Manila Standard - 2018 April 29 - Sunday

S'PORE WARNS OF 'VERY REAL' ISIS THREAT VOL. XXXII • NO. 73 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

SOUTHEAST Asia faces “very real” threats from the Islamic State group despite their defeat in the Middle East, as well as cyber-attacks, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned Saturday as he opened a regional summit.

Parts of the 10-country region, encompassing about 650 million people, have long struggled with Islamic militancy and the emergence of IS has served as a new rallying point for radicals and reenergized extremist groups.

A deadly gun and suicidebombing attack in Indonesian capital Jakarta in 2016 was the first IS-claimed assault in the region, while the Philippine city of Marawi was overrun last year by fighters loyal to the jihadists, triggering a months-long battle that killed hundreds.

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RODY ASSURES VIETNAM: NO WPS COP-OUT

By Vito Barcelo

UNITED WE STAND. President Rodrigo Duterte (third from left) and other heads of state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations applaud the opening of the 32nd Asean Summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Saturday. Presidential Photo

PH DEFENDS OFW RESCUE IN KUWAIT

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

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OREIGN Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano insisted on Saturday the actions taken by Filipino diplomats in Kuwait were “a rightful exercise” of their duty under International Law to protect Filipinos working and residing abroad.

In a statement Saturday, Cayetano, currently in Singapore, said the uncoordinated rescue mission was consistent with the. Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

“We remain convinced that the

actions we took in Kuwait are a rightful exercise of our duty under international law to protect our nationals abroad. Our actions are consistent both with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Cayetano stressed.

Tension between the Philippines and Kuwait increased further after the DFA uploaded a rescue video where diplomats, consisting of the Rapid Response Team, were seen helping Filipinos to flee from their allegedly abusive employers in Kuwait.

The videos, which angered the Kuwait government, showed a woman running from a home and jumping into a waiting vehicle while another depicted a person sprinting from what looked like a construction site and then speeding off in a black sport utility vehicle.

Kuwait had branded the rescues a violation of its sovereignty, adding fuel to a simmering diplomatic row between the two nations sparked

by the murder of a Filipino maid.

In related developments: • President Rodrigo Duterte, in Singapore for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting would announce the Philippines’ position on the Kuwait crisis upon his return to Davao City—expected before midnight Saturday—from a regional summit in Singapore, his spokesman said Friday.

Duterte has not made any statement on Kuwait since the Gulf state on April 25 expelled Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa.

The ambassador was declared persona non grata due to the Philippine embassy’s allegedly illegal Turn to A2

KIM: HISTORIC MEETING USHERS IN NO-NUKE ERA NORTH Korea on Saturday hailed its summit with the South as a “historic meeting” that paved the way for the start of a new era, after the two leaders pledged to pursue denuclearization and a permanent peace.

The official KCNA news agency carried the text of the leaders’ Panmunjom Declaration in full and said the encounter opened the way “for national reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity.”

In the document, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the South’s

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to expand security cooperation and to increase trade with Vietnam and Indonesia after meeting with the two Asean head of states on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Leaders’ summit in Singapore.

President Duterte announced the twin developments after several Filipino and Singaporean businessmen

firmed up $187 million worth of investment deals through memoranda of understanding and letters of intent at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel where the summit is being held.

Duterte met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Indonesian President Joko Widodo and discussed several issues that included the arbitral decision on the disputed West Philippine Sea or South China Sea, Turn to A2

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POLL BETS TOLD: SHUN TOXIC POSTERS

By Joel E. Zurbano ENVIRONMENTALIST group Ecowaste Coalition on Saturday urged village and youth polls candidates to be aware and go easy on tarpaulin posters laced with cadmium, a cancer-causing chemical.

The group made the appeal as campaign materials—posters, tarpaulins and banners—of candidates in the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections sprouted all over Metro Manila and various provinces even before the start of the campaign period on May 4.

“Tarpaulins such as those made of polyvinyl chloride plastic often contain cadmium, a chemical that is deemed extremely harmful to human health and the environment,” said Ecowaste Chemical Safety campaigner Thony Dizon.

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FIL-GERMAN WINS CAIRO BEAUTY TILT

President Moon Jae-in “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclearfree Korean Peninsula.”

But the phrase is a diplomatic euphemism open to interpretation on both sides.

In Singapore, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is in the island state, was “very much relieved” after North and South Korea agreed to pursue permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday evening.

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By Eton Concepcion

DU30 AGREES TO EXPANDED TIES

By Vito Barcelo

MALACAÑANG said Saturday President Rodrigo Duterte would deal with the arbitral award on the disputed West Philippine Sea or South China Sea, as the President clarified he did not abandon the tribunal’s ruling in favor of the Philippines’ protest against China’s nine-dash line that covers nearly the whole of the disputed region.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte made the clarification with Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc who brought up the issue during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 32nd Asean Leaders’ Meeting in Singapore.

“It [WPS] was definitely discussed. And I guess the President just wanted to make very clear that we are not abandoning, ignoring or setting aside the arbitral’s ruling which is in our favor,” Roque said.

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NEWEST QUEEN. Filipino-German beauty Cynthia ‘Thia’Thomalla offers thanks to an adoring crowd as she is fitted with the tiara for winning the Miss Eco International 2018 pageant on Friday at the Cairo Opera House in Zamalek, Egypt. The 22-year-old Cebu-based model is crowned by last year’s winner, Amber Bernachi of Canada. Ahmed Arafa for Miss Eco International

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FILIPINO-GERMAN Cynthia Thomalla bested more than 50 delegates from around the world to win the Miss Eco International 2018 title on Friday at the historic Cairo Opera House in Zamalek, Egypt.

The 22-year-old Tourism and Event Management graduate and Cebu-based model, gorgeous in a chiffon red gown with appliqué, was crowned by last year’s winner Amber Bernachi of Canada.

Miss Indonesia Astira Vernadeina was named 1st runner up, Miss Peru Kelin River Kroll was 2nd runner-up, while Miss Costa Rica Glynnis Medina and Miss Vietnam Nguyen Thi Dung finished as 3rd and 4th runners-up, respectively.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DPWH VOWS TO REBUILD BORACAY THE Department of Public Works and Highways will complete the entire 5.2-kilometer Boracay Circumferential Road and build better drainage on the island during its six-month closure and rehabilitation, Secretary Mark Villar said.

“We have six months to restore the beauty of Boracay,” Villar said in a statement issued Friday.

“For this period, we aim to complete the whole Boracay Circumferential Road that will strictly follow the 6.10-meter carriageway standard and road right-of-way on both sides, as we also plan to build sidewalks and bike lanes for the pedestrians,” he added.

This developed as the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Saturday it was suspending until next week the distribution of transportation subsidies for non-resident workers set to leave the island during its half-year closure, citing depleted funds.

Also, the Department of Labor and Employment said it started its emergency employment program (EEP) to affected Boracay workers on Friday.

Bureau of Local Employment Director Dominique Tutay said the affected workers in two barangays have started working under the EEP. Villar said the project, which has a P490million budget, has three sections to construct the gaps of Boracay’s major thoroughfare. and will include the demolition of structures that occupy the 12-meter government road right-of-way, and the cleaning and declogging of the existing drainage lines along the circumferential road.

The secretary personally led the team of DPWH maintenance personnel on Thursday, the first day of rehabilitation being implemented in coordination with other government agencies.

At present, roads in the island are narrow due to road right-of-way violations, with structures closely built along national roads, resulting in carriageways being shared by vehicles, pedestrians, and merchants. PNA

KIM:...

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“Of course everyone is relieved because we were all looking at the prospects of a nuclear encounter in our backyard,” Roque said when asked about Duterte’s reaction to this development.

“As you know, whenever they test their missiles, it always lands in Philippine waters,” Roque added in a press conference Friday evening in Singapore, where Duterte is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.

Pyongyang has long wanted to see an end to the US military presence and nuclear umbrella over the South, but it invaded its neighbor in 1950 and is the only one of the two Koreas to possess nuclear weapons.

Analysts warn that previous displays of inter-Korean affection and pledges by the North ultimately came to naught.

For years, Pyongyang insisted it would never give up the “treasured sword” of its nuclear arsenal, which it says it needs to defend itself against a possible US invasion.

But it has offered to put it up for negotiation in exchange for security guarantees, according to Seoul—although Kim made no public reference to doing so at Friday’s spectacular summit.

In a separate report, KCNA said the two leaders had a “candid and open-hearted exchange of views” on issues including “ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and the denuclearization of the peninsula.”

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, devoted the first four of its six pages to the event, carrying a total of 60 photos, 15 of them on page one, and state television deployed famed veteran newsreader Ri Chun Hee to read out the declaration.

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ÏPresidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

“The President and the Vietnamese Prime Minister discussed about the purchase of rice from Vietnam,” Roque said, adding that Vietnam “reiterated their willingness to supply quality rice to the Philippines.”

“The issue of fishermen being arrested for illegal fishing was also discussed. But the President stressed that this is not a big issue because there are many fish to be caught,” he said.

President Duterte also vowed to go after members of the Abu Sayyaf Group who kidnapped Vietnamese sailors.

He said the Philippines looked forward to increasing two-way trade with Vietnam and encouraged more investments.

Both leaders cited the importance of partnership to ensure ample supply of rice in the Philippines, Roque said.

AIRPORT AGENTS SEIZE P20-M DRUG SHIPMENT

By Joel E. Zurbano and Vito Barcelo

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NOTHER shipment of smuggled drugs, this time worth P20 million, was intercepted on Saturday by airport authorities who applied a controlled delivery scheme to arrest its consignees.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Customs collector Carmelita Talusan identified the suspects as Antonio Lobiano Baguinbin, 38, a resident of Sta. Ana, Manila; and Gundelina David, 64, of 182 Pedro Gil Street, Malate, also in Manila.

Elements of the Naia Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group applied the controlled delivery scheme to arrest the suspects in simultaneous operations in Manila and Makati City Friday night.

The scheme is used when a consignment of illicit drugs is detected and allowed to go forward under the control

and surveillance of law enforcement officers, to secure evidence against the organizers of illicit drug traffic.

This operation has been proven effective in some countries in identifying and bringing to justice principals, organizers and financiers of the drug trade, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said.

Investigation showed that the shabu shipments, declared in the documents as a car seat booster and baby crib, arrived at the Federal Express warehouse last Monday.

Seized from Baguinbin were two pouches, declared as car seat boost-

er, each containing 821.4 grams and 1,251.4 grams of shabu consigned

by Schiit Audio of 24900, Anza Drive, Valencia, California, United States to one Arnel Montilla of Montojo Street, Makati City.

Another two kilos of shabu, concealed in a parcel and described as a baby crib by its sender Robert Knight of California to consignee Phoy M. dela Cruz of Pedro Gil, Ermita, Manila, was intercepted from David’s possession.

Both Baguinbin and David presented identification cards bearing the names of the consignees.

The suspects are now in the custody of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and will be charged for violation of Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Earlier, Customs agents on Friday seized smuggled P10 million worth of shabu and kush weeds that arrived from California.

Lapeña said the stimulant was usually produced by syndicates in China,

Taiwan, and Hong Kong. But he added some syndicates based in the United States are now manufacturing methamphetamine because it is a “lucrative business.”

In 2016, airport authorities made at least 15 arrests against suspected foreign drug couriers.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal said the Philippine government is in close coordination with US law enforcement units and international police in cracking down suspected drug mules or couriers and drug dealers.

“We are sending strong message to drug syndicates that the law enforcement agencies are joining hands to fight their way to a drug -ree country in order to provide a safe environment that is conducive for development,” said Monreal.

In November, a tip from the US government resulted in the arrest of a suspected Colombian drug mule who tried to smuggle P8.8 million worth of cocaine at the Naia Terminal 3.

COA CALLS INTO QUESTION TOURISM’S P60-M AD

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Commission on Audit has taken to task the Department of Tourism for paying a total of P60.01 million to a private media outfit owned by Ben Tulfo, the brother of Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo. The money was payment for the DOT’s advertisements for 2017, COA said.

Teo’s department paid the amount “even without the necessary supporting documents,” it added.

The COA’s annual audit report on the People’s Television Network Inc. posted on its website on Friday said a Memorandum of Agreement was entered into between the PTNI and

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Duterte “will announce the Philippine position personally during his arrival statement” in Davao City this weekend, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a press conference in Singapore on Friday.

Asked if Duterte will reveal it in his meeting with the Filipino community in Singapore on Saturday, April 28, Roque said, “He wants to announce it on Philippine soil.”

“It’s a very important announcement so it should be the President,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III in another media briefing earlier on Friday.

• Migrante International on Saturday hit the Philippine government’s recent rescue of overseas Filipino workers in Kuwait, saying it only worsened the situation of already

the DOT for the latter’s purchase of advertisement airtime with the magazine news-type daily program, “Kilos Pronto.”

“Kilos Pronto” is produced by Ben Tulfo’s Bitag Media Unlimited Inc., a blocktimer in PTV-4. The program is co-hosted by Ben, his brother Erwin Tulfo and another veteran broadcaster, Alex Santos.

Under the MOA, the PTNI was obligated to air on “Kilos Pronto” a six-minute DOT advertisement segment and a three-minute DOT spot.

The COA said three checks for P60,009,560 were processed and released by PTNI to BMUI on May 11, Nov. 8 and Dec. 15, 2017. The checks represented the payments for the

distressed migrant workers in the Arab country.

Migrante International spokesperson Arman Hernando said Cayetano should apologize not only to the Kuwaiti government but also to OFWs in Kuwait.

Cayetano earlier issed a public and formal apology to Kuwait “for certain incidents that the Kuwaitis view as violation of their sovereignty.”

The controversial rescue video resulted in Kuwait’s decision to recall its envoy in Manila; expel Villa and hand arrest order to three involved diplomats who were now stuck inside the embassy there.

Cayetano, however, assured the 250,000 Filipinos working and fearing for their lives there that his office was currently engaging discussions with Kuwait to address recent concerns.

“In pursuing these discussions, we remain guided by the President’s policy that the protection of the rights and welfare of Filipinos overseas is paramount,” he noted.

He added the DFA and the Department

friends, my mentors, ALV group of Companies president Arnold Vegafria, and to all Filipinos, this victory is for you,” Thomalla said at the backstage where she was Completing the Top 10 were Brazil, greeted by Vegafria and Miss World PhilEgypt, India, Poland and Portugal. Top ippines vice president Bessie Besana.

In the final Q&A portion, Thomalla was 21 were China, Colombia, Ecuador, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, asked “What is the most important thing that beauty pageants add to people and Serbia, Surinam and Venezuela. ‘’I want food, I want to sleep right now,” the world?

“The most relevant thing that we the Anne-Hathaway deadringer said when interviewed by Missosology after beauty queens can contribute to the world is raising awareness on our own her win.

“I really did not expect to win as the 52 causes. For example, the Miss Eco Interother girls were all amazing. I was so ner- national is raising the advocacy of susvous before the announcement stand- tainable tourism and protection of enviing with just the two of us with Miss In- ronment. That is the main point of doing donesia and they were talking in Arabic. beauty pageants, by raising our voices I’m so overwhelmed and I want to thank to help the earth,” the German-born and those who supported me, my family and Southern Leyte-raised beauty answered.

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Fears are also growing that Southeast Asia, which is home to booming economies where a growing number of people are adopting digital technology in their everyday lives, could be increasingly targeted by cyberattackers.

Opening the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore, Lee warned that IS continues to threaten the region despite their military defeat in Iraq and Syria, while the move towards digitalisation has made

countries more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

“Southeast Asia is at peace, but these threats are very real,” he said.

“We need to be resilient to both conventional threats, and also non-conventional threats such as terrorism and cyberattacks.”

The leaders at a working dinner Friday ahead of their formal summit agreed to increase coordination in cybersecurity.

Lee also warned that the open global trading system, which has allowed many of the region’s export-driven economies to flourish, has come under increasing threat due to protectionist policies in major economies.

DOT’s advertising placements.

The COA said payments were released despite the absence of necessary supporting documents such as a MOA/Contract between the PTNI and BMUI, Certificate of Performance, duly approved Budget Utilization Request and Billing Statement detailing the deliverables.

“Interview with the Accounting personnel revealed that there was no Memorandum of Agreement [MOA] or contract by and between PTNI and Blocktimer BMUI relative to the airing of DOT commercial advertisements in said program,” the COA report said.

“Since there was no MOA wherein the terms and conditions of the agreement are supposed to be spelled out,

there was also no basis for the computations on how the said three payments were arrived at,” it added.

The COA said the release of payments to BMUI without the required supporting documents violated Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code and COA Circular 2012-001 which enumerates the required documents for government transactions.

The report said that while there was a MOA between the PTNI and the DOT, it did not contain a provision on specific airtime rates per segment or per spot “and such other terms and conditions of the commercial advertisement specifically as regards the manner of payment.”

of Labor and Employment have been carrying out this policy to ensure the welfare of the Filipinos.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment have been carrying out this policy by ensuring that we always come to the aid of Filipinos in distress anywhere in the world,” Cayetano said.

“The policy—and our resolve to pursue it—will not waver,” he assured.

Cayetano assured the Philippines remained committed with its Kuwaiti counterparts to achieve a shared goal of strengthening both bilateral relations.

“We are committed to find a way with our counterparts in Kuwait to achieve our shared goal of strengthening our bilateral relations based on what we hope would be a common desire to ensure the well-being of our kababayans there,” he said.

“If we reach agreement on this, the ties between oura two countries would become stronger than ever,” he added.

While doing that, Cayetano asked for

a “diplomatic space” from the media and the public to be able to resolve the matter.

“In the meantime, we would like to request the kind understanding of the media and the public as we ask for diplomatic space while resolving these pending concerns with Kuwait,” he added.

Cayetano on Friday admitted that the signing of a deal between the two countries, where President Duterte would witness the supposed historic and groundbreaking development to protect Filipinos working there, would be put on hold.

Since Kuwait expelled Villa and ordered arrest of the three other diplomats, Duterte has been mum on the issue.

Bello admitted Duterte was “surprised” about Kuwait’s order against Villa asking him to leave the Gulf State and declared the latter persona non-grata.

Roque said despite non-response from the Kuwait counterpart to explain its decision, Duterte has made up his mind and will announce the Philippines’ position on Saturday evening.

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West Philippine Sea controversy settled under the rule of law, and pursuant to the binding norms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.” The Palace official said it was Vietnamese Prime Minister that brought up the issue on the WPS or SCS, because he was appealing for support on the joint filing of Malaysia and Vietnam for an extended continental shelf.

“Of course our submission has been acted upon and that is why the Philippine Deep belongs to us, was awarded to us by the extended continental shelf,” Roque said.

Roque believed the Prime Minister of Vietnam was lobbying for other countries to support that submission, adding “because that would have substantial ramification. Although of course China is opposing it, and in the process of opposing it, that was the first time they mentioned the 9-Dash Lines.”

Duterte further gave assurance that he would address the issue involving the UNbacked ruling on the WPS in due course, the Palace spokesperson said.

Roque admitted it was the first time that he personally heard the President’s position favoring discussion of the arbitral ruling on the WPS, in contrast to his previous pronouncements.

Roque said: “Although that has been his position even in the past—that he is not abandoning it, he is not relinquishing it. But he made it very clear, to a head of state that he recognizes that the gains of the arbitral award and that he will refer to the arbitral award in due course.

“Because he wants the totality of the

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In related developments: • The Commission on Elections is looking to adopt a color-coding system in identifying hotspots in the May 14 polls.

“We will have a calibrated categorization system—green, yellow, orange, and red,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told a press conference Friday.

Jimenez said they were talking with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines regarding the declaration of election hotspots.

Under the proposed color-coding scheme, code green would mean no problem and cause for concern; while an area will be under code yellow if it has history of political unrest.

• Over 70 barangay officials will face administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman next week for their failure to organize the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council.

Interior Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño told Super Radyo dzBB that barangay chairpersons who had not submitted any BADAC report would face charges before the Ombudsman.

After filing the complaints, the DILG will release the list of barangay officials who have failed to organize the BADAC. With PNA

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LABOR GROUPS SET MAY DAY PROTEST

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ECAUSE of the failure of President Rodrigo Duterte to sign an executive order to stop contractualization, the country’s biggest labor groups plan to hold a massive protest on Labor Day, May 1.

This even after Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that instead of signing an executive order on contractualization, Duterte will certify as priority a pending bill in the Senate on the security of tenure for workers.

In a forum held Saturday, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) secretary-general Josua Mata said their group and the Kilusang Mayo Uno are looking to gather 150,000 people for the nationwide Labor Day protest.

According to Mata, these people are members of trade unions in the country.

“Historic march ito dahil ngayon lang ulit na ang mga manggagawa na may iba’t-ibang organisasyon, may ibat ibang ideological perspectives ay magsasama sama dahil nagkakaisa kami na talagang pumapatay sa manggagawa ngayon ay kontraktwalisasyon,” Mata said.

Partido Manggagawa chairman Rene Magtubo, for his part, said that in Metro Manila alone, more than 50,000 workers are expected to join the Labor Day protest.

“Magma-martsa kami mula sa Welcome Rotunda hanggang Mendiola at doon magpo-program from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” Magtubo said.

“May kasabay na pagkilos sa Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, at Gen. Santos City. Meron din mga pagkilos sa Luzon, sa Calamba at sa Bataan... Ang commemoration ng Labor Day will be transformed into an indignation protest dahil sa pagtalikod ni Digong sa kaniyang pangako na pirmahan ang executive order,” Magtubo added.

Magtubo said the President did not sign the executive order due to the lobbying of employers and foreign chambers.

But at the same time, Magtubo still believes that Duterte may still change his mind and eventually sign an order against contractualization. With PNA

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SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PINAY OFW FALLS TO DEATH IN S. ARABIA ANOTHER household Filipino worker fell to her death in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Affairs reported on Saturday.

In a statement, the DFA confirmed that the Filipina who sustained a head injury after she fell from the sixth-floor from her employer’s residence, died in the hospital at around 3:30 p.m.

Consul General Edgar Badajos said authorities are still investigating the death of the Filipina domestic helper.

“The Filipina, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was brought to the hospital at around 3:30 p.m. but died shortly after from head injuries,” Badajos said.

Badajos said that immediately after the heard the report, the consulate general dispatched a team to coordinate with authorities investigating the case.

Badajos also said that the victim’s remains were brought to the King Fahad Hospital in Madinah for examination.

Based on the initial autopsy results, the Filipino has no indication of any physical abuse.

Badajos also revealed that the Filipino hailed from Basilan, Mindanao and had been on her job in Saudi Arabia for over two months.

So far, the envoy said the consulate office is now trying to connect with the victim’s recruitment agency in Manila and the family in Basilan.

Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

ADOPTED DAUGHTER. Senator Nancy Binay on Thursday joined the residents of Mayoyao, Ifugao during their Igkhumtad Ad Majawjaw celebration. An ‘adopted daughter‘ of the municipality, she vowed to help Mayoyao with their tourism plan and the development of its school of living tradition.

‘QUO WARRANTO PETITION NO BEARING ON IMPEACH BID’

By Maricel V. Cruz THE chairman of the House committee on justice has maintained that the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the Supreme Court has no legal bearing on the impeachment bid being undetaken against her in Congress.

Unless the SC decides in favor of the quo warranto, then the impeachment case against Sereno will be rendered moot, Umali, the panel’s chairman, said.

But Umali was quick to say that, “we should not pre-empt the decision of the SC.” “Impeachment proceedings are sui generis. It is not similar to any other,” Umali, the panel’s chairperson, said.

“Impeachment presupposes a valid appointment while quo warranto questions the qualifications of an offi-

cer and that is well within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.”

For his part, Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting said whatever will be the decision of the SC on the matter has to be respected.

“I give respect to the Supreme Court as it is a co-equal branch of government with Congress. It is their prerogative,” Tambunting, an administration ally, said.

The two lawmakers made the comment as SC magistrates reportedly will vote on the Sereno’s quo warranto on May 11, instead of the original May 17 schedule.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier said the House of Representatives would be able to approve the Articles of Impeachment against Sereno within a week or two after the resumption of session of Congress on May 15.

FIXED SALARY FOR TAXI DRIVERS PROPOSED A RANKING Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board official is pushing for a system wherein taxi drivers will receive a fixed salary instead of the current boundary scheme.

LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada said that in the current system, drivers spend several hours on the road and this coul take a toll on the driver’s health.

“Kasi kung if you are on the road for so many hours, apektado ang driving skills mo. Antok ka, baka mainit pa ang ulo mo. Apektado din ‘yung rider mo.

Baka mag-away pa kayo.”

Lizada cited an example operators in Davao City, who had increased their daily rent to P250 following a meeting

with the taxi drivers on Friday.

The taxi operators in Davao City said they increased the rent to comply with the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program.

“In this case, we look into the welfare of the drivers. At ang mga operator, naiintindihan namin kayo. You have to have income. But let’s make it decent,” she said.

Lizada said that under Department Order No. 2017-011 of the Department of Transportation, PUV drivers shall be on fixed salary and benefits with no compensation linked to ridership.

According to the LTFRB, taxi units must now be equipped with GPS and dashcam.

But Lizada warned taxi drivers not to carry the burden of the cost in modernizing the units.

In a related development, transportation network vehicle services drivers has urged the to lift the suspension of the P2per-minute travel charge being imposed by ridesharing firm Grab to its riders.

In a press conference held in Quezon City, the drivers said the suspension order will adversely affect their livelihood as the travel duration charge provides sustainable income amid higher oil prices.

TNVS operator Earl Licera said many drivers have lost their jobs since the P2per-minute charge was suspended by the LTFRB.

ISRAEL EXPECTS MORE PINOY VISITORS

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Israeli government expects to receive some 60,000 Filipino tourists by 2019, after the Philippine Airlines assured the Israeli Embassy that it will open a direct flight from Manila to Tel Aviv, Israel Tourism director Hassan Madah said in an interview.

Speaking to the Manila Standard at the sideline of Israel’s Tourism Roadshow this week, Hassan said that with the possible new direct flight by PAL, Filipino tourists may change their perception and misconstrued ideas about Israel on the issue of safety. Israel is a country that is surrounded by countries in conflict.

“I think if PAL would open direct flight to Israel, Filipino tourists visiting Israel would reach easily from 50,000 to 60,000 by next year,” Madah said. “[The direct flight] will bring more awareness to the place, to the destination,” he added.

Data from Israel’s Ministry of Tourism showed that Filipinos are starting to discover the Holy Land as figures increased by 61 percent in 2017, or 23,500 Filipinos who have traveled to Israel compared to 14,600 in 2016.

Israel’s Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau said in his speech that with PAL’s assurance of direct flight to Israel, he believed that more Filipinos will travel to Israel.

“Israel is the promised land and the land of many promises which create the foundation for a steady growth in tourism...we surpassed our target of 20,000 Filipinos traveling to Israel,” Matityau said.

AGRICULTURE CHIEF FAVORS HIKE IN PALAY BUYING PRICE TO P18/KG.

COASTAL CLEANUP. As a culmination of the month-long celebration of Earth Month, green groups, Earth Island Institute, Nilad and Save Freedom Island Movement held a coastal cleanup and solidarity walk at the Freedom Island, Las PiñasParañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area to express their protest against various reclamation projects that pose imminent danger to Philippine wetlands. Norman Cruz

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Friday is thinking of recommending to the National Food Authority the increase in buying price of palay to P18 per kilogram as his agency focuses on working for the increase of rice production by local farmers.

“Personally, I would like to recommend to the NFA a higher buying price so it would be able to compete, but not to the point that it will spike a higher price in the market, because the consumers will be the one to complain,” Piñol told the media during the press conference for the opening of the “TienDA” outlet in Benguet.

At present, NFA’s buying price for clean and dry palay is P17 per kg. with additional incentives of P0.70, according to NFA. Aside from higher palay buying price, the secretary said farmers should be given incentives, such as credit facility, drying facilities and other farm equipment, among others, to encourage them to increase their productivity.

“With this assistance, even if the buying price is low, it will still increase their profit,” he said.

In addressing the issue, he said his agency made a major policy shift. Instead of giving a subsidy, local farmers will be provided easy access to financing.

He said the government, through his agency, has expanded its Production Loan Easy Access program under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council.

PLEA is a special credit facility designed to address the financial needs of marginal and small farmers and fisher folk for a fast, convenient and affordable credit.

A non-collateral loan for agri-fishery production will be provided through cooperative banks, cooperatives and non-government organizations as credit delivery channels or lending conduits.

To protect the farmers, especially when their crops are damaged during calamities, those who availed of such credit facility will automatically be covered under the government’s crop insurance program. PNA

QUIRINO BRIDGE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC FOR LANE REPAIR

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Concordia Bridge along President Quirino Avenue in Manila will be partially closed to vehicular traffic beginning Monday to pave the way for the reconstruction of its northbound lane.

Frisco San Juan, deputy chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority, said the southbound lane of Concordia Bridge will be closed for eight months.

“The bridge needs to be replaced due to safety issues. The bridge reconstruction has been delayed too long,” said San Juan.

The Concordia Bridge consists of six lanes: three northbound and three southbound.

Its southbound lane shall be closed first to the motorists for the reconstruction of the northbound lane.

The three remaining lanes will be shared by vehicles heading both northbound and southbound directions in the duration of the reconstruction.

The MMDA official said that the bridge reconstruction is being held in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways, and should be finished ahead of the Skyway Stage 3 project.

For his part, MMDA Special Operations Task Group head Edison Nebrija Jr. said they started their clearing operations to remove illegally-parked vehicles and other obstructions in the roads that will serve as alternative routes to affected motorists. With PNA

LAW DEAN LAUDS TOP UST BAR EXAM PASSERS “THE UST Growling Tigers slay the Bar exams.”

This was the main premise of the message that University of Santo Tomas Dean of Civil Law, Nilo Divina, sent to the students who passed the recent bar exams.

Divina took note of the fact that five out of the top 20 bar topnotchers this year came from UST, as well as the school’s impressive 89. 90% bar passing rate. He then listed ten “affirmations” that the results confirmed, including points about the Thomasian spirit, unity and teamwork, strong determination, and the power of prayers.

As of this writing, the message that he posted on Facebook has elicited almost 2,500 positive reactions, as well as shared almost 350 times. Congratulatory messages and well wishes have likewise flooded the comments section.

UST’s Lorenzo Luigi Gaya placed 6th overall (89.10%), followed by Klinton Torralba at number 9 (88.65%), and Emma Ruby Aguilar at the 10th spot (88.40%).

Arman Joseph Guzman (number 13, 87.75%) and Aecaya Christine Calero (number 18, 87.15%) rounded out the list of UST law topnotchers.

“This is a product of collective efforts.

We thank the Father Rector, the Father Vice Rector and Regent, together with the entire Dominican community for their prayers and support. We salute our Faculty for their dedication and heroism,” Divina enthused. “We congratulate our successful bar examinees for a job well done, and we reach out to those who did not make it with our comforting assurance that this is only a temporary setback that will soon turn to victory,” he said.

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Opinion

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018

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Adelle Chua, Editor

MISSION 2018: BRING THE PARIS CLIMATE PACT TO LIFE

EDITORIAL

By Marlowe Hood FRONT-LINE negotiators from more than 190 nations gathering for climate talks in Bonn on Monday face a daunting task: Bring the 2015 Paris Agreement to life.

The world’s only climate treaty pledges to cap global warming at “well under” two degrees Celsius and prevent manmade CO2 from leeching into the atmosphere by century’s end.

But it left a mountain of critical rules and procedures to be worked out.

“This may sound like a technical exercise, but it matters,” Todd Stern, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and the top climate diplomat under Barack Obama, said in a recent speech.

“Guidelines have a lot to do with how strong the regime becomes.”

The deadline for completing this “rule book” is the November climate summit in Katowice, Poland. The agreement itself goes live in 2020.

Negotiators have had more than two years to hammer out the fine print but—as per usual—have procrastinated.

“It’s no secret that things have not been going swimmingly so far,” said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy and research group.

How quickly the world weans itself from fossil fuels, improves energy efficiency, and learns how to suck CO2 out of the air will determine whether climate change remains manageable or unleashes a maelstrom of human misery.

The window of opportunity for holding the rise in temperature at 2 C (3.6 F)—much less the 1.5 C ceiling the Paris pact vows to consider—has grown perilously narrow.

Avoiding a 3C world A single degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming so far has already accelerated species extinctions, deadly droughts and flooding, and superstorms engorged by rising seas.

“Gradualism won’t get the job done,” said Stern. “We can’t produce the results those scenarios call for without full-on commitment.”

But trend lines are moving the wrong way: after remaining flat for three years, global CO2 emissions in 2017 went up by 1.4 percent, dashing hopes that they had peaked.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of Paris pact— along with US efforts to boost fossil fuel technologies—have not helped, even as China, France, Germany and Canada have stepped in to fill the breach in climate leadership.

Voluntary national pledges made under the treaty to cut carbon pollution, if fulfilled, would yield no better than a 3C world. Onceevery-five-year reviews of these commitments don’t kick in until 2023.

Negotiators know this is too late.

“The scale and pace of climate action must increase dramatically, and immediately so,” reads a UN summary of written submissions to the Fijiinspired Talanoa Dialogue, designed to inspire more ambitious CO2slashing pledges.

Still, negotiations have bogged down.

Under pressure, the rift between rich and developing countries that

CROSSING OVER

T

HE leaders of the two Koreas met Friday, their gestures leading the world to believe that peace, after all, is possible.

Both South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stepped over the border into the other’s territory, held each other’s hand, and committed to regular meetings and direct telephone conversations.

To be sure, this is not the first time such a summit took place since North Korea and South Korea ended their war in an armistice in 1953.

There were earlier attempts, specifically in 2002 and 2007, with similar promises and displays of affection between North and South.

Eventually, however, conflict continued.

The meeting between the two leaders precede a meeting between Kim and United States President Donald Trump. The two exchanged threats and insults over the past few months as Kim had continued with nuclear buildup and missile tests. There were testy moments when it could have been argued the world was on the brink of war. Then again, Kim and Trump, both loose with their words, could have only been bluffing.

For peace to move forward this time around, some things have to change.

It is not known yet whether the youth of the current North Korean leader, or the more pronounced involvement of the United States, or even just the passage of time itself are factors that could spell a difference.

Moon was realistic enough to say, a few weeks ago, that the devil was in the details. If peace were this easy, after all, the historic handshake would have taken place many years ago and would have been sustained.

Certainly there are critical issues to resolve between the two nations, and all of those would take harder work than one symbolic meeting and a great photo opportunity.

Nonetheless the gestures are heartening, and provides at the very least some hope that countries could look at their similarities more than their differences.

The rest of the world watches with bated breath. Life is hard enough as it is without the constant threat of war.

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TOO TOUGH TO CHEW THE Department of Transportation recently released a comic strip warning passengers on trains to keep their luggage to themselves, and unwittingly unleashed the kraken of criticism for the way the message was worded.

In a tweet, the DoTr said (caps theirs): “TAG MO YUNG KAKILALA MO na feeling SIYA LANG ANG PASAHERO NG TREN kung makapagdala ng backpack, na tipong WALANG PAKIALAM kung

MATAMAAN ang iba. Pwede naman pong ILAPAG o ITABI para hindi masyadong makaabala. #DOTrPH” The cartoon strip shows people piling into a train. One of them has a huge backpack. Another passenger says, “Ayy! Si kuya 3 space ang sinakop!”

Below it, a figure of a man in a white shirt and a red bandana worn katipunero style and with an angry expression on his face says, “Kuya, konting respeto naman sa kapwa mo mananakay. Baka kung masagi ‘yan ikaw pa galit ha?!

Nakakagigil eh. GALIT NA ME! >.<”

This government needs qualified and competent communication professionals.

Below that, the DoTr social media person added another tweet: “Tandaan, ANG PAG-UNLAD AT PAGBABAGO SA SISTEMA NG TRANSPORTASYON, TWO-WAY YAN. Habang kumikilos ang

gobyerno, dapat, nakikisabay rin sa pagbabago ang mga pasahero. Walang mawawala kung ITATAMA NATIN ANG ATING MGA ASAL lalo habang nasa loob ng pampublikong sasakyan.”

It sounds like the DoTr is fed up with ill-mannered passengers. It’s true enough about folks who seem to not care about the space they’re taking up by manspreading and not caring whether their bags inconvenience others. It is incumbent upon everyone in public spaces to have consideration for others.

Take the case of Japan, a model in terms of individual behavior in public.

On trains, people keep their hands to themselves no matter how crowded it is, and refrain from having phone conversations, listening to loud music, or doing anything that will annoy or disturb others.

Specific to backpacks, in the US there are signs on California’s Bay Area trains about putting backpacks on the floor.

If people don’t do this, others around them will not hesitate to tell them.

Turn to A5

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Opinion MISSION...

From A4

stymied climate talks for more than two decades before the 2015 accord put all nations on the same page has reemerged.

Danger of backsliding For the rulebook, “transparency” has emerged as a hot-button issue.

Rich nations, for example, favor a standardized yardstick for the measurement, reporting and verification of carbon-cutting pledges, with limited exceptions for the poorest countries.

Developing nations have pushed back, calling for greater “flexibility.”

“This is an old debate,” said Meyer.

“Developed countries are concerned that some developing ones are trying to take us back to the past.”

When it comes, however, to the rich-nation promise of $100 billion (82 billion euros) per year in climate finance from 2020, the issue cuts the other way.

“It has been frustrating to hear some developed countries celebrate their climate leadership even as they fall well short of the modest commitments they have made,” said Thoriq Ibrahim, environment minister for the Maldives and chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States.

A key complaint by recipient nations is that rich ones have failed to map how and when money promised will be delivered.

Working out a coherent “user’s manual” for the Paris agreement is also crucial for the signals it sends to the private sector, which must take the lead in the shift to a low-carbon global economy, Canadian environment minister Catherine McKenna told AFP. “The markets need to see that governments are committed on climate action,” she said in Paris last week following a meeting with her French counterpart Nicolas Hulot. AFP

TOO...

From A4

There are people who don’t have to be taught or be reminded of good manners and right conduct, but others do. Hence the need for DoTr to come up with this public service announcement.

However, there is something offputting with the way the message was crafted. Granted, there’s a need to be tough, but this has gone beyond that into the territory of rudeness and meanness.

A commenter to that DoTr tweet said that the instruction to “TAG MO YUNG KAKILALA MO” is a form of public shaming. “Why not be more informative,” he said, “to have an effective way of relaying your message to commuters?”

The same person pointed out that the LRT1 has a better way of conveying messages, and posted an LRT1 comic strip regarding proper trash disposal.

The two characters in the comic were smiling as one of them simply said, “Ibulsa muna ang inyong basura at itapon sa tamang basurahan paglabas ng tren.”

Another commenter noted, “Kasi… pinag-aaralan ang proper sending of messages hahaha.” Yet another said, “Your post lacks finesse… What else can we expect from this government aside from being bastos.”

Following the storm of censure from netizens, DoTr followed up by tweeting a “CLARIFICATION” that the controversial comic strip was part of its social media campaign to “Educate the public to uphold proper etiquette when inside public transportation.”

Here’s the thing about communication: it needs to be done properly if it is to bring about the desired awareness and change in attitude and behavior. Audiences have become sophisticated and the power of the Internet as a feedback mechanism allows them to call out what they see or perceive as inappropriate.

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, the saying goes, and scolding and nagging people won’t help your cause. In fact, negative tactics cause resentment and anger. Using all caps on the Internet means one is shouting, and that’s not too friendly, is it? In this particular instance, DoTr could have softened its wording of the message and/or used humor to make it more palatable to its audience and more effective.

It just goes to show that this government needs qualified and competent communication professionals to get its messages across, because a lot of its efforts end up backfiring and all for naught.

Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and communication consultant. FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018

A5

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THE DISAPPEARING JOBS OF YESTERDAY

By Marcela Rodriguez AHEAD of May Day, AFP reporters, video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies.

The last street clerks of Bogota Inserting a blank sheet into her Remington Sperry, Candelaria Pinilla de Gomez starts typing.

One of Bogota’s street clerks, she has spent the last 40 years typing up countless thousands of documents.

Aged 63, she is the only woman among the street clerks who have set up their tiny tables on the pavement outside a modern office block in Bogota.

Wearing suits but no ties, the writers work in the open air, under a parasol, seated on a plastic chair with the typewriter on their knees.

Once upon a time, these clerks played an essential role—with public deeds, tax documents and contracts all passing through their hands.

Pinilla de Gomez learned the trade from her husband when they arrived in the Colombian capital in the 1960s. He had a farm “but the guerrillas took it off him,” she says.

“In Bogota, he told me I should learn how to type... and to spell. He taught me (the job) and then he died.”

Cesar Diaz, now 68, prides himself on being the pioneer of a trade which has ended up becoming a “refuge” for pensioners looking to top up their monthly allowances.

They work from Monday to Friday and earn less than $280 which is the minimum wage.

Until now, they have managed to survive pretty much everything—except perhaps the advent of the Internet.

“These days, a mother will ask her son to download a form, fill it in and send it by Internet,” admits Pinilla de Gomez.

“That really screws things up for us.”

Washerwomen, their trade disappearing like soap in water Delia Veloz’s hands have almost lost their fingerprints from the constant rhythmic motion of rubbing dirty clothes against rough stones at an old public laundry in Quito.

With a mop of curly grey curls, this 74-year-old is one of the few people left in Ecuador who still practices the ancient and demanding work of a washerwoman—a trade which is increasingly rare due to the widespread use of domestic washing machines.

“I don’t like washing machines, they don’t wash very well. You can scrub things better by hand,” Veloz tells AFP with pride as she pours a jar of freezing water from the Andes over a jacket.

For more than five decades she has been working at the Ermita, a public laundry in the colonial center of Quito with her rectangular stone, tank of water and various wires for hanging things out to dry.

For every 12 articles of clothing, she earns $1.50 from her increasingly few customers—mostly those who don’t have a washing machine or who prefer things to be washed by hand.

On a good day, she can make between $3 and $6.

In Quito, there are still at least five public laundries which were built in the first half of the 20th century.

There are also those who come to use the laundry to wash their own clothes or those belonging to their employers—for which there is no fee.

And once a month, they all get together to keep the premises neat and tidy.

Waterboys beginning to run dry The lack of running water in Kenya’s poorest neighborhoods have, for the last 18 years, meant a living for Samson Muli, a water seller in Nairobi’s Kibera slum.

“Growing up I wanted to be a businessman,” says the 42-year-old father of two, who supplies water to butchers, fishmongers and restaurants in the crowded Kenyatta market.

Dressed in a dun dustcoat Muli uses a hose to fill his array of cylindrical 20-liter jerrycans with water from three freestanding 10,000-liter tanks.

He loads 15 at a time onto a trolley, and hauls them off to his clients.

The margins are tiny—Muli buys water at five shillings ($0.05) a can and sells for 15—but it can add up to 1,000 shillings a day, enough to make a difference.

“This job has changed my life because my children are able to go to school and I am able to afford to pay school fees for them,” he says.

But Kenya’s gradual development and the spreading provision of basic infrastructure, including piped water, means Muli’s profitable days are numbered.

Rickshaw pullers fade from India’s streets Mohammad Maqbool Ansari puffs and sweats as he pulls his rickshaw through Kolkata’s teeming streets, a veteran of a gruelling trade long outlawed in most parts of the world and slowly fading from India too.

Kolkata is one of the last places on earth where pulled rickshaws still feature in daily life, but Ansari is among a dying breed still eking a living from this back-breaking labor.

The 62-year-old has been pulling rickshaws for nearly four decades, hauling cargo and passengers by hand in drenching monsoon rains and stifling heat that envelops India’s heaving eastern metropolis.

Their numbers are declining as pulled rickshaws are relegated to history, usurped by tuk tuks, Kolkata’s famous yellow taxis and modern conveniences like Uber.

Ansari cannot imagine life for Kolkata’s thousands of rickshaw-wallahs if the job ceased to exist.

“If we don’t do it, how will we survive? We can’t read or write. We can’t do any other work. Once you start, that’s it. This is our life,” he tells AFP. Sweating profusely on a searing-hot day, his singlet soaked and face dripping, Ansari skilfully weaved his rickshaw through crowded markets and bumper to bumper traffic.

Wearing simple shoes and a chequered sarong, the only real giveaway of his age is a long beard, snow white and frizzy, and a face weathered from a lifetime plying this trade.

Twenty minutes later, he stops, wiping his face on a rag. The passenger offers him a glass of water—a rare blessing—and hands a bill over.

“When it’s hot, for a trip that costs 50 rupees ($0.75) I’ll ask for an extra 10 rupees. Some will give, some don’t,” he says.

“But I’m happy with being a rickshaw puller. I’m able to feed myself and my family.”

Hong Kong’s neon nostalgia Neon sign maker Wu Chi-kai is one of the last remaining craftsmen of his kind in Hong Kong, a city where darkness never really falls, thanks to the 24-hour glow of myriad lights.

During his 30 years in the business, neon came to define the urban landscape, huge flashing signs protruding horizontally from the sides of buildings, advertising everything from restaurants to mahjong parlors.

But with the growing popularity of brighter LED lights, seen as easier to maintain and more

environmentally friendly, and government orders to remove some vintage signs deemed dangerous, the demand for specialists like Chi-kai has dimmed.

Despite a waning client-base, the 50-yearold continues in the trade, working with glass tubes dusted inside with fluorescent powder and containing various gases including neon or argon, as well as mercury, to create different colors.

He bends them into shape over a powerful gas burner at a scorching 1,000 degrees Celsius.

“Being able to twist straight glass materials into the shape I want, and later to make it glow—it’s quite fun,” he tells AFP, though it is not without risks.

Chi-kai works without a safety visor and has been scalded and cut by glass which sometimes cracks and explodes.

“The painful experiences are the memorable ones,” he adds philosophically.

His father used to scale Hong Kong’s famous bamboo scaffolding while installing neon signs across the city.

Believing the installation work too dangerous for his son, he instead encouraged him to learn to make the signs as a teenager. Chi-kai became one of only around 30 masters of the craft in Hong Kong, even in neon’s heyday.

Although demand is now significantly lower than at neon’s peak in the 1980s, he says, there has been renewed interest and nostalgia for its gentler glow, immortalized in the atmospheric movies of award-winning Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.

Some of Chi-kai’s clients are now requesting pieces for indoor decoration.

“I’ve been working with neon lights all my life.

I can’t think of anything else I’d be better suited for,” he says.

Developing film as if digital didn’t exist With an ancient 50-year-old Olympus camera and an enlarger that he bought in 1980, Venezuelan photographer Rodrigo Benavides works his “magic” inside a tiny improvised darkroom at home.

Although working with equipment and techniques that have virtually disappeared, he carries on as if digital photography doesn’t exist.

“Doesn’t interest me at all,” he says.

Using his bathroom as a makeshift lab, he develops negatives, turning them into black and white prints. And it still fascinates him every time as the image slowly emerges on coming in to contact with the chemicals.

“I have always tried to be economical with my resources, always have done, always will do,” he says, extolling the wonders of his Olympus 35 SP which uses a reel of film, doesn’t need batteries and is completely manual.

Born in Caracas 58 years ago, he still remembers the excitement when, at the age of 19, he bought the enlarger in London.

And it was there that he became a keen follower of Group f/64, an influential movement of photographers who championed sharp-focused, unretouched images of natural subjects.

He thinks technology has “upended” photography, turning it into a work of “fiction.”

“We have become desensitized to reality, which is much more interesting than fiction,” he says.

Some 400 of his pictures taken over 30 years have been compiled into a book on the Venezuelan plains. Others are stacked up in his living room, forming a towering pile, some two meters high.

“They are like my children,” says Benavides, who describes himself as a documentary photographer practicing a trade on the verge of extinction. AFP

THESSALONIKI SUBWAY DIG UNEARTHS SECRETS OF ‘CITY UNDER THE CITY’

By John Hadoulis and Vassilis Kyriakoulis SHOVELS and brooms in hand, some two dozen workmen trudge around the remains of an ancient villa, deep beneath the bustle of modern-day Thessaloniki.

Suddenly, one of them breaks away to deliver the latest find—a small clay head of a hook-nosed, bearded man with an ugly grin.

“Probably a votive offering,” notes the junior archaeologist on duty.

A 15-year subway project in Greece’s northern metropolis, scheduled to be completed in 2020, has shed light on unknown facets of daily life in the 2,300-yearold city’s history.

The excavation has brought to light Thessaloniki’s central 6th-century highway and other urban works, filling in gaps in the city’s long history for archaeologists.

“We did not know such important urban changes had been carried out in this era, probably under [Byzantine Emperor] Justinian,” said Polyxene Adam-Veleni, head of the culture ministry’s Thessaloniki antiquities department.

“We were surprised to discover

the road in such exceptional condition. This phase of the city’s history was mostly unknown to us,” she told AFP. Other finds such as the villa are older, dating to the late fourth century AD. On the floor of the villa’s hot bath, archaeologists found a gold ring.

“It was probably dropped by a young woman who made the mistake of taking her jewellery into the baths,” a site archaeologist said.

Trade hub for centuries Built in the fourth century BC and named after the half-sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki was an important hub of the Roman Empire and later became the second city of the Byzantine Empire.

It continued to grow under the Ottoman Empire with the arrival in the 15th century of thousands of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain.

The excavation has turned up over 300,000 items of importance, including 50,000 coins, in addition to two marble plazas, a 15-meter (nearly 50-foot) fountain and an early Christian church.

Alongside the stone-paved road,

the Decumanus Maximus, crews also found the remains of mudbricked workshops where jewelers plied their trade—as they still do today, in blocks of flats above the subway dig.

Golden wreaths and jewellery were also found in over 5,000 graves and tombs along the subway route, but it was another, more humble discovery that excited archaeologists, AdamVeleni said.

“We found vessels shaped like hand grenades. Initially we couldn’t figure out their purpose. Then we realized they were used to store mercury for the making of jewellery,” she said.

“This plain object was extremely valuable to us. Because ultimately it gave us the interpretation that it was used in these workshops,” Adam-Veleni said.

‘False dilemma’ The subway’s construction was commissioned in 2003, with work beginning three years later. It should have been completed in 2012.

But the project stalled amid debate on how to best preserve the antiquities found, says Yannis Mylopoulos, chairman of state

subway builders Attiko Metro.

The archaeological excavations alone cost over $93 million, according to the company.

“The city was called to decide, metro or antiquities? This was a false dilemma... we are doing both. The city is discovering and showcasing its history,” said Mylopoulos, a professor of civil engineering and former rector of Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University.

Once completed, footpaths above the two subway stations where the main discoveries were made—Eleftherios Venizelos, named after the Greek statesman, and Hagia Sophia, the iconic cathedral built by Justinian—will give a broad view of the heart of the ancient city’s trade district.

“These will be archaeological sites open to the public... a city under the city, just as it was in the third and fourth century AD,” Mylopoulos said.

Scheduled to be operational in late 2020, the 1.5-billion-euro Thessaloniki metro will at first have 13 stations and run a distance of 9.6 kilometers.

A future expansion is planned to include the city airport. AFP

World

A6

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

UN:THOUSANDS FLEE MYANMAR CLASHES

HIGH STEPPING. Honor guard soldiers lay flowers at the Chernobyl victims’ memorial in Minsk, Belarus on Thursday.

The world marked 32 years since the world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl killed thousands and forced a global rethink about the wisdom of relying on atomic fuel. AFP

YANGON, Myanmar—Thousands of people have fled renewed fighting between Myanmar’s army and ethnic insurgents in the country’s remote north, a United Nations official said, as a longsimmering conflict intensifies.

More than 4,000 people have been displaced in the country’s northernmost state of Kachin near the border with China in the last three weeks, Mark Cutts, head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP late Friday.

The numbers do not include some 15,000 people who have fled since the beginning of the year, and upwards of 90,000 residing in IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in both Kachin and Shan states since a ceasefire between the government and the powerful Kachin Independence Army broke down in 2011.

“We have received reports from local organisations saying that there are still many civilians who remain trapped in conflict-affected areas,” Cutts said of the recent clashes.

“Our biggest concern is for the safety of civilians—including pregnant women, the elderly, small children and people with disabilities. We must ensure that these people are protected.” AFP

RUSSIA, TURKEY, IRAN TO HOLD SYRIA TALKS MOSCOW—The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey were set to hold talks on Syria Saturday in the wake of an alleged chemical attack that has exposed differences between the three powers.

The three nations have been attempting to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict at talks that started last year in Astana, Kazakhstan, in competition with the United States and United Nations-backed Geneva initiative.

The latest talks in Moscow between two of Assad’s key supporters, Moscow and Tehran, and rebel-backer Ankara come as the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7 has prompted sharply differing responses from Turkey and Russia.

“I curse those who carried out this massacre,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that he welcomed Western air strikes in retaliation as “appropriate.”

Meanwhile Russia says the attack was staged to discredit its ally President Bashar-al Assad and this week brought a group of Syrians to the global chemical arms watchdog to back its claims.

French President Emmanuel Macron this month suggested the air strikes had driven a wedge between Ankara and Moscow as they have been building increasingly close ties.

This prompted an angry denial from Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said the countries’ relations “are not so weak that the French president can break them.” AFP

SCANDAL-HIT MALAYSIA PM FACES POLL UPHILL BATTLE LANGKAWI, Malaysia – Campaigning for Malaysia’s general election began Saturday with flag-waving supporters hitting the streets, as the scandal-hit government fights to retain power in one of the toughest poll battles since independence six decades ago.

Prime Minister Najib Razak faces a stern test at next month’s vote due to the controversy surrounding sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and a challenge from his former mentor and veteran exleader, Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir, a strongman who led Malaysia for over two decades, has shaken up the race with a surprise comeback at the age of 92 as the prime ministerial candidate in an opposition alliance packed with parties he crushed while in power.

But Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957, is tipped to win due to splits within the opposition, and what critics warn will be widespread cheating at the dirtiest election in Malaysian history.

In the unlikely event that Mahathir wins the May 9 poll, he will become the world’s oldest prime minister.

There was a festive atmosphere around the country Saturday as candidates formally registered to stand in the election, with flag-waving supporters from different parties parading through the streets.

Once the election commission confirmed their candidacies, the 11-day campaign formally got under way, with 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs. AFP

SAUDI ARABIA DOWNS 4 YEMENI REBEL MISSILES

R

IYADH—Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted four ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni rebels, the Saudi-led coalition against the insurgents said, the latest in a string of such attacks against the kingdom.

The missiles were headed towards the city of Jizan in southern Saudi Arabia, according to a coalition statement. No casualties were reported.

The Huthi rebels’ Al Masirah television said Saturday they had fired eight missiles towards Jizan, a day

after Saudi defense forces said they had downed a missile headed for the same area.

The latest attack came as the Huthis staged a public funeral for a slain commander in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Saleh al-Sammad, head of the rebels’ supreme political council, was killed in an air raid by Saudi Arabia and its allies last week.

Saudi Arabia formed its military coalition in 2015 to battle the Huthi rebels in its southern neighbor and restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government to power.

The Huthis control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as much of Yemen’s north and the key Hodeida port on the country’s western coastline.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen conflict, triggering what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The alliance imposed a total blockade on Yemen’s ports in November in retaliation for the rebel missile attacks.

The blockade has since been partially lifted, but access remains limited and the impoverished country stands on the brink of famine. AFP

POMPEO IN MIDEAST DIPLOMATIC DEBUT BRUSSELS, Belgium—Washington’s newly appointed secretary of state set off on a tour of America’s key Middle East allies on Saturday, vowing to bring some “swagger” back to United States diplomacy.

After attending NATO talks in Brussels, Mike Pompeo was to embark on a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan to update friends on President Donald Trump’s plans for the Iran nuclear deal.

Pompeo insists his boss has not

yet made the decision, but Trump is widely expected to pull the United States out of the accord next month, re-imposing sanctions against Tehran’s nuclear program.

The former CIA chief, who was sworn in as Trump’s top diplomat on Thursday and set off within two hours for Brussels, will consult with leaders of Iran’s main regional opponents ahead of the announcement.

But he also has a second more personal mission, to show foreign capi-

tals and his own colleagues that US diplomacy is back on track after the troubled reign of his sacked predecessor Rex Tillerson.

Trump’s first secretary of state, a former oil executive, failed to fill senior positions, embarked on unpopular bureaucratic reforms and had conspicuously little chemistry with the president.

Pompeo—a former army officer, businessman and conservative congressman—wanted to set off on the road immediately on being sworn

in, in order to reach out to NATO and Middle East allies.

But he has promised to address State Department staff in Washington on his return on Tuesday, and was full of praise for the staff who scrambled to put together his first foreign itinerary.

“I just met with a great group of State Department officers who work here at the mission. They may have been demoralized, but they seemed in good spirits,” he said Friday, at NATO headquarters. AFP

BRIT TODDLER AT CENTER OF LEGAL BATTLE DIES

DISGRACED. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby comes out of the courthouse after the verdict in the retrial of his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Thursday. The disgraced television icon was convicted of sexual assault by a United States jury—losing a years-long legal battle that was made tougher at retrial as the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. AFP

LONDON—Terminally-ill British toddler Alfie Evans died on Saturday after doctors withdrew life support, the child’s parents said, following a protracted legal battle and a campaign that drew support from Pope Francis.

“Our baby grew his wings tonight at 2:30 a.m. (0130 GMT). We are heartbroken. Thank you everyone for all your support,” the mother, Kate James, wrote on Facebook.

His father, Thomas Evans, said: “My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 0230. Absolutely heartbroken. I LOVE YOU MY GUY.” The parents had fought to take their son, who had a degenerative neurological condition, out of a hospital in Liverpool in northwest England to a clinic in Rome but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.

Doctors had already removed life support on Monday after the parents lost a previous appeal to keep him alive despite doctors’ recommendations.

Alder Hey Children’s hospital, where the 23-month-old was being treated, expressed their condolences.

“All of us feel deeply for Alfie, Kate, Tom and his whole family and our thoughts are with them.

“This has been a devastating journey for them and we would ask that their privacy and the privacy of staff at Alder

Hey is respected,” the hospital said.

Pope Francis had intervened several times in a case that touched hearts around the world and prompted vigils in Italy and Poland.

Earlier this week the pontiff wrote on Twitter that he hoped the parents’ “desire to seek new forms of treatment may be granted.”

Thomas Evans had also met the pope in the Vatican last week and asked him to “save our son.”

Italy granted citizenship to the toddler on Monday in the hope of facilitating his transfer to the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) pediatric hospital in Rome.

After losing his legal battle, the father on Thursday had asked supporters, who have staged a series of angry vigils outside the hospital where the baby was being treated, to go home.

He said he was grateful for all the support but asked people “to return back to your everyday lives and allow myself, Kate and Alder Hey to form a relationship, build a bridge and walk across it.”

“We also wish to thank Alder Hey staff at every level for their dignity and professionalism during what must be an incredibly difficult time for them too,” he added.

Medical staff have been subjected to severe online abuse and police officers had to be deployed on Monday after some protesters tried to gain entry. AFP

Sports

GO SPORT: SPORTING GOODS AND MORE IN ONE ROOF

By Peter Atencio

T

HE best sports apparel and equipment under one roof.

This is what French businessman Pascal Banet and local partner, former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, offered when they opened a sports retail store Thursday evening at the Festival Mall in Alabang.

Many guests, athletes and sports enthusiasts came, lined up to get inside a sprawling outlet at the ground floor of one of Festival Mall’s many levels.

“In the Philippines, this is the first. Then, we open more stores,” said Banet after guests viewed the displays which carried around 66 famous brands, and watched as around 24 brand ambassadors were introduced.

The name of the store? GO Sport, a French sports retail giant that has many branches in Europe, and is planning to make its presence felt in the Southeast Asian region, with the Philippines having its first outlet.

Boxing icon, and senator, Manny Pacquiao was also there to cut the ceremonial ribbon that declared the store open.

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsso, who played Gregor “The Mountain,” Clegane in the fourth season of Game of Thrones also visited the sports store, rubbed elbows with Pacquiao and toured the place with his friends and girlfriend.

Singson said this is the first store in Southeast Asia, as more will be opened, adding the goods they offer will be available with their affordable prices.

“If you go to this store, everything is already here. All the brands, everything is affordable,” said Singson.

Shoes from adidas, Nike, Puma and Under Armour were on display, and so were apparel and equipment from Mizuno, New Balance and Asics.

Recreational sports activities like paddle boarding have their own line on display.

Basketball stars like RR Garcia, Jericho Cruz and Jeff Chan were among those who were presented as brand ambassadors with volleyball players Denis Lazaro, Maddie Madayag and Jerrilli Malabanan and Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

PH BOWLERS TO COMPETE AGAINST BEST OF ASIA, OCEANIA

By Angelica Villanueva

GO Sport, the French sport retail giant, is set to open its first Manila store in the summer of 2018. The sprawling branch will be located at the new wing of Festival Mall along Corporate Avenue in Alabang. With this, sports enthusiasts of all stripes and shapes will now get to enjoy boundless access to all the best athletic brands housed under one roof. A slew of celebrated ambassadors—led by none other than legendary boxing champ Manny Pacquiao—graced the press launch recently. More venues in other parts of the metro will also be unveiled in the future. Accompanying Sen. Pacquiao, shown testing one of the equipment in the store, is GO Sports Philippines Chief Executive Officer Pascal Banet. SONNY ESPIRITU

Joining the list are professional golfers like and other competitive events.

Lexus Keoninh and Guido Van der Valk.

There’s also a golf driving range simulator The stores are laid out according to interest and a treadmill, where shoppers can try out the and caters to fitness, mountaineering, cycling shoes they wish to buy.

2 KIDS TO REPRESENT PH AT FOOTBALL FOR FRIENDSHIP AJ Boy Victoriano and Matteo De Venecia, 12-year-old football enthusiasts from Philippines, have been selected as country’s representatives at the global Football for Friendship social program.

The F4F program, supported by Gazprom and FIFA, aims to develop youth football and a healthy lifestyle as well as promote tolerance, open-mindedness and respect for different cultures and nationalities between children from across the globe.

This year, the F4F program has expanded to 211 countries and regions.

Philippines will participate in the programme for the first time.

Aj Boy will join young footballers from around the world in Moscow in June 2018. The children will be a part of the 32 International Teams of Friendship and play against each other in the Gazprom Football for Friendship International Championship. The friendly tournament aims to bring together children from around the world and celebrate the unifying spirit of football.

Matteo will act as the young journalist and report on all the local and global activities of the F4F program as part of the International Children’s Press Center. He will also spread awareness on the Nine Values (friend-

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SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Twelve-year-old kids AJ Boy Victoriano and Matteo De Venecia (center), shown here holding the PH flag, have been selected as country’s representatives at the global Football for Friendship social program in Russia.

ship, equality, fairness, health, peace, or) of the F4F program. devotion, victory, traditions and honAj Boy and Matteo, will also partici-

pate in the Football for Friendship International Children’s Forum in Russia, where the youngsters will get a chance to meet their peers from other countries, share their experiences, and discuss with famous footballers and journalists on how to promote key values of the F4F program around the world Speaking on the selection of the young ambassadors by Team Socceroo Football Club, Managing Director, Michael Reyes said: “The selection of the young ambassadors from Philippines is an extension of our support to this unique global initiative. The program is a wonderful opportunity for the ambassadors to build ties of friendship among children from around the world and foster peace and harmony through the beautiful game of football. We wish our young ambassadors all the best for the program and look forward to their contribution in promoting the key values of the program, in Russia, as well as in Philippines” The sixth season of the F4F program will conclude with a visit by the participating children to the opening ceremony and the first match of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

FILIPINO bowlers will will be on the spotlight when they compete against foreign aces as the Philippine Bowling Federation officially launched the 2nd Philippine International Open Championships, Saturday at the Coronado Lanes in Starmall, Mandaluyong City.

The 16-man Philippine Bowling Team, composed of veteran coaches and world-class youth bowlers, together with other foreign bowlers from other neighboring-countries in Asia and Oceania, will be vying for the championships in various divisions from April 28 until May 13.

Some of the top bowlers challenging the Filipino bowlers are from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Guam, and Brunei.

Spearheaded by last year’s World Cup champion Krizziah Tabora, Kenneth Chua and Lara Posadas, members of the team will be attempting to retain their titles in the men’s and women’s open singles.

“Last year was a good one for Philippine bowling. Right now, there’s no way to go but to improve. There’s a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to teamwork, like being comprehensive as a team,” said bowling legend and four-time World Cup champion Paeng Nepomuceno, head coach of the national bowling team.

Nepomuceno will be joined by other bowling champs Biboy Rivera, Jojo Canare and Rey Reyes as assistant coaches.

“This tournament will bring in world-class bowlers from the various countries in the Asian zone and gather Filipino bowlers of all levels, making it a good training ground for the the Philippine national team which is preparing for the Asian Games,” said PBF secretary general Bong Coo. The four-time world champion also added that the tournament’s mission is not just to promote and develop tenpin bowling in the Philippines, but will also serve as “a venue to scout new and emerging talents for the sport.”

Meanwhile, newly elected Philippine Olympic Committee President Victorico “Ricky”Vargas expressed his unwavering support for these young yet world-class bowlers during his keynote speech.

“There will be no losers, for I believe you are all winners,” he said.

He also encouraged and pushed the national team to strive for the championship by telling them, “Babalik ako sa finals. Nando’n kayo sa finals ‘di ba?”

SEA (2019) Games Chef de Mission Monseur del Rosario and Councilor Boy Esteban were also present during the opening program to give their encouragement and inspirational messages for the national team.

PBF Chairman Senator Vicente Sotto III gave the welcome remarks.

The tournament is expected to help the team prepare for their international competitions such as the Asian Games, World Youth Championships and World Bowling Championships.

National bowlers are also aiming to strike at least two gold medals in the coming 18th Asian Games on August 18 to Sept. 2 to be held in Indonesia.

For more details about the Philippine International Open Championships, check out their website at www.philippinebowling.org.

18TH MPBL TEAM.

Mandaluyong co-team owner Christian Luis Singson [center] shows the signed membership and participants document, making the Tigers the official 18th team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League second edition that will kick off in June, 2018. With Singson are co-owner Ma. Bernice Ilagan and team manager Albert Valbuena. Asean Basketball League standout Bobby Ray Parks and actor Xian Lim are expected to add glitter to the powerhouse Tigers’ lineup, according to Singson.

The 16-man Philippine Bowling Team, composed of veteran coaches and world-class youth bowlers, together with other foreign bowlers from other neighboring-countries in Asia and Oceania, will be vying for the championships in various divisions from April 28 until May 13.

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Sports SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 Riera U. Mallari, Editor

Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

IMPORTS DISPLAY CONTRASTING STYLES

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LASKA ACES and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, two teams expected to compete for the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup title, showed up with imports that were radically different from each other.

Alaska paraded finesse-playing Antonio Campbell who is playing overseas for the first time in his career.

Rain or Shine had the pudgy Reggie Johnson who was deceptively strong, deceptively quick but deadly accurate with his passes and outside shooting.

The last time the Aces paraded a wiry, do-everything forward in Rob Dozier who was playing overseas for the first time in his career, they wound up winning the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown.

The last time the Elasto Painters fielded a big, hulking but overweight import in Pierre HendersonNiles they wound up winning the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The two played their first game this conference last Friday with the Elasto Painters needing an extra period to hold off Alaska, 109-103, to start its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign on the right track.

Campbell was spectacular as he finished with 40 points built around eight three-pointers that went with 20 boards, five assists, two blocks, and one steal, against seven turnovers in over 41 minutes.

Johnson didn’t do too badly either with 32 points and 22 boards for the Elasto Painters. Additionally he was able to lead his team to victory.

The Elasto Painters lost a fat dou-

Chihiro Ikeda

LADIES SPICE UP DELIMONDO PRO-AM CAST

Alaska Aces import Antonio Campbell (left) attacks the double teaming defense of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters defenders, from right: Reggie Johnson and Raymond Almazan.

ble-digit lead in regular time. They however regained their bearings in time to pull off the scrambling victory over the Alaska in overtime.

Silenced all game long, Beau Belga found his touch when it counted the most as he scored six of his nine points in extra time to put the Elasto Painters up for good.

Chris Banchero received a long inbound pass from Campbell. He then converted a desperation buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters import Reggie Johnson (middle) relies on prodigious girth to outrebound Alaska Aces forward Kevin Racal and Rain or Shine teammates James Yap (left) and Beau Belga.

Maverick Ahanmisi atoned for a mistake in the last possession of regulation by scoring the critical points in the extra period.

Alaska would have lost the game in regulation time if not for an error by Ahanmisi. The Elasto Painters were up by one, 91-92, when Calvin Abueva lost control of the ball allowing Ahanmisi to pounce on it. Instead of wasting away the remaining time Ahanmisi went for a splash ending and converted a fastbreak layup.

The Elasto Painters celebrated after that. But the Aces were not done yet. Campbell threw the ball to other side of the court to Banchero, who took a dribble then launched a desperation triple that banked against the board and into the rim sending the game into overtime.

Belga played an instrumental role in overtime. He scored the first two points to put Rain or Shine up for good, before knocking down a left-wing triple that gave them a 105-100 lead with 24 seconds left.

Campbell buried a quick triple to pull the Aces to within two and then fouled Ahanmisi. The Alaska import missed two charities to give Alaska a chance. But it wasn’t meant to be. Ahanmisi stole the ball then went for a layup that gave

Alaska Aces import Antonio Campbell (right) gets a shot off despite the tight defense of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters center Raymond Almazan.

Rain or Shine a two-possession lead.

Chris Tiu was also steady for Rain or Shine. He scored 18 points, including three triples, six assists, three boards, and one steal in 29 minutes of action.

MULTI-TITLED LPGT winner Chihiro Ikeda links up with Samantha Dizon while two other lady pairs set out to provide a different kind of challenge to the men of the tour in the Delimondo National Pro-am firing off May 5 at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Laurel, Batangas.

“No expectations but will give it our best shot,” said Ikeda, winner of the Eagle Ridge leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour last February.

With Quintin Singson as last year’s partner, Ikeda failed to get into the groove and struggled the rest of the way. But the former SEA Games individual champion expressed hopes of a better showing this time with Dizon.

Marvi Monsalve and Lucy Landicho are also in the fold with the former, a consistent top 10 LPGT finisher, teaming up with top amateur Kristine Torralba and the latter partnering with Larry Landicho in the three-day event sponsored by premier corned beef Delimondo.

Lady pro Gretchen Villacencio, who placed second to Princess Superal at LPGT Riviera last March, is also competing but with a male amateur partner in Danny Odeste while Lorna Tabuena, the golfing mother of the country’s No. 1 player Miguel, will have veteran campaigner Richard Sinfuego as teammate in the event put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. For details, call Jocelyn Duque at 0918-9515308 or jocelynduque@pgt.ph.

The event is open to all pros and amateur golfers with the top 40 in last year’s Philippine Golf Tour and PGT Asia Order of Merit ranking barred from teaming up with amateurs with handicap index of 5 and below.

Still, focus will be on the likes of defending champions Tonton Asistio and Jude Eustaquio, along with the tandems of Tony Lascuña-Den Den de Castro, Jhonnel Ababa-Koo Jaemin, Jay Bayron-Tony Olives, Michael Bibat-Joel Yamyamin, Jobim Carlos-DJ Padilla, Mhark Fernando-Nico Sevilla, Justin Quiban-Moulay Rhounimi, Joenard Rates-Jojo Roxas and Elmer SalvadorOliver Gan. Play will be foursomes (alternate shot format) with the top 40 teams after 36 holes advancing to the finals.

The winning pro will pocket P360,000 while the top amateur will receive trophy and gift prizes.

The Delimondo National pro-am is also staged in recognition of the amateurs’ role in boosting Philippine golf and at the same time to provide them the exposure they need as they hone up for the pro ranks.

F2 LOGISTICS, PETRON BATTLE IN ANOTHER PSL FINALS SHOWDOWN SAME old, same old.

It will be another championship showdown between F2 Logistics and Petron in the best-of-three Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix Championship.

The Cargo Movers relied on their Venezuelan import Maria Jose Perez who was at her best.

She delivered crucial hits to tow the Cargo Movers to a 25-19, 2518, 25-21 domination of Foton in a match of this prestigious women’s club tourney bankrolled by Isuzu and UCPB Gen with ESPN5 as official broadcast partner.

Petron then marched to the finals when they clobbered the Cocolife Asset Managers, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16, in this tourney that also has Senoh, Mikasa, Asics, LGR and Grand Sport as technical sponsors.

Game 1 of the best-of-three finals is set on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Perez, who is reigning Most Valuable Player, tallied 19 kills for a game-high 21 points while American Kennedy Bryan chipped in 10 markers for F2 Logistics, which drew impressive performance from local stars Aby Maraño, Cha Cruz and Kim Fajardo.

Marano and Cruz delivered eight markers apiece while Fajardo did a marvelous job calling the plays with 28 excellent sets.

“The mindset of the players is to defend the title,” said F2 Logistics coach Arnold Laniog, adding that his players are slowly gaining the same chemistry and confidence that gave them their first Grand Prix crown last year.

“Our chemistry is improving and our connection is getting better. We know that we have a shallow bench. So this kind of improvement can definitely help us where we want to be.”

With Fajardo setting the table, the Cargo Movers coasted to a 2-0 set lead and opened the third set with a 15-10 advantage.

Import Channon Thompson and Jaja Santiago tried to restore order and pulled the Tornadoes closer, 20-22, but Perez delivered a pair of booming attacks from the open position to capture the match point, 24-20.

“We tried to push Thompson and their outside hitters to commit misreceptions,” Laniog said. “When they started to lose their passing and commit reception errors, we knew that we have a chance to win the game.”

Elizabeth Wendel and Thompson finished with 11 and 10 markers while Santiago and Maika Ortiz chipped in nine markers apiece for the Tornadoes who were relegated to the battle for bronze medal together with the Asset Managers.

Foton’s Channon Thompson (right) is foiled at the net by F2 Logistics blockers Cherry Nunag and Kennedy Bryan.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018

Business

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

HP OFFERS TO TRANSFORM PH FACTORIES

BEAUTY INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE BETS ON FILIPINO MILLENNIALS

OANNA Therese ‘Sobee’ DueñasChoa was the top marketing executive of global cosmetics company Mary Kay Inc. in Asia Pacific in 2016 when she chose to come back home and lead the company in fully tapping the great opportunities in the Philippines.

Her return, after a decade of working in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and other Asian countries, marked the transformation of the US brand in the Philippines into one that is more accessible to Filipino women, especially millennials.

“I was living in Hong Kong for seven years.

It is just advanced and so high tech there, and the pace of energy is so fast. When I got home, I thought I would miss it. And you know what, I don’t. When I got home, it is like wow, the Philippines is so advanced now, and there is so much opportunity. The progress here is amazing,” Dueñas says in an interview in Makati City.

Dueñas, who has two decades of experience in the beauty industry, had worked for Avon Asia Pacific and L’Oreal, before joining Mary Kay in 2009 where she rose to become the regional marketing manager based in Hong Kong overseeing 10 AsiaPacific markets.

“When you say base, it was where I left my clothes. Because I was traveling every two weeks, every month, to work in other countries,” says Dueñas, who obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing and Asian Studies from De La Salle University Manila in 1991. She also studied General Management in National University of Singapore and has an MBA degree from Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

On why she decided to take on the challenge of leading Mary Kay Philippines as the country general manager, she says: “We have come so far as a country. I am not surprised that people are investing here and we are seeing our business also growing because there is a growing middle class.”

“The Philippines has 100 million people. If you look at the sheer size of the population, and the economy is growing 6 percent to 7 percent a year, we are going to be the fastest growing country in the world. Now is the time. It is a good thing I went back home now,” she says.

As the country head, Dueñas leads thousands of independent beauty consultants and sales directors who are engaged in direct selling of Mary Kay products such as makeup, foundation, lipsticks, pressed powder, facial wash, cleansers, anti-aging and skin care lines. Direct selling is a face-to-face marketing or sale of products without the use of brick-and-mortar stores.

Mary Kay, established by the late American entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash in 1963, is one of the world’s top direct selling companies that focus on cosmetic products. Based in Addison, Texas just outside Dallas, the company has 3 million independent beauty consultants across 35 countries and generates annual revenues in excess of $3 billion from the sales of over 200 products.

Mary Kay Philippines began commercial operations in May 2000, establishing a head office at Allegro Center along Pasong Tamo Extension in Makati City and two other centers in Davao City and Zamboanga City.

Dueñas says while research and development takes place in Texas, Mary Kay has developed certain products for Asian women. “Because our seasons and climates are different., we need to use sun protection, especially if you are out running

Mary Kay Philippines country general manager Joanna Therese ‘Sobee’ Dueñas-Choa around,” she says.

She says Mary Kay Philippines focuses on skin care and makeup lines. “When you look at direct selling as an industry, beauty which is the category we are playing in is just a part of it. We actually chose not to play in apparel or in accessories or in nutrition. Not yet. Because we want to focus on our core strength which is skin care and makeup,” she says.

“The reason for that is that we are still in the process of turning the business around,” says Dueñas, who faces the challenge of making Mary Kay one of the top five direct selling companies and beauty brands in the Philippines.

Dueñas says the beauty and skin care industry in the Philippines is worth billions annually and it continuously grows as the economy expands and the population increases. “It has been a year and a half since I moved back to Manila, but I have been in this role as country head for two years. It took two years to reposition our company, make pricing more accessible, make the opportunity more accessible, and now we are seeing progress,” she says.

“At the moment, we are going to stay in beauty because I want to make sure we are stable there

first. And there is so much opportunity. I would love to have Mary Kay sales director on every island,” she says.

Dueñas says direct selling is a legitimate form of trade, just like retail. “At the end of the day, direct selling or retail is just a channel. If you look at it now, we are selling the same products. Whether you are selling in a store or direct selling, it is just a channel and we are competing in the same industry,” she says.

She says that unlike other multi-level marketing company, one needs to sell in order to make a commission with Mary Kay. “We need to sell in order to earn in the business. In multi-level marketing, a lot of times, it is dependent on recruiting people. You earn from bringing in a group of people, but not necessarily making sales,” she says, adding that this causes a negative perception of MLM or even pyramiding in the country.

“In Mary Kay, when we practice direct selling, we really need to sell. The only way we can earn a commission, even if were bring people under us, is by selling,” she says.

Dueñas says what makes Mary Kay different is

BACOLOD ENTERPRISE GETS AUSTRALIAN AWARD BAGOSPHERE, a Bacolod-based social enterprise, won the top prize of Au$100,000 at Frontier Innovators, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s innovationXchange.

Bagosphere provides short-term, career-focused training programs to bridge the skills gaps in communications, IT and soft skills and prepare disadvantaged youth for jobs in fast-growing industries across the Philippines.

It aims to skill, re-skill and upskill one million individuals by 2040.

BagoSphere was among the 15 top teams selected by Frontier Innovators from over 700 applications and over 52 countries from the AsiaPacific region.

The finalists work hard to provide a wide range of innovative

and unique solutions that deliver impact and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goalsin areas such as health, agriculture, environment, education and finance, among others.

Frontier Innovators will support Bagosphere to scale its impact as it contributes to SDG #1: No Poverty and #4: Quality Education.

Bagosphere will receive grant funding, six months of tailored support, and access to relevant expert advisors, potential partners and investors.

To achieve their vision of creating a world where every youth can pursue what they love, earn a good living, and build a better future for the next generation, Bagosphere provides a student-centric job preparation program. This award winning program gives rural and urban tal-

ents access to micro-funded education in digital and soft skills, increasing their employability.

The team is dedicated to student success, with a commitment to share job opportunities six months postgraduation and through an alumni network that students can tap into for job and mentorship opportunities.

Bagosphere’s training program has proven effective, with an 80 job placement rate within one month from graduation, and graduates earning up to four times more than their unskilled counterparts.

Bagosphere’s partners include Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Kickstart (a Globe subsidiary), Panasiatic Solutions, Teleperformance, Transcom, Tzu Chi Foundation and Ateneo de Manila University.

Turn to B2

HP PHILIPPINES has launched its groundbreaking multi jet fusion technology in the country with the introduction of the HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 and 4210 printing solutions.

HP said together with WordText Systems Inc. at WSI Corporate Center in Makati City, it aimed to drive innovative production-ready applications across sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing and engineering.

The HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 Printing Solution revolutionizes design, prototyping and manufacturing, and for the first time, delivers superior quality physical parts up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of current 3D print systems.

By printing functional parts for the first time at the individual voxel level (a voxel is the 3D equivalent of a 2D pixel in traditional printing), HP offers customers an unprecedented ability to transform part properties and deliver mass customization.

“HP’s 3D printing ushers in a new era for print in the Philippines with its cutting-edge technology. HP’s leadership to ignite an ecosystem and accelerate 3D printed productionready applications will transform the future of manufacturing with faster innovation cycles, shorter supply chains and reduced capital costs. This effort is paving the way for the fully digital future of global enterprise and industries including healthcare,” said HP Philippines managing director Pallasena Viswanath.

Leveraging decades of printing exper tise and designed for industrial-scale 3D manufacturing environments, the new HP Jet Fusion 3D Print 4210 solution significantly lowers overall operating costs while increasing production volume capabilities, raising the “break-even point” for large-scale 3D manufacturing to up to 110,000 parts and enabling the industry’s lowest cost-per-part- up to 65 percent less than other 3D printing methods.

To ensure consistent part quality for each product, the materials used in HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing undergo a multi-agent printing process, which uses both detailing and fusing agents that work together to create fine details and smooth surfaces in each printout.

HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing solutions also come fitted with continuous printing and fast cooling technology and an automated materials preparation and post-processing station that streamlines print workflows.

This changes the game for how companies in the Philippines can fundamentally change the way they conceive, design, produce, distribute and consume, allowing them to be more efficient in prototyping, production, and supply chain digitization.

“HP is one of the most trusted brands in the Philippines and we believe that their Jet Fusion 3D Printing solutions will strengthen opportunities across industries and ignite an ecosystem. We look forward to accelerating the transformation of manufacturing and supply chains with HP in the Philippines,” said WSI vice president Jing Laurente.

CFO OF THE YEAR.

Smart chief finance officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla (left) receives the “Excellence in Women Leadership – CFO of the Year” from The Golden Globe Tigers at Pullman Kuala Lumpur City Centre Hotel and Residences in Malaysia.

She is accompanied by her husband, Bacoor, Cavite Rep. Strike Revilla (right), a multi-awarded lawmaker who served as mayor for nine years before being elected to Congress. “I am so blessed to have a beautiful hardworking wife, and a truly caring mom to our child,” says the lawmaker. Chaye says she is very thankful for the award which she dedicates “to my family, especially to my very supportive husband who is my inspiration.”

Business

B2

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 business@manilastandard.net

DEVELOPER PRIORITIZES SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIVING

Amaia limits its units to not more than 35 units per floor for its condo buildings to create more living and breathing space.

Some developments like Amaia Steps Nuvali have only 15 units per floor.

AFFORDABLE real estate provider Amaia Land has adopted measures for sustainable living, which not only nurtures its residents but also reduce the environmental impact of the development.

In line with the celebration of Earth Day, Amaia Land introduced developments under the Cares banner: complete accessibility, right-sized living community, eco-efficiency and structural stability.

Amaia Land located its projects in major growth areas alongside or near transport hubs. To encourage more sustainable forms of transport such as biking, Amaia provides bike racks in its house-and-lot developments.

In certain villages, Amaia also provides shuttles or waiting sheds to facilitate the residents’ commute. For most of its condominium developments, Amaia provides an arcaded retail area to reduce residents’ need for traveling further for basic needs.

The developer says to enrich the residents’ quality of life, it provides sufficient living and breathing space.

Amaia limits its units to not more than 35 units per floor for its condo buildings, with some like Amaia Steps Nuvali having only 15 units per floor.

Its subdivision developments have a lower density of only about 55 to 90 houses per hectare.

“Amaia offers relatively bigger lots which provides homeowners with adequate space to expand their houses in the future, thereby enabling their home to grow as the family grows,” says Petes Gamboa, head of Amaia’s design group.

To boost eco-efficiency, Amaia has implemented various initiatives such as the use of naturally-ventilated hallways in its buildings and village clubhouses and the use of energy-saving LED bulbs in common areas to reduce energy consumption.

Amaia encourages proper waste management by providing material recovery facilities for solid waste disposal. Patio greens and gardens serve as rain gardens to replenish the ground water supply.

With regards to Structural stability, Amaia aims to minimize the effects of natural disasters by building homes which are resistant to flood, earthquake, wind and fire. Prior to starting a project, Amaia conducts comprehensive geotechnical, flood, hydrological and other studies to address any risks.

To prevent flooding, Amaia ensures that the project has proper grading, a sufficient drainage system and access to outfall points. To cope with strong typhoons, Amaia puts into place building components like windows made of tempered glass and roofs that can withstand winds up to 300 kilometers per hour.

BEAUTY...

From B1

its values and principles. “There are a lot of direct selling companies, and a lot of them carry cosmetics, skin care and accessories, but what makes us different and why did I stay with Mary Kay? At the later point in your career, you want to be with a company that you believe in. I joined this company because it believes in enriching women’s lives,” she says.

“That makes it super different from all these other companies. It is familyowned. You can see the values and principles being practiced. Our founder is Mary Kay Ash who passed on. This May, we are celebrating her 100th birthday if she had been here. So we have these events happening. As a company, it will be celebrating 55 years around the world next year. In the Philippines, we are turning 18 this May,” she says.

Dueñas says the cosmetic market in the Philippines continues to grow, attracting global players, including almost all Korean beauty brands.

But many of these companies are repositioning to take advantage of the mass market.

“Ninety percent of our population look for more affordable products. If you look at our positioning in Mary Kay, it is very wide. We have products that can cater to anyone from 18 up to their

The Department of Science and Technology-Region 2 turns over Portasol solar drying trays to fisherfolk of Uyugan town in Batanes province. Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Pena, DOST Region 2 regional director Sancho Mabborang, Portasol inventor Francisco Pagayon and DOST-Batanes provincial director Nora Garcia witness the turnover ceremony.

T

DOST TAPS SOLAR TRAYS TO IMPROVE FISH DRYING

HE Department of Science and Technology has provided solar drying trays to help fishers in Uyugan town, Batanes province improve the quality of “Dibang” dried fish.

Sancho Mabborang, regional director of DOST in Region 2, said the Portasol solar drying trays, developed by Filipino inventor Francisco ‘Ka Popoy’ Pagayon would help the fishing town increase the production of dried fish with greater product quality and food safety.

“The Portasol would allow the efficient and also a sanitary way of drying ‘Dibang’ in multiple trays and not the same way as before when they dried it on the streets and other wide cement surfaces around the town,” Mabborang said.

DOST Region 2 granted two sets of Portasol trays, a vacuum packaging machine and packaging materials with a combined cost of P500,000 under the agency’s Community Empowerment Through Science and Technology project.

Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Pena endorsed Portasol as a solar drying option for various crops and products that can also avoid unnecessary vehicular accidents caused by roadside rice, corn, coffee beans and fish drying.

Pagayon, who is also the president and chief executive of Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative Inc., said drying crops and fishery products on highways were causing irritation and distraction among motorists.

“This traditional drying is still being resorted to by our farmers in the countryside because the usual post-harvest solar dryers that are mere cement slabs are regularly turned into basketball courts or used for some public events,” Pagayon said.

“This will get worse later this year and especially next year during the campaign season when these solar dryers will be used as campaign rally

50s or 60s, so it serves all generations.

But in terms of the pricing, we have prices that we call ‘door openers’. That is something that I worked on when I came home,” she says.

Dueñas says she worked on making Mary Kay products more accessible in the country. “Some of our products are quite affordable. So we repositioned ourselves so that people will know that our prices are quite friendly. We actually took risk and looked at what products in our line now which Filipinas love using and which we can make more approachable—things like lipsticks, or cleansers, or pressed powder. We don’t want them to think that they are not affordable,” she says.

“We adjusted the pricing for these.

Once people are able to try, they do either one of two things. They become a happy or loyal customer or they decide to sign up with us to become beauty consultants.

They eventually work their way up to become sales directors,” she says.

“Some of these women are so successful now and I am inspired by them. Like we have some people who decided not to leave the country to pursue other jobs abroad, but decided to stay here, because they see that their Mary Kay business is doing so well,” says Dueñas.

Dueñas says that over the past two years, Mary Kay posted double-digit growth in sales, a trend which she expects to continue in the coming years.

“Officially, we have thousands and

Uyugan mayor Jonathan Enrique Nanud Jr. (second from right), thanks DOST for providing his town with the efficient portable solar dryer Portasol. With him are (from left) DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Pena, DOST Batanes provincial director Nora Garcia, DOST Region 2 regional director Sancho Mabborang and Portasol inventor Francisco ‘Ka Popoy’ Pagayon.

venues,” he said.

Pagayon said aside from being a cause of vehicular accidents, the roadside or highway pavement crop drying also led to grains production losses.

“The Portasol is a simple solution to an old problem and an immediate response to the cry of all our farmers for simple, easy, more effective and indigenous dryers that will put an end to the country’s extensive perennial post-harvest losses,” he said.

He said the Portasol tray drying system is more

thousands of people distributing our products, and that number has grown, double-digit. It has been growing at double-digit since last year, and we are seeing continuous growth.”

On how Mar y Kay Philippines achieved that level of growth, Dueñas says:“We really looked at our positioning.

What was very important for us was the perception of people. People knew who Mary Kay was. They knew we are a US company with high quality. The misconception is it is expensive or mahal. When I came home, I said mahal in my country can mean two things—it can mean expensive or it can mean love.

At the end of the day, we had to change that message from mahal as expensive to ‘I love my Mary Kay’. The end goal was 100 million people, 50 million were women, and maybe 25 million to 30 million were in the age bracket that we are looking at,” she says.

“In order to do that, we had to change some of our pricing. It was also a whole 360 exercise. We had to look at how we are communicating with people. We had to make the opportunity easier and we had to make sure our branding was out there,” says Dueñas.

“It is all about accessibility and penetration. We have to make sure we are accessible. At the same time, we have to create access. We had to make sure our brand awareness improves,” she says. “What really motivated me to come back is I saw how successful Mary Kay was in other countries. Now, we are the

effective, efficient and reliable as it is two to three times faster in drying crops compared to the conventional practice of pavement drying.

Pagayon said he wanted to introduce Portasol nationwide to revolutionize the entire post-harvest system.

He said there would also be a considerable ease and convenience in collecting, re-sacking and storing dried grains with the Portasol system.

Portasol could also prevent pest infestation, says Pagayon.

fastest growing market in Asia-Pacific.”

Dueñas says starting a Mary Kay independent business now costs as low as P1,500 for a starter kit and education materials.

“I am now very happy. I would like for us to be happier. There is so much opportunity. We have over 100 million people. Our country has a huge opportunity as a population,” she says.

The Philippines, she says, has a young population, with an average age of 24 which belongs to the millennial generation. “Millennials are not just a big market for Mary Kay. Millennials are the market. That is the majority of our population. It is a huge market for any industry, especially for beauty,” she says.

“When I look at the percentage of people distributing our products, our sales directors and beauty consultants, majority is between 24 and 34, so we have captured a huge chunk of millennials which is important because once you are loyal to a skin care brand and your business is doing well, you are going to stay,” she says.

“What I would like to have in the future is the next batch. Who are the next millennials? Or the young people graduating from college now. Our goal is to stay relevant. When I look at the population, I can see that it is mirrored in our own company. The triangle is like that. I think it is important to stay relevant especially in this country,” she says.

To cater to the young generation, Mary Kay Philippines pursued digital initiatives, says Dueñas. The company now provides online ordering for its sales force to help them grow the business.

“Right now, we are doing a lot of things on Facebook. We have digital tools for our sales persons. You can order online. Pretty soon we will be launching beauty analysis digitally,” she says.

What do not change, she says, are the values of Mary Kay. “We are here to enrich women’s lives. When I came home I told the team we are here to enrich Filipinas lives. That is what keeps us going. Everybody who joins the company, we talk about the values.

These values I also personally believe in,” she says.

Dueñas says her goal is to achieve a stable, sustainable growth for Mary Kay Philippines, along with an increase in beauty consultants and sales directors.

“For direct selling, I would like us to be one of the top five skin care brands,” she says.

“There is no way to go but up. It is not just about sales, but being able to reach more people. We are growing, and I would like to continue that growth and to be able to sustain it. I would love to have hundreds of thousands of distributors. I would love to have a sales director on every island. We have 7,107 islands. That is the dream,” says Dueñas.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Tech & Gadgets

TEAM AGRIVIZ WINS INNOVATION OLYMPICS

Team Agriviz, composed of Aiah Sarmiento, Gorby Dimalanta and Aaron David, and mentored by East-West Seed’s Downstream Marketing Manager Dexter Difuntorum, display the giant replica of their check as winners of the first East-West Seed Innovation Olympics Championship. Peter Paul Duran

By Peter Paul Duran

A

GROUP from the Asian Institute of Management claimed the first East-West Seed Innovation Olympics Championship with their e-Magsasaka platform that converts farmers to “agri-preneurs” recently at the 8 Waves Waterpark and Hotel in Bulacan.

Team Agriviz, composed of Aiah Sarmiento, Gorby Dimalanta and Aaron David, and mentored by East-West Seed’s Downstream Marketing Manager Dexter Difuntorum, takes great pride in their e-Magsasaka online platform, which hopes to address two of the major problems of our farmers--lack of direct access and lack of market information between buyers and growers.

Their unique web-based program for farmers that could potentially eliminate the “middle men factor” won them the championship and a cool P250,000 cash prize to bolster their innovative project.

The e-Magsasaka online platform hopes to minimize the involvement of middlemen, thereby increasing the farmers’ revenue by at least 20% and keeping the prices of vegetables more affordable for the consumers.

“This team really deserves to be champions. I saw how hard they wanted this as they connected all the aspects to come up with a brilliant platform,” said team mentor Difuntorum.

The platform would have a database, where buyers could find the farmers that could provide the produce that they need. At the same time,

the farmers could also use the database to find the market to sell their produce.

During the six-month pilot stage, Team Agriviz worked with farmers’ cooperatives, local government units and vegetable buyers to ensure that the e-Magsasaka platform would significantly benefit the entire ecosystem of vegetable production.

Team Agriviz bested two other student groups—Team Pocket Farm and Team i-Agri Ventures, both from University of the Philippines Los Banos.

Team Pocket Farm composed of Vince Maningas and Arvin Garcia, was mentored by East-West Seed’s Project Manager, Martin Hinlo. The team thought of using the cellphone as a tool to help the farmers in determining the moisture level of their farm lands and prompt them through text messages on when to water their vegetables and how much water their plants need.

Team Pocket Farm also received the East-West Seed Employees’ Choice Special Award for this concept.

Team i-Agri Ventures, on the other hand, came up with a solar-powered multi-crop dryer that could significantly cut post-harvest loss and create new

West Seed know that there is money in vegetable farming and it could be a solid route in improving the lives of our people.”

“Another problem is that farming practices in the Philippines are outdated and majority of our farmers are reluctant to use technology in farming making their work labor intensive and unsustainable,” Hermans said.

Through the Innovation Olympics, About The Innovation Olympics Innovation Olympics 2017 was East-West Seed hopes to harness the launched as part of the East-West minds of the youth to come up with Seed’s 35th anniversary last year with their own innovative the theme, “Growing Opportunities.” technological intervenEast-West Seed, founded in 1982 by tion. Students from difDutch seedsman Simon Groot and Fili- ferent multiple backpino seed trader Benito Domingo, is the grounds come up with first integrated vegetable company in sustainable solutions to the Philippines and one of the 10 big- improve productivity in gest tropical vegetable seed producers vegetable farming, effectively addressing two in the world.

“One of the major pillars of East-West major farming concerns: Seed is learning and innovation. And so integration of technofar, we have trained and enabled close logical innovations to to 50,000 smallholder farmers on prop- improve vegetable proer vegetable farming techniques,” Henk duction and to inspire Hermans, East-West Seed Philippines the youth to consider farming as a profesGeneral Manager, said.

Innovation Olympics, he added, is a sional goal and be ammanifestation of East-West Seed’s com- bassadors of modern mitment to address the two biggest day agriculture.

“East-West Seed will continue to problems facing vegetable farmers in the Philippines. “Farmers represent the sec- pursue ways on how to better equip ond poorest sector in the Philippines. Filipino vegetable farmers, inspire This sad reality results in our young the youth to use their passion for techpeople ‘s disenchantment of pursuing a nology in coming up with more innocareer in agriculture. The average age of vative ideas for the farming sector and Filipino farmers is 57-59 years old that is hopefully influence them to become why we have to inspire our youth to dis- the new breed of Filipino farmers,” Hercover the beauty of farming. We at East- mans added. markets for vegetable farmers.

Composed of Jonas Ruzgal, Jayson Fumera, and Mark Limbo from UP Los Banos, the team hopes to address this problem through their multi-crop dryer, effectively converting excess fresh tomatoes to sun-dried tomatoes and creating an alternative way for farmers to sell their produce.

XTREME SCREEN TECH RESISTS SCRATCHES, IMPACT HERE’S one smartphone with a screen that is as strong and tough as the Pinoy!

Filipino tech company Starmobile has introduced a new smartphone reinforced with Xtreme Screen Technology that fortifies it up it to take on the challenges Filipinos face in their everyday lives.

Starmobile’s UP Xtreme can withstand scratches caused by coins, keys, buttons, and accidental contact from solid metal objects. It is also pressureresistant, tolerating direct pressure of up to 30 kg applied on its screen without

cracking. It can also endure deliberate impact force from fall up to 2 meters high —4 meters higher than Gorilla Glass 5’s 1.6 meter-high impact resistance and 38 centimeters more than the Filipino’s average height at 1.62 meters.

Starmobile UP Xtreme is powered by 1GB RAM with 16GB ROM running on Android 7.0 Nougat. Its 8MP rear and front cameras are rigged with dual front flash so you can take bright and crisp selfie indoors and outdoors.

Other features include dual SIM slots, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile data connec-

tivity, and 2300mAh Li-ion battery that can last up to 7 hours talk and 10.5 days standby. The UP Xtreme is available in matte black, space gray, and champagne gold colors for only Php 3,990 at Starmobile stores, kiosks and official online store http://www.starmobile.ph/shop/.

It also comes preinstalled with FreeNet, allowing you to access your favorite apps and sites for free!

Learn more about Starmobile by following its official website starmobile.ph or Facebook page facebook.com/starmobilephones.

B3

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

SMART, INNOPUB LAUNCH ILOILO DIGITAL TOURISM PROGRAM ILOILO unveiled its expanded digital tourism program during the 117th Semana sang Iloilo, the provincial government’s foundation anniversary celebration. With the support of PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications and InnoPub Media, the program is expected to boost tourism in the province.

The digital tourism program includes the creation of tourism apps and e-guides, and the installation of interactive markers at selected landmarks to trigger the download of more information. First launched in 2013 in Iloilo City, the program has been updated to cover the entire province.

Unveiled during the launch was the Iloilo Guide app, a mobile guide that features information useful to visitors and students, such as historical background, local folklore and other interesting cultural trivia. It also lists things to do and places to see.

Those seeking a summer getaway, for instance, may be blessed with clear aquamarine waters, lush greens, marvelous rock formations, and stretches of white sand by going to Islas de Gigantes in Carles, Iloilo.

Design and history enthusiasts, for their part, may visit the San Joaquin church to view its exquisite depiction of the Rendicion de Tetuan or the 1859 Spanish victory over Moroccan forces in Tetuan, Africa, in bas relief on the structure’s pediment.

These information, and more, may be found on the Iloilo Guide app, which is available as a free download for Android devices, and soon on iOS. “We welcome this partnership with Smart and InnoPub, which will help boost tourism in Iloilo. As Boracay will be closed starting this month, tourists

Interactive markers, such as this one at Casa Real, will be installed in various locations in Iloilo. Mobile users can also download the Iloilo Guide app to learn more about the province’s interesting destinations.

will be seeking other destinations,” Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said during the launch. “We hope this program will help us convince more visitors to stay here,” he said.

“We are happy to partner with the Province of Iloilo and Innopub to make the region’s rich history, culture and heritage available to a wider audience.

Now, more than ever, we can enhance travel experiences, enable education, and preserve Filipino culture via mobile technology and connectivity,” said Smart Visayas-Mindanao public affairs head Attorney Maria Jane Paredes.

It is important to make information about travel destinations accessible to more people, according to Region VI tourism officer Sedfrey Cabaluna. “We have wonderful places in the Philippines, but more than that, it’s the stories behind them which make them even more beautiful,” he pointed out during the launch.

ARTHALAND, UNITY TECHNOLOGIES TEAM UP FOR CREATOR CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE

From left: Mel Songco, General Manager of CREATOR Center of Excellence, Jaime Enrique Gonzalez, ArthaLand Corporation Board Member, Leo Po, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, ArthaLand Corporation, Hubert Larenaudie, President APAC & Global Head of Unity Distribution Platform, Ramesh Anumukonda, Head of Unity Education and COE Initiatives APAC, Gerard Cerutti, Business Development for Philippines of Unity Distribution Platform

WORLD-CLASS real-estate developer, ArthaLand, set another milestone as it joined forces with real-time 3D development platform, Unity Technologies, to establish an ecosystem of learning where prospect and expert developers will undergo an advanced training in Unity —the Philippines’ first CREATOR Center of Excellence.

Located at the heart of the central business district in Bonifacio Global City, the newly launched ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower will hold the operation of CREATOR to achieve its mission to level up the quality and skills of talented individuals from the local and the region.

“We have to better equip our fellow Filipinos to be able to thrive in this age of hyper innovation and technology,” said Leo Po, the Execu-

tive Vice President of ArthaLand Corporation.

Participants will undergo a six-month Unity Professional Developer Program, which consists of Unity’s foundation-building courseware and dynamic learning modules for specialization in 2D, 3D, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR) production.

“We know the local creative industry in the Philippines is a key economic driver, and we are dedicated to supporting its growth with Unity’s latest technologies,” said Hubert Larenaudie, President, South Asia Pacific and Global Head of Unity Distribution Platform at Unity Technologies.

Larenaudie also added that with their partnership with the ArthaLand and a better access of tools from the

Unity Technologies, participants will be enable to find success.

Meanwhile, Po believes that by providing Filipinos new skills and equipment, they will be ready to compete in the global market.

“The CREATOR Center of Excellence will future-proof the Filipino workforce by providing them with new skills to compete in a global market,” Po added.

The program will be available and open to the public to serve as a catalyst for individuals willing to learn and to become proficient in advanced techniques and best practices.

To apply and for more information about the CREATOR Center of Excellence’s Unity Developer Program, check out www.creator.ph.

Angelica Villanueva

B4

TECH & Gadgets

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

SONY LAUNCHES ITS BEST ENTERTAINMENT PHONE

The XZ2 could be Sony's best entertainment smartphone which combines the latest innovations in Sony Camera, TV, Audio technologies such as Motion Eye Camera, the world’s first smartphone capable of 1080p Full HD 960fps Super Slow Motion, Dynamic Vibration System, 4K HDR movie recording, and a new larger-screen design. Peter Paul Duran

By Peter Paul Duran

S

ONY Mobile launched the new XZ2 in the Philippines recently at the Salvatore Cuomo and Bar in BGC. The new showcase is the latest in the Xperia line—XA2 Ultra, Ear Duo, and Xperia Touch and the XZ2 could be the best entertainment smartphone which combines the latest innovations in Sony Camera, TV, Audio technologies such as Motion Eye Camera, the world’s first smartphone capable of 1080p Full HD 960fps Super Slow Motion, Dynamic Vibration System, 4K HDR movie recording, and a new larger-screen design.

The XA2 Ultra, Xperia Touch is now available in the Philippines while the Xperia Ear Duo to come to Philippine shores in May

As the demand for innovative smartphones rises and technology continues to advance at a faster pace, Sony Mobile Communications (Sony Mobile) meets these challenges with the introduction of the XZ1 successor Xperia XZ2—the hero flagship phone of the tech giant.

“We continue our promise to offer a range of flagship devices that perfectly suit the lifestyle demands of our customer requirements, as the market advances very fast.

Zooming in on the entertainment seekers, the new XZ2 carry our new breakthrough technologies, such as Dynamic Vibration System, 4K HDR movie recording, and now with a larger screen design to offer a more immersive viewing experience,” said Nobuyoshi Otake, Sony Philippines Managing Director.

As video blogging (“vlogging”) becomes the trend in sharing and connecting people’s passions and

experiences, Sony introduces for the first time ever on a smartphone the 4K HDR recording, which enables share or upload feature to a compatible HDT TV or on YouTube to view the content back in lifelike realism.

The new design comes with the new extended 5.7” 18:9 HDR Full HD+ display, which is the best ratio of format, size and design footprint to offer a perfect entertainment experience.

You can now feel the action in the palm of your hands as Sony offers a brand new Dynamic Vibration System also bring your movie, video, and game experience into a whole new level with the FHD+ HDR display and Sony’s BRAVIA® TV technology, and you can share this unique experience with your friends with the powerful stereo speakers that the High-Resolution Audio3 and LDAC offers.

Image quality has also been improved, as it comes with a 19MP

Motion Eye™ camera and the 1080P 960fps super slow motion camera feature that makes it possible to turn regular moments into more dramatic captures.

Availability The Xperia XZ2 is now officially available in the Philippines in Nano SIM, Dual SIM in two colors: Liquid Silver, Liquid Black and will ship with Android 8.0 Oreo.

The flagship phone can be yours at P43,990 and is currently on preorder until May 6 in all Sony Centers and Xperia Shops. All pre-orders will receive a gift set worth P5,479. Retail availability will be on May 11 in all authorized Sony dealers.

In line with the launch, Sony Mobile also showcased their Xperia line with the XA2 Ultra, Xperia Ear Duo, and Xperia Touch.

For full specs of the XZ2, visit www. sonymobile.com/global-en/products/ phones/xperia-xz2/specifications.

AI REVOLUTION HITS HUMAN RESOURCES PARIS—You have a telephone interview for your dream job, and you’re feeling nervous. You make yourself a cup of tea as you wait for the phone to ring, and you count to three before picking up.

Now imagine that your interviewer is a robot named Vera.

Russian startup Stafory co-founder Alexei Kostarev says Robot Vera, which his company developed, is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

“It’s machine learning,” Kostarev said, as he explained that his firm programmed Vera using 1.4 million interviews, as well as Wikipedia and 160,000 books.

When Vera first started conducting phone interviews, she followed a script, but that has since changed.

“Vera understands the kind of answers candidates give,” Moscow-based Kostarev told AFP by phone.

And while robot recruiters will appeal to companies trying to keep costs down, there may also be another, more subtle advantage.

“When (candidates) give feedback on a job offer for example, they (say) more honest things they would not tell ... a human,” Kostarev said.

Stafory says Robot Vera currently has 200 clients, major companies which then take the selected job candidates through conventional interviews and final selection.

Danger of bias

More broadly, human resources specialists are looking to AI solutions to speed up recruitment

processes as a whole.

US company ZipRecruiter is touting a real-time selection service, with each job offer posted immediately on as many as 100 websites.

In the blink of an eye, its algorithm then trawls through the 10 million jobseekers who have registered with ZipRecruiter to see which best suit the job description.

The prospective employer then gets a shortlist of the top candidates, making recruitment a far less time-consuming exercise.

Ian Siegel, head of ZipRecruiter, told AFP the system works well because “employers aren’t great at describing what they want but they know what they want when they see it”. AFP

LISTEN TO MUSIC YOU LOVE WITH ALL-NEW FREE ON SPOTIFY MUSIC is the great connector. It unites us across markets, ages, backgrounds, languages, preferences, political leanings and income levels.

At Spotify, we believe in music for everyone—and today, we are one step closer to making that a reality as we unveil a new, improved, and more personalized way to discover music and listen to what you love on Spotify, for free.

The new ad-supported Spotify is a natural next step as Spotify continues to innovate and evolve for the needs of our users and will be rolling out globally to all users of Spotify on iOS and Android. With a new design on mobile, Free on Spotify includes a number of new features to make the listening experience more tailored to what you need to hear, now.

“Our customers always tell us that music discovery and listening is a personal experience, and we are enhancing the free experience with this in mind,” said Babar Zafar, VP of Product Development at Spotify. “This is the beginning of an evolution for Spotify and we will continue to make improvements that mirror our customers’ needs.

This is not only about giving users a more customized free experience from the day they sign up, but giving them more control over their listening experience so they can easily find and stream their favorites anytime, from anywhere.”

On-demand playlists

We want all users to have more control over the listening experience so everyone can both discover new artists and return to old favorites. Fifteen new on-demand playlists offer the ability to pick and play any track within our curated lists— without skipping tracks or waiting on shuffle to bring up the music you love. These on-demand playlists will be unique to you, based on your musical tastes, and may include Spotify-curated playlists ranging from RapCaviar and K-Pop Daebak to Ultimate Indie and Alternative R&B as well as personalized playlists like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mix.

More personalized

With Spotify for free, users gain easy access to favorite songs and discovering new music is made simpler—and it’s personalized for you.

When you sign up, we’ll ask you about the artists you love, and we’ll deliver curated playlists that match your musical taste and personalized playlists, like Daily Mix. These new playlists are easily accessible on the new Home screen, which is always being updated based on your listening activity.

Make Spotify yours

Tell us which songs and artists you LIKE (or HIDE O ) as you listen. Tap the to quickly save songs to your Favorites playlist and tap the O icon to hide songs you don’t want to hear. Recommendations will improve the more you listen and denote preferences.

HIGHLIGHTING ROLE OF LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP THRU BOSSING AWARDS

PLDT Enterprise, the country’s leading ICT and digital services provider, relaunched the MVP Bossing Awards last night at the Manila Polo Club, in search for the next batch of MVP Bossings.

As in years past, the MVP Bossing Awards will pay tribute to the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit, celebrating local business owners who have achieved success, with the aim of inspiring others to pursue their dreams and aspirations. Now on its 8th year, the MVP Bossing Awards has recognized over 80 iconic business leaders.

“Over the years, the MVP Bossing Awards has brought to light the inspiring stories of visionaries in entrepreneurship, motivating Filipinos to make their dreams a reality and make it big in business. These stories of trials and successes are a testament to the endless possibilities local entrepreneurs can achieve if they continue to be fearless in pursuing their ideas, no matter how impossible they think it is. This year’s Bossing Awards is even

more special as we not only celebrate PLDT’s 90th Anniversary, but also the 10th year of PLDT SME Nation,” said Jovy Hernandez, SVP and Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups following his opening remarks.

Following Hernandez, Go Negosyo’s Founding Trustee and 2010 Bossing Awardee Joey Concepcion spoke of how relevant it is for budding entrepreneurs to be digitally enabled, promoting innovation and development in the country.

The event featured an assembly of past MVP Bossings, including 2016 Grand MVP Bossing Awardee Tony Tan Caktiong, founder and chairman of Jollibee Foods Corporation; 2013 Grand MVP Bossing Awardee Bernie Liu, chairman and CEO of Golden ABC; 2014 Bossing Awardee Michael Deakin, managing director of Life Line Ambulance Rescue Inc.; 2013 Bossing Awardee Rosalind Wee, W Group vice chair; 2011 Bossing Awardee Luigi Nu-

ñez, co-founder of Beer Below Zero; 2010 Bossing Awardee Louie Gutierrez, CEO of Silverworks; and 2011 Bossing Awardee Bobby Claudio, co-founder and CEO of Toby’s Sports.

FVP and Head of PLDT SME Nation Mitch Locsin then took to the stage to officially launch this year’s awards, opening up the ceremony to nominations from the public for the first time in its eight-year history.

To close the program, Hernandez and Locsin were joined on stage by PLDT Inc.’s Chairman & CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, as well as PLDT and Smart Chief Revenue Officer & ePLDT President and CEO Eric R. Alberto for a ceremonial toast with the past MVP Bossings in attendance.

“We are excited to put the spotlight on our Filipino entrepreneurs who’ve successfully opened up opportunities not only for themselves, but also for others to emulate. This year, we highlight the role that business owners play, inspiring their

PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (4th from right) with PLDT and Smart EVP & Chief Revenue Officer and ePLDT President and CEO Eric Alberto (3rd from left) and (L-R) SVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups Jovy Hernandez, Toby’s Sports Co-Founder and CEO Bobby Claudio, Golden ABC Chairman & CEO Bernie Liu, Presidential Advisor for Entrepreneurship and GoNegosyo Founder Joey Concepcion, Jollibee Foods Corporation Founder Tony Tan Caktiong and FVP & Head of PLDT SME Nation Mitch Locsin

constituents, employees and fellow entrepreneurs—enlightening and empowering others to be better leaders through the virtues that all Bossings must possess:

integrity, commitment to excellence, and fearlessness,” said PLDT and Smart Chief Revenue Officer & ePLDT President and CEO Eric R. Alberto.

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Young Life sunday, april 29, 2018

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor

@manilastandardlife

manilastandardlife@gmail.com

@MStandardLIFE

5 beach alternativeS

to boracaY

By Mae Gianina C. Pascual

T

his could be a sad summer for beach-goers and sun chasers as our country’s white sand paradise, Boracay, is closed temporarily to tourists for a six-month rehabilitation. But being blessed with 7,641 islands, we have a couple of other beach destinations that can satisfy our need for some sea-sand-sun break.

Boracay is Boracay, and there can never be another one. These destinations, however, possess their own kind of charm that we can explore as our pradise island in Aklan takes a much-needed break.

The 2018 YAZZ squad

Get to know

the 2018 Yazz Squad

San Juan, La Union ilocos Region, Luzon

La Union, a coastal town in the ilocos Region, is dubbed as the “surfing Capital of northern Luzon,” for its huge swells that attract seasoned and amateur surfers alike. The province is tourist-friendly with accessible roads and an array of artsy resorts and restaurants available in the area.

Apart from enjoying the flourishing surfing vibe along the shores, one cannot miss trying out surfing as there is a number of groups offering lessons. The best time to go to san Juan, La Union is either during summer months (March to May) or october to March when the big waves turn up.

La Union also has hidden waterfalls and rivers such as Tangadan Falls and Tapuakan River that tourists can explore while they’re in the province.

La Union is only 5- to 6-hour drive from Metro Manila. Bus terminals with trips going to the province are located in Pasay, Manila, and Quezon City.

san Juan (Photo from booking.com)

how does the youth get the things they want today? Easier than before, some would say, but that is thanks to the recent innovations available at the tip of our fingertips.

Models John spainhour and Marx Topacio, musician Marcus Mababangloob, and Miss EcoPhilippines Cynthia Thomalla are some of today’s young and accomplished individuals who are able to live their lives and pursue their passions with the help of Yazz Prepaid Visa Card.

These four savvy spenders are the new members of the Yazz squad.

Camaya Coast, Bataan northern Luzon

had a busy week in the metro? A good slowdown will only take you a 3-hour drive or a 1.5-hour ferry ride from Manila and bring you to the southernmost tip of Bataan where the fine white sand and clear blue waters of Camaya Coast Resort will set you quick to respite mode.

The private-owned, 450-hectare land-turned-prime residential resort offers a balance of beach life and urban living with full amenities to guarantee comfort and perfect leisure time for vacationers. There are restaurants, food kiosks, and cafés near the beach area. other amenities include waterpark, infinity pool with kiddie pool, fitness gym, and the internationally renowned, Bali-themed Mandara spa.

Bookings are made through their website or via Metrodeal. Apart from land transfer to Mariveles, Bataan, you can also avail of roundtrip ferry transfers at sun Cruises Terminal located at Esplanade seaside Terminal at MoA Complex in Pasay City.

Camaya Coast (Photo by Mae Pascual)

Bantayan Island, Cebu Central Visayas

Bantayan is an island situated at the west of northern end of Cebu. Calmness, relaxation, and simplicity are the words the island promises to its guests. Known for its powdery soft white sand and aquamarine clear waters balanced with lush tropics, it leaves many charmed by its pure beauty. The water is only 4-feet deep at around 100 yards off the shore, ideal for a warm soak and basking under the sun.

The island has many to offer, from affordable accommodations, cottages, food, to scooter rentals if you opt to stroll around. not too far from the resorts is ogtong Cave that can take you to another unique excursion. other activities are snorkeling, boat riding, and even bar hopping in various resorts on the island.

This Visayan island is accessible via ferry from hagnaya Port in northern Cebu. Going to santa Fe Port of Bantayan island could take 1.5 hour.

Turn to C2

Cynthia Thomalla

Bantayan island (Photo from bantayanisland.org)

This beauty queen loves how Yazz Card is accessible for everyone. “Besides helping me travel around the Philippines easier and faster to spread my advocacy (for responsible tourism), i believe introducing Yazz Card to locals is also a big help for them.” when it comes to shopping, on the other hand, she says, "i pride myself in being a balanced spender. i only spend things on the things i need, but when i know i have worked hard enough, then i’ll purchase an item that i want.”

Turn to C2

Dance your way to social meDia starDom

Tik Tok's GAGA Dance Challenge uses your smartphone's camera to recognize your dance moves

A nEw social app is available for the next generation of content creators.

Tik Tok, introduced in 2017, lets users have the power to quickly create and share their own unique, 15-second videos, from comedy to dance, or freestyle to performance. The app encourages users to let their imaginations run wild and express themselves through their smartphones.

Tik Tok features an array of built-in special effects and stickers all powered by Ai Technology, bringing videos to life through the use of body movementrecognition software. since its introduction, Tik Tok has become an instant phenomenon in several markets across Asia. This wave has led to the development of a young, fresh, and vibrant community of content creators that spans across a number of genres through original performances. Tik Tok’s com-

munity has attracted a number of celebrities and influencers who have turned to the platform to increase their fan-base.

This year, Tik Tok’s computer-vision technology comes to life through the GAGA Dance Challenge.

Using your smartphone’s camera, the GAGA Dance function recognizes your dance moves and instantly matches it with postures featured on the app. The GAGA Dance Challenge comes to the Philippines with the most popular songs in the country. it is a simple and fun way to enjoy Tik Tok with your friends and family.

A number of celebrities and influencers have joined the GAGA Dance Challenge, including YouTube and social media sensation Pamela swing. other personalities currently enjoying Tik Tok are singer/dancer Andree Bonifacio and vlogger Baninay Bautista.

young life

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sunday, april 29, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

get to know...

From c1

John Spainhour

Being a responsible spender, this hunky model relies on the card’s features. “The best feature i love about yazz is that it gives you a cheaper and 24/7 alternative in sending money.

The fee is only p20.00 regardless of the amount.” “i can also keep track of my budget and monitor my expenses thru the yazz mobile app. This is important to me because i want to be responsible with my finances.”

Many Filipino millennial professionals going through quarter-life crisis want advice to help them figure out what to do next, but they don't know where to go for answers.

website helps millennials deal

with quarter-liFe crisis

Q

uarTer-liFe crisis—a period in one’s mid-20s to early 30s marked by feelings of doubt and insecurity which can lead to anxiety or depression—affects as much as 87 percent of 25- to 33-year-old Filipino professionals today, according to a survey.

Marcus Mababangloob

saving and managing your money should start even while you’re young, like how this student takes advantage of yazz’s accessibility. “as a student, opening a bank account is difficult because of the requirements being asked by the bank. also, i have to catch their banking hours which is during weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The problem is, i have class during those times so going there is a challenge.”

He shares the solution he has found using yazz, “i just load my extra cash from my allowance to my yazz and i consider this as my instant savings account. The moment i need my money, i just withdraw it in any Bancnet aTM.” Marcus adds, “One saving tip i learned growing up is to save 50 pesos a day—and those go into my yazz Card now!”

Financial issue is the most pressing concern of these individuals, said the commissioned study by linkedin, the world’s largest professional network.

More than 60 percent find their quarter-life crisis marked by worries that they are not earning enough. More than half (54 percent) also feel unsure about what to do next in their lives or careers, while 53 percent are frustrated with their career options.

While half of respondents have an idea about what their dream job is, they are uncertain about how best to approach a career move. They report feeling stuck in their current roles (49 percent) with no transferrable skills, or feel that their current workplaces don’t offer enough support to help them progress (46 percent). Many want advice to help them figure out what to do next, but don’t know where to go for answers (71 percent).

More than half (61 percent) are looking for career mentors, but are worried that they don’t have the connections to find one on their own. in response to this need, linkedin has introduced its new Career advice feature in the philippines, to make it easier for professionals to connect with one another for advice.

a step back and write down what is making you most nervous, be it saving, not being happy in your current industry, or even your personal relationships. This will allow you to address the problem and stand you in good stead to talk to others.

“While there isn’t one simple solution to get over a quarter-life crisis, getting advice from people that have had similar experiences can help navigate these career crossroads,” said linda lee, linkedin’s head of communications for southeast asia and north asia. she added, “Getting an unbiased point of view from someone with the right experience can give you a fresh perspective. remember that you are not alone in your struggles—it’s likely others have been in the same situation as you before.”

Those interested in looking for job negotiation tips, making a career switch, or pursuing one’s passions, among others, can use the feature to find professionals on linkedin who can help based on the type of advice needed or mutual interests.

While quarter-life crisis may not feel like a positive experience, you can turn your feelings of uncertainty to your advantage:

1. Take a step back and identify the root cause

it’s easy to be weighed down with all of the pressures of work and family expectations, often making you too close to the situation. Take

2. Research

Once you have assessed your situation, it’s important to research your options and most importantly your passions. Whether it’s starting a new career altogether, taking a break, or progressing in your current role—it’s necessary to be aware of your possibilities.

3. Talk to others

it’s important to discuss feelings of discontent.

Talking to others about certain issues not only helps you rationalize the problem but helps with the solution. Though it’s great that your friends and family are there to support you, it is also good to get an impartial perspective. linkedin’s Career advice feature can be especially useful for finding people who can help enlighten you. Go to the dashboard on your linkedin profile and find the Career advice hub. From there, enter your preferences for the type of advice you’re looking to give or receive and linkedin will recommend members based on your interest, specifications, as well as your current profile. When you find a match, you’ll be alerted and you can then send a message to start a conversation about the advice you need.

5Frombeach... c1 Anda Beach, Bohol Central Visayas

anda is one of Bohol’s hidden gems situated at the eastern coast of the island. not far from the town proper is Quinale Beach, a three-kilometer strip of fine white sand that lures you to its cerulean waters. due to its long distance from Tagbilaran, it remains unspoilt, raw, and pristine, best for those who are after a perfect quiescence and repose.

When in anda, it is also best to visit Cabagnow Cave, a unique cave structure with deep turquoise waters resembling a hidden lagoon that has emerged from nowhere. One cannot miss this spellbinding experience.

From Tagbilaran airport, head to dao Terminal. it takes 2-3 hours from dao Terminal to anda town proper.

Samal Island, Davao

Marx Topacio

Traveling has always been a big part of this model’s life, and it’s now more convenient for him to book tickets with the help of this card. “i always score the best deals because whenever i see one, i’m always prepared to book it using my yazz Card.” He adds, “i’m embarrassed to share that i used to call up my friends and ask them if i could ride on their credit cards. But now, i feel empowered, i can book it on my own without the hassle of bothering them.” Marx also reveals that he even uses yazz for his online subscriptions like spotify and netflix.

Go to www.yazzcard.com for more information.

anda (photo from bohol.ph)

davao del norte, Mindanao samal is an island located in davao Gulf of davao del norte. Together with Talikud island, just southwest of the main island, they form a part of the Mindanao island group. samal island features a wide selection of resorts and accommodations dotting its 116-kilometer shoreline, depending on the traveler’s budget and needs.

There are several ways to enjoy the island, ranging from windsurfing, jet skiing, water skiing, scuba diving, kayaking, and surfing. you can also try spelunking at Balete, Mangongawong or Baga caves or go mountain climbing at Mt. puting Bato. samal also has a vanishing island in Barangay Tambo which disappears during high tide.

From davao City, boats and ferries are available at sta. ana Wharf and Km. 11 Wharf in sasa going to samal island for only 1-2 hours.

samal island (photo from samal-island.com)

These alternatives are just some of the philippines’ famed beach destinations. More coves, islands, and expansive white beaches in the country are waiting to be explored.

We must learn our lessons from what happened to Boracay; one must not forget, when turning to nature for a dose of relaxation and enjoyment, take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, and kill nothing but time.

Showbiz

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018

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

WORLD TV PREMIERE OF BTS NEW SINGLE

Marian Rivera in today's episode of 'Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko'

MARIAN

TRANSFORMS INTO A PRINCESS IN ‘DAIG KAYO NG LOLA KO’

After breaking its own record for the highest number of pre-orders with its upcoming album, K-pop group BTS will debut a new single at 2018 Billboard Music Awards.

K

-POP group and global sensation BTS will perform its new single at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards marking the latest song’s premiere on world television.

The Korean pop band, who just announced its highly anticipated new album, Love Yourself: Tear, will join previously announced performers Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes on a night filled with music’s biggest names.

Billboard Music Award-winning BTS, who is nominated for Top Social Artist this year, scored its first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart in October with Love Yourself: Her-- earning both the highest-charting album ever on the chart by a K-pop act, and the genre’sbiggest sales week. Since then, the sevenmember group tallied its first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Mic Drop,” featuring Desiigner.

BTS has also spent more than 70 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Social 50 chart, which ranks the most popular music artists across the world’ssocial networks.

Collectively, BTS’ albums have earned 1 million equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, and the group’s catalog of songs have collected nearly 2 billion on-demand streams.

Nominations for the 2018 Billboard Music Awards were announced earlier this month on NBC’s Today and on a livestream from Billboard’s New York office. Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran tie for the most nominations this year with 15 each.

Voting for the two fan-voted categories— Billboard Chart Achievement Award and Top Social Artist—will open in the coming weeks and additional details will be available soon.

Hosted by The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson, the three-hour telecast will feature performances from this year’s hottest musical acts, unexpected collaborations and buzzworthy moments that celebrate 60 years of the Billboard Hot 100.

The 2018 Billboard Music Awards will broadcast LIVE from MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 21 at 8:00 a.m. on Blue Ant Entertainment.

JUST by looking at her social media accounts, Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera constantly remains an inspiration to her fans— whether as a mom, businesswoman, and actress.

Today, she continues to inspire her followers as she headlines Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko’s last anniversary episode entitled “The Runaway Princess Bride.”

In the story, Marian breathes life to Princess Annie who is set to marry a prince she’s never met. So, on the day of her wedding, Princess Annie runs away because she doesn’t want to tie the knot with someone she doesn’t know.

However, the stepmother of the prince punishes Princess Annie by sending her to the land of mortals.

What will happen to Princess Annie in the mortal world? What lesson will she teach the viewers?

Find out tonight in Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko right after 24 Oras Weekend on GMA’s Sunday Grande.

A scene from the film 'Siargao' with Jericho Rosales and Erich Gonzales.

KBO BRINGS THE BEACH VIBES WITH

‘SIARGAO’

MAX

COLLINS FACES HER TOUGHEST BATTLE

AFTER portraying Esperanza in GMA’s Afternoon Prime drama series Innamorata, Irene in the top-rating primetime soap Someone To Watch Over Me, and currently as Darcy in the sexy romcom series The One That Got Away, Max Collins has definitely proven her versatility as an actress.

However, today in an episode of Stories for the Soul entitled “Beauty Queen,” Max’s skills will once again be put to test.

A modern day adaptation of the “Story of Esther” in the Bible, it is about Lora (Max), a beauty queen and a wife to Cholo (Lucho Ayala). With her husband being the head of their family business, Lora promises to support Cholo in every endeavor.

Unknown to Cholo, their business is engaged in some illegalities led by his sister Alexa (Maricar de Mesa). What will Lora do if she finds out about it?

Tune in to Stories for the Soul today on GMA. The program airs after Dear Uge.

BEACH vibes come to every home this weekend as Siargao, starring Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, airs on KBO. The movie that pays homage to the most popular beach destination down south today won Second Best Picture along with Best Director for Paul Soriano at the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival. It ties the stories of three people to the beautiful island of Siargao.

In the movie, the island is home to a burned-out musician Diego (Jericho) to which he returns to escape his troubles, where sheltered vlogger Laura (Erich) tries to move on from a failed love, and where a local island girl (Jasmine) has second thoughts about a lost love.

The movie also bagged the awards for Best Sound, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography, while its theme, “Alon,” by the band Hale, also won Best Theme Song at the MMFF. Also available this weekend are Love You to the Stars and Back, Mercury is Mine, Extra Service, and The Debutantes.

You may register using any prepaid or postpaid SIM. For prepaid, just load up (Globe, TM, Smart, Sun, TNT, or ABS-CBNmobile SIM) with P30; press the green / INFO button on your TVplus box remote to get your box ID; then text KBO30 APR28 <TVplus box ID> to 2366.

C4

sunday, april 29, 2018

Desiree Carlos, Editor

daycarlos28@yahoo.com

Pets

the heat Can Kill raBBits

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.

MARBLE is amazing for a senior doggo! she looks young for a 15-year-old shih tzu and has the energy of a young doggy! she is Miks Lim’s alpha baby who was given to her by a friend. “she loves going for rides no matter where i go. she definitely loves the wind and sleeping on my lap when i drive. she is the Boss at home, “ Miks says.

Violet in an air conditioned room

By Christian Parlade

s

UMMER is here and it's brutally hot. Please make sure you keep your rabbits comfortable. They are VERY susceptible to heat stroke. here ere are a couple of things that can help you out: 1. Keep them in an air conditioned room, especially during the hot hours of the day (crucial at around 11 AM - 5 PM).

2. Keep them out of the sun. Rabbits are iNDOOR pets.

3. Make sure they have unlimited access to water. (ice in water shown in the picture) 4. Make sure they have a cool surface to stay in (cooling mat shown in picture). A tile is also a popular choice.

5. Make sure the room has good ventillation.

6. have ave a wet blanket on the side of the cage and have the electric fan blow on that.

7. Moisten your rabbit's ears (not completely wet) 8. DO NOT GiVE VE YOUR RABBiT A BATh. DO NOT GiVE YOUR RABBiT A BATh.. DO NOT GiVE YOUR RABBiT A BATh 9. Give veggies submerged in water (still follow rules of giving veggies. Don't do this indiscriminately) 10. have ave frozen water bottles inside the cage to help cool your bunny..

Macky drinking water with ice

Author Christian Parlade with his bunnies.

sNOW healed Eleanor Agulto’s hurting heart.

“When my odd eyed cat, Mitch, didn't return after a night jaunt, i was devastated. But i've always believed that the best way to recover from a broken heart is to find a new love.

That's why i adopted snow, an odd eyed kitty from CARA. “ Eleanor shares. she recalls, ”i was told she was found cowering in a basement, and not being used to the outside world, she must be raised as an indoor cat. After the sad loss of Mitch, that suited me just fine.”

Carrie with windblown hair, hanging out near an electric fine, lying down on tiles

About the author: Christian Parlade is a director for finance in TaskUs. He facilitates rabbit adoption / rescue via the SaveRabbitsPH FB page. He is also an informal educator for overall rabbit care and welfare.

Pergola's Doggie anD Me fun event ThE community's beloved furry event is back! Team up with your fur baby and join The Pergola's MY DOGGiE AND ME sUMMER DOG shOW! strut down the My Doggie and Me runway in matching summer outfits, join in on the fun games, and get the chance to win puptastic prizes from Golden Three Pet supplies, The Pergola Mall, and more! shop and show some love at our special participating guest's, save Animals of Love and Light - save ALL, booth as well! hOW TO JOiN: - Fill out the registration flyer/form which may be obtained from Golden Three Grooming & Pet supplies or The Pergola's 3rd floor office at The Pergola Mall. NO FEEs! - submit the registration flyer/form on or before May 1, 2018.

- First ten (10) registrants get early bird loot bags!

- For more inquiries: call 659-2335

BOGART was rescued by Ange Umbac and since then, they have brought much joy in her life.

Bogart, about 6 yrs old, celebrated his second adoption anniversary last March 17, 2018. in the photo, Bogart helps Rob Garner finish her work.