Manila Standard - 2017 July 09 - Sunday

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 145 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

EXPERIENCE WONDERLAND: ACER'S HELLO KITTY LAPTOP

YOUNG LIFE/ E2

A HOPE FOR ABANDONED PETS IN MARAWI

IT’S SHOWTIME. Morisette Amon, in red, and pep squads from member colleges of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, perform their special numbers during the glittering ceremonies—much like a raucous party—opening the 93rd NCAA season in Pasay City before the traditional parade of players of the oldest basketball league in the country. Ey Acasio

DUTERTE: MARAWI REMAINS CRITICAL

By John Paolo Bencito

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that the situation in the besieged city of Marawi remains “critical,” as he hinted that he might not lift his declaration of martial law in Mindanao before his second State of the Nation Address on July 24, or two days after the constitutionally-mandated 60-day limit ends on July 22.

In an interview at Iligan City, where he made an unannounced visit following failed attempts to reach Marawi due to bad weather, Duterte said that he has no plans to lift military law in Mindanao before his Sona on the fourth Monday of July.

“No … I consulted them and said it was critical. Those who can say that it isn’t critical anymore, it’s the Armed Forces and the police,” Duterte said.

Duterte reiterated that the duration of martial law in Mindanao

rests on the recommendation of security forces, saying that they are more familiar with the situation on the ground.

“I do not have an independent study of what, how things are on the ground. It’s not my job. And I cannot do it physically even,” he said.

“So, I have just to rely on the word of the Armed Forces and the police because they are the one keeping this Republic healthy and alive.”

If they say that nothing’s wrong and everything is okay, then that is Turn to A2

OUTAGES PERSIST IN QUAKE-HIT AREAS

By Joel Zurbano

THE LOUD CRACKS. Survivors of a 6.5-magnitude earth shock stand near ground fractures at a park in Tongonan, Leyte on Friday, only hours after the tremor rumbled underneath much of central Philippines, sending residents fleeing their homes, with two reported dead afterwards. AFP

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S

LARGE parts of central Philippines remained without power days after a 6.5-magnitude quake shook the region and killed two people, authorities said Saturday.

Power plant facilities in the central island of Leyte, which provide electricity for the island and neighboring regions, sustained damage when the quake struck on Thursday, an Energy department statement said.

The geothermal plants, near the quake’s epicenter, were damaged by both the tremors

manilastandard.net

and resulting landslides, the department said.

Much of Leyte and the surrounding islands of Samar and Bohol were without power on Saturday as repairs were still being conducted, Energy Undersecretary Wimpy Fuentabella said.

“In three to 10 days, we will see a tremendous improvement in ensuring that there will be basic electrical service available,” he said in a television interview.

A statement from the Lopez-family owned EDC, the Turn to A2

HIGH-RISE SNIPERS KEEP TROOPERS AT BAY SNIPERS in high-rise buildings are the main problem facing Philippine forces battling to crush proIslamic State fighters who have occupied a southern city for more than a month, a military spokesman said Saturday.

Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera said this was the reason the government was using airstrikes against the militants despite the massive damage it may cause in Marawi City.

“If we do not use airstrikes, we will incur more casualties of our troops,” he told reporters in Marawi, which was overrun by hundreds of militants on May 23.

Despite more than a month of fighting with hundreds of government troops, militants flying the black flag of the Islamic State group are still entrenched in parts of the city.

The military has used jet fighters, attack planes and helicopter Turn to A2

PHILCONSA WEIGHS IN ON CA-HOUSE CONFLICT THE Philippine Constitution Association, through the initiative of Manuel (Lolong) M. Lazaro and Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, chairman and president, respectively, entreats the Supreme Court to consider the letter of the three (3) Court of Appeals (CA) Justices reporting the unexpected unorthodox reaction of the House of Representatives on the Writ of Habeas Corpus issued as an administrative matter.

This is the judicial process to enable the Supreme Court to resolve the clashing postures in order to Turn to A2

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OUTAGES...

PH, 121 OTHERS ADOPT NO-NUKE ARMS TREATY

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country’s largest operator of geothermal power plants in the country, the damage caused by the earthquake has shut down its facilities, which it said, may resume operations in at least a week.“The Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant Unit 1 may not be operational for some time due to cooling tower damage. Unit 2 [35 MW] may be operational in the next seven to 10 days as tests on the unit and the main transformer as well as cooling tower repair need to be performed,” the EDC said in a statement.

“Our team of contractors has been mobilized to work 24/7, safety considerations permitting, to complete the assessment and accelerate return to service,” it added.

All power plants in Leyte operated by the EDC also remain shut as it has yet to clear landslide debris and repair damaged parts, the company said.

“EDC could have about 317 MW of power restored to Leyte within the next 10 days,” the statement read.

EDC officials said they plan to connect their stations “to the 230 kV line to Luzon” as soon as their marshalling station is repaired in three to five days.

The EDC said it expects the following power plants to be repaired between 5 and 10 days: • Upper Mahiao plant (132 MW) • Malitbog power plant Units 1 and 2 (150 MW) • Malitbog power plant Unit 3 Since Thursday, power supply in parts of the Visayas has been intermittent after power lines were damaged by the quake that struck the town of Jaro, Leyte.

Leyte, home to some 1.75 million people, bore the brunt of the quake, recording two deaths and 72 injuries.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

In February, a 6.5-magnitude quake killed eight people and left more than 250 injured outside the southern city of Surigao.

The following month a 5.9-magnitude tremor killed one person.

Before the Surigao disasters, the last fatal earthquake to hit the country was a 7.1-magnitude quake that left more than 220 people dead and destroyed historic churches in the central islands in October 2013.

Meanwhile, commercial operations has resumed at the Ormoc Airport following the repair of a damaged runway caused by a 6.5-magnitude quake that hit the province of Leyte on July 6, the aviation authority announced on Saturday.

Authorities said the facility resumed its services at 6 a.m. yesterday after they declared that the runway was usable and safe for aircraft flight operations. The resumption came two days after it was hit by the tremor damaging both ends of runway 36 and 18.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines chief information officer and spokesman Eric Apolonio said the Ormoc airport is back to normal, as all turbo aircraft now can land and take off after the Department of Transportation completed its inspection and repair.

He added that the terminal is also opened after paintings of displaced threshold markings to warn aircrafts of the damaged portions of the runway was also completed.

Coring test on the runway and sub surface soil exploration survey was conducted by technical team from CAAP and DOTr. Reports said the strong shaking caused cracks in some buildings and roads in the city and power was automatically shut off.

Apolonio added that right after the earthquake, CAAP airport manager VIII Danilo Abareta reported immediately to the main headquarters that engineers are inspecting the cracks in both ends of the runway.

Abareta, in his initial assessment report to CAAP Operations Rescue and Coordinating Center, said the Calbayog, Catarman and Tacloban airports, which are operating regular commercial flights, are in normal condition.

Other airport facilities being supervised by CAAP Vlll in Leyte are Biliran, Borongan, Catbalogan, Guiuan, Hilongos and Maasin.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Pacific Air management decided to suspend its flight operations to and from Cebu and Ormoc from July 7-9, 2017 “in light of the reported damage caused by an earthquake in Leyte.”

Affected passengers were advised to avail of any of the following options, without penalties: Rebook their flights for travel within 30 days from original departure date; or reroute their flights to alternate stations within 30 days from original departure date; or opt for full refund or travel fund. With AFP, PNA

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

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HE Philippines joins 121 other nations today in adopting a legally binding treaty that will prohibit the testing and use of nuclear weapons, the Foreign Affairs department said on Saturday.

The treaty is a crucial step toward the total and complete elimination of nuclear weapons which the Philippines has been pushing for since the early days of the UN. “This treaty is the capstone of the global disarmament architecture. It strengthens the existing

network of treaties and agreements already in place by reaffirming their collectively compelling logic of survival. We voted for its adoption because it is the right thing to do,” Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in the Philippine statement delivered

after the conference adopted the treaty.

The treaty fills the legal gap in the existing disarmament architecture that has already delegitimized chemical and biological weapons but not nuclear weapons, considered the most deadly of all weapons of mass destruction.

Under the treaty, States Parties are prohibited from, among others, developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

They are also banned from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and explosive devices.

The treaty also prescribes pathways to enable nuclear-weapon states to accede in the future and pave the way for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Philippine delegation actively participated in the negotiations guided by the provision of the Philippine Constitution which prohibits nuclear weapons in Philippine territory and by its obligations under the Bangkok Treaty establishing a Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.

The latest treaty will open for signature on Sept. 19, 2017 and will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification has been deposited.

ARMM RAPS MANDATORY IDS

By John Paolo Bencito AUTONOMOUS Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman on Saturday scored the proposal of the police and military officials in Central Luzon to issue mandatory IDs to more than 26,000 Muslims in the region to flush out terrorists.

In a statement, Hataman said his region “expresses alarm over reports” that the Paniqui local government in Tarlac is implementing a Muslim-only ID system.

“We believe this policy clearly discriminates against the believers of Is-

lam and could set a dangerous precedent,” he said.

Hataman said it could just make matters worse, as it could “ignite anger among young Muslims who are the primary target for recruitment of extremist groups,” he added.

“If the requirement is security-related, the ID system should be applied to every resident of the community, to every Filipino, not just Muslims.”

He called instead for a dialogue with security officials to look into the constitutionality and propriety of the ID system.

Zia Alonto Adiong, head of the

Marawi Crisis Management Committee, in a news briefing in Marawi City said the proposal was a clear case of “Islamophobia” or the fear or hatred of the Islamic religion and its followers.

“As a civilized country we must counter any discriminatory measure, and uphold the fundamental rights of the citizens of this country against any form of discrimination,” Adiong said.

In justifying their plan, police and military officials in Central Luzon said Thursday the ID could help Muslim communities identify suspicious in-

WAR BLOWS. Soldiers stand beside a body bag containing the remains of a fallen colleague in the bloody fighting between government troops and Islamist militants in the lakeshore city of Marawi on Monday, with the militants reported holding as at weekend 1,500 building while airstrikes rain down on them unrelentingly. AFP

PHILCONSA...

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avert a constitutional crisis, Philconsa said. The SC as the final arbiter of constitutional questions/legal controversies shall interpret and allocate the jurisdictional boundaries of the rights and obligations of the parties involved when a writ of habeas corpus is issued.

Philconsa is confident the House of Representatives shall honor and implement whatever Resolution/Decision the Supreme Court may render. In the remote event the House still refuses to honor and execute the Resolution/ Decision of the Supreme Court in the administrative matter, the President shall undoubtedly execute or implement the decision of the Supreme Court, as mandated by his oath of office to preserve and defend the Constitution and execute its laws.

HIGH-RISE..

DUTERTE: ...

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gunships, armed with bombs and rockets, to attack areas where the gunmen are hiding.

“We have identified key defensive positions. These are being subjected to surgical air strikes now. They are still occupying high-rise buildings. We need to take them down so we can facilitate a swift offensive [by] our troops,” Herrera said.

“One reason we are using air assets... is this is the advantage we need to neutralize the snipers’positions,”the regional military spokesman added.

“They occupy high-rise buildings so we have to be higher. So we use airstrikes.”

While hundreds of fighters rampaged through much of Marawi in the early days of the siege, Herrera said there were now around 80 gunmen still active in the “main battle area” comprising around 800 buildings.

“These are the tall build-

dividuals so they could be reported to the authorities.

They said the practice of issuing IDs was a way of distinguishing long-time residents from new arrivals who could be terrorists.

“This must also be the practice in the region not only to protect the civilian populace but also vital government installations against terrorism,” Police Regional Office 3 Director Aaron Aquino said.

Cristina Palabay, secretarygeneral of rights group Karapatan, however, said the proposal of Central Luzon cops for IDs to Muslims was one form of legal justification for more rights abuses, after the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law proclamation.

“More than fanning discrimination and Islamophobia, the police is sowing disunity and chaos among poor and oppressed peoples, as if their war on drugs is not enough,” Palabay said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier expressed opposition to the “discriminatory” plan to give IDs for Muslims, saying security officials should “reconsider their actions” and warned of negative repercussions should they persist.

While the recent action of security forces was “something that has to be discussed,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the current drive against jihadists would be an opportunity to back the proposals for a national ID system.

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ings. This was the center of commerce of Marawi City,” he explained.

However, the buildings also needed to be cleared of improvised bombs and other booby-traps as the troops advance, he said.

There are also about 300 civilians trapped in the area, Herrera said, adding some were being used as hostages, bearers of supplies and even being forced to help in looting the city.

President Rodrigo Duterte last month vowed to “crush” the militants, but several deadlines have been missed to end a conflict that has forced almost 400,000 people from their homes.

The fighting has reduced Marawi, considered the Muslim capital of the largely Catholic Philippines, to a ruined ghost town. It also prompted Duterte to declare martial law over the entire southern Philippines. AFP

the time that we will lift the martial law. Otherwise.”

Both Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año and Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa had said they would recommend an extention of martial law if the Marawi crisis remained unresolved, and to possibly cover the rehabilitation phase in Marawi.

The military on Friday said that it is set to hand over its assessment on the implementation of martial law as early as next week, before it expires on July 22.

Although they are still assessing the situation in Marawi City, where government forces have been battling local terrorist groups since May 23, the military said there is a need to submit their recommendation to President Duterte before the 60th day of his declaration.

While he was on an official visit in Moscow, Duterte placed Mindanao under military rule and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao after the ISIS-inspired Maute group

overran Marawi City.

Duterte recently scored a legal victory after the Supreme Court, voting 11-3-1, upheld the constitutionality of Proclamation No. 216, which declared martial law in Mindanao.

Rights group Karapatan on Saturday slammed the Supreme Court’s decision on Duterte’s martial law, saying that this only gives legal justification for more abuses.

“The Supreme Court’s affirmation of the constitutionality of Proclamation 216 brings about a dangerous precedent which could follow imposition of martial law on a national scope. Now, the AFP is juggling between which enemy best to present to the public to justify martial law’s continuation: the Maute group, the entire spectrum of Moro armed movements, the New People’s Army, indigenous and peasant communities, the entire Moro population, and the members and leaders of progressive groups and their families,” said Karapatan secretarygeneral Cristina Palabay.

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SOLON SEEKS HOUSE PROBE ON AIRSTRIKES IN BUKIDNON

By Maricel V. Cruz

SONA-READY.

Senate workers rush the refurbishing of the Senate Session Hall in preparation for the opening of the joint session and the second State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 24, 2017. Lino Santos

‘MOTORBIKE RIDERS TOP LIST OF ADDA VIOLATORS’

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

OTORCYCLE riders again topped the list of those apprehended by the Metro Manila Development Authority for violating the Anti-Distracted Driving Act.

Latest figures from the MMDA public information office showed that more than half of the 114 motorists caught using gadgets while on the road were motorcycle riders (68), followed by car drivers (28).

Also caught by closed-circuit television cameras installed at the MMDA Metro Base were drivers of Asian Utility Vans, public utility buses, UV Express, pickup trucks, trucks and taxicab.

“We can see violations at MMDA Metro Base through our cameras. Then we send notices for violators to pay their fines. They pay fines in designated banks,” said MMDA chairman Danilo Lim. Authorities reminded motorists that they can be fined several times within the day if they are found to have repeatedly violated the law.

MMDA legal and legislative staff officer Victor Nuñez said a citation ticket for violating ADDA issued in Quezon City, for example, would not be a guarantee to a motorist that he would be exempted from being apprehended within the day if again caught for the same violation in another city.

Nuñez said they have attributed the decrease in the number of apprehension on the second day following the massive public information campaign on the policy.

On the first day, the MMDA caught more than 200 drivers.

Under the revised implementing rules and regulations of ADDA, drivers are prohibited from using electronic devices and mobile phones, except when the hands-free functions have been

enabled. Gadgets should also be placed only on the car’s dashboard as long as these don’t exceed the four-inch height limit.

Among the prohibited acts under this law meant to make driving safer are: holding the device to make or receive calls; composing, sending and reading text messages; performing calculations; playing games; watching videos, and browsing the internet.

The mobile gadgets cannot be used even if the driver was in a traffic jam.

Nuñez said the first offense has a fine of P5,000, the second offense goes up to P10,000 while P15,000 for the third offense including suspension of the driver’s license for three months and P20,000 for the fourth offense including revocation of the driver’s license.

Apart from the MMDA, enforcers of the Land Transportation Office, Local Government Units and National Police-Highway Patrol Group are also implementing the law.

MMDA records showed that there is an average of 262 crashes daily or 11 crashes per hour in the metropolis.

Last year, the agency recorded 109,322 road

crashes in the metropolis but its database does not include statistics on distracted driving.

Most of these road accidents, however, also involved undisciplined riders of motorcycles.

When ADDA (Republic Act 10913) was first implemented in May, a big number of motorcycle riders were also apprehended.

Based on the 2016 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System program, reckless motorcycle riding remains the top cause of deaths and injuries on Metro Manila streets.

The MMARAS statistics last year showed that motorcycles have the “highest fatality accident rate” with 218 in total number of deaths, followed by trucks (103) and private cars (98). The records further showed that 23,105 motorcycles were involved in road accidents last year.

Motorcycles also topped the list of vehicles with the most number of injuries at 11,456 followed by cars (7,544) and public utility jeepneys (1,922).

Also, according to the World Health Organization, in its 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, 53 percent of reported road fatalities in the Philippines involved motorcycle riders.

MORO OUTLAW ELUDES JOINT GOVT OPERATIONS SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao—A sub-commander of an outlawed Moro armed group eluded joint police and military law enforcement operations in Datu Hofer but authorities seized highpowered guns and grenade from his home, police said.

Senior Supt.

Agustin Tello, Maguindanao police director, said the lawmen were armed with search warrants for murder, multiple murder, bombings and extortion when they raided the house of Kareem Falcon, alias Commander Falcon, in Barangay Tuayan, Datu Hofer town in Maguindanao Saturday dawn.

But the suspect was not in his home when the lawmen swooped down at past 4 a.m.

Tello said the raiding team recovered a hand grenade, an improvised Armalite rifle, magazine and ammunition from Falcon’s home. Two sachets of suspected shabu were also recovered, Tello said.

Tello said Falcon was involved in a rash of killings, robbery and extortion in Maguindanao, preying even on poor Muslim villagers during harvest season.

The police official said Falcon was the leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic

Freedom Fighters who simultaneously fired rocket propelled grenades towards the Maguindanao provincial police office that left a civilian slightly injured last May. Speaking to reporters, Tello said Falcon has a separate warrant of arrest for his alleged involvement in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao that left 58 people killed, including 30 journalists.

He may have eluded arrest but police filed charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives and illegal drugs so another warrant will be out

for him.

Meanwhile, another band of BIFF briefly clashed Saturday afternoon with government forces in Barangay Kilalan, Talitay, Maguindanao, an Army spokesperson said.

Elements of the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion of the 603rd Infantry Brigade clashed with the BIFF forces under a certain Commander Abunawas.

Nobody was injured in the clash but the Army believed it prevented the BIFF from getting closer to the national highway to conduct atrocities against government forces or civilian commuters. PNA

A PARTY-LIST group has sought a congressional probe into the alleged military’s excessive use of force in North Cotabato and Bukidnon.

In filing House Resolution 1113, the Gabriela Women’s Party represented

by Rep. Arlene Brosas claimed that the military operations in those areas resulted in human rights violations and massive displacement of families, days after the high court upheld the Mindanao-wide martial law declaration.

The parry-list group asked the House committee on human rights to probe in aid of legislation the airstrikes, shelling, and burning of houses by members of the Philippine Army’s 39th and 72nd Infantry Battalion in North Cotabato and Bukidnon.

“Excessive use of force by the military in North Cotabato and Bukidnon, where there is no confirmed presence of the Maute group, should be probed as it has already resulted in gross rights violations based on the reports that we received from the communities,” Brosas said.

“The SC decision upholding the martial law in Mindanao should not preclude a congressional investigation on this matter. The civilians in the affected areas are demanding accountability and seeking urgent help,” she added.

The women’s party-list group said Barangays Salat and Tuael in President Roxas, North Cotabato, and Barangays Tangkulan and Anggaan in Damulog, Bukidnon experienced aerial bombardment, mortar shelling, and indiscriminate firing by the military on May 25.

HR 1113 said the military bombardment resulted in the death of Adbullah Mamansag and severe injuries to five more civilians, which include a minor.

The series of airstrikes and strafing using an attack helicopter and cannons in the affected areas also caused the forced mass evacuation of more than 1,600 Moro people and 260 families, Brosas said in the resolution.

VALLES NAMED AS NEW CBCP CHIEF THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines announced on Saturday that it has elected its new president in Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles following an election.

Valles, who served as CBCP vice president for four years, will lead the influential episcopal organization, succeeding Lingayen, Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who is set to step down this year.

Valles is reportedly close to the family of President Rodrigo Duterte, a long-time Davao City mayor. In March, Valles baptized Duterte’s youngest grandson Marko Digong Carpio, nicknamed Stonefish.

By tradition, a CBCP vice president becomes the next president. All CBCP officers have a two-year term and can run for a second term, giving them a maximum stay in office of four years.

Also elected as CBCP officers are Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David (vice president), Palo Archbishop John Du (treasurer), and Fr. Marvin Mejia (secretary general).

Born on July 10, 1951 in Bohol, Valles was ordained to the priesthood on April 6, 1976 and became a bishop on Aug. 28, 1997.

The Davao archbishop finished his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, and Theology degree from the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary in Davao City in 1972 and 1976, respectively.

He received his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1990 at the Pontificio Ateneo Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, Italy and his Master of Arts in Religious Education at the Ignatian Institute for Religious Education at the Ateneo de Davao University in 1997.

He is currently the rector of the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary, a position he has held since 1993.

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4TH EXECUTIVE OFFICIAL OF MMFF BODY RESIGNS

By Joel E. Zurbano

A

NOTHER executive official of the controversial Metro Manila Film Festival committee has resigned.

According to former University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication dean Rolando Tolentino, Executive Director Ed Lejano of the Quezon City Film Development Commission resigned as member of the MMFF executive committee.

“Just to let everyone know and I maybe jumping the gun here, MMFF Execom member Ed Lejano, texted to say that he also resigned. Kudos!”

Tolentino said in his post on Twitter.

Lejano is the fourth member to resign from the board.

The three others include Tolentino, screenwriter Ricky Lee, and journalist and documentary producer Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, who said in a joint statement they decided to leave the committee because it put too much emphasis on commerce over art in choosing entries for the MMFF 2017.

Manila Standard tried to get an official statement or reaction from MMFF executive chairman Oscar Orbos regarding Lejano’s resignation but he was not available at press time.

Orbos, however, made a statement Thursday defending the decision of the committee to include commercial films produced by big studios, saying the goal of the annual event was not only to secure artistic excellence but also to provide financial assistance to its beneficiaries.

“The goal of the MMFF is to secure artistic excellence as well as to provide revenues so that we can provide and give them to the beneficiaries,” said Orbos, also the general manager of the Metro Manila Development Authority, the overall organizer and the supervising body of the annual festival.

“Let me make it clear that MMFF

is not an ordinary festival compared to Cannes, or any festival outside. We have another mission. Aside from pursuing artistic excellence, you’re supposed to raise revenues for our sector,” he added.

The MMFF beneficiaries include the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc., Motion Picture and AntiFilm Piracy Council, Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Optical Media Board.

“Let me say this, because of the push of the indies last year, even the commercial films, somehow made improvement. There was an effect. We have a process and we cannot always get what we want in a day,” said Orbos.

Orbos said MMFF 2016 failed to hit the P1-billion revenue target and collected only about P400 million in more than two weeks of screening on cinemas nationwide.

Lee, Tolentino and Alikpala said they accepted the invitation to be part of the committee because they were excited to maximize the gains of the festival last year, when most of the entries were artistically made and independently-produced films.

“Last year’s festival showcased a wide variety of quality cinema that went beyond the formulaic. There was a shift of emphasis from commercial viability to artistic excellence. It also celebrated the spirit of a film culture that produced many cult classics in the early years of the MMFF,” they said.

The three also said their resignation had nothing to do with the first four selected MMFF 2017 entries, which include the movies produced by big film studios and featured boxoffice hit makers comedians Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda.

“We stand committed to seek reforms in the Filipino film industry. We remain steadfast believing in a Metro Manila Film Festival that can once more be a celebration of the finest of Filipino artistry. The Filipino audience deserves no less.”

Other members of the MMFF executive committee include Senator Grace Poe, Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos, Taguig City Mayor Laarni Cayetano; Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde; Rachel Arenas, chairperson of the Movie, Television Review and Classification Board.

HOUSES RAZED. One person was injured and 20 houses were gutted down during a fire in Barangay Fairview in Quezon City early Thursday. Arson probers are investigating the cause of the weekend tragedy. Lino Santos

MMDA SHIFTS GEAR VS ILLEGAL TERMINALS THE Metro Manila Development Authority has intensified its campaign against illegal terminals of public utility vehicles—Asian utility vans (AUV), jeeps, tricycles and buses— in Quezon City to ease traffic along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and other major thoroughfares in the city.

The latest operation was conducted in Balintawak area going to the North Luzon Expressway, Munoz corner Edsa and at the nearby Walter Mart along Dangay Street, Quezon City Circle, and Aurora Boulevard in

Cubao near Puregold Supermarket.

The road clearing and anti-illegal terminal drive was conducted by members of the MMDA’s Task Force Illegal Terminal, Traffic Discipline Office, Towing and Impounding Groups, and Sidewalk Clearing Operations team in coordination with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Quezon City government.

The MMDA anti-illegal parking team also cleared road obstructions in various streets in the city covered by the Mabuhay Lane, an alternate

route designated by the agency for private motorists avoiding the congested Edsa.

Last month, the MMDA conducted joint Anti-Illegal Terminal Operation with LTFRB and the Quezon City local government along National Irrigation Administration Road, Nepa Q Mart, and along Denver and Montreal Streets.

The MMDA had signed an agreement with the city government and LTFRB to eliminate all illegal terminals and other structures for public utility vehicles in Quezon City.

The memorandum of agreement signed by then MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos with Mayor Herbert Bautista and LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra to remove all illegal structures along Edsa, particularly in the area of Quezon City, is part of the government’s solution to the worsening traffic situation in the National Capital Region.

The MoA will also protect legitimate operators that incur higher operational costs compared to illegal terminals that do not pay for permits and facility upgrades. Joel E. Zurbano

CAMPAIGN VS DRUG MENACE BOOSTED

By Maricel V. Cruz MINDFUL of the worsening drug use and trafficking in the Asean region, lawmakers from Southeast Asia have adopted two resolutions bolstering their resolve in fighting the drug menace.

At the 13th Meeting of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (Aipa) Fact-Finding Committee to Combat the Drug Menace, with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez as Aipa president, the lawmakers approved a resolution converting Aifocom into the Aipa Advisory Council on Dangerous Drugs (Aipacodd) to strengthen its role as a parliamentary tool in the battle against dangerous drugs.

The delegates also passed another resolution forging closer and stronger cooperation among parliaments in the Asean region in fighting dangerous drugs.

The first resolution titled “Transforming the Aipa Fact-Finding Committee into Aipa Advisory Council on Dangerous Drugs and Strengthening its Role and Mandate as a Parliamentary Tool to Combat Dangerous Drugs,” seeks the establishment of a Special Desk in the Aipa Secretariat to facilitate legal and mutual cooperation, and the sharing of information and best practices among Aipa Member Parliaments, and to work on the recommendations to be adopted by the Aipacodd and the Aipa General Assembly to achieve a drug-free Asean community.

It also mandates the Aipa Secretariat to gather feedback and opinions from all Member Parliaments on the Terms of Reference of the new Aipacodd.

It states the Aipa Secretariat is tasked to generate a table containing the workings of the Special Desk, its funding, and define the functions, goals, and effectiveness of the Special Desk Officer.

The resolution underscored the importance of sharing information, strategies, and programs among the AIPA member parliaments in battling illegal drugs.

The resolution also highlighted the need for close and sustained collaboration among the Southeast Asian nations in undertaking programs and measures that will minimize, if not eradicate, the worsening drug problem in the region.

Surigao Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, sponsored the resolution, atressing the need to convert Aifocom from a fact-finding panel into an advisory body so it can better initiate concrete actions against the drug menace.

The second resolution, meanwhile, titled “Forging Inclusive Partnership towards a Drug-Free Asean Community,” enjoins Aipa member parliaments to enact laws geared towards achieving a drug-free Asean community.

It urges Aipa Member Parliaments to engage the support and cooperation of the private sector, the nongovernment and civil society organizations, and local communities in the fights against illegal drugs.

It calls on Aipa Member Parliaments “to extend cooperation and partnership with dialogue partners and all extra-regional stakeholders involved to eradicate illegal drug trafficking in Asean.”

MWSS CHIEF PUSHES FOR WATER SECURITY SUMMIT

A view of the Angat Dam, a source of Metro Manila's 95 percent water supply.

STRESSING that water security nationwide is a critical concern, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Administrator Reynaldo Velasco pushed for the holding of the National Water Roadmap and Summit 2017 in Malacañang with President Rodrigo Duterte spearheading all stakeholders.

Velasco lauded National Water Resources Board Executive Director Dr. Sevillo David and Dr. Ernesto Ordoñez for initiating the water summit in an effort to bring to the Duterte administration and to the national consciousness the importance of coming up with a national water security agenda over the next five years.

Velasco submited to the National Water Roadmap secretariat a position paper titled “Ensuring Water Security Under the Duterte

Administration” crafted with the assistance and in consultation with Maynilad president Ramoncito Fernandez and Manila Water president Ferdinand dela Cruz.

“We hope this position paper will contribute to the success of the water summit as part of our common advocacy to provide water security to Metro Manila residents and nearby environs in the coming years,”Velasco said.

The MWSS chief added “organizing the water summit will put forward on the national consciousness the urgency and relevance of implementing long overdue water security flagship projects such as Kaliwa, Liban and Kanan Dam Projects—when properly implemented and constructed will have an accrued production of 4,000 MLD similar to Angat Dam’s 4,000 MLD that supplies 95.6

percent of Metro Manila’s water supply.”

Velasco said he would formalize the formation of a Technical Working Group comprising the three concessionaires to review the previous study made by a UP group and to come up with a doable water security roadmap for Metro Manila and its environs covering the short and long-term flagship water source projects to include the possible rehabilitation of Wawa Dam as a welcome addition to the existing water resource.

“The time to act is now especially when it comes to implementing long overdue new water sources like Kaliwa and Laiban dams. Let’s not wait for the day when we will be in crisis as what we all experienced two decades ago until MWSS entered into a private public partnership with Manila Water and Maynilad,”Velasco added.

B1

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Adelle Chua, Editor

Opinion

Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NO MORE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

EDITORIAL

By Leonid Bershidsky A NEW report by Bloomberg News about Russia being suspected of recently hacking a dozen US power plants, including a nuclear one, is far more serious than any possible attempt to influence an election. It could be a sign of something even scarier: two military superpowers stepping up a cyberwar in the shadows and without rules of engagement that protect civilians from other kinds of warfare.

Attacks on power grids have a potential for mass destruction. A temporary power outage doesn’t appear to be all that threatening compared with the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, but blackouts kill people even when they don’t last long. During the East Coast blackout of 2003, some power was restored within seven hours, and still dozens of deaths were ascribed to the event. A lasting power grid breakdown could be an apocalyptic scenario, with hospitals and other critical services running out of fuel for reserve generators and unable to obtain it easily; traffic, food and water supplies disrupted; urban life plunged into chaos. And that’s before we even think of nuclear power plants getting out of control.

The US Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation are stressing that “there is no indication of a threat to public safety, as any potential impact appears to be limited to administrative and business networks.”

But that’s a bold statement, given that a 2015 report by the think tank Chatham House said this about the security of civilian nuclear facilities: There is a pervading myth that nuclear facilities are ‘air gapped’—or completely isolated from the public internet—and that this protects them from cyber attack. Yet not only can air gaps be breached with nothing more than a flash drive (as in the case of Stuxnet), but the commercial benefits of internet connectivity mean that nuclear facilities may now have virtual private networks and other connections installed, sometimes undocumented or forgotten by contractors and other legitimate third-party operators.

Stuxnet was the malware the US used in its most successful hacking operation to date, the crippling 2010 attack on the Iranian nuclear program. It’s openly celebrated now as an example of what the US can do to an adversary’s infrastructure if it sets its mind to it. Paranoid security professionals in Russia and elsewhere have long worried about factoryinstalled backdoors in Americanmade software and equipment.

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden revealed a range of such physical and software-based implants.

If Russia is behind the power plant hacks, they could very well be responding to US threats to deploy “implants” in important Russian networks. According to a recent Washington Post report, then President Barack Obama ordered the use of implants on Russian networks that would cause “pain and discomfort if they were disrupted.”

Russia appears to be eager to

THINK AGAIN

“CONSULTANT” is a loaded word.

It implies expertise in any given field. A consultant is presumed to have a wealth of theoretical and practical knowledge in the industry, whatever that is. A graduate or post-degree is not necessary, or enough. Years of experience in dealing with real-life situations are equally important, if not more.

Because of the nature of the engagement, consultancy also presupposes a high commanding price. It’s some sort of return on the investment the person has made on education and time specializing in the field.

Valuable things come with great price, and since we cannot get those from just anyone, we are willing to pay.

It also implies autonomy. A consultant is so good he or she cannot be “owned” or employed by any single entity. The consultant’s opinion carries so much weight and integrity. The air of independence guarantees that the opinion is not influenced in any way by affiliation with a person or group. Consultants are expected to “tell it like it is.”

Consultancy points to direct access to the person—usually a well-placed official with a lot of power but not as much expertise—needing the services. The relationship bypasses layers upon layers of bureaucracy.

At any time or day, the personality can call the consultant and ask for input regarding the subject matter—no more appointments, or security clearances, or cumbersome paperwork.

Finally, because of the nature of relationship between the one who consults and the one who is consulted, the latter enjoys absolute discretion on whose services to tap. Nobody can tell the official, for instance, that the consultant has a less-than-clean reputation, or that the qualifications for expertise do not meet usual standards. Indeed, only the official can say how much good the consultant is bringing him, even how many he needs to employ. And at the first instance the official is not pleased with the consultant, he or she can let go, at once.

We bring these up because consultancies are often convenient ways for private individuals to influence public policy and get paid with taxpayers’ money without the accompanying accountability that public officials are measured against.

These days, for instance, there are a lot of social media consultants, not because they have any real or practical expertise but simply because they have enough following to be deemed influencers—at least to those who have access to the internet. All they have are vociferous online voices or controversial statements that generate traffic, likes, comments or shares.

Whether the stories are true or their arguments are fair and valid is immaterial.

Some of these popular online presences get appointed to government— say, for instance, assistant secretary for the communications department.

Mocha Uson has been able to maximize the gains from her blog and other social media accounts where she has defended the Duterte campaign, and later on the Duterte administration. Out of gratitude, the President appointed her to her post where she said her mandate was to fight fake news. Alas, it was difficult to draw the line between her online persona and her official voice, so that her boss suggested they would engage editors to moderate her work. That they would ever dream up superfluous jobs is bad enough. Worse, we wonder, where will the funds for these editorial consultants be sourced?

Just recently, another blogger was appointed consultant by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, for its communication efforts with overseas Filipino workers. The man behind the site “Thinking Pinoy” has promised not to be adversarial in carrying out his work—although, again, it is not clear if he has been oriented on the delineations between his job and his personal advocacies, which he espouses so passionately in his online space.

We do not know, too, whether he appreciates that the secretary he is supposed to advise is no longer working as a politician, but as a diplomat, and should not be given to incendiary statements or pick up a fight with anybody who disagrees with him.

The country’s top diplomat’s job is best carried out with hard facts, solid argument and a cool head. Anything he says or does binds the country in the eyes of the international community. His advisers need to be reminded of this every so often.

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WRITERS FROM THE VISAYAS, MINDANAO HAVE NEW PLATFORM POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

EVERY few months or so I do a listing of the latest literary events that should prove of interest to readers and writers of Philippine literature.

Here are details about a call for submissions from Visayan and

Mindanaoan writers, an upcoming writers’ workshop, and a children’s book summit. *** Payag Habagatan (Southern Hut), an inaugural literary home for

emerging voices from the southern Philippines, is now accepting poems, short stories (both literary and genre fiction), flash narratives, creative nonfiction/literary essays (memoirs, personal essays, travel writing, and

other hybridized forms), and critical essays in English and/or in Binisaya languages that speak of a sense of place and placelessness.

Contributors must be emerging writers born or based in the Visayas Turn to B2

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

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NO MORE...

From B1

demonstrate—without admitting it—that it has a similar capability.

There’s circumstantial evidence that it has messed with the Ukrainian power grid, causing two brief blackouts. The current attacks on the US power plants can only loosely be attributed to any state agents, let alone to Russia, but they reportedly match the profile of earlier attacks by a hacker group known as Energetic Bear, which has targeted energy companies in Russia’s adversary nations.

I’ve long written that I consider the story of Russian meddling in last year’s US presidential election overblown.

If the actual voting and tabulation weren’t affected—which no one appears to doubt—Americans made up their own minds how to vote; propaganda and the release of stolen emails, Russian or not, are par for the course in election campaigns. Only strong evidence of something like collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian intelligence services could make this a national security problem.

Attacks on civilian services, and especially on nuclear plants, are a different matter. They are unambiguous acts of war. It is known that the US is capable of them, and it would stand to reason that Russia wouldn’t let itself be outdone.

Nor would China and, given that cyberweapons are relatively cheap to develop, smaller players such as Israel or North Korea. And yet there are no rules of engagement for countries that have the capability to shut off each other’s power grids or, say, traffic light systems. There’s no cyberwar equivalent of the Geneva and Hague conventions, which set rules for the treatment of civilians and ban certain kinds of cruel weapons.

In the so-called Tallinn Manual, originally published in 2013, a group of experts working for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization attempted to lay down some rules, warning against attacks on critical infrastructure. It specifically named hospitals and nuclear power plants as facilities that should be out of bounds. But the manual is not even an official Nato document.

In February, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2341 calling on states to arm themselves against terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure. But what about such attacks initiated by other governments, not terror groups? It’s time there were some internationally recognized principles that applied to them, defining, for example, what constitutes an attack, what response is permissible, and what can and cannot be done to civilian networks. It would be helpful to establish some international attribution mechanism; a nation’s intelligence services cannot be trusted to make an assessment that would be used to justify international sanctions.

Conventions have often been broken in wartime. Some countries still make and use chemical and biological weapons, even if they won’t openly admit it. Some militaries mistreat prisoners and kill civilians. But rules of engagement are still useful: Most belligerent parties aim to act honorably and avoid being branded as war criminals.

Official cyberwar rules wouldn’t stop attacks, but they would define unacceptable behavior for all concerned. These rules are necessary before the US, Russia and China go after each other with all they’ve got, which is more than we know.

Bloomberg

WRITERS...

From B1 and Mindanao.

This soon-to-be launched online and free-access literary journal comes from the necessity to serve as a critical, counter-canonical platform to the hegemony of mainstream gatekeeping institutions, assert multifaceted constructs of identity in the literatures from the southern Philippines, and abolish centerperiphery orientations in the “national” literary landscape.

Submissions, either previously published or unpublished, may be any of the following: one poem (not more than 70 lines each); one flash narrative, i.e. flash fiction and flash nonfiction (500-1000 words); one short story (2,500-4,000 words); or one literary essay/creative nonfiction (2,500-4,000 words).

Critical essays about works and writers from the Visayas and

THERE IS A WAY FORWARD ON NORTH KOREA BUT IS TRUMP UP TO IT?

By Jon Finer PERSUADING a dangerous country to abandon its ambition for nuclear weapons is akin to a two-horse race. In one lane is the adversary (say, North Korea) galloping ahead as quickly as possible toward ever greater levels of destructive capacity. In the other is the rest of the world (or whatever coalition of responsible nations can be cobbled together), using carrots and sticks to compel the adversary to slow, stop and ultimately reverse its course.

The finish line (you could call it a red line) varies from case to case. On Iran, the President Barack Obama’s administration vowed to deny the regime even one nuclear weapon—and used years of relentless pressure, the threat of military action, and eventually a timely diplomatic opening to ensure that outcome for the foreseeable future.

North Korea has been a different story entirely.

Pyongyang has sprinted through a series of ever-more troubling finish lines for decades, starting before it possessed nuclear weapon or a sophisticated missile program. Today it has both.

Now Kim Jong Un has crossed the most menacing threshold yet by successfully testing what experts believe was an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching US territory. This leaves the planet’s most unpredictable nation on the cusp of being able to hit the US homeland with the most powerful weapons known to man. Once North Korea demonstrates it can miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on the missile, its quest will be complete.

In other words, decades of US policy toward North Korea—which has amounted to far less pressure than was placed on Iran, despite a far greater threat— have now, definitively, failed.

Predictably, the news left Washington abuzz with talk of options, the only apparent consensus being that none of them is likely to work. Most center on China, which is responsible for as much as 90 percent of North Korea’s economic activity. But because Beijing worries more about the collapse of its ally than about missiles that aren’t pointed in its direction, it has declined to use enough leverage.

One proposal that may be worth a shot would have Beijing, rather than the United States, pay off North Korea for restraining its program, and subject China to US sanctions if it doesn’t deliver.

The problem with such plans is that they may be years too late. North Korea is on the brink of achieving its ultimate goals, leaving the US with one

major policy question that leads to two basic and unpalatable options. The policy question, which is harder than it sounds, is whether we can live with a North Korea that can strike our territory with a nuclear tipped missile.

The easy answer—which virtually every prior administration has given, and which President Donald Trump has tweeted—is no. The policy option that flows from that answer is to launch a pre-emptive military strike against North Korea, perhaps conducted, according to one recent description, in two phases: first take out as much nuclear infrastructure as possible, coupled with a clear message that any significant retaliation—against US forces in the region, against South Korea, against Japan, against US territory—will mean the end of the Kim regime.

The problem with this option is that, with limited intelligence, the US cannot be sure it will eliminate all of North Korea’s weapons and long-range missiles.

And rather than be restrained, Pyongyang, faced with an existential threat, will almost certainly unleash its arsenal of artillery, missiles and chemical and biological weapons sitting just 35 miles from Seoul, a city of more than 10 million, leading to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths, including many Americans.

This reality leads many analysts, grudgingly but rationally, to believe that yes, given the alternative, Americans should prefer to live with a nuclear sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.

But this road is also not as simple as it sounds. It is, in effect, a high-stakes bet on the fundamental rationality of a leader who often behaves as if he is anything but. This is, after all, a man who boasts of turning the US into a “sea of fire,” runs the planet’s most brutal gulag, and routinely assassinates members of his own family. But since the best explanation for why Kim wants nuclear weapons in the first place is to ensure the survival of his regime, it stands to reason that he will not take an action that he knows will end it, as well as his life. The problem is that even a small chance that this view is wrong is incredibly unsettling.

The Trump administration will likely face this horrible choice sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the most prudent course is to prepare for failure, while taking a last, genuine shot at avoiding disaster by accelerating both carrots and sticks.

Preparing for failure means strengthening our deterrent, and communicating in a format more serious than a tweet, that if Pyongyang moves

toward actually using a nuclear weapon, we will end the regime. It means improving our ability to target North Korea’s nuclear sites, including elusive targets like mobile launchers. It means reassuring our allies, Japan and South Korea, in part to avoid any inclination to pursue nuclear weapons of their own.

And it means bolstering our missile defences—a technological challenge experts likened to “hitting a bullet with a bullet”—which remain imperfect despite billions of dollars invested.

It also means a significant escalation of sanctions pressure, including against Chinese entities that do business with the North. These so-called “secondary sanctions,” which the US effectively employed on Iran, will cause real friction with China, and could lead to blowback on other issues. But at this point, there should be no higher priority for this relationship.

Of course, pressure alone will not be enough. China is more likely to play ball, and North Korea more likely to consider a new path, if there is a diplomatic off-ramp from the current road to confrontation. Therefore, before resorting to war, or resigning ourselves to live indefinitely under nuclear threat, the US should offer direct negotiations with Pyongyang, even as the pressure increases, and consider uncomfortable incentives like a guarantee against regime change by force, massive economic assistance, and temporarily reducing military exercises in the region, in exchange for North Korea freezing and eventually rolling back its program. It may also mean contemplating an outcome short of full denuclearization by the North, which is longstanding US policy. Critics of such reversible concessions are correct that they have avoided rewarding bad behavior—but, meanwhile, the threat we face, and available options, have only grown worse.

The president should also reconsider his rhetoric.

His comments on North Korea thus far have been limited to cryptic jabs at China, and warnings that lack credibility (let alone specificity). The president should level with the American people about the terrible choices we face. Calibrating such a message to inform and not terrify people would be difficult even for a far more disciplined administration.

But in a democracy, at the darkest times, a leader should prepare the public for what may be to come, rather than provide a false sense of security and hollow threats. Unlike many of the self-inflicted crises generated since January, this one Trump can genuinely assert is not his fault. But he will still own whatever consequences flow from it. Bloomberg

HAVING AN AFFAIR IS GOING OUT OF STYLE

By Megan McArdle SENATOR Ben Sasse recently observed, apropos of Rousseau’s “Emile,” that it “turned out sex was really similar most centuries.” Sex is the cornerstone of human evolution, and evolution is an inherently conservative institution, killing far more innovations than it allows to thrive. So it would hardly be surprising if we humans stayed with the same basic standbys in bed.

Hardly surprising, either, that this assumption is widespread in both speculative and historical fiction.

Open a historical novel, and you’ll find characters who would, sexually speaking, not have much difficulty fitting into the 21st century dating scene. Authors usually pay lip service to the era’s taboos, and sometimes use them as plot devices. But even there, the assumption is that what is being suppressed, or happening on the sly, is pretty much the same as what 21st century Americans enjoy, or wish they were enjoying. Humans have been having sex for millions of years. How different could it have been?

Quite, argues sociologist Gabriel Rossman. (The link is frank, but not prurient.) Ask an anthropologist, or a classicist, just how different it can be. Even things that look superficially similar—Greek tolerance toward homosexuality, for example—turn out upon closer examination to have been

Mindanao (1,500-4,000 words in the MLA format) are also welcome.

All prose submissions should be in Times New Roman font size 12, double spaced, in MS Word format.

For previously published works, indicate publications where these have appeared. Copyright of the works remains with the authors.

Send manuscripts as email attachments to payaghabagatan@ gmail.com together with the author’s full name, email address, mobile number, home address, and a short bionote in the email’s body. Submissions are welcome all throughout the year. *** The University of the Philippines’ Likhaan: Institute of Creative Writing is now accepting applications for the second Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop.

Twelve fellows will be accepted, six writers in English and six in

quite different. It wasn’t what we call “homosexuality”—neither the social nor the physical activity resemble a modern gay couple all that closely.

I will leave the frank discussion to Professor Rossman. But a couple of less … er … colorful examples may suffice to illustrate just how culturally and time specific sex actually is.

Take kissing. Pretty basic, yes? We might imagine that the cultural rules for when people kiss would vary, as indeed they do in our own culture, where very orthodox religious groups proscribe it before marriage, and libertines kiss strangers on national television. But it’s hard to imagine that the activity itself really varies all that much.

Except it does. For starters, a whole lot of cultures don’t kiss, at least romantically. It isn’t necessarily proscribed; they just don’t do it. The idea that kissing is a foundation for further sexual activity is to us so natural that it rarely occurs to any of us to question it, and yet, this is apparently a learned behavior, not an instinctive one, because in large cultural areas it is seen as weird and doesn’t happen.

(And so it is, if you think about it. If you enjoy kissing, I recommend not thinking about it very hard.)

Is sex the same, without the kiss? In some aspects, obviously. And yet try to imagine the West’s romantic literature, its poetry, its art and film, without the

Filipino. Application is open both to published and unpublished writers who are between 18 and 35 years old as of Aug. 15, 2017.

The workshop is set for Oct. 6 to 9, 2017. Successful applicants will receive a modest stipend, as well as board and lodging at the workshop venue in Quezon City.

This year’s focus is on young adult literature. This refers to work written specifically for a teenage audience.

A work in this genre usually has a young protagonist and presents that young person dealing with issues that other young people face (for example: belonging, falling in love, or deciding what to do in the future).

Works may also tackle issues that young people are afraid they may have to face (ex., violence, drug dependency, alcoholism, being alone, death of a loved one, pregnancy, or the separation of parents). Young adult literature incorporating speculative elements

kiss. The result feels different not just in degree, but in kind.

Now consider extramarital sex. On first glance, that seems to be a steady though hardly ubiquitous activity. As Nicholas Wolfinger notes, over the last 30 years of the General Social Survey, attitudes toward extramarital sex seem to have held fairly steady, as has the amount of extramarital sex (with about 15 percent answering yes to the question “Have you ever had sex with someone other than your husband or wife while you were married?”).

And yet, when you peer closer at the data, it turns out that extramarital sex is changing before our very eyes. While the overall rate of people reporting extramarital flings is the same, the demographics of the people who report the adultery are changing dramatically. And not necessarily in the direction you might think.

The millennials, with their Tinder and their sexting and their Godknows-what-they-get-up-to-on-thoseinterwebs, are not driving this trend.

It’s the baby boomers, with their Jimi Hendrix box sets and their Viagra prescriptions and their dog-eared copy of “The Joy of Sex” that they thought they’d lost four moves ago.

People under the age of 55 are actually having markedly less extramarital sex than people in that age group did in the 1990s. But people over the age of 55 are busy making up for their missed

action.

This kind of survey data can’t tell us exactly why folks over the age of 55 are having more extramarital sex than ever, while those under that age are having less. Some of it is probably age effects: People get bored with their marriage, or the couple develops relationship problems or sexual problems. But Wolfinger notes that some of it also seems to be cohort effects. The boomers came of age in the era of peak sexual libertinism, and they are carrying that peak with them as they age through the demographic charts.

Younger generations, meanwhile, marry later (which may explain some, though not all, of the skew), and when they get married, they seem to stay faithful. We don’t have to ask whether sex has changed over the centuries; we are watching it do so before our very eyes.

Some things about sex remain constant, of course. Mechanically, for one. Culturally, people have always used it for procreation, recreation, affection and a medium of exchange to fulfill other needs. They probably always will. But the details, it turns out, can differ wildly, and importantly— limiting what relationships we have, and how those relationships progress.

With sex, as with many things: the past really is another country, and the future a land unknown. Bloomberg

are also welcome.

Entries must be two unpublished stories (in English or Filipino, but not a combination of both) with a length of 3,000 to 10,000 words per story; a suite of three to five poems; or a one-act play. The portfolio must be accompanied by a short bionote, not more than 150 words, and an author’s photo. The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the submitted work.

Email the complete portfolio to albw.workshop@gmail.com no later than July 21, 2017.

For more information, contact landline 981-8500 (loc. 2117) and look for Isa Lorenzo, or email albw. workshop@gmail.com. *** The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) are organizing the Philippine Children’s Book Summit in celebration of National Children’s

Book Day. This year’s summit, themed “Laging Bago ang Mundo ng Libro,” will be held on July 22, 2017, at GT Toyota Asian Center, University of the PhilippinesDiliman from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The biennial literary summit aims to create a platform for discourse on the different issues of creating and promoting children’s content in the country. It is open to teachers, educators, students, readers, children’s literature enthusiasts, and aspiring artists and writers.

Visit booksphilippines.gov.ph and the NBDB and PBBY Facebook pages for the program and more information. Admission to the event is free. Register at ncbdph@gmail. com.

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

World TEN HURT IN SPANISH BULL RUNNING FEST PAMPELUNE, Spain—Ten people were hurt Saturday in Spain’s annual San Fermin bull running fiesta in Pamplona, regional government sources said.

Five Americans, three Spaniards and two French visitors, all males, required treatment after joining hundreds of intrepid participants in the second running of the bulls through Pamplona’s narrow streets this week.

Two US visitors aged 22 and 35 were gored, the younger man seriously. The eight others hurt suffered bruising and grazing after tumbling on cobbled stones left slippery by rain.

Television pictures showed one man caught on the horns of a bull, being dragged several meters before being trampled on a bend along the 800-meter course.

Red Cross personnel said they treated 77 people in all for assorted minor injuries after the race.

San Fermin, immortalised by Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” attracts hundreds of thousands of visiors from around the world.

The race lasted four minutes – about a minute longer than usual – after one of the six bulls caused brief confusion by turning around at one point.

Fifteen people have died at San Fermin since 1911, with the last fatality occurring in 2009.

Last year, 87 were hurt, of which 12 were gored. AFP

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MOSUL: ‘GRAVEYARD’ OF FOREIGN JIHADISTS M

osul, Iraq—The decaying bodies of foreign jihadists are piling up among the ruins of Mosul where the last few dozen Islamic State group fighters are mounting a desperate last stand.

More than three quarters of the remaining jihadists in Mosul are foreigners, according to Iraqi commanders who have reported a spike in suicide attacks as anti-IS forces close in on the Old City.

“They never surrender,” said General Abdel Ghani al-Assadi, a commander in Iraq’s elite CounterTerrorism Service. “Old Mosul will be their graveyard.”

It was in Mosul in July 2014 that IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

made his only public appearance, to urge Muslims worldwide to move to his “caliphate,” proclaimed less than a week earlier, straddling Iraq and Syria.

Thousands of foreigners responded to his call.

According to Iraqi police and army commanders, most of the foreign IS fighters still in Mosul in recent months came from Russia, particularly Chechnya, and other former Soviet bloc

countries, as well as various Arab states.

Then come Muslims from Asia —Afghans, Pakistanis, Uighurs from China—as well as Europeans from France, Germany, Belgium and Britain, along with Americans, the same sources said.

They are also believed to include a few dozen jihadists from other French-speaking countries.

“Most of them come from countries such as Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia,” said General Abbas al-Jabouri, a commander of the police Rapid Response force.

Pale, hungry civilians who managed to escape from the Old City described the foreign fighters as cruel men who detained them in houses, many of which were bombed out.

When Iraqi forces launched an assault on the Old City on June 18, foreigners accounted for only 20 percent of the 1,200 jihadists identified at the time, according to army officers.

But most Iraqi jihadists have fled by mingling in with the flood of civilians fleeing the Old City.

The army says many were arrested, but officers privately estimate that several hundred were able to slip through the cracks.

Foreigners though would be “arrested immediately” during exit screening, says Lieutenant Colonel Haider Hussein, instantly recognisable because of their poor grasp of Iraqi Arabic.

An Iraqi officer is more blunt: “When we see them, we kill them.”

AFP

GERMAN, US DOCTORS VISIT ILL CHINESE NOBEL WINNER BEIJING—German and US doctors visited China’s cancer-stricken Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo on Saturday, the hospital where he is receiving treatment said in a statement.

“After listening to a detailed medical history of the patient and receiving a report on his diagnosis and treatment, the medical experts examined the patient in the sickroom,” according to an update on the website of First Hospital of China Medical University in the northeastern city of Shenyang.

“The American and German specialists have fully endorsed the treatment program and measures by the group of national experts,” it said.

China has faced international pressure to let Liu travel abroad for treatment since he was transferred from prison to the Shenyang hospital after he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer more than a month ago.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2009 for “subversion” after calling for democratic reform. AFP

BANGLADESH POLICE ARREST TOP MILITANT OVER CAFE ATTACK DHAKA—Bangladesh police have arrested an Islamist militant over last year’s deadly Dhaka cafe siege, officials said Saturday, as authorities continue to crack down on militant outfits a year after the attack.

The counter-terrorism unit arrested Sohel Mahfuz, who allegedly supplied the weapons used in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack where armed gunmen killed at least 22 people, mostly foreigners, after taking them hostage.

“He was the supplier of the weapons in the Holey incident. We were hunting him way before the attack,” Abdul Mannan, counter-terrorism additional commissioner, said.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested the 33 year old from the northwestern Chapainawabganj district along with three associates, Mannan said.

Mahfuz is the chief of the northern command of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a homegrown Islamist extremist outfit blamed for the attack.

He is also wanted in India for his alleged role in a 2014 blast in Burdwan, West Bengal, in which two people were killed and police recovered a huge cache of improvised explosives, the official said.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a spate of extremist violence in recent years, with dozens of foreigners, secular writers, atheist activists and members of religious minorities killed. AFP

SEEING RED. A Jose Escolar’s fighting bull charges a participant on the second day of the San Fermin bull run festival in Pamplona, northern Spain on July 8, 2017. Each day at 8:00 a.m. hundreds of people race with six bulls, charging along a winding, 848.6-meter course through narrow streets to the city’s bull ring, where the animals are killed in a bullfight or corrida, during this festival. AFP

ERITREA’S ‘CITY OF DREAMS’ GIVEN UNESCO HERITAGE

GERMAN HARD POWER. Riot police reflect in a puddle during protests in Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel district where leaders of the world’s top economies gather for a G20 summit. AFP

WARSAW, Poland—The people of Eritrea have long said their capital Asmara is like no other city in Africa, and on Saturday the UN agreed, designating it a World Heritage site.

The proclamation ends a long-running quest by Eritrean authorities to have the city’s unique architecture, which includes an art-deco bowling alley with coloured glass windows and a petrol station built to resemble a soaring aeroplane, recognized by the UN cultural body, UNESCO. It is also a rare example of positive world recognition for the Horn of Africa nation that is a major source of migrants fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe due to the country’s repressive policies.

“The city’s recognition as a heritage site of outstanding universal value fills us with tremendous pride and joy, but also with a profound sense of responsibility and duty,” said Hanna Simon, Eritrea’s permanent delegate to UNESCO. The decision was taken at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee in the Polish city of Krakow.

A former Italian colony, most of the futuristic designs of the Eritrean capital date back to the rule of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini from 1936 to 1941.

Architects whose designs were unwelcome in conservative European cities found a place in Asmara at a time when about half of the city’s population was Italian and the city was known as ‘Piccola Roma’ or “Little Rome.”

While the modernist architecture of other Eritrean cities was destroyed during a decades-long war of liberation from Ethiopia, Asmara’s survived and was declared a national monument by the government in 2001, which refers to it as Africa’s “City of Dreams.”

But efforts to restore the marble facades and Romanstyle pillars of the city’s theatres and cinemas have been hampered by a shortage of money and local expertise, city authorities say. AFP

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

World

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

JAPAN FLOODS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 15

SHOW OF FORCE. This handout photo taken on July 8, 2017 and provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry in Seoul shows B-1B Lancers flying over South Korea during a South Korea-US joint live fire drill conducted at a range in Yeongwol County. US bombers carried out the rare live fire drill close to the DMZ in a show of force after Pyongyang’s latest missile test. AFP

US BOMBERS DRILL NEAR KOREAN DMZ S

eoul—US bombers carried out a rare live fire drill in South Korea Saturday, flying close to the DMZ in a show of force after Pyongyang’s latest missile test, the South’s defense ministry said.

The exercise by two B-1B Lancers, flown from Andersen Air Base in Guam, was part of a 10-hour mission with South Korean and Japanese fighter jets in response to a “series of increasingly escalatory actions by North Korea including the intercontinental ballistic missile” on Tuesday, US Pacific Air Forces said.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the long-range heavy bombers flew close to the tense and heavily militarised land border with the North before turning back.

The exercise aimed to “sternly respond to the series of North Korea’s ballistic missile launches,” the South’s air force said in a statement.

Four US and South Korean jet fighters joined the live fire drill, which was conducted at a range in Yeongwol County, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the inter-Korean border, the South’s air force said.

The long-range heavy aircraft each dropped a 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) laser-guided bunker-busting smart bomb, Yonhap

said.

The US statement said the B1Bs released “inert” weapons at the Pilsung Range.

The drill simulated the two US bombers destroying enemy ballistic missile batteries and South Korean jets mounting precision strikes against underground enemy command posts, the South’s air force said.

“Through this drill, the South Korean and US air forces demonstrated strong determination to thoroughly punish the enemy for its provocative acts, and showed off their capability to pulverise enemy command posts,” it said.

Lieutenant General Thomas Bergeson, US Forces Korea deputy commander, said the mission demonstrated the allies remain “prepared to use the full range of capabilities to defend and to pre-

serve the security of the Korean peninsula and region.”

En route back to Guam, the B1Bs flew and integrated with Japanese fighter jets over the East China Sea, US Pacific Air Forces said in a press statement.

“The US-Japan alliance and the relationship between our militaries are stronger than they have ever been,” said Lieutenant General Jerry P. Martinez, US Forces Japan commander.

“We continue to train with our Japanese allies to ensure we are ready to defend ourselves from attack,” he said.

North Korea on Tuesday testfired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, an apparent game-changer in its confrontation with Washington over its nuclear and missile programs.

AFP

G20 LEADERS COMPROMISE ON TRADE, AT ODDS ON CLIMATE HAMBURG, Germany—G20 leaders including US President Donald Trump have reached a compromise on the wording of a final summit statement on trade but remain at odds on climate change, according to an EU source Saturday.

On trade they will commit to fighting protectionism but will also allow “legitimate” measures to protect their markets, the source said on the final day of the talks in Germany.

The outcome represents a compromise with Trump who wants to do more to protect domestic companies from foreign competition through his “America First” policy.

However, on climate change, negotiators remain at loggerheads following Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris climate accord, the source said.

The sticking point in the communique is about fossil fuels – blamed for global warming – with the US side wanting to be able to continue to export and promote their use. AFP

US, RUSSIA AGREE ON CEASEFIRE IN SOUTHWEST SYRIA

POPE WARNS OF ‘DANGEROUS ALLIANCES’ AMONG G20 POWERS

ROME—Pope Francis said Saturday that the G20 summit in Germany “worries” him because of the potential for “very dangerous alliances” among world leaders, with particularly dire consequences for migrants.

“I worry about very dangerous alliances between powers which have a distorted vision of the world: America and Russia, China and North Korea, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Syria’s Bashar al-) Assad over the war in Syria,” the pope said in an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.

“The danger concerns immigration. Our main and unfortunately growing problem in the world today is that of the poor, the weak, the excluded, which includes migrants,” he said, pointing to countries which “fear an invasion of migrants.”

“This is why the G20 worries me: It mainly hits immigrants,” he said.

Concerning Europe, the “richest continent in the whole world” which has faced an influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees since 2015, the pope warned its leaders not to fall prey to the illusion that it is possible to seal its borders.

On Friday, Francis had urged G20 leaders to work toward “more inclusive and sustainable global economic growth,” while also highlighting the plight of some 30 million people trapped in conflict and famine, especially in Africa and Yemen. AFP

TOKYO—The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in southern Japan has risen to 15, a government official said Saturday, as rescuers continued work to evacuate isolated survivors.

Raging rivers overflowing with water and mud have devastated swathes of Kyushu—the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands—after heavy rainfall, sweeping away roads and houses and destroying schools.

Thousands of rescuers have been fighting through thick mud and battling rain to search for missing and stranded people, with more than 500 believed to still be cut off, according to public broadcaster NHK. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters early Saturday that the death toll “rose to 15” and 16 people were still missing.

Local governments announced Friday that a total of eight people have died.

“The region is expected to see a localized heavy rain today,” Suga said, advising local residents to gather information from the government and media. AFP

NOT YOUR USUAL RIDE. Malaysian cosplayers pose amidst passengers onboard a Light Rapid Transit train during a “Commuter Cosplay” event in Kuala Lumpur on July 8, 2017. AFP

HAMBURG, Germany—Russia and the United States have agreed to a ceasefire in southwest Syria starting from midday on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“Today in Amman Russian, American and Jordanian experts... agreed on a memorandum of understanding to create a de-escalation zone” in the regions of Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida, Lavrov said.

“There will be a ceasefire in this zone from midday Damascus time on July 9.”

Lavrov was speaking at the G20 summit in Hamburg where he sat in on talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin – their first face-to-face meeting.

The agreement includes areas that have seen Israel retaliate for stray fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from recent clashes between Syrian regime forces and rebel fighters.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been engaged in talks this year with Turkey and Iran over four socalled de-escalation zones in the war-torn country. AFP

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017

Business

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

FILIPINOS STILL SHUN MOBILE BANKING

Unisys Asia Pacific financial solutions director Ian Selbie

BUILDER

KEA Industrial Corp. vice president Edmund Araga

CAVITE FAMILY BUILDS VEHICLES

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By Othel V. Campos

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family in Cavite province, which has been supplying metal parts and components to major Japanese brands, is now building its own vehicles—electric tricycles that are considered the future of public transportation.

KEA Industrial Corp., the company established by the late Edgardo Araga, is now being managed by his children—Katherine, Elvin and Edmund Araga, who represent the initials of the company.

KEA has more than 30 years of experience as a metal fabricator that supplies parts and components to car assemblers Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda Cars, Isuzu and Nissan as well as Yamaha and Honda motorcycles. Egardo established KEA in 1991 in Navotas City, but transferred the operation to Bacoor, Cavite in 2000.

The Araga children took on the challenge of sustaining the business after their father passed away last year. Eldest daughter Katherine manages the administrative side of the business, while Elvin, the middle child, is the company president.

Edmund, the youngest son, serves as the vice president for manufacturing and operations.

“Decision-making is always the most difficult especially if you are working with family. It was easier when Dad was alive. He weighed things, balanced them out and came up with a decision that is the best for the company and family,” Edmund says.

Edmund wants to fulfill his father’s dream of becoming known as an electric vehicle builder.

“My Dad, before he died, told me to continue the e-trike business so the trikes these days will have a definite direction. He wanted to his e-trike to be known worldwide. We did researches on trends and decided on the e-trike. But we cannot afford

the cost of production. So we sought assistance from the Board of Investments and applied under a pioneer status. We’re very thankful that our application was approved in 2012,” Edmund says.

In 2015, KEA started manufacturing e-trikes that are similar to the “tuktuks” of Thailand or conventional three-wheel trikes with the main load located at the rear. The company has built 60 units so far, with ten units owned and operated by KEA itself, plying the stretch of Bacoor Boulevard up to the city hall.

The ten units run on lithium-ion batteries which are more expensive than the lead acid batteries it used for the first batch of 50 units.

These lithium-ion batteries are based on a “payper-use” agreement with Talino EV, an electric vehicle battery developer.

Compared to lead acid that runs 40 to 60 kilometers per full charging, lithium-ion can last up to 100 kilometers when fully charged. It also charges faster.

Five charging stations were put up near and along the boulevard where drivers of the e-trikes have easy access to charging or tapping-up charge.

The company donated a charging station near the city hall to the city government as a rendition of corporate service responsibility.

Living up to the wishes of his father, Edmund says KEA e-trike has recently drawn the interest of a French client and an official of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration who was on a visit to the Philippines.

Visitors from Asean countries also complimented KEA’s design and its success with the local condition.

Edmund, however, says the hardest challenge with e-trike is letting people know and understand the technology.

“The biggest problem is educating people. We noticed the resistance from the conventional to the new technology. Pricing could be one of the deciding factors for this. There is no bank yet that is open to financing e-trikes. It is a hurdle that should be addressed as soon as possible. Of all the e-trikes we sold, those are upfront purchases,” he says.

“This is the reason why we continue to lobby for incentives for the e-vehicle industry,” Edmund says.

The government has recently agreed to exempt all e-vehicles from taxes and provide other peripheral perks.

However, the local e-vehicle sector considers these as token incentives, below what similar industries are getting from their own governments.

“But we are thankful for the assistance. This is now a good start for us,” says Edmund.

After considering the prohibitive price of owning an e-trike, KEA came up with a smaller e-trike variant where the load is parallel to the motorbike. Its design is the same as most tricycles.

Araga says the plan is to design new models that will fit the lifestyle or the type of business of the owners.

He says local government units and subdivisions are supportive of the advocacy to replace about 2 million conventional tricyles with e-trikes.

“We now have proof of concept, that this technology really works. It’s sustainable enough for short distances but we can work our way from there. Of the 2 million tricycles, we’re happy enough to be able to replace 30 percent,” says Edmund.

“Our capacity is not that much at the moment.

But if demand goes up, we are prepared to take on the challenge. We have a property in Silang, Cavite that we bought for exactly the reason of expanding our e-trike manufacturing. We are willing to up the stakes and get more automation when needed,” he says.

Right now, e-trike manufacturing shares the company’s metal fabrication facility in Bacoor, Cavite with 111 employees.

Married with three kids, Edmund is an avid runner who joins marathons regularly.

He is also an occasional golfer and a regular grocery guy.

“This is my bonding time with my son. I enjoy doing these menial job for my family as I enjoyed doing it with my mom when I was younger. There’s no bigger joy than to serve your family as I serve mine and the company Dad has built for us—his family,” says Edmund.

CAN GEEKS IN PALAWAN OFFER FIXES TO ENVIRONMENT? THE Department of Information and Communication Technology and private stakeholders of the premier annual tech conference in the Philippines seek to harness the startup community in helping fix the country’s environmental problems.

“Aside from gathering tech entrepreneurs and professionals as we have done in previous Geeks on a Beach, we hope serial entrepreneurs, FilipinoAmericans from Silicon Valley, will provide more heft to the event,” said Tina Amper of TechTalks.ph.

“Yobie Benjamin, among others, had invested in a startup that protects wild-

life in Kenya and mangrove forests in Brazil and earning the carbon credits in the process. You have to listen to how he does it,” said Amper who is now organizing the fifth Geeks on a Beach or GOAB. Yobie was awarded 2015 Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum and is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines.

The strong and promising potential for the Philippines to be a location for tech start-ups is “tremendous” because of the talent pool, GlycoProX and Veem co-founder Aldo Carrascoso said.

GlycoProX is on the verge of devel-

oping a computation plus instrumentation-based cure for breast cancer.

Its co-founders, including Fil-Am Carrascoso, have proven track record of success with value creation of half a billion U.S. dollars.

Palawan boasts of global environmental wonders like the underground river, the Tubbataha reef and world class beaches. As such, GOAB will tackle the theme of “Environment and Technology”, and it will also have tracks on “Startups in the Region”, “Creatives for the Future” and “Tech for Challenging the World”, said David Overton, CEO of

Sym.ph and chief GOAB Geek.

GOAB will happen on Aug. 24 to 25, 2017 in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

“We also hope to push DICT projects that we launched recently. These projects like Pipol Konek National Free Wifi Program, the National Government Portal, and the National Broadband Project are designed to give birth to digital Filipinos,” said Undersecretary Mon Ibrahim.

PLDT, Smart, Voyager, PayMaya, ePLDT, Smart DevNet, PLDT Enterprise, and PLDT Innolab are supporting GOAB as co-presenters while A Space is coproducer.

By Kristin Mae Cortez and Aletha Jasmine Dela Cruz U NYS I S, a global information technology company, hopes to help accelerate mobile banking adoption in Asia Pacific, despite the results of the Unisys APAC Banking Insights Survey which shows most consumers still prefer face-to-face bank transactions.

The Philippines has the highest preference for visiting the branch, based on data by research firm OmniPoll, where 1,000 people from the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan were surveyed.

“We asked this [preference] because we are interested in the bank customer experience when it comes to fraud protection. Some of the observations surprised us a little,” Unisys Asia Pacific financial solutions director Ian Selbie said in a briefing at Makati Shangri La Hotel.

The balance of security and convenience on the costumer experience was also examined.

Based on the survey, 51 percent of the respondents said they would feel frustrated by the inconvenience if the bank would block their credit card because of suspected fraudulent transactions even though they are genuine. Even so, they are glad that employees take legal actions to protect them.

The findings suggest that banks need to improve their service to accurately detect fraud cases and to prevent inconvenience and losses from the customers.

Moreover, two well-known banks were involved in a fraud case which was later commented by Selbie “I don’t think that was fraud. [It must be an] incorrect perception,” he said.

Selbie said Unisys aims to improve bank service for better customer service through technology. He does “not expect the branches to go away.

They will still play a key role.”

Richard Parker, vice president for financial services of Unisys Asia Pacific, said while banks in the Philippines offer a range of digital channels, “they do not yet provide a compelling enough experience for customers to replace visiting the branch.”

“This is typical for other emerging markets such as Malaysia and Taiwan and means that the branch remains an important channel within an ever-evolving omichannel strategy,” Parker said.

Unisys contributes in providing industr y-focused solutions integrated with leading-edge security to clients in the government, financial services and commercial markets. “ Through the years, Unisys has provided services that the Philippines is actually using. One of the largest banks in the Philippines is using check-processing,” said Selbie.

Business

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 business@manilastandard.net

Conduent Philippines CEO Jojo Gajitos

BIG BPO FIRM TAPS FILIPINO EXECUTIVE CONDUENT Inc., a leading business services provider, has named Jojo Gajitos as chief executive for all of Conduent’s operations in the Philippines.

Previously the country leader of Conduent’s (formerly Xerox Business Services) operations in the Philippines, Gajitos will assume greater responsibility in his new role for the overall management and direction of Conduent’s activities in the Philippines.

“Jojo has a strong track record of leading positions in the business process services and information technology industries,” said Pratap Sarker, group chief executive for financial services and healthcare of Conduent.

“As CEO for Conduent’s operations in the Philippines, Jojo will implement an operating model that aligns with the company’s transformation program and supports the delivery of profitable growth.”

Conduent operations in the Philippines include 8,000 employees based in Metro Manila and Cebu City, and are engaged in a range of activities including finance and accounting services, HR services, transaction processing and customer experience services.

“The Conduent organization is a major player in the Philippines business process services industry,” said Gajitos.

“The Conduent organization in the Philippines will continue to grow its workforce, deliver operational excellence for all the businesses that its supports and enhance the employee experience,” he said.

Gajitos will continue to be based in Pasay City and report to Sarker. Prior to Conduent, Gajitos was country manager of Dell-Perot Systems Philippines Inc. and chief executive of IBM Daksh Business Process Services Philippines Inc. Conduent is the world’s largest provider of diversified business process services with leading capabilities in transaction processing, automation and analytics. The company’s global workforce is dedicated to helping its large and diverse client base deliver quality services to the people they serve. These clients include 76 of the Fortune 100 companies and over 500 government entities.

Ambassador Jose Cuisia

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FINANCE WHIZ HELPS SHAPE PH ECONOMY

HE insurance industry is, without a doubt, a highly dynamic industry. Some of the best business minds in the country have, at some point in their careers, been part of the growth and evolution of the insurance industry.

One such man is Ambassador Jose Cuisia, whose life has been defined and characterized by his commitment to being the best and his inherent ability to adapt to change. These are the very same qualities that allowed him to make big contributions to the Philippine financial sector over the years.

A force to be reckoned with, Cuisia helped steer one of the world’s highly esteemed insurance conglomerates, AIG, into a formidable player in the local insurance industry. He is best known in the world of AIG as the chairman of Philam Insurance, prior the appointment of Ambassador Roberto Romulo as chairman of AIG Philippines Insurance Inc. Cuisia was also one of the pioneers who established AIG Shared Services Business Processing I nc., a k nowledge ser vices business process outsourcing company in the Philippines that performs various insurance, IT, finance, accounting and contact center ser vices known to provide high-quality and value-added solutions to AIG business operations worldwide.

It is his unique insight into the Philippine economic landscape and the pulse of the Filipino people that ensured AIG, which celebrates its 85th anniversary this year in the country, its top-of-mind position in the non-life insurance

sector as well as an innovator in the BPO sector.

“I am fortunate to be part of an organization that is true to its vision of being an agent of positive change, one that continues to make a powerful impact in the communities where it is,” Cuisia said at AIG Philippines’ recently concluded anniversary at The Peninsula Manila. “Through the years, we have offered a wide, comprehensive and innovative range of products and services that help Filipinos and local companies become more resilient.”

He began his career in government service as administrator and CEO of the Social Security System in 1986. By 1990, he was appointed Central Bank Governor and chairman of the Monetary Board, where he served until 1993. In concurrent capacity, he was named Governor for the Philippines to the International Monetary Fund and Alternate Governor to the World Bank.

It was during this period that Cuisia oversaw the liberalization of foreign exchange controls, which prompted the tide of foreign direct, and portfolio investments into the country that helped boost the peso and the country’s gross international reserves.

“During my tenure in Central Bank of the Philippines, it was vital to me to show foreign insurers and key investors the capability of our country to innovate and bring financial success.

That is the promise of growth opportunities that I could give to them,” Cuisia said. His stint at the Central Bank would give him that first insight into the insurance industry.

Post Central Bank, he joined Philam Life as president and chief executive. He held the post for 16 years. He later became vice chairman of Philam Life and chairman of the board for BPI-Philam Life Assurance Co., the Philam Foundation and Tower Club Inc. “My 16 years in Philam Life molded my

perspective about the importance of quality of life and security in all aspects,” he said. “I guess this is the reason why I look at my career in the insurance industry as the most exciting, and life-defining, for me. It afforded me to be in a unique position to actively participate in building communities that are not just thriving, but are actually resilient.”

Recognition also came in the form of honor and distinction to be asked to serve the public once more, this time as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America from April 2, 2011 until June 2016.

For this, he was conferred the Lifetime Contributor Award (public sector) by the Asia CEO Forum in 2015, and the Order of the Sikatuna with the rank of Grand Cross by President Benigno Aquino III in 2016. He was also selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Filipino awardees in December 2016 by the JCI Senate and ANZA Foundation.

These days, Cuisia puts his legendary business acumen to good use as a board director at AIG Philippines’ Shared Services- Business Processing Inc., where he oversees the business unit’s overall strategy and plans.

AIG operates two captive shared services centers based in Manila and is one of the top 30 BPO companies in the country. It is Cuisia’s conviction that the BPO industry continues to be a vital component in improving the local economy and in raising the employment rate in the Philippines.

“I believe Peter Drucker got it right when he said that ‘the best way to predict the future is to create it’. As a man who has seen and been through a lot, from both a personal and professional standpoint, it is my goal to help create a future where we bring out the best in our people and draw out our innate capacity to adapt to the evolving needs of the times.”

FILIPINO COMPANY NOW MANUFACTURES MOBILE PHONES F I L I P I N O technology company Star Telecom Alliance Resources Inc., the parent of smartphone brand Starmobile, announced on June 15 the start of its mobile phone production with an initial goal to assemble 20,000 units of UNO B208 featurephones in a facility in Calamba City, Laguna.

The ground-breaking effort officially makes Starmobile the first Filipino brand to assemble mobile phones locally. The facility can assemble a minimum of 1,000 units per day.

“Since we started five years ago, it has been the company’s goal to contribute to the local economy and provide employment by assembling phones in the Philippines,” said Starmobile chief operating officer Michael Chen.

“Aside from bringing us a step closer to our dream of building up the Philippines an important player in the global tech scene, this will also benefit our bottom line, as it will result in more cost and time-efficient logistics and shipment around the country. In addition, because we will have parts and an assembly facility locally, we expect this to improve our after-sales support for our customers,” said Chen.

While smartphones are more popular than ever in the Philippines, the demand for basic call-and-text feature phones still thrives in the country. Their affordability allows them to be great daily drivers for a large segment of the population, while their focused call-and-text services and compact screens allow them to be very power efficient.

The Starmobile UNO B208 is a dual-SIM feature phone with an FM radio, camera with flash, expandable memory, flashlight, multimedia playback, and a battery life of up to two days. It is available in red, blue, or black.

Established in 2011, Starmobile is the mobile devices division of Star Inc. It is founded by telco industry experts with extensive experience in retail and product development.

Since it first offered Android devices, Starmobile has officially become the winningest Philippine smartphone brand with a slew of innovation awards from reputable media outfits. The company’s flagship Knight series, has won top awards since 2013—a feat that has not been replicated by any local device company.

Sports

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 randyproject@yahoo.com

FROM BARANGAY BALLER TO NCAA STANDOUT “Itinuturing ko silang para kong pamilya. Mararamdaman mo kasi na hindi ka nila papabayaan at talagang tulong-tulong kami kapag nasa game,” Gorospe said.

Humble Beginnings

Unknown to many, Grospe, a native of Guiguinto, Bulacan, did not play high school basketball, but instead honed his skills by joining several inter-barangay and inter-town tournaments in his hometown.

And unlike other aspirants for college basketball, Grospe was picked by Meneses when he walked in a for a tryout held by the team’s coaching staff in Malolos, Bulacan.

Meneses, a Bulakenyo like Grospe, may have seen something in Grospe in that tryout that he took a gamble on the young cager.

Years later, Meneses’ gamble paid off, as Grospe had proven that he deserves to be part of the team’s regular rotation.

Playing the no. 4 position, Grospe has become another scoring option for JRU, especially with the departure of Pontejo and the recent injury that struck Darius Estrella.

Still, Grospe said he needs to improve on some aspects of his game, particularly in rebounding.

‘Yung rebounding talaga gusto ko maimprove, kasi yung defense at scoring ko naman medyo okay na. Talagang nagkakaproblema lang ako minsan sa rebound lalo na kasi I play no. 4 kaya mas malalaki yung nababantayan ko,” Grospe said.

Like most young college players, Grospe, who idolizes PBA legend Danny Ildefonso and NBA icon Kobe Bryant, dreams of someday making it to the PBA. “Lahat naman siguro ng players gustong mag-PBA. Pangarap ko rin ‘yan. Pero kung hindi ako palarin, siyempre kailangan ko rin maghanap ng ibang trabaho,” said Grospe, a BSBA Management student.

Grospe knows that making it to the big league entails a lot of hard work and determination, but for now, his focus is on helping the team achieve its goals of making it to the Final Four.

As basketball pundits love to say, “bilog ang bola,” and the ball of fate might one day roll in Grospe’s favor.

John Ervin Grospe honed his skills by joining several inter-barangay and inter-town tournaments in his hometown in Guiguinto, Bulacan before making it to the blue-chip collegiate league

By Arman Armero

J

OHN Ervin Grospe is a baller with a mission.

Playing under the radar of his more illustrious teammates such as Paolo Pontejos and Tey Teodoro for most of his playing career for the JRU Heavy Bombers, Grospe figures that Season 93 of the upcoming National Collegiate Athletic Association as his most opportune time to finally shine.

In fact, in the recent Fil-Oil pre-season tournament, Grospe racked up eye-popping numbers in scoring and rebounding to help the Heavy Bombers reach the Final 4, no mean feat for a team that had struggled in the previous NCAA season.

The 6-4 Grospe played his best basketball against the University of Sto. Tomas in the run-up to the semis, where he scored a team-high 18 points, including a dagger trey in the waning seconds of the match.

Grospe credited his transformation from a mediocre performer to a dependable player to his recent stint in the PBA D-League.

“Marami talaga ako natutunan sa D-League, kasi naturuan ako dun paano maging tough at saka maging smart sa paglalaro,” Grospe said.

Now on his fifth year as a Heavy Bomber, Grospe said he had become comfortable with his coach, Vergel Meneses, and his teammates.

It’s time to shine for John Ervin Grospe

If Japan has sumo and the US has freestyle wrestling, the Ifugaos are proud of Bultong, their traditional form of belt wrestling

GET TO KNOW IFUGAO’S TRADITIONAL WRESTLING

By Peter Atencio SEVENTEEN-year-old Roldan Bokdol threw down his rival with all his might to win the Bultong competition of the first Philippine Sports Commission Gender and Development Indigenous Games in Lagawe, Ifugao.

It was quickly over when Bokdol used blinding speed to flip his opponent, Joseph Umlano , to the ground.

Everything happened so fast after Bokdol wasted no time in pushing Umlano away from the makeshift fight circle and throwing his foe to the ground.

The referees were off-duty policemen of the municipality, awarded him the medal.

“Tinutulak tulak ko lang siya,” said Bokdol in Ifugao dialect. Bokdol is a Tuwali tribesman studying at Lagawe Extension High School.

Bokdol went on to complete a threegame sweep of the Bultong competition’s round robin contest.

Bultong is the Ifugao name for their sport of traditional wrestling and it is played in the Cordillera region.

It falls under the international classification of “belt wrestling”. Belt wrestling is a form of wrestling that is one of the oldest historically recorded sports.

To win in the game, contestants must try to knock each other over by grappling with a belt.

It is different from Greco-Roman wrestling where the wrestlers are scored for their performance in two three-minute periods, which can be terminated early by a pin (or fall).

It is also different from freestyle wrestling, where a wrestler use skills in tripping to take an opponent to the ground and or grabbing the opponent’s leg.

“Dito, kailangan ay humawak sa string at wag kang bibitaw,” said SPO3 Benjamin Gotia jr., who is one of three off-duty police officers who acted as referees.

It was a rare display of the old art and sport in a two-day festival featuring ethnic Ifugao sports.

Close to 450 elementary and high school boys and girls displayed delight and enthusiasm as they took part in the competition.

The two-day event was supported by the Ifugao provincial government led

by Gov. Pedro Mayam-o. Similar tribal games were also held in Davao, said PSC commissioner Charles Maxey.

“We have done similar competitions of ethnic sports in Davao and were planning one for Mindanao until the Marawi crisis happened.”

PSC FORGES PARTNERSHIPS FOR BIGGER CHILDREN’S GAMES THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is set to partner with different government agencies in the coming editions of the successful Children’s Games, making the project a multifaceted government effort for the youth, 12 years old and below.

Boosted by the UNESCO’s unforeseen interest and recognition of the Games as a trailblazing project, the PSC set out to forge partnerships with its counterparts in different government agencies to stage the project on a deeper and wider scope across the country.

The Children’s Games took the interest of the UNESCO seeing it as “a model to show others how it should be done” as stated by UNESCO consultant Caroline Baxter Tresise.

The project, which preceded even the Kazan Action Plan, an initiative by global sports leaders to set policies on sports as a major tool for sustainable development and peace

Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) Director Marc Velasco, Edna NIto (DOH), Dir. Marlo Guanzon (DILG), PSC Dep. Dir. Ronnel Abrenica, Asst. Secretary Antonio Bautista (DND), PNP Chief Ronal “BAto” dela Rosa, PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez, Usec. Tony Umali (DepEd),Maritoni Gonzales (PMS), Dir. Victor Lorenzo (PMS), Dr. Serg Opena (PSC), Engr.

Ronald Liveta (CHED), Head of PSC-PCO Malyn Bamba during the partnership signing. and encourage access for all, is now seen as one of the hallmark projects of PSC Chairman William Ramirez’s administration.

PSC got the nod and support of the DepEd, CHED, DOH, DILG, DND, PNP and the PMS in a meeting held

Friday in Mandaluyong City.

Asst. Secretary Tony Umali of the Department of Education said that his department is keen on the project and has promised to issue a memorandum to encourage all teachers and students’ support and

participation on different capacities.

He also said that “we recognize the role of the PSC to lead the country in the area of sports. On behalf of the 2.2 Million public and private school students, you have our support” Philippine National Police Chief Di-

rector General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa cited the timeliness of the project, citing sports as a way to wean away kids from involvement in the drug trade where, he said, “they are used as couriers and runners.” He further assured Ramirez that the PNP will give its support by way of securing the areas where the Games shall be held.

Dela Rosa also enjoined the PSC to involve his staff in other parts of the games aside from security, “they can officiate, they can coach” Engr. Ronaldo Liveta of the CHED recommended to tap university students in the NSTP program to be part of the sports education component of the Games. “Since nationalism and community service are the objectives of the NSTP course in the university level, I think they would be ideal as a part of this project which also has the same sights” he said.

On the recommendation of Asst.

Secretary Antonio Bautista of the De-

partment of National Defense, the group will meet quarterly to check up on progress and set permanent representatives “to ensure continuity.”

Director Marlo Guanzon of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Division Chief Edna NIto of the DOH and PMS Dir. Victor Lorenzo of the PMS likewise gave their pledges of support for the project.

As a parting shot, Bato commented that “this proves it is better to work as a team. Hindi kailangan na PNP lang o DILG lang o DOH lang.

We can put our efforts and resources together and be more effective” Heartened by the positive reception on the project, Ramirez enjoined the men and women of the PSC to forge on and make a difference in the life of our youth by means of sports for “we can never go wrong investing in our children.”

The second edition will be held in La Trinidad, Benguet from July 11 to 14.

C4

Sports

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor / Randy Caluag, Issue Editor

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

IMPORTS REINFORCE PBA TEAMS FOR GOVERNORS’ CUP

By Reuel Vidal

Andy Murray AFP

T

MURRAY CRITICIZES WIMBLEDON COURTS

HE Philippine Basketball Association teams parade some of the best imports to play in the league this coming 2017 Governors’ Cup With apologies to the Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel Beermen, defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel should be considered title favorites, in this conference with a height limit of 6’5” for imports, especially with returning import Justin Brownlee leading the charge.

Brownlee propelled the Gin Kings to their first championship in eight years when he scored the game-winning three-pointer to push his team to a 9188 victory during Game 6 of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals October 19 last year.

With the scored tied at 88-all and with 5.5 seconds to go Brownlee dribbled the ball at the top of the keyhole to gain rhythm then unloaded the winning triple which brought Ginebra its ninth championship in franchise history.

Brownlee is fully acclimatized having played for Ginebra in the Commissioner’s Cup, which featured imports with a height limit of 6’9”.

The Gin Kings played well enough to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to TNT KaTropa.

The Alaska Aces on the other hand brought back silky smooth shooter Buck Henton as import.

Henton has unfinished business and wants to help the Aces get back to the playoffs this conference. The sharpshooting Alaska reinforcement led the Aces to the quarterfinals in the 2016 PBA Governors Cup. He led the team to a 6-win, 5-loss record after the elimination round which propelled the team to a tie with

Meralco Bolts import Allen Durham (5) drives to the basket. Durham powered the Bolts to their first-ever PBA finals last PBA season but they lost to Barangay Ginebra after Justin Brownlee’s game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters import Eugene Phelps (4) grapples for ball possession against Alaska Aces center Sonny Thoss (7). Phelps exploded for 53 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to lead Phoenix to a 118-116 double-overtime victory over Blackwater during the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

the Meralco Bolts and the Mahindra Enforcer at fourth to sixth place.

Mired at tenth place and holding a 2-win, 5-loss record, the Aces faced outright elimination at the halfway mark of the conference. Henton led them to four consecutive wins to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup. The Aces faced Ginebra in the quarterfinals burdened with a twiceto-win handicap.

The Aces displayed their usual never-quit attitude by overhauling what seemed like an insurmountable lead but could not convert at crunch time to lose to Ginebra, 104-109, and bowed out of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup. Henton averaged 31.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks for the Aces. After his stint in the PBA Henton played in the NBA D-League for the Santa Cruz Warriors where he averaged 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

The Aces returned Henton hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup where they missed the playoffs.

The Phoenix Petroleum Fuel return scoring machine Eugene Phelps. The prolific Phelps joined the Fuel Masters as early as the past conference.

Despite facing a Blackwater’s 6’9” import Phelps exploded for 53 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to lead Phoenix to a 118-116 double-overtime victory over Blackwater last March 18 during the Commissioner’s Cup. Phelps should have stayed to complete the conference but he had to fulfill contractual obligations to play in Puerto Rico. He was so loyal

Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee (right) spins past GlobalPort Batang Pier Sean Anthony. Brownlee propelled the Gin Kings to their first championship in eight years when he scored the game-winning threepointer the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Oct. 19 last year.

to Phoenix that he hopped in a plane, flew to the Philippines and played one game with the Fuel Masters coming directly from the Taipei league.

The Meralco Bolts return super athlete Allen Durham who led the Bolts to a second place finish behind Ginebra last conference.

The 28-year-old Durham powered the Bolts to their first-ever PBA finals.

But they lost to Barangay Ginebra after Brownlee’s game-winning threepointer at the buzzer.

Durham is a supremely athletic basketball talent, but not very smart as he allowed Brownlee enough space to gather himself without any challenge

to bury the dagger triple which propelled Ginebra to the crown.

The newly crowned Philippine Cup champions San Miguel Beermen, who are gunning for a Grand Slam this season, brought back bull-strong Wendell McKines.

The other teams will bring in new reinforcements hoping to be more competitive in the coming conference.

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters have J.D. Weatherspoon; Star Hotshots, Cinmeon Bowers; TNT KaTropa, Michael Craig; NLEX Road Warriors, Aaron Fuller; Blackwater Elite, Trevis Simpson; GlobalPort Batang Pier, Jabril Trawick; and Kia Picanto, Chane Behanan.

MORADO IMPROVES CREAMLINE COOL SMASHERS THE Creamline Cool Smashers, led by the irrepressible Alyssa Valdez, barely missed the championship round of the Philippine Volleyball League Open Conference just a few weeks ago.

They improved exponentially this conference with the addition of former Ateneo De Manila University (also a former teammate of Valdez) setter Jia Morado as well as libero Angela Nunag.

This was most evident when the Cool Smashers prevailed over PVL Open Conference runner-up Bali Pure Water Defenders in four hard-fought sets (25-19, 28-30, 25-19, 31-29) last Wednesday to grab a share of the lead.

Valdez, enjoying plenty of quality

sets, exploded 39 points which was just two shy of her career-best mark.

Morado unloaded a season-best 71 excellent sets thanks in large part to the excellent defense of Nunag who had 31 digs.

Valdez, one of the country’s mostfeared hitters, sprayed Bali Pure with 34 spikes, two aces and also had a block while producing 17 digs to help steer the Cool Smashers to their second consecutive victory following their four-set win over the AdamsonAkari Lady Falcons last Saturday.

The former UAAP and league MVP downplayed her exploits and insisted it was another team effort that kept them in step with the

hot-starting Lady Warriors.

Valdez had a then career-high 39hit output with Customs in a five-set triumph over Laoag last year during the Reinforced Conference. This was more impressive because she tallied the similar output in just four sets.

“It was a total team effort and I just wanted to help the team win,” said Valdez, also one of the spearheads of the national team vying in next month SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

With newcomers Morado, Nunag, Rosemarie Vargas and Rizza Mandapat, the Cool Smashers appear to have completed the pieces needed to make Creamline a worthy title contender in the league backed by

Mikasa and Asics.

Morado, a former UAAP best setter and Ateneo star, put up a recordbreaking stint with a season-best 71 excellent sets. Nunag had a matchbest 31 digs. Vargas and Mandapat, who both came from Customs, backed them up with 19 and eight points, respectively.

Still, with Valdez sustaining her fierce form and the rest backing her up with superb all-around games, the Cool Smashers could be heading to a solid finish after a fifth-place effort in the recent Reinforced Conference.

“We’re still a work in progress but we’re improving and growing as a team every game,” said Valdez.

LONDON, United Kingdom—Defending champion Andy Murray added his voice to the growing list of players unhappy at the state of Wimbledon’s grass courts, even claiming the hallowed Centre Court has developed divots.

World number one Murray said the courts were not in as good a condition as they have been in the past.

Other players have criticized the state of Court 18 with France’s Kristina Mladenovic claiming that a hole had appeared in the surface.

Weeks of hot weather and little rain have left many surfaces stripped of grass after just five days of the two-week long tournament.

“The court I don’t think is in as good of condition as previous years,” said Murray after beating Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Centre Court on Friday to reach the last-16 for a 10th straight year.

“There’s quite a few spots on the court, like just behind the baseline and just in front of the baseline, where there’s quite big lumps of grass, sort of almost like little divots there, which I don’t remember really being the case.”

Fognini agreed, saying the court “was really bad”.

On Court 17 on Thursday, American star Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered an horrific right knee injury after her leg buckled.

It was not clear, however, whether the state of the surface was a contributing factor in the 32-year-old’s accident.

Earlier Friday, Wimbledon officials dismissed concerns over the state of the courts.

“The court preparation has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years,” said the All England Club.

“Grass is a natural surface and it is usual for the baselines to start to be showing signs of wear and tear four days into the championships.”

However, French 12th seed Mladenovic said Thursday there was a hole on Court 18 and that she and opponent Alison Riske had wanted to stop playing.

“The color of the court, the fact that there’s no more grass, the fact that the baseline where we are running, it’s very slippery. There’s no grass,” said Mladenovic, who was beaten in three sets.

“There was a huge hole on the side. It was not even flat.”

Swiss 19th seed Timea Bacsinszky had similar complaints after beating Olympic champion Monica Puig on the same court on Tuesday – just the second day of the even.

“I’m pretty disappointed about the quality of the grass, especially on Court 18. I’m not saying it’s dangerous, but it was the second day of the tournament, and it was already ruined,” said Bacsinszky. AFP

Creamline playmaker Jia Morado (left) catches the Adamson defense napping as she dumps the ball against Adamson’s Rizza Cruz and Jessica Galanza (right) during their PVL Open Conference showdown at the Filoil Center in San Juan.

D1

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017

Jimbo Gulle, Editor

Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

Local Gov’t Units

mslocalgov@gmail.com

SUCCESS STORY

20-YEAR OFW TURNS HYBRID RICE PRODUCER

By Abe Almirol

Scan this icon to view the PDF

EVER CHANGING TIMES FOR TACLOBAN CITY

A FORMER overseas contract worker ,and Tondo-born electrical engineer have turned into becoming a hugely successful agri-entrepreneur who now runs a 36-hectare hybrid rice farm in Nueva Ecija.

Having been raised in the streets of Tondo, Manila relatively Danilo Bolos, has never even imagined himself owning such a huge farmland and becoming a full-time rice planter.

“I’m not a farmer’s son,” he quipped. It all started when I personally witnessed my wife’s cousins from Sta. Rosa (Nueva Ecija) became so successful in farming and eventually becoming financially independent.

I never really dreamt to get rich. Initially, I just wanted to have at most three hectares of land where I can plant and build a modest farmhouse (Bahay Kubo) where I could at least spend some quiet country lifestyle,” he said.

For many years he was content at growing registered inbred seeds—then the highest yielding type of rice prior to year 2000 when there was no hybrid rice yet in the market.

He bought foundation seeds from Philrice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) and grew those seeds for his own family’s use on an original three hectares of rice field and farm land that he owns.

By Robbie Pangilinan

mualdez.

Tourists have started to flock to the famous Kalanggaman Island and since the 2013 calamity, there has been a steady increase of tourist arLMOST four years after suffering from rivals (both domestic and foreign) in the city, according to the regional devastation brought about by Super tourism office.

Pre-Yolanda, Tacloban used to have 43 hotels. Today, there are now 75 Typhoon "Yolanda," Tacloban City has hotels and expansions are also under way. recently earned the distinction of being number One of the big malls extended and opened an annex; still another one one in terms of growth rate in the entire Region of is opening in the north. Four malls and a couple of large supermarket chains have also been established recently.

Eastern Visayas (Region 8).

Other tourist spots in Tacloban City include the Santo Niño Shrine, San And for one fleeting moment, the entire populace have totally forgot- Juanico Bridge, the Memorial in the Astrodome, and the Price Mansion ten all woes and bad memories of the calamity that failed to expunge the which will be open soon.

The National Housing Authority builds the houses and the city’s counterhopes and faith of the people of Tacloban as they merrily celebrate the part is the land. We have almost 8,000 homes annual Sangyaw Festival. in the north but we are targeting 15,000 homes The Festival is the city’s way of showing for 15,000 families,” Romualdez said. the world that the future is bright and full of The lady mayor disclosed that the Univerhope for Tacloban and its people. Locals and sity of the Philippines is also moving to that foreign tourist trooped to Tacloban to bear town where a hundred hectares is waiting. witness to the city’s joyful celebration.

The regional hospital, ABRMC, is almost finThe month-long celebration was highlightished as well. ed by the Sangyaw Parade of Lights which More than three hectares of the town will features brightly lit and decorated floats and be developed into an eco-tourism zone. with street dancers partying to the upbeat There will also be an agri-tourism zone and “Sangyaw Theme.” industrial zone.

The festival likewise featured a host of ac“We want to preserve our downtown area tivities that include a grand motorcade, the but a lot of people live in the danger zones so inauguration of the Sangyawan Park at the we will relocate them and create economic Balyuan Grounds, a Job and Business Fair, activity for them as well as livelihood in that Battle of the Bands, and the Balyuan Rites. area. It’s actually upland and inland so it’s In addition, A Golf Tournament was staged safe from storm surges,” continues Mayor together with National Jet Ski Competition.

Cristina.

The pageant for Miss Tacloban and the MisTacloban Mayor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez leads a However, with progress come some probter Sangyaw Tacloban also provided pomp to the month-long event and was capped by successful Sangyaw Festival, where dancers perform on the lems as well, like heavy traffic. streets with costumes laced with LED lights (above).

“We’re dealing with the traffic. We might the Annual Sangyaw Foundation Ball, Waray Sonny Espiritu reroute some and bring back the one-way Talents Concert, Fiesta Trade Fair, Fluvial and routes. We are also limiting transportation Land Processions, and Pontifical Mass.

Tacloban City’s steady growth has been noted despite the continuing like the tricycles especially in the downtown area. We’re also considering challenges as it has regained its position as the economic hub of the region. moving some of them to the north area to have more transportation op“The city is booming in terms of business, but right now, we’re focus- tions there; also to and from the north,” says the mayor.

“Definitely by end of this year, we will come up with the new branding ing on the new townships in the north because after "Yolanda," many people who lived near the shoreline were affected so we needed to look of our city. We are working on it already and we continue to promote the for homes them to live in safe areas,” said Mayor Cristina Gonzales-Ro- city,” ends Mayor Romualdez.

A

Danilo Bolos (right) and his son

For the past 20 years, that piece of land was planted, season after season with such inbred seeds. Being high yielding, the seeds gave him 150 to 180 cavans per hectare.

He was content at his earning until he had the chance in getting introduced to the hybrid rice growing program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The program taught farmers how to grow hybrid rice seeds.

From then on, Bolos made sure to take farming more seriously and probably on a larger scale this time.

He attended seminars provided by the government—DA technicians and municipal agriculturists—that enabled him to soon become an “expert” at hybrid rice farming.

“I felt that farming isn’t something that should just be taken as a hobby. But it should be studied very seriously and must be considered as a full-time job,” said Bolos.

“When it was just being introduced, many criticized SL-8. They said it was disease-prone, and the rice spoils fast,” he said. “Then, hybrid seeds even sold lower in the market by P1 per kilo compared to other seeds.”

SARANGANI BAY: MINDANAO’S NEW DIVE HAVEN SARANGANI is Mindanao’s new scuba diving haven.

This discovery was made by media divers and underwater photographers from Manila, Cebu, and Davao in the recent Sarangani Dive Safari organized by the Provincial Government of Sarangani and the Department of TourismRegion 12.

One of the country’s unheralded underrated dive spots, Sarangani Bay has been proclaimed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a Protected Seascape and listed as one of the country’s Key Marine Biodiversity Areas.

It covers an area of 215,950 hectares and a 226.4-kilometer coastline, covering the municipalities of Maitum, Kiamba, Maasim, Alabel, Malapatan, and Glan, as well as the City of General Santos.

According to Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon, the dive expedition explored other areas in Sarangani Bay in addition to the popular Tinoto dive spot at the Lemlunay Resort in Maasim.

A licensed scuba diver, he said the group dived at the Tuka Marine Park in Kiamba, Rocky Beach and Maasim Reef which is both located in Maasim.

Meanwhile, tourism regional direc-

tor Nelly Nita Dillera said that diving will be a new addition to the sports and adventure tourism products being offered by Soccsksargen or Region 12.

She said the DOT 12 and the dive operators in the region took part in the Dive Resorts Travel Fair in Manila last year promote the area to the international market.

Tuka abounds in 2-meters long bumphead parrot fishes, dorid nudis, various chromodiris, batfishes, and sea turtles.

Maasim Reef boasts of juvenile white-tipped sharks, huge fan corals and gigantic bat fishes, and astounding gardens of marine flora.

Mediamen and dive volunteers at the recent Sarangani Dive Safari.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 D2 Standard TODAY Manila

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P3-B MARAWI TELECOM PROJECT TO CONTINUE

By Nash B. Maulana

C

OTABATO CITY—Modern-day telecommunication features of a Marawi City that is risen from the ruins of its current siege will include a faster, state-ofthe art Wi-Fi Internet connection and broader range of mobile phone signals.

The TierOne Communications International recently reaffirmed its P3-billion investment commitment for telecommunications projects in Marawi, saying it will be over and above a P20-billion government rehabilitation spending previously announced.

TierOne president Jonathon Bentley Stevens said the investment program seeks to put up a telecommunications carrier in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, with Marawi as the proposed site of its first rollout pro-

gram.

The TierOne telecommunications program is capable of providing cellular service in 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, and broadband wireless internet to homes and enterprises, as well as WiFi for public or common areas.

With the fastest internet service of 3,000 kB/s download speeds, it will provide coverage for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services. It will be using the latest technology such as fiber optics and satellite relay with international gateway facility.

Stevens said TierOne’s “commercial preparations for project” have been deferred, after the company had put up “the initial facilities such as transmission towers,” since the National Telecommunications had not prior allocated telecommunications projects for the ARMM. The project has been further slowed down by the Marawi siege, which prompted the company to re-evaluate its business plan and program of works.

“In previous years, we were not able to get a spectrum from the Regional Telecommunications Commission since the National Telecommunications Commission had not allocated the same for the ARMM. So we did not start commercial operations in the region even though we had already put up the initial facilities such as transmission towers,” Stevens said.

“However, we believe that with the oft-expressed desire of President Rodrigo Duterte to open up the telecommunications sector in the Philippines, this is the right time to restart the project,” he added.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, ARMM Regional Board of Investment chairman and managing head, said that during its 3rd Joint Management Committee and Board of Governors Meeting Tuesday, the RBOI-ARMM approved the P3-billion investment of TierOne. “In today’s interconnected world with the rise of social media, web-based businesses and a global supply chain using the internet, such investment in telecommunications by TierOne in the ARMM will make the region more integrated and plugged into the rest of the country, while allowing the region to access and compete in the burgeoning Asean econo-

FIRST AETA UP GRAD HONORED

my, as well as, the global market,” said Mastura.

Stevens said TierOne has been better prepared to continue with the pending rollout program for Marawi City to complement the government’s rehabilitation and reconstruction program for the devastated city, one by putting up there its planned state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure projects.

The company has earlier decided to instead start its first pilot program of telecommunications project by installing facilities in the ARMM government compound in this city, serving ARMM government agencies.

TierOne intends to eventually cover the entire geographical areas of the ARMM, with US$60 million or P3 billion in investment package, and an assurance of infusion of additional capital as needed for expansion.

Republic of the Philippines Department of Health CENTRAL OFFICE BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

Invitation to Bid PROCUREMENT OF VARIOUS GOODS 1.

The Department of Health (DOH), through the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2016 and General Appropriations Act CY 2017 intends to intends to procure the following projects listed below: Cost of Bidding IB No. Name of Contract ABC (PHP) Documents (Php)

2017-097-A

Procurement of Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food – Re-Bid

390,002,960.35

50,000.00

2017-163

Procurement of Etofenprox

101,762,540.00

50,000.00

2017-265

Procurement of D-dtranscyphenothrin

49,973,000.00

25,000.00

2017-267

Procurement of Insecticide Treated Screen

143,079,200.00

50,000.00

2017-274

Procurement of Co-Amoxiclav

12,462,500.00

25,000.00

2.

The DOH now invites Bids from eligible Bidders for the procurement of the above-caption projects. Delivery of the Goods is required as specified in Section VI. Schedule of Requirements. Bidders should have completed contracts similar to the cited projects, equivalent to at least twenty five percent (25%) of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

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 Reform 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.

4.

CLASSROOM BLESSING. Tanza Mayor Yuri Pacumio (right) and Dr. Cherry Lou de Mesa (second from left), DepEd district supervisor, lead the ribbon cutting of the new 24-classroom buildings of Felipe G. Calderon Elementary School in Biwas, Tanza, Cavite on Tuesday.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the COBAC Secretariat, G/F, Bldg. 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila and inspect the Bidding Documents at 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), provided that Bidders who interested to participate shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

5.

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President

PHILIPPINE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

The DOH will hold a Pre-Bid Conference and the Submission and Opening of Bids at COBAC Conference Room, G/F, Building 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Rizal Avenue, Sta. Cruz, Manila on the schedule given below: IB No.

2017-097-A

Name of Contract Procurement of Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food – Re-Bid

2017-163

Procurement of Etofenprox

2017-265

Procurement of D-dtranscyphenothrin

2017-267

Procurement of Insecticide Treated Screen

2017-274

Procurement of Co-Amoxiclav

Activity (Date & Time) Submission Pre-bidding and Opening Conference of Bids

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

Invitation to Bid for Supply of Labor and Materials for the Construction of PDEA Regional Office X Building Bid Reference No. 2017-24 1.

17 July 2017; 9:00 AM

31 July 2017; 9:00 AM

2.

17 July 2017; 9:00 AM

31 July 2017; 9:00 AM

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) now invites bids for Supply of Labor and Materials for the Construction of PDEA Regional Office X. Completion of the Works is required 240 working days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed 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.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act.”

6.

Bid must be duly received by the COBAC-A Secretariat at the address below on or before the date given above. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated below: Amount of Bid Security (Not less than Form of Bid Security the required percentage of the ABC) (a) Cash, Cashier’s/manager’s check issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank.

(b)

(c)

(d)

Bank draft/guarantee or irrevocable letter of credit issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank: Provided, however, that it shall be confirmed or authenticated by a Universal or Commercial Bank, if issued by a foreign bank.

Surety bond callable upon demand issued by a surety or insurance company duly certified by the Insurance Commission as authorized to issue such security.

Bid Securing Declaration

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), thru its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) Capital Outlay 2017 intends to apply the sum of NINETEEN MILLION PESOS (Php19,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the Supply of Labor and Materials for the Construction of PDEA Regional Office X Building. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

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

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 AM to 4:00PM only.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested bidders on July 13, 2017 from the address 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-five Thousand pesos only (Php25,000.00).

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 applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

Two percent (2%)

Five percent (5%)

6.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on July 13, 2017 at 9:30AM at PDEA Main 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 25, 2017 at 9:30AM. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

No percentage required

Bid opening shall be at COBAC Conference Room, Ground Floor, Bldg.

6, Department of Health, Sta. Cruz, Manila. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

7.

The DOH 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.

8.

For further information, please refer to:

COBAC-A Secretariat Building No. 6 Department of Health San Lazaro Compound, Rizal Avenue, Sta. Cruz, Manila Tel. Nos. 651-7800 local 1625 to 1627; 1650 to 52 Facsimile No.: 741-9775 GERARDO V. BAYUGO, MD, MPH, CESO III Undersecretary of Health (MS-JULY 9, 2017) COBAC – A Chairperson

Bid opening shall be on July 25, 2017 at 9:30AM at PDEA Main Conference Room, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, 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 or Ms. Jella P. Palacios at the PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM only, Mondays to Fridays starting July 4, 2017 at 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.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (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: Ms. Jella P. Palacios or 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-JULY 9, 2017)

By Romeo Dizon SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga— The first Aeta who graduated with a four-year degree from the University of the Philippines was honored by the province during a simple ceremony held here recently.

Roman King, a certified native Aeta born in this province, graduated with a degree in Behavioral Science from UP Manila during the university’s 108th Commencement Exercises.

King received his diploma wearing his traditional ancestral attire called “Bahag” was accompanied by his families and members of their tribe.

The UP website describes King’s course “as an interdisciplinary and trans disciplinary approach integrating the field of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to equip the students with the knowledge and skills to understand the dynamic of human behavior related to Filipino psyche, society, and culture.”

King told Gov. Lilia Pineda that he wants to take up Law Degree in the future. “If I will have another chance, “I want to pursue my studies further,”’ King said.

According King, his personal educational accomplishment serves as inspiration to other members of tribe as color, size and cultural background are not hindrances to succeed.

The Aetas are ingenious people living scattered, isolated in the mountain ranges of Central Luzon specially in provinces of Pampanga, Zambales, Tarlac, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and parts of Northern Luzon.

After the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1990, the Aetas were displaced and seriously affected, forcing them to beg for alms in the streets of urban areas for foods and money.

There are some who remain in the urban areas still begging specially during holiday’s season while others are working as helpers mostly from the farm of rich people in the area.

They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the country proceeding the Austronesian migrations as history books show.

INTL FOOD MARKET IN NEW CLARK CITY SOON

By Dexter A. See

CLARKFIELD, Pampanga—The Bases Conversion and Development Authority has partnered with French firm Semmaris and the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. for a feasibility study on the develNotice of Dissolution of opment of an InterHYDRO CHINA SUBIC LTD. CORPORATION national Food Market in New Clark City, Notice is hereby given of the dissolution Tarlac. of HYDRO CHINA SUBIC LTD. The BCDA beCORPORATION as of December lieves the whole31,2016. Any party who has any interest sale International in this regard may be give notice thereof Food Market will at Sapalo Velez Bundang and Bulilan serve as a facilLaw Offices, 11th Floor Security Bank Centre, 6776 Ayala Avenue, Makati City ity that will connect buyers and sellers of food and agricultural products both NOTICE locally and in the The State of Hawaii to Lawrence Antonio Lago, you Asian region. are hereby notified that a petition for adoption of the The project is exchild born to Marie Venensi Widmann has been filed pected to especially in the Family Court, First Circuit, State of Hawaii. benefit local farmThe petition alleges that your consent to the ers as it will proadoption of the above-named child by the petitioner above-named is not required and may be dispensed vide direct market with pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes Section access for them to 578-2(c) as amended. sell their goods at A hearing on the petition will be held on Sep 5, 2017 higher prices thereat 1:30 pm at the Family Court located at the Kapolei by increasing their Court Complex, 4675 Kapolei Parkway, Third Floor, Kapolei, Hawaii. income.

With the agreeIf you fail to appear at the hearing on date and time and at the place noted above or if you fail to ment, MPIC and file a written response to the allegations reflected Semmaris will conin the Petition for Adoption, further action may be taken including the granting of the adoption without duct an FS to evalufurther notice to you. Your written response should ate and determine be addressed to the Presiding Judge, Family Court, the viability of the First Circuit, Kapolei Court Complex, 4675 Kapolei Parkway, Kapolei, Hawaii 96707-3272.

Project. On the basis of the FS, MPIC Failure to obey this notice may result in an entry of a default and default judgment against you. You are and Semmaris shall further notified that the child, the adoptive parent have the option to and the natural parent have rights under H.R.S. submit to BCDA a Section 578-15 regarding confidentiality of adoption records after the child reaches age 18. proposal to implement the Project.

(MS-JULY 2,9 & 16, 2017)

(MS-JULY 2,9,16 & 23, 2017

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Gadgets & Games

D3

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

SONY‘S NEW OLED TV IS ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE OPPO DOMINATES P15K TO P20K PRICE RANGE WITH 48.5% SALES SHARE Coycoy Cordova (third from left), Sony BRAVIA Senior Marketing Officer and Nobuyoshi Otake (fourth from left), President of Sony Philippines, unveil the the Sony BRAVIA A1. They are joined by host Paolo Abrera and promo girls. Nathanielle Punay

By Kevin San Pedro

S

ONY unveils the newest iteration of their OLED TV line, the BRAVIA OLED TV A1 Series, featuring sound-producing screens.

Considered as one-of-its-kind, the A1 series boasts of Acoustic Surface technology, a breakthrough in sound technology which creates a more unique overall viewing experience with richer and accuratelyplaced sounds.

The new models feature soundproducing screens which create vibrations and sounds throughout the panel depending on the visual content displayed. Imagine a bird chirping and moving from one side of the screen to the other, the screen

would respond and produce sounds depending on the bird’s position on the screen.

The Acoustic Surface is employed in favor of physical speakers found on the rear or sides of conventional TVs. Along with its innovative sound technology, the display quality of Sony’s A1 series also received a significant upgrade.

OLED displays are now at the forefront of display quality, from smartphones to TVs. OLED technol-

ogy is leading the charge towards better and more realistic visuals.

Using this technology, the A1 series introduces “true” blacks by removing noise and grain in the dark areas of visual content as well as saturating colors creating a more vibrant display.

The upgraded display quality was made possible by the new 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme, installed in all of the new models, which serves as the heart of the TV and pushes the potential of the OLED panel.

“The processor removes blur and glare, enhances contrasts and allows a higher level of brightness thereby significantly improving picture quality,” said Coycoy Cordova the Senior Marketing Officer of Sony BRAVIA, adding that other technologies in the TV’s hardware work in tandem

with the processor achieving the most realistic visual quality.

“Sony is always at the forefront of innovation and we lead the future of television by bringing the new range of 4K HDR TVs, especially the Sony BRAVIA OLED TV. We want to elevate TV viewing experience and bring reality right in the comfort of your own home,” said Nobuyoshi Otake, President and Managing Director of Sony Philippines.

The A1 series was initially released to the public last February during the Consumer Electronics Show 2017, the biggest technological event of the year.

Their new OLED series are offered in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes but Sony assures consumers that both sizes are similar in terms of display and sound capabilities.

MOTO E4 NOW AVAILABLE AT LAZADA, RETAIL STORES MOTOROLA recently launched the Moto E4 Plus, which features a massive battery and provides exceptional value for money, in response to the needs of today’s dynamic consumers, including on-the-go millennials, Following its local launch in the Philippines, Motorola Moto E4 Plus, can now be availed through Lazada and in major retailers nationwide starting this weekend with an SRP of P8,999.

Moto E4 Plus provides nonstop fun and connectivity, empowering users to do more, enjoy more, and get more out of life.

Consumers will find it difficult to put the Moto E4 Plus down: Featuring a vibrant, 5.5” HD display wrapped in smooth metal, the smartphone is easy on the eyes as it is feature-packed.

The Moto E4 Plus’s 5000 mAh battery also spares on-the-go consumers from worrying about constantly recharging. And when it is time for a boost, there’s no need to slow down to power up, as Moto E4 Plus works with the 10W rapid charger, which delivers hours of battery life within minutes of charging.

The Moto E4 Plus is also equipped with a fingerprint reader, for securely

unlocking and accessing the screen in an instant. The smartphone’s advanced camera features a 13MP autofocus rear camera and a 5MP front camera with a selfie flash for capturing beautifully sharp photos – even in low light. Users can share unlimited photos, music and videos with its 32GB internal storage capacity.

Moto E4 Plus is packed with Android™ 7.1, an updated version of the world’s most popular operating system, for slick and fast performance.

Exude elegance with Moto E4 Plus’s stylish colors: iron gray and fine gold.

IGNITE CROWNS QWIKWIRE AS YEAR'S TOP START-UP FIRM IGNITE, the premier innovation conference staged by TechShake in partnership with dentsu X Philippines and IGPI Singapore came to a hugely successful close with “QWIKWIRE, secure cross-border billing and payment platform,” being declared as “the start-up company of the year.

The group won in the pitch competition, the highlight of the one-day event. They brought home $5,000.

“Winning was definitely a good thing.

We’re in the middle of raising money so exposure will be very useful in getting more investors. Thank you to the organizers of Ignite. The event was great. There were a lot of investors and start-ups. It was a great place to network. Even without the win, it was well worth it,” Ray Edison Refundo, CEO of QWIKWIRE said.

Qwikwire topped the list of 10 finalists from over 100 pitchers, and was selected by a panel of eight prominent judges from the digital community that comprised Arnaud Bonzom, Director in Corporate Innovation, 500 Startups; Yashuhiro Seo, Partner, Spiral

Willy Kuhne of Google Philippines talks about ‘Innovation in Google.’

Ventures; Naohiko Hatae, Vice President, Cyber Agent Ventures; Alex Alabiso, Director in Corporate Innovation, Kickstart Ventures Inc.; Kazuo Koike, Executive Director, dentsu X Philippines; Retno Diwati, SEA Regional Manager, Fenox Venture Capital;

and Kentaro Hashimoto, Co-Founder & CEO, GNB Acceleration, and Ryan Dominic Sy, Business Development Officer, Venture Capital Holdings Corp(Ph).

“All the pitchers were great. Even if Qwikwire was the sole winner in this event, I’m pretty sure most of them can easily bag a deal with the investors who were present.

Our country needs more events like this.

Anything that ignites a tech-driven revolution that’ll change the way we do things, we will fully support,” declared Ryan Dominic Sy, one of the judges.

Ignite, which was held last July 1, at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Bonifacio Global City, and attended by over a five hundred people also included a conference, and an exhibit. The conference featured renowned speakers in the field of innovation like Donald Lim, Country CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines, Arnold Bonzom, Kei Shimada, Chief Lab Officer, dXlab; and Willy Kuhne, Agency Business Lead, Google PH. The panel discussants included Jennifer Alcabao,

Director ICCP SBI Venture Partners; Paul Rivera, Co-Founder & CEO, Kalibrr; Vikram Bharati, Investment Lead, Reapra & Coent Ventures; Mario Berta, Founder & CEO, Flyspaces; Manny Ayala, Managing Director, Endeavor Philippines; and Yuma Tanaka, Associate, Draper Nexus.

The exhibit featured 20 local and international startups. Each participant had an interactive booth that highlighted new technologies and products for all attendees to see, experience and collaborate with.

Kazuo Koike, Executive Director of dentsu X commented, “It was a huge success due to the close cooperation of all stakeholders. I am extremely confident that the event was able to contribute in sparked the interest of local and international investors towards the growing startup community in the Philippines, and gathered first-hand information about the quality of startups and investors in the country. I felt the power of start-ups and would love to see them grow. I see a lot of opportunities here.”

OPPO Philippines recently launched the mid-range smartphone OPPO F3 with its unique dual-selfie camera feature, sleek body and attractive package.

In the latest GFK Philippines May 2017 report, it shows that OPPO F3 emerges as the No.1 smartphone for the price band of P15,000 to P20,000 smartphones, with a dominating 48.5% market share.

OPPO F3 started well in the market with 22,000 unit sales in the first three days of availability last May 2017. This reflected its strong acceptance from consumers because of the unique dualselfie camera setup. The groufie camera enables an extraordinary experience in capturing amazing selfies with more range at any situation. Plus, the metal body and sleek body gives customers the luxurious feel appropriate for its price, along with ample 4GB RAM for multitasking and 64GB storage for all files needed.

Additionally, OPPO also retains its No.2 smartphone brand position in the Philippines. A sign that the Philippine market well accepts the wide range of lifestyle-centric lineup of the brand.

“The OPPO F3 is a well-received smartphone since the beginning, our competitive package, sleek design and trending dual selfie camera setup are the reasons why it is successful.” said Stephen Cheng, OPPO Philippines Brand Marketing Manager.

Last June 16, OPPO released the F3 Black edition for more color options to choose from. Customers may now select from three colors available which are Gold, Rose Gold and Black for a more lifestyle-centric smartphone experience.

The OPPO F3 is available nationwide in any OPPO concept and dealers stores for a special discounted price of Php15,990, under the Back-to-School Promo until July 31, 2017. All unit comes with a pre-installed screen protector and soft-transparent case for added value and protection.

For more details about the OPPO F3, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ OPPOPH/ or log on to http://www.oppo. com/ph/index.html.

HP PRINTER’S...

From D4 for replacement shall be shouldered by the customer. Take advantage of the onsite exchange warranty upgrade for a hassle-free post-sale support. Simply complete the registration requirements at www.hp.com/ph/promotions to start enjoying the best deals and promo from HP. With the HP GT 5810 All-in-One Printer and the HP DeskJet GT 5820 Wireless Allin-One Printer, users can print up to 8,000 or 5,000 pages using the color or black set, respectively, for high-volume printing at an extremely low cost.

So, hurry and get a hold of the HP DeskJet GT 5810 All-in-One Printer or the HP DeskJet GT 5820 Wireless Allin-One Printer to experience instant, quality printing.

To avail of other HP warranty services, call the official HP Warranty Hotline at (+632) 867-3551 or visit www8.hp.com for more exciting promos. See posters and print ads for more details.

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Gadgets & Games

HEAD TO WONDERLAND WITH ACER‘S HELLO KITTY LAPTOP

Inside the box is the impossibly cute laptop which comes in a pink and white body that pays homage to the character’s signature colors.

H

ELLO Acer laptop.

It’s a dream come true for Hello Kitty superfans as Acer launches limited edition laptops themed after everyone’s favorite Sanrio character.

From opening the box to powering on the unit, the limited edition laptop is a trip to Hello Kitty wonderland in itself. It comes in a yummy pastel pink box decorated with Kitty White’s character and cute floral and

lace elements.

Inside the box is the impossibly cute laptop which comes in a pink and white body that pays homage to the character’s signature colors. The lid is clad with polka-dots, with Hello Kitty sitting at the center, making sure to put anyone in a good mood before they get to work or play!

Upon lifting the lid, a bright pink keyboard and Hello Kitty trackpad are revealed. The trackpad is also decorated with the famous Sanrio character’s face—a happy sight and surprise for the Hello Kitty lover. To cap off the Kitty wonderland experience, the adorable character also awaits to greet its users as soon as

the notebook is powered on and once the laptop finishes the start-up.

While looking every bit the dream laptop, the Hello Kitty Limited Edition notebook is highly capable and packs a mean punch too. It comes with eight hours of battery life to make sure users are covered for a full day out, Dolby audio-experience cinematic surround sound for working on that next big project or watching the latest TV series, the latest generation Intel Core processors and Iris graphics to make sure performance is at its best, up to 16gb system memory, Precision Touchpad, and Acer BluelightShield designed to reduce the bluelight emission from the screen.

Indeed, the Acer Limited Edition Hello Kitty Laptop is the superfan’s dream wrapped in a pretty bow. It retails at P45,999.00 SRP, but with any HSBC credit card, getting your paws on a unit is easier with up to 36-month installment plans at 0% interest at any Villman store. Other installment plans are available too with select credit cards—just march on over to select laptop dealers nationwide before stocks run out!

To learn more about the Acer Limited Edition Hello Kitty Laptop, visit www.acer.com.ph, follow @acerphils on Twitter, and visit the Acer Philippines Facebook page at www. facebook.com/AcerPH.

FUJITSU ETERNUS SPEEDS UP IT SOLUTIONS FUJITSU Philippines recently announced that its Fujitsu ETERNUS AF650 all-flash system is now certified by SAP as an enterprise storage solution for the SAP HANA platform.

Now available in the Philippines, Fujitsu offers businesses with a perfect solution convenient for real-time operations all into one flash storage.

Purposely-built for a lasting performance, the newly-arrived Fujitsu ETERNUS AF650 gives an ideal solution perfect for any kind of business data. The Fujitsu all-flash storage system delivers leading storage performance and automated quality of service management enabling a maximum system utilization and a fast ROI. Existing as a stand-alone solution or as part of the integrated system PRIMEFLEX for

SAP HANA, the ETERNUS AF650 supports ultra-reliable non-stop operations for in-memory computing systems running on SAP HANA, delivering an impressive 12TB of main memory storage capacity, and total capacity of some 3PB. With all-flash drives now gaining mainstream acceptance for use with enterprise applications and databases, lightning-fast response times from the Fujitsu ETERNUS AF650 enhance the performance of workloads running on SAP HANA—supporting a high level of data availability and integrity. System improvements mean reduced power consumption, helping lower operational expense.

The ETERNUS AF650 also takes up less space on the data center floor than previous-

generation systems providing equivalent storage capacities.

This capacity can be further extended by Fujitsu’s marketleading deduplication and data compression technologies, providing real-world usable storage capacities up to 5x these volumes, depending on data type.

The faster response times from all-flash systems also make server and desktop virtualiza-

tion more accessible. Fujitsu has integrated the entry-level ETERNUS AF250 into the PRIMEFLEX vShape solution, providing up to 740TB of all-flash capacity.Thanks to faster data throughput, organizations can now run more virtual machines from a single system.

PRIMEFLEX vShape is certified for virtualization software from market leaders VMware and Microsoft. PRIMEFLEX vShape is also

available with a NetApp all-flash FAS system.

Meanwhile, for organizations looking to provide the expansion space for next-generation hyperscale data environments, Fujitsu’s high-end ETERNUS DX8000 storage systems now deliver all-flash SSD capacities of up to 70PB—enough to provide headroom for even highly aggressive and unpredictable data-growth scenarios.

Pricing and availability

The updated Fujitsu ETERNUS AF250 and AF650 systems, PRIMEFLEX for SAP HANA, PRIMEFLEX vShape and the ETERNUS DX8000 series are available directly from Fujitsu and from selected partners in the Philippines. Pricing varies according to configuration and outlets nationwide.

ACUDEEN BAGS $6M FIN TECH FINANCING DEAL SMALL and medium scale enterprises have constantly been the fastest growing and most innovative types of businesses in the Philippines and the Asean region.

But out of over 70 million SMEs, only about 10% have regular access to formal financing resources. The rest have to contend with less formal means of financing, such as borrowing from family, friends and even unscrupulous entities just to satisfy their working capital needs. This is also partially due to the existing stringent loan policies practiced by most local prestigious financial institutions who prioritize minimizing risk rather than assisting these SMEs to grow and progress. Because of this, Acudeen Technologies, Inc. was founded on March 31, 2016 with the aim of helping SMEs boost their cash flows and capital requirements in a timely manner by providing invoice discounting services via digital platforms.

A baby in the financial industry, this Fin Tech firm was able to seal a $6 million (P300 million) financing deal with Rizal Microbank, a unit of Philippine-listed Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC). Rizal Microbank president Bong Roxas and Acudeen CEO Magellan Fetalino III both believe that the money will finance the invoices and receivables to the startup’s network of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as

Rizal Microbank president Bong Roxas (left) and Acudeen CEO Magellan Fetalino III.

Micro-SMEs (MSMEs) in the Philippines.

Fetalino said: “Our platform allows for fast transactions from receivables uploaded cash within five minutes to seven days, giving MSMEs better control of their cash flow. Currently, we have about 200 SME clients and I am confident about having more than 2,000 before the year ends.” Roxas added: “The biggest problem of MSMEs in

the country, who are mostly unbanked and underserved by banks, is how to access affordable credit. With this partnership, we’ll be able to reach out to more MSME business operators. It is really aligned with our enhanced business model.”

“SMEs are the main fuel of our economy, contributing to about 40 per cent of our GDP. And yet the business environment in our country is not designed for them to grow,” Fetalino said, noting Acudeen has started reaching out to SMEs in emerging cities to educate them about financial inclusion.

“We want to reach out to SMEs nationwide. Recently, we had our financial workshop, ‘SMEs the “Xcelerate: Excel Accelerate—Iloilo’ through our partnership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry—Iloilo Chapter, and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. More than 600 entrepreneurs representing 400 Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Iloilo and the whole Panay gathered to witness panel discussions about how to accelerate business growth, the financial environment we work in and a financing workshop for MSMEs. Acudeen will continue to widen its market reach targeting other key cities such as Bacolod, Cebu and Davao, as well as boost further its presence in Manila.

TOP HOSPITALS NOW EQUIPPED WITH SMART WIFI SERVICE HOSPITALS and healthcare centers have been improving their facilities and amenities to promote healing to patients, and comfort to their families, and friends.

As part of its service, Smart Wifi is now available in leading tertiary hospitals nationwide so patients and visitors alike can conveniently access the Internet for work, or for pleasure.

In partnership with Smart Communications, the wireless subsidiary of PLDT, carrier-grade WiFi has been installed at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, De Los Santos Medical Center, Marikina Valley Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Center; and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Metro Manila; Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos; Central Luzon Doctors Hospital; Bacoor Medical Hospital and Emilio Aguinaldo Hospital in Cavite; Davao Doctors Hospital in Davao City; West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga City.

A backhaul capacity of up to 1 gigabit per second allows users to have the best digital experience when accessing their emails and social media accounts; making video and voice calls using apps; downloading movies or watching them online; playing eGames; and checking out relevant digital content and services that are available online.

“The deployment of Smart Wifi in hospitals is in line with our efforts to make Internet as pervasive as possible. By installing Smart Wifi in areas where many people converge, we help democratize access to high-speed Internet so people can surf like never before,” said Jovy Hernandez, FVP, and Head of Enterprise groups for PLDT and Smart.

More than just providing entertainment for the patients and their visitors, Smart’s WiFi facility helps the digital transformation of hospitals become a reality. Correspondence between the hospitals, and their clients and suppliers are made sea mless through the Internet. Most of these hospitals have enabled mechanisms for easier room reservations, social media queries, and feedback systems through a patient portal.

“The nationwide rollout of Smart Wifi complements the ongoing network expansion and modernization program across the country. The network upgrade has resulted in significant improvements in voice, SMS, and mobile Internet coverage and quality, particularly on its LTE (long Term Evolution) service. All these form part of an overarching effort to make the Internet accessible to all,” said Eric R. Alberto, Chief Revenue Officer of PLDT and Smart.

Asian Hospital, Makati Medical Center, De Los Santos Medical Center, Marikina Valley Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos, Davao Doctors Hospital, and Metro Medical Center are partly owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), a sister company of PLDT. Smart is in the midst of re-equipping its cell sites to provide better indoor coverage and increase the capacity of each cell site to handle more calls, texts, and ever-increasing mobile data traffic.

HP PRINTER‘S FREE 2-YEAR WARRANTY PROMO EXTENDED HP is extending its latest promo to July 31 to give more customers the chance to still avail of a free 2-year onsite warranty and a free HP Black Original Ink Bottle when they purchase the HP GT 5810 All-in-One Printer or the HP DeskJet GT 5820 wireless All-in-One Printer at any authorized HP reseller nationwide.

The free two-year, on-site exchange warranty, which includes free delivery of replacement printer to customer site, is applicable for Metro Manila purchases, while carry-in warranty is applicable for selected provincial areas only. For repairs that require replacement parts, the cost Turn to D3

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SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor

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Young Life

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

5 URBAN

ADVOCACIES OF MISS PHILIPPINES EARTH 2017 CANDIDATES

A designated home office helps telecommuters focus on the task at hand and shift into 'work mode'

WORK FROM HOME THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A ‘HOME OFFICE’

EFFORTS for environmental protection and conservation could feel overwhelming to a person who has neither help nor background.

But these five Miss Philippines Earth 2017 candidates tackle this difficulty by pursuing environmental sustainability through urban advocacies meant to inspire others to do more for the place they live in. With the help of Merrell’s latest collection 1SIX8 AC+, they prove that a single step can go a long way.

By Bernadette Lunas

C

ELINE REYES is a freelance travel journalist who’s been working from home for two years. Maybelle Gormate is a graphic artist who gets her job done at home since 2013. Both employees consider their residence their office as well. But once they’re at their workspace, their focus is on the task at hand and not on what’s happening in the living room or whatever is cooking in the kitchen.

Thanks to electronic gadgets and the Internet, telecommuting is now easier than ever. In fact, it seems more efficient to work at home what with the timeconsuming traffic weary workers face on a daily basis going to and from their workplace. A 2014 study by US software company VM Ware Inc. found that 73 percent of Filipino employees said working from home was ideal for them.

IDr. Iriss Mangio But not all telecommuters have the luxury of having a designated area in their house that they can call their “office.”

“In Metro Manila spaces tend to be smaller so it’s really a challenge to create a home office,” SM Home assistant vice president for Marketing Tom Castañeda told MS Young Life. Despite of that, Castañeda, who also works from home, emphasized the importance of setting up a work area.

Tom Castañeda “I think it’s really important to have a designated working area because when you work from home, there are gazillion distractions. [But] having a workspace where you can say, ‘from 9 to 6 this is where I’m gonna be,’ can feel like you’re working in an office even if you’re at home,” opined the marketing executive/design magazine associate publisher.

Prior to setting up her home office, Reyes used to work on her laptop while lying in bed. “It wasn’t very productive,” she admitted. Now she works in a small corner of her bedroom where, she said, whenever she sits in front of her desktop computer, she can easily focus on working.

Gormate, meanwhile, shared that her designated home office in her living room “creates a mindset that I am at work, not at home.”

Suffice it to say, a designated workspace helps the two telecommuters shift into “work mode.” But is it possible to have such a space if you live in a, say, studio-type condo unit?

Interior designer Iriss Mangio said it’s possible.

Citing a past project wherein they created a small office space for a 22-square meter unit, Mangio explained, “you can transform your living room or a small space in your bedroom, [and put] a small table where you can set your computer and all the things that you need.”

Castañeda suggested alternating your dining table as a desk or using a multifunctional coffee table that transforms into a viable

Hang framed artworks or encouraging prints on walls to inspire you to work hard

Road safety and discipline

While Metro Manila traffic is a serious issue that must be dealt with efficient urban planning, Miss Olongapo Kim De Guzman starts from the ground by advocating for disciplined partnership between drivers and pedestrians to help minimize traffic. She says street walkers should cross on the proper lanes and pedestrian crossings, while drivers must be mindful on the road, follow traffic signs, and respect fellow motorists and pedestrians.

work counter. “If you live in a studio, use what you have,” he advised.

He added that the size of a home office is not as important as the atmosphere it offers.

“It doesn’t have to be a big area, just find a space in your home where you can feel comfortable, you have the least amount of distraction, and you can feel like you can be the most productive,” said Castañeda.

He suggested picking a spot where natural light comes in and adding elements, such as background music or artworks, which could help you be creative and work hard. As for the design, Castañeda said it all depends on whatever fits your style, mood, and personality.

“At the end of the day, you would want to be in an area that’s warm and inviting to you,” he concluded.

Urban gardening

If you don’t have a chance to join a reforestation project, start growing small plants in your garden. Miss Dauin Negros Oriental Cheysen Fabriquer Capuno is leading the charge towards sustainability with urban gardening. Doing this may help improve oxygen circulation in your home, while brightening up your place.

Turn to E2

HOW TO COP LOISA ANDALIO’S #FOTD RISING star Loisa Andalio is indeed a face to watch out for. Whether she sports a “no-makeup” makeup look or goes full-on made up, her selfies on Instagram always rake in thousands of “likes” from her fans.

Aside from genes

and everything else that’s necessary to maintain that pretty face, find out how you can cop Loisa’s everyday #fotd (face of the day) using her favorite makeup products.

Loisa evens out her skin with Ever Bilena Powder Foundation in Soft

Beige and Light Natural shades. Once the base is covered, she brushes a few swipes of Ever Bilena Blush in Raisin. In highlighting her sultry eyes, Loisa skips eye shadows and goes for a swipe of Ever Bilena Matic Eyeliner in Hazel Brown. She finishes off her

everyday look with Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Mauve.

The aforementioned makeup items are available at any Ever Bilena counter nationwide.

Achieve a 'no-makeup' makeup look ala teen star Loisa Andalio using only four products

Scan this icon to view the PDF

Young Life

E2

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

5FromURBAN...

E1

Minimize use of nonbiodegradable materials

Plastic waste has been a long-time problem, but something that could be difficult to address considering plastic’s benefits. Miss Tayabas Lea Laano hence encourages the use of reusable objects instead of opting for disposable ones.

Use tumblers instead of one-use water bottles, stainless utensils in place of plastic spoons and forks, and cloth bags instead of plastic bags; and say 'no' to plastic straws.

The first batch of dog food and cat food donation for the abandoned pets in war-torn Marawi has been turned over to the command center for distribution

FOR ABANDONED PETS IN MARAWI

Creative recycling

Miss Parañaque Sofia Jane Panapanaan is on a mission to make recycling more colorful and fun to everyone.

Instead of throwing things away, she suggests 'upcycling' them into crafts that can be used for a different purpose. For instance, transform old jeans into bags or make key chains from soft drink bottle caps.

Healthy lifestyle

Being a beauty queen is no easy feat; it requires beauty, brains, and a fit physique, reason why Miss El Salvador City Elizabeth Amahan is a strong advocate of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

But it doesn’t mean enrolling yourself to an expensive fitness center (although, that would help). For instance, a simple day tour to your nearest local park can offer an opportunity to be active, or walk instead of taking a ride when going to nearby destinations.

To know more about 1SIX8 and Merrell’s partnership with Miss Philippines Earth, visit Merrell Philippines on Facebook and follow @merrell_ph on Twitter and Instagram.

A HOPE

By Marjelle Sy

N

OT only people are affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Marawi. As residents evacuated the area, some pets were sadly left in the crossfire.

Abandoned dogs, cats, and doves were seen roaming the streets of Marawi searching for food and shelter.

Driven by their survival instincts, many dogs were seen carrying bones, not minding whether they came from a human body; other starving canines were seen passing around a stray cat to eat until concerned media respondents shooed them away—the cat eventually died due to severe wounds.

Animal rescue groups were alarmed by this dire situation, and took action almost instantly. One of these animal rescue groups is the Save Animals of Love and Light or Save ALL. Save ALL admins gathered and came up with “Marawi Animal Mission Operation,” a project to collect dog and cat food donations that they can send to Marawi.

Through the combined efforts of admins and volunteers, the group was able to repack and send 80 kilos of dog food and 12.5 kilos of cat food—the first time pet food donations were sent to the war-torn city. Financial donations from Kaye Advincula, PBS, and MC Chacha covered half of food cost, while some of those shipped were borrowed from Save ALL shelters.

Group admins Ruby Bautista and Niko Gabriel Salgado, with caretakers Robin and Jimmy repacked and sorted out the food.

A group of scholars from the Australian Global Alumni Philippines also helped the team.

On June 30, Dr. Dahlia M. Valera of the Iligan City Veterinarian Office took in the donations and made arrangements with the military command center in Marawi. According to Save ALL’s Desiree Carlos, Divina Suson of Sunstar Balita brought the donation to Marawi and turned them over to the Philippine military.

Soldiers on ground have started leaving pet food in corners where abandoned animals are hiding and in areas where they can easily see the food.

Following the successful first shipment, the Save ALL team will

once again send 100 kilos of dog food and 27 kilos of cat food with the assistance of the office of Senator Nancy Binay who agreed to include pet food donations in relief goods that will be sent to Marawi.

Other donors who helped financed this project were Angela Thakur, Sheila Salao, JNS, Izzy Tish, Althea Prudente, Niwre Rossi Schumacher, Cholo, Liz Miguel, Keng Gatchalian, and Mimi Escueta.

“Many thanks to Doc Valera, Anna Felicia S. Alagar of the Australian Alumni Global Network, and admins Ruby Bautista, Niko Gabriel Salgado, Sheila Sawit, Toni Mariz Munar, Anna Mozelle Liberato, and Maricel Mondejar of Save ALL for working on this project,” Carlos said in her post on Save ALL’s Facebook page.

Go to Save ALL: The Public Forum to find out how you can help.

Dr. Dahlia Valera of the Iligan City Veterinarian Office (rightmost) receives the donation from Save ALL. With her in photo are Rosa Apag, Dr. Jesus Flor, Dr. Luisa Quidlat, Leila Nunez, Daryl Buhion, Lito Macapil, Emeliana Pacana, Joy Iglupas, Paulino Dechos, Melecio Actub, and Jantzen Dalisay

PET LOVE STORIES PET TALES

BY DESIREE CARLOS

Avery Paraiso with his two-yearold adopted dog Kani

ALMOST two years ago, he saw a pup with soulful eyes and fell in love.

Avery Paraiso, known to many as Khalil in the TV show Encantadia and a commercial model, brought donations to the rummage sale of Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL) with his mom Holly and sister Ariel in August 2015 to help raise funds for injured and sick animals.

He went home hopeful that the pup will eventually be their family’s pup.

His mom, Holly, remembers asking Save ALL officers then if they had a pup for adoption. Two asong Pinoy (aspin) pups—Kani and Sunshine—were just found abandoned on a vacant lot in a subdivision in Quezon City, thus, admin Maricel Mondejar accompanied them to the shelter nearby.

Avery found himself drawn to Kani. “Those soulful eyes melted his heart,” Holly recalls.

After the screening, which included an interview and home visit, Save ALL approved the adoption and the

Paraiso family welcomed its new member. They waited for two months as Kani also had to finish the series of vaccination. But for Avery and the rest of the family, it was worth it.

At first, Kani was fearful. He and Sunshine were abandoned at 6 weeks old. Who would not be anxious and fearful when left to fend for one’s self at such a young age?

Knowing Kani’s history, Avery was more than willing to give Kani the attention he needed and wanted. This, despite his busy schedule then as a finalist of GMA’s Star Struck Season 6 where he got the award for best in acting.

Avery would even bring Kani to his room and let him sleep with him after a tiring day.

Kani slowly warmed up to all the members of the family as he was (and still is) showered with love.

Holly says, “Now, he is so joyful to greet us in the morning and asks for attention.”

Kani’s love story with Avery continues to this day. He is one of seven other dogs who freely roam in the Paraiso’s home.

Another beautiful love story between a pet and a human started 10 years ago.

Continued on E3

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017

WHAT’S POP AND WHAT’S NOT?

THE BEST AND THE WORST OF 2017 SO FAR

By Sundy Locus

W

E’RE already halfway through 2017 and with the year at its midpoint, it’s high time to look back at the previous six months of the cinematic calendar. The pride of the passing year continued in 2017 as fresh and fiercer films took over the limelight. A few of them made money and some of them did not.

The flop Extra Service The story revolves on the amazing adventures of Aw (Arci Muñoz), Em (Coleen Garcia) and Gee (Jessy Mendiola), who are mild-mannered massage therapists by day and fierce secret agents who solve crimes by night. They are then tasked to embark on a top-level secret mission to retrieve the precious “Perlas Ng Silangan” in exchange for their lives and freedom. But this plot didn’t make much of an impression as the film only managed to earn P28 million, a figure that failed to impress even the big bosses of Sklylights and Star Cinema.

The pop My Ex and Whys From its star-studded cast, cliché plot and Pinoy humor, the hugotPiolo Pascual and Yen Santos in “Northern Lights” filled film hooked a massive viewership that earned the LizQuen-topbilled movie a whooping P341 movie on its closing week making it Northern Lights: A Journey to Love-Northern Lights the biggest local film of the year. The film, like everyone knows, is the Like the aurelia borealis that the film failed to show, its box office perlove team’s most successful movie to date. My Ex and Whys hit P31.5 formance missed the list of the best performing films in terms of box million on its opening day, and the figure increased to P100 million office gross. The collaboration film Star Cinema and Regal Films was a three days later. Another milestone was made as the film crossed over big production but it only earned…gasp… P200,000. So, what hapthe P200-million-mark in just 13 days. pened to Piolo Pascual’s star power?

Luck at First Sight The failure of Jericho Rosales and Bella Padilla’s film is somehow surprising. With the success of their individual films Walang Forever and Camp Sawi, it was expected that the film would make it well at the tills but its box office figures say otherwise. Oh, we stand corrected! No figures were released. Perhaps, Viva Films was too embarrassed to even announce the film’s box office failure.

Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo in “Can’t Help Falling In Love”

Can’t Help Falling In Love KathNiel reestablished itself as one of the country’s most prominent love teams with this blockbuster film from Star Cinema. Can’t Help Falling in Love raked in P33 million for its opening day, making it the highest-earning opening Black Saturday Filipino film to date. On its 13th day, the film grossed P200 million locally, and on its 24th day at the commercial theaters, the film grossed P300 million.

Bela Padilla and Jericho Rosales in “Luck at First Sight”

PET TALES...

From E2 Leslie Carlos, a former commercial model, welcomed mix breed Amanda into her life then and their love story continues to bring wonderful moments to this day.

All moments are treasures for Leslie who says she cannot say one moment with Amanda is more memorable than the other.

She says, “All moments with her are memorable.”

She adds that Amanda taught her that “getting a pet is like getting a child. It’s not easy. You have to be committed to taking care of a pet. I don’t go on long layovers because I don’t like leaving her for too long. Parang baby talaga. “ Leslie advises new furparents to “prioritize quality time.”

“Go on walks if you can because it’s a great way to bond with your pet,“ she says.

She also warns against giving table food.

“There are so many ingredients in our food that are not good for dogs. If they’re not used to getting table food, they won’t bother you for it,” Leslie says.

Leslie also stresses the importance of giving dogs a complete check-up yearly “even if they seem healthy.”

Since Amanda is a senior dog, Leslie has her checked twice a year.

IS SONG HYE KYO PREGNANT?

and Arci Muñoz started strong at the tills with a 7-million-peso opening gross. Can We Still be Friends? paraded the love team’s chemistry with its quirky plot and a question that brought viewers together: “Can exes really be friends?” Although no official box office figures were released after it’s opening day, the film is one of the films this year that made more money, including Our Mighty Yay, that made a killing at the box office during its first week of commercial release.

Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano in “My Ex and Whys”

Can We Still be Friends?

The highly-anticipated sophomore film of Gerald Anderson

E3

Amanda thought Leslie that taking care of a pet is a lifetime commitment

SARANG. Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo surprise their fans with wedding announcement

FOLLOWING the announcement that South Korean superstars Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are tying the knot in October, pregnancy rumor also started spreading around. But the “Song Song Couple” was quick to deny this rumor.

In a statement, Song Hye Kyo’s talent agency, United Artists Agency said, “This rumor is completely groundless.”

The wedding announcement of the Descendants of the Sun stars came to be a big surprise. Although people see them together numerous times, the couple had not admitted the real score between them until recently when they officially told their fans that they are getting married.

The 31-year-old Song Joong Ki recalled how he was able to develop a friendship with Song Hye Kyo while doing the megahit series that eventually led to a romantic relationship.

“I recently had the honor of participating in a production that could let me shine. It was such an amazing experience to me because I received so much undeserved love. During that time, I made a precious friend who eventually became my lover,” says the actor.

He then revealed that they decided to spend their lives together “in the beginning of 2017,” and continued, “In order to begin a new life where we can get through difficult times together, Song Hye Kyo and I have decided to get married on the last day of October.”

The actor also asked for understanding on why they had to keep their relationship a secret.

“I think a lot of my loving fans would’ve been taken aback by the sudden news. I wanted to tell everyone earlier, but I had to be cautious because it was a decision that involved two people and their respective families,” he appeals to their fans.

Meanwhile, Song Hye Kyo, 35, also asked for her fans’ understanding. She said, “I think many of you would’ve been surprised by the sudden news. It may appear as if I lacked consideration for my fans, but I hope you will understand my intentions.”

She is glad she does this as Amanda’s comprehensive blood test showed she has elevated liver enzymes. She had no symptoms of a liver ailment at all.

“I wouldn’t have guessed. She looks great,” Leslie says.

Because her condition was detected early, Amanda is now being treated so that her liver will regenerate. Leslie hopes to spend more awesome moments with her adorable Amanda.

KANI AND AVERY. AMANDA AND LESLIE. These are just two of the many inspiring and beautiful love stories I have come across.

There are other love stories waiting to be told: Stories of how a dog taught a child about kindness and compassion, how a dog tried to warn an owner of an illness way before the illness was detected, how a cat filled a single woman’s life with love, among others.

Pet owners, adopters, fosters, rescuers, DO TELL US YOUR STORY. Do share with us lessons learned, memorable experiences, funny moments, among others. You can also write your story in Filipino.

Please email your love story (3-5 paragraphs) with two clear colored photos to daycarlos28@yahoo.com.

My co-animal lovers, your love stories will hopefully inspire others to be more kind, loving and compassionate towards ALL animals and help create another love story.

We will feature at least one story every Sunday starting in October.

Have a blessed day, everyone! Namaste!

E4

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

STARS CONVERGE

AT THE FIRST EDDYS

By Nickie Wang

John Lloyd Cruz as Raffy

T

HE Eddys is set to be a starstudded night, and with Edu and Luis Manzano as hosts, it’ll no doubt be a feel-good and funny one as well.

Tonight at the Kia Theater, the red carpet will be rolled out to welcome the stars from the country’s biggest networks and talent management agencies including the love team James Reid and Nadine Lustre, who will also open the show.

Viva artists Ella Cruz and Julian Trono, and Kapamilya stars Yassi Pressman and Arjo Atayde are taking prime spots with their respective musical numbers, too.

The two-hour awards show, which will honor the best talents in the local movie industry, will see a production number headed by singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, Concert King Martin Nievera and rising pop divas Morissette Amon and Klarisse.

The singers will pay tribute to the late OPM legend Willy Cruz.

The roster of celebrities who will present the various awards to be given out includes top-caliber and award-winning actor and actress Christopher de Leon and Lorna Tolentino with rising young stars AJ Muhlach and Phoebe Walker, comedian Empoy Marquez, Alessandra de Rossi, couple Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez, love team and former Pinoy Big Brother housemates Edward Barber and Maymay Entrata, TV stars JC Santos and Bela Padilla; young love team Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador; and actresses Cristine Reyes, and Jodi Sta. Maria, to name a few.

Special awards will be handed out to Director Lav Diaz (Manny Pichel Award), TV host/columnist Boy Abunda (Joe Quirino Award) and Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde (Producer of the Year).

The Eddys is mounted by the Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd), a non-stock, non-profit organization of entertainment editors from the country’s top broadsheets and tabloids.

The awards is the group’s way of encouraging Filipino filmmakers, producers, writers, actors and other allied artists in the Philippine movie industry to continue pursuing their passion of creating films that mirror the realities of our society.

“Given our collective experience and many decades of chronicling the careers, artistic processes and success or failure of actors, directors, producers and other players in t h e

JOHN LLOYDSARAH G

Father and son tandem Edu and Luis Manzano host the awards show

Philippine movie industry, we felt that we are in a distinctive position to hand out sound and sincere recognition of the best in filmmaking of the past year, and eventually inspire everyone in the industry to take pride in their craft and continue to enrich the Filipino talent,” said Lifestyle and Entertainment editor and SPEEd President Isah V. Red during the announcement of the nominees last month.

The nominees for the Best Film are: Pamilya Ordinaryo, Ang Babaeng Humayo, Everything About Her, Saving Sally, and Die Beautiful.

Vying for top acting honors are Nora Aunor (Tuos), Vilma Santos (Everything About Her), Charo SantosConcio

Young chanteuse Morissette Amon joins OPM icons in a grand musical prod

(Ang Babaeng Humayo), Hasmine Killip (Pamilya Ordinaryo), Ai Ai delas Alas (Area) and Jaclyn Jose (Ma’ Rosa). While the Best Director race is a tough competition among acclaimed filmmakers Jun Robles Lana, Die Beautiful; Lav Diaz, Ang Babaeng Humayo; Avid Liongoren, Saving Sally; Joyce Bernal, Everything About Her; and Eduardo Roy, Pamilya Ordinaryo.

Written by Nash Torres and directed

by Arnel Natividad, The Eddys is a joint production of Viva Live and ABS-CBN. Show will start at 7 p.m. and will be telecast on ABSCBN. Sarah Geronimo as Aprilyn

BIGGEST LOVE TEAM.

Top Cosmo Bachelor James Reid and FHM Sexiest Woman Nadine Lustre will open “The Eddys,” a twohour awards show and entertainment spectacle.

Viva artists and rising love team Julian Trono and Ella Cruz

THE SEXIEST MULAWIN

MACHISMO OVERLOAD. Derrick Monasterio transforms into a winged creature in a trending episode of “Mulawin Vs Ravena.”

MOVIE TEASER RELEASED

DERRICK Monasterio is giving people many reasons to call him the Kapuso Network’s hottest property, literally and figuratively.

It was a TV moment for the 21-year-old actor when an episode of Mulawin Vs Ravena featured him being tortured. He was tied upside down and repeatedly plunged into water. The young actor claimed that no double was used in doing the scene, although it was the same reason why he fainted on the set.

Amid his exceptional performance in this episode, it’s not the reason why people are talking about him and why the entire World Wide Web was so abuzz about the actor of late.

In the same episode, shown on July 3, his

character Almiro turned into a full-bloomed Mulawin. His memory eventually returns and now remembers his mother Alwyna (Heart Evangelista) who pulled out his ugatpak thus leaving a root in his back.

“It has the makings of every gay’s fantasy: A piece of cloth slowly removed, a sculpted bod heavily oiled, and then that long exposure to make thy gay-manity drool,” one article says about the scene when Derrick’s wings emerged making him look like more of an archangel.

Following his transformation in the series, he will be called Rodrigo by Lola Consuelo (Nova Villa), after her real son’s name. Later on, he will regain his Mulawin abilities as he is the destined next “sugo” after his late parents.

FINALLY, the teaser for Finally Found Someone, John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo’s first movie together in four years, was released on Thursday, and fans couldn’t help but rave about it.

The two-minute clip from the much-anticipated flick introduces the character of Sarah, a woman who found herself heartbroken after being left at the altar. We see Sarah wearing a wedding dress, walking through the crowd at Bonifacio Global City, and crying over a guy named Randy.

John Lloyd’s character sees her and is amused. The scene then cuts to Sarah sitting at a house. She gets up to hug a guy holding a bouquet of flowers, thinking it’s Randy. The two almost kiss, when Sarah’s character embarrassingly mistakes Lloydie’s character for her exfiance in front of several people.

Finally Found Someone, which was initially had a working title Dear Future Husband, is apparently not a continuation of the screen couple’s blockbuster movie series, which spawned A Very Special Love (2008), You Changed My Life (2009), and It Takes A Man and A Woman (2013).

The romantic comedy is directed by Theodore Boborol, the same director behind MMFF 2016 top-groossing Vince & Kath & James.

Lloydie and Sarah G in a scene from “Finally Found Someone”