The Standard - 2015 October 25 - Sunday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 255  3 Sections 24 Pages P18  SUNDAY : OCTOBER 25, 2015  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PH NEEDS 200 NEW CITIES —PALAFOX

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ANOTHER LUMAD SCHOOL ATTACKED

By Maricel V. Cruz and John Paolo Bencito

DESPITE warnings from the Department of Education and local officials, a village leader allegedly led a mob of townsmen and some soldiers in destroying a school run by a private organization and named after an Italian priest who was killed for championing the rights of lumad (indigenous people).

The Fr. Fausto Tentorio Memorial School in Barangay White Culaman in Kitaotao, Bukidnon was destroyed by a mob led by barangay chairman Felipe Cabugnason and aided by some soldiers, Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate and Neri Colmenares said on Saturday.

The school, run by the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc., was named after Italian priest Fausto “Pops” Tentorio of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions who was killed on church grounds in Arakan, North Cotabato in 2011.

Next page

MAR TWITS BAYAN ON CAMPAIGN SORTIES

By John Paolo Bencito LIBERAL Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II sees nothing wrong in attending government events and discussing government programs even if he is no longer a member of the Cabinet.

Roxas made the statement following accusations from Bagong Alyansang Makabayan that administration bets were using government resources as camouflage for their electoral campaigns in the provinces.

“You know, our enemies, all of our good and beautiful deeds that we’ve done, they are saying that we should not use them, we cannot talk about them. But that’s our performance, that’s our track Next page

SMASH HIT. Fans of the popular television love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza line up outside the 55,000-seat Philippine

Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan which was filled on Saturday for a special presentation of the noontime show Eat Bulaga. The show also surpassed its earlier record with 29 million Twitter tweets. ANDREW RABULAN / JANSEN ROMERO

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news

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HAZE MAY AFFECT HEALTH, EXECS SAY ASIDE from the cancelled flights, officials in Mindanao and the Visayas have raised concerns on the public health impact of the haze from Indonesian forest fires that has reached the Philippines.

Sent home. One of two Chinese diplomats in the fatal shooting

in Cebu City is escorted to a vehicle that brought them to the airport before being sent back to China. (Story on A3) AFP Photo

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Tentorio is believed to have been killed by members of the paramilitary group Magahat Bagani, which is also believed to be behind the violence committed against leaders of indigenous people in Mindanao, locally called lumad.

“We condemn this atrocity against the lumad school in Kitaotao. We pledge all help that we can extend to find justice for the teachers and students affected by this savagery,” Zarate said, urging victims to file criminal, administrative and civil charges against Cabugnason and the soldiers who aided him.

“The Department of Education and the local government in Bukidnon have already warned Cabugnason and the military that they have no authority to shut down this lumad school, much less demolish it. Yet, they still persisted in doing their clearly illegal acts,” Zarate said added.

“The state of impunity is now running amuck in Mindanao and we have yet to see concrete actions from the government,” he added.

Colmenares, for his part, expressed concern over the vilification of the lumad school, saying that the accusation of being affiliated with rebel groups has resulted to human rights violations including extrajudicial killings.

“It is a pity that the village chief is taking its cue from the military, and espousing the lie that these lumad schools are the makings of rebel groups, and its teachers and students are rebel supporters or rebels themselves.

“Instead of supporting the efforts of Churches and non-government organizations to provide the muchneeded education that his tribe members need, he is the first to vilify and attack the school that provided free education for lumad children,” Colmenares said.

“The demolition of this school is a crime against the lumad children who benefit from this school, to the memory of Fr. Pops Tentorio who had built lumad schools all over Mindanao before he was brutally murdered, and to all lumad people who are struggling for their right to their lands and to self-determination,” Colmenares pointed out.

Meanwhile, Kitaotao Vice Mayor Rodito Rafisura said the town council will start on Monday a probe on the demolition of the school.

MISFI executive director Percinita Sanchez told The Standard that

Cabugnason together with soldiers in civilian clothes “broke the school’s fence and threatened some 28 students and teachers in the boarding school to immediately pack their things and were ordered to leave the school on Friday.’’

Sanchez said that Cabugnason sent an eviction letter to Fr. Fausto Tenorio Memorial School and were addressed to MISFI early October, “ordering them to shut down the Kitaotao-based school or he would forcibly enter the IP school and close the school immediately.”

Cabugnason’s eviction letter cited grounds for closure, such as the lack of a permit to operate and the school’s alleged connections with rebel group New Peoples’ Army.

Sanchez denied claims by Cabugnason that the school haven’t secured yet a permit to operate from the Department of Education, adding that they are “currently working with the Department of Education-Division of City Schools in Malaybalay,” which covers the town of Kitaotao to “disprove false claims.”

In fact, Sanchez said the DepEd and Kitaotao Mayor Lorenzo Gawilan Jr. already warned Cabugnason that he has no power to shut down the school.

Sanchez said that Cabugnason’s hostility came as a surprise to them “since he and many of the townspeople had been very supportive of the school since it was set up, as he was always present in many of its activities, such as moving-up rites, and others.”

The attack against lumad schools are among the issues raised by Manilakbayan 2015, a caravan and mobilization from Mindanao that will arrive in Manila on Oct. 26, 2015.

Some 87 lumad schools suffered from various forms of military attack.

Many schools in Davao, Agusan, Bukidnon and Surigao have been repeatedly forced to suspend their operations amid allegations that they were being supported by communist rebels.

In Surigao del Sur alone, a director of another lumad school, the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development together with two other tribal leaders were killed inside the school compound last September, trigerring fear among tribesfolk and forcing them to evacuate.

Sanchez said that several teachers and students from the school are now traveling by land to Davao City, to join other refugees affected by the attacks.

“Don’t underestimate the ill effects of haze. It’s worsening the already compromised quality of air that we breathe imposing health risks to everybody,” Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., regional secretary for Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, told CNN Philippines.

Sinolinding said the haze, which engulfed most parts of Mindanao and forced cancellation of airline travel to and from major cities to Manila, was made up of fine dusk, smoke, or light vapor—causing lack of transparency in the air.

Officials in Cebu City also urged the public on Saturday to take extra precaution against the haze of particulates currently engulfing the area.

In a statement, the local office of the Environmental Management Bureau said people should wear eye goggles, dust mask respirators and other personal protective gears against the high particle or particulate matter pollution in Metro Cebu.

“People should limit outdoor exertion especially those with heart or respiratory disease, such as asthma. They should stay indoors and rest as much as possible,” according to regional director William Cuñado.

The haze has been in Mindanao skies since Oct. 17, brought by winds from vast forest fires in Indonesia.

Domestic flights to and from Cotabato Airport remained cancelled for eight straight day today due to deteriorating skies of Mindanao island, the state weather bureau said Saturday.

Charlene Jamero, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration weather specialist, said incoming flights to Cotabato airport were still cancelled today due to “very low visibility” or almost zero visibility as a result of the week-long haze that blanketed the region.

Cancelled flights were Cebu Pacific flights 5J 885 (Manila-Cotabato), and 5J 886 (Cotabato-Manila), and Philippine Airlines flights PR 2959 (Manila-Cotabato), and PR 2960 (Cotabato-Manila).

Also cancelled were CebPac’s 5J 887 (Manila-Cotabato and 5J 888 (Cotabato-Manila).

Commercial flights here have been cancelled since Oct. 17, Saturday.

Jamero said Pagasa could not say when the skies over Cotabato airport become clearer and the low visibility status of Cotabato airport makes it difficult, and dangerous, for airplanes to land and take off.

Kahal Kedtag, regional secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the

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record,” Roxas said in a chance interview on Friday.

The militant group hit the ruling Liberal Party after Roxas and his running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, were invited as guests of honor at an event of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Mindanao, where they discussed the benefits of the conditional cash transfer, more popularly known as 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Bayan slammed Roxas and Robredo for using government resources as campaign dole, saying that the event turned into “an obvious campaign sortie disguised as an official government event.”

Roxas, however, said there is nothing wrong about him and Ro-

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the haze can only be removed if heavy downpour with strong winds occur.

Kedtag believed it will take sometime for the forest fire in Indonesia to be neutralized because most of the forests that went on fire were planted with hardwood species.

The large southern Philippine island of Mindanao is more than 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the nearest forest fires in Indonesia but the haze has become a worsening problem across the island over the past week, aviation authorities said.

It spread to the country’s central islands of Cebu and Negros on Friday, disrupting air traffic, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio said.

Eight domestic flights have been cancelled and dozens delayed since the problem began on Oct.16, affecting thousands of passengers, he added.

Dense haze hung over Davao, Mindanao’s largest city of 1.5 million people, on Friday afternoon, plunging it under an early twilight.

Its airport, one of those affected according to Apolonio, handles 48 flights a day.

With visibility down to 1.2 kilometers at some times during the day, far less than the usual 10 kilometers, aircraft are forced to circle and wait above the runways for up to an hour, according to Apolonio.

Apolonio said the flight delays were also disrupting the busy airport of capital Manila, with some Mindanao-bound flights being held back.

Because Manila airport is operating at its full capacity of 40 landings and take-offs per hour, any delay involving Mindanao flights disrupts the aircraft queue for the rest of the day, he added.

For nearly two months, dense haze produced by Indonesian slash-and-burn farmers have suffocated vast expanses of Southeast Asia, but the Philippines has not been badly impacted.

It may have worsened recently due to Typhoon Koppu, which hit the northern Philippines on Oct. 18, drawing the haze towards it, state weather forecaster Manny Mendoza told AFP. While the seasonal northeast monsoons are expected to push back some of the haze from Indonesia over the coming weeks, any storms hitting the Philippines the rest of the year could aggravate the problem, he said.

“We can’t say at this point that the smoke and haze will go away soon. This is expected to continue,” Mendoza said.

The haze was not so bad as to raise a medical alarm, but residents in affected areas are being advised to wear face masks, according to health department spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy. “The content [of the smoke] is not that much but even small amounts of ash could trigger an asthma attack, or cardio-pulmonary obstructive disease,” he told AFP.

bredo being invited in the DSWD event, citing the many benefits that the government’s dole programs have provided to many Filipinos in the countryside.

“We’re just being truthful to our countrymen, and they themselves are saying that their lives had become better. I’m not saying that everything’s perfect but we are saying that we should continue because there are those that we haven’t reach yet,” Roxas added, as he underscored his campaign of continuing to expand and strenghtening the programs of the administration’s “tuwid na daan.”

Roxas also lashed back at his critics who he said continue to criticize him and the Aquino administration on “selective justice,” saying that even administration allies were also charged by the Ombudsman.

“Funny how our critics are always shouting of selective justice,

but when an LP member or an ally gets charged, they are asking, ‘o tamo, kala ko Daang Matuwid?

Ano ba? Diba?’

Roxas cited as example Capiz Governor Victor Tangco Sr., and his son, Vladimir, who were ordered perpetually dismissed from government service by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales after he was found guilty of extorting P3 million from a private contractor for a district hospital project in his province.

Roxas said that he felt sad about Tangco’s disbarment from government service, but added that he respects the decision of CarpioMorales, adding that the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent agency.

“This is proof that the government’s anti-corruption moves are all equal, and even LP members were charged by the Ombudsman,” Roxas added.

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PALACE EXPLAINS IDLE P1-B FUND

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE P1-billion People’s Survival Fund remained undisbursed because the Aquino administration still had to finalize the implementing rules and regulations for Republic Act No. 10174 which was enacted into law three years ago.

“They had to establish the IRR, the guidelines on what proposals are acceptable, because they have to set the criteria on what proposals can be accepted,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview on Saturday.

“We can’s just accept any climate change mitigation project and provide funds.

So they wanted to make sure that it is very streamlined, it is very standard, that the systems are transparent to enable everyone to better access the fund,” she added.

“The reason why they wanted very clear guidelines on what proposals can and cannot be accepted was precisely because of the fact that it has to facilitate equal access for everyone regardless of political affiliation,” she said.

“I think we can all, even in past calamity situations, that the national government is not selective on who it will help,” Valte said.

The IRR has already been created, Valte said, and the government will start accepting proposals for access to the fund on Oct. 28, three years after RA 10174 was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III on Aug. 16, 2012.

Valte made the clarification after vice presidential candidate Senator Francis Escudero asked the administration to explain why the P1-billion PSF remains unreleased despite the number of climate-related disasters that have visited the country.

Escudero, who chairs the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, lamented that many LGUs remained unaware that they could access the PSF to boost their long-term mitigation and adaptation programs on climate change.

Escudero questioned on Friday why there has been no releases from the PSF since June 30.

“Why is that money still there? What is the point of having this special fund if nobody uses it? “ asked Escudero who resigned as Senate finance committee chairman due to his plan to seek higher office.

“It’s been three years since we passed the law. Has the PSF even been useful to anybody? What is stopping the government from releasing the money?” Escudero further questioned.

As local government units continue to grapple with the unmitigated impacts of extreme weather events, he called on the government to immediately release the special fund.

“You cannot just go from storm to storm, flood to flood. Climate change is behind these frequent and extreme weather events; LGUs should be more proactive in addressing the problems at the root, instead of being merely reactionary,” he said.

Escudero pointed out that the government is mandated to earmark at least P1 billion for the PSF annually; any portion of the fund that is unused will not revert to the national treasury.

Unlike in last year’s National Expenditure Program when there was no such stipulation, he said the 2016 NEP provides that the P1 billion allocated as PSF “may likewise be used to cover any deficiency in the implementation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program, and Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines.”

In memorIam. A cemetery worker spruces up a grave marker at the Barangka Public Cemetery in Marikina City, a few days before the traditional celebration of All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1. JanSen romero

PH SALUTES UN AS ‘BEACON OF HOPE’ MALACAÑANG expressed its gratitude to the United Nations for all its support as the world body celebrated United Nations Day on Saturday.

“We commemorate United Nations Day as a time when individual governments have agreed that an international body must be established to ensure the primacy of diplomacy, however, complicated the international arena may be,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said over dzRB Radyo Ng Bayan.

“Now, more than ever, the significance of United Nations cannot be overemphasized as governments continue to resort to the UN and its various agencies for the promotion of peace, health, and development.”

Valte commended the United Nations as it continues to function as a beacon of hope and a voice of reason in the international stage.

The Palace official also thanked the United Nations for its assistance to the country in times of need, along with the international community.

In aftermath of Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ in 2013, the United Nations was one of the first organizations to commit assistance to victims of the calamity, Valte said.

Oct. 24 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that the day be observed by member-states as a public holiday.

UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

For this year, several famous landmarks will be lit in blue to celebrate UN Day. The landmarks that have joined the campaign include the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Empire State Building in New

York, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and Russia’s Hermitage Museum.

The Philippines is one of the signatories of the 1945 United Nations charter and is one of only four Asian nations who joined the charter. Carlos P. Romulo became the first permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations.

The Philippines is an active supporter of the United Nations’ peacekeeping and humanitarian development programs. In a report released by the United Nations in January 2013, the Philippines is the 30th largest contributor of peacekeepers with 730 Filipinos rendering service to the mission.

The Philippines first contributed to the world body’s peacekeeping operations when its air force sent a squadron to support the United Nations Operation in the Congo in 1963. The Philippines signed an arrangement of standby forces for peacekeeping operations with the United Nations in October 2008.

DIPLOMATS IN CEBU SLAYS LEAVE

Bay cleanup. Personnel of the Metro Manila Development Authority clean up the Baywalk on Roxas Boulevard on Saturday. Danny paTa

TWO Chinese diplomats have been flown to China to stand trial for a gun attack in Cebu City that killed two of their colleagues and wounded another, Philippine authorities said Saturday.

China’s consul general in Cebu survived after being shot in the neck, but two of his staff members died during the lunchtime attack at a restaurant on Wednesday.

“They [the suspects] already left last night, direct flight from Cebu to Xiamen,” foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose told AFP in a text message, referring to a southeastern Chinese city.

“Yes, they will be prosecuted in China,” he added.

The motive of the gun attack was not known, and the positions held by the two suspects at the consulate remained unclear.

China has the death penalty, while the Philippines does not.

The Chinese foreign ministry has given little information about the attack.

Chinese embassy spokeswoman Li Lingxiao told AFP she had no comment to make on the Filipino government’s announcement over the transfer of custody.

Staff at the upmarket Cebu restaurant earlier

said the victims and suspects were among nine Chinese diners who had gathered to celebrate the birthday of the consul general, Song Ronghua.

The Chinese embassy in Manila later described the couple as accredited Chinese diplomats and invoked diplomatic immunity, Jose has said.

The Cebu provincial police chief, Superintendent Tom Banas, told AFP police handed the suspects over to the Filipino foreign ministry on Friday night.

“I was informed they have already been flown out to China,” Banas added. aFp

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

WHAT CHINA’S RATE CUT WILL AND WON’T DO

[ EDI TORI A L ]

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

POLITICAL ENTRY POINTS SOCIAL media is agog with photos of the newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister, the 43-year-old Justin Trudeau. He looks like a movie star.

His opponents tried to turn his looks against him during the campaign. “Nice hair,” one advertisement said, as reported by the Financial Times. “Just not ready.”

Trudeau does not just have his good looks to bank on. He also had the pedigree.

His father, Pierre, held the same position in the 1970s.

The new prime minister has an interesting resume: two bachelor degrees (literature and education), courses in engineering and environmental geography, and teaching stints for elementary math and high school French and drama.

Before entering parliament in 2008, he played the role of a Canadian war hero on television. He sports a tattoo on his left shoulder.

Were all these credentials enough to land him Canada’s top job? Probably not.

Those who did not vote for Trudeau say he just got lucky because of the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth even if he did not have to work a day in his life. It was just because he was born to the right parents, sporting the right family name. The good looks did not hurt, either.

Here at home, these “qualifications” seem to ring a bell. While there has been a dearth of eye candies among our leaders, there is no shortage of politicians running on the merits of their more accomplished, and prominent, family members.

No less than the President is a shining example. Before his mother’s death in 2009, Benigno Aquino III seemed content to be a lawmaker—and rather lackluster. Her death, however, led to a clamor that perhaps, at a time when people were exasperated at their government, the son of a sainted family would make a good alternative. And how Mr. Aquino campaigned using this yarn—moral correctness was coming, to bring light to a nation rendered dark and hopeless by a corrupt administration.

It worked until we remembered, too late, that this Aquino had never had to work a day in his life as well. A presidency is hardly a presidential campaign.

And now that elections are around the corner, we see this advantage being played to the hilt all over again. We have candidates presenting themselves as the next best choice just because they are related to this and that, living or dead. Little emphasis is placed on what they have actually done by themselves, or where they would have been if there were no prominent connection in the first place.

Mr. Trudeau has the luxury of a full term to prove he is not just a pretty face or a familiar name. Mr. Aquino has had the past five years to show us that he could do so much more than ride on his late parents’ popularity—and he has, for the most part, failed. Other candidates are asking for the opportunity to prove their own worth, too. We say be extra discerning—have we not learned our lesson numerous times over?

THE RIGHT TIME IS NOW

“AT THE right time,” in Tagalog, is “sa tamang panahon.”

This is not about the Alden Richards-Maine Mendoza event that set new social media records anew yesterday. Sure, many things can happen at the

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right time, and you just have to sit back and wait for the time when everything would fall magically into place.

But the election circus has But those fighting for begun and the farmers are their livelihood just cannot worried that officials who had afford to wait for the right promised them help would have time, especially when they have been doing so other priorities now. for decades. For so many years, coconut farmers all over the Philippines have been taken advantage of take over—they are taking This is why some of and sidelined. They do not matters into their own them are back, camped want to let fate, or faith, hands. outside the premises of

the Philippine Coconut Authority at the Elliptical Road in Quezon City.

Last year, they trekked for two months from Davao to Manila to bring their case to the government.

Specifically, they asked for the creation, by law, of a coco levy trust fund that would eventually be used for the benefit of coconut farmers in general.

They would need all the assistance they could to be more competitive in

the face of commercialization and globalization. They even managed to seek an audience with President Benigno Aquino III sometime in November 2014 after their march attracted the attention of media, civil society, and the youth.

To be sure, there’s been progress.

The House of Representatives has approved on final reading

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the proposed Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act. Over at the Senate, just one more hearing needs to be conducted; the farmers are told they have several champions there, as well.

The bill establishes the coconut levy trust fund from the perkilogram copra sales levied on coconut farmers between 1973 and 1982. The money, estimated

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at P71 billion, was supposed to be for the benefit of the industry and the farmers themselves. The bill also provides for the creation of a committee that would prepare a Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.

But the election circus has begun and the farmers are worried that officials who had promised them Continued on A6

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Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer

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CHINA-RELATED headlines dominate the financial media, and understandably so. The country’s surprise decision to cut interest rates, together with strong tech earnings, has contributed to an impressive surge in stocks in Europe and the US. Only a few weeks ago, concerns about China’s economy led to a sharp fall in equity markets around the world, so it should come as no surprise that global investors welcome a new monetary stimulus there. After all, the country’s economy is large, systemically important and a notable driver of corporate earnings for many multinational corporations. Yet it is important to remember what can and cannot be achieved by this policy move.

1. China’s interest-rate cut will help loosen monetary conditions there, improving the prospects for financial assets in the country.

2. By helping domestic consumption at the margin and by alleviating some debt concerns, today’s action by the Chinese central bank could also facilitate structural reforms that are essential to stabilize China’s economy and restore growth momentum.

3. The interest-rate cut is yet another indication that a large percentage of the world’s central bankers are still both willing and able to inject liquidity in response to economic and/or market air pockets.

4. These undoubtedly strong signals should not obfuscate, however, the considerable challenge China faces in using monetary policy to fuel economic growth. Officials are obviously willing to pull the levers of monetary policy, but that does not guarantee any effectiveness.

5. The connection between China’s interest rates and economic growth is far from perfect. The nation needs tricky structural reorientations over the course of years, with a significantly greater dependence on domestic consumption. And China’s financial sector is already burdened by pockets of excessive indebtedness.

6. Given the country’s far-from-open capital account, the effect of a Chinese rate cut on the global economy is far from clear. This is in contrast to Europe and the US, where any liquidity injection would normally spill over to foreign markets.

Markets are right to welcome the China news as confirmation that the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China and other central banks remain their best friends. But what markets really need is a transition away from this liquidity assistance, toward genuine growth. Bloomberg Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor City Editor Senior Deskman Art Director Chief Photographer

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

WHAT CHINA’S RATE CUT WILL AND WON’T DO

[ EDI TORI A L ]

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

POLITICAL ENTRY POINTS SOCIAL media is agog with photos of the newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister, the 43-year-old Justin Trudeau. He looks like a movie star.

His opponents tried to turn his looks against him during the campaign. “Nice hair,” one advertisement said, as reported by the Financial Times. “Just not ready.”

Trudeau does not just have his good looks to bank on. He also had the pedigree.

His father, Pierre, held the same position in the 1970s.

The new prime minister has an interesting resume: two bachelor degrees (literature and education), courses in engineering and environmental geography, and teaching stints for elementary math and high school French and drama.

Before entering parliament in 2008, he played the role of a Canadian war hero on television. He sports a tattoo on his left shoulder.

Were all these credentials enough to land him Canada’s top job? Probably not.

Those who did not vote for Trudeau say he just got lucky because of the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth even if he did not have to work a day in his life. It was just because he was born to the right parents, sporting the right family name. The good looks did not hurt, either.

Here at home, these “qualifications” seem to ring a bell. While there has been a dearth of eye candies among our leaders, there is no shortage of politicians running on the merits of their more accomplished, and prominent, family members.

No less than the President is a shining example. Before his mother’s death in 2009, Benigno Aquino III seemed content to be a lawmaker—and rather lackluster. Her death, however, led to a clamor that perhaps, at a time when people were exasperated at their government, the son of a sainted family would make a good alternative. And how Mr. Aquino campaigned using this yarn—moral correctness was coming, to bring light to a nation rendered dark and hopeless by a corrupt administration.

It worked until we remembered, too late, that this Aquino had never had to work a day in his life as well. A presidency is hardly a presidential campaign.

And now that elections are around the corner, we see this advantage being played to the hilt all over again. We have candidates presenting themselves as the next best choice just because they are related to this and that, living or dead. Little emphasis is placed on what they have actually done by themselves, or where they would have been if there were no prominent connection in the first place.

Mr. Trudeau has the luxury of a full term to prove he is not just a pretty face or a familiar name. Mr. Aquino has had the past five years to show us that he could do so much more than ride on his late parents’ popularity—and he has, for the most part, failed. Other candidates are asking for the opportunity to prove their own worth, too. We say be extra discerning—have we not learned our lesson numerous times over?

THE RIGHT TIME IS NOW

“AT THE right time,” in Tagalog, is “sa tamang panahon.”

This is not about the Alden Richards-Maine Mendoza event that set new social media records anew yesterday. Sure, many things can happen at the

A5

right time, and you just have to sit back and wait for the time when everything would fall magically into place.

But the election circus has But those fighting for begun and the farmers are their livelihood just cannot worried that officials who had afford to wait for the right promised them help would have time, especially when they have been doing so other priorities now. for decades. For so many years, coconut farmers all over the Philippines have been taken advantage of take over—they are taking This is why some of and sidelined. They do not matters into their own them are back, camped want to let fate, or faith, hands. outside the premises of

the Philippine Coconut Authority at the Elliptical Road in Quezon City.

Last year, they trekked for two months from Davao to Manila to bring their case to the government.

Specifically, they asked for the creation, by law, of a coco levy trust fund that would eventually be used for the benefit of coconut farmers in general.

They would need all the assistance they could to be more competitive in

the face of commercialization and globalization. They even managed to seek an audience with President Benigno Aquino III sometime in November 2014 after their march attracted the attention of media, civil society, and the youth.

To be sure, there’s been progress.

The House of Representatives has approved on final reading

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the proposed Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act. Over at the Senate, just one more hearing needs to be conducted; the farmers are told they have several champions there, as well.

The bill establishes the coconut levy trust fund from the perkilogram copra sales levied on coconut farmers between 1973 and 1982. The money, estimated

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at P71 billion, was supposed to be for the benefit of the industry and the farmers themselves. The bill also provides for the creation of a committee that would prepare a Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.

But the election circus has begun and the farmers are worried that officials who had promised them Continued on A6

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CHINA-RELATED headlines dominate the financial media, and understandably so. The country’s surprise decision to cut interest rates, together with strong tech earnings, has contributed to an impressive surge in stocks in Europe and the US. Only a few weeks ago, concerns about China’s economy led to a sharp fall in equity markets around the world, so it should come as no surprise that global investors welcome a new monetary stimulus there. After all, the country’s economy is large, systemically important and a notable driver of corporate earnings for many multinational corporations. Yet it is important to remember what can and cannot be achieved by this policy move.

1. China’s interest-rate cut will help loosen monetary conditions there, improving the prospects for financial assets in the country.

2. By helping domestic consumption at the margin and by alleviating some debt concerns, today’s action by the Chinese central bank could also facilitate structural reforms that are essential to stabilize China’s economy and restore growth momentum.

3. The interest-rate cut is yet another indication that a large percentage of the world’s central bankers are still both willing and able to inject liquidity in response to economic and/or market air pockets.

4. These undoubtedly strong signals should not obfuscate, however, the considerable challenge China faces in using monetary policy to fuel economic growth. Officials are obviously willing to pull the levers of monetary policy, but that does not guarantee any effectiveness.

5. The connection between China’s interest rates and economic growth is far from perfect. The nation needs tricky structural reorientations over the course of years, with a significantly greater dependence on domestic consumption. And China’s financial sector is already burdened by pockets of excessive indebtedness.

6. Given the country’s far-from-open capital account, the effect of a Chinese rate cut on the global economy is far from clear. This is in contrast to Europe and the US, where any liquidity injection would normally spill over to foreign markets.

Markets are right to welcome the China news as confirmation that the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China and other central banks remain their best friends. But what markets really need is a transition away from this liquidity assistance, toward genuine growth. Bloomberg Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

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OPINION

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HILLARY CLINTON IS MRS. OCTOBER

By Francis Wilkinson OCTOBER has been a clarifying month. The first Democratic debate exhibited Hillary Clinton’s competence and reassured the Democratic Party elite that she remains a formidable candidate.

In addition, it helped chase two also-rans—Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee—from the primary and appears to have breached the porous borders of Senator Bernie Sanders’ support.

This week, Vice President Joe Biden’s retreat from the field ratified Clinton’s commanding position, freeing up funds and quashing a distraction in the news media.

Then the much-anticipated House Benghazi hearing unfolded.

After two Republicans recently acknowledged the Benghazi committee’s partisan agenda— roughing up Clinton—the Republicans on the panel had extra incentive to appear decorous and sober. A couple managed. Others played the role of barking seals at a dystopic Sea World, spinning bright conspiracies on their noses in hopes of being tossed a kipper from the fringe. If the goal was to soften the hard feelings some Democrats hold against Clinton, Republican pride must be swelling at the committee’s resourcefulness.

With a month of drama behind us, Clinton’s status is back to where it was many months ago: She is on track to win her party’s nomination without enormous difficulty. Republicans still hope to derail her candidacy, with high hopes that scandalous e-mails will be the new deus ex machina. Barring that, they hope that those Democrats and Independents who’ve never warmed to Team Hillary will remain resistant right through November 2016.

Perhaps the e-mails, which are trickling out in regular intervals, will fatally damage Clinton some way, somehow. But it seems unlikely. In which case Clinton will simply be a competent Democrat running for president in the mainstream of her party, supported by an incumbent president who is very popular with Democrats and sustaining credible overall favorable ratings in an angry, polarized environment. In other words, Clinton will be running with all the structural advantages that would accrue to any competent mainstream Democrat in 2016.

THE RIGHT... From A5 help would have other priorities now. They believe they have to do everything within their means to ensure that their efforts—the long years of injustice and waiting, the painful two-month trek to Manila to drive home their point, and the possibility that what they have been asking for could just be within reach— would not go to waste.

“If the election overtakes us, then we will have to start anew with the next administration,

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally in Alexandria, Virginia on Oct. 23, 2015. AFP

As each month passes without GOP inroads to Hispanic or Asian voters, the Republican demographic conundrum looms. The party seems incapable of attracting new nonwhite voters without alienating old white ones. Jeb Bush

is arguably the only viable Republican who can make a credible appeal to Hispanic votes, and he has a rough path ahead. (How easy would it be for Marco Rubio to switch his stand on immigration for a second time, with political ex-

pediency again being the obvious, overriding motivation?

Not very.)

Obama won a 5-million-vote margin of victory in 2012 with the same share of the white vote, 39 percent, that condemned Michael Dukakis to defeat in

and we have waited far too long,” said 41-year-old Domingo Espeda Jr., a farmer from Sorsogon.

That morning, Espeda was resting on the makeshift plywood beds at the camp, oblivious to the noise and pollution of the bustling Quezon City traffic.

He said he and six other farmers would stay there, along with some of their leaders, just in case the officials who had gallantly promised them help last year forget, or decide that their priorities now lie elsewhere.

Actually, Espeda said, passing

the law is just one thing. A greater challenge would be translating its spirit into meaningful implementation. If a workshop held last year, and the words of some PCA officials, were to be an indication, he thinks there is more difficulty ahead.

Espeda and some other farmers from Sorsogon submitted a proposal to establish a buko-juice processing facility. Unlike private enterprises, this cooperative-style venture would seek to employ farmers as well, with the earnings redounding to the many.

Alas, top PCA officials told him: “Are you sure you can do this and not go bankrupt?”

“How can you make sure good quality and viability against the firms that are already doing it?” “You may not have the know-how to do this: these companies have computerized accounting, they know how to run a business.”

These, for Espeda, were downright condescending and disenfranchising to farmers who must learn new ways to protect their industry and themselves.

1988. The 2012 electorate was 72 percent white; in 2016 it will be closer to 70 percent. (Rubio pollster White Ayres predicts it will be 69 percent.) Clinton can fall short of Obama’s share of black or Hispanic votes and still win the presidency. If she falls a bit short on both—and right now there’s no particular reason to believe she will—and yet does better than Obama with white women, which seems eminently plausible, she can replicate or exceed Obama’s victory.

Republicans are hoping that demography is not destiny. An economic downturn would help their cause. Barring that, however, it will likely require more than generic resistance to giving one party a third term in the White House, or liberal unease over Clinton, to alter the dynamics. When the partisan lines of the election are drawn, liberals will almost certainly vote for the Democrat.

Without a downturn, one of three conditions would have to prevail: 1. A Republican nominee of extraordinary talent and reach—a conservative Obama.

2. A Clinton implosion due to scandal or health or unforeseen events.

3. A Republican campaign of such relentless negativity that it drives down turnout, enabling the GOP’s older white base to outperform and tilt the election.

There is no Republican Obama on the horizon, though Rubio might approximate one. A Clinton implosion is surely possible, but doesn’t seem especially likely.

And there are real risks, for a party increasingly defined by anger, negativity and intemperate attacks, to running a scorched earth campaign for the White House.

So not only is Clinton back where she started, so is the GOP. The party is no closer to gaining Hispanic, Asian or black votes than it was in 2012. (Spanish media has been highlighting Republican anti-immigrant tirades for months.) Meanwhile, the elderly white share of the electorate—the Republican base—continues to shrink.

Bernie, Biden and Benghazi have been fun, but they’ve done nothing to alter the demographic dynamic of 2016.

And Republicans appear no more prepared to answer the challenge. Bloomberg “And I thought the government was on our side as we empower ourselves,” he said. “We need help to make ourselves competitive.”

Espeda and the rest of the farmers are staying at the camp until the first of December.

They have waited a long time for their rights to be recognized and their sector to be given the attention they deserve. He and the others are desperate for change to come soon.

Enough of “forever.” adellechua@gmail.com

S U N D AY : O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PAY HIKE FOR STATE WORKERS LOOMS

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Palace on Saturday gave the assurance that it would augment the salaries of state workers as part of the standardization process.

Presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the salary increase is not intended as a Christmas gift but meant to make the bureaucracy competitive as much as possible with the private sector.

“In my own knowledge, it will be very soon although I could not bare the actual details but as the President said, we are making very good progress on the proposal because at the end of the day we want to be able to give our government workers a competitive standing as compared to their counterparts in the private sector,” Valte told state-owned dzRb Radyo Ng Bayan.

Valte said that so far, the government has already standardized the pay of workers in government-owned and/or -controlled corporations, and the administration would want to replicate it in other agencies.

In the 14th SEIPI CEOs forum on Friday, the President said the government was considering a new round of salary standardization increases.

“The idea is to match the private sector by about 70 percent of what a private sector employee gets and the bonuses will no longer be pro forma bonuses but rather performance-based bonuses,” the President said.

The Performance-Based Bonus system is a meritbased incentive program that recognizes and rewards exemplary performance in government.

PAY NURSES THEIR DUE, GORDON URGES GOVT

REELECTIONIST Senator Richard Gordon on Saturday vowed to ensure that government nurses receive the higher compensation due them as mandated by a law passed 13 years ago.

Gordon said he will personally examine and if need be amend the 2017 budget for the Department of Health in the Senate halls to ensure the law is properly enforced.

Gordon made the assurance earlier this week in his keynote speech at the Philippine Nurses Association’s national convention held in Davao attended by some 1,000 PNA officials and nurses throughout the country.

Gordon said the entry level salary for nurses working

in the government remains at salary grade 11, which provides a monthly pay of P18,549. In contrast, Republic Act No. 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act for 2002 mandates “the minimum base pay of nurses working in public health institutions should not be lower than salary grade 15.”

Gordon said the law clearly calls for government institutions to pay nurses an entry level salary of P24,887.

But because this has yet to be implemented even after 13

years, nurses in the Philippines are among the lowestpaid government workers.

Gordon said the law’s non-implementation has also caused private nurses to rank among the lowestpaid employees in the country, with some nurses hired through the so-called job order system and getting as low as P5,000 a month.

“I find it sad that government has not given the plight of our nurses priority, given their sacrifice and importance to society. The families of our nurses, some of whom sold their carabaos to send their children to nursing school, should have already been enjoying the benefits of the law for these past 13 years.”

Gordon noted that nursing was among the noblest professions whose members are given due importance in other countries. He said the Philippine Red Cross which he chairs gives its doctors and nurses a very fair compensation package commensurate to their service.

“Nursing is not just a profession, it’s a calling for public service under the most hazardous conditions.

We should give them their due under the law, and we will see to this when the DoH budget for 2017 passes through the Senate.”

Gordon said Filipino nurses are among the world’s best and remain in popular demand abroad where many

have gone due to the lower pay in the country. Gordon has a good working relationship with Filipino nurses, having set up two hospitals in Olongapo City and protecting their rights by spearheading the investigation of fly-by-night nursing schools under the 14th Congress.

Currently, the PRC has a memorandum of agreement with the UP School of Nursing in a joint training program for disaster nurses, one of the most specialized and highest-paid categories for nursing. The PRC is also in partnership with the Japanese Red Cross to provide more equipment and training for nurses in the Philippines and Japan.

CO-OPS PROTEST. Members of various cooperatives come in droves to protest against the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s imposition of ‘unreasonable requirements’ as a precondition for cooperatives to enjoy their tax-exempt status during a rally at the Liwasang Ipil-Ipil in Pasay City. DANNY PATA

GERMAN PLANT IN BATANGAS TO OPEN IN JANUARY THE construction of the P2.5billion German plant at the First Philippine Industrial Plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas is well under way and is expected to be completed in time for its inauguration in January 2016.

“We are well within our target and we expect that our plant will be up and running in the first quarter of 2016,” said Dr. Karsten Wagner, managing director of one of the largest German firms in the country Zama Precision Industry Manufacturing Inc. Zama is a subsidiary of Stihl, the German manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld power equipment, like trimmers and blowers, and its trademark carburetor for small fuel engines.

Zama Holdings is recognized as a technology leader and the world’s

largest manufacturer of diaphragm carburetors and has plants in Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the United States. It has 2,400 employees worldwide and produces more than 14 million carburetors in about 350 different models.

Zama’s 60,000-square meter facility broke ground in September last year, with no less than Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director-General Lilia B. de Lima, Christof Wegner, representative of German Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Ossowski, and ranking officials of the STIHL Group attending the formal launch.

Zama’s manufacturing plant will utilize state-of-the-art technology to ensure that top-quality products, for which it is known for, are provided to its customers.

As of September, five buildings

comprising the Zama complex is close to completion. The constructed area of 22,500 square meters will house the administration offices, main production area, die-casting area, warehouse and utility areas, among others.

Zama has committed to operate in the Philippines for the long term, stressing that the decision to locate in the Philippines will prove beneficial.

“The Philippines is an attractive industrial location. It is one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region; it is politically stable compared to other countries in the region and has a wellstructured educational system with English as an official language,” said Dr. Bertram Kandziora, Stihl executive board chairman, who was in the country last year during the groundbreaking ceremonies.

AFTER THE STORM. Bulacan farmers harvest their palay after several days of rain and strong winds brought on by Typhoon ‘Lando.’ DANNY PATA

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SUNDAY: OCTOBER 25, 2015

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘TYPHOON THREAT LINGERS’

PEOPLE across the country must still prepare for possible tropical cyclones during the remaining months of the year despite the continuing strong and potentially record drought brought on by El Niño.

CANINE PRINCESS. Dogs and their owners dress up for a pre-Halloween event at Eastwood City in Libis on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015.

JANSEN ROMERO

MILF BLOCKING 500 EVACUEES, TRUCE PANEL TOLD THE ceasefire panel of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been asked to intervene and make way for 500 civilians displaced by armed conflict to return to their homes in Palembang town of Sultan Kudarat.

Zahara Maulana, municipal administrator of Palembang, said the Philippine Marines, using its six-by-six trucks, have assisted the local government in sending back the displaced families to their homes in the upland village of Napnapon Friday morning.

But tension ran high when Commander Teng Binago of the MILF refused entry for military vehicles with the displaced families into the village.

“The refusal of Commander Binago triggered tension because there was already an arrangement

that the military will escort the displaced families back home,” Maulana said, adding the GPHMILF ceasefire panel has been officially informed.

The civilians, mostly Moro women and children, fled last month after Commander Binago and another MILF commander figured in a shooting war over land dispute.

Maulana said the local government have extended assistance to the displaced families and many of whom wanted to return home so they can continue farming.

With the refusal of Commander Binago to allow entry of military vehicles forced government forces to bring back the internally displaced persons to the municipal gymnasium where they stayed for more than a month.

Maulana later learned that

Commander Binago would only allow the return of civilian evacuees if the soldiers will not enter the village of Napnapon.

But Maulana told reporters in a phone interview that the village is not within identified territories of the MILF that coming into the area would need coordination between state troopers and the Moro rebels.

In Sulu, the military said it arrested four suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group after a clash between Scout Rangers and ASG fighters near a barangay in Patikul.

Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, Joint Task Group Sulu commander, said the suspects were arrested around 9:45 a.m. Saturday in Sitio Puti Sapah, Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul.

Arrojado said the suspects

were detained and placed under investigation to ascertain their identities since they had in their possession several two identification cards bearing different names.

He noted the suspects were arrested near the clash site between the Scout Rangers and ASG brigands led by Radullan Sahiron on Thursday afternoon in Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul.

“The presence of same (people) at the operational area especially near ASG harbor and encounter sites and considering the ongoing operations and fire missions and their place of residence is questionable,” Arrojado said.

Government troopers have launched focused military operations targeting the senior leaders of the ASG brigands as well as their foreign cohorts in Sulu. PNA

CHEVRON SETS WASTE REDUCTION CONTEST

SAN PASCUAL, Batangas—Seeking to minimize land and water pollution in its host community of Batangas Terminal, Chevron Philippines Inc., through its Caltex brand, launched an environmental awareness program hinged on the ecology projects proposed by student-and-teacher teams in San Pascual, Batangas.

The program, named Caltex Eco(logy is) Me or Caltex Eco Me, attracted 30 project proposals from student-and-teacher teams of San Pascual National High School, the municipality’s biggest high school in terms of student population. Program partner American Chamber Foundation Inc. (ACF) chose three finalists for implementation in three barangays adjacent

to waterways leading to the San Pascual coastline.

Team Flower in a Bottle, composed of 50 students and at least 2 teachers, scored the most points for highest impact and strongest sustainable component. The team received P1 million worth of technical-vocational materials including audio-visual equipment, sewing machines, and even hand and foot massage and spa sets which were on the winners’ wish list for their donation to their school. The team stood out as it reinforced the existing waste management program of Barangay Laurel through an ingenious method of turning reusable and recyclable plastic bottle caps to decorative flowers.

ECOLOGY PROJECT. Grand prize winning San Pascual National High

School students pose with Chevron’s Joseph Bronfman, area business manager for Finished Lubricants (2nd from left), Peter Morris, general manager for Philippine products (5th from left) and Herminio Esguerra, Herma Group of Companies chairman (8th from left).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration emphasized such a point as its forecasters haven’t yet ruled out the occurrence of tropical storms from October to December.

“The threat of TCs still looms even if El Niño is already prevailing so people must prepare for these accordingly,” said Pagasa’s Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section OIC Anthony Lucero.

He noted last week’s onslaught of Typhoon “Lando” (international name Koppu) in Luzon is proof TCs can still occur despite El Niño and the dry condition this phenomenon causes.

“We expect a very large part of the country to experience dry condition due to El Niño but TCs are still possible at this time of the year,” he said.

Latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed Lando affecting almost 360,000 families or nearly 1.7 million people in regions I, II, III and IV-A as well as CAR and NCR. The data also showed a total of 46 deaths and 82 injuries from Lando in the six regions.

Pagasa said Lando’s heavy rains in three days helped increase reserve in Luzon’s dams, however.

Such facilities include Angat Dam where Metro Manila sources some 97 percent of its water, Pagasa noted.

For the remaining months, Pagasa forecasted one to two TCs in each of October and November as well as one in December.

Such TCs can strike either Luzon, the Visayas or Mindanao, noted Pagasa.

“People must still prepare for extreme events like Lando that devastated Luzon,” Lucero warned.

Pagasa’s monitoring showed Lando and storm Kabayan as TCs in the country this October so far.

NDRRMC monitored Landoinduced flooding in Northern Luzon’s Cagayan, Benguet, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya provinces as well as Central Luzon’s Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampanga and Zambales provinces.

The agency also reported monitoring four landslides in Region I and CAR. Lucero clarified Lando isn’t an unusual occurrence, however. “We had TCs in previous El Niño years,” he said.

The track of Lando is even similar to some of such TCs, he continued.

Pagasa said the Philippines averages 19 TCs to 20 TCs annually.

Lando is the 12th TC in the country this year, Pagasa said.

“That’s less than the normal count, however,” noted Pagasa weather forecaster Rene Paciente.

PNA

SUNDAY: OCTOBER 25, 2015

Roderick T. dela Cruz EDITOR business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

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Shown during the panel discussion on the fourth Philippine Trust Index by public relations firm EON The Stakeholders Relations Group at Makati Shangri La Hotel are (from left) Far Eastern University president Michael Alba; former Interior secretary Rafael Alunan III; Rock Ed Philippines founder Therese Badoy Capati; Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research executive director Rommel Banlaoi; Palafox Associates head urban planner and architect Felino Palafox; Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy lead convenor Amina Rasul-Bernardo; Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy executive director Reynald Trillana; and moderator Alma Rita Jimenez.

PH NEEDS 200 NEW CITIES, SAYS PALAFOX

ARCHITECT Felino Palafox has broadened his field of interest, from urban planning to nation-building, in search of fresh insights into the situation of the Philippines, which will celebrate its 500th year as a country by 2021.

Today, he is now more interested in discussing corruption, criminality, climate change, poverty, pollution, traffic congestion and incompetence, instead of just designing buildings.

Palafox, one of the panelists during the recent launch of the fourth Philippine Trust Index by public relations firm EON The Stakeholders Relations Group at Makati Shangri La Hotel, expressed his frustration over government’s inefficiency, such as the fact that the Philippines missed the boat in regional efforts to build a new economic bloc.

The Philippines, this year’s host of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, was left out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which recently signed an agreement to redefine global trade.

Palafox described this as an embarrassing situation for the country, a known ally of the United States which is leading the TPP, a new powerful group within Apec.

“The government is suffering not just from corruption, but also from analysis paralysis. Like in the case of TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership, how come Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore went into the 12 while the Philippines, which is an ally of the US, is still analyzing whether to join or not,” Palafox says.

The Philippines is still in talks to join TPP, according to the Trade Department. TPP’s member countries cover about 40 percent of the world economy and include Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile.

The pact includes provisions to bring down barriers to trade in services and remove foreign investment restrictions, in addition to lowering tariffs on goods, according to Fitch Ratings.

Palafox says the Philippines missing the boat to TPP illustrates the lack of foresight among leaders, a reason why Filipinos have little trust in the government. He says nobody in the government thinks about traffic congestion, which translates into P2.2 billion worth of man-hour losses a day.

Palafox, who went to Harvard University for graduate courses, says a study done by the US Ivy League school as early as 2000, showed that Metro Manila was the fastest growing metropolis in the world.

“A projection showed there would be 54 million more Filipinos by 2050. Computing it at 250,000 per city, we need more than 200 new cities. Who among the government is thinking about that? Most of the government programs and policies are short-term and opportunistic,” he says.

Palafox, who dislikes walls separating homes and buildings in the Philippines and whose company designed the Rockwell Center in Makati City and Camp John Hay in Baguio City, says if the next leaders will only be able to address the issues of corruption, criminality and climate change, the Philippines is bound to join the top 20 economies in the world over the next decades.

The government is suffering not just from corruption, but also from analysis paralysis.

Other panelists during the launch of the fourth Philippine Trust Index are Far Easter University president Michael Alba; former Interior secretary Rafael Alunan III; Rock Ed Philippines founder Therese Badoy Capati; Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research executive director Rommel Banlaoi, Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy lead convenor Amina Rasul-Bernardo; and Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy executive director Reynald Trillana.

The Philippine Trust Index is EON’s proprietary research that was launched in 2011 to examine trust levels and drivers across the government, church, non-government organizations, business and media.

The nationwide survey shows that Filipinos prefer government leaders who are willing to listen to their constituents. Other important qualities of a government leader, according to the study, are being concerned for the people and having a strong political will.

Similar to government leaders, the most valued quality of a business leader is the willingness to listen to employ-

ees’ feedback. “Our findings on the most valued leadership qualities further underlines the importance of conversation and communication in building trust for public and private institutions,” says EON Group chairman and chief executive Junie del Mundo.

The 2015 PTI survey saw no movement in terms of the ranking of institutions based on trust rating. Church remains the most trusted institution in the country, with an overwhelming 73 percent of the general public and 68 percent of the informed public claiming to trust the church very much.

The academe garnered the second highest trust rating (51 percent), followed by media (32 percent). At the bottom are government (12 percent), business (9 percent) and NGOs (9 percent).

For government, the trust driver with the highest percentage has something to do with national peace and security, followed by housing food, and education; economy; going after corrupt politicians; preparation for calamities; and generating jobs.

For business, the top trust drivers are good salaries and benefits; fair labor; quality of products/service; right taxes; non-discrimination in the work place; treatment of customers; and environment-friendly policies and programs.

Within the business sector, health, telecommunication and water emerged as the most trusted. The least trusted industries are legal services, advertising and public relations, alcohol and tobacco and mining.

While television remains the most trusted source of information, this year’s survey shows that trust on online media improves.

“Results of the 2015 PTI Survey show how important it is now to utilize all channels – from traditional media, to online news sites, and even social media,” says Malyn Molina, managing director of Engage, the newly launched public affairs and government relations business of EON Group.

“The communication landscape today means that organizations and companies have to listen more to their stakeholders, even consider stakeholders beyond the usual groups it engages, and truly understand their position or concerns,” says Molina.

“Increasing trust on digital platforms definitely makes the communication landscape more complicated. However, it also means that more Filipinos now can express their opinion in a bigger, more public space and participate in important national and regional discussions,” she says., The 4th Philippine Trust Index had 1,620 respondents nationwide. Roderick T. dela Cruz

SUNDAY: OCTOBER 25, 2015

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BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

REMAX TURNS REAL ESTATE AGENTS INTO ENTREPRENEURS

By Othel V. Campos

NOWADAYS, anything and everything is available online.

Even services are offered straight from the web. Brokering services online has now reached maturity as one of the most preferred transactions, even for the real estate sector.

Such is the power of the digital platform, that a US-based company of real estate agents, Remax, upped the ante, from delivering services personally to branching out using the Internet to create a global network of real estate agents, offering expertise from one point of the globe to another, at real-time and without having to travel.

“What we offer realty agents in the world is the best training possible, advertising support and branding the Remax way. We offer technical tools to be able to serve the customer as best they can and give exceptional service to the clients. Remax is the best marketplace to list your properties,” said Remax Philippines president Leonard Campos, who also leads the Remax master franchise in Guam.

The Philippine office is Campos’ second master franchise, which is open for subfranchises for a fee of about P880,000 and a monthly payment of roughly P40,000.

He said Remax Philippines is looking at growing its Philippine network to 200 offices or franchises in the next two years.

With the entry of Remax into the local real estate space, the Philippines is now part of the web of nearly 100,000 countries with over 16,900 Remax offices around the world.

The global organization oversees a network of more than 100,000 agents, all connected under the Remax system.

The Remax franchise network is described as “a global real estate system of franchisee owned and operated office and their affiliate independent professionals.”

Locally, Remax now has 20 franchises, with two more upcoming, and a network of more than a hundred real estate agents.

“But Remax is not just opening up to everyone. We’re looking for certain type of entrepreneurs, brokers who want to grow and be professionalized and investors who want to have their own businesses. We do have strict criteria of being a franchise owner,” said Campos.

When a broker becomes a Remax franchisee, he or she operates under the Remax brand, which offers instant credibility and

global recognition.

“Nobody else in the world sells more real estate than Remax and this means Remax is a winning company that backs winners,” said Remax Philippines country manager Michelle Perlas.

The franchisee will also get first-rate office opening support and complete access to Remax’s training and support systems which are considered the best in the industry.

Operating in the Philippines for two years now or since 2012, Remax was formally launched just recently, amid the ongoing construction boom and growth of the property sector.

“Reason for this is because we want to make sure that we are prepared. Doing a grand launch after we opened makes sense because when you’re announcing yourself to the whole country, then people may want to use your services. We feel that we are now ready to accept and handle the businesses that come,” Campos said.

The first year was spent building the Philippine team.

“We started doing market and franchise recruitment in 2013 with three offices and from there, we were slowly building to get to the current point,” said Campos.

As the global leader in full range of real estate services, Remax is the only group, so far, that can aggregate developers into one site.

“They’re the ones actually coming to us. If they list with Remax, they get to have their properties seen all over the world as opposed to local only. Like Vista Land or Ayala Land, for instance, they go abroad to promote their products on roadshows with their selling team. With Remax, they don’t have to go with their team. We can network with our Remax agents all over the world,” Perlas said.

Other Remax partner-developers in the Philippines are Filinvest Land, Ayaland Inc., Rockwell Land Corp. and Vista Land.

Banks are also teaming up with Remax to dispose of repossessed properties, as well as with retail companies to help them scout for ideal spaces for their operations.

Remax Philippines president Leonard Campos

“A lot of banks are talking to us, but we’re not exclusive to any bank. Similar to developers, we’re not exclusive to [specific] developers. We do contract with developers because we have a sort of standards that we offer to Remax franchisee. We meet with partnerdevelopers bi-monthly to see their portfolio.

They’ve been very active with our franchisees,” said Perlas.

“We’re everywhere. The good thing with this is that having more Filipinos in the Remax system makes it easier to network with other offices elsewhere. So the opportunity to network is actually unlimited,” she said.

Perlas said with more than 12,000 licensed brokers in the National Capital Region alone, the potential to grow a significant pool of Remax agents in the Philippines is immense,

with a promising and fast-growing property sector.

Remax Global believes that the housing boom in the Philippines, and in the whole Asia Pacific will continue for many years, with no indication of slowing down in the near future “because of the sheer demand by a young population.”

The Denver-based company founded by Dave and Gail Liniger in 1973 has almost 100,000 agents in nearly 100 countries with more than 7,000 offices.

“The Remax system has helped people be their own boss and provided them with opportunities beyond making money. We want to inspire more entrepreneurs, especially those who believe in what we do and its power to transform lives,” said Perlas.

PH COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT MARKS 100 YEARS THE Philippine cooperative movement celebrates its centennial year, with the Cooperative Development Authority highlighting the role of cooperatives in economic development.

CDA, led by chairman Orlando Ravanera, has recently spearheaded the celebration of the 100th year of cooperativism in the country, with a four-day Culmination Rites and Cooperative Expo at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

The centennial celebration proves the resilience of cooperatives and reaffirms their relevance to Philippine society, the Philippine cooperatives said in a joint manifesto. The existence of cooperatives is a strong manifestation of their role in developing businesses, empowering the people, generating jobs and reducing poverty.

As of end-2014, there were 24,652 cooperatives registered with CDA. Of the figure, 10,762 coops reported total membership of 7.7 million, total employees of 290,662 and total assets of P248.5 billion.

Among these cooperatives is the Filipino Inventors Society Producer

Cooperative, a group of successful inventor-entrepreneurs which has been tapped by CDA to help market the products of the country’s producer and multi-purpose cooperatives to boost their competitiveness in the face of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic integration.

CDA administrator Nelon Alindogan said the partnership forged by the agency with FISPC seeks to promote, develop and expand the business of the thousands of cooperatives nationwide and help them boost their global competitiveness.

The partnership was activated late last year. “We have not yet harnessed the full potential of the partnership,” Alindogan said.

CDA’s board of administrators also include Eulogio Castillo, Mercedes Castillo, Pendatun Disimban, Benjie Oliva and Paisal Cali.

FISPC president and chief executive Francisco Pagayon said the FISPC inventor-entrepreneurs occupied four booths at the expo to showcase the inventions and products of FISPC member-entrepreneurs.

“We want mutual assistance

The Filipino Inventors Society Producer Cooperative receives a plaque of recognition from Cooperative Development Authority officials led by chairman Orlando Ravanera. Shown are (from left) FISPC officer Andy Reyes, FISPC president and chief executive Francisco “Popoy” Pagayon, CDA chairman Orlando Ravanera and CDA administrator Pendatun Disimban. among all the coops in the country, and successful inventor-entrepreneurs are eager to help our fellow cooperatives become finan-

cially viable and profitable and contribute to national productivity and development,” Pagayon said at theopening ceremonies of the Co-

operative Expo.

Pagayon said his group opened the door of the FISPC showroom and business center at the Delta Building at the corner of Quezon Avenue and West Avenue in Quezon City as a showplace of the products of other cooperatives.

They also target to distribute the products and inventions of the FISPC members in the offices of cooperatives across the country.

Pagayon said the nearly 25,000 cooperatives all over the country have some 13 million to 15 million members. If these members would just patronize the products of their fellow cooperatives, the sales of the cooperatives would greatly increase, he said.

CDA recognized FISPC for its contribution in the celebration of the cooperative movement’s centennial year.

“With very rich experience, accumulated over its 100- year existence, the Philippine cooperative movement remains very relevant and is ready to take on greater challenges ahead,” the Philippine cooperatives said.

SUNDAY: OCTOBER 25, 2015

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BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

US software company Amdocs on Friday launched in the Philippines a new product that aims to change the way telecom companies serve their customers.

Raghuvir Ramanadhan, sales director of Amdocs for Asia-Pacific, said the new product called Amdocs Service Design and Create aimed to help telecom companies deliver new products and services faster, in response to the demands of their customers.

Ramanadhan, a Singaporean national, said Amdocs Service Design and Create is a new network functions virtualization/ software-defined networking solution that allows service providers to achieve service agility and meet the expectations of today’s customers, influenced by the pace of over-the-top providers’ service innovation.

OTT players are Internet companies that also provide communication services. They include the likes of Viber, Google and Facebook.

“Amdocs Service Design and Create enables the design, test and launch of new virtual and hybrid services in weeks rather than months,” Ramanadhan said in a news briefing at Romulo’s Cafe in Makati City.

Amdocs Service Design and Create overcomes the manual, time-consuming and resource-intensive service development process which is a barrier to service innovation, he said.

Ramanadhan said the new solution also shortens the service development lifecycle and

AMDOCS LAUNCHES NEW SOLUTION TO TRANSFORM TELECOM OPERATORS reduces engineering and IT costs. It does this by automating the complete service development process, spanning service modeling, test and de-bugging, packaging and distribution, with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and modular, reusable components.

In the Philippines, network experience remains a key factor in retaining mobile consumers, according to “The Amdocs Customer Experience Spotlight 2015” report, an independent research study conducted by IE Market Research on behalf of Amdocs, which highlights the importance of providing a superior customer experience in order to retain as well as attract new customers.

The Amdocs Consumer Experience Spotlight 2015 found that 27 percent of Filipino respondents, a figure higher than the global percentage, are more likely to consider switching to OTT players, if they offer connectivity.

Ramanadhan said telecom companies are undergoing a significant transformation. He predicted that by the next decade, the physical infrastructure of telecom companies will disappear.

“Eventually, everything will be in the cloud. Physical network is being virtualized and put into the cloud,” he said.

Cloud, often used as a metaphor for the Internet, has been changing the way businesses are conducted, including the telecommunication industry.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Raghuvir Ramanadhan, sales director of Amdocs for Asia-Pacific

AMAIA HOLDS UPCYCLING CHALLENGE

Anzella Casica and Gethymane Cobico of OCCA Design work on their upcycled chair, hoping to bag the first prize in the first-ever Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycline Challenge.

IN A bid to turn waste materials into more useful resources, real estate developer Amaia Land Corp. recently launched the first Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling Challenge at Solenad 1, Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Amaia’s Upcycling Challenge saw the participation of a slew of design students, professionals, and upcycling enthusiasts, out of which thirteen were chosen finalists. All the participants are given sufficient time to create marketable and practical home products from scratch using a selected material—in this case, plastic soft drink bottles.

The ongoing environmental competition is scheduled to hold its awarding ceremonies on Oct. 25, where only three of the most creative ideas and designs will be chosen.

Ricky Celis, Amaia Land Corp. president, said the upcycling contest was meant to encourage the public to creatively reduce waste by turning these into useful and aesthetically pleasing products.

“When waste products are not biodegradable, these occupy space out there and possibly pollute the environment. Thus, before throwing anything out, why not consider upcycling them?” Celis said.

Danny Kalinga, Jojean Aguilar, and Johnedel Ogalesco of Team DJE work on the ‘Bubble Coral’ floor lamp made up of plastic bottles and a junk bike wheel.

“Caring for the environment has always been part of our advocacy.

We wanted a project that would push this cause, so the Upcycling Challenge was really perfect for us. Here in Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali, we encourage everyone to live a life that is one with nature— to not just enjoy its beauty but also

care for it,” he said.

Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of turning old and discarded goods or waste materials into something useful and beautiful and with better environmental value.

For the Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling Challenge, the finalists were tasked to create home products that must be useful to Amaia homeowners—an endeavor that was consistent with the development’s theme: “Living Re-Imagined.”

“We are doing this to inspire our residents and future homeowners to contribute to preserving our environment,” Celis said. “We believe that even seemingly small ways such as these will have greater impact if everyone adopts the habit of upcycling waste materials into something useful again.”

Each team was provided transportation to the site and P3,000 for raw materials.

The finalists’ entries will be displayed at Soledad 1 in Nuvali while its images will be showcased on Amaia Land Corp.’s official Facebook page. The entry with the most number of likes on Facebook will receive a special prize.

The grand winner will be awarded P100,000 in cash and a glass trophy. The first runner-up will receive P50,000 and a glass trophy and the second runner-up will get

P25,000 and a glass trophy.

Ayala Land’s Nuvali, which spans 1,750 hectares, is an inspiring model of a green, sustainable eco-community. Built on the pillars of environmental, economic, and social sustainability, community development remains a primary objective of Nuvali in achieving this balance.

Nuvali, which is located in the cities of Sta. Rosa and Calamba and the municipality of Cabuyao in Laguna, is part of the growth corridor of the Calabarzon region.

Its campus-like environment integrates a community where residences, business, and recreation flow seamlessly.

Jensen Gonzales, Jeremiah Mendoza, and Klingeln Castillo of Victorious Secret waste no time in creating their upcycled hanging lamp to ensure a win during the Amaia Steps Parkway Nuvali Upcycling Challenge.

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WORLD

Migrants and refugees wait to board buses to cross the Slovenian-Austrian border in Sentilj. Slovenia says it is considering building a border fence to help stem a record influx of migrants and refugees, as thousands more people arrived from Croatia. AFP

‘NO TIME TO WASTE FOR YEMEN PEACE TALKS’ THE UN special envoy for Yemen said Friday he would begin working immediately with the government and rebel leaders to determine an agenda and date for peace talks, but warned a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis loomed.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council that the Huthi rebels and backers of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had “clearly committed” to carrying out council resolution 2216, which calls for a negotiated withdrawal by the rebels “from Yemen’s key cities and a surrender of all heavy weapons to the state.”

He said the Yemeni government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi—which last month backed away from UNsponsored talks in Oman, demanding that the rebels first withdraw their forces—had agreed to send a delegation to the upcoming negotiations.

No date for the talks has yet been set.

The Security Council separately issued a statement calling on “all Yemeni parties to resume and accelerate United Nationsbrokered inclusive political consultations” and to engage in the talks in “a flexible and constructive manner.”

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been wracked since March by a conflict that has claimed nearly 5,000 lives, according to the UN. In that month a Saudiled Arab coalition launched air strikes against the Huthi rebels, a once obscure Shiite group with Iranian backing. AFP

BALKAN LEADERS TO HOLD TALKS ON MIGRANT CRISIS THE prime ministers of Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania were to hold talks Saturday on how to tackle record numbers of migrants at the onset of winter, ahead of a mini-EU summit to discuss a coordinated response.

Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania are among the countries on the migrants’ route from Turkey up through the Balkans to northern Europe.

Saturday’s talks in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia come a day ahead of a meeting of leaders in Brussels called by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who has been urging a cross-border approach to the worst migrant crisis in Europe since World War II. Hostility towards migrants streaming into Europe is mounting, with Germany on Thursday

foiling an extremist plot to torch migrant shelters and Swedish police saying a sword attack on a school with many immigrant pupils was motivated by racism.

Most of the migrants—a flow of more than 670,000 coming into Europe this year, mainly fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan—want to get to Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse.

Juncker on Friday said he backed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy towards migrants, even though the welcom-

ing stance has has threatened to cause a backlash, with the country bracing for up to a million asylum requests this year.

Juncker heaped praise on her on Friday, saying “I appreciate very much that the chancellor does not change course because of opinion polls”.

“It is not a question of short-term popularity but the very substance of what politics is about,” Juncker, who is hosting Sunday’s talks, was quoted as telling the Funke-Mediengruppe press group.

But in a sign of possible friction ahead, the small Alpine country of Slovenia— a new hotspot in the crisis—warned it may build Europe’s latest border fence to stem the tide of migrants unless it gets

more help from the summit.

In a sign of the growing stress on Germany, police in the southern town of Bamberg arrested 13 members of a far-right movement suspected of planning arson attacks on two homes for asylum seekers, prosecutors said Thursday.

Sweden is the EU’s other top destination for asylum seekers, and police said an attack by a sword-wielding man, who killed two people at a school in the southwestern town of Trollhattan, was “racially motivated”.

Sunday’s summit in Brussels will bring the leaders of non-EU members Macedonia and Serbia together with the leaders of eight EU countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. AFP

SOKORS MEET KIN FROM NORTH FOR 2ND TIME

A photo shows South Korean brother and sister Sun Kyeong-Soo (right) 71, and Sun Kum-Soon (left), 75, toasting their North Korean cousin Sun Yong-Ju (center) 82, during a family reunion event at North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort. AFP

SOME 250 mostly elderly South Koreans crossed into North Korea on Saturday for a second round of emotional meetings with relatives they have either never met or last saw more than six decades ago.

The cross-border trip came two days after hundreds of other families from both sides wrapped up a three-day reunion on Thursday in the North Korean resort of Mount Kumgang.

The second group of families bringing gift packages, including clothes, watches, medicine, food and—in most cases—around $1,500 in cash are to meet relatives from Saturday to Monday.

The family reunion was only the second in the past five years -- the result of an agreement the two Koreas reached in

August to ease tensions that had pushed them to the brink of armed conflict.

But interaction was tightly controlled —limited to six, two-hour sessions, including meetings in a communal hall and private one-on-one time without TV cameras.

For the families, the 12 hours of total face time was heartbreakingly short after more than six decades of separation caused by the 1950-53 Korean War. Given that there are more than 65,000 South Koreans currently on the waiting list for a reunion spot, those selected represent a very fortunate minority.

Millions of people were displaced by the sweep of the Korean conflict, which separated brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives. AFP

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WORLD editorial@thestandard.com.ph

HURRICANE CAUSES LESS DAMAGE THAN EXPECTED

‘PATRICIA’ SPARES MEXICO RECORD-BREAKING Hurricane Patricia rumbled across western Mexico early Saturday, uprooting trees and triggering some landslides but causing less damage than feared so far for such a massive storm, officials said.

Authorities relocated coastal residents, evacuated tourists from beach hotels and closed sea ports, airports and schools in several states before Patricia made landfall in Jalisco state as a huge category five hurricane.

Patricia had grown into the strongest hurricane ever recorded hours before reaching the coast, raising fears that it would bring death and destruction across the country.

But almost five hours after landfall, President Enrique Pena Nieto addressed the nation on

television, saying that the first reports “confirm that the damages have been smaller than those corresponding to a hurricane of this magnitude.”

Pena Nieto urged Mexicans to stay in shelters, however, warning that Patricia still posed a threat, with heavy rain expected across the Pacific coast as well as central and northeastern Mexico.

“We can’t let our guard down yet. I insist, the most dangerous part of the hurricane has yet to enter the national territory,” said

Pena Nieto, whose country has seen deadly devastation from hurricanes before.

The hurricane crashed ashore around the towns of Cuixmala and Emiliano Zapata in the early evening, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) west of the major port of Manzanillo, according to US and Mexican authorities.

The US National Hurricane Center said Patricia weakened marginally when it made landfall Friday evening, with maximum winds of 270 kilometers per hour.

As it moved further inland through the night, Patricia was gradually downgraded to category two but was still a “strong” hurricane, with 155 kph winds, the center said, adding that rapid weakening to tropical storm status was expected.

Patricia peaked at 325 kph several hours earlier—more powerful than the 315 kph winds of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 dead or missing when it struck the Philippines in November 2013.

But Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval wrote on Twitter that “there have been no reports of deaths for the moment.”

More than 6,300 people were in shelters in Jalisco.

In the state of Colima, where Manzanillo lies, some 350 trees were ripped out of the ground “but fortunately there is only material damage,” Agriculture Minister Jose Calzada told Milenio television.

Some landslides blocked the Colima-Manzanillo highway, said Transport Ministry Gerardo Ruiz Esparza.

‘Wrong place, wrong time’ Stores shut down in the resort of Puerto Vallarta, where some 7,000 foreign and 21,000 Mexican tourists had come for vacation ahead of the storm.

Seafront hotels were evacuated and some tourists were moved to shelters.

Federal officials said 3,500 people were evacuated from Puerto Vallarta by bus and plane.

A Red Cross facility in the city was turned into a shelter for 109 people, including Americans, Canadians and Italians.

“I had the bad luck of being at the wrong place in the wrong time,” said Gian Paolo Azzena, a 26-yearold Italian medical school graduate.

“I found out that a hurricane was coming thanks to a craftsman. I thought it was a joke.” AFP

IS’ HAND SEEN IN TURKEY BLASTS

View of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on October 23, 2015, during hurricane Patricia. Monster Hurricane Patricia roared toward Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday, prompting authorities to evacuate villagers, close ports and urge tourists to cancel trips over fears of a catastrophe. The US National Hurricane Center called Patricia the strongest eastern north Pacific hurricane on record. It said the storm will make a potentially catastrophic landfall later Friday in southwestern Mexico. AFP

TWO weeks after more than a hundred people were killed in an Ankara bomb attack, Turkey is still unravelling clues that suggest the Islamic State group was responsible, fuelling opposition anger over an apparently enormous security lapse by the government.

IS was immediately considered “suspect number one” after twin suicide bombings on October 10 in front of the city’s train station killed 102 people, due to similarities with an earlier bombing blamed on the jihadist organization.

Once again, TNT explosives packed with metal ball bearings devastated a pro-Kurdish rally: Ankara seemed a more ambitious version of the bombing in Suruc on the Syrian border in July, which left 34 people dead—and critics say

the security forces should have seen it coming.

Media reports this week said the national police headquarters had warned in September that IS militants were preparing a large attack in Turkey, such as hijacking a plane or detonating suicide bombs in a crowded location.

The post-attack probe focused on some 20 known jihadists and uncovered 11 suicide vests, six Kalashnikovs, 22 hand grenades and explosives, suggesting there were plans in place for another attack on Turkish soil.

According to the progovernment news agency Anatolia, the cell had originally planned to attack the headquarters of the pro-Kurdish and liberal Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), but targeted the peace rally at the last moment. AFP

INDONESIA READIES WARSHIPS FOR HAZE VICTIMS’ EVACUATION INDONESIA has put warships on standby to evacuate people affected by acrid haze from forest fires which has killed at least 10 and caused respiratory illnesses in half a million, officials said Saturday.

For nearly two months, thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming in Indonesia have choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia, forcing schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled.

Indonesian disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the fires had killed 10 people, some fighting the blazes while

others died of respiratory illnesses or medical conditions exacerbated by the pollution.

“The impact of the forest fires has caused 10 people in Sumatra and Kalimantan to die, directly and indirectly,” Nugroho said.

The figure did not include seven hikers killed in a wildfire on Java last week.

The agency estimated at least half a million people have suffered from respiratory illness since the fires started in July and 43 million people have been affected by the widespread fires and haze in the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Nugroho said the figure was likely just the tip of the

iceberg because many people did not go to health facilities for treatment.

The government has decided to send ships to haze affected provinces to evacuate victims, especially children and women, if necessary, with two warships deployed to Kalimantan on Friday.

“For now the ships will be standing by. We will begin evacuation when there is an instruction from the government,” navy spokesman Muhammad Zainuddin told AFP. The government has deployed around 30 aircraft to fight the fires and for cloud seeding with 22,000 troops on the ground to combat the blazes. AFP

A general view shows haze covering the southern city of Narathiwat. Thick haze blamed on forest and agricultural fires in Indonesia that has blanketed parts of Malaysia and Singapore for weeks has started to affect the Thai southernmost provinces. AFP

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S U N D AY : O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

REUEL VIDAL EDITOR

By Peter Atencio

THERE’S a first time for everything.

De La Salle and Ateneo De Manila survived the challenge of separate rivals to win their first ever crowns in the women’s and men’s categories of the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines beach volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Sands by the Bay.

sports@thestandard.com.ph

DE LA SALLE, ATENEO RULE THE SANDS BY THE BAY De La Salle University’s Cyd Demecillo (2) tries to spike the volleyball past Far Eastern University defender Bernadeth Pons (1) while teammate Kim Fajardo (1) looks on during the UAAP Beach Volleyball Finals at the SM Sands by the Bay. PETER ATENCIO

The La Salle women had to dig deep into their well of resolve to overcome the challenge of their Far Eastern University counterparts and win the first women’s beach volleyball title for their school last Sunday.

The Ateneo Blue Spikers likewise took their firstever men’s crown at the expense of University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday.

The La Salle pair of Kim Fajardo and Cyd Demecillo came up with a big rally in the final set in Game 2 to repulse Far Eastern University’s Bernadeth Pons and Kyla Atienza, 21-16, 26-23.

The Lady Green Spikers fought back from a 3-7 deficit and banked on the plays of Fajardo to score two of three crucial points in the final set.

With the win, Fajardo and Demecillo finished a tiring day with a two-game

Ateneo De Manila’s Kevin Baysa (1) makes a dig pass to teammate Mark Espejo (2) while University of Santo Tomas players Kris Guzman (2) and Anthony Arbasto (1) watch from the other side of the net during the UAAP Beach Volleyball Finals at the SM Sands By the Bay. PETER ATENCIO

ALA...

From B8

Prince Albert’s older brother Jason Pagara, who is rated No. 2 in the world by the WBO, was considered a question mark in his clash with Santos Benavides, a southpaw slugger from Nicaragua, but put on a surprisingly focused and aggressive performance to gain the recognition he failed to get in his last fight in Dubai against Ramiro Alcaraz, even though he came away with an eighth-round technical decision due to a cut suffered by Alcaraz.

Nonito Donaire, who did the TV coverage alongside Dyan Castillejo, enthused over “the great fight card” and singled out the Pagaras and Magsayo for their explosive performances.

Both Nonito and his father agreed that Prince Albert, who is ranked No. 3 by the IBF, could beat IBF champion Carl Frampton and WBA champion Scott Quigg of Britain.

“Overall, it was more than I expected,” said Aldeguer, pointing to the fact that “we got tough fights for all because we knew it was our first event in the US, which is con-

sweep of their best-of-three final series. Team alternate is Ernestine Tiamzon.

The road to the finals was almost as satisfying for La Salle after the school fought off crowd favorites Ateneo with Alyssa Valdez and Bea Tan, 20-22, 21-14, 16-14, in the rubber match of their Final Four semifinals showdown earlier in the day.

“Pag lamang kami, nagrelax kami. Kaya kailangang mag-adjust,” said Fajardo who is concentrating on indoor volleyball next year.

Teammate Demecillo is in her last season.

sidered the Mecca of boxing, where lot of people understand the sport and were watching. We need to build it up, work around this card.”

Aldeguer also said that Prince Albert Pagara “can beat most world champions in his weight division,” but conceded that “nobody can beat (Guillermo) Rigondeaux.”

The young boxing executive wants the top ALA boxers to spend more time in Los Angeles for its variety of sparring partners and good exposure.

As for a title fight for Prince Albert, “if it comes, it will come but not right away. We need to work on

Fajardo and Demecillo forced an 11-all deadlock after they focused their attack on the lesser experienced Atienza.

The pair trailed until Fajardo’s drop shot tied the contest for the last time, 23-all.

Demecillo then put La Salle ahead when her placement shot at the net sailed past Atienza, 24-23.

They completed their two-set sweep of Game 2 when Demecillo slammed in a long placement shot to the back.

“Pasiyensiyahan lang ito.

May mga oras kasi na pa-

the program.”

He plans to have fight cards in the first week of April in partnership with TFC in San Diego and another card in the Los Angeles area in June,.

“They won’t really be big fights yet. It’s something we want to build. I’ve always said it’s a longterm program,” said Aldeguer, who is hoping that the following in the US will grow by word of mouth and through the social media, similar to the epic movie General Luna, whose attendance in movie houses in the Philippines grew substantially.

god na sila,” said La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus as he explained how Fajardo and Demecillo won Game 2 through tenacity and resolve.

In the men’s action, the Ateneo duo Karl Baysa and Mark Espejo, who held a thrice-to-beat advantage, took Game 2 with a 19-21, 21-15, 15-11 victory over the University of Santo Tomas pair Anthony Arbasto and Kris Guzman.

They equalized the men’s finals at one-all after Guzman and Arbasto earlier won following 21-13, 21-17 verdict in Game 1.

The Ateneo Blue Spikers finally took their first-ever men’s crown as Espejo and Ysay Marasigan tripped UST’s Guzman and Arbasto, 21-16, 21-19, in Game 4 Wednesday.

Espejo and Marasigan went through four games in holding off the Growling Tigers.

UST dragged the thriceto-beat Blue Eagles to a decider with a 21-14, 21-16 win in Game 3.

They dealt the thrice-tobeat Ateneo spikers their first loss in the tournament when Guzman and Arbasto pulled off a 21-13, 21-17 victory in the opener.

But Espejo and Marasigan struck back in Game 2, giving the Blue Eagles the advantage with a comefrom-behind 19-21, 21-15, 15-12 win.

“Nagbunga lahat ng paghihirap namin,” said Espejo.

Marasigan, who is in his final year, was named the MVP while FEU’s Jude Garcia is the top rookie.

The UAAP has been experiencing explosive growth and popularity in the past years in large part due to the excellent coverage of broadcast partner ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN has not only set a benchmark on how to cover basketball games but has also set social media ablaze with audience engagement.

Just over 3,000 flag-waving, cheering Filipinos bought tickets for the fights which actually featured only five fights. The Stub Hub Center seats around 8,000, but it certainly wasn’t bad for a first endeavor.

He said people can also watch the fights on TV, even as he mentioned the habit of Filipinos “who like to watch in their homes on payper-view Filipino style where they gather a group and watch in their homes.”

He wants Filipinos in the US to realize: “It’s something different to look for. We need to educate them that Pinoy Pride is really ours.”

S U N D AY : O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

ARMAN ARMERO EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

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D-ROSE RARING

TO PLAY IN NBA SEASON OPENER FORMER NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose made his pre-season debut on Friday with a plastic mask protecting his ailing left eye and said he hopes to be ready for the start of the season next week.

“This opens it up even more,” Rose said of his chances of taking the f loor on Tuesday when Chicago take on Eastern Conference champions Cleveland to launch the 2015-16 NBA season.

“I don’t want to jinx myself.

But my eye is improving every day. It looks like it’s a go for me.

“This gives me a couple days to really work on it so I’m prepared for Tuesday.”

Rose has endured persistent swelling and blurred vision in his left eye after surgery on September 30 to repair a fractured left orbital.

Even with the injury he played aggressively in Chicago’s 103-102 exhibition win over the Dallas Mavericks.

“I felt good,” said Rose, who finished with eight points, one

assist and no turnovers in just over 10 minutes on the court, all in the first half.

“I love the way coach designed everything,” he said of the game plan of new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. “He has me running downhill and catching the ball with a live dribble. There are a lot of lanes and so many opportunities to drive. It’s open. I love it.”

In the past four seasons, Rose has played just 100 games because of various injuries, including surgery on both knees.

His latest injury came when he took an elbow to the face in practice last month. Although the effects have lingered, Rose said he’s ready to get the season under way.

“I’m just happy to be running around and get a groove for the game,” he said.

Lincoln, Nebraska Derrick Rose (#1) of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during a pre-season game at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. AFP

RECOLETOS OF VISAYAS COP TWO GOLDS IN 2015 MILO LITTLE OLYMPICS SCRABBLE

By Danny Simon PAGSANJAN, Laguna—Chess may be the most popular board game in the country, but scrabble isn’t too far behind.

Young scrabble players from the Visayas proved this recently, when they dominated the elementary and secondary levels for the second straight year against fellow word wizards from Mindanao, Luzon and National Capital Region to crown themselves national champions in the mindsport that is slowly being recognized as a competitive discipline.

The champion team was represented by outstanding students from University of San Jose Recoletos in both elementary and high school in Cebu City, who posted the highest cumulative score in the single round robin event of the 2015 Milo Little Olympics scrabble last Friday at the Level 2 of the CLA Mall here to bring home a pair of gold medals from event presentor Nestle Philippines—the maker of

leading Milo brand energy drink.

The back-to-back high school champion team was led by Board 1 player Viccel John Libradi, Board 2 Junifer Joseph Tuba, Board 3’s Franz Daniella Banquiran and Board 4 campaigner Gene Terere Montes who swept past their opponents while their elementary counterparts won a close match against NCR,11-10.5.

“It’s a combination of mind, heart and determination of our young players and their ability to stand the pressure from opposing players. That’s our motivation to stay on top in this prestigious event from Milo,” said USJR scrabble coach Marvin Tubalado said.

Tounament Manager Rose Lambino who heads the Unified Scrabble Association of the Philippines -USAPHI was all praises for the champion team and all the scrabble finalists for a very smooth outcome of the event that she said would inspire more young players to explore this mindsport which requires an analytical mind and mastery of the language.

Lambino also acknowledged the support of Milo Brand event manager Robbie de Vera and other Nestle officials in giving due recognition to the sport of scrabble in the Milo Little Olympics.

HAPPY FEET. Kids compete in the 6th Kopa ng Pagsila/Miguel G. Dizon

Football Festival at the Don Bosco Makati Football Field. The festival is held annually in memory of Miguel Dizon,the son of one of the trustees of the Laura Vicuña Foundation(LVF) for StreetChildren.Miguel,who died in 2008 of a brain aneurysm at age24, was an avid footballer during his schooldays. A record number of 260 boys/girls from underprivileged communities such as Tondo,Leveriza,Laura Vicuña center in Cubao joined the event. EY ACASIO

CHESS WIZARDS.

Participants led

by GM Eugene Torre (2nd from left) in the Battle of Grandmasters pose after the drawing of lots on Friday before the start of the tournament. Also shown in photo is (far right) National Chess Federation Exec.

Secretary GM Jayson Gonzales.

HENRY VARGAS

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rierA U. MAllAri EDITOR sports@thestandard.com.ph

sports ALA deLivers A knockout show

Mark Magsayo knocks out Yardley Suarez

By Ronnie Nathanielsz (Photos by JHAY OTAMIAS/ PHILBOXING.COM)

THE inaugural venture of ALA Promotions into the fiercely competitive boxing market in the United States was a rousing success from the standpoint of the interest it generated, mainly in the Fil-Am media in the West Coast, and even in the international and Philippine media, largely due to the support of the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN and its multiple platforms, including the widely watched The Filipino Channel, which was a partner in the event.

It took two years for the youthful and hardworking President and CEO of ALA Promotions in Michael Aldeguer to go through the process of obtaining a promoter’s license from the California State Athletic Commission, which in itself was a historic first.

While he was working on obtaining a promoter’s license, Aldeguer was hammering out the details of the fight card and the various activities that are a part and parcel of a US promotion, with

the help of ABS-CBN, TFC and the man, whose vision encouraged the creation of the hugely successful “Pinoy Pride” series, the sports consultant of the network and the voice of ABS-CBN, Peter Musgni.

With consistent support from the internationally known internet site philboxing.com, as well as Viva Sports’ boxingmirror.com and other boxing internet sites, the interest in the fight card at the StubHub Center in Carson City, California, grew.

The key to success was the match-

7 col x 10 cm

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making, where, as Aldeguer pointed out, “we got tough fights for all.”

In the main event, World Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes, the longest-reigning Filipino world champion, put his title on the line against Mexican champion Juan “Pinky” Alejo, who had a record of 21-3 with 13 knockouts and was rated No. 8 in the world.

Two other promising young fighters, whom Dodong Donaire, the trainer/father of five-division world champion Nonito Donaire said are “the future of Philippine boxing,” and on the threshold of becoming world champions -undefeated International Boxing Federation International super bantamweight champion Prince Albert Pagara and unbeaten IBF Youth world champion Mark Magsayo, faced experienced and explosive opponents.

The 21-year-old Prince Albert Pagara, who had a record of 24-0 with 17 knockouts, battled Nicaraguan southpaw William Gonzales, an aggressive, hard-hitting veteran, who had a record of 23 knockouts in 27

wins with 5 losses and was coming off a sensational seventh-round TKO of heavily-fancied Cornelius Lock last May 9, 2014, whom he dropped three times in the round to carve a name for himself.

The 20-year-old Magsayo, who boasted of an unbeaten record of 11-0 with 9 knockouts, battled undefeated Mexican slugger Yardley Suarez, who had registered 8 knockouts in 13 wins and had

Donnie Nietes wins

vowed to stop Magsayo within two rounds, boasting: “I have power in both hands. If I hit him in the body or chin he will go down. “ The tough talk didn’t mean a thing to Magsayo who, according to ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor, was “magnificent in sparring” against Mexican Olympic boxers and Russian and Japanese fighters at the Wild Card Turn to B6 Gym.

S U N D AY : O C T O B E R 2 5 : 2 0 1 5

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

S U NDAY L IF E

LIFE Ferdi Salvador and Agnes Desiderio

Rita Nazareno

Angel Jacob and Manu Sandejas

It’s a wrap! Standing from left: Joanne Ramirez, this columnist, Grace Tagle, Corine Alegre, Sara Black, Bianca Salonga, Katrina Holigores, Peter Stolchev, Luis Espiritu, Angel Jacob, Ronnie Salvacion, Manu Sandejas, Liza Ilarde, Ivarluski Aseron and Rita Nazareno. Seated from left: Jo Ann Bitagcol, Agnes Desiderio, Ferdi Salvador, Joey Samson, Pen Uy, Girlie Benitez and Malou Romero.

CAROTID ARTERY

BY TATUM ANCHETA “Oh no, what if the floor is slippery?”

“I think I’m going to faint!” “What if I trip?” “It’s so hard to be a model!” “Just be yourself!” “Shall I do a cartwheel?” “Do we go left?

Straight?” “Do I smile?” “I think I’m gonna throw up…” “I need a drink!” These are the frantic words you’d hear at the backstage of Manila Fashion Festival’s day two – well, this is the case particularly with Androgyne as different personalities get ready to walk the runway.

“I want to tap into the consciousness of the market to look beyond stereotypes and break boundaries set by the past,” explains Luis Espiritu, one of the creative minds behind the clothing brand Androgyne. “I want to open the perspective of the press, local fashion and the market that ‘fashion’ is for ‘real’ people. It’s the man who wears the clothes and not the clothes wearing the man.” And so, together with the other creative mind of Androgyne, Mikka Padua (also owner of Seek the Uniq, the online retail shop that carries the Androgyne brand), they decided that instead of the typical professional models, they tapped different personalities like celebrity photographers, fashion designers, managers, entrepreneurs, and editors like yours truly (gulp) to walk the runway to complete the brand’s Spring/Summer 2016’s Nowness collection. According to Luis, it’s the person who gives the collection its personality, not the other way around.

The Nowness collection is a contemporary everyday wear inspired by Japanese-EuropeanFilipino aesthetics that can be styled in several ways for more flexible options.

Culottes, loose cropped pants, robes, wrap-around skirts are predominant

Sara Black

IT’S THE MAN WHO WEARS THE CLOTHES PHOTOS BY SONNY ESPIRITU

Malou Romero and Ronnie Salvacion

Girlie Benitez and Grace Tagle

Fatima Rabago

The people behind Androgyne – Mikka Padua and Luis Espiritu

Debbie Eastwood Liza Ilarde, Vito Studio’s Bianca Salonga and Corine Alegre, Ronnie Salvacion, and Sara Black

in the designs with dark blue, autumn yellow, crimson, and maroon being the strongest hues in the collection.

You don’t have to have long legs or a long torso to wear the clothes; the clothes are meant for “real” people regardless of size, shape, and sex.

Androgyne lit up the runway when the personalities started to walk on the ramp, with the guests clapping and cheering for the familiar faces they see. I made funny faces as I walked closer to the

Randy Ortiz and Joanne Ramirez

front while seeing familiar faces in the audience – evident in the dozens of photos I saw after the show – lol!

All I could say was, “Darn, I should have smiled!” “What the heck was I making faces for?” “Ugh!” “Oh God, yes finally it’s over.” “Thank God I didn’t sneeze or trip!”

Some of the personalities who graced the runway are celebrity and fashion photographers Sara Black and Ronnie Salvacion; editors Joanne Ramirez and Liza Ilarde; fashion

Jo Ann BItagcol

This editor’s first walk on the runway

Mau de Leon

Katrina Holigores

Designers Ivarluski Aseron and Joey Samson

designers Randy Ortiz, Ivarluski Aseron and Joey Samson; ETC’s Channel Head Katrina Holigores; Vito Studio owners Bianca Salonga and Corine Alegre; Joanique designer Malou Romero; Mercator Artist and Model Management’s Mau de Leon; The Events Architects managing partner Ferdi Salvador; celebrity Angel Jacob; S.C. Vizcarra’s creative director Rita Nazareno; Jewelmer’s Pen Uy, among others. Like normal models, we sat there, waited for our

turn, had our makeup done and hot prepped for the show. For people like us who are used to being behind the scenes or watching the show from afar, the experience brought extra respect for the many beautiful male and female runway models who patiently wait the whole day, rehearse the whole day, queue for their makeup and dress like Speedy Gonzales backstage. With heavy breathing and awkward smiles in between, we braved the runway and brought to life Androgyne’s Spring/ Summer 2016 collection together with runway veterans Jo Ann Bitagcol, Grace Tagle, Girlie Benitez and Fatima Rabago, to name a few.

Manila Fashion Festival’s Spring/ Summer 2016 started last October 22 featuring the designs of Chris Diaz, Milka Quin, Nino Angeles, Enrico Carado, Renan Pacson, and John Herrera. Together with Androgyne, the runway featured Fino Leatherware, Happy Andrada, Odelon Simpao, Azucar, Mia Arcenas, and Avel Bacudio on its second day. Saturday designers are ARIN, Bengt Enrique, Eliz Marcelo, Via Valencia, Esme Palaganas, Tony Evan, Banggo Niu, Joy Chicano, Cheetah Rivera, Veejay Floresca, Patty Ang, Ann Ong, and Bomberg.

Catch the last leg today at 8 p.m. in The Eye located at Green Sun Hotel featuring Jaz Cerezo, Anthony Ramirez, Mark Bumgarner, Pablo Cabahug and Randy Ortiz.

For comments, suggestions and violent reactions, you may email me at tatum@thestandard.com.ph.

For my crazy life’s adventures follow me at @tatumancheta on Instagram and Twitter.

SUNDAY : OCTOB ER 25 : 2015

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

PORTRAIT

As a teenager, Jairus Ferrer knew what it was like to work in the field, drive the truck and harvest.

THE CURIOUS PATH OF JAIRUS FERRER Or why a farmer turned professional model turned entrepreneur believes in ‘rainforestation’

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ome of you may have seen his modeling pics, and in fact he was just recently elected to the board of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines, but 25-yearold Jairus Ferrer prefers to describe himself as an agriculture entrepreneur.

“My story is unique in a sense because I chose a different path that many would find peculiar,” he begins. Instead of going to a known university to obtain a college degree, Jairus “chose the road less traveled.

I took a gap year with the consent of my parents to really think what I would really like to pursue in life,” he continues, which led him to a character development/ farm business course called “Semilya sa Kinabuhi” in Bukidnon.

Not that farming is unknown to the young man, because he grew up in a farm environment that showed him early on

BY BING PAREL

the realities and struggles faced by people from different walks of life. Instead of wanting to escape that background, Jairus instead found inspiration to seek better avenues and solutions for people to see a future in agriculture. “I wouldn’t know what hard work would feel like if I didn’t work in the field, drive the truck myself, carry heavy goods, harvest, clean, process – day in and day out. Working in the field during my teens is what I consider the formative stages of my character,” he observes.

When Jairus moved to Manila, people noticed the 6-foot two-inches frame of this charmer, which landed him in several modeling jobs under PMAP. It was, to say the least, a totally new world for him. He became an active member, learning the ropes in the industry and the ins and outs of marketing to know

key influencers and helping launch a PMAP campaign called “I am PMAP” that provides a platform where models can jumpstart their careers in modeling and beyond – whether in business or arts or some other industry or profession. “We would like to be an avenue where we can hone and mentor not just fashion models but more importantly, model citizens who excel and be on top of their respective industries later on,” Jairus shares.

As a young agricultural entrepreneur, having co-founded Pronic Foods which focuses on the proper chaneling and logistics for niche products (such as Cenyu Probiotic Chicken), the young man is able to connect an age-old industry that is tailor-fit to the Millennial generation.

“I can now translate what a farm needs to sustain its operations and offer good food to the market, communicating this

in a way that the young generation can relate to,” he says.

Currently, Jairus is part of a “rainforestation” team called Hineleban Foundation that focuses on restoring the rainforests of Mindanao and providing livelihood programs in the region through transformational business partnerships with the indigenous people of Bukidnon.

“We were able to create a stable market in the metro for the premium coffee from Bukidnon, enabling us to provide ‘sustainable disposable income’ to our partner farms and continue the reforestation efforts in different parts of Bukidnon,” he reveals with understandable pride.

One could say that this early, Jairus Ferrer is living a fruitful life – and is exactly where he envisioned himself to be eight years ago when he set out to find what he really wanted to pursue.

TOP SM PARTNERS FETED IN GALA NIGHT

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M Supermalls marked a milestone in its history when it celebrated its 30th Anniversary in a twoday event dubbed “Bricks Click, Creating the New Marketplace” that began with a retail forum and culminated in a gala night at the SMX Convention Center where top partners were given recognition.

The event was SM’s way of thanking those who have been part of the SM Family from the time the first mall at SM City North EDSA was opened, as well as those who partnered with SM later and those who are now part of a new generation of corporate leaders. A total of 54 companies were honored in various categories that included Top Partners, Most Innovative Store Design, Green Retail and Best in Marketing during the Gala Night.

There were also awards for the Most Popular Brand through an online poll.

“Much has happened since we opened our first mall 30 years ago,” remarked SM Prime Holdings President Hans Sy in his keynote speech during the retail forum. “The retail landscape has become more global and competitive, technology has forever changed

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. president Hans Sy (3rd from right), SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia (rightmost) and SVP for Operations Steven Tan (extreme left) present the SM Top Partners Awards for inline stores to Octagon in the IT category received by Jon-Jon San Agustin, Thess Manganti of Let’s Face It in the Wellness category, Xandra Ramos and Precy Ramos of National Bookstore in the Specialty category, Virgilio Lim of Bench in the Fashion category, and William Tan of Jollibee in the Food category during the first SM Partners Night at the SMX Convention Center in celebration of SM Supermalls’ 30th anniversary.

the way we live and do things, and customer tastes have changed along with the times,” he said.

Challenged by online formats and social media, Mr. Sy, who is an engineer,

went on to cite the qualities which brick and mortar companies like shopping malls share: strength, durability, value, sustainability, and the ability to withstand the test of time.

By working closely together, SM and its partners have changed the Filipino lifestyle forever. “Our malls are indeed called cities, places where families and friends gather together to eat out, have fun, and even do their business transactions, and hear Sunday Mass,” says Sy. “We have become part of the lives of millions of Filipinos.”

It can be recalled that SM opened its first shopping mall SM City North EDSA in Quezon City. Ever the visionary, SM founder and chairman Henry Sy Sr. thought of building malls in the Philippines when he saw the shopping center development in the US during business trips abroad in the 1950s and 1960s.

Despite a major political and economic crisis during that time, the mall became an instant success. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Not surprisingly, SM is looking forward to the next 30 years. “We plan to develop four to five new malls in the Philippines each year, with our long term goal of having 100 malls around the country,” disclosed Hans Sy.

SUNDAY : OCTOB ER 25 : 2015

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

DREAMERS IN THE LAND OF WEAVERS AND CRAFTSMEN

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he first class municipality of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato is known for its lush mountains, lakes filled with tilapia, and indigenous tribes that call this serene and laidback town home. Apart from its magnificent attractions teeming with life, here one will also find the T’boli tribe that transforms their dreams into artistic t’nalak weave.

They are called the dreamweavers, and you don’t have to be asleep to meet them.

THE DREAMWEAVERS

Dreamweavers are rare, as a female T’boli member can only become one if, at a very young age, she is visited by the goddess of kendungon (abaca) Fu Dalu.

The dreamweavers weave their design into the abaca fibers based on the images Fa Dalu showed in their dreams

In these dreams, Fu Dalu is said to speak and guide them on how to create patterns and designs on the abaca such as ankiring (hair bangs), bulinglangit (clouds) and kabangi (butterfly). Hence, dreamweavers don’t use patterns when they weave, they use the images they remember from their dreams.

Dreamweavers are highly dexterous, quickly weaving and tying the abaca fiber into their desired design. You can find the dreamweavers on the second floor of a gono bong, a large T’boli house, weaving t’nalak or mentoring other weavers on the design of the cloth.

THE DREAMSMITHS

R e s i d i ng to ge t h e r w it h the dreamweavers are the dreamsmiths – metal benders and brass-casters also inspired by spirits who visit them in their sleep. They are the ones who designed and created the brass musical instruments used in T’boli performances – instruments that are believed to be a means to communicate with the spirits. Today, dreamsmiths

Feeding organic hogs at the Maribojoc Organic Farm

create the accessories that adorn every member of the T’boli tribe.

The products of the dreamsmiths are said to be one of a kind, for each one requires the creation of its own unique clay mold – which gets destroyed during the metal’s hardening and cooling down process.

You can find the dreamsmiths in their backyard, unmindful of the warm temperature as they work on melting and molding the metal into a variety of designs.

THE DREAMCARVERS

The dreamcarvers on the other hand work on wood instead of metal. A dreamcarver’s dexterity lies in the way he whittles and trims the wood until it forms a smooth surface shaped after a desired design. His skill lies not only by the nimbleness of his hands, but also in an inspired wisdom that fashions the designs and uses the gifts of nature to provide wonderful colors to accompany a dreamcarver’s works.

You can hope to find the dreamcarvers in their homes surrounded by fertile soil that supplies the trees they use for their wood and their colors.

The dreamsmiths work meticulously at Using nature as his material, the dreamcarver creating and piecing their brass art together. shapes wood into art and instruments.

THE DREAMCRAFTERS

Instead of abaca fiber, the dreamcrafters weave glass beads.

Their works exhibit a rich blend of colors and designs that are inspired by the spirits of those that inhabit the land around them. These dreamcrafters create masterpieces that exemplify the relationship between the people, the sprits, and their history.

The hands of dreamcrafters move quickly across, creating beads

Planting mangroves at the Savima Mangrove Adventure site

of wondrous designs and colors.

Their dexterity can also be seen in the way they form the beads with a knife, a thin metal rod and fire.

An experienced dreamcrafter needs less than one week to complete an entire necklace.

Dreamcrafters could be found in their homes forming beads of diverse colors and weaving them together to create a masterpiece proudly worn by members of the T’boli tribe.

Planting trees at the Bohol Biodiversity Complex

TPB JOINS EFFORTS TO REBUILD BOHOL

A

s part of its corporate social responsibility that focuses on helping preserve the country’s environment and cultural heritage, the Tourism Promotions Board recently took part in Habitat for Humanity’s “Rebuild Bohol” program to provide earthquakeresilient housing to nearly 6,000 families affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the province in 2013.

Working alongside Habitat for Humanity and DOT Region 7, the TPB workforce constructed houses for the victims of the Bohol earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda, and planted trees at the Bohol Biodiversity Complex and mangroves at the San Vicente Mangrove Forest Association Adventure site.

“We at TPB are not just committed to promoting the country’s tourist destinations.

TPB joins Habitat for Humanity in building houses for the victims of the 2013 earthquake

TPB’s Milo Oropeza (right) during the courtesy call on Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto

We also want to uphold environmental and cultural preservation. That is why our CSR activities integrate efforts to rebuild

communities and revitalize neighborhoods that depend on tourism,” says TPB chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III.

Before embarking on their mission in Bohol, TPB employees also participated in coastal clean-ups and planting of mangroves and coral fragments in Boracay. The team will be traveling to Camigiun Island in Mindanao to do similar CSR initiatives.

After completing their humanitarian mission in Bohol, the employees also visited the province’s two oldest churches, Loboc Church and Baclayon Church. They also witnessed the magnificent view of the world-famous Chocolate Hills in Carmen and the exotic tarsiers at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. The group also joined the locals in celebrating the Sandugo Festival, an annual month-long festival that commemorated the treaty of friendship between the Philippines and Spain. The festival was a featured event of TPB’s Visit the Philippines Year 2015.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Bernie Aboitiz, a cancer survivor, ICanServe Brand Ambassador was radiant that evening Rissa Mananquil-Trillo in an Eric Delos Santos creation

Patty Betita walked that catwalk with pride as a cancer survivor

@LIFEatStandard

Beauty in courage as personified ICanServe Ambassador Bianca

by Crisann Celdran – a cancer Araneta-Elizalde in a Rajo Laurel survivor walking the catwalk creation during Fashion Can Serve

Cancer survivor Ann Puno was a Toni Abad is a woman of courage ICanServe Ambassador Agot vision of beauty in strength in a having survived cancer Isidro in Eric de los Santos Lulu Tan-Gan creation

Michelle Dayrit-Soliven owned Lucy Torres’ mom and cancer the catwalk, having survived her survivor, Julie Torres battle with cancer

ICanServe Ambassador Amina Aranaz-Alunan in a Kristel Yulo creation

Cancer survivor Maritoni Fernandez

Alya Honasan’s story as a cancer survivor is an inspiration

An inspiring moment for cancer survivor Leah Caringal

WALKING ABREAST THROUGH FASHION ICanServe Foundation’s (from left) Camille Samson, Bettina Osmeña, Roxanne Singson, Elizabeth Virata and Marie France’s Issa Litton who was that evening’s Master of Ceremonies

#INTHEMOMENT

BY FRANCIS DE LEON

Marie France’s George Siy and Mimi Siy collaborated with ICanServe Foundation for Fashion Can Serve

Philanthropic ladies that supported ICanServe Foundation that evening – Marivic Vasquez, Glecy Mojares, and Patty Jalbuena

Family moment. In full support of the Fashion Can Serve event were Atty. Rene Puno, Mel Meer, Renee Puno and Luis Puno. Renee and Luis’ mother is a cancer survivor and modeled for Lulu Tan-Gan

Marie France’s Mikaela LagdameoMartinez and Facial Supporting ICanServe Foundation Care Centre’s were Anton San Diego and Ina Ayala Ana Roces

If fashion can bring people together for a common good to spread awareness on a serious health issue affecting many Filipino women (and some men), then it has served its purpose well. This was evident during the “Fashion Can Serve” fundraising fashion show held recently at the Raffles Makati grand ballroom.

Our country has the highest rate of breast cancer in Southeast Asia and ranks 9th in the world – undoubtedly prevalent in the Philippines. And yes, I personally know of brave women – who have battled the fight against the cancer or are still continuing to survive the ordeal – that are part of the statistics. My prayers and support goes out to all of them who each have an inspiring story to tell. For this columnist, it takes somebody strong to get through this medical issue and I can’t help but admire them for their spirit to press on and endure.

The message was clear, that early detection is key to breast cancer prevention. This is an advocacy championed by a group of women of the ICanServe Foundation, Inc. which provides hope for people at risk. The aforementioned beneficiary that evening shared their flagship program, “Ating Dibdibin” (Take Your Breast Care to Heart) to the audience composed of civic and business leaders and

Robin Horsman, Angeline Fiechter, Mimi Siy, George Siy, Dawn Zulueta-Lagdameo, Sharon Horsman, Jacqueline Share, NJ Torres and Peter Prestidge

the fashionable social set. I’m told this is the first community-based breast cancer screening program that teaches detection techniques to the medical team of a locality.

This drive brings education (which include diagnostic screening tests, seminars and trainings) directly to barangay health workers, midwives, nurses and doctors through their partnership with the local city government via the enactment of an ordinance, along with a permanent annual fund to sustain the program and subsidize the needs to rehabilitate patients with breast cancer.

Before the show, an auction was (effectively) spearheaded by the always engaging Tessa Prieto-Valdes who entertained the crowd with her gift of gab and utter wit. If my calculation is accurate, I estimate that she managed to raise (almost) a million pesos that evening (two thumbs up to you Tessa!) for ICanServe Foundation, Inc. The event brought together Philippine fashion’s finest who lent their creative talents to showcase an exquisite collection of holiday wear by Rhett Eala, Rajo Laurel, Lulu Tan-Gan, Eric De los Santos, Maureen Disini and Kristel Yulo. The

beautiful clothes were donned by models, celebrity advocates and breast cancer survivors (who all sashayed on stage with sheer confidence). The latter owned the catwalk and were (in my opinion) the highlight of the evening, all of whom merited rousing applause from the captivated audience.

Indeed, they were a vision of beauty (in courage).

Also that evening, ICanServe Foundation in collaboration with Marie France paid a special homage to women with breast cancer. The joint project aims to reach out and celebrate the brave women who are battling the fight against breast cancer.

They produced an empowering video entitled “Strength is Beautiful” – a tribute to evoke love and support for the women struggling with the illness. It was conceptualized and created by videographer Jason Magbanua, with the timeless voice of Lea Salonga singing a touching piece

by Marie Hines entitled Save It All. Likewise, its core message of empathy and compassion was beautifully narrated by Dawn Zulueta-Lagdameo. To borrow excerpts from her compelling message – “We know your story… We are here to hold your

Marie France’s Rima Ostwani

hand to be with you and share your journey.”

The video featured talents from both Marie France and sister company Facial Care Centre, all of whom volunteered their time and service to make the project possible. The video tribute included Agot Isidro, Bianca Araneta-Elizalde, Carmi Martin, Ana Roces, Bernadette Allyson, Shalani Soledad-Romulo, Patty Betita, Tessa Nieto-Villalon, Mikaela Lagdameo-Martinez, Rima Ostwani, Issa Litton, Sam Oh, Riki Flores, Camille Co, Lissa Kahayon and Kryz Uy. Also lending support was Nikoy de Guzman.

A good college friend, Bernadette Allyson-Ejercito expressed, “It felt really good to be part of something I feel very strongly about. Breast cancer is a serious concern that we face as women. I wanted to do my part in encouraging and empowering these women, reassuring them they are not alone.”

Indeed, to the women enduring their battle with breast cancer, you are not alone. Side by side, we share with your moment of triumph!

Follow me on Twitter or Instagram @francis_deleon8.

S UNDAY : OCTOBER 25 : 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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Korean filMfest and other Celebrations

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all visitors recently had a rare glimpse of Korean culture through music, dance, and movies in two recent events at the SM Supermalls. These included the 2015 Pinoy K-Pop Star competition at Centerstage cinema at the SM Mall of Asia and the Korean Film Festival, which unreeled at cinemas at SM City Cebu, SM City Iloilo, SM Lanang Premier, and SM Megamall.

A joint project of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the

Philippines and SM, these events allowed a deeper understanding of Korea’s cultural diversity, and also gave chance to talented Filipinos with interest in Korean culture to perform on stage.

The Korean Film Festival in Manila showcased seven blockbuster and critically acclaimed films, giving film lovers a glimpse of Korean history and culture as well as the connection and understanding of one another.

The thriving film industry of Korea represents their country’s open-mindedness, nationalism,

and creativity in storytelling, acting, and technological prowess. Filipinos were delighted by the Korean culture shown in the films. The seven films in the Korean Film Festival - Miss Granny, The Thieves, Duresori: The Voice of East, Cold Eyes, Hope, The Front Line, and Marriage Blue-were all well received by the viewers in these key cities around the Philippines.

The K-Pop Sing and Dance Competition, on the other hand, was open to talented Filipinos with the growing interest in Korean culture.

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The first part of the festival was the KBS World K-Pop Festival, a sing and dance competition of Korean songs for a solo, duo, or group artists. Ten contestants performed with Hergie Manlucot as the Grand Prize Winner, followed

by Val John Librea for the 2nd place and Jean Kiley Manguera for the 3rd place. Manlucot and Librea will represent the Philippines in the Online Regional Finals for the 2015 K-Pop World Festival in Changwon, South Korea.

The second part was the K-Pop Cover Dance Festival, a dance

competition for K-Pop cover groups across the country. Ten groups showed off their K-Pop moves with Se-Eon emerging as Grand Champion. They won a free trip to Changwon, South Korea where. they will represent the Philippines and compete with other dance teams from around the world. Sheeny won the 2nd Place, while AMIGO won the 3rd place.

The Korean Film Festival and the Pinoy K-Pop Star Competition are some of the many cultural events held at the SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall.

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1 Korean Cultural Center of the Korean Embassy K-Pop dance instructor and Eat Bulaga’s Dancing Diva, Dasuri Choi 2 Taking movies with (l-r) Dr. Hossein Faiyaz, Executive Director of Cultural Section of Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy, Film Development Council of the Philippines Executive Director Teodoro Granados, Korean Ambassador Kim Jae Shin, Mandaluyong City Counselor Francisco “Boy” Esteban, the Korean Embassy’s Counselor for Culture & Public Relations and Director of the Korean Cultural Center, Director Oh Choongsuk, and SM Megamall Regional Operations Manager Jocelyn Ann Lapid 3 Korean Cultural Center Event Coordinator Paola Ebora 4 At the K-Pop Sing and Dance Competition, Hergie Manlucot, performs his winning song, “Winter’s Love” by The One 5 (R-L) Republic of the Korea in the Philippines Ambassador Kim Jae Shin and his wife Madame Lee Jongmin with SM Senior Vice President for Marketing Millie Dizon at the Korean Film Festival launch at SM Megamall 6 Another Cover Dance finalist, the PIXIES, performs a remix of A-Pink songs 7 Se- Eon, the 2015 Pinoy K-Pop Star Grand Prize Winner in the Cover Dance category performs a remix of BTS songs 8 :2015 The EXQST, a finalist in the Cover Dance category, performs EXID songs in remix 9 Korean Cultural Center Senior Manager Lee Du-Kyung and Jung Num-Ji

3 deCades that Changed the world

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NN International has been broadcasting globally for 30 years.

In that period, momentous change has taken place – geopolitically, technologically, medically, and socially.

In a special program hosted by CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, CNN 30 – Three Decades that Changed Our World, CNN highlights moments in world history from the past three decades, and looks ahead to what the next 30 years might hold.

Filmed at McLaren’s Thought Leadership Centre, using a state of the art 360 degree timeline, CNN 30 – Three Decades that Changed Our World draws on CNN video archive to immerse the studio audience in the events which have shaped their lives.

Presented as a groundbreaking visualization, the timeline will lead the audience through the discussion.

Joining Amanpour is a panel of thought leaders who will contribute their understanding of the global developments…and imag-

ine what comes next, including Ekow Eshun, Baroness Susan Greenfield, Bernard Kouchner, and Elif Şafak.

CNN 30 – Three Decades that Changed Our World was filmed in front of a studio audience of people aged 30 and under, whose lives have been entirely shaped by the events under discussion – and whose futures are determined by the issues at hand.

The program airs in the Philippines at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Oct. 31. The following day at 9 a.m.it will be rebroadcast.

Christian Amanpour hosts CNN's show on its three decades in global news broadcast

S UNDAY : OCTOBER 25 : 2015

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

FOR mOviE bUFFS anD Tv SERiES aDDiCTS, FaSTEST bROaDbanD nOW in TOWn

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he country’s most powerful broadband PLDT HOME Fibr continues to redefine the Internet landscape by introducing the country’s first ever Gigabyte plan and the groundbreaking symmetrical speed feature that entitles users to equal upload and download speeds.

PLDT HOME Fibr runs on fiber-optic technology which is touted as the world standard for broadband making it capable to deliver the country’s fastest plan. PLDT’s most robust and widest reach of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) facility spans to 100,000 kilometers nationwide enabling it to provide the digital lifestyle needs of Filipino homes.

Earlier this year, PLDT HOME Fibr also upgraded the speeds of all its plans from a minimum speed of 8 Mbps to 20 Mbps, all

the way up to the 100 Mbps plan which was boosted to 200 Mbps.

PLDT Home VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said, “These massive speed boosts and the new symmetrical speeds combined with our unparalleled offers let our subscribers experience the ultimate digital lifestyle at the comforts of their home.

As the country’s most powerful broadband, PLDT HOME Fibr stands firm on its commitment to provide topnotch services for its consumers, reinforcing the strongest connections at home,” The introduction of these game-changing services from PLDT HOME Fibr come at the heels of recent partnerships with global content providers; South East Asia’s biggest internet TV provider iflix and the region’s biggest broadcaster Fox

International Channels (Fox), the country’s no. 1 pay TV provider Cignal and the country’s award-winning music portal Spinnr. Access to all the world-class multimedia content from these partners come free with any Fibr subscription.

PLDT HOME Fibr delivers powerful Internet speed of up to 1Gbps, allowing high-speed browsing of multiple websites, access to over 100 Cignal Digital TV channels and the country’s first symmetrical speed service. With plans starting at P1, 899, Fibr is now available in over 1,600 Fibr-powered villages nationwide including Valle Verde 1-6, Forbes Park, Dasmarinas Village and Ayala Alabang Village, among others.

For more information on the country’s most powerful broadband, visit pldthome.com/fibr.

Gary Dujali, PLDT Home VP and Home Marketing Director

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 84 87 88 89 93 94 95 97 98 99 100 101 103 104 106 107 108

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Actor — Reeves 6 Jabs with a tusk 11 Fix up 16 Dusk to dawn 21 Surmise 22 Beyond’s partner 23 Pool resources 24 Google rival 25 Edible bulb 26 Princess abandoned by Jason 27 Ventured 28 Fridge maker 29 California’s Big — 30 Buffalo hockey pro 32 Waffler’s answer 34 Earth’s star 36 High sign 37 Chicken style 39 Scouts unit 41 Ralph — Emerson 43 Earnings 45 Ms. Burstyn of film 47 Light incense to

49 51 54 55 56 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 82 83

Onetime teen mag Hung-jury result Excalibur End of Caesar’s boast Hit a fly Destroys data Dwindled Bumped against Luau music Red Sonja ally Jockey Aladdin’s servant Posh hotel lobbies Grill, perhaps Flour or sugar Sorts socks Pops Tijuana coin Heavy hydrogen discoverer Hitters’ ploys Sea cow Lou Grant portrayer Needing bleach Gives notice

110 111 112 113 115 116 117 120 122 124 128 129 131 133 135 136 138 140 142 144 145 146 147 148 149

Camera feature DEA agents Abrupt Lean-tos Breathlessly quiet Suspicion Make happy Portuguese king Divert Less than one Asian capital Violin middle Links goal Scribble Jessica of “Tootsie” Ring “Watermark” singer Puts the moves on Archaeology find Jai alai courts African tongue Call, as an elk Limb Contract proviso Steak cut (hyph.)

“Eating —” Ivy League member Deighton or Cariou Gridiron stats Beethoven’s “Fur —” Secret signs Winter Games grp.

Far from indifferent Port in a storm Gave a hand?

Wassailers’ song Cub Scout leader Thumb-turner Roger Glacial ridge Comic-strip queen Innsbruck locale “The Jungle Book” bear

Poster for the show Hunting Hitler on History channel

History explores Hitler’s possible WWii esCape

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id Hitler survive WWII? In Hunting Hitler, the new eight-part series on History, a team of renowned investigators reopens the world’s famous cold case in a definitive search to discover if one of history’s most notorious war criminals, Adolf Hitler, actually survived World War II. Premiering Oct.28 at 9 p.m., the channel’s latest television event sees 21-year CIA veteran Bob Baer, and leading war crimes investigator, Dr. John Cencich, alongside international investigators, Nazi hunters, fo-

rensic scientists and journalists, discovering new clues provided by declassified worldwide intelligence and modern technology.

From exploring a Nazi lair deep in the Argentinian jungle, a mysterious plane wreckage in a Columbian marsh, to diving for evidence of a missing U-Boat that could have shuttled Hitler out of Europe as Germany collapsed, the team will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

HISTORY™ is available on SKYCable Ch 67; Cable Link Ch. 44; Dream Satellite Ch 30; Destiny Cable Ch 57; and Cignal Ch 118.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2015

150 Thick with cattails 151 Center DOWN 1 Newsstand 2 The blahs 3 Really excited 4 Prefix for “recent” 5 Samovars 6 Horse’s hock 7 Merle of the silver screen 8 Aaron Copland work 9 Time to celebrate 10 Coal deposit 11 Mr. Kipling 12 Allow to happen 13 Employed 14 Corroded, as acid 15 Motel offerings 16 Striped antelopes 17 “— — Woman” 18 Accra’s country 19 Accept, as a check 20 Flatterer 31 Mercator’s tome 33 In — — (briefly) 35 Davis of “Evening Shade” 38 Vice — 40 Plains tribe 42 Horus’ father 44 Fleur-de- — (var.)

46 Mortgages 48 Take-charge type 50 Large lot 51 Put in a nutshell 52 Notched, as a leaf 53 Skimpy pullovers 54 With regret 55 Barn toppers 57 Rathskeller fare 58 Go fly — —!

59 Pick on 61 Windshield device 62 Pier 63 Unnerve 66 Not as common

67 69 72 73 74 76 78 79 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

Crews Landfill contents Adjusted a piano Have chips, say Fishing lures Courtroom rituals Thin-barked tree Painting on a wall Pegasus, e.g.

Formal ball Waiting line Physical condition Man or woman Loan-sharking Cancels

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Drain problems Spenser portrayor Physicist Nikola — Where things are Laid low (2 wds.)

Letter writer Southfork surname 1940s suit Iceboat feature Fictional cockroach Held title to Sleek sleds Make watertight

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Oil-rich — Dhabi Collide (2 wds.)

Reba’s genre Stellar Ravel classic Purified water Turf grabber Dripping Infuriate Slanting edge Up and about Hung in the sun Plunders Brilliance

130 — Wooley of 1950s pop 132 Kassel’s river 134 Defraud 137 “Xanadu” grp.

139 Lawyers’ org.

141 Language suffix 143 “Rope-a-dope” boxer

S UNDAY : OCTOBER 25 : 2015

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Nora auNor is mariaN rivera’s faN

Nora Aunor admits to being Marian Rivera's fan

from c8

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Aunor wants to work with Marian Rivera Senator Chiz Escudero says he doesn't have a problem with Heart Evangelista looking at her cell phone

ora Aunor had worked with Dingdong Dantes in Pari ‘Koy. Now, that she is a certified Kapuso , the Superstar, if given the chance, would like to work with the first couple of the Kapuso network – Dingdong and Marian Rivera. She admits that she is an avid fan of the couple, especially Marian.

Will her wish be granted by the GMA Network management? We will see if the ratings of her series on the network would yield favorable numbers for the executives to give her another project.

HHHHH No reasoN To be jealous Senator Chiz Escudero doesn’t care if her wife, GMA Network star Heart Evangelista, would take a look at his mobile phone once in a while. “I have no problem with that,” he said. “I have nothing to hide from her, in the first place.

Escudero said this during an interview on TV with GMA News anchor Arnold Claudio about his wife, Evangelista, who is now starring in Beautiful Strangers.

“Okay lang. May kasabihan, Igan, walang tinatago, walang dapat katakutan,” Chiz retorted with a laugh to Clavio’s question in Unang Hirit last week.

In earlier interviews on radio, Chiz admitted to feeling a bit insecure about Heart’s leading men.

Said Senator Grace Poe’s running mate, he feels insecure especially when Heart’s leading men in the TV series or in the movies are very good looking.

“Nakaka-insecure, siyempre kasi baka gwapo yung katambalan niya sa TV, yung mga kasama niya sa teleserye, siyempre kasi sila artista they’re all good looking,” said Chiz.

Yet, Heart always makes sure her husband won’t feel any tinge of jealousy.

“Insecure minsan pero Heart doesn’t make me feel that way. She always makes sure to make me feel secure sa mga bagaybagay na ganyan,” the Senator explained.

Escudero said he understands his wife’s work and that in some instances in the series her leading man would kiss her. It’s part of her job, he added.

HHHHH Kapamilya lauNches campaigN for vicTims of laNdo ABS-CBN recently launched its newest campaign “Show the Love,” a fund raising campaign for the benefit of the victims of typhoon Lando last on Oct 21 on the noontime show It’s Showtime.

The campaign, which was inspired by the popular It’s Showtime segment “Magpasikat Ka,” will be participated in by various

The Mike Bon GanG BrinGs halloween Cheer

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he Mike Bon Gang (or TMBG for short) marks the eerie but fun Halloween season with a series of shows at different venues in Metro Manila.

Catch them on Oct. 28 at Cable Car BGC, Oct. 29 at Kitchen 1B (KL Tower, Gamboa Street, Legaspi Village, Makati) and on Oct. 30 at Skinny Mike’s BGC. They recently completed the bar tour series at all Cowboy Grill branches.

The Mike Bon Gang is composed of lead singer and guitarist

Mike Bon, drummer Cholo Escano, and bass guitarist Jonathan Catacutan. TMBG is the group behind the song “Umaasa Pa Rin Ako” the theme song of the recently concluded GMA7 Koreanovela, Reply 1997. The song is currently enjoying airplay on various FM radio stations and the music video is airing on Myx and MTV. Their repertoire of current pop hits and retro music has found a cult following for the band whose members are also full-time independent musicians. Singer Buboy

Garovillo (whom The Mike Bong Gang met during a gig in Tagaytay) complimented them by saying “Masaya kayo tumugtog!”

Their self-titled album is now available at various Odyssey and Astroplus branches. It’s also available for digital download on iTunes, Apple Music and Amazon and for streaming on Spotify, Deezer and Guvera.

For more information about TMBG, check out their Facebook page or email tmbgang11@ gmail.com.

The Mike Bon Gang

Kapamilya stars who will go to different places, show their talents, and ask for any voluntary contributions from audiences using a coin bottle that they will be passing around.

It’s Showtime hosts Vhong Navarro, Karylle, Billy Crawford, Coleen Garcia, and Jhong Hilario kicked-off the campaign at Historia Bar in Quezon City where they thrilled audiences with their musical performances and gathered funds from its regular patrons.

“This is just the start of the ‘magpasikat for a cause’ movement. In the next few days, more and more Kapamilya stars will unite to showcase their talent and encourage Filipinos to show the love to our fellow Kapamilya who were affected by typhoon Lando,” Billy Crawford said.

According to a report from ABS-CBNnews.com, the number of deaths related to typhoon Lando climbed to 47 and 107,000 people are still sheltered in evacuation centers. Meanwhile, based from the data released by Department of Agriculture, an estimate of 412,000 metric tons of rice worth P6.3 billion ($137 million) were destroyed, causing a major loss to thousands of farmers in the country’s crop producing regions.

“All proceeds of ‘Show the Love’ campaign will be turned over to Sagip Kapamilya for proper dissemination in affected areas. We hope that Filipinos will take part in this relief drive in their own little way, so together we can give back to fellow Filipinos who need help so they may still enjoy the Christmas season,” ‘It’s Showtime’ host Karylle shared.

On Wednesday, ABS-CBN employees also took part in the “Show the Love” campaign.

Kapamilya stars and PBB housemates Joshua Garcia, Loisa Andalio, Fourth and Fifth Solomon, Kenzo Gutierrez, and Kamille Filoteo went around ABS-CBN offices with the coin bottle to ask employees for donations.

“Show the Love” is another relief project drive of the Kapamilya Network. In previous years, ABS-CBN has spearheaded successful fund raising projects, the most recent of which was the “Tulong Na, Tabang Na, Tayo Na” for the benefit of Yolanda victims in 2013.

An announcement was made in the show that those who want to send relief goods for the Lando victims could send them to the Sagip Kapamilya office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at #13 Examiner St. West Triangle, Quezon City. Rice, noodles, and canned goods are encouraged to be donated. They can also call the Sagip Kapamilya hotlines at 4114995/412-1459 for more details.

S UNDAY : OCTOBER 25 : 2015

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ ANC anchors Michelle Ong, Warren de Guzman, Cathy Yap-Yang, Edric Mendoza, and Salve Duplito

Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo, Ginger Conejero, David Celdran, Marie Lozano, and Gretchen Fullido

Paolo Abrera, TJ Manotoc, Gretchen Ho, Boyet Sison, and Bill Velasco

Ron Cruz, Gigi Grande, Tony Velasquez, Tina Monzon-Palma, Lynda Jumilla, and Teddy Locsin Jr.

Stanley Palisada, Caroline Howard, Lexi Schulze, Karen Davila, Karmina Constantino, Nancy Irlanda, and Raine Musngi

ANC uNveils progrAms ANd New look ISAH V. RED The country’s leading cable news channel is set to become even better.

ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel, will launch a new programming lineup on Monday to solidify its leadership and better serve its viewers with top of the hour news and in-depth analysis of issues.

At the same time, the 24/7 news channel will also unveil its new look, with its signature rhombus logo now featuring refreshed colors – a change that highlights ANC’s expertise in presenting stories with context amid an ever growing deluge of media information.

“What viewers will see is a newer and stronger ANC with a more robust and relevant lineup of programs covering politics, business, economy, lifestyle, and entertainment,” said Ging Reyes, SVP

and Head of the Integrated News and Current Affairs of ABS-CBN Corp., and the Managing Director of ANC. “And these shows will be more visually attractive as well — better form and better substance.”

ANC’s design overhaul will include the broadcast design of all its programs, which will prominently carry its red-and-blue scheme to show a cleaner, unified look that represents the holistic news experience ANC offers.

Right after a quick roundup of top news stories on News Now at 5 a.m., viewers can get their twoand-a-half-hour’s worth of news, human interest and lifestyle stories on the new Mornings@ANC at 5:30 a.m., with a new team of anchors to keep viewers informed about what they need to know to start their day.

Leading the Mornings@ANC team are David Celdran and Ginger Conejero who will deliver the biggest headlines and lead incisive discussions on current events. Not to be missed are David’s interview

with CEOs and influential business leaders, as well as his insightful talks on business, economy, and politics.

Joining them are Gigi Grande, who will provide a thorough look at the most relevant stories from around the metro, Southeast Asian region, and the world, and Paolo Abrera, who will provide weather updates and news on traffic situations in key areas around the metro.

New additions to Mornings@ ANC include Gretchen Ho and On The Money anchor Edric Mendoza who will deliver special reports covering entertainment, sports, technology, lifestyle, travel and leisure, arts, culture, and fashion.

Aside from Mornings@ANC, viewers will also be seeing more of Gretchen on her own new program The Daily Serve, where she will give viewers a comprehensive look at the day’s major sports stories, as well as health and fitness-related information and throwbacks to the greatest moments in sports. The program

will air at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Meanwhile, Market Edge will also kick off its morning edition on Oct. 26 with award-winning broadcast journalist Cathy YapYang giving real-time updates from the Philippine Stock Exchange and other regional markets, insight into the top financial and economic news, and exclusive interviews with newsmakers. It will be followed at 10 a.m. by News Now, anchored by veteran journalist Nancy Irlanda, who will bring the freshest updates in national and foreign news, business, sports, weather, and social media.

“ANC is known for its discerning news, relentless coverage, and complete news experience delivered by seasoned journalists and experts,” Reyes said. “Our strong team of journalists further enhances the ANC brand as the go-to channel of business leaders and decision-makers for breaking political and business news.” ➜ Continued on C7

What viewers will see is a newer and stronger ANC with a more robust and relevant lineup of programs covering politics, business, economy, lifestyle, and entertainment – Ging Reyes, SVP and Head of the Integrated News and Current Affairs of ABS-CBN Corp., Managing Director of ANC