Manila Standard - 2019 February 10 - Sunday

VOL. XXXII • NO. 360 • 4 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

RODY VETOES COCONUT BILL FOR LACK OF SAFEGUARDS

By Nat Mariano PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed a bill strengthening the Philippine Coconut Authority for lacking necessary safeguards, believing such measure would go against the full utilization and distribution of coco levy funds to beneficiaries.

In his letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and members of the Senate, Duterte said he returned the measure titled “An Act to Further Strengthen the PCA” without affixing his signature.

According to the President, he recognized the bill aimed to adopt necessary measures to immediately address the serious problems besetting the coconut industry, protect the socio-economic well-being of coconut farmers, and ensure Turn to A2

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JOIN FIGHT VS. MEASLES, LGUS TOLD PLACE OF PLACIDITY. Verily a place for needed relaxation in the fumes-filled capital city and hobbled by daily vehicular traffic is the highly ornate Chinese-inspired zone at the calm Chinese Garden dotted by luscious green which excites a resident to simmer down—with the weather now getting into the 90s Fahrenheit. Sonny Espiritu

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

‘BUDGET PROBE NOT OVER’

By Maricel V. Cruz

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“The job of Congress does not end with passing the budget. If the good Secretary thinks he can now relax and continue with his illicit activities, he is gravely mistaken,” said Camarines Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. in a statement on Saturday.

Andaya, who chairs the appropriations

body, had accused Diokno of inserting P75 billion in additional funds to the proposed Department of Public Works and Highways budget this year, and for supposedly favoring a construction firm of his relatives for projects in the Bicol region.

“We are not done investigating

anomalies he is involved in,” Andaya said of the budget chief. “We will make sure that each cent from taxpayers will be spent according to laws and Supreme Court decisions.”

However, the DPWH itself sees nothing wrong with the Department of Budget and Management inclusion of the P75-billion infrastructure allocation to the public works budget, even without prior knowledge of its officials.

At a congressional hearing Friday, DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral said the alleged “Insertion” made by DBM in the 2019 DPWH allocation is part of a “normal budget process.”

Cabral told the panel, chaired by Andaya, that details of the P75 billion that

was added to the P480-billion DPWH budget were later sent to regional offices for proper vetting.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar was aware of the P75 billion but only after the proposed 2019 National Expenditure Program was submitted to Congress, Cabral said.

Diokno had consistently denied Andaya’s allegations and snubbed invitations to appear before the House panel after attending “Question Hour” at the chamber in December.

“I recall the Secretary saying we consider it a budgetary adjustment and therefore DBM has the prerogative to add or reduce. We took the NEP as it is,” Cabral said.

READY FOR LOVERS.

Flowers for Valentine’s Day are in full bloom at Manila’s Flower Market along Dimasalang Street on Saturday.

Ey Acasio

SPEAKER THANKS PRESIDENT FOR HANDS-OFF TACK SPEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has expressed gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for respecting the independence of the House of Representatives, especially during the proposed 2019 budget process.

In her Adjournment Speech Friday, Arroyo said the proposed 2019 budget is “probably the most dissected budget in the past few decades” and yet the President respected the constitutional mandate of the House and the Senate to ensure transparency and accountability in the budget process.

“We also appreciate President Duterte for respecting the constitutional mandate of the House and the Senate in the budget process. His cognizance of the need for transparency and accountability during his watch, served as a beacon of guidance and inspiration for us all. As a former Chief Executive myself, I am well aware of how much can be achieved by a close, constructive partnership between an elected President and the elected representatives of the people,” Arroyo said.

Congressmen are also confident the allocations in the newly ratified 2019 national budget worth P3.757 trillion will pass legal scrutiny, in the event the money measure is challenged at the Supreme Court.

At a press conference Friday night, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House committee on appropriations, allayed concerns that appropriations for each congressmen run contrary to the Supreme Court order prohibiting lump sum funds.

“What the Supreme Court said is there should be no post-enactment involvement ng Congress. Everything that you want to have in the budget, where it should go, how much, should be indicated in the budget,” Andaya said.

He also clarified that a baseline figure for appropriations of each House member was established, but it was adjusted according to the needs of the district.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay on Saturday said the amounts given as entitlements to each congressman are based on the needs of their districts and not on “hating-kapatid” (sibling division) sharing.

Pichay said the pork barrel funds, which Senator Panfilo Lacson has always branded as“bad,”are the projects they as congressmen put in the budget to help their constituents improve their living conditions.

“There is nothing wrong with providing services to the people, to our constituents,” Pichay said in a state-

ment. “If we do not put any project in our districts, we don’t deserve to be the representatives of our district.

We do not deserve to stay a day longer in office.”

Pichay said Lacson does not put projects in his home province of Cavite to serve his people. “We respect that.

But he should not fault us for wanting to give better services for our people,” he added.

Congress is on a two-month break for the election period. Session resumes on May 20, or a week after the polls.

Arroyo also congratulated the Senate for passing the budget as she called it a “joint achievement” of both houses of Congress.

“Both the House and the Senate should be congratulated for passing the budget in a process characterized by hard work and collective wisdom.

The two bodies worked independently, but in harmony, in scrutinizing the budget, so in the end, it is a joint achievement,” she said.

The Speaker also thanked her colleagues for their tireless effort to pass meaningful legislations during her speakership especially the priority bills of President Duterte. Maricel V. Cruz

GOVERNOR BATS FOR ‘INAUL’ IN FASHION

By Nash B. Maulana B U LUA N , M a g u i n d a n a o —T h i s province hopes the country’s circle of fashion designers for gowns worn to international beauty pageants would help push its colorful “Inaul” loom-woven fabric to foreign markets of trademark designs and trends.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael G. Mangudadatu opened here the weeklong Maguindanao Inaul Festival on Feb. 7 before thousands of residents, who shared his optimism that the fabric will land in the international market.

Festive activities and shows— including motocross, rodeo, culinary art contest, town products expo showcases, beauty pageant, and a rock concert featuring the bands Yano and Bamboo—will run up to Feb. 14.

Mangudadatu says he has been discussing with renowned fashion de s i gn e r R e n e S a l u d , w h o s e c r e a t i o n s i n the trade include the Inaul gowns worn by the 2016 Miss Universe pageant contestants in one of their fashion walks.

The Inaul Festival Theme this year is “Weaving Maguindanao Strengths Towards Globalization.”

Bai Ayesha M. Dilangalen, regional tourism secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, led a delegation to showcase the Inaul cloth at a global trade forum in Berlin, Germany last year.

Reigning Miss Universe Catriona Gray has also asked her 4.5 million followers on Twitter for recommendations on what beauty trends and looks she could try over the next few days for the upcoming Fashion Week in New York.

Responding to this, Maguindanao has requested the holder of Catriona’s gown tape statistics so she may include an Inaul Gown into her array of choices during the New York event, which also started Feb. 7.

Mangudadatu has also posted an open invitation on video “to explore Maguindanao, which is MagandaNOW, and experience Inaul.”

Gray, the 67th Miss Universe and the fourth from the Philippines since 1969, also met Kelsey Merritt, the Filipina Victoria’s Secret model, in New York, both women said on Twitter.

Inaul has 20 known original designs, and some of these are traditionally labeled, such as “Binaludto” (rainbow), “Makabimban” (stripes), “Panigabi” (taro), “Sinodengan”, “Matampuhay-seko”, “K awang” and “Sinukipan” and “Binaludan” (wave-like).

The fine tradition of Inaul loomweaving is a precolonial art founded in cultural connects among old indigenous nations, with its literally long yarn of trade stories to tell.

Katidtuan, a riverside village about 10 kilometers upstream of the presentday Cotabato City, was once the leading weaving community of the colorful Inaul fabric.

Babo Hadja Rokaya Ginaid, of an Iranun family of weavers and Inaul traders in Katidtuan, recalls her late husband sailed to Malaysian territories to import the sutra thread in large quantities.

Historically, Ternatan Princess Kyai Chili Goliro-ma-lamo Rajaguna came to Maguindanao in 1720 to shop for the Inaul made in Katidtuan at the Padian sa Salimbao (Port Market of Salimbao).

A COCKROACH FOR YOUR EX LOS ANGELES—Forget chocolate, flowers, or a romantic dinner. A zoo in Texas is offering singles the chance to name a cockroach after their ex and see it fed to a meerkat live on camera on Valentine’s Day. In a campaign dubbed “Quit Bugging Me!!!” the El Paso Zoo says the roach is a perfect Valentine’s gift for those needing closure on a past relationship that didn’t make the grade.

It said a cockroach would be assigned to each nominee and the bugs would be fed to meerkats in an event streamed on the zoo’s website and Facebook page on Feb. 14.

Zoo officials said Madagascar hissing cockroaches would likely be used for the feast.

“They do actually hiss, they are a very large species of cockroach, definitely not the largest, but it is one that we actually do breed here at the zoo for feeding purposes,” Sarah Murphy, an education specialist at the zoo, told the local ABC station. AFP

By Joel E. Zurbano

METRO Manila police director Guillermo Eleazar reiterated his appeal to the public to fully cooperate with authorities in connection with the “Liquid Ban” and the “No Food, No Drinks” policy at the MRT and LRT stations being strictly enforced following the recent bombings in Mindanao.

Eleazar made the appeal after members of the Mandaluyong City police arrested a Chinese national for throwing her taho snack at a duty police officer after being denied entry with her food at the MRT-3 Boni Avenue Station around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Taho is snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu with tapioca pearls and sweet flavoring.

The foreigner was identified as Jiale Zhang, female, 23 years old, single, 1st year student at SOFA Design Institute taking Turn to A2

ENTERTAINMENT/ D3

EXPLORING THE DARK SIDE OF LOVE

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HE investigation into the alleged insertions into the 2019 national budget does not end with the funding measure’s passage, as the House of Representatives’ Committees on Appropriations and Public Accounts will conduct joint public hearings to press the issue against Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

CHINESE STUDE DEFIES 'LIQUID BAN', GETS ARRESTED

Inaul fabric being woven in red and blue yarns on loom sets. Nash B. Maulana

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

By Nat Mariano

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OCAL government units must do their share in implementing the government’s immunization program to alleviate the measles outbreak in some parts of the country, a Cabinet official said as the country deals with the highly infectious disease.

Ca b i n e t S e c re t a r y K a r l o Nograles made the comments after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Health to conduct a “vigorous campaign” to promote the complete immunization for children.

According to Nograles, the DOH had been directed to pursue a“more aggressive action”on addressing the facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

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epidemic.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office, on the other hand, was also tapped to boost its communication efforts to instill anew the importance of vaccination, aiding the DOH with information dissemination.

However, Nograles admitted Turn to A2

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CAMPAIGN POSTERS OUTLAWED THE Commission on Elections has reiterated its call for candidates and their supporters to take down campaign materials, which will be considered as illegal after Feb. 12.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said they were set to resurrect “Operation Baklas” aimed at dismantling illegal posters and tarpaulins as the campaign period starts next week.

“We will be talking to the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] and MMDA [Metropolitan Manila Development Authority] in the coming days regarding Operation Baklas,” he said in a media briefing at the start of the printing of the official ballots for the May 13 midterm polls on Saturday.

The poll body official noted they were sending letters to national aspirants and political groups, urging them to put down the campaign materials.

“We don’t expect them to reply to us written but we do expect to see compliance by Feb. 12,” Jimenez said.

A total 62 candidates are running for senatorial posts while 134 groups are vying for party-list seats in the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Comelec Printing Committee vice chairman Ma. Victoria Dulcero said the government’s election watchdog had started printing of the 63,662,481 ballots for the local polls and overseas absentee voting (OAV).

Of the number, a total 61,843,771 ballots will be used in the local polls while 1,818,710 ballots are for the OAV. “In the printing of official ballots, our agency partner is NPO. The NPO is providing us with three printers for this project, which will run 24/7,” the poll official said in a press briefing.

Dulcero added that aside from the official ballots, they will print a total of 1,142,063 ballots to be used in the final testing and sealing (FTS) to test the vote counting machines (VCMs).

“The FTS ballots will be used by our Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) or Electoral Boards to test the VCMs,” she explained.

Dulcero added they expected to print one million ballots per day.

At the same time, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the OAV ballots would be the first to be printed, to be followed by those for Mindanao provinces, the Visayas provinces, Luzon and the National Capital Region (NCR).

“The first to be printed are overseas ballots, because elections overseas will start on April 13. The OAV election would be ongoing while we print the ballots for the rest of the country,” Jimenez said.

As for the printing of the local ballots, the poll body official said they usually start from the farthest areas.

“The order of printing starts from the farthest. Far-flung areas first and then the last few deliveries will be NCR since it the nearest destination,” he added.

Jimenez also noted that the ballot has its normal security features, such as barcodes, and ultraviolet (UV) marks.

“The ballots will have the normal security features that we normally have— thumb marks, barcodes, etc. And there are a few others that I cannot tell you because of security. The UV marks can be read by the machine. If the machine is not reading it, then it will be rejected,” he said.

Jimenez reiterated that posters and tarpaulins with a maximum size of 2 feet by 3 feet or 3 feet by 2 feet, depending on their chosen orientation, should only be posted or placed in campaign areas.

Jimenez warned that the candidate or the political group would be held accountable for their erroneous acts.

“If they say that they were not the ones who posted the tarpaulin—it doesn’t matter because if they knew that the materials are in violation of the election law and they just ignored it, did not do something about it and since they benefitted from the said material, they will be held responsible. So (they) might as well put these posters down,” he said.

A candidate belonging to a political party is allowed to spend P3 per voter while an independent candidate is allowed to spend P5 per voter.

For political parties and party-list groups, the spending limit is P5 per voter.

The Comelec noted that violation of election laws constitute an offense punishable under the Omnibus Election Code in addition to administrative liability.

Meanwhile, the 45-day campaign period for local positions will begin on March 29. PNA

RODY BARS USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS IN POLL CAMPAIGN

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered government officials not to use public funds for campaigning in this year’s midterm polls.

“Just to do away with those issues and to make it really equal for all, nobody uses government property or funds because that is not allowed by law,” he said in his speech at the Peace and Order Summit for Barangay Officials in Legazpi City, Albay on Friday.

Duterte said he had not allowed government officials to campaign for or against 2019 bets.

“Those in government, including the Cabinet secretary, I have not al-

lowed them to do some campaigning for or against anybody,” he said.

The President said all government officials and employees were workers who should do their jobs right.

“We are workers of government.

We are paid to do what we are doing and we must be doing it right,” he said.

Duterte said he would not be involved in the politics of the 2019 midterm elections but would be campaigning for people he owed a

debt of gratitude to.

He also called on politicians and candidates to follow the law in limiting their number of firearms and security detail.

“Any politician, whether for or against me or my administration, are bound by the same limitations of law. That is the Alunan doctrine which I am adopting because it is good for the country. Nobody, no politicians would go around with long firearms,” he said.

The President was referring to the doctrine introduced by then Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan, which limits the number of a politician’s armed bodyguards to only two.

Elsewhere on the political front,

Vice President Leni Robredo underscored the necessity of competence and character in choosing candidates for the Senate in the May elections.

Robredo made the call prior to the official campaign kickoff of the Otso Diretso senatorial slate in Naga City, which has been touted as a model for people empowerment and participatory governance—long advocated by her late husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Vouching anew for the eight senatorial candidates of the opposition, Robredo’s camp, in a statement, said she was hopeful Naga’s example would inspire voters in nearby towns and across the country to choose their leaders wisely. PNA

CHINESE...

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Bachelor of Fashion and temporarily residing at 30P Axis Residences, Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City.

Investigation showed that the Chinese national was about to enter the station’s bag inspection area when the duty security guard checked her belongings and discovered a cup of taho inside a paper bag.

The guard and the police officer identified as PO1 William Cristobal explained the policy not to bring any form of liquid, food or drinks inside the train but the foreigner insisted to bring in her snack.

At the height of argument, the foreigner threw the snack food at the police officer’s uniform.

This prompted the authorities to place the woman under arrest and brought to the Mandaluyong City-Police Community Precinct 5.

At press time, the authorities were preparing charges of direct assault and disobedience to agent or person in authority to be filed against the foreigner.

Eleazar said he recommended the strict implementation of the “No Foods, No Drinks Allowed” policy and the Liquid Ban at MRT and LRT as a preventive measure to any terrorist attack using liquid bombs.

The National Capital Region Police Office also asked the Transportation department to implement a more comprehensive policy of preventing not only food and drinks, but also all forms of liquid products inside the terminals and trains to deter any liquid bomb attacks by terrorists or criminal elements.

The agenc y granted El-

eazar’s request and came up with a memorandum circular.

The ban exempted train passengers carr ying baby formula and breast milk, and baby drinking water provided that they are traveling with a baby or small child.

Also exempted from the ban are all prescription and overthe-counter medications; liquids including water, juice or liquid nutrition or gels for passenger with a disability or life condition; life-support and life-sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs; Items used to augment the body and for medical and cosmetics reasons such as mastectomy products, prosthetic breasts, bras or shells containing gels, saline solution, or other liquids; and gels or frozen liquids needed to cool disability or medical-related items used by persons with disabilities or medical conditions.

The memo circular also stated that the rules, including the exemptions, shall be done by the security guards in the terminals.

“We are committed to continually improve conditions in the lives of our residents in Metro Manila so that everyone is safe everyday. The transport aspect and system in the daily routine of our residents is always an important element,” said Eleazar.

He added “We shall monitor this exhaustively and implement new security and safety measures as need be. This is for everyone’s good; so I call out to the public for their full cooperation and patience, for any inconvenience they may come upon.”

BLAME IT ON 'TAHO.' Jiale Zhang, a 23 year-old Chinese national who has been staying in the Philippines since five years ago, was arrested by the Mandaluyong Police for disrespecting and assaulting a police officer. She allegedly threw her taho snack at the police officer who stopped her from entering the MRT-3 Boni Serrano Station. Manny Palmero

JOIN...

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that aside from the national government and its agencies, the LGUs also played an important role in terms of actions, accountability, and contribution to the immunization.

“All we need to do is to step up the drive, the DOH has to step up its drive and involve the local government units… I think the LGUs play a very critical and important part in this immunization program and other programs of government,” he told a Palace press briefing Friday.

He also said the directives for the DOH to step up the information drive were consist-

ent with the provisions of the Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act of 2011.

Under Section 4 of the law, “The DOH, other government agencies, non-government organizations, professional and academic societies, and local government units shall make available appropriate information materials and shall have a system of its distribution to the public.”

“So, it’s clear in the law that we need to mobilize the entire government machinery, as well as our partners in the health sector, to inform the public that immunization is provided for free by the government, that

it is safe, and that this is needed to protect the lives and health of children all over the country,”he stressed.

“This is the only way to address the current measles outbreak, abate its spread in more areas, and prevent the occurrence of another one in the future.”

He then assured the public that the government would“exert all efforts”to ensure the proper implementation of RA 10152 amid the increase in measles cases in the country.

“The Duterte administration recognizes that this is a public health issue that needs to be urgently addressed. That’s why we are focused on ensuring that the provisions of

RA 10152 are properly implemented,”he said.

Nograles, however, noted that the government could not force parents to have their children immunized, nor punish them for not having their children vaccinated.

“RA 10152 does not have any penal provisions. It also does not punish parents who do not have their children vaccinated, unlike the PD (presidential decree) it replaced.

Under PD 996, it was the duty of parents or those having custody of the child to see to it that the child is immunized. Those who did not could be punished with a 200-peso fine or one-month imprisonment,” explained Nograles.

with the proposed ‘Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act,’ undermine relevant regulations and safeguards that were established precisely to avoid abuses,” he added.

The President also said he, even the Congress, should not allow coconut farmers to be exposed to injury because of the proposed law, stressing that necessary safeguards must be instituted in the measure to prevent the negative impact on beneficiaries.

“In view of these considerations, I am constrained to veto the enrolled bill,”he said.

The President also noted that the vetoed legislation was a consolidated

version of Senate Bill 1976 and House Bill 8852 SB 1976, or the Strengthened PCA Act, aims to amend the Presidential Decree 1468 or the Revised Coconut Industry Code of 1978, seeking to provide greater farmer representation in the PCA board.

Malacañang has yet to react on the matter.

Two months ago, Agriculture chief Emmanuel Piñol mulled that the President had sought the courtesy resignations of the current PCA officials.

According to him, the supposed reorganization of the said agency would give Duterte a “free hand” in selecting new di-

rectors in the preparation of the proposed Coco Levy Act. Under the proposed Coco Levy Act, the P100-billion fund for coco levy shall be handled by the newly-formed PCA. Then, the reconstituted PCA shall be composed of a representative from the PCA, the Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Budget and Management, one coconut industry stakeholder, and six coconut farmers (two each from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

Currently, the PCA is chaired by the Agriculture secretary and vicechaired by its administrator with four board members.

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that the benefits due our coconut farmers are consolidated and their delivery expedited.

The present formulation of the proposed legislative measure, however, “regrettably lacks vital safeguards to avoid the repetition of painful mistakes in the past.”

“The provisions of the bill do not reflect our ultimate goal of accelerating the full utilization of coco levy assets and funds for the benefit of our marginalized coconut farmers and the coconut industry,” Duterte said.

“The powers given to the PCA under the proposed measure, read together

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POE HITS NEW LTO CIRCULAR ALLOWING ARBITRARY VEHICLE INSPECTION FEE HIKES

BI AGENTS ARREST 30 ILLEGAL CHINESE WORKERS IMMIGRATION authorities on Thursday arrested 30 Chinese nationals for allegedly illegally working in several establishments in Parañaque City.

In a statement Saturday, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the foreigners were caught working without proper visas or permits, in violation of the Philippine Immigration Act, during a raid on 16 establishments at the Solemare Parksuites and Aseana Power Station, located in the vicinity of the Diosdado Macapagal Blvd.

“Our intel has received anonymous information that numerous foreigners were working illegally in the area. I immediately issued a mission order to conduct the arrests upon confirmation,” Morente said.

He warned of more arrests as the bureau intensifies its crackdown against illegal aliens.

“I hope that this incident serves as a warning to all. We are serious in our drive against illegal aliens. You better follow the law, or face deportation,” he added.

BI Intelligence Division Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said that the arrested aliens were working as cooks, hairstylists and vendors.

“Most of them were working under a tourist visa. Many were undocumented and were even overstaying,” he added.

The BI official said that 17 other Chinese nationals and a Taiwanese national were arrested during the raid, but were later recommended for release upon presentation of proper visas. PNA

PARADE. Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos and husband Benhur Abalos lead the parade commemorating the 74th year of the country’s liberation from Japanese Occupation as part of the celebration of the 25th Cityhood Anniversary of Mandaluyong.

Manny Palmero

UNIOIL SETS PUMP PRICE HIKE AT P0.90 PER LITER

By Alena Mae S. Flores

to P0.60 and gasoline should go up

by P0.80 to P0.90 per liter. Load up ac” Unioil Philippines said in its OMESTIC pump cordingly, advisory. prices are Oil players implement the movement in world oil prices every Tuesexpected to go day. up next week by Last Feb. 4 and 5, the oil companies cut pump prices by P0.60 per liter for as much as P0.90 per liter, gasoline, P0.35 per liter for diesel and reflecting the volatility of P0.20 per liter for kerosene.

Last week’s rollback ended four world oil prices. consecutive weeks of oil price increases.

“Expect fuel prices to go up next Latest monitoring from the Departweek. Diesel should go up by P0.50 ment of Energy showed that year-

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to-date adjustments stand at a net increase of P0.6 per liter for gasoline, P0.70 per liter for kerosene and P1.90 per liter for diesel.

World oil prices went up amid expectations of the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in April where the group committed to return to production cuts.

US sanctions against Venezuela also shored up world oil prices due to concerns of tight supply.

The Philippines is a price taker in the world market as it imports more than 90 percent of its oil requirements.

MMDA DEPLOYS MORE MEN IN TRAFFIC-BOUND BALINTAWAK

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metro Manila Development Authority has started sending additional personnel to man the expected monstrous traffic in the area of Balintawak brought by the ongoing construction of Skyway Stage 3 project.

The MMDA and the North Luzon Expressway Corp. is now enforcing a traffic rerouting scheme in the area as the project proponents San Miguel Corp.-Citra Central Expressway Corp. proceeded with the full-blast road works this month.

MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said his agency, in close coordination with private firms and the local government of Quezon City, have deployed more men—composed of traffic patrol officers and marshals—to manage the flow of vehicles within the construction area and alternate routes.

“We are appealing for the patience and understanding of the public, but we are also assuring them that MMDA, NLEX, and Skyway teams will exert all efforts to minimize travel

delays despite the ongoing construction,” said Garcia.

“The NLEX Corp. is extending its support to the project aimed at solving traffic congestion in Metro Manila as it is also one with the government in improving the country’s transport and logistics industry,” said NLEX Corp. chief operating officer Raul Ignacio.

The Skyway Stage 3 is the elevated road project of CCEC that will connect the SLEX and NLEX from Buendia, Makati City to Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City crossing the EDSA Balintawak Cloverleaf.

The project is expected to be finished on or before December this year.

According to CCEC, construction works will be conducted on a kilometer stretch of NLEX Balintawak. This will affect traffic in Balintawak Cloverleaf, Camachile, and Bagong Barrio, including the east and west service roads.

To ensure smooth flow of traffic within this area, certain areas of NLEX Balintawak were widened.

Furthermore, in their collective ef-

forts to mitigate inconvenience to both NLEX and local road users during Skyway Stage 3’s construction, the MMDA, NLEX, and CCEC are implementing the following traffic rerouting schemes until the end of the year begininng 11 p.m. last Friday.

Those from NLEX going to Quezon City may use Smart Connect Interchange heading to Mindanao Avenue. At the Mindanao intersection, turn right going to Quezon City to destination.

Meanwhile, private cars, vans, PUJs from Quirino Highway bound for EDSA via Camachile are advised to head to Camachile Flyover, turn right towards West Service Road then turn right at EDSA. For PUJs, they should take a U-turn at Biglang Awa, turn right at Cloverleaf to A. Bonifacio (to Blumentritt) or take the southeast loop to return to Novaliches.

As trucks from Quirino Highway going to A. Bonifacio will not be allowed at Camachile, they are advised to head towards Mindanao Avenue then turn left at NLEX Mindanao entry going to Smart Connect Interchange

towards NLEX southbound. The same scheme goes for trucks from Congressional to A. Bonifacio/Port Area.

For private cars and vans from EDSA Muñoz to Port Area, head to Monumento crossing Balintawak Cloverleaf, turn left at De Jesus Street, head straight to C3 then at the C3 intersection, turn right to Port Area.

Aside from closing some lanes at NLEX Balintawak, the plan also includes closing the ramp from EDSA northbound to A. Bonifacio.

The NLEX management pointed out that private vehicles from NLEX going Balintawak southbound will have the option to choose their preferred routes, PUJs and UV Express units will follow their specific routes, while buses will keep on their designated franchise routes. On the other hand, trucks coming from NLEX will not be rerouted.

Directional traffic signs will also be put up at strategic locations to better guide motorists. Real-time traffic updates at the NLEX will be posted on electronic variable message signs and announced via social media accounts.

SENATOR Grace Poe has warned against the implementation of a new Land Transportation Office charge P1,800 as motor vehicle inspection fee, saying this did not undergo thorough public consultation.

“The LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] should go slow, if not shelve this plan because it will be carried out without listening to the views of the affected motorists and other sectors,” she said.

“Before it imposes new fees, the LTO should first heed the basic traffic rule: Stop. Look. Listen. Puro pasakit na lang sa taumbayan,” Poe said.

Under LTO Memorandum Circular (MC) 2018-2158 dated Nov. 28, 2018, motorists will have to pay P1,800 for the inspection of vehicles weighing 4,500 kilograms at a private inspection center as a requisite for registration.

Meanwhile, motorcycle and tricycle owners will have to shell out P600 for the inspection fee. A re-inspection fee of P900 will be charged if the 4,500-kg. vehicle fails the inspection phase.

In January this year, Poe filed Senate Resolution 1003 to look into the said exorbitant fees. She said she hopes the Senate would see the wisdom of recommending against its implementation “so as not to double the fees and charges to be paid by motor vehicle owners.”

According to Poe, thorough and wide-ranging consultations should be conducted involving all concerned stakeholders to discuss this.

“Over the past years, the list of LTOimposed new charges or regulations is growing—from car plates, to emailed medical certificates, and then this inspection fee,” Poe lamented.

POLICE SEIZE P2.8-MILLION ECSTASY TABLETS, OTHER DRUGS AUTHORITIES seized P2.8 million worth of ecstasy tablets and assorted illegal drugs and arrested four highvalue drug personalities in a buy-bust operation in Makati City late Friday.

In an advisory on Saturday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said suspects Ruth Anne Mabalay, Sarah Mae Mabalay, Tetsuya Tristan Reyes, and Ryan Christopher Somera were arrested in a buy-bust operation at 18G A. Venue Suits in Makati City.

Members of the raiding team confiscated 73 transparent plastic sachets containing 380 tablets of suspected ecstasy; one self-sealed plastic sachet containing five capsules of suspected ecstasy; 30 pieces of self-sealed plastic sachets in different sizes weighing approximately 200 grams of suspected cocaine; four pieces of self-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing approximately 35 grams of suspected Kush (hybrid marijuana); 23 assorted bottles containing approximately one liter of suspected liquid ecstasy; and several other types of drugs placed in small bottles, assorted drug paraphernalia and marked money.

The suspects will face charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. PNA

DA CHIEF LEADS TURNOVER OF 8 SOLAR-POWERED IRRIGATION SYSTEM

By Ferdie G. Domingo LLANERA, Nueva Ecija—Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol leads the ceremonial turnover of the first of eight solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) that will boost the rice farmers’ income.

The P7.2-million SPIS equipped with a 5-horsepower pump can irrigate up to 50 hectares.

SPIS is a project introduced by Piñol as part of his 10-point priority agenda in uplifting the state of rice farming in the country.

It aims to increase rice production by providing the water needed by farmers to irrigate their farms and enable them to plant and harvest at least twice a year thereby increasing productivity.

Director Cris Bautista, DA Region 3 chief, said 140 solar panel that can generate 29 to 37 kw or 40 to 50 horsepower, subversible pumps with 8-inch diameter and piping with 20 meters, ultra pennel, concrete tank and perimeter fence.

Bautista said this SPIS were turned over to the Caridad Sur and Norte Irrigators Association.

“Compared to the big NIA irrigation systems that are costly and require millions of pesos for construction, the SPIS is cheaper and can be built within three months,” said Piñol.

With the establishment of more SPIS, Piñol said he hopes to introduce later another technology called Fertigation.

As the name implies, fertigation is a process in which fertilizer is applied with the irrigation water.

“Through this technology, fertilization becomes more accurate and uniform for every rice area,” Piñol added.

The DA’s SPIS Project goes in tandem with the Easy Access Credit Loan Program called Production Loan Easy Access that gives farmers the access to a loan of only six percent interest rate without collateral payable in two years for rice farmers.

Piñol order to Director Bautista to give one harvester machine, two-tractor for the use of the farmers. During the turnover ceremony and open forum with farmers, Piñol commits to allocating P5 million under the PLEA Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council as initial fund for the farmers in CSIA. Each farmer can avail himself of the

loan provided that they undergo the orientation, financial literacy program, and register under the Farmers Registration System.

The DA hopes that through this two flagship program under the Duterte administration, farmers will finally graduate from the choking hold of loan sharks.

In 2019, a budget of P3.4 billion has been allocated for easy access credit financing under the Agricultural Credit and Policy Council.

In addition, Piñol directed DA Region 3 Regional Executive Director Cris Bautista to conduct a Rice Derby in Llanera town to determine the most suitable variety of rice for the locality.

Former barangay captain Roger Bautista and vice chairman of Caridad Norte Irrigators Association has donated five-hectare area for the said project, preferably those that benefit from the solar irrigation system.

Rice Derby is a technology demonstration initiative of the DA where Rice Seed Companies will be given a one-hectare area to showcase the yield capacity and performance of their product.

TURNOVER. Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol hands

over to Paulino Mimes, president of Caridad Sur Irrigators Association, the certificate to operate the first solar-powered irrigation project in Barangay Caridad Sur, Llanera, Nueva Ecija.

Witnessing the turnover rites are Assistant Secretary Andrew Vilacorta, Deputy Administrator Cesar Sulaik of National Irrigation Administration and the representative of Nueva Ecija Gov. Cherry D. Umali. Ferdie G. Domingo

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News

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘BUDGET PROBE NOT OVER’

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE investigation into the alleged insertions into the 2019 national budget does not end with the funding measure’s passage, as the House of Representatives’ Committees on Appropriations and Public Accounts will conduct joint public hearings to press the issue against Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

“The job of Congress does not end with passing the budget. If the good Secretary thinks he can now relax and continue with his illicit activities, he is gravely mistaken,” said Camarines Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. in a statement on Saturday.

Andaya, who chairs the appropriations

body, had accused Diokno of inserting P75 billion in additional funds to the proposed Department of Public Works and Highways budget this year, and for supposedly favoring a construction firm of his relatives for projects in the Bicol region.

“We are not done investigating

anomalies he is involved in,” Andaya said of the budget chief. “We will make sure that each cent from taxpayers will be spent according to laws and Supreme Court decisions.”

However, the DPWH itself sees nothing wrong with the Department of Budget and Management inclusion of the P75-billion infrastructure allocation to the public works budget, even without prior knowledge of its officials.

At a congressional hearing Friday, DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral said the alleged “Insertion” made by DBM in the 2019 DPWH allocation is part of a “normal budget process.”

Cabral told the panel, chaired by Andaya, that details of the P75 billion that

was added to the P480-billion DPWH budget were later sent to regional offices for proper vetting.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar was aware of the P75 billion but only after the proposed 2019 National Expenditure Program was submitted to Congress, Cabral said.

Diokno had consistently denied Andaya’s allegations and snubbed invitations to appear before the House panel after attending “Question Hour” at the chamber in December.

“I recall the Secretary saying we consider it a budgetary adjustment and therefore DBM has the prerogative to add or reduce. We took the NEP as it is,” Cabral said.

READY FOR LOVERS.

Flowers for Valentine’s Day are in full bloom at Manila’s Flower Market along Dimasalang Street on Saturday.

Ey Acasio

SPEAKER THANKS PRESIDENT FOR HANDS-OFF TACK SPEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has expressed gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for respecting the independence of the House of Representatives, especially during the proposed 2019 budget process.

In her Adjournment Speech Friday, Arroyo said the proposed 2019 budget is “probably the most dissected budget in the past few decades” and yet the President respected the constitutional mandate of the House and the Senate to ensure transparency and accountability in the budget process.

“We also appreciate President Duterte for respecting the constitutional mandate of the House and the Senate in the budget process. His cognizance of the need for transparency and accountability during his watch, served as a beacon of guidance and inspiration for us all. As a former Chief Executive myself, I am well aware of how much can be achieved by a close, constructive partnership between an elected President and the elected representatives of the people,” Arroyo said.

Congressmen are also confident the allocations in the newly ratified 2019 national budget worth P3.757 trillion will pass legal scrutiny, in the event the money measure is challenged at the Supreme Court.

At a press conference Friday night, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House committee on appropriations, allayed concerns that appropriations for each congressmen run contrary to the Supreme Court order prohibiting lump sum funds.

“What the Supreme Court said is there should be no post-enactment involvement ng Congress. Everything that you want to have in the budget, where it should go, how much, should be indicated in the budget,” Andaya said.

He also clarified that a baseline figure for appropriations of each House member was established, but it was adjusted according to the needs of the district.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay on Saturday said the amounts given as entitlements to each congressman are based on the needs of their districts and not on “hating-kapatid” (sibling division) sharing.

Pichay said the pork barrel funds, which Senator Panfilo Lacson has always branded as“bad,”are the projects they as congressmen put in the budget to help their constituents improve their living conditions.

“There is nothing wrong with providing services to the people, to our constituents,” Pichay said in a state-

ment. “If we do not put any project in our districts, we don’t deserve to be the representatives of our district.

We do not deserve to stay a day longer in office.”

Pichay said Lacson does not put projects in his home province of Cavite to serve his people. “We respect that.

But he should not fault us for wanting to give better services for our people,” he added.

Congress is on a two-month break for the election period. Session resumes on May 20, or a week after the polls.

Arroyo also congratulated the Senate for passing the budget as she called it a “joint achievement” of both houses of Congress.

“Both the House and the Senate should be congratulated for passing the budget in a process characterized by hard work and collective wisdom.

The two bodies worked independently, but in harmony, in scrutinizing the budget, so in the end, it is a joint achievement,” she said.

The Speaker also thanked her colleagues for their tireless effort to pass meaningful legislations during her speakership especially the priority bills of President Duterte. Maricel V. Cruz

GOVERNOR BATS FOR ‘INAUL’ IN FASHION

By Nash B. Maulana B U LUA N , M a g u i n d a n a o —T h i s province hopes the country’s circle of fashion designers for gowns worn to international beauty pageants would help push its colorful “Inaul” loom-woven fabric to foreign markets of trademark designs and trends.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael G. Mangudadatu opened here the weeklong Maguindanao Inaul Festival on Feb. 7 before thousands of residents, who shared his optimism that the fabric will land in the international market.

Festive activities and shows— including motocross, rodeo, culinary art contest, town products expo showcases, beauty pageant, and a rock concert featuring the bands Yano and Bamboo—will run up to Feb. 14.

Mangudadatu says he has been discussing with renowned fashion de s i g n e r R e n e S a l u d , w h o s e c r e a t i o n s i n the trade include the Inaul gowns worn by the 2016 Miss Universe pageant contestants in one of their fashion walks.

The Inaul Festival Theme this year is “Weaving Maguindanao Strengths Towards Globalization.”

Bai Ayesha M. Dilangalen, regional tourism secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, led a delegation to showcase the Inaul cloth at a global trade forum in Berlin, Germany last year.

Reigning Miss Universe Catriona Gray has also asked her 4.5 million followers on Twitter for recommendations on what beauty trends and looks she could try over the next few days for the upcoming Fashion Week in New York.

Responding to this, Maguindanao has requested the holder of Catriona’s gown tape statistics so she may include an Inaul Gown into her array of choices during the New York event, which also started Feb. 7.

Mangudadatu has also posted an open invitation on video “to explore Maguindanao, which is MagandaNOW, and experience Inaul.”

Gray, the 67th Miss Universe and the fourth from the Philippines since 1969, also met Kelsey Merritt, the Filipina Victoria’s Secret model, in New York, both women said on Twitter.

Inaul has 20 known original designs, and some of these are traditionally labeled, such as “Binaludto” (rainbow), “Makabimban” (stripes), “Panigabi” (taro), “Sinodengan”, “Matampuhay-seko”, “K awang” and “Sinukipan” and “Binaludan” (wave-like).

The fine tradition of Inaul loomweaving is a precolonial art founded in cultural connects among old indigenous nations, with its literally long yarn of trade stories to tell.

Katidtuan, a riverside village about 10 kilometers upstream of the presentday Cotabato City, was once the leading weaving community of the colorful Inaul fabric.

Babo Hadja Rokaya Ginaid, of an Iranun family of weavers and Inaul traders in Katidtuan, recalls her late husband sailed to Malaysian territories to import the sutra thread in large quantities.

Historically, Ternatan Princess Kyai Chili Goliro-ma-lamo Rajaguna came to Maguindanao in 1720 to shop for the Inaul made in Katidtuan at the Padian sa Salimbao (Port Market of Salimbao).

A COCKROACH FOR YOUR EX LOS ANGELES—Forget chocolate, flowers, or a romantic dinner. A zoo in Texas is offering singles the chance to name a cockroach after their ex and see it fed to a meerkat live on camera on Valentine’s Day. In a campaign dubbed “Quit Bugging Me!!!” the El Paso Zoo says the roach is a perfect Valentine’s gift for those needing closure on a past relationship that didn’t make the grade.

It said a cockroach would be assigned to each nominee and the bugs would be fed to meerkats in an event streamed on the zoo’s website and Facebook page on Feb. 14.

Zoo officials said Madagascar hissing cockroaches would likely be used for the feast.

“They do actually hiss, they are a very large species of cockroach, definitely not the largest, but it is one that we actually do breed here at the zoo for feeding purposes,” Sarah Murphy, an education specialist at the zoo, told the local ABC station. AFP

Inaul fabric being woven in red and blue yarns on loom sets. Nash B. Maulana

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Opinion

EDITORIAL

SOUNDS OF SCIENCE

HOW DO WE LOVE THE PHILIPPINES?

A

T ANY time of the year, when there are significant national celebrations or historical activities, we often hear the question: How much do we love the country?

Seems easy enough to answer, but not quite.

For that may characteristically invite a chaser of a thought: That what one declares as one’s sentiments may not necessarily be the only, or even the better, level of how a person may love one’s country.

Of the 106 million thinking Filipinos, at least half the number can have in their systems

different ways of loving the Philippines, their birth land or their ancestors’.

This is where we jump-start the discussion and limit ourselves, from our window as impassioned observers, to just a couple: Taking pride in the country’s cherished history with heroes’ valor for unity and nation building and, the other, a sustained interest in studying and appreciating its cultural archive.

This is where the ordinary farm hand, the modest fisherman, the theoreticians and scholars in the metropolis, among other units of society, share the same rung of patriotism, whatever their academic credentials and persuasions are.

For love of country can be very personal

The work the Foundation does is important for conserving our forests as natural habitats for diverse flora and fauna and for reducing the country’s carbon footprint. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contribute to global warming; trees are carbon eaters and help sequester CO2.

Forest Foundation Philippines has protected and preserved forests in their four focal landscapes of the Sierra Madre, Palawan,-Samar, Leyte-Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental.

It has “supported over 450 forest- and community-related projects” to date, contributed to the “improvement of the management of 1.5 million hectares of forest lands, the restoration of [some] 4,200 hectares of forests through the reintroduction of appropriate native species, the establishment of over 40 community-conserved areas, and creation of over 60 community enterprises.”

They also have projects on small islands: Ilin and Ambulong Islands in Occidental Mindoro, with Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc.; Polillo Islands in Quezon, with Polillo Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. and Institute of Social Order; Dinagat Island, with Dinagat Island Development Foundation/Balaod Mindanaw; and Siargao Island, with Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya Inc. Furthermore, the Foundation has allocated P32 million for mangrove

HOW FAST ARE YOU MOVING RIGHT NOW?

to a certain point.

Where and when we study the history of our country, taking pride in the bravery of our ancestors in building a nation for the younger generations at the expense of spilling blood in the process, where and when we take time to look for the gold in our country’s cultural chest, the things that make the Philippines unique because of its distinct rituals, material goods, the things the people use and produce, the beliefs and values of the people from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi as well as the ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives, we become silent patriots.

No ifs and or buts.

FOREST FOUNDATION AND THE ENIPAS ACT FEW have heard of Republic Act 7586, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, that upholds the constitutional right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthy ecology, and RA 11038 that amends it, the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 (ENIPAS Act) that was signed into law in July 2018.

The amendment increased the protected areas in the country “from 13 to 107, where the additional 94 protected areas [expands] the covered protected land area from the current 800,000 hectares to 3.6 million hectares,” according to Forest Foundation Philippines.

The Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 under two bilateral agreements between the U.S. and Philippine governments.

Last November, the Foundation partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Biodiversity Management Bureau and Tanggol Kalikasan for a series of consultative workshops to craft revised implementing rules and regulations for the ENIPAS Act. These workshops were enabled by a Foundation grant to TK, which acted as workshop facilitator.

Also that month, through a capacity building activity, the Foundation trained DENR Climate Change Focal Persons on multilateral processes related to climate change, forests, and biodiversity.

PECIER DECIERDO

reforestation outside their four focal landscapes. Mangroves are important because they are “ecosystems that provide livelihoods for coastal communities, as well as protection from waves and water movements” and they are “important in mitigating climate change,” according to information on their website.

How else does the Foundation give help? Apart from extending technical assistance, they give grants to organizations and individuals for forest conservation and protection projects; award scholarships to individuals who wish to pursue post-graduate studies on forest conservation; and partner with organizations on conservation programs.

They also engage with the public, notably through their “BFF Movement.”

Best Friends of the Forest are millennial environment advocates, young people who have a love of nature and forests and who want to take active part in forest conservation. They participate in a series of activities including tree-growing, learning workshops, expression sessions, general assemblies, and exploring the Foundation’s focal landscapes.

As another component of their information campaign, late last year the Forest Foundation released a tree-themed planner that raises awareness about native trees, promotes their protection and conservation, and keeps you on time for your meetings.

HOW fast are you moving right now? The answer, of course, depends on a lot of factors. However, the most important factor is the point of reference. That is, how fast are you moving compared to what?

Speed is completely relative; you cannot report the speed of something without saying what point of reference you are using. This seemingly simple fact is what forced Albert Einstein to revise the whole of physics.

Let me use myself as an example. As I am writing this, I am sitting on a chair in my apartment. Relative to the chair, the floor, and the ground beneath, I am not moving.

However, relative to the center of the Earth, I am moving quite fast. That is because the Earth is spinning so that it completes one rotation in approximately 24 hours.

How fast am I moving compared to the center of the Earth? Let us come up with an estimate of my speed by making some simplifying assumptions. Making such estimates is common practice in physics, especially a physicist just wants to know “around how much” a quantity is. Such estimates are called “Fermi estimates,” after the physicist Enrico Fermi who was great at making such quick and rough estimates of physical quantities.

To get an estimate for my speed, let us assume that the Earth is a perfect sphere.

This assumption is, of course, not true because the Earth is slightly oblong, bulging around the equator. (More accurately, the Earth is an oblate spheroid.)

However, the difference is quite small compared to the size of the Earth. The distance from the center of the Earth to the equator is 6,378 kilometers, while the distance from the center to the poles is 6,356 kilometers, a difference of 0.3 percent.

Given the small difference, it is safe to neglect this difference and assume the Earth is a perfect sphere with radius 6,371 kilometers.

So back to the question: How fast am I moving with respect to the Earth’s center?

Before we can proceed, we have to know one other thing: Where on Earth am I? Even if the Earth were a perfect sphere, the speed at which I move will still depend on my location.

Imagine looking down on a spinning basketball (you are looking at it from above). Now imagine ants on the surface of the ball. You will see that an ant sitting on the ball’s “north pole” is not moving at all compared to the ball’s center. Meanwhile, an ant on the ball’s “equator” is moving quite fast. A third ant halfway between the pole and equator is moving slower than the ant on the equator.

In other words, how fast I am moving with respect to Earth’s center depends on how far north or south I am of the equator.

In other words, it depends on my latitude.

After a quick Google search, I find that my latitude is approximately 14.5 degrees north, which is the approximate latitude of most of Metro Manila (North Caloocan is at 14.75 degrees while Muntinlupa is at 14.4 degrees).

Using the fact the the Earth spins once every 24 hours and a bit of trigonometry, I find that I move at the speed of approximately 1,600 kilometers per hour with respect to the Earth’s center. And so does the rest of the Metro Manila.

If we choose a different frame of reference, we are traveling even faster. For example, if we use the Sun as the point of reference, then the Earth’s center is moving at 107,000 kph.

As I am typing this, it is close to noontime, where I am on Earth is spinning in the opposite direction that the Earth is moving (the Earth is both spinning and moving around the Sun in a counterclockwise direction), so I am moving at a speed of 107,000 kph minus 1,600 kph with respect to the Sun. For people on the opposite side of the Earth, the minus becomes a plus, because they are on the side of Earth spinning in the same direction as the Earth’s motion in space. (The plus and minus are not exact, but again, we’re only making Fermi estimates.)

Still we can go on. The Sun is around the center of our galaxy at 720,000 km/h.

Meanwhile, our galaxy is on a collision course with the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy, moving towards it at 402,000 km/h.

(The collision will not happen in 4 billion years.)

So even while sitting still relative to the ground, we, all of us, are hurtling at astronomical speeds relative to the rest of the universe. Sometimes it is nice to remember that.

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE ‘Philippine Forest Blooms,’ dubbed a “native tree-spotting, green goals-setting, undated planner” aims to help you “discover some of the country’s beautiful native trees while fulfilling your green goals.” Illustrator Cynthia Bauzon-Arre created lavish illustrations of foliage and trees for the cover and inside pages.

The planner holds a wealth of information on trees. The local and scientific names of each tree are given, e.g.

“Malabulak: Bombax ceiba L.” Flowering months, the area where the tree usually flourishes, and textual descriptions and visual depictions of the bark, leaves, and flowers make the learning experience interesting and engaging.

Through this and their many other initiatives, the Foundation fulfills its mission and helps the government and private groups achieve the objectives of the ENIPAS Act. Visit their website at http://www. forestfoundation.ph, Facebook and Instagram at @forestfoundationph.

See more of Cynthia Arre’s art at www. cynthiabauzonarre.com.

I think that I shall never see, a planner as lovely as a tree. FB and Twitter: @ DrJennyO

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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EGYPT TO HEAD AFRICAN UNION; SISI TAKES CHAIR

CAIRO, Egypt—Nearly six years after the African Union shut it out in the cold, Egypt will take the organization’s helm—and strengthening multilateral powers is unlikely to be on the agenda.

Cairo’s tenure “will probably concentrate on security and peacekeeping”, said Ashraf Swelam, who heads a think tank linked to the country’s foreign ministry.

Incoming AU chair President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will likely focus less on “financial and administrative reform” than his predecessor, Swelam added.

Such reform was the cornerstone of outgoing AU chairman Paul Kagame’s year in the role.

The Rwandan president has pushed for a continent-wide import tax to fund the AU and reduce its dependence on external donors, who still pay for more than half the institution’s annual budget.

An African diplomat told AFP that Egypt—along with fellow heavyweights South Africa and Nigeria —does not want a powerful AU. This diplomat, who has been tracking AU affairs for over a decade, said Cairo has “never forgotten” its suspension in 2013. AFP

TRIAL OF CATALAN SEPARATIST LEADERS GETS PERSONAL BARCELONA, Spain—With vigils and concerts outside prisons, Catalan independence supporters for months have shown their backing for 12 separatist leaders who go on trial on Tuesday over their bid to break the region away from Spain.

Now that the highly anticipated trial is finally about to get underway at Spain’s Supreme Court in Madrid, they have vowed to step up their protests in another show of solidarity.

While just 12 leaders will sit in the dock over their role in the failed 2017 independence bid, many Catalan separatists feel they are also being put on trial for having taken part in a banned referendum held on October 1 that year.

“I’m a lifelong separatist and I voted on October 1, it’s as if I was being tried,” said retired teacher Eugenia Fernandez at a recent vigil held for the detained Catalan leaders at the picturesque Plaza de la Vila de Gracia square in Barcelona.

“We’re here because of the huge injustice that our government is in jail or exile for doing what we asked them to do -- fight to set up a Catalan republic,” the 67-year-old said.

The vigil Fernandez took part in has been held every Monday evening for the past 15 months at the square in Gracia, a bohemian district of the Catalan capital which is also its most pro-separatist.

People held up large black and white images of the Catalan leaders, as well of those who fled abroad after the failed independence bid, along with the word “freedom” in Catalan and English. AFP

‘HITLER’ PAINTINGS TO BE AUCTIONED IN NUREMBERG NUREMBERG, Germany—Five paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler will be auctioned off Saturday in the German city of Nuremberg, sparking anger that the Nazi memorabilia market is alive and well.

Nuremberg’s mayor Ulrich Maly has condemned the upcoming sale as being “in bad taste,” speaking to Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Among the items to go under the hammer are a mountain lake view with a starting price of 45,000 euros ($51,000) and a wicker armchair with a swastika symbol presumed to have belonged to the late Nazi dictator.

The Weidler auction house is holding the “special sale” in Nuremberg, the city in which Nazi war criminals were tried in 1945.

The auction made headlines days before its start after several artworks were withdrawn Thursday on suspicion they were fakes and prosecutors stepped in.

Sales of alleged artworks by Hitler— who for a time tried to make a living as an artist in his native Austria— regularly spark outrage that collectors are willing to pay high prices for art linked to the country’s Nazi past.

“There’s a long tradition of this trade in devotional objects linked to Nazism,” Stephan Klingen of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich told AFP. “Every time there’s a media buzz about it... and the prices they’re bringing in have been rising constantly.

Personally, that’s something that quite annoys me.” AFP

S

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

WORK NEEDED BEFORE KIM-TRUMP SUMMIT 2

EOUL—There was still some hard work to be done ahead of the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Washington envoy said Saturday after three days of talks in Pyongyang.

Stephen Biegun, the US Special Representative for North Korea, said preparatory talks had been productive, but more dialogue was needed ahead of the summit scheduled for Vietnam from February 27-28.

Biegun on Saturday briefed South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on his Pyongyang visit, shortly after Trump revealed the summit would take place in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.

“We have some hard work to do with the DPRK between now and then,” Biegun told Kang,

adding: “I’m confident that if both sides stay committed we can make real progress here.

Trump announced Hanoi as the location on Twitter, hailing as “very productive” the preparatory talks between diplomats from the two countries.

“I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim & advancing the cause of peace!” he said.

The State Department said talks during Biegun’s three-day trip explored Trump and Kim’s “commitments of complete denuclearization, transforming US-DPRK relations and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula”.

It also confirmed Biegun had agreed to meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol again before the summit.

North Korea has yet to provide any official confirmation of the summit and Kim Jong Un appeared to make no mention of it during a meeting earlier with the top brass of the Korean People’s Army.

As reported by state media, the meeting focused on the need to modernize the military while maintaining party discipline in the ranks.

Attention will now focus on whether the US team have offered to lift some economic

sanctions in return for Pyongyang taking concrete steps toward denuclearization.

Discussions on declaring an end to the 195053 Korean War could also have been on the table, with Biegun last week saying Trump was “ready to end this war.”

The three-year conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war, with the US keeping 28,500 troops in the South.

Experts say the most likely scenario in Vietnam is that the concerned parties—North and South Korea, the US, and China—to declare a formal end to the war as a political statement.

At their landmark summit in Singapore last year, the mercurial US and North Korean leaders produced a vaguely worded document in which Kim pledged to work towards “the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”.

But progress has since stalled, with the two sides disagreeing over what that means.

Experts say tangible progress on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons will be needed for the second summit if it is to avoid being dismissed as “reality TV.” AFP

FOOTBALL HERO. A supporter stands in front of flowers placed in front of a giant portrait of Argentinian forward Emilianio Sala outside La Beaujoire stadium before the French Cup football match between FC Nantes and Toulouse FC in Nantes on Tuesday. Sala, who played for Nantes, died in a plane crash in January. His remains were found in the plane that crashed over the English Channel last week. AFP

STORM LASHES SYDNEY; 40K WITHOUT POWER

SYDNEY—Thousands of Sydney homes were without power Saturday after severe storms hit Australia’s largest city, causing transport hold-ups, inundating vehicles with floodwater and delaying a national football match.

Heavy rains and lightning storms lashed parts of Sydney late Friday, with close to 60 millimeters (nearly two and a half inches) of rain falling in some areas.

In Sydney’s west, which experienced some flash flooding, one suburb saw nearly 42 millimeters fall in a short downpour lasting just 30 minutes.

“It was a slow-moving storm with that warm humid air moving along the coast... that allowed for

that increase of moisture,” Byron Doyle from the New South Wales Bureau of meteorology told AFP. Images of cars submerged in floodwaters on main roads, broken traffic lights and fallen trees circulated on social media.

Energy companies reported that more than 40,000 customers were affected by power outages at the peak of the storm overnight, with more than 5,000 still without power early Saturday.

Emergency services fielded over 1,000 requests for assistance, including nine flood rescues in the Sydney area.

The rescues were “all for vehicles in flood water,” a New South Wales state emergency services

spokesperson told AFP. Flights were delayed at Sydney’s airport, while the storm caused havoc on some of the city’s train lines.

The start of a national Australian rules football women’s match was delayed twice, pushed back 45 minutes as heavy rain and lightning pummeled the oval.

Several light towers then went out mid-match during the live television broadcast, temporarily stopping the game during a reported blackout.

The Sydney storm comes as recovery efforts continue in Australia’s flood-ravaged northeastern state of Queensland, which over the past week has seen

record-breaking rainfall, forcing hundreds of evacuations and thousands of requests for help.

Extreme heatwaves during the southern hemisphere summer have also led to temperature records being broken in some towns.

Eastern inland areas have been experiencing a severe drought, while firefighters in the country’s southern states have been recently battling bushfires.

High temperatures are not unusual in the Australian summer, but climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons, scientists say.

AFP

TUNISIA TOURIST ATTACKS: JIHADISTS GET LIFE IN JAIL

ROCK PROTEST. A protester shows a plate with stones, used to protest against the high price of food and consumer goods in Haiti, during a march through the streets of Port-au-Prince on Thursday. Demonstrators demanded the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, as protesters blocked streets and lit tires during their march in the Haitian capital. AFP

TUNIS, Tunisia—A Tunisian court has sentenced seven jihadists to life in prison over attacks at a museum and on a beach in 2015 that killed 60 people, many of them tourists, prosecutors said Saturday.

Dozens of defendants faced two separate trials over the closely linked shootings, which occurred just months apart in Tunis and Sousse, but many were acquitted.

Three were given life sentences for homicide over the first attack in March 2015 at the capital’s Bardo museum, in which two gunmen killed 21 foreign tourists and a Tunisian security guard.

Four received the same term for the shooting rampage at a Sousse tourist resort in June that year, which killed 38 people, mostly British tourists.

Other defendants were sentenced

to between six and 16 years, said prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti on Saturday.

Prosecutors said afterwards that they planned to launch appeals in both cases.

The court heard that the two attacks, both claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), were closely linked.

Several defendants pointed to the fugitive Chamseddine Sandi as mastermind of both.

According to Tunisian media, Sandi was killed in a US air strike in neighboring Libya in February 2016, although there has been no confirmation.

Among those who were facing trial were six security personnel accused of failing to provide assistance to people in danger during the Sousse attack. AFP

Images

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MOTHER OF ALL CLAPBACKS.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stole the show during US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address with her clapback – complete with a head tilt and pursed lips – that quickly resonated worldwide and became a viral meme. AFP

SECURING THE CODES. The

Commission on Elections and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sign a memorandum of agreement to hold the source codes for the May midterm polls in escrow at the BSP. Norman Cruz

NO LETUP. Personnel from the

Department of Public Works and Highways and volunteers continue rehabilitation efforts at the stretch of Manila Bay within the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila. Lino Santos

CLEAN RIDERS. Members of the Manila Police District tasked to secure Manila Bay mount their brand new units of e-motorcycles. Norman Cruz

NAKED PROTEST.

Members of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity hold their annual Oblation run at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

HOLY COW! Kids enjoy the traditional Filipino game 'luksong baka' at Park Avenue in Pasay City. Lino Santos

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Riera U. Mallari, Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Sports

PHILAM LIFE FOOTBALL AIMS TO DEVELOP KIDS AT GRASSROOTS

T

HE Philam Life-7s Football League has introduced the youth division for its 3rd season recently at the McKinley Hill Stadium.

The league aims to help develop the grassroots level of football in the country by providing an avenue to the youth clubs where they can play the sport and further improve on their skills.

As it was launched, league founder, Anton del Rosario was pretty satisfied with how the youth league turned out on matchday 1 and was happy that there were a lot of teams that joined in. He was optimistic that putting up the youth league in the league will further help football be known to the Filipinos and at the same time show everyone that football in the county is really promising.

“When it comes down to it, all the teams, the games were exciting, we got to see a lot of talent out there with the kids which is amazing and which is what I want to see,”said Del Rosario after the first day of the 7 ’s F o o t b a l l League.

“That’s what this whole thing is about when it comes down to the grassroots, we want to see the level that the youth is at and how they are improving,” he adds. “We could see that football out here in this country is definitely growing, with the skills that these youth are showing.”

For its debut in the league, four age groups were introduced, which will eventually extend into other division, given the time and the right demand for it.

“Right now we have 4 age groups; U9, U11, U13 [and] U15 and we are probably going to keep it at that and

The league aims to help develop the grassroots level of football in the country by providing an avenue to the youth clubs where they can play the sport and further improve on their skills.

or second division.”

When asked of the possibility of adding another age group when it comes to the youth level of 7s football, Anton says that if there is a demand to add another age group then, he will be there to support the demand.

Bringing the idea of a youth level in the 7s Football League is a way to help the youth to improve their skills in the sport.

“You still play it as a professional, then if we can find more time, I guess which it sort of shows and translates maybe next season or something, how important it is to play in such a then maybe we’ll add a girl’s division small field. Small fields like this works

on your skills, it works on your talent, it works on your touches, it works on your bar control, so a lot of the elements in this game, 7 a-side football is used in the 11 a-side football game.

It is a great stepping stone, especially for the youth to play these games at 7 a-side and transition to 11 a-side. I mean, it’s very important.” del Rosario explains The Philam Life-7s Football League Youth Division is being played every Sundays; 2 p.m. at the McKinley Hill Stadium. The Senior Division games quickly follow on at 6 p.m.

FELIPE, CARINO 1-2 FINISH IN RONDA STAGE 2

By Peter Atencio GUIMARAS ISLAND—7-Eleven rider Marcelo Felipe reaped dividends when he made a pact with Filipino rival and Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance

rider El Joshua Carino as they finished 1-2 in Stage 2 of the Ronda Pilipinas 2019 here.

They agreed to stick together in the last 10 kilometers of the 101.8-kilometer, round-the-island race, giving

Marvin Tapic of Philippine Army-Bicycology Shop (left) fights for the lead as he joins the first group in the early part of the race in the Stage 3 of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas in Guimaras Island.

Felipe and Carino the top two of the stage when they reached the provincial capitol finish line.

Both submitted a time of two hours, 40 minutes and 19 seconds following a close fight among many Filipino riders as they kept a tight watch over Spanish rider Francisco Mancebo, who hardly budged from the top of the overall classification leadership.

When it was over, Felipe and Carino were ahead of another pursuer, Go For Gold rider Jonel Carcueva, who arrived four seconds behind in third.

“Kanina ko pa tinitignan si Carino.

Gusto siyang pakawalan ng team niya.

Forty seconds lang ang labanan sa team. Pinilit ko siyang dikitin at nag-usap na lang na magtulungan, katulad ni Carcueva na inabot namin,” said Felipe.

Challenged by strong winds blowing against them in the final moments, Felipe and Carino were in the main group in the last 35 kilometers, allowing Navyman Junrey Navarra and Team Franzia’s Ryan Tugawin move in front.

But after a disagreement between

Navarra and Tugawin erupted during a sprint stage, the trio of Felipe, Carino and Carcueva vaulted to the front after negotiating a short uphill climb with 10 kilometers left.

The chaotic change of positioning among Filipino riders took place in their efforts to check Team Matrix Powertag of Japan and their main bet, Mancebo.

The 42-year-old Mancebo, a seventime Tour de France veteran, stayed with the main peloton all throughout and finished eighth to 52nd place with a 45-man group, 20 seconds behind the leaders.

Behind Mancebo in the overall standings were Navyman Junrey Navarra in second, followed by 7-Eleven’s Rustom Lim in third.

Defending champion Ronald Oranza and Team Koreil of Korea’s Joo Daeyong were in fourth and fifth, respectively, 14 seconds behind Felipe.

Stage 3 will be the second longest race in the five-day bikefest-- a 179.2-kilometer journey from Iloilo City Hall to the Roxas City.

MIGHTY SPORTS FALLS TO LEBANON; FIGHTS FOR 3RD DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— Up against “Barangay Ginebra” of Lebanon, Mighty Sports gave everything it can but its best was not enough, absorbing an 89-84 loss to Al Riyadi in their knockout semis duel Friday showdown in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship at the Shabab Al Ahli Club here.

Led by the hot-shooting duo of Wael Mazen Arajki and import Dominic Johnson, the Lebanese buried the Mighty Sports dribblers with a hail of 3-point shots to arrange another all-Lebanese showdown in the annual tournament.

In all, Al Riyadi collected 16 triples, six coming from Johnson, against only six for Mighty Sports which struggled defensively early on—no thanks to its rival’s impressive ball screen plays.

The loss relegated Mighty Sports to a battle for third against Homenetmen—a team it beat,

96-89, in their group elims Sunday.

Regardless of the outcome, Mighty coach Charles Tiu and co-team owners Alex and Caesar Wongchuking already considered its campaign here a success.

“We played valiantly and gave our ‘kababayabs’ a real entertainment,” said Caesar Wongchuking.

“Our target is to reach the semis and we did, but unfortunately, we fell short in our final bid.”

“I like the way we fought back,” Tiu said after the game. “You have to appreciate the effort of the guys.

Medyo naunahan lang kami sa start, We couldn’t defend their ball screens. Their shooters were hot.”

Three straight triples to open up the second half gave Al Riyadi an imposing 63-40 lead over the team backed by Go For Gold, SMDC, Oriental Group and Healthcube.

To the delight of the predominantly Filipino crowd, the Mighty

Sports dribblers – through the efforts of Justin Brownlee, Roosevelt Adams and Randolph Morris managed to launch offensive spurts of their own that saw them pull to within 84-78, Al Riyadi, however, simply refused to be intimidated, sealing the win with a completed three-point play

by Christopher Obekpa off Justin Brownlee’s foul.

Brownlee finished with 24 points while the 6-foot-10 Morris quietly contributed 21 after being held to just 7 points in the first two quarters.

The scores: AL RIYADI 89—Arakji 23, Johnson 20, Saoud 12, Abdelnour 10, Abdelmoneim 9, Gyokchyan 8, Obekpa 7, Bowjee 0, Khatib 0.

MIGHTY SPORTS 84—Brownlee 24, Morris 21, Gray 17, De Liano 8, Brickman 8, Adams 4, Santillan 2, Odom 0, Banal 0.

Quarters: 26-20, 54-40, 76-67, 89-84.

Mighty Sports’ Juan Gomez de Liano tries to score against a Lebanese defender during their match Friday in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship.

(Courtesy of Patrick Castillo)

UTP GIVES TENNIS A BIG BOOST SUSTAINING the momentum it gained from its successful campaign last year, the Unified Tennis Philippines has lined up a record 70 junior, 14 senior and seven Open tournaments this year as part of its commitment to produce world-class Filipino players as well as further developing the sport in all levels.

The busy schedule also includes a trainers’ Open and 12 UTP Tennis Challenge Series.

“Getting these Filipino athletes out there to compete with other world-class tennis players has been our lifelong dream. I’m glad that we have gained traction since we’ve rolled out UTP’s programs two years ago and so we will continue to fulfill our mission to discover fresh talents and improve the quality of our tennis players from the professional level down to the grassroots level by providing them with proper training and international exposure,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and founder of UTP, which includes Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Pawnshop, Babolat, HEAD, Chris’ Sports, Dunlop, Toby’s Sports, Wilson, Decathlon, Mr. Freeze and Madison Galleries.

The Cebuana Lhuillier and Palawan Pawnshop age groupers recently kicked off their respective circuits at the Meralco Tennis Club in Pasig and at the Actifit Sports Center in Valenzuela, respectively. Both tournaments drew more than 250 local junior, pro, and senior players led by top juniors John David Velez, Sebastien Lhuillier, Joewyn Pascua, Macie Carlos, Bliss Bayking, and Anna De Myer.

UTP will soon announce the cutoff period for selection of the 2019 UTP National Juniors Tennis through social media. Last year, UTP formed several teams that played in Malaysia and Indonesia and were successful in producing winners in the ATF (Asian Tennis Federation) and ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournaments with the Eala siblings Alex and Miko reaching the finals.

New initiatives and programs are also under way, including the introduction of an online tournament registration in the second quarter of the year and staging of more level-based tournaments for club players such as the UTP Tennis Challenge series.

PSL FANS IN FOR TREAT VOLLEYBALL fans would be treated to a day of fun, games and surprises when the Philippine Superliga unveils its brand new season today in Cainta.

Festivities begin at 3 p.m. with all eight competing teams joining in a motorcade from the Cainta Municipal Hall to Sta. Lucia Grand East Mall, where they will be presented in a press conference at 4 p.m.

Then, the Cainta Municipal Drum and Lyre Band will roll out the red carpet for all competitors to signal the start of the Fans Day in which a meet-and-greet session, parlor game and live entertainment are set to take place.

Supported by Cainta Mayor Kits Nieto and Sta. Lucia Realty, this event serves as the kick-off party for the season-opening PSL Grand Prix set on Feb. 16 at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

United Volleyball Club, which used to be known as Cocolife, will display its souped-up roster against two-time Grand Prix champion Foton at 4 p.m. while Generika-Ayala parades its imports from Brazil and Azerbaijan when it clashes with Sta. Lucia in the 6 p.m. main battle.

Prior to that, Love Parade Mardi Gras will lead the march of all competing teams from the Philsports compound to the venue to formally open the import-flavored conference.

“We designed our kick-off like this because it’s our way of giving it back to our fans for their tireless support,” said PSL chairman Philip Ella Juico, looking forward to another slam-bang battle in this prestigious women’s club tourney that has ESPN 5 and 5 Plus as broadcast partners.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Business

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

BATANGAS STARTUP TURNED A PROFIT IN LESS THAN A YEAR A

BATANGAS-BASED technology startup, established by young Asian Institute of Management students to propagate threedimensional printing in the country and develop mobile apps for companies, has obtained a return on investments and turned a profit in less than a year without the support of an incubator.

Kezar Innovations, a Filipino star tup incorporated in Singapore, will mark its 12th month of operations in March 2019 with P7.5 million in revenues and contracts. It is a milestone for any startup, as it took other technology ventures, including major internet companies and e-commerce sites in other countries, more than a decade to break even.

Kezar Innovations was incorporated in Singapore with the assistance of resident director Jan Michael Maluyo Leal on March 26, 2018. It was launched in the Philippines on April 7, 2018.

Kezar was incorporated in Singapore because of the country’s good environment for startups, says Edward Solicito, a co-founder and the chief executive of Kezar which operates from Tanauan, Batangas.

“We are doing well. We collected over P6 million in investments in the past year. We have secured P7.5 million in revenues and contracts,” says Solicito, an Industrial Engineering graduate from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities or Faith Colleges in Tanauan.

“We are among the few startups that broke even in the first year of operations,” Solicito, 24, says in an interview in Makati City.

Solicito leads a team of 10 young engineers, programmers and mobile app developers with an average age of 23. Most of the team members live in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon and chose the City of Tanauan as their base of operations because of the affordable rent and the less traffic congestion in the area.

Kezar aims to be at the forefront of the renaissance of Filipino technology, he says.

Solicito is among the four founding members who met at the Makati-based AIM as a part of the pioneer batch of Master of Science in Innovations and Business program.

The program allows technically skilled and driven individuals to address the world’s demand for technopreneurs and businessmen with innovative and profitable businesses. Solicito says the program equipped them to grow the business without the support of an incubation company.

First Metro executive vice president and head of investment banking group Daniel Camacho

FIRST METRO APPOINTS NEW INVESTMENT BANKING HEAD

Kezar team members (from left) Kat Chua, chief operating officer; Edward Solicito, co-founder and chief executive; Jo Anne Paril, director of sales; Paul Galacan, co-founder and chief financial officer; and Sean Lacar, chief marketing officer.

Kezar 3D products

“Kezar Innovations is a Filipino business development firm that turns innovative ideas into profitable businesses. The founders are graduates of MSIB, one of the newest programs at AIM. The idea is to get technopreneurs or techadept entrepreneurs to turn their inventions into businesses or ventures,” says Solicito.

“We graduated on Dec. 10, 2017. A part of the program was to create a startup in one year. One of those startups was StudyPlay, which is now a part of Kezar. We now have four startups under Kezar Innovations. We are fully funded for the next two

Kezar 3D prints

years and we will be celebrating the first anniversary of the firm on April 6, 2019,” he says.

StudyPlay is an educational toy company which introduces modern educational toys from western countries such as Japan to Filipino kids. Solicito and Jon De Omaña presented StudyPlay during the MsIB Demo Day on Oct. 20, 2017 in front of more than 100 angel investors, venture capitalists, incubators and business executives. After a 15-minute pitch, StudyPlay’s pre-seed amount of P800,000 was secured from two investors.

StudyPlay was the first startup under the MsIB program that was fully funded.

StudyPlay offers products such as easy-tobuild robotics kits, 3D-printing gadgets and learning software. Its first toy is AirDoodle, a 3D pen designed to help in child development, allowing them to draw and create their own threedimensional toys with plastics as ink alternatives.

“One of our products is AirDoodle which teaches 3D printing technology to kids. It is now available in Shopee and brick-and-mortar stores.

We are expanding our toy lines. Our plan is to release one product every two or three months,” says Solicito.

He says another startup is Kezar 3D, now the largest 3D printing facility in southern Luzon. “The idea is we want to make 3D printing accessible to Filipinos. It is very costly to avail of 3D printing services in Metro Manila at P10,000 to P20,000 per piece. We were able to reduce the cost to one-fourth,” he says.

Kezar 3D was able to raise and secure P350,000 worth of funds in just 24 hours, without giving away equity. “We were able to secure funding for Kezar 3D within 24 hours. We just sent out some PowerPoint presentations. But of course, we studied the model for a long time. The Filipino investing community is just waiting there. If there is an all-Filipino startup idea, these angel investors are more than willing to support it,” says Solicito.

Solicito says Kezar 3D started operating in April 2018 and was able to reach a return on investments in November 2018, within seven months of operations amid high demand for 3D printing services and the rollout of its most popular product—the 3D Memory.

“We are finally making 3D printing accessible to Filipinos. We are trying to expand nationwide in 2019. We will have branches in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. We want to democratize 3D printing,” says Solicito.

The third startup is Trakaro: Sustaintable Travels— the first and only sustainability rating application for hotels and restaurants. Trakaro was actually founded in AIM by Solicito and Paul Galacan and was awarded the winning pitch for the institute-wide competition called the Tourism Challenge by AIM’s Center for Turn to C2 Tourism.

FIRST Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, announces the appointment of Daniel Camacho as executive vice president and head of its investment banking group.

Camacho has more than 20 years of investment banking experience. For the last 17 years, he was based in Hong Kong with regional responsibilities.

Prior to joining First Metro, he was executive direc tor for Acquisition and Strategic Finance, Asia at Natixis (Hong Kong), a French investment bank with presence in 38 countries worldwide, where he specialized in originating, structuring and executing deals in the field of acquisition, leveraged and structured finance for various industries across Asia.

Before joining Natixis in 2011, Camacho was executive director for leverage and telecom/media finance at WestLB AG (HK). He also worked in debt raising and financial advisory at GE Capital, ABN Amro and Bank of the Philippine Islands.

First Metro chairman Francisco Sebastian said, “We are very happy to welcome Dan Camacho at First Metro. With his long track record in a highly competitive market like Hong Kong and extensive investment banking experience in the region, he is the right person to lead our investment banking team during this period when Philippine capital markets are poised for dramatic growth that is supportive of continuing economic expansion.”

“Mr. Camacho should be able to raise the level of energy, competence and creativity of our investment banking unit and spearhead the realization of our vision for First Metro to be a respected investment bank in the region,” said Sebastian.

Camacho graduated cum laude with dual majors in Management of Financial Institutions and Economics from De La Salle University and obtained his Master’s in Management degree from Northwestern University - Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

MODERN PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES SEEN TO LIFT PH MANUFACTURING SECTOR

By Othel V. Campos STATE-OF-THE-ART anddigitaltechnologies have penetrated the Philippines packaging space with the recent staging of ProPak, the leading processing and packaging trade event in Asia.

The event, attended by more than 4,000 participants in January 2019, offered sustainable and affordable packaging solutions for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises.

Organized by UBM Philippines and powered by ProPak Asia, ProPak Philippines 2019 is the first-of-itskind food, drink and pharmaceutical focused international trade show in

the country. It exhibited world-class packaging and processing machines to boost the capability of local packaging service providers and MSMEs. UBM said food manufacturing remains the Philippines’ strongest manufacturing sector, representing 65 percent of the industry, which is in need of upgraded technology and a higher level of automation.

The Packaging Institute of the Philippines expressed optimism that the sector will replicate the country’s economic growth which is expected to be within the vicinity of 6 percent in 2019. PIP is also looking at a stable growth for the industry based on the

strong showing of the manufacturing sector, said outgoing president Joseph Ross Jocson.

“Growth is a given for the packaging industry. It is always growing since it correlates food and to the rise in population. A growing population means more food and more food means an increase in packaging needs,” Jocson said.

While the biggest portion of packaging dedicated to food, almost everything that is manufactured needs to be packaged such as garments, c o n s u m e r g o o d s, e l e c t ro n i c s, appliances, among others.

Packaging comprises at least 20

percent of the total cost of a product, especially for manufactured food. For some products, there are times that packaging is even more costly than the product itself. Globally, it is estimated to be a $1-trillion industry.

Compared to its Asean neighbors, the Philippines is said to be one of the laggards in terms of packaging technology. “That’s precisely the reason why we brought in ProPak to give manufacturers options when it comes to their packaging requirements. For 20 years now, Propak has always been in Bangkok, China and Vietnam. Our MSMEs have no means to go these Turn to C2

Packaging Institute of the Philippines outgoing president Joseph Ross Jocson

Business

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 business@manilastandard.net

BATANGAS... FromC1 The tandem received a cash prize of P150,000 from the Center for Tourism to continue the development of Trakaro, once they had finished their MS program. Trakaro became the first tech startup to be funded by the 50-year-old institute.

Trakaro developed a proprietary technology called the Fylla Algorithm.

Through Trakaro, travelers can look for sustainable establishments, contact them and book their services.

“For the first time, we were able to create an algorithm under a partnership with AIM Center for Tourism. Based on their research, we were able to compile it and create an algorithm. We are focusing on hotels and restaurants. As of today, we are doing well with Trakaro,” he says.

The fourth startup is Kezar Atlas, a mobile app development company that creates mobile applications for corporate clients and other startups.

“We guarantee that after 60 days, your app will be available on Apple Store or Google Play Store. Usually, a company takes a year or a year and a half to create it,” says Solicito.

Kezar Atlas developed mobile apps for various companies such as St. Peter Life Plan, the biggest deathcare services provider in the country. “We launched it in November. They were so happy and satisfied with the product that they are going to create another app with us,” says Solicito.

Kezar Atlas also offers the Startup Now, Pay Later program. “If you believe you in your startup, and the only thing that hinders you from being a good Filipino startup is funding and development of your tech, we will handle that for you. We will also help you in other business development concerns,” says Solicito.

Kezar Atlas developed Leggo, a scheduling app that syncs calendars and makes coordination easier among friends for plans and other get-togethers. Jesrael Cruz, Christian Casalme and Diether Tapat who are Computer Science graduates from Faith Colleges, are the pioneer programmers of the Kezar Atlas team.

Aside from Solicito, the other core team members of Kezar Innovations are Paul Galacan, a civil engineer from Mapúa Institute of Technology who serves as the chief finance officer; Jon De Omaña, an Information Technology graduate from Mapú a who is the chief technology officer; Sean Lacar, a computer engineering graduate from Ateneo de Manila University who is the chief marketing officer; Katherine Chua, an Industrial Engineering graduate from De La Salle University-Manila who is the chief operating officer; and Jo Anne Paril, a civil engineer from Mapua who is the director of sales.

Solicito says Kezar Innovations, which only started with P150,000 in funding, is among the rare 10 percent of startups that have succeeded within the first year of operations. For 2019, Kezar is targeting to secure at least P15 million in revenue by releasing StudyPlay’s new toy lines, expanding Kezar 3D printing services, activating Trakaro’s monetization, turning over 12 corporate mobile applications and software and selling technology consumables.

“To all Filipino entrepreneurs and innovators out there who want to venture into their own startup, start small. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be big. There hasn’t been a better time to be a tech entrepreneur in our country, may it be in the available technology or investments. If you know that you have an innovative idea, it is your obligation to yourself and to that idea to make something out of it,” says Solicito. Roderick T. dela Cruz

MODERN... FromC1 countries to look for the latest trend in packaging,” Jocson said.

“In MSME development, the key is to make entrepreneurs smarter by exposing them to all new developments via networks like ProPak to solve the problem of minimum order quantity that has been hampering MSMEs,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The three-day event held on Jan. 24 to 26, brought together 292 leading companies from 29 countries with nine international pavilions from China, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. The Philippine government also saw the importance of good packaging in enhancing the marketability and competitiveness of Philippine MSMEs. “Pack aging in the words of Secretary Ramon Lopez, is your form of advertisement,” said Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya.

ProPak is envisioned to be an annual venue for Filipino producers to explore more options for packaging.

THREE FRIENDS BUILD A BAR TO ENJOY MUSIC AND SPORTS

By Alena Mae S. Flores

B

eats & Stats Sports Bar in Quezon City, established three years ago, has garnered a loyal following because of its outstanding service, great music, amiable crowd, tasty food and a wide selection of drinks.

Located at the ground floor of Haven Building along Congressional Avenue Extension, the bar was born out of the passion of three friends for music, beer and sports.

The goal of Rolando ‘Olan’ Dimaano, Adolfo ‘Ady’ Parayno and Jaime ‘Jimmy’ Comia’s is simple—make customers happy by giving them great music videos, ice cold beer, great sports shows and delicious food.

“Just driven by passion of friends with similar interests: sports, music and beer. That’s the main reason why we put up this bar. We really don’t have experience in managing or handling a restaurant or bar—it was just born out of passion,” says Comia.

The friends wanted a place where people can have a good time, especially after working hard the whole day.

Customers can enjoy watching high definition sports games from the bar’s 18 video monitors.

The friends also invested in a good sound system powered by JBL/Harman for the music enjoyment of their customers. The bar comes with modern fixtures and cozy interiors while there is spacious and guarded parking area outside for the customers.

“It’s simply just on my bucket list. Any ordinary guy like me who likes having a good time, partying, being with friends and drinking—almost all of those types of guys have a dream like mine. For me, this is a lifelong dream and this is the only time that it has become a reality. I’m really happy I was able to realize that dream,” says Comia.

Comia manages the bar today, after working for almost 23 years at 3M Philippines and getting an early retirement in 2016.

For Dimaano, he considers the bar as his “happy” side

Beats & Stats Sports Bar owners (from left) Rolando Dimaano, Adolfo Parayno and Jaime Comia business while he works hard as a civil engineer in the construction industry for over 30 years to date. “I have my own company. That’s my primary business. This [bar] is my ‘happy’ side-business,” he says.

The friends have another partner whom they call Dr. Macky, a transplant surgeon at the National Kidney Institute.

Initially, the group found it challenging to run a bar because of their lack of experience. Later on, the challenge shifted to how to bring in the customers.

“For starters, we have no experience in running a restaurant or a bar, so that’s one of our many challenges.

But probably what we consider our main challenge is how to get customers to come to our bar for the first time. The way we see it is once they come here, we’re pretty sure they’ll be back again. So that was our biggest challenge: how do we get them to try our bar. There are also challenges operations-wise, definitely. We’re learning as we go along,” Dimaano says.

Despite the challenges, the bar owners are optimistic that customers will continue to flock in the bar whose name was derived from the combination of music and sports statistics, thus Beats & Stats.

They believe the bar has found its own niche market not only because of the food and drinks but also because of the ambiance and music.

“The combination of sports and music, that’s our edge, also our food and beers,” says Comia.

“We have great music videos, we air exciting sports shows, we serve very cold beers, we have great food and drinks. We also make sure that we maintain the pleasant, cozy, and clean ambiance,” Dimaano says.

The friends ask customers to visit the bar and check out the ambience. “I want to emphasize our bar’s ambiance. Personally, I don’t see this kind of ambience in a lot of bars, even in Metro Manila. It’s mesmerizing— almost like you’re blinded by the video monitors. The profile of our customers also makes you feel safe here.

This is not a chaotic place—not that this isn’t a familyfriendly venue. Our bar is really a place where you can just relax and chill,” says Dimaano.

He says that in terms of service, the bar tries to give its customers genuine personal care because “we always make it a point to remind our staff/crew to exhibit excellent customer service.”

“The vast collection of MTV music videos is really our treasure. We also have a better parking area compared to the other establishments nearby. Security’s not bad, too.

The building has two to three security guards on duty.

We also have a very good restaurant/bar manager. Our chef’s a regular here too, so the quality and taste of our food is consistent,” Comia says.

AUTODEAL: MORE THAN 21,000 NEW CARS SOLD ONLINE IN 2018 ONLINE automotive marketplace AutoDeal. com.ph said it achieved a 39.5-percent increase in the number of new cars sold on its platform in 2018 despite an industry downturn in new vehicle sales.

AutoDeal recorded 21,002 successful transactions in 2018, higher than 15,059 in 2017.

New car sales data on AutoDeal was collected from several sources including confirmed purchases remitted by dealers through AutoDeal’s online lead management system and over-the-phone conversations with confirmed buyers.

Propelling these numbers was a 54-percent increase in visitors on AutoDeal.com.ph which resulted in more than 30 million website visits and 200,000 online inquiries made by prospective car-buyers in 2018 alone.

Aside from the sales increase,

enhancements in AutoDeal’s online LMS also enabled its more than 400 partner dealers to improve their average lead(inquiry)-to-sale conversion rate.

Data showed that of all the customers who inquired in 2018, 10.5 percent made a successful vehicle purchase through the platform, compared to 7.3 percent in 2017.

This was supported by car dealers and

sales agents who sped up their customer response time down to just 5.73 hours on the AutoDeal LMS. AutoDeal’s LMS notifies sales agents that an inquiry comes in through AutoDeal for Agents App. “We continue to invest heavily in creating the best environment for the car-buyers in the Philippines,” said AutoDeal co-founder and chief executive Daniel Scott.

“Our commitment remains to provide the local car buying market a hassle-free and simple method to go about in making his purchase. Our continued enhancement in dealer technology is built with the sole purpose of helping dealers to manage and realize the value of buyers who now prefer to shop this way,” he said.

Increased awareness and competition among top automotive brands and dealers

helped propel the company’s 30-percent revenue growth last year. One contributing factor is the surge in advertisers as they are able to drive real-world tangible sales results through AutoDeal.

The automotive sales slowdown last year also presented a fresh challenge for local automakers and car dealers as they look for new ways to bounce back from the exponential sales growth they experienced in 2017.

“We’re working with more car brands and dealers than ever before,” said Scott.

“Less consumers in the market means that there’s now a more expanded interest in providing better service not just on the showroom floor, but also online.”

With 2,000 sales being generated through the AutoDeal marketplace every month, the company expects to contribute to an even larger volume of car sales in 2019.

SUBSCRIBER BARES NOBLE DREAM IF SHE WINS P25M IN SMART’S BIGGEST PROMO

ARLENE is an oil painter and she has an autistic son, Zac, who is now 11 years old.

She says that if she wins the P25-million grand prize in ‘Smart Amazing 25,’ she will use the money to construct a building that will house an art museum and a school for children with autism and Down syndrome.

Proceeds from the operations will support institutions that care for persons with special needs.

The building will employ persons with disabilities. The complex will be called‘Manger,’ inspired by the Baby Jesus in the Manger.

The vision Arlene has in mind is a building that serves as a home to a community that society in the olden days see as ‘misfits.’

The people in her establishment do not have the ‘refinements’ of persons that readers see in glossy magazines. Instead, the building will be home to persons who exude genuine compassion, understanding and humility.

The place will be filled with activities that promote learning while discovering simple joys, laughter and music. It will be spacious.

Walls will be high. Spaces will be airy.

The environment will be colorful yet soothing, with lots of flowers and instrumental music.

The sound, however, will always conform to the level that is comfortable for autistic persons

with sensory overload.

The building will promote absolute respect for all differently-abled persons. The quality of art the community will produce will be the ‘talk of the town.’

Patrons of the arts will come over, not for charity, but because they hear about the explosion of creative talents in the complex.

Clients will want to bring home paintings and works of art that radiate comfort and joy. Learners will see a completely different perspective on the big issue called ‘life.’

Arlene has seen a facility similar to this in San Francisco as she watched YouTube. The place became a sort of a blessing to the busy urban population.

People who want to relieve themselves of stress, anxiety and depression habitually visit the place.

In the building, one does not have to be conscious of who she or he is.

Through the creations of people in Arlene’s place, visitors enter a beautiful world – serene and pure...so long as guests are bent on seeing and giving joy to people who do not conform to current conventions, so long as they believe that life is fleeting.

And that ‘ser vice to others’ and ‘unconditional love’ are words to live by and not just clichés. They will be welcomed with an

embrace by Arlene and Zac inside the building that was constructed using the P25 million cash prize from ‘Smart Amazing 25’ grand raffle.

Smart’s biggest raffle promo, ‘Smart Amazing 25,’ is the company’s way of showing thanks for the loyalty and support of subscribers nationwide for the past 25 years.

The raffle promo gives one lucky subscriber a chance to win P25 million cash grand prize to be drawn next month. Smart is also giving away smartphones, MVP Rewards points and data in separate monthly draws.

The promo is open to all active Smart, Sun and TNT subscribers until Feb. 25, 2019. To join, subscribers need to register once. Simply dial *121#; choose ‘AMAZING 25’on the menu, and followethe steps to confirm the sign up.

Right after the registration, subscribers start earning and accumulating raffle entries.

Prepaid subscribers earn raffle entries each time they avail of the promotions through retailers or text registration. More entries await those who use *121# to register to select prepaid promos.

For Smart, these particular promos are Giga Surf, Giga Surf Plus, All Out Surf and Game Time.

For TNT, the promos include Surf Saya, Gaan Surf, Panalo Combo, Panalo Data, Giga Surf and All Out Surf.

For Sun, the promos to get are Sulit Surf

Plus, Big Time Data, Non-Stop Surf, Giga Surf and All Out Surf.

Meanwhile, postpaid subscribers who pay their bills in full and on time can join the raffle.

Every P1,000 worth of payment is equivalent to 100 entries.

Smart postpaid subscribers can get more raffle entries by buying add-ons such as the Giga Surf offers. Sun subscribers can earn more entries by availing of add-ons like the Social Bundle 199, Chat Bundle 249 and NonStop 450.

The raffle entries earned by subscribers in January are reset at the end of the month.

However, all entries accumulated by subscribers within the promo period are qualified for the grand raffle cash prize of P25 million.

As Smart’s 25th anniversary approaches, it is giving away monthly instant bonuses through texts, calls or data for prepaid subscribers. They can enjoy these perks until the end of February.

Subscribers just have to dial *121# to redeem the bonuses, choose ‘Celebrate Smart Amazing 25,’ and select ‘Get My Bonus Now’ to receive a notification about the bonus.

Smart has come up with the P25-million cash raffle prize as a salute to its subscribers who have been supporting the company in the last 25 years.

Tech & Gadgets

Manila

Standard

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

TODAY

C3

rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

DATING, RELATIONSHIPS IN DIGITAL AGE

“W

HY weren’t you answering your phone?!”

This is probably one of those lines that we fear the most coming from our significant other. What’s another one, you ask? Try replacing ‘answering your phone’ with ‘replying to my messages’ and you get the picture. While this might be a simple scenario, this is also one example of how miscommunication (or no communication) can ruin or nurture a relationship.

And one of the solutions to this problem might just already be in your pocket.

See, the mobile phone has come a long way from being just a calling and texting device. It is a full-fledged communication powerhouse that has become an extension of ourselves. A few decades ago, not being able to answer your phone meant probably not hearing it ring or having low battery. Nowadays, not getting back to someone means you probably ignored that person on purpose.

B.S. (Before Smartphones) But it wasn’t always like this.

Two decades ago, back in the ancient times that is 1999, mobile phones were reserved for either the businessman, the ultra-rich, or the ultra-geek. While it has started to be more of a common sight thanks to the then-industry leader Nokia (right??), it was still mostly seen as a luxury rather than a necessity.

“Back then, communicating remotely was still an abstract concept, something that seems like we don’t really need,” says Karel Holub, Chief Argonaut of Argomall, a Filipino online retailer platform that sells over 500 authentic and genuine phones from dozens of brands. “So even though the mobile phone is actually a momentous invention, it didn’t affect how we went about with our daily lives, at least not yet at the time.”

Dating back then, consequently, was still done by way of the good, old “I’ll pick you up at 7pm and let’s go to the movies”.

There were no Facetime, WhatsApp, or FB Messenger to replace our conversations. We actually need to plan ahead and just have to talk to our partner the entire time. Imagine that.

Going digital The advent of the new millennium, however, saw a momentous shift. In just a few, short years, the mobile phone graduated from a “nice-to-have” to “can’t-live-without.” The way we used mobile phones started changing as well as the texting craze took over. We courted through text, we got into relationships through text, and we even broke up through text (calls were still expensive at the time.)

While mobile phones are plenty useful already in and of itself, the truly seismic change came when it

evolved into what we now call as the smartphone. With infinitely more features, it transformed the smartphone into a full-fledged communication tool.

“After a seemingly slow start, the way smartphones changed our lives was nothing short of incredible. It literally changed how humans acted in just a few short years,” shares Holub, who also has more than 20 years of professional experience in the mobile phone industry.

This seismic shift allowed us to be more in touch with our loved ones. Now, we can talk to our family members abroad whenever we want, work remotely, and of course, be much closer to our partner than ever before through video calls. It’s like we’re always with them, right?

Well, not quite. See, along with the countless innovations came the new cultural problems. Digital communication allowed people to skip the face-to-face meetings, which meant that certain nuances of human communication such as the slightest change in facial expressions are a lot harder to see and feel, which made trust and authenticity a huge issue. How can you trust someone you’re talking to if you’re not physically with them?

“Smartphone rules” It starts off with realizing that digital messaging and chatting cannot replace actual, physical communication. While we can meet people through Tinder, Grindr, and other apps, we cannot sustain relationships without ever actually being with your partner. Digital communication is a tool to augment our communication efforts, not the main platform.

If we have managed to build trust with our partners in the physical world, then we would need to agree on specific guidelines in the digital world as well.

Does your girlfriend like using lots of emojis or is she more of a full sentence then a period type of girl? Does he like video calls or just voice calls? Every relationship is different, so talk it out with your partner and agree on your “smartphone rules”.

Also, make sure that the smartphones you’re both using are authentic and reliable. The last thing you need is your knock-off phone dying on you during a call. Only buy authentic phones in trusted online retailers like www.argomall. com, which offers an invoice, Philippine warrant, and an official receipt for all purchases.

While there are quite a few challenges when it comes to building trust and authenticity in the age of digital communication, it is no doubt one of humankind’s greatest innovations. And if used properly, it can also take your relationship to even greater heights.

Just always remember to charge your phone.

GSIS reserves the right to waive any formality or to reject any or all bids received. The list of properties available for sale may be updated without prior notice.

Insurance System

GENERAL GUIDELINES: 1.

Disposal of GSIS Investment Properties – Retail Units (IP-RUs) is through a competitive public bidding process. Acceptance of Purchase Offer shall start on the scheduled bidding date and time.

2.

Dropping of bid envelopes will be on the date of bidding from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. only. Opening of Bids will immediately follow. Late bid envelopes will not be accepted

3.

Disposal of GSIS IP-RUs is on “As-Is Where-Is” basis. Interested bidders are enjoined to personally inspect the GSIS IP-RUs for sale. “As-Is Where-Is” is defined as the present physical condition of the retail unit that GSIS is selling and the buyer is buying, “with all attendant faults, if any,” whether or not immediately apparent and without any express or implied warranty. The buyer takes this condition at his or her own risk, without recourse against the GSIS as to their condition. This includes knowledge by the buyer of the presence of occupants in the retail-unit being purchased.

4.

Strictly, “One bidder, One specific property” only, which means that a bidder cannot submit two (2) or more bids for one property. A bidder may submit one bid each to as many properties as he wants to buy, as long as, he posts the required 10% bid deposit of the total bid price for each property. The bidder must present valid government IDs upon registration on the date of public bidding.

Purchase offer may either be in Cash or through External Financing Institution.

LG LAUNCHES...

From C4

In the world of advertising, it’s important to stand out from the crowd. LG’s selection of OLED signages are so cutting edge that you can choose from premium displays that are as thin as two credit cards or displays that are literally crystal clear because it’s absolutely transparent. These features are only made even better with LG’s dedication to uncompromised picture quality and durability.

This unique ID showroom is also available for technical seminars and partner training sessions, so corporate teams can experience top-of-the-line technology for more effective knowledge transfer.

Interested parties may contact LG Electronics Philippines to schedule an appointment.

LG Electronics Philippines’ Information Display Showroom is located at 15 Francisco Legaspi St, Brgy. Maybunga. For inquiries, call (02) 902-5544 or visit www.lg.com/ph.

5.

MODE Cash EFI 6.

7.

8.

PAYMENT DUE DATE Payable either in cash or Manager’s Checks within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of bidding Shall submit the Letter of Guarantee (LOG) within forty-five (45) calendar days from the date of bidding A downloadable bid form shall be properly accomplished with the following data: a.

Date of Bidding b.

Name of the bidder c.

Exact address of property you are interested to bid d.

Transfer Certificate of Title No. e.

Mode of Payment f.

Amount of bid (in numbers and in words) g.

Signature of the bidder/representative

Bid proposal shall be written in words and in figures and shall not be lower than the Minimum Acceptable Officer of the property. Should there be a difference in the amount in words and in figures, the amount in words shall prevail.

Bidders’ deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid Offer shall be in the form of MANAGER’S CHECK payable to the Government Service

9.

The following shall be inserted on the sealed bid envelope: a. the properly accomplished downloadable bid form b.

Manager’s Check payable to Government Service Insurance System representing deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid Offer c. the Special Power of Attorney (SPA), if the bidder is an authorized representative d.

Pre-conditional approval from PBCOM, if applicable e.

Two (2) proofs of occupancy, if applicable e.1. Barangay certificate that Bidder is occupying or residing in the subject property e.2. (1) Valid Government Issued IDs, or (2) Latest Billing Address under Bidder’s Name f.

Pro-forma Certificate of due diligence (for occupied or unoccupied)

10.

The following information shall be clearly written outside the sealed bid envelope (mailing envelope)

11.

Interested bidders planning to purchase the GSIS property through External Financing Institution (EFI) shall first secure certification from accredited banks stating that he/she is qualified to avail of a loan from External Financing Institution and insert inside the bid envelope.

12.

The existing tenant or occupant or his duly authorized representative through a valid Special Power of Attorney (SPA) has the right to match the offer of the declared highest bidder, provided: a. he/she is present during the bidding b. participated in actual bidding c. presently occupying the property subject of bidding supported by the following proofs of occupancy: c.1. Barangay certificate that he/she is occupying or residing in the subject property c.2. Any valid government identification document with his/her address similar to the address of the property he/.she is bidding.

13.

If the occupant will exercise his/her right to match the offer of the declared highest bidder, he/she need not secure another bank prequalification corresponding to the matched offer. Instead, he/she shall pay the equity in cash as stated in Notice of Approval of Sale (NOAS).

The equity shall be computed as the difference between the Letter of

Guarantee from the bank and the offered bid amount.

14.

The declared highest/winning bidder shall submit within the day of the actual bidding, the following documents: a. duly accomplished Personal Profile/Company Profile/Corporate Profile, whichever is applicable (downloadable); b. photocopies of two valid IDs (one should be a government-issued ID); c.

Articles of Incorporation/Partnership, By-Laws and current General Information Sheet, for corporation/partnership, if applicable; d.

Registration Certificate from SEC for corporation/partnership, DTI for sole proprietorship and CDA for cooperatives, or any proof of such registration, if applicable; e. current Mayor’s permit issued by the city or municipality where the principal place of business of the winning bidder is located, if applicable.

15.

A Notice of Approval of Sale (NOAS) shall be issued to the highest/ winning bidder on the day of bidding.

16.

In case the bid is in CASH, the 90% balance of the bid amount shall be paid either in cash or manager’s check within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of NOAS, without privilege of extension.

17.

In case the bid is thru EFI, the equity shall be paid in cash within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of Letter of Guarantee (LOG) by the GSIS. The equity is the amount corresponding to the difference between the LOG and the Offered Bid Amount.

18.

Upon issuance of the NOAS to the highest/winning bidder, the Bidder’s Deposit of the other non-winning bidder/s shall be returned immediately.

19.

Non-compliance with the terms and conditions stated in the NOAS shall result in the forfeiture of the bidder’s deposit.

20.

In case the highest/winning bidder fails to comply with the requirements within the specified time, the GSIS shall write the second highest bidder to confirm if he/she is still interested to acquire the property. If still interested, GSIS will require him/her to pay the non-refundable deposit equivalent to ten percent (10%) of his/her previously submitted bid amount and will be issued NOAS.

21.

GSIS reserves the right to waive any formality or to reject any or all bids received. The list of properties available for sale may be updated without prior notice.

22.

For inquiries, you may call Real Property Accounts Management Department at telephone nos. 479-3536 or 976-4619.

C4

A

TECH & Gadgets SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

INSTAGRAM CURBS SELF-HARM POSTS AFTER TEEN SUICIDE

PROTECTING KIDS FROM ONLINE DANGERS

S YOUNG children spend more time online, many parents are struggling to protect them from exposure to a raft of dangers and cyberthreats. These include viewing inappropriate content, becoming a victim of cyber-bullying or unwittingly sharing private data.

In fact, more than half of children aged between six and nine are now using the internet every day, and one in three parents believe they cannot control what their youngsters see online.

With operating systems only providing basic protection tools, it is imperative that parents bolster protection to safeguard their children from evolving and growing online threats.

In recognition of its performance as one of the best child protection solutions on the market, Kaspersky Safe Kids achieved these certificates for its use on three of the major desktop and mobile operating systems: Windows, iOS and Android. This endorsement comes after AV-TEST evaluated 11 parental control tools for desktops running on Windows 10 and MacOS, as well as 11 parent control apps for Android, iOS and Fire OS. The test assessed how third-party child safety apps and internal operating system security tools performed in offering filters and settings to keep young people protected online. These were: protection against cyber-bullying, access control to adult content, control of private data transfer, controlling time spent on digital devices, protection from online money traps, protection against online grooming and protection of privacy.

Parents today face a tough challenge when it comes to protecting their children online from threats such as harmful content. They therefore need comprehensive software to help them.

Kaspersky Safe Kids desktop version is just that—it was found to be more effective at protecting children from accessing harmful websites, with a superior filter that blocks adult material in seven out of 10 content categories, when compared to competitors and internal operating system tools. With explicit and adult content not limited to the obvious— including pornography or gambling websites—

To help parents take the right steps towards children safety on the Internet, independent software assessor AV-TEST has evaluated a number of solutions specifically designed to protect children while they are online—and has awarded Kaspersky Safe Kids with three APPROVED certificates.

Kaspersky Safe Kids can block content which is often overlooked, for ultimate peace of mind. This includes content around the illegal exchange of data and file sharing, and sites which contain weapons, ammunition and violent content.

The test also discovered that the Kaspersky Safe Kids app, along with the desktop version, does not only block more prohibited content links, but also protects children from more security threats than internal operating system tools. These include the control of private data transfer and protection from online money traps. The test also found that the Kaspersky Safe Kids desktop version was the only tested and certified solution that protects children from online grooming – something of vital importance to parents considering that, according to some research, it can take as little as 45 minutes for offenders to groom a child online.

“We are delighted to receive AV-TEST endorsement for our Kaspersky Safe Kids app as it rein-

forces our commitment to keeping children protected from many of the harmful threats and situations they may face when they are online.

These types of independent assessment are very important in demonstrating which security industry products consumers can rely on,” said Timur Biyachuev, VP for Threat Research at Kaspersky Lab. Further findings from the AV-TEST parental control software test can be found here: Test: Parental Control Software for Desktops with Windows 10 & MacOS https://www.av-test.org/en/ news/test-parental-control-software-for-desktopswith-windows-10-macos/ Test: Parental Control Apps for Google Android, Apple iOS & Amazon Fire OS https://www.av-test. org/en/news/test-parental-control-apps-for-googleandroid-apple-ios-amazon-fire-os/ More information about the benefits of Kaspersky Safe Kids can be found here: https:// www.kaspersky.com/safe-kids

LG LAUNCHES 1ST INFO DISPLAY SHOWROOM IN PH LG Philippines is redefining the country’s tech landscape by launching the very first LG Electronics Information Display Showroom in the Philippines.

Officially opened on Jan. 28, 2019, the ID Showroom features the global tech giant’s innovations that earned the trust and confidence of millions of customers around the world. Being the first LG Philippines’ ID Showroom in the country, it encourages visitors to go beyond the usual and experience the cutting edge technology that LG has been making for decades.

The showroom is conveniently located at the LG Philippines Headquarters in Pasig City, which means product experts are available for consultation at the showroom for an elevated viewing experience and find state-of-the-art business display solutions. It has dedicated areas for various businesses’ tech needs: Control Solution, Quick Service Retail (QSR), Transportation, Retail, Education, and Corporate.

CONTROL SOLUTIONS LG takes safety and security seriously and the company has worked tirelessly to find new and more effective Control Solutions for command centers. With LG’s 0.44-mm bezel display, command and control centers can install the slimmest video wall —better than any LED display—for crisp and clear imaging for large-scale deployments.

QUICK SERVICE RETAIL For QSR business like fast food chains, LG designed brighter and clearer menu screens and interactive touchscreen for

modernized self-order stores. This high definition signage can optimize operations, making businesses more efficient without compromising its superior picture quality.

TRANSPORTATION LG offers 86-inch and 88-inch stretch displays for transport terminals like bus hubs, train stations, or airports. These displays are unique to the LG brand and can be maximized by showing four different contents in one gigantic HD screen. These displays are perfect for ads and announcements that will instantly capture the public’s eye.

RETAIL, EDUCATION, and CORPORATE For retail, educational, and corporate displays, LG has elevated presentations to a more interactive and immersive learning experience. The 86-inch ultra HD touchscreen is a digital board with 20 touch points. This means the user can scribble on the screen to clarify points, effortlessly facilitate digital transactions, display dynamic posters, take screenshots and screen videos, and even send files directly from the display to email.

HOSPITALITY The hospitality industry constantly changes with its ever dynamic clientele.

To address this, LG has designed various displays to fit the theme and design of any property—whether it’s a display that’s as thin as wallpaper or a super sleek TV that doesn’t need a digibox. The best part?

Each display is powered by LG’s Pro Centric solution programs specially designed for hotels.

Turn to C3

LG Philippines kicks off its very first Information Display Showroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Leading the ceremony are (from left) LG Regional Head Quarters Information Display Product Manager Tae Whan Kim, LG PH B2B Information Display Product Manager, LG PH Managing Director Inkwun Heo and LG PH B2B Information Display Product Manager GiHyun Chung.

SAN FRANCISCO—Instagram has announced a clampdown on images of self-injury after a British teen who went online to read about suicide took her own life.

The Facebook-owned picture sharing platform’s announcement followed a Thursday meeting between its global chief Adam Mosseri and British Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

British teen Molly Russell took her own life in her bedroom in 2017. The 14-year-old’s social media history revealed that she followed accounts about depression and suicide.

The case sparked a vigorous debate in Britain about parental control and state regulation of children’s social media use.

“It is encouraging to see that decisive steps are now being taken to try to protect children from disturbing content on Instagram,” said Molly’s father Ian Russell.

“It is now time for other social media platforms to take action.”

Molly’s parents did not directly blame Instagram for the loss of their daughter.

But they cited the easy access to such posts as a contributing factor, to which Instagram should respond.

Mosseri said the changes followed a comprehensive review involving experts and academics on children’s mental health issues.

“I joined the company more than 10 years ago and we were primarily focused on all of the good that came out of connecting people,” Mosseri told The Telegraph newspaper.

“But if I am honest we were under-focused on the risks of connecting so many people. That’s a lesson we have learned over the last few years.”

Cry for help Instagram has never allowed posts that promote or encourage suicide or self-harm.

But it will now remove references to non-graphic content related to people hurting themselves from its searches and recommendation features.

It will also ban hashtags—words featuring a “#” that mark a trending topic—relating to self-harm.

The measures are meant to make such images more difficult to find for depressed teens who might have suicidal tendencies.

“We are not removing this type of content from Instagram entirely,” said Mosseri.

“We don’t want to stigmatise or isolate people who may be in distress and posting self-harm related content as a cry for help.”

Instagram is also reaching out to counsellors to see how they can engage with teens who the platform thinks need help.

‘Careful regulation’ Social media are coming under increasing scrutiny as they expand in reach and cultural influence.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said last year that he thought more regulation of the industry was “inevitable” because of the internet’s size.

“My position is not that there should be no regulation,” Zuckerberg told an April 2018 US congressional hearing.

“But I also think that you have to be careful about regulation you put in place.” AFP

SNAG ULTIMATE K-DRAMA DATE ON HEART’S DAY WITH SHOPEE

Spend a minimum of P250 on Shopee to score a complimentary makeover and an exclusive Valentine’s Day date with hit Korean singer and internet celebrity JinHo Bae.

GET ready for the season of love as Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, introduces the Shopee Win-A-Date contest to give users the chance to create their own K-Drama ‘kilig’ moment this Valentine’s Day. From now until Feb. 12, users who spend a minimum of P250 on Shopee can stand a chance to score an all-expenses paid makeover and an exclusive lunch date with hit Korean singer and internet celebrity JinHo Bae on Valentine’s Day. To join the contest, users must enter the special code “SHOPEEWINADATE” with a minimum checkout of P250 on Shopee. One lucky

winner will be chosen on Feb. 12 to receive an all-sponsored full makeover and a dream lunch date with JinHo Bae on Feb. 14.

Create the ultimate K-Drama date with Shopee this Valentine’s Day. Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It is a platform tailored for the region, providing customers with an easy, secure and fast online shopping experience through strong payment and logistical support. Shopee aims to continually enhance its platform and become the region’s

e-commerce destination of choice.

Shopee has a wide selection of product categories ranging from consumer electronics to home & living, health & beauty, baby & toys, fashion and fitness equipment.

Shopee, a Sea company, was first launched in Singapore in 2015, and has since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sea is a leader in digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services across Greater Southeast Asia.

Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology, and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SE.

Destinations D1

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor

manilastandardlife@gmail.com

@manilastandardlife

@MStandardLIFE

WEEKEND IN MONTALBAN

WAWA WONDERFUL. Once a favorite weekend getaway, Montalban in Rizal province is once again luring metro dwellers to explore its natural and man-made wonders.

N

OT too long ago, during the simpler travel lifestyle of Filipinos, this town at the eastern metropolitan doorstep was every urbanite’s weekend getaway.

Rodriguez town, also popularly known as Montalban in Rizal province was and still is an inexpensive excursion place for outdoor lovers. In just 30 minutes from the urban jungle, one is transported to the Pamitinan Protected Landscape (PPL), a 608-hectare nature reserve which covers Montalban Gorge, Wawa Dam, Upper Marikina River, Pamitinan and Binacayan mountains, and Pamitinan Cave.

Referred to as “Wawa” by trekkers, the area is both legendary and historic, which adds to the magnetic pull of the place. Mt. Pamitinan is rock climbers' favorite because of its jagged limestone crags and breathtaking mountaintop vista, while the dam is ideal for good old picnic by the cascade.

According to folklore, the twin peaks is where Filipino giant Bernardo Carpio once stood and prevented the land masses from colliding. A white limestone boulder resembles what is believed to be the footprint of the fabled character who is likened to the Atlas of ancient Greek mythology.

Meanwhile, the multi-chambered cave is a Katipunan hideout where freedom fighters led by Andres Bonifacio declared “independence” from Spain for the first time in 1895.

It can be explored with permission from local authorities.

The municipal tourism has developed a new activity in the area—a river cruise with Dumagat tribesmen serving as boatmen and tour guides.

Beyond the PPL, adventurers can venture into the mountains of Puray, Hapunang Banoy, Paruwagan, Susong Dalaga, Sipit-Ulang, Lubog, Parawagan, and Balagbag, in the mighty Sierra Madre range. Tucked within these geological formations are the waterfalls of Puray, Biteng Uhay, Payaran, Tu-Ay, and Karugo, and a series of caves which shut travelers off from the outside world.

Off-road enthusiasts can take their motorcycles, mountain bikes, or 4x4 vehicles to upland

Australian surf camp and fronts an Instagrammable mountainscape.

Schoolchildren will be fascinated by Avilon Zoo, a man-made safari which is arguably the biggest and best in the country. This 7.5-hectare park houses nearly 3,000 animals, a good number of which are imported.

For a glimpse of local heritage, visit the ancestral home of the eminent Senate President and statesman, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez, whom the town is named after. Considered a “living museum,” the typical Spanish stone house showcases his memorabilia including Turn to D2

Puray Falls tucked within the mountains

Mounts Binacayan and Pamitinan

Macabud village which is known for its tree canopy that provides a soothing shade.

The good news is this old-time getaway is making a comeback and is trying to lure families who want to frolic in its exciting inland resorts. Among the noteworthy resorts in Montalban are Costa Abril known for its wave pool and slide pools; Rancho Luisito for its zipline, giant pail and waterslides, and outdoor wall; and Noah’s Park for its team-building facilities and hanging bridges.

A favorite chill out place due to its open-air bar is Coco Mountain Resort, themed like an

A bird show at Avilon Zoo

I REMEMBER THE ALAMO

This bronze tablet, in front of The Alamo’s facade, is a copy of the letter of Lt. Col. Travis pleading for reinforcement and supplies, of which very little came.

I WAS in high school when I saw de Valero, and built to convert to the movie, Davy Crockett, King of Christianity the Native Americans the Wild Frontier, and was fascinatsettled in the area, the church ed by his life story that I went to our was more popularly known as The school library to read more about Alamo (Spanish for “cottonwood him. He was an American folk hero tree”) because there were many of from Tennessee and was elected to these trees around it. a seat in the US Congress.

Several months before the siege MERCURY RISING of The Alamo, the Texans had However due to his continuous

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO opposition to the policies of then driven out the Mexicans, but only President Andrew Jackson, he lost about a hundred Texans, led by in his bid for a re-election. DisapDavy Crockett, were left to defend pointed over his narrow loss to his opponent, he The Alamo. Some reinforcements, led by James moved to Texas, which was at that time a Mexican Bowie and William Travis joined them later, as they state named Tejas. clashed against around 1,500 Mexicans who were Deeply committed to his convictions, Crockett on their first move to re-take Texas. joined the war against Mexico and was killed in the The Alamo defenders, led by these three galBattle of the Alamo, a historical event which, again, lant soldiers, although greatly outnumbered, piqued my curiosity as it was a highlight of the Tex- held on to their brave defense and staved off the as Revolution. I wanted to know how the battle cry, Mexican attack for almost two weeks, repelling “Remember The Alamo” came about. the first two waves of assault. Meantime, the Turn to D2 Originally a Catholic Mission named San Antonio

At the churchyard, the museum staff are dressed in period costumes and share their knowledge and enthusiasm with tourists.

This lady showed us what items were used by housewives at that time.

Destinations

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

HONG KONG’S

Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden

EXPERIENCE THE CHARM OF TAIWAN

GREAT OUTDOORS Dragon's Back, a ridge in southeastern Hong Kong Island.

(Photo by Tugo Cheng)

TRAVELERS planning to go to Taiwan soon still have one day to experience its charm at the Taiwan Hall at the Philippine Travel Agencies Association's Travel Tour Expo 2019 being held until today at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.

This year, the Taiwan Hall has a handicraft instructor on hand to teach children how to make an exotic Hakka floral water bottle holder and adorable OhBear dough figurine cards.

The famous Goang Shin Paper Mill, located not far from the scenic Sun Moon Lake, has prepared traditional rubbing DIY activities for participants to take home their own heartwarming, oneand-only rubbing handmade paper.

The Taiwan Hall also has VR tours and an AR photo wall where visitors can experience different destinations in Taiwan, and have photos taken to keep as a souvenir.

A total of 419,105 visitors from the Philippines visited Taiwan in 2018, up by 44 percent compared to 2017. With the rapid growth in arrivals from the Philippines, this year, for the first time ever, the Taiwan delegation will go to Clark Freeport Zone for a B2B workshop on Feb. 12 at the Royce Hotel Clark.

With its vast tourism resources, Taiwan has repeatedly won international acclaims. Travel website Globe Spots ranked Taiwan 8th in its selection of the top 10 countries to visit in 2019, while Booking.com named Taiwan as the 5th most welcoming place on Earth.

Hong Kong Wetland Park (Photo by Matthieu Paley)

MacLehose Trail (Photo by Matthieu Paley)

T

HE Hong Kong Tourism Board teams up with National Geographic to promote its 10th annual “Great Outdoors” campaign, featuring 13 of the country’s most stunning landscapes.

Fireworks display at Taipei 101

WEEKEND...

From D1

portraits, paintings, photographs, vintage car, and other personal effects.

The mansion has undergone minimal physical repairs over the decades and is currently inhabited by the late patriarch’s descendants.

For a hearty meal, local favorites are the nondescript carinderias offering sinigang na tilapia and an assortment of goat dishes. The town has interesting homegrown dining outlets, most notably Kristal-G Ristorante which boasts cozy interiors, Italian-Filipino cuisine, and acoustic music, and its sister café, Coffee & Pastry Shop by Chef G. For snacks and take-aways, Tia Goye Kutsinta offers kutsinta and bibingka galapong.

With the unique blend of legend, adventure and leisure, Montalban beckons weekend warriors to explore its gems.

I REMEMBER...

From D1 Texan defenders kept pleading for reinforcement and additional supplies, but very little help came.

On the Mexicans’ third wave of assault, The Alamo fell. Crockett, Bowie, and Travis were killed and some of those who surrendered were quickly executed by the Mexicans.

The brave front put up by the defenders of The Alamo sparked a deep commitment from the other soldiers in the Texan army to avenge the defeat of their compatriots. So several weeks later, when Sam Houston and his soldiers staged a surprise attack on the Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto, many of the Texan soldiers repeatedly cried, “Remember The Alamo,” giving them the courage and strength to defeat their enemy in less than 20 minutes!

The campaign includes an authoritative guidebook, Your Guide to Hiking & Cycling in Hong Kong, photo gallery as well as collaborative content with insights from National Geographic photographers and trail experts.

Visitors to Hong Kong can now discover some of the country’s most picturesque nature trails through the contrasting lenses of the “One Place, Two Perspectives” narrative. The contrasting city views with verdant mountains, traditional villages with natural flora and fauna, and beautiful landscapes with stunning seascapes, present Hong Kong as a jaw-dropping, breathtaking visual dichotomy.

These tales of contrasts celebrate the hard-to-believe fact that about threequarters of Hong Kong’s landmass is actually countryside, and that the vast network of hiking trails is easily accessible from any corner of the city.

“We are delighted to be working with a powerful brand like National Geographic, which has a huge number of followers, who enjoy traveling and adventures,” says Anthony Lau, executive director of HKTB.

He continues, “In this fresh attempt to showcase Hong Kong’s natural beauty through stunning photography and inspiring stories by some of the world’s top photographers, we hope to encourage visitors to discover another side of cosmopolitan Hong Kong during the hiking season from November to March.”

“One Place, Two Perspectives” will be presented by a talented team, including French photographer Matthieu Paley, one of Nat Geo's contributing photographers in the world.

Meanwhile, National Geographic's award-winning photographer Tugo Cheng, whose background in architecture gives his work a unique aesthetic, will dish up an inside scoop on the beauty of Hong Kong’s natural landscape.

Trail runner Wyan Chow Pui-yan, who was the first local female to win the Vibram Hong Kong 100 and who placed 17th in the Ultra Trail World Tour, will lead the Nat Geo team into Tai Mo Shan Country Park—the city’s tallest mountain, at 900 meters above sea level.

MacLehose Trail, a 100-kilometer hiking trail (Photo by Tugo Cheng)

High Island Reservoir's East Dam (Photo by Tugo Cheng)

These days, when people say “Re- struction from the original structure’s painstakingly searched the premises so member The Alamo,” they actually ruins, still gives you that sense of we could see what the tree looks like. want to point out the bravery and de- strength and fearless perseverance Unfortunately, we could not find any, sire to win in the face of overwhelming which, I’m sure, was the reason why much to our disappointment, as the odds, as exhibited by those fearless the outnumbered Texan defenders trees we saw in the churchyard were Texan soldiers. either pecan or oak. It would The Alamo is such an inhave added value to this tourspiring saga in American hisist destination if some of those YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE tory that I made sure I would alamo trees were still onsite.

BOYFRIEND: I might not be rich. I have no visit it during my recent trip to Originally built in 1718, The money or villa or cars or companies like my Texas. After an almost threeAlamo has evolved from a friend, John, but I love you and adore you. hour drive from Houston, we Mission to fortress, to battleGIRLFRIEND: (Looks at him with tears in her parked our van at the Hyatt field, to warehouse, to shrine, eyes and hugs him like there is no tomorrow, Regency San Antonio which is and now, to a museum, as the and lovingly whispers in his ear) If you really right across The Alamo. It was State Legislature transferred love me that much, introduce me to John. such a thrill to see this historicustodianship of The Alamo cal icon right in front of me, as Complex to the Texas General it “teleported” me back to my Land Office. No matter what high school days when I first identity it assumes, to me, learned of it. lasted almost two weeks in fighting when I think of gallantry in the face Once you get inside the perimeter off the invaders. of overwhelming odds, I will always of the church and its walls, you can My brother-in-law Gus de Medeiros Remember The Alamo! easily imagine how it must have felt and I, after having learned from the during the Mexican siege. The serene tour guide that the name “alamo” For feedback, I’m at church interiors, although a recon- is Spanish for the cottonwood tree, bobzozobrado@gmail.com.

The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as The Spirit of Sacrifice, commemorates the epic battle and contains the names of those who fought there.

Entertainment

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

EXPLORING THE DARK SIDE OF LOVE

By Nickie Wang

L

AST night, a digital series was supposed to premiere on iWant.

The series is called Project Feb. 14, written and directed by Jason Paul Laxamana. It follows a couple’s plan to record and broadcast a twisted act on Valentine’s Day. This original series is top-billed by McCoy de Leon, Jane Oineza, and JC Santos.

In a statement on Thursday, iWant and Dreamscape Digital, which produced the six-part series, announced the new premiere date of Feb. 16.

In the story, McCoy and Jane are both teenagers. The first is the delinquent and wealthy Brix and the latter is the attention- thirsty Annie.

Moonlighting as a masked cyberprostitute, Annie develops a deep friendship in the dark web with Brix, one of her customers, and decides to tell him her crazy plan to kill herself on Valentine’s Day. When Brix suggests to join her, she decides to meet him and finally reveal her identity, and they agree on broadcasting their suicides live on social media on the day they are supposed to celebrate love.

As they spend their last two weeks living together, they encounter failed journalist Cody (JC), who proposes to make a documentary out of their daily lives leading up to Feb. 14.

Believing the documentary would make their story more popular around the world, the couple agrees, but soon realizes that they are not dealing with an ambitious journalist, but a sociopath with a disturbing agenda. “iWant recognizes the sensitivity of the topics tackled in the series, including mental health problems, assault, and abuse, and deems it necessary to implement certain measures to safeguard the advocacy of the series in promoting mental health awareness,” the statement noted.

During the media screening of Project Feb. 14, a few issues were raised surrounding the sensitive topics tackled in the story. The reactions were mixed. Some found the series morbid, others said it’s enlightening as it could raise awareness, there were members of the media that said it’s daring and provocative, and others were just speechless.

But one thing was certain: this series was causing serious debate among the invited guests.

“My concern is the effect to the viewers especially those who are experiencing depression and those who have suicidal tendencies, baka lang ma-trigger. The actors are very good and believable in their acting, so we need to be careful, and viewer discretion is advised,” said psychologist Randy Dellosa, who people would instantly recognize as Pinoy Big Brother’s resident physiologist and physiatrist and a frequent resource person for numerous reality shows.

In response, the director said, “We hope to raise awareness on mental health issues. We believe the series is a potent tool to serve as a springboard for numerous discussions related to this issue.”

He further said that the series is dark and presenting such story is a double-edged sword. But they hope the viewers would take it in a different way. Since the issues in the series happen in real life and the story itself is inspired by real people, they wanted it to serve as a platform to reach out to people who might be in need of professional help.

“We need constant communication because that’s what lacking in the life of my character,” Jane said succinctly.

D3

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

11

EMERGING ARTISTS

TO KEEP IN YOUR RADAR TONS of fresh music comes out each day and to keep up, we’re running down the musical acts poised to break it huge. Featuring genres of pop, acoustic, alternative, rock and heavy metal, the country’s rising artists are creating a buzz with their own brand of OPM sound.

It’s high time to amp up your playlist with these nine acts as seen in the first One Music Live performance this year: 1. Agsunta Even if they officially “signed off” from social media they promise to still bring their acoustic and soft melodic rock sound influenced by OPM.“We are just on time off and we want to focus on ourselves and our music more,“ Jireh Singson of Agsunta collectively said for the group.

2. Argo These fresh kids offer a funky new vibe to OPM with musical influences ranging from different genres. Proof that they aren’t just boy toys but can run with the big boys of the Pinoy music scene.

3. Cane City An alternative rock band, Cane City has members who hail from Tarlac City, a province known as one of the biggest sugar producing locations in the country because of cane. The band plans to reach out and inspire more people with their own twist of music genres, which led to a fast rise in their cult following.

4. Carlito Don’t let the age of the young punk-rock band prevent you from enjoying their original take on grunge and rock classics. “We want to be one of the bands who will be able to promote OPM, especially now that the band scene is making a comeback,” Carlito band frontman, JC Padilla, enthused. JC is the son of Magandang Buhay host Karla Estrada and brother to actor Daniel Padilla. The latter also used to play with his brother in another band.

5. Davey Langit A prolific songwriter, Davey continues to write songs even for brands and corporations.

He is also the musician behind Ilocano song “Idjay” and he recently did the song for the McLisse movie, Sakaling Maging Tayo, entitled “Di Mo Na Kailangan Pang Malaman.”

6. Migz Haleco Acoustic singer-songwriter Migz Haleco has first made a name for himself with viral covers uploaded on his YouTube channel. He is also the interpreter of a Himig Handog favorite, “Bes” and is even touted as the

'Project Feb. 14' is an original series set to stream on iWant.

John Mayer of the Philippines.

7. Quacid Another Tarlac-based band, Quacid features alternative-rock tunes from the 90’s and promises to offer their own take on OPM. “Pagkagising Ko” is a single by Quacid and is part of the McLisse film Sakaling Maging Tayo official movie soundtrack.

8. Solabros.com The group’s name originated from “Sola” meaning Solas, or “Sol” for short. “Solas” is defined as peace, joy and happiness in the Gaelic language and “bros” means brothers, while “.com” means City Of Mandaluyong or Abalos Brothers from City Of Mandaluyong.

'Project Feb. 14' follows a couple’s plan to record and broadcast a twisted act on Valentine's Day. Mccoy and Jane in their most daring roles yet

FORMER STAR MAGIC TALENT VIES FOR MISS GLOBAL CROWN

By Eton Concepcion THE 6th Miss Global 2018 international pageant kicked off with the press presentation of its 47 official candidates held at Ayala Malls Seda Vertis North in Quezon City on Monday.

Philippine representative Eileen Gonzales bagged the Darling of the Press award with Miss USA Pamela Lee and Miss Uzbekistan Tamila Khodjaeva, placing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Gonzales, a 22-year-old single mother from Cavite, was as former Star Magic talent who gave birth to Pinoy Big Brother (2009) 4th placer Johan Santos’ son in 2017.

The 2018 Miss Global pageant, which is being hosted for the third time by the Miss Global Philippines, headed by MGP CEO Pauline Sofia Lapin, is open to single women moth-

ers to compete, just as transsexual can compete in Miss Universe pageant.

With a short duration of two weeks, the candidates had an island tour of Boracay before they returned to Manila for the coronation night set at the Newport Performing Arts Theater Resorts World Manila tomorrow, Feb. 11, with delayed telecast on GMA 7.

Based on their performance during the press presentation, the following are strong contenders for the crown: Miss USA, Miss Brazil, Miss Czech Republic, Miss Morocco, Miss Ecuador, Miss Haiti, Miss India, Miss Indonesia, Miss Malaysia, Miss Aborigine Australia, Miss Australia, Miss Canada, Miss Cambodia, Miss Finland and Miss Philippines.

Barbara Vitorelli of Brazil is the current titleholder.

Miss Global Philippines 2018 Eileen Gonzales

Their heavy metal music is influenced by their father, Jerome Abalos of OPM metal band Death By Stereo.

9. Sinqo The FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano actor Lester Llansang balances acting and making rocking music with his four-man alternative rock band Sinqo that’s sure to bolster your tunes with their fired up music.

10. Tanakuta The four-piece group’s modern 90’s alternative, rock anthems are inspired by pop-punk ‘90s bands. Tanakuta is reminiscent of OPM alternative’s heyday and now its members are ready to make fresh tunes with ABS-CBN Music.

11. Unit 406 Alternative pop-rock band Unit 406 broke into the OPM scene with their feel-good rock music and candidly shared that they got the group’s name from the unit number of the condo where they all first jammed together, and the rest as they say is history. They got the 5th Best Song for “Tanghaling Tapat” in the Himig Handog 2017 and was recently nominated for “Best Performance by a New Group Recording Artist” for Awit Awards 2018.

Watch out for the upcoming projects of ABS-CBN Music’s roster of artists and follow @ dnamusicph on Facebook and Instagram.

D4

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Desiree Carlos, Editor

Pets

daycarlos28@yahoo.com

MY FURRY BESTIE Mommy Whitey (left) always met reporter (author) Pam with a smile whenever she passed by. Whitey and Boomer (right) were tied to the wooden cart 24/7 and were given food and water only when the owner or his wife could visit.

The sad situation of Mommy Whitey and pup Epi before their adoption.

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.

"Kariton" pup lived on the side of a busy street in a wooden cart with his mom Whitey.

"Kariton" pup gets adopted by furmom Barbi (right) a few hours after reporter Pam (left) asked for help for them online.

Pup Epi ran to his mom Whitey when they were reunited a week later and immediately sucked milk from her.

AN EARTH ANGEL FOR A POOR “KARITON” PUP

By Pam I. Claveria

D

O YOU believe in angels?

I do.

On January 28, an angel in human form named Barbara (Barbi) Francisco gave a puppy who lived in a wooden kart or "kariton" a better chance at survival. I call him the “kariton” pup while Barbi named him Epi. Barbi adopted the cute brown puppy a few hours after reading my post for help in the group page of Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL), an animal welfare group of which I am a member.

I was so overwhelmed by gratitude that I hugged her when we met up later that night for the adoption of the puppy.

The puppy's mother is Whitey, an aspin tied to a wooden cart 24/7 along a busy street in Quezon City, at the back of Quirino Me-

PET TALES

BY DESIREE CARLOS

morial Medical Center, popularly known as Labor Hospital.

Whitey's owner was a "mangangalakal" or scavenger who sells recyclable materials to junk shops.

He would leave Whitey and Boomer, another dog, tied to his cart day in and day out. The owner's wife visited and fed Whitey and Boomer once in a while.

I would pass by these poor dogs on my way to work twice a week, feed them, and take them on walks on the days that I am in the area.

Whitey gave birth the day after Christmas to four puppies. Two pups were given away by the owner and one was unfortunately eaten by the big rats in the area. Only Epi was left with Whitey then.

The place is not safe for any exploring puppy, thus I called for

help in the Save ALL group page.

God must have heard my pleas for help for Epi, the “kariton” puppy, Boomer and Momma Whitey.

On that same day, the owner's wife was there and I asked for permission to have the puppy adopted. I also asked her to allow Mommy Whitey to be adopted by the same person so she can still nurse the one-month-old pup. She gave her consent.

Everything worked out for this lucky pup as Barbi, who rescues dogs and cats as well, adopted both Epi and Mommy Whitey.

With the puppy and Mommy Whitey out of the “kariton world,” the owner’s wife said she could now bring Boomer, the black and white dog, to their new house come mid-February. She said that the house needs a dog.

Everything just fell into place.

Epi found a safe, warm and loving forever home with his furmom Barbi. He was reunited with his

dog mommy, Whitey, a week later.

Boomer will be brought to a safer place next week.

It was very heartwarming to see puppy Epi running towards his mama Whitey and immediately trying to suck milk from her when Barbi went back for Whitey. It was a happy moment for both dogs. They can now be assured of a safe and loving home where there is food and clean drinking water everyday.

Thank you furmom Barbi for opening up your loving home to them.Thank you Save ALL for providing a venue for such cases.

All in a day's work with God's providence.

About the Author: Pam I. Claveria, an animal welfare advocate, has a propensity for rescuing cats, kittens and dogs, either stranded or abandoned, along busy street islands.

At present, her eleven cats and five dogs keep her busy aside from the occasional animal rescue "work."

EYE CARE FOR DOGGOS

IT IS very important to always check your dog’s eyes, specially when he or she has reached the age of five (5) which is considered as the start of the “senior years.”

Heather Russell-Revesz, in How to Care for Your Dog’s Eyes from fourpaws.com, notes: “Look into the eyes of your darling dog and you’ll see unbridled love and devotion reflected back at you. Those expressive eyes say so much, and it’s up to you to keep them healthy and looking good. You may not think about caring for your dog’s eyes as a part of his regular grooming routine, but it is important to include an eye check as part of the process.”

while you’re driving, this increases his risk of eye injury. It’s best to keep him safely enclosed inside the car.”

Moreover, Russell-Revesz says that pugs, shih tzus and other shortnosed dogs “tend to have slightly bulging eyes that are more prone to accidents. If you have a short-nosed breed and observe anything unusual that might be an issue, make an appointment with your veterinarian.”

Eye care

Regular check-up

We have our senior dogs’ eyes checked every year by an ophthalmologist at the Vets in Practice in White Plains, Quezon City. An appointment must be set with the ophthalmologist.

We also ask a vet who comes over every month to check the eyes of all rescued dogs and personal dogs.

We ourselves check the dogs’ eyes as often as we can.

What to look out for

KATRINA, an abandoned dog, continues to bring an energy of pure love and joy to the home of owner Emer Alcantara.

Emer recalls how Katrina came into their lives: “I heard a loud cry from a distant neighbor's house. The noise bothered me so I went out to check what it was.

I peeked through a window and saw two dogs crying out for help. They were left on their own for three days as the owners had moved out.”

“I asked my neighbor to help me get the dogs out. I fed them. I decided to adopt one of the dogs and named her Katrina, “ Emer adds.

Last year however, Emer says Katrina developed a tumor.

“We had her checked and she underwent chemotherapy. She had four (chemo) sessions. After four months, we had her checked again at the UP Lab and we were so glad to know she was free of the tumor,” Emer adds.

She is now five (5) years old and Emer says she loves the attention from the whole family Katrina sleeps with her family and her 14-year-old shih tzu brother, Ian, who was given by Emer’s niece.

“She gives generous kisses and loves being carried as soon as she hears my voice at the door when I come home from work. We love her too much!” Emer says.

An opthalmologist checks the eyes of senior dog Shakti ( 10 years old) every year. An eye check-up is included in the yearly physical check-up of senior dogs.

“The first thing you need to do is to bright, and the lining should appear visually inspect your dog’s eyes. Look pink and healthy,“ says Russell-Revesz.

She adds: “Dogs who exercise in for redness, swelling, or unusual discharge. The eyes should be clear and fields or forests may be more apt to

get foreign bodies stuck in their eyes, but even city dogs can experience this problem. And while your dog may enjoy sticking his head out the window

Tear stain removers and eye cleaners are available in clinics. Please ask your vet for the best product for these concerns.

Gently remove tear stains from around the eyes by wiping around the eyes and in the corners. Please avoid touching the eyeball.

“If you have a dog with white fur, use the wipes daily to prevent tear stains. Otherwise a few times a week is a good routine for most dogs, “Russell-Revesz says.

Please ask your vet to show you how to clean the eyes. This is very important so as not to damage your dog’s eyes.

A vet will prescribe an eye drop for dogs that is suitable for different eye problems such as cataract (white film in the eyes), pigmentation, or dry eyes and irritation, among others.

Please do not “self-medicate” for your dogs.

ARFIE “came into our lives on Valentine's day last year when he was about two months old. He was a rescued dog who had been through a lot at such a young age, mostly neglect from his first family,” says his human sister Kirsten Hailey Ganitnit.

"Having him as my baby brother is the best feeling in the world", says Kirsten.

From day one onwards, Arfie and Kirsten were inseparable.

“This coming February 14 will mark his first year with us and what a year it has been for us as a family,” Kirsten says.

Editor's note: These stories were compiled by admin Miks Lim of Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL), a SEC-registered animal welfare group that helps animals in need, and encourages and promotes responsible pet ownership, adoption of rescued dogs and cats from fosters, shelters and pounds, and spaying and neutering of pets to control animal population in the country, among others.