Manila Standard - 2019 September 29 - Sunday

P500M FOR ANTI-RABIES DRIVE

By Maricel V. Cruz

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 227 • 6 SECTIONS 24 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE National Rabies Prevention and Control Program gets P500 million in fresh funding next year, Rep. Michael Defensor (Anakalusugan) said on Saturday, on the occasion of World Rabies Day. “The extra funding for the program is meant to enable the country to fi-

LOOKOUT ORDER VS. DRUG QUEEN

WORLD WHIRL. The training

ship of the Spanish Navy 'Juan Sebastián Elcano' has marked the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the globe by retracing the voyage undertaken by the famous Magellan-Elcano expedition. Exactly 500 years ago, on Sept. 20, 1519, five ships with a crew of over 200 men from different nationalities sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to undertake what would become one of the biggest exploits in the history of humankind. The expedition, led first by Ferdinand Magellan and then by Juan Sebastián Elcano, was organized and financed by the Spanish Crown. It concluded in 1522, when only one ship and 18 men, including Elcano, returned to Spain. The 'Juan Sebastián Elcano' will arrive to the Philippines in March 2021, after visiting Brazil next December, followed by Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Guam.

By Vito Barcelo IMMIGRATION officers in all the international air and sea ports in the country were on the lookout for suspected drug queen Guia Gomez Castro who might arrive in the country anytime from Hong Kong.

Castro was the woman the Manila police district had accused of conspiring with rogue police officers to sell illegal drugs, a situation which prompted Baguio City Mayor Turn to A2

PH SENATORS HIT BACK AT US SOLONS R

EVENGE. Vengeance.

Retribution.

These are sounds that echo from the Philippine Senate, with two administration senators sneering at US senators’—Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Dick Durbin of Illinois – call for a travel ban against those who put detained Senator Leila De Lima behind bars since 2017.

The two initiated a move to ban from American soil Philippine officials involved in de Lima’s detention.a Speaking in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Senator Christopher Go said he would make a parallel proposal to President Rodrigo Duterte banning the American lawmakers here.

“These senators should also be banned here in the Philippines. I will suggest to President Duterte

nally eradicate rabies,” said Defensor, vice chairman of the House health committee.

The program’s new allocation is lodged in the budget of the Department of Health in the proposed General Appropriations Act for 2020 that the House has approved, Defensor said.

The DOH aims to eliminate human Turn to A2

to ban these legislators from entering our country for interfering in our internal affairs. These senators think they know better than us in governing ourselves,” said Go. He said the US lawmakers’ ban proposal spat on Philippine sovereignty and the judicial process.

“It is an affront [to] our sovereignty and our ability to govern ourselves. It unduly pressures our independent course and disrespects the entire judicial process of the Philippines by questioning its competence,” he said.

For his part, Senate President Vicente Sotto III also hit the US senators’ move, calling them meddlers in Philippine affairs.

“How would they feel if a resolution is filed here saying senators supporting the move to impeach [US President Donald] Trump should be banned in the Philippines? They are meddling,” Sotto told a forum in Quezon City.

WEATHER

He said De Lima was “innocent until proven guilty... but you can’t have a US senator judge the case.”

He added: “It’s so far-fetched.

Maybe he (sic) thinks we’re still an American Commonwealth.”

Meanwhile, Leahy criticized Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo for saying Washington was interfering with Manila’s affairs over a proposed travel ban against officials behind the imprisonment of De Lima.

“Every year, the United States provides large amounts of aid to the Philippines, and I have supported that aid. I assume President [Rodrigo] Duterte’s spokesman who defended the wrongful imprisonment of Senator De Lima does not consider our aid to be ‘interfering’ in their sovereignty,” Leahy said in a statement to ABSCBN News.

“Our aid is not a blank check, and when Philippine officials abuse

the justice system for the purpose of political retribution, we have a responsibility to respond.”

Leahy and Durbin filed an amendment in the 2020 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill to deny entry of any Philippine government officials involved in De Lima’s imprisonment.

The US Senate Appropriations Committee approved the amendment Friday (Saturday in Manila), which states that “the Secretary of State shall apply subsection [prohibition on entry] to foreign government officials about whom the Secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of... Senator Leila de Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017.”

Panelo earlier said the US Senate’s move was a“brazen”attempt to intrude into the Philippines’internal affairs, saying it treated Manila as an “inferior state.”

Turn to A2

OFW DROPS P38-M SHABU AT AIRPORT

By Joel E. Zurbano GOVERNMENT agents arrested in Tarlac the man who abandoned a backpack and a trolley bag containing more than P38 million worth of shabu at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday.

Nazarene Obillo, the passenger who left his luggage around 7 a.m. at the arrival carousel of NAIA Terminal 1, was arrested in a hot pursuit operation by operatives of the Bureau of Customs and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

At presstime, Customs-NAIA officials were inviting members of the media to attend a press conference as Obillo would be transported from Tarlac to Terminal 1 anytime Saturday night.

Initial investigation showed the prohibited substance was discovered during the regular course of Customs inspection at the airport.

Customs airport district collector Carmelita Talusan said Obillo, who arrived on board Philippine Airlines flight PR596 from Hanoi, Vietnam, might have sensed that he was being “watched” and decided to leave his luggage at the airport. Turn to A2

GABAY GURO TRIBUTE.

'ONYOK' ENTERS PAR, WORSENS TROPICAL Depression“Onyok”strengthened into a tropical storm and accelerated slightly on Saturday, with the state weather bureau said it could grow into a severe tropical storm within 24 hours.

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said “Onyok” (international name Mitag) now has maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.

Its center was estimated at 890 km east of Turn to A2 twitter.com/ MlaStandard

Over 20,000 teachers from across the country gather at the Mall Of Asia Arena on Sept. 22 for the PLDT-Smart ‘Gabay Guro’ tribute, the biggest, grandest, prize-filled all-star festival. Maricel Bustillo of Las Piñas National Senior High School, CAA Campus (third from left) won a brand-new house and lot, as teachers also witnessed the launch of the Gabay Guro app, which will provide e-learning content and interactive technology and ready-to-use online tools for teachers. Also in photo are (from left) PLDT-Smart Foundation president Esther Santos, Alexandria and the Centers of Wisdom Corp. (Philippine Distributor of XSEED Education) chairman John B. Echauz, and PLDT SVP and Smart CFO Chaye Cabal-Revilla, Gabay Guro chairman.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMEBER 29, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

52 CONVICTS FREED IN TWO BATCHES—DOJ THE Department of Justice on Saturday confirmed the release of 52 convicts who got out of prison early but surrendered after President Rodrigo Duterte issued an ultimatum on heinous crime prisoners granted early release on good conduct.

In a statement, DOJ spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete said the convicts, the first of two batches, were released Friday, citing confirmation from the Bureau of Corrections.

The department had previously confirmed the release of 35 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as verified by the DOJ-BuCor Joint Task Force, bringing the total to 87.

Those released included convicts who were not heinous crime offenders, those already acquitted of their offenses, and those rightfully pardoned and paroled.

They were given certificates as proof of release but these could not be made public, Perete said.

“Unfortunately, we cannot make those certificates publicly available. But they should at the very least contain the following info: date of and ground/basis for previous release; date of surrender; re-evaluation finding; and basis (acquittal, grant of parole, etc) for re-release,”he said.

Convicts residing in Metro Manila were immediately released, while transportation was being arranged for those from the provinces, Perete said.

He said the Joint Task Force was to meet on Saturday to continue deliberations, but in a later text message, however, Perete said the first two batches of 52 PDLs have already been released.

The 87 convicts to be released anew were earlier freed due to acquittal, pardon, and parole, among others, and not due to the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance Act. However, they surrendered again to authorities after Duterte on Sept. 4 ordered prisoners who have been released because of good conduct credits under Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA Law to surrender and register themselves with the BuCor in 15 days.

Duterte said such former inmates would be treated as fugitives from justice if they would not do so.

When the ultimatum had lapsed, authorities found that the number of those who surrendered exceeded its list, as parolees not covered by the order also turned themselves in.

Data from BuCor showed that 22,049 PDLs were released from 2014 to 2019 due to good conduct time allowance.

But the Palace said the 2013 law excluded recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and persons charged with heinous crimes from its coverage.

BuCor data showed that of the 22,049 PDLs released, 1,914 had been convicted of heinous crimes such as murder and rape.

Of those convicted of heinous crimes, 797 were sentenced for murder, 758 for rape, 274 for robbery with violence or intimidation, 48 for drug-related offenses, 29 for parricide, five for kidnapping with illegal detention, and three for destructive arson.

'ONYOK' ...

From A1 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, and moving northwest at 35 kph from the previous 30 km/h, relatively fast for a tropical cyclone.

PAGASA maintained that“Onyok”is less likely to make landfall in the country, as there are no areas under tropical cyclone wind signals. But its trough or extension is expected to trigger scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms in the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions until Sunday.

Based on Onyok’s latest forecast track, it could leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday or Tuesday. It is the Philippines’ 15th tropical cyclone for 2019 and the fifth in September.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers brought by localized thunderstorms.

Winds in Northern Luzon will be moderate to strong and headed northeast, which will bring moderate to rough coastal waters reaching 1.2 meters to 2.8 meters.

The Visayas and the rest of Luzon will have light to moderate winds going northeast to east and its coastal waters will be slight to moderate at a height of 0.6 meter to 2.5 meters.

Moreover, winds in Mindanao will be light to moderate, heading southwest to west with the same coastal water conditions.

Temperatures in Metro Manila will be about 25°C to 33°C; Baguio City, 17°C to 23°C; Lipa City, 25°C to 33°C; Iloilo City, 27°C to 33°C; Metro Cebu, 26°C to 33°C; and Metro Davao, 26°C to 33°C. PNA

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PH, CHINA THUMB DOWN UN RESO ON ROHINGYA

HE Rohingya crisis needs a long-considered approach rather than “harsh short-term solution actions” imposed on the country concerned, the Philippine mission to the United Nations in Geneva said, as it voted against a UN resolution on the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. mandates on Myanmar, which have already cost the Southeast Asian state millions of dollars.

“We find it alarming that the cost of maintaining these mandates from 2018 to 2020 amount to a staggering $35 million, all of it spent on staff and consultant salaries and travel— none on concrete programs on the ground,” she said.

Almojuela said the Council should direct its discussions and pursue actions towards constructive and comprehensive cooperation with Myanmar, including to support the government in building and strengthening domestic account-

Of the UN member-countries who cast their votes, only two voted “no”—the Philippines and China, as 37 voted “yes” and seven abstained.

The UN Human Rights Council resolution “expresses grave concern at continuing reports of serious human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar.”

Reading the country’s position at the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council on Thursday was Maria Teresa Almojuela, Philippine Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.

Almojuela said the Philippines is concerned over the rising number of

P500M...

From A1

PH SENATORS...

From A1 “It seeks to place pressure upon our independent institutions thereby effectively interfering with our nation’s sovereignty,” Panelo said.

“It is an outright disrespect to our people’s clamor for law and order. It treats our country as an inferior state unqualified to run its own affairs,” he added.

Panelo maintained that De Lima is not a “prisoner of conscience,” arguing that her case underwent proper proceedings.

“She is being afforded all her rights to due process and has in fact availed of available legal remedies under our procedural rules,” he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Liberal Party vice president for external affairs, Erin Tañada, issued a statement where he said the two US senators’ action “may affect underlings of the Duterte Administration.”

Tañada said: “As a sovereign act of the US legislature, we respect as much as we laud the move of its Senate committee to prohibit the entry of Philippine government officials involved in the unjust imprisonment of De Lima.

“The specter of human rights violations and irreparable havoc caused by the drug war and injustice done to its critics are slowly haunting this administration.

“Gauging from President Duterte’s earlier aversion toward the US, this ban being pushed by the US Senate committee may not have a big dent on the chief executive himself.

“But maybe his underlings are silently beginning to get jittery, especially those who love going on so-called official trips to the US and boxing fans who fill the front row of the sports arenas like it is the session hall.''

De Lima has been detained since February 2017 on allegations made by high-profile convicts she was involved in the drug trade at the state penitentiary when she was justice chief.

De Lima, a staunch administration critic, has called the charges political persecution.

LOOKOUT...

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Benjamin Magalong and police officers to point to what eventually had been described as “ninja cops” in the recycling of narcotics seized in drug raids.

Magalong and other officials concerned with the drugs issue have been invited to a Senate hearing Tuesday, Senator Richard Gordon said.

“We have summoned everyone,” said Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, in an interview on dzMM radio, heard nationwide.

The former CIDG chief confirmed the ‘agaw bato’ scheme and would name cops in drug recycling.

Gordon said Magalong, former chief of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, would reveal the names of “ninja cops”

ability mechanisms.

The Philippines’ rejection of the UN on Rohingya runs counter to President Rodrigo Duterte’s goodwill gesture last February, when he offered Filipino citizenship to Rohingya refugees as he reiterated his willingness to accept them into the country.

In April 2018, Duterte even said “genocide” has been taking place against Rohingya refugees, drawing Myanmar’s bitter response asking the President to shut his mouth for knowing nothing about their country.

Duterte later apologized to Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for saying genocide was taking place in her country, and clarified that he was hitting out at European countries, which had accused Myanmar of human rights violations, but did little to help the Rohingya.

“The Philippines underlines the importance of continued support for ensuring the safety and for all communities in Rakhine state, the provision of humanitarian assistance to displaced Rohingyas and other minorities, and the dialogue and

deaths from rabies by next year, and to declare the Philippines Rabies-Free by 2022.

As of 2018, the number of “rabies-free areas” in the country reached 62, up from 49 in 2017, the DOH said in a report submitted to Congress.

Though not a leading cause of mortality in the country, rabies still kills some 300 Filipinos every year, according to the DOH. The viral disease is transmitted from animals (mainly dogs) to people. It is spread to humans through close contact with the infected dog’s saliva via bites or scratches.

Rabies is 100 percent fatal and yet 100 percent preventable with vaccination in animals and people, according to the World Health Organization.

In May, a 24-year-old Norwegian woman died after catching rabies from the bite of a stray puppy that she rescued while vacationing in the Philippines three months earlier.

The woman failed to seek immediate post-exposure vaccination. She became sick and eventually died after returning to Norway.

Defensor reminded local governments and pet owners of their obligations under the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007.

“Local governments are duty-bound under the law to conduct periodic mass vaccinations of dogs, establish databases for registered and inoculated dogs, control homeless and unvaccinated dogs and

OFW...

From A1

Customs inspectors conducted a physical examination on the luggage in the presence of airline personnel and other government agencies, including the PDEA. During inspection, the authorities found a wrapped plastic containing 5.16 kilos of shabu inside a brown trolley luggage bag and another 1.02 kilos inside a transparent plastic placed at the backpack bag.

Obillo will be charged with violation of Republic Act 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act) and RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act).

The latest apprehension was the 51st seizure made by the Customs-NAIA which has been active in intercepting illegal drugs both in passenger terminals and air parcels.

It also brings to P600 million the total amount of drugs seized at the airport since March last year.

The Customs-NAIA made a record-breaking of 50

he already bared in an executive session at the Senate last week.

Gordon said: “I hope we learn new information from him to stop this problem.”

Magalong had first appeared at the Senate to testify on alleged corruption at the Bureau of Corrections, including a scheme where hospital passes were being sold to moneyed inmates.

At Camp Crame, PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, commenting on the “ninja cops issue,” said the expose on the supposed drug queen did not come from them.

He said “If the expose on Guia Gomez Castro was indeed a diversionary tactic, the Philippine National Police has no hand in it since it was not even the PNP that floated the alleged Manila drug queen’s name in the media.”

“We did not name that. We were not the source of that moniker,”Albayalde told reporters on Saturday, responding to Gor-

coordination between Myanmar and Bangladesh to facilitate the repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine State,” Almojuela said.

“We see the need for a comprehensive and durable solution to address the root causes of the conflict and to create a conducive environment that promotes harmony and reconciliation among the various communities, as well as to ensure sustainable and equitable development in Rakhine State and other parts of Myanmar,” she added.

Reiterating Manila’s call for “durable solutions” that would take root in the context of the democratic transition that is being pursued by Myanmar within its legitimate political processes, Almojuela said the Philippines voted against the resolution.

Adopted by the UNHRC during its 42nd regular session, the resolution on the Rohingya issue urges Myanmar to sustain the democratic transition, by bringing all national institutions, including the military, under a democratically elected civilian government.

PNA

conduct public information drives to prevent and control rabies,” Defensor said.

“Pet owners are required to have their dogs regularly vaccinated against rabies, submit their dogs for mandatory registration, maintain control over their dogs at all times, report dog biting incidents inside 24 hours and assist dog bite victims,” Defensor said.

The WHO commemorates Sept. 28 of every year as World Rabies Day “to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.”

Sept. 28 also marks the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist who developed the first rabies vaccine.

Meanwhile, as various disease outbreaks increasingly challenge the country’s health care system, frontliner barangay health workers should be included in the list of barangay officials who receive a fixed allowance, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Saturday.

“Health is a priority for the Filipino family, especially in these times when preventable diseases that harm babies and children are back. Many who can’t go to the hospital and doctor, especially those in remote areas, rely on the barangay health worker,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.

Over the past year, the country has been visited by a series of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, dengue, and polio.

Cases of another vaccine-preventable disease, diphtheria, have been confirmed by the Department of Health recently.

“Barangay health workers are the primary healthcare providers in communities. They’re really in the front-line,” the senator added. drug seizures from March 2018 to September 2019.

Most of the seized drugs were shabu, ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana coming from China, United States and European countries.

Talusan said the men and women of BOC-NAIA were focused not only in doing their best to meet their revenue target but also in protecting the country’s borders.

Just recently, Talusan’s men intercepted at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City a package of liquid marijuana smuggled from Romania.

The authorities also arrested the claimant and consignee of the package identified as Jeffrey Ciabal Perez, 33, a seaman and resident of 0690 Purok 6 San Lucas 2, San Pablo City, Laguna.

The package, which arrived on Sept. 19, contained six boxes of bottled liquid marijuana shipped by BayerVasilica of St. Gheorghe GR Miko Imre, Romania.

The package, based on its import manifest, was misdeclared as “ULEI CBD full plant extract.”

“Attempts to bring in and out prohibited goods are forewarned since Customs-NAIA is aggressively monitoring all parcels and baggage in the port,”said Talusan.

don’s claim the drug queen expose was an attempt to divert attention from corrupt “ninja cops” who recycle seized drugs.

The initial information on the alleged drug queen came from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino.

Castro was already out of the country, according to authorities, even as they vowed the case buildup against her was already ongoing.

In the Senate, the chamber president Vicente Sotto III on Saturday defended the measure he proposed creating a new anti-drug body amid opposition from PDEA and Dangerous Drugs Board DDB. Sotto’s bill seeks to establish the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority (PRDEA) to replace the PDEA and DDB. The PDEA and the DDB, however, opposed the creation of the PRDEA, claiming this would compromise the progress made in the anti-illegal drugs campaign.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra

on Friday issued an immigration lookout bulletin order against Castro, directing the Bureau of Immigration to monitor her entry into and departure from the Philippines.

Castro left the country on Sept. 21 onboard a Cebu Pacific airlines to Hong Kong and might return to the Philippines anytime, the BI said.

Castro, an elected barangay chairwoman, was accused by police of buying illegal drugs that erring policemen allegedly confiscated from legitimate operations and “recycled” to be resold in the market. She has denied the allegations.

Should Castro choose to stay in Hong Kong, the Philippine government could cancel her passport and would be considered an undocumented in any country she would try to hide, the BI said.

The Justice eepartment can also request the International police or interpol to monitor Castro after the issuance of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order.

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REGULATE FREIGHT, COURIER SERVICES, CONGRESS URGED

By Maricel V. Cruz

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HE House of Representatives is urged to craft a law that will regulate the country’s freight and courier services.

At a budget deliberation for the proposed 2020 national government budget, Information and Communication Secretary Gringo Honasan made the appeal to legislators as he voiced concern over reports that unscrupulous foreign couriers have resorted to using modern information and communications technology to victimize many Filipinos, specifically overseas workers.

Honasan said the proliferation of illegal and unlicensed foreign couriers has also started to put

legitimate freight and courier service companies in an unfair situation of competing against unregulated and fly-by-night operators.

“The issue here: They are not only transporting goods but people, so we want regulatory intervention through a legislation first. Then an efficient and effective enforcement of the new law shall follow, and also an effective executive action,” Honasan told reporters at the sidelines of the plenary deliberations for the next year’s General Appropriations Bill.

Lawmakers earlier had said that

fly-by-night freight and courier service operators have raked in billions of pesos through smuggling, thus putting their victims in trouble with the law.

One of them, Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, said the risk of OFWs being tagged as smugglers was a cause for alarm and thus the need for measures to regulate the freight and courier service industry.

“Customers who fall prey to illegal firms also face the risk of being accused of tax evasion,” he added.

Atienza earlier called on concerned government agencies to look into alleged unscrupulous freight and courier service companies that are allegedly operating without proper license.

Atienza specifically named some of these companies: Ninja Express

which is reportedly owned by Ninja Logistics PTE, LTD—a Singaporean corporation. Another company, J&T, is a forwarder reportedly licensed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Civil Aeronautics Board but reportedly has no DICT approval to render domestic courier services.

A company called Black Arrow Express is reportedly licensed to operate in Metro Manila but has allegedly extended its operations to Cebu and Leyte.

Given this, Honasan said there is a need for Congress to craft permanent set of regulations to address the problem.

“We need a new law to address these problems.. and that by having a new law we will have a long term policy on this issue,” Honasan said.

LAWMAKER SEEKS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, CONSERVATION EFFORTS A LAWMAKER from Rizal province on Saturday urged the private sector to invest on sustainable tourism and conservation efforts.

Rep. Fidel Nograles of Rizal issued the call following international recognition of the Masungi Georeserve in his province as one of the most sustainable and innovative tourism projects in the world.

Nograles said tourism-oriented companies should “be like Masungi“ in exploring sustainable tourism and doing their share to help protect the environment.

Early this month, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, recognized Masungi as one of three leading private sector-led tourism projects in the world.

Nograles, in whose district Masungi is located, said that the project should serve as a template for other companies to follow.

Masungi Georeserve is at the boundary of Baras and Tanay towns.

“The declaration would help set up the proper infrastructure to support tourism in and around the area,” Nograles said as he filed House Bill 2639 declaring Masungi Georeserve as a tourist destination.

“The government should promote sustainable tourism and conservation in the same manner the private sector does. It is, after all, government’s duty to secure the interests and patrimony of the people,” Nograles, vice chairman of the House indigenous cultural communities committee, said.

He said the sustained success of Masungi and other sustainable tourism projects in the country is closely tied with how well the government responds to the issues that arise from developing such sites. Maricel V. Cruz

PRESIDENTIAL Communications Operations Secretary Martin Andanar described as “baseless and absurd” the opinion piece of online news Rappler chief Maria Ressa which was published by the Los Angeles Times.

In a statement, Andanar disputed Ressa’s number of deaths under President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs which she claimed has reached to 27,000 since the drive started in 2016.

“Ressa’s claim that there were 27,000 drug-related killings in the Philippines was baseless. There were only about 5,000 deaths based on reports from Philippine law enforcement agencies,” Andanar said.

“Again, Ms. Ressa continues to cite the baseless number of 27,000 drug addicts that were allegedly killed, which is actually the total homicide

SEIZED PINOY SHIP CREW IN IRAN RELEASED—DFA IRANIAN authorities released on Friday the crew members, including a Filipino national, of the Stena Impero that it earlier seized, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported.

“Ambassador to Iran Wilfredo Santos conveyed to Iranian authorities the appreciation of the Philippine government for releasing the said Filipino crew member, who is the second officer of the Stena Impero, and ensuring the safety and well-being of all crew members of the Stena Impero,” the DFA said in a bulletin.

The Stena Impero, a British-flagged and Swedish-owned tanker, was seized by Iranian authorities while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on July 19.

On Sept. 7, another vessel with 12 Filipino crew members on board, was seized by Iran.

The DFA, on Friday night, assured that the Philippine Embassy in Tehran was closely monitoring the reported detention.

The Al Buraq 1 (IMO:7318975), an offshore supply ship, was seized over alleged fuel smuggling.

The embassy reported that it was granted permission to visit the detained Filipino crew members.

“The 12 Filipino seafarers are in good spirits and are being treated well while under detention,” the DFA said.

Santos was accompanied by other embassy officials who flew from Tehran to Hormozgan province near the Persian Gulf to personally see the crew and ascertain their condition.

“The embassy is making every effort to secure the release of the seafarers and is making all the required representation with the Iranian government to ensure their safety and well-being,” the DFA added. PNA

MANILA TO HOST ASIA-PACIFIC GRAPHIC ARTS FORUM SLATED OCT. 10-11 LEAGUE OF CITIES. President Rodrigo

Duterte delivered a speech during the 69th National Executive Board Meeting of the League of Cities of the Philippines at the DusitD2 Davao Hotel in Davao City on Sept. 27, 2019.

Presidential Photo

P515-M MODERN CORN PLANTATION IN MAGUINDANAO GETS OKAY COTABATO CITY—The setting up of a P515-million modern corn plantation in Datu Saudi Ampatuan (DSA), Maguindanao, has been given the green light by the Regional Board of Investments of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“The corn plantation, expected to generate employment to the locals, (will) be established in Barangay Kabingi of the town,” Eshan Karl Mabang, executive director of RBOIBARMM, said on Friday.

On the same day, the RBOI-BARMM approved the application of the Maguindanao Corn Developmen–DSA I Corp., an agri-based company, to register with RBOI. As a new investment, the MCD can avail of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from the government under Executive Order 226, otherwise known as the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987.

Mabang said the MCD-DSA I Corp, a 100-percent Filipino-owned company, will be the first to modernize corn production in the BARMM by using total farming solutions through efficient management and the use of precision planting technology.

“Aside from the farmers earning from the corn produce, they will also benefit from the transfer of technologies and technical know-how, particularly the precision farming protocol,” he said.

“Most of MCD’s farming methods will be mechanized and technologically advanced,” he added.

The initial phase of the corn production project will be 2,000 hectares per module, which are estimated to produce about 32,000 metric tons of yellow corn with two croppings per annum.

Its initial operation is expected to generate 280 jobs, which will increase as the project expands to 20,000 hectares in five years.

Lamsan, Inc., a corn wet-milling company based in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, will buy 100 percent of MCD’s corn produce on a pre-agreed price.

“This will address Lamsan’s increasing demand for corn,” Mabang said.

Apart from additional economic activities that would be created from the latest BARMM investment, such as the establishment of micro and small businesses in the area, the MCD, with its operational principle of “shared growth”, will also implement corporate social responsibility activities, such as reforestation, in support of environmental programs.

The firm will also assist farmers not covered by the mechanized farming scheme by providing them with farm inputs—such as seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals—at bulk acquisition price, training, and a corn buy-back arrangement at a favorable price. PNA

ANDANAR SAYS RESSA’S CLAIM OF 27K DEATHS IN DU30 DRUG WAR ‘BASELESS’

By Vito Barcelo

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

cases including cases not related to the drug war,” he said.

In her article, titled “Americans, look to the Philippines to see a dystopian future created by social media,” Ressa, who is facing tax evasion and securities fraud charges, claimed that online media “struggled to hold the Philippine government to account and end impunity” for its bloody war against illegal drugs.

Ressa also alleged that online media are targets of harrasment for crticizing the government’s drug war.

However, Andanar said Ressa’s allegations were ridiculous as defended Duterte, saying that the President himself signed RA 11458 which protects broadcast and online media from revealing confidential sources.

“Ms. Ressa should stick to the hard facts that came from our law enforcement agencies,” he said.

THE Philippine Printing Technical Foundation Inc., represented by its president Dominador D. Buhain, is hosting the 2019 Forum of Asia Pacific Graphic Arts Annual General Meeting and Forum on Oct. 10-11, 2019.

With the theme “FAPGA Reaches Out For ASEAN Cooperation to Enhance Asia-Pacific Collaboration Amids Present-Day Challenges,” the forum will be held in conjunction with the Pack Print Plas Philippines 2019 Exhibition at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Manila .

Delegates from FAPGA-member countries like Australia, India, Japan, Korea, China, and also from other Asian countries like Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos are expected to attend this event.

The Forum, which will be held Oct. 11, 2019 at 9 a.m. to 12 noon, will highlight, among others, the presentation of respective country reports.

Thereafter, a panel discussion will take place leading to the formulation of resolutions for the approval of FAPGA members and the stakeholders who are present.

Admission to Forum on Oct. 11, 2019 is free on a first come-first served basis.

In view of the space constraint, early reservation is requested. Please contact the PPTF Secretariat at 713-2671 or 713-0902.

In addition, attendees to the FAPGA Forum shall be entitled to a 50 percent discount (P500.000) of the “Golden Book Directory” which is priced at P1,000.00.

SCRATCH-IT, KENO GAMES ORDERED RESUMED

BAPTISM. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle baptized beneficiaries of the Tulay ng Kabataan at the Manila Cathedral on Sept. 28, 2019.

The beneficiaries of Tulay ng Kabataan are former residents of the slums of Metro Manila. Norman Cruz

PLAYERS of Keno Game and Instant Sweepstakes Scratch-It can now enjoy playing the games again.

This came following a decision by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office on Saturday to resume their operations after they were ordered stopped

by President Rodrigo Duterte following allegations of corruption within the PCSO. But in an order which formally took effect on Saturday, Sept. 28, the President ordered the resumption of the gaming schemes operations.

Duterte ordered a stop in all gaming operations with franchises, licenses or permits granted by the PCSO last July, but was later lifted by the President.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

News

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NICARAGUA’S ‘EL NUEVO’ CLOSES SHOP

GOING TO THE DOGS. Children sort through garbage for any recyclable materials that they can sell to a nearby scrap shop along the shoreline of Baseco Beach in Manila on Sept. 28, 2019. AFP

BACON, OTHER PORK ITEMS NO-NO AT NAIA—CUSTOMS

By Joel E. Zurbano

B

RING home the greenback but not bacon and other pork products this Christmas.

This comes as a timely admonition issued by the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in anticipation of the avalanche of canned goods and meat products brought in by travelers as gifts to their families this coming holiday season.

Customs-NAIA district collector Carmelita Talusan reminded balikbayan and other arriving travelers that canned goods or any pork products, especially those from countries affected by the highly contagious African Swine

Fever, will be confiscated.

“We’re expecting the influx of canned goods and meat products this Christmas season but we will confiscate the items and any made products from countries affected by the ASF, and from other countries with no permits,” said Talusan.

She made the reminder for the passengers to avoid any hassles at the arrival area.

Aside from chocolates, pork products such as hotdogs, sausages, ham and luncheon meat are among the favorite ‘pasalubong’ of returning travelers to their families and friends during holidays and other celebrations.

“This is not to spoil the intention of pasalubong and the spirit of Christmas but this is our way of protecting the swine industry and the country from

further outbreak,” explained Talusan.

Latest reports showed that nearly 80 percent of the world’s domestic pig population is at risk of contracting ASF as the virus continues to spread.

The government banned the importation of pork and pork-based items from Russia, Romania, South Africa, Ukraine, Zambia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Cambodia.

Talusan said her office continues its close coordination with the Bureau of Animal Industry as part of the government’s campaign against ASF. Airport and agriculture officials also deployed meat-sniffing canines to check the luggage of arriving passengers.

Customs-NAIAagentshavealreadycon-

fiscated more than 4,490 kilos of meat and meat products at the airport and turned it over to the BAI for condemnation.

ASF is not a threat to human health but it is a highly contagious disease for domestic and wild pigs.

“Safe meat products accompanied by import permit or the Sanitary and PhytoSanitary Import Clearance are the ones qualified for release in Ports,”Talusan said.

In May, authorities at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga confiscated balikbayan boxes containing canned goods brought in by an overseas Filipino worker from Hong Kong.

In September and October last year, cases of pork meat products contamination have been recorded in Korea and Japan through dumplings and hotdog products.

PMA COMMANDANT VOWS WAR ON HAZING

DEADLINE BEATER. Manila residents queue up to file their voter’s registration on Sept. 28, 2019 at the Commission on Elections office at Arroceros District in Manila. The deadline of the voter’s registration is on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. Norman Cruz

FOLLOWING renewed cases of hazing at the Philippine Military Academy, its commandant of cadets Brigadier General Romeo Brawner Jr. on Saturday promised to strengthen the guidance office of the military school to monitor the mental health of cadets.

Brawner has declared war against hazing following the death of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio, the latest hazing scandal that rocked the country’s premier military school.

Brawner told reporters that strengthening the guidance office will determine whether cadets have experienced traumatic activities at the PMA. “Ang isa sa mga magiging programa ko bilang commandant of cadets is to strengthen that office kasi kailangan natin talaga to deal with the mental health of our cadets,” Brawner said.

“Dadagdagan natin ang mga tao doon, we will try to come up with programs that would address, let’s say ‘yung trauma na mararanasan ng first year cadets,” he added.

Dormitorio was declared dead on Sept.18. An autopsy conducted on the 20-year-old cadet indicated he suffered bruises in different parts of his body due to hazing.

Police said six suspects would face charges for murder and for violating the Anti-Hazing Law. Brawner also said he wanted to empower First Class men in the military school so that they could “police their ranks.” He did not elaborate on how to empower the cadets.

THREE NEGROS CITIES BRACE FOR TRANSPORT STRIKE ON MONDAY BACOLOD CITY—Classes in three cities in Negros Occidental, including the capital Bacolod, are canceled on Monday in anticipation of a nationwide transport strike to be staged by two groups against the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.

Acting Bacolod City Mayor El Cid Familiaran issued Executive Order No. 28 on Friday, declaring the suspension of classes in all levels, both in public and private schools, due to the planned transport holiday.

City Mayor Evelio Leonardia is attending the League of Cities of the

Philippines National Executive Board Meeting in Davao City.

Familiaran said both the Department of Education Division of Bacolod City and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office have recommended the suspension of classes for the safety and convenience of students.

In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Trenas also declared th cancellation of classes in all levels both private and public schools to avoid inconveniencing the students during the transport strike.

Two national groups PISTON and Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations have announced a general transport

strike on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 in protest against the PUVMP. In Negros Occidental, the Sentrong Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Negros Inc. and Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Associations Inc. have confirmed participation in Monday’s transport holiday.

Familiaran noted that the jeepney strike, set from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., is expected to paralyze public transportation in the city’s major routes by 70 percent in the morning and 99 percent by noon.

In Bacolod’s southern neighboring city of Bago, Mayor Nicholas Yulo also declared the suspension of classes in all

levels on Monday to minimize inconvenience to the students.

However, all city government offices will be open on that day.

Yulo said the city government will provide service vehicles to government employees for them to report to their respective offices.

Meanwhile in Talisay City, Bacolod’s neighboring city in the north, Mayor Nilo Jesus Antonio Lizares III issued Executive Order No. 16, directing the cancellation of classes on Monday also upon the recommendation of DepEd Division of Talisay City and the Talisay CDRRMO. PNA

ONE of Nicaragua’s main newspapers critical of President Daniel Ortega announced it had published its last edition Friday, citing government repression.

El Nuevo Diario said it was ceasing publication “due to economic, technical and logistical difficulties that make its operation unsustainable.”

“We know that this is part of the government’s repression against journalists,” said Blanca Reyes, an editor at the newspaper.

“Since April 2018, we have been under bullets, siege and persecution,” she said.

The Central American state, led since 2006 by Ortega, has been gripped by crisis since April 2018, when opposition protests mushroomed into a popular uprising that was met with a brutal crackdown.

Political violence left more than 300 people dead and 2,000 wounded, according to rights groups, while hundreds of opposition supporters were jailed and tens of thousands of people fled the country.

The paper said the government had blocked imports of newsprint for almost a year, forcing it to trim pages from its daily editions and cease weekend publication altogether as it struggled to cope.

“There’s no doubt that the closure is part of what the newspapers have been experiencing with raw material being retained by customs,”said journalist Ernesto Garcia, a 13-year veteran of the paper.

The country’s other main independent daily, La Prensa, faces similar woes.

Nuevo Diario’s free sister publication in Managua, Metro, has also ceased publication.

Former Nicaraguan vice president Sergio Ramirez slammed the closures on social media, calling them“a blow to freedom of expression that we must repudiate and denounce.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ special rapporteur for freedom of expression, Edison Lanza, said the closure was the start of “a new stage of sophisticated repression” against the media. AFP

MANILA, UAE FIRM UP MEMO AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING THE Philippines and the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding on Cooperation in Combating Human Trafficking on Sept. 26, 2019 in New York City.

PH Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan signed the MOU at the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly.

Under the MOU, the Philippines and the UAE will adopt procedures to combat human trafficking, share best practices, exchange information, promote human rights, and provide assistance in the protection, rescue, repatriation, recovery, and rehabilitation of trafficking victims in accordance with domestic laws.

The signing of the MOU is also seen to further strengthen the bilateral relations and cooperation between the Philippines and the UAE. Both countries have ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol).

The Philippines as a country of origin has been at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking. By forging international cooperation and arrangements, the Philippines hopes to intensify the government’s efforts to help prevent and stamp out this global problem. PNA

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Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Opinion PROTESTS DELAY GIANT TELESCOPE PROJECT IN HAWAII

EDITORIAL

A STARK REMINDER

T

HIS week, Filipinos remembered how Tropical Storm “Ondoy” ravaged parts of Metro Manila and Luzon 10 years ago. Ondoy’s fury brought one month’s worth of rain in only 12 hours; it left 710 dead.

Images of that Saturday haunt our collective consciousness.

Homes and establishments were submerged in water that in some places rose to as high as the second floor. Roads were impassable for days making relief distribution difficult.

This week, too, the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change was released.

What it says, while not surprising, is nonetheless alarming. Climate change is progressing at a rate faster than expected. The consequences, which many are already beginning to feel, are dire.

Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, oceans are becoming more acidic, more violent and

more frequent weather patterns are emerging, forests are burning.

While the problem is global and the effects widespread, those bound to suffer are the poorer nations who do not have the capacity to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

In the case of the Philippines, communities are only as secure as the preparations undertaken by their local government. Ondoy 10 years ago reminded us what the so-called new normal looks like. We wonder: What would that look like in 10, 20, 30 more years?

Young people across the globe took to the streets last week and

By Laurent Banguet

this week to remind their elders that there is indeed a climate emergency, and that decisive action needs to be done now—not in the future. After all, if humans fail to slow the accumulation of deadly greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it will be the youth—and their children, and their children’s children—to suffer the consequences and live in a world so hostile and unsafe.

Ondoy is just one among many bad memories. Ten years after, we hope local governments are more resilient and better able to protect people and property from the blows of nature.

ANGER is brewing on the Big Island of Hawaii over plans to build a giant telescope on a dormant volcano that is highly sacred to the region’s native population.

For months, hundreds of protesters have delayed the start of construction on Mauna Kea volcano of the so-called Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, which astronomers say will have a dozen times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The demonstrators, who have converged on the site peacefully, argue that the $1.4-billion project would sit on a volcano that is sacred to Native Hawaiians and would harm the environment.

Celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa and Bruno Mars have lent their support to the protesters.

“What I realized today, and obviously I’ve been following this for years now, is that it’s bigger than a telescope,” Johnson, who lived in Hawaii as a child, reportedly said when he visited the site earlier this summer.

“It’s humanity. It’s culture,” he said.

Work on the project—set to be completed by 2027—was supposed to start in 2015 but has been hampered by repeated protests.

“Construction has been delayed for years because of this situation,”Christophe Dumas, a French astronomer and head of operations at TMT, told AFP. “The cost has also risen significantly... and the process to obtain a construction permit lasted 10 years.”Protest leaders say the consortium of scientists behind the project can build their scope on a less controversial site, including on a mountain in Spain’s Canary Islands, where they say it would be a winwin situation for everyone.

Dumas argues, however, that Mauna Kea “remains the ideal site” in the Northern Hemisphere because of its altitude—13,796 feet (4,205 meters) above sea level -- as well as its remoteness and clear skies which make it one of the best places on the planet for astronomical observatories.

The new telescope, according to scientists, would enable astronomers to see “forming galaxies at the very edge of the observable universe, near the beginning of time.”

Already, Mauna Kea, which means White Mountain, is home to 13 telescopes housed in 12 facilities at or around the summit, which have been the source of a host of new discoveries and scientific studies.

Some question whether one more telescope—albeit a giant one—would make such a big difference.

The answer is a resounding “yes” from opponents.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ “I talked to the leaders of the opposition and they made it real clear that not only is it too big, but it’s just one too many,” said Greg Chun, executive director of Mauna Kea stewardship at the University of Hawaii. “They tell me we have shared this mountain long enough. Enough is enough.”

He said Native Hawaiians have repeatedly expressed concerns about the development of the mountain but their complaints have, for the most part, fallen on deaf ears.

Scientists began flocking to Mauna Kea after a tsunami in 1960 devastated communities along the base of the volcano and local authorities, in a bid to revive the economy, began a drive to attract astronomers.

“From the very beginning, the development of astronomy has raised concerns about the development of the mountain,” Chun said. “So it’s not something new.”

But many observers say the Mauna Kea debate goes beyond just a telescope and reflects deep-seated resentment by some Native Hawaiians over past abuses and the legacy of colonialism in the Hawaiian islands.

Jonathan Osorio, an expert on Hawaiian culture and a longtime opponents of the planned telescope, insists that he and fellow protesters are not opposed to science but they object to telescopes being built on sacred land.

Dumas, for his part, argues that the telescope is being used as a tool to pressure authorities to seek more autonomy for the native population.

“The telescope would not sit atop the mountain and will be visible from only a small section (14 percent) of the island,” he said.

He said his team has gone to great lengths to respect local custom and tradition but the project now needs to urgently get off the ground.

“We can’t wait much longer and the next few weeks are going to be critical,” he said. AFP

WHAT CAN WE ALL DO ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS? AN ESTIMATED 7 million people from all over the world joined the global climate strikes on Sept. 20 and 27. Led by the youth, the strike participants called on world leaders to respond to the climate crisis in a way consistent with science. The climate strikes were timed to coincide with the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, where world leaders discussed the climate crisis.

Here in the Philippines, climate strikes were held at dozens of different locations from Ilocos to Tawi-Tawi.

Just like in the global climate strikes, young Filipinos led way, calling on the Philippine government to recognize a climate emergency and enforce policies consistent with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

For the young people who are going to live with the consequences of insufficient action on the climate crisis, and who are already suffering from the legacy of previous inaction, the question now is—what else can they do to help? Anyone who cares about the future of these young people should ask the same question.

This question came up in many forms during “Kalampagin ang Sistema,” a forum organized by Youth Strike 4

Climate Philippines last Sept. 27 to promote awareness about the crisis.

One participant put it so simply when she pointed out, “I began realizing that using metal straws was not enough to save the planet, and so I began searching for other ways I could help.

That is why I am here.”

Project Drawdown, a research organization that works with scientists and engineers to “review, analyze, and identify the most viable global climate solutions”, compiled a list of some of the most effective ways to address the climate crisis.

What follows are their top ten solutions.

One, refrigeration management. This means replacing the chemicals used in refrigeration and air conditioning from what are known as HFCs, which are currently being used, to alternatives that do not trap heat in the atmosphere.

HFCs need to be replaced because they are very potent greenhouse gases.

Two, wind turbines. This is closely related to number eight which is solar farms and number ten which is rooftop solar. Each of these solutions is related to the challenge of generating electricity without releasing a lot of greenhouse gases.

At numbers three and four are plantbased diets and reduced food waste, respectively. Meanwhile at number nine

is the use of silvopasture, or the ancient practice of integrating trees in raising livestock. These solutions are effective because industrial animal agriculture and food waste are major sources of greenhouse gases, in particular methane.

At number five is the protection and preservation of tropical rainforests, which serve as storage units for the world’s carbon.

At numbers six and seven are educating girls and providing access to family planning, respectively. These are effective because they help curb exponential population growth.

Their list continues with solutions ranging from regenerative agriculture (number 11) to mass transit (37) to energy storage (77).

Two things should be noted about the effectiveness of these solutions.

First, they will have real impact only when applied on a societal, if not global scale. Second, they will be nullified if we fail to stop the further burning of fossil fuels and other activities that release greenhouse gases into the air.

For example, many of us can adopt a plant-based diet, and that would be good. However, if the market continues to reward animal agriculture with skyrocketing profits, the industry will continue to release greenhouse gases.

We can also put up solar panels on our rooftops, but if new coal power plants continue to be built, and if only a few people can afford to put up rooftop solar, then the effectiveness of this solution is compromised.

That is where political and collective action, such as joining strikes for the climate or voting during elections, comes in. By showing leaders that many of us are taking the climate crisis seriously, we can put pressure on them to enact effective solutions on a massive, and therefore effective, scale.

This means that we who care about the future of human life on Earth must organize. By organizing, we can more effectively encourage the majority to take action with us. After all, according to a recent Pew Center Research survey, 72 percent of Filipinos said they are “very concerned” about climate change.

Through collective action, we can form a solid block of politically active citizens that can pressure our public servants to be consistent with the realities of science and to their oath to protect us. In the process, we can also create a world that is simply better for us, one where our cities are walkable and commuter-friendly, where food is healthier, where technology is modern, and where people work together to build a better future.

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

FRENCH QUEUE TO REMEMBER CHIRAC AHEAD OF MOURNING PARIS—Mourners gathered at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday to pay their respects to former president Jacques Chirac, whose death unleashed a flood of tributes to a charismatic but complex giant of French politics.

Chirac, president from 1995 to 2007, died on Thursday aged 86 after years of deteriorating health since suffering a stroke in 2005.

Ahead of a national day of mourning announced for Monday, the French presidency threw open the doors of the Elysee Palace for people wanting to sign a book of condolences.

“I express my admiration and tenderness for the last of the great presidents,” read one tribute. “Thank you for fighting, thank you for this freedom and good spirits.”

In a televised address Thursday night, President Emmanuel Macron praised “a man whom we loved as much as he loved us.”

Chirac is also to be given the honour of a public memorial ceremony on Sunday as well as a mass on Monday, which will be attended by Macron and foreign dignitaries including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

A minute of silence will also be observed Monday at public institutions, schools and football matches.

Schools have also been urged to dedicate class time on Monday “to evoke the former head of state’s memory,” with the education ministry saying it will propose potential discussion themes for teachers.

And the Quai Branly museum of indigenous art founded by Chirac, who had a deep appreciation of Asian cultures, said it would offer free admission until October 11.

French newspapers splashed his portrait across their front pages and dedicated most of their editions to the former president’s life—Le Parisien had an exhaustive 35 pages plus a 12page special insert.

Even Chirac’s opponents hailed his charm and qualities as a political fighter, as well as how he stood up to Washington in 2003 by opposing the Iraq war. AFP

INSURGENTS TRY TO DISRUPT AFGHAN POLLS FOR PRESIDENT

KABUL—Insurgents worked to disrupt Afghanistan’s presidential election Saturday, with a series of blasts reported across the country as voters headed to the polls and troops flooded the streets of the capital.

The vote marks the culmination of a bloody election campaign that is seen as a two-horse race between President Ashraf Ghani and his bitter rival Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s chief executive.

The Taliban, who unleashed a string of bombings during the two-month campaign, in recent days issued repeated warnings they intend to attack polling centres.

At least 15 people were wounded in the southern city of Kandahar when a bomb went off at a polling station about two hours after voting began, a hospital director told AFP, and officials across the country reported several small explosions at other election sites.

“Peace is the first desire of our people,” Ghani said after casting his vote at a high school in Kabul.

“Our roadmap (for peace) is ready, I want the people to give us permission and legitimacy so that we pursue peace.”

Wary authorities placed an uneasy Kabul under partial lockdown, flooding streets with troops and banning trucks from entering the city in an effort to stop would-be suicide bombers attacking the electoral process.

One voter at a polling station in a Kabul high school said it was important to cast a ballot.

“I know there are security threats but bombs and attacks have become part of our everyday lives,” 55-year-old Mohiuddin, who only gave one name, told AFP. “I am not afraid, we have to vote if we want to bring changes to our lives.”

The capital’s traffic, often gridlocked, dropped to a trickle as schools and offices closed for the day and as many people chose to stay off the roads.

Some 9.6 million Afghans are registered to vote, but many have lost any hope that after 18 years of war any leader can unify the fractious country and improve basic living conditions, boost the stagnating economy or bolster security. AFP

THUNBERG MARCHES IN MONTREAL

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE. A picture taken on Thursday shows smoke billowing from a Lubrizol factory classified SEVESO high-threshold site on fire in Rouen. Residents of 12 towns including Rouen have been asked to stay at home after a fire broke out at a Lubrizol factory classified SEVESO high-threshold site, according to the prefect of Normandy. AFP

POMPEO SUBPOENAED; IMPEACHMENT PRESSED

W

ASHINGTON —Democrats charged aggressively into an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump on Friday, ordering Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to turn over Ukraine-related documents and scheduling testimony for witnesses to alleged abuse of power by the US leader.

Three House committees gave Pompeo one week to produce the documents, saying multiple State Department officials have direct knowledge of Trump’s efforts to enlist the Ukraine government’s help in his US campaign for reelection.

“The Committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression,” they said.

Public support is growing for impeachment after the release of an anonymous whistleblower’s complaint on Thursday, reportedly made by a CIA analyst who had worked in the White House.

It accused Trump of pressuring Ukraine’s President

Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to supply dirt on former vice president Joe Biden, the favorite to represent Democrats against Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

The complaint also revealed that White House aides, alarmed at Trump’s implicit offer to release aid in exchange for Zelensky’s help, sought to hide the record of the call in a highly secure computer system normally used only for the country’s most top-secret intelligence.

Congressional investigators on Friday announced interviews starting next week with five State Department officials, including former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump reportedly forced out earlier this year for resisting his efforts to pressure Kiev to probe Biden.

The list also includes US special representative on Ukraine Kurt Volker, who resigned Friday after being ordered to answer questions in the impeachment investigation, a source familiar with the matter told AFP. The whistleblower complaint said Volker met senior Ukrainian officials on how to “navigate” Trump’s demands of Zelensky.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that the impeachment investigation would move quickly, saying evidence from the whistleblower’s complaint against Trump of abuse of power and an attempted cover-up was unambiguous.

“The clarity of the president’s actions is compelling and gave us no choice but to move forward,” Pelosi said. AFP

MONTREAL—Teen activist Greta Thunberg urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders Friday to do more for the environment as she led half a million protesters in Montreal as part of a global wave of “climate strikes.”

The 16-year-old Swede met privately with Trudeau but later told a news conference with local indigenous leaders that he was “not doing enough” to curb greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

“My message to all the politicians around the world is the same. Just listen and act on the current best available science,” she said.

Thunberg generated headlines around the world earlier this week with her viral so-called “How Dare You?” speech at the UN climate summit, accusing world leaders of betraying her generation.

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she thundered, visibly angry and close to tears.

The teen has inspired millions of youngsters, drawn to her cause by her passion and a mature, committed rhetorical style— articulated in near-perfect English —that belies her young age.

“It’s incredible to be united in such a way for a common cause,” she told the cheering Montreal crowd, adding: “If the people in power won’t take their responsibility, then we will.”

“This week, world leaders from all around the world gathered in New York. They disappointed us once again with their empty words and insufficient plans,” she went on.

“It should not be up to us, but somebody needs to do it. This is an emergency, and we will not be bystanders. We are the change and change is coming.”

Trudeau and other Canadian party leaders took a breather from a tight election campaign to join Thunberg at the Montreal rally—along with around 500,000 protesters, according to organizers.

Walking with his wife and children, Trudeau mingled with a boisterous crowd that brandished placards reading “Respect Mother Earth” and “Make America Greta Again”—a riff on a campaign slogan popularized by US president and noted climate skeptic Donald Trump. AFP

HAITI GRIPPED BY VIOLENT PROTESTS, RAGE AGAINST LEADER MOISE PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Angry protests rumbled through Haiti and its capital of Port-auPrince Friday as thousands of people took to the streets against President Jovenel Moise, drawing tear gas from police as demonstrators looted and threw stones.

Protesters took over a police station in the impoverished Cite Soleil neighborhood, making off with sheet metal roofing, furniture and police protection equipment, only slightly slowed by the air wafting with tear gas.

“Now we are taking whatever we need to better our homes because we are tired of getting soaked when it rains,” said Steven Edgard, a protester.

In the early hours of the day, groups of young

people prevented traffic from circulating on some of Port-au-Prince’s main arteries.

Lamp posts, burning tires, tree trunks and piles of trash were used to create barricades under the helpless gaze of police patrols.

Violent clashes later broke out as protestors threw stones in response to tear gas. Shots were also heard ringing out from the melee.

After the demonstrators were dispersed, several shops were looted in the wealthiest areas of the capital.

The day’s demonstrations were part of a larger wave of protests that have rocked Haiti throughout the week as the country’s inhabitants voiced anger over Moise, who is

implicated in several corruption scandals.

Protestors rejected a “truce” proposed by Moise in a rare address broadcast to the nation on Wednesday, in which he appealed for national reconciliation and a unity government.

In June, judges of Haiti’s High Court of Auditors said in a report that Moise was at the center of an “embezzlement scheme” that had siphoned off Venezuelan aid money intended for road repairs, laying out a litany of examples of corruption and mismanagement.

The aid money came through Venezuela’s PetroCaribe program, which had allowed Haiti to buy petroleum products at discount and on credit but which was plagued by allegations of corruption. AFP

INDONESIA MARKS ONE YEAR SINCE DEADLY QUAKE-TSUNAMI PALU, Indonesia—Indonesia on Saturday marked one year since a devastating quake-tsunami disaster pounded the city of Palu, killing more than 4,000 people.

Mass prayers are expected later in the day to remember victims of the 7.5 magnitude quake and subsequent deluge that razed swathes of the coastal city on Sulawesi island last September.

Some 4,300 people were listed as dead or missing while nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation after their homes were destroyed, according to the Red Cross.

The force of the impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled by liquefaction -- a process where the ground starts behaving like a liquid and swallows up the earth like quicksand.

It also destroyed fishing boats, shops and irrigation systems, robbing locals of their income.

Rebuilding has been slow and many of the people still living in temporary shelters wonder if they’ll ever have a home again.

“I’ve been living in this tent since the quake struck,” said Ela, a mother of four.

“It’s been really hard. My kids got sick, it’s hot and sometimes we have to sleep on wet ground after it rains. The kids’ father is still working but we can’t afford to buy mattresses,” she added.

Nani, another mother of four kids, said her home was destroyed in the disaster.

“I don’t know if I’m going to get permanent housing,” she added.

Hundreds of damaged schools across the region have not been repaired. AFP

HAIRY MEAL. This picture taken on September 24, 2019, shows a Fried Tarantula, a Combodgian dish at the Disgusting Food Museum exhibition displaying 80 of the world’s most disgusting foods in Nantes. The exhibition will be held until November 3. AFP

Images

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NUTRITION DRIVE. Health

workers measure weights and heights of children during a feeding program of Mega Sardines dubbed ‘Mega Sustansya Everyday’ in Barangay South Triangle, Quezon City. Norman Cruz

ADIEU, JACQUES. A worker sets up a giant portrait of late former French President Jacques

Chirac on an outside wall of the museum named after him in Sarran, south-central France, on Thursday after the announcement of Chirac’s death at the age of 86 after a long battle with ill-health, his family said. AFP

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK GIRL OF THE HOUR.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes to the podium to address young activists and their supporters during the rally for action on climate change on Friday in Montreal, Canada. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take part in what could be the city’s largest climate march. AFP

NE VER FORGET.

Families light candles with to black ribbons th 10 e mark th anniversary of oy’, Typhoon ‘Ond 0 71 d lle ki ch hi w g in ud cl in people, g in liv es ili m fa s of along the bank r Rive a in ik ar M e th at that drowned the of ht ig he e th storm.

Palmero ny an M

RECYCLING TACK. A man sorts plastic trash in Valenzuela City’s ‘May Balik sa Plastik’ citywide pilot program to recover waste laminates such as post-consumer sachets ang used beverage cartons, which was launched by Nestle Philippines and the city government. Andrew Rabulan

SALARY P

ROTEST. Ar in Manila form the ‘30K’ symbo ound 150 teachers and studen l monthly, from the current P20, to express support to increase ts of Laong Laan Elementary School 754 for Salary Gr th ade 11 or entry- e basic salary of teachers to P3 level Teacher 1 positions. Norm 0,000 an Cruz

BOLIVIAN FIRES. In this handout picture released by France’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, a helicopter sprays water to extinguish a fire near San Ignacio de Velasco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, south of the Amazon basin, on Thursday. Wildfires in Bolivia have razed more than four million hectares (10 million acres) of forest and grassland since August, an NGO warned, as a state of emergency spread to the country’s northeast. AFP

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Riera U. Mallari, Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

Sports

EQUESTRIAN PH RIDERS’ TOUR TEAM NAMED

N LINE with the mission of Equestrian Philippines, Inc. (Equestrian PH) to cultivate a rising crop of internationally competitive Filipino riders, JFJC Equestrian Training Services will be fielding a team of up and coming riders to this year’s inaugural Equestrian Philippines Riders Tour, a showjumping competition which will feature a Nations’ Cup (team competition) between Philippine and Malaysian Teams to be held at the Manila Polo Club on Sunday (September 29, 2019).

Coached by SEA Games medalist and national team veteran Joker Arroyo, the team composed of Minxie Romualdez, Alex Villalon, Mohamed El Akkad, Nicole Camcam, Lara Zobel, and Paola Lorenzo, will each jump at a different level against a counterpart Malaysian competitor.

To remove any advantage in this borrowed horse competition, the Philippine riders will not be riding their own horses, but will swap for other local mounts, and lending their horses to the visiting Malaysian team.

In describing the team, Arroyo says, “This is an exciting team, full of fresh, new talents, who I hope we will see on senior Philippine teams in the future.”

She continues, “Each one of them is hardworking, determined, and competitive—constantly in pursuit of improvement and progress.”

According to Arroyo, the competition format at this event is unfamiliar to this team, and will be the first time that most of these riders will compete on horses that are not their own. “This, of course, adds a further element of difficulty to the competition, but I am confident that they will rise to the challenge,” she says optimistically.

The 11-year-old Romualdez will see action in the 65 cm category, a height level where she has consistently been in the medals in local competitions aboard her 10-year-old grey Irish pony, Magic Mio. She has been riding since the age of six and has competed up to the 85 cm level. She has also dabbled in polo, practicing with her older brothers in Switzerland and Australia.

Villalon, a 17-year-old student at the International School Manila, will compete in the 75 cm category. She competes up to the 100 cm level with her 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding Un Chti du Banney, better known as Clifford. She has been riding since the age of 5 and divides her time between two sports, equestrian and football, for which she is a member of the Philippine Youth Football League Beach Hut FC and the ISM varsity football teams.

Antonella Racasa during her stint in the World Cadet Chess Championships in China

The team of Philippine riders competing at Equestrian Philippines Riders Tour, (from left) Minxie Romualdez, Lara Zobel, Alex Villalon, Paola Lorenzo, Mohamed El Akkad

Minxie Romualdez

Nicole Camcam

El Akkad, a Manila based Egyptian expatriate, and the team guest rider, started riding at the age of 18, has competed in his native Egypt, Germany, and now the Philippines with the 13-year-old bay gelding, Cooper. Currently riding in the 90 cm category, El Akkad hopes to continue raising the bar until he is able to compete at the 130 cm to 140 cm level.

Based partially in the United States for her equestrian pursuits, 14-year-old Camcam will compete in the 100 cm category. She is the reigning Manila Polo Club Junior Jumping Rider of the Year and Junior Dressage Rider of the Year on her horses Con Amber, Aralea T, and Lobelia. Off the Philippine show season, Camcam trains and competes her 8-year-old grey mare Red Diamond in Florida, North Carolina, and New York under the tutelage of Philippine national team member and top trainer Colin Syquia.

In the 110 cm category, Zobel, who competes up to the 130 cm to 135 cm level, will be riding for the Philippines. She maintains several horses at home and also in France with trainer Thibault Trassard, and competes indi-

Paola Lorenzo

Mohamed El Akkad

vidually in international level competitions there, with a spectacular 3rd place finish recently at the 130 cm grand prix in La Motte on her 10-year-old Selle Francais, Versicolore, and a 1st place finish in the 120 cm class at CSI Am Sainte Cecile.

Finally, Lorenzo, the current Manila Polo Alex Villalon Lara Zobel Club Jumping Rider of the Year, will fly the flag for the nized by Equestrian PH “to give our Philippines in the highest level, the developing pool of riders a chance to 120 cm category. She is one of the experience riding as a team against most successful local riders with her another country, a completely differ14-year-old Selle Francais gelding ent experience from riding individuRubis Landais, and has also repre- ally in local competitions, which is sented the Philippines at the Hong what most of them are used to,” acKong— CSI Juniors in 2018, plac- cording to the organization’s presiing 3rd, and at the Asian Equestrian dent, Carissa Coscolluela.

Federation 3rd Junior ChampionThe Equestrian PH Riders Tour is ships in 2018. Lorenzo is a Manage- sponsored by Aruga by Rockwell, ment Engineering student at the Metro Society, Ramen Nagi, SSI Ateneo de Manila University. This Group, Inc., Metro.Style, Metro Chanseason, she will see action with her nel, Churreria La Lola, and Wendy’s, newly arrived 7-year-old bay KWPN and is supported by the Philippine mare, Happy Cooper.

Sports Commission and the PhilipThe Riders Tour has been orga- pine Red Cross.

WILLIAM GO: KARTING’S NEWEST SENSATION WINS 2 ASIAN TITLES PHILIPPINE karting may have identified its next big star in William John Riley Tiu Go, whose string of successes in the past two weeks netted two Asian karting championships and a possible two more in November.

The 11-year-old Go bagged the overall cadet championship of the IAME Series Asia at the Sepang International Kart Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia last September 15, topping 27 seasoned drivers from all over the world.

He followed this up with another championship last Sunday, winning the 3rd leg of Asian Kartinag Open Championship (AKOC) at the Clark International Speedway in Angeles, Pampanga, where he swept all the races—from the qualifying time trial, qualifying heats 1 and 2, prefinal and final races.

It was his third straight title in the miniRok category of the Asian tournament.

Go opened his Asian Karting Open bid with a victory at the Red 1 Karting Circuit in Beijing, China last April, before duplicating his feat at the Kartrodomo de Coloane, Macau last June.

On home ground last weekend, Go was even more aggressive as he swept all of his races to win the crown with a flourish.

“I had great races. Everything just fell into place and I thank God, my team and my parents for all the support,” said Go, a Grade 6 student of the St. Benedict Child-

tender for a championship in the IAME Asia Cup Finals, both happening in November.

Round 4 of the AKOC seriers is on November 9 and 10 at the RKK Speedkart Circuit in Changmai, Thailand, while the fifth and final round is on December 7-8 at the Kartodomo de Coloane in Macau.

As the highest pointer in the both the Rok and IAME series in Asia, Go also earned slots to the Rok Cup International Finals in Lonato, Italy and the IAME World Cup Finals in Le Mans, France.

“The outpouring of blessing is just overWilliam Go salutes his crew after winning the 3rd leg of Asian Karting Open Championship.

hood Education Centre in Cebu City.

In the IAME series, Go captured the overall crown with 143 points in five races, shoving eventual second placer Timofey Timofey Mikhaylov (134 points) behind.

Aditya Wibowo placed third.

During the final leg in Sepang, Go posted a total time of 13:42.118 in 12 laps with a best time of 1:07.812 to close out the racing series on a strong note.

The Cebuano karter isn’t done winning yet.

Two more opportunities to put the Philippines on the Asian karting map are presenting themselves to Go, who is also the current overall leader of the mini-ROK in the Singapore Rok Cup, while being a con-

Cebuano karter displays his championship trophy.

The champion karter with his team

whelming, but I would rather keep myself planted on solid ground. There are tasks to be done and I hope to do the country proud,” said Go, who was also placed 2nd best overall in the Rok Asia Zone in Sentul, Indonesia despite missing two rounds due to his studies.

Go now trains his sights on sweeping all five legs of the AKOC series.

LASCUNA EDGES CLOSER TO GOLF TITLE TAINAN, Taiwan—Tony Lascuña kept his run of good form into the pivotal round of the Nan Pao TPGA (PGA of Taiwan) Open and fired a four-under 68, dispatching a pair of Taiwanese aces to wrest solo control by two over a charging Thai Ratchapol Jantavara at the Nan Pao Golf Club here yesterday.

He could’ve actually pulled away from the stellar pack if not for four lip-outs and a couple of three putts that marred his 33-35 card that came after he produced Lascuña a course-record trying 64 Friday to force a threeway tie after 36 holes of the fifth leg of Philippine Golf Tour and sixth stop of TPGA. With young Liu Yu-Jui failing to match Lascuña’s hot run and slowing down with a 71 and sturdy Lee Cho-Chuan scrambling majority of the way and settling for a 72, the Filipino ace stormed ahead by two with a 15-under 201 aggregate.

But Lascuña faces another set of rivals, this time a pair of Thai top guns as Jantavara charged back from four flights behind to earn a spot in the championship flight with a stirring bogey-free 65 he highlighted with a five birdie-spree from No. 2 for a 203.

And he will have Sattaya Supupramai as ally in the final threesome after the latter matched Lascuña’s 68 for joint third at 204 with Liu heading to the last 18 holes of the $100,000 championship co-organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Despite his sorry misses and flubbed putts, Lascuna came into the clubhouse relieved more than disappointed, having survived three days of struggle on the layout’s unreceptive, tough greens and emerging on top for a clear crack at the $17,500 purse in the event backed by PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.

“I need to stay focused. There are too many young players out there who could shoot a 7-under card at any given day here. So, I have to at least score a five-under tomorrow (today) to win,” said Lascuña, now closer than ever to becoming the first Filipino to win a PGT Asia event abroad.

He last won overseas when he edged Singapore’s Mardan Mamat in a playoff for the Sabah crown in Malaysia in 2013 and has not won back at home since topping the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship in 2017.

That makes the former threetime PGT Order of Merit winner hungry for another crown that could enticingly be there for the taking given his current form and confidence boosted by a string of runner-up finishes in the PGT.

PH BLU GIRLS FINISH IN TOP 4 THE Philippine women’s softball team closed its campaign in the WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania Qualifier with back-to-back setbacks at the Shanghai Chongming Sports Training Center in China, but staked its claim as a Top 4 softball-palying nation this part of the globe.

The Blu Girls, ranked 13th in the world, bowed to No. 7 Australia on Friday and to No. 6 Chinese Taipei on Saturday.

The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls finished the tournament at fourth place, but failed in their bid to claim a berth to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will go to either Australia or No. 8 China. who will meet in the finals.

Still, Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president Jean Henri Lhuillier is confident the team will continue to improve as he promised to start preparing for the coming Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting from November 30 to December 11.

“The team worked very hard to get to this qualifying tournament and a top four finish is still an impressive feat,” said Lhuillier, who is also President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

Business

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

JG Summit Holdings Inc. president and CEO Lance Gokongwei

JG SUMMIT’S SUSTAINABILITY, A STORY OF GENERATIONS

Philippine Veterans Bank’s headquarters in Makati City.

At right is chairman and CEO Roberto F. de Ocampo

‘MR. FIX IT’ REJUVENATES R

VETERANS BANK’S LEGACY

OBERTO ‘Bobby’ de Ocampo has earned the reputation of ‘Mr. Fix It’ over the years for delivering effective solutions to many of the country’s major challenges. He fixed rural electrification in the 1970s, the Development Bank of the Philippines in the 1980s, the Philippine economy in the 1990s and the Philippine Veterans Bank’s legacy today.

Veterans Bank was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2013 when former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. and former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima tried to convince de Ocampo to resuscitate the bank. Although reluctant at first, de Ocampo, a son of a World War II veteran, later accepted the offer and implemented major changes within the legacy bank.

“And this year, finally after changes, governance and processes, this bank is going to have its first record-breaking profit. And it will keep going on,” de Ocampo says in an interview at the headquarters of the privately-owned Veterans Bank in Makati City.

“I am on my fifth year in this bank and it is going to have a record profit. In fact by the end of this year, I could say we are either No. 2 or No. 1 in terms of return on equity among all banks,” says the 73-yearold former Finance Secretary and former president of the Asian Institute of Management.

De Ocampo hopes to turn Veterans Bank into a universal bank in five years by building up its capital.

The bank has about P5 billion in capital today which needs to increase to P10 billion to attain the ‘unibank’ status. “We are in the process of capital raising. I am hoping to get P2 billion within the next two years and the rest will follow if we continue to be profitable,” he says.

UNIVERSAL BANK Veterans Bank has about P55 billion in deposits at present, after one local government unit deposited P5 billion recently, which de Ocampo says is “an indicator of the renewed confidence that they have with this bank”.

The turnaround of Veterans Bank speaks of de Ocampo’s ability to fix major problems that earned him various local and international recognitions.

He is the only Filipino knighted by three states the UK, France and the Vatican. He is also the first and only Filipino elected as member of the Trilateral Commission and member of the board of the Global Reporting Initiative, both powerful global bodies.

Beyond being an economist and banker, he has a black belt in tae kwon do and is a champion golfer with more than 80 trophies and a record five holesin-one. He is also a classical guitar player.

He is the only Filipino to have served as chairman of all three official government depository banks

Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and the Veterans Bank.

De Ocampo has learned from his father to be the best at what he does. In school, he was known as “the guy who gets the gold medal”. He studied at San Beda College in preschool, De La Salle University in elementary and high school and Ateneo de Manila University in college before pursuing graduate studies at the University of Michigan and the London School of Economics.

“My father was a very relentless worker. Probably I got a lot of the inspiration for working hard and trying to achieve from him. As a result, I was always kind of driven to do as well as I could in anything starting with academics,” he says.

His father was a lawyer who became a guerilla during World War 2. After the war, his father became a salesman and later worked for DBP and the Central Bank.

“I came from a family of veterans, meaning to say I was born just as the war was ending. Manila was completely devastated. I had an older brother who was born on the day that the major bombings and killings were taking place on Feb. 12, 1945. My father was a guerilla and so was my uncle who actually became the head of the Veterans Federation and one of the original founders of Veterans Bank,” he says.

FAMILY OF VETERANS His father’s role was to infiltrate the Japanese military headquarters and get as much intelligence on their military plans which he passed on to other guerillas and the forces of American Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

“My father nearly got caught and killed,” says de Ocampo. “He got married while the war was going on to a daughter of the first Customs Commissioner whose name was Melencio Fabros. So my middle name is Fabros.”

“I grew up in the middle of a devastated city. We were not exactly rich people. My first years were in a ramshackle house in Calle Trabajo, Sta. Mesa. That’s where I grew up until I was six years old. Then my parents strived hard enough to build a house at a residential area called Morningside Terrace across Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Sta. Mesa,” he says.

When a flash flood inundated half of their house in 1958, his parents decided to relocate to Greenhills in San Juan just as his father’s career was advancing as a lawyer and then as a businessman.

“In 1965, we moved to Greenhills. At that time, we were probably the first of three houses there.

EDSA was Highway 54 then. From our house, you could see the fields all the way to the fence of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club,” he says.

De Ocampo was the school topnotcher despite being the youngest in his high school class at La Salle which included the likes of Jose Cuisia Jr. who would become Central Bank governor and Ramon del Rosario Jr. who would become Finance secretary in the early 1990s.

“I had just graduated from La Salle and figuring out what to do. I was 15 years old when I got out of high school. All of my classmates were taking LIA-COM in La Salle which means Liberal Arts and Commerce. I was not interested in it,” he says.

“I star ted to look for something more.

Interestingly, Economics was being offered by Ateneo. It had to do with what you do with the country’s economy. It appealed to me a lot more than selling stuff. Since La Salle was not offering it at that time, I switched to Ateneo,” he says.

“Believe it or not, that was not my inclination for a career. I wanted to become a doctor. There is something about my psyche. I wanted to help people. It is more important to have a meaningful life than to have a profitable one. That’s always in my head somehow,” says de Ocampo.

In Ateneo, de Ocampo met students like Prospero Nograles who would become House speaker, Mike Arroyo who would marry the future President Gloria MacapagalArroyo and Carlos Dominguez III who would become secretary of Agriculture and later Finance.

After college, he had a brief stint at PCI Bank, but the routine job bored him. “I was not challenged enough. So I switched to SGV which was a lot more challenging. It was the first time I ever worked on a Good Friday, thanks to SGV,” he says.

Then, he started applying for schools abroad.

He enrolled in the University of Michigan where he met Rene Cayetano who was finishing his Master’s in Law and who would later become a member of the Ramos Cabinet and a senator.

Finishing his Master’s in Business Administration did not fulfil his dream, though. “It did not quite make me happy, so I started scouting for something else and lo and behold, the London School of Economics was offering a combination of postgraduate offering of Economic Development and Public Administration in one package,” he says.

“I applied and got accepted. When I returned here, in a sense, I followed more the economic development path that I learned from the London School of Economics than the Business Administration path that I learned from the Graduate School of Michigan,” he says.

GRADUATE DEGREES Armed with all these prestigious degrees, de Ocampo could have easily become a top official in large conglomerates, but he wanted more than the glamor of being a corporate executive. “So I came back here looking for challenge and I ended up in rural electrification. For me, it is like a hands-on PhD. Like many people born and raised in Manila, the only thing I saw outside Manila was maybe Baguio and some beaches in Batangas,” he says.

He was 29 and newly-married when he helped establish the National Electrification Administration.

He was a part of a small team that also included former Col. Gregorio Vigilar who would later become the secretary of Public Works. De Ocampo would become the youngest administrator of NEA. “At that time, only 30 percent of the country had electricity. I had to sleep in friendly barangay neighbors on a bamboo bed or banig on it, but that was exactly the kind of adventure I was looking for.

As a result, I ended up seeing every nook and cranny of the Philippines because of rural electrification. If you look at the map of the Philippines and throw a dart, wherever it lands I have been there in all likelihood. It has been an interesting adventure Turn to C2

COCA-COLA SHARES STORIES OF 107 YEARS IN PH COCA-COLA was first made available to refresh and energize soldiers during the war in the Philippines.

Soon after, American soldiers became the first bottlers, distributing the beverage to Filipinos. Today, a bottle of Coca-Cola can be found in almost every Filipino home.

The brand has lasted and thrived in the country because, even as a global company, it operates with a passion for the Filipino people.

Having been part of the Philippine culture for 107 years, Coca-Cola also shares the Filipinos’ resilient and neversettling character, innate in all that the Company does. This core of goodwill is now voiced in a simple yet powerful manifesto: Go Beyond Good.

Replenishing As the main ingredient and resource for its beverages and production globally, water is undoubtedly at the heart of the company’s business. Because of this, Coca-Cola committed to replenish 100 percent of its water usage, practicing responsible water use as a business to safeguard the future for the next generation.

At present, Coca-Cola is going beyond its goal with

124-percent water replenishment. The company achieved this not just by improving water efficiency in its plants and returning treated water to the environment, but also by providing access to water to far-flung communities through the Coca-Cola Agos Program.

The program has provided clean water and improved sanitation access to 215,000 individuals through 210 Agos sites in 49 provinces in the country.

Reinventing As a total beverage brand, Coca-Cola has constantly addressed the needs and wants of consumers. Nowadays, however, there arises a new need – for the company’s packaging to lessen its impact on the planet’s waste problem.

To lead the battle against packaging waste, CocaCola launched its World Without Waste program. The goal is to collect and recycle 100 percent of every plastic bottle and aluminum can it sells, and achieve 50 percent recycled PET usage by 2030, ensuring that the company’s product packaging is created into new, useful materials instead of polluting the earth

or ocean.

In the Philippines, Coca-Cola recently announced its investment in a state-of-the-art plastic PET bottle recycling facility, a boon to the country’s waste management system.

On top of this, the company also goes beyond recycling through reinvention and packaging innovation—setting a new standard for sustainable packaging with the launch of a totally-recycled plastic PET (bottle under its Viva! Mineral Water brand.

HAVING keen business foresight in satisfying consumers’ unmet needs and a strong commitment to social good laid the foundation for the formal integration of sustainability at JG Summit.

It is a key priority for founder and chairman emeritus John Gokongwei Jr.’s son Lance when he took over as president and chief executive officer in May 2018. As Lance presides over the conglomerate’s transformation, sustainability and business strategy have become inextricably linked.

A milestone in JG Summit’s sustainability journey is the CEO Sustainability Summit, a conglomerate-wide alignment, where all the heads of the conglomerate’s strategic business units shared how their frameworks, best practices and future initiatives toward enhanced sustainability are rooted in their business strategy.

Cebu Pacific’s investment in game-changing “ecoplanes” that can fly passengers farther and faster at less fuel burn manifests the airline’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint.

I t s m u l t i - aw a rd e d t o u r i s m campaign “Juan Effect” is a multisectoral advocacy whose goal is to influence tourists, local business owners, and LGUs to make a difference by changing at least one daily habit to mitigate the negative impact of tourism on popular tourist spots. Supporting this is CEB’s implementation of environmentfriendly processes and investments in their operations.

At URC’s Sugar & Renewables and Agro-Industrial Divisions, over dependence on fossil fuel–based energy has been considerably reduced with the help of biomass and biogas technologies that use waste and by-products generated by the plants. Generating energy from plant and animal waste has resulted in lower electric consumption while protecting the environment.

For R obinsons Land Cor p., integrating business and sustainability strategies entail fostering responsible growth, reaching underserved markets and reshaping communities.

Robinsons Starmills in Pampanga boasts of having the world’s largest rooftop solar panel. Total investment in solar panels for the various Robinsons malls all over the country will reach close to P1.7 billion by the end of 2019.

JG Summit Petrochemical Group’s flagship environmental programs in Batangas City manifest that environmental responsibility is a priority.

O n e s u c h i n i t i a t i ve i s t h e construction of artificial reefs in Barangay Simlong where the plant is located. Now on its 17th year, the project has demonstrated a longterm positive impact on the marine environment in the area. As it supports abundant marine life, fishermen from nearby communities now have better fishing opportunities. The potential for the artificial reefs to become tourist income-generating diving sites is also being explored.

Robinsons Bank focuses on financial inclusivity to serve the typical Filipino who remains unbanked. Simplé Savings, which was launched in October 2018, opened gateways to easily obtain a savings account with its simplified requirements.

It offers no maintaining balance, requires P100 only for initial deposit, earns interest and simplifies the KYC Turn to C2

Business

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 business@manilastandard.net

DTI ASKS PUBLIC TO USE CERTIFIED BI-GI PIPES, TUBES THE Department of Trade and IndustryBureau of Philippine Standards has advised the public, particularly contractors, builders and hardware store owners to buy/use black iron and galvanized iron steel pipes that bear the requisite Philippine Standard and Import Commodity Clearance marks as a safety precaution.

This is a part of the sustained standards enforcement campaign and market monitoring of DTI nationwide fin the wake of the proliferation of cheap, uncertified and substandard imported steel pipes which adversely affected the local steel pipe industry.

As part of its campaign to ensure consumer safety, the DTI goes after and cracks down on establishments that sell uncertified and substandard steel pipe products. As its enforcement arm, the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau through its Surveillance and Monitoring Division does not only monitor prices of basic commodities but also strictly enforces compliance with the fair trade laws for businesses and in support of the Bureau of Philippine Standards.

The BPS checks the compliance with the relevant standards of those products covered under the Mandatory Product Standard Certification Scheme. The FTEB also works closely with the DTI-Regional Operations Group, especially for provincial and regional areas to ensure that Philippine standards as enshrined under Republic Act No. 4109, Labeling under Article 77 of Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, are strictly enforced and observed in the market.

AMAIA SKIES EXPANDING IN MANDALUYONG AMAIA Skies will soon open a new residential tower in Mandaluyong City to families and individuals seeking secure and tranquil homes in a prime location that places residents within a few minutes’ drive to commercial establishments, educational institutions, hospitals and the nearby Ortigas central business district.

Other business districts within convenient distance to the development are Makati CBD and Bonifacio Global City.

The 38-floor condominium is also near major roads and highways and has access to various modes of public transport.

Prospective residents will find that the MRT Shaw Station and EDSA are just within walking distance. Retail hubs like SM Megamall, ShangriLa Plaza Mall and S&R are also a short drive or commute, and so are schools such as the University of Asia and the Pacific and hospitals like Cardinal Santos Medical Center and The Medical City.

It will feature 1,254 tastefully designed units—studios with sizes ranging from 18.6 to 30.7 square meters and one-bedroom units with sizes ranging from 26.9 to 30.7 square meters.

It will offer different recreational amenities to its residents: a sizeable swimming pool, a children’s play area, 17 retail shops, and a spacious multipurpose hall for their social functions.

JG SUMMIT...

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(Know-Your-Client) process using just one valid identification card from the client. More than 26,000 Filipinos now have a Simplé Savings account less than a year after its launch.

As one of the country’s largest multi-format retailers, JG Summit affiliate Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. contributes to the growth of small-tomedium enterprises within its supply chain. Its largest segment, Robinsons Supermarket, sources fresh produce and seafood from local suppliers in the province or region where the branch is located, and works with distributors who engage local farmers and fisher folk.

The CEO Sustainability Summit was also an opportunity for the JG Summit Strategic Business Unit CEOs to explore potential synergies within the conglomerate that address issues like waste management and reduction, as well as water and energy efficiency.

With its scale, diversity, and strong ecosystem, JG Summit hopes to utilize and build on its expertise in different areas of business to deliver long-term, positive impact on a wider and more inclusive scale.

“Today, more than ever, business exists for a nobler purpose. Business has an inherent responsibility to uplift the lives of people while ensuring that this one Earth where we live in remains viable for future generations,” said Lance.

R&D EXPECTED TO REINVIGORATE DAVAO DEL SUR’S COFFEE INDUSTRY

Marita Carlos, director of the Applied Communication Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development

By Peter Paul Duran

W

mind.

hen one thinks of coffee, the provinces of Batangas or Cavite quickly come to

In truth, roughly 70 percent of coffee produced in the country comes from the south, particularly the Davao Region.

While the domestic coffee industry hit a snag owing to declining production in recent years, local coffee is still considered world-class.

Various sectors recently convened to make Davao coffee great again through meaningful research and development initiatives. More than a hundred coffee farmers along with investors and buyers gathered at the DOST-Coffee FIESTA (Farms and Industry Encounters through Science and Technology Agenda) in Davao del Sur with a spotlight on coffee.

Hosted by the Southern Mindanao Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium, the event sought to boost

‘MR. FIX IT’...

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for me,” he says.

The NEA program would later become the model of the rural electrification program for developing countries. At 29, de Ocampo whose wife was pregnant with the first of their four children became one of the 1975 Ten Outstanding Young Men awardees in the field of national economic development. Other awardees at that time included Lino Brocka for Arts, Christian Monsod for Finance and Emil Javier for Agriculture.

De Ocampo stayed at NEA for seven years through Martial Law. “Somewhere along the line, Martial Law started taking a turn that was not quite hunky-dory...I thought I was only in my 30s at that time and I did not want to be typecast. So I sent in my application to the World Bank, and they said come in. My wife, however, was not exactly thrilled with the idea of living in a foreign country,” he says.

The family moved to Washington D.C., the headquarters of the World Bank, where his four children two boys and two girls—were born. “I was paid in dollars, tax free. They gave free education to my kids. I was given a set of other countries in the Middle East as my area of responsibility,” he says.

At the World Bank, he became the first Filipino senior country officer whose role was to raise funds for the International Development Association which provides soft window or concessional loans to developing countries.

“I thought this was it. I was comfortably earning dollars, I could go shopping all the time, and I could retire with a nice pension. Then Marcos got ousted. I was in the middle of discussion about some country program when I got a phone call from [former Vice President Emmanuel] Pelaez and later from Jobo [Central Bank Governor Jose Fernandez],” he says.

Pressured to return to the country by the economic team of the newly installed Aquino administration, de Ocampo did not say yes right away and it took a year of cajoling before he gave in to the call. “After a while, I said I would do it on a leave-of-absence basis from the World Bank for two years. So I came back and left my family there in 1987. I was asked to revive the rural electrification program and while I was doing that for about a year, all of a sudden, they asked me to go to DBP and help fix that up too,” he says.

The offer gave de Ocampo a conflict of interest because DBP, where his father also served as vice chairman, was one of the borrowers of the World Bank.

“I was made the vice-chairman, with Jess Estanislao as chairman. I had to either give up World Bank or DBP. Along comes my calculation of excitement and historical stuff and challenges and I told my wife I could not possibly pass this historical opportunity up. So I resigned from the World Bank,” he says.

YOUNGEST DBP CHAIRMAN When Estanislao was transferred to the National Economic and Development Authority, then President Corazon Aquino named de Ocampo as the chairman of DBP. During his term at DBP as the youngest chairman and CEO, he transformed the bank into the world’s second soundest and third best performing Bank in 1991, as acknowledged by The Banker magazine.

When then Defense Secretary President Fidel Ramos decided to run for president in 1992, he asked de Ocampo to become his economic adviser. “I guess he had already seen me operate. He asked me to be his economic adviser when he was still planning to run for president. I used to write sections of his campaign speeches,” says de Ocampo.

After Ramos won as president, de Ocampo did not want to join the Cabinet as he wanted to focus on DBP. He recommended Ramon de Rosario for the post of DOF secretary first, then Ernest Leung.

When the president took him to a golf game at Wack Wack in the middle of a heavy downpour, it took Ramos nine holes to bring up the subject matter of the DOF post.

De Ocampo said he would think about it.

“I was pretty comfortable with DBP. I was able to reform it to be acknowledged by the Banker Magazine as the world’s soundest bank. Besides, my father was vice chairman of DBP. Even though we had no ownership of

coffee production in the region.

According to Dr. Anthony Sales, Region XI Department of Science and Technology director and chair of Regional Research and Development Council, Davao del Sur recently gained international attention at the Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle where the region was represented by the Balutakay coffee farmers.

“Coffee is a lucrative investment with the growing demand for coffee worldwide especially among young people,” Sales said.

He said that even a fraction of the global multibillion dollar coffee industry could drastically change the quality of lives of Filipino coffee farmers.

The Philippines was one of the biggest producers of coffee in the 17th century but local production plummeted in the succeeding decades because of various factors such as depleting manpower in the coffee value chain, land conversion and uncertainty of profit from coffee.

With new and better product processing introduced by emerging technologies, the modernization of the coffee business from raw product processing and packaging to logistics is seen to enable the local industry to keep up with

it, it makes my father proud, not to mention I knew the corruption in BIR and Customs. So I said I would think about it,” he says.

“I was taking a vacation in Washington when one night while sleeping, the phone rang. When I picked up the phone, it was President Ramos who asked me not turn him down this time. What was I supposed to do?

So I said yes and I talked to him about what my key plan was,” says de Ocampo.

At the DOF, he introduced the comprehensive tax reform program which brought the country’s fiscal position from large deficits to the longest period of consecutive years of fiscal surpluses.

“I ended up with the first surplus ever, and it went on and on for my entire tenure which was five and a half years. And then, fortunately towards the end, when the financial crisis hit, we were the least affected by the Asian financial crisis,” he says.

Under de Ocampos’s term, the government reached the highest tax collection efficiency ratio ever at 17 percent of the gross domestic product. “The average in our part of the world at that time was 15 percent.

Ours was only 9 percent, and we could not even get to 10 percent. During my time, it hit 17 percent and that

record has not yet been matched,” he says.

For turning the government’s budget position around, de Ocampo was awarded the Global Finance Minister of the Year in 1995 by Euromoney and Asian Finance Minister of the Year in 1996 and 1997 by Euromoney and Asiamoney, respectively. He received the Philippine Legion of Honor in 1998.

De Ocampo also served as the chairman of the APEC and ASEAN Finance Ministers and governor of the World Bank, IMF and ADB during his term as Finance Secretary.

After his stint in DOF, de Ocampo spent time with his family and did some part-time consulting because the law prevents a Cabinet secretary from joining any company for a year, “When the year was over, I was offered by companies to join them, but there is something in me that does not like to be a trophy employee. I ended up accepting an offer to be the president of AIM which contributes to society and education. There, I am not making anybody rich materially and that is why I went for it,” he says.

De Ocampo became president of AIM for six years and retired until he was 60 to “set an example by not asking for an extension.”

After retirement, he was preparing to travel abroad with his wife, but he received multiple offers from companies, here and abroad, to become a board chairman or director. “As a result, until now, I sit on about 30 different boards, seven of which are outside the Philippines,” he says.

De Ocampo is the first Filipino and Asian to be elected to the board of the Global Reporting Initiative which is the international authority for sustainability based in Amsterdam. He is also the only Filipino in one of the highest level think tanks called Trilateral Commission whose other members include Henry Kissinger and Alan Greenspan.

“Because independent directors became a must, a lot of companies have invited me to be an independent director and I chair some companies. It keeps me busy, but then in 2013, the big Malaysian bank CIMB was in negotiations with Ramon Ang of San Miguel for buying out the majority chunk of Bank of Commerce,” he says.

CIMB approached de Ocampo to be the chairman

other countries.

Dr. Danilo Pacoy, SMAARRDEC director, said that Davao del Sur is studying Arabica coffee grown in the highlands of Mt. Apo through a partnership with Southern Philippines Agri-business and Marine and Aquatic School of Science and Technology which co-hosted the Coffee FIESTA. “The project aims to determine the behavior of Arabica coffee varieties under Philippine conditions,” said Pacoy.

M a r i t a Ca r l o s, d i re c to r o f t h e Ap p l i e d Communication Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development is optimistic about coffee’s potential in the region.

“There is a big niche for organic coffee,” said Carlos during a media conference and forum after the opening ceremony. He said the Coffee FIESTA was a step towards reinvigorating not only Davao Del Sur’s but also Mindanao’s coffee industry.

“We are all in this together. The very essence of the FIESTA is to gather all stakeholders. We are looking at the gaps and needs of the industry through research and development,” she said.

SMAARRDEC is a non-profit R&D organization that promotes agriculture, aquatic and natural resources.

should the deal push through. The two sides were negotiating for the acquisition and he was just waiting for a notification once the deal was finalized. “Instead, I got a call from them saying the deal was off,” he says.

“Prior to this, both Purisima and Tetangco kept telling me to fix Veterans Bank but I kept turning them down partly because at that time I was sitting in the board of RCBC which I left because I was supposed to be the chairman of Bank of Commerce. So this time, I had no more excuse not to say yes to fixing Veterans Bank. That was July or August of 2013,” he recalls.

“I just told the two of them [Tetangco and Purisima] you have to back me up because I would probably be draconian.

I might revamp the whole board. That’s exactly what I did.

Of course, I did not do it instantly but even on the first year, it was practically a different board,” he says.

De Ocampo selected new board members who are experts in the banking and governance sectors. “I’d like to tell people if you compare my board to biggest banks here, it is probably one of the best boards you could think of,” he says.

The Vetarans Bank’s board now includes four former bank officials such as Jose Nunez Jr. who was chairman of DBP, Gerardo Anonas who was president of DBP, Francisco Magsajo Jr. who was president of RCBC and Cesar Africa Rubio who was executive vice president of Planters Bank.

The board also includes former Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor who was the first woman dean of AIM, former Isla Lipana & Co. chairperson Judith Lopez and Guillermo Parayno who is widely acknowledged as the best Customs and BIR commissioner in history.

“When I came here, I decided to articulate a vision of the bank and I said we are going to resort to ‘guerilla banking’. We have a niche of veterans, but we have to expand that niche to the entire military establishment.

We don’t want to announce all over the place. I prefer that we get it done first like guerrillas by identifying your targets and finding out you markets,” he says.

FUTURE OF BANKING De Ocampo also plans to bring the future of banking to Veterans Bank. “I found out we had only 60 branches.

In my mind, banking would go digital so why waste my money building little buildings all over the place when it is going to be obsolete. So I stuck with 60. I said we are going to be the bank for the military as the core niche. And so we have been developing it along the core niche,” he says.

He ordered the refurbishing of the bank branches which now proudly reflect the gallantry and heroism shown by Filipino heroes and veterans. The bank is now servicing the pension loan portfolio of the military, which increased dramatically from P100 million one and a half years ago to P3 billion this year.

De Ocampo is also active in promoting cultural and economic relations with other countries. He was conferred “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” for promoting Philippine-UK relations and being the chairman of the British Alumni Association and was named Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor for promoting links between France and the Philippines in the economic domain.

He continues to share insightful solutions to fix the country’s major problems such as the traffic congestion plaguing Metro Manila. De Ocampo, however, is more optimistic today, believing that the Philippines will be among the major economies that will shape the future.

“We are the second fastest growing economy in this part of the world. I agree with the combination of tax reforms and ‘Build, Build, Build’infrastructure program to sustain economic growth,” he says.

“Even in the eyes of the Word Bank, we are a country that is approaching the demographic sweet spot because our average age is still young. We are the most adept now at customer service. We are less of an assembly line population than a service-oriented population. When it comes to services, we are unbeatable,” he says.

De Ocampo, who was consulted by incumbent Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on tax reforms, says the Philippines enjoys a very good credit rating which can possibly reach the ideal‘A’score once infrastructure projects are built and the tax effort further improves. “We are in a pretty good situation,” he says. Roderick T. dela Cruz

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

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BEST SMARTPHONE GIFTS THIS CHRISTMAS

By Paul David Gelario

C

HRISTMAS is just around the corner and we want nothing less but the best and the latest smartphones the market has to offer as a gift to our loved ones.

With Apple’s recent release of three iPhones, it is no coincidence to hop on the hype train considering the drastic camera upgrade and the speedy software the three iPhones have to offer.

The iPhone 11 has a dual lens camera linking both its 12 MP main lens and the 12 MP ultra-wide angle lens. The top of the line models, iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone Pro Max have an additional third lens enabling a more powerful zoom capacity.

All three iPhones boast of an advanced photography system called Deep Fusion which allows the camera’s system to scan all 24 million pixels once the shutter has been pressed and select the best images to craft a stunningly vibrant image.

With three iPhones powered with the latest A13 Bionic Processor, they can nonetheless deliver a fast and uninterrupted user experience.

The iPhone 11 comes with a price of P36,000.

The iPhone 11 Pro starts at P52,000 for 64GB,

load for prepaid mobile users and remit money to loved ones anywhere in the country. This was the very foundation of fintech in the country. But the Filipinos’ adoption to fintech did not happen overnight. It took 10 years for change to be felt in the local scene.

While global companies from different parts of the world saw what was being developed in the Philippine fintech landscape, they have adopted fintech innovations and have scaled much faster.

Supportive regulator

P56,000 for 256 GB. The iPhone 11 Pro Max starts P57,000 for 64GB, P65,000 for 256 GB, and P75,000 for 516 GB. The next best smartphone is Vivo’s flagship phone, the NEX 3, that comes with a remarkable screen-to-body ratio of 99.6 percent along with a Waterfall FullView OLED display.

The NEX 3 has four cameras, three cameras at the back with the 64-megapixel as the primary camera, a 13-megapixel telephoto, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and an upfront 16-megapixel pop

up selfie camera.

NEX 3 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus Processor and supports 44W fast charging.

The price of NEX 3 is yet to be announced.

Huawei is expected to release four flagship phones known as the Mate 30 Lite, Mate 30, Mate 30 Pro, and the Mate 30 Pro Porsche Design.

Like Apple, the Mate 30 series are expected to have a huge upgrade on its camera features, screen display, and exterior design.

The Huawei Mate 30 series was launched in Munich, Germany on September 19.

It will be Huawei’s first smartphones released after the US’ trade ban due to alleged security concerns and mounting tensions with China.

Whatever prize the gifts that we may give, as long as it comes from the heart, our loved ones will definitely cherish them this coming Yuletide season.

INVESTORS LINE XLOG’S BLOCKCHAIN LOGISTICS SOLUTION FOREIGN investors and partners are forming a beeline to Shiptek Solutions Corp.’s XLOG, the world’s first fully-integrated blockchain-based end-to-end shipping and logistics platform, only a few months after its official launch.

On Thursday, Shiptek Solutions founder and CEO Eugenio Ynion Jr., announced the signing of partnership deals with Future Greens Commercial Broker, a primary digital platforms solutions provider in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, and Quadd Solutions (Pvt) Ltd., a Sri-Lanka-based pioneer in self-service solutions for sophisticated modern lifestyle. Another company from Malaysia will also sign an agency agreement with Shiptek during the event.

“The signing of these partnership deals with investors from the MENA region, and Sri Lanka is a testament of the growing recognition of the global community of the services of XLOG,” Ynion said. “Already, the global shipping and logistics industries are looking at XLOG to move cargoes anywhere in the world seamlessly using the latest in blockchain technology.”

The XLOG platform is 100% developed in the Philippines. It aims to simplify the shipping and logistics by bringing the two industries in the digital age by creating an online marketplace for both companies that offer and require such services. Ynion envisions the company to be the “Traveloka for shipping lines, Uber for trucking, and the Airbnb for warehousing.”

XLOG leverages the latest technologies for a seamless experience. It creates a complete documentation of door-todoor shipment from the country of origin to country of destination. The platform also provides instant access to both historical and current shipments.

HOW FINTECH...

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of commercial ships travel to Europe.”

Quadd Solutions CEO and Director Chandana Gunasekara and Dhananjaya Rajapaksha (director) will be signing the documents with Shiptek. Quadd Solutions specializes in offering innovative solutions in multiple engineering disciplines. The company’s consultancy arm provides services in telecommunications, electrical, electronics and mechanical engineering solutions, while its development arm offers a range of Fintech, IoT/ IIoT and self-service automation solutions such as information, ticketing and bill payment solutions, cash/cheques deposit and dispensing solutions.

Key figures during the XLOG press conference are shown here.

In May, the company inked an investment deal with UBX, the FinTech subsidiary of lending giant UnionBank of the Philippines (UBP). The partnership with UBX allows Shiptek to enjoy the credit facility network of UBP, while at the same time fusing their shared expertise in one ecosystem where logistics and financial create value-laden experiences and conveniences for stakeholders.

“We are making great strides in the shipping and logistics industries. We are hoping to expand the access of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to participate in the global economy,” Ynion added. “The signing of agreements with groups from the MENA region and Sri Lanka is a step closer to achieving that goal.”

Under the deal, Future Green, which is incorporated in Dubai, will allow XLOG to get a foothold in the MENA market, as well as other territories.

Dubai, which is the center of trade in the MENA region, is a smart move for

the company’s expansion given the city’s strategic location.

Future Green executives Muneer Musalim Saiud Al Azri and Hilmi Mohammad Salim Al Mahari will sign the agreement with Shiptek. Future Green offers access and incorporate the Eastern and Western digital and technological advances to create seamless business relationships and growth opportunities between MENA region territories and the rest of the world.

Joey Union, XLOG’s chief operations officer (COO), added the deal with Sri Lanka would open doors for Filipino companies to access the so-called Silk Road markets.

“Sri Lanka’s harbor towns and cities play an important role in the old Silk Roads,” Joey stated. “It only fits that China has built a new port in the town of Hambantota, in the capital of Colombo for its new Silk Road initiative. The port is a key point of transit in the very strategic Indian Ocean, through which a large percentage

EY LAUNCHES..

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With increasing digitisation and a highly networked global world, and the continuous talent gap, our Manila Center will play a key role in helping bridge the demand-supply gap of cybersecurity professionals.

“Philippines and Cybersecurity are two of our biggest growth drivers within EY GDS. The new state of the art center will help us generate more employment opportunities in Manila. It is completely equipped to defend security threats for EY clients in the digital world,” said Vinod Jayaprakash, GDS Cybersecurity Leader.

EY pointed to its own security survey which found 77 per cent of organisations operate with limited cybersecurity and resilience, while 87 per cent say they do not yet have sufficient budget to provide the levels of cybersecurity they want.

This decade-old transition meant people are also exposed to evolving fintech applications in their daily lives— from the traditional prepaid phones to the newest smartphones and the Internet. During this transition, the BSP was one of the first central banks in the world to create an office dedicated to financial inclusion with the establishment of the Inclusive Finance Advocacy Staff (IFAS) in 2007. IFAS implements, coordinates and advocates the microfinance and financial inclusion initiatives of the BSP. It was also IFAS which conducts the yearly National Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion. The survey tracks the evolution of the digital transactions of Filipinos and the progress of fintech in the country. The BSP has made financial inclusion one of its major goals, and this was solidified by a number of programs and initiatives that they launch, including the announcement of the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) in 2015. The NRPS will establish a safe, efficient, affordable, interoperable, and reliable retail payments system which will serve as a platform for fintech innovations in the country.

With the NRPS, the central bank is targeting to improve the share of digital payments to 20 percent by 2020 of the total transactions in the country, compared to the 9.2 percent recorded in 2017.

Rise of the digital natives

Alongside the strong support from the BSP, the new generation of millennials who regularly use smartphones, the Internet and social media also expects convenient experiences in solving their day-to-day problems. This is where many fintech companies come in. The Philippines has observed influx and evolution in fintech over the past two to three years. From payments, money transfers, lending, insurance, and even investments, fintech companies are starting to be competitive by making their services quicker, smarter, more convenient and cheaper.

Fintech companies are overtaking banks in the adoption of digital tools in offering convenience to the daily lives of the average Juan dela Cruz. Some of the examples of these accelerated fintech services are offered by GCash, which include the contactless mobile QR code payments to around 70,000 partner merchants nationwide, online money transfers and purchases through analog and high-tech mobile phones, and building of credit scores which enable users to get loans which are affordable and easy to pay.

With the development of financial services within nearly two decades, existing and incoming fintech players believe that the fintech revolution is now starting and is ready to take off in opening up avenues for convenience in the everyday lives of Filipinos.

Reyner M. Villasenor is the chief corporate affairs officer of GCash (MyntGlobe Fintech Innovations, Inc.)

ONLINE...

From D4

CALL DESIGN EXPANDING OPERATIONS

CALL Design, a Workforce Management and Optimization company from Australia is expanding its operations to provide full-component services that will improve Workforce Management performance, optimize service processes in contact center, branch and back-office operations, integrating technology and services using data science at its core.

Founded in 1999 in Sydney Australia to provide Workforce Management business solutions, technology, and consulting services to their clients in Australia, US and Europe, Call Design first came to the Philippines in 2008 to support the WFM Teams of their clients who are mostly blue-chip companies, across the globe.

In 2019, Call Design has enlarged its services by offering Workforce Management and Optimization as a Service to ensure that right people with the right

skills are in the right place at the right time to provide companies with optimal service and quality.

Sean Mather, Executive Director of Call Design Pty. Ltd and Chairman of Auscontact Association said Workforce Management is crucial in every business but is a highly overlooked part of operations.

Demand for Workforce Optimization is rising, however, due to the thriving business climate in different regions, including the Philippines.

“Organizations must provide quality service, efficiency and effectiveness and at the same time ensure revenue generation, cost efficiency and profitability. It’s a demanding balancing act, and the solution is the efficiency and effectiveness that WFO can provide. A large chunk of a company’s success is due to efficient, well-managed staff,” Mather said.

“Workforce Optimization ensures that

The Call Design team, led by General Manager Cecille Tan and Executive Director Sean Mather

employees are aligned with the goals of the organization. Call Design works at an enterprise-wide level to put the best tools in place for an unparalleled customer experience,” he added.

Call Design Philippines General Manager Cecille Tan said the company continues to revolutionize the workplace by providing effective Workforce Management and Optimization services, tools and technology, custom software development, exceptional support, personalized training, and

consulting services at a lower cost than when the companies themselves do their own employee management.

“It is the first of its kind in the country.

Backed by 20 years of WFM experience and expertise, Call Design’s Workforce Management and Optimization services can help companies acquire an optimum level of performance, increase staff retention, improve technology, save on costs and time, provide a superior customer experience and make them true global players,” Ms. Tan said.

Teachers Month. When I started 51Talk, I searched for the best English teachers, and this is where I found them. That’s the main reason why I chose the Philippines because I believe in the worldclass talent of Filipino teachers, and I want to bring that to the world stage with the use of our platform,” said Huang.

51Talk Country Head, Jennifer Que said: “The long- term goal is for the Philippine home-based, online English education sector be recognized as a significant contributor to the economy and nation-building with its thousands of teachers and the socio-economic impact it makes especially in the country side. “ “Studies tell us that the demand for online English teachers will continue to increase. This is the very opportune time for us in 51Talk and our partners to gear up and prepare as there is so much work to be done,” said Que. To learn more about 51Talk, please visit www.51Talk.ph.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

YOUR SMART TV DOESN’T HAVE TO DRAIN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

By Charles Arvin Dantes

T

HERE is a misconception before that if you want a good Smart television at home, you will need to break the bank in order to afford one.

But today, many well-known brands have been selling 4K television like hot pancakes due to the growing number of competitors out there keeping the prices on check and affordable for all consumers to enjoy.

Now, as the holiday season is slowly approaching, it is the right time for you to go gaga on a television shopping spree with this list of the best LED TVs out there.

By Reyner M. Villasenor

2. Sony FHD KDL 40W650D

This 40-inch Smart TV is one of the best buys out there as it has XReality Pro processor that upscales low-resolution images to improve the display and X-Protection Pro that levels up the protection of the television from humidity, surge, lightning and dust.

As already indicated, Sony FHD KDL 40W650D has a full-HD display 1. LG 43LM5500PTA at 1080p and the ability to connect to If you are looking for a great the Internet and use a wide variety of experience with a basic televi- streaming apps. It is priced at P19,999 sion, LG got you covered. The LG at the Abenson online store.

43LM5500PTA has a dynamic color 3. Samsung UA32N4300 view together with Dolby Digital Gamers and the like love to be apAudio and smart energy-saving preciated by their brand they support. system in tow.

One of such brand is Samsung, which You also have a cinema-like thrill as gives back to the players out thereby it comes with digital noise reduction by creating this one-of-a-kind Smart and black level cinema input, perfect TV that has a unique feature called for late-night TV watching, As of now, Game Mode that allows gamers to enthe price of LG 43LM5500PTA is only joy gaming with less lag and clearer P17,990 on Abenson. images as it automatically cuts down

LG 43LM5500PTA

on-par with the bigger brands, Skyworth Smart 32TB5000 proves to be a worthy addition to this list with its high class qualities that mix Full Screen Pro technology, Dolby Digital Audio and Wi-Fi readiness into a one rectangular entertainment set-up.

Billed at P11,990, it is worth every cent in your pocket to try this offering 4. Skyworth Smart 32TB5000 from Skyworth and give yourself the The most affordable Smart TV yet relaxing treat.

the amount of time the television needs to process the input from the game.

Also, don’t forget that it is already a high-definition TV that you can fancy, while streaming your favorite show or playing with your gaming console. You can get it at P13,490 at Abenson.

ONLINE PLATFORM 51TALK SOLIDIFIES PARTNERSHIPS 51TALK, a leading English Online Education platform, hosted a Partners Appreciation and Thanksgiving event held recently at the SMX AURA Convention Center in Taguig City in recognition of their partners’ support and contribution in empowering more Filipino English teachers to have a sustainable online, homebased livelihood.

Among their partner is the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Both parties committed to promoting community development with 51Talk offering to jump-start their online teaching career with the use of DITC’s facilities and centers. They have also been working closely with PLDT-Smart Foundation’s Gabay-Guro to offer digital livelihood training and op-

Photo shows 51Talk Founder and CEO Jack Huang (8th from left); Country Head Jennifer Que (7th from left) and Co-Founder and COO Liming Zhang (9th from right) with key partners from DICT, Local Government Units, PLDT-Gabay Guro, Huawei and other advocates.

portunities. And just recently, global tech giant HUAWEI and 51Talk signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), to initiate steps in promoting information and communications technology to reach out to more teach-

ers to join the platform.

Jack Huang, 51Talk Founder and CEO, led the event and personally thanked and acknowledged them as being key drivers in the company’s success and emphasized their role in

creating more opportunities for online teachers across the Philippines.

“It is also very timely that we solidify and reaffirm our partnerships during the celebration of National

Turn to C3

Doing the ribbon-cutting rites are (from left) J. Carlitos Cruz (EY Philippines Chairman and Managing Partner), Ashok Mario Pereira (EY GDS Philippines Advisory Leader), Mary Elizabeth Porray (EY GDS Client Services Leader), Maria Elizabeth de Guzman (EY GDS Philippines Cybersecurity Leader), Jose Carlos Reyes (Dept. of Information and Communications Technology Director), Gemma Epifania Gaerlan (EY GDS Philippines Location Leader).

[on your third anniversary.]

[Tech sec rocks!]

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facebook.com/eggshellworldwide

EVER since the olden days, Filipinos are used to have a small amount of cash in hand to purchase goods for their short-term needs—like shampoo or conditioner, a snack or candy, or even a condiment at the neighborhood sari-sari stores. Households also prepare cash from their salaries, and queue on banks or payment centers to pay bills or send money to loved ones.

Cash is still the king for the Filipino consumer, and it always has been. But over the past decade, we saw a gradual yet vital development in the landscape of money transactions that has been starting to take a leap in the past two years. And that is, the digital disruption in banking and financial services.

With the rise of technological advancements like smartphones and the Internet, we now see transactions being done online, payments and load purchases done on mobile phones, and having the ease of paying, borrowing and sending money anytime, anywhere without the hassle of carrying loads of cash, or queuing.

Digital disruption is currently taking place in how we handle our purchases and transactions, therefore working its way towards the greater goal of financial inclusion, where people have access to affordable financial products and services that they need.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), about 9.2 percent of the country’s total transactions were done electronically in 2017, which is a high jump from the minimal 1 percent electronic transactions in 2013. This shows that more and more Filipinos are gradually settling their transactions online.

We are facing a time where technology is on an upward trajectory and is ripe to be one of the main foundations of how we settle our transactions moving forward. But before we can put our gears into motion towards the acceleration of technological adoption in our transactions, let us look back on how financial technology (fintech) started and proliferated over the past decade in the Philippines.

Almost 20 years of fintech in PH

[Congratulations]

www.eggshell.ph

HOW FINTECH INDUSTRY HAS GROWN IN PH OVER PAST 10 YEARS

EY LAUNCHES MANILA CYBERSECURITY CENTER EY, A global leader in Assurance, Tax, Transaction and Advisory services, announced the launch of its front-line Cybersecurity Center in Manila.

This multi-million facility sits out of EY’s Global Delivery Services (EY GDS) and will be a revolutionary expansion of the global Cybersecurity services, playing an important role to reaffirm EY’s leading position in helping organizations mitigate cyber risks and strengthen cyber resilience.

The facility offers highly automated security services that are supported by intelligent automation. Examples include triaged incident response services, threat hunting and threat protection powered by security orchestration, automation and response, said EY GDS. “We operate in a vast digital landscape and cyber risks are evolving. Attackers can hit us on machine speed while many organizations are still responding on human speed. Our new GDS Manila cybersecurity ce4enter is strategically built to continue to raise awareness and defences through the latest technology and innovation against emerging threats as we develop forward-looking cybersecurity services for EY clients,” said Maria Elizabeth de Guzman, GDS Cybersecurity location leader.

Talking about the launch, Arun Batra, EY GDS Advisory Leader said: “EY continues to invest significantly in the buildout of its Manila Center. The launch of our state-of-the-art Manila Cybersecurity Operations Center will help us address the security needs of both Global and APAC clients of EY. This is closely linked to the GDS Cybersecurity facilities in India, Poland and China and other EY Cybersecurity centers like Singapore, Melbourne and Dallas.”

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It was in the year 2000 when the BSP allowed banks across the country to engage in electronic banking (i.e. mobile banking, remittances, and digital payments) to expand client reach and improve financial access. This was one of the first steps of the central bank towards digitization, which paved the way for the BSP to be supportive of fintech and make financial inclusion as one of its key priority areas.

Despite the hopes and promise that this change opened up, it took some years before the banks adopted online banking because around 8 out of 10 Filipinos at the time were still unbanked, online penetration was not yet pronounced; and although the use of prepaid mobile phones was prevalent, there was yet more work to be done to entice the public to open bank accounts and do transactions via banks.

Presented by this scenario, early 2000s was the prime time when some of the oldest fintech companies and startups in the Asia Pacific region such as GCash, now operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), were established and introduced to the public.

Fintech services of GCash were made available then via analog mobile phones, primarily to buy Turn to C3

Destinations D1

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor

manilastandardlife@gmail.com

@manilastandardlife

@MStandardLIFE

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Mickey and his friends are spreading wicked Halloween fun dressed in their costumes, singing, dancing, and distributing candies to guests.

V

WICKEDLY HAPPY PLACE ON EARTH

ILLAINS take over the “happiest place on Earth” as Hong Kong Disneyland Resort celebrates Disney Halloween Time today until Oct. 31.

Villains from classic Disney stories steal the spotlight in allnew musical shows “Let’s Get Wicked” and “Jack Skellington’s Villainous Gathering.” Guests can also enjoy the “Journey to Halloween Town” trick-or-treat walkthrough experience and immerse themselves in classic scenes from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The most feared Disney Villains star in “Let’s Get Wicked,” an allnew musical show at the Theater Maleficent from 'Sleeping Beauty' joins Jack Skellington and other Disney Villains in 'Jack Skellington's Villainous Gathering' show. in the Wild in Adventureland, which will be transformed into a lair where evil thrives and villains unite. Five infamously evil Disney Villains: Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians, Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and Mother Gothel from Tangled showcase their evil glory with villainous songs.

Meanwhile, “Jack Skellington’s Villainous Gathering,” held at the Castle Hub Stage, features Jack Skellington and Sally joining forces to perform with some of Disney’s formidable villains: The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Jafar from Aladdin, It's a Halloween party, complete with pumpkins and everything wickedly fun and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, wickedly scary.

the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and Captain Hook from Peter Pan. This Halloween, guests can once again go on a Journey to Halloween Town where they can re-live the classic scenes from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas with immersive moments and all-new trick-or-treat activities added this year.

Those who want to see more of Jack should not miss the “Jack Skellington and Friends Halloween Time Character Greeting” to meet the Pumpkin King Jack and his frightful friends Sally and Oogie Boogie.

Disney Friends are also spreading wicked Halloween fun. Mickey and his beloved friends will appear in their Halloween costumes distributing candy, as well as singing and dancing at Mickey’s “Halloween Time Street Party.” Vampirina will also be making her debut this Halloween, spooking guests at The Annex.

Meet both Disney Friends and Villains at the “Halloween Time Festival Gardens” in Fantasyland throughout the day, where Winnie the Pooh and his friends will also appear in special Halloween costumes. At night, Maleficent, Hades, Captain Hook, Queen of Hearts, Cruella de Vil, and Frollo take over the gardens. Guests can also enjoy face painting and other activities at the Disney trick-ortreat booths.

Guests staying in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Hotels enjoy free Priority Admission Pass and complimentary vouchers.

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Oriente vice president of digital commerce Linda Lan and Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience Candice Iyog

FREQUENT FLYER

FLY NOW, PAY LATER

ALLOWING more ways to pay and more passengers to fly, leading budget airline Cebu Pacific teams up with Cashalo to offer fly now, pay later payment option.

This alternative digital-credit payment solution can be used by both first-time and frequent travelers to purchase domestic flights worth P7,000 and below on the Cebu Pacific website (www.cebupacificair.com).

Passengers must choose the “Pay with Cashalo” option on the payments tab. They will then be redirected to the Google Play store or App store to download the Cashalo app, sign up, and apply for a quick loan.

Loan settlements can be done in easy-to-pay installments within three or six months.

Explore Los Angeles with the Go Los Angeles Card from Klook.

US of activities on discount

Flying to the United States of America soon? Travel activities and services booking platform Klook has launched Turn to D2

SOLID WASTE TO FUEL TOURISM Aviation fuel made from converted waste has a carbon content that is less than 20 percent of that made from fossil fuel.

MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

YES, you read that right. If all goes well, our country’s solid waste will soon be a source of fuel, precious aviation fuel at that!

Not too long ago, my friend, business columnist Andrew Masigan, gathered together a group of media friends to have dinner with Trevor Neilson, founder and chief executive officer of Wastefuel of America, who visited the country to lay the groundwork for a sizable project that could certainly be a game-changer for our economy, for our environmental concerns, and for our tourism industry.

Wastefuel plans to put up an US$800 million biorefinery in San Mateo, Rizal, which will convert solid waste into aviation fuel.

Neilson’s visit was to tap local investors who may be interested in being a part of this noteworthy endeavor. Similar projects have already been started and are in various stages of development in the USA, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil.

Here in Asia, the Philippines would be the first country to have this biorefinery, a perfect choice, because of these three reasons--our continuously increasing demand for aviation fuel, thanks to our booming tourism industry; our abundance of solid waste; and our proximity to the various city hubs, like Hong Kong and Bangkok in many airlines’ worldwide routes.

This planned biorefinery will have the capacity to process 3,500 tons of solid waste every day, producing 22.9 million gallons of aviation fuel a year, which could fill both local and international Turn to D2

Destinations

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

5 REASONS TO VISIT CORREGIDOR C ORREGIDOR is often, if always, associated with images of old canons, hero statues, and war remnants. But the historical island makes a case for its other attractions; there’s more to this 358-kilometer historical island than just a stopover for school field trips. In recent months, Corregidor has reinvented itself as an exciting tourist destination in its own right. Here are five reasons why it’s more fun in the Isle of Valor.

Enjoy a lights and sound show in Malinta Tunnel.

A rich tapestry of history

Hop on a bicycle and explore the island.

As the site of two of the most heroic and crucial battles in World War II, it continues to hold special significance to all Filipinos for everything that it symbolized.

A must-visit part of the island is Malinta Tunnel, the last stronghold of Philippine and American military forces versus invading Japanese soldiers in World War II. In addition to captivating night lateral tours inside the 253-meter long tunnel, visitors can enjoy a light and sound show conceptualized by the late National Artist Lamberto Avellana.

Other must-see areas include: the Mile-long Barracks, touted as the world’s longest military barracks; Japanese Memorial Garden, which serves as a praying ground for the relatives of deceased Japanese soldiers; and the Pacific War Memorial Museum, which has a museum and a dome-shaped shrine and park.

Enjoy great sights while learning captivating stories by joining the historical tram tour, a four-hour tour on board the tranvia.

Non-stop action for mind and body

Those who want to explore the island at their own pace, may opt to walk through history, literally. Apart from being able to stay longer at an area, they can also take as many selfies as they want, and achieve their target number of steps as well.

Another option is to go biking around the island. Families and friends may arrange for group packages to get considerable discounts. Pedal across the glorious Mile-Long Barracks, whiz past Battery Hearn, or race to South Beach in style. Not only is biking great for cardiovascular health, it can also afford views one would not otherwise see while on a guided tour.

Those looking for more adrenaline rush can join the adventure hikes whose trails range from easy to advance. Gear up to discover secret caves and tunnels and prepare to explore areas that the tranvias cannot reach, such as the Wheeler Tunnel and Battery Hanna. Feel the thrill reaching the farthest tip of the Corregidor Island’s head and bask in the exquisite views of the Conchita Island and the Bataan Peninsula.

Spot monkeys in the island's hilly borders.

An island sanctuary

Go on a quick beach getaway at South Beach.

Summer all year round

Corregidor Island is flanked by at least three beaches in its expansive territory. Its shores practically extend to burgeoning beach destinations such as Morong and Bagac, with its more closed-off borders affording the island’s visitors less constraints and more privacy.

Most accessible is South Beach, which is a mere five-minute walk away from the docking bay.

Families and friends can go for a quick beach getaway and swim, go kayaking, or ride a raft to their hearts’ content. They can also barbecue in one of the cabanas nearby for an authentic summer experience any day of the year.

Take advantage of natural light and take hundreds of photos.

Paradise for photography and art

With plenty of natural light to go around and some of the most breathtaking views the country has to offer, peppered with diverse flora and fauna and wartime ephemera, it is a true photographer’s haven.

In addition, Corregidor Island also features sketching walks, wherein a group of illustrators go on a guided tour of scenic locales to draw.

WICKEDLY...

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SOLID...

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Refuel with more than 40 mouth-watering Halloween treats.

Over 110 special Halloween-themed merchandise items will be available for guests to purchase during the Halloween season.

Pinoy guests planning a memorable adventure at HKDL this Halloween may register online as a MyDisney Fan for free and purchase park tickets after signing into their MyDisney Account. They will receive a special edition Disney gift and multiple play, shop, and dining privileges for the date of their visit.

Guests can also purchase a limited-time Halloween “Villain’s VIP” Priority Pass to enjoy the wicked Halloween offerings at HKDL, including priority entrance to the “Let’s Get Wicked” and “Journey to Halloween Town,” plus free redemption of one Halloween headband at a merchandise shop.

Go to www.hongkongdisneyland.com for more information.

FLY NOW...

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its USA tours and activities.

Amusement seekers may skip the lines and score discounted tickets to Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, and Universal Studios in Los Angeles.

Explore Los Angeles with the Go Los Angeles Card which gives direct access to LA’s most popular attractions and offers savings of up to 50 percent.

Klook is offering the USADREAM code, which gives users 10 percent off with a minimum purchase of P10,000 and maximum discount value of P3,000 valid until Dec. 31.

The well-maintained former camp and base is teeming with fruit-bearing trees. After a spell of rain, the roads are carpeted in yellow blooms.

Monkeys and geckos are constants in the hilly borders.

When the skies clear out, an array of birds dot the atmosphere, among them white-collared kingfishers, zebra doves, Asian glossy starlings, and Eurasian tree sparrows.

Those who want to stay longer can enjoy the idyllic Spanishvilla vibe of Corregidor Inn. The standard rooms offer morethan-standard accoutrements and a view of the island’s stunning greens. Guests can enjoy a delectable breakfast spread or a refreshing kamias or mango shake while comfortably nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Wastefuel of America chief executive officer Trevor Neilson, with his wife, Evelin, who is a Filipina.

ute of the aircraft’s flight, fuel from garbage will prevent one ton of trash from inundating our landfills and demands. This would mean P7.43 avoid the equivalent of four truckbillion worth of import savings or ex- loads of carbon dioxide from polluting our air. port earnings for our country.

Looking at this project from any Consider this project’s multiplier effect on our country’s economy--the angle, we can easily see that this is benefits it will bring to our contrac- a win-win investment for any corpotors, equipment suppliers, service rate entity to make. Of course, from providers, and the jobs it will gener- the tourism industry’s point of view, ate for our country’s scientists and this admirable endeavor will certainengineers, not to mention the sig- ly be a big help to further increase nificant increase in income taxes the our tourist arrivals.

A big chunk of the fares that airgovernment will eventually earn. lines collect The procovers the cess used by cost of fuel.

Wastefuel’s YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE If airlines technology A blonde nurse was asked why she can now is fully cominsisted on bringing along a red pen on have access pliant with her first day of work. Her reason--she to cheaper the Clean might be asked to draw blood. aviation fuel, Air Act. It fares will go does not indown, makvolve incineration but uses steam and pressure ing any destination more attractive to to convert waste into a gaseous form, budget-conscious travelers.

Here’s a call to our corporate giafter which the gas is converted to liquid, which is then refined into avia- ants to take advantage of this golden tion fuel. The product of this process opportunity and make this sound inleaves a lighter carbon footprint and vestment towards a sustainable touris much cheaper, certainly the much- ism industry using sustainable aviavalued qualities of a sustainable fuel tion fuel. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine for garbage to a country can have.

Take a closer look at these facts. help bring in more tourists to our Aviation fuel made from this method country. The future is indeed here! has a carbon content that is less than For feedback, I’m at 20 percent of that made from fossil bobzozobrado@gmail.com. fuel. This means that for every min-

Entertainment

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

MARCO

Now a rising star, the 25-year-old Viva artist is ready to take on bigger challenges and live up to his moniker as the next big leading man.

GUMABAO A STAR IS BORN In 2017, Marco left Star Magic agency after five years and signed a management contract with Viva Artists Agency in September 2018 together with his two siblings, Michele Gumabao and Kat Gumabao.

After being launched in his first major lead role in Para sa Broken Hearted (2018), he starred in the toprating sexy drama Los Bastardos, which aired its finale last Friday.

Following a supporting role in the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival entry Aurora, he appeared in the Nadine Lustre starrer Ulan early this year.

These appearances put Marco on the map, but it was

CERTIFIED HEARTTHROB.

Before being cast opposite Anne Curtis in ‘Just A Stranger’, Marco Gumabao was playing bit roles on TV and movies.

only recently when he starred in Just A Stranger that everyone, most especially the critics, started noticing his undeniable presence.

“There’s so much more here than a thirst trap,” notes CNN Philippines in a feature article. Veteran film critic Oggs Cruz of Rappler goes even further in his movie review, declaring that “Gumabao is a revelation.

A man baby who is not just believable but also charming in his immaturity. Audiences were similarly smitten, noting how Marco held his own against his award-winning co-star. “ “I can’t thank Viva and all the people who support me enough for giving me the chance to grow, spread my wings. It motivates me to work harder because of the push that I get from them,” he said.

Marco is already preparing for his follow-up film and it will be another dramatic sizzler, a sexy love triangle with Lovi Poe and Tony Labrusca titled In Between Goodbyes.

Fresh from the massive success of ‘Just A Stranger,’ Marco is set to star in another sexy drama.

By Nickie Wang

I

T IS safe to say that Marco Gumabao is no longer a stranger. He’s now a sought after leading man and a blockbuster breakout who is now shaking up the industry with his larger-thanlife presence, acting chops, manly charm, and yes, his chiseled physique.

“I feel flattered whenever people notice me for my physique. Of course, I am proud. I work hard to achieve this ‘body goal’ but it gives me more pleasure when they notice me because of the things that I do onscreen, acting is my first love and I feel glad some people now appreciate me for it,” Marco told Manila Standard in an interview at the Viva headquarters in Ortigas.

The 25-year-old Viva artist is now one of the country’s newest certified heartthrobs. He has just been catapulted to stardom via the blockbuster movie Just A

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

SEVEN

REASONS WHY

‘ABANDONED’ IS WORTH YOUR TIME

ENJOY the cuddle weather, because with just a tap or a click on your phones and gadgets at home, you get a full movie experience with iWant’s chilling story of a mother and a son trapped in a life of haunting spirits in the psycho-horror movie Abandoned, a movie that you can stream for free.

Flip the switch off and grab ‘bae’ for this one. It’s going be a frightening ride. (Warning! Spoilers ahead): 1. Its short running time For only 75 minutes, viewers get to witness a story of love and resilience in a horror setting in the Kip Oebanda film where dedicated mother and son look out for each other in the midst of bullies, evil spirits, lurking shadows of the past.

2. Beauty takes on her first horror role Beauty Gonzales expands her acting repertoire as she plays the complex Simone, the single mother of RJ (played by Seth Fedelin) who is struggling to find a job after a traumatic experience during her previous one. Beauty portrays a dedicated yet mentally unstable woman, plagued by the ghosts of an old building.

3. Seth’s first movie project Without his Gold Squad comembers by his side, Seth can stand on his own and is ready to prove his place in the industry with his first movie and leading role. Seth’s RJ in Abandoned is amusing and mischievous, adding a charming layer to the otherwise chilling film that draws its scares from unresolved personal traumas.

4. Symbolisms The title itself gives meaning to a lot of scenes in the movie. Abandoned isn’t just about the haunted building and its supernatural elements, but how her spooky workplace provokes Simone’s deepest and darkest fear – abandonment – which she has dealt with all her life.

5. Depicts how patriarchy trumps women Simone’s predicament starts when her boss Soliman (another symbolism) “handpicks” her for the unusual job, and all the while their security firm’s logo represents manhood and the fires of hell. Her cocky colleague Renante won’t trade shifts with her, and a loan shark tries to take advantage of her financial instability. It is also revealed that Simone’s father originally wanted a son, thus, her untypical name and painful childhood.

Stranger with Anne Curtis.

Marco stepped in front of a camera for the first time in Toda Max (2012) then rose to popularity in the TV series Luv U both in the same year (2012 to 2016). The then teen actor also performed in supporting roles in numerous films such as She’s Dating the Gangster (2014), Just the Way You Are (2015), and several other films.

He had special participation in popular television series such as Forevermore (2014 to 2015), Pusong Ligaw (2017 to 2018) and FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (2018).

‘BATTLE OF THE LEGENDS’ AT SM SKYDOME

Cong TV and Colin Band headline ‘Battle of the Legends.’

ISTUDYO Ni Pipay Productions is staging Battle Of The Legends Tournament Show Match And Concert on Oct. 5 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) at SM North EDSA Skydome.

This whole-day tournament show match and concert highlights a friendly gaming tourney among highly acclaimed professional gamers, players, and YouTube vlogging sensations in the country such as Bianca Yao, MRVii, Rojean Delos Reyes, Wrecker, Sungit, Junnie Boy, Solideds, Emman Nimedez, Sphinx, and Tan among many others.

The event will culminate in a special concert featuring Cong TV and Coln Band, Lady Pipay, and RJ Dela Fuente – who were chosen to participate in this event to make the crowd go wild with their electrifying song and dance numbers.

Tickets to the event are available now at SM Tickets and Bliimo.

Seth Fedelin and Beauty Gonzales in iWant movie, ‘Abandoned.’

6. Mother’s love overcomes all difficulties Simone’s ex-husband was also a domestic abuser, causing her to leave and raise RJ. The film shows a mother’s unconditional love for her son from borrowing money, looking for jobs she’s incapable of, throwing a birthday celebration, warding off evil spirits, and even literally sacrificing herself in place of her son.

7. It encourages us to check up on our own moms In the movie, RJ reveals he has been skipping school to secretly help his mom financially by buying and selling things online and even defending her name from bullies in school. It was RJ all along that kept her going. Looking back, he always has been Simone’s source of strength. And although our mothers seem like they can handle everything, it wouldn’t hurt to check up on them and give them a warm hug every once in a while.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

Desiree Carlos, Editor

Pets

daycarlos28@yahoo.com

BLOOD AND OTHER TESTS HELP DETERMINE A DOG’S HEALTH PET TALES

BY DESIREE CARLOS

T

(Part 1 of two parts)

HE best way to do something 101 per cent or more is to understand the many aspects of what one has decided to embark in.

This holds true for having a pert or rescuing animals in need.

Since 1998, my children have been rescuing animals. They would feed stray dogs and cats, and even hens!

It was thus easy for the family to decide to join animal welfare advocates in rescuing 34 dogs and two cats from the Payatas dog pound in Quezon City. The 36 animals were to put to sleep or killed.

This led to the creation of Save ALL Inc.- Save Animals of Love and Light, the rescues of which our family continues to help to this day.

We have been rescuing dogs and cats and bringing rescues to clinics for medical treatment.

Through the years, we learned that pet owners and rescuers alike must know what the blood test results mean to be able to provide the best care for our pets or rescues.

The canine blood tests serve as very important tools for the vet to detect, identify, diagnose and even treat illness or disease.

In the article “Understanding Dog Blood Test,” the Drake Center for Veterinary care noted: “A blood test or lab test allows us to learn information about your dog’s health which can only be found from collecting a sample of blood and having it analyzed. This includes a CBC (complete blood count) and blood chemistries that analyze chemical components in the blood.”

“A CBC for dogs identifies and quantifies white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets in a given amount of blood. This includes

Mango, a senior dog at 11-12 years old, go to the clinic for a blood test twice a year to check his organs' functions, and his body's overall health.

analyzing the shape and condition of the cells for health and functionality. This information is helpful in learning more about your dog's immune system (white blood cells) and oxygen carrying capacity (red blood cell count), “ the Drake Center added.

Blood tests for dogs can also identify the following: § Glucose § Proteins § Electrolytes § Cholesterol § Endocrine Levels § Digestive Enzymes Here are some things we learned about the items indicated the blood test results: 1. High WBC or white blood cell count can mean an infection.

2. Low hemoglobin (HGBT) and low hematocrit (HCT) can mean the dog is anemic.

3. As Drake Center said, a deficiency in albumin levels will require a check on the liver as albumin is produced in the liver.

“Lab work for dogs also can detect and help identify complex problems with body systems. For example, blood tests for dogs can detect abnormal hormonalchemical responses to environmental and internal stimuli, which alerts a veterinarian to a potential issue with the patient's endocrine system,” the Drake Center said.

When a blood test is needed Drake center identified the fol-

Rafa, a four-year-old rescued dog who survived parvo and leptospirosis, is the most calm dog we know. He smiles even when a vet is about to take a blood sample and during the extraction itself. Such a sweet, friendly dog! Not all dogs are this easy to handle during blood extraction.

It is suggested that the dog be programmed to like vet visits by introducing him or her to a friendly vet when he or she is just a puppy. It is also recommended that no fuss is made during blood extraction or vaccination or any procedure involving needles.

4. Prior to starting a new medication.

This helps to find out if the new medication may be metabolized by the liver or kidney 5. During senior wellness exams: Dog blood tests for mature, senior or geriatric dogs are recommended as part of their regular wellness check.

“These are extremely beneficial, as we often see senior dogs return to a more youthful state of being when blood tests identify an issue that can be easily treated, “ the Drake Center said.

The other most common lab work for dogs are: § Urinalysis: The dog's urine is evaluated to determine hydration status, infections, kidney or bladder disease, diabetes and other health conditions § Fecal Exam: A stool exam is done to check for intestinal parasites, fungus, or protozoa. A stool sample is also checked for color, consistency, and the presence of blood or mucus. § Complete Blood Count (CBC): The dog's blood is used to assess features of the blood, including red and white cell count, immunity status, and the measure of hemoglobin, which is the actual substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen § Blood Clotting Times: A dog's blood is analyzed for bleeding disorders. § Blood Chemistries: The dog's internal organs is checked, and their health gauged before anesthetizing for surgery. § Cytology: Samples of sebum and cellular debris on the skin and in the ears are collected to determine if infection is present. Needle or core biopsy of lumps or masses on the dog's body may also be performed to look for cancer cells.

“We recommend discussing lab tests for dogs with your veterinarian, in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not your canine friend can benefit from dog blood work,” the Drake Center said.

lowing situations wherein a dog blood work may be ordered: 1. On the first veterinary visit.

A blood test is recommended for puppies to rule out congenital diseases, for baseline information, and for pre-anesthetic testing prior to spay or neuter.

2. During semi-annual wellness exams.

The veterinarian recommends a blood test because the blood work, along with tests using other bodily fluids like urine, can help identify conditions that a physical examination cannot. § If a dog seems unwell.

This is recommended if the dog is not his usual self.

3. Pre-surgical tests.

The test will determine if the liver and kidneys are functioning well. This helps the veterinarian select the safest dose of anesthesia. Tests can also determine the risk level in infirmed, elderly or Next week: Understanding the values and acronyms in the blood test result injured patients.

MY FURRY BESTIE

THIS corner features pets of animal lovers every week. We hope new owners and those thinking of getting a pet will be encouraged to be responsible “furparents” through these features.

We also hope more people will be moved to be kind to animals when they read about the great relationship that can be created between humans and animals.

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

WALLY was rescued a month ago. He was sleeping on a wet concrete near the office of Gela Padilla.

“I took him with me and had him checked by the vet,” Gela recalls.

“Thankfully, he is free from any illness or disease. He was given vitamins to help him gain back his appetite, “ Gela says.

“According to the vet, Wally's age is between 8 months to 1 year, “ Gela adds.

Wally loves beef jerky treats and being cuddled until he falls asleep, Gela shares.

“I thank God for giving Wally to me, “Gela 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.

Missing pet Cotton is missing.

Please help him get home.

Age: 4 years old.

Sex: Male Color: white and short hair (just like in the photos) Breed: Shih Tzu x Maltese Last seen: 9 p.m. inside Meteor Homes subdivision, Marikina City. Has a red collar around his neck.

Owner: Ash Belgica.

Please contact the owner in Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook. com/ash.plgns/posts/3269402173071683

NEWS ROUNDUP: ALL ABOUT ANIMALS Free Anti-Rabies Vaccines in Cavite City today

106 dogs and cats spayed and neutered for free in Cavite

The Cavite City local government is giving free anti-ra- vaccination in line with the goals of the city government bies vaccine to dogs and cats four months old and above under Mayor Antonio Ferrer to keep pets healthy. today at the city esplanade.

This a prelude to the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, local The City Agriculture Office will conduct the anti-rabies patron saint and patron saint of pet animals. (Dennis Abrina)

GENERAL TRIAS CITY, Cavite—Around 106 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered during the free spay/neuter project of the city agriculture office (CAO) last September 19 at the Barangay San Francisco barangay hall in celebration of World Rabies Day 2019.

Nerie Marquez, CAO head, said 76 dogs and 31 cats were spayed or neutered.

"This is the choice of CHO (city health office), because Barangay San Francisco is the most populous among 33 villages here and medyo marami ding stray dogs," said CHO chairman Eddie Umali said.

The project, in cooperation with the Cavite veterinary office, Philippine Animal Health Association (PAHA) and Cavite State U, is in line with the local government’s goal to keep dogs and cats healthy and to help control animal population in the area.

The program also aims to stop the increase in the number of stray or abandoned dogs and cats and prevent bite incidents in the city.

"This is one of the projects to eliminate dog bites or rabies in the city." said Dr. Gloria Digma, officer-in-charge of the Cavite provincial veterinary office.

The first of a series of free spaying/neutering was held in Cavite City on April 2 with 58 dogs and 29 cats spayed or neutered.

On April 5, 50 dogs were spayed and neutered In General Trias.

On Sept. 18, a spay/ neuter program was held in Cavite State University (CvSU) – Indang campus with the help of the College of Veterinary Medicine coeds and Biomedical Sciences.

Dennis Abrina Over 100 cats and dogs were spayed or neutered last Sept. 19.

Dog Trader Turned Dog Dish Vendor Arrested Padre Garcia of Batangas, south of Metro Manila, was one of the main supplier of dogs to the North. That was then. Now it is slowly becoming a dog meat dish vendor's place of venture.

The Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. (AKF) has a heavy concentration of cases against dog traders in Batangas.

We may have broken the link between the dog supplying syndicates of the south to the dog meat buyers in the north but these unscrupulous beings, based on our experience, will always push the envelope until they are totally depleted of resources. A resources that is not much in terms of capitalization for the buying and selling of dogs but we hurt them a lot via their pockets when the court fines them more.

This rescue operation happened on September 10 in the afternoon at Quilo-Quilo, Padre Garcia. The arrested trader was recently arraigned and imprisoned.

The five rescued dogs are now in the AKF Sanctuary in Capas, Tarlac.

As long as AKF has the support of fellow advocates, AKF will go after these heartless dog traders.

This support does not go for naught; AKF is always watching these wicked group.

To help save more slaughter-bound dogs, AKF needs help.

Perhaps you can skip your coffee, your usual treat of do-

AKF rescued five dogs from dog meat dish vendor.

nut, or milkshake maybe. The dogs need our help. (Greg S. Quimpo. AKF Campaigns Manager) (Editor’s note: To donate to AKF, please go to their Facebook page. The link is https://www.facebook.com/AKFanimalrescue)

’ Riera U. Mallari, Editor advertise@manilastandard.net FROM the messages we send, to the food we eat, all the way to the shows we watch, technology is now very much a part of our lives.

Technology has merged with our psyche, we are now pre-programmed to check our phone the first thing in the morning, then open the television to listen to news while we eat our breakfast, tweeting #itsagoodday, along with a photo of you enjoying the morning.

Who would have ever thought that electronic gadgets and social media would become an integral part of how we conduct our lives and interact with each other? A day without a Facebook post or an Instagram photo or even a Twitter rant using devices that we can’t do without makes our lives seemingly incomplete.

That is not all what we can do with our devices, in recent years, banks have developed a way to make banking easier. Banking apps have sprung into existence that functions the same as meeting a banking personnel for specific transactions. One can check the balance of their account in a banking app, while drinking coffee and basking in the dawning sunlight.

Along with the development of apps and features for phones, there is also a surge of new phones coming to the market. Each company, joining the Battle Royale of releasing the best phones this year. Other gadgets such as laptops and televisions are also in a tight match to be the best.

With the Yuletide season nearing, join us as we make our Christmas list of gadget must-haves to guide not only the tech-savvy, but also the common folks looking for the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

As we embark on a digital transformation in our homes and workplaces as our tool for progress, let Manila Standard satisfy the techie in you when it celebrates the 3rd anniversary of its Tech and Gadgets Section.

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By MJ Blancaflor

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F YOU can afford a flagship phone, then good for you! So we prepared a list of the toughto-beat, hottest flagship phones in town.

Smartphones that make you go wow! battery and huge storage that starts at 128GB is a real knockout. As a speedy device capable in low-light situations, the unit is a real contender of Apple phones.

Price: P49,990 4. OPPO Reno 10x Zoom With fast-charging battery, this powerhouse device shares the same 10x hybrid zoom feature of Huawei’s P30 Pro, but without the camera hump on its back. It has also a notorious front camera hidden in a motorized popup module which achieves stunning night shots.

Price: P45,990 5. Huawei P30 Pro Known for unprecedented camera, Huawei P30 Pro won’t disappoint. Its 5x optical and

Samsung G

alaxy S10+

1. iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max Many of the features that these latest iPhone models have been found in Samsung and Huawei phones before, but who cares? Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro models offer not only a little bit extra and features that matter a lot to extreme mobile users and pixel experts, but their build quality and reliability have been their selling point for years.

Price starts at P70,000

2. Samsung Galaxy S10+ This is Samsung’s easiest to use S Pen-toting phone yet.

This premium phone is known for its gorgeous build, beautiful glass construction, and a significant bezel reduction from the Note 9. With a versatile camera system and loud speakers, the device gives an exquisite feel for users.

Price: P55,990 3. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 This big, beautiful phone with top-tier specs including a big

Your Smart TV doesn’t have to drain your bank account

C4

Huawei P30 Pro

10x hybrid zoom are phenomenal and we cannot simply get with any other phone in the market. Plus it has high-speed Kirin 980 chip, massive 4200mAh battery, and curved OLED display.

Price: P45,990 6. OnePlus 7 Pro As the most expensive OnePlus unit, the phone provides stunning design, top-of-the-line specs, and impressive cameras the can rival Samsungs and Huaweis. It has a sharper notchfree display, a pop-up selfie camera, a faster in-display fingerprint sensor, and a triple-camera system on the rear.

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Best mid-range Smartphones on cusp of greatness CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Xiaomi Manila

MI9 SE

Realme 3 Pro

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By MJ Blancaflor

TODAY

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What Makes Local Government an Enticing Cyber Target?

Recent and well publicized cyber attacks are damaging, costly, and have the potential to deprive communities of essential services, but stopping them poses significant challenges.

Local government CISOs and IT departments face pressures from all sides: on the one hand, citizens are demanding digital services and frictionless online experiences, but on the other, government leaders want to reduce risk within the IT infrastructure, and face increasingly stringent data security compliance requirements. Moreover, limited budgets are always a reality.

Today’s cybercriminals are savvy and well aware that local governments hold massive amounts of data. They’re readily equipped to exploit that data’s value, whether by selling it on the dark web, or through extortionary tactics like ransomware attacks.

Attractive Data As local governments and municipalities are called upon to deliver services more efficiently, they’re quickly expanding their technology infrastructures and the number of services they offer online. This means that their IT environments are growing rapidly and their complexity is skyrocketing. It also means that governments are collecting, storing, and transmitting everincreasing amounts of sensitive data from their citizens.

Growing Cybersecurity Challenges With these increasing services comes infrastructure sprawl and complexity. Many local governments now offer services via mobile or web applications, and a growing percentage of government organizations are turning to cloud-enabled storage or computing solutions. But, this IT modernization brings challenges: IT infrastructures are increasingly distributed and heterogeneous, and attack surfaces correspondingly larger. At the same time, IT departments struggle to maintain visibility and control in these diverse environments.

In many ways, this creates the perfect storm for adversaries, and local governments’ capacities for defense, response, and remediation are not always growing to keep pace with the size of the threat, due to some key challenges:

awareness of the problem and better employee education— if there is to be real change.

Budget Constraints Taxpayer-funded organizations like municipalities and local governments often have extremely limited resources. It’s not uncommon for them to operate with legacy hardware or software, and a lack of technical security controls. In the current job market, cybersecurity talent is hard to come by, and salaries are high.

HILE some budget phones have impressive features, you might want to treat yourself with the more pricey devices.

Which ones are worth it? Here’s a list of our fave mid-range phones which range from P11,000 to P20,000.

Ransomware is Top of Mind The attacks on multiple cities, local governments, and education systems serve as a reminder that ransomware is not going away, but instead continues to pose a serious threat going forward. Ransomware attacks continue to move away from mass-volume, opportunistic attacks to more targeted attacks on organizations, which are perceived as having either the ability or the incentive to pay ransoms. In some instances, cybercriminals have conducted considerable reconnaissance before deploying their ransomware on carefully selected systems to maximize opportunity.

Regardless of the vector, as our latest Threat Landscape Report shows, ransomware continues to pose a serious threat for organizations going forward, serving as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing patching and infosecurity awareness education.

What’s Needed: Simpler Security Solutions In order for local governments and municipalities to continue their digital transformation initiatives without compromising on security, it’s imperative that CISOs identify and deploy the security solutions that will enable them to make the best use of their limited resources. Not only must they compare the purchase and implementation costs of the technologies they’re considering, but it’s vital that they consider the management and administrative burden they would impose as well.

A consolidated, end-to-end solution offers significant advantages over an assortment of disparate point products.

When local government IT departments adopt a fabric approach, it becomes easier to deploy and administer. If all components in the infrastructure can be managed through a central pane-ofglass interface, labor hours are much reduced, and costs will be a great deal lower.

Nokia 8.1

1. Samsung Galaxy A50 If you’re into a flagship-looking phone at a mid-range segment, then this is for you. It has In addition, integrated solutions are more effective, reducing a large AMOLED display, three rear camoverall risks. When devices are capable of sharing intelligence and eras and surprisingly capable in taking taking automated action in response to threats, no component of the IT environment remains an island. Comprehensive quality photos. A50’s bright screen also solutions enable more seamless coverage, better visibility, and looks sharp and it comes with a massive automated compliance reporting.

4,000mAh battery.

Price: P17,990 2. Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Dubbed as “compact flagship,” it has a triple camera with a virtually identical setup of a more pricey Mi 9. If you’re looking for a phone that won’t hurt your pockets both in size and price, check it out.

Price: P15,990 3. PoT IS not a cover of a magazine or a poster for an upcoming movie. cophone F1.

But fans and social media followers of Maine Mendoza will truly be The phone follows the surprised and intrigued on what the young actress is up to when trend for tall phones they see a screengrab of her latest video for Vivo. with thin displays. With a color-accurate screen and long-lasting battery life, this device is stongkingly good value for money. The Pocophone is fitted with Qualcomm’s fastest-ever mobile processor, the Snapdragon 845—the same chip that powers phones costing upwards of twice the price.

Breaking Down Silos The agencies and departments comprising local governments often have highly-segregated organizational structures. This can make it difficult to develop centralized and consistent cybersecurity programs and standards, and implement them throughout the whole of the organization. Simply put, silos don’t lend themselves to efficient collaboration.

But stakeholders throughout all parts and segments of local government organizations must come together in support of a stronger cybersecurity posture—including greater

Price: P15,990 4. Xiaomi Mi 9T Mi 9T offers very capable performance at this price point, and is the first handset to run Qualcomm’s Snapdraon 730. This is an 8nm octacore chip paired with 6GB of memory. With a fullscreen display, fast internals, and a big battery at this price, this phone is worth every buck.

Price: P15,990 5. ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 It has all the elements of a reliable, powerful mid-ranger.

This unit is suited for those who want a steady performer that can both handle the daily tasks and heavy gaming. It also lasts long thanks to a large 5,000mAh battery.

Price: P12,995 6. Realme 3 Pro With a powerful camera, nippy performance, great battery life and an included fast charger, the Realme 3 Pro is up for a game. Constructed from polycarbonate, the phone feels sturdy enough to take a few knocks and keep on rocking.

It isn’t as fragile as glass or as prone to chipping as metal.

Price: P12,990 7. Vivo V15Pro The Vivo V15Pro will put the “pricier” flagship phones of other brands to shame. Data storage is excellent, and so is the huge 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display. But it is the cameras that are the scene stealers here.

Much of the attention has been focused on the 32 megapixel pop up camera, but the Vivo V15 Pro

Fans abuzz over Maine, Vivo V17 Pro flagship smartphone silhouette

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Samsung Galaxy A50

Screengrab shows a silhouette of Maine teasing with the Vivo V17 Pro.

The image, a silhouette of Maine teasing with what appears to be Vivo’s latest flagship smartphone, the Vivo V17 Pro, has many of her adoring fans already speculating when the new handset would be launched in the country.

Aside from the screengrab,

a new video which will soon be up on Vivo’s Facebook page, will also feature the celebrity, garbed in highly-fashionable dresses, completing wacky fantweeted 17-second challenges such as eating polvoron while reciting the alphabet, or stuffing

marshmallows in her mouth.

Prior to teasing about the V17 Pro, Maine was introduced as Vivo’s brand ambassador and endorser in May following the launch of the Vivo V15 Pro and Blossom Pink special edition smartphones.

rear triple camera is very nice, too.

Price: P20,369 8. Nokia 8.1 If you want a solid smartphone that delivers a little bit of everything, you can do no wrong with the Nokia 8.1. It is fast, has a decent camera and audio quality and excellent display. Its sturdy build quality and looks also don’t disappoint.

Price: P19,900 The best part of purchasing mid-range phones is while you enjoy features that budget phones might lack, you need not spend your entire savings for that dream gadget.

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Digital payments for DTI registration now possible with PayMaya THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has tapped digital financial services leader PayMaya to enable business name registration applicants to pay using various payment options online.

Launched along with DTI’s new Business Name Registration System (BNRS), the digital payment options provided

by PayMaya aim to make the process of business name registration and renewals more convenient for the public.

“Long queues, inefficient and slow services in government will soon be a thing of the past. Our agreement with ePayment platforms completes our Business Name Registration System as we are now able to provide our citizens the convenience of having to transact with DTI through their mobile phones at the comfort of their homes, or wherever they are, 24/7,” said DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez.

DTI is a proponent of Ease of Doing Business and is at the forefront of government efforts to provide responsive and clientfriendly services to the public.

“The government’s current thrust to make its services publicfriendly is a giant step towards global competitiveness and of course a happy citizenry. We are proud to be part of this transformation to egovernment, enabling both sides— the citizens and the government,” said PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando B. Vea. PayMaya is providing its unique universal payments platform to DTI to accept all forms of non-cash payments. For online payments, the BNRS site is now powered by the PayMaya Checkout payment gateway, allowing DTI to accept Visa, Mastercard, and JCB credit, debit, and prepaid card payments for business registration fees.

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Bang-for-the-buck Smartphones

By MJ Blancaflor

PAY FOR DTI REGISTRATION ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. In a

landmark partnership, PayMaya along with Land Bank of the Philippines, Bureau of the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry sign an agreement to offer the widest digital payment options for DTI’s new Business Name Registration System, including acceptance for any credit, debit, and prepaid card payments, as well as via the PayMaya app and PayMaya QR payments. Present during the signing of the agreement were (seated) DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez (second from left), PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando B. Vea (rightmost), National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon (second from right), and LANDBANK Executive Vice President Liduvino Geron (leftmost), as well as (standing) LANDBANK Senior Vice President Ramon Monteloyola (leftmost), Deputy Treasurer Sharon Almanza (second from right), DTI Assistant Secretary Mary Jean Pacheco (second from left), and PayMaya Enterprise Head for Government Sector Marvin Santos (rightmost).

Improving government service

The initiative is a direct response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s mandate to reduce government inefficiencies and employ digital technologies to make the process of doing business in the country simpler and easier for all, in support of RA 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, which he signed last year.

This is also in line with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ goal of increasing digital transactions in the country to 20% by 2020 under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS).

PayMaya is the only FinTech company in the Philippines offering integrated consumer and merchant payment solutions.

It is the first to give millions of Filipinos an e-wallet that allows cashless transactions at any time of the day, anywhere in the world, and from any device. For the merchant, PayMaya’s universal payments platform enables them to accept all payment options, including credit, debit, prepaid cards and mobile wallets. PayMaya is the financial technology arm of Voyager Innovations, the leading technology company in the country backed by PLDT, KKR, Tencent, World Bank’s IFC and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund.

Its universal payments platform enables the country’s top eCommerce sites, major retail and quick-service restaurants, government institutions, as well as MSME to accept multiple kinds of cashless payments.

2. Xiaomi Redmi 6 It features a 5.45-inch screen, octa A GREAT smartphone comes with core processor and Android 8.1 Oreo a price tag. But a price tag doesn’t operating system. It has 720 x 1440 mean we have to lose all the blue pixels with 18:9 aspect ratio. Best bills on our wallets. Good thing there phone for music lovers. are available and P r i c e : affordable P7,490 phones suit3. SamSam ed for those sung GalGal who are on a axy J4 Plus. tight budget.

It has a M a n i l a 6-inch disdis Standard got play, 13MP you covered. back camcam We listed era, 5MP the most affront camcam fordable era, and a smartphones 3300mAh (P10,000 bebattery low) and why capacyou should ity. It also give it a try. comes 1. Vivo Y71 w i t h The phone Q u a d sports a 6-inch Core CPU display with and runs an HD+ resoluon AnAn tion of 1440 x droid.

720 pixels, an The smartsmart aspect ratio of HONOR 7S phone comes with 18:9, and a pixel density a 6.0 inches IPS LCD of 268ppi that is almost capacitive touchscreen and 720 x identical to its V7+ sibling. It boasts 1480 pixels. Best for video recording.

13MP rear camera and 5MP front Price: P6,990 camera. Best for taking photos.

4. Huawei Y6 Pro Price: P7,990 for 2GB variant, The phone has a 6.09-inch screen P8,990 for 3GB Turn to E4

Revel in the rain with the LG Dual Inverter heat Pump Dryer

By Angelica Villanueva

Dryer also scores style points. It has a sleek brushed steel finish, with a big chrome rim door and a hidden handle providing an uninterrupted silhouette.

The door is also reversible, giving you the flexibility to maximize space and ergonomics. You never have to worry about aftersales as the LG Dual Inverter Heat Pump

W

HENEVER monsoon season arrives in the country, it brings along with it horrible traffic, deep floods, and of course, piles of clothes waiting for the sun to shine. Doing laundry with unpredictable weather is one of the most difficult things to do because if the weather doesn’t cooperate, you’re going to end up with damp clothes that everyone can smell from a mile away.

LG’s Dual Inverter Heat Pump Dryer (RC09VHP2V) Front Open

Heat Dryer vs. LG Dual Heat Pump Dryer

The best solution for this problem is to invest in a dryer, which guarantees a significant lifestyle improvement.

LG’s Dual Inverter Heat Pump Dryer (RC09VHP2V) is one of the best dryer options in the market today since it gives you the flexibility to focus on energy efficiency or time. While drying a load, its advanced DUAL Inverter Heat Pump™ with Eco Hybrid technology provides you the choice of saving energy, or saving time, tailoring it specifically to your needs and lifestyle.

Not to picky about the eco options?

You can let it do its own thing, since it

also has Sensor Dry technology which optimizes drying performance by detecting moisture on the clothes and automatically sets the drying time.

Shrinkage is a non-issue with the RC09VHP2V, as LG’s Dual Heat Pump Dryer technology uses a lower temperature than regular dryers, which smoothens creases and significantly reduces shrinkage. It’s also perfect for families with young children or those with allergies, as the Allergy Care Cycle reduces 99.9% allergens, such as house mites that can cause allergy or respiratory issues, improving your

quality of life by keeping an allergenfree environment. The dryer is certified by the British Allergy Foundation (BAF).

Committed to the vision of a true smart home, LG also outfitted the RC09VHP2V with SmartThinQ technology, which makes it easy to interact with it together with your other LG home appliances. Using the app, you can operate and monitor your laundry from anywhere, track energy consumption, and download cycle presets. It also comes with a Smart Diagnosis function to quickly troubleshoot any minor issue before it becomes a problem.

The LG Dual Inverter Heat Pump

LG’s Dual Inverter Heat Pump Dryer (RC09VHP2V) Right side view

the Inverter Motor has a 10 year warranty, giving you the guarantee that the dryer will always be hassle-free.

About LG Electronics

LG’s Dual Inverter Heat Pump Dryer (RC09VHP2V) Front view Dryer has a 10 Year Warranty—both the DUAL Inverter Compressor and

Life’s about more than having the latest technology, rather, it’s about the experiences technology creates that impact our lives. LG Electronics Philippines delivers consumer electronics through topof-the-line home entertainment, home appliances, and air solution products, that prepare Filipinos for their greatest moments. LG promises to bring “Innovation for a Better Life” nationwide—from Luzon, to Visayas, and Mindanao.

For more details, log on to lg.com/ph, like @LGPhilippines on Facebook and follow @LGPhilippines on Instagram.

LG’s Dual Heat Pump Dryer’s Allergy Care Cycle

Auto Cleaning Technology of LG’s Dual Heat Pump Dryer

Manila

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From E3

(with pre-installed screen protector) with HD+ resolution or 1560 x 720. At 282ppi, it’s good enough for browsing social media accounts and gaming. The Y6 Pro has a 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera.

It’s best for PUBG gaming.

Price: P6,990 5. Vivo Y91 It is packed with a 6.22-inch HD+ IPS display powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset with 3GB RAM, 32/64GB ROM, 13MP + 2MP main cameras, and 8MP front camera.

Near bezel-less phone.

Price: P5,999 6. OPPO A3s It has 13MP and 2MP camera and sports 6.2-inch display with 720 x 1520 pixels. It also comes with Octa Core CPU and runs on Android.

Best

Nokia 2.1

Vivo Y91 phone with big screen.

Price: P5,990 7. Honor 7S The 5.45-inch screen has a resolution of 720 x 1440 and 18:9 ratio. It features 13MP rear and 5MP front camera with LED flash. It runs on MediaTek MT6739 1.5GHz quad-core processor and PowerVR GE8100 GPU. Best for low-light photography.

Price: P5,490 8. Asus ZenFone Live L1 It sports a 5.5-inch HD+ display, 1440 x 720 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9 with a Snapdragon 425 SoC. It features 13 MP or 8 MP and 5 MP. Best for stock Android 8.0 Oreo OS (which gives a cleaner and unaltered Android experience.)

Price starts from P3,995 9. Nokia 2.1 It sports 5.5-inch 16:9 display with front-facing speaker and 4000 mAh battery. It also runs on Android Go Edition OS. Best phone with big battery.

Price: P3,990 10. Meizu C9 The phone is a 5.45-inch device in 1440 x 720 pixels with a 13MP rear and 8MP selfie camera, face unlock feature and 16GB ROM + 2GB RAM storage. Best cheap phone.

Price: P3,799

Smart holds its second leg of Smart Play: Vlogger Camp in Silliman University

Are you an aspiring vlogger looking to take the internet And here’s how you can join the camp: by storm? Want to learn how to come up with the most 1. Go to this page: https://smart.com.ph/Pages/ smartplay entertaining and compelling content on YouTube?

2. Register to Giga Video 99 or Giga Video+ 149 and wait for the confirmation email, Your vlogging journey starts here as Smart brings you 3. Follow the instructions in the email to continue your Smart Play: Vlogger Camp! This first-of-its-kind event registration; is a convention that brings together the best vloggers 4. Wait for the final email containing your e-ticket, in the country to a school near you, so you can learn which you’ll present at the event. and perfect the basics of vlogging—and create content 5. You can also catch on-ground registration booths in schools to buy tickets. that captures the attention of millions online.

Your favorite Filipino vloggers Will Dasovich (Travel Vlogger), David Guison (Fashion Vlogger) and Carlo Ople (Sneaker Vlogger) are joining Smart Play: Vlogger Camp as guest speakers to teach you the how-tos of video equipment, unique content creation, knowing everything about your audience, and making money off your content!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity! With everything you’ll be learning from today’s top vloggers, you might be the Philippines’ next big YouTube star! Catch the next leg of Smart Play: Vlogger Camp at Mapua University this October 5.

Don’t be afraid to pursue your passions and avail your #FreeYouTubeForAll! All you need to do is dial *123#to get a FREE additional 1 hour (1 GB) of YouTube on top Recently, Smart Play: Vlogger Camp kicked off last of your GIGA VIDEO or GIGA VIDEO+ subscriptions.

August 14 in Ateneo De Davao University. You can catch For more info and updates on Smart Play: Vlogger it as well in some Universities near you.

Camp, visit https://smart.com.ph/Pages/smartplay.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Laptops Lenovo IdeaPad 5540

for aspiring entrepreneurs

By Peter Paul Duran

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ITH today’s modern employment conditions, the workforce demographic landscape is gradually ousting the older generations towards higher level positions, opening up more office workloads to millennial workers.

But in the fast-paced hyper-connected age of emerging business models and processes, the type of workloads have shifted as well. Workers rely on their office laptops in accomplishing time-sensitive or critical tasks. To keep up with the increasingly demanding tasks, their devices should be able to perform whenever necessary, and outdated software and hardware is counterintuitive for that goal.

In a business environment, here are the currently best workplace laptops that combine functionality, style, and durability: 1. Dell XPS 13 (2019) The fan favourite ultrabook was

launched last April in the Philippine market. The XPS lineup is usually the go-to device for the millennials working in the freelancing or creatives industry because of the flexibility it brings to the table.

Especially for users who also integrate mobile phones in work, its Dell Mobile Connect feature will come in handy. With retail price starting at P100,990.00, users will have an access to up to 2TB of SSD, an impressive 4K InfinityEdge display, a refreshed design with new webcam module placement, and Intel’s Whiskey Lake chip Core i7-8565U partnered with 16GB of RAM. Turn to F2

Laws, education needed to curb piracy in the Philippines

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IRACY has long been an issue in the Philippines. Unfortunately, there are no real regulations preventing people from illegally consuming content from the internet.

This, explained Globe Telecom Vice President for Content Portfolio & Partner Management Jill Go, is one of the major reasons why online piracy continues to be a problem in the country.

Go revealed that from 2017 to 2018, Globe Telecom experienced a 50 percent increase in terms of online traffic. And 18 percent of that increase can be attributed to the consumption of illegal content—from the use of illicit streaming devices and viewing content via illegal piracy or torrent sites.

“That in itself, if you think about that in terms of petabytes, is already huge. This is theft that’s actually going around unchecked because there’s no regulatory teeth to actually put them behind bars,” Go said during the Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0) Summit.

Neil Gane, General Manager of the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA)’s Coalition Against Piracy, supported this claim when he revealed that 34 percent of Filipino online consumers use an illicit streaming device—a media player that allows viewers to watch pirated movies and television shows for free.

According to Go, the lack of regulations curbing the illegal consumption of content online is the reason why Globe Telecom got into partnerships with content service providers such as Spotify and Netflix.

Globe, Go said, can prevent piracy by providing consumers with legal options to consume content. Consumers resort to online piracy because they “feel everything on the internet is free because no one told them otherwise.”

But the existence of legal means to consume online content—from TV shows and movies to music—is not enough to stop piracy.

Go pointed out that even streaming service provider Netflix, for instance, spends “substantial amount of research and development so that they can give you a very good customer proposition.”

It also “doubles its content budget every year.” Still, the company is losing money because of piracy. A Techcrunch report earlier this year claims Netflix could be losing up to $192 million in monthly revenue due to piracy.

With its anti-piracy campaign #PlayItRight, Globe Telecom is helping curb the Filipino consumer’s reliance on illegally acquired content.

“Globe Telecom sees it as a responsibility to help shape the regulations in terms of creating rules or laws that can

really put into place some teeth in terms of curbing piracy,” Go said.

Earlier this year, Globe Telecom officially announced its support for Senate Bill No. 2109. Also known as the Philippine Online Infringement Act, the bill, once approved, will enable the National Telecommunications Commission to cancel the licenses of internet service providers that allow websites to facilitate the infringement of copyright.

Besides setting up regulation, Go said informing the public about the perils and negative effects of piracy can help prevent it. “[We are working on] customer awareness in terms of what perils illegal content consumption brings to you, whether it is identity theft, malware, and sorts of security risks,” Go said.

S h e added: “But it is also bringing to mind the consciousness that you’re actually stealing from the livelihood of countless of individuals behind the creative industry in terms of moviemaking or whether it’s short term or long term. So, if you put a face to theft, for example, maybe the man behind the camera, you begin to actually make it real for customers, that this is a real crime that we’re actually creating.”

Go said Globe Telecom has partnered with private entities such as AVIA and government agencies such as the Optical Media Board and the Film Development Council of the Philippines via its Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino film festival to create more awareness via a video campaign that explains the need for Filipinos to be socially responsible users of the internet.

Globe is also hoping that it can eliminate the consumer’s need to avail content illegally by continuing to give consumers “unprecedented content experience” via its local and foreign content partners. “[We hope for a] good merger between the regulatory, corporate, and also the partnerships so that we can provide a very good end to end customer experience [and also] put forward a very savvy corporate social responsibility to enforce legal use of content,” enthuses Go.

Globe to Real Estate Developers: Connectivity must become a priority to achieve PH 4th Industrial Revolution readiness

G

LOBE called on real estate developers to prioritize internet connectivity in their estate development master plans as it is a key requirement for the Philippines to be ready for the 4 th Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).

Globe SVP for Network Strategy Manny Estrada said during the IR 4.0 Summit “Winning Together in the Fourth Industrial Revolution” that real estate developers must realize connectivity has become a necessity just like electricity and water.

“As we prepare our country for the IR 4.0, real estate developers can no longer say that connectivity will just follow after the property is built,” Estrada said.

The National Building Code does not require real estate and property developers to have provisions for connectivity unlike electricity and water, making it more difficult to provide telecommunication services within buildings and other property developments to the detriment of tenants.

Estrada revealed that the real estate industry is part of the digital ecosystem that is crucial for the growth of the digital economy as more and more people transact online. “For those in the Airbnb business, how many of your clients would ask how strong is your internet? Or how many of your tenants shop u s i n g Lazada, Shopee or Zalora? How many of them pay their bills online?”

Estrada said.

He also explained that industries w h i c h dominate the real estate sector like the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) or even the growing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) would require not

just a stable connectivity but redundancy as well. “Telco exclusivity in the real estate landscape should no longer be practiced. Redundancy is a crucial aspect in business continuity for many enterprises leasing your properties,” he added.

He emphasized the need for telcos and real estate developers to collaborate to make the Philippines ready for IR 4.0. “We know that the real estate and property developers have a vision of how communities will be empowered by technologies. This is why we need to work together because there is no point of talking about housing and real estate in IR 4.0 if we aren’t on the same page,” he exclaimed.

“Telcos need to be involved from day one. You have architects and urban planners and we have IT and network engineers with us. We can be successful in building intelligent communities together if we are working together from day one,” he said.

“Connecting the Links: How the Real Estate, Transport and Manufacturing Industries Can Collaborate To Prepare for IR 4.0” was the key topic at the 1st IR 4.0 Summit presented by the Philippine Chambers of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO). Housing & Land Use Regulatory Board Acting Commissioner Atty. Melzar Galicia and Chamber of Real Estate & Builders Association President Noel Carino were part of the panel with Estrada. The event was also attended by 30 delegates from various real estate development companies.

Cybersecurity must be a critical component of customer service—Globe

C

YBERSECURITY has become a necessity.

This was the statement made by Globe Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio during a panel discussion entitled “Beyond Connectivity and Access: The Cybersecurity Initiative” at the recent Industry 4.0 Summit.

“Cybersecurity may sound like alien terminology but business leaders must recognize it as a vital part of customer service given the growing threats to data privacy in this digital age,” Bonifacio said.

He pointed out that many businesses are not investing enough in cybersecurity and see it as unnecessary cost that can wait. This mindset can potentially expose

customers of the company to the growing dangers online.

“As a business if you think you are not affected by it you couldn’t be more wrong. As you talk about IR4.0, you are actually talking about Cold War 4.0. Nowadays it’s no longer a real spy that is sent, it’s actually hackers. The adversary has become more difficult. They’re looking for financial gain or espionage,” he said.

“Cybersecurity is about ‘serving’ your customers. It is an integral part of customer experience. Whether your customers are direct consumers or enterprises as part of a supply chain—it is all part of customer care. It cannot wait and it is not optional. Cybersecutiy is something that you do to make customers feel comfortable like a retailer investing in air condi-

tioning,” he added.

Globe invests US$12 millions annually in cybersecurity to protect the data of its customers and to comply with the Data Privacy Act, as part of the company’s good governance policy.

The company also provides a roundthe-clock support to its Enterprise customers from its Advance Security Operations Centers (ASOC) and follows the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework that helps business identify, protect, detect, respond and recover from cybersecurity threats online.

To find more about Globe cybersecurity, please visit https://www.globe.com. ph/business/enterprise/cybersecurity. html for more details.

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Laptops...

From F1

2. Lenovo YOGA S940 Created by the No.1 PC brand in the APAC region based on sales last year, Lenovo has upped the ante in their ultrabook manufacture. Just recently, they announced that all ultrabook offerings will be equipped with SSDs instead of their slower counterparts, the HDDs. For their premium workplace devices, headlining the roster is the S940 that brings something new to the table as well.

Its display alone boasts a Contour Display, similar to the curved glass panels in mobile phones, an example are the Edge variants of

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the Samsung Galaxy lineup. Out of the box, the device runs Windows 10 Home powered

by Intel IceLake G7 Iris Plus Graphics and an Intel Core i7 processor. Also under the hood is a 512GB PCIEx4 NVME and a battery that lasts a good 15 hours, making it a fairly powerful companion in the office.

3. Lenovo IdeaPad S540 Of course, we won’t skip the lineup that goes just below the performance of the YOGA series, the ultraslim IdeaPad offerings from Lenovo as well are poised to address the needs of the modern employees. The S540 Ultrabook features a 3-side narrow bezel of a 15.6” FHD IPS GL 300N Glass for its impressive display, dual-action fans, an Intel Core i7 processor,

and the Windows 10 Home system. The S540 has an 8GB DDR4 and a 512Gb PCIEx4 NVME, partnered with the infamous GeForce MX250 proving that it is capable

Asus VivoBook Max

as well. Users with packed schedules would also enjoy its battery life that can charge up to 80% in just an hour.

4. Asus VivoBook Max Leaning on the more affordable side but still able to perform with versatility is the VivoBook Max. It’s powered by Intel Pentium N4200 and clocks at 1.1GHz, with a DDR3L RAM of 4GB on the side. It can handle multiple tabs of web browsers without slowing gown and its display is a 15.6” HD panel with a resolution of 1366x769. It runs Windows 10 Home 64-Bit. 5. HP EliteBook 1050 Blending security and manageability is HP’s business-oriented device. Although its form factor is an ultraslim design at 18.9mm thin, it’s powered by an 8th Gen hexa-core Intel Core Processor and Dual SSDs with RAID support. It comes with Windows 10 Pro and an optional NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.

6. Acer Swift 7 The compact Swift 7 housed in a 9.95mm magnesium alloy chassis weighs only 890g and obviously

goes for the minimalist approach. Its screen-tobody ratio is a whopping 92% with a 14” FHD IPS panel protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6. For the internals, the device is backed by an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16Gb of RAM and up to 512GB PCIe SSD powered by 12 hours of battery life.

7. MacBook Pro 13-inch (2019) Of course we can’t complete the rundown without a representative of the MacOS. This premium device will also not disappoint its fans. Although in the aesthetics department there is nothing new, the design is not yet broken anyway. The chunky MacBook Pro offers decent performance with its 8th Gen Core i5 processor clocking at 1.4GHz with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The viewing experience is also a stunner, a 2560x1600-pixel Retina Display apt for 4K videos with 500 nits of brightness and 227 ppi. The MacBook Pro also has enough juice for up to 30 days of standby time and 10 hours of wireless web which can last for an entire office day.

MacBook Pro 13-inch

Go Tick Your Travel Goals with #GetGoingToWhere Challenge Powered by TikTok, Cebu Pacific GetGo TIKTOK, the world’s leading short video platform, has partnered with the rewards platform of Cebu Pacific, GetGo, to help Pinoy travelers #FlyForFree and achieve their travel bucket lists with their barkada through the #GetGoingToWhere interactive in-app challenge.

The #GetGoingToWhere in-app challenge, which runs from Sept. 16 to Oct. 16, 2019, offers lucky TikTok users with the most creative travel videos a chance to win a free flight with their barkada to surf the waves of Siargao, or enjoy the rehabilitated pristine waters and white sands of Boracay, or earn GetGo points! The challenge also aims to promote local destinations and share the natural wonders of the Philippines to the global community that’s already featured on TikTok. Just download TikTok (available for iOS and Android), upload travel-centric creative videos, and share using the hashtag #GetGoingToWhere. Get creative with your travel videos with the help of TikTok’s easy-to-use tools, including stickers and filters to get you excited for your next trip!

Winners will be selected based on originality, creativity and relevance to the theme and stand to get the following prizes:

2nd week major prize—1 winner of trip for 4 to Siargao inclusive of in-flight meal and luggage allowance 2nd week consolation prize - 10 winners of 1,500 GetGo points 4th week major prize—1 winner of trip for 4 to Boracay inclusive of in-flight meal and luggage allowance 4th week consolation prize—10 winners of 1,500 GetGo points So, what are you waiting for? Get going with creating your wanderlust-worthy travel video with the #GetGoingToWhere TikTok challenge. Check out the mechanics here.

BSP Managing Director Pia Roman-Tayag talks about financial inclusion, consumer protection at Home Credit PH’s Compliance and Legal Awareness Week (BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Manag- initiative by Home Credit Philippines’ Compliing Director of the Center for Learning and ance and Legal Team, raised awareness on the Inclusion Advocacy Pia Bernadette Roman- functions and responsibilities of its Legal and Tayag visited Home Credit Philippines dur- Compliance Team, relevant laws and regulations, as well as its reguing the launch of its latory bodies.

Compliance and LeAs the first non-bank gal Awareness eek financial institution to (CLAW) last August issue credit cards in 5, 2019. In line with the country, Home the theme “Enhancing Compliance and Credit Philippines Legal Culture,” Tayag reports to BSP and discussed about Ficomplies with its nancial Inclusion and standards and reguConsumer Protection lations. BSP encouragduring the event. es the development of Pia Bernadette Roman-Tayag, BSP “We need to give the credit card industry Managing Director of the Center for them a compelling Learning and Inclusion Advocacy, during so that credit becomes reason to want an acavailable to customers the launch of Home Credit Philippines’ count” said Tayag. under fair business pracCompliance and Legal Awareness Week CLAW, a week-long tices.

Home Credit Philippines named as one of Asia’s Top 100 Best Employer Brands HOME Credit Philippines was distinguished as one of the Top 100 Best Employer Brands in Asia

for 2019-2020 by the Employer Branding Institute and World HRD Congress at the 10th Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards. Held last August 15, 2019 at the Pan Pacific, Singapore, the Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards recognizes leading organizations within the region that have effectively built its employer brand through exemplary human resource initiatives and practices. This is the first time Home Credit Philippines has been awarded by the said award-giving body.

Alpha Omega Aquino, SHRM-SCP, Home Credit Philippines’ Head of Talent Acquisition, proudly dedicated the organization’s success to its people. "This [award] is for our (Alpha Omega Aquino, Home Credit Philippines’ more than 5 million customers in the PhilipHead of Talent Acquisition, receives the Top pines and our 12,000 employees, who are our 100 Best Employer Brands Award.) own brand ambassadors."

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Create lasting memories with these travel apps

By MJ Blancaflor ARE you planning to travel this weekend? Take advantage of the best apps available to help you before you hit the road. With the help of technology, preparing for your dream travel can be done without sweat.

Here’s our handpicked list of best apps available: 1. TripIt. It seamlessly captures all the details of every trip in your device—from flight itineraries, tickets, hotel reservations and driving directions.

Before you even get to your destination, you have everything in one place, making it simple to share your itinerary.

All you have to do is download the app and sign up for your account. It’s available on Android and iOS. 2. Roadtrippers. This app provides the driving route and allows hotel-booking along the way. Perfect for that exciting road trip you’ve always wanted to take, Roadtrippers can be downloaded on Android and iOS. The software lets users discover independently owned points of interest. It is especially useful for finding interesting places on the road, like cool restaurants and one-of-a-kind spots during the trip.

3. Kayak. As a travel website and an app, it allows you to book flights and hotels and helps you find the best prices.

This fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine is available in 18 languages. It compares hundreds of travel sites for you to find the rate fit on your budget. The app is exclusively available on iOS.

4. Packing Pro. It organizes a checklist that breaks down what you’ll need in your travel backpack or suitcase. Just input in the app the where you are going, how many days your trip will be, and what the weather is supposed to be like. It has sync-

ing and sharing options, a huge catalog, sample lists, display customization and built-in Expert assistance. The app, exclusively for iOS users, also reminds you of any important things you also need to accomplish before traveling.

5. San Bidet. You can’t help it. In the middle of the road, you might want to poop. San Bidet aims to save you by tracking down places that have clean restrooms and are equipped with the elusive bidet spray. The app is available on both Android and iOS.

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Best gifts for every occasion

By Angelica Villanueva and Charles Dantes

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N just a few weeks, it’s Christmas Day! This means gift-giving is about to start.

But are we going to wait for Christmas season every year just to start giving gifts? Why wait for Christmas if you can give gifts on any occasion throughout the year?

LG Smart TV

Valentine’s Day

Release the inner child in you and your partner with Nintendo’s innovative take on gaming console with their Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite, which are perfect for playing with your loved one.

Spend the day indoor with classic and triple AAA video games in a whimsical night full of love and adventures on your hand or with your HDMI-ready television for an exhilarating experience.

As of today, Nintendo Switch is priced around P16,000, while the recently released Switch Lite costs around P13,000.

Imarflex IDX-1650 Induction cooker

Graduation

After graduation, young adults will be facing the stage of adulthood and later on will be having a busy lifestyle. What they will be needing are things that will be useful to them. Giving them a go-to blender is a good idea.

With its easy-to-use features of milkshake maker like Oster, busy professionals can bring their healthy smoothie with them at work.

You can already have your own go-to blender in just P1,500 to P3,000.

House-warming

Every brand has a story, and it’s our job to ensure that you’re able to share it in the right platforms and reach your intended audience.

Newly relocated with friends or a family member having a house-warming party? These are perfect events to bring out a portable Korean barbecue grill and make the best samgyeopsal with your buddies.

Bring home your favorite samgyeopsal, while watching your favorite K-drama. Or you can just share what’s the latest Nintendo Switch gossip while grilling pork belly.

A simple Korean barbecue grill is priced from P600 to P2,500.

Mother’s/Father’s Day

There is nothing greater than giving your parents the right television set on a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day celebration!

Let them feel relaxed as they binge-watch Netflix films and TV series in high-definition 43” Smart-LED television.

With these TV sets approximately costing P15,000 to P20,000, you can already turn your Friday night into a family movie night.

Wedding

Celebrating the biggest chapter in one’s life and starting a family are both thrilling and frightening.

That’s why giving an induction cooker may be the best starting gift for a newly-wed couple.

Imarflex offers its IDX-1650 Induction cooker for as low as P2,900, just perfect for a heartful family mealtime.

Christmas season

The Christmas season is giving us the cold breeze already and what perfect way to match the weather than to get a coffee-maker to keep you warm.

Bring your ideal coffee into life with Ambiano’s coffee-maker and become your own barista at home, Nintendo Switch starting at P1,000 to P3,000. Show your love to your family by keeping them warm with a cup of coffee.

Oster