better, and dozens of people wait for me every night.”

The storytelling nights usually happen once a week but during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which

ends this weekend, the show is daily.

Listeners pack the cafe in the shadow of the famed Ummayad mosque late in the evening after breaking their fast.

Many stay until the early hours of the morning to enjoy some sustenance before the fast resumes at dawn.

Damascus residents have grown accustomed to regular rocket and mortar fire from rebel-held districts on the edges of the capital, with occasional rounds even reaching the Old City.

But those fronts have calmed since a May deal that saw opposition fighters withdraw from several neighborhoods, along with a separate agreement on “deescalation” zones – including one in a rebel stronghold just outside the capital.

Even so, the war is never far away, and listeners at Nawfara say the hakawati nights help them escape it, even if just for a few hours. AFP

The Commission has reset the cancelled expository presentation for Mindanao consumers, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on the following dates and venues: DATE

TIME

VENUE

PURPOSE

12 July 2017 (Wednesday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Mindanao Field Office, Mintrade Bldg., Monteverde Ave, cor. Sales St., 8000 Davao City

Expository Presentation

19 July 2017 (Wednesday)

9:00 A.M.

ERC Hearing Room, 15th Floor, Pacific Center Building, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

Pre-trial Conference and Evidentiary Hearing

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) days prior to hearing and subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicating therein the docket number and title of the case and stating the following: 1) 2) 3)

The petitioner’s name and address; The nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and A statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the case may file their Opposition or Comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before Applicant rests its case, subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 Rules of Practice and Procedure.

No particular form of Opposition or Comment is required, but the document, letter, or writing should contain the following: 1) The name and address of such person; 2)

A concise statement of the Opposition or Comment; and

3)

The grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from Applicant that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. Applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours.

WITNESS, the Honorable Officer-in-Charge of ERC ALFREDO J. NON and the Honorable Commissioners GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 16th day of June 2017 in Pasig City.

FOR AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION:

JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT Oversight Commissioner for Legal (MS-JUNE 25 & JUL. 2, 2017)

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

World

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SKETCH ARTIST AT NO-CAMERA MEDIA BRIEFING

Chinese military police and rescue workers are seen at the site of a landslide in in Xinmo village, Diexi town of Maoxian county, Sichuan province on June 24, 2017. Around 100 people are feared buried after a landslide smashed through their village in southwest China’s Sichuan Province early Saturday, local officials said, as they launched an emergency rescue operation. AFP

OVER 140 FEARED BURIED IN LANDSLIDE

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EIJING, China—Chinese rescuers scoured through rocks on Saturday in a frantic search for more than 140 people feared buried after a landslide smashed through a mountain village in southwest Sichuan province.

A couple and a baby were rescued and taken to hospital after more than 40 homes in the village of Xinmo were swallowed by huge boulders when the side of a mountain collapsed, according to the Maoxian county government.

At least 141 people and 46 homes were buried, the People’s Daily said, citing a Maoxian county government spokesman. The landslide blocked a two-kilometer (one mile) stretch of river and 1.6 kilometers of road.

Rescuers used ropes to move a massive rock while dozens of oth-

ers searched the rubble for survivors, according to videos posted by the Maoxian government on its Weibo social media account.

Bulldozers and heavy diggers were also deployed to remove boulders, the images showed.

Medics were seen treating a woman on a road.

Wang Yongbo, one of the local officials in charge of rescue efforts, said the vital signs of one of the survivors “are weak.”

“It’s the biggest landslide in this area since the Wenchuan earthquake,” he said, referring to the di-

saster that killed 87,000 people in 2008 in a town in Sichuan.

Local police captain Chen Tiebo said the heavy rains that hit the region in recent days had triggered the landslide.

“There are several tonnes of rock,” he told the state broadcaster CCTV. “It’s a seismic area here. There’s not a lot of vegetation,” Chen said.

Trees can help absorb excess rain and prevent landslides.

Some 500 people were taking part in rescue efforts, according to CCTV. An emergency response “to the first class catastrophic geological disaster” is under way, the local government’s statement said, adding that the full extent of the landslide was at yet unclear.

A report from the state news agency Xinhua said that the landslide came from a high part of a mountain in the Tibetan and Qiang

Autonomous Prefecture of Aba had collapsed.

The landslide struck the village at around 6 a.m. local time (2200 GMT).

President Xi Jinping called for rescuers to “spare no effort” in their search for survivors, according to CCTV. China’s national weather observatory said more heavy rain was expected in parts of Sichuan and other southwestern provinces.

Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly at times of heavy rains.

At least 12 people were killed in January when a landslide crushed a hotel in central Hubei province.

In October landslides battered eastern China in the wake of torrential rains brought by Typhoon Megi, causing widespread damage and killing at least eight. AFP

TOWER RESIDENTS SENT PACKING AMID FIRE FEARS LONDON—Baffled and bewildered, residents of five London tower blocks were dragging their belongings through the dark streets early Saturday, having been told to pack their bags and get out due to fire safety concerns.

“It’s totally crazy. What difference would another night have made?” asked Melanie Tham as she evacuated her home on the Chalcots Estate in north London following a snap decision by the Camden Council local authority, a few hours before midnight Friday.

The cladding on the Grenfell Tower, visible three miles (five kilometers) away across London, is widely blamed for spreading the fire that so quickly engulfed the block last week, leaving 79 people presumed dead.

Urgent tests found Thursday the Chalcots buildings had similar cladding – installed by the same contractor in 2006.

But fire brigade safety inspections Friday determined that the towers were unsafe to spend another night in, with the council owners taking no chances.

“I was at my boyfriend’s, I received a text message, and I had to rush back home. They told us we had to evacuate before midnight,” Tham told AFP. Leaving on foot, some with suitcases and bags, hundreds made their way to the nearby Swiss Cottage library to be

allocated a hotel for the night after the council block-booked rooms across London.

Evacuated residents could be spending up to four weeks living in hotels while the cladding is removed from outside the 800-odd flats.

Some residents made frantic calls on their mobile phones, while others tried to find out more information from officials in high-visibility jackets as night fell.

Casey Oppong head of the tenants’ association in the estate’s Blashford tower, was trying his best to tell people what they needed to do.

“We got the order to evacuate the towers tonight. I’m going to inform the other residents,” he told AFP. Council leader Georgia Gould announced the decision to evacuate all five towers very shortly after the authority said just one tower block would be “temporarily decanted.”

“Lots of questions from residents about why this move is essential. Firm advice from fire service was blocks not safe to sleep in tonight,” Gould said on Twitter.

Mother-of-three Adelina, who lives in the estate’s Burnham tower, said: “I am in shock and I don’t believe it.”

But she added: “I think it’s the right thing to do if it’s health and safety. I’d rather be safe.” AFP

VIVA SAN JUAN. A horse rears in the crowd during the traditional San Juan (Saint John) festival in the town of Ciutadella, on the Balearic Island of Menorca, on the eve of Saint John’s Day Friday. During the island’s San Juan festival, held each year on June 23 and 24, Minorcan race horses gallop and prance on their hind legs through the streets of Ciutadella to honor of the town’s patron saint. As the ‘caixers’ (horse riders) ride together in a parade, spectators attempt to pat the horses’ chests to get good luck. AFP

WASHINGTON—United States media went back to the past on Friday to cover the daily White House press briefing, after President Donald Trump’s administration banned cameras from the event.

Cable news channel CNN sent sketch artist Bill Hennessy to the famous West Wing press room, a change from the American courtrooms where he normally works.

Instead of broadcasting the briefing live, CNN carried only audio of White House spokesman Sean Spicer’s session with journalists.

The channel then prominently featured Hennessy’s sketches in its afternoon programming while stressing that cameras had not been allowed.

The Trump administration, which has a largely adversarial relationship with the media, has been restricting coverage of the White House press briefing of late, either by not holding it every day, or by banning cameras and sometimes even audio coverage. AFP

OBAMA STARTS 10-DAY HOLIDAY IN INDONESIA UBUD, Indonesia—Barack Obama kicked off a 10-day family holiday in Indonesia that will take in Bali and Jakarta, the city where he spent part of his childhood, officials said Saturday.

The casually dressed former president arrived in the resort island of Bali with his wife Michelle and their two daughters, a local military commander said.

“They arrived late last night and went straight to the hotel in Ubud,” a local military commander, Gede Widiyana, told AFP. Obama woke up early and did some exercise in the lush green riverside resort, Widiyana said, but it was not known how the family would spend their time in the quiet and artsy Ubud area.

Next week, the family is slated to depart for Yogyakarta, where they are expected to visit ancient Borobudur temple. They will spend two days there before flying to Jakarta.

Obama spent four years until 1970 as a boy in the then sleepy capital of Indonesia after his divorced mother married an Indonesian. AFP

‘PANDA MANIA’ HITS GERMANY BERLIN, Germany—Germany was bracing for panda mania as furry ambassadors arrive from China on Saturday, destined for a new life as stars of Berlin’s premier zoo.

The pair, named Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, will be jetting in on a special Lufthansa cargo plane, accompanied by two Chinese panda specialists, the Berlin Zoo’s chief vet and a tonne of bamboo.

Berlin’s mayor, China’s ambassador to Germany, and a gaggle of journalists will greet the VIPs as LH8415 pulls to a stop on the tarmac of Schoenefeld airport.

After just over a week’s acclimatization, they will be unveiled to the public by no less than Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping, most likely two days before the G20 summit of world leaders hosted by Germany.

Famed for its “panda diplomacy,” China has dispatched its national treasure to only about a dozen countries as a symbol of close relations. AFP

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017

Business

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

ERICSSON PREDICTS EXPLOSION OF 5G

By Kristin Mae Cortez and Aletha Jasmine Dela Cruz GLOBAL communications company Ericsson expects 5G to drive mobile data traffic 10 times faster by 2022.

Ericsson Philippines and Pacific Islands president and country manager Sean Gowran, in an Ericsson Mobility Report briefing at Shangri La Makati Hotel, said 5G, an advancement from today’s LTE technology, would redefine experience in terms of enhanced mobile broadband, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, energy and utilities.

He said download speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second that are now commercially available in Australia and have been tested in Singapore enable the possibility for high-definition or real-time video streaming from consumers almost anywhere.

PROTECTOR.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. Bloomberg Scan this icon to view the PDF

PRICE STABILITY, TETANGCO’S LEGACY

H

E HAS protected the value of Filipino money from fluctuation amid political upheavals and external challenges over the past 12 years.

Amando Tetangco Jr., the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor who made three presidents look good because of the thriving economy, is retiring on July 3 after accomplishing his mission—price stability that supports economic growth.

Under Tetangco’s watch, Bangko Sentral helped the country achieve a period of rapid economic growth that nearly trebled the gross domestic product, pushed up gross international reserves above foreign debt, expanded the Filipino middle class with car and home buying capacity, enlarged the assets of banks to trillions and saw the rise of shopping districts and modern cities such as Fort Bonifacio.

The stability in the value of the peso in terms of foreign exchange and purchasing power encouraged companies to invest, helping the economy grow and create more jobs. The record low interest rates, initiated by Bangko Sentral through its policy rates, also boosted consumer spending that supported the growth of automotive and real estate markets.

As Bangko Sentral governor, Tetangco led the Monetary Board in exercising its vast powers such as setting the right bank interest rates, controlling the amount of money that circulates in the market, hoarding foreign exchange reserves and defending the peso against foreign exchange fluctuations. In taking

these decisions, the Monetary Board finds the delicate balance between taming prices and supporting economic growth. Tetangco achieved both, when he discovered the formula that is right for the Philippines.

Tetangco, who started his career in central banking in 1974, rose from the ranks until being appointed governor in 2005. He was reappointed for another six-year term in 2011, becoming the first Bangko Sentral governor to serve for two terms.

To help the Philippine economy sustain its growth, while taming consumer prices, Bangko Sentral set an inflation target of 3 percent to 5 percent, apparently the ideal formula for an emerging economy. This target range was later reduced to 2 percent to 4 percent, as the economy attained a greater level of stability.

Beyond taking those decisions, Tetangco made another milestone in central banking— predictability of policy. His words are carefully selected to convey BSP’s monetary stance and offer hints of future actions.

“Communication is now a major instrument or tool in modern central banking,” Tetangco told a group of business editors from different publications.

“The policies have got to be communicated properly to the public real time. This is important because you also have a new channel of transmission of policy and that is expectations,” he said.

Expectations or outlook on the economy help companies plan on their next steps, such as raising more funds to support expansion.

“Before, you had interest rate channels or credit channels, now you have expectation

channels. In order to manage expectations, you need to have the right communication, real time and accurate,” Tetangco said, while acknowledging the role of journalists in communicating the policies of Bangko Sentral over the last 12 years.

“That has helped us. The progress that we have achieved is due in part to the accurate and timely dissemination of information, communication of the policy of the BSP,” he said.

Tetangco has been recognized by New Yorkbased Global Finance magazine as one of the best central bankers in the world, giving him a grade of “A” for eight years.

He also received the ‘Lifetime Leadership Achievement Award’ from The Asian Banker on July 2. The Singapore-based financial publication cited the remarkable contributions of Bangko Sentral to the country’s financial services industry and the economy under Tetangco’s leadership.

The Asian Banker recognized Bangko Sentral as a pillar of strength for the Philippine economy and the ‘Best Macroeconomic Regulator in Asia-Pacific.’

The Asian Banker said Tetangco was instrumental in helping the Philippines transform from a speculative- to an investmentgrade economy. “[He] made a huge difference... lifting his country to becoming investment grade and stepping high and tall in the league of nations,” The Asian Banker chairman Emmanuel Daniel said.

Tetangco, 64, will be replaced by Nestor Espenilla Jr., who is currently deputy governor in charge of bank examination and supervision.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Sean Gowran, president and country manager of Ericsson Philippines and Pacific Islands, discusses data on LTE dominant access technology.

Regional app coverage data show that the minimum required network speed increased in many countries, including the Philippines. “Our analysis of mobile broadband app coverage across the region shows that the Philippines has improved year-on-year,” said Gowran.

However, the challenge for the company in connecting the unconnected lies in affordability literacy, and provision of relevant services – rather than the availability of technology.

The use of old branded cellphones will still be relevant when 5G subscription expands in 2022, but without the access to its new features. GSM users would more likely have more difficulty on accessing the new features of 5G in 2022, according to Gowran.

“Life would not be really fantastic for the GSM users for 2022,” he said.

Gorwan said concerns on network optimization through analytics, massive IoT coverage in the city, and remote operation of vehicles with 5G. Ericsson, a leader in communications technology and services, foresees “driverless buses on city streets” along with the 5G, which will develop remote monitoring, control capabilities and safety assurance. Its focus is to build a testbed to study and demonstrate feasibility of remote supervision and teleportation of connected vehicles using cellular networks on Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communication.

Gowran said Asia Pacific will lead the global rollout of 5G with its 28 million subscriptions and 180 million cellular IoT subscriptions, along with North America, which will account for around 10 percent of the region’s subscription by 2022.

Countries that are expected to be among the early adopters of 5G are South Korea in 2018, and Japan and China by 2020.

WOLFGANG’S STEAKHOUSE REOPENS AT RESORTS WORLD

By Kristin Mae Cortez WOLFGANG’S Steakhouse, a US restaurant brand brought to the Philippines by Excello Restaurant Management Group of Marvin Agustin and his two partners, reopened at the Newport Mall inside the Resorts World Manila complex, after a two-week hiatus following an unfortunate incident on June 2.

The famous steakhouse is back in business after the RWM attack by a lone gun man that resulted in the loss of 37 lives, including employees and guests.

Excello Restaurant Management Group head Raymund Magdaluyo says Wolfgang

Steakhouse is keeping its original location at the second floor of Newport Mall, while adding two outlets at The Podium in Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Magdaluyo says while the attack may have hurt sales initially, the RWM location is expected to recover in the coming months.

“We’re hurting business-wise but I think Resorts World could come up with something, because it is the strongest casino, complex-wise [compared to other casinos in the Philippines],” he says.

“Do we feel that the Resorts World is responsible for the gross-negligence?

Definitely no, but there are some things

Excello Restaurant Management Group partners (from left) Marvin Agustin, Leina Bolinas and Raymund Magdaluyo lead the reopening of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse at Resorts World Manila.

that could have been done better,” says Magdaluyo.

He says what happened with Resorts World was a tragedy for the entire industry but everybody had something to learn from the incident.

Magdaluyo says the New York-theme restaurant remains loyal to RWM which has been its partner since 2009. RWM would “come out stronger,” he says.

“We have not even talked to other casinos. We are not planning on putting up any concept other than in Resorts World. [That is] 100 percent sure,” he says.

Excello managing partner Leina Bolinas says the plan is to be “more

operationally efficient” and renovate the restaurant that has its own dry-aging room and wine cellar.

The company expects sales to improve by 50 percent in the next four to six months, following the drop related to the June 2 incident.

“After that, everything will not just normalize. It [ Wolfgang’s] will also become stronger,” says Magdulo.

Bolinas says to attract more diners, Wolfgang will host some events in the coming months. The restaurant is open from 12 noon to 10 p.m. With Aletha Jasmine Dela Cruz, Katrina Delos Santos and Jamie Andrea Turalba

Business

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 business@manilastandard.net

MILLENNIALS ASKED TO CONSERVE PH FORESTS THE Forest Foundation Philippines calls on millennials and social entrepreneurs to engage in forest conservation.

Formerly known as the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, FFP breaks away from its traditional method of finding new solutions on protecting the forests and will now start accepting innovative ideas and solutions proposed by millennials and social entrepreneurs.

FFP decided to change its name into something that resonates with the millennials whom they hope to encourage and be the champions of forest conservation.

FFP executive director Jose Andres Canivel acknowledges the importance of millennials today. “We believe that the millennials now are becoming more important not because they will be living in the world [where] we leave them but rather they are important [in] deciding the path of society and the world that we have now,” he says.

The organization also launched its 2017-2021 plan of action that aims to continuously empower people in communities across the Philippines and as a part of the program plan, a pitch fest is set to hold on July 22.

The Forest Fest PH is a one-day gathering of enterprising thought leaders to craft targeted and innovative solutions aimed at helping protect the forests in the country. The event also invite leaders from various industries and sectors who will mentor the participants.

The concept of finding new innovations and solutions is in line with FFPs main thrust—to make social entrepreneurship progressive by protecting Philippine forests.

“We want to empower individuals as they understand the everyday life decisions [that] can help advance and nurture our forests,” Canivel said.

Social entrepreneurs, advocacy groups, and other related individuals who have the passion and desire to protect the forests will be given an opportunity to present their innovative ideas before a panel of judges. The winning participant to come up with a good forest protection idea will take home P 450,000 as grant prize.

Besides the usual type of businesses for the pitchfest, FFP chairman Antonio La Viña says there is room for social enterprises that work with indigenous people.

La Viña says social entrepreneurship can serve as a platform to empower enterprising individuals and groups to jumpstart sustainable and business solutions.

“Why [do] social enterprises matter?

Simple, they create awareness, change attitudes, change patterns of behavior and consumption and developing way technology solutions that appeal towards segment of the population,” he says.

“In this way, we hope to be able to push our goal of helping improve the quality of life of Filipinos in an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable manner,” says La Viña.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim cites the role of the United States as an advocate of environmental conservation. He says the US government has been working with the Philippine government to supervise FFP. “Together with partners like the Philippines, we carry the responsibility to lead the global advocacy to make the environment our number one priority,”Kim says.

FFP was established in 2005 under the bilateral agreements of the US and the Philippines under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. Katrina Delos Santos and Jamie Andrea Turalba

MOBILE APP BRINGS SHOPPING CONVENIENCE

Honestbee Philippines country manager Crystal Gonzalez

By Katrina Delos Santos and Jamie Turalba

H

ONESTBEE, a Singapore-based premium concierge and delivery service mobile application, is now in the Philippines.

“We want to make [people’s] lives easier [by] offering an all-in-one concierge app wherein we try to simplify your life,” Honestbee Philippines country manager Crystal Gonzalez says.

“At the end of the day, if we’re not able to make your lives better [or if ] we’re not able to save you time, then it would not make sense,” she says.

Honestbee was founded in July 2015

by Singaporeans Isaac Tay, Joel Sng and Jonathan Low. It is now also available in other Asian cities like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Tokyo.

Gonzales says while there are similar apps that also offer delivery services, what makes Honestbee different is that it is an all-in-one concierge app offering grocery, food, home

and auto supplies and laundry options.

Honestbee was introduced in the Philippines mainly because of the heavy road traffic that Filipinos are experiencing every day.

“I understand that the average Filipino spends two and a half hour in traffic every day, [and] that’s just crazy,” says Variam Lim, Honestbee chief operating officer.

H o n e s t b e e te a m e d u p w i t h “ t h e best brands” in the Philippines. For grocery, it joined forces with Robinsons Supermarket to serve customers. “We partnered with Robinsons, [because] they are very particular of the quality.

When we met with Robina Gokongwei, that’s one of the things we highlighted,” Gonzalez says.

Besides Robinsons Supermarket, Honestbee also teamed up with specialty brands Fresh Options for meat, Harvestime and Incredible India for imported goods, AWC and Boozy for wine and spirits and Chicco for baby needs.

In the food option, users can choose from the well-known restaurants and food shops such as Sprout, Eric Kayser, Hummus Elijah, Tipsy Pig, Bono Gelato, La Lola Churreria and others.

Aside from grocery and food, it also launched delivery service for laundry, so

that people who are working late “don’t need to wait for your laundromat to open.”

Honestbee is already present in Metro Manila, but plans to expand to other cities where there are a lot of smartphone users like Cebu and Davao in the next two to three months.

It will also introduce more services, such as home and auto option, health and logistics. “ The idea was not only to make it convenient for Filipino consumers but to also make it convenient for companies,” says Gonzales.

Besides giving users convenience through smartphones, the app also aims to provide jobs. “The other thing about this business is that we give job opportunities for people who are unable to take full-time jobs, for example, students; or moms who take care of the kids but have pockets of time [and] ready to take on small jobs,” Lim says.

In Singapore, the app was able to create 10,000 jobs since it was launched in 2015.

Shopperbees, or those who do the actual grocery shopping, are trained by Honestbee to become experts in choosing grocery items that have the best quality.

The Honestbee app is available for free on iOS and Android.

GERMAN INDUSTRIAL GIANT EXPANDS IN PH

By Katrina Delos Santos and Jamie Andrea Turalba BOSCH, a German supplier of technology and services, posted a 13-percent sales growth in the Philippines last year, its third straight year of double-digit expansion.

Bosch Philippines said sales reached $56 million or P2.8 billion in 2016. “With double-digit business growth for the third consecutive year, the Philippines earns a bright spot in Southeast Asia as one of the best-per forming markets for Bosch. We continue to see many opportunities here,” said Andrew Powell, managing director of Bosch Philippines.

The biggest contributor to the sales growth was the power tools division amid high demand for mid-priced product range and cordless tools. It was also the best performing division when it comes to online retail— through

Lazada, a known e-commerce in Asia — among Asean markets.

The automotive aftermarket division also experienced a double-digit increase in sales, making 2016 its strongest year yet. The security systems division had a moderate growth in the same year with communication systems as the major contributor.

The thermotechnology division was granted long-term contracts to offer industrial boilers for processing plants of large multinational companies in the nutrition and beverage industries.

One of the key advocacies of Bosch this year is to provide vehicle safety in the Philippines and Southeast Asia by bringing in the innovation from the automotive aftermarket division—the electronic stability program which helps maintain the driver’s control when the vehicle skids through its attached sensors.

The ESP followed the development of

Bosch Philippines outgoing managing director Andrew Powell (right) with successor Richard Walker.

the anti-lock braking system which gives riding stability and maneuverability when braking.

“As a global innovator in vehicle

safety, we aim to work closely with the government, industry, and the motoring public to find sustainable solutions to road accidents,” said Powell.

Powell said Bosch is expanding outside Metro Manila “to be within customers’ reach.”

“We aim to continue our expansion efforts outside of Metro Manila to be within reach of our customers in key provincial areas, and we are already looking into potential new locations,” he said.

Bosch recently extended its services to Mindanao, by opening a business hub in Cagayan De Oro City. This was the third business hub Bosch put up outside Metro Manila, after those in Cebu and Davao.

“We are growing our footprint here. Imperial Manila is not the only place in the Philippines [and] there are many other regions which we believe the provinces got their own expertise, [needs and potential],” said Powell.

Powell, who is moving to Indonesia as managing director on July 1, will be replaced by Richard Walker.

Sports

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 randyproject@yahoo.com

PH NETTER ALCANTARA SHINES IN SINGAPORE FUTURES Tony Lascuña hoists the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship trophy after retaining the crown via a three-stroke romp over Zanieboy Gialon.

LASCUÑA BAGS ICTSI TROPHY WITH 3-SHOT WIN

Francis Casey Alcantara shows his winning form in this piece of action

I

GNORING of the problems besetting the sport back home, Filipino ace netter Francis Casey Alcantara did what he does best on the tennis court and shone brightest in Singapore recently.

Playing in tandem with Dutch Sem Verbeek, Alcantara completed a masterful sweep of the doubles events of the three-week Singapore Futures.

The Filipino-Dutch tandem displaced all its Japanese counterparts in the quarterfinals to win the doubles championship.

The duo won the title over Hiroyasu Ehara and Sho Katayama, 6-3, 6-2 in the final to bag the F1 trophy.

In the following week, both Alcantara and Verbeekblazed blazed through to the championship round and emerged victorious in the F2 tournament.

Alcantara and Verbeek completed a clean sweep after the duo drubbed fourth seeds Yuichi Ito of Japan and Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam, 7-6 (3), 6-2, in the finals to take home the F3 title at the Kallang Tennis Centre in Singapore.

“We were very confident going in the third leg, but at the same time, nervous because of the pressure to win again. We just believed in ourselves and carried on. Words can’t describe how happy we are in achieving this feat,” Alcantara, ranked 430 in the world, said after the sweep.

The 25-year-old Cagayan de Oro City native is no stranger to the international platform as he had donned the Philippine tricolors on numerous occasions and participated in elite-level events, including the 2009 Australian

Open in Melbourne.

Alcantara, who reached his highest junior world standing of No. 14 in 2009, currently occupies the No. 431 seat in the rankings of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

Alcantara was named as one of the players that will compose the Philippine National tennis team in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia next month.

The line-up was submitted by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) to the office of Southeast Asian Games chef de mission Cynthia Carrion but it was not accepted as the final list because of the leadership squabble in the association.

The lineup had the signature of Tony Cablitas, who was purportedly elected president in a recent election that was not recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee. (POC).

Despite the warning by the POC that the elections called by Philta board member Romeo Magat will not be recognized, the group of Magat still proceeded with the proceedings and elected Cablitas, whose assumption to the board was still being questioned.

The POC only recognizes Edwin Olivarez, mayor of Paranaque City, as Philta president and he alone can call for an election and sign documents, including lineup of athletes for international

competition, in behalf of the association.

Athletes like Alcantara an unperturbed and continue to compete outside the country to gain points and boost their international ranking.

Alcantara believes that tennis in the Philippines is growing despite the leadership problems and calls on youngsters to take the sport.

“Hopefully people will start picking up their rackets and play tennis because it is a good sport.

We do not need to be really big and tall to play tennis. It is also a very good sport to socialize with friends.”

Unlike basketball and volleyball, Alcantara admits that tennis has a long way to go in terms of local following. “I hope that tennis will be as popular as basketball and volleyball. I know it would be really hard for that to be achieved but I am really hoping that Pinoy fans would love tennis as they love those other sports. Randy Caluag

Alcantara (3rd from left) and doubles partner Dutch Sem Verbeek during the awarding rites

ANTIPOLO—Tony Lascuña powered his way to another ICTSI Forest Hills Championship crown, beating Zanieboy Gialon for the second straight year on a closing 70 and a three-stroke victory at the Forest Hills Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

Not even a double-bogey on No. 12 could stymie Lascuña’s drive for another championship or fire up Gialon as the latter lost his putting touch after a scorching three-birdie binge from No. 10 that pulled him within three, settling for pars which the former matched all the way to the finish.

“I played according to plan—stay in control and stay focused throughout,” said Lascuña after making it two-in-row here with an 11-under 273 total worth P550,000 he received from ICTSI Public Relations head Narlene Soriano.

Gialon carded a second straight 69 for a 276 and took the P370,000 runner-up prize.

The victory was not as emphatic as his 11-shot triumph over Gialon and Orlan Sumcad last year but it proved to be just as crushing as Lascuña was never seriously challenged after Jhonnel Ababa threatened to within two with a birdie on No. 2 and fell back just as quickly with a double-bogey on the next.

Miguel Tabuena, five behind at the start of the final round of the P3 million event sponsored by ICTSI, tried to give chase with a birdie on the seventh but like Ababa, the young top gun faded with a bogey on the 10th. He ended up with a 71 for third at 279 worth P215,000.

Gialon bounced back from a one-over frontside card with three straight birdies at the back but the recent Calatagan leg winner could only move no closer than three as he slowed down with missed putts and ended up runner-up for the second straight time.

In contrast, Lascuña ran off seven pars to launch his final round charge then closed out the front nine with backto-back birdies and pulled away by six.

He birdied No. 11 to hold off a charging Gialon and though he stumbled with a wet 6 on the par-4 No. 12, he found no need for a spectacular finish, his run of pars securing a follow-up to his Manila Masters victory at Eastridge last April for another championship to his vast trophy collection.

“I was so confident even if I doublebogeyed No. 12,” said Lascuña, whose victory also erased the stigma of a string of runner-up finishes in the three of the last four legs of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. The victory also firmed up Lascuña’s hold of the Order of Merit lead with P1,997,702 in earnings heading to the last six legs of the circuit backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.

BANGKARERA CELEBRATES VALUE OF SUSTAINABLE SEAS

The various winners with John Spakowski II (center), RCI Chairman, president and chief executive officer

THE coastal city of Dumaguete was the site of the recently held 2nd Pioneer National Bangkarera, as part of Republic Chemical Industries, Incorporated’s 60th anniversary celebration.

Thousands gathered along the city’s main thoroughfare, Rizal Boulevard, to catch the action as 40 teams of fishing boats made up of 144 entries from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao braved the challenging waters to register impressive times.

The competition had four categories: the 16HP (Open Category), 7HP (Open Category), 7HP (Angat Sa Dagat Category) and the Paddle Boat (Open Category).

Team Pirata of Iligan City ruled the premier 16HP Open Category and pocketed the top purse of P110,000, followed by Team Aranicole of

Bulacan (P80,000) and Team Boracay (P50,000).

“We were inspired about helping people with the way they do their living and at the same time use our products to protect and preserve the environment,” said John Spakowski II, RCI Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Republic Chemical Industries is the maker of Pioneer Epoxy bonds, paints and sealants. The race celebrates fishing as a dignified source of livelihood as well as display the high quality of Pioneer adhesives--the preferred brand of the fishermen-participants.

Conservation efforts As part of the festivities, Pioneer Adhesives Foundation, Inc. (PAFI), led by Executive Director Martina Spakowski, collaborated with the

Siliman University Marine Labs to conduct the Reef Fix project in Dumaguete.

The Reef Fix project is part of “Our Earth, Our Responsibility”, PAFI’s environmental campaign that responds to the growing harmful effects of global warming on our environment.

During the Reef Fix project in Dumaguete, 10 volunteer divers participated and dove into the sea of Siliman Beach to remove the damaging Drupella and Coralliophilia from the coral reef.

The project has also initiated activities to repair 4,600 corals as part of sustained efforts to protect marine sanctuaries in Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Alaminos and Dumaguete City to improve fish catch. Some 11,200 mangroves were also planted by about 1,815 volunteers.

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Sports

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor / Randy Caluag, Issue Editor

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

KAZAKH DEFENDS TITLE IN SURABAYA

Alyssa Valdez

VALDEZ NAMED PVL MVP

Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan proudly display his ONE Championship Flyweight belt. Akhmetov defends his title at ONE: Conquest of Kings at GOR Kertajaya Arena in Surabaya, Indonesia on July 29. ONE Championship

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AIRAT Akhmetov of Kazakhstan defends his ONE Championship Flyweight World crown against Interim champion Adriano Moraes at ONE: Conquest of Kings at GOR Kertajaya Arena in Surabaya, Indonesia on July 29.

It will be the first time for the promotion to stage an event in the capital of East Java. Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship candidly admitted his excitement at the prospect of returning to Indonesia to stage the promotion.

“There is always a tremendous atmosphere and excitement when ONE Championship visits Indonesia, and it is a delight to finally announce our first event for fans in Surabaya. We’re coming at you live and ready to showcase the world’s most authentic display of martial arts. We have a thrilling main event planned, with ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhmetov facing Moraes, in a rematch of their first encounter to crown the undisputed king of the division.”

Ticket information for ONE: Conquest of Kings is available at www.onefc.com.

Akhmetov of Kazakhstan is

Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship Chatri Sityodtong says he is excited at the prospect of returning to Indonesia to stage another promotion.

ONE Championship

undefeated inside the mixed martial arts cage. He boasts an unblemished 23-0 record over his six years as a professional.

Akhmetov employs a devastating attack with power in both hands, as well as a tenacious wrestling game that overpowers his opponents.

Akhmetov defeated top flyweight and former champion Adriano Moraes to capture the ONE Flyweight World Championship in his last bout. The two are set for a much-anticipated rematch in Surabaya.

Interim ONE Flyweight World Champion Moraes had his initial title reign cut short, when he met Akhmetov in November of 2015, losing via split decision.

It was a close bout, but Akhmetov’s wrestling proved difficult to handle, even for an athlete of Moraes’ caliber.

As champion, Moraes was skillful and dominant, and was rarely opposed inside the ONE Championship cage. In his most recent bout, Moraes secured the Interim Flyweight World Title with a victory over Tilek Batyrov.

The rematch with Akhmetov will determine the rightful owner of ONE Championship gold in a highly-anticipated title unification bout.

ONE: Conquest of Kings will showcase the beauty and authenticity of the ancient Indonesian combat discipline of Traditional Silat and display the art at the forefront of Asian martial arts.

Top Silat practitioners, Khamid Wichaksana and Muchamad Fauzi, will display their amazing skills in the

ONE Championship Flyweight titlist Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan (right) stalks Adriano Moraes. The two face other again at ONE: Conquest of Kings at GOR Kertajaya Arena in Surabaya, Indonesia on July 29. ONE Championship

authentic traditional martial arts.

Other fights will feature 32-yearold Toni “Dynamite” Tauru of Utti, Finland facing Leandro Issa of Brazil; Polish Marcin Prachnio stakes his claim as one of the top contenders for the middleweight title against veteran Gilbert Galvao of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Indonesian martial artist “The Terminator” Sunoto meets Filipino Rocky Batolbatol.

In another exciting match Indonesian Mixed martial arts prospect Jerome S. Paye searches for his first victory inside the ONE Championship cage battles 42year old former WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan “Little Tyson” Sityodtong of Thailand.

Sityodtong is known as a devastatingly powerful puncher, with the ability to utilize his heavy hands to stop foes with trademark combinations. With 47 KOs in boxing and all three of his mixed martial arts victories ending in similar fashion, Sityodtong is always on the lookout for an abrupt ending to his contests. Currently riding a two-bout winning streak, Sityodtong will be going for number three against Paye.

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.

WHO else but Alyssa Valdez?

Valdez, considered by many as the best female volleyball player of this generation, powered the Creamline Cool Smashers to a third place finish to earn the inaugural Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference Most Valuable Player award.

The outside hitter with the cannonball spikes was unpredictable and fearsome at the offensive end but steady and consistent at the defensive end. She likewise led the statistical race to win the highest individual award.

Valdez is a three-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines and V-League Most Valuable Player.

She averaged 20.7 points per game in topping the scoring department. Her closest pursuer was Grethcel Soltones of BaliPure who scored an average of 13.1 points per game.

Valdez was the most consistent spiker the past conference with 37.32 percent success rate. She was second in service aces (0.51 aces per set). The well-rounded Valdez also contributed at the defensive end for the Cool Smashers with 2.47 digs per set.

Valdez—who is from San Juan, Batangas—was also named the 1st Best Outside Spiker.

Soltones earned the 2nd Best Outside Spiker recognition while teammate Risa Sato and Pocari Sweat’s Jeannette Panaga earned the 1st and 2nd Best Middle Blocker awards.

Dimdim Pacres of the Power Smashers was chosen the Best Opposite Spiker.

Jasmine Nabor of BaliPure earned the Best Setter award after averaging 8.76 excellent sets per frame. Veteran libero Melissa Gohing of Pocari Sweat grabbed the Best Libero award with an impressive 4.16 excellent digs per set and 37.89 percent success rate with her reception in the elimination round.

More good news for Valdez and Creamline fans. Former Ateneo De Manila University setter Jia Morado will beef up the squad in time for the PVL All-Filipino Conference set to start on July 1.

The Cool Smashers, led by Valdez and imports Thai Kuttuka Kaewpin and American Laura Schaudt, narrowly missed the finals of the PVL inaugural conference.

They settled for third place in the Reinforced Conference and are bristling to improve on that finish.

Hoping to do better this PVL second conference Creamline picked up the 22-year old playmaker to reinforce the squad.

Morada and Valdez teamed up with Ateneo for three years and helped the Katipunan-based university win back-to-back UAAP titles in Seasons 76 and 77.

BEERMEN TARGET PIVOTAL GAME THREE WITH their best-of-seven championship playoff against TNT KaTropa in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup tied at one win apiece the San Miguel Beermen target a pivotal victory in Game 3 tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After TNT import Josh Smith converted a crunch time basket to allow TNT to slip past the Beermen in the first game, San Miguel Beer made sure Friday night that no other TNT KaTropa player would be able to spring another surprise.

Three-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo took matters

into his own hands as he led the Beermen to the Game 2 victory.

SMB import Charles Rhodes had a quiet evening but the SMB locals, led

by Fajardo, picked up the slack as the Beermen roared to a 102-88 rout of the TNT KaTropa in the second game.

Remembering their 102-104 loss in Game 1, the SMB locals played with a vengeance to overwhelm TNT KaTropa. The Beermen overcame a 0-17 deficit at the start of the game to post the scrambling victory.

Fajardo, Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter towed San Miguel which tied the best-of-seven

championship series at 1-1.

TNT started the game with both barrels blazing as they went off to a hot 17-0 start by led by Jason Castro, RR Pogoy, Anthony Semerad, Kelly Williams and Moala Tautuaa.

The Ka Tropa, however, were stopped and could not contain the determined Beermen who came back strong and eventually seized command of the game and led, 5243, at halftime.

Fajardo had another dominant game and came through with a double-double. He finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ross almost had a double-double effort

with 20 markers and nine assists plus five rebounds.

Santos, meanwhile, also played a key role off the bench. He had 16 points and six rebounds.

Rhodes, shadowed all game long by TNT’s long-armed defense, struggled for just seven points and 11 rebounds. Smith was likewise contained and had 11 markers, six rebounds and five assists for TNT. The Beermen started tentatively and missed their first six attempts.

They turned the ball over thrice before scoring a first basket, thanks to Cabagnot, with already four minutes played in the game.

Talk N Text KaTropa point guard Jayson Castro (middle) drives past a pair of San Miguel Beer defenders in Chris Ross (left) and Marcio Lassiter (13). The Beermen and the Tropang Texters battle in the pivotal Game 3 tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017

Jimbo Gulle, Editor

Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

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SUBIC AREA TRADERS GET BIZ TRAINING

By Butch Gunio

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Mayor Jaime Fresnedi presents a symbolic check for P2 million in financial assistance to Marawi City Engineer Sirad Daligdig. Attending the turnover ceremony were Bangsamoro Federal Business Council Inc. president Nasraili Conding, BFBCI executive director Dr. Abdul Hanan Tago, BFBCI vice president for Finance Sibanah Menor, and other Marawi government officials.

MUNTI DONATES P2M TO MARAWI; 1ST IN MM

UNTINLUPA City is giving P2 million to the government of Marawi City—the biggest donation so far to the battle-torn Lanao del Sur capital—to aid its displaced residents and spur its rehabilitation.

Marawi City Engineer Sirad Daligdig, representing Marawi Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra, received the P2-million check from Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi last Thursday at the Muntinlupa City Hall in Barangay Putatan.

Daligdig expressed his gratitude to the city

government for the donation and said the relief will go to the thousands of victims of the conflict in their city.

Bangsamoro Federal Business Council Inc. director Nazruddin Dianalan also attended the turnover ceremony, and noted that Muntinlupa made the biggest financial assistance following Davao City’s P1-million aid earlier this month.

Muntinlupa is also the first LGU in Metro Manila to provide financial assistance to Marawi.

Fresnedi said the aid is Muntinlupa’s humanitarian response to help plug the critical gaps and needs of food, water, medicine, and other assistance for the displaced Marawi residents currently in various evacuation centers.

The mayor hopes other local governments will follow Muntinlupa’s initiative in extending relief.

On May 23, clashes between the military troops and local Maute terrorist group transpired in Barangay Basak Malutlut, Marawi City.

The terrorists sacked a local hospital, threw open the city jail, and burned schools and a Catholic chapel. Following the attack, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Marawi was declared under the state of calamity on May 25 as per Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 60, series of 2017.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed there has been 300 casualties in Marawi so far, with 300,000 of its residents evacuating to neighboring cities such as Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

VIZCAYA SHRINERS GIVE AWAY WHEELCHAIRS

By Abe Almirol BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya— Learners with special educational needs from the central elementary school here were chosen by the Mabuhay Shriners International club to receive free wheelchairs.

The Shriners is a club of masons.

Its “new nobles” from the Lumabang Shiners Batch 36 volunteered to undertake the charity work. The club’s advocacy is to help burned and crippled children.

The club was responsible in sending two-year-old Chloe Dumapi to the United States for reconstructive surgery last year. The young girl from Antipolo City was burned and crippled after a lighted candle fell on her bed in January 2015.

The novices of the Sierra Madre chapter of the Shriners from the Salinas Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons here coordinated the humanitarian work with teachers of Bambang Central School and other schools in Nueva Vizcaya.

The recipients of free wheelchairs given on Wednesday were identified as Norilene Obal, 6 years old; Cassandra Manayan, 6; Queenie Rose Bimbo, 18; and

New members or ‘novices’ of the Mabuhay Shriners International, a club of Masons, gave away four wheelchairs to the SPED Class of Bambang Central School to fulfill their pledge for burned and crippled children. At left is Violeta Pumaras, a special education teacher at Bambang Central School for 10 years.

Nicole Angela Nebrida, 12.

“We have 81 learners in the special education [SPED] program of Bambang Central School, plus five learners in the distance education program, and nine special learners currently integrated in the mainstream classes after showing good

signs of behavioral modification and learning ability,” said Violeta Pumaras, a SPED teacher for 10 years.

Pumaras has two colleagues taking care of the learners, Yvette Quirante and Ric Vadil.

Asked how he deals with the seemingly

impossible task of teaching special learners, Vadil said: “These young angels need care and love. We teach by appealing to their affective domain to compensate what they lack in cognitive and psychomotor domains.”

“We also have five cases of verified autism, and there are three more suspected cases here, but we don’t have the means to pay an expert to undertake the diagnosis,” said Pumaras.

She revealed that the Department of Education had allocated P400,000 for such a diagnosis two years ago, but no new allocation has been given.

“The SPED building was funded by the one-percent Special Education Fund coming from the local government’s real property tax collection,” added Pumaras.

Asked what happens if parents fail to provide for special needs such as diapers, the teachers confessed they have to take it from their own pockets. “It’s a passion to teach in a SPED Class,” Vadil said.

The Shriners were joined by ladies of the Order of the Amaranth from the Salinas Court here.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—“Don’t prove me wrong, prove me right!

Can you deliver?” This was the challenge sounded by Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Blesila Lantayona at the opening here on Wednesday of the agency’s “Kapatid, Mentor Me Program” session some 200 local entrepreneurs.

The program, held at the Subic Bay Travelers Hotel, tapped speakers from among some of the highly successful entrepreneurs in the country today and aimed to help micro and medium enterprises grow and attain sustainability.

According to Lantayona, from 70 to 80 percent of small to medium businesses have a short life span due to insufficient knowledge among owners on how to manage the business. The mentoring project, she added, seeks to help small and medium enterprises in Zambales and Olongapo City penetrate markets more stably and consistently.

During the forum, Paul Anthony de Guzman from the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurs and CEO of Go Negosyo, reminded participants that all entrepreneurs, big and small, should live by the vision of “Kapatid, angat lahat!”

He stressed that all entrepreneurs must lift and encourage one another, allowing small companies to benefit from and with their bigger counterparts.

Tokyo Tempura CEO Jorge Noel Y. Wieneke III, meanwhile, shared the origins of his entrepreneurial mindset and impressed upon the audience the need for an attitude of gratitude, all the while introducing his listeners to the “power” within them.

Wieneke said his businesscentric mentality that originated from his infatuation with a childhood toy, which caused him to inadvertently find ways to make money through odd jobs. The same determination, risk-taking, passion and outgoingness carried into his adulthood and birthed his business, Potato Corner, which he had built with close friends and family.

The businessman would later on receive an award for sharing his insights on how to attain success.

Meanwhile, Business Mentors Inc. president Wilfredo Victor Arcilla contended that while overseas Filipino workers are recognized for their contribution to the Philippine economy through remittances, entrepreneurs play a bigger role in nation-building.

“The money OFWs collectively generated, if these were divided among the individuals OFWS, would still be a paltry amount. The OFWs weren’t going to change the Philippines; only enterprises will,” he concluded.

Lantayona also urged the entrepreneurs of small and medium businesses and enterprises not to underestimate themselves, pointing out that their businesses “provide a whopping 62 percent of the jobs in the Philippines.”

She also cited the success of their mentees from Tacloban who had collectively generated P14 million after only five months of using a business model formulated under the DTI’s Mentor Me Program.

BANK WORKERS AID MARAWI PUPILS

IN KEEPING with BDO Foundation’s disaster response advocacy, employees of BDO branches in Butuan City volunteered to aid underprivileged students in the city and those displaced by the crisis in Marawi City.

Volunteers from the BDO Butuan-J.C. Aquino Avenue branch and BDO ButuanMontilla branch distributed packs containing school supplies to around 600 pupils of the Banza Elementary School in Butuan, and as many as 180 students displaced by the armed conflict in Marawi.

“This is something we have been doing every year,” revealed BDO Butuan-J.C. Aquino Avenue branch head Janice Arapan, who led the volunteers with BDO Butuan-Montilla branch head Marty Llorente.

“BDO employees, friends and clients do-

nated funds, which we used to purchase school supplies such as notebooks, pads, pencils and crayons,” Arapan said.

“We distributed these items to hundreds of disadvantaged pupils in Butuan in time for the start of the school year. We also gave school uniforms to students from Marawi,” she added.

At the distribution of the school supplies in calamity-stricken Banza Elementary School, the BDO volunteers also provided food and drinks for the children.

The BDO volunteer program is supported

by BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the country’s largest lender.

Backed by local government officials and non-BDO volunteers, these efforts form part of BDO Unibank’s contributions to the De-

partment of Education’s Brigada Eskwela and Oplan Balik Eskwela programs.

In support of these programs, BDO Foundation also donated personal computers to 45 schools all over the country through One Network Bank, the rural bank subsidiary of BDO. ONB distributed computer sets to schools in Albay, Batangas, Cavite, Guimaras, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, Laguna, Metro Manila, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Quirino and Tarlac.

ONB also turned over PCs to schools in Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.

Officers and staff of BDO branches in Butuan, along with the bank’s clients and sponsors, pooled funds to buy school supplies and uniforms they donated to underprivileged pupils in the city and students affected by the armed conflict in Marawi (pictured).

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PHILEX SETS P2.1-M TREE PLANTING PROGRAM

By Dexter A. See TUBA, Benguet—Philex Mining Corp. is preparing to reforest 50 hectares of land at its host towns of Tuba and Itogon in this province, a project worth P910,281 and involving 83,350 tree seedlings, bringing to P2.1 million its total reforestation program for this year.

“We have always fulfilled our duties on environmental protection, and we will continue to reforest in our host and neighboring communities as part of this commitment,” Philex CEO and president Eulalio Austin Jr. said. “And our obligations extend to preserving the environment for the future generations to enjoy.”

Leon Mocate, senior forestry coordinator at the Environmental Quality Monitoring and Enhancement Dept. of the company’s gold-and-copper operations in Tuba’s Sitio Padcal, Barangay Camp 3, said the new reforestation will be implemented for three months until September.

“Ten contractors, each with a team of at least five people, have been tasked to carry out the project, with an estimated survival rate of 90 percent,” he stressed.

He added that seedlings of Benguet pines, calliandra, gmelina, ipil-ipil, and antio-an dilao have been prepared at the nursery of Padcal mine, waiting to be planted in the 10 areas identified by the EQMED. Maintenance work, such as ring weeding, follows the planting activity.

A total of 20 hectares of land, equally divided between Sitios Banawel and Bagbag, in Itogon’s Barangay Ampucao, will be planted with various tree species, while 8 hectares in Tuba’s Sitio Kimabayo, Barangay Camp 1, and another 6 hectares of land at the Albian Slope, Barangay Camp 3, are also part of this year’s reforestation project.

Mocate said the project also covers separate areas of 5.5 hectares and 5 hectares in Barangay Camp 3’s Sitio Alang; 2.5 hectares in the same barangay’s Sitio Pokis; 1.5 hectares at the quarry area near Padcal mine’s Tailings Storage Facility No. 3 (TSF3), in Brgy.

Ampucao; 1 ha. on the roadside from Sitios Ligay to Bas-eg, Barangay Camp 1; and 5,000 square meters in Sitio Maligaboy, also near TSF3.

Philex Mining has also allotted P345,968 for the maintenance of 50 hectares of land that is on its second year of reforestation, another P637,215 for 100 hectares of reforested land on its third year, and P210,000 for the 75 hectares currently on its fifth year of reforestation.

Mocate said maintenance of a reforested area also includes applying fertilizers and the planting of seedlings to replace the trees that did not survive.

I am M.A.D. (Making A Difference) conquered Zamboanga City for its 34th MAD Camp area at Muruk Elementary School. Volunteers join the beneficiaries, their parents, school officials and partners for a souvenir photo.

HAND OUT SCHOOL SUPPLIES

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MILLENNIALS LEAD ZAMBOANGA OUTREACH

EVENTEEN millennial volunteers from across the country showed passion, determination and courage in joining the recent “I am MAD (Making A Difference) Camp” 34th outreach program in Zamboanga City.

Despite the crossfire gripping Marawi City and the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, the volunteers spearheaded the distribution of “Bag of Dreams” gift packs of school supplies for 73 school children of Muruk Elementary School in Brgy. Upper Pasonanca, about 13 kilometers from Zamboanga City proper.

The three-day camp gave both the volunteers and kids time to interact through educational and entertaining activities.

These included the “Share Your Dream” gettingto-know-you session, team-building, storytelling, games, arts and crafts that promote the organization’s four key advocacies anchored on the Department of Education’s core values—love of God (maka-Diyos), love for others (makatao), love of environment (makakalikasan), and love of country (makabayan). All these are integrated in the ten “I

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President

PDEA Bldg., NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Barangay Pinyahan Quezon City 1100, Philippines www.pdea.gov.ph

PDEA Bldg., NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Barangay Pinyahan Quezon City 1100, Philippines www.pdea.gov.ph

PHILIPPINE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

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am MAD Commitments.”

To support the program, I am MAD Zamboanga chapter, led by Meryl Hilda Jalani, raised P60,000 by selling school supplies and holding a mini-art exhibit months before the actual camp. A portion of the proceeds was also shared to evacuees from Marawi City.

“We actually thought of cancelling the camp in Zamboanga,” said Mark Conrad ‘Maco’ Ravanzo, CEO and co-founder of I am Making a Difference, Inc.. He noted it was his first time to experience martial law like the rest of his fellow volunteers.

“But our hearts told us not to. I believe that it was the best time to be there, it was the right time to show what we millennials can do during these trying times and during martial law. It was the perfect time to let Mindanaoan people, especially the kids, to feel that people care, and that they are truly loved and there is still hope,” the 28-year-old Lamitan, Basilan native added.

The volunteers also had a chance encounter with Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco after the group’s “MAD Talks,” a forum on volunteerism with the local youth leaders at the city hall. The mayor reassured the group’s safety while the Task Force Zamboanga, led by Col. Leonel Nicolas, provided further assistance.

Despite the turmoil in the region, the group remained steadfast to help bring positive change.

Third-year IT student Damhar Pahalawan proves to

INVITATION TO BID SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF 19 UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES Bid Ref. No. 2017-14A ThePhilippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), thru its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), intends to apply the sum ofSEVENTEEN MILLION ONEHUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS(P17,100,000.00) through General Appropriations Act (GAA) for CY 2017 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF 19UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected duringbid opening.

The PDEA - BAC now invites bids for SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF 19 UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES. Delivery of the goods is 60calendar days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed within three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project.

The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Act.” Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours (8:00 am to 5:00pm).

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on June 23, 2017 from the address given below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of twenty-fivethousand pesos (PhP25, 000.00).

The Invitation to Bid may be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and PDEA Website at www.pdea.gov.ph, provided that Bidders shall pay the applicable non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6. The PDEA-BAC will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on June 29, 2017, 9:00 a.m. at ODDGA Conference Room, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City 1100 which shall be open to prospective bidders.

7. Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before July 11, 2017, 9:00 a.m. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on July 11, 2017, 9:00 a.m. at ODDGA Conference Room, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Pinyahan, Quezon City 1100. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat c/o Mr. Arvin E Sadulloat the PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PMonly, Mondays to Fridays starting June 23, 2017, 2017at Tel No. (632)920-8082.However, any queries relative to the contents of the bid documents and the project requirements can only be made by bidders who purchased the bid documents not later than Ten (10) days prior to the Submission and Opening of Bids.

9. PDEA reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: Mr. Arvin E Sadullo PDEA-Logistics Management Service PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City Tel No. (632)920-8082 (Sgd) JESUS A FAJARDO, MMOAS Deputy Director General for Administration Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee (MS-JUNE 25, 2017)

In The Name Of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF BASILAN BIDS AND AWARDSCOMMITTEE Provincial Capitol Bldg., Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300

PHILIPPINE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

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INVITATION TO BID SUPPLY AND DELIVERYOF 10UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES (Re-Bid) Bid Ref. No. 2017-03 ThePhilippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), thru its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), intends to apply the sum of TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS(P10,500,000.00) through General Appropriations Act (GAA) for CY 2017 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF 10 UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected duringbid opening.

The PDEA - BAC now invites bids for SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF 10 UNITS MOTOR VEHICLES.Delivery of the goods is 60 calendar days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed within three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project.

The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Act.” Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours (8:00 am to 5:00pm).

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on June 23, 2017 from the address given below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of twenty fivethousand pesos (PhP25, 000.00).

The Invitation to Bid may be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and PDEA Website at www.pdea.gov.ph, provided that Bidders shall pay the applicable non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6. The PDEA-BAC will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on June 29, 2017, 10:00 a.m. at ODDGA Conference Room, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City 1100 which shall be open to prospective bidders.

7. Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before July 11, 2017, 10:00 a.m. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on July 11, 2017, 10:00 a.m. at ODDGA Conference Room, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Pinyahan, Quezon City 1100.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat c/o Mr. Arvin E Sadullo at the PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PMonly, Mondays to Fridays starting May 29, 2017at Tel No. (632)920-8082. However, any queries relative to the contents of the bid documents and the project requirements can only be made by bidders who purchased the bid documents not later than Ten (10) days prior to the Submission and Opening of Bids.

9. PDEA reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: Mr. Arvin E Sadullo PDEA-Logistics Management Service PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City Tel No. (632)920-8082 (Sgd) JESUS A FAJARDO, MMOAS Deputy Director General for Administration Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee (MS-JUNE 25, 2017)

be a testament to I am MAD’s thrust and collective actions. Pahalawan was a student-beneficiary and scholar of the group on its first ever outreach activity in Lamitan in 2010.

After seven years, the student from Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City paid it forward by celebrating his maiden volunteering task with I am MAD. The group considers Damhar’s recent participation as its first success story for a beneficiary turned volunteer.

Established in December 2009 as an SEC-registered volunteer organization, I am Making a Difference, Inc. is a 2016 TAYO Awards (Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations) winner for Culture and the Arts, Peace and Humanity.

I am MAD is a millennial-driven, non-profit group that aims to spread the passion of creating value and impact to the school-community by giving hope and showing love to children and youth.

The group is slated to launch similar camps in Cavite, Mindoro and Ilocos Norte later this year, after the successful staging of outreach programs in Romblon, Zamboanga and Guimaras.

I am MAD relies on the goodwill of people through fundraisers and the power of social media. For local community partnerships, interested volunteers and sponsors, send an email to iammadph@gmail.com.

You may also visit and like its Facebook page: facebook.com/IamMakingADifference or follow @ iammad_ph on Twitter and Instagram.

InvItatIon to BId for SUPPLY and dELIvErY for EQUIPMEnt MaIntEnanCE (fUEL, LUBrICant ,tIrES and BattErIES) for tHE ConCrEtIng of BarangaY tUMaHUBong –PUno daHIngan road , SUMISIP , ConCrEtIng of PUno-daHIngan –SaMPInIt road, BaSILan, and SUPPLY and dELIvErY of ConStrUCtIon MatErIaLS (LUMBEr MatErIaLS ) , EQUIPMEnt MaIntEnanCE (fUEL , LUBrICantS , tIrES and BattErIES ) for tHE ConStrUCtIon of BoHE PananSaLan BrIdgE 1 and ConStrUCtIon of BoHE PananSaLan BrIdgE 2 LoCatEd at SUMISIP and SUPPLY and dELIvErY of ConStrCUtIon MatErIaLS for tHE EStaBLLISHMEnt of 20 UnItS fISH aggrEgatIng dEvICE (fadS) PaYaW and SUPPLY and dELIvErY of agrICULtUraL InPUtS and MatErIaLS for Corn ProdUCtIon PrograM of tHE ProvInCIaL govErnMEnt UndEr BaC PUBLICatIon 006-2017 1.The Provincial Government of Basilan intends to apply part of the total sum of FORTY EIGHT MILLION SIX HUNDRED SIXTY TWO THOUSAND AND NINE HUNDRED TWELEVE PESOS AND FORTY SEVEN CENTAVOS 47/100 (48,662,912.47) being the approved Budget for the Contract for the PROCUREMENT OF GOODS for the Supply and Delivery of Equipment Maintenance (Fuel, Lubricants, Tries and Batteries), Construction Materials, Agricultural Inputs and Materials as stated below. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected atthe bid opening.

Name of Project/Purpose Approved Budget for the Contract a) Supply and Delivery for Equipment Maintenance (Fuel, lubricants, Tries and Batteries ) P18,024,912.00 for Concreting of Barangay Tumahubong-Puno Dahingan road, Sumisip Basilan b) Supply and Delivery for Equipment Maintenance (Fuel , lubricants, Tires and Batteries ) 16,521,424.47 for the Concreting of Barangay Puno Dahingan-Sampinit road, Basilan c) Supply and Delivery for Equipment Maintenance (Fuel , Lubricants, Tries and Batteries) 5,563,400.00 for the Construction of BOhe Panansalan Bridge 1 and Bridge 2 located at Sumisip d) Supply and Delivery for Construction Materials (lumber Materials ) for the Construction of 4,101,986.00 Bohe Panansalan Bridge 1 and Bridge 2 located at Sumisip e) Supply and Delivery of Construction materials for Corn production program(Intervention 1,500,000.00 & Livelihood project) f) Supply and Delivery of construction materials forEstablishment of 20 units Fish 2,951,190.00 Aggregating Device (FADs) Payaw TOTAL P48,662,912.47

2.The Provincial Government of Basilan now invites bids for PROCUREMENT OF GOODS for the Supply and Delivery for Equipment Maintenance (Fuel, Lubricants, Tires and Batteries ) for the concreting of barangay tumahubong –puno dahingan road,sumisip and concreting of puno-dahingan –sampinit road ,and Supply and Delivery for Equipment Maintenance(fuel, lubricants , tires and batteries ) and construction materials for the constrcution of bohe panasalan bridge 1 and bridge 2 being implemented by the office of the provincial engineer, basilanbeing funded under the general appropriation of basilan provincial government and supply and delivery of construction materials for the establishment of 20 units fish aggregating device (fad’s) payaW and agricultural inputs and materials for corn production program of the provincial government intended for the office of the provincial agriculturist With an approved budget chargeable against the 20% development fund.Bidders have completed within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipts of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II, Instruction to Bidders.

3.Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

4. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

5. Interested bidders may obtain further information from The Provincial Government of Basilan and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00am to 5pm.

6.A complete set of Bidding Documents for EACH PROJECT for letter A and B may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fees for the Bidding Documents in the amount of TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (P25,000.00) and ONE THOUSAND PESOS (P1,000.00) for Letter of Intent, and another Bidding Documents may be purchased for letter C in the amount of TEN THOUSAND PESOS and ONE THOUSAND PESOS (P1,000.00) for the Letter of Intent , and separate Bid Documents may be purchased in the amount of FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (P5,000,00) for letter D and E and ONE THOUSAND PESOS (P1,000.00) for letter of intent.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later that the submission of their bids.

7. The Provincial Government of Basilan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 9:30 am,July 3, 2017 at BAC Office, Provincial Capitol, Isabela City, Basilan Province, which shall be open to all interested parties.

8. Bids must be delivered on Bid Opening to the address below on or before 10:00 am, July17,2017 at BAC Office, Provincial Capitol, Isabela City, and Basilan Province. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

9. The Provincial Government of Basilan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: The BAC CHAIRPERSON LGU- BASILAN Bids and Award Committee C/O BAC Secretariat Ground Floor, Provincial Capitol Building, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Fax No.: 062 200 3416 & 062 200 3417 (SGD) INTAN GORDANA A. ABUBAKAR Chairperson, Bids and Award Committee (MS-JUNE 25, 2017)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Gadgets & Games

PANASONIC LAUNCHES LATEST HD TELEVISION LINEUP L

EADING innovations in boosting viewing experience, Panasonic recently unveiled its all-new world of vivid color and crisp picture with its new lineup of television offerings that is part of the company’s vision to be “True to the Filmmakers’ Vision.”

This is an ongoing effort of Panasonic’s Hollywood Laboratory to deliver to viewers images exactly as envisioned by their creators.

The new OLED 4K HD television lineup—which was formally introduced in the Philippines during its launch at Marriott Hotel in Pasay City—combines the revolutionary OLED (Organic LED) panel with Panasonic’s signature 4K Hexa Chroma Drive Pro to produce the most accurate and dramatic colors through Hexa Chroma technology, which reproduces six colors—RGB CYM—compared to conventional sets’ RGB reproduction, effectively unlocking OLED technology’s fullest potential for stunningly rich and vibrant pictures. The line’s HDR system also supports HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma, technics technology for superb audio quality.

The new product offering also boasts of several high-end features from Panasonic. These include a special filter to reduce external reflections and express black shades more accurately; a super bright panel that boosts brightness, to make pictures look more dynamic; Dynamic Blade Speakers, a slim but powerful audio system for full 80-watt sound output; HDR Multi Support, for compatibility with Ultra HD Blu-Ray and HDR broadcasting; expended 4K HD models (43” to 65”); HDR PRO; and an expanded series with Hexa Chroma technology up to HD TV. Panasonic continuously introduces

The new OLED 4K HD television lineupcombines the revolutionary OLED (Organic LED) panel with Panasonic’s signature 4K Hexa Chroma Drive Pro to produce the most accurate and dramatic colors through Hexa Chroma technology.

Gracing the launch were (from left) Chino Galicia, Product Manager, AV Marketing Group; Shinye Komatsu, General Manager, Panasonic Appliance Marketing Asia-Pacific; Masaru Toyota, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Division; Nobuhide Saito, Director of AV Merchandising Division, Panasonic Appliance Marketing Asia Pacific; Shinichi Hayashi, President; Zach Sycip, professional cinematographer; and Reina Mae Zapanta, New Development, Products Group.

new technology to elevate consumers’ viewing experience. This forms part of the company’s plans and many innovations, which are meant to align with its commitment to create a better life and a better world, and to contribute to the evolution of society and to the happiness of people around the globe.

During the event, Panasonic also

brought in Zach Sycip—a professional cinematographer whose works include advertisements and feature films—for a product demo and presentation, to show how the new lineup reproduces images in a manner accurate to how directors and cinematographers intend them to appear.Sycip is a long-time patron of

Panasonic’s products.

Sycip’s wealth of experience in the film and advertisement industry has given him many rich insights on the importance of communicating images exactly as creators make them to be, details and all. Panasonic’s latest technologies make this revolutionary degree of accuracy possible.

D-LINK OMNA: DEPENDABLE HOME CAMERA PARANOIA. Anxiety. That insatiable need to check on your house every waking hour of the day. Worrying about your family’s safety when you are away from home is inevitable, and in a country where home security is often compromised, a proper home surveillance system is a necessity now more than ever. How many times have you wished you could check in on your house whenever you’re away on a supposedly stress-free vacation? The D-Link Omna camera or DSH-C310 provides you with all that and more— and the best part of it all is that Philippine homeowners can now get their hands on this network surveillance device in selected Power Mac stores nationwide this July.

D-Link ’s high-quality expertise in IP surveillance

The D-Link Omna is now Aavailable in Power Mac Stores Nationwide this July.

combined with Apple’s unparalleled Home technology provides a one-of-a-kind home security device that guarantees your peace of mind. With the Omna cam’s motion detection feature, you can sync with other HomeKit accessories through your Home Hub and remotely turn

on the lights in your house as needed. Once motion is detected, you can even set your device and your Home app to send you alerts and notifications. And as the perfect icing to the cake, with its 180-degree wide angle lens, you can not only see footage of your home activities and

every little detail in Full HD 1080p resolution, but you can also communicate using its two-way audio function anytime, anywhere.

With its sleek, elegant, and discreet aluminum housing, the Omna Cam functions like a pro in the dark using its night vision capabilities of up to 16 feet. Constantly mobile with a fast-paced, on-thego lifestyle? Simply ask Siri to pull up the live feed of your Home hub controlled security camera and access the Omna Cam from your iPhone or iPad. Worried about the Internet reliability in your area, or about the security limitations of a server that’s miles and miles away? Fret not. The Omna Cam features a microSD card slot where you can record

time-sensitive videos clips and 2-megapixel images for future playback. With this expandable storage of up to 128GB, rest assured that you can retrieve crucial footage when you need them the most.

Easy to set up and fully integrated with Apple Home app, the D-Link Omna 180 Cam will soon be available at Php 12,499 to all Apple users in official Power Mac outlets from July onwards.

There’s no better time than now to spruce up your home security. Invest in multiple cameras, set them up in various areas of your house, and you’ve got yourself a quality surveillance system with DLink—after all, your family’s security should always be your first priority. Need we say more?

D3

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

BREEMAN

F5 NETWORKS APPOINTS BREEMAN AS VP TO DRIVE SALES GROWTH F5 Networks announced the expansion of its executive team with the appointment of Gabriel Breeman as Vice President, Partner Sales & Alliances, Asia Pacific.

Based in Singapore, Breeman will be working with cross-functional leaders to strategically expand and evolve the F5 sales channels and alliance partner landscape.

He will be reporting directly to Adam Judd, Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Sales at F5 Networks.

“With industries becoming increasingly application centric, many customers’ touchpoints – be it smart devices or social media platforms – are also following suit.

We see this especially in Asia Pacific’s technology landscape, where mobility and applications are expanding its reach, efficacy and convenience. The success stories from capitalizing on these technologies that have emerged across the region are testament to how applications are transforming business models. F5 is thrilled to welcome onboard Gabriel Breeman, who will be working very closely with the sales team to help us take advantage of these new growth opportunities and further enhance F5’s position as a leader in application delivery technology,” said Judd.

“Partnerships with the right technology providers are critical to succeed in today’s competitive digital landscape, where cloud and applications drive business growth,” said Breeman. “I am excited to join F5 Networks at the pinnacle of Asia Pacific’s digital transformation and I look forward to striking new collaborations to help businesses stay ahead in today’s multi-cloud world.”

Breeman brings over 20 years of relevant experience from diverse sales leadership positions. He most recently served as the Senior Director for Partner Sales, Asia Pacific & Japan, at Brocade.

Prior to that, he worked at Fusion-IO, Dot Hill Systems and Sun Microsystems.

F5 makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organizations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, go to f5.com.

DON'T LET...

From D4 authentication where possible. With services such as PayPal, you’ll be texted a unique code when you log in, so even if an attacker gets your username and password, they still can’t access your account.

If you think your PayPal account might have been compromised.

Contact us at spoof@paypal.com, and forward the email in question. Our team will do our very best to help and ensure that there is no compromise to the safety and security of your PayPal transactions.

AMIHAN TO RELEASE COMPREHENSIVE CYBER RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE THE Filipino customer has gone digital. The Philippines has the 2nd fastest growing population of internet users in the world, and Filipinos spend more time on social media than any other country. But as companies move to engage them through digital platforms, they expose themselves to cyber attacks, scaling issues, and system problems that can jeopardize their customer relationships.

Amihan Global Strategies, a Filipino technology company that accelerates digital transformation, is now offering a comprehensive resilient infrastructure solution that includes fault-tolerant cloud architecture, end-to-end threat monitoring, and data privacy consulting. Amihan aims to empower enterprises to innovate digitally on a stable and secure foundation that ensures the protection of their customers’ digital assets.

Cloud Computing Goes Native

Amihan Cloud Blocks is a fault-tolerant, hybrid cloud infrastructure that allows enterprises to distribute workloads, tolerate failures, and recover quickly with little or no impact to end users. By integrating the public cloud with companies’ private servers, Cloud Blocks enables

enterprises to access the agility of cloud-native applications while strengthening the security and integrity of their legacy IT systems.

Amihan Cloud Blocks is 100% pre-engineered solution based on industry standards OpenStack, CEPH and Kubernetes - but optimized for the ASEAN region. Fault-tolerant, software-defined storage uses replication to safeguard against drive failure. Microservices and containerization allow companies to respond to specific threats and points of failure without bringing the entire enterprise to a halt.

All of this is fully-managed and locally supported by Amihan’s team of experts.

Cyber Defense Gets Analytical

Locking your front door is no longer enough.

Enterprises must use big data and analytics as new weapons to detect, deflect and deter cyber attacks before significant damage is done.

Amihan Shield is a tool for end-to-end monitoring and analysis of cybersecurity threats, powered by best-in-class cybersecurity technology providers Cloudflare and Anomali. Cloudflare ensures that enterprises are protected from online threats ranging from comment spam to

malicious denial of service (DOS) attacks. Amihan’s Modern Honey Network, in conjunction with Anomali, an enterprise management system for honeypots that act as bait, mimicking vulnerable servers and desktops to deceive, slow down, or detect hackers, malware, or misbehaving users.

These tools and others allow Amihan to create an industry ISACO (Information Sharing and Analysis CyberOps) which collects, analyzes, and disseminates critical threat information to enterprise Security Operations Centers.

Data Privacy Protection Becomes Paramount

In a digital economy with endless choices, digital consumers are fickle and can switch quickly. Protection of personal data will become a foundation of trust.

Amihan offers data privacy consulting to help businesses protect their customers’ personal information and comply with the Data Privacy law. Amihan’s team of legal and technology experts help businesses revise their Privacy Statements and consent forms, modernize their data storage systems, and more.

“Digital transformation requires end-to-end

Cyber warriors all, from left Atty. Juan Paolo Fajardo, Partner of Fajardo Law Offices, Mr. Edison Dungo, VP for Cybersecurity and Data Privacy of Amihan Global Strategies, Mr. Jerry Rapes, Managing Director of Amihan Global Strategies execution of infrastructure that brings together innovation, cyber protection and trust,” said Winston Damarillo, “The Amihan Cyber Resilience Suite of Cloud Blocks, UNAWA and

Shield accelerates our customer’s journey into cyber commerce.”

For more information and to schedule a free consultation, visit amihan.net.

D4

Gadgets & Games

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

LENOVO: PERSONALIZED COMPUTING TRANSFORMATION A

T ITS Tech World TRANSFORM commercial summit recently in New York City, Lenovo announced agile and reliable PC offerings for business customers that address the evolution of the workforce and workplace.

The ThinkStation P320 Tiny offers Independent Software Vendor certification to ensure customers’ most critical applications run reliably in an incredibly small one liter form factor.

Lenovo’s PC as a Service (PCaaS) offering provides a fullymanaged, fixed monthly cost subscription model combining hardware and services into a single solution. Designed to eliminate the burden of buying, deploying and managing computing assets, PCaaS increases product lifecycle efficiency and reduce overall total cost of ownership.

ThinkStation P320 Tiny: The world’s smallest workstation with ISV certification1

Physical workspaces are becoming valuable real-estate, so it’s necessary for workstations to be as adaptable as they are powerful in any setting. The ThinkStation P320 Tiny makes full use of tight spaces and delivers on the power expected from a workstation. Easy to set up and compatible with Lenovo’s ThinkCentre Tiny accessories, the P320 Tiny harnesses the power of the latest Intel® Core i processors and relies on NVIDIA® Quadro® Graphics to achieve ISV certification to deliver the performance demanded across a range of professional applications. Whether developing the latest innovative products, designing a state-of-theart skyscraper or educating future

ThinkStation P320 Tiny: smallest ISV-certified workstation on the market

entrepreneurs, the P320 Tiny offers big business-ready power in the smallest of packages, so workspaces perform at their best, even in the most finite spaces.

The PC Process Simplified with PC as a Service

As new generations of techsavvy employees prioritize device flexibility and work mobility, organizations are adapting the way they approach and manage workplace technology. The shift towards agile IT, Choose Your Own Device and multi-device synergy is shaping our personalized computing future.

PC as a Service (PCaaS) responds to this change by simplifying the financing, deployment, manage-

ment and disposal process of computing assets by packaging it into a single, configurable solution with a fixed monthly cost. Businesses can select tablets, laptops, desktops, workstations or software and services, giving end users greater device choice and allowing capital investment to grow with the business.

“The workspace is evolving and so is our PCSD business. The Commercial Business Segment has been created to service our customers through innovative solutions & tools that will help them harness the intelligence transformation,” said Christian Teismann, senior vice president & GM, Commercial Business Segment, PCSD. “ThinkStation P320 Tiny and PCaaS are just two

solutions within our tool kit we are launching to help IT organizations transform. PCs will continue to be the integral component of the personalized computing future.”

Pricing and Availability

ThinkStation P320 Tiny will be available in the Philippines next quarter at a still undisclosed price.

Lenovo PC as a Service is available now. To find out more and contact a Lenovo PCaaS expert, click here.

For more information on news announced at Tech World TRANSFORM, please visit www.news.lenovo.com/ TRANSFORM2017 or follow @Lenovo for updates, using #LenovoTRANSFORM.

TESLA WANTS TO ENTER MUSIC STREAMING

NEW YORK—Electric carmaker Tesla said Thursday it was considering ways to enter music streaming amid a report it may launch a unique new service.

The high-end carmaker, which already has a tie-up with streaming leader Spotify in some international markets, said it was aiming at ways to please drivers.

“We believe it’s important to have an exceptional in-car experience so our customers can listen to the music they want from whatever source

A view of a Tesla display during 2017 Nantucket Film Festival-Day 2 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

AFP

they choose,” a Tesla spokesperson said.

The company was responding to a report that Tesla had reached out directly to major music labels about creating its own service.

Technology news site Recode said Tesla was discussing the creation of a service unique to the automaker which would be integrated into the cars, which are already connected to the internet.

Tesla would offer multiple

levels of service starting with a radio-type platform akin to Pandora, Recode reported, quoting anonymous sources.

The move comes as music streaming rapidly grows and becomes the preferred method of listening for many motorists rather than terrestrial radio.

Spotify has maintained its dominance of streaming despite challenges from upstarts such as Apple Music and Tidal and more established players such as Deezer and Rhapsody. AFP

DON'T LET CYBER CRIMINALS REEL YOU IN KEEPING your online accounts secure is more important than ever: A growing number of fraudsters are trying to steal your information, such as passwords and personal banking details, using a method known as phishing, in which they impersonate a business through emails and fake websites.

In fact, at PayPal, we receive close to 15,000 phishing reports each day from around the world.

Fraudsters often try and trick you into handing over your account password or personal information, typically using email, and then use what you give them to compromise your account.

“Scammers can impersonate you online, steal money from your bank account, and use your online identity to perpetuate their scams on others,” said Rahul Shinghal, General Manager, Southeast Asia, PayPal. Online security is a full-contact sport, and it takes a team to keep your account secure.

PayPal defends against 150 major attack campaigns every day, and works constantly with its industry partners to help eradicate fraudulent phishing websites. As a customer, there are some things you can do to help keep your account secure, too.

Who sent that email?

When you get an email from someone asking for personal information, look at the address. Fraudsters will often try and make it seem as if a message is coming from a company like PayPal, but something is always a little off.

“Look for red flags such as poor grammar or spelling, and URLs and domains that don’t match the sender,” Shinghal said.

For instance, if there’s a PayPal logo on an email but the message appears to have come from an odd website rather than paypal.com.

Other warning signs include any email that demands you respond urgently, asks for your social security number or banking information, or includes suspicious attachments.

“Don’t click on email attachments unless you are sure of its origins, and don’t click on emailed links unless you know where the link is going,” Shinghal said.

If you see a link in an email, don’t click on it: It’s hard to determine where that emailed link will really take you. In the case of phishing, what you think is a legitimate URL could lead you to a fake website designed to steal your username and password.

Be careful what you post

In this social media age, we’re all a little more willing to post things like our hometown, pet names and birthday. If you’re also using some of those personal details as password reset questions, then you could be inadvertently handing your virtual keys over to an attacker. Be vigilant about what you share online and with whom.

Choose unique passwords

Good online security starts with a secure password. One fundamental thing you can do to keep yourself protected is to use unique passwords for all your accounts, especially those that include banking information.

That way if someone gains access to one of your accounts, they won’t get into others as well.

You should also enable two-factor Turn to D3

BOOMPODS FOR EVERYONE

Fusion’

THERE is a Boompods for everyone. Here are some of new ones in the market that could fit any of your lifestyle and needs.

FUSION Boompods’ultimate speaker.

Fusion’s design combines style and function to outperform, outlast anywhere you choose.

Fusion is a mix of two worlds, its stylish enough to fit in any home or work environment and can be thrown into a bag ready for your next big adventure! Whether that’s a city break, a week on the beach or an exciting wilderness ad-

venture, Fusion can handle it.

Long battery life, IPX6 rated waterproof the speaker can be fully submerged underwater, it’s also shock proof to take on life’s knocks. A massive 10 watts of power is big enough for any room but if you want more you can pair two together to get true stereo sound for a party TURN UP THE BOOM! Double Blaster 2 Re-designed from the ground up, Doubleblaster has been working out! Shhhh mode is smart! Place your hand over the speaker for silence, remove for an acoustic

treat capable of shaking your desk. A new 7watt speaker and chamber channels sound to a Boompods specially developed sub-woofer. Finger

recognition on the touch bar controls volume, skip tracks or take calls. It is wrapped in a tough IPX6 shell to protect from every-

day knocks and spills.

Wireless Retrobuds Your everyday buddy. Compact, tangle-free design for easy use and storage on the go. Uncompromised sound, Boompods’ sound isolating ear tips are held securely

in place with Boompods’uniquely designed integral adjustable cable. Boompods’ trademark 3D control ensures quick and easy access to volume, track and answering calls with inbuilt microphone.

E1

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor

/

Young Life

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

WHAT HAPPENED

AROUND THE WORLD ON

PRIDE MONTH

EverWing is a game on Facebook

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO

By Marjelle Sy

I

N JUNE 1969, members of the gay community staged a series of spontaneous demonstrations at Stonewall Inn in New York City to fight for LGBTQ rights. It is widely considered the beginning of the gay liberation movements in the US.

Today, 48 years since the Stonewall riots, the LGBTQ community annually celebrates Gay Pride through marches and rallies—typically held in June to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 uprising. These events aim to gather members of the gay community to march and take a stand for their rights, and to raise awareness in modern discrimination.

The waving of the iconic rainbow flag has the people, whether LGBTQ or not, come together to support gay rights Here are some of the many LGBTQ events around the world on Pride Month.

March on June 11. The event’s advocacies highlighted the rights of people with disabilities, the prevention of violence against LGBTQ people, and the rights of LGBTQ immigrants.

The Equality March also doubled as an anti-Trump rally as other participants expressed resistance to the Trump administration. This event also commemorated the 49 lives lost in the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Florida on June 12, 2016.

SHOOTING MONSTERS ON

EVERWING

THANKS to Facebook’s new Instant Games cross-platform gaming experience, we now know who among our FB friends is/are the most competitive.

In case you haven’t been invited to play EverWing on Facebook Messenger, let us tell you what some netizens are currently up to.

EverWing is a scrolling shooter game created by Blackstorm Labs, and released on the Instant Games platform in Facebook Messenger in November 2016.

The premise of the game is pretty simple:

LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ join the Pune Parade (Photo by Anup Satphale)

Pune Pride Parade Maharashtra, India, June 11

Pink dot is Singapore's symbol of Pride (Photo by K.Y. Lee)

Singapore’s Gay Pride Rally Singapore, June 1

Although sexual activity between men is illegal in Singapore, the LGBTQ community in the Lion City is well respected.

The Pink Dot rally organizes the annual Singapore’s Gay Pride Rally since 2009, during which participants wear pink. During the rally at Hong Lim Park, attendees have a picnic first before they form a giant pink dot to show support for inclusiveness, diversity, and the freedom to love.

The 7th Pune Parade was held from the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Garden to Garware Chowk, with 700 participants waving rainbow flags and rainbow-colored placards. Parade attendees were asked to “dress decently” in compliance with the country’s culture.

This pride march was a low-key one, but was still given a huge amount of support from members of the LGBTQ community and non-LGBTQ. The participants continuously chanted “Prem mhanje prem asta, tumcha amcha same asta” which translates to “Love is love; whether it’s yours or mine, it’s the same.”

Players have five columns on which they can scroll their Guardian to shoot down Monsters and Bosses, and catch coins and other special rewards. You can pick from Alice, Fiona, Sophia, Lily, Aurora, Lenore, Jade, and Arcana as your Guardian—each has its own skill. You must dodge the monsters, falling fireballs, and projectiles fired by Bosses to keep your Guardian alive.

Turn to E2

Edinburgh Pride celebrates Scottish Diversity (Photo by Wullie Marr) The Equality March honors Pulse shooting victims (Photo by Michelle Haven)

Equality March for Unity and Pride Washington D.C., USA, June 11

Edinburgh Pride Edinburgh, Scotland, June 17

Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, celebrated the 22nd year of its pride parade with the theme “Scottish Diversity.” Approximately 10,000 Thousands of people rallied for LGBTQ rights from Farragut participants marched from the Scottish Parliament to the Teviot Square to the National Mall in Washington D.C. for the Equality House to support the LGBTQ community.

Turn to E2

THE FIRST TRUE DEDICATED BIKE LANE IN A METRO MANILA CBD

The bike lanes are purpose built and integrated into the expansive sidewalks of Filinvest City

IF ONLY we could bike to work, we wouldn’t have to deal with snail-speed traffic, irate commuters, and the bumpy journey filled with hellish challenges that make one exhausted even before his day begins.

Biking from one place to another is healthier and cheaper, too, compared with other forms of commute.

Dedicated bike lanes in Metro Manila still have a long way to go, but we are making progress. In fact, Filinvest City has opened the first phase of the “first true dedicated bike lanes to be found in any CBD (central business district) in Metro Manila.”

The introduction of this pioneering bike lanes, which are purpose built and integrated into the expansive sidewalks of Filinvest

City, is part of the enhanced masterplan that is being rolled out and implemented in the premier garden city in the south. Part of the said masterplan is the interconnectivity of all its thoroughfares via bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks.

This move delights various bike organizations and citizen groups like the Firefly Brigade that have been active in campaigning for pedestrian and bike friendly roads within the metro. Jack Yabut, representing the Firefly Brigade, joined Dolly Macam, senior project development manager of Filinvest City in Scan this icon to the launching ceremonies. view the PDF

Young Life

E2

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

DATE IDEA:

WHAT HAPPENED...

From E1

FOOD TRIP

Just like last year, this year’s Edinburgh Pride event was dedicated to the victims of Pulse Nightclub shooting.

This Gay Pride event also had a health and wellbeing fair, entertainment for the whole family, and ceilidh.

Metro Manila Pride March and Festival Marikina City, Philippines, June 24

The Metro Manila Pride is the longest-running Pride March in Southeast Asia, celebrating its 23rd march this year. “Here Together” was the theme and rallying cry of the MMPride 2017, which was held in Marikina City for the first time.

The event aimed to “tell the country that LGBTQ or not, we are here for each other, for equality, for love, for pride.”

Philadelphia's Rainbow Crosswalk (Photo by LGBTQ Nation)

The creation of Permanent Rainbow Crosswalks

The iconic LGBTQ rainbow symbol has been painted permanently on the streets of cities in various countries to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

Vancouver, Toronto, San Francisco, Swift Current, Ottawa, and Seattle are just some of the cities that permanently painted a rainbow crosswalk. This action symbolized the recognition of equality around the world.

SHOOTING...

From E1

EverWing was one of the many games first rolled out on Facebook’s messaging app. And while it has been available since late last year—it was named a Facebook Game of the Year in 2016—it’s only in the past few months that we are getting onto the bandwagon.

Even though the game is simple in execution, its social, fun, and competitive nature makes playing it more engaging. You only need to open a conversation with a friend or friends (group chat), tap on the game controller icon below, and choose EverWing.

After finishing a round, people in the conversation will see your score and will have to opportunity to challenge you back—this is where you and your friends try to beat the scores of each other in order to determine the top player of the week. Friendships are tested and the competitive side of one another is revealed—but on top of it all, it’s an entertaining and challenging way to past time.

S

IN THE METRO

O YOU and your significant other love to eat out, or both of you are always ready to try something new to partake of. Well, here’s an idea: Ditch the restaurant in the meantime and go instead on a food crawl around Metro Manila’s hottest food trip spots.

Bonding hack: Don’t bring a car; commute, this way you’ll have a Discover hidden gems along Lilac Street chance to get to know what kind of commuter/adventurer you both Get that homey, are while squeezing in a few hours of workout. small town vibe on this street in Marikina. Lilac has a lot of underrated hole-inthe-wall restaurants that you will surely enjoy discovering.

Try Breakfast Brothers, Singlish for Singaporean fare, and Manila Wings.

How to commute: Ride the MRT going to Araneta CenterCubao station. From there, walk to Aurora Boulevard and look for an FX or jeep going to SSS village. Ask the driver to drop you Feast from Lilac's restos (By @akikotheexplorer on IG) off on Lilac Street.

A street in Binondo (Photo by @jm.sabariaga on Instagram)

Dim sum date in Binondo

Take your sweetheart to the busy streets of the world’s oldest Chinatown for no frills but highly recommended eats. Top destinations are Dong Bei Dumplings, Sincerity Cafe & Restaurant, and Masuki Noodlehouse. While you’re in the area, drop by historical places like Binondo Church, Escolta, and the Kuang Kong Temple.

How to commute: Take the LRT-1 and get off at Carriedo Station.

Restaurant hopping on Maginhawa

If you guys are looking for cozy, artsy restaurants, this is the place to be.

You and your SO will have fun visiting a lot of family-owned, independent restos here, and snapping a few Instagrammable fares. Check out The Lost Bread HQ for specialty french toast, Ahi Hawaii for poke bowls, or Flip Guys for good ol’ burgers and nachos.

How to commute: (From South) From EDSA, take any Northbound bus going to PHILCOA. Get down at PHILCOA and take a trike to Maginhawa. (From North) From EDSA, ride a bus going to Quezon Avenue (ilalim), get down at Mcdonald’s Quezon Avenue and cross to the other side. Ride a jeep going to PHILCOA, get down at the last Maginhawa treats (Photo by @youukneesx on IG) stop, then take a trike to Maginhawa.

COOL TIPS FOR HOT DAYS PET TALES

BY DESIREE CARLOS THE weather is so unpredictable these days that both humans and pets are getting sick with the abrupt changes in temperature.

As furparents, let us try our best to prevent illnesses among our pets due to extreme heat.

Allow me to share some of the things the vets advised us to do to keep our pets safe and well.

Your dog can die of heat stroke or heart attack due to extreme heat, thus, I hope these tips will help you, furparents.

1. NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOG INSIDE YOUR VEHICLE. No matter what your reason is, please do not leave your dog inside your car on a hot day. Temperature rises fast inside a car. Your dog will die of heat stroke.

2. Give cooling food as treats, such as Mexican turnips or singkamas, watermelon WITHOUT THE SEEDS, and carrots.

3. Give your dog a bath at least once a week. If your dog is a big dog or an asong Pinoy (aspin), wet them if they stay outdoor. This helps cool them down, too.

During summer, we bathe the dogs twice a week.

Century City Mall's Hole in the Wall (Photo by @antonlouiis on Instagram)

Tour the Hole in the Wall

Did you know that Century City Mall hosts a stretch of unique, quirky, and Instagram-worthy restaurants? Located on the fourth floor, this air-conditioned area is the perfect chill out place for you and your loved one while you guys partake of mouth-watering burgers, egg waffles, chicken wings, and more.

How to commute: Take the MRT to Buendia station. From there, ride a jeep with the signboard “LRT Buendia/Washington”. Get down at Gil Puyat Ave. corner Makati Ave. where the Petron gas station is. Walk towards Pasig River (past 4 streets: Jupiter, Juno, Hercules, and Neptune), and then turn left at Neptune Street/Durban (when you see Pizza Hut and Shakey’s). Finally, cross the pedestrian lane at Kalayaan Avenue going to Century City Mall.

Oh, and don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes, like Skechers Go Walk 4, to make your commute more enjoyable and less exhausting.

4. Do not walk them too far or too long.

“Adjust intensity and duration of exercise in accordance with the temperature. On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours, and be especially careful with pets with white-colored ears, who are more susceptible to skin cancer, and shortnosed pets, who typically have difficulty breathing.

Asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet’s paws, so walk your dog on the grass if possible. Always carry water with you to keep your dog from dehydrating,” the Humane Society of the United States says.

5. If they stay in cages outside the house (but give roaming and walking time please), wet the floor under the cage, and around it. Do this every hour if you have to. It depends on how hot it is on a given day. If the water dries up easily, then you have to wet the floor every 30 minutes to keep the surroundings of the dog cool.

6. Make sure you have a bowl of water accessible to your pet. CHANGE THE WATER EVERY HOUR AS THE WATER GETS WARM. This is not good for your dog. His body temperature will rise.

If there is a heat wave or it is too hot, you can put a cube of ice in the dog’s bowl.

Continued on E3 Lucas, a 10-year-old shih tzu, loves singkamas—a cooling treat best given to dogs during hot days

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017

GIL CUERVA

MORE THAN JUST A HUNK. As one the objectified male TV stars today, showbiz newbie Gil Cuerva also hopes that one day people will also notice his acting ability.

L

gave him the guts to audition for the coveted role. He also shared that he was surprised upon hearing the news of his casting since he didn’t expect to get it. He then started watching the entire series (the original version) and underwent a series of acting workshops facilitated by Joyce Bernal, who is directing the local adaptation of the hit Korean drama.

“Right now, I’m still getting familiar with the whole experience. I’m trying to embrace everything including the pressure that comes with it. I promise to always put my best foot forward,” the towering Cuerva ended.

– Nikckie Wang

All the speculations were crushed though when in December the network introduced Gil Cuerva as Mercado’s leading man. The announcement got everybody asking who this newbie was. Many even questioned Cuerva’s ability to give justice to the character the Filipino audience loved.

Fast forward to the series’ pilot telecast, Cuerva felt overwhelmed when viewers warmly welcomed the show including his performance as the leading man.

“I’m not used to this kind of support I’m getting from fans. I’m overwhelmed by the response from the people who watch the series and the number fans is growing each day,” said Cuerva in a recent interview with the entertainment press.

Supporters were also particular on the episode where Cuerva appeared on the screen taking a shower half-naked. The scene is part of the episode, uploaded by GMA Network YouTube channel, which has now been viewed more than a million times on the popular video sharing site.

This puts the 21-year-old model-turned-actor the envy of some men and the newest fantasy of the female and gay fans of the show.

“I appreciate it, I guess, in a way. It just means that they like me. I am thankfully that they find me attractive, sexy or whatever,” he said.

Although he’s used to showing some skin being a model, Cuerva is still adjusting to being one of those objectified male TV stars. The actor understands that his leading-man career is partially dependent on his physique, but hopes that one day people would also notice his acting ability.

“In the future, I hope ma-notice nila na maganda rin yung acting [ko], which right now I’m trying to get better,” he beamed.

Cuerva admitted that he was very nervous in his first acting stint and it was pure determination that Gil Cuerva in a viral scene from "My Love from the Star" pilot telecast

PET TALES...

From E2

7. Plants cool the place.

As Ruby Bautista, admin of animal welfare group Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL) said, “A tree’s cooling effect is equivalent to that of a one-horse power aircon unit.” If you do not have a place to plant trees, you can put potted plants on cemented areas instead.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reminds pet owners: “Any time your pet is outside, make sure he or she has protection from heat and sun, and [has] plenty of fresh, cold water.”

It adds: “Tree shade and tarps are ideal because they don’t obstruct air flow. A doghouse does not provide relief from heat—in fact, it makes it worse.”

8. For those who can afford it, you can buy a cooling body wrap, vest, or mat which you soak in cool water. These will remain cool (but dry) for three days. This is useful for dogs who do not like to take baths.

9. Take the dog’s temperature.

KATY PERRY...

From E2

OBJECT OF FANTASY

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

“It’s important to remember that it’s not just the ambient temperature but also the humidity that can affect your pet,” says Dr. Barry Kellogg, VMD, of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.

“Animals pant to evaporate moisture from their lungs, which takes heat away from their body. If the humidity is too high, they are unable to cool themselves, and their temperature will skyrocket to dangerous levels—very quickly,” he adds.

Touch your dog. If he or she is hot in some parts of the body, check the temperature. “Dogs’ temperatures should not be allowed to get over 104 degrees,” he says.

Here are some signs of heat stroke: -heavy panting -glazed eyes -rapid heartbeat -difficulty in breathing -excessive thirst -lethargy -fever -dizziness -lack of coordination -profuse salivation -vomiting

-a deep red or purple tongue -seizure -unconsciousness The animals who are at risk for heat stroke are those who are: -very old -very young -overweight -not conditioned to prolonged exercise -diagnosed with a heart or respiratory disease Breeds prone to this are boxers, pugs, shih tzus, and other dogs and cats with short muzzles.

If you see these signs, do the following: -Move your pet to a shaded or an airconditioned area.

-Put ice packs or cold towels to the head, neck, and chest or run cool (not cold) water over your pet.

-Give small amounts of cool water or let her lick ice cubes.

-Bring to a veterinarian ASAP. A word of caution from the HSUS: An electric fan will not be enough to cool down your pet. Please follow the tips above.

May your dogs be safe and well always.

Namaste!

E3

“California Gurls” feat.

Snoop Dogg According to Perry, this ode to fun in the sun is her answer to Jay-Z’s tribute to New York, “Empire State of Mind.” In an interview, she said that she was inspired to write the song as she watched her friends go crazy at a party listening to the rap icon’s salute to his home city.

This beach-friendly pop tune, which Perry co-wrote with Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald and Max Martin (the same team who produced her first hit “I Kissed a Girl”), is the first single from her third studio album, Teenage Dream. It ruled US Billboard Chart for six weeks.

“Teenage Dream” Perry wrote the lyrics of this song with Bonnie McKee, a singer/songwriter who released her own debut album in 2004 but found herself working on a string of Perry’s hits, including “California Gurls” and ‘Roar,” and “Teenage Dream.”

Perry and McKee rewrote the song five or six times until Max Martin and Dr. Luke were satisfied. According to Billboard, the song was only the third Hot 100 #1 title with the subject matter of paying ode to teenage years. The other two were Mark Dinning’s 1960 chart-topper “Teen Angel” and Ringo Starr’s 1974 hit, “You’re Sixteen.” The hit song was No.1 on Billboard 100 Charts for two weeks.

“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” In one of her interviews in 2010, Perry said that she was inspired to write this track after running naked through a park. The Californian added that despite drawing from her own experiences in the tune, the raunchy threesome mentioned in the track didn’t actually happen. When this single climbed to #1 on Billboard Hot 100, Perry became the first woman, and second artist overall following Michael Jackson, to send five songs from an album to #1.

Our Louise, 9 years old, loves singkamas

E4

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

KATY PERRY MAKES MUSIC

Little Tristan played by child wonder James Quilantang

New Kapamilya star Richard Gutierrez as Sandrino Imperial, the supreme leader of the vampires

Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz reprise their roles as Lia and Mateo, the protagonists in "Lobo" and "Imortal"

HISTORY

‘LA LUNA SANGRE’ IS TAKING WORLD WIDE WEB BY STORM

By Nickie Wang

O

LD legends and folklores tell nothing about any hostility between vampires and werewolves. In fact, ancient traditions say werewolves become vampires after being killed. It’s only in contemporary gothic literature (Underworld, Van Helsing, Twilight) that these supernatural beings are at war.

Nonetheless, stories of vampires and werewolves and their animosity against each other are big hits among audiences. And it’s the same thing that is happening to La Luna Sangre, the sequel to the series Lobo and Imortal, which revolve around the lives and conflicts between blood thirsty creatures.

Dubbed as Kapamilya’s biggest TV project for 2017, the series is living up to and even exceeding everyone’s expectations.

The announcement of the series being produced by ABS-CBN was made on Nov. 22 during the network’s Christmas Trade Launch at the Marriot Grand Ballroom last year. As soon as the news reached the fans and the teaser was released on YouTube, the hashtag #lalunasangre instantly lodged on the top spot in the trending topic list on Twitter the following day.

Since then, three trailers had been

released by ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel, and collectively, these videos have amassed millions of views.

When the series debuted on Monday, viewers were given a glimpse of the current situation between warring vampires and werewolves.

Easily picked up by netizens, Twitter topic #LaLunaSangreAngSimula with close to a million tweets, became a trending topic in the Philippines and worldwide.

The following day, #LaLunaSangreAngPropesiya hashtag dominated the microblogging site as early as 10 a.m.. You see, La Luna Sangre has been trending on Twitter since its first episode.

In the pilot telecast, viewers saw Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz reprise their roles as Lia and Mateo, respectively. They are now married and have a child who they named Malia. The episode likewise introduced the other characters of the series played by Joross Gamboa, Ina Raymundo, Gelli de Belen, and Richard Gutierrez.

And while Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla’s characters as Malia and Tristan are still building up, the child actors playing their “little” characters stole the spotlight for the first few episodes of the series. There’s a special mention to Little Tristan (James Quilantang), whose photos have been flooding numerous social media platforms since he appeared on the first episode. The charming kid obviously has stolen the hearts of the viewers.

On the other hand, La Luna Sangre’s performance in the ratings game is commendable as well. Citing data from Kantar Media, the pilot episode of the series delivered a national TV rating of 33.9 percent beating its rival program which only scored 13.8 percent.

For the entire week, the series maintained its position as the second most-watched series on primetime, just a few points behind FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. And based on the data from AGB Nielsen (NUTAM), La Luna Sangre dominated primetime viewership for the entire week, too.

THE CHAINSMOKERS RETURNING TO MANILA

EDM SUPERSTARS. Andrew Taggart and Alex Paul of the Grammywinning duo, The Chainsmokers.

EDM-POP duo Andrew Taggart and Alex Paul of The Chainsmokers are coming back to Manila for a one-night concert on Sept. 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The concert, which is part of the American duo’s Memories Do Not Open World Tour, will feature special guest Nick Martin, a “rising talent in the commercial house scene.”

According to concert promoter MMI Live, through a social media post on Monday, Taggart and Paul will serve up fresh tunes from their debut studio album Memories…Do Not Open that they released just this April.

The Grammy-winning duo proved themselves to be the breakout story of 2016 with over five billion global streams and three multi-platinum singles including “Closer,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” and “Roses,” will stage

their third concert in the country after performing to a sold-out crowd back in 2016 and 2014.

Formed in 2012, the EDM duo broke through with 2014’s “Selfie” before releasing a debut EP, Bouquet, which features the chart-topping “Roses.” The Chainsmokers released two more hit singles, “Don’t Let Me Down” featuring Daya and “Closer,” which featured the vocals of Halsey and hit the top of the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. They also had a recent collaboration with Coldplay titled “Something Just Like This,” which the British rock band performed when they held their show in Manila in April.

Tickets for the show will go on public sale on June 28 at P6,300 for VIP, and P1312.50 for the General Admission.

RIGHT on the heels of her social media record, being the first Twitter user to reach 100 million followers on the microblogging site, pop superstar Katy Perry has made another history after becoming the first artist in RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) Gold & Platinum Program history to earn three Diamond Song Awards.

Perry’s iconic song “Roar” has earned a Diamond certification surpassing the 10-million threshold counting song sales and streams in the United States following previously Diamond-certified songs “Dark Horse” and “Firework.”

This feat puts the singer just above Eminem and Lady Gaga, the only other artists to lodge two Diamond Song awards for “Not Afraid” and “Love the Way You Lie,” and “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance,” respectively.

Perry, who has already staged three concerts in Manila, the last being in May 2015, has endeared fans with numerous hits since she debuted in 2001. In retrospect, we are counting down the American singer’s other biggest songs that are also worthy of any record award.

“I Kissed a Girl” In this song Perry dips her toes into the experimental sea when she kisses a girl after a night of clubbing (drinks are involved). She admits to liking it, but it isn’t anything meaningful. In 2008, Billboard announced that this song had officially become the 1,000th #1 US single of the Rock era, which began in 1955 when “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets reached #1 on what was then called the Best Sellers chart.

The single stayed at No. 1 for 7 weeks. Turn to E3