Manila Standard - 2020 January 2 - Thursday

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NY shocker: Price hikes bared • LPG by P83 per tank as a result of world market trends;

By Alena Mae S. Flores, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

C

ONSUMERS can expect to pay more for their cooking gas and face even more price shocks as new excise taxes on oil products kick in starting this month.

• TRAIN law to fuel third tranche of increases with diesel fetching P1.50 per liter.

Cooking gas prices are expected to rise to by as much as P83.05 per 11-kilogram tank to reflect the higher price of liquefied petroleum gas in the world market.

Oil companies raised the price of LPG by P6.74 to P7.55 per kilo and auto LPG by P4.25 per liter effective Jan. 1.

Petron Corp. and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines raised the price of LPG

by P7.55 per kilo while rival Isla LPG raised its price by P6.74 per kilo.

Before the increase, LPG sold for P607 to P695 per 11-kilo tank with prices varying depending on the brand, location of the station and market forces.

On Tuesday, the oil firms also raised the price of gasoline by P0.85 per liter, diesel by P0.50 per liter and P0.35 per liter for kerosene to reflect the movement of oil prices in the global market.

Year-to-date adjustments stand at a net increase of P7.31 per liter for gasoline, Next page

Health chief pushes fireworks ban amid ‘record low’ casualty

By Macon Ramos-Araneta WHILE the number of fireworks-related injuries dropped 35 percent in 2019, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III batted for a total ban to bring the number of casualties down to zero.

In a news conference at the East Avenue Medical Center, Duque said more injuries this year were caused by legal fireworks than illegal ones.

He said there is always the risk of an accident with firecrackers, whether they are legal or illegal.

The way to achieve zero casualties, he said, is to ban fireworks altogether as some other countries have done.

Data from the Health department’s Epidemiology Bureau showed the top five causes of fireworks-related injuries were kwitis, 33; luces, 19; fountain, 18; piccolo, 13 and baby rocket, 9.

Among the top five, only piccolo is prohibited.

“It’s oxymoronic that it is legal but it is injurious. Those two things are not in congruence,” Duque said.

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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 322 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Air in Metro hits hazardous level amid revelry’

By Rio N. Araja

THE quality of air in the National Capital Region has reached a “hazardous” level during the celebration of the 2020 New Year’s celebration.

Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Unit

Concerns Benny Antiporda said Metro Manila’s air quality reached a “very unhealthy” level from Dec. 31 at 11 p.m. until Jan. 1 at 2 a.m.

He blamed the chemical substances released by fireworks displays and firecracker use for the poor quality of air as the country wel-

comed the New Year.

Based on the data of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mandaluyong City had the highest particulate matter, measured in microgram per cubic meter, at 497ug/ncm.

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‘CRACKERS CASUALTIES. Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque 111 gives an update

on fireworks-related injuries at the East Avemue Medical Center, posting a 35-percent drop in the number of casualties to 164 for the period Dec. 21, 2019 to Jan. 1, 2020 as against the 251 cases for the same period in 2018. PNA

Uproar over OFW death: PH slams Kuwait defiance of deal THE Philippines could again stop the deployment of workers to Kuwait unless the authorities there secured justice for a Filipina who was killed by the wife of her employer, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.

Filipino authorities are working to repatriate the remains of the victim, Jeanelyn Villavende, who was from Nuralla in South Cotabato.

The Palace on Wednesday expressed outrage over Villavende’s killing, calling it a “disregard” of an agreement that seeks to ensure the protection of workers there.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo condoled with the family of Villavende whose death was reported by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

“We consider Jeanelyn’s tragic death a clear disregard of the agreement signed by both our country and Kuwait in 2018, which seeks to uphold and promote the protection of the rights and welfare of our workers in Kuwait, Panelo said in a statement.

President Rodrigo Duterte banned the deployment of Filipinos to Kuwait in 2018 Next page

AFTERMATH. At least a hundred houses caught fire at the height of New Year’s Eve revelry in a Quezon City barangay. Cause of fire was not determined. Contributed Photo

Duterte bars another US senator over De Lima case tor Leila de Lima.

Senator Edward Markey of MassaPRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has chusetts was also barred from entering barred another US lawmaker from the Philippines, along with lawmakers entering the country because he also Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy, as called for the release of detained Sena- they were among the 11 sponsors of a

By MJ Blancaflor

resolution calling for the release of De Lima, who has been in detention since February 2017 on drug-related charges.

The resolution was passed by the US Senate foreign relations committee.

Next page

Pope Francis frets over pilgrim’s move

Vatican video shows (from left) the woman-pilgrim grabbing the Pope’s hand, yanking him toward her prompting the Pope to slap her hand to free himself and walked away.

POPE Francis was happily greeting children and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday when he slapped the hand of a woman to free himself from her grasp.

The pope was making his way to the Nativity scene at the center of Vatican City, but as he walked away from the crowd a woman grabbed his hand and yanked him toward her, a video showed.

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News

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NBI probes terror link in bombings

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE National Bureau of Investigation is probing who could have been behind the series of bombings in Mindanao on Dec. 22, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.

He said NBI agents had found some “circumstances” that could link the recent incidents of violence to the terrorist groups Dawlah Islamiyah and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Guevarra said the NBI had already complied with his order, and that it submitted to him before the New Year deadline a preliminary report on its investigation of the bombings in Mindanao that wounded 22 people, including six members of the military.

But he said the NBI’s findings were inconclusive, and that it would require more time to do a thorough probe into

the bombings in Cotabato, North Cotabato and Maguindanao that took place three days before Christmas.

“The NBI submitted to the DOJ last week a preliminary report on the Cotabato/Maguindanao bombing incidents before Christmas, but their initial findings were still inconclusive,” Guevarra said in a text message.

“They are now conducting further investigation to determine if the perpetrators had any links with known terrorist groups operating in Mindanao.”

NBI Director Dante Gierran has assured Guevarra that his agents are continuously

investigating the bombing incidents.

Nonetheless, Gierran has hinted that there were indications the Dec. 22 bombings might have been perpetrated by the Dawlah Islamiyah and BIFF terrorist groups.

“There were circumstances, even before the series of incidents, pointing to the Dawlah Islamiyah terrorist group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as elements who could be responsible thereof, Gierran told Guevarra.

He said NBI agents in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao “are continuously monitoring the group, together with counterparts in other law enforcement agencies, to identify the perpetrators.”

The NBI’s initial findings support the initial statement of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command who had earlier said it was considering the

Dawlah Islamiyah and the BIFF as the groups responsible for the explosions.

Guevarra said he was giving the NBI until the end of January to come up with its final report.

“The NBI field operatives are still working on it. I will give them another month to complete their probe and submit a final report. We expect a progress report in January, he said.

Of the 22 injured people, the six military men belonged to the 62nd Reconnaissance Company of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division. A motorcycle-riding bomber hurled a grenade at the soldiers stationed near the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City.

The Dawlah Islamiyah has reportedly denied the insinuations that they were responsible for the bombings, saying their fighters could not get inside Cotabato City without being intercepted.

HARBOUR VIEW. New Year’s Eve fireworks erupt over Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House (L) during the fireworks show on Jan. 1, 2020. AFP

‘Air...

From A1

NY shocker:...

From A1

The other cities in Metro Manila that recorded a “hazardous” air quality were Pateros (399ug/ncm), Las Piñas City (376ug/ncm), Pasig City (367ug/ncm), Taguig City (355ug/ ncm) and Caloocan City, particularly in its northern part, (332ug/ncm).

Antiporda noted, however, that the air pollution was down this year against 2019’s level.

He said there were fewer revelers who bought and used f irecrackers this year, and that there were isolated rains in some parts of Metro Manila.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in 2017, issued Executive Order No. 28 regulating firecracker use would only be confined to community fireworks display “to minimize the risk of injuries and casualties.”

Antiporda still advised the public to wear face masks at least for a day or two.

P4.6 per liter for diesel and P1.56 per liter for kerosene.

The oil firms adjust pump prices on a weekly basis and LPG prices on a monthly basis.

Meanwhile, two opposition lawmakers on Wednesday warned that with the third tranche of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act’s excise tax on oil, consumers should brace for price shocks at the start of 2020.

“Even if the Department of Energy (DOE) is telling oil companies to first deplete their old stocks before imposing the added excise tax on oil products, without the unbundling of the prices of oil products, we cannot tell for certain if the oil companies are already passing on the new excise taxes,” said deputy minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate.

“Aside from unbundling oil prices for consumers to see the true prices of

Duterte...

From A1 US President Donald Trump recently signed into law the US government’s 2020 budget, which included a provision that asks Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to bar Philippine officials from entering their territory if they had a hand in the “wrongful imprisonment” of De Lima.

If the US would enforce the ban, the Philippines would require Americans to secure visas before entring the country, the Palace has said.

oil, we maintain that it is still best to repeal the TRAIN law so as to protect consumers from the upcoming price shocks like in 2018 when it was first implemented,” he added.

Under the law, the excise tax on diesel will rise by P1.50 per liter. Gasoline, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and lubricating oils will go up by P1.

Bunker fuel and petroleum coke will increase by P1.50.

Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite noted that since the record high surge in prices in basic goods in 2018, prices have not gone down, but the last tranche of the TRAIN Law will reverse this trend.

“The supposed lower inflation in 2019 being peddled by economic managers would be wiped out with the new price increases as well as higher demand for oil in the international market,” Gaite said.

“Again if the administration wants to shield consumers from the upcoming price onslaught then it should immediately repeal the TRAIN law,” he added.

Filipino-Americans or balikbayans are not covered by the impending visa restrictions, Malacañang said.

Panelo has repeatedly slammed the US lawmakers’ call for the release of De Lima, saying this is a “brazen interference” into the country’s sovereignty.

He also rejected allegations of human rights violations on De Lima’s case, saying they came from either “absolute ignorance or shameful bias.”

“It is high time for these US senators to consult their US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Yong Kim who is knowledgeable on our local processes before they start blabbering further nonsense,” Panelo said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of Energy to create a task force to monitor the implementation of the new round of excise tax increases this month.

The estimated rate impact on the pump price for unleaded premium gasoline would be around ₱1.01 per liter, while the estimate rate impact on the price of diesel is ₱1.65 per liter.

For 100-percent coal contracted power distribution utilities, the estimated rate impact is about ₱0.03 per KwH. “The Department of Energy shoild intensify its monitoring against hoarding and profiteering...with the additional excise tax in the last tranche,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian also urged the DOE to scrutinize the inventory of coal plants.

The Department of Trade and Industry, meanwhile, should monitor the prices of goods in the market to ensure that unscrupulous businessmen will not take advantage and pass on the impact of higher oil prices to consumers as a result of the third tranche of the TRAIN law implementation.

Pope Francis...

From A1 He became visibly upset and began slapping the woman’s hand in an attempt to free himself from her grip, and then briefly shouted at her.

The woman had made the sign of the cross before the incident. Then she addressed the 83-year-old pope as she took his hand, but it was unclear what she was trying to tell him.

Health chief...

From A1 The DOH recorded 164 fireworksrelated injuries from Dec. 21, 2019 to Jan. 1, 2020.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or victims from stray bullets in the New Year celebration, but the number of injuries is expected to increase because the DOH will record cases up to Jan. 6.

The figures came from 61 government hospitals nationwide.

Duque said the figure is 35 percent lower from the same period in 2018 leading to New Year’s 2019.

He added that the number is 71 percent lower than the five-year average of 403 cases.

“We would like to think that Executive Order No. 28 had an impact as it did for the last two years in 2017, 2018 and continuing on to 2019,” Duque said, referring to the order limiting the use of firecrackers.

He said he hopes the Duterte administration can create a legacy with an absolute ban on fireworks to achieve zero injuries.

“We have the moral ascendancy to lead the way in crafting a bill for Congress to consider after we shall have consulted all the would-be affected sectors,” Duque said.

He also attributed the decrease in firecracker injuries to the Health department’s information campaign with the support of media and local chief executives.

This year, a man’s hand was amputated in Manila after a powerful firecracker, Goodbye Philippines, exploded in his grasp.

Sixteen persons were treated for burns mostly due to kuwitis (rocket) and sparklers at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.

A woman was also being treated at EAMC after she was wounded in the eye while filming the festivities using her phone.

The Philippine National Police reported that there were no recorded deaths from stray bullets and the illegal discharge of firearms, the first time this has happened.

“We are grateful that the people heeded our call to shun the age-old tradition of welcoming the new year with dangerous firecrackers and gunfire that has resulted in death and injuries in previous years,” said PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac.

“Based on PNP records, 2019 probably goes down in history as the safest and most uneventful observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays that posted zero death,” he said.

The PNP Command Center recorded a total of 324 holiday-incidents nationwide involving firecrackers, stray bullets, and illegal discharge of firearms since Dec. 16, 2019.

“As of the first working hour of New Year’s Day, the PNP recorded only 81 firecracker-related injuries, mostly self-injuries by violators of the firecracker ban,” Banac said.

Although there were three reported stray bullet incidents, these did not result in injuries while seven persons were reported injured in 21 separate cases of illegal discharge of firearms, he said.

Banac said the PNP arrested 21 persons for illegal discharge of firearms and 44 others for firecracker-related offenses.

Among those arrested for firing guns during the season was Chinese national Kimy Chan who was arrested on Christmas Day in front of a music bar along Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

Of the 21 arrested for firing guns, 14 were civilians, one was a policeman, two were soldiers, one was a militiaman, and three were security guards.

Banac said they will face stiff criminal and administrative sanctions.

Civilian violators will be slapped with criminal charges, he added.

“It should be noteworthy that the 324 incidents recorded in 2019 pales in comparison with the 798 recorded in 2018,” said Banac.

The PNP attributed the decrease to the successful information drive and awareness campaign on the adverse effects of the use of prohibited firecrackers. With PNA

Uproar...

From A1 following the reported deaths of Filipino workers, including Joanna Demafelis whose body was found in a freezer.

“I’m ready to do that. This is another possibility, a deployment ban in Kuwait is not remote unless they give justice to Jeanelyn,” Bello told DZMM radio.

An early report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Kuwait said Villavende was “maltreated” by her employer, who was now detained, Bello said.

Bello said he would summon the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Manila on Thursday for a meeting over the incident. MJ Blancaflor

News

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH to partner with Bahrain on trafficking, OFWs’ rights

By MJ Blancaflor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his interest to work with Bahrain’s government to address the issue on undocumented Filipino children there.

The President conveyed this to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa through a letter handed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Robert Borje last December, as he thanked the foreign leader for his concern for Filipinos in Bahrain.

“President Duterte considers His Majesty the King as a true friend.

Under His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s reign, Bahrain has shown great strides, steady progress and regional and global leadership in championing migrant workers’ rights and countering trafficking,” Borje said.

Hamad earlier instructed Bahraini authorities to expedite the processing of undocumented children awaiting repatriation, which paved the way for the return of two Filipino children in the country.

According to a press release from the Palace, a four-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy arrived in Manila from Manama, Bahrain onboard a commercial flight before 2020.

The two minors were part of 50 undocumented Filipino children born in Bahrain identified by the Philippine Embassy in Manama under its Oplan Kabataan program for repatriation.

Apart from faster repatriation of undocumented Filipino children, King Hamad also vowed to address the issue of processing applications for flexi-visa which would regularize the stay of some 100 Filipino workers in the Kingdom.

About 58,000 Filipinos are working in Bahrain, 18,000 of whom are household workers.

The King also welcomed President Duterte’s invitation to visit the Philippines, described it as “a beautiful country” with many excellent beaches, Borje said.

President Duterte visited Bahrain in April 2017, as he and King Hamad signed four agreements on trade and investments, such as avoiding double taxation and regulation of air transport services.

FIERY WELCOME. Quezon City welcomes the New Year with a spectacular fireworks at the Quezon Memorial Circle on Jan. 1, 2020.

NCRPO set to implement biometrics system—Sinas

A

S PART of an intensified internal cleansing program, the National Capital Region Police Office on Wednesday started the full implementation of biometrics system initially within the regional headquarters of NCRPO and its support units.

NCRPO acting chief Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas said new biometric units would ensure the proper monitoring of the attendance of more than 1,300 NCRPO personnel as well as instill discipline among cops, particularly those who report late for work or are habitual absentees.

A total of 1,266 personnel of the NCRPO regional headquarters have been registered while 190 are still undergoing registration as summarized in the NCRPO Biometrics System.

Sinas said the technology is mainly used for access control and for identifying persons who are part of the workforce of the regional office.

“This technological system forms part of our security policies. It is a coherent approach in order to account

and monitor our men so as to stamp out the erring cops,” he said.

The NCRPO Biometrics System was officially launched on Dec. 2, 2019. It applies to NCRPO personnel assigned at the regional headquarters and personnel of all regional support units with offices inside Camp Bagong Diwa.

The NCRPO Information Technology Office generates a report of attendance on a daily basis after 7 p.m. when the biometric devices have been locked.

Meanwhile, the attendance of all Police Commissioned Officers is consolidated by the Moral and Welfare Section of the NCRPO Regional Personnel and Records Management Division; attendance of Police NonCommission Officers is consolidated

by the Regional Executive Senior Police Office while those of the NonUniformed Personnel is consolidated by the Non-Uniformed Personnel Affairs Service.

The Chief, MWS, the RESPO and the NUPAS shall, without delay, send explanation letters to those who were marked absent and to receive, evaluate and determine whether the explanations rendered are reasonable, justified and meritorious.

Otherwise, they shall render their report and make recommendations on the penalties to be imposed on erring personnel.

Such report shall be personally submitted by said concerned personnel to the Acting Regional Director’s office.

Earlier, Sinas said he implemented the system during his stint at the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory and as chief of the Central Visayas police.

The advantage of such a shift to digital automation would eliminate long queues and formations, he said.

Policemen caught destroying the biometric machines could face cases.

Party-list solon lauds okay of biosafety permit for ‘golden rice’ A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Wednesday pushed for the immediate passage of a bill that aims to eliminate the regulatory complications hampering the commercial release of biotechnology products like golden rice, mitigate the effects of climate change, promote competitiveness, and combat poverty.

Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin of AAMBIS-OWA, who chairs the House committee on economic affairs, expressed optimism that the House leadership will prioritize the enactment of House Bill 3372, otherwise known as the Modern Biotechnology Act when Congress resumes session on Jan. 20.

Garin’s statement came in response

to the Dec. 10 approval of the biosafety permit for GR2E Golden Rice, which is seen to address the serious case of Vitamin A deficiency or “hidden hunger” among children and pregnant women.

The Philippine government approved the biosafety permit of GR2E FFP use after it concluded that the GM crop, which seeks to reduce VAD, is as “safe” for human consumption as the conventional staple.

Garin, a proponent of biofortification since the 17th Congress, backed the agricultural milestone, saying the significant contribution of biotechnology to agricultural development will help bioengineered products more accessible

to all Filipinos.

“We are trying to dispel the notion that commercially-produced biofortified goods are potentially dangerous. This is a victory for science, agriculture, and all Filipinos. It is time that safe and responsible use of biotechnology be included in the Philippine toolkit to meet national development goals,” she added.

The National Economic and Development Authority has recognized agricultural biotechnology as a priority sector and has a direct impact on AmBisyon Natin 2040.

The 2015 statistics show that the average poverty incidence in the Philippines is about 21.6 percent and is highest among

farmers at 34.4 percent. Garin maintained that biotechnology will increase yields and better products, leading to more income for farmers.

Upon the enactment of the bill, the Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines shall be established as a policy-making body and an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology responsible for reviewing, improving, and implementing biosafety regulations for products of modern biotechnology. Additionally, BioAP shall ensure that the biosafety regulations are science-based and simplified with a product-based and not a process-based approach. Maricel V. Cruz

Stick to truth, lawmaker advises AFP, police

By Maricel V. Cruz A PARTY-LIST legislator on Wednesday advised the military to stick to facts, even in its press releases, to win the trust and support of the people.

Rep. Ron Salo of Kabayan said the people’s outrage over the allegedly “doctored” photograph of rebel surrenderors “is understable and justified.”

Salo said that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s order for an investigation, “is both prudent and commendable.”

“Indeed, sound crowd analysis of the admittedly ‘photoshopped’ image of alleged surrenderors is enough basis for an internal probe and possible sanctions ranging from administrative penalties to court martial to those responsible. I hope there was no malice involved, but pure inadvertence,” Salo, chairperson of the House committee on public information, said.

“That single doctored image may cast doubt on the news releases and information campaigns of the entire armed forces, and possibly even that of the police.”

Salo also expressed concern over the “possible future consequences like delays in the release of information because of the abundance of caution the military would exercise as control measures.”

The military, and even the police, he added, must stick to the truth even in its propaganda materials and the facts must not be sacrificed.

DOLE warns vs. e-mails asking for donations

NEW YEAR’S EVE FIRE.

About a hundred houses were gutted by fire at the height of the New Year’s Eve celebration in Barangay Vasra in Quezon City.

THE Department of Labor and Employment on Wednesday cautioned the public against a bogus electronic solicitation letter asking for monetary donations.

“This e-mail is fake and completely bogus. We encourage everyone to be vigilant (and) also to report similar incidents to us so that we can conduct our own investigation,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a statement.

In a memorandum, Bello said an e-mail was received by various DOLE regional offices and attached agencies, purportedly from the agency’s Administrative Service.

The bogus solicitation letter states that DOLE seeks a minimum cash donation of USD100 supposedly for leukemia patients and orphans.

The e-mail, with the subject, “Donation request 2019/2020,” was sent on Dec. 26, 2019 and used the e-mail address administrativeservice@ gmail.corn (corn, not.com).

Bello advised the public as well as the heads of DOLE offices, bureaus, attached agencies, regional offices, and Philippine Overseas Labor Offices to be vigilant and immediately report similar illegal activities. PNA

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Opinion

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Our growing population THE population growth of the Philippines over the past decades has been one of the most phenomenal among the nations. From 18-million people at the outbreak of World War II, our country has about 108-million people as of 2015. We cannot seem to put a brake on the increase of our population at the rate it is growing.

Indeed, one of the striking aspects of Filipino life that attracts our foreign visitors are the very large number of children in our streets.

Other countries do not have to deal with religious leaders like we do.

To put this in a better context, Japan, at the start of the Second World War, had about 71.4-million people. Today, Japan has a population of 127.7 million, and is one of a number of countries with a declining population. In a span of about 80 years, Japan’s population grew by 56.3-million people. In our case, even if we started from a lower base, our population grew by a whooping 84 million people—and we are still growing.

Another country is Italy, where the

seat of Roman Catholicism is located. It has now about 60.36-million people from about 44.4-million people at the outbreak of World War 2.

It is also one of the countries whose population has not grown very much and is in fact on the decline. There are now some towns in Italy where people are offered money just for them to move or transfer their residence to these localities. To think that there are churches in almost every street in that country albeit many are not in use anymore. Since the Vatican is in Italy, one would think that the Roman Catholic leadership there with so many cardinals and all would continuously issue condemnation on the government with regard to population policies like the way our Filipino Catholic leaders are doing in this country. But this is not the case as evidenced by the absence of any major conflict between the Church and the Italian government that we read in the papers over population policies.

Republic Act 10354, otherwise known as the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law passed in 2012, cannot seem to gain any significant traction due to the opposition of our Roman Catholic leadership. It is sad that what is happening in this country is that those who cannot afford to raise many children are the ones having many children; couples who can raise more children are having less. The effect of this, according to one study concluded many years ago, is that the general IQ of our children will continue to decline instead of increase. In other words, it is affecting the quality of life of succeeding generations if our

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

A poor image

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HE President’s spokesman and the military showed a poor understanding of the standards of photojournalism when they defended the release of a manipulated photograph purportedly showing a line of communist rebels standing in front of weapons they surrendered.

The photo accompanied a press release by the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, which said 306 guerrillas from the communist New People’s Army and its allied militias in Masbate recently surrendered to the government and turned in a cache of weapons.

After the photo was published, people on social media remarked that the rebels appeared to be floating in front of the table full of guns, casting no shadows, and that one of them appeared to have had a foot digitally amputated. A weapon in the foreground had a sticker that said “18 June 2019,” even though the surrender had supposedly taken place in December.

The 9th ID has since apologized for its “mistake” with the photo but insisted that the reported surrender of the 306 guerrillas was real.

But the President’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, defended the photo, describing it erroneously as a collage.

“I was just talking to [Defense]

Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. The explanation to him was, there were two pictures combined… The two [photos] were combined. That’s not manipulation.”

Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said that photos of the communist rebels and firearms were “authentic” but added that they were “merged” to show the accomplishment of an army unit.

“The photo that they showed is two authentic photos of firearms and rebels, former rebels, but they merged it together so that’s where the problem and mistake lies,” he said on ANC’s “Headstart” Monday morning.

But it is a problem indeed, and a serious one that shouldn’t be played down.

The Photojournalists Center of the Philippine code of ethics specifically states that those involved in visual news gathering must “maintain the integrity of the images’ content and context during editing,

being careful not to manipulate, add or alter.”

The Associated Press Code of Ethics for Photojournalists says that photos must always tell the truth.

“We do not alter or digitally manipulate the content of a photograph in any way,” it says.

The problem with manipulating photos is that it casts doubt on the truth of the report itself. The President’s spokesman and the military may try to assure us that 306 rebels really surrendered, but why should we believe them?

Fortunately, the Defense secretary seems to have a better understanding of the gravity of this case and has initiated an inquiry within the Army.

“Sanctions will be meted to those who perpetrated it. This is very serious because it undermines the efforts of the whole organization,” Lorenzana said in a statement sent to journalists. “The military is doing well, enjoying an unprecedented high trust rating from the people.

And now this? This action is unacceptable.”

If only the Defense chief’s colleagues in government and the military see things this way too—and resist the urge to manipulate photos and news reports in a misguided attempt to score points with the public. That’s not truth—that’s propaganda.

Turn to A5

Vertical farming takes off in ageing Japan

By Karyn Nishimura THE nondescript building on an industrial site near Kyoto gives little hint to the productivity inside: 30,000 heads of lettuce grow here daily, under artificial light and with barely any human intervention.

This “vegetable factory”, using the latest vertical farming techniques, is part of a trend born out of necessity in Japan, where traditional farming faces a double threat from the ageing population and migration towards the cities.

With the average age of a farmer in Japan at 67 and few candidates to replace those dying out, the country has been forced to become a pioneer in so-called vertical farming.

Globally renowned firms such as Panasonic, Toshiba and Fujitsu have tried their hand—converting old semi-conductor production lines with varying levels of success.

One of the few companies to turn a quick profit, Spread produces 11 million heads of lettuce annually from its latest factory in Kyoto, a vast sterile area where the vegetables are stacked on shelves several meters high.

Machines shift the lettuces around the factory to areas where the light, temperature and humidity are ideal for that stage of growth. The process works without soil or pesticide, and only a dozen or so humans are employed to collect the lettuce at the end.

Other countries have employed vertical farming techniques—notably in Denmark and the United States—but Japan’s population crisis means the farmers are dying out, with question marks over how the world’s third-biggest economy will feed itself.

“Given the lack of manpower and decline in agricultural production, I felt a new system was needed,” Shinji Inada, Spread’s boss,

told AFP. Spread has taken some time to make the process nearly fully automated: An older factory in Kyoto still employs several dozen humans to move the lettuce—a “difficult task”, admits one staff member.

But the advantages are clear: “We can produce in large quantities and at a stable rate all year round, without being affected by temperature changes,” said Inada.

“The other benefit is that we have few losses because our products are preserved for longer,” added the vegetable tycoon.

‘Sustainable agriculture’ Inada said the firm initially experienced some difficulty in selling the lettuce, but they have now grown a good brand by producing consistent quality at a consistent price—in a country where prices vary considerably depending on the season.

Spread’s lettuce are found on supermarket shelves in Kyoto and the capital Tokyo and Inada has grand expansion visions to move production closer to where the vegetables are consumed.

The firm is building a factory in Narita near Tokyo and is eyeing further afield to countries where the climate is not suited for such agriculture. “We can easily export our production system to very warm or very cold climates to grow lettuce,” said Inada.

But is this system environmentally friendly? Inada said he hesitated before launching the concept over this very question but finally reasoned the pros outweighed the cons.

“It’s true that we use more energy compared to production using the sun, but on the other hand our productivity is higher over a similar surface area,” he said.

The system allows the firm to produce eight crops of lettuce per year, irrespective of the season. Spread Turn to A5

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Better days AS THE old saying goes, “from the hottest fire comes the strongest steel.”

The Philippines came out strong as we ended the year 2019. Looking back, 2019 offered many challenges to us Filipinos. We were battered by heavy typhoons and floods, and shaken by several earthquakes, all of which left damages to infrastructure and resulted in agricultural and human losses. Metro Manila was also affected by water shortages almost the entire year, leading to the investigations of the existing water concessionaires and proposals of new water sources.

Despite these events, our economy recorded a 6.2-percent growth in the third quarter of 2019, a 0.7-point leap

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Head—Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

Let us all work together for a more prosperous year. from the previous quarter. The Philippine Statistics Authority identified the service sector with the fastest growth registered, followed by the industry and the agricultural sectors. The increased spending of the government after the passage of the 2019 budget in April also contributed to the said growth. It can be said that with surge of remittances, our GDP will more likely climb further as 2019 comes to an end.

With this positive development, we can tell early on that 2020 will be as productive and rewarding, if not bet-

ter, as 2019, We were able to reach an all-time low inflation rate. Annual employment rate was at 94.9 percent according to the PSA. The World Bank identified a narrower budget deficit in 2019, with only P49.3 million in October. It has also estimated a lower poverty incidence in 2019 at 20.8 percent, compared to the 2015 record of 26 percent.

The National Economic and Development Authority is hopeful that we will be reclassified as an upper middle income country by 2020. With the new tax policies implemented this 2020, public revenue is seen to grow significantly. The Build, Build, Build program is expected to peak as more projects reach completion while new projects are under way. More foreign investments are seen to enter the country as the economy improves.

While statistics show great Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua

Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor Opinion Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Jimbo Gulle City Editor Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

Opinion

A5

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

China’s incense makers toil ahead of Lunar New Year

By Lianchao Lan DOZENS of workers toil through the night coating thin lengths of bamboo in herbs, spices and richly coloured powders to create incense sticks that are spread out under the rising sun to dry.

It is an important time of year for the villagers of Yongchun county, a mountainous area of southeastern Fujian province that supplies much of the world’s incense.

Now, the clock is ticking with the approach of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, when countless Chinese will pray and burn incense at temples and in traditional ceremonies.

The craft of producing incense runs deep in Dapu town, where Hong Zhongsen operates a family business passed down through the generations.

“Making incense is very important for my family. It’s not just a business.

It’s also to preserve an ancestral craft and a traditional religious culture,” said Hong, 31, standing amid rows of brightly colored incense sticks.

The area’s fortunes have long been tied to the nearby ancient city of

Quanzhou, a key conduit for foreign trade for centuries.

It is believed that Arab traders brought incense to Yongchun, where the aromatic spices that they imported were combined with local bamboo.

Yongchun county is now home to around 300 manufacturers, according to Chinese media, employing more than 30,000 people.

Locals claim that one in every three incense sticks sold in Southeast Asia is made in Yongchun.

A round-the-clock production process involves up to 18 separate stages during which bamboo sticks are coated in fragrant herbs and spices and then dusted with powders of deep purple, red and yellow.

The messy process also leaves workers looking as if they had been dipped in the colors themselves.

The sticks are then dried in the sun, a nerve-wracking step for workers like Li Xiuzhen, 57, due to the area’s changeable weather.

“I’m at the mercy of good weather,” she said.

Through three generations of tweaking, Hong’s family has arrived at a secret recipe for which it is well known.

Demand is growing in China and in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia that have prominent overseas Chinese communities, as well as in Buddhist Thailand.

Shipments to Europe also are rising, Hong said.

His production has increased fourfold in the past 15 years to millions of incense sticks per day, he said, necessitating the introduction of some automation to meet demand.

But he still insists on several steps such as dying and drying the sticks being done by hand using age-old methods to preserve quality.

“Yongchun incense is unique, with a special scent and texture. It’s an exquisite art, and a slight difference in production may change the overall quality,” Hong said.

Hong, a Buddhist, says there is at least one Buddhist temple in every village in Yongchun and Quanzhou.

“Incense used for paying respects to Buddha is still the main type we produce as it’s a legacy of our forefathers.

We’re also diversifying our incense varieties to serve multiple purposes like home air freshening or aromatherapy,” Hong said. AFP

Book smashes taboo over French author’s sex with teens

By Aurelie Mayembo and Stuart Williams A PROMINENT French author who has never made any secret of his preference for sex with adolescent girls and boys is at the center of a firestorm as a former partner publishes a book describing the lasting trauma of underage intercourse over three decades ago.

For many, the debate over the behavior of writer Gabriel Matzneff, 83, is long overdue, given the essayist and commentator had described in sometimes lurid details his experiences with underage teens in his published work.

In the book “Consent”, Vanessa Springora, 47, now a leading publisher, describes how she was seduced at the age of 14 by Matzneff, then aged 36 years her senior, and how this left lasting scars.

Its publication on Thursday comes as France is coming to terms in the age of #MeToo with a settling of scores after decades of what is seen by some, but not all, as an overly permissive attitude towards sexual exploitation of women and paedophilia.

In one of the most prominent recent cases, French actress Adele Haenel accused film director Christophe Ruggia of constantly harassing her from the age of 12 to 15. She has since filed a complaint against him.

And the controversy has intensified around French-Polish film director Roman Polanski, a fugitive from US justice since 1978 after admitting to statutory rape of a 13-year-old, after he brought out his new film “An Officer and a Spy.” There is also increasing scrutiny over the French artist Paul Gauguin’s relationships on the Polynesian island of Tahiti with adolescent girls who feature in his paintings.

‘Document and falsify’ Matzneff has over the years spoken at length in TV shows and written about his predilection for teens.

In the mid 1970s, he published a well known but notorious essay called “Les Moins de Seize Ans” (“Those Less than 16”).

But Springora is the first person to go on the record to describe her experiences with him.

“As if his passage through my life had not devastated me enough, he now has to document, falsify, record and etch forever his misdeeds,” she writes in the book.

“How to admit that you have been abused, when you can’t deny giving consent? When did you feel desire for this adult who hastened to benefit from it? For years, I will also struggle with this notion of the victim.”

Matzneff has denied any wrongdoing and in a statement to the Parisien newspaper on Sunday denounced “such unjust and excessive attacks,” claiming that his relationship with Springora had been one of “beauty.”

But in the book she writes: “Aged 14, you are not supposed to have a 50-year-old man waiting for you when you leave school, you are not supposed to live in a hotel with him, or find yourself in his bed with his penis in your mouth when you should be having a snack.”

She said Matzneff boasted of “his experience and know-how in managing to take the virginity of very young girls without making them suffer.”

Ahead of the book’s publication, French ministers have rounded on Matzneff, saying that his literary reputation should not protect him from the consequences.

“Having a literary aura is not a guarantee of impunity. I send all my support to all the victims who have the courage to break the silence,”

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From A4

also uses significantly less water than traditional agricultural methods.

“I believe we are contributing to a sustainable agriculture for our society,” claims Inada.

Japan already has around 200 lettuce factories using artificial light but the majority of these are small-

Our...

From A4

government is unable to craft a better policy to arrest the decline. This is probably the reason why the quality of our students and the results of our assessment test participation is also low.

One of the intentions of RA 10354 is to be able to educate couples about responsible parenting. It is not about having as many children as one would want but having the number that the couple can raise decently.

Unfortunately, one cannot even

said Culture Minister Franck Riester.

In France it is against the law to have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age of 15.

Adrien Taquet, the minister at the health ministry charged with protecting children, hailed Springora for speaking out so long after the events and expressed hope it would encourage other women to join her.

“I would like that the end of the silence, the end of impunity... does not stop here,” he told Europe 1 radio.

‘Not the right words’ The controversy has also renewed attention on extraordinary television footage from 1990, when the prominent French literary commentator Bernard Pivot, hosting his chat show “Apostrophes,” lets Matzneff talk unchallenged about his sexual exploits.

“Why are you specialiszed in the schoolgirls and young chicks?” asks Pivot with an amused tone. “I prefer to have in my life people who are not toughened up and who are more kind,” Matzneff replies.

The only dissenting voice comes from Canadian writer Denise Bombardier, who furiously interjects: “I think I am living now on another planet... Mr Matzneff seems pitiful.”

The uproar over the conduct of Pivot, now president of the Academy Goncourt which hands out one of France’s most prestigious literary prizes, only grew when in a tweet he expressed no regret for the interview, saying it was the product of a different era.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, literature came before morality. Today, morality comes before literature. Morally, it is a progress,” he said.

Amid the uproar over those comments, Pivot later added that he regretted he did “not have the right words that there needed to be” on the 1990 program. AFP

scale but according to specialist consultancy group Innoplex, such factories will double in number by 2025.

And other companies are jumping on the smart-agriculture bandwagon, with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical building a factory in northeastern Fukushima that will produce 32,000 heads of lettuce daily.

Nor is its just lettuce: Tomatoes and strawberries grown by computer under artificial light are on their way to a table near you. AFP

have a proper and civil debate with our church leaders on this issue. To them, the issue is closed and that is that.

The result is that it ensures that the country’s population will continue to grow at a much faster rate than that of our neighbors. One reason that our neighbors are now living better than us Filipinos is solely based on the ability of the leaders of our neighbors to somehow implement a population policy effectively. To put it bluntly, they did not have to contend with religious leaders like we do in this country.

A few days ago, the Population

Commission reported a decline in our population growth over the last five years from 2015. From 1.73 percent growth, it is now 1.52 percent. Furthermore, it was computed that the 2019 to 2020 increase was even lower at 1.38 percent which would seem to point to a possible lower growth rate from 2020 to 2025. Still, at our present population of 108 million as of 2015, we are fast approaching 120-million people, the number that a study concluded to be the maximum number that can properly be sustained and supported by our country’s environment.

Beyond that, environmental deg-

Erdogan, Istanbul rival lock horns over ‘crazy canal’

By Fulya Ozerkan TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dream project of building a canal in Istanbul to rival those at Suez and Panama has turned into a political showdown with the city’s new mayor.

Ekrem Imamoglu, who won a shock victory for the opposition in 2019 to become mayor of Turkey’s largest city, says the 75 billion lira ($12.6 billion) canal is wasteful, environmentally destructive and could even increase the earthquake risk.

“Canal Istanbul is a criminal project,” he tweeted in December as he launched an “Either Canal or Istanbul” campaign and withdrew from a construction protocol signed by the previous mayor.

“We will do everything for this project not to be realized,” he told reporters.

This has not gone down well with Erdogan, who has fondly dubbed Canal Istanbul one of his “crazy projects”.

First announced when he was prime minister in 2011, it is by far the most complex of a string of new ventures for the city following a tunnel under the Bosphorus, a third bridge across the waterway and a massive new airport.

It envisages a 45-kilometer (28-mile) canal providing an alternative route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through western Istanbul, relieving pressure on one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Critics accuse the president of seeking another debtfuelled, grandiose statement that will benefit his allies in the construction sector at the expense of the environment.

But the president is unfazed by Imamoglu’s campaign: “We will build Canal Istanbul whether they want it or not,” he said in a speech on Monday. “Turkey has the strength to do it.”

‘Huge strategic error’ The canal project had actually been on the backburner of late, already struggling to find financing before a sharp economic downturn in 2018 put investments on ice.

Analysts say Erdogan has political reasons for bringing it back to the agenda now.

“He is trying to once again dominate the national conversation,” Berk Esen, of Ankara’s Bilkent University, told AFP. “He wants to directly take on and challenge mayor Imamoglu who has obviously gained significant momentum since his

Better days

impressive election victory.”

But Esen said this could prove to be a “huge strategic error” by Erdogan.

“At a time of economic downturn I think it is going to be very difficult for Erdogan to sell this project.”

Imamoglu has “very smartly” accepted Erdogan’s challenge.

“The mayor is in the process of trying to politicize this topic in order to gain sufficient popular support both within Istanbul and also in the rest of the country in order to defeat Erdogan’s plans,” he said.

The government argues the canal will create attractive new living areas and take pressure off the Bosphorus Strait that splits the European and Asian sides of the 15-million city and is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

More than 41,000 ships passed through the Bosphorus in 2018, according to Turkish authorities— more than 100 per day.

“Everyone who takes a look at the Bosphorus any time of the day sees it cannot handle such an intense sea traffic,” Erdogan told party members in Ankara last week.

He also said there were 41 ship accidents in the Bosphorus over the last two years.

‘Massacre’ But Imamoglu says the government cannot simply ignore his concerns about a project on his patch.

“I am mayor of Istanbul. I am not criticizing a project in California,” he told reporters.

On Tuesday, he presented his objections to the government’s Environmental Impact Assessment of the project, which rejected concerns raised by activists.

Imamoglu ridiculed the plans which showed “80-storey buildings... yachts, villas, even palaces” along the side of the canal.

“The people don’t need yachts or palaces... They want work, food, bread, education,” he said.

His Republican People’s Party (CHP) has bussed people in to file their own objections, leading to long queues in the rain outside some district offices.

“There is no need for Canal Istanbul project,” said one woman, Gulseren Hayirlioglu, after filing her petition. “It will cause a massacre of nature.”

Others called for a referendum, though this has already been rejected by the government.

“Erdogan must put this issue to the people,” said Suna Duranoglu, a 53-year-old housewife. “He cannot decide on his own.”AFP

improvements, I remain hopeful for a holistic and inclusive growth for 2020. I urge the government, especially Congress and Senate, to immediately pass the 2020 budget so that projects will not be delayed. We need to ensure efficient use of public funds in order to provide better public programs especially in health and social welfare. I therefore seek the continued support, cooperation, and collaboration of the national government in the implementation of both national and local programs, especially in Quezon. If all goes well and no calamity hits the country this 2020, I am certain that we will be able to reach economic targets and

hopefully cement our spot in the map of fast-growing economies in Asia.

As for the Quezon province, I stand with the people amidst the calamities that hit the province this 2019.

Together, we shall rebuild whatever was destroyed, and we shall provide whatever was taken. The programs of the provincial and local governments will remain supportive of the welfare of the people. United, we will be able to withstand the challenges we may encounter this 2020.

Hence, I seek your continued support and cooperation in our programs and projects. I am optimistic that national growth will trickle down and translate to local development, and vice versa. Let us all work together for a more prosperous year. Mabuhay po tayong lahat!

radation will become a very serious problem given that the country is one of the most vulnerable to global warming and climate change. Too many people will make it difficult to sustain a decent quality of life. Demographers believe that our population will plateau at 150 million before beginning to decline. It is estimated that this will be attained toward the middle of the century. This enormous number of people living in a country with limited space cannot help but put a tremendous strain on the environment and will certainly be a challenge to succeeding governments on how to deal with our ever

growing population. Already we are beginning to see our people trying at all costs to leave the country to work in foreign lands because of what they perceive as lack of opportunities here in their own country. Some people are talking about the sweet spot in our population because we have a basically young population who are productive, as opposed to a rapidly aging population like Japan or Germany. But this can be a double-edge sword. This is why a well-balanced population policy ensuring the right number of population increase at the same time attaining a better quality of life remains a big challenge.

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News

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Viet women rescued from Sino kidnappers in Las Piñas hideout A

UTHORITIES have rescued two Vietnamese women who were abducted by two Chinese nationals in Las Piñas City.

In a report sent to newsmen Wednesday, the National Capital Region Police Office said the victims were identified as Pha Ti Khim Yin and Nguyen Thi Than Mai, while the suspect was Li Mu Qin. The victims were rescued in an operation conducted at 12 Street, Golden Gate Subdivision in Barangay Talon 3 around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Another suspect identified as Zhao Chao, also a Chinese national, remains at large.

The operation stemmed from the complaint of Nguyen Anh Hong Trang, who said her cousins were being held

by the suspects who demanded P1 million for their release.

After they were rescued, the victims revealed they met their captors through online dating on Dec. 30, 2019.

When the victims entered the suspects’ boarding house, their hands and legs were immediately tied with packing tape, and they were instructed to contact their immediate family to pay ransom for their release.

One of the victims was able to send her location via Google, which was used by the operatives in finding and rescuing them.

The suspect Li, who is now detained

at NCRPO, has been charged with kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code.

Kidnapping involving Chinese nationals have been on the rise since the country opened its doors to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGOs. The influx of Chinese nationals— mostly Pogo employees on tourist visas and casino players on gambling junkets organized in China—has made a significant impact in the Philippines’ peace and order situation, the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group reported last month.

Their crimes—mostly kidnapping for ransom and, lately, prostitution in dens run exclusively for Chinese

DENR wants landfills in all 248 districts THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources aims to put up sanitary landfills in each of the country’s 248 congressional districts to address solid waste management issues and achieve its “zero waste” goal.

In a press conference Wednesday, Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the DENR will push to include P7.2 billion for the landfills in the agency’s budget for 2021.

“One [sanitary landfill] per congressional district... P7.2 billion was not included in the 2020 [budget], hopefully in 2021 it will be included,” he said.

Antiporda said putting up a sanitary landfill in every district was important because the number of waste facilities in the country is “not enough,” but he admitted they are only a band-aid solution, as the desired waste-to-energy facilities are expensive.

“To really address the problem on solid waste, the DENR is calling for a concerted effort among local government units, lawmakers, and the public,” Antiporda said.

Meanwhile, the DENR is calling on local government units to slap stiffer fines against those who will fail to segregate their garbage.

“Our proposal to the local government units is we encourage them to come up with ordinances that give a minimum of P1,000 [fine] for those who will not segregate their solid waste,” Antiporda said. “We want people to feel the penalties so they can also ‘feel’ what they’re doing to the environment.”

The stiffer penalties to be imposed

by LGUs will be on top of the P300 to P1,000 fine to be slapped against violators of the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, he said.

Urging LGUs to come up with stiffer penalties in their local ordinances is a faster way to address the “culture of indiscipline” on waste disposal than amending the Republic Act. No. 9003 or the Solid Waste Management law, the DENR official said.

Pogo workers—do not directly affect Filipinos but have added to the responsibilities of the police, particularly the PNP-AKG. According to PNP-AKG records, there were six “Pogo-related kidnappings” in January-November 2019, with eight of the nine victims have been rescued or accounted for. Thirty suspects, mostly Chinese nationals, have been arrested.

“Casino-related kidnappings” of mostly Chinese nationals totaled 36 in 2019. Of the 40 victims, only 21 have been accounted for, along with 58 suspects.

The number of casino-related kidnappings was 17 in 2017 and 16 in 2018. This year’s figure reflects a very obvious increase, PNP-AKG noted.

PNA

NEW YEAR FOLLIES. A

woman (above) smiles during the New Year celebrations in Manila on Wednesday, while in Quiapo district (below), fortune tellers enjoy brisk business reading people's palms to 'foresee' what's ahead for them in terms of financial and business success, love and personal life, or chances of travelling abroad. AFP and Diana Noche

Senate keen on OFW assistance, POGO inquiry

By Macon Ramos-Araneta LAWMAKERS will continue to pursue bills that protects and strengthens workers’ rights once Congress resumes its sessions.

Senate labor committee chairman Senator Joel Villanueva said Wednesday.

“We commit to support measures that will initiate job creation so we can sustain our economic growth and lift our people from poverty. Creating jobs for our people will ensure our continued prosperity as a nation,” said Villanueva.

He also vowed to prioritize the passage of the bill expanding the use of the legal assistance fund. The senator wants to ensure the fund shall be “immediately and at all times” available to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress.

The fund “will be able to help our abused and maltreated OFWs seek justice,

like our kababayan who died in the hands of her employer in Kuwait just before the New Year,” the senator said.

“We feel that this urgent measure will be a fitting New Year’s gift to our hardworking OFWs who risk their lives and limbs just to give their families in the Philippines better lives,” he said.

Villanueva also said senators want to start discussion on a measure that would end the “evil practices” on contractualization.

Congress had passed this measure on third reading, but the enrolled bill was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We remain hopeful that both houses of Congress, especially the Senate, are still committed in helping the President fulfill his campaign promise in further protecting the rights of our ordinary workers,” he said.

An inquiry in aid of legislation on the

unusual influx of illegal foreign workers in the country, especially in the offshore gaming operations and its related industries, will also be prioritized this year, the senator said.

Villanueva said senators want to investigate whether the benefits of the industry outweigh its direct and indirect adverse effects, such as rising criminality, threat of money laundering, and increasing property prices, among others.

He said the Senate committee will also ensure that its proposed laws “are prepared for the 4th Industrial Revolution” by prioritizing the alternative work arrangement bill and the freelancers protection bill, “ in recognition of the fact that the world of work is rapidly changing.”

“The Labor Committee is looking forward to the year ahead, as we kickstart our committee discussions on bills that workers are amply protected,” Villanueva said.

'Dark horizon' ahead for workers, labor group warns A LABOR alliance sees a “dark horizon” for year 2020, which it said will be marked by “high-intensity” battles between ordinary wage earners and “big business.”

The Pagkakaisa ng Uring Manggagawa or Paggawa said capitalists “made a lot of gains against labor last year—in the anticontractualization front, in the rice tariffication battle, and in rate hikes in utilities.”

“They will not sit on their laurels.

Capital is insatiable and will push further in 2020 to intensify exploitation,” said Leody de Guzman. Paggawa spokesperson and chairman of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino.

He said the “pro-capitalist” policies of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 has “emboldened labor abusers and union busters,” especially when President Duterte vetoed the Security of Tenure Bill last July.

“There is no longer any doubt that the so-called self-proclaimed ‘socialist’ President is pro-elite. Workers who cling to hope that substantial reforms are still possible are in for bigger disappointments,” De Guzman said.

The administration will further try to “curry favor” with big business in 2022, as early steps for “fund raising” for the 2022 elections, they added.

“Right now, Duterte’s Congress is pushing proposals to extend probationary period to up to two years, while the Department of Labor and Employment seeks new ways to justify starvation salaries to Congress in its so-called minimum-wage review to be released in the first quarter of the year,” De Guzman said.

He also said that the Department of Trade and Industry, in a manufacturing summit last December, vowed a harder push for the Comprehensive Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act, which would reduce Corporate Income Tax from 30 to 20 percent.

“All of these are meant to generate support from corporations, and send them a message that Duterte is here for you, and it will be here for you if you support his candidates in 2022,” the BMP leader said.

Lawyer Ernie Arellano, chairperson of National Confederation of Labor, said Duterte is also activating his “Plan B”— setting up a “new crony capital as financial base for his political coalition.”

“Right now the regime is already attacking the owners of Maynilad, Manila Water, ABS-CBN, and others, but his intention is not to empower the workers or the state vis-à-vis these oligarchs, but only to replace them with his own set of oligarchs,” he said.

MIAA preaches caution in viral video sharing

By Joel E. Zurbano MANILA International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal reiterated his appeal to the public to be more careful in posting complaints to social media to avoid false accusations and avoid putting the country in a bad light.

This was after a video, which shows an airport baggage handler rifling through luggage before stealing a bluetooth speaker, went viral on social media.

The creator of the video, who remains unidentified, indicated the theft happened at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“This video, which is again being circulated in the Internet, did not happen in NAIA,” Monreal said.

It was learned that the airport pilferage happened in Thailand and not at Ninoy Aquino airport, as a number of social media users attested.

Investigation conducted by MIAA management showed that the baggage handler involved was employed by an agency, and was supposed to be loading suitcases onto the flight from Phuket to Singapore on Oct. 10.

“Security staff at the airport filmed the theft. Police arrested him shortly after and he admitted stealing a black speaker, which he handed back,” MIAA management said in a statement.

Monreal appealed to Internet users to exercise responsibility and care in sharing videos that paints a bad picture of NAIA, “more so of our country and people.”

“As Filipinos, we are duty bound to put the interest of our country above all else,” he added.

“We hope this clarification puts this perennial issue to rest,” said Monreal.

In 2018, he made the same appeal after a Filipino deportee from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia posted a video on social media complaining that his mobile phone, gold necklace, and money were missing from his checked-in baggage when he arrived at the NAIA via Saudia Airline.

Sports

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Harden, Westbrook lift Rockets past Nuggets L

OS ANGELES, United States—James Harden scored 35 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 28 as the Houston Rockets cooled off the Denver Nuggets with a 130-104 win on Tuesday (Wednesday Philippine time).

James Harden

Harden also had six assists while Westbrook contributed seven helpers, avenging an earlier loss to the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic scored 21 points to lead Denver, who had won nine of their last 10 games.

Denver defeated the Rockets 105-95 on November 20 by double-teaming Harden which put more pressure on his teammates to try and pick up the slack.

The Rockets moved the ball quickly on Tuesday, seizing control of the contest with a 19-3 burst to open the fourth quarter.

Clint Capela had a double-double for Houston (16 points, 10 rebounds) while Isaiah Hartenstein finished with

16 points and 12 boards off the bench.

Monte Morris came off the bench to score 18 points for Denver. Paul Millsap had 13 points and nine boards for Denver while Jamal Murray and Will Barton totaled 22 points on 10-of-30 shooting.

Elsewhere, Domantas Sabonis tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers beat the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers 115-97 in Indianapolis.

TJ Warren scored 21 points, Myles Turner tallied 14 and Jeremy Lamb had 13 for the Pacers, who improved to 15-3 at home.

Doug McDermott also had 12 points

for Indiana, while former 76er TJ McConnell added 11 points and 10 assists, ending a modest two-game losing skid for the Pacers.

“We played great basketball,” Pacers’ coach Nate McMillan said. “We established our defense, got stops and were able to get into transition.

“With 35 assists we were making their defense move and work. I just loved the tempo we established at the defensive end of the floor as well as the offensive end.”

Philadelphia looked disorganized without all-star center Embiid, who has an injured left knee. They have won just three of seven games this season when Embiid sat out.

Ben Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Richardson scored 20 points for the Sixers.

Since beating the Milwaukee Bucks 121-109 on Christmas Day,

Bangladesh holds ‘modest’ bodybuilding tournament DHAKA, Bangladesh—Bangladesh’s first women’s bodybuilding championship was won by a 19-year-old student in a contest where most of her muscle was modestly covered up to prevent controversy in the Muslim-majority nation.

While skimpy bikinis are the norm at international body-building contests, Awhona Rahman and her 29 rivals kept their brawn under wraps in front of the crowd of hundreds.

Rahman and the other competitors struck poses on stage wearing tight leggings and body-hugging outfits during the three-day event that finished on Sunday and was held in the capital Dhaka.

“I am really happy, I really worked hard for this,” Rahman told AFP. “It never entered my mind that someone might criticize me for showing my body. My brother, who runs a fitness center, has always encouraged me,” she added.

“We were told there would be proper dress code and the outfit provided was perfect from a Bangladeshi perspective.”

Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation general secretary Nazrul Islam said there had been a huge response to the landmark women’s competition which aimed to encourage health and fitness.

“We were very careful about the dress code because of our religious and social culture. We selected long sleeve crop tops and leggings for the girls,” he added.

Islam predicted the competition would help create jobs for women in the growing number of gymnasiums in Bangladesh where women now have memberships.

Nearly 90 per cent of Bangladesh’s population is Muslim and women are making a growing impact in sports including cricket, football and archery. AFP

the Sixers have dropped three consecutive road games in Orlando, Miami and Indianapolis.

“After coming out of Miami (a 117116 loss in overtime) and losing two games prior to being here, that’s a disappointing performance,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.

“I do give Indiana credit as it relates to us missing shots. We certainly had people down. They were some of our better players. Just didn’t have the performances that they’re used to having.”

Also, Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings for the 10th straight time, 105-87.

Leonard finished eight of 21 from the floor with seven assists.

Paul George delivered 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Clippers, who have won 14 straight in Sacramento. AFP

Olay rules Singapore chess tilt

Competitors perform on stage during Bangladesh’s first bodybuilding competition for women, in Dhaka. While skimpy bikinis are the norm at body-building contests, competitors kept their bodies under wraps in front of the crowd of hundreds in the Muslim-majority nation of Bangladesh. AFP

Blind para-triathletes share blessings

By Lito Cinco CHRISTMAS is certainly the time for sharing one’s blessings and the Nelmida twins Jerome and Joshua, both born blind, have been receiving their fair share of life’s blessings as they enjoy support from kind-hearted people who salute them for being certified paratriathletes. They swim, bike and run, the three disciplines that compose a triathlon.

But two days before Christmas came, the twins had a reversal of roles as together with mother Annete, they not only visited the Missionaries of the Poor shelter house in San Andres, Manila but even brought their own gifts. They even rendered a couple of songs for the 23 special children and 17 elderly males

who are homeless and without family support.

The event was a Christmas gift giving organized by this writer, the third time for the less fortunate in life. They include mentally and physically afflicted kids some on wheelchairs or portable mini beds.

Jesuit priest Fr. Richard Ho Lung founded a congregation to help better the poor and opened its first branch in Jamaica, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Joshua and Jerome were warmly received by the residents and staff of the shelter and it was a sight to see children trying to reach out to them.

The twins expressed their hope that one of the kids here can go into sports

the way they have embraced triathlon.

Last year the twins competed in the Asian Paratriathlon Championships in Legazpi City and are hoping to be official entries in the forthcoming Asean Paragames on March.

This writer raises funds for this project, also for street kids and families and indigent kids in Mt. Banahaw in Quezon every year and a lot of people respond without question, including sports personalities like ex-PBA cager Mike Advani, now a successful businessman, former ‘70s Crispa player Vito Orcullo, sportsman-businessman Jean Henri Lhuillier, equestrienne Carissa Coscoluella, and current Philippine women’s basketball team assistant coach Ai Lebornio.

SINGAPORE—Joannah Love Marie Olay bagged the championship trophy in the under 16 girls division of the CASPL Christmas Rapid Chess Challenge 2019 held at the Singapore Sports Hub Library here last December 29, 2019.

Olay, who is fondly called “Hearty” in the chess world, is the daughter of IM elect Edgar Reggie Olay. The pride of Kidapawan City/Davao City tallied 5.5 points in six outings to claim the title.

Jayden Lee of Singapore won the overall title after accumulating 5.5 points. He bested Hearty in the tiebreak.

Jeanne Reese Marie Olay finished runner-up place in the under 12 girls category while Jasmine Reign Marie Olay won the under 8 girls class.

Meanwhile, International Master Emmanuel Senador took the crown in the Asean Chess Academy Christmas Rapid Chess Championships took place at the Upper Bukit Timah here last week.

The pride of Iloilo City Senador had better tie break points against fellow six pointers Marcus Chen of Singapore who settled for 2nd place.

Arena Grandmaster Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. came in third with 5 points followed by 4th place AGM Robert Suelo who had 4.5 points.

The Singapore Chess Federation organizes year-round chess tournaments. It is the principal authority over all chess events in Singapore and was founded in 1949.

Participants from all over Asia join these tournaments. The federation’s promotion of the game has caused participation in its youth and interschool events, among others, to jump many times over. As a result, Singapore has one of the highest number of chess players in schools per capita in Asia.

The Federation is affiliated to the world governing body, FIDE, and is part of the ASEAN Chess Confederation and the Asian Chess Federation.

The current President is Christopher Lim whose tenure runs 2019-2021.

Liverpool’s Mane to be named Player of the Year

Flamengo’s defender Rafinha (left) tackles Liverpool’s Senegalese striker Sadio Mane during the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup Final football match between England’s Liverpool and Brazil’s Flamengo at the Khalifa International Stadium in this file photo. AFP

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa— Liverpool sharpshooter Sadio Mane is expected to become the first African football headline-maker of 2020 by winning the Player of the Year award in Egypt next week.

The January 7 ceremony will set in motion a year sure to be full of drama on and off the field with 2022 World Cup and 2021 Cup of Nations qualifiers in the mix.

Meanwhile, consistent Liverpool scorer and Senegal talisman Mane is favored to become the second star from his country after El Hadji Diouf to be named Player of the Year.

His rivals are Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian who won the last two editions, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City.

The Player of the Year, and the winners of seven other male and female categories, will be announced at a ceremony in Egyptian Red Sea resort Hurghada.

A couple of weeks after the awards banquet, Egypt will host another eagerly anticipated event, the draw in Cairo for the group stage of World Cup qualifying.

The latest FIFA rankings are expected to determine the seedings, meaning Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, Mali and DR Congo will be in pot one.

All those nations except Mali have played at the World Cup, and an Ivory Coast team that can call on the dazzling footwork of Wilfried Zaha could be the most dangerous second seeds.

Trouble lies ahead after a change from a January/February to June/July tournament this year to avoid tug of wars between clubs and countries over the services of Europe-based stars.

The first revamped Club World Cup, featuring 24 teams, is set for June 17 to July 4 2021 in China, effectively ruling out a midyear Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Senior CAF officials say off the record that a return to January/February dates is likely, and with it the possibility that an increasing number of players will put clubs first.

Tunisia have reportedly decided because of fixture congestion to withdraw from the 2020 edition in Cameroon of the tournament for footballers playing in their country of birth.

Traditionally a biennial January/February competition, it is slated for April 4 to 25 this year in three southern Cameroon cities, the capital, Yaounde, Douala and Limbe.

The 16-nation championship will test the readiness of Cameroon to stage the Cup of Nations next year after construction delays led to them being replaced

by Egypt as 2019 hosts.

Tunisian club Esperance have been

erratic as they seek an unprecedented third straight title, battling to overcome a Chadian club then defying the odds to defeat Raja in Casablanca.

They have lost several 2019 titlewinning stars, including Algeria winger Youcef Belaili, and the starting line-up for a group match last weekend included only four Tunisians.

Record eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt, TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Casablanca clubs Raja and Wydad are potential threats.

A new name will be engraved on the trophy this year as recent winners Ahly, Etoile Sahel of Tunisia, Mazembe, Raja and Zamalek of Egypt are all competing in the Champions League.

Judged by group form up to the halfway mark, Cairo outfit Pyramids could become the third Egyptian winners of a competition modelled on the UEFA Europa League.

Emirati Salem al Shamsi has invested millions in a squad dominated by Egyptians but also containing stars from Burkina Faso, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Uganda.

Zamalek are threatening to boycott the February 14 match against Esperance scheduled for Qatar, a country Egypt accuses of destabilising the Middle East region. AFP

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@manilastandard.net sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

Columbian Dyip rookie CJ Perez (7) tries to dribble past a pair of Meralco Bolts defenders, from left: Allen Durham and Chris Newsome. PBA

Maroons may add Senegalese big man THE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons will likely remain competitive in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament for the foreseeable future.

With big man Bright Akhuetie on his final year, the coaching staff has found a suitable replacement for Akhuetie once his playing time with the team is up.

The team is working on getting 20-year-old Senegalese Maodo Malick Diouf, whose transfer could give UP a fighting chance they need in the coming years.

There are now talks for the Senegalese center to transfer to UP from Centro Escolar University, and the discussion involves the coaching staff and their main supporter NoweheretogobutUP. Akhuetie will still be with the Fighting Maroons with teammates Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero, after both committed to continue to play for the Maroons next season.

The 6-foot-11 Diouf is one of CEU’s workhorses, who stepped up after the graduation of slotman Rod Ebondo.

Diouf has averages of 16.7 points on 46-percent shooting, 19.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.9 blocks, 2.0 steals in CEU’s runner-up finish in the 2019 PBA DLeague Aspirants’ Cup. On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons have added Kobe Paras’ father Benjie in the coaching staff.

Paras, a former MVP during his time with the UP Maroons, will be joined by fellow alumni Ronnie Magsanoc, Joey Guanio, and Xavier Nunag.

The Fighting Maroons have been in the Final Four for the last two years, and they reached the finals two seasons ago.

Peter Atencio

PH coach looks ahead to Vietnam SEA Games

By Peter Atencio

T

O STAY competitive, the Philippines must train early and look for potential athletes who can excel in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in 2021.

National coach Jojo Posadas said this following the conclusion of the 2019 SEA Games.

“Mahirap ang labanan sa Vietnam.

Pero, kailangan, as early as possible, kailangan mag-focus sa training,” said Posadas.

Posadas said there are many new talented athletes who could shine in Vietnam.

Among them is marathon runner Christine Hallasgo and sprinter Frederick Ramirez.

Hallasgo did the unexpected when

she took the women’s marathon crown in beating Cebuana runner and Olympian Mary Joy Tabal.

Ramirez teamed up with Edgardo Alejan, Michael del Prado, and Joyme Sequita to finish third in the men’s 4x400-meter relay.

Discovering talent, according Posadas will take place when the collegiate season in the UAAP and the NCAA commences in the next two months.

The National Open and the Palarong Pambansa can also be a good source of new talents.

In the Philippine national athletics meet in Ilagan, Isabela, and in the Palarong Pambansa in Davao City early this year, there were eight young tracksters who stood out.

Among them was 17-year-olds Jasmin Bombita from Irosin, Sorsogon, and Bernalyn Bejoy of Bacolod City who earned slots the national team.

Bombita, then an 11th grader at the Gallanosa National High School, set one of 10 new meet records in the Palaro when she cleared 12.46 meters.

This eclipsed the 11.81 meters which Felyn Dolloso did nine years ago.

Bejoy, who played of Team Negros Occidental also gained a qualification in the 2019 SEA Games with her silver medal finish in the 400-meter hurdles of the 2019 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships.

Rookie Perez presents good case to win BPC award ROOKIE CJ Perez of the Columbian Dyip is a surprise contender for the Best Player of the Conference award of the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. He joins San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, NorthPort Batang Pier’s Christian Standhardinger, NLEX Road Warriors’ Kiefer Ravena and TNT KaTropa’s Jayson Castro in the chase for BPC. Not a single player from finalists Barangay Ginebra and Meralco Bolts made the Top Five in the statistical race.

Meralco’s Allen Durham and Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee are slugging it out for the Best Import award. Durham is a two-time Governors’ Cup Best Import winner while Brownlee is a one-time Commissioner’s Cup top reinforcement.

TNT’s KJ McDaniels and NorthPort’s Michael Qualls have outside chances of winning the award.

Durham and Brownlee remain the frontrunners after leading their respective teams to a third finals duel in the season-ending tourney.

Fajardo (with an average of 38.8 stats points) had a narrow lead in the stats race over Perez (37.2). It must be noted that Columbian did not even qualify to the playoffs.

Additionally, Perez is the best scorer (with an average of 23.2 points) in this conference. He also leads in steals (2.5).

Standhardinger (35.1 SPs) and Castro (31.6 SPs) towed their teams to the semifinals. Ravena (34.5 SP) earned props for his good showing after a long FIBA suspension.

Ginebra stalwarts Stanley Pringle (30.8), Japeth Aguilar (29.9) and LA Tenorio (28.0) narrowly missed the Magic Five. Also missing the cut were TNT’s RR Pogoy (30.4) and Meralco’s Chris Newsome (29.8).

Tied with Tenorio at 10th spot was Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang (28.0) then came another rookie in Bobby Ray Parks (27.5), followed by Raymond Almazan (27.4), Jeth Troy Rosario (27.0) and Matthew Wright (26.8) to round out the Top 15.

Fajardo collected averages of 19.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks to contend for a second BPC award in the season following his BPC victory in the Philippine Cup.

New tennis era kicks off with ATP Cup team competition SYDNEY, Australia—Tennis’ innovative new team championship kicks off the men’s 2020 season on Friday, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic among those looking for a winning start ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year.

The ATP Cup will see 24 nations split into six groups across three Australian cities, with eight teams emerging from the round-robin to compete in a knockout phase until one country is left standing.

It is the sport’s newest tournament and the third men’s team event competing for the hearts and minds, and dollars, of fans, along with a revamped Davis Cup and the annual Laver Cup, which pits Europe against the World.

But it has already suffered setbacks, with major drawcard Roger Federer opting to give it a miss and Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori pulling out injured.

Despite this, world number two Djokovic said the move towards more team tennis was good for a sport best known for the individuality of its global superstars.

“More than 90 percent of the time, we’re playing as individuals and we don’t have too many team events,” said the Serbian great, who also heads the ATP player council.

“This is going to bring together a lot of nations and, for me personally, it will

be a very nice and proud moment to represent my country. An event like this is truly going to make an impact.”

Sydney hosts the finals, along with group games, which are also held in Brisbane and Perth with US$15 million in prize money and up to 750 singles and 250 doubles ATP rankings points at stake.

Australian star Nick Kyrgios agrees with Djokovic, believing it will be “an awesome event”.

“I know everyone on the Tour wants to be with their teammates. There’s nothing better than playing for your country against the other best players in the world,” he said.

While Federer, Nishikori and Murray are missing, most of the world’s top 30 men are playing.

The championship, from January 3-12, will feature two ties each day in the three cities during the round robin, comprising two singles matches then a doubles.

Belgium kick off the Sydney action against Moldova before Britain face Bulgaria.

Kyrgios spearheads local hopes for Australia in Brisbane against the Alexander Zverev-led Germany while Greece take on Canada in the same city.

First up in Perth will be the United States against Norway followed by Russia and Italy.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal of Spain (right) takes a selfie with his team during a visit to a Rottnest Island beach off the coast of Perth in advance of the ATP Cup tennis tournament later in the week. AFP

Djokovic makes his tournament debut in Brisbane for Serbia on day two, as does Spanish world number one Nadal in Perth.

Under the format, the second-ranked singles players from each country face each other first, then the top-ranked men ahead of a potentially decisive doubles.

A country winning two of three matches will claim the tie.

As well as the players, some bigname former stars are captaining their countries, including Boris Becker (Germany), Marat Safin (Russia), Tim Henman (Britain), Lleyton Hewitt (Australia), and Thomas Muster (Austria). AFP

Filipino siblings shine in Singapore age group chess championship

Members of the winning PH chess team—from left: Arcege Tan Castillo, Jericho Winston Cu, Jillianne Cait Keesha Micarsos, Ivan Travis Cu and their coach Arena Grandmaster Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr.—show their trophies.

SINGAPORE—A sibling duo of chess wizards are earning fans and making history while they’re at it.

Siblings Ivan Travis and Jericho Winston Cu brought the country much honor despite participating for the first time in an international chess tournament. They spearheaded the PH kids’ chess team to victory at the 36th Singapore National Age Group Chess Championships held at the Expo MAX Atria here from December 27 to 30, 2019.

Unrated 28th seed Ivan Travis

defeated Oscar Gao (elo 1595) of Australia in the eighth and final round to finish 2nd place overall in the Boys 10 and under. Ivan Travis who amassed a 7-1 win-loss record earned a rating of 1622 for his effort.

Top seed Zi Han Goh (elo 2094) of Singapore, who inflicted the only loss of Ivan Travis in Round 5, won the coveted title with a perfect score of 8 points. He bested 3rd seed Alexandre Km Lee (elo 1557) of England in the final canto.

Not to be outdone, younger

brother Jericho Winston took overall 8th place in the Boys 9 and under. He scored 5.5 points after beating Shravan Shetty Kashyap of India in the last round.

Hao Loong Yee of Malaysia won the Boys 9 and under after winning in tiebreak points against fellow 6.5 pointer and eventual runner-up placer Kunal Patil Aditya of India.

The Singapore chess campaign of the siblings was supported by Xavier School Athletic Director Larry De Las Penas, Chess Coach IA Rolando

“Rolly” Yutuc, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) thru its Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director FA Red Dumuk.

Meanwhile, Singapore based Pinoy Jayson Jacobo Tiburcio tallied 5.5 points in the Boys Under 11 for overall 8th place while Jillianne Cait Keesha Micarsos landed at overall 10th place in the Girls Under 7 with 5 points.

IN BRIEF MB requires report on intraday liquidity

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, approved the adoption of the report on intraday liquidity.

“The monitoring of intraday liquidity position provides a tool to gauge the ability of covered banks and quasi banks to meet their intraday obligations on a timely basis, ultimately contributing to the smooth and efficient functioning of the payment and settlement systems,” the board said in a statement.

The report on intraday liquidity will be applied to universal and commercial banks and their subsidiary thrift banks/ quasi banks.

“The report requires the presentation of intraday liquidity metrics consistent with those proposed under international standards such as daily maximum intraday liquidity usage, intraday throughput, gross payments sent and received and available intraday liquidity position, among other metrics,” the board said. Julito G. Rada

ICTSI Poland hits milestone

BALTIC Container Terminal, the Polish unit of International Container Terminal Services Inc. at the Port of Gydnia, capped 2019 with a milestone after reaching its 500,000th twenty-foot equivalent unit move on Dec. 21, 2019.

The event, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Gydnia terminal, was marked by the loading of the milestone MSC container to MSC Veronique.

Wojciech Szymulewicz, BCT chief executive, said: “As a gateway terminal serving the Polish economy, we are extremely pleased to have reached this latest milestone. More than hitting our targets, this new record highlights Baltic Container Terminal’s capability to continuously outpace market growth, and our readiness to serve the vibrant Polish economy and the Eastern European markets.”

Strategically located within the BalticAdriatic corridor, BCT has a current annual handling capacity of up to one million TEUs and has excellent road and on-dock rail connectivity to Europe’s hinterlands.

Business Tan-led group to build big Batangas LNG plant

By Alena Mae S. Flores

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ATANGAS Clean Energy Inc., a company controlled by taipan Lucio Tan, plans to put up a 1,100-megawatt combined cycle gas turbine power plant in Batangas City alongside a liquefied natural gas import terminal.

BCE, a joint venture of Gen X Energy, LLC and LCT Energy and Resources Inc., plans to start construction of the integrated LNG project in 2021 with completion eyed by 2025.

“The project will begin its commercial operations by January 2025 and will be operational for 50 years,” the company said in documents filed with Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The LNG terminal and power plant

which rise within a 38-hectare property in the boundaries of Barangay Pinamucan Ibaba and Pinamucan Proper, Batangas City.

The LNG terminal will include a jetty, an LNG storage tank and regasification facilities with a throughput capacity of up to three million tons per annum.

“The CCGT power plant will use the natural gas from the LNG terminal as fuel and will have a gross installed capacity of approximately 1,100 megawatts. Electricity from the CCGT power plant will be delivered, via a double-circuit high voltage transmission line to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ 500kV transmission system,” BCE said.

The company decided to establish a world-class LNG and power plant to meet the Philippines’ growing demand for reliable, sustainable and affordable power.

It also aims to replace the source of natural gas in preparation for the depletion of the Malampaya gas field, ensure energy security, reduce the country’s carbon footprint and support the integration

of renewable energy by providing flexible generation to the grid.

This is expected to develop a downstream natural gas industry in the Philippines and contribute to the economic development of Batangas.

BCE also wants to position Batangas City as the LNG hub of the Philippines.

“Batangas City appears to be the most viable location given its accessibility and the presence of industries that can support the project. The project location, which is an industrial zone, also has established transport modes and navigation routes which is advantageous for the project,” it said.

Tan owns and operates Himmel Industries Inc., Total Bulk Corp. and Tanduay Distillers Inc., all of which are located within the proposed project site of BCE. Tan and his immediate family owns LCT Energy and has stakes in the Philippines’ largest and most respected conglomerates with interests in aviation, banking, property development, beverages, distilled spirits and tobacco.

7-Eleven opens 2 Tacloban stores

CONVENIENCE store chain 7-Eleven recently opened two outlets in Tacloban City as part of an aggressive expansion in Eastern Visayas.

The new outlets in Real and San Jose will introduce 7-Eleven’s wide array of products (both proprietary and popular grab-and-go brands) to the Taclobanons.

The Real outlet along the national highway going to Palo will cater to customers coming from nearby residential area, a Catholic school and a mall which is currently being constructed.

The San Jose store near Tacloban airport will serve the transit cluster.

The two new outlets now bring the total number of 7-Eleven branches in Eastern Visayas to six. The chain aims to open five more stores in 2020 in Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Northern and Eastern Samar.

Now with a total of 2,765 stores nationwide, 7-Eleven remains the top convenience store chain in the country. It offers budding entrepreneurs flexible franchise opportunities that include applying for a regular new store franchise (open a new 7-Eleven store) or through property conversion (convert an established business or properties into a 7-Eleven franchise).

Universities asked to reshape curricular on agriculture sector

By Othel V. Campos AGRICULTURE Secretary William Dar asked state universities and colleges and research and development institutions to boost their curricular program on agriculture and fisheries sector.

“SUCs must reshape their curricular program based on the challenges and opportunities of the region. They must become the research and innovation university of the region. They must produce highly knowledgeable and skilled human capital for agri-industrial development of the region,” Dar said.

He also asked SUCs to develop models of farm consolidation that is exportand market-oriented, models of inclusive agribusiness anchored on value chain system and models to engage more youth in agriculture and agribusiness Dar said SUCs should become the leader in digitalization of agriculture and in developing demand-driven and market-oriented research and extension system.

“We need to as much as we could produce food for this country,” he said. The Philippines a rice adequacy level of only 85 percent.

Dar also urged R&D institutions to have a purposeful impact assessment of the top technologies they developed and conduct targeted research to produce relevant technologies that would make farmers and fisherfolk more competitive.

He said that the Agriculture Department, on its part, would help enhance the competitive edge of SUCs by funding their projects.

“The DA will be there to strongly support the establishment of the Philippine Corn Institute at Isabela State University [ISU Echague],” Dar said, citing Isabela Fourth District Rep. Alyssa Sheena Tan’s proposal to enhance the province’s corn production.

SOCIAL SECURITY. The Social Security System signs a memorandum of agreement with the city government of Mandaluyong to ensure the social security coverage and protection of more than 2,700 job order and contract of service workers. Under the agreement, the workers will be registered as self-employed members on which their monthly SSS contributions will be deducted from their salaries through the KaltaSSS-Collect Program and remitted to the SSS by the Mandaluyong city government. Showing the signed agreement are SSS president and chief executive Aurora Ignacio (first row, second from left) and Mandaluyong Mayor Carmelita Abalos (first row, third from left).

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

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PLDT selling Smart Tower to raise P5b for expansion

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. said it expects to raise at least P5 billion from the sale of Smart Tower along Ayala Ave. in Makati City to finance expansion plans in 2020.

“We have bids for Smart Tower. We will also sell other three minor properties and Rocket [Internet shares],” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

Smart Tower is a 36-story office building along Ayala Ave which is used by Smart Communications as its headquarters. PLDT also owns other properties in Makati, such as the Ramon Cojuangco Building along Makati Ave. and the Makati General Office along Dela Rosa Street.

PLDT currently holds 1.9 million shares or a 2-percent stake in Rocket Internet valued at about P2.5 billion. The telecom company sold a 4.1-percent stake in the German Internet company worth P10.5 billion in May 2018.

PLDT bought a 10-percent stake in Rocket Internet for 333 million euros or $445 million in 2014 and sold 4.1-percent in 2018. The proceeds were used to partly finance the company’s P58-billion capital expenditures in 2018.

Rocket is a Berlin-based internet company that builds online startups and owns shareholdings in various models of internet retail businesses. It has stakes in major e-commerce platforms and startups in Southeast Asia including Zalora, Lamudi, Carmudi, Traveloka and Foodpanda.

Pangilinan earlier said its 2020 capital expenditures would be slightly higher than the P78.4-billion capex in 2019.

About 75 percent of its 2019 capex went to network and IT systems including investments in increased LTE coverage and capacity, expanded fiber transport to support both fixed broadband and mobile data and new international cable networks.

PLDT earlier reported a net income of P16 billion in the first nine months of 2019, down by 2 percent from the same period in 2018.

Core income amounted to P19.4 billion, up 1 percent from 2018, excluding the impact of equity in losses from Voyager and gains from the sale of Rocket Internet shares.

Consolidated service revenues increased 8 percent to P116.3 billion—the highest nine-month revenue ever attained by PLDT, surpassing the previous peak in 2014.

The company’s three major business groups—consumer wireless, PLDT Home and PLDT Enterprise—generated P109.4 billion in revenues, up 11 percent from a year earlier and making up 94 percent of total service revenues.

SM Prime preparing to issue P20b worth of fixed-rate bonds

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. plans to issue up to P20 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds with tenors of five and seven years.

SM Prime said in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would offer up to P15 billion in fixedrate bonds with an option for another P5 billion in case of oversubscription.

The property firm tapped BDO Capital & Investments Corp. and China Bank Capital as issue managers, book runners and lead underwriters of the offering and

BPI Capital Corp., EastWest Bank, First Metro Investments Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital as joint book runners and joint lead underwriters.

The P20-billion bond offering represents the first tranche of SM Prime’s P100-billion three-year shelf registration debt securities program it filed with the SEC. SM Prime is set to start developing a 360-hectare Pasay reclamation project after it obtained a notice to proceed from the Pasay City with the reclamation project in December.

The reclamation project in Pasay City

will be connected to the Mall of Asia Complex, which is also a reclaimed venture of both parties which turned into a vibrant business district featuring world-class mall, offices, residences, entertainment arena, 5-star hotel and convention center.

As Pasay City’s joint venture partner, SM Prime said it would develop the actual raw land reclamation and horizontal development works.

The company finalized the selection of consultants and contractors from a roster of reputable companies with proven global reclamation and dredging experience to

ensure proper and responsible implementation of the project.

SM Prime proposed the 360- hectare Pasay reclamation project in 2014 and committed to spend more than P50 billion for the project.

SM Prime reported a nine-month net income of P27.60 billion, up 18 percent from P23.44 billion in the first nine months of 2018.

Nine-month consolidated revenues rose 14 to P85.03 billion from P74.56 billion while consolidated operating income grew 17 percent to P41billion from P34.91 billion.

Bangko Sentral toughens rules on bank directors disqualification

By Julito G. Rada

ICTSI PAKISTAN’S AWARD. Pakistan International Container Terminal, the unit of International Container Terminal Services Inc. at the Port of Karachi, becomes the first container terminal in Pakistan to obtain the ISO 45001:2018 certification, the world’s first integrated international standard for occupational health and safety.

Demonstrating compliance with the new global standard to ensure a safe and healthy workplace, PICT successfully migrated from the old OHSAS 18001 standard to the new ISO 45001:2018, following a rigorous verification and audit process carried out by certification agency Bureau Veritas S.A.

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said it strengthened the disqualification rules for directors and officers of banks and quasi banks to upgrade the quality of governance in the financial services sector.

“The new rules expanded the grounds for disqualification aimed at further strengthening the quality of governance in the financial services industry. The policy clarifies that persons who caused undue injury, material loss or damage to the bank or those who exposed the bank to higher risk or danger shall be disqualified from becoming a director or officer in other BSP-supervised financial institutions,” the BSP said in a statement.

It also approved the inclusion of dismissal from any government institution, conviction for offenses under the amended charter of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and delinquency or unwillingness to settle obligations as

among the grounds for disqualification.

The BSP said to promote transparency and ensure that persons concerned were accorded with due process, the revised policy set out the disqualification procedures that should be followed.

The procedures provide a window for the person concerned to explain his side and present evidence to support his position. Once a person is disqualified, his name will be included in a watch list database, and he can no longer be connected in any BSP-supervised institution unless his name is removed from the said list.

The issuance complements the fit and proper rules for directors/trustees and officers of BSFIs covered by Circular Nos. 969 and 970 both dated Aug. 22, 2017.

Such guidelines contain enhanced corporate governance standards for the board of directors and officers, and set forth their key roles and responsibilities consistent with the principle that the tone of good governance should come from the top.

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Business

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Wall Street, world stocks close out 2019 with big gains NEW YORK―World stocks on Tuesday closed out a notably profitable year, with Wall Street recording its best annual performances since 2013, boosted by hopes for a US-China trade deal.

New York rallied into the close, turning positive for the day and leaving the broadbased S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq up 29 percent and 35 percent respectively for 2019, the best showings in six years.

Key European markets showed increases of 25 percent or more for the year, partly thanks to late surges on receding recession fears and easing China-US trade war tensions.

Brexit-hit London, however, trailed its peers with a 12 percent annual rise, less than half the percentage increase managed by Paris, Frankfurt and Milan.

Earlier on Tuesday as US markets were about to open, President Donald Trump tweeted that a partial trade deal with China would be signed in Washington on January 15, ending some of the uncertainty about efforts to cement the deal announced earlier this month.

Quincy Krosby of Prudential Financial told AFP the US-China detente could help decide the direction of the global economy next year.

“Much of the enthusiasm in the market is based on the idea that global growth is going to begin to accelerate, albeit slowly,” she said. “The question will be, do we actually see positive growth, especially in China?”

Demand in China is crucial to chances for renewed growth in global trade, while the China trade agreement could see US corporations begin investing again after a year when corporate capital spending stagnated worryingly, according to Krosby.

Asian stock markets closed mainly lower on Tuesday, with Hong Kong ending a half-day of trading almost 0.5 percent down, although the bourse rallied more than seven percent in December.

Tokyo was shut for a public holiday.

“While market volumes are predictably light, investors continue to strike a year-end cautionary tone as December optimism is gradually giving way to 2020’s uncertainty,” Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a client note.

Asian investors were also watching for significant policy announcements early in the New Year.

In a New Year’s speech on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un struck a decisively militaristic tone, warning of a new strategic weapon and “shocking” action.

Analysts said all eyes were on nucleararmed Pyongyang’s threat of a “new way” after its end-of-year deadline for sanctions relief from the United States. AFP

Partial US-China trade deal signed Jan.15

By Douglas Gillison

W

ASHINGTON―A partial new US-China trade agreement will be signed in the middle of this month, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday, announcing that he will also then travel to China for continued talks.

Trump’s tweet, sent moments before Wall Street opened for the year’s final trading day, set a calendar date for an event that had hung in uncertainty in recent weeks as details remained scant.

Washington and Beijing earlier in December announced a “Phase One” trade deal, de-escalating their nearly two-year trade war as Trump reduced or canceled some tariffs while Beijing promised to adopt trade reforms and buy more US farm exports.

The text has yet to be made public pending what US officials say is a largely technical review.

“I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal

with China on January 15,” Trump tweeted.

“The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present.”

US and Chinese officials have said the agreement includes protections for intellectual property, food and farm goods, financial services and foreign exchange, and a provision for dispute resolution.

Under the new deal, China has committed to a minimum of $200 billion in increased purchases over the next two years from US manufacturers, farmers, energy producers and service providers, according to US Trade Representative

Robert Lighthizer.

Trump said Tuesday he will travel to Beijing to continue negotiations “at a later date”―showing willingness to pursue talks that have acrimoniously broken down more than once and left both sides to salvage a partial deal.

While the detente put a stop to further deterioration in the trade war, it leaves many of the barriers erected so far in place.

Trump canceled plans to impose tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese merchandise in mid-December―including hot consumer items like mobile phones―but punishing US tariffs remain for about $250 billion in Chinesemade goods, including machinery and many electronic items.

Word of the truce has driven a Wall Street rally this month and US stocks on Tuesday closed out the year with their best annual performances since 2013.

The two economic powers have been locked in a bruising trade war since the first half of 2018 that has roiled the

Macron vows to push through pension revamp despite protest

Members of unions gather around a fire at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, on December 31, 2019. French union leaders upped their calls on December 30 for French President to give ground on a planned pension overhaul, amid signs that support is flagging for a grueling transport strike now in its 27th day. Similar disruptions are expected through the week. AFP

After an early high, a rude awakening for cannabis shares NEW YORK―After sparking a Wall Street craze in 2018, cannabis companies fell flat this year, faced with disappointing growth in Canada and a frustrating hodgepodge of regulations in the United States.

Even the largest firms on the New York Stock Exchange, mostly Canadian marijuana producers, have woken up to a harsh reality: At Monday’s close, Canopy Growth was down about 30 percent for the year, Tilray had plunged 78 percent and Cronos 26 percent while shares in Aurora Cannabis had been cut in half.

By Tuesday, however, the last trading day of 2019, each had surged at least 10 percent.

The same disillusionment also hit the

global economy and helped send the manufacturing sector into decline.

Observers say that in that time, the trade war may have ushered in a long-term de-coupling of trade relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Americans have cut merchandise purchases from China substantially so far this year, while their appetite for Mexican goods has grown.

The yawning US goods deficit with China fell 14.7 percent in the 10 months through October of 2019 but rose 29 percent with Mexico, according to official US figures.

What the two sides can accomplish in a potentially thornier “phase two” of negotiations―which could touch on Beijing’s sweeping market interventions and industrial subsidies―remains unclear.

Trump has repeatedly claimed the trade war’s burden fell squarely on China, while sparing the American economy. Economists say both sides have suffered. AFP

major exchange-traded funds focusing on the industry. ETFMG Alternative Harvest lost 30 percent in a year when the wider S&P 500 soared by 28 percent.

Early on, investors bet big on consumers’ appetite for cannabis products, watching eagerly as more US states authorized medical and even recreational use and Canada legalized pot smoking nationwide in October 2018.

In Canada, “the first year was plagued with slow store rollouts, trouble competing with the black market, supply shortages, varying regulations across provinces and restrictions on the types of products that could be sold,” DataTrek co-founder Jessica Rabe said in an analytical note.

Then, says Canaccord Genuity’s

Bobby Burleson, Canadian retailers confronted “disappointing demand and excess supply.”

In the United States, high hopes for sales of marijuana―for smoking, vaping, eating or applying topically in creams―were also in for something of a letdown.

Rabe says marijuana is still selling well in Colorado, which in 2014 became the first US state to legalize its recreational use.

And its performance there “shows why there was so much initial investor enthusiasm,” she said.

“The problem is that they got ahead of themselves, not fully appreciating all the regulatory challenges between patchwork state frameworks and slower-

than-anticipated legalization on a stateby-state basis.”

Under US federal law, marijuana is still classified as a hard drug with littleto-no medical value and a high potential for abuse, like heroin.

As a result, the sector faces financial hurdles, with banks shrinking from handling cash from the cannabis trade.

US regulators also said in November they could not guarantee that using cannabidiol, also known as CBD, a highly popular but non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, is safe.

Several elections, including referenda on legalization in several US states and the presidential vote in November, could mark a turning point for the industry. AFP

PARIS, France―French President Emmanuel Macron called Tuesday for a “rapid compromise” with unions over a pensions overhaul that has sparked one of the country’s biggest transport strikes in decades.

But in his keenly watched New Year’s address, Macron gave no sign that he would back down on the plan, saying “the pension reform will be carried out.”

While acknowledging concerns about the plan, not least that it could require people to work longer, Macron said “these worries cannot lead us to inaction.”

“That would be abandoning those who the system has abandoned, youths who would pay the price for our inaction,” he said in the roughly 18-minute address.

The pension overhaul, a centerpiece of Macron’s sweeping plan to reform the French economy and institutions, would sweep away 42 separate schemes for a single system the government says would be fairer and more sustainable.

But unions balk at a new “pivot age” of 64 at which workers would qualify for a full pension, beyond the official retirement age of 62.

Since December 5, they have crippled train and metro services across the country, proving a key test of Macron’s ability to implement his vow to reform France after coming to power in 2017.

The government has already said police and firefighters would still be able to retire earlier, and Macron said “we will take into account arduous tasks so that people who carry them out will be able to retire earlier.”

Macron’s call for a “Christmas truce” during the strike went unheeded, upending travel plans for tens of thousands of people, and unions have vowed not to back down ahead of new talks with the government set for January 7.

Already another day of mass protests is set for January 9, when teachers, dockers, hospital workers and other public-sector employees are expected to join the strike for the day.

And energy workers at the hard-line CGT union called Tuesday for a three-day blockade at the country’s oil refineries and fuel depots starting January 7, raising the specter of petrol shortages. AFP

Fallen car magnate Carlos Ghosn flees to Lebanon

By Corentin Dautreppe

This picture taken on December 31, 2019, shows a house identified by court documents as belonging to former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in a wealthy neighborhood of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Ghosn said today he had fled to Lebanon to escape injustice in Japan, where he was on bail awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. AFP

PARIS, France―Former car magnate Carlos Ghosn’s stunning departure from Japan, where he was facing trial on financial misconduct charges, poses numerous questions as to where his story goes next.

Venerated French cartoonist Plantu of Le Monde newspaper portrayed the 65-year-old Tuesday with a smile on his face, a party hat on his head and relaxing in a hammock.

The look of insouciance contrasted with the consternation in Japan after his arrival in Beirut via Istanbul.

Sprung out in music case?

The exact circumstances of Ghosn’s daring escape from Japan, where he had been released on bail in April pending trial after 130 days in prison, remain unclear, though colorful rumors abound.

One claim in the Lebanese media is that the auto mogul, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities, was sprung from his Tokyo residence in a mu-

sical instrument case―a story a source in his entourage denied.

A Lebanese presidential source said the former Nissan and Renault boss had landed in Turkey before an early hours onward flight to Lebanon. The stunt left his Japanese lawyer Junichiro Hironaka dumbfounded―Hironaka says the mogul’s three passports remain in Japan.

Lebanon’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that Ghosn entered the country legally. The country’s General Security apparatus said that “there are no measures that warrant taking steps against him or prosecuting him.”

Can he be extradited?

“There is no extradition accord between Lebanon and Japan,” a source at the Lebanese ministry of justice told AFP. Though that is the case, one expert in international relations told AFP that “the absence of (an extradition) convention does not in itself preclude extraditing an individual.

“But certain states, Lebanon included, do not extradite their nationals,”

the expert added.

Former Lebanese justice minister, Ibrahim Najjar, said that if Interpol were to become engaged in the case Ghosn’s name would be communicated to border authorities in member countries with a view to his arrest.

“But Interpol cannot have him arrested by force or impose any decision on Lebanon.”

The international relations expert noted that a Lebanese court could try Ghosn “if he has committed a crime punishable

by Lebanese law” but “Lebanon cannot judge a person accused of tax fraud committed in a foreign country.”

Tokyo trial outlook Arrested in Tokyo in November 2018, Ghosn, who insists he is fleeing “injustice and political persecution,” faced going on trial in April on four charges including under-reporting salary, allegedly trying to have Nissan cover personal foreign exchange losses and using millions of Nissan funds transferred to a dealership in Oman for his own use. AFP

World IN BRIEF Hong Kong set for New Year rally HONG KONG―Hong Kong was readying for a massive pro-democracy rally Wednesday after ringing in the New Year, with an evening of peaceful protests that morphed into tear gas-choked clashes between hardcore demonstrators and police.

The city has been battered by more than six months of unrest with millions marching, as well as confrontations in which police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets, while protesters have responded with petrol bombs.

Thousands gathered before midnight across the financial hub, including along Victoria Harbor and at nightlife hot spot Lan Kwai Fong.

Protesters at the harbor front counted down chanting “Ten! Nine!

Liberate Hong Kong, revolution now!” as they lit up their phones.

Smaller crowds in the Mong Kok district set fire to barricades, before riot police unleashed 2020’s first volleys of tear gas in response. AFP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Trump threatens Iran after attack B

AGHDAD-US President Donald Trump warned Tehran it would “pay a very big price” after a mob of pro-Iranian demonstrators stormed the American embassy compound in Iraq, as his government said it is sending hundreds more troops to the Middle East.

Angered by US air strikes that killed two dozen paramilitary fighters on Sunday, hundreds of protesters spilled through checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone Tuesday, demanding the removal of American troops from Iraq and voicing loyalty to a powerful Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the attack was “orchestrated by terrorists,” one of whom he named as Abu

Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Muhandis has been identified as second-in-command of the Tehranbacked Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary group which includes Kataeb Hezbollah, the group that was targeted in the US air strikes.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said around 750 troops from a rapid response unit of the 82nd Airborne Division are prepared to deploy over the next several days to the region.

“This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against US personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today,” he said.

Prior to the announcement, a US official told AFP that “up to 4,000 [troops] may ultimately be deployed”.

The US had already flown a rapid response team of Marines into Baghdad to reinforce its embassy after the attack Tuesday, which left smoke and flames rising from the embassy entrance and further heightened tension between Tehran and Washington.

Esper’s announcement is the latest move by Washington to step up its defences in the region since US President Donald Trump in May 2018 pulled out of a multinational nuclear deal with

Iran and re-imposed crippling economic sanctions.

Trump blamed Tehran for the embassy attack and warned that it would face punishment if Americans are killed.

“Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities,” Trump said on Twitter.

“They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat,” wrote Trump, adding “Happy New Year!”

However, Trump later told reporters that he did not foresee war with Tehran.

Trump’s message came at the end of a day in which Washington officials appeared surprised and furious over the ease at which the protestors entered the Green Zone, reaching the US embassy compound for the first time in years. AFP

CELEBRATION. This handout photo provided by the Florida Keys

News Bureau shows New Yearís Eve revelers celebrate outside the Bourbon St. Pub as female impersonator Gary Marion, as drag queen Sushi, is hanging in an oversized replica of a women’s red high heel shoe over Duval Street in Key West, Florida, on December 31, 2019. - The Red Shoe Drop is a Key West tradition and is one of six Key West warmweather takeoffs on New York City’s Times Square ball drop to mark the beginning of the new year. AFP

Palau bans ‘reef-toxic’ sunscreen KOROR, Palau―Palau’s pioneering ban on “reef-toxic” sunscreens took effect Wednesday as the tiny Pacific island nation introduced strict environmental measures that also include one of the world’s largest marine sanctuaries.

“We have to live and respect the environment because the environment is the nest of life, and without it nobody in Palau can survive,” President Tommy Remengesau told AFP as the new laws took effect.

Palau, which lies in the western Pacific about halfway between Australia and Japan, is renowned for its marine life and is regarded as one of the world’s best diving destinations, but the government is concerned its popularity is coming at a cost.

Remengesau said there was scientific evidence that the chemicals found in most sunscreens were toxic to corals, even in minute doses. AFP

Jail riot leaves 10 inmates dead CARACAS―Gang fighting at a jail in Venezuela left at least 10 inmates dead, an NGO reported Tuesday.

At least four grenades were detonated in clashes that began Monday evening in the northwestern state of Zulia, said the NGO, a human rights group called Una Ventana a la Libertad.

Venezuelan authorities have not said anything about a toll from the rioting, which the NGO said broke out at a jail which serves as a holding pen at a regional police headquarters.

Prisoners set fire to one wing of the facility, it said.

It quoted local residents as saying explosions and then gunfire were heard starting late Monday, with the violence continuing overnight. AFP

Scramble to reach bush fire-stranded thousands North Korea threatens new weapon SYDNEY―A major operation to reach thousands of people stranded in fireravaged seaside towns was under way in Australia on Wednesday after deadly bush fires ripped through popular tourist spots and rural areas, leaving at least eight people dead.

Navy ships and military aircraft were deployed alongside emergency crews to provide humanitarian relief and assess the damage from the deadliest spate of blazes yet in a months-long bushfire crisis.

Police said three more bodies were discovered Wednesday, bringing the

confirmed death toll since late Monday to eight, including a volunteer firefighter killed when a “fire tornado” flipped his 10-tonne truck.

There were mounting fears for several others missing after the country’s southeast was devastated by out-ofcontrol blazes, which destroyed more than 200 homes and left some small towns in ruins.

Information was trickling out of coastal communities where thousands of holidaymakers and locals were thought to have seen in the New Year

taking refuge from flames at surf clubs, as power outages and damage to telecommunications towers brought down phone lines and the internet.

New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said emergency services faced a “real challenge” trying to help injured people in isolated areas.

“We haven’t been able to get access via roads or via aircraft. It’s been... too dangerous and we simply can’t access, nor can the people in these areas get out,” he said. AFP

COLD IN NEW DELHI. A man rests laying on the ground in a park on a cold morning in New Delhi on January 1, 2020. AFP

Fireworks, smoke and tear gas start new decade

NEW YORK―New York dropped its traditional crystal-encrusted ball to ring in 2020 in a packed Times Square, after crisis-marred celebrations in other countries ended a year of worldwide upheaval that saw strike-hit Paris welcome the new decade with fireworks, and London’s Big Ben ring out after a long restoration.

Billions around the world cheered in 2020 after a tumultuous year dominated by demonstrations calling for political revolt and action on climate change.

“I’m not particularly optimistic about

the future,” 29-year-old Natalie Reinhart told AFP ahead of New York’s midnight celebration.

“I don’t think anybody thinks the world is in a good place, and I think that’s one of the defining things of the decade,” the New Yorker said.

“There’s a sort of overt pessimism.

Even our pop songs are sad.”

Performers in Times Square pulled through nonetheless, as artists including feminist rocker Alanis Morissette took the stage ahead of a highly anticipated performance by K-pop sen-

sation BTS. New Yorker Gabriel Rodriguez, 53, voiced gloom over society’s future but told AFP his way of coping: “I live day by day.”

Chile saw thousands of demonstrators gather at Santiago’s Plaza Italia―the epicenter of protests against President Sebastian Pinera’s right-wing government since October―to celebrate a “New Year with Dignity.”

One of the world’s biggest New Year festivals took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an estimated three

million revelers.

Most of them wore white as they listened to concerts and watched a traditional fireworks show at Copacabana Beach.

In the French capital, tens of thousands gathered on the Champs-Elysees, despite a grueling transport strike that has spelled weeks of misery for commuters.

They came on foot, by bike, taxi― and a few by Metro―to ring in the new decade as a dazzling light show lit up the Arc de Triomphe. AFP

SEOUL―North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and threatened a demonstration of a “new strategic weapon” soon.

Analysts said the announcement, reported by state media on Wednesday, amounted to Kim putting a missile “to Donald Trump’s head”―but warned that escalation by Pyongyang would probably backfire.

Washington was swift to respond, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging Kim to “take a different course” and stressing that the US wanted “peace not confrontation” with the North, while Trump played down the development.

Pyongyang has previously fired missiles capable of reaching the entire US mainland, and has carried out six nuclear tests, the last of them 16 times more powerful than the Hiroshima blast, according to the highest estimates.

A self-imposed ban on such tests―Kim declared they were no longer needed-has been a centerpiece of the nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington over the past two years, which has seen three meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump, but little tangible progress.

Any actual test is likely to infuriate Trump, who has repeatedly referred to Kim’s “promise” to him not to carry them out, and has downplayed launches of shorter-range weapons.

Negotiations between the two sides have been largely deadlocked since the breakup of their Hanoi summit in February, and the North set the US an end-of-year deadline for it to offer fresh concessions on sanctions relief, or it would adopt a “new way”.

“There is no ground for us to get unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer,” the official KCNA news agency cited Kim as telling top ruling party officials. AFP

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

Cavite tourism execs join 2nd regional expo

By Benjamin Chavez

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

MAT MASTER.

Blaan ‘igem’ (mat) weavers from Malapatan town showcase their handwoven products at the Provincial Capitol Complex to celebrate the recent 27th Foundation Day and 17th Munato Festival of Sarangani.

The event put the spotlight on the work of Bai Estelita ‘Labnai’ Bantilan, who was accorded the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasure) through the National Commission on Culture and the Arts for her work in preserving the rich weaving tradition of the Blaan indigenous peoples.

BDO finishes 3 school buildings around Marawi LONG after the siege of Marawi City ended, residents continue to cope with the crisis caused by the armed conf lict. Those who used to live in ground zero have not been able to return and rebuild. Many have moved indefinitely to neighboring towns, other provinces and even Metro Manila.

Some students displaced by the siege have stopped going to school.

Others have started to attend classes regularly albeit in dilapidated classrooms damaged further by the fighting.

As part of concerted efforts to help rehabilitate war-stricken Marawi, BDO Foundation constructed three school buildings just outside the area where the fighting occurred.

The corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank built two-story, four-classroom school buildings in Nanapun Elementary School, Lake Lanao National High School, and most recently, Harat Medina Central Elementary School.

The corporate citizenship initiative forms part of BDO Foundation’s contribution to the efforts of the Department of Education, a member agency of Task Force Bangon Marawi, to rehabilitate public schools in the wake of the fighting that ensued between government forces and a militant group in Marawi City.

The project is in line with the foundation’s rehabilitation and reconstruction programs in areas affected by natural or man-made disasters.

The new building in Harat Medina was recently turned over to the community in an inaugural ceremony led

by BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito, BDO Foundation program director Rose Espinosa and BDO Network Bank Northern Mindanao area head Joanne Montezo.

DILG to fund repairs of quake-hit gov’t halls

K

IDAPAWAN CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government to fund the repair and reconstruction of local government unit buildings damaged by earthquakes that hit North Cotabato and Davao del Sur.

Mindanao Development Authority chairman Emmanuel Piñol said the order was given to DILG Secretary Eduardo Año following the President’s visit to M’lang, North Cotabato on December 30 for the distribution of relief and financial aid to quake victims.

“It was the first good news for 2020,” Piñol said in a statement Wednesday.

He said the President made the verbal instruction to Año after he, as MinDA chair,

reported to the chief executive the extent of damage brought about by the quakes.

“Ed (Año), help the villages and towns that were hit by the quakes,” Piñol quoted the President as saying over a late luncheon meeting.

Año said his department is ready to respond to the requests of the local government units for assistance.

Piñol said an assessment by MinDA showed that several village halls and

municipal hall structures were heavily damaged like the Magsaysay town hall in Davao del Sur and the town legislative building of M’lang in North Cotabato.

Piñol said at least five of the towns hit by the earthquakes have abandoned the municipal buildings and hold offices in makeshift tents to continue government services.

Aside from town halls, several health centers, public markets, fire stations, and police stations were also damaged.

Piñol called on all village and town officials to submit photos and narrative reports about the damage to government structures in their localities to MinDA so these can be forwarded to DILG for funding. PNA

Alicia mayor vows aid for town’s students

By Ben Moses Ebreo

The construction of school buildings in Nanapun Elementary School, Lake Lanao National High School. and Harat Medina Central Elementary School is expected to benefit more than 1,200 students every year.

Central terminal for Freeport Area of Bataan set to break ground BALANGA CITY, Bataan―The Hausland Development Corp. is set to break ground on the construction of the Freeport Area of Bataan Central Terminal this month.

“Hausland will have a groundbreaking ceremony this January,”

THE Cavite Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office recently took part in the 2nd CALABARZON Tourism Expo and Appreciation Night spearheaded by the Department of Tourism Region IV-A at Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

The 3-day event was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Laguna Governor Ramil Fernandez, Laguna Board Member Angelica Jones Alarva, OIC-Regional Director Marites Castro, and EK Chief Operating Officer Cynthia Mamon.

During the program, OIC-Regional Director Castro warmly welcomed everyone and expressed her gratitude to all the partner agencies for their unwavering support and commitment in boosting the tourism industry in the region.

The provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon joined the exhibit, showcasing their respective tourism products and services, cultural performing arts group, local delicacies and tourist destinations.

Various travel agencies also offered their best travel deals.

Highlight of the program was the signing of the pledge of commitment of the provinces and stakeholders, signifying their promises in managing businesses towards sustainable tourism and development.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways formally opened to motorists the Tejero bridge on Christmas Eve, 141 days after they closed the historic bridge here for its five-month repair and maintenance that started last Aug. 4.

Traffic flow on the area returned to light again after the maintenance period ended one week ahead of its fivemonth contract.

Tanza Mayor Yuri Pacumio thanked DPWH-Cavite for the prompt repairs during a brief interview at his office Friday.

The reopening of the bridge was in time for the holiday season as it decongested the Tejero Crossing in GenTri, according to city Traffic Bureau Chief Noel Morena.

the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan announced during an orientation with the media over the holidays.

AFAB and HDC recently held a signing ceremony for the company’s contract of lease and registration agreement

Chan clan keeps holiday tradition

By Roy Tomandao

TAGAYTAY CITY—Continuing a holiday tradition, the Chan family of Barangay Patutong Malaki here, led by Police Executive Master Sargeant Paquito E. Chan Jr of the Regional Mobile Force Batallion 4A of Calabarzon, distributed gifts to over 3,000 residents on New Year’s Eve at the Mariposa Hall here.

Since 2005, the Chans have been giving gifts to their villagemates in what has become an anticipated event. This year, PEMS Chan and his family also drew volunteers “who also want to help other people,” he said.

“I feel very good with helping our fellow men, because sometimes we’re just like kids

to construct the facility.

The FAB Central Terminal aims to centralize and make efficient the transport system within the Freeport and neighboring areas, according to the AFAB official.

“Hausland already has a done deal

who want to share gifts and appreciate our accomplishments,” the police sargeant said.

Chan added that their family “wanted to be closer to the people especially the younger children.”

The gift-giving, he noted, is in line with the directive of Police Regional Director Brig Gen.Vicente Danao Jr. “to bring the hearts of the police to the people.”

The Calabarzon police were in the news recently for a different reason ― it had ordered a halt to the sale of coconut wine or “lambanog” after it caused the deaths of several people in Laguna and Quezon.

Danao said he had ordered all provincial directors and chiefs of police to implement the order to all retail outlets selling lambanog in the region.

with a mall to locate in the area to attract the commuting public,” AFAB chairman and administrator Emmanuel D. Pineda revealed.

The central terminal will also house commercial establishments, Pineda added. Butch Gunio

ALICIA, Isabela—Mayor Joel Amos Alejandro here said he will continue to provide support for the elementary and secondary students in this town to help their parents in providing their educational needs.

Alejandro said the local government unit has been shouldering the miscellaneous fees of public elementary schoolers in the municipality to unburden their parents.

“This was started by former Mayor and now Third District Rep. Ian Dy which will inspire our schoolers in our municipality to do good in their studies,” Alejandro said.

Free school bags and educational supplies are also given yearly to elementary schoolers before the opening of their classes, he added.

Alejandro said he will introduce an innovation for educational assistance program for secondary students by June next year.

“I have talked to Grade 5 & 6 teachers to provide me a list of the student’ needs so that I will buy them like text books, how many is needed so that everyone will be given with such assistance,” he said.

Alejandro also said the local government has implemented a feeding program for all children in the municipality to maximize the benefits of the nutrition program.

Police Executive Master Sargeant Paquito E. Chan Jr. of the RMFB 4A of Calabarzon leads the gift-giving to more than 3,000 residents of Barangay Patutong Malaki in Tagaytay City.

Roy Tomandao

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife

HOUSEHOLD

@MStandardLIFE

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 202

Teaching kids

responsibilities at home

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O PARAPHRASE a popular quote: the best time to teach children to be responsible was yesterday, the second best time is today.

Teaching children the necessary values in life part in teaching these values to children. at a young age will pay off once they live their Start the year right by engaging kids in simown lives, which every parent wants for their ple activities to teach them how to be responchild. Patience and understanding play a huge sible at home.

RESPONSIBLE KIDS BECOME RESPONSIBLE ADULTS.

Parents are advised to start teaching their children responsibilities by letting them participate in household chores.

Create a reward system to motivate kids

Incorporating a healthy challenge for children can give them another boost of motivation to be more responsible. For instance, if a child finishes their homework ahead of time, that can be rewarded accordingly when they request to watch more TV or ask for treats.

Another option is to have a tally board to keep track of the children’s conquered challenges.

Acknowledging their growth can also be a way to further inspire them to keep being responsible.

Add a fun twist to household chores

Make household chores fun and interesting for children to accomplish. A creative take on this is to create a goal list for children to put fun stickers to after every accomplishment, hamper hoops to encourage kids to not leave the laundry on the floor, or to ask them to randomly pick popsicle sticks with chores written on them.

Create routines that turn basic responsibilities into habits

Get kids involved in simple tasks

Children are very curious at a young age. This would be a good opportunity to educate them on how the day to day household chores work. For example, let them help sweep in the garden or water the plants in the morning.

Another way is to ask for their help in preparing the toast when cooking sandwiches for breakfast. The parents’ task is to make sure that appliances are kidfriendly and easy to use so they can easily learn and help out.

Using all-in-one appliances like Samsung Smart Oven can make meal preparation times easier. This appliance functions as a convection oven and a microwave that can be used for baking, grilling, slim frying, defrosting, steaming, and even making yogurt. It also has auto cook functions that can easily be navigated by kids when they want to cook simple snacks like French fries, onion rings, and frozen pan pizza.

Creating routines for kids allows them to easily turn basic responsibilities to habits. For instance, making the bed after waking up, packing their lunch, transferring the leftover food in the refrigerator after dinner, or bringing down laundry hampers from their rooms.

There will always be an instance where one forgets to add last-minute dirty clothes in the washer, but worry not.

Samsung Front Load washer has an Add Wash and Eco Bubble technology that lets moms and dads add clothes anytime, and ensures all is clean with cleansing bubbles that penetrate fabrics faster than concentrated detergent.

Teach them to be well-rounded and independent

Everyone has their own way of doing things, and this also applies to children. Teaching them different chores (no matter how small) at home will help them develop real-life skills they can use later on in life. Guiding them with their everyday chores will make kids feel capable, responsible, and confident. Instilling these values will make them feel part of the team and encourage them to be good citizens.

SHOPPING

Miniso opens 100th branch VARIETY store Miniso marked a milestone before end of 2019 when it opened its 100th store in the Philippines on the lower ground floor of Estancia Mall.

The store opened with a Kagami Biraki ceremony with Miniso president Michael Hong leading the ceremonies together with assistant vice president for franchising John Agner, assistant vice president for merchandising Melody Hao, and country manager Hu An. Also gracing the ceremony were SM Retail director Ricky Lim joined by PLDTSmart first vice president Precy Katigbak and PLDT-Smart head of sales Alex Caeg.

Celebrities Rayver Cruz and Andrea Torres also attended as the event’s special guests.

Shoppers of Estancia Mall now have easy access to Miniso’s wide selection of creative and low-priced products ranging from Crea-

tive Home Necessities, Health and Beauty, Fashion Accessories, Stylistic Gifts, Office Supplies, Stationery Gifts, Seasonal Products, Boutique Package Decoration, Digital Accessories, and Food and Drink.

During the holidays, the 100th PH store also offered adorable gift ideas such as fluffy plush toys in Christmas-inspired symbols like the Christmas tree, Santa, Santa socks, reindeer, and gingerbread.

Holiday mugs, pastel-colored pouches, and tumblers are also ideal gifts for family and friends this Christmas season.

To date, Miniso has opened more than 2,100 stores around the world—the United States, Canada, Russia, Singapore, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, South Africa, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Holiday gifts and other fun items, including (from left) cuddly Christmas plush toys, We Bear Bears plush toys, pastel-colored tumblers, and fruit-inspired mugs, among others, are available at Miniso Estancia.

Miniso opens its 100th Philippine branch at Estancia Mall with a Kagami Biraki ceremony led

by Miniso president Michael Hong together with assistant vice president for franchising John Agner, assistant vice president for merchandising Melody Hao, and country manager Hu An. SM Retail director Ricky Lim, PLDT-Smart first vice president Precy Katigbak, PLDT-Smart head of sales Alex Caeg and celebrities Rayver Cruz and Andrea Torres also join the event.

Life

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

YOU BETTER WORK

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The right way to find jobs abroad

EW year, new job.

In hopes of landing great career opportunities and providing better lives for their families, aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) spend a hefty amount of money, do a lot of paperwork, and leave their loved ones back in the Philippines. However, not everyone is as lucky as they thought.

Many Filipinos hoping to a secure a job outside the country are deceived by unauthorized recruitment agencies— false documents, assigned with a different job from what was promised, and robbed of their hard-earned money.

To help more from becoming a victim of illegal recruitment, WorkAbroad.ph, the Philippines’ leading overseas job site, shares important reminders when looking for a job abroad.

Apply only at POEA-licensed recruitment agencies

First thing that a jobseeker has to check is if the agency they are dealing with is authorized by Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) to operate. Transact only with authorized representatives and agencies that have official job orders. The license number should be conspicuously displayed upon the entrance of the agency, if not, jobseekers may visit poea.gov.ph to verify if an agency is indeed licensed.

Alternatively, WorkAbroad.ph also generates the data from POEA under the “Validate POEA License” tool where users can verify if a particular agency Filipinos looking to land a job abroad are advised to apply the right way, such as opting for POEA-licensed recruitment agencies and accepting job offers that provide a work visa. is authorized.

Transact only within the registered business address

It is advised to not engage in any recruitment activities done in malls, residential areas, and restaurants outside their registered business address.

If recruitment is conducted in the province or during a job fair, aspiring OFWs should check if the agency has a Special Recruitment Authority or Job Fair Authority issued by POEA, or ask the Public Employment Service Office of the concerned LGU.

Be mindful of fees

Victims of illegal recruitments reportedly paid an exorbitant amount of money for placement and processing fees when they should not. WorkAbroad.ph reminds employees that a placement fee is only equivalent to one month’s salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs. Employers should also shoulder all the payments for visa, airfare, and processing costs. Most importantly, do not pay without signing a valid employee contract and official receipt.

‘The Clash’ winner welcomes 2020 in new home SECOND season winner of reality competition “The Clash” is welcoming the new year in his brand new house.

Dubbed as the “Pop Heartthrob from Imus,” Jeremiah Tiangco won a sleek and stylish house and lot unit from Bria Homes when he trumped 64 other clashers to snag the “The Clash Season 2” Grand Champion title on Dec. 15.

“The Clash,” which ran for 26 episodes in its second season, presented duet and solo numbers, including Tiangco’s powerful performances that impressed the judges—wellknown industry names such as Christian Bautista, Ai-Ai delas Alas, and Lani Misalucha.

Tiangco’s talent and grit won for him valuable prizes, including a Bettina End Unit from Bria Homes, the country’s fastest growing mass housing developer.

A 44-square-meter townhouse unit on a 36-square-meter lot, the two-story Bettina End Unit is one of the developer’s many options favored by prospective buyers. Other choices are Elyana, a 22-square-meter unit on a 36-squaremeter lot, and Alecza, a 36-square-meter unit on an 81-square-meter lot.

As a new Bria homeowner, Tiangco may look forward to the priceless joys of living in the community, where safety and security are ensured by guarded

Bria Homes president and chief operating officer Red Rosales hands over to Jeremiah Tiangco the symbolical key to a Bettina End Unit house and lot package he won.

entrances and exits, perimeter fences, and 24/7 CCTV cameras.

He can also enjoy recreational facilities (basketball courts and lush green spaces); access to schools, hospitals, churches, and commercial establishments; and proximity to various modes of public transport and major roads and highways.

‘The Clash Season 2’ grand champion receives his prizes that include cash and a house and lot.

Accept job offers with work visa

Many illegal recruitment agencies send Filipinos abroad only with a tourist visa. Prevent possible legal conflicts in other countries by only accepting job offers that provide work visa. Beware of unclear and unspecific job orders as it can also be a sign of an unauthorized recruitment.

Report an illegal recruiter immediately

cious or fail to meet the standards men- to POEA by calling 722-1144 or emailShould an agency seem to be suspi- tioned above, immediately report them ing info@poea.gov.ph.

Fun, prizes, financial literacy for overseas Filipino families

Pamaskong Handog is BDO’s way of giving back to overseas Filipino families by treating them to star-studded shows and prizes.

BDO together with SM Supermalls brought a one-of-a-kind Christmas celebration to overseas Filipinos and their families with star-studded Pamaskong Handog events.

Now in its eighth year, Pamaskong Handog presented separate events for OFWs and their families in Cebu, Davao, and Pampanga. The event is BDO’s way of giving back and recognizing overseas Filipino families for their trust and loyalty as BDO Kabayan Savings account holders.

BDO Kabayan Savings is BDO Remit’s flagship service, through which customers receive remittances in a fast, safe, and convenient manner. At the same time, they are entitled to unique and long-term benefits that aim to protect their future such as free life and accident insurance.

This year’s Pamaskong Handog final leg at SM City Telabastagan in San Fernando, Pampanga brought together some of the country’s biggest celebrities and performers featuring love team Xian Lim and Kim Chui, Ogie Alcasid, Dominic Roque, Mark Mabasa, Leah Patricio, Regine Velasquez-impersonator Regina Otic, as well as comedy stars Donita Nose, Ate Gay, and MC and Lassy.

“With many overseas Filipinos coming home during the holidays, we take the season as an opportunity to honor and pay tribute to their hard work and sacrifice to

BDO’s social media personality Boss Teteng holding a talk on financial education as part of OWWA’s Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar

care for their families even if it means being away from them and taking on unique jobs in other countries,” said Genie T. Gloria, senior vice president and head of remittance of BDO Unibank, Inc. Aside from the celebrity performances participants had the chance to win raffle prizes.

To honor overseas Filipinos and their families, BDO Unibank through its global remittance service brand, BDO Remit offers a financial literacy program.

Gloria said financial education is an invaluable gift to the OF market and their beneficiaries because there

will come a point where these workers abroad will return to their home country and choose to become entrepreneurs.

“Raising their financial knowledge should start at the onset, meaning, we teach them what they can do with their hard-earned money by allocating a portion to savings and looking for investments which can serve their long-term goals,” explained Gloria.

BDO Remit visits universities to teach young adults, whose parents may be an OF, to take care of the money remitted to them. It also does financial education activities in various barangays to orient people, particularly the unbanked, about the importance of being a part of the formal banking system.

“Apart from these efforts, we also continue to participate in the pre-departure orientation seminars done by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, by helping the departing OFs to have a better financial behavior,” noted Gloria.

Since starting the financial education advocacy in 2014, she said BDO Remit has noticed a significant improvement in the saving approach of the OFs as indicated by the growth in their monthly savings.

“They are saving more now and they know their priorities and goals. For us, this improvement is a testament that this advocacy of ours is working well for them,” added Gloria.

Entertainment

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 nickie.standard@gmail.com

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TRENDING MOMENTS

Topics that made Pinoy denizens active on Twitter

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WITTER has enabled Filipinos to know what’s happening right now and to spark meaningful conversations. In fact, most of the trending topics nowadays are heard first on Twitter. It allows people to discover their interests, as well as find new ones just by exchanging ideas with others, one Tweet at a time.

From discovering personal interests, sharing opinions, finding the latest news updates in sports or entertainment, and everything in between – conversations on Twitter plays a big part in shaping 2019. The topics on the platforms are so diverse that the top Tweets, mostdiscussed hashtags, and accounts this year will surely give you a myriad of reactions and will hopefully inspire you to be a part of the real-life conversations on Twitter.

love teams should never be missed.

Clinching the top three spot is #MayWard. Fans were very active in expressing their support for Maymay Entrata(@maymayentrata07) and Edward Barber’s (@Barber_ Edward_) countless projects and events.

Most Tweeted about hashtags in the Philippines The top hashtags that trended on Twitter revolved on one thing: entertainment. The show business took much of the conversations of Filipinos, proving that they’re avid fans of anything related to it - celebrities, television dramas, films, and movies.

Rising from fifth place last year, #MaineMendoza is the most Tweeted hashtag in Philippines this year. The phenomenal star continues to shine as her 2019 was loaded movie launches, drama performances, and brand endorsements. Her fans have been consistently very much active in expressing their fondness to Maine (@ mainedcm).

Filipinos were also quite interested in music as #DyisIsItManila trends in number two. It is a radio program that features the top 10 songs of the day.

Listeners could express their love for their favorite songs using this hashtag.

When we talk about entertainment, Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber join the most tweeted about accounts on the microblogging site. Their love team is also one of the top topics on social media conversation.

Most Tweeted about accounts in the Philippines Filipinos truly love their celebrities – and it shows on Twitter.

The most Tweeted about accounts for 2019 were dominated by various personalities from the Philippine entertainment scene. To no surprise, Maine Mendoza (@mainedcm) clinched this year’s highest place yet again, with a new movie and lots of other solo projects up her sleeve. Maymay Entrata (@maymayentrata07) comes in second, cementing her status as one of the most beloved people on Twitter. Other notable artists on the list are Kisses Delavin (@KissesDelavin), Alden Richards (@ aldenrichards02) and Edward Barber (@Barber_ Edward_) among others.

The Top Tweets in the Philippines Just like in real-life, one Tweet can change everything. On Twitter, a single Tweet can spark millions of smiles, tears, or even dose of inspiration for many people.

This year, a pair of sisters took over Twitter.

A Tweet became viral for its humorous appeal and it even skyrocketed the Twitter user into social media fame. Samantha Rubia’s (@sammirubia) video of her singing to woo her crush and pretending to have allergies became the most Retweeted Tweet with comment in Philippines for 2019.

Meanwhile, her sister Brianna (@briannarubia) Tweeted a video of Samantha (@sammirubia) as she sings her heart out to The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World.”

In this clip, we see another humorous take on how their parents show their appreciation and support to their daughter – making it the most Liked and most Retweeted Tweet in Philippines in 2019.

Most Tweeted about emojis in the Philippines Of course, a Tweet would not be complete without inserting an emoji that

Maine Mendoza is the rock star on Twitter Philippines in 2019

best visualizes your message.

Using emojis brings out a certain playfulness, makes the conversation more casual, and gives a better visual appeal to Tweets.

Interestingly, it seems like the Twitterverse got tons of laugh as the laughing emoji is the Top Emoji on the platform followed by a totally opposite crying face emoji. Coming on the third spot is the emoji that most fans use to express their love for their favorites: the heart eyes emoji.

These emojis are proof that conversations on Twitter are indeed diverse and that Filipinos couldn’t get enough of expressively show their emotions in a Tweet.

Can’t wait to talk about the top Tweets and most-discussed topics and accounts? Join the #ThisHappened2019 conversation on Twitter right now using any of the hashtags listed below and you’ll see a fun emoji in your Tweet.

Also check out the @TwitterPH Twitter account, as well as our Twitter accounts around the world which will be sharing inspiring #ThisHappened2019 moments to showcase the power of a single Tweet to spark authentic conversations among real people worldwide.

We’re celebrating these voices as their public conversations make Twitter, and the world a better place for all of us.

Kick-start 2020 with new exciting series from HBO, Warner TV HBO, home to the biggest and latest Hollywood blockbusters and award-winning HBO Originals, and Warner TV, the No. 1 general entertainment channel, are kick-starting the new year with exciting new and returning series this 2020.

This month, eight series will premiere across the respective WarnerMedia platforms – HBO Go, HBO and Warner TV, with many more highly-anticipated series premiering in the months to come.

The HBO Asia Original, Invisible Stories will premiere on Jan. 5 at 10:00 p.m. on HBO Go and HBO after making its rounds at international film festivals in Japan, Singapore, and Germany.

Starring Golden Horse Award winner Yeo Yann Yann, the series shines light into dark corners and tells untold stories from the heartlands in a fictional neighborhood housing estate in multicultural Singapore. Each episode follows one resident as he or she navigates through everyday life and its challenges.

For a dose of reality TV, watch magician Michael Carbonaro as he interacts with people at random public places and surprises them with his magic tricks and pranks in The Carbonaro Effect Special which premieres on Jan. 7 at 8:10 p.m. on Warner TV. On a more serious note, the HBO Original series, The Outsider, based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name, premieres same time as the U.S. on HBO Go and HBO on Jan. 13 at 10:00 a.m. with two back-to-back episodes. This brandnew drama series explores the investigation into the gruesome murder of a local boy and the mysterious force surrounding the case.

For comic book and superhero fans, the concluding two episodes of the highly-anticipated five-part Crisis on

The Arrowverse’s biggest crossover event, 'Crisis on Infinite Earths, 'continues with Part 4 featuring an episode from Arrow and Part 5 featuring an episode from 'DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow.'

'Invisible Stories' shines light into dark corners and tells untold stories from a fictional neighborhood housing estate in multi-cultural Singapore.

Infinite Earths crossover of DC superheroes series continues on Jan. 15 with Part 4: Arrow and Part 5: DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow premiering back-to-back at 9:00 p.m. and 9:50 p.m., respectively, on Warner TV, leading up to the season five premiere of DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, which will debut same day as the U.S. on Jan. 22 at 9:50 p.m. on Warner TV. For a night of laughs, two HBO Original comedy series will premiere back-to-back on Jan. 20 from 11:00 a.m. on HBO Go and HBO, starting with Avenue 5, set 40 years in the future and

stars Hugh Laurie as a space cruise ship captain, followed by the premiere of the tenth season of award-winning series Curb Your Enthusiasm starring Larry David at 11:30 a.m..

Wrapping up the month is the second installment of the anthology series, Miracle Workers: Dark Ages, which is slated to premiere same day as the U.S. on Jan. 29 at 10:40 p.m. on Warner TV. Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, the series centers upon a group of medieval villagers trying to stay positive in an age of extreme income inequality, poor healthcare, and widespread ignorance.

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

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Entertainment

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020

YUGEL LOSORATA

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ONGS like “Let It Go” and “How Far I’ll Go” provide Disney On Ice Live Your Dreams the empowering music it needs to push the premise that “no dream is too big when we find the strength to shape our own destiny.”

Daisy Ridley and John Boyega pose for the cameras upon arrival for the European premiere in London of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.'

‘Star Wars’ dominates box office for second straight weekend STAR Wars: The Rise of Skywalker continued to soar at North American theaters, taking $72.4 million over its second weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Monday.

The Disney film, marketed as a grand finale of the nine-film “Skywalker Saga,” drew mixed reviews and was down considerably from last weekend’s lofty $177.4 million opening. But it has compiled a strong domestic total of $362.2 million.

It maintained a big lead over the No. 2 film, Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level, an action sequel starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart, which had $35.3 million in North American ticket sales for the Friday-throughSunday period.

Also unchanged in third was

Disney’s Frozen II, with $16.9 million.

The animated musical film has Broadway star Idina Menzel voicing Queen Elsa in her latest adventures.

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women has been brought to the screen many times—no fewer than seven, by Variety’s count—but the new version from director Greta Gerwighas drawn strong reviews and netted $16.8 million to place fourth in its debut this weekend.

The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, and Laura Dern in the story of the joys and struggles of four sisters during the US Civil War. In fifth was new Fox/Disney release Spies in Disguise, at $13.4 million. The animated children’s film features the voices of Will Smith and Tom Holland. AFP

Ricky Gervais returns as Golden Globes host for 5th time THE awards season in 2020 kicks off with the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live on SKY on Monday, Jan. 6 at 9:00 a.m. with multiple Golden Globe winner and creator and star of The Office and Extras, Ricky Gervais resuming hosting duties for the fifth time.

Awards in 25 categories—14 in film and 11 in television—voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will be given.

Netflix goes into the awards with the most entries vying for the Best Motion Picture – Drama. The Irishman (Netflix), Marriage Story (Netflix), and The Two Popes (Netflix) are competing against 1917 (Universal), and Joker (Warner Bros.).

In the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category, slugging it out are Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix), Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight), Knives Out (Lionsgate), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony), and Rocketman (Paramount).

Meanwhile, Gervais’ return as host is set to bring the house down with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Loren-

zo Soria saying “when Ricky Gervais is at the helm of the Golden Globes Awards, we can always expect the unexpected.”

Gervais, who hosted the Golden Globes from 2010 to 2012 and in 2016, is widely considered the most influential British comedian since Charlie Chaplin. His live stand up show Fame is the fastest selling UK stand-up show in history. His most recent outing is the dark comedy After Life, which he created, directed, starred in and executive produced.

“Once again, they’ve made me an offer I can’t refuse. But this is the very last time I’m doing this, which could make for a fun evening,” said Gervais.

Also dubbed as “Hollywood’s Party of the Year,” The Golden Globe Awards is one of the biggest live events on television and will air on Blue Ant Entertainment channel.

Catch all the glitz and glamour on SKYcable HD 196 and SD 53 in Mega Manila; HD 739, SD 616 in Regional areas; and on SKYdirect Ch 35 nationwide. The show will also be available for livestreaming to SKYcable subscribers via via SKY’s online streaming service app, SKY on Demand.

While it’s primarily a showcase of popular Disney characters, state-of-the-art set design, and high-caliber figure skating, the show is blessed with great music that brings life to its visuals beyond what the eyes could see.

The Mall of Asia Arena crowd watching that last Sunday of 2019, with me enjoying the experience from PLDT-Smart Suite 325, held its breath as a lone performer glided around the iced floor to the tune of Idina Menzel’s instant classic song from Frozen.

Something in the Queen Elsa song makes you feel both inspired and mistyeyed. No wonder it was one of last decade’s most admired tunes.

Arguably, the theme from the 2016 animated feature film Moana sung

by American actress-singer Auli’l Cravalho was not as effective. But nevertheless, it is nearly as powerful.

Thanks to a chorus melody that moves forward like a boat sailing through beautiful waters.

Digging deeper, Moana’s soundtrack has something more to offer than a let-itgo attempt. Who wouldn’t be amused by the track “You’re Welcome,” sung by, yes you guessed it, Dwayne Johnson who voiced out the likably big bod-demigod Maui? If one would observe The Rock was keeping the Filipino audience thrilled and in celebratory mood while waiting for the program to begin, with his song’s embracingly upbeat jive and simply infectious hook line.

Prior to Disney On Ice delivering its cool, globally loved kind of entertainment here in Manila, producer Nicole Feld was quoted as saying, “Each section of the show was carefully selected to immerse families in an array of beloved stories that they have grown and loved.”

Exactly, that was delightfully delivered, backed by stunningly vibrant visuals and mesmerizing music.

Hearing the unforgettable Alan Menken tune “Beauty and the Beast,” even without hearing its famous tale-asold-as-time lyric, was enough to keep your heart in love mode. It reminded you that music is one of Disney’s strengths. So much so that people were singing along with Miguel from Coco “as he strums his guitar, knowing that as long as there is music, love will never fade.”

Other show plots included Rapunzel teaming up with Flynn Rider as she embarks on realizing her own dream, and Cinderella, with a little help from friends, determinedly trying to “make the wish in her heart come true.”

Originally called Walt Disney’s World On Ice and first introduced to the public nearly 40 years ago, this series of touring ice shows, produced by Feld Entertainment’s Ice Follies and Holiday On Ice, Inc. will make stops at Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore early this new year.

The good-size crowd at MOA Arena indicated that Filipino audiences won’t get enough of its lovable characters led by Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. The show’s run, which started Dec. 21, ends this Sunday, Jan. 5. That’s cool music on ice.

Miguel from 'Coco'

Mini Mouse

English stand-up comedian Ricky Gervais

Moana and Maui

Beauty and the Beast