Manila Standard - 2021 August 1 - Sunday

Petecio, Obiena move a step toward another Olympic gold n By Riera Mallari

TOKYO—Two Filipino athletes from different disciplines started on the wrong foot, but finished with a flourish, assuring the Philippines of a silver medal in one and a chance to go for the gold in the other at the Summer Olympic Games here on Saturday.

Behind in all the scorecards of the boxing judges after the first round, Nesthy Petecio picked up the aggression several notches in the last two rounds to hammer out a 4-1 win against Italy’s Irma Testa in the women’s feather (54-57kg) semifinal boxing match at the Kokugikan Arena.

Ernest John Obiena, on the other hand, bucked two foul jumps and

leaped 5.75 meters to advance to the finals of the men’s pole vault at the Tokyo National Stadium.

Petecio trailed by 9-10 in the scorecards of all of the five judges after the first round, but none from the Philippine Team felt the need to panic.

“Hindi po ako na-down noong sinabi na nilang lamang si Testa.

Nagdasal po ako at sinabi ko na para sa akin ito, ibibigay niyo ito, Lord,” a smiling Petecio told Filipino sports scribes at the mixed zone.

Like a switch that was finally turned on, Petecio was a completely different fighter in the succeeding rounds as she attacked the taller Italian from all angles and connected with haymakers that rattled her foe, the champion of the 2021 Box-Am Tournament in Castellon de la Plana, Spain.

MEDAL TALLY COUNTRY

1. CHI 2. JAP 3. USA 4. ROC 5. AUS

21 17 16 11 10

40. PHI

13 5 17 15 3

12 8 13 11 14

46 30 46 37 27

1 0 0 1

CONTINUED ON 2A

(Right) Nesthy Petecio (red) pummels Italy’s Irma Testa in the women’s feather (54-57kg) semi-final boxing match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena on July 31, 2021.

(Lower right) Carlo Paalam (red) defeats Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi with a 5-0 decision in their men’s fly (48-52kg) preliminary round of 16 boxing match to move to the quarterfinals. (Above) EJ Obiena advances to the men’s pole vault final after clearing 5.75 meters in his final attempt. AFP

Vol. 35 35 n No.167 No.167

2 SECTIONS

AUGUST 1, 2021 8 PAGES

18 .00

IN MET R MANILAO

BORDER CONTROLS UP IN NCR PLUS TODAY

‘The war ECQ won’t stop has changed’ Delta spread: DOH Fully-vaxxed spread Delta as easily as unvaxxed

HE Department of Health yesterday admitted the two-week hard lockdown starting Aug. 6 will not stop the spread of Delta strain – even seeing active cases in Metro Manila alone jumping to 30,000 – but said heightened restrictions would help the health system prepare for the surge.

“In our scenarios, we see an increase in the number of active cases from at least 18,000 to 30,000 plus cases assuming that we are already in ECQ [Enhanced Community Quarantine],” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

“The lockdowns will help us prepare the health system but it is not going to control the spread,” she added.

As of July 30, the number of active cases in Metro Manila stood at 12,108.

The country logged 8,147 new cases Saturday, the second straight day that fresh COVID infections breached the 8,000-mark. This brought the total number of cases to 1,588,965, with 60,887 active cases and 167 new fatalities.

Border controls in NCR-Plus

TSUPERHERO.

At least a thousand drivers and transportation workers receive life-saving COVID-19 vaccines at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchangeduring the launch of ‘Tsuperhero Kasangga sa Resbakuna’ on Saturday, July 31, 2021. The Department of Transportation aims to vaccinate at least 5,000 drivers and transportation workers. DANNY PATA

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the Philippine National Police will put up border controls in the NCR-Plus region (Metro Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal) at 12 a.m. Sunday to ensure that only authorized persons can cross borders.

The quarantine border controls will restrict travel a week before the capital goes under ECQ, the strictest lockdown level, for a third time since the pandemic was declared in March last year.

Año said the PNP will only recognize pandemic task force IDs upon entry and exit in borders. Cargo vehicles will be allowed to travel, especially those carrying essential goods such as food.

CONTINUED ON 2A

THE race for vaccines to triumph over variants appeared to suffer a blow as the US Centers for Disease Control released an analysis that found fully immunized people with so-called breakthrough infections of the Delta variant can spread the disease as easily as unvaccinated people.

While the jabs remain effective against severe disease and death, the US government agency said in a leaked internal CDC document “the war has changed” as a result of Delta.

An analysis of a superspreading event in the northeastern state of Massachusetts found three-quarters of the people sickened were vaccinated, according to a report the CDC published Friday.

The outbreak related to July 4 festivities, with the latest number of people infected swelling to 900, according to local reports.

The findings were used to justify a return to masks for vaccinated people in high-risk areas.

CONTINUED ON 2A

COVID-19 PH AT

A

GLANCE

1,588,965 8,147

60,887

27,889

167

1,500,189

9,117

New

I

N

S

I

D

E

Business ...................................................

Sports ...........................................................

Entertainment ................................

Pets...................................................................

A4 B1 B3 B4

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

Big-time LPG price hike set at P36.85/11-kg tank—Petron

NEWS | 2A

Philtwitter.com/ MlaStandard

manilastandard.net

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Death

Recoveries

Active

New New

(AS OF 4 PM, JULY 31) Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net

AUGUST 1, 2021

Big-time LPG price hike: P36.85/11-kg tank THE price of liquefied petroleum gas products will increase by at least P3.35 per kilogram today (Aug. 1, 2021), Petron said in an advisory Saturday.

The price hike will translate into an additional P36.85 for an 11-kg tank.

Petron said its AutoLPG prices will also increase by eP1.87 per

liter. “[The price adjustments] reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of August,” the oil firm said.

The LPG Dealers Association earlier announced prices of LPG could go up by P2 per kg today (Sunday). The group warned increases could continue until De-

Carpio: Conduct joint patrols with ASEAN

Filipinos still barred from entering Japan THE entry of Filipinos to Japan remains prohibited by the Japanese government, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Tokyo said.

Labor Attache Marie Rose Escalada said travel restrictions are still in effect against over 150 nations, including the Philippines.

“For inbound (passengers), the Japanese government is implementing border restrictions.

Unfortunately, there are 154 countries as of July 2021. Unfortunately, the Philippines is included,” she said in a virtual forum.

However, she said there are no restrictions in place for outbound passengers.

Escalada said those going back to the Philippines are reminded to follow the strict protocols set by the government and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Escalada said there are around 24,550 Filipino workers in Tokyo as of June.

The majority of the workers or 49.6 percent are trainees under Technical Intern Training Program (TITP); professionals, 30.3 percent; workers under designated activities visa, 16.2 percent, while the rest are skilled workers, overseas performing artists, and healthcare workers.

“Under professionals, these are our engineers, professors, information technology workers, and interpreters. For the designated activities visa, it has a wide category, it includes household service workers, shipbuilders, construction workers, and HSWs for diplomats, among others” she said.

cember.

Data from the Department of Energy showed the retail prices of an 11-kilogram household LPG tank range between P720 and P981 as of July.

On July 27, oil firms implemented a rollback that put an end to nine weeks of consecutive increases.

n By KRISTINE AGUSTIN and ANTOINETTE CAPUZ

ORMER Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio has urged the government to forcefully assert the arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s massive nine-dash line claim in the West Philippine Sea.

DRIVE-THRU JAB. A health worker administers the first dose of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to residents of Manila inside their vehicle on the first day of the drive-thru jabs along in front of the Quirino Grandstand on July 31, 2021.

DANNY PATA

“The non-nuclear armed winning state cannot expect the losing nuclear-armed state to just roll over and comply [with the] issue on the arbitral award.

The winning state must be prepared to conduct [a] worldwide public relations campaign,” Carpio said during the 4th International Conference on the South China Sea. To strongly enforce the CARPIO ruling to China, Carpio said the Philippines should join Freedom of Navigation Operations by US naval forces and its allies to refute China’s claim that there are no exclusive economic zones of coastal states.

He said the country should likewise conduct joint patrols with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) coastal states and file an Extended Continental shelf claim on the South China Sea to manifest the country’s EEZ. “There are really many ways to enforce a ruling without the cooperation of China.

China doesn’t have to agree because this can be done unilaterally by the coastal states,” Carpio said.

During his final State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte said he asserted the arbitral ruling “clearly and with no uncertain terms” at the ASEAN and the United Nations General Assembly even as he admitted the arbitral ruling cannot be enforced.

“What will I do with a document that does not bind China because they are not part of that arbitration? There was no arbitration at all,” Duterte said.

“Do you want war against China? It will be a massacre if I go and fight now.

We are not yet a competent and able enemy for the other side,” the commander-in-chief added.

But Carpio said ordinary Filipinos must take part in asserting the arbitral award.

“Our sovereign rights are not for sale [in exchange for] donations from China. Our sovereign rights to our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea belong exclusively to the sovereign Filipino people,” he said.

FromtheFRONTPAGE ECQ...

Unauthorized persons will be barred from passing checkpoints and ordered to return home.

“The implementation of strict border controls in the NCR Plus areas is critical to stopping the spread of the Delta variant,” Año said.

The Metro Manila Council will leave it up to the local government units whether or not to require quarantine passes, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos said.

4 million life-saving jabs for NCR

lion families in Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental that were placed under ECQ will receive case assistance of up to P4,000.

The financial assistance shall be released by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to the cities and municipalities under ECQ to provide emergency relief assistance to affected families.

Each of the beneficiary families shall receive P1,000 for each member, with a maximum amount of P4,000 per family.

WILLIE CASAS and MARICEL CRUZ

PETECIO...

Local governments in Metro Manila, home to 13 million residents, will be given at least 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses once ECQ takes effect, National Task Force against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Sec. Vince Dizon said.

“We will also give 2.5 million doses to the provinces covered

by NCR Plus,” Dizon said.

NCR Mayors have committed to continue with their target of 250,000 vaccinations a day during the two-week ECQ, Abalos said.

1m families to get ayuda

Meanwhile, more than one mil-

The electrifying show in the second allowed Petecio to obliterate Testa’s advantage in a flash with her own 10-9 score from all the judges, setting up the stage for a winner-takes-all Round 3.

“Noong mga sumunod na rounds, lagi po akong lumalapit, pinapasok ko po talaga siya. Kinukuha ko po siya sa speed, sa lakas ko, kasi alam ko na mas malakas po ako sa kanya,” said Petecio, who continued the calculated aggression in the third.

Four judges saw the third in favor of Petecio (10-9), with only the fifth judge, Manuel Vilarino of Argentina, seeing it other-

wise.

Petecio will face either Kariss Artingstall of Great Britain or Sena Irie of Japan in the gold-medal match. The 29-yearold 2019 SEA Games featherweight titlist has already beaten Irie and Artingstall in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, on her way to the gold in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Russia.

“It means a lot to me po, kasi it (Olympics) is my father’s dream, and my dream also. This win is not only for me but also for my family, and to Filipinos, who prayed for me. I won this fight because I believed in God, I believed that He will help me,” said Petecio, turning serious and fighting to hold back her tears this time.

With his nerves nearly getting the best of him, Obiena was still able to match the leap of world no. 1 and record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, no. 3 Piotr Lisek of Poland, no. 4 Renaud Lavillenie of France, no. 5 Christopher Nilsen of the United States and no. 7 Thiago Braz of Brazil, the Rio Olympic champion in his third attempt after two failed tries to clinch a seat in the Aug. 3, 14man final round, where he is the only Asian to qualify.

“I was just feeling very sluggish, which is really strange. I didn’t feel like myself until the bar

moved at 5.75m at first attempt,” said the world no. 6 Obiena, who couldn’t explain his feeling of lethargy.

Obiena started the competition by easily clearing 5.5 meters and then 5.6 before nerves nearly got the best of him when the bar was raised at 5.75.

Obiena’s personal best was the Philippine record of 5.87 meters he achieved at the Irena Szwewinska Memorial/Bydgoszcz Cup in Poland, but he will need to jump at least 6 meters against the championship field, which has five members of the elite “6-Meter Club” in Braz (6.03), Lavillenie (6.16), Lightfoot (6.0), Duplantis (6.18) and Lisek (6.02).

Meanwhile, Carlo Paalam moved near-effortlessly to the quarterfinals of the men’s flyweight 48-52kg boxing division with a 5-0 decision over Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi.

Now standing in the way of Paalam and a shot at the bronze medal is the division’s top seed, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, who defeated Daniel David Varela de Pina Cape Verde, 5-0, in the preceding Round of 16 bouts.

Golfer Juvic Pagunsan slipped further at 55th spot following a five-over 76, 16 shots off American leader Xander Schauffeleat the Kosumigaseki Country Club,

some 46 kilometers away northwest of Tokyo.

THE WAR...

“As a vaccinated person, if you have one of these breakthrough infections, you may have mild symptoms, you may have no symptoms, but based on what we’re seeing here you could be contagious to other people,” Celine Gounder, an infectious diseases physician and professor at New York University, told AFP. As transmissible as chickenpox According to the leaked CDC document, a review of findings from other countries showed that while the original SARS-CoV-2 was as contagious as the common cold, each person with Delta infects on average eight others, making it as transmissible as chickenpox but still less than measles.

Reports from Canada, Scotland and Singapore suggest Delta infections may also be more severe, resulting in more hospitalizations.

China raced Saturday to contain its worst coronavirus outbreak in months, as health officials blamed the Delta variant for a surge in infections spanning 14 provinces.

“The main strain circulating at present is the Delta variant... which poses an even greater challenge to virus prevention and control work,” Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health Commission (NHC), said at a press briefing. AFP

Rolando G. Estabillo can be accessed at: manilastandard.net Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

MEMBER Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

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

Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares Jimbo Owen Gulle

Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor City Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Publisher Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Lino M. Santos Chief Photographer Elmer T. Alitagtag Art Director

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

WORLD

A PASTA order comes in and the robotic arm springs into action at the Roboeatz eatery in Riga. After five minutes of gyrations, a piping hot plate is ready.

The Riga cafe, located under a crumbling concrete bridge, is designed in such a way that customers can observe the robotic arm at work.

It also has a seating area, although most customers prefer take away since vaccination certificates are required to be able to eat indoors in Latvia.

A Roboeatz app allows customers to order and pay for their dish before picking it up at the cafe.

“The food tasted better than I expected!” said customer Iveta Ratinika, a teacher and a member of the Latvian capital’s education board.

Ratinika said she would encourage schoolchildren to come and observe the robotic arm in action and mused that there could be robots working at the school cafeteria within “a few years.”

Roboeatz was set up in January 2018

by Konstantins Korcjomkins and Janis Poruks, who have been running the Woki Toki fast food chain in Latvia since 2009.

Their aim? To revolutionize the fast food industry.

“This robot replaces four to six human employees, reducing labour costs significantly,” said Poruks, who has a background in engineering.

But he stressed that the introduction of such robots would not push up unemployment rates since “people are not lining up to flip burgers.”

“The robot will not replace people who are willing to have a career in restaurants and catering, becoming chefs or other food celebrities. The robot will take those low-paid jobs which most people already do not want,” he said.

Automated kitchen technology has been gaining interest in recent years, and that has been accelerated by the pandemic.

At a newly opened eatery in Paris, customers can watch robots build, bake and box up pizzas at a rate of up to 80 an hour.

In the US, a robot named “Sally” belonging to the startup Chowbotics can whip up salads sold through a vending machine.

And, for the ultimate household luxury, a UK-based company last year unveiled a fully robotic kitchen that will set customers back a minimum of $347,000.

The designers of Roboeatz say it is designed to take over some of the food prep tasks while improving food safety and eliminating the infection risks of crowded kitchens.

During a visit by AFP this week, the robotic arm was programmed to make three different pasta dishes.

Its creators say it can be programmed to make hundreds of recipes, taking into account the owner’s favourites and food allergies.

“The robotic arm actually makes the least trouble of all, we just programme it to do what we need,” said Korcjomkins.

“The real challenge is to design and invent an entire kitchen around the robot, which should contain all the food ingredients, spices, sauces, rotating pots for boiling and frying,” he said.

The co-founders said the robotic arm would pay for itself within two years at most.

“On average in the European Union, one employee in the kitchen costs the company around 16 euros ($19) an hour, which includes salary, taxes, insurance, training and everything else,” said Poruks.

“The robot does not need health insurance, its kids cannot get sick, it does not go on vacation or maternity leave, it does not complain and it cannot bring Covid from home to work,” he said.

The company has big expansion plans with sales offices in Canada and the United States and a technical team in Riga to programme the robots.

The technology was shown off earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in the US. The co-founders said they were unconcerned about competition from similar robots, such as the pizza-making one in France.

“Our robot is designed to do more tasks and jobs than just making pizza.

Our goal is to create a robot that can be useful for many kinds of foods, cuisines and dishes,” said Korcjomkins.

“Hopefully a robot in the kitchen will become as popular as electric cars!” AFP

AUGUST 1, 2021

In this file photo, an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is projected on a screen during a night-time demonstration by protesters against the military coup in Yangon. This August 1, 2021 marks six months since Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Aung San, was detained in a coup by the military her father created, setting off a bloody crackdown that has killed hundreds. AFP

An employee picks up a bowl with a pasta dish after preparation with the help of a robot at the Roboeatz eatery in Riga. A pasta order comes in and the robotic arm springs into action.

A Roboeatz app allows customers to order and pay for their dish before picking it up at the cafe. AFP

Kitchen robot in Riga cooks up new future for fast food

WORLDBRIEFS

after the coup?

YANMAR has endured six months of turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and ended the country’s decade-old experiment with democracy.

The junta has consolidated its position after a lethal crackdown on street protests, which have continued in a limited form despite the violence.

Here’s a look at the current state of play inside Myanmar:

What’s happened since the coup?

The military has killed almost 1,000 people in a running crackdown on dissent, a local monitoring group says, with thousands more arrested.

Tens of thousands of civil servants and other workers have either been sacked for joining protests or are still on strike in support of a nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

A coronavirus outbreak has overwhelmed the healthcare system, with many hospitals empty due to a work boycott by pro-democracy medical staff.

“The country has fallen into chaos and is close to complete collapse,” Manny Maung of Human Rights Watch told AFP.

Are people still protesting?

Yes, but in nothing like the numbers seen in February and March, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets around the country.

Young demonstrators in the commercial capital Yangon hold regular morning flash mobs, jogging through the streets to chant slogans and sometimes set off flares.

But even these are getting more and more dangerous – police informers are always on the lookout, and protesters have been snatched by plainclothes officers.

Is anyone fighting back?

Several of Myanmar’s powerful ethnic rebel groups opposed the coup and have since clashed with the military.

Fighters from the Karen National Union – which has offered shelter to fleeing dissidents –

attacked and razed a military base in May. Another group near the Chinese border has also fought sporadic battles against the armed forces.

The junta hit back at both with air strikes.

Civilian guerilla groups have also taken on the military in urban neighbourhoods, often with rudimentary or homemade weapons and almost no training.

What has the international community done?

The United States, European Union and United Kingdom have ramped up sanctions on the junta and business linked to the military.

But the generals are used to international isolation after weathering sanctions during a previous military regime.

UN experts have accused the junta of committing crimes against humanity but has so far only imposed a non-binding resolution to “prevent the flow of arms” into Myanmar.

Women are ferried on a canoe through the Lokoli forest. Named after the Hlan river which crosses it, the forest has more than 241 plant and 160 animal species, including the rare red-bellied monkey, the swamp mongoose and the sitatunga. AFP

THE United States seized a Singapore-owned oil tanker that was used to make illegal oil deliveries to North Korea, the Justice Department said.

A New York federal judge issued a judgment of forfeiture authorizing the United States to take ownership of the M/T Courageous, which is currently in Cambodia.

The ship, which has a capacity of 2,734 tons, was purchased by Singaporean national Kwek Kee Seng, who remains at large, according to a Justice Department statement.

“Kwek and his co-conspirators engaged in an extensive scheme to evade... US and UN sanctions by using vessels under their control to covertly transport fuel to North Korea,” the statement said.

From August to December 2019, the Courageous would illegally stop transmitting its location information. Satellite imagery showed that during that time, the tanker engaged in ship-to-ship transfers of more than $1.5 million worth of oil to a North Korean ship.

The Department has accused Kwek of trying to hide the scheme by using shell companies, lying to international shipping authorities and falsely identifying the Courageous to avoid detection.

Kwek has been charged with conspiracy to evade economic sanctions on North Korea and money laundering conspiracy.

Cambodian authorities seized the tanker in March 2020 on a US warrant and have held the Courageous there since.

The US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York filed a civil forfeiture action against the tanker on April 23.

Relations between Washington and Pyongyang are strained, with North Korea’s foreign minister in June ruling out any talks with the United States, saying such dialogue would “get us nowhere.”

Negotiations between the two countries have long been stalled over the international sanctions imposed on the nuclear-armed state and what North Korea should give up in return for their lifting. AFP

What has happened to Aung San Suu Kyi?

Suu Kyi, 76, has barely been seen since the generals ousted her government and placed her under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw.

They later brought an eclectic mix of charges against her, including illegally importing walkie-talkies and flouting coronavirus restrictions.

She could face over a decade in jail if convicted on all counts.

What does the future hold?

Backed by allies Russia and China, and outgunning pro-democracy protesters and rebel groups, the junta looks to have consolidated its position despite continuing resistance to military rule.

It has claimed plans to stage new elections at an unspecified point in the future. AFP

Benin’s rare swamp forest ‘at risk of disappearing’ IN THE freshwater swamp forest of Hlanzoun in southern Benin, majestic trees hum with chirping birds and playful monkeys.

Home to once bustling flora and fauna, experts now warn that the fragile environment, one of the last of its kind in the West African country and accessible only by canoe, is at risk of disappearing.

The 3,000 hectares of forest, which takes its name from the river Hlan, is home to 241 plant and 160 animal species including the rare red-bellied monkey, the marsh mongoose and the sitatunga, a swamp-dwelling antelope.

Perched at the top of a gigantic tree squawks a hornbill – a big bird known for its long, down-curved and colourful bill, similar to toucans.

“Hornbills feed on insects and fruits. They like to follow monkeys around because they force insects to come out when they move around, making it easier for hornbills to catch,” explained Vincent Romera, a French ornithologist and photographer.

With his binoculars, Romera admires a family of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, while keeping a clear distance.

“The animals here have become fearful,” he says. He’s considering using camera traps to try to photograph them, but also to count

US seizes tanker used to deliver oil to N. Korea

the forest’s animal population.

“The numbers are in free-fall,” he says.

Sometimes, the forest’s noisy concert is interrupted by gun shots, he says, probably from poachers.

Communities living around the forest “need money, so those who can shoot go and kill animals,” explained Roger Hounkanrin, a local tourist guide.

Despite steady economic growth in recent years, poverty is widespread in Benin, especially in rural areas, and 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line according to World Bank data.

On the side of the road that lines Hlanzoun forest, lizards, crocodiles and snakes killed by hunters are sold and bought. Monkeys, too, are sometimes sold for meat.

But even more than poaching, excessive logging threatens the forest.

Between 2005 and 2015, Benin’s forest cover was slashed by more than 20 percent according to the World Bank, and the deforestation rate continues to be high at 2.2 percent annually.

Trees are cut down for firewood, and the fermented sap of palm trees is used to make a local alcohol, sodabi.

The damaging practice of slash-

and burn agriculture has also become more prevalent, warned Josea Dossou Bodjrenou, director of Nature Tropicale, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works on environmental issues in Benin.

The destruction of the forest habitat reduces areas where animals can thrive, forcing them towards farms to find food and exposing them to poachers.

“This is a location that is at risk of disappearing,” said local agricultural economist Judicael Alladatin.

“It’s a poor area and we can’t blame people for wanting to feed themselves,” Alladatin said, urging authorities “to create conditions for alternative sources of income.”

The government does not officially recognise Hlanzoun forest despite lobbying efforts of several NGOs and scientific papers on the forest since 2000.

But it has started to recognize the importance of safeguarding forests in general, according to the World Bank, with recently updated forest policy and tax systems.

In Hlanzoun, the state “must act quickly” said Bodjrenou, and “support forest communities so that they can continue to make profit... but in a different way” by developing agriculture, trade and sustainable tourism. AFP

MARTINE MOISE

Slain Haiti leader’s wife says killers left her for dead THE wife of Haiti’s murdered president, seriously wounded in the very attack that killed her husband, listened in terror as the gunmen ransacked their home, she said in her first interview since the assassination.

The killers eventually found what they were looking for in president Jovenel Moise’s residence, and made cursory efforts on their way out to see if first lady Martine Moise was still alive.

“When they left, they thought I was dead,” she told the New York Times in an interview published Friday, weeks after the July 7 assassination that heaped a fresh crisis on the fragile Caribbean nation.

She survived and was rushed for emergency treatment to the United States, where she spoke to the newspaper while flanked by security guards, diplomats and family.

Martine is left wondering what happened to the 30 to 50 men usually posted to guard her husband at the house. None of those guards were killed, or even wounded.

“Only the oligarchs and the system could kill him,” she said.

Haitian police have arrested the head of Jovenel Moise’s security, as well as some 20 Colombian mercenaries, over the plot they say was organized by a group of Haitians with foreign ties.

Jovenel Moise had been ruling the impoverished and disaster-plagued nation by decree, as gang violence spiked and COVID-19 spread.

His widow told the New York Times that the couple had been asleep when the sound of gunfire woke them.

He called his security team for help, but soon the killers were shooting in the bedroom. She was struck in the hand and elbow.

As she lay bleeding, her husband dead or dying in the same room, she felt like she was suffocating because her mouth was so full of blood.

The killers spoke only Spanish – Haiti’s languages are Creole and French – and were communicating by phone with someone while they carried out the attack.

She said she doesn’t know what the assassins took, but that it came from a shelf where her husband kept his files.

Martine Moise wants the killers to know she is not afraid and is seriously considering a run for the presidency once she is healthy.

“I would like people who did this to be caught, otherwise they will kill every single president who takes power,” she said. “They did it once. They will do it again.” AFP

Largest telco-neutral data center in PH opens

MVP and Landco lead rebuilding of tourism

AUGUST 1, 2021

n By OTHEL V. CAMPOS BEE Information Technology PH Inc. opened the Philippines’s largest telco-neutral data center which consists of 3,000 racks spread across three floors of a building in Pasig City.

The center offers telco-grade and tailored services to companies. Beeinfotech PH’s objective is to propel the digital transformation of businesses by delivering resilient and flexible IT solutions.

“Founded in 2020, we entered the market with modern ideas towards radical changes that will propel businesses and help shape the course of digital transformation in the Philippines. Our affiliation with a network of data centers in the region enables us to serve as the gateway to Asia to access global technologies and make it within reach to the local market,” said Beeinfotech PH president and chief executive ReyRey naldo Huergas.

The data center’s entry in local colocation and data management space is most opportune as many companies are focused on meeting the increased demand in digital solusolu tions brought by the COVID-19 panpan demic. The center was responsive to the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s efforts to accelerate the digitalization of government agencies while pushing for the same in the private sector to streamline processes and improve delivery of services.

“The ongoing pandemic has pushed companies and even the government to bolster their digital infrastructure and integrate more digital-based solutions to protect employees and better serve customers and the citizens. However, this endeavor can be difficult in the face of the economic impact of the pandemic and the increasing complexity in managing IT infrastructure.

Our data center facility assists businesses in their digital transformation efforts by delivering critical IT management expertise and solutions that, once outsourced, can propel businesses further in their growth and development even in these difficult times,” Huergas said.

According to a report from Grand View Research, maintaining one’s own data center facility and scaling up of infrastructure to accommodate bigger volume of data are among the growth factors for sustaining the growth of the colocation industry.

Read more online

Beeinfotech PH president and CEO Reynaldo Huergas

1Export, a multi-awarded start-up, expects to hit P500-million revenue mark in the next 18 months.

startup

eyes P500-m n By Othel V. Campos

revenue

1Export co-founder and CEO Mel Nava

OGISTICS consolidator 1Export, a multi-awarded start-up, is optimistic about hitting the P500-million revenue mark in the next 18 months following its highly successful performance in 2020, when every digital enterprise quantum-leaped into the future of e-commerce.

Having found its way into helping micro, small and medium enterprises in the Philippines reach more markets, 1Export plans to reach 60 countries by the end of 2022 and expand the number of MSMEs it is working with to 3,000.

1Export is a tech-en“We enable Filipino abled exporting comthat provides a entrepreneurs to pany one-stop end-to-end achieve just that— exporting platform to It aims to instead of spending businesses. establish a low-barrier so much time and trading environment that operates effort learning about globally seamlessly and efficientthe complexities of ly with all businesses in all countries. importing in different It landed a financing countries, they can deal with Iterative VC, an angel funder and start-up focus on the core enabler based, for its first business activities funding round in 2021.

1Export considered this an that will enable them opportunity to expand its and realize company to scale.” reach targets.

Founded in 2016, 1Export promises to help MSMEs in the Philippines to grow their business and expand to different countries using digital tools and platforms. The company now has markets in the US, Australia, Canada, UAE, Kuwait, UK and more.

What makes the company unique is that it’s more than just an e-commerce or logistic platform. 1Export takes third-party exporting to the next level by vetting local products to be cross-border compliant, allowing local businesses to follow the laws of the market they want to explore or expand to.

Compliance is often one of the most difficult steps to accomplish when

expanding to other countries with different policies and laws, so having a reliable partner to handle export compliance can lift some burden off of the shoulders of Filipino business owners, said 1Export co-founder and chief executive Mel Nava.

“When you’re a business owner, you want to be working ‘on’ your business rather than ‘in’ your business as the saying goes. We enable Filipino entrepreneurs to achieve just that―instead of spending so much time and effort learning about the complexities of importing in different countries, they can focus on the core business activities that will enable them to scale,” she said.

1Export offers all-around exporting services, covering compliance documentation, product labeling, logistics, export facilitation, and marketing services.

The company also provides clients with intensive business matching services to determine which of their products fit certain markets.

By doing so, local businesses can seamlessly expand abroad, boost their brand awareness, reach their target market and grow sales. Through its comprehensive services, 1Export has been able to reduce time and costs by 80 percent for exporting.

Caravan by 1Export provides aspiring Filipinos entrepreneurs living or working abroad a catalogue of unique and authentic Filipino products―ranging from food to clothing to beauty products―which they can choose from to start their own business where they are. If entrepreneurs want to sell items not available on the catalogue, Caravan by 1Export is ready to assist them in finding their preferred goods, as long as they’re export-compliant.

AS THE global travel industry faces the adverse effects of the health crisis, Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of the MVP Group of Companies, believes in the resilience of Filipinos and leads the rebuilding of the country’s tourism competitiveness through Landco Pacific Corp.

MVP’s trust in the Filipinos’ capability to rise above the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted when he provided security and care for 153 employees of Landco and pushed forward with the planned developments that would positively impact Philippine tourism.

“It is an honor and privilege to be given the opportunity to help MVP turn his vision of rebuilding a stronger tourism industry into reality through Landco’s revolutionary concept of leisure tourism estates,” said Landco president and chief executive Erickson Manzano.

“With the company’s legacy of pioneering premium landscapes for more than 30 years, Landco innovates with destiits LTE as tourism and lifestyle desti nations, offering a wide array of resort amenities in idyllic beachside locales that have a thriving connection to the community,” Manzano said.

“Property owners have the immense opportunity of building their dream beach homes, availing of the LTE’s resort living amenities and opting to start a new business of their own that reflects their passion and caters to the projtourism market. Through these proj ects, Landco helps promote Philippine tourism and jumpstart local businesses,” he said.

Landco’s latest LTEs are master-planned developments with mixed-use residential and commercial lots, situated in the tourist destination of Batangas including the 24-hectare Club Laiya and 15-hectare CaSoBē as well as Samal Island, Davao.

These properties promote the quality of leisure tourism experience in their locality and highlight the three main principles of sustainable tourism: economic, environment and socio-cultural sustainability.

Jobs for locals

The newly-launched developments in Batangas drive the tourism market for unique resort experiences that in effect create jobs for the local community.

“By promoting domestic travel in Batangas, Millennial Resorts is helping the tourism industry recover from the challenges of the times,” said Patrick Gregorio, senior consultant for hospitality and tourism at Landco.

Millennial Resorts, operated by Landco, trains and employs locals for a wide range of resort amenities at both properties. With the warm hospitality and world-class service of homegrown talents, the resort offers unconventional accommodations like the surreal capsule-like rooms of Cocoons to Crusoe Cabins’ beachfront view of Calatagan, Batangas’ picture-perfect sunsets.

Read more online

Landco CEO Erickson Manzano

Residential site offers farm-to-table capabilities more accessible and FOR more than a year Homegrown free of chemicals and now, the prevailing health situation that produce such as fruit pesticides. With many stuck at home, the idea caused anxiety among and vegetables of tending to and susFilipinos also served to remind many about are often healthier, taining a home garden that yields the veggies what matters most—semore accessible needed every day is curity, health and wellness. After recalibrating and free of chemicals an incredibly attractive one. Growing one’s own their priorities to ensure and pesticides. produce to share or to continued well-being, sell means self-suffimany have turned to cultivating a life that is aligned with na- ciency in food.

The Grove at Plantation Hills, with a ture.

At The Grove at Plantation Hills in 22-hectare land area, is a leisure resiTagaytay Highlands, one can surround dential and farming concept-in-one that their modern Garden Lot farmhouse brings the joy of eco-farming right at with fresh produce grown from its own one’s backyard. Owning a modern prinatural green space. The development mary home while nurturing one’s own offers residents the simple farm-to-ta- green space with herbs and vegetables ble lifestyle where they can discover is possible with The Grove’s Garden Lots.

Ranging from 450 to 600 square the joys and benefits of vegetable garmeters, Garden Lots are designed to dening.

Homegrown produce such as fruit encourage homeowners—from novice and vegetables are often healthier, gardeners to seasoned plantitos and

plantitas—to indulge in eco-farming right in their own backyards.

This means ample space to grow produce for a whole family’s daily supply—and a reasonably short time between sowing and harvesting. In a span of just weeks, home gardeners can savor real farm-to-table freshness.

Settling down in a Garden Lot home, residents are inspired to forge a community that flourishes with healthy, sustainable living—with all the fine attributes that families can expect from a premium residential development.

The Grove at Plantation Hills is where one can build a primary home while growing their farm. It is expertly designed to follow the blueprint of its natural surroundings and does not build at nature’s expense. It is a neighborhood embedded into the environment, thus, provides an abundance of nature-inspired activities it brings to homeowners.

Read more online

Setting up a primary home in one of The Grove’s Garden Lots offers enough space to provide for a whole family’s daily supply of fresh produce.

AUGUST 1, 2021

Obiena: Lethargic but still lethal The Philippines’ Carlo Paalam sneaks in a left straight to the face of Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi fight during their men’s fly (48-52kg) preliminaries round of 16 boxing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. AFP

Paalam mauls Algerian, shoots in final 2 rounds, assures PH of silver for bronze-medal round n By RIERA U. MALLARI

OKYO – Nesthy Petecio buried a stagnant first-round performance with an electrifying final two against Italian Irma Testa to advance to the finals and assure the Philippines a silver medal in the featherweight boxing division of the Summer Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena here Saturday.

Ernest John Obiena talks to sportswriters at the mixed zone of the Tokyo National Stadium

n By RIERA U. MALLARI TOKYO – Sluggish and nervous, Ernest John Obiena jumped 5.75 meters.

Imagine what he could do if he isn’t.

With his nerves nearly getting the best of him, Obiena was still able to match the leap of the world’s best to advance to the men’s pole vault finals of the Summer Olympic Games at the Tokyo National Stadium here on Saturday.

“Based on his body language, I knew something was wrong,” said Obiena’s father/coach Emerson, who watched from the sidelines of an eerily quiet, almost empty stadium. “But I also know that he’d deliver when it mattered.”

Obiena did, as he leaped 5.75 meters in his third attempt after two failed tries to clinch a seat in the Aug. 3, 14-man final round, where he is the only Asian to qualify.

The 25-year-old Obiena had the same leap as world no. 1 and record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, no. 3 Piotr Lisek of Poland, no. 4 Renaud Lavillenie of France, no. 5 Christopher Nilsen of the United States and no. 7 Thiago Braz of Brazil, the Rio Olympic champion.

“I was just feeling very sluggish, which is really strange. I didn’t feel like me until the bar moved at 5.75m at first attempt,” said Obiena, who couldn’t explain his feeling of lethargy.

“There was no reason why I felt that way. When I woke up this morning, I felt normal, and a bit lazy. I was trying to tell myself I don’t feel nervous, but now, I felt more and more nervous,” said Obiena, the world’s no. 6-ranked pole vaulter.

Obiena started the competition by easily clearing 5.5 meters and then 5.6 before nerves nearly got the best of him when the bar was raised at 5.75.

The top Filipino pole vaulter, who has been training in Formia, Italy for years, expects a dressing down from his Ukrainian Vitaly Petrov, after which they plan to move on with a clean slate in the finals.

“For the next round, I’ll talk to my coach about our game plan.

I know he’s gonna be mad right now for what I did. I didn’t follow some of his calls, and I was struggling mentally, then I didn’t feel that confident,” said Obiena, adding his coach can explain his sluggishness.

“I don’t know what happened, I need to ask my coach, he would know what went wrong,” he said.

Obiena’s personal best was the Philippine record of 5.87 meters he achieved at the Irena Szwewinska Memorial/Bydgoszcz Cup in Poland, but he will need to jump at least 6 meters against the championship field, which has five members of the elite “6-Meter Club” in Braz (6.03), Lavillenie (6.16), Lightfoot (6.0), Duplantis (6.18) and Lisek (6.02).

.

Petecio trailed by 9-10 in the scorecards of all of the five judges after the first round, but none from the Philippine Team felt the need to panic.

They just knew their girl got this one under control.

“Hindi po ako na-down noong sinabi na nilang lamang si Testa.

Nagdasal po ako at sinabi ko na para sa akin ito, ibibigay niyo ito, Lord,” a smiling Petecio told Filipino sportscribes at the mixed zone.

“We weren’t really worried, we know the ability of our girl,” said Philippine boxing team’s Olympic coach Don Abnett.

Like a switch that was finally turned on, Petecio was a completely different fighter in the succeeding rounds. She went nuclear in the second, attacking the taller Italian from all angles and connecting haymakers that rattled her foe, the champion of the 2021 Box-Am Tournament in Castellon de la Plana, Spain.

And just like that, Petecio wiped out Testa’s advantage in a flash with her own 10-9 score from all the judges, setting up the stage for a winner-takes-all Round 3.

“Noong mga sumunod na rounds, lagi po akong lumalapit, pinapasok ko po talaga siya. Kinukuha ko po siya sa speed, sa lakas ko, kasi alam ko na mas malakas po ako sa kanya,” said Petecio, who continued the calculated aggression in the third, en route to a 4-1 victory over her policewoman foe.

Four judges saw the third in favor of Petecio (10-9), with only the fifth judge, Manuel Vilarino of Argentina seeing otherwise.

“I was surprised by her change of tactics. In the second and third rounds, she was very good in

changing the way of fighting. I was surprised and I fought like the first round and didn’t adjust,” admitted Irma.

Petecio will face either Kariss Artingstall of Great Britain or Sena Irie of Japan in the gold-medal match. The 29-yearold 2019 SEA Games featherweight titlist has already beaten the two, defeating Irie and Artingstall, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, on her way to the gold in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Russia.

“It means a lot to me po, kasi it (Olympics) is my father’s dream, and my dream also. This win is not only for me but also for my family, and to Filipinos, who prayed for me. I won this fight because I believed in God, I believed that He will help me,” said Petecio, turning serious and fighting to hold back her tears this time.

Petecio also dedicated her win to her coaches and to close friend and fellow boxer Alexcel Dergantes, who passed away early this year.

“Sobrang saya ko po na makakapasok ako sa gold-medal round, kasi hindi lang po ito para sa akin, para rin po ito sa bayan, sa best buddy ko na si Alexcel Dergantes na yumao na, sa pamilya ko, and kay coach. Alam ko ‘yung pagod ng coaches ko ever since. Nakikita ko ‘yung pagod nila.

Di sila napapansin sa tuwing kami ay nananalo.

Ngayon po, inaalay ko itong larong ito sa coaches ko, sa mga Pilipinong nagdasal para sa akin,” Petecio said.

TOKYO—The Philippines’ Carlo Paalam moved near-effortlessly to the quarterfinals of the men’s flyweight 48-52kg division in the Summer Olympic Games with a 5-0 decision over Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi Saturday the Kokugikan Arena.

Paalam gained a good workout against Flissi, who had his hands hanging from his waist ready to engage at close range.

But Paalam got explicit instructions from Abnett and men’s head coach Ronald Chavez, a 1996 Atlanta Olympics veteran, not to wade into the fray. “’Yung kalaban kasi niya mahilig sa hablig, kaya ang ginawa namin, kunwari papasok si Carlo, tapos aatras, sabay papasok uli na may kasama ng suntok,” Chavez said.

The fight plan worked to perfection as Paalam consistently slipped in right straights to the head, including one with 2:10 left in the third round that buckled Flissi’s knees.

Now standing in the way of Paalam and a shot at the bronze medal is the division’s top seed, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, who defeated Daniel David Varela de Pina Cape Verde, 5-0, in the preceding Round of 16 bouts.

Paalam, 23, from Carmen, Cagayan de Oro, and a product of the government’s Palarang Pambansa program, will have his hands full against Zoirov, 28, also the champion in the 2019 World Championship at Yekaterinburg in Russia.

Don Abnett, the national team’s Australian training director, doesn’t see Zoirov as invincible though.

“We’re confident, We watched Zoirov just outside the dressing room on our way out and we saw some holes in his style, which Carlo could exploit,” said Abnett.

“Sobrang saya po sa panalo. Maraming salamat sa lahat nang nagdarasal at sumusuporta,” said Paalam.

“Carlo is a smart fighter. He knows he needs to take it a step at a time. He has a big fight coming up against the Rio gold medalist,” said Ricky Vargas, president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines. “He needs that to ensure a podium finish. I know he will give it his all. May God look kindly upon him.”

The Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio celebrates after winning against Italy’s Irma Testa in their women’s feather (54-57kg) semifinal boxing match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. AFP

TIKTOK’S CREATE KINDNESS campaign aims to boost awareness about cyberbullying and promote kindness and inclusion online.

AUGUST 1, 2021

JULIENNE IPAPO promotes spreading kindness by choosing words wisely.

(PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM)

Seasoned online shoppers check out faster than anyone can say ‘add to cart’.

Local TikTok content creators join the platform’s global campaign against bullying.

J

n By IRAH MARIE TAN

SEASONED shoppers on Shopee know what to do when sale events come. They start even before the day and they do it fast, checking out faster than you can say “add to cart”.

Here’s how they take advantage of sale events, which you can do at Shopee 8.8 Mega Flash Sale on August 8.

Keep tabs on daily flash deals

Click the Flash Deals tab on Shopee homepage and scroll through the products to find the best deals of the day. On this page, you can also see the items scheduled for flash deals. Press “Remind Me” to receive a notification once your desired flash deal goes live.

You can check out Mall Flash Deals for deals from your favorite brands.

TIP: Bigger flash deals drop daily from midnight to 2:00 a.m.

Add to cart in advance

Add the items you want to buy to your shopping cart. This saves you precious time, and helps you avoid running out of that item or the limited free shipping vouchers. Once the clock strikes midnight, check out your items.

Check for free shipping

Speaking of free shipping, don’t forget to claim free shipping vouchers before checking out. Head to Free Shipping on Shopee homepage to check when new free shipping vouchers drop.

TIP: Some free shipping vouchers run out fast. Be quick.

Schedule shopping sprees accordingly

Set reminders for themed sales such as Home and Outdoors Sale on July 31; Shoes and Bags Sale on August 1; Toys, Kids, and Babies Sale on August 2; Groceries and Pet Care Sale on August 3; Fashion Sale on August 4; and Mobile and Laptops Sale on August 5.

Use ShopeePay

Top up your ShopeePay wallet through your debit card and other convenient channels to enjoy more exclusive deals such as free shipping with a minimum spend of P199, 15 percent cashback, ShopeePay P1 Deals, P10 worth of data for only P1, and up to 25 percent cashback on bills payment. You can also get 20 percent cashback when you Scan to Pay with ShopeePay for cash-on-delivery orders with ShopeeXpress.

ULIENNE Ipapo, known for her inspirational content and stories of day-to-day life on TikTok, knows what it’s like to be bullied.

Behind the smile hides the experience of being tormented at a young age, likening the effect it does to a person to being stuck in a well.

“Having a life full of negativities is like a feeling of staying in a deep well,” she said.

Recognizing the effect of words to a person, she vows to spread kindness by choosing her words wisely, “to create a chain reaction of spreading love, and to combat the bad that lurks around in society and in the world”.

Another TikTok content creator, Alec Cuenca has received his fair share of negativity from others. But instead of passing hurt, “I kill them with kindness”.

The motivational speaker and Small Talk! host said, “We rarely see that most of the kindness that we want to seek out from the world, we can actually create, and it

campaign by joining the #CreateKindness hashtag challenge. Post your own content on the platform that shows compassion for others, and leave comments on others’ videos to inspire them to spread kindness, too.

will come back to us tenfold”.

“Bullying behavior damages the trust-based nature of the app (TikTok) by harming people’s confidence in themselves. We’re mindful that although in-app interactions may seem harmless to some, the impact of people’s online experiences doesn’t always disappear when they close the app,” Kudzi Chikumbu, TikTok US director of creator community, said in a statement.

Ipapo and Cuenca are two of the local content creators spreading kindness on TikTok as part of the platform’s #CreateKindness global campaign.

The #CreateKindness campaign aims to boost awareness about cyberbullying and promote kindness and inclusion online. “[Its] mission is to spark kindness across the platform, bringing awareness and ensuring a positive environment,” said TikTok public policy head Kristoffer Rada.

It also serves as the launchpad for TikTok’s anti-bullying animated video series, which offers perspectives from different creators on how choosing kindness can help combat Motivational speaker and host harmful behavior on the platform.

ALEC CUENCA kills people with kindness.

Everyone can be a part of this (PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM)

Online entrepreneurship program for youth gets second start EAGER to stay productive and gain new knowledge, management engineering student Vincent Sy launched an online homeware store on Lazada after learning the ropes from LazStart.

LazStart is Lazada’s onentrepreneurline entrepreneur ship and innovation program that aims to empower youth to become online seller by equipping them with the basic knowledge of navigating e-commerce.

“I joined the LazStart program because I thought that this might be an opportunity for me to learn more about the e-commerce industry here in the Philippines,” related Sy, founder of Comfy Home Essentials. “My experience was great, and my key takeaway from the program was learning how to start an online store on Lazada from scratch.”

The biggest hurdle he faced at the start of his e-commerce journey was logistics. He eventually overcame the initial challenges, leveraging Lazada’s wide logistics network to his advantage.

Sy was one of the nearly 300 students who graduated from the first phase of the program in 2020. To empower more aspiring entrepreneurs like Sy, the e-com-

(Left) Green Gulp’s cold-pressed juices; (right) sportswear pieces from Kleo Active

merce platform launches LazStart 2.0.

“Through Lazada’s LazStart 2.0 program, we want to bridge that gap of uncertainty by providing youths of today with knowledge, industry resources, and an inclusive and collaborative environment to kickstart their entrepreneurial dreams,” said Lazada Philippines chief customer officer Jacqueline Fuentes.

The second phase of the program partners with more institutions such as University of the East, University of Asia and

the Pacific, SoFA Design Institute, Centro Escolar University, and Southville International School and Colleges to upskill students who express interest in setting up their own digital ventures – like Kyla Yao did.

Unable to find activewear options like cute sports outfits, Yao saw an opportunity to tap the Lazuntapped market and joined Laz Start in 2020. She co-founded Kleo Active with her best friend.

“LazStart allowed me to understand the e-commerce industry on a deeper level, simplifying big concepts and teaching insights into modern techniques we can apply in entrepreneurship beyond social media networks,” she shared.

“After the experience,” the co-founders strengthened their brand’s digital presence “through setting up our shop through the platform, while at the same time applying insights on strategic tactics we can use in KYLA making our YAO business grow.”

BORIS MATOCINOS

Meanwhile, Green Gulp founder Boris Matocinos joined the program with the goal to know more about starting an online business and how to market his and his mother’s cold-pressed juices.

They started producing healthy, cold-pressed juices when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Through the program, he learned how to identify and target relevant audience segments, which helped the business take off.

VINCENT SY

AUGUST 1, 2021

Local telco recruits TXT as new ambassador n By Maria Katrina Segui K-POP boy group TOMORROW X TOGETHER, or TXT, aims to inspire the youth to stand out, take charge, and build a better tomorrow through its latest campaign with Smart Communications, Inc. Smart released on Tuesday a video message that featured the five-piece group announcing their partnership with the telecommunications giant. TXT brought delight to Filipino MOAs, the group’s

fandom, when the members uttered the tagline, “Simple, Smart ako.”

TXT will be the face of the “Build Your Own Giga” campaign that is set to launch this month. Build Your Own Giga is Smart Prepaid’s latest offer which allows subscribers to customize data plans.

TXT joins its brother group BTS, Korean superstars Hyun Bin, Son Ye Jin, Park Seo Joon, and Hollywood A-lister Chris Evans, as part of Smart’s growing roster of inter-

national ambassadors.

Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai debuted as TOMORROW X TOGETHER (read as Tomorrow by Together) on March 4, 2019, under BigHit Entertainment and has been hailed as the “it boys” of K-pop’s fourth-generation for its eccentric style and music. TXT will also be having its comeback on Aug. 17 with a repackaged album titled, “Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE.”

Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai debuted as TOMORROW X TOGETHER are the latest ambassadors of Smart.

DO NOT CROSS ePxOitLsIC‘PE rLoINbEinsyano’ DO NOT CROSS POLICE L DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE Jane de Leon

to finally fly as

‘Darna’ Y

Mental health matters for Kylie Versoza

n By Mheryll L. Alforte

OUNG television star Jane De Leon is finally taping for “Mars Ravelo’s Darna: The TV Series” this September, which explains why is wrapping up her remaining scenes in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” where she plays Capt. Lia Mante.

The modern television adaptation of the Mars Ravelo comics will begin its lock-in taping following its indefinite postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Initially planned as a big screen project as announced in 2015, the movie had Angel Locsin and Liza Soberano cast for the iconic role.

Angel was set to reprise her role but she had to withdraw from the project due to a serious back injury in 2017.

Liza, on the other hand, had to back out after sustaining a fracture on her finger while taping for “Bagani” in 2019. Her operation prevented her

from doing the physical stunts required for the role.

Then, after facing a few stumbling blocks, ABS-SBN had the project shelved and turned into a TV series instead with Jane still playing the lead.

Prior to the lockdown, Jane was able to shoot at least 16 sequences for the movie project which was helmed by Jerrold Tarog.

Meanwhile, before Tarog, Erik Matti was supposed to helm the film but Star Cinema and Matti had mutually decided to part ways in 2018 citing creative differences as their reason.

ABS-CBN has yet to announce the director for the television adaptation of “Darna.”

Jane De Leon is finally flying as the iconic Filipino superhero Darna as she begins taping for “Mars Ravelo’s Darna: The TV Series” this September.

EXO’s D.O. debuts first solo album ‘Empathy’ n By AREEYA TATJANA HO

K-pop star D.O. drops a solo mini-album and a music video for his debut single ‘Rose.’

EXO’s vocalist D.O. has debuted his highly anticipated first mini-album “Empathy,” along with the music video for the single “Rose.”

Described as “an acoustic folk genre song with a refreshing guitar rhythm” by the 28-year-old K-pop idol, the carrier single also happens to be one of the two tracks for the mini-album written

by D.O., along with “I’m Fine.”

The tracks in “Empathy” are all co-written, co-composed, and co-produced by an array of talents, including Jae from K-Band

DAY6, Andreas Ringblom, Dave Gibson, music producer 220, and more.

“There were times when I couldn’t relate to the word ’empathy,’ but I felt that there was a lot of energy in it,” D.O. shared the reason why he chose “Empathy” as the title of his album.

“I had experienced good and influential energy, I decided to go with the theme of ‘empathy’ with the desire to give that to others,” he added.

Though he’s heading in a direction that he has always wanted to traverse, the K-pop star admitted that it felt new to him to record

music without the other members of EXO. The Korean star is both excited and nervous to know how the public would receive his debut album.

“I worked hard to make it so that you can feel the good energy while listening to the songs, so I hope you’ll be happy,” he said while inviting his fans to listen to his music.

“Empathy” features eight tracks, including “Rose,” “I’m Gonna Love You,” “My Love,” “It’s Love,” “Dad,” “I’m Fine,” “Si Fueras Mia,” and the English version of “Rose.”

KONSULTAMD named Kylie Versoza, Mental Health Matters (MHM) founder and 2016 Miss International winner, as its champion for mental health. The partnership aims to provide mental health support and awareness to more Filipinos.

MHM, which was established in 2017, started as an online and support group and is now a non-government organization that aims to raise awareness and remove the stigma surrounding Mental Health and Mental Illness.

The organization continues to educate parents, schools, universities, and corporate institutions.

Stemming from the culture of belongingness and acceptance from the pillars of MHM, the organization has extended its community throughout the Philippines.

Those in need of support may receive free consultations for one month by simply downloading the KonsultaMD app and inputting KMDKylie as the voucher code, then pressing “2” for mental health assistance when calling the KonsultaMD hotline.

“Depression is a real sickness that needs to be treated for you to get better. I know it takes supreme effort on your end. It takes willpower. It is going to be difficult, but you have to drag yourself out of bed; just take it one day at a time. Brushing your teeth and taking a shower when you’re depressed may be the smallest thing, but that is already a triumph,” said Kylie Versoza, MHM Founder.

“Having access to telehealth for one’s mental health is now essential. Telehealth bridges the gap across remote areas where no doctors are physically present.

Through KonsultaMD, you can consult a doctor anytime, anywhere through voice or video,” said Cholo Tagaysay, KonsultaMD Chief Executive Officer.

KonsultaMD is a 24/7 telemedicine service under 917Ventures, the country’s largest corporate venture builder and wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe.

To learn more about KonsultaMD, visit https://www.konsulta. md/

Catharsis: Girl power band in pandemic WITH lady athlete Hidilyn Diaz scoring the country’s first Olympic gold in a pandemic era-staging, girl power is definitely the rallying cry for all-girl band Catharsis whose debut digital single “For The Meantime” made its way to the airwaves last Friday (July 30).

The quartet’s debut original couldn’t have come at a better time as the whole nation celebrates the triumph of a woman’s spirit against all odds despite the ongoing pandemic.

“Hidilyn Diaz’s journey is really inspiring for us because it’s empowering to see a Filipino woman excel in a male-dominated environment,” expressed lead singer Sam Dahilan. “There’s still a huge gap/lack for women representation in OPM. As an all-girl band, we want to spread an advocacy through our music; that we must see this uniqueness not as a hindrance but as a driving force for women to pursue music.”

Sam’s words are a reflection of how her young band in their late teens understands and embraces

the field they’re in.

Catharsis is a three-year-old act whose members graduated from the same school and same course, and by fate, enters the local recording scene in a new normal set-up which should test their foundation as a group.

No problem. Judging from their debut record backed by Widescope Entertainment, the members of this girl band are no doubt enjoying each other’s company, as evident in the vocal harmonies and excited playing.

“The song is about bargaining for temporary love from someone who is afraid of commitment,” said guitarist Addy Pantig who wrote the track.

Rounding up the band are bassist Gabe Mejia and drummer Rachelle Galang.

According to Sam, all four of them wanted to find a single word that would resonate with the band’s purpose. “Catharsis” proved to be perfect with its strong meaning of expressing an outburst of emotion through art - music to be exact.

All-girl band Catharsis released its debut original record ‘For The Meantime’ last Friday.

They have not patterned themselves from any girl band though they’re proud to say that female-fronted bands such as Paramore, ABBA, and Up Dharma Down are strong influences. The inclusion of ABBA in the list is not surprising.

They do classic covers including Chuck Berry’s “Johnnie B. Goode” and Francis Magalona’s “Kaleidoscope World.”

“For The Meantime” is a bright pop fullband ditty that offers cute poetry like “Venus shining in the moonlight” and “Butterflies rising to the skies.” One line is “looking for the angel in disguise.”

Beauty queen Kylie Versoza is KonsultaMD’s champion for mental health.

AUGUST 1, 2021

Miss Lucena (right), a street sweeper with only compassion and love for cats and kittens dumped ay the center island of C5, with Pam after one of their rescues on C5.

Cats are comfortable around street sweepers who rest under the mango tree. Street sweepers are known to animal rescuers as very kind to stray cats. We have seen many feeding the stray cats and dogs with the little food they have.

Last November 2020, she and I must have made quite a sight at the center island, looking for a white cat. It was rainy season so I worried more since the cat had no shelter in that area. It was an unsuccessful rescue.

But a lot of kittens have been rescued. Cee Cee (from C5 Pasig). Mutya (ng Pasig). Amy (Taguig center island) cat. Kalayaan cat (island of Kalayaan intersection in Makati and C5).

Lincoln dog (center island near The Heritage Park in Taguig).

They are just some of my rescues along the stretch of C5 road particularly in Pasig City and Taguig Some have died. Some are still with me. Some have been adopted by loving furparents and are now enjoying a warm, forever home.

More cats and kittens

It is now 2021. A lot has changed in our world but the situation in parts of C5 in Pasig and Taguig are still the same.

Cats and kittens are still abandoned in that area. Rescuers like me still scramble to get them out of there, posting them on social media for adoption. Irresponsible pet owners still abound. Our hearts get broken. This cycle will not end unless more people choose be responsible pet owners.

Author Pam with another kitten rescued from the C5 center island.

How?

Chooby when rescued

n By PAMELA I. CLAVERIA

VOIDING C5 is impossible if one does not want to pass through EDSA. But passing through C5 poses a more painful kind of danger to any animal lover. Seeing helpless, usually days-old kittens abandoned at the center island always breaks any cat lover’s heart.

Half-breed catto

During this particular rescue, I initially just wanted to feed the cat but the cat was friendly and hungry, so I quickly grabbed my cat bag from the trunk and asked help from an ambulant vendor to help me get the cat into the bag.

Awra was amazed at the many fish in the tank.

About a month ago, I rescued a tabby cat from the center island of C5 road in Pasig City, in front of Arcovia City. I have been seeing the tabby cat roaming the center island with a ginger kitten for weeks while I was driving on my way to work in Quezon City. I craned my neck each time I passed by that area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cat and the kitten.

I left food for them as well when the opportunity permitted, given the traffic situation on C5. If traffic is slow-moving, I would park the car at the e-bay (if there’s one or worse, right beside the island) near the cat’s location, turn the hazard lights on, go down, and bring food and water to the cats as fast as I could. If you linger too long in that area, say, five minutes, a tow truck will suddenly arrive with a traffic personnel asking if you are having machine trouble, or worse, a traffic enforcer will ask what you are doing in the area.

During this particular rescue, I initially just wanted to feed the cat but the cat was friendly and hungry, so I quickly grabbed my cat bag from the trunk and asked help from an ambulant vendor to help me get the cat into the bag. It was an easy and successful rescue all done in less than 10 minutes. Did I mention that a tow truck pulled over asking if I was having engine trouble? I didn’t see the ginger kitten then. But days after, I saw the kitten already lifeless under the bushes. My heart was heavy on the way home.

The tabby cat was adopted the day after her rescue! My post on a community Facebook (FB) page had instant fans.

I was not aware that the tabby cat was a half-Bengal. This is the fastest adoption I have witnessed so far in my six years of rescuing dogs and cats abandoned along C5 Road.

Pag may lahi, ang bilis maampon pero pag aspin o puspin, maswerte na kung meron din mag-ampon after many weeks.

(If the cat has breed, it is easy to find an adopter.)

The half-Bengal cat is now an indoor cat with her adopter, furmama Princess Du. I screen potential adopters before handing over my rescues. I wouldn’t want the cats to end up on the streets again.

Chooby

In February, 2020, right before the pandemic, I saw another tabby cat lying beside a post under the flyover bridge near SM Aura, Taguig, C5 Road. It was morning and I was on my way to work. Upon spotting the cat, instinct drove me to turn on the hazard lights, stop a few distance from the cat, get my cat bag from the trunk, and thank God, grab the cat uneventfully. Without scaring it away or me getting scratched. That tabby cat had a collar which meant she has an owner BUT was abandoned and left to be another unrecorded road kill.

The rescued cat, Chooby, has been with me for a year now; the heavy dingy collar replaced long ago by a suitable cat collar. She has been spayed as well.

She comes home during mealtimes and spends her day on the roof of our neighbor.

Awra

Sweet Awra was also rescued from the C5 center island. I spotted her by a curb on the center island near SM Aura two or three years ago. Hence her name. I was on my way home that night. Traffic was very slow and I was able to scoop her to safety before a vehicle could squash her to death. Awra was dirty and had a terrible eye discharge. Some coldhearted person left her at the curb, most likely a motorist, to die.

She stayed with me for only a week. She was too young and her immune system was so weak to fight off worms in her body. The vet said she had feline panleukopenia. She had a seizure right before my eyes. It was a horrible thing to happen to a one-month old kitten.

It was heartbreaking that she only had one week to live, to be happy and feel loved.

First, take good care of your pets. Have them vaccinated so they do not get sick. Most owners who surrendered or abandoned their pets said they did not have money for vetting. One who has no money for proper care of a pet should not own one.

Second, have your cats and dogs neutered or spayed to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unwanted kittens or pups. Local government units have schedules for “kapon.”

Please ask the office of the city vet for the schedule.

Third, never abandon your pet. It is a violation of the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485) or AWA. Law enforcers must implement the AWA and ensure violators are charged and punished.

There are movements and calls from animal welfare groups to have a more updated, realistic and powerful AWA. There are house bills filed in Congress to revise the present AWA. As a pet owner and animal lover, you too can break the cycle of mistreatment, abandonment, and neglected cases of cats and dogs; the overcrowding in animal pounds which leads to euthanasia (put to sleep) to decongest; road kills of strays along highways, roads and expressways.

Please do whatever you can to help promote animal welfare in your own home, your own street, your own barangay, your own city. Write your local barangay officials. Better yet, write your mayor regarding animal welfare concerns.

Any of these acts helps save a life. Let us be the voice for the voiceless creatures.

For now, I have to figure out a way to get the white cat I spotted at the center island fronting Petron Station in Pasig City.

About the author: Pam is an animal welfare advocate who rescues abandoned cats at the C5 center island. Four of her dogs are rescues while most of her cats are rescues as well. A lot of people mistake her for a vet or doctor for animals but she is actually a doctor for children.

Miss Lucena

The most notorious part of the center island where a lot of kittens were found abandoned is near the Lanuza Avenue intersection in Pasig City. Going south, the favorite dumping site is after the traffic lights of Lanuza Avenue intersection, the stretch of center island going to the area of Shell Gas Station. Through the years, I have seen cats roaming the island strip, most probably looking for a way out and looking for food and water. It has been a constant stressor for me every time I spot a cat in that area.

There used to be a family of cats living in a makeshift cage under the mango tree (in front of Shell Gas station) made by a compassionate, cat-loving street sweeper who is called Miss Lucena by folks in the area.

The street sweepers eat under that mango tree during their breaks while the cats roam around. I met Lucena Pilande around October to November last year.

Months before this, around June to August, I saw four kittens in the makeshift cage with food scraps. Somebody was feeding them and looking after them. It turned out to be her.

Miss Lucena has rescued many cats from that area and has brought some home. But she can no longer bring the four kittens home as her husband has already complained about the care of cats. A kindhearted cat lover from a cat group helps Miss Lucena buy food and other stuff that the rescues need.

I could not take the four kittens so I took pictures of them and looked for adopters on Facebook. Someone stepped up and was ready to adopt but it was too late. Miss Lucena informed me that some of the kittens got sick while the others were taken by a crazy homeless man who threw them on the street.

Miss Lucena lost her job as a street sweeper last year. The makeshift cage she made has been dismantled.

Chooby after rescue