Manila Standard - 2018 October 7 - Sunday

PINOYS SATISFIED—SWS

SIX OF TEN RATE DU30 'VERY GOOD'

By Vito Barcelo

VOL. XXXII • NO. 234 • 4 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

DISAPPEARING CULTURE. A dilapidated

capiz-laden window of an old house in Manila’s Zurbaran district shows a vanishing part of Philippine culture. The shells are used in making decorations, vases, lamps, lanterns, trays, accessories, ornaments, even doors, windows and more. The shells have been used in the manufacture of decorative items like chandeliers and lampshades. Sonny Espiritu

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HE Duterte administration suffered an eightpoint drop in the third quarter of 2018, from +58 rating it achieved in the previous quarter, but retained a very good net satisfaction rating of 65 percent in the same quarter.

Turn to A2

ENTERTAINMENT / D3

CAMILA

CABELLO LEADS NOMINATIONS AT

MTV

EMAS AGE DOES NOT MATTER.

At 72 years old, Loleng Boado, who occasionally looks after eight grandchildren, keeps track of her brisk morning breeze through three barangays with bicycle spins in Makati City.

She has learnt to drive a motorcycle lent by her son for a quick drive in Barangay Poblacion. Diana Noche

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018

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News Erica, a robot created by Japan’s Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories. AFP

HUMANOID ROBOT SPARKS CONTROVERSY

By Clara Wright

ANTI-TERROR DRILL. A US marines Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) speeds past USS Ashland (back) during an amphibious landing exercise in Zambales. (Inset) Japanese troops joined the drill, marking the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil after World War II. AFP

NHA HIT FOR KEEPING P11-B HOUSING FUND IDLE

By Maricel V. Cruz THE National Housing Authority has failed to build P11.6 billion worth of houses as of 2016, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said.

Brosas said the failure of the agency to use the funds meant to build houses for low-income families has exacerbated the squatter problem in Metro Manila and in other population centers.

“Aside from the controversy over its substandardYolanda housing units, the National Housing Authority is keeping P11.6 billion idle in its bank account despite the massive housing backlog in the country,”said Brosas, a member of the Makabayan Bloc in Congress.

Brosas cited a recent report from the Commission on Audit which showed the shelter agency’s idle funds almost doubled from P6.68 billion in 2016 to P11.6 billion as of end of 2017, or a 73.7-percent increase.

“The NHA is creating conditions for its defunding and for the full corporatization of mass housing by keeping P11.6 billion, which are mostly from people’s taxes, idle in its bank account,” she said.

Citing the COA report, Brosas said on top of the P19.56-billion subsidy from the national government, the NHA collected P10.23 billion in 2017 from awardees and beneficiaries, which are mostly poor families, mainly in the form of amortization.

Around P14.24 billion, which constitute the bulk of its expenditures, went to shady contractors during the same year, said Brosas, citing the COA report.

“It’s no wonder that in the proposed 2019 national budget, the NHA’s budget was slashed by P2.9 billion to a mere P360 million, with technically not a single centavo for the construction of mass housing units,” Brosas said.

JAPAN JOINS PH-US ARMED EXERCISES

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AN ANTONIO, Zambales—Japanese troops stormed a beach in the Philippines Saturday in joint exercises with US and Filipino troops that officials said marked the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil since World War II. The small Japanese contingent played a humanitarian support role in the drill after US and Filipino marines made an amphibious landing to retake Philippine territory from a “terrorist” group.

Fifty unarmed Japanese soldiers in camouflage marched behind their four armored vehicles and picked up Filipino and American troops playing the role of wounded combatants while moving inland over sand and sparse bushland.

The exercise, codenamed Kamandag (Venom), marked the first time Japanese armored military vehicles were used on foreign soil since the country adopted a pacifist constitution after its 1945 defeat, said Japan’s Major Koki Inoue.

“Our purpose is to improve our operational capability and this is a very good opportunity for us to improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training,” Inoue said, adding Japan was not involved in the drill’s combat component.

The exercise was held at a Philippine navy base facing the South

China Sea some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Scarborough Shoal, a territory claimed by Manila that was seized by China during a 2012 naval stand-off.

The Philippines has since ramped up military cooperation with Washington, its long-time ally, and also held joint naval exercises with Japan near Scarborough Shoal in 2015.

Japan has its own maritime territorial dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea. The US military stressed that Saturday’s exercise was not aimed at China, which has also built artificial islands on disputed areas of the South China Sea and installed military facilities on them.

“It has nothing to do with a foreign nation or any sort of foreign army. This is exclusively counter-terrorism within the Philippines,” US Marine communications officer First Lieutenant Zack Doherty told AFP. About 150 US, Filipino and Japanese troops took part in Saturday’s landing, Doherty added.

This year’s 10-day Kamandag exercises finish on Wednesday. AFP

PROBE SOUGHT ON KILLING OF PDEA AGENTS

By Lance Baconguis

LANAO del Sur Gov. Bedjoria Soraya Alonto Adiong has called on the Philippine National Police to leave no stone unturned in their probe on the killing of five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Friday.

The agents were ambushed in Kapai,

Lanao del Sur where they just finished conducting an anti-drug symposium.

“I call on the Philippine National Police to make a swift and thorough investigation on this incident. I am confident the local government of Kapai, Lanao del Sur will fully cooperate with the PNP to bring justice to the victims and their families,”Adiong said.

“The Provincial Government of Lanao

HEALTH WARNING RAISED PALU, Indonesia—Rescuers picking through the grim aftermath of Indonesia’s quake-tsunami issued a fresh public health warning Saturday as more decaying corpses were unearthed from beneath the ruined city of Palu.

Officials said Saturday the death toll had climbed to 1,649 with more than a thousand maybe still missing in the seaside city on Sulawesi island, after the region was hit by a powerful quake and a wall of water.

Hopes of finding anyone alive a full eight days since the disaster have all but faded, though the search has not been officially called off.

There are fears that vast numbers

of decomposing bodies could still be buried beneath Petobo and Balaroa— two areas virtually wiped off the map.

“Most of the bodies we have found are not intact, and that poses a danger for the rescuers. We have to be very careful to avoid contamination,” Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue effort, told AFP from Palu.

“We have vaccinated our teams, but we need to be extra cautious.”

Security minister Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said eventually the worst-hit areas would have to be declared mass graves and left untouched. AFP

del Sur fully condemns this criminal act and we ask the authorities that the perpetrators immediately face the consequences of their action,” Adiong added.

The victims were identified as Kenneth Tabulo, Kristine MaeTorlao, Lores Joy Amar, Binzo Dipollo and Diobel Pacinio.

“We assure the families of our fallen agents that we will urgently conduct a

full investigation to identify the shameless criminals who committed this crime...Their death will not go in vain. We will fight even more with fierce commitment and determination. This has just given us more strength to continue our crusade rather than bow to the threats of these illegal drug syndicates,” PDEA Dir. Gen. Aaron Aquino said.

TOXIC CHEMICALS. Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Metro Manila Development Authority remove a container van carrying toxic chemicals that got detached from a trailer truck in Manila.

Norman Cruz

MADRID—Sporting a trendy brown bob, a humanoid robot named Erica chats to a man in front of stunned audience members in Madrid.

She and others like her are a prime focus of robotic research, as their uncanny human form could be key to integrating such machines into our lives, said researchers gathered this week at the annual International Conference on Intelligent Robots.

“You mentioned project management. Can you please tell me more?”

Erica, who is playing the role of an employer, asks the man.

She may not understand the conversation, but she’s been trained to detect key words and respond to them.

A source of controversy due in part to fears for human employment, the presence of robots in our daily lives is nevertheless inevitable, engineers at the conference said.

The trick to making them more palatable, they added, is to make them look and act more human so that we accept them into our lives more easily. AFP

PRAY FOR RODY'S HEALTH—BISHOPS THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Saturday urged the public to pray for the health of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“It’s sad news, the medical findings, and we would like to really pray for our President that he would be recovering from this found illness,” CBCP Turn to A2

SOLON: DIVIDE LOTTO JACKPOT

By Maricel V. Cruz WITH kilometer-long queues of hopefuls eyeing to bag the almost P1-billion 6/58 Ultra Lotto prize, a legislator on Saturday urged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to devise a scheme that will divide the jackpot among different bettors.

“The increasing jackpot prize has enticed Filipinos from various sectors of society to cast their bets—including President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. In the same manner, the large jackpot prize has elicited concerns from some individuals,” said Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting, chairman of the House of Representatives’Committee on Games and Amusements.

“There are suggestions for the PCSO to come out with additional prizes that can be made of the excessively large pot, such as 6/58-A, 6/58-B, and so on thus giving bettors more chances of winning with just one ticket,”added Tambunting.

CHINA’S INTERPOL BOSS GOES MISSING PARIS—French police said they were probing the disappearance of the Chinese head of Interpol, who has reportedly been detained for questioning in his home country.

Meng Hongwei, 64, was last seen leaving for China from the international police organization’s headquarters in Lyon, southeast France, in late September, a source close to the inquiry told AFP. His wife has since reported him missing.

“He did not disappear in France” where he lives, the source told AFP. But Interpol would not be drawn on his possible whereabouts.

“We are aware of media reports in connection with the alleged disappearance of Interpol president Meng Hongwei. This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China,” it said on Twitter.

“Interpol will not comment further.”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported that Meng was under investigation in China.

He was “taken away” for questioning by the authorities “as soon as he landed in China” last week, the newspaper said, quoting an unidentified source. It was not known why Meng was being investigated. AFP

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CASH AWASH. Members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the Manila Police District, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency find a bulk of cash totalling P790,000 inside a secret room while conducting Oplan Linis Piitan, formerly Operation Greyhound and Oplan Galugad for contrabands inside the dormitory of inmates at the Manila City Jail on Sept. 29, released only Saturday. Norman Cruz facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

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MEASURES IN PLACE TO TAME INFLATION

By Vito Barcelo MALACAÑANG on Saturday assured the public anew the government was making efforts to address the rising prices of goods after the country’s inflation accelerated to a high of 6.7 percent in September.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that to tame the impact of inflation, the government had streamlined procedures on the importation of agricultural products to boost supply and lower prices in the market.

“We are aware of the feelings of the public due to the rising prices of commodities, that’s why the government is making steps to help the public,” Roque Turn to A2 said in Filipino.

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PADRE PIO'S HEART RELIC ARRIVES IN PH THE “incorrupt heart” relic of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Italy arrived at 10 o’clock Friday night on board Qatar Airways flight QR928 via Doha at the Naia Terminal 1.

The relic of the Italian priest, known for his piety and charity as well as the gift of the stigmata, will be in the Philippines until Oct. 26.

The relic will be enshrined at the National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batangas until Oct. 7 and will be brought to the Manila Cathedral Oct. 8-10, Cebu Cathedral Oct. 11-13,Davao Cathedral Oct.14-16,Lipa Cathedral Oct.17, National Shrine of Saint Pio Oct.18-26 and the departure and motorcade to Naia on Oct. 26.

Aside from the Philippines, Padre Pio’s heart relic had visited the United States, Paraguay and Argentina accompanied by two Capuchin friars from San Giovanni Rotonda in Italy. Eric Apolonio

PINOYS...

From A1

According to the Social Weather Stations, more than six out of every 10 Filipinos were satisfied with the performance of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, retaining a very good net satisfaction rating of 65 percent in the third quarter of 2018.

The poll, conducted from September 15 to 23, showed that 65 percent of Filipinos continued to remain satisfied with the general performance of the current administration.

Nineteen percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, while 15 percent were dissatisfied.

The SWS also revealed that the Duterte administration’s net satisfaction rating fell one grade in all areas, except in Metro Manila.

It declined to“very good”in Mindanao (+67), “good” in Balance Luzon (+48), and “good” in Visayas (+42).

It stayed “good” in Metro Manila (+40), although down by 7 points from June.

Though the government’s performance stayed “very good” in rural areas (+54) and “good” in urban areas (+45), it is 13 points and 4 points lower in the 3rd quarter, respectively.

In classes A, B, and C, the Duterte administration’s net satisfaction rating dropped from “excellent” to “good” with +47, a decline of 34 points from June.

It also fell one grade from “very good” to “good” in class E (+49) and stayed “very good” with +56 in class D. But the net satisfaction rating of the Duterte administration stayed “very good” in rural areas (+54) and among the class D or the masa (+50), and “good” in Metro Manila (+40) and in urban areas (+45), although there were significant drops in the recent figure.

Respondents interviewed for the survey were also asked to rate the government’s performance on several subjects.

The Duterte administration garnered a “very good” rating on building and maintenance of public works (+66), helping the poor (+63), reconstructing Marawi City (+58), protecting human rights (+54), and fighting terrorism (+53).

The respondents also rated “good” on the government’s performance on fighting crimes (+43), foreign relations (+40), defending its sovereignty in West Philippine Sea (+39), and eradicating graft and corruption (+38), among others.

MEASURES...

From A1 In reiterating the assurance that the government was not sleeping on the job, Roque said the government had imported more food products to bring down the prices.

The rate of inflation jumped to an almost 10-year high in September, according to data released Friday, putting pressure on President Rodrigo Duterte to act as the cost of food and fuel hit the country’s poor.

Consumer prices have risen every month this year, with food surging further after Typhoon “Ompong,” the world’s most powerful storm in 2018, smashed into the country’s northern agricultural heartland in midSeptember.

Increases have been powered by a collision of factors including Duterte’s massive spending on a broad infrastructure building effort, climbing oil prices and weak farm output.

Consumer price increases accelerated to 6.7 percent, from 6.4 percent in August, in the steepest climb since February 2009, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

“We... understand that many are feeling the hit of a faster inflation rate, particularly those who toil so hard just to keep up,” Duterte’s economics team said.

The Palace spokesman said the government had given away cash and fuel subsidies to specific sectors affected by the high consumer prices.

Roque said several measures had already been implemented to stabilize the prices of

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MANILA, SEVEN OTHER COASTAL CITIES AT RISK

ARIS—Governments must provide “major” investment in flood risk reduction to save coastal cities around the world, a charity said Friday, as rising seas and sinking urban areas pose unprecedented threats to millions of homes.

Cities such as Jakarta—which is sinking 25 centimeters (0.8 feet) each year—Bangkok, Houston and Shanghai risk being inundated within decades as a mixture of poor planning, megastorms and higher tides wreak havoc.

London-based charity Christian Aid studied eight coastal cities around the world that are sinking, potentially compounding the misery that rising sea levels will inflict on inhabitants.

“The impacts of climate change will be seen across the world and as you saw this summer we had a very warm northern hemisphere, very abnormally so,” Kat Kramer, global

climate lead at Christian Aid, told AFP. “Many of the big cities in the developing world are extraordinarily vulnerable to climate change which is why it’s very important that they are given support to adapt and build resilience.

“Lives are already being lost through extreme weather events,” Kramer added.

The call coincides with the release next week of a major United Nations report expected to urge governments to drastically increase their efforts to limit global temperature rises.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will examine the

effect of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

That is the most ambitious target that nations signed up to in the 2015 Paris Treaty on climate change, which aims to limit temperature increases to “well below 2C” by the end of the century.

‘Natural measures’ But even keeping the world within that temperature range will have a catastrophic impact on coastal cities, with some studies showing a 2C increase could raise global sea levels by up to half a meter.

Thursday’s paper picked out Jakarta, Bangkok, Lagos, Manila, Dhaka, Shanghai, Houston and London— home to a combined 100 million people—as particularly at risk.

The charity highlighted a host of local factors that contribute to sinkage, the majority man-made.

In Jakarta, a city of 10 million people that sits on a confluence of

13 rivers, half the population lacks access to piped water, so many dig illegal wells to extract groundwater.

This puts greater pressure on the soil, which doesn’t get replenished as it should by rainfall as nearly all of the city is covered in asphalt and concrete.

In Houston, efforts to provide a growing population with drinking water have also caused land to sink—an effect made worse by sea level rises and storm surges.

Kramer said large infrastructure such as sea walls or London’s Thames Barrier could help mitigate the damage, but also urged governments to preserve nature’s own defenses.

“Something noticeable with the Asian tsunami [2004] of was that areas that had their mangroves intact had greater resilience to that kind of storm surge,” she said.

“There are many ways that natural measures can help if they are left intact.” AFP

BIFF BOMBER KILLED, NPA LEADER NABBED

By Francisco Tuyay THE military notched two victories this week when operatives killed Saturday a terrorist-bomber involved in twin bombings in Sultan Kudarat and captured Thursday a New People’s Army leader in operations in Negros Occidental.

Brig. Gen. Diosdado Carreon, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said Norodin Taib, a bomber and militant of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter, was killed in Sitio Lab, Barangay Kuloy, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao at about 2 a.m.

Carreon said troops were approaching the safe house of Taib but the BIFF bomber, with five other companions scampered in different directions.

One of the fleeing suspects hurled a homemade hand grenade at authorities, prompting soldiers to defend themselves, hitting Taib, according to the military.

Reports said Taib was involved in two separate bombings at Isulan, Sultan Kudarat last Aug. 28 and Sept.

2, that left five people killed and wounded 50 others.

Carreon said the military operation against Taib was launched following information from concerned civilians about the presence of notorious bombers in the area.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Commander, commended the 601st IB for “neutralizing” Taib whom he called responsible in bombing incidents in Central Mindanao.

“We will continue to conduct military operations with the assistance of the Philippine National Police, local government units, and the civilian populace to stop them from doing their terroristic activities,” Sobejana said.

In Negros Occidental, 2nd Lt. Mae Rio Sanchez, Civil Military Operations officer of the 15th Infantry Battalion, said army and police operatives captured Joebert “Allan” Herrera, 36, a Platoon Leader of the Southwest Front of the CPP//NPA in Sipalay City.

Citing police records, Sanchez said Herrera had two standing warrants of arrest for the crime of murder and multiple frustrated murder and arson.

Lt. Col. Patricio Tomales, commanding officer of the 15th Infantry Battalion, said the capture of Herrera was made possible through the cooperation of the civilian populace who told the military they were already fed up with the atrocities perpetrated by the CPP/NPA. He vowed more arrests and urged local populace continued support to authorities to stamp out NPA activities.

“In coordination with the police, there will be more [operations] in Negros. With the active help of the local populace, the CPP/NPA terrorists will be suppressed and defeated,” Tomales said.

“The 15thIB will continue with its counter-terrorist operations to ensure the safety and security of the people...and attain the aspired peace and security in Negros,” Tomales added.

basic agricultural commodities, particularly rice at very reasonable levels.

“We want to maintain the sufficient supply of agricultural products in the market, and provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering, and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing, and pricing of said goods,” Roque said.

The government has also distributed to poor families the unconditional cash transfer component of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. Under the UCT scheme, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has released P2,400 (P200 per month) in 2018 to millions of poor beneficiaries. The subsidy will be raised to P3,600 (P300 per month) in 2019 and 2020.

Roque also said the government also distributed fuel vouchers worth P5,000 to public utility jeepney units to mitigate the impact of high oil prices.

A provision in the TRAIN also states the next fuel tax rate increase would be suspended if the three-month average of Dubai crude hits $80 per barrel, according to Roque.

The Palace official hoped these measures would lessen the burden of the public as prices would go down again.

Roque’s statement came after inflation rate accelerated to 6.7 percent in September from 6.4 percent in August, the fastest in over nine years since February 2009 when it surged to 7.2 percent.

The tens of millions who get by on less than $2 per day have been especially hard hit by the increase.

The government has boosted imports of

PADRE PIO’S VIRTUES. Catholic authorities aim to highlight the virtues of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Italy whose 'incorrupt heart' relic arrived Friday night on board Qatar Airways flight QR928 via Doha at the Naia Terminal 1. It will be in the Philippines until Oct. 26.

rice following shortages but authorities acknowledged Friday that grain prices remain “elevated” due to the typhoon.

Analyst Astro del Castillo said the problem “will not be solved overnight” because some factors are beyond the government’s control, such as oil prices.

Global crude prices are sitting at a four-year high around $85 and there are warnings they could break $100.

However, Del Castillo said the people expected the President to do something about it.

“You’ve seen the [opinion] surveys. The people would like inflation to be the government’s top priority,” he added.

The central bank last month jacked up key rates for the fourth time this year, while also raising its inflation targets for this year and next.

Passage of a law lifting import quotas on rice and extra imports of other food items “could lead to an earlier return of inflation to within the target range in 2019,” it added.

Analysts believe the pain may not be over yet, with interest rates expected to climb another full point in the next six months.

The peso has been hovering at 13-year lows, closing at 54.32 to the US dollar on Thursday—making imports more expensive—while the stock market has plunged about 17 percent since December, making it one of the world’s worst performers.

The PSA attributed the high inflation rate to faster increase in the prices of food and nonalcoholic beverages, which went up 9.7 percent in September. With Julito G. Rada, AFP

PRAY...

From A1 Archbishop Romulo Valles said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas beamed nationwide.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, meanwhile, told GMA News Online the President could still perform his official responsibilities despite the colonoscopy and endoscopy tests.

Duque said: “We still see him around and attending to his presidential duties and responsibilities. Undergoing medical tests does not mean he has slowed down...everyone deserves a break, he needs rest he really has a very torturing schedule.”

Valles called on the public to pray for the President’s current health condition because of his important role in government.

“We would pray for him that he would be back to his health so that he can run the affairs of the country,” the Davao archbishop said.

On Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque revealed that Duterte’s doctors had advised the President to undergo endoscopy to further examine his digestive tract.

Endoscopy is an examination of the upper digestive tract of a person, while colonoscopy is a procedure to know the current state of the large intestine or colon.

Meanwhile, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on the Clergy head Bishop Buenaventura Famadico of the San Pablo Diocese said they would pray for the 73-yearold Duterte.

“We pray for him,” he said when asked to comment on Duterte’s health, during the press briefing at the start of the 21-day visit of the heart of St. Padre Pio in Batangas on Saturday.

The “incorrupt heart” of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is in the Philippines until Oct. 26.

It will visit the three major islands of the country—Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The Luzon leg (Oct. 8-10) will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Manila, the Visayas leg (Oct. 11-13) by the Archdiocese of Cebu, and the Mindanao leg (Oct. 14-16) by the Archdiocese of Davao.

The Philippines will only be the fourth country to be visited by this heart relic, after the United States, Paraguay, and Argentina. The Shrine of St. Padre Pio was declared a National Shrine by the CBCP in 2015. PNA

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PAL WARNS PUBLIC VS SALE OF FAKE TICKETS ONLINE

PRESENTATION. NCRPO Chief Guillermo Eleazar leads the presentation of seized firearms, drugs, motorcycles as well as the arrested suspects following the conduct of a district-wide operation of the Southern Police District Headquarters in Taguig on Oct. 6, 2018. Norman Cruz

ROQUE OFFERED TO HEAD NEW OPS —ANDANAR PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has offered his spokesman, Harry Roque, to lead the Office of the Press Secretary, Communication Secretary Martin Andanar said Saturday.

“Iyong Office of the Press Secretary ay iyon ang inaalok para kay Harry Roque [The Office of the Press Secretary was offered to Harry Roque],” he said in an interview over DZMM. Asked what would happen to PCOO, Andanar said his agency is likely to be replaced by the OPS. Andanar made the remark after Senate President Vicente Sotto III bared in a Senate hearing last Wednesday that he was looking into the possibility of reverting the Presidential Communications Operations Office to the OPS. He, however, described it as a “sacrifice” worth making.

“Ako naman ay handang magsakripisyo para lamang hindi tumakbo si Harry Roque [I am ready to make a sacrifice so that Harry Roque does not run during the 2019 midterm elections],” he said.

Roque, however, said he has yet to make up his mind about joining the senatorial race. He said he will spend the whole weekend contemplating Duterte’s suggestion to stay and not to run as senator in next year’s mid-term elections.

The OPS was split into the PCOO and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III. Aquino abolished the PCDSPO and transferred its functions to the PCOO. Sotto earlier said he wanted the PCOO reverted to OPS since the former was only created to “accommodate political friends of the previous administration.”

He has tabled his proposal to Duterte who has expressed support for it.

Andanar added that the OPS would consolidate the functions of the PCOO, PCDSPO, and the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson. PNA

MMDA GEARS UP FOR YULE TRAFFIC

By Joel E. Zurbano

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HE Metro Manila Development Authority has announced it was preparing measures to effectively address the anticipated monstrous traffic in the National Capital Region during the Yuletide season.

MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said the agency, led by its chairman Danilo Lim, invited shopping mall owners and operators to come to his office this coming Wednesday to discuss possible traffic scheme and other policies to be enforced during the peak buying months.

Garcia said they want the shopping mall owners and operators to assist the MMDA to further improve its preparations of appropriate traffic engineering and enforcement during the holiday season.

He added that they would urge shopping mall operators to adjust their operating hours to help minimize traffic, particularly along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, during the holidays.

“We would ask them to start operating at 11 am, an hour late from the 10 am regular opening schedule,” said Garcia, adding that this practice has been done in previous years.

Shopping malls and other commercial establishments located along EDSA generate heavier traffic during the Christmas holidays, according to the MMDA. “We invited them to a meeting to have proper coordination because we cannot simply impose a policy without cooperating with mall owners. Dialogue is very important,” Garcia said.

At least 16 malls and shopping centers are located along EDSA. Garcia said mall and shopping center owners and operators must coordinate with the MMDA during special events like promotions and midnight sales.

The MMDA will also ask the business establishments to provide the agency with the schedule of special events for the agency so they can make necessary adjustment of the traffic management in their respective areas.

Records showed that traffic volume rises 15 to 20 percent between November and December.

Last year, mall operators allowed the MMDA to deputize their security guards to help the MMDA in managing traffic along EDSA. The agency trained the security guards on basic traffic management method used by its traffic constables and other volunteers from various local government units.

The method covers topics such as fundamentals of traffic management, traffic direction, control, and supervision, traffic law enforcement, basics of road safety, traffic accident investigation, road incident management, traffic engineering, and administrative rules and regulations.

VATICAN SYNOD STEERS CLEAR OF SEX TOPICS “WE mustn’t be afraid of sexuality!”

French prelate Emmanuel Gobillard urged the Vatican synod on the role of young people, trying to break down the enduring taboo in the 1.3billion member Church.

But while the young insist that sex is an unavoidable topic at the month-long meeting of world bishops, the subject has a low profile in the gathering’s 70-page working document.

The text notes “the beauty and depth of affective and sex life” that can be “disfigured” by “early sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, digital pornography, exhibiting bodies online and sexual tourism.”

It admits that the Church is no longer the moral compass it once was: “Sociological studies show that many young Catholics do not follow Church teachings on sexual morals,” it says.

But the fact that it mentions, once, the term LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) was too

much for Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, a member of the synod’s permanent committee.

“There is no such thing as an ‘LGBTQ Catholic’ or a ‘transgender Catholic’ or a ‘heterosexual Catholic’ —as if our sexual appetites defined who we are,” he told the meeting on Thursday.

The working document, which will be the basis for a final text, notes the existence of LGBT “who wish to benefit from greater closeness and experience greater care by the Church.”

But Chaput objected.

“LGBTQ’ and similar language should not be used in church documents, because using it suggests that these are real, autonomous groups, and the church simply doesn’t categorize people that way,” he argued.

Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon Gobillard said he had spent the summer listening to what young people had to say.

“As this synod begins, it is essential

to remember how important it is to be able to speak freely about sexuality, for our youths and seminarians to be educated so that they can educate,” he told the meeting of bishops and Pope Francis. “Too often, young people discover sexuality through the prism of pornography or the embarrassed silence of [previous] generations,” he said in his fourminute address.

He called for a change in mentality that would see sexuality and celibacy discussed in schools and seminaries.

Even Pope Francis has approved of young lovers living together provided it leads to marriage.

“Sexuality is no longer a taboo within the Church but it’s still difficult to talk about it in simple terms,” Gobillard told journalists before the synod.

Dealing with the controversial topic is complicated by the presence of bishops from cultures with more or less conservative attitudes to sexuality, including some countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. AFP

BOC DESTROYS SMUGGLED USED TIRES, HOUSEHOLD ITEMS IN BULACAN

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Customs destroyed at least P1 million worth of seized smuggled used tires, used household and personal effects in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

The destruction of the condemned shipments was part of the government’s policy to destroy seized smuggled products, particularly second hand or expired goods to protect the public from further harm.

Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the destruction was made to make sure that the items would not be released to the market.

Used tires are prohibited from being brought into the country as provided in the Letter of Instruction No. 1086, Series of 1980.

Meanwhile, the used household and personal effects had been abandoned by the consignee and subsequently forfeited in favor of the government.

The destruction of the abandoned and forfeited goods was led by lawyer Enrico A. Turingan, deputy collector for Operations of the Port of Subic.

The said items were shredded and disposed of in the facility of EPY-ECO Auction and Waste Disposal Services, the accredited service provider of the Port of Subic for the condemnation of contrabands and abandoned goods.

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines on Saturday warned the public against unscrupulous individuals selling “cheap” airline tickets on Facebook and other social media sites.

The modus operandi, according to PAL management, involves bulk buying of tickets that are then sold at low rates via social media sites.

The airline company stated that Individuals who are enticed to purchase these tickets are eventually informed that the tickets are in the name of fictitious people; the buyers are then offered fake IDs for presentation at airport check-in.

PAL Express head of security Rear Admiral Jorge Amba said the number of passengers caught using fake IDs increased over the past months.

As of Oct. 5, 2018, there were 68 apprehensions in different airports around the country, with a particular concentration in Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Bacolod and Clark.

“Since the tickets were bought online in bulk under different [fake] names, passengers who bought cheap round-trip tickets were also supplied with fake IDs by the sellers,” said Amba.

“Our airport front liners are trained to distinguish counterfeit IDs. So if you presented a fake ID, you will surely miss your flight and will have tons of problems,” he added.

Apprehended passengers using fake IDs can be charged with violation of Article 178—Using Fictitious Name and Concealing True Name and Article 172—Falsification of Public Documents of the Revised Penal Code, which has a corresponding penalty of imprisonment from 1 month or 2 to 6 years, respectively.

Amba noted that the law has been in existence for decades, but advancement in technology and social media has enabled these fraud schemes to flourish. Joel E. Zurbano

SPD COPS NAB 150 DRUG DEALERS, SUSPECTS AUTHORITIES has arrested a total of 150 individuals in two-day simultaneous police operations in southern part of Metro Manila in line with the government’s crackdown against suspected drug dealers and other criminal elements in the country.

Southern Police District director Senior Supt. Eliseo Cruz said the latest operation conducted last Friday until dawn Saturday also resulted in the arrest of 44 persons allegedly engaged in drug dealing and its use, and 55 others who have standing warrants of arrest.

Seized from the drug suspects during buy-bust operations were 324 sachets of shabu worth P2.4 million, 97 sachets of marijuana worth P240,000, 33 firearms and 16 bladed weapons.

“The most number of arrest was in Parañaque followed by Makati and Las Piñas. But the most number of applied search warrants and confiscated illegal drugs was in Taguig City,” said Cruz.

Cruz said the district-wide simultaneous police operation “seemingly gained a positive result which is projected to favorably contribute to the decline of crimes within the SPD area of responsibility.”

“This initiative is another example of how the PNP and its personnel maximizes its potential and exerts all efforts to reduce if not totally stop criminality in the SPD area of responsibility but the whole Metro Manila area,” said Cruz.

SPD spokesperson Jenny Tecson said National Capital Region Police director Guillermo Eleazar accompanied Cruz and other police officials in presenting the seized drugs, firearms and bl ded weapons to members of the media at the SPD headquarters in Bicutan.

Joel E. Zurbano

ERRATUM

UNVEILING. Army chief Lieutenant General Rolando Bautista (left) with Doña Isabel Cojuangco-

Suntay, founder of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation and her daughter Dra. Isa Cojuangco-Suntay, cofounder, and Major Gen. Roberto Arevalo, (right) Army vice commander, other Marawi commanders lead the inauguration and unveiling of the Marawi Heroes Memorial Mural wall and Marawi Liberation Commemoration at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on Friday, Oct. 5. Lino Santos

THE name “Villafuerte” inadvertently appeared in the 10th paragraph of a Manila Standard news item (“Lawmaker loses round at Sandiganbayan”, Oct. 4, 2018 issue) about the case of a congressman from Pangasinan who is facing charges at the Ombudsman in connection with alleged black sand mining in the province. The name appeared because it was included in the paragraph that was taken from an earlier issue of the Manila Standard and used as a background in Thursday’s story. This paper regrets the error.

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News Erica, a robot created by Japan’s Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories. AFP

HUMANOID ROBOT SPARKS CONTROVERSY

By Clara Wright

ANTI-TERROR DRILL. A US marines Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) speeds past USS Ashland (back) during an amphibious landing exercise in Zambales. (Inset) Japanese troops joined the drill, marking the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil after World War II. AFP

NHA HIT FOR KEEPING P11-B HOUSING FUND IDLE

By Maricel V. Cruz THE National Housing Authority has failed to build P11.6 billion worth of houses as of 2016, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said.

Brosas said the failure of the agency to use the funds meant to build houses for low-income families has exacerbated the squatter problem in Metro Manila and in other population centers.

“Aside from the controversy over its substandardYolanda housing units, the National Housing Authority is keeping P11.6 billion idle in its bank account despite the massive housing backlog in the country,”said Brosas, a member of the Makabayan Bloc in Congress.

Brosas cited a recent report from the Commission on Audit which showed the shelter agency’s idle funds almost doubled from P6.68 billion in 2016 to P11.6 billion as of end of 2017, or a 73.7-percent increase.

“The NHA is creating conditions for its defunding and for the full corporatization of mass housing by keeping P11.6 billion, which are mostly from people’s taxes, idle in its bank account,” she said.

Citing the COA report, Brosas said on top of the P19.56-billion subsidy from the national government, the NHA collected P10.23 billion in 2017 from awardees and beneficiaries, which are mostly poor families, mainly in the form of amortization.

Around P14.24 billion, which constitute the bulk of its expenditures, went to shady contractors during the same year, said Brosas, citing the COA report.

“It’s no wonder that in the proposed 2019 national budget, the NHA’s budget was slashed by P2.9 billion to a mere P360 million, with technically not a single centavo for the construction of mass housing units,” Brosas said.

JAPAN JOINS PH-US ARMED EXERCISES

S

AN ANTONIO, Zambales—Japanese troops stormed a beach in the Philippines Saturday in joint exercises with US and Filipino troops that officials said marked the first time Tokyo’s armored vehicles rolled on foreign soil since World War II. The small Japanese contingent played a humanitarian support role in the drill after US and Filipino marines made an amphibious landing to retake Philippine territory from a “terrorist” group.

Fifty unarmed Japanese soldiers in camouflage marched behind their four armored vehicles and picked up Filipino and American troops playing the role of wounded combatants while moving inland over sand and sparse bushland.

The exercise, codenamed Kamandag (Venom), marked the first time Japanese armored military vehicles were used on foreign soil since the country adopted a pacifist constitution after its 1945 defeat, said Japan’s Major Koki Inoue.

“Our purpose is to improve our operational capability and this is a very good opportunity for us to improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training,” Inoue said, adding Japan was not involved in the drill’s combat component.

The exercise was held at a Philippine navy base facing the South

China Sea some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Scarborough Shoal, a territory claimed by Manila that was seized by China during a 2012 naval stand-off.

The Philippines has since ramped up military cooperation with Washington, its long-time ally, and also held joint naval exercises with Japan near Scarborough Shoal in 2015.

Japan has its own maritime territorial dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea. The US military stressed that Saturday’s exercise was not aimed at China, which has also built artificial islands on disputed areas of the South China Sea and installed military facilities on them.

“It has nothing to do with a foreign nation or any sort of foreign army. This is exclusively counter-terrorism within the Philippines,” US Marine communications officer First Lieutenant Zack Doherty told AFP. About 150 US, Filipino and Japanese troops took part in Saturday’s landing, Doherty added.

This year’s 10-day Kamandag exercises finish on Wednesday. AFP

PROBE SOUGHT ON KILLING OF PDEA AGENTS

By Lance Baconguis

LANAO del Sur Gov. Bedjoria Soraya Alonto Adiong has called on the Philippine National Police to leave no stone unturned in their probe on the killing of five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Friday.

The agents were ambushed in Kapai,

Lanao del Sur where they just finished conducting an anti-drug symposium.

“I call on the Philippine National Police to make a swift and thorough investigation on this incident. I am confident the local government of Kapai, Lanao del Sur will fully cooperate with the PNP to bring justice to the victims and their families,”Adiong said.

“The Provincial Government of Lanao

HEALTH WARNING RAISED PALU, Indonesia—Rescuers picking through the grim aftermath of Indonesia’s quake-tsunami issued a fresh public health warning Saturday as more decaying corpses were unearthed from beneath the ruined city of Palu.

Officials said Saturday the death toll had climbed to 1,649 with more than a thousand maybe still missing in the seaside city on Sulawesi island, after the region was hit by a powerful quake and a wall of water.

Hopes of finding anyone alive a full eight days since the disaster have all but faded, though the search has not been officially called off.

There are fears that vast numbers

of decomposing bodies could still be buried beneath Petobo and Balaroa— two areas virtually wiped off the map.

“Most of the bodies we have found are not intact, and that poses a danger for the rescuers. We have to be very careful to avoid contamination,” Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue effort, told AFP from Palu.

“We have vaccinated our teams, but we need to be extra cautious.”

Security minister Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said eventually the worst-hit areas would have to be declared mass graves and left untouched. AFP

del Sur fully condemns this criminal act and we ask the authorities that the perpetrators immediately face the consequences of their action,” Adiong added.

The victims were identified as Kenneth Tabulo, Kristine MaeTorlao, Lores Joy Amar, Binzo Dipollo and Diobel Pacinio.

“We assure the families of our fallen agents that we will urgently conduct a

full investigation to identify the shameless criminals who committed this crime...Their death will not go in vain. We will fight even more with fierce commitment and determination. This has just given us more strength to continue our crusade rather than bow to the threats of these illegal drug syndicates,” PDEA Dir. Gen. Aaron Aquino said.

TOXIC CHEMICALS. Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Metro Manila Development Authority remove a container van carrying toxic chemicals that got detached from a trailer truck in Manila.

Norman Cruz

MADRID—Sporting a trendy brown bob, a humanoid robot named Erica chats to a man in front of stunned audience members in Madrid.

She and others like her are a prime focus of robotic research, as their uncanny human form could be key to integrating such machines into our lives, said researchers gathered this week at the annual International Conference on Intelligent Robots.

“You mentioned project management. Can you please tell me more?”

Erica, who is playing the role of an employer, asks the man.

She may not understand the conversation, but she’s been trained to detect key words and respond to them.

A source of controversy due in part to fears for human employment, the presence of robots in our daily lives is nevertheless inevitable, engineers at the conference said.

The trick to making them more palatable, they added, is to make them look and act more human so that we accept them into our lives more easily. AFP

SOLON: DIVIDE LOTTO JACKPOT

By Maricel V. Cruz WITH kilometer-long queues of hopefuls eyeing to bag the almost P1-billion 6/58 Ultra Lotto prize, a legislator on Saturday urged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to devise a scheme that will divide the jackpot among different bettors.

“The increasing jackpot prize has enticed Filipinos from various sectors of society to cast their bets—including President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. In the same manner, the large jackpot prize has elicited concerns from some individuals,” said Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting, chairman of the House of Representatives’Committee on Games and Amusements.

“There are suggestions for the PCSO to come out with additional prizes that can be made of the excessively large pot, such as 6/58-A, 6/58-B, and so on thus giving bettors more chances of winning with just one ticket,”added Tambunting.

CHINA’S INTERPOL BOSS GOES MISSING PARIS—French police said they were probing the disappearance of the Chinese head of Interpol, who has reportedly been detained for questioning in his home country.

Meng Hongwei, 64, was last seen leaving for China from the international police organization’s headquarters in Lyon, southeast France, in late September, a source close to the inquiry told AFP. His wife has since reported him missing.

“He did not disappear in France” where he lives, the source told AFP. But Interpol would not be drawn on his possible whereabouts.

“We are aware of media reports in connection with the alleged disappearance of Interpol president Meng Hongwei. This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China,” it said on Twitter.

“Interpol will not comment further.”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported that Meng was under investigation in China.

He was “taken away” for questioning by the authorities “as soon as he landed in China” last week, the newspaper said, quoting an unidentified source. It was not known why Meng was being investigated. AFP

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018

Joyce Pañares, Issue Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Opinion

EDITORIAL

SOUNDS OF SCIENCE

REDEFINING THE ELDERLY

W

E TAKE a meaningful break as we join the government and other agencies in the annual nationwide observance of Elderly Filipino Week which ends today.

This year’s theme—appropriate, with the number of elderly Filipinos projected to likely be over 8 million by end of 2018—is “Kilalanin at Parangalan: Tagasulong ng Karapatan ng Nakatatanda Tungo sa Lipunang Mapagkalinga (Recognize and Honor [the Elderly]: Advocate Rights of Seniors Into a Caring Society).”

With the observance, it is timely that we not just recognize the growing number and honor them by perhaps treating them to a sumptuous lunch or dinner today.

There is urgency for government and the lawmakers to revisit a pending measure in Congress which seeks to lower the age bracket for beneficiaries of

PECIER DECIERDO

THE FERMI PARADOX: WHERE ARE ALL THE ALIENS?

the P100,000 incentive under the Centenarians Act of 2016.

At the same time, it is propitious to recognize and endorse that old age is not a handicap to leading productive lives even in the digital age.

With the projected number of seniors by end of this year, we find it apropos to redefine the positives the Filipino elderly have which can still enable them to contribute to a growing population.

Given the caring and affectionate culture of the Philippines, absent in other societies, the Filipino elderly remain as important as they were in their prime summers back—since they have so much to give intangibly, with their experiences through this valley that cannot be taught and have not been written in books that deal with social issues.

They have crossed what many call their majority of life path.

Which means they are senior in most of the respects in life: Tolerance, thinking, analyzing, understanding, and judging, among others.

We recognize and honor them today—like in any other day they are with us.

THE year was 1950, the place was the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Over lunch, several prominent scientists were discussing the recent spate of UFO reports. The discussing that was spurred by a cartoon published in the newspaper that day that humorously mocked the UFO sightings by blaming the recent disappearance of municipal trashcans on marauding aliens.

During the conversation, allegedly apropos of nothing, the prominent scientist Enrico Fermi suddenly exclaimed, “Where is everybody?”

For some reason, all of his colleagues understood what he meant right away. Fermi was asking a deep question: Where are the aliens?

Why haven’t we seen them yet?

Because of his famous question, Enrico Fermi lent his name to the now famous paradox that is at the heart of the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between the high estimates for the chances of intelligent life and the lack of evidence for such life.

The Fermi paradox can be stated in this way.

The universe is billions of years old. It contains countless numbers galaxies, each galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars. Even if only a small fraction of those stars have planets, and even if only a small fraction of those planets are capable of harboring life, there should still be enough opportunity for many forms of intelligent life to arise in the universe. However, despite this abundance of opportunity for life to arise, we still have not seen any evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

This apparent contradiction is made more extreme when the progress of technology is taken into consideration. After all, based on our experience here on Earth, once a technological civilization has appeared, its advancement, it seems, starts accelerating at breakneck speed.

Humans have existed for less than 1 percent of the Earth’s history. Majority of that 1 percent was spent in the stone ages. However, ever since the Industrial Revolution, the march of human progress seems to have gotten exponentially faster. The Wright Brothers achieved flight in 1909. Less than 50 years after that, the Soviets sent the first artificial satellite into orbit in 1957. Then in 1969, only 12 years after the first artificial satellite was sent into orbit, humans have set foot on the Moon.

The speed of technological advancement in information technology in the Internet is even more impressive. If, in the few years since the birth of the Internet and the World Wide Web we have gotten to where we are, image where we will be 100 years from now.

The suggestion, therefore, is not only that there has been enough time for at least a few alien civilizations to arise. It seems that there has been more than enough time for civilizations significantly more advanced than ours to develop and leave traces of their activity in the galaxy.

And so Fermi’s paradox haunts us: Where is everybody? Why haven’t we found signs of advanced civilizations scattered everywhere in the galaxy?

Because of the implications of the Fermi paradox on the possible trajectories of life not only on other planets, but also here on Earth, scientists have always been fascinated with this puzzle.

One implication of the Fermi paradox is that technological civilizations don’t last very long.

There might be something about civilizations that just spell disaster. Maybe civilizations tend to destroy themselves after some time.

There are many ways civilizations can do this.

Just our own civilization presents many examples. There’s the threat of nuclear armageddon, destruction of the global environment, global pandemic, or the creation of a technology that will result in our species’ demise.

Another possibility that scientists entertain is that once a civilization has become dominant, they might feel threatened by the rise of other civilizations and they eliminate these threats as soon as they discover them.

Such scientists, such as the late Stephen Hawking, usually suggest that we do not try to contact other civilizations because they might be more technologically advance and view us as threats to be eliminated.

Another option is that technological civilizations are exceedingly rare. Perhaps most of life in the universe is non-intelligent, or perhaps most intelligent beings are not interested in exploring the universe and contacting others.

These are but a few of the speculations that some people have put forward to try to address the Fermi paradox. As science progresses and we discover more about the nature of life and the universe, as we discover more planets and the ways they can be, we’ll come closer to answering one of humanity’s most perennial questions—are we alone in the universe? And if we’re not, where is everybody?

GOING, GOING, GONE! TOKYO’S TSUKIJI HOLDS LAST TUNA AUCTION BEFORE MOVING OUT

By Shingo Ito TOKYO fishmongers gathered before dawn Saturday for one final tuna auction at the world-famous Tsukiji market before it closed its doors to move to a new site.

It was an emotional moment for veterans of the market, the beating heart of Tokyo’s culinary scene for decades, which many acknowledged had become too rundown to support its mammoth operations.

“I’m almost crying,” said Hisao Ishii, a retired seafood auctioneer who was back at the market for its final day.

“Today is a sad day of goodbyes. Tsukiji tried to meet the times, but it is getting older,” the 68-year-old told AFP. “I came here today to tell Tsukiji thank you and goodbye.”

In the weak early-morning sun, traders filed into a warehouse for the last tuna auction, an indispensable ritual in Tokyo’s culinary world, and a major tourist draw.

Hundreds of fresh and frozen tuna tagged with their weight and port of origin were laid out in lines in a refrigerated warehouse, as buyers in rubber boots quietly inspected the wares.

They rubbed slices between their fingers and shone torches into the insides of the fish, swapping information with rivals before the showdown began.

At 6:00 am sharp, handbells rang to signal

the auction was under way and the air filled with the sound of auctioneers yelling prices at buyers, who raised fingers to indicate interest.

The highest bidder at Saturday’s auction paid 4.4 million yen ($38,700) for a bluefin tuna—a threatened species—weighing 162 kilograms (357 pounds) caught off Aomori, northern Japan, according to the market.

It was far below the record 155.4 million yen paid at the first auction of 2013. Buyers traditionally offer eye-watering prices as a “New Year gratuity” when the market resumes operation after winter holidays.

‘Pass the baton’ Fish wholesaler Takeshi Yoshida said Tsukiji had left “its mark on history” but it was time to “pass the baton.”

Tsukiji’s inner market, known as “Japan’s Kitchen,” will now move to Toyosu, a site in eastern Tokyo, where operations will begin on October 11.

“It will be the first massive move in our history,” said Hiroyasu Ito, chair of the market association.

“We want to club together and get through it,” he told reporters.

The move has been in the works for years, prompted by Tsukiji’s dilapidated state.

Wholesalers had raised concerns about the antiquated facility’s earthquake

resistance, sanitation and fire safety, as well as the structure’s use of asbestos and its crumbling walls.

The crowds of tourists who would mob the market, including groups who lined up for hours to win one of just 120 spots for the tuna auction, would also irk wholesalers by interfering with business.

The new site will feature state-of-the-art refrigeration, while tourists will be confined to special galleries behind glass.

But the move has proved controversial, with rows breaking out over pollution and the loss of Tsukiji’s globally recognized brand.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was forced to delay the move after a series of problems at Toyosu, formerly home to a gas plant, including soil and groundwater contamination.

Local authorities paid hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up the new facility and Koike took the final decision to move the market there in late 2017, ending years of delays.

‘Hopes and fears’ The move affects not only the famed fishmongers, but also fruit and vegetable vendors, restaurants and other shops in the inner market.

“I feel nostalgic as Tsukiji has been my home ground for 15 years. We are sad to lose the Tsukiji brand,” vegetable wholesaler

Tsukasa Kujirai told AFP. He acknowledged the need for the move but said he was torn between “hopes and fears” about the new site.

The final day of the market looked much like any other in the decades since it opened on the site.

Cars and small “turret trucks” used by vendors whizzed along the roads around the market, which was full of buyers.

As the market closed at noon, workers busily mopped the empty floor after the auction, while hundreds of tourists flocked to the gate, taking pictures of the market’s nameboard.

“It’s so sad to hear that this very popular and interesting tourist spot will be closed,” said Rodolfo Hernandez, a 28-year-old graduate student from Mexico.

The so-called outer market, with brickand-mortar shops selling everything from seaweed to coffee, will remain after the move.

But the warehouses that housed vendors and additional shops and restaurants are expected to be levelled to make way, initially, for a transport depot for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Beyond that, Koike has suggested the site could be transformed into a kind of culinary theme park, commemorating the market’s colorful history. AFP

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SAUDI THREATENS TO BLOCK KEY UN CLIMATE REPORT

POMPEO EYES PROGRESS OVER TRUMP-KIM GAB

INCHEON, South Korea—Oil giant Saudi Arabia is seeking to block adoption of a key UN climate change report unless a passage highlighting the inadequacy of national carbon-cutting pledges is removed or altered, multiple sources told Agence France Presse.

Already in overtime, a meeting of the 195-nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Incheon, South Korea is vetting a major report that traces pathways for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Most of these scenarios involve a sharp reduction in the use of fossil fuels -- Saudi Arabia’s key export.

“We are very concerned that a single country is threatening to hold up adoption of the IPCC Special Report if scientific findings are not changed or deleted according to its demands,” said an informed observer who asked not to be named.

The source, along with two other persons with direct knowledge of the situation, identified the country as Saudi Arabia.

“This has become a battle between Saudi Arabia, a rich oil producer, and small island states threatened with extinction,” said another participant at the meeting who also requested anonymity.

“The report hangs in the balance,” the meeting’s chair said Saturday -- a day after talks were due to end -- before convening an emergency huddle of the IPCC’s half-dozen vice chairs, according to someone in the room.

A email to Saudi officials seeking comment was not answered, and delegates at the closed-door meeting were not accessible.

The underlying 500-page report being reviewed in Incheon -- based on 6,000 peer reviewed studies -- is a collaborative effort of the world’s top climate scientists. AFP

CAMPAIGN TRAIL. United States First Lady Melania Trump waves to children as she visits Chipala Primary School in Lilongwe on Thursday during a one-day visit in Malawi, part of her week long trip to Africa to promote her ‘Be Best’ campaign. AFP

CHINA BLAZES QUIET PATH TO UN POWER

U

NITED NATIONS—Criticized by the White House for alleged interference in United States politics, China has quietly blazed a path at the United Nations where it is, little by little, becoming one of the most influential members.

HK BANS JOURNO; UK SEEKS ‘URGENT EXPLANATION’

At the Security Council, where China holds one of five permanent veto-wielding seats, its statements remain bland, often recalling fundamentals of the United Nations Charter such as national sovereignty and principles of non-interference.

“In their interpretation, democracy is optional, as are human rights,” a European diplomat said.

Yet in peacekeeping missions or when jobs are available in the UN’s executive arm at the New York headquarters, Beijing is increasingly making its presence felt.

More than 2,500 Chinese military personnel wear UN blue helmets on peacekeeping missions in Libya, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

China has also “enormously increased” its voluntary financial contributions to the world body while the US under President Donald Trump has slashed its own financing,

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s decision to effectively blacklist a senior Financial Times journalist required an “urgent explanation”, the United Kingdom said Saturday, as foreign governments sounded the alarm over eroding freedoms in the former British colony.

Victor Mallet, the FT’s Asia news editor and a British national, earned the ire of authorities for hosting a speech

by Andy Chan, the leader of a tiny proindependence political party.

Chan attacked China as an empire trying to “annex” and “destroy” Hong Kong in a strident speech at the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC), where Mallet serves as vice president.

China’s foreign ministry had asked the club to pull the talk, but the FCC refused, arguing that all sides of a debate should be heard.

Rival protesters picketed the lunchtime event and the city’s former leader Leung Chun-ying called for the club to be evicted from its government-owned premises.

The FT said Friday that immigration authorities in Hong Kong had declined to renew Mallet’s visa, a decision rights groups and media organizations said was unprecedented.

“We have asked the Hong Kong government for an urgent explanation,” the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement.

“Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and its press freedoms are central to its way of life, and must be fully respected.” AFP

one diplomat said.

Funding reports and missions allows China to buy some “influence” and push its candidates into top positions, the diplomat added, adding that to have Chinese in multiple roles across the UN provides “a source of information and influence.”

Another diplomat, also speaking anonymously, said: “China is taking power at the United Nations.”

In 2017 and 2018, the Asian giant, which is economically expanding in Africa and elsewhere, became a key player on two major international crises: North Korea and Myanmar.

Under American pressure, Beijing imposed unprecedented economic sanctions against Pyongyang, but with the hope that an accord on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula will lead to the departure of about 30,000 US troops based in South Korea—China’s behind-the-scenes strategy in the region.

China meanwhile considers the crisis of Myanmar’s Muslim minority Rohingya, 700,000 of whom fled a military crackdown to Bangladesh, as a bilateral issue between those two countries, and succeeded in preventing any firm Security Council action.

European diplomats have noted that China’s rise at the United Nations has come at a time when Beijing and Moscow are no longer automatically offering each other immediate reciprocal support. AFP

US SENATE POISED TO CONFIRM KAVANAUGH TO SC

WASHINGTON—The US Senate is expected to confirm conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice on Saturday—offering President Donald Trump a big political win and tilting the nation’s high court decidedly to the right.

The months-long battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination has gripped Washington, laying bare the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill and the political polarization of America just a month before midterm elections.

The Senate vote—set to begin sometime after 3:30 pm (1930 GMT) —will bring an end to a raucous nomination process defined by harrowing testimony from a woman who says Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were teenagers -- and his fiery rebuttal.

If Kavanaugh is confirmed, Trump will have succeeded in having his two picks seated on the court -- a major coup for the Republican leader less than halfway through his term.

His promotion to the Supreme Court will also stand as a demoralizing defeat for Democrats who battled hard to block the 53-year-old judge at all costs.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation was all but sealed on Friday when he won the support of key Senate Republican Susan Collins and conservative Democrat Joe Manchin.

Their statements of support brought the number of senators supporting Kavanaugh to 51 in the 100-member chamber.

“This is a great day for America,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc-

Connell told Fox News late Friday, congratulating his colleagues for “refusing to roll over under all of this intense pressure.”

Kavanaugh’s nomination as a replacement for retiring justice Anthony Kennedy was controversial from the start -- but the initial focus was solely on the conservative views held by the married father of two.

But his ascent to the Supreme Court was in serious doubt last week after research psychologist Christine Blasey Ford testified that he had sexually assaulted her at a Washington area party in the early 1980s.

The brutal hearing sparked a supplemental FBI dive into Kavanaugh’s background and a week-long delay of the Senate vote.

While many senators say they

The CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites suppliers/manufacturers/distributors/contractors to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder project: Name of Project

: ONE YEAR CONTRACT FOR SECURITY SERVICES (2018-2019) MAIN AND SATELLITE CAMPUSES

Location

: MAIN AND SATELLITE CAMPUSES, CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY, INDANG, CAVITE

Brief Description

: ONE YEAR CONTRACT FOR SECURITY SERVICES

Approved Budget for the Contract

: P 22,545,864.00

Prospective bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project within the last two (2) years with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding. The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of Bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Postqualification of the lowest calculated bid shall be conducted.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, PostQualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR).

The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows Activities 1. Issuance of Bid Documents

Schedule October 4, 2018 to October 25, 2018; 8:00AM – 5:00PM

2. Pre-bid Conference

October 11, 2018; 4:30 PM; S.L. Lasap Hall, Administration Building, Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite

3. Opening of Bids

October 25, 2018; 4:30 PM; S.L. Lasap Hall, Administration Building, Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite

Bid Documents will be available only to prospective bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos Only (P 25,000.00) to the CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY Cashier.

Pre-bid conference shall be open to all interested bidders. Bids must be delivered to the Office of the BAC Chairman, Administration Bldg., CvSU, Indang, Cavite on or before the abovementioned date and time. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and amount. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ authorized representatives who choose to attend the bidding. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY (CvSU) assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid. CvSU also reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to annul the bidding process, to reject all bids at any time prior to Contract Award without incurring any liability to the affected bidders, waive any required formality therein, and to award the Contract to the bidder whose bid proposal as evaluated is most advantageous to the University.

Approved by: (SGD) DAVID L. CERO, PhD BAC Chair, Goods andConsulting Services

were satisfied with the FBI probe, her lawyers say the investigation was insufficient.

“An FBI investigation that did not include interviews of Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh is not a meaningful investigation in any sense of the word,” they said in a statement quoted in US media.

Collins—a moderate Republican from Maine—said Kavanaugh was entitled to the “presumption of innocence” as the allegations against him were not substantiated with corroborating evidence.

While acknowledging that Blasey Ford’s testimony was “sincere, painful and compelling,” Collins added: “We will be ill-served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence and fairness.” AFP

MARIACHIS WOO MEXICANS AFTER DEADLY ATTACK

Republic of the Philippines C AV I T E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y (C v S U ) D o n S eve r i n o d e a l a s C a m p u s I n d a n g , c av i t e (0 4 6) 415 010 /415 - 0 011 415 - 0 012 w w w.c v s u .e d u c . p h INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID

(MS-OCT. 7, 2018)

TOKYO—US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped to accelerate a second summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump as he kicked off an Asian trip Saturday featuring a meeting with North Korea’s leader.

Pompeo arrived in Tokyo on the first leg of a tour that will take him to Pyongyang for a fourth time as the contours of a possibly historic US-North Korea deal take shape.

Speaking on the plane on the way from the United States, Pompeo said his aim was to “develop sufficient trust” between the historic foes to inch towards peace.

“Then we are also going to set up the next summit,” said Pompeo.

However, he played down expectations for a major breakthrough, saying: “I doubt we will get it nailed but begin to develop options for both location and timing for when Chairman Kim will meet with the president again.”

“Maybe we will get further than that.”

In June, Trump met Kim in Singapore in the first-ever summit between the countries.

No sitting US president has visited North Korea, which according to human rights groups remains one of the most repressive countries on Earth.

Since the Singapore summit, which yielded what critics charge was a vague commitment by Kim towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the road towards better ties has been bumpy.

Trump scrapped a previously planned trip by his top diplomat to Pyongyang after what he said was insufficient progress towards implementing the terms of the Singapore declaration.

But the unorthodox US president has also declared himself “in love” with the strongman in Pyongyang.

Pompeo has repeatedly declined to be drawn out publicly on the shape of an eventual agreement. The United States has called for a comprehensive accord and strict enforcement of sanctions on North Korea in the meantime. AFP

NO WAY. Protesters occupy the Senate Hart building during a rally

against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Thursday. “Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed on Saturday,” Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters. AFP

MEXICO CITY—About 200 mariachis performed in Mexico City’s iconic Garibaldi Plaza on Friday in a bid to bring wary tourists back to the capital after a deadly attack last month in the square by gunmen dressed as musicians.

Performing classic Mexican songs such as “Guadalajara,” the musicians joined with business owners to try to reassure visitors that the plaza is safe.

Hundreds of people came to watch the display, which also included a performance from a traditional dance group who twirled their skirts in time to the music.

“The incident was a totally isolated one. (...) Those people who are committed to drug dealing and controlling the plazas are killing themselves,” one musician, Tiziano Cervantes, told AFP. On September 14, Garibaldi Plaza was packed with tourists and locals taking part in Mexican Independence Day festivities when gunmen disguised as mariachis fired off at least 60 rounds, investigators say.

The assailants fled on motorcycles.

Six people were killed and several others were wounded in the attack, which Mayor Jose Ramon Amieva blamed on a turf war between two local drug gangs, La Union and Anti-Union de Tepito. AFP CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Images

B3

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK OLD-SCHOOL WHEELS. Residents ride a wooden trolley along Manila’s railway in Sta. Mesa. Lisa Marie David

SHOW OF FAITH. Thousands of young people dance on the streets dressed as angels to mark the feast day of Archangel Raphael on Sept. 29. Teddy Pelaez

SOURCE OF INCOME. A man pedals along Manila’s Roxas Boulevard to deliver sacks of recyclable

FROM ONE PRESIDENT TO ANOTHER.

materials to a nearby junk shop. Ey Acasio

President Rodrigo Duterte engages in a discussion with former President Fidel Ramos during a meeting at the Malacañan Palace on Oct. 4.

Presidential Photo

HALCYON DAYS. A man sleeps without care in the world by the bay area of Manila. Sonny Espiritu

LAST-MINUTE TOUCHES.

Workers set up a statue of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary at the Quezon City Memorial Circle in preparation for the Feast of La Naval de Manila. Thousands of devotees are expected to join the annual grand procession on Sunday, Oct. 7.

Manny Palmero

FIGHTING FOR FAIR WAGE. Thousands of teachers marched from Morayta to Mendiola in Manila to press for a salary hike. Norman Cruz

B4

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018

Reira U Mallari, Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Sports

MCGREGOR GOES AFTER KHABIB’S UFC CROWN

By Reuel Vidal

C

ONOR MCGREGOR, the biggest star in MMA, returns to the cage under the UFC banner when he challenges unbeaten lightweight world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas today, Sunday.

Given his formidable record Nurmagomedov is the oddsmakers’ favorite to retain his UFC crown. Nurmagomedov has not only won all 26 of his fights he has not yet lost a single round in his career.

McGregor’s only chance to win is if he can survive Nurmagomedov’s takedowns.

Battles between grapplers and strikers are what makes MMA bouts so exciting. While the early trend in MMA was in favor of grapplers submitting strikers the trend nowadays is for strikers beating up grapplers from distance.

My most memorable grappler versus striker fight was Shinya Aoki’s defense of his ONE Lightweight world title against Eduard Folayang. Aoki

Conor McGregor (left) unloads a powerhouse kick as he spars with his striking coach Owen Roddy during an open workout for UFC 229 at Park Theater at Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor will challenge UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for his title at UFC 229. AFP

tried to take down Folayang and win mercilessly to win. by submission but Folayang caught McGregor has similar striking him with a flying knee, pushed him power. against the cage and pounded him Admittedly, McGregor couldn’t knock out Floyd Mayweather in their boxing match. But that was boxing with bigger padded gloves. Not only are the gloves in MMA tiny in comparison but a fighter can also hit with his elbows, knees and feet.

McGregor has knockout power in both hands as well as his feet. In UFC 189 held July, 2015 McGregor hurt Chad Mendes with a kick which led to the fight-ending sequence.

Plus Nurmagomedov’s takedown style is tailor-made for McGregor. Nurmagomedov doesn’t stay out of punching distance and then shoot for a double leg takedown like say Shinya Aoki and most conventional wrestlers. He likes to jab his way in and get into a clinch.

If Nurmagomedov sticks to this predictable style and walks in flatfooted he could get beat to a pulp before he’s able to clinch McGregor.

This is what makes this fight so exciting. Given his striking prowess UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov talks about his McGregor could easily win by early bout against Conor McGregor during a press conference. AFP

knockout. But given Numagomedov’s relentless, tireless plodding style he could just as easily take McGregor down time and time again for the whole five rounds, tire out McGregor and win decisively.

McGregor is no stranger to losing in the cage. And all of his losses have been by submission. He was submitted by Nate Diaz who beat him by Rear-Naked Choke in UFC 196 March, 2016. He lost to Joseph Duffy by Submission through Arm-Triangle Choke November, 2010. He lost to Artemij Sitenkov also by Submission through Kneebar June, 2008.

McGregor won’t be fighting for money because he’s already insanely rich thanks to the Mayweather fight.

But more than the money or the fame what drives McGregor is his love of fighting. And that what makes him such a formidable fighter. He likes fighting. He likes training for fights.

So my fearless forecast? McGregor can win with an early knockout. But if the fight goes to the latter rounds I pick Nurmagomedov to win by submission or by decision.

THIS PRINCE COULD BE KING SOMEDAY THE Prince will soon be a King.

Young basketball sensation Prince Ray Alao of San Beda University-Taytay is arguably one of the best discoveries in the local scholastic cage competitions.

A 14-year-old cager standing 6-feet, Alao is dominating school tournaments in Metro Manila, making him stand out against other players of his age category.

With the various MVP awards he has received in tournaments he played, Alao has given honor to his school, while entertaining the crowd and kibitzers with his exceptional basketball talent. No doubt, this kid has a bright future ahead of him.

As a highlight of his early rise,

the Antipolo kid was chosen Jr. NBA U-13 Most Valuable Player this year in Makati City. He also currently leads the Philippine team in its quest for glory in Jr. NBA International All-Star event in Shanghai, China, showcasing 49 other participating countries around the globe. There, he personally witnessed the Dallas Mavericks live in an exhibition game against the Beijing Ducks.

The four-day stint in Shanghai is surely expected to boost Alao’s skills further.

The Prince’s passion for basketball was influenced by his father mentor Ray Alao, a commercial basketball cager during his prime.

He learned the sport in local hoop games in their village in Antipolo,

Rizal from his elementary days to high school in Taytay as a certified Red Cub through San Beda’s renowned basketball program.

The leader of the successful Philippine Team that ruled the 2018 Pacific Rim U-13 in Thailand last summer is also expected to continue to broaden his talent for San Beda University after his Jr. NBA experience.

He also vowed to share what he learned in Shanghai to kids in Antipolo as he continues to dribble his way towards his dream of being a king in basketball hoopdom someday.

AQUATHLON CHAMPS CROWNED AT SUN LIFE TILT OVER 400 multisport enthusiasts from kids to triathlon veterans, test their swim and run skills at the Sun Life Aquathlon Series Championship on Oct. 14 (Sunday).

Now on its second year, the Sun Life Aquathlon organized by Bike King will be held in the scenic suburban community of Vermosa in Imus, Cavite. The event is also supported by Arena, Saucony, Robinsons Supermarket, Vermosa Sports Hub, official timekeeper TIMEX, and hydration partner Gatorade.

“Sun Life is happy to nurture Filipinos’ interest in becoming fitter and healthier through sports,” said Sun Life chief marketing officer Mylene Lopa.

The Sun Life Aquathlon is the perfect race in a fun setting for multisport newbies, active families, and seasoned triathletes. Kids aged 7 to 67 can test their swim and run skills in age-appropriate distances as individual participants or in relay teams. Categories range from a 100-meter swim and a 600-meter run for 7-8 year -olds to a 500-meter swim and 5-km run for 15 years old and above.

The Sun Life Aquathlon Series Championship is also the final event of four swim-run competitions in 2018. The top 20 finishers of each aquathlon are awarded points from races held earlier (the Vermosa Aquathlon, Animo Aquathlon, Island Cove Aquathlon, and the Aquaman) and the Sun Life Aquathlon in a bid to vie for the honor of being named the top aquathlete for 2018 in their age group.

The top age-group aquathletes of the championship series, along with the winners of the Sun Life Aquathlon will be awarded specially designed trophies and gift packs on Sunday.

For more details on the Sun Life Aquathlon, visit bikekingphilippines.com.

OSAKA FALLS TO SEVASTOVA

BEIJING—Unseeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova stunned US Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-4 to reach the China Open final on Saturday.

Sevastova, who dashed Osaka’s hopes of reaching a third straight final, will face either Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki or Chinese wildcard Wang Qiang on Sunday.

Osaka, 20, required treatment on her lower back midway through the second set. Last month she won her maiden Grand Slam title in a stormy final in New York, and was runnerup at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The Japanese eighth seed, who beat a raging Serena Williams in the US Open final, had been on the verge of tears during her quarter-final victory over Zhang Shuai on Friday.

Sevastova, now ranked 20th in the world, was so sick of getting injured—she had particular problems with her back—that she quit tennis in May 2013 and studied leisure management. AFP

TAN, SY CAPTURE 2018 BWC NATIONAL TITLES

Photo shows Tan and Csy with Puyat Sports SCP Gilbert Gavino (left) and Philippine Bowling Federation president Steve Robles. Photo by Iard F. Luistro

JAKARTA Asian Games campaigners Merwin Tan and Alexis Sy rolled big games at the right time Friday to rule the 2018 Bowling World Cup (BWC) national championships and earn the right to compete in the 54th international finals in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tan,19-year-old student of Marist School, blasted veteran Raoul Miranda, 279-248 and 258-204, to stash away the men’s title, while Sy, 26-year-old BPI corporate banking employee, crushed Dyan Coronacion, 196-180, and 232178, to bag the ladies’ crown.

Both members of the national team to the Jakarta Asiad last August, Tan and Sy hope to pursue much bigger goals when they carry the Philippine colors in the BWC international event at Sam’s Town,

Las Vegas on November 4 to 11, this year.

“I’m so happy,” said Sy. “I did not expect to overcome the tough opposition because I had short preparation after returning from the Asian Games. But mom;s arrival from Cebu last Thursday inspired me in the finals.”

After hurdling the 24-game qualifying round in second place, reigning Cebu Open and TBAM Open champion Tan showed remarkable form to finish No. 1 in the quarterfinals. But it took him three games to oust Eric Aranez in the semifinals, 235-182, 299-237, 236200, and arrange the title match with Miranda, who advanced at the expense of Kenneth Chua, 210-179, 193-191.

Sy ranked only third in the semis but made it to the finals by subduing Lara

Posadas, 190-174 and striking three times in a row to win the ninth and 10th frame playoff, 60-49, after they had tied in the second game at 195.

Coronacion eliminated multi-titled Liza del Rosario in three games in the semifinals, 187-188, 199-170, 210-181.

It will be the first time for Tan and Sy to compete in the prestigious BWC international finals.

Last year’s Philippine ladies’ titlist, Krizziah Tabora, went on to win the international crown but she was not able to join this time because she’s on medical leave.

Previous Filipino international champions were Paeng Nepomuceno, who holds the distinction of being the only four-time men’s plum, the late Lita dela Rosa, Bong Coo and CJ Suarez.

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018

Business

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

FORMER BASKETBALL PLAYER CHANGES PH LENDING SECTOR A

Ester Manahan, (center) a seamstress from Bulacan, is the 10 millionth member of Cebuana Lhuillier’s 24K Plus Card Loyalty Rewards program, making her P100,000 richer. With Manahan are Cebuana Lhuillier officials led by president and chief executive Jean Henri Lhuillier (second from right).

FORMER basketball player, entrepreneur and banker is now helping transform the lending sector in the Philippines with the use of a mobile app.

Michael Singh, the co-founder and chief executive of AsiaKredit, developed a mobile app that offers immediate and short-term cash loans between P2,500 and P15,000 to customers who need the money for tuition, medical expenses, utility bill or business capital.

Singh says AsiaKredit aims to serve “unbanked” customers who are unable to access formal financial services such as credit and deposits and who rely mostly on friends, family and informal lenders.

“With those customers in mind, our main competitors are the informal money lenders who charge exorbitant interests rates and penalties, and take little effort for the customer’s experience,” he says.

Singh, a second-generation Filipino-Indian who was born in the Philippines, was an amateur player at the Philippine Basketball league and a varsity athlete of Ateneo de Manila University where he was taking Political Science, when his parents sent him to the United States in 1992 to finish his undergraduate course at DePaul University in Chicago.

“I played at UAAP for Ateneo in college while also playing in the Philippine Basketball League.

My parents were worried about my studies, so they encouraged me to complete my last two years of undergraduate studies in the United States,” Singh says in an e-mail interview.

“Basketball primarily instilled in me a drive to perform. It taught me that if you want to achieve something, you have to put in the hard work and sacrifice. It also taught me the dynamics and importance of a team. An athletic team environment is very similar to a business. You outline your goals and objectives, you build your team and foster trust and respect, you device your game-plan with precision and science, and you execute,” he says.

In 1995, he co-founded the Nacho King food concept, which now has more than 150 retail outlets nationwide. He also launched the successful start-up pinoyauctions.com, which was later acquired by ABS-CBN Interactive Inc. Singh obtained a Master ’s in Business Administration from Northwestern UniversityKellogg School of Management in 2006 and went on to become a banker. He joined Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. in San Francisco as vice president in 2007. In March 2010, he moved back to Chicago to become the chief operating officer of Alpha USA. He returned to the Philippines in 2015 and was appointed senior vice president of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., where he was in charge of retail product and marketing group.

In October 2016, he decided to help establish AsiaKredit to provide “a ground-breaking fast and convenient consumer loan product through a mobile app to Southeast Asia’s half a billion unbanked”.

Singh says he decided to leave the formal banking sector because it was largely a corporate lender or a bank for the upper to middle-income segment.

“The banks had little appetite nor the expertise or infrastructure to service the needs of the bottom-half of the pyramid, which happen to be 70 percent to 80 percent of the adult Philippine population,” he says.

He describes AsiaKredit, which he co-founded, as a fully digital consumer lender that is venturebuilt and funded by Singapore-based Forum, the largest financial technology venture builder in emerging Asia led by serial entrepreneur Greg Krasnov, and Fintonia Group, an early stage fintech investor in Southeast Asia led by Adrian Chng, the former chief executive of JobsDB and current CEO of GoBear.

Other investors are Sig Asia Investments,

CEBUANA NOW HAS 10M CARD MEMBERS

AsiaKredit co-founder and CEO Mike Singh

Reliance Indonesia Group and Space Ventures.

Headquartered in Singapore, AsiaKredit currently operates in the Philippines through pera247.ph.

The Manila team includes digital marketing and operations experts with world-class experience from the likes of Lazada, Hinduja Global Solutions and Thompson Reuters.

“Our risk, analytics and IT team in Eastern Europe leverages its prowess in alternative data analytics, credit-scoring algorithms and integrated technology solutions from Eastern Europe, where digital finance has reached a level of sophistication,” says Singh.

He says that in a little over six months of operations, pera247.ph has leveraged its digital technology to process over 200,000 applications.

“We plan to grow our loan disbursements exponentially in the coming months,” he says.

On why he decided to put up pera247.ph, Singh says: “In the Philippines, there is a clear demand for consumer loans”.

“The Philippines ranks among the lowest in the world in terms of bank account and credit penetration for its citizens. There are only approximately 15 million to 20 million bank accounts in a country with 70 million to 80 million Filipino adults. Worse, there are only approximately 3 million unique credit cards yet, we know that 7 in 10 Filipino adults borrow, mostly from family and friends, or informal lenders, and only 1 in 10 borrow from formal institutions,” he says.

“According to the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], the Philippines has seen sustainable growth in consumer loans since 2008. Add to that

the burgeoning usage of smartphones and there is a clear opportunity to utilize digital channels to close the financial inclusion gap. This is where AsiaKredit comes in,” he says.

“Our ability to use mobile phone data to assess credit risk and issue loans to a segment of the market shun by the traditional banking sector, positions us to contribute to the BSP’s financial inclusion initiative,” says Singh.

“The impact of digital finance is manifold and is exactly what AsiaKredit [pera247.ph parent] intends to achieve—to offer convenient, shortterm credit to those who need it most—be it small business owners, families with school-going children, or those with emergency needs,” says Singh.

AsiaKredit currently has 50 employees, including 35 in Manila and 15 in Eastern Europe.

Singh says that since operations began in November 2017, “we have hit all the major milestones that we have established for the business, some ahead of schedule.”

“For example in a little over half a year, we have already processed close to 200,000 applications and disbursed over $1 million in loans. We have also already achieved product level break-even.

Our repeat customer rate is also over 50 percent.

We are gearing up to scale the portfolio to a significant size in the last quarter of the year and into 2019. We also intend to introduce new products such as an instalment loan with larger ticket sizes and longer loan terms,” he says.

AsiaKredit charges a 5-percent processing fee. Interest rate is between 0.7 percent and 0.8 Turn to C2

C E B U A N A L h u i l l i e r, t h e co u nt r y ’s l a rg e s t m i c ro financial company, has signed up the 10 millionth member of its 24k Plus Card loyalty rewards program, reaching a new milestone for the program since its launch in 2009.

Ester Manahan, a seamstress from Bulacan, was awarded P100,000 in cash, a Lifetime Alagang Cebuana Plus Gold insurance coverage from Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance S o l u t i o n s, a g o l d e n 2 4 K card which doubles points for every transaction plus added perks, and a plaque of appreciation during an awarding ceremony in Makati City.

“Cebuana Lhuillier has been providing excellent customer service to our clients for many years. It is a commitment that we will continue to keep in the years to come because of clients like Ester who keep Cebuana Lhuillier going. The innovations that we implement always put customer satisfaction first,” said Cebuana Lhuillier president and chief executive Jean Henri Lhuillier.

The 24k Loyalty Rewards Program is a first-of-its-kind in the pawning industr y.

Through the 24k Plus Card, members can earn points for every transaction—pawning, money remittance, insurance p ro d u c t s p u rc h a s e, b i l l s payment and e-load—at any of Cebuana Lhuillier’s close to 2,500 branches nationwide.

Th e c a rd a l s o gra n t s i t s m e m b e r s w i t h e xc l u s i ve privileges, discounts and special service offerings.

To date, the 24k Plus Card has given more than 10 million loyal Cebuana Lhuillier customers more purchasing power—adding value for their money—as the points have monetary equivalent, which they can then use to pay off interest fees for pawns, or remittance fees, even load credits for their prepaid mobile phones.

PH FIRMS ASKED TO EMBRACE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

By Othel V. Campos

Grant Thornton partner Depender Kumar

COMPANIES in the Philippines need to adopt technologies like automation and artificial intelligence to get rid of repetitive and redundant processes, a partner of business advisory firm Grant Thornton says.

Depender Kumar, in his presentation during the 8th P&A Grant Thornton Business Forum in Manila, says Philippine companies, including business process outsourcing providers, are slow to embrace automation and struggle to change.

“To be honest, if they [BPOs] don’t change the way they do things, they will pay locally for the disruption. Most of what is done by the BPOs are repetitive. You don’t need a lot of intelligence to do the work that is with you. That is why those jobs are outsourced earlier. At the same time, if you

need to survive in that industry, you need to adopt technology along the way,” he says.

Kumar says as part of digital transformation and disruptive technology, management must think digital, taking risks and responding to technological trends to stay relevant.

“A World Economic Report cites that by 2022, 85 percent of corporates are likely to expand adoption of user and entity big data analytics, the internet of things, and app- and web-enabled markets, and to make extensive use of cloud computing,” he says.

He says that in the Philippines, big conglomerates and BPOs have already started the adoption of automation in the call center and manufacturing industries, but the adoption rate is still slow.

Kumar says among the industries where AI will have the strongest impact are technology,

media, telecom, consumer, professional services, healthcare, industrial, energy, public sector, finance/ accounting and manufacturing operations.

“With AI in place, businesses stand to face several challenges such as disruption in business model, access to data, finding the right talent, jobless and re-skilling of existing workforce and disruption in operating model,” he says.

Despite the challenges, AI is expected to benefit businesses, Kumar says.

He says with the start of the digital age and the presence of AI, companies stand to benefit from new product development and enhancement of existing product; higher operational efficiency; improved decision making; better customer and employee experience; increase in sales; and better niche by differentiating and determining the competitive advantage.

Business

C2

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 business@manilastandard.net

TECHNOLUX OFFERS COIN-OPERATED LAUNDRY BUSINESS TECHNOLUX, the country ’s biggest distributor of premium laundry machines for 43 years, recently launched its self-service, coin-operated laundry business.

Technolux offers IPSO and Primus equipment that belong to Alliance Laundry Systems Network, the global leader in commercial laundry. The equipment are smartly designed and equipped with the latest technology to boost efficiency and reduce water, energy and detergent costs, according to Technolux.

Technolux provides different ways to get into the coin-operated laundry enterprise. Clients can simply purchase individual IPSO/Primus washers and dryers so they can start their own business by themselves.

Clients can also choose from different packages: Business Package #1 (Start-Up) is ideal for new entrepreneurs wanting to launch their first coin-op laundry business within a 30-square-meter space.

This includes five units of stackable IPSO/ Primus washer and dryer, 250 tokens, 10 laundry baskets, a table for folding clothes and another table/counter for staff, plus 6 units of monobloc chairs for the customers.

For Package #2 (Established), clients will get 10 units of IPSO/Primus stackable washer and dryer, 500 tokens, 20 laundry baskets, three rectangular tables, one table/counter for staff, plus 12 units of monobloc chairs enough for a 50-sqm space.

Package 3 (Expansion) includes 15 units of stackable IPSO/Primus washer and dryers, 750 tokens, 30 laundry baskets, two tables, one table/counter for staff, plus 18 monobloc chairs for a 80-sqm space.

Technolux conducts training and seminars with topics such as operating machines, simple troubleshooting and the ins and outs of the laundry business for interested entrepreneurs.

“What sets Technolux apart from other distributors is that clients are assured of the best heavy duty commercial washing machines and dryers complete with a two-year comprehensive warranty and a preventive maintenance service free for one year. Plus, we guarantee a service response time within 24 hours to avoid down time for our clients. No other distributor provides such solid support to their clients,” says Alex Dumayag, senior vice-president for laundry division of Technolux.

FORMER... From C1 percent daily. It actually depends on repayment terms which range from 10 days to 90 days. A loan of P10,000, for example, will result in total repayment of P11,330 in ten days or up to P17,970 in three months.

On how to avail of AsiaKredit’s cash, Singh says “customers just need to download the pera247 app from Google Play, apply for a loan which takes around 8 to 10 minutes, upload a selfie and ID, give consent to access mobile data, and click submit”.

Loan approval takes less than 24 hours, while disbursements can be done even without a bank account through cardless ATM withdrawal and over the counter cash partners like Western Union or pawnshops.

Payments are as easy as paying utility bills, according to Singh.

“Aside from the fast and end-to-end digital transaction, we adhere to a global standard Digital Lending Code of Ethics. This includes appropriate p ro d u c t d e s i g n a n d d e l i ve r y, prevention of over-indebtedness, transparency, responsible pricing, fair and respectful treatment, privacy of client data and mechanisms for complaint resolutions. We are also compliant with the Truth in Lending and Data Privacy Acts and take these seriously,” he says.

Singh is optimistic about the growth of AsiaKredit. He says more than 80 percent of the adult population are currently not served by the traditional financial sector. “ There is great optimism for the future and we plan to expand aggressively. The growth of the Philippine economy is outpacing the growth in financial inclusion. Access to credit is a basic need every growing economy must provide its citizens in order to climb the social pyramid,” he says.

The plan, according to Singh, is to explore expansion to other Asean markets, with Indonesia as the next stop.

Singh advises millennials to become entrepreneurs to fully take advantage of the fast growing Philippine economy and its highlytalented and educated workforce. “ The Filipino is also ver y entrepreneurial at heart. Find gaps in the market, and identify ways to innovate. I always like to say there are over a dozen billion-peso businesses that have yet to be formed or started; just waiting for someone to identify the need and fill it. Go out there, take some risk, follow your heart, control your own destiny, and most important, impact society for the better,” he says.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Mompreneurs Club PH founder Lei Ermitanio

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MOTHER INSPIRES OTHERS TO BECOME ‘MOMPRENEURS’

NY aspiring entrepreneur can start a passion-fueled business. Without the knowledge on the right tools and business processes, however, building and sustaining a business can be financially and emotionally frustrating.

Lei Ermitanio, a mother of three, wanted to help other ‘mompreneurs’ to fast-track their business without the inconvenience and difficulties she had experienced while she was starting out. That’s why she formed the group MOMpreneurs Club PH, an online community where members can crowdsource ideas, give recommendations and even promote their businesses.

Looking back, Lei wished she was able to count on such a group when was going through harsh experiences: the loss of her family’s business, an accident that injured her husband, a bout with depression and a house burglary.

These events pushed her to make a new beginning in the metro, where she became a provider of personalized scents used as presents and event giveaways.

Three years after she started, the perfume business Belle Ame Essentials earned Lei a couple of prestigious awards. In its second anniversary, Lei received word that Belle Ame Essentials is the 2017 recipient of the Best Choice Award for Quality Customized Giveaways Provider. This year, the World Class Philippines Council hailed Lei’s company as a World Class Philippine Company.

FINDING THE RIGHT MIX For Lei, creating MOMpreneurs Club PH was her way of paying it forward. To date, MOMpreneurs Club PH has become a community

of more than 4,000 who want to make profits out of their passions. The group’s members include foodpreneurs, craftpreneurs, resellers and even professionals seeking or giving advice. From time to time, Lei herself conducts webinars to help her fellow mompreneurs gain expertise.

“What I share in the group are what I needed before. I needed motivation, I needed social media know-how. I also felt the need to introduce business opportunities given that they have no capital, they stay at home, and they can only go online to earn,” Lei said. “It’s rewarding to see an exchange of opinions in the group. Sometimes I would just read threads and I already learned a lot.”

Drawing from her own experience, Lei understands that balancing work and family can be a challenge. A study published by global employment website Monster revealed that having a family interferes with a woman’s career, with almost a third of Filipino women saying that they feel that they have missed out on career opportunities because they chose to have a family.

By leveraging the accessibility of digital tools, Lei wants to inspire other women that they can be their own bosses while being a full-time mom. While Lei only runs a team of three and creates her products at home, she’s able to market her products and manage transactions online.

SHARING THE FORMULA As a way of bringing her business to the next level, Lei is currently trying to tap other markets and expanding her pool of suppliers. To do these, she signed up on UnionBank GlobalLinker, a free digital platform where she gets linked to 23,000 entrepreneurs who could expand her network of potential suppliers and customers.

UnionBank GlobalLinker also gives Lei access to exclusive deals on marketing and leadership courses, workshops, hotel bookings, and credit card deals, among others.

Aside from these benefits, UnionBank

Lei Ermitanio with her three kids GlobalLinker gives Lei the tools to start her own e-commerce store or website. The platform also curates different articles, some of them written by the platform’s users, to help sharpen her expertise.

Not only is UnionBank GlobalLinker helping Lei unlock opportunities for her business. On Oct. 20, the UnionBank GlobalLinker team and Lei are co-hosting The KickOff, a workshop for mompreneurs at The ARK by UnionBank in Makati. The objective is to give mompreneurs a comprehensive hands-on learning experience on building a business from the ground up.

Lei said she is putting up this event to link mompreneurs to role models who can inspire them.

“I think it’s high time that I mount this event that can help other moms build their own businesses. I thought this is also a perfect opportunity for mompreneurs given that they want to earn more for the holidays ” Lei said.

IT COMPANY REWARDS EMPLOYEES WITH FREE TRIPS OVERSEAS BENEFITS and perks are crucial in helping companies attract and retain employees. After all, great perks and benefits are signs that an employer is invested in the development and wellbeing of employees as individuals.

From wage incentives, comfortable workspaces, workplace flexibility and medical benefits to free food, all of these enhance their employees’ work experience in one way or another.

IT outsourcing company Cloud Employee has been taking perks and benefits to the next level this year, especially after bringing some of their developers and IT workers to different parts of the world—all through allexpenses-paid trips.

Jace Maniquis, a .net developer who has been with the company for more than three years, didn’t expect he would experience his first-ever trip abroad thanks to his work.

To reward Jace for his loyalty to the company and his steadily

Working under UK-managed IT company has exposed .net developer Jace Maniquis to a culturally diverse working environment.

excellent per formance, Cloud E m p l oye e c h i e f exe c u t i ve N i c k Hargreaves gave him a welldeserved trip to Vietnam in June.

The moment he heard the news, Jace couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I felt excited because it will be my first time out of the country. [I’m] looking forward to seeing new things and

what I may see and realize outside my country.”

Jace is only one among the developers and IT professionals at Cloud Employee who was able to travel abroad, explore different cultures, and meet other tech talents from different countries thanks to their work.

In May, a three-member team was

able to tour around the UK in a twoweek trip and climb Wales’ highest point. Recently, two developers went on a trip to Sweden, trying out all things Swedish from a meal at Heaven 23 to the thrilling rides at Liseberg amusement park.

Aside from these one-of-a-kind experiences, the IT company also offers fun perks and company activities. As a UK-managed IT outsourcing company, Cloud Employee breaks the stereotype of boring IT offices: from foosball to darts to an Xbox and more, the office space offers areas where the developers and the staff can take a break and de-stress.

There are also monthly tournaments where employees team up and compete with each other in various sports. Activities like these aim to build camaraderie and teamwork among employees as well as to cultivate a happy working environment, which the company believes is an important key to success.

Tech & Gadgets

PH TIKTOK CREATORS GET CHANCE TO SHOW TALENT TO WORLD

By Peter Paul Duran

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IKTOK, the world’s fastest-growing short-form video app, unveiled the winners of its first 1 Million Audition in the Philippines--a global campaign for Tiktok creators worldwide--at the posh Rizal Park Hotel in Manila recently.

Besting over 31,000 videos received in just two weeks, three creators bagged the top prizes in three categories namely Gyl St. Pierre for #1MPHComedy, IsseyMiyake Parto for #1MPHTalent and Vishnu Isles for #1MPHFashion.

To top it all off, the three Filipino TikTok creators will fly to South Korea for the TikTok Gala next month and join other fellow #1MAudition winners from around the global Tiktok community. They also received P20,000 each.

“I’m really excited to go to Korea and I’m very thankful for Tiktok for giving me the chance to, hopefully, meet some of my favorite KPop stars,” said 16-year-old Issey Miyake, winner of the Talent category of the campaign.

The budding Grade 10 student-performer has over 177,000 followers to date in Tiktok.

Meanwhile, the quirky and techsavvy Gyl, an operations officer at a construction firm, has gained almost 73,000 followers on TikTok for his impeccable comedic timing and

Tiktok #1MPHAudition winners Gyl St. Pierre(right) and Vishnu Isles during the awards night at the Rizal Park Hotel. Peter Paul Duran

to be able to launch blk Cosmetics newest collection first and exclusively on Shopee. The Shopee family has always been extremely supportive in helping blk Cosmetics grow, and I am confident that with Shopee’s extensive presence across the Philippines, this launch will be a definite success.”

To mark the first anniversary of blk Cosmetics, users will also have the chance to get up close and personal with Anne Curtis at a special meet and greet session organised in collaboration with Shopee. Five lucky winners will walk away with items from the blk to the 90s products collection, and have the opportunity to attend blk Cosmetics’ blk to the 90’s launch party and meet Anne in person. To take part in the contest, users will need to post their best rendition of a 90’s inspired photo on Facebook or Instagram, include the hashtags #Shopeexblk and

APP-BASED VR TECH FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS INTRODUCED

By Paul David L. Gelario

More than 60 Tiktok creators converged at the Rizal Park Hotel recently to celebrate Tiktok’s 1 Million Audition PH winners. Charles Dantes

impressive editing skills.

“I’m really excited, thankful for this opportunity to meet creators from all over the world,” he said during the awards night where he and fellow creators treated members of the media to a quick rundown of the app and his famed transition techniques in his videos.

For 19-year-old college student Vishnu, his experience of sharing slices of life has helped discover his passion, giving him the chance to connect with his 239,000 fans.

“In reality, I’m really a shy person when you know me personally, but when I use Tiktok, I become another person,” he said in Filipino. “TikTok helped me express myself and connect with my fans.”

TikTok, which has 500 million users across 150 countries and regions

worldwide, on Sept. 29 gathered the Filipino 1 Million Audition winners and other top creators to spend time together to collaborate on their videos and exchange tricks and tips on creating effective short-form videos.

The Filipino version of the 1 Million Audition was held on Sept. 7 until Sept. 21 and led by Filipina trendsetters Bela Padilla for the Fashion category, Ella Cruz for Talent, and Donnalyn Bartolome for Comedy.

Launched in 2017, TikTok’s 1 Million Audition provides budding artists a platform to showcase their diverse talents and win millions of followers and rewards at the same time. It has been successfully held across India, the United States, Latin America, Europe, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam with over one million participants.

blk TO THE 90'S EXCLUSIVELY ON SHOPEE SHOPEE, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, joins leading local beauty brand, blk Cosmetics, in celebrating its first year anniversary with the exclusive launch of its latest collection, blk to the 90’s.

On Oct. 8 at 12 midnight, users can be one of the first in the Philippines to get their hands on the 90s themed collection via the blk Official Store on Shopee.

To add to the celebrations, users will also be treated to flash deals, exclusive bundles and discounts on the blk Official Store on Shopee.

Key highlights include: Oct. 12 to 24: P100 off with a minimum purchase of P500 from the blk Official Store Oct. 19: Exclusive blk to the 90’s bundles signed by Anne Curtis, limited to the first 100 users to purchase the bundle “We are proud to once again partner with blk Cosmetics, this time for the exclusive launch of their latest blk to the 90’s collection. Aside from supporting the brand owned by Shopee’s very own brand ambassador, Anne Curtis, our partnership with the brand reflects our commitment to helping home-grown brands in the Philippines expand their online reach. We congratulate blk Cosmetics on its first year anniversary, and look forward to working closely with the brand to bring users even more exciting deals and collaborations in the future,”said Terence Pang, Chief Operating Officer of Shopee.

Anne Curtis, brand ambassador of Shopee Philippines, said: “I am excited

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

#blkToThe90s, and tag @Shopee_PH and @blkcosmeticsph. blk Cosmetics’ philosophy of beauty made simple means providing Filipinos with beauty products that are uncomplicated, timeless and accessible.

Check out the latest products from the blk to the 90’s collection available on Shopee: Two-way Powder Foundation— For the girl on the go, this two-way Powder Foundation glides easily on the skin! and is perfect for everyday wear Available in the shades Porcelain, Sand, and Honey.

Volume + Lash Extension Mascara —Wow the crowd with volumized and longer looking lashes with blk Cosmetics’Volume + Lash Extension Mascara.

Soft Matte Mousse—Get fuller looking lips using blk’s Soft Matte Mousse. Available in the shades Totally, Booyah, and As If.

90’s Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow—Make your eyes stand out with blk’s 90’s Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow. This long lasting liquid eyeshadow is available in the shades The Bomb and Slammin’.

All-Day Intense Matte Lipstick —Pop that 90’s look with blk’s 90’s All-Day Intense Matte Lipstick, and get ready to party the night away in shades Oh Snap and Peace Out. 199X Tee and Neon Island Tee— Complete your 90’s inspired look with the blk’s 199X Tee and blk’s Neon Island Tee. blk x Neon Island Bumbag—Carry all the essentials while rocking that 90’s street style look with this bumbag by blk in collaboration with Neon Island.

From Oct. 6 to 10, Shopee will also be having its 10.10 Mega Flash Sale featuring four days of nonstop flash deals across major categories; including Electronics, Health and Beauty, Fashion, Home and Living, and Babies and Kids. Users can expect flash deals happening nine times a day, P100 vouchers, and free shipping with no minimum spend across all flash deals.

For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/blk-90scollection on Oct. 8.

Visit the blk Cosmetics Official Store at https:// shopee.ph/blkcosmetics.

For more information on 10.10 Mega Flash Sale, visit https://shopee. ph/m/mega-flash-sale.

51TALK CELEBRATES TEACHERS’ MONTH. 51TALK, one of the leading

Online English Teaching Language platforms in the country celebrated National Teachers’ Month recently at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. 51Talk teachers from Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon and National Capital Region attended the event with the theme “I AM 51TALK: Where the Greatest Teachers Are.” Jack Huang (seco from left) 51TALK Founder and CEO said they plan to recruit 100,000 more Filipino teachers in a span of five years for their platform. To widen its recruitment in the Philippines, Jennifer K. Que (second, right), 51Talk Vice President for Philippine Operations, said they have partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and PLDT for its Digital Livelihood for ‘Gabay Guro’ program. She said at present, 51Talk has five education centers in the cities of Bacolod, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, and Pasig. Two more centers are to be opened in Quezon City and Imus, Cavite, she added. 51TALK was listed in the New York Stock Exchange under China Online Education (NYSE: COE) in 2016. With them are Mr. Zhang Liming (left) and Mr. Jimmy Lai (right) of 51Talk China.

HOMESPACE 360 Founder and CEO Simon Gemayel founder introduced the first virtual reality app designed for of real estate brokers at the Manila Private House in Bonifacio Global City, in Taguig last Sept. 27.

Gemaye introduced his company’s new VR technology with the needs of real estate brokers in mind.

“The broker only needs a smartphone, no more special cameras involved. It is a very fluid technology at your fingertips” Gemayel said.

The app offers a 360-degree virtual tour for prospective buyers and renters using only smartphone and VR headsets in high quality.

“We are pleased to introduce our latest technology Homespace360.

An average broker, using their smartphone to create a virtual tour. Homespace360 has the design with the broker in mind,” Gemayel said.

Homespace360 is powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform that can tour clients via virtual reality from 10 to 30 properties.

“With our technology, marketers can easily transport clients to 10, 20, even 30 properties in an hour,” Gemayel added.

The app is a subscription-based model that has three distinct subscription options: pro, advanced, and premium, and enterprise.

The number of tours dictate the prices among all the subscriptions, “regardless of what model you subscribe to, the only difference is the number of tours,” Gemayel said.

Pro costs P1,500 a month, advanced is worth P2,500, while premium is P5,000 pesos. An enterprise’s costs varies depending on the number of tours.

“They use their phone to subscribe. Once they do so, we give them out what we’ve call an AVR kit,” Gamayel said.

The AVR kit will be automatically provided all subscribers which includes: A mobile viewer, a battery-free rotator, lightweight tripod with bag, and HD fisheye lens for 360-degree capture.

Homespace360 left subscribers satisfied with the product. One of them is property specialist Ehryq Joel Young Sr. “With Homespace360 when I send them the virtual tour, they already know what they want. It saves me a lot of time,” Young said.

Homespace360 is available in both iOS and Android.

Microsoft Director of Commercial Partners Eileen Ong (left), Homespace360 Founder and CEO Simon Gemayel (center) and GM Enterprise Operating Unit Ricky Kapur

WIRELESS...

From C4 “UP Women in Engineering started last year. We believe that women and men should be given the equal chance to work in the STEM field. It is a matter of empowerment,” adds Sy. “We started an empowerment series, a career talk for senior high school students to promote the science and engineering field,” says Cruz.

The group is trying to correct the notion that STEM is a very tough field and that it is mainly for men.

“Soon we’re going to allgirls schools like Miriam and Poveda,” says Cruz.

They use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to announce events and projects.

Also in the pipeline is the Female Friday project, wherein

they would feature a Filipina in the STEM field on their Facebook page every Friday. “We hope to reach out to more young Filipinas and inspire them to take up the field,” explains Tan. The org also recently launched its official brand, I AM. It has its own Facebook page where updates on an incoming product line will be posted.

“It’s mostly merchandise that has empowering words and promotes feminism, ecology and body positivity,” says Cruz.

Having access to mobile data facilitates information dissemination and widens their reach, Tan and Cruz agree.

No other generation of learners has this powerful tool at their disposal, and as these students are discovering, it is a key to success.

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TECH & Gadgets SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

FUJIFILM PH: CREATING TOUCHPOINTS IN DIGITAL AGE

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UJIFILM Philippines, Inc. one of the most trusted camera and film brands in the world, continues to evolve and develop leading edge, proprietary technologies by leveraging its depth of knowledge and expertise derived from photography film into other products and markets.

The Japanese brand is also increasing its visibility to consumers by reinvigorating core segments namely imaging solutions; healthcare and materials; and document solutions.

“Now more than ever, we want our Filipino audience to know that FUJIFILM is more than just a photography or camera company. We have innovative solutions for a wide range of industries. We leverage our deep knowledge of fundamentals learned from years of experience in film manufacture, photography and developing,” said FUJIFILM Philippines President Tomoyuki Fukura.

He added that FUJIFILM has created a diverse range of products using the company’s core technologies.

Since it was established in 1934, FUJIFILM utilizes its proprietary core technologies contributing to the fields of healthcare, graphic systems, highly functional materials, optical devices, digital imaging and document products. These products and services are based on its extensive portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging technologies.

Locally, FUJIFILM Philippines offers quality products and services to the Philippine market in Electronic and Photo Imaging, Graphic Systems, Medical Systems and Industrial Products. Its distributors cover Metro Manila and the provinces, with a diverse range of innovative consumer and business products, solutions and services.

Engaging the Filipino Audience To continue making the brand a household name to today’s generation, FUJIFILM Philippines has also initiated customer satisfaction programs to bol-

FUJIFILM Philippines President Tomoyuki Fukura: FUJIFILM is more than just a photography or camera company.

ster the company’s success. The company has set up repair centers for digital cameras and endoscopy equipment to assist customers with various concerns.

FUJIFILM Philippines also created dedicated microsites and social networking sites for Graphics and camera products. These provide real-time interaction and answers to all consumers’ inquiries. The company’s thrust is to create a service network that will promote the“swift delivery of solutions that meet diversifying market needs”.

More importantly, FUJIFILM Philippines engages its audience by creating various relevant and memorable touchpoints. These are workshops, shooting events, customer interviews, symposium and tradeshows. For Fujifilm Cameras and Films, FUJIFILM Philippines has partnered with young personalities like James Reid and Liza Soberano.

A Heart that Cares FUJIFILM Philippines is also about people and social responsibility. It is

committed to contributing to sustainable social development by working with local communities. As a good corporate citizen, it responds to the demands and expectations of these communities.

In 2017, FUJIFILM Philippines collaborated with the Philippine Navy so children with rare diseases can experience flying at a Navy Aircraft. Fujifilm Photographers and staff participated in the event and took photos of the precious moments of kids enjoying the activity.

FUJIFILM Philippines also worked with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the mangrove tree planting, with the aim of supporting the proliferation of Mangrove Ecosystem.

There’s also the Balik- Eskwela Campaign which focuses on helping indigent kids and introducing them to the love of photography.

Products and brands come and

go, especially with today’s technology. FUJIFILM Philippines not only wants to keep up with the times, but continues to re-invent itself to offer better products and services to their audiences everywhere in the country.

For more information about FUJIFILM, visit www.fujifilm.com.

FORTINET INTRODUCES BOLSTERED DEFENSE SYSTEM

By Paul David Gelario and Deniel Nicole Dioneo

Country Manager for Fortinet Philippines Louie Castaneda (left) and Principal Consultant South East Asia and Hong Kong Anthony Lim

AN INTERNATIONAL cybersecurity service provider introduced its bolstered defense system for companies last Oct. 3, at the Zuni Restaurant and Wine Bar, Greenbelt 5, in Makati City.

Fortinet’s new layer of defense called Security Fabric offers cutting-edge automation and integration that organizations need and monitor their network.

Security Fabric utilizes AI and machine learning to automate its security processes across its multitude of networks communicate and administers real-time defense.

Security Fabric has an endpoint security, ac-

cess management, application security, multicloud security, and more.

Fortinet is one of the top security providers in the Philippines and one of the fastest growing tech companies in the world.

“Fortinet has 24 to 25 percent market share in the Philippines. We are the top in terms of potentiality,” Castaneda said. “We are currently operating for hundreds of companies.”

Castaneda has high expectations in terms of Fortinet’s market performance next year.

“The market is also growing. I am aiming for at least a 30 percent market share (next year),” Castaneda said.

Fortinet is a US-based company located at Sunnyvale, California.

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS WINS 49 IDEA DESIGN AWARDS SAMSUNG Electronics Co., Ltd. won 49 IDEA DesignAwards, including one Gold, six Silvers and two Bronzes, at the International Design Excellence Awards 2018—the most IDEA prizes the company has won in a single year.

“With consumer-focused innovation, we will continue to strive for design that can create meaningful value in the everyday lives of our customers,” said Dontae Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of the Corporate Design Center at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung received the Gold award: Wireless Audio Visual Identity System—it delivers a consistent branding message by visually expressing the powerful audio and unique design characteristics for the Millennial generation.

Samsung won six Silver awards: Dual Cook Flex™—the premium oven with a soft and minimalist design. The oven has a flexible door system to conveniently cook more than two dishes at the same time without excessive heat loss.

Built-in Chef Collection Cooking Package—the premium built-in kitchen appliances with a pro-refined commercial design consisting of an oven, cooktop, pro-range, hood and dishwasher which have a seamless professional look. The chef-inspired features

Samsung Galaxy Note9 S Pen

enabled by the internet of things (IoT) give a great cooking experience.

Emergency Services Network (ESN) device—a handheld mobile device that is fully optimized for the emergency environment, supporting all emergency services’ functionality and critical voice services. Ruggedized for use in the field, the device also features IP68 water and dust resistance.

CJ79 Thunderbolt™ 3 QLED Curved Monitor—a 34inch ultra-wide, 21:9 aspect ratio curved display that offers an optimal immersive and comfortable viewing experience with a natural curved design.

The Frame—the new beautiful TV experience that brings walls to life with “Art Mode” which incorporates new inspiration into everyday life.

VL5/VL3 Wireless Audio Series—the wireless audio system with unique design which allows easy installation around the house and brings the true essence of sound experience.

Samsung also won two Bronze awards: · Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy Note8—the combination of bezel-less Infinity Display and symmetrical, curved design creates a more immersive mobile experience. · The Frame Visual Identity System—the concept of blending into home clearly communicates the real value of the Frame with consumers.

Organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the IDEA began in 1980.

Product submissions are based on a comprehensive evaluation of design innovation, user experience, benefit to the client, benefit to the society and aesthetics.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY REDEFINES STUDENT LIFE TIMES have changed; things are done differently today.

Studying, for example, is no longer limited to classroom lessons, books, pen and paper.

Students can now attend live webcast lectures and download notes posted by their professors online. Projects and other school requirements are submitted via email. Reviewing for a quiz? It’s easy with a mobile device and a reliable internet connection.

At the University of the Philippines Diliman, there’s an online course management system called the University Virtual Learning Environment, or UVLê. It allows instructors to create online spaces for their classes to support and supplement classroom instruction.

“Most of our classes involve online submission,” says Moira Cruz, a 4th year Civil Engineering student. “It’s like online classes.”

Professors post slides and online quizzes on UVLê, adds Gabrielle Seva, who is in 5th year in Industrial Engineering. “So it is important to have a fast and reliable internet connection, especially if you have to email something right away,” she says.

Fortunately, Smart Communications has been upgrading its LTE sites in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to improve customers’ mobile data experience.

Seva notes that Smart LTE has a strong signal anywhere on campus. “Connection is always at full bar…very reliable,” she says.

Other students find it difficult to get a connection on the fourth floor of the College of Engineering building, but not Sellina Sy. The graduating Materials Engineering student reports that her Smart mobile data has never let her down whenever she needs to access the internet—even when she’s at the Engineering Thinking Space, a study area on the fourth floor.

Nicole Tan keeps her mobile data turned on. “I use it everywhere on campus. I use it to access resources and communicate with my friends,” says the 5th year student majoring in Industrial Engineering.

“It is definitely easier for our generation to access information because we have it at the palm of our hands. It’s easy compared to when my parents were studying.

They had to go to the library to get information. With mobile data, we can just access it through our phone,” she notes.

In this information generation, students are also able to express their opinions and start campaigns if they want to, according to Sy. This is exactly what all four Engineering students have been doing, together with other members of the UP Women in Engineering, an organization promoting the interest, competence and leadership of Filipino women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“We noticed that in the Philippines, the STEM field is maledominated,” says Seva. She adds that she has personal knowledge of cases of discrimination against women in certain courses.

Turn to C3

Smart LTE posted speeds of almost 300 Mbps at the Sunken Garden.

Destinations D1

sunday, october 7, 2018

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor

manilastandardlife@gmail.com

@manilastandardlife

@MStandardLIFE

BayBay BecKOnS

Where farm, faith, and ecotourism converge

Dress up like Rapunzel and get ready to let your hair down.

Once upOn

an adventure HAVE SOME FAITH. Baybay City in the province of Leyte is home to several religious spots, one of which is the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church.

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(Photo by Aldenescabarte/Wikimedia)

HE city of Baybay in Leyte may not be a usual destination for recreation and sight-seeing. It's probably not on the travel bucket list of seasoned wanderlusts. But this quaint city, dubbed the “City of Beauty, Serenity, and Discovery” has a couple of attractions up its sleeves.

Baybay is emerging as Eastern Visayas’ hub for faith, farm, and ecotourism which the Department of Tourism is developing because of their growing markets. Declared a component city of Leyte in June 2007, it has been quietly attracting visitors because of the unique convergence of these three tourism sectors.

Places of faith

The 16,000 Blossoms Park, a mountain-top garden adorned with 16,000 LED lights.

Travelers can take a dip into the rejuvenating waters of Bakwitan River.

Baybay is the home to the Diocesan Shrine of San Antonio de Padua, which draws hordes of pilgrims to venerate the century-old image of the saint which is believed to be miraculous.

Located in the coastal barangay of Pomponan, Catholic faithful from all over the country pay tribute to the saint every 13th day of the month, in an act of devotion which starts the day before. A traditional religious dance called “sirong” is performed during the saint’s patronal feast on June 13, which falls two days before Baybay’s cityhood day.

The church, which receives over 300,000 devotees a year, constantly ranks as the top cultural attraction in Region 8. This number is part of the more than 647,045 day visitors who swing by annually in Baybay, the highest in the region based on data from DoT-8.

Another religious spot is the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, a classic example of a baroque structure founded in 1852 by Spanish friar Vicente Cronado and continued by Maestro Proceso.

Gutted by fire in 1866, except for the Holy Cross Chapel, the church was completed in 1870 as renown sculptor and painter Capitan Mateo Espinoso applied the finishing touches to lend magnificence to the house of worship.

The church is in the heart of the “heritage lane” because of the well-preserved Spanish and American-era ancestral houses, which will transport visitors back in time as they visit these living museums.

agriculture potentials, long before Republic Act 10816 (Farm Tourism Development Act 2016) was signed into law.

The Visayas State University has been quietly sowing the seeds of farm tourism for decades in this part of the archipelago with its vast gardens, demo farms, and fertile plots.

Sandwiched by the undulating Pangasugan mountain ranges and the Camotes Sea, this 1,479-hectare resort university houses the National Abaca Research Center, National Coconut Research Center-Visayas, the Philippine Root Crops Research and Training Center, and regional centers of agencies on agriculture and environment sciences.

Baybay also boasts a 13,820-hectare coconut plantation, the biggest in Eastern Visayas, luring big agro-industries, SC Global Coco Products, Inc. and SC Global Food Products, Inc., the world’s largest producer of organic coconut oil.

The city is also host to Ching Bee Trading Corp., the world’s biggest trader of abaca fiber, and Specialty Pulp Manufacturing, Inc., Asia’s biggest abaca pulp mill.

Natural treasures

The city has the longest coastline in Leyte, where it coined its name which literally means “beach.”

And it goes without saying that among its top tourist drawers is its cozy coasts, dissected by rivers and streams emanating from the Pangasugan ranges, which has remarkable flora and fauna.

Lintaon Peak, the wind-swept highest point, offers a commanding view of the Camotes sea and islands across the channel.

As part of 10th cityhood day last year, Baybay opened the Agricultural gems 16,000 Blossoms Park adorned Baybay has been showcasing its Turn to D2

MAGIC is all around Diamond Hotel as it celebrates Halloween with an enchanting event and room package.

Available from Oct. 25 to Nov, 5, the Enchanted Room Promo, priced Diamond Hotel at P5,500 nett, includes a presents 'Once Upon a Time' on Oct. 28. blissful stay in a Deluxe Room, buffet breakfast for two, complimentary use of Health Club and Spa facilities and swimming pool, Wi-Fi access, 20 percent discount on food and beverage in all outlets, massage and laundry, and shuttle service on weekends to Intramuros, Mall of Asia, and Robinsons Mall.

Staycationers who will avail the P6,000 nett room package gets one complimentary ticket to the hotel’s Halloween event on Oct. 28.

Entitled “Once Upon a Time, A Diamond Halloween Event,” the one-day affair, happening from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. presents a bedtime storyfilled fun complete with adventure and magic. Ticket to the event costs P1,000 nett per person, inclusive of a take home snack box, access to the Halloween fairytale quests and activities, and a chance to win a Lego Grand Showcase in the grand raffle draw.

Call (02) 528-3000 ext. 8461 for ticket inquiries and (02) 528-3000 ext.

1140 to 43 for room reservations.

Princesses are welcome to Diamond Hotel's Halloween party.

ShOpping in hOng KOng ASk any Filipino traveler who goes ally easy, very convenient, and simply for “the finer things in life,” where he FUN TO DO. There were no cumberwould want to fly to for a shopping some and repetitious security checks spree. Chances are “Hong kong” would at airports. Since my airline affiliation be the ready answer. gave me and my spouse free tickets Ever since I was in grade school, this anywhere we wanted to go, without former Crown Colony has been everyhaving to pay for transportation taxes, body’s ideal shopping destination. Not we decided to go to Hong kong on an mercury rising early morning flight, and came back to only do the-most-sought-after brandBy BoB zozoBrado ed goods dazzle even the most jaded Manila on the last evening flight of that shopping “black belters,” but also the same day. Of course, shopping was the bargain items in Hong kong’s Mong kok district never main reason for the trip, although we made sure that, fail to mesmerize “shopaholics.” for lunch, we would also feast on our favorite Chinese I remember that many decades ago, traveling was re- culinary specialties.

Turn to D2

Harbour City’s facade, as seen from Canton St., Hong kong’s ‘Fifth Avenue.’

destinations

D2

sunday, october 7, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

baybay...

From D1

scenic coastal walks in baybay.

(Photo by Urville86/Wikimedia)

with 16,000 Led lights, which brighten the mountain at night. the park is composed of white and red roses embedded in the grassy meadow forming the phrase “I Love baybay.” the park will be developed into the

F1 Hotel offers a releaxing room package and fun Halloween event this october.

spooky staycation sPooKy nights are upon us as we welcome Halloween’s forthcoming arrival. some hotels in the metro have prepared “monsteriffic” packages that let families and friends share the most bonechilling moments together.

F1 Hotel Manila invites Halloween revelers or even those who simply want a relaxing october staycation to spend a night in a city suite and enjoy buffet breakfast for two persons and 20 percent discount on the hotel’s trick or treat Halloween Party. the Fright night room Package is available for P5,600 nett. on oct. 27, monsters come alive as the bonifacio Global city-based ho-

tel invites children of all ages to experience and enjoy a faboolous trick or treat Halloween Party themed “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween,” in partnership with columbia Philippines, at the Infinity ballroom. children can dress up as a werewolf, witch, dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, or be their own favorite monster character for a spooktacular celebration from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For only P1,700 nett per person, little monsters can participate in F1’s inclusive activities such as face painting, trick or treating, and many more shenanigans.

Call (02) 908-7888 or e-mail inquiry@f1hotelsandresorts.com for inquiries.

Pangasugan river

Lintaon ecotourism Zone, complete with an information center, view deck, pavilion, picnic areas, and tourist facilities. adventurers can explore the nearby Lintaon cave, scale Mt. Pangasugan which became the refuge of Filipino World War II guerillas, or dip into the rejuvenating waters of bakwitan river and Falls.

richmonde Hotel Iloilo serves Halloween-themed buffet spread at its in-house restaurant, the Granary.

all treats, no tricks san antonio de Padua church

shopping...

From D1 but shopping trips can be very exhausting because, most of the time, you have to walk or drive from one district to another, just to find the item you want, and compare various options, to be sure you get the best of what you are looking for. this energysapping aspect of shopping, is what I don’t like. at my present age, I have become lazy to “walk the mile” just for something new to wear or have. that’s why I do my shopping only in the us because my favorite mall in new Jersey has everything I need, all under one roof! but, lo and behold, I just discovered that, now, I don’t have to fly to new Jersey to shop. neighboring Hong Kong beckons, with its Harbour city, a large shopping mall tucked right in the mid-

rIcHMonde Hotel Iloilo invites families and friends to enjoy a spooky and luxurious staycation during the Halloween long weekend.

From oct. 31 to nov. 5, room rates start at P4,500 nett (single occupancy) and P5,000 nett (double occupancy). each room package comes with breakfast buffet, Wi-Fi access, parking for one vehicle, and use of the Fitness center and swimming pool.

When the gang wants to take a break from watching horror movies

dle of tsim sha tsui district. It is actually a huge complex of office blocks, with three hotels in it, and is annexed to the ocean centre and ocean terminal.

Harbour city is the largest shopping complex in Hong Kong, and is home to more than 450 shops, spread over an area of 8.4 million square feet, and carrying a wide spectrum of goods, from the world’s leading luxury brands to the “common man’s favorites.” all these shopping options, housed in one large air-conditioned facility, make it very convenient for lazy shoppers like me to check on new things to buy. and when you get hungry, Harbour city has approximately 100 restaurants to choose from, where you can rest your tired soles, to recharge, and gather up more energy for more shopping.

Making it even more convenient for Filipino shoppers is the presence of the three Marco Polo Hotels inside Harbour city—Hong Kong Hotel, Gateway

My living room at Gateway Hotel.

from the comfort of their spacious rooms and king-size beds, they can savor the delectable weekend dinner buffet spread at the Granary for only P950 nett, or spend the night with spirited music and drinks at bizbar, or, weather permitting, bring the fun outdoors and dip into the pool while savoring the Iloilo breeze with a drink or two at Zabana bar.

Log on to www.richmondehoteliloilo.com.ph for more information.

one of the restaurants at Harbour city, with a breathtaking view of the Hong Kong skyline at night.

Hotel, and Prince Hotel, offering a total to purchase, without having to pay for gagement metrics. but, here’s the best news for Filipino of 1,459 well-appointed and spacious the calls.

I’m sure there will be many other travelers from the south, who plan guest rooms and suites, all equipped excellent offerings these Marco Polo to do their shopping sprees in Hong with Wi-Fi and de luxe facilities.

I have stayed at the Gateway Hotel Hotels will have in the near future, Kong: starting late this month, cathay and thoroughly enjoyed its elegant now that they have appointed dalip dragon, the wholly owned subsidiary singh as the new general manager of cathay Pacific, will operate non-stop design, impeccable service and flights between davao and Hong modern comforts, plus the fact Kong five times a week. In fact, that I just had to walk outside YOUR weekend CHUCkLe to promote this most welcome the lobby of the hotel, and I was link between our two countries, already inside the large shopa husband got a call from a nurse telling chef alex destriza of Marco Polo ping complex...no sweat, no him his wife has been rushed to the hospital: davao is now in Hong Kong, wasted time!

Husband: oh my Lord, how is she? whipping up favorite Filipino cuand one most appreciated nurse: I’m sorry to say she’s critical. linary specialties for the nightly amenity that these three Marco Husband: What the heck is she complaindinner buffet at Gateway Hotel’s Polo Hotels give its guests is the ing about again? three on canton. complimentary handy smartWith these new developments, phone which the guest may use to call anybody for free, whether the for the three properties. a seasoned “asia’s World city” (Hong Kong’s tourcalled party is in Hong Kong, in the hotelier with more than two decades ism tagline) now offers shopping Philippines, or in the us. this made it of experience, singh has been the key Made easy! Let’s go! very easy for me to check with my sons driver in the three hotels’ improveFor feedback, I’m at in Manila and my daughter in seattle ment goals and initiatives, resulting bobzozobrado@gmail.com. the specs of the items they wanted me in improved guest and associate en-

Entertainment

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018

D3

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

LOVE SCENES

GONE WILD doing the sensitive scenes. She is also thankful that

By Nickie Wang Derrick is a true gentleman.

“It helped that Derrick is a gentleman and that ANYA Lopez and Derrick we’re good friends. When we were on the set, nandoon ang respect sa isa’t-isa, magagawa n’yo ang Monasterio revealed how bawat eksena nang maayos.” they were able to pull off In the film, Sanya plays Ellie, an independent their intimate love scenes and and self-supportmake them look believable ing woman, working as a onscreen in their upcoming movie part-time Wild and Free, produced by Regal T N V S (transport Entertainment, Inc. network vehicle Since the release of its trailer, Wild and Free has become controversial and netizens could not get enough of the daring and bold scenes of Sanya and Derrick. Netizens also expressed their surprise seeing the two young stars tackle more mature roles.

As a matter of fact, the love scenes seem so believable that the director Connie S. Macatuno, revealed that even Derrick’s girl “will definitely get jealous.”

But Derrick and Sanya are just thankful that they were able to deliver in this movie, including their intimate scenes together.

Derrick admitted that he was reluctant when he and Sanya had to shoot their first love scene.

“At first I was really afraid that I might get a slap from Sanya . But of course I already envisioned how the scene would go,” explains the 23-year-old actor and adds that although they were shooting love scenes, he’s fully aware of his limitations. “You have to be faithful on what the script asks, kasi respeto kay Sanya.”

Just like Derrick, Sanya explained that she felt her heart in her throat when she did her first intimate scene with her leading man.

“I was really nervous, but eventually I was ablt to learn on how to open, hindi naman bastos yung movie, may mga eksena na magiging totoo at madadala ka talaga kahit hindi naman sabihin sayo na gawin mo. Sex is part of the relationship, that’s what lovers do in real life,” explains the 22-year-old actress.

Sanya clarified that she did not feel violated

S

CAMILA CABELLO LEADS NOMINATIONS AT MTV EMAS

A scene from the movie, which is billed as this this year's boldest film from Regal Entertainment.

service) driver, who picks up Jake (Derrick), a man from his past.

While on the trip, the two reminisce their happy times, when they were still a couple.

Ellie and Jake met up three years before, while they were commuting. They instantly hit it off and their attraction led to a relationship. However, complications arise when Jake discovers that Ellie’s little secret, a huge impact in Jake’s life.

Wild and Free opens in cinemas on Wednesday, Oct. 10. For more updates, follow Regal Entertainment Inc on Facebook, @RegalFilms on Twitter, @RegalFilms50 on IG and Regal Cinema channel on YouTube.

US SINGER Camila Cabello leads in nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), according to a list released Thursday.

Even before the ceremony to be held Nov. 4 near Bilbao in northern Spain, it has been a banner year for the 21-yearold singer born in Cuba.

Her hit song “Havana” reached the top of the US charts in late January in the US, as did her album Camila that same week. The audio version of the song, without video, has been heard more than 1.3 billion times on YouTube.

In August Cabello won two of the prestigious prizes at the MTV Video Music Awards—artist of the year and video of the year.

Last year the former member of the band Fifth Harmony was named best pop artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

This year she has been nominated in six categories including best song, best video and best artist. Next are singer Ariana Grande and rapper Post Malone with five nominations, followed by Canadian artist Drake and Britain’s Dua Lipa with four.

Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, winner of three prizes last year, was nominated for three awards this year. AFP

MILLENNIAL POP STAR. Cuban-born singer Camila Cabello gets six nominations in this year's edition on MTV Europe Music Awards.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEAD

ZOMBIES IN BOOKS, FILM, AND TELEVISION

THEY may not be as romantic as vampires, but zombies have been enjoying a rise in popularity in film and television in the past several years thanks to television shows like The Walking Dead, Age of the Living Dead, and Fear the Walking Dead and blockbuster movies like World War Z, Warm Bodies, Shaun of the Dead, and 28 Days Later.

Humanity’s fear and fascination of the dead walking have been around since ancient civilizations though. Archeological finds have dug up graves where skulls were smashed and separated from the rest of the skeletons, bodies weighed down by heavy stones and, in the case of Ancient Greece, by amphoras—assumedly to keep the bodies from getting up from their graves. But the word “zombi” came from Haiti, where Voodoo is practiced. However, their zombies are people who are revived by voodoo practitioner called bokors. The zombie

revived by a bokor is forced to become his mindless and soulless slave for all time. For a nation with a history of slavery, this was the worst thing that could happen to a person.

The first zombie stories Probably one of the first stories written about the undead was Philinnion and Machates by Phlegon of Tralles, the Greek author of the Olympiads. It’s about a young woman (Philinnion) who died and came back to life and returned home to have a lot of sex with her parent’s guest (Machates). Ironically, she died again soon after telling him that the gods of the underworld approved of her resurrection.

But perhaps the most famous of them all is the monster created by Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein published in 1818. The monster was reanimated via lightning and displayed all the classic characteristics of a zombie (minus the eating brains part and with emotions).

The term “zombie” was only introduced to the English-speaking world in 1819 by the poet Robert Southey in his book History of Brazil. A century later, W.B. Seabrook wrote the novel The Magic Island that introduced the concept of zombies to the United States. The book was about Haitian voodoo cults and their zombie minions. Three years later, the movie White Zombie was released in 1932 starring Bela Lugosi.

Zombies make it to Hollywood However, we didn’t get the now-ubiquitous, slow moving but relentless flesheating zombies until George Romero’s genre-defining Night of the Living Dead in 1968. There have also been many versions since then such as: zombies made in labs (Resident Evil), running zombies (28 Days Later), intelligent zombies (Day of the Dead), brain-eating zombies (Return of the Living Dead), hilarious zombies (Shaun

'The Walking Dead' Season 9 can be streamed exclusively on Fox+ beginning Oct. 8.

of the Dead and Zombieland), romantic zombies (Warm Bodies), even sharkfighting zombies (Zombie Flesh Eaters).

The causes for the zombiepocalypse vary from extra-terrestrial sources, biological warfare, virus, demonic possession, the biblical apocalypse.

While the popularity of zombies cannot be disputed, network TV shows have cemented its status as monster du jour in pop culture, particularly The Walking Dead, which has become the most-

watched shows in its steady nine seasons run so far.

For as long as people still fear the dead and being eaten, it doesn’t look like the zombies are going away any time soon. They are known for their relentlessness after all.

Catch up on all seasons now and be the first to stream season 9 of The Walking Dead on FOX+ starting Oct. 8, 11:30 a.m..

New users can now download FOX+ from the App Store and Google Play store for a free 30-Day trial.

D4

sunday, october 7, 2018

Desiree Carlos, Editor

Pets

daycarlos28@yahoo.com

skin disorders in pets and how to treat theM

By Maria Michele Canlas-Cordova

M

(Part 1)

My Furry Bestie THIS corner features pets of animal lovers every week. We hope new owners and those thinking of getting a pet will be encouraged to be responsible “furparents” through these features. We also hope more people will be moved to be kind to animals when they read about the great relationship that can be created between humans and animals.

For contributions, please email to daycarlos28@yahoo.com and put My Furry Bestie as subject.

OST owners are confronted with skin problems.

Itchiness and hair loss are the most common.

Pillows of Grace Reyes was diagnosed with demodectic mange. He was treated using antibiotics, topical treatment, and a change in diet, among others.

To be able to treat the skin disease, one has to identify the symptoms and causes and determine the gravity of the problem.

A veterinarian does skin scraping to determine the kind of skin disease. The vet scrapes a part of the affected and the examines the sample.

Here are the different kinds of skin disorders:

A. MANGE

1) DEMODECTIC -mites live in the hair follicles -hair loss -thickened skin on the affected area -redness -itching -this is NOT contagious to humans and other animals -it is passed on from the mama to the babies -there are two kinds of demodectic mange: a) Localized -in small patches b) Generalized -covers a big area of the skin -your pet may have fever and bacterial infection due to scratching Cause : When the animal has a weak or compromised immune system, skin mites increase faster.

Dogs or cats with demodectic mange should not be bred because the litters will definitely have a weak immune system too.

Treatment: 1. TOPICAL treatments are normally done: -antibacterial creams -antibacterial shampoos -apple cider vinegar -food grade diatomaceous earth 2. ORAL treatment -immune system booster -Vitamin B complex -Ascorbic acid 3. INJECTABLE or more aggressive oral medicine should be administered/prescribed only by a licensed vet. This is the last re-

course if the condition is severe.

This may cause a liver problem, thus, it is recommended that a liver protection supplement is given to your pet.

2) SARCOPTIC /Scabies -itching -soreness -red patches or skin rashes -scabs -CONTAGIOUS to other animals and humans -can be contracted due to exposure to places with other dogs, cats, or animals like the vet clinics, grooming stations, parks and other places with a lot of pets.

Cause: -female mites implant their eggs under the skin Treatment: 1. TOPICAL treatment -medicated bath (specific for scabies) -anti-bacterial creams to relieve pain and soreness -apple cider vinegar -food grade diatomaceous earth 2. Medicine a) ORAL treatment -Antibiotics (should be prescribed by a licensed vet)

#adoptdontshop HIS rescuers named him MIRACLE because he survived despite being hit by a vehicle in Paranaque.

This cute two-year-old cat is now waiting for a loving, lifetime family who will treat him as a pet, a member of their clan.

ARF Manila, the group that rescued him and had him treated, said they are looking for an adopter who can continue feeding Miracle using a syringe.

He cannot eat on his own yet due to the injuries which were treated but have yet to heal completely.

“Medyo tabingi lang po ang kanang mata dahil sa pagkakasagasa subali't nakakakita siya sa maat na iyon at wala naman infection, “ said Aldin Parungao III of ARF Manila.

ARF Manila said they will bring Miracle to the adopter.

The adoption requirements are: 1. Miracle should be allowed to roam freely. No caging. But please secure him as he has to get used to his new environment first so that he will not get out and get hit by a vehicle.

2. No member of the family is allergic to cats.

3. Adopter has a maximum of 5 cats only so that Miracle will also get attention and love from the adopter.

-immune system boosters 4. HOTSPOT - Vitamin B complex -also called Pyotramatic dermatitis -ascorbic acid -inflammation of parts of the skin b) INJECTABLE meds are avail-moist and sometimes with pus able but should be administered due to infection by the vet after consultation.

-itchy For pets diagnosed with sarcop-redness of the affected area tic mange, please wash beddings Cause: and clean surroundings often.

Allergy that becomes a wound due to constant licking of the in3) EARMITES fected area -shaking of the head due to Treatment: itchiness 1. TOPICAL -brownish black powder coffee-remove an allergy-causing like deposit inside the ear trigger that has been identified Cause: Otodectes Mites (whether food, shampoo or exter-contagious to animals near the nal allergens) infected one -creams, spray for itchiness and Treatment wound of animals 1. TOPICAL treatment -povidone iodine -clean ears using cotton buds -medicated shampoo dipped in a mixture of water and 2. ORAL apple cider vinegar - A vet will prescribe antihista-after removing the dirt, you mine or prednisone when needed may now use an ear drop specific only. Do not decide on this. for ear mites twice a day -Antibiotics -food grade diatomaceous earth -immune system booster 2. ORAL treatment -Vitamin B complex -immune system booster -Ascorbic acid -Ascorbic acid Please note that your vet might - Vitamin complex suggest a change in food or diet.

-Antibiotics as required by veterinarians To be continued next week.

WAFFLE, Miguel Miguel's 14-yearold shih, loves to laze around and follows Miggy wherever he goes.

“She loves being carried and does not mind the long hours being cuddled and me pulling his tail. He would just fall asleep,” Miggy says. Waffle loves running and eating anything and everything.

ZOEY, a five-year-old yellow labrador is a very playful baby, says Maila L. Agbuya.

“She has a big appetite and patiently waits for her brothers and sisters' food plates for a 'clean up',” says furmom Mai. “I would call her a 'piglador'! Mai adds.

Mai says Zoey also “loves to play fetch and is crazy about squeeze balls.

She sleeps beside her hooman belly up and snores. Z loves driving around for fun especially when she knows they're heading to the dog spa!”

Editor's Note: These contributions were compiled by Miks Lim, admin of Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL).

330 pets vaccinated in General trias, cavite to celebrate World rabies day

By Dennis Abrina

Miracle can see in both eyes despite the impact on the head when he was hit by a vehicle. He is indeed a walking, breathing Miracle.

4. A human is always at home to ensure Miracle is fed at this time that he is not able to eat on his own yet.

For those interested to adopt, please message Lorilyn A. Casuncad Mobile: 0998 990 1082. There is a screening process. There is no adoption fee.

GENERAL TRIAS CITY, Cavite—Around 330 pets (dogs and cats) were given an anti-rabies shot and were dewormed by the city agriculture office (CAO) last Sunday, September 30, at the City Plaza grounds in celebration of World Rabies Day. Male cats and dogs were also neutered to help control animal population in the city as part of the project of Mayor Antonio “Ony” Ferrer, said Nerie Marquez of CAO and Lani Balanag of the city information office (CIO).

The provincial veterinarian office led by Dr. Gloria Digma helped in the neutering and vaccination.The CIO distributed freebies to pets after the vaccination.

"Next year po, mas marami pang program ang naka-line up, We are planning to invite mobile pet grooming van and pet-related shops to participate in the annual program for pets," said Lani Balanag.

Fr. Oliver Genuino led the blessing of pet animals in front of the St. Francis of Assisi church at 8:30 a.m. the feast day of the patron saint of pet animals, St. Francis of Assisi.

Mayor Ferrer, Congressman Jon Jon Ferrer, Vice Mayor Morit Sison and city councilors witnessed the designation of Fr. Genuino as the new parish priest of St Francis church by Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista.

Baptismal certificates were given to pet owners by the local government.

Special awards were given to Rochelle Cea from Brgy Governor Ferrer for the most number of pets brought to the event and Monique Santiagel from Brgy. Bagumbayan for being the first to arrive at the event place. The two received gift packs from the LGU.

Cute puppies were brought to the World Rabies Day celebration. The event was also an advance celebration of World Animal Day. (Photo by Dennis Abrina)