The Standard - 2016 March 27 - Sunday

VOL. XXX  NO. 43  3 Sections 24 Pages P18  SUNDAY : MARCH 27, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

RAIDS AGAINST TERROR

B4

NOY’S HOUSING UNITS ‘HELLISH’

By Christine F. Herrera

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III’s close allies in Congress have demanded that the Palace account for the anomalous P18.6-billion housing projects as they condemned the “hellish, inhumane, and uninhabitable” shelters for military soldiers and policemen.

Magdalo Reps. Gary Alejano and Francisco Ashley Acedillo, close allies of the President, protested the “squatter treatment” accorded the men in uniform.

Alejano said the soldiers and policemen defied the order to occupy the multibillion-worth of hellish units even if the National Housing Authority threatened to revoke the awarded housing units if they continued to refuse to occupy the shelters.

“The multibillion, substandard housing units do not have access to social services, transportation, resulting in a burdensome life and a hellish residential environment for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police personnel and their families,” Alejano said.

“But the soldiers and cops are being forced to occupy the multibillion substandard units or the awarded units would be revoked. Is that how you treat the soldiers and cops who risk their lives for all of us?” Alejano said.

In an interview with The Standard, Alejano said the Magdalo lawmakers did ocular inspections and found that substandard design and construction of the units were the same in Baras, Rizal; Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon; Zamboanga; Bacolod; and Bulacan, with each province supposed to house 10,000 units.

He cited the case in Rizal where there were 2,000 units constructed but only 180 turned up to accept and occupy the units. There were 140 from the military and 40 from the PNP. The same low occupancy rate was noted in other provinces, Alejano said.

“The communities where our military soldiers and policemen are being relocated did not have access to transportation, public markets, schools, hospitals and churches,” Alejano lamented. “The areas are so isolated, the families felt they were not secure.”

Next page

SISTER ACT IN PARIS

B6

POPE SLAMS UNFAITHFUL MINISTERS, TERRORISTS

ROME—Pope Francis decried the “indifferent and anesthetized conscience” over migrants and also slammed pedophile priests, arms dealers and fundamentalists during the traditional Stations of the Cross rite on Good Friday.

Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful gathered for the service, many clutching candles in the imposing surrounds of the city’s famous Colosseum, where thousands of Christians were killed in Roman times.

“O Cross of Christ, today we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anaesthetised conscience,” the 79-year-old pontiff said, referring to the thousands who set off in unseaworthy boats to reach Greece and the rest of Europe.

Francis has long called for the global community to open its doors to refugees and fight xenophobia—appeals which have intensified since a controversial deal between Europe and Turkey to expel migrants arriving in Greece.

The Argentine pope did not spare his own Church, fiercely denouncing pedophile priests whom he described as those “unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity.”

The Roman Catholic Church continues to be dogged by cases of predatory priests and past cover-ups. Just this month, a French cardinal faced calls to resign over allegations he promoted a cleric who had a previous conviction Next page for sexual abuse.

WAY OF THE CROSS. Pope Francis listens to one of the meditations on the sufferings of people around the world during the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) rites at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday. AFP PHOTO

S U N d ay : M a R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

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news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

troops nab bomb courier

By Francisco Tuyay

AN Army task force arrested a 22-year-old resident of Kidapawan City who was caught with explosives at a checkpoint in Davao City’s Toril district on Good Friday, the authorities reported on Saturday.

HEIGHTENED ALERT. Policemen at Terminal One of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport stand by departing passengers who now have to undergo tougher security measures after the Belgium terror attack that killed 34 people and injured 166 others. ERIC APOLONIO

NOY’S...

From A1

“The reason for the very low occupancy rate at less than 10 percent is because the units are not livable. It is hellish to live there. The government would only make their lives miserable and our soldiers and policemen would not be able to carry out their jobs if they would worry about the families they leave behind. There is no drainage, no water, no power, not even a playground for children,” Alejano said.

“While the men and women in uniform were deployed to areas risking their lives fighting for all of us, their wives and husbands are left behind queuing to fetch water,” Alejano said.

“The substandard AFP and PNP housing units bastardized the sacrifices rendered by our gallant soldiers and policemen,” Alejano said.

Alejano said the P18.6-billion project was started in 2012 by the NHA that was placed under the Office of the President.

“The NHA is mandated to implement the AFP-PNP Housing program, a flagship program of President Aquino that seeks to provide permanent housing and security of

POPE...

From A1

In the wake of this week’s deadly attacks in Brussels, Francis slammed “terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence.”

The pope added it was “arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters” and raged against “traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death.”

Francis also evoked the expres-

tenure to low-salaried military and police whose need for housing must be addressed immediately,” Alejano said.

He said some 120,000 soldiers from the AFP and 150,000 from the PNP were supposed to be the target recipients of the housing projects.

“Of the 67,000 units constructed and completed in phases one and two of the four phases, less than 6,700 soldiers and police opted to occupy the houses because of the hellish residential environment. All the rest are vacant and fast deteriorating. Some P18.6 billion in public funds all going to waste,” Alejano told The Standard.

“The foundation and walls [of the housing units] were not completely filled in with cement, the septic tank easily unearthed because of the thinness of the concrete cover and other pertinent issues related to poor construction,” according to Alejano.

“The men and women of AFP and PNP deserve better housing conditions given their commitment, dedication and loyalty to protect and defend the Filipino people from harm,” according to Acedillo.

The lawmaker-allies filed House Resolution 2466 urging Congress to investigate the National Housing Authority as to where it brought the

P18.6-billion budget for Aquino’s housing flagship program.

They said they were incensed but were not surprised to find that only less than 10 percent of the 67,000 soldiers and policemen who were awarded the housing units chose to occupy the uninhabitable and substandard houses.

Alejano described the housing units as “bahay kalapati,” or pigeon coops, where there is no proper ventilation and elbow room to move around the house.

He said there was a provision for an attic but that the loft was too low the occupant had to bow low to get to move around the attic. The unit has a floor area of only 22 square meters and is made of light materials.

“Worse, the units are not equipped with water and power amenities,” Alejano lamented.

“As guardians of peace and protectors of democracy, the provision of decent housing is a small price to pay for the freedom we currently enjoy,” Acedillo said.

Alejano said the 22-sq. m. substandard units are being paid for by the soldiers and police for P150,000 to P200,000 at P150 to P200 in monthly amortization, payable over 30 years.

Alejano said the NHA has failed

to consult the end-users considering that the soldiers and policemen can easily afford even five units with monthly amortization of P1,000.

“The NHA obviously failed to consult our soldiers and policemen being the end-users because they were being treated like informal settlers who needed subsidy and preferably be provided with free housing. But these men and women in uniform are salaried state enforcers who deserve to be treated with respect and provided with decent housing that they can easily afford,” Alejano said.

The AFP top brass informed the Magdalo lawmakers that the transfer to the completed units was hampered by the soldiers still assigned to the field and have yet to find time to relocate their families.

The soldiers, the AFP leadership said, also needed some money to improve on their units particularly in making sure the provisions for power and water were fixed.

Alejano demanded that the NHA identify the developers that constructed the multibillion substandard housing units.

Alejano said they have raised their concerns with the NHA in October but that the agency has yet to give proper answers to their queries.

sions on the faces of children fleeing war “who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands”—a reference to Pontius Pilate, who, according to Christian tradition, said he was bowing to public demand in ordering Jesus’s crucifixion, in a bid to shrug off personal responsibility.

In his wide-ranging diatribe, the head of the Roman Catholic Church lashed out at persecutors of Christians in particular, lamenting “our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence.”

He also turned a steely gaze on

Western cultures, talking of “our egotistical and hypocritical society,” which casts off the elderly and disabled and lets its children starve.

During the service, a small group of believers carried a cross between 14 “stations” evoking the last hours of Jesus’ life during the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession, amid visibly heightened security at the former gladiator battle ground.

Sitting under a red canopy next to a large cross, Francis listened earlier to a lengthy meditation written by Italian Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, who spoke of the darkest moments of humanity, where belief in God is most deeply shaken.

“Where is God in the extermination camps? Where is God in the mines and factories where children work as slaves? Where is God in makeshift boats that sink in the sea?” he said in reference to the migrant vessels and the many who have drowned.

Good Friday is the second of four intensive days in the Christian calendar culminating in Easter Sunday, commemorating Christ’s resurrection.

On Saturday, the pontiff will take part in an evening Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, before celebrating Easter mass on Sunday and pronouncing the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the world. AFP

The authorities arrested Roy Moreno, a resident of Sinsuat Street in Kidapawan City, hours after government troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf extremists in the hinterlands of Basilan province, resulting in the killing of two Abu Sayyaf militants.

Chief Inspector Milgrace Driz, spokesperson of the Davao City Police, said elements of Task Force Davao found two improvised explosive devices, bomb components and a hand grenade in the backpack of Moreno who was aboard a passenger van that was stopped at the checkpoint Friday evening.

But Moreno said on questioning that he did not know the backpack contained the bombs and claimed that he was only told by a certain Commander Bobby of the New People’s Army Front 54 ordered him to bring it to Toril district.

Moreno, who is now facing charges of illegal possession of explosives and violations of the Omnibus Election Code, claimed the supposed leader told him he would be later told where to bring the bag.

Earlier on Good Friday, the military killed two Abu Sayyaf Group members, including an explosive expert, and injured six others in a three-hour clash starting 7:55 a.m. in Al-Barka, Basilan.

Also wounded in the incident were seven government troops— five soldiers and two militiamen.

They were taken to Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City and are now in stable condition.

Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Maj. Filemon Tan said the slain ASG explosive expert was identified as Eric Ajibon, who is also a sub-leader, and the other one was only known as a certain Abu Ayan. Their remains are in the custody of the police for proper disposition.

Tan said Ajibon is believed to be responsible for a series of bombings against the government forces and business establishments in Basilan province.

According to Tan, the clash ensued after residents reported to the Army’s 4th Special Forces Battalion the presence of around 40 ASG militants, led by Isnilon Hapilon, in Sitio Luglugi, Barangay Macalang, Al-Barka.

Tan said they received intelligence report that six followers of Hapilon were wounded during the clash and were dragged by their fleeing comrades.

He said the troops recovered war materiel and personal belongings at the clash site.

s u n d ay : M a R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

LAWYERS QUESTION SENATE BET’S TV ADS THE National Association of Lawyers for Justice and Peace again challenged senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros to prove that the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corp., of which she was a director, did not spend public funds for her campaign.

NALJP founding chairman Jesus Santos described as “incredible” Hontiveros’ claim that private parties paid for the commercials of PhilHealth which has been accused of given baseless and unauthorized bonuses to its officials despite notices of disallowance from the Commission on Audit.

“The funny thing is the commercials of Miss Hontiveros started before she was named a senatorial bet of the administration. So why did it have to be her? Surely, PhilHealth has other equally talented personnel who could have done what Miss Hontiveros did,” Santos said.

Santos pointed out that it was not Hontiveros’ job as a board member to appear as image model in PhilHealth commercials on the activities of the agency.

“Were Miss Hontiveros’ commercials legal or duly authorized? And how much are we talking about,” Santos asked.

Hontiveros, who was named PhilHealth director in 2015, had earlier said she was asked by the health insurance agency to endorse its programs and the infomercials were just part of PhilHealth’s information dissemination campaign.

At the same time, she said no public funds were used for the infomercials because “friends in the private sector, who believe in me and PhilHealth’s programs, defrayed all costs in the making of the said infomercial.”

But Santos challenged Hontiveros to reveal who paid for the commercials and urged her to also explain her position on the bonuses that PhilHealth gave its executives despite a CoA disallowance.

“Miss Hontiveros is silent up to now about the unauthorized bonuses,” Santos said. “The people have the right to know how she handled the issue. Did she opposed it, how?

Did she return what she received?”

According to the CoA, PhilHealth gave various unauthorized incentives to its officers and workers in 2013, including subsistence and laundry allowances totaling P53.131 million; productivity incentive allowances and bonuses of P302.954 million and hazard pay of P96.157 million.

BALLOT ‘BATCH ENTRY’ PLAN HIT

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

THE congressional oversight committee on the automated election system said on Saturday the panel will summon the Commission on Elections over its plan to have its inspectors feed ballots into the counting machines in the May elections instead of the voters themselves.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel, cochairman of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System, said he has already raised concerns over the plan even before the Holy Week holiday, but has received no response.

“We will have to ask them [and] will send them additional questions,” Pimentel said, referring to the Comelec plan to order the board of election inspectors (BEIs) to feed the voters’ ballots by batch in case the machine runs out of paper.

Pimentel raised his concerns amid reports that the Comelec may “batch feed” ballots in the event some of the

country’s 82,000 polling precincts still do not have the required thermal paper on election day.

A source confirmed that the Comelec has “no other option” but to instruct voters to drop their ballots in a designated ballot box until the arrival of the thermal paper when an election inspector can then feed the ballot into the vote counting machines.

“Even if they bid it, the thermal paper may not reach all respective precincts on time, [the Comelec’s] contingency plan is to drop the ballots into designated boxes and the BEIs will be the ones to feed the bal-

lot into the machine per batch,” the source said.

The source said the absence of thermal paper in the vote counting machine may cause the machine to shut down after the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail was activated and configured in the machine’s secure digital card.

But the source also feared that unscrupulous people may feed tampered or fake ballots in the machine. “That will not be an honest and clean elections [in that case],” the source added.

The fear is shared by voters themselves as expressed by Erald Finuliar, a voter of Pangasinan, who said “they may give me a fake ballot and feed-in prepared ballots.”

Catherine Sanidad, a registered voter in Manila, said she wants to feed the ballots herself and will not let the BEIs feed the ballots into the machine. “Their plan is a subtle way of disenfranchising the voter’s right to elect the candidate they want,” she said.

S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A4

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

A5

IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR TRUMP TO LOSE THE NOMINATION

By Jonathan Bernstein

[ EDI TORI A L ]

THERE are three ways that Donald Trump still could be denied the Republican nomination.

He could lose the delegate lead: Trump is ahead of Senator Ted Cruz by a little less than 300 delegates. That’s a large advantage, but there are still more than 800 bound delegates remaining to be selected, almost all of them in winnertake-all or winner-take-most states. There isn’t enough polling data to indicate what’s going to happen in most of these.

And that delegate lead is a little shakier than it might seem. About 200 delegates are either uncommitted or allocated to candidates who have dropped out of the race. Most of them are free to choose, and there’s reason to believe that most won’t support Trump. Once they declare, Trump’s margin could narrow.

There’s an interactive effect, too. If Trump is winning, the free-to-choose delegates will tend to either support him or remain undeclared.

If Cruz (or even Governor John Kasich) starts winning, they’ll move in that direction.

If Trump does lose the delegate lead before the convention, it’s extremely unlikely that he could recover to win the nomination.

He could retain the delegate lead, but fail to reach the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination. If Trump doesn’t win any of the uncommitted or unbound delegates, he needs to win about 60 percent of the remaining bound delegates to get over the top. He’s on pace to fall short by just a few delegates, according to several close observers.

If Trump can’t quite reach 1,237 after the July 7 primaries, he will try to get them during the pre-convention period, the six weeks between the final primaries and the convention.

Party actors who have opposed Trump throughout the primaries will be important players in that scenario. They might fight on, risking a very messy or even downright ugly convention. If most party actors accept Trump as the nominee, it’s likely—though hardly certain—that enough delegates will follow that Trump will get over the hump.

The key questions for party actors at this point are simple: How far from 1,237 Trump remains; what public opinion polls say about both the nomination and the general election; and the extent to which Trump has either reconciled with the party or failed to do so. They might also pay attention to polling on voter preferences about procedure—the new Bloomberg Politics poll has voters preferring the plurality candidate from the primaries over delegates acting on their own—but voters are unlikely to have strong views about procedure, at least if they wind up with a candidate they can support. AFP

‘INHOSPITABLE’ THE board of directors of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. has accepted the offer of the bank’s president, Lorenzo Tan, to go on leave. The bank has taken center stage during investigations into the $81-million heist of the Bank of Bangladesh. The money was transferred out of the Federal Bank of New York to a branch of RCBC and eventually found its way to various accounts opened under curious circumstances.

According to Tan, his leave would allow him to focus on clearing his name. He has been tagged by the branch manager, Maia Deguito, as being friends with one of the account holders, even asking her to “take care” of the individual, Kam Sin Wong, also known as Kim Wong.

Meanwhile, Deguito and another officer of the bank, Angela Torres, had been terminated by the bank. Deguito is already facing charges for her supposed role in the opening of the spurious accounts.

The Bangko Sentral has vowed it would make the Philippines “inhospitable” to money launderers and those who commit financial fraud. It said it would hold accountable banks that fail in their responsibility. RCBC has apologized to its stakeholders and clients for its involvement in the mess.

Apologies, however, are never enough to restore the banking public’s confidence in a system that has proved full of loopholes. If there is one thing the bank heist shows, it is that all the country’s teeth in preventing the laundering of funds remain on paper. In truth, there are plenty of opportunities for launderers to exploit the system, knowing that the public’s attention span is short and that the people are easily mollified by seeing anybody—even small fry—punished for a large-scale ill.

The next hearing will be on Tuesday, but we doubt whether any real solutions in aid of legislation will be arrived at given the unfortunate timing of the scandal, coinciding with the campaign period. The loopholes in the bank secrecy law and the non-inclusion of casino operations in anti-money laundering regulations have been there a long time, but nobody has raised them until recently. These are bound to remain in oblivion if the people focus on the circus but not on resulting action.

A regulatory system that is inhospitable to money launderers sounds good but is a mere description of a goal rather than a statement about the actual situation. What’s happening is bad for the country’s global image, and even worse for our efforts at genuine reform.

DEMANDING A CLIMATE AGENDA IF you were asked to name the single most pressing problem that the Philippines faces at this point, what would your answer likely be? Chances are, it’s any of the following: poverty, corruption, education, infrastructure, unemployment, peace and order, and drugs.

And indeed, these are the topics on which the presidential candidates focused on during their debate last Sunday. So absorbed were they with these pressing problems that none among the four was able to articulate a coherent stand when asked about the issue of climate change, specifically their position on balancing the country’s energy

requirements with the need for clean, renewable sources of such.

Let’s make no mistake about it: Poverty, corruption, unemployment, drugs, inadequate education, infrastructure, and peace and order are urgent and must be addressed. Failure to do so will compromise Filipinos’ quality of life and prevent them from becoming productive citizens.

Still, these must not allow us to leave out concerns on the environment and on preparing for disasters. Sure, when the weather is good and everything appears business as usual, it is easy to forget that the problems we face include those we do not always see and those that will outlive us.

And then the next big storm comes, and we are left scrambling,

wondering why we never learn.

Climate change goes beyond political terms or election cycles.

*** Former United States Vice President Al Gore was in Manila earlier this month to conduct a three-day training on climate change. Gore also visited Tacloban City on the weekend before the training and saw for himself the devastation wrought

by Typhoon “Yolanda” more than two years ago. He said he talked to a few families about their ordeal and how—if at all—they had managed to rebuild their lives.

“We don’t have centuries,” Gore, founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, said as he opened the three-day conference held March 14 to 16 at the Sofitel. “We have years.”

The former US veep started by showing a photo of the earth taken from space. It’s a beautiful photo that reminds us of how precious the planet is but also masks the actual danger that earth faces. In truth, the planet is like a sewer that absorbs all the greenhouse gases spewed into the atmosphere. While there are numerous sources of GHGs, 85 percent of the world’s energy requirements are still sourced from dirty carbon-based fuels, Gore said. This has caused the substantial warming of the atmosphere, making the number of extremely hot days higher than the number of cooler-than-average days.

In fact, 2015 was the hottest year on record—and 2016 is promising to surpass that. The heat energy being

trapped in the atmosphere is equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding every day of the year.

Gore established the link between warm atmosphere and extreme weather events. A staggering 93 percent of the additional heat is trapped in the oceans, and the warmer oceans evaporate more water vapor into the skies. He described these as “atmospheric rivers” that unleash record downpours, resulting in unprecedented flooding and devastation in communities.

At the same time, the heat trapped

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in the atmosphere also siphons moisture off of the land, causing forest fires and equally unprecedented drought.

These phenomena breed food and water shortages, geopolitical instability and disease. And, as Pope Francis reminds us, the gravest effects of attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest. *** But Gore is not just a prophet of doom. Yes, he tells us that the situation is dire and the consequences of inaction will be greater. Yes, the poor

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are suffering the most. But something can still be done.

As he said on his Ted Talk posted last month, humankind can reverse the trend. He cites causes for optimism: The use of wind and solar energy has surpassed projections exponentially, and costs have been going down.

In Paris last year, 196 countries signed an agreement committing to curb their emissions. The agreement, assessed by experts as not perfect but good enough, at least embodied nations’ recognition of

the need to act in concert to prevent global temperatures from increasing at a runaway rate—beyond which catastrophe will happen.

Finally, the best approach to be taken is from the grassroots. People need to demand from their leaders that the climate crisis, specifically what must be done in both mitigation and adaptation, be put on the agenda. Leaders must make it part of the conversation not just because it is fashionable, not just because any nation is a major or minor historical or current emitter, but be-

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cause it is the kind of concern that has profound effects on our present and our future.

Forget screaming headlines or catchy sound bytes. The climate crisis deserves its place alongside other national concerns. It certainly has a span much longer than any political term or election cycle.

Is it really asking too much of our candidates to get them to talk about their plans, if they even think this is worth planning about in the first place? adellechua@gmail.com

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S U N D AY, M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A4

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

A5

IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR TRUMP TO LOSE THE NOMINATION

By Jonathan Bernstein

[ EDI TORI A L ]

THERE are three ways that Donald Trump still could be denied the Republican nomination.

He could lose the delegate lead: Trump is ahead of Senator Ted Cruz by a little less than 300 delegates. That’s a large advantage, but there are still more than 800 bound delegates remaining to be selected, almost all of them in winnertake-all or winner-take-most states. There isn’t enough polling data to indicate what’s going to happen in most of these.

And that delegate lead is a little shakier than it might seem. About 200 delegates are either uncommitted or allocated to candidates who have dropped out of the race. Most of them are free to choose, and there’s reason to believe that most won’t support Trump. Once they declare, Trump’s margin could narrow.

There’s an interactive effect, too. If Trump is winning, the free-to-choose delegates will tend to either support him or remain undeclared.

If Cruz (or even Governor John Kasich) starts winning, they’ll move in that direction.

If Trump does lose the delegate lead before the convention, it’s extremely unlikely that he could recover to win the nomination.

He could retain the delegate lead, but fail to reach the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination. If Trump doesn’t win any of the uncommitted or unbound delegates, he needs to win about 60 percent of the remaining bound delegates to get over the top. He’s on pace to fall short by just a few delegates, according to several close observers.

If Trump can’t quite reach 1,237 after the July 7 primaries, he will try to get them during the pre-convention period, the six weeks between the final primaries and the convention.

Party actors who have opposed Trump throughout the primaries will be important players in that scenario. They might fight on, risking a very messy or even downright ugly convention. If most party actors accept Trump as the nominee, it’s likely—though hardly certain—that enough delegates will follow that Trump will get over the hump.

The key questions for party actors at this point are simple: How far from 1,237 Trump remains; what public opinion polls say about both the nomination and the general election; and the extent to which Trump has either reconciled with the party or failed to do so. They might also pay attention to polling on voter preferences about procedure—the new Bloomberg Politics poll has voters preferring the plurality candidate from the primaries over delegates acting on their own—but voters are unlikely to have strong views about procedure, at least if they wind up with a candidate they can support. AFP

‘INHOSPITABLE’ THE board of directors of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. has accepted the offer of the bank’s president, Lorenzo Tan, to go on leave. The bank has taken center stage during investigations into the $81-million heist of the Bank of Bangladesh. The money was transferred out of the Federal Bank of New York to a branch of RCBC and eventually found its way to various accounts opened under curious circumstances.

According to Tan, his leave would allow him to focus on clearing his name. He has been tagged by the branch manager, Maia Deguito, as being friends with one of the account holders, even asking her to “take care” of the individual, Kam Sin Wong, also known as Kim Wong.

Meanwhile, Deguito and another officer of the bank, Angela Torres, had been terminated by the bank. Deguito is already facing charges for her supposed role in the opening of the spurious accounts.

The Bangko Sentral has vowed it would make the Philippines “inhospitable” to money launderers and those who commit financial fraud. It said it would hold accountable banks that fail in their responsibility. RCBC has apologized to its stakeholders and clients for its involvement in the mess.

Apologies, however, are never enough to restore the banking public’s confidence in a system that has proved full of loopholes. If there is one thing the bank heist shows, it is that all the country’s teeth in preventing the laundering of funds remain on paper. In truth, there are plenty of opportunities for launderers to exploit the system, knowing that the public’s attention span is short and that the people are easily mollified by seeing anybody—even small fry—punished for a large-scale ill.

The next hearing will be on Tuesday, but we doubt whether any real solutions in aid of legislation will be arrived at given the unfortunate timing of the scandal, coinciding with the campaign period. The loopholes in the bank secrecy law and the non-inclusion of casino operations in anti-money laundering regulations have been there a long time, but nobody has raised them until recently. These are bound to remain in oblivion if the people focus on the circus but not on resulting action.

A regulatory system that is inhospitable to money launderers sounds good but is a mere description of a goal rather than a statement about the actual situation. What’s happening is bad for the country’s global image, and even worse for our efforts at genuine reform.

DEMANDING A CLIMATE AGENDA IF you were asked to name the single most pressing problem that the Philippines faces at this point, what would your answer likely be? Chances are, it’s any of the following: poverty, corruption, education, infrastructure, unemployment, peace and order, and drugs.

And indeed, these are the topics on which the presidential candidates focused on during their debate last Sunday. So absorbed were they with these pressing problems that none among the four was able to articulate a coherent stand when asked about the issue of climate change, specifically their position on balancing the country’s energy

requirements with the need for clean, renewable sources of such.

Let’s make no mistake about it: Poverty, corruption, unemployment, drugs, inadequate education, infrastructure, and peace and order are urgent and must be addressed. Failure to do so will compromise Filipinos’ quality of life and prevent them from becoming productive citizens.

Still, these must not allow us to leave out concerns on the environment and on preparing for disasters. Sure, when the weather is good and everything appears business as usual, it is easy to forget that the problems we face include those we do not always see and those that will outlive us.

And then the next big storm comes, and we are left scrambling,

wondering why we never learn.

Climate change goes beyond political terms or election cycles.

*** Former United States Vice President Al Gore was in Manila earlier this month to conduct a three-day training on climate change. Gore also visited Tacloban City on the weekend before the training and saw for himself the devastation wrought

by Typhoon “Yolanda” more than two years ago. He said he talked to a few families about their ordeal and how—if at all—they had managed to rebuild their lives.

“We don’t have centuries,” Gore, founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, said as he opened the three-day conference held March 14 to 16 at the Sofitel. “We have years.”

The former US veep started by showing a photo of the earth taken from space. It’s a beautiful photo that reminds us of how precious the planet is but also masks the actual danger that earth faces. In truth, the planet is like a sewer that absorbs all the greenhouse gases spewed into the atmosphere. While there are numerous sources of GHGs, 85 percent of the world’s energy requirements are still sourced from dirty carbon-based fuels, Gore said. This has caused the substantial warming of the atmosphere, making the number of extremely hot days higher than the number of cooler-than-average days.

In fact, 2015 was the hottest year on record—and 2016 is promising to surpass that. The heat energy being

trapped in the atmosphere is equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding every day of the year.

Gore established the link between warm atmosphere and extreme weather events. A staggering 93 percent of the additional heat is trapped in the oceans, and the warmer oceans evaporate more water vapor into the skies. He described these as “atmospheric rivers” that unleash record downpours, resulting in unprecedented flooding and devastation in communities.

At the same time, the heat trapped

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in the atmosphere also siphons moisture off of the land, causing forest fires and equally unprecedented drought.

These phenomena breed food and water shortages, geopolitical instability and disease. And, as Pope Francis reminds us, the gravest effects of attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest. *** But Gore is not just a prophet of doom. Yes, he tells us that the situation is dire and the consequences of inaction will be greater. Yes, the poor

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are suffering the most. But something can still be done.

As he said on his Ted Talk posted last month, humankind can reverse the trend. He cites causes for optimism: The use of wind and solar energy has surpassed projections exponentially, and costs have been going down.

In Paris last year, 196 countries signed an agreement committing to curb their emissions. The agreement, assessed by experts as not perfect but good enough, at least embodied nations’ recognition of

the need to act in concert to prevent global temperatures from increasing at a runaway rate—beyond which catastrophe will happen.

Finally, the best approach to be taken is from the grassroots. People need to demand from their leaders that the climate crisis, specifically what must be done in both mitigation and adaptation, be put on the agenda. Leaders must make it part of the conversation not just because it is fashionable, not just because any nation is a major or minor historical or current emitter, but be-

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cause it is the kind of concern that has profound effects on our present and our future.

Forget screaming headlines or catchy sound bytes. The climate crisis deserves its place alongside other national concerns. It certainly has a span much longer than any political term or election cycle.

Is it really asking too much of our candidates to get them to talk about their plans, if they even think this is worth planning about in the first place? adellechua@gmail.com

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OPINION

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INVOLUNTARY REPORTERS

By Remi Banet and Gregoire Lemarchand PARIS—There was a time when witnesses to attacks only thought to flee. Today, some also take out their smartphones to record what’s happening. For journalists, this has meant a world of difference.

A few minutes after explosions rip through Brussels’ airport on March 22, pictures of the attacks start to circulate on social media networks. This makes sense—the killings occurred in a place where there were thousands of people gathered from various countries, in a city with a well-functioning communications network.

One of the first videos is of people fleeing the smokefilled airport. When you see it, you instantly understand that something very serious has happened. A little while later, there come images of bloodstained victims in clouds of dust.

When the second strike hits the Maelbeek metro an hour later, photos and videos of that attack also begin to circulate nearly instantly.

Journalists can’t be everywhere at once. Sometimes they are “lucky” and witness an event like this first-hand. But for several years now, what’s known as UGC (user-generated content) —the photos and videos that eyewitnesses put on social media —has been playing a key role in media reports, showing events as they unfold.

For journalists, this has meant that there are now two places to cover—the actual physical place of an event and the virtual world, where those caught up in an event put up their videos and photos, which we then have to chase up.

To some, this “chasing up” can seem distasteful, just like when photographers on the scene take pictures of the victims. But for news-gathering purposes, it is essential and it has come to complement the work of professional photographers and camerapeople of a media organization like AFP.

A private security guard helps a wounded woman outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels. AFP

Fooling the media When the Brussels attacks struck, there were four of us in AFP’s social networks cell, which is part of the editor in chief ’s office. In a city like Brussels, well covered by a 4G network, taking a 30-second video and uploading it onto a social media network doesn’t take very long.

And as the attacks happened in rush hour, there were plenty of eyewitnesses.

Our first priority was to focus on those photos and videos that answer to AFP’s editorial standards, so we skip over those that are degrading to the victims or that are too bloody. We also have to be careful to avoid the usual traps—images and videos of other events that some people post on social networks to fool the media. That morning, some fall into the trap and use images taken during an attack in Moscow in 2011 and presented like those from the Brussels’ strikes.

Once we see an interesting

image, we contact the person who published it. This can be delicate.

A person who has just witnessed a deadly attack can be in a state of shock. On the one hand, you don’t want to hound that person.

On the other, it’s legitimate to suppose that a person who has just posted an image on a social network like Twitter is conscious of what he or she is doing and wants that the images are seen by as many people as possible.

UGC spree Most of the people we contact that day don’t mind if we use their images. Some people contact AFP directly, offering photos and videos.

In this situation, you have to act quickly, before other journalists from all over the world do contact the same person, often without any tact, so that the person no longer answers anyone. The first thing we do is to ask if the person is safe. Then we ask if he or she is the author of the image

online (sometimes people publish images taken by others without saying so) and then we ask if we could use the image ourselves.

Some media don’t go through this process and publish whatever they find online. But AFP is a global news agency and the images that we run can be published all over the world, which means that we have to scrupulously observe copyright principles and show a certain standard of behavior.

Therefore we always ask for permission to use the image by email, or at least through Twitter.

We also make sure that the image is authentic. The easiest way to do this is to use Google Reverse Image Search, to make sure that the image is not of an event that has already passed. If we have the slightest doubt about an image, we drop it.

Sometimes people refuse to let us use images that they posted on Twitter. In these cases, we don’t insist. Same thing for those who don’t reply to our

inquiries—it’s probably because hundreds of our colleagues are already saturating their inboxes with similar requests. We try and focus on a small number of interesting images.

To find a good UGC, an excellent knowledge of the social network world is essential. This photo we used was picked up by the New York Times, The Economist and other publications the world over. It was taken by a passerby who posted it on Twitter at 11:05 a.m. with the hashtag #Maelbeek. At 11:13, we ask him for permission to use it, which he gives us at 11:29 via Twitter, then by email at 12:20. This person has only about 50 followers on Twitter and so his incredibly strong photo was retweeted only twice. We found it thanks only to a careful monitoring of Twitter.

And the money in all this?

Sometimes people ask us for compensation, but it’s rare. Not one did following the Brussels attack. AFP

LIFE IS COMPLICATED, BUT NOW SCIENTISTS CAN KEEP IT SIMPLE

By Faye Flam ASTRONOMER Fred Hoyle famously quipped in 1982 that the odds of a simple living thing assembling itself from inanimate chemicals were as slim as the chance that a tornado passing through a junkyard would leave in its wake a Boeing 747.

The statement reflects the 20thcentury understanding that even pond scum was composed of cells of mind-boggling complexity. Today biologists believe that modern cells evolved from much simpler ancestors—organisms that no longer exist.

Now scientists have used genetic manipulation to create something of a throwback: a new organism, simpler than any known in nature today.

They started with a relatively simple bacterium, Mycoplasma mycoides, and then pared down its genome to about half the original size. The scientists dubbed the new organism JCVI-

syn3.0, after the institute started by the group’s leader, J. Craig Venter.

They announced it Thursday.

In 2010, the same group showed they could start with vats of chemicals, synthesize an entire genome, transfer it into a cell that had its own genes removed, and watch the bug “boot up” and start replicating itself. That bug, JCVI-syn1.0, shattered any illusion that there’s a mystical boundary between chemistry and life. This week’s new life form shatters another illusion: that life on earth has always been complex.

JCVI-syn3.0, with a total of 473 genes, is the closest that scientists have ever come to understanding the workings of every gene in one organism, said team co-leader Clyde Hutchison. That has impressed biologists and bioengineers.

“Only when you try to build something do you find out what’s truly required,” said Drew Endy, an

expert in the emerging field of synthetic biology. “Synthesis of DNA, genomes and now entire cells is increasingly turning into a boon for understanding how life works.”

The creators are quick to point out that JCVI-syn3.0 is not a representative of an ancestral form of life.

The bug they started with appears to have evolved from more complex ancestors and became simpler to adapt to life as a parasite. (It lives in cows and other ruminant animals.) To simplify it further, the researchers systematically destroyed each gene to figure out whether it was essential to survival.

One surprise was that a third of the genes that proved to be essential don’t have a clearly known function.

Another surprise was that there was not one unique set of essential genes.

In many cases, they could knock out gene A, or gene B, and the organism would survive, but would die if both

were destroyed.

If there is an absolute minimum genome it might have just one gene, said Harvard biologist George Church, pointing to the research into the origin of life being led by biologist Jack Szostak.

Szostak is looking from the very bottom up, at ways that chemicals could come together to form very primitive cells. Scientists have already shown that it’s possible for chemical reactions to form the building blocks of RNA—a codecarrying relative of DNA. And they’re getting close to figuring out how those individual code letters might start to stick together.

We’ve come a long way since the 20th-century advent of genetic engineering—which allowed people to transfer genes from one organism to another.

The 21st century has brought a more precise version of genetic

engineering known as gene editing. That’s brought on a burst of new ways to produce drugs and biofuels, alter agricultural products and laboratory animals, and, in theory if not yet in practice, prevent human disease.

When Hoyle came up with his 747 analogy, he wasn’t trying to argue for anything supernatural.

He was promoting the idea that life came from outer space. Perhaps even if its origin were very unlikely, Hoyle reasoned, life had to start on only one of any of the billions of planets in the universe. From there it might have evolved into some sort of spore that traveled between the stars.

The idea has fallen out of favor now, though it’s not disproved. The origin of life on Earth remains unexplained, but this week we saw the notion of a simpler version of life go from theory to reality. Bloomberg

S U N D AY : M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

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NEWS

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NOKOR SHIP SAILS OUT OF PH

By Vito Barcelo A NORTH Korean freighter seized by the Philippines was allowed to sail out of the Philippine sea after nearly a month under tough new United Nations sanctions, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The M/V Jin Teng, a 6,830deadweight ton cargo ship with its 21 North Korean crew, left Thursday afternoon for China after clearing immigration, Customs, quarantine and port authorities.

“At the policy level, there is no more basis to continue to hold M/V Jin Teng after UN Security Council delisted it from the annex of UNSC Resolution 2270,” DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said.

“No contraband was found onboard and the ship was cleared by the United Nations,” the DFA said.

The Philippine Coast Guard escorted the ship out of Philippine territory, coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said.

The PCG inspected the ship and no contraband on board except some broken aids to navigation equipment were found, Balilo said.

Tough new UN sanctions, passed in March to punish North Korea after its fourth nuclear test in January, blacklisted 31 ships owned by North Korean shipping firm Ocean Maritime Management Company.

The sanctions aim to starve North Korea of money for its nuclear weapons program.

But the UN Security Council agreed earlier this week to China’s request to remove sanctions on four ships blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang’s arms trade. China said the ships were not OMM ships and secured a commitment that the ships would no longer use North Korean crewmen.

The four ships, included the Jin Teng, detained by the Philippines days after the sanctions took effect.

Jin Teng, flying a Sierra Leone flag, arrived in the Philippines on Feb. 27 and was unloading palm kernels when it was seized.

OF FORESTS AND TREES. Trekkers gather at Camp John Hay’s forest reserve, marking a United Nations declaration dedicated to the International Day of Forests and Trees. DAVE LEPROZO

ABONO PARTY-LIST LAUDED FOR ANTI-SMUGGLING LAW IRRIGATORS and farmers’ associations from Pangasinan, La Union and Central Luzon have lauded the Abono Party-list for successfully shepherding the passage in Congress of a measure declaring large-scale smuggling of agricultural products as economic sabotage.

Under the Anti-LargeScale Agricultural Smuggling Act, the amount of smuggled agricultural products subject to economic sabotage should be equal to or more than P10 million for rice, and equal to or more than P1 million for other agricultural products such as sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onions, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables.

In separate letters addressed to Abono Party-list Rep. Conrado Estrella III, principal author of the Anti-Large-Scale Agricultural Smuggling Act in the House of Representatives, the heads and officers

of the Pangasinan Federation of Irrigators’ Association Inc., the Provincial Confederation of Irrigators’ Association of La Union, and the Cabanatuanbased UPRIIS Confederation of Farmer-Irrigators’ Associations Inc. have emphasized the importance of the measure to protect local farmers from smuggled agricultural products that have been flooding the market.

“We are very thankful to you [Cong. Estrella] and to Senator Cynthia Villar for passing this bill before the House of Representatives and the Senate. We especially laud you for making large-scale

smuggling of agricultural products a non-bailable criminal offense,” UCFIA president Dante Lazatin said.

Under the approved measure, traders who use cooperatives’ permits for smuggling purposes and officers of dummy corporations, nongovernment organizations, or associations who knowingly sell, lend, lease, assign, and allow the unauthorized use of their import permits will be considered violators of the act. They will face a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges avoided.

“This measure will be very helpful for us farmers, and we hope that His Excellency, President Benigno Aquino III, will sign this into law immediately to give us farmers the full measure of pro-

tection under the law,” added PFIA president Oftociano Manalo. This sentiment is echoed by PCIALU chapters officials led by Dominador Aquino, who has also hailed the passage of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act for this same reason.

“This measure, which has been passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, is necessary. We have to curb the smuggling of agricultural products so that we can boost the income of our farmers,” Estrella stressed.

The party-list lawmaker also said that the measure levels the playing field for small farmers and backyard raisers, who will surely see their purchasing power improve as a result.

“Majority of our consumers are farmers or are dependent on agriculture, and strengthening their purchasing power will surely benefit

the manufacturing sector as well as all kinds of businesses and services rendered by professionals,” Estrella said. “If we boost their income, it will pump prime the economy because there will be more taxes to collect. There will then be more revenues to finance basic services. And we can achieve all this by minimizing, if not totally eradicating, the large-scale smuggling of agricultural products.”

“Illegal acts of smuggling are being carried out in many forms,” Estrella lamented.

“Rampant smuggling into the country greatly affects the agriculture sector. We must have safeguards against more sophisticated forms of smuggling so that we can help increase the income opportunities of local producers and alleviate the poverty of many of our farmers as well as the rest of the agricultural industry.”

N. ECIJA’S PREMIER CITY GETS NEW SCHOOL BUILDING A 74-YEAR-OLD school located in a 10,000-square meter donated land in Nueva Ecija’s largest and premier city, Cabanatuan, now has an additional school building courtesy of SM Prime Holdings through SM Foundation. This is the 72nd school building built so far by the SM Group of Companies with some partners through the SM Foundation.

The new two-story fourclassroom building augments the 10 buildings in the campus of Bakod Bayan Elementary School. The school has a population of 1,200 with 71 students to a classroom. With the new classrooms, decongestion of classrooms is expected even if student population is anticipated to increase by 200

this coming school year 20162017. The new classrooms will be used by Grades V and VI students. Jaymart Alimarcan, a Grade VI student, thanked SM Foundation in behalf of the students. He shared the students’ excitement to use the new classrooms complete with new chairs, blackboards, ceiling fans, toilets, and even teachers’ tables and chairs. “Maiinspire po kami mag-aral [We will be inspired to study],” he added.

Bakod Bayan Elementary School started as the Bayan Bakod Barrio School teaching only Grades I and II until 1967 when it became a full-fledged elementary school servicing schoolchildren from Grades I to VI. During the early years of its existence, when it was not

yet offering the complete elementary curriculum, students had to transfer to a nearby barangay, Barangay San Isidro to pursue their last two years of elementary schooling. The need for a school in the barangay did not go unnoticed. A kind benefactor, Rufino Halili, generously donated the lot where the school now stands.

The school has a complement of 23 teachers in the elementary level with two teachers handling kindergarten classes. School Principal Trinidad G. Beltran, grateful to SM Foundation for the new school building, says “I prayed for God’s blessings to bring this school into the modern era with caring and dedicated teachers in a safe,

At the turnover ceremony, SM Foundation was represented by executive director for Education Carmen Linda Atayde, Carol del Rosario (assistant manager of SM Cabanatuan) representing SM Prime, Dr. Rhoda Razon (schools superintendent), Josie Palioc (assistant schools superintendent), and Cabanatuan Mayor Julius Vergara represented by his son, Mico. comfortable environment for the young generation of our community.” Moreover, one

of the challenges that greeted her upon assuming the post of school principal was the lack

of appropriate classrooms, for a while there were existing classrooms, these were dilapidated.

NEWS A8 ‘manila bay unsafe’ SUNDAY: MARCH 27, 2016

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

By Joel E. Zurbano

The city government of Manila on Saturday warned the public about the health risks of swimming in Manila Bay. Mayor Joseph Estrada encouraged the people to get a respite from the summer heat in the city’s newly renovated parks, instead of diving into the unsafe waters of the Bay. Studies conducted by health authorities showed that the Manila Bay contains high level of coliform which can cause a host of skin, intestinal and other diseases to whoever dives into it. The bay was never found to be suitable for

swimming and bathing and did not pass laboratory tests for water safety standards for the past decade or so.

Estrada reminded the public that the city government enforces ordinances prohibiting swimming in Manila Bay citing health reasons.

Health Secretary Janette Garin earlier said it would be safer to visit public swimming pools or those that offer affordable entrance fees.

“If you swim in Manila Bay, it is like drinking others’ urine and swallowing the feces of other people. That’s how dirty it is,” said Garin.

Taking a dip in the polluted waters of Manila Bay exposes a person to diarrhea, dehydration, cholera, typhoid fever, Hepatitis B, respiratory diseases and skin allergies, Garin said.

Estrada said the now rehabilitated public parks serve as great venues for family gatherings, celebrations and relaxation this summer.

“Manila’s parks, fountains, historical sites and other public spaces are ‘show windows’ to the city’s progress and heritage, but these were neglected and left to deteriorate by the previous lo-

cal administration. Muli nating binuhay ang mga ito para pakinabangan uli ng mga Manilenyo,” said Estrada.

The rehabilitation of parks and other public spaces in Manila is part of the city government’s comprehensive urban renewal programs and undertakings expected to be discussed and elaborated on

by Estrada during his proclamation rally on Monday at the Liwasang Bonifacio open grounds at 4 p.m.

“The city government has allocated 100 million pesos to restore the grandeur of historical and important parks and landmarks in the city to preserve the heritage of Manila as part of Mayor Estrada’s urban renewal

agenda,” said Arsenic Lacson, officer-in-charge of the Parks Development Office.

Lacson added they were able to make the fountains work and even embellished them with colored lights. He also emphasized that the cleaning, greening and tree planting, repainting, and overall improvement of Manila’s 48 parks, monuments and plazas are conducted all year round.

Among the city’s parks and landmarks that underwent major facelift are Plaza Rueda and Bonifacio Shrine along Taft Avenue, Plaza Hernandez in Tondo, Plaza De Virge in Pandacan, Plaza Hugo in Sta. Ana, and Plaza Guerrero across the US Embassy.

abra-ilocos highway nearing completion

By Abe P. Belena LA PAZ, Abra—A four-lane concrete highway that will connect the landlocked province of Abra to Ilocos Norte funded by the national government with about P682 million is nearing completion.

This was disclosed by La Paz Mayor JB Bernos whose claim was verified by two newsmen who traveled by car through the new highway from the foothills of this town to the highlands of the town of Danglas at the Ilocos Norte border.

The highway that spanned 32 kilometers from the Calaba bride crossing the Abra River to the end of the development site, snaked through ridges of the western side of the Cordillera mountain ranges and crossed hectares upon hectares of pine-clad forests and giant almazigas close to the border town of Nueva Era, in Ilocos Norte.

“The new highway cost between Php 22 and Php 23 million per kilometer and was funded with the regular allocation of the Department of Public Works and Highways,” Mayor Bernos, its builder, revealed.

The Ilocos Norte side of the same highway was paved way back during the Marcos administration, he said. Funding for the Abra side began coming towards the end of the Arroyo administration.

“It is the most significant highway project in the province of Abra, so far” said Bernos.

“It will open a new gateway from Abra towards the international airport in Laoag and the seaport in Curimao,” the town executive who is also a building contractor, pointed out.

Until the new highway is formally opened to traffic, the only road in and out of Abra is the national highway that exits in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, 31 kilometers south of Bangued, the capital town.

Another big project, the Abra-Kalinga road, is also being built, but that goes further inland the Cordillera heartland, he added.

EGG HUNT. children play at the easter egg

garden of the eastwood mall open park in Quezon city, one of the main attractions in eastwood city’s easter sunday celebration. MANNY PALMERO

all set for albay festival kickoff rites LEGAZPI CITY—The month-long 2016 Daragang Magayon Festival of Albay that kicks off March 28 and rolls on until end of April this year is expected to rake in more tourists to the province, now known far and wide as a distinct world class cultural and eco-tourism jewel.

Albay’s reputation as such becomes even more passionately irresistible to tourists with its recent designation only last March 18 in Lima Peru as a world Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization which has now also included Mayon Volcano in its tentative World Heritage Sites list. The designation further consolidates Albay’s global position in culture and eco-tourism,

and adds more sheen to its 2015 title given it by the Pacific Asia Tourism Association as a “new frontier tourist destination” and co-winner of its first $1-million CEO Challenge.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said his province has amply demonstrated the true concept of beauty with these recent recognitions and designations, and the world is invited to visit Albay and see and feel for themselves what it truly offers.

Salceda said it is this true spirit of beauty and love for the environment that Albay celebrates through Daragang Magayon Festival 2016 (DMF16), now on its 18th year. The province is among the country’s top tourist destinations, accounting for a

credible share of foreign arrivals. The Department of Tourism has declared Albay as a “tourism powerhouse.”

Attesting to Albay’s role in the country’s cultural heritage, the National Museum of the Philippines declared the 201-year old Cagsawa Ruins as a National Cultural Treasure in December last year. Its designation as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve was seen to propel the province’s strong tourism suit.

To be participated in by movie and TV celebrities and artists, Salceda said DMF 16 also aims to help further consolidate the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon (Almasor) tourism alliance that clusters the three Bicol southernmost provinces as the “Soul of the South” of the country’s

tourism industry.

One of the DMF 16 highlights, the popular Legends Showdown, a parade of Albay’s mythological giants, is slated afternoon of its opening day. The parade also ushers in a chain of searches, among them the Daragang Magayon Pageant, which has consistently produced world-class beauties and winners in both national and international beauty competitions through the years. Another is the now famous ‘Sayaw kan Tolong Bulod (Dance of the Three Mountains)’ which deals with the legend of Albay’s three mountains— Mayon, Masaraga and Malinao that debuted on stage during the DMF 2013 edition and has progressively captivated the public.

SUNDAY: MARCH 27, 2016

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

BUSINESS

B1 ServiceSource chief executive Christopher Carrington

BPO EMPLOYEES EVOLVE INTO KNOWLEDGE WORKERS A SAN FRANCISCO-BASED company has recently opened a premium-grade facility at Fort Bonifacio, where average monthly salaries start at more than P30,000 for qualified applicants who want to escape the monotony of business process outsourcing jobs.

“It is really the next step.

Knowledge processing is a higher value. It is a step above BPO. It allows employees to use all their education, all their life-based experiences. It allows them to be in more active mode, than in passive mode,” ServiceSource chief executive Christopher Carrington says in an interview during the opening of the company’s first Philippine facility at Net Park, the most awarded building in Taguig.

Carrington says ServiceSource is not a BPO company. “We really are a different company—one that is focused on revenue management. BPOs tend to focus on cost containment, reducing cost.

We are really about revenue generation. Our clients from around the world really look to create revenues around this concept of revenue life cycle management.

We can help clients to better utilize their products and services,” he says.

Ramon Rufino, executive vice president of Net Group, the company which developed Net Park, says ServiceSource’s facility is the best in the building. ServiceSource occupies two floors of the 48-story Net Park, which reaped various awards for its green architecture.

Carrington says ServiceSource decided to open a facility in the country because “great talent exists in the Philippines.”

“The people here have great educational background, great interaction ability. We just want to leverage that to our global company to serve more than 80 clients around the world in the technology industry,” he says.

ServiceSource provides revenue-as-a-service solutions to 80 global technology companies, including the likes of Microsoft, Dell, VMWare, Redhat and GE Healthcare. It is a global leader in customer and revenue lifecycle solutions with 2015 revenue of $252 million, according to Carrington.

Carrington says ServiceSource provides business-to-business companies with expert, technology-enabled solutions and best practice processes to grow and retain revenue from existing customers. In 2015, the company’s 3,000 employees in 11 global centers sold $8.4 billion worth of services on behalf of clients. “We think the Philippines can represent a significant percentage of that in the future for us,” says Carrington.

ServiceSource has facilities in San Francisco, Issaquah in Washington, Denver, Nashville, Dublin, Liverpool, Sofia (Bulgaria), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Yokohama.

ServiceSource started hiring Filipino knowledge workers in December 2015, with a goal of increasing the number to 500 employees by end-2016. It formally opened its facility in the Philippines, the fourth in Asia, on March 21. Carrington says ServiceSource is looking for those with degrees in business as well as those with baseline knowledge of technology, “because we represent software and hardware companies.”

James Keating, the site manager and vice president for managed services, says ServiceSource of-

fers salaries that are 25 percent to 35 percent higher than the BPO average. “The employees that we are attracting are people with four or five-year experience. Average tenure right now is five to six years. At the managerial level, it is nine-and-a-half years. We are able to attract the top talents in the BPO space,” he says.

“The BPO is a huge industry.

There are 400,000 qualified talents that are currently in the BPO space. If they are looking at the next step in their career, this is the place for them—ServiceSource,” says Keating.

Carrington says the company is bullish about its expansion plan in the country, given its large pool of BPO professionals who seek more challenges to become knowledge workers. On what ServiceSource employees do, he says: “They have

ServiceSource chief operating officer Brian Delaney

to put together a game plan, where they call out to other businesses to solve their technology needs, to put together business proposals and ideas on how to help our customers.”

“In the course of that, they generate good revenues on behalf of clients. It is truly a different role.

With the 400,000 employees in the BPO, many of the best of the best are looking for something new.

ServiceSource, being the first and a new player in the Philippines in this space of revenue life cycle management, we think we will be a very attractive employment opportunity for great employees looking for something different,” says Carrington.

“We believe that ServiceSource represents a new career path for the best employees in the area.

The fact that we are not a call cen-

ter, we are not a BPO, we are really looking for knowledge workers who can utilize their educational skills, research, negotiation skills, to be able to create long-term relationship with clients,” he says.

“We are looking for employees who will truly represent the best of service. These employees will be working with companies around the world. So they must have global knowledge and insights and strong education. Previous experience is also critical,” he says.

“Unlike call center agents, where you are passive and answering calls all-day long, our job really involves a lot of preparation and research.

They work on preparing quotes and bids for global technology companies and clients. They are using information and insights, mathematical skills, to be able to present proposals for clients to close deals globally and generate revenue in behalf of clients,” he says.

ServiceSource chief operating officer Brian Delaney says the company is doing entirely different from the BPO industry. “We are only focused on hiring top-ofthe-market knowledge workers.

The tremendous transition for people’s career is to go from BPO to KPO, to become knowledge workers for us.”

Delaney says while knowledge workers also make calls, “they are also researching and know how to do multi-million-dollar deals.”

“For all our customers, it’s a B2B interaction. So they are interacting with mid-size, small and large businesses,” says Delaney.

Delaney says the Philippine facility will support Australia, New Zealand, North America and other markets across the world.

“This global delivery and sales center is gonna be able to support clients all over the world. We are hiring unbelievable employees.

We’ve got a great leader. We are in a wonderful building. The lo-

TURN TO B3

SUNDAY: MARCH 27, 2016

B2

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

BPOs BRING PEOPLE BACK TO LIPA PEOPLE are coming back to Lipa, a first-class city in Batangas province located 78 kilometers south of Manila, as business process outsourcing companies now offer highly-paid and permanent jobs in the area.

Thousands of call center agents and BPO professionals pump millions into the local economy of Lipa, supporting the growth of real estate and retail sectors that are evident in the presence of large shopping malls such as SM and Robinsons.

Lipa, which has a population of more than 300,000 people, has 10 BPO companies including TeleTech Customer Care Management Philippines Inc., Alorica Philippines Inc., Tele-Accent Call Center Solutions Inc., Bubu IT Solutions Inc., Lasting Line Contact Center Inc., Primary Care Management Inc., Clear To Close Services Inc., SPT Business Resources Inc., Maestro Systemas Technologies and The Results Companies.

Alorica, one of the largest BPO companies, has opened 2,000 jobs in Lipa in recent months, according to senior vice president for operations Colleen Beers.

Alorica, which is headquartered in Irvine, California, employs 48,000 team members in 73 locations across the globe.

Alorica completed the acquisition of West Corp.’s agent services businesses for $275 million in 2015. The acquisition made Alorica among the largest BPO providers in the US. Its facility at SM City Lipa is one of the largest in the world.

Alorica pays new customer agents a monthly salary of P15,000, excluding allowances.

“We have very healthy benefits. We do have a lot of allowances. We have a lot of opportunities to earn additional incentives. We have a lot of employee engagement,” Beers says.

Beers, who is responsible for the company’s Philippine operations, says Alorica’s ‘mega facility’ in Lipa now has 2,500 employees, up from just 500 last year. She describes Lipa City as a goldmine for Filipino talents. “In Lipa alone, we were 500 agents in June 2015. We are 2,500 agents right now,” she says. “We are investing in our facilities. We had to add 750 seats in our Lipa facility. That started in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2015.”

She says the strategy to open a facility in Lipa has paid off.

“It has worked. When I think about the number of applicants sitting there, it is very exciting.

It is amazing, the untapped talent there. We are going to communities,” says Beers.

Beers says there is almost zero attrition rate in Lipa City. “We are developing the culture, we are developing the staff, we are making those investments in Lipa. The people are eager to work, they are very passionate.

They are learning the different cultures from our clients. We have our hands full,” she says.

Attrition or churn rate refers

to the percentage of employees leaving the company for various reasons.

Job openings at Alorica include customer service representatives, technical service agents, quality analysts, trainors and supervisors, she says.

She says Alorica employees have an opportunity to become supervisors or managers. The company, she says, is spending a substantial amount to train its employees for managerial positions. “About 96 percent of frontline managers come from internal [organization]. Today, 70 percent of those positions are promoted from within. Alorica provides career enhancement.

For a lot of folks, this is their first real leadership positions...

We are really making a lot of investment in leadership,” she says.

Beers says in Lipa City alone, Alorica is training 150 brand new leaders.

Beers says 96 percent of engagement team managers actually started at Alorica as engagement specialists.

With more than 12,000 team members in the Philippines, Alorica plans to hire an additional 6,000 customer engagement experts in the country, including its site in Batangas in the first half of 2016.

Beers, a mother of six children from San Antonio, Texas and a former nurse, began her current role in May 2015. As senior vice president of Alorica, she is responsible for the company’s operations in the Philippines, the company’s fastest growing site.

Before joining Alorica, Beers had worked for Aegis, ACS and Harte-Hanks Inc. “We are very excited about our growth in the Philippines.

We are a very transparent company, and we are very passionate. We are fun, down-to-earth, we are humble,” says Beers.

Beers says the rise of the ‘millennials’ has challenged the company to step up and be different.

“We had phenomenal growth.

Our estimated revenue for 2015 is $1.2 billion, which is nearly 100 percent increase or double our total revenue in 2014. It is an exceptional growth. This growth would allow us to invest back into our business and expand our business specifically here in the Philippines,” she says.

Beers, a veteran of the BPO industry, joined Alorica in 2014.

“When I was interviewed, I sat for three hours with the CEO. I have been a senior vice president for BPO before, but I can tell you it was not three hours.

He is very engaging. He challenges me,” she says, referring to Alorica chairman and chief executive Andy Lee. “I am really excited to be here.

Alorica Inc. senior vice president for operations Colleen Beers It is an exciting time in general in the BPO space. I know I joined the right organization.

They allow me to be me, but they encourage me to bring out the passion that I have. I love the Philippines because they accept that,” she says.

Beers was put in charge of operations, with focus on key markets such as the Philippines.

“As of February, we had 12,000 employees here. We have five sites in the Philippines. We have so much growth that for the first quarter, our projection is 6,000 employees hired,” she says.

Aside from its mega site in Lipa, Alorica is expanding in Makati City with a plan to occupy two floors of Exportbank Building along Gil Puyat Ave. which will employ another 1,000 agents. Alorica also has facilities at Alphaland South-

gate Mall along Chino Roces Ave. in Makati City, Robinsons Cybergate 1 in Mandaluyong City and Skyrise Building 1 at Asiatown IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City.

“Our clients and Alorica love the work ethic here, love the passion. We just love the skills sets.

It is just exceptional, the kind of service we have here. The Philippines is definitely a key part of our strategic growth,” she says.

Beers says Alorica, given its success in Batangas and the Philippines, is returning the favor to the Filipino people. In January this year, Alorica launched a learning hub in Lipa City, which is a 40-seat classroom wired with computers and outfitted with furniture and appliances for the students of Pinagtongulan National High School.

“Beyond the office or clients,

the other thing we are passionate about is our investment in community. We want to be really especial. We came up with this idea to invest in local schools. This process has evolved. This started with collecting backpacks and school supplies. Now, it has evolved to ‘adopt a school program’. We adopted two schools,” she says.

“Probably one of the amazing experience I had in my life time. We picked an area....We toured the school and realized they didn’t have computers. So we developed this learning lab,” she says.

Beers says ‘making lives’ better for employees and the community is a part of Alorica’s goal. “It comes down to making lives better, one interaction at a time,” she says.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

SUNDAY: MARCH 27, 2016

B3

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

FILIPINOS are generally a resilient people, but the natural disasters the country experiences are extremely costly. Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) reportedly cost economic losses of $6.5 billion to $15 billion.

In addition, the negative effects on the economy persist long after the cause of disaster has left. This vulnerable position leaves the Philippines no choice but to recognize what needs to be done and act on it.

Having been in the country for over 40 years, communication innovations pioneer Motorola Solutions said it helps the Philippines strengthen disaster management capabilities, especially in terms of communication.

Communication is the primary means for the government to get up-to-the-minute assessments in aid of decision-making. Likewise, the lack of reliable tools and means of communication is detrimental to saving lives.

“The success or failure of disaster response is highly dependent on the quality of communications among all responders,” said David Lum, Motorola’s business development director for the Asia/ Pacific region. “When you have a disaster, your communications device cannot fail you because your life and the lives of others depend on it.”

At the recently held 2016 Radshow on Disaster Resilience, Motorola introduced the latest technology in mission-critical communication solutions and services.

Lum flew in from Singapore to present and demonstrate the company’s wide portfolio of radio technologies that help first responders and relief aid workers protect themselves and their communities.

Motorola’s two-way radios are known for their quality, reliability and durability. With the innovations that the company is pioneering, it can provide reliable privately-owned or dedicated communications with nationwide

BPO...

WHY TWO-WAY RADIOS REMAIN IMPORTANT IN PH

have a limit on the number of employees that we are gonna utilize here. We are excited for the potential. We will be expanding to another floor in this building. We are gonna keep our eyes open to expand further in the next year or two,” says Delaney.

ServiceSource is a leader in revenue life cycle management or RLM. “We are really excited about revenue life cycle management. Because that is gaining support, this is one of our prime locations that will support RLM and the growth of the business,” says Delaney.

Delaney says RLM is a fast-growing business segment. “When a customer has technology that they purchased from the company, during the interaction period, there might be a technical issue or during the renewal period, the company would interact with their customers. Now with the cloud and subscription and the competitive market place, it is important that you interact with customers during the adoption phase and during the usage phase and you provide information back to them to make sure they sense a lot of value to the product. As you come up to the renewal stage, you already developed a rela-

tionship with the customers. They see the value in the product. And this will become a bigger market as more companies go to the cloud,” he says.

Carrington says RLM now thrives with the adoption of subscriptionbased business model, which can be renewed on a short term. “If the business clients are not realizing the value within the first three to nine months, there is no extension of renewal. In this subscription-based economy, they can make changes.... so it is important to help customers gain better value from products and services,” he says.

Carrington also cites the Philippine growth story, which he says presents opportunities for expansion. “We want to participate in that growth here. The initial office that will house 500 of our employees is just the beginning,” he says.

“We have big plans for the Philippines, for our expansion here. We believe that the global technology clients we serve will be well suited to working with Filipinos working in this office,” says Carrington.

“This office and this team is built for success and built to grow. We are really excited to be here,” says Delaney. Roderick T. dela Cruz

Motorola business development director for Asia-Pacific David Lum coverage in the Philippines.

“As an organization that has worked closely with agencies managing disaster recovery globally, Motorola Solutions designs and develops communications networks, devices and applications to perform reliably in the worst circumstances,” said Lum. When traditional cellular networks were destroyed in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013, the Motorola Solutions Foundation—the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Solutions—equipped first responders in the Philippines with new two-way radios. Tacloban was initially cut off from contact with the outside world and only two-way radio communications got through.

Next generation solutions Motorola Solutions asserts that

during disaster relief missions, data and video communications as well as next-generation solutions will transform the way emergency responders deal with disasters. This includes interoperability networks and drones, which will help create a clearer, common picture in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

“Imagine drones flying over disaster areas, streaming live images and providing mobile broadband to recovery teams in the field,” said Lum. “While traditional voice communications is essential to emergency management, the future of disaster relief will be transformed by mobile broadband solutions.”

The Radshow was the first time that Motorola introduced the Wave technology to the Philippines. Wave solves interop-

FROM B1

cation is perfect and we have great amenities for our employees,” he says.

Customers include high-tech and software companies. “We will be supporting cloud software companies and managing the customer revenue life cycles.

Hardware, software, customer life cycle and basically any revenue relationship that a business has, our employees are in the middle of it, helping clients grow their revenue,” says Delaney.

“This is our first office in the Philippines. We are already operating in Yokohama, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, across Europe and North America. But this is our first office in the Philippines. That’s why we are so excited,” Delaney says.

The facility now has 100 Filipino knowledge workers. “We should pretty rapidly get close to 500. And then, it will align with the growth of our business around the world, as we need talented employees to help us grow the business. Our team in the Philippines will continue to grow with the company. Beyond that, the sky is the limit, depending on the

erability issues that arise from having several agencies involved in disaster who use a variety of communications equipment operating on different networks – for example, two-way radios, smart phones and laptops which may run on cellular, WiFi, P25, Tetra, analog radio and landline telephone systems.

Wave technology also makes it possible for teams of people in the field or in the office to effectively communicate and collaborate through voice and data—securely, reliably and in real-time—regardless of network, carrier, protocol, or device whether deployed on premise or in the cloud. This means that even regular smartphones, when configured accordingly, can connect to radios connected to the Wave through an app downloadable in Google Play

or the App Store.

Hand-in-hand with the Wave technology is a new purpose-built ruggedized communications device that Motorola has created.

Called the LEX L10, this mission critical LTE handheld device has best-in-class audio and a dedicated push-to-talk button for easy connection to radio networks, as well as security features built to mission critical standards for reliable performance in the most challenging of circumstances.

LEX L10 is a lighter alternative to two-way radios that works by connecting to Motorola’s Wave solution. The device has an extended battery life and was made to survive a four-foot drop onto concrete, making it relevant for use in a number of different disaster situations, throughout the response, relief and recovery phases.

‘Prevention is better than cure’ Motorola also recommends that businesses must have their own disaster management plans in place, to ensure business continuity. In the event of a disaster, government and business continuity are crucial for a society to recover back to normal as soon as possible.

“While these critical preparations will never prevent a natural disaster, effective communications systems will help minimize the disastrous effects on people and property. If incorrect technology or poor vendor quality is chosen, the entire government suffers for a long time,” said Lum. “Motorola Solutions is willing to partner with the Philippines to build up the necessary infrastructure for future natural catastrophes, especially when all experts have predicted The Big One looming,” he concluded.

Outside disaster management, Motorola products and innovations are also essential in public safety, for use by the police and military in their missions.

ServiceSource chief executive Christopher Carrington along with Filipino knowledge workers growth of the company,” he says.

Delaney says the company made a large investment in the facility.

“The best way to explain what we have invested in our employees and taking care of our clients is we are in a building that has just won an award as the best building in BGC, the highest standard and most green. It was a large investment for the company, but we are confident of the benefits of that investment,” he says.

Carrington confirms that the company has made a substantial

investment in the Philippines. “We haven’t spared any expense. We think it is very important to provide the best facilities for our people. We expect the best. We are looking for the best. We create an environment where we are able to pay 25 percent above market rate. We are looking to attract the best employees from across the area,” he says.

Delaney says ServiceSource will keep on hiring over the next nine months. “I don’t think we will have an office that grew from just zero to 500 so rapidly. We don’t

B4

WORLD

NO SEX FOR ZIKA MEN—CDC WA SH I NG TON — Me n who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus or have symptoms of the illness should wait at least six months before having unprotected sex, US health authorities said.

Meanwhile, women confirmed to have Zika or who have its symptoms should wait at least eight weeks after the illness first appears before trying to become pregnant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its updated interim guidelines on ensuring healthy pregnancies and babies amid the outbreak.

The recommended waiting periods are the same for sexually active couples who are not trying to get pregnant.

Zika has been linked to microcephaly in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant.

Microcephaly is a serious birth defect that leaves babies with small heads and incomplete brain development.

There is no vaccine to prevent Zika virus and no medicine to treat it.

Although Zika is generally spread by mosquitoes, it can also be sexually transmitted. The CDC has reported six cases of sexually transmitted Zika in the US since February, all by men infected while traveling in Latin America who passed it on to their female partners.

Brazil is the epicenter of the current outbreak, with about 1.5 million people infected, although most cases only cause mild symptoms including fever, rash, pink eye, headache and muscle and joint pain.

The CDC guidance was based on the longest-known risk period, multiplied by three, the health authority said in a news release.

In one case, Zika was detected in an infected man’s semen 62 days after the onset of symptoms, the CDC said.

Men with pregnant partners are advised to use condoms for vaginal, anal or oral sex or to abstain from sex throughout the duration of the pregnancy. AFP

Emergency workers posing with a boy holding a placard reading “thank you,” as people gather to pay tribute to the victims of the Brussels terror attacks, on Place de la Bourse square in Brussels. Grieving Belgians held prayers in the rain in a central Brussels square carpeted with flowers and tributes to the 31 dead and 300 wounded in March 22 carnage, but there was also growing anger at the government for letting a string of militants slip through the net. AFP

POLICE SHOOT SUSPECT IN EUROPE-WIDE RAIDS BRUSSELS—Belgian police shot a suspect as part of a huge European terror crackdown that yielded several arrests Friday as France’s president said a jihadist network that targeted both Paris and Brussels was being “destroyed.”

Grieving Belgians held prayers in the rain in a central Brussels square carpeted with flowers and tributes to the 31 dead and 300 wounded in Tuesday’s carnage, but there was also growing anger at the government for letting a string of militants slip through the net.

The raids came as under-

fire Belgian investigators uncovered alarming new evidence of a European jihadist cell tied to bombings at Brussels’ airport and metro, November’s Paris attacks and a new French plot.

“Even if the one that committed the attacks in Paris and Brussels is in the process of being destroyed, there is still a heavy threat,”

French President Francois Hollande said.

The Belgian government has admitted “errors” and two ministers offered to resign after Turkey said Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who blew himself up in the airport attack, had been arrested and deported and that Belgium had ignored warnings that he was a “foreign terrorist fighter.”

Ibrahim and his brother Khalid, the suicide bomber in the metro attack, were also on a US counterterrorism watch list, CNN reported.

Ibrahim was on the list

even before the November Paris attacks while Khalid was added soon after. Prosecutors have confirmed Khalid was the subject of an international warrant over the Paris attacks.

European authorities are under huge pressure to better coordinate the tracking of homegrown extremists and fighters returning from Syria, as evidence grows of a thriving jihadist network straddling France and Belgium.

French police said they had foiled a terror strike in France by 34-year-old Reda Kriket—a man previously

convicted in Belgium in a terror case alongside Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud—after arresting him and discovering explosives at his home.

Belgian police later arrested three people in connection with the new French conspiracy, prosecutors said.

In dramatic scenes, one of the suspects was shot in the leg at a tram stop in broad daylight in a huge operation by police in the Belgian capital’s Schaerbeek district, where police this week found a bomb factory linked to the Brussels attacks. AFP

KOREAS THREATEN WAR ANEW SEOUL—Escalating military tensions on the divided Korean peninsula took an increasingly personal turn on Saturday, with the leaders of North and South each threatening the other’s destruction.

For North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that meant overseeing a long-range artillery drill, simulating a strike on the offices and official residence of his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-Hye. Park, meanwhile, countered by accusing Kim of leading his country down an ultimately destructive path and stressing the need for a drastic change of direction

by the regime in Pyongyang.

Tensions between the two Koreas have been rising since North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, and a satellite rocket launch a month later that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

Pyongyang has upped the rhetorical ante in recent weeks, with near daily threats of nuclear and conventional strikes against the South and the US mainland in response to large-scale South-US war games.

Also on Saturday, Pyongyang released a new propaganda video menacingly titled “Last Chance,” showing a submarine-launched nu-

clear missile laying waste to Washington and concluding with the US flag in flames.

The four-minute video romps through the history of US-Korean relations and ends with a digitally manipulated sequence showing a missile surging through clouds, swerving back to the earth and slamming into the road in front of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial.

The US Capitol building explodes in the impact and a message flashes up on the screen in Korean: “If US imperialists budge an inch toward us, we will immediately hit them with nuclear (weapons).” AFP

PARTY. Cubans attend a concert by the UK rock band The Rolling Stones at Ciudad Deportiva in Havana, Cuba. AFP

S U N D AY : M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

B5

WORLD editorial@thestandard.com.ph

DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR ISIS DAMASCUS—The Islamic State group suffered a double setback in Syria as army troops recaptured half of the ancient city of Palmyra and the Pentagon said the jihadists’ second-in-command was killed in a US raid.

The seizure by Russianbacked Syrian troops of half of Palmyra including the hilltop citadel and the airport came nearly a year after IS overran the UNESCO world heritage site.

The Syrian regime’s gains

came after US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to intensify the drive for a political settlement in the war-torn nation.

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter

said the death this week of Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, described as IS’s number two, would hamper the jihadists’ ability to conduct operations in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

He said the US was “systematically eliminating” IS’s cabinet, referring also to the killing earlier this month of “Omar the Chechen,” described by Washington as the jihadists’ defense minister.

“The momentum of this

campaign is now clearly on our side,” said Carter.

However, separate attacks by IS in Iraq and Yemen Friday claimed over 50 lives, with observers warning that as their self-proclaimed “caliphate” shrinks towards extinction, its fighters are likely to ramp up suicide attacks on civilian targets.

A suicide bomber killed at least 30 people at a local football tournament south of Baghdad, while in Aden three suicide bombings at security checkpoints killed 22 people, including 10 civilians.

Syrian state television said loyalist troops seized the Palmyra citadel “after inflicting many losses in the ranks of the terrorist group Daesh,” using another name for IS. It said the army had also cut off the main Palmyra-Deir Ezzor highway leading to the Iraqi border.

“Pro-government forces, which have the support in Palmyra of the Russian air force, took control of half of the city as well as the airport,” a military source said.

IS has blown up UNESCO-listed temples and looted relics that dated back thousands of years. Built in the 13th century, the citadel is Palmyra’s main Islamic-era monument.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 18 soldiers were killed in fighting and by mines planted by retreating jihadists, while 24 IS militants died in air strikes and clashes.

Republic of the Philippines

FIRST TIME. People wave to celebrate the first shinkansen bullet train bound for Tokyo in Hokuto,

Hokkaido, on March 26, 2016. Japan commenced regular bullet train passenger service to the the northen island of Hokkaido for the first time, marking a landmark extension of the iconic superfast transportation network. AFP

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE PROVISION OF SECURITY SERVICES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE COVERING THE PERIOD JUNE TO DECEMBER 2016 1.

The DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE (DOF), through the Government of the Philippines under the General Appropriations Act for FY 2016, intends to apply the sum of EIGHT MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FORTY FIVE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED THIRTY SEVEN AND 50/100 PESOS (PhP8,445,937.50) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments for the Provision of Security Services in the Department of Finance Covering the Period June to December 2016 (the “Project”). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The DOF, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), now invites Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) registered contractors to apply for eligibility and to bid for the Provision of Security Services in the Department of Finance Covering the Period June to December 2016. Bidders should have completed, within three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project which is equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the ABC for the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. However, only those who have purchased the Bidding Documents shall be allowed to participate in the pre-bid conference and raise or submit written queries or clarifications.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO OUR STOCKHOLDERS: Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting (the “Meeting” or “AGM”) of the stockholders of ATLAS CONSOLIDATED MINING AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (“Atlas”) will be held on 29 April 2016, Friday, at 2:00 p.m. at Pavilion B, Wack Wack Golf & Country Club, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City with the following

AGENDA I. II. III. IV. V. VI.

Call to Order Proof of Notice of Meeting & Determination of Quorum Approval of the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Stockholders held on 28 April 2015 Management’s Annual Report to the Stockholders Approval of Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2015 Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation: • Article III, to change the principal office address from Mandaluyong City to 5th Floor, Five E-com Center, Palm Coast Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City; and • Article VII, to change the par value from PhP8 with capital stock of P24B divided into 3B common shares to PhP1, with capital stock of PhP3B divided into 3B common shares and subsequently to increase the capital stock by PhP3B, from PhP3B to PhP6B divided into 6B common shares VII. Amendment to the By-Laws: • Section 1, Article I, to change the place of the stockholders’ meeting from Mandaluyong City to the city or municipality where principal office of the corporation is located or at any place designated by the Board of Directors in Metro Manila; and • Section 1, Article IV, to change the number of Executive Committee members from three (3) to at least three VIII. Election of Directors (including Independent Directors) IX. Ratification of acts and resolutions of the Board of Directors and Management for the year 2015 X. Appointment of External Auditors XI. Other Matters XII. Adjournment

Only stockholders of record as of 20 March 2016 are entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the Meeting.

The stockholders’ list will be available for inspection thirty (30) calendar days prior to the date of the AGM at the principal office located at the 9th Floor, Quad Alpha Centrum,125 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City, Philippines 1554 (“Office”).

Stockholders who cannot attend the Meeting in person may, at their option, designate their authorized representatives by submitting to the Office their proxies no later than 5:00 p.m. on 21 April 2016. Validation thereof shall be on 26 April 2016. The submission of a proxy will not affect your right to vote in person should you decide to attend the Meeting.

4. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens, sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA No. 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act No. 138.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders starting on March 28, 2016 up to April 12, 2016 at the General Services Division, 7th Floor, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Pablo Ocampo Sr. St., Roxas Blvd., Manila and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos (PhP10,000.00).

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the PhilGEPS and the website of the DOF, provided that the Bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

The schedule of bidding activities is as follows: ACTIVITIES Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid Issuance and Availability of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Request for Clarification Issuance of Supplemental Bid Bulletin

SCHEDULE March 24, 2016 starting March 28, 2016 March 31, 2016, 11:00 am April 2, 2016 (by email) April 5, 2016

Deadline for Submission of Bids

April 12, 2016, 8:45 am

Opening of Bids

April 12, 2016, 10:00 am

7. Bids must be delivered to the BAC Secretariat, General Services Division 7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex, P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila on or before April 12, 2016, 8:45 am. The bidders shall drop their duly accomplished eligibility requirements, technical and financial proposals in two (2) separate envelopes in the bid box located at the abovementioned address. All the bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB) Clause 18.

8.

Please bring proper identification card/s to facilitate registration which will start at 1:00 p.m.

Bid opening shall be on the date indicated above at the DFG Conference Room, 4th Floor DOF Building.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. “LATE BIDS SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED”

9. The DOF reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, 8 March 2016.

10. For further information, please refer to: Ms. Lilia R. Tan, Head- BAC Secretariat Department of Finance BAC Secretariat, General Services Division

7th Floor EDPC Building, BSP Complex P. Ocampo Sr., Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Manila

Telephone N.: 526-8475

Telefax No.: 525-4227 Email Address: ltan@dof.gov.ph / rramirez@dof.gov.ph

Maria Eleonor A. Santiago Assistant Corporate Secretary Atlas Consolidated Mining And Development Corporation 9/F Quad Alpha Centrum, 125 Pioneer St. Mandaluyong City 1550 PH Tel +632 584 9788 Fax +632 635 4495 www.atlasmining.com.ph

Its full recapture would be a major strategic and symbolic victory for President Bashar al-Assad, since whoever holds Palmyra also controls the vast desert extending from central Syria to the Iraqi border.

Despite the football tournament bombing, IS faces mounting pressure in Iraq where the army said on Thursday it had launched a long-awaited offensive to retake second city of Mosul, a key IS hub since 2014.

Iraqi forces cleared roadside bombs and booby traps Friday in villages from which they ousted jihadists a day earlier south of Mosul, officials said.

Friday’s fighting for Palmyra came as the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s five-year war, which has left more than 270,000 people dead, came to a close.

In Beirut, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged a speedy end to the war and other Middle East conflicts saying “this is a critical time for the region.”

Global concern over the jihadist threat was further heightened this week by a deadly attack in Brussels that was claimed by IS. In IS’s de facto capital Raqa in northern Syria, “jihadists have been celebrating the Brussels attack all week,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The group’s top religious figure in the city, Abu Ali al-Sharii, led the Friday prayer with a pledge to commit more violence. AFP

( T S - M A R . 2 7, 2 016)

(TS-MAR. 27, 2016)

(SGD.) GIL S. BELTRAN Undersecretary and DOF-BAC Chairman

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S U N D AY : M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

SPORTS

REUEL VIDAL EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

abroad, made history in the Philippines as it officially crowned its first local champion during the slam-bang all day event.

Meanwhile, in the exciting sidelight, Obinna Ezeike displayed his high-flying skills and crowd-rousing showmanship to reign supreme in the slam dunk competition. He jumped over three other players for his final dunk. The Nigerian led the St. Dominic College of Asia during the 7th InterScholastic Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament last year.

Herndon becomes the firstever Philippine representative to compete at the Red Bull King of the Rock World Championships which will be held August in Istanbul, Turkey. He competes against the top players from more than 60 other countries at the world’s largest and most prestigious one-on-one basketball

competition.

Red Bull King of the Rock is the world’s most prestigious one-on-one street basketball tournament.

After a series of qualifying events taking place around the world, the best and toughest finalists face off to crown the new champion.

Players battle head-tohead in a single-elimination tournament bracket. Games last five minutes, with a 15-second shot clock and are subject to regulation hoops rules and scoring (two and three pointers).

Players need to be tough but also have to play smart.

A player who commits five fouls losses automatically.

For more information about Red Bull, visit the website www.redbull.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: facebook.com/redbull | twitter. com/redbullph | instagram. com/redbullph.

Filipino-American and former San Francisco State University NCAA Division II player Robbie Herndon (right) tries to dribble past Andrew Belonia early in the day during the eliminations. Herndon beat Willie Miller in an epic final to win the Red Bull King of the Rock National Championships.

By Homer Vidal

AFTER a nationwide competition Red Bull crowned Robbie Herndon as the best one-onone street baller in the country during the King of the Rock National Championships held last weekend at the Baluarte de Dilao within the ancient walls of Intramuros, Manila.

As if to show that he’s not a spent force just yet former Philippine Basketball Association all-star and basketball legend Wil-

RED BULL

CROWNS COUNTRY’S BEST STREET BALLER lie Miller almost pulled the rug out from under the young Fil-Am in their exciting final match.

The day’s competition started with a 32-man final cast composed of 28 players from three previous Qualifiers (Cebu, Manila A, Manila B) as well as a last chance Qualifier held on the day of the finals competed.

The final four players to emerge were Herndon against Jonathan Egea and Miller against Jerramy King.

Herndon relied on his size and strength to beat Egea to advance into the finals. King

gave the experienced Miller everything he could handle but in the end the nine-time PBA All-Star Miller proved too wily as he made it to the championship.

The 22-year-old Herndon displayed maturity and composure in battling the more seasoned Miller.

“I figured I made it this far and that it would suck to lose,” said Herndon. “Willie Miller was a good opponent. And it feels awesome to represent the Philippines like this.”

The two competitors relied on their strengths to score. Miller forced

Herndon into committing four fouls late in the game and managed to impose his will by scoring inside until the two pressure packed triples powered Herndon to victory.

Former San Francisco State University NCAA Division II player Herndon subdued Miller in an epic five-minute final. Miller was on his way to victory when Herndon drilled two clutch three pointers in the final minute to prevail by the skin of his teeth, 21-19.

Red Bull King of the Rock, already in its sixth season

Nigerian Obinna Ezeike vaults over three other players on his way to executing a rim-rattling dunk. Ezeike displayed his high-flying skills and crowd-rousing showmanship to reign supreme in the slam dunk competition.

CAPADOCIAS BRING SISTER ACT TO PARIS THE sisters Marian and Jella Capadocia earned a trip to Paris, France after winning the Women’s Doubles Championship in the 1st Peugeot Philippine Tennis Open National Finals held last weekend at the Valle Verde Coutry Club in Pasig City.

Younger sister Marian is already the country’s best singles player but the two have only been playing doubles fairly recently.

“I was really happy. Because finally it’s a dream come true for me and for my sister to go to Paris. My sister is good you know. If she trained everyday like

me, she would’ve been really good. Better than me I think. Though right now, she is still more mature than I am,” said Marian.

After winning their semifinals match the Capadocias only enjoyed a short two-hour break before the championship against the top seeded pair of Marinel Rudas and Edelyn Balanga.

The sisters drew first blood as they relied on service winners and crisp volleys to post a 6-3 win in the first set.

Marian and Jella trailed early in the second set, 0-2, but recovered to grab the

Marian Capadocia (left) and sister Jella Capadocia are all smiles after winning the 1st Peugeot Philippine Tennis Open women’s doubles over the top seeded pair of Marinel Rudas and Edelyn Balanga at the Valle Verde Club in Pasig City.

lead at 3-2. Rudas and Balanga then relied on their power game to rattle off four straight to win the second set 6-3.

At the tiebreak, Rudas and Balanga won the first two points but Marian and Jella immediately came back strong to tally the next three points to lead 3- 2. The game was again as close as it could get with scores tied 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6. The Capadocias then stamped their class to score the remaining points to win the set 10-6 and the championship with the final score, 6-3, 3-6, (10-6).

“All our opponents are

really good. They’re tough but me and my sister really wanted to win. I mean all of us wanted to win of course.

But being sisters our edge is our teamwork. We don’t train together as much because my sister has to work also. So yeah, we won because of our teamwork,” said Marian.

Jella is a first year law student at Arellano Law School where she also works.

Younger sister Marian is a freshman at Arellano University. Both trained hard in between classes which is why they will be bringing their sister act to Paris.

Homer Vidal

S U N D AY : M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

SPORTS

ARMAN ARMERO EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

THE shorthanded San Antonio Spurs fended off the pesky Memphis Grizzlies with a 110-94 win to tie the Chicago Bulls for best home start in NBA history on Friday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs played just well enough to remain undefeated at home this season, stretching their win streak to 37-0 at the AT&T Center arena.

They are now tied with the 1995-96 Bulls for the longest home winning streak to start a season.

“I had good offensive rhythm tonight,” Aldridge said. “The guys were looking for me out there.”

San Antonio had a 98-92 lead and were struggling to put away the Grizzlies until Manu Ginobili hit a threepointer with 3:22 left to give them a cushion.

They got two more baskets from beyond the arc by Kevin Martin and Ginobili on the next possession to ice the victory. Martin was starting his first game with the Spurs.

San Antonio “hit three threes in a row and that was it—it was very, very frustrating,” said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger.

The Spurs improved to 6111 overall. They have also won a franchise-best 46 straight regular-season games at home since a loss to Cleveland in March of last season.

San Antonio’s streak is the second longest in history, trailing only the continuing 52-game streak by Golden State, who beat the visiting Dallas Mavericks 128-120 on Friday.

The depleted Spurs played without an injured Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw, Danny Green and Patty Mills, who were all held out for rest. With so many regulars out it enabled Martin and Kyle Anderson to start.

Memphis’ injuries woes were even worse than the Spurs. Marc Gasol (right foot fracture), Mike Conley (left Achilles tendinitis), Zach Randolph (right ankle

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SPURS SPANK GRIZZLIES, KEEP PACE WITH WARRIORS

Matt Barnes (no. 22) of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

sprain) and Brandan Wright (right MCL sprain) all missed the contest.

Tony Parker scored 14 points for San Antonio, Martin and Ginobili added 13 points apiece and Tim Duncan had 12.

JaMychal Green’s 20 points led six Memphis players in double figures. Lance Stephenson added 17 points and Matt Barnes scored 14.

The Spurs led 37-23 after the first quarter and 64-51 at halftime.

The Warriors took advantage of a shorthanded Mavericks squad to ride another record-setting three-pointshooting performance to a win.

On a night when former Warrior and current Mav-

ericks power forward David Lee was presented with his championship ring, Golden State set an NBA record for most three-pointers in a season by connecting on 21 of 45 attempts.

The 17th of the 21 came with 9:51 to go in the game and was Golden State’s 934th of the season, allowing them to pass the previous record set by the Houston Rockets last season.

Klay Thompson dropped in nine three-pointers on a 40-point night and Stephen Curry drained five threepointers which added up to almost half his 33 points.

The Warriors improved to 65-7 to remain four games ahead of the Spurs for top seeding in the Western Conference playoffs. AFP

Stephen Curry (no. 30) of the Golden State Warriors goes up for the dunk against the Dallas Mavericks at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

PACQUIAO TRAINING RIGHT ON TRACK—ROACH

By Eddie G. Alinea LOS ANGELES, CA—Five days after Manny Pacquiao landed here from Manila, chief trainer Freddie Roach cancelled the workout scheduled for the day to give his ward time to recover from jet lag brought about by the long, 11-hour plane trip.

The following day, the eightdivision champion was back in the gym and punished his two sparring partners—Congolese-Canadian Ghislain Maduma and American Lydell Rhode—elating Roach and his assistants no end.

Today (Saturday in Manila), the 37-year-old former World Boxing Organization welterweight kingpin skipped anew his gym activities due to the grueling 12-round sparring

Pacquiao leaves the Wild Card Gym early after the training team decided to skip gym activities on Friday afternoon (Saturday in Manila). WENDELL RUPERT ALINEA

the day before coupled with an energy-sapping roadwork at theGriffith Hills this Friday morning.

Like what happened a week before, Roach did not worry one bit, dismissing the incident as normal to a hard-working guy like Pacquiao, who he said is expected to make it up the following day.

“Manny needs a bit of rest after a hard day’s work Thursday when he engaged his mates to a no-nonsense sparring, which by far was the best since we arrived here from Manila,” the 56-year-old Hall of Famer told this writer and those who would care to listen inside the Wild Card Gym. “No, I’m not worried at all ‘cause I know he’ll be back tomorrow and like before, he’ll kill himself in the scheduled skirmishes,” Roach explained. “As we’ve been saying,

Manny’s already in peak form and can easily adjust to whatever glitch that may occur from now until we leave for Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is fighting American Timothy Bradley for the third time on April 9 at the MGM Grand.

Training, according to Roach, resumes Saturday (Sunday in Manila) with the scheduled toned down eight rounds of sparring.

Conditioning coach Justin Fortune agreed, saying preparation at this stage, three weeks before the actual combat, is focused on maintaining what the camp has achieved.

“What we are avoiding at this stage of the run up to the day of the fight is acquiring an injury that might jeopardized the gains we accomplished in the camp,” Fortune said.

B8 TABUENA IS PLAYER TO BEAT AT ICTSI GOLF

S U N D AY : M A R C H 2 7, 2 0 1 6

REUEL VIDAL EDITOR sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

REIGNING Order of Merit champion Miguel Tabuena will be joined by fellow Asian Tour campaigners Angelo Que and Tony Lascuna as they spearhead another star-studded golf cast in the rich ICTSI Luisita Championship, starting March 30 at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.

But Tabuena, a recent Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Year awardee, is still the player to beat beat at Luisita, which he seemed to have mastered following his victories in the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open last September and the Philippine Open last December.

Tabuena is actually shooting for a sweep of the first two legs of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour after the 21-year-old shotmaker dominated the circuit’s kickoff leg in the Anvaya Cove Invitational, beating Clyde Mondilla by three in Morong, Bataan last month.

But Que is the hotter player coming into the P3.5-million event sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. after the former three-time Asian Tour winner rallied with a solid seven-under 65 to salvage joint fourth in last Sunday’s Indian Open, where Lascuna shared 31st place and Tabuena struggled to finish joint 58th.

But the rest of the huge 105-player starting field are also gearing up for a crack at the top P650,000 purse, including Charles Hong, who upstaged Tabuena, Lascuna and company to snare the crown at the quaint, tight, hazard-laden layout last year.

Meanwhile, the leading pros get the chance to test the tricky layout in the traditional pro-am tournament on March 29 where they will be paired with amateurs and guests of the event’s chief backers, including Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Mondilla is also tipped to contend for the crown along with Elmer Salvador, Cassius Casas, Jay Bayron, Rolando Marabe Jr., Orlan Sumcad, Marvin Dumandan, Rufino Bayron, Michael Bibat, Jhonnel Ababa, Mhark Fernando, Jerson Balasabas, Jun Bernis, Dante Becierra, Anthony Fernando, Zanie Boy Gialon, Rey Pagunsan, Mars Pucay, Joenard Rates, Gerald Rosales and Frankie Minoza.

A slew of foreign bets are also in the fold, raring to break the local bets’ domination, including regular campaigner Guido Van der Valk of the Netherlands, Sam Ayotte, Daniel Inocencio, Dylan Jackson, Dillon Soldwisch, Christopher Oetinger and John Jackson of the US, Koreans Hwang Kang Youl, Anthony Kim, Kim Chang Yeon, Park Jun Hyeok, Park Jun Song, Park Min Ung and Seok Jun Min, Aussies Mark Leich, Kevin Marques, Nathan Park, Nelson Turner and Ben Ratcliffe and Japanese Yuta Sudo, Ryoma Miki and former leg winner Toru Nakajima.

Three foreigners actually finished in the Top 10 at Anvaya with Van der Valk ending up fourth, Nakajima winding up fifth and Park Min Ung placing ninth, underscoring the level playing international field.

Also joining the title hunt in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. are regular campaigner Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Japanese Yuta Sudo, Ryoma Miki and former leg winner Toru Nakajima.

TONY LASCUNA

MIGUEL TABUENA

ANGELO QUE

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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

Of EggS, BunnIES AnD EASTER

c

Places to visit to celebrate easter weekend (pART 2)

hristmas is symbolic of the birth of christ and celebrated with a lot of festivity, but for billions of christians around the world, Easter Sunday is a more meaningful day as it commemorates Jesus christ’s resurrection from the dead.

According to the Gospel of John in the New Testament, mary magdalene came to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. An angel then told her that Jesus has risen. And with this, believers of the christian faith celebrate with feasts and a variety of activities.

HOp AnD SHOp AT CEnTRAl SquARE

Central Square in BGC prepared some delightful activities for Easter. This Sunday, enjoy treats for you and your kiddo at the Yummy Easter! food fair on the lower ground floor atrium lobby. Begin

the day with an Easter Sunday mass held at the atrium lobby at 11:00 a.m. By 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., get creative and enjoy an arts and crafts activity courtesy Pottery Barn Kids. Later at 3:00 p.m., Hamleys’ Easter egg hunt will begin – and will surely

Western christianity welcomes this day with an Easter vigil. In other countries, the festivities are underscored by strolling processions. here at home, the morning is marked by joyous mass and other celebrations.

Whether you prefer to celebrate this day by giving thanks at the Easter mass, partaking of a sumptuous spread, egg hunting and egg decorating, or relaxing before the workweek starts, here are a few destination suggestions in the metro that offer various Easter Sunday promotions for the whole family to enjoy.

get everyone excited for a mini adventure treasure hunt followed by a bubble show at 4:30 p.m.

Gap joins the fun with its face-painting booth where kids and kids at heart can have their bunny whiskers done. Make sure to visit

HOppy EASTER AT MARCO pOlO ORTIgAS MAnIlA

An exciting Eastercation awaits you in the heart of Ortigas CBD, as Marco Polo Ortigas Manila unleashes the Easter Bunny to bring lots of surprises for its guests to enjoy this Easter Season.

Room offers start at P4,740++. Indulge in the ultimate city staycation and get breakfast for two adults and two kids aged six years old and below at Cucina. Guests who prefer to have breakfast at Vu’s can enjoy this special offer starting at P5,500 net.

One of the best features of Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is their free WiFi which is touted to be one of the fastest in the city, so you don’t need to fuss over slow connections and network jams to post your holiday snippets on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Both room offers can be well enjoyed together with the hotel’s complimentary WiFi service and access to recreational activities at the Fitness Centre and the indoor infinity pool on the 22nd floor. Selling period for these promos is until March 27, with stay period from March 23 to 28.

For Easter Sunday, your kids can enjoy activities that include painting workshops, chocolate making and cookie decorations, which will be held at the hotel’s function rooms from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 nn. Guests can participate in all eggciting activities for only P1,250 net per person.

This includes a.m. merienda, as well as loot bags and giveaways.

For your gastronomic treats, treat yourself to a hefty Easter lunch and dinner buffet today as Cucina highlights the seafood bar, brunch item selections, and carvery. Your kids will also love the activities at Cucina as the chefs will prepare activities that the former will get to engage in like making hand-sculpted Easter eggs, sweet treats,

the stores within Central Square to check what Easter surprise they have in store for you.

Central Square is located at 5th Avenue Corner 30th Street, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

WARM WElCOME AT THE pEnInSulA MAnIlA

and decorating cupcakes at decorate-your-owncupcake stations. Guests can book this festive lunch and dinner at P2,700 net.

For Easter Bunny surprises, you may take home an Easter Hamper available at Café Pronto that includes bakery-fresh pastries such as a box of six macarons, cross hat buns, a tin can of cookies, Columba de Pascal, and eight pieces of surprise Easter eggs, all for P2,900 net. Café Pronto, Connect Lounge, and Vu’s Sky Bar and Lounge will be serving special Easter concoctions for the whole month of March.

For reservations, you may call (02) 720-7777 local 6622 or email manila@marcopolohotels.com.

For more information visit facebook.com/MarcoPoloOrtigasManila.

Follow @MarcoPoloManila on Twitter or Instagram or experience www.MPMDining.com.

Easter celebrations don’t get any warmer than that at The Peninsula Manila which offers the ideal getaway for the family with its Pen Days of Easter room package. The room package includes a stay in one of the hotel’s wellappointed rooms or suites plus a range of treats for all members of the family to enjoy. Families staying through Easter Sunday can hop over to Escolta for the Easter Sunday Brunch, with the kids having the time of their life taking part in the much-awaited Easter egg hunt.

The Easter room package includes Daily buffet breakfast for two adults and two children below 12 at Escolta that offers international fare, dining credit at The Lobby worth P1,000 (once per stay, but unused dining credit is non-refundable nor redeemable), a special Easter-themed welcome amenity, complimentary local landline calls, access to the pool and The Fitness Centre and Spa, as well as wired and wireless Internet access.

The hotel’s all-day dining restaurant Escolta offers an extraordinary Easter Brunch for P2,650 or P3,750 (with complimentary free-flowing champagne) for adults, and P1,800 for children under 12 years old. The whole family is sure to enjoy a smorgasbord of international favorites from the vibrant open-plan kitchen and live-action stations, while young guests will enjoy complimentary access to a thrilling Easter Egg hunt and other fun activities at the Rigodon Ballroom.

Easter is the perfect opportunity for families and friends to enjoy each other’s company while taking pleasure in all the joyous activities this season has to offer – and no venue can be better than The Peninsula Manila to celebrate the Easter holiday, with a wide array of culinary treats, festive décor, and entertainment that are available for adults and children.

All prices are subject to 10 percent service charge and applicable government taxes. For reservations and inquiries, call (02) 887-2888 or email to pmn@peninsula.com.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Hanabishi celebrated its 30th anniversary at Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres Rehabilitation Center

h

hANAbishi celebrATes Th 30 ANNiversAry wiTh disAdvANTAged childreN

anabishi celebrated its 30th anniversary with the kids at the Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres Rehabilitation Center.

Instead of having the usual team-building activity, the company decided to celebrate in a place that is home to street children, foundlings, abandoned children, victims of domestic abuse, and victims of child labor.

The executives and staff of Hanabishi, in partnership with Jollibee Foods Corporation, had fun and shared laughter with 150 children from the residential care center which is located in Bustos, Bulacan, a couple of towns away from Hanabishi’s headquarters.

“We usually do our company teambuilding activity around this time of the year,” shares Hanabishi vice president Cherish Ong-Chua. “But since it’s our 30th anniversary, we wanted to make it more memorable not only for our employees, but also for the other members of the community where we operate. Partnering with the Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres Rehabilitation Center was a perfect opportunity for us to give back,” he adds.

Hanabishi has kept its commitment of bringing high quality yet affordable home products to every Filipino home for the past three decades. In the country, the Hanabishi brand has become a household

name. Its lineup of small kitchen appliances, living room and bedroom products, garment care products and commercialgrade appliances has consistently delivered on the promise of quality and affordability for consumers. The company has been a leader in terms of volume sales and in the coming months there are still a lot of exciting activities and product launches in the pipeline. The “Kapartner ng Praktikal na Nanay at Bossing” campaign has been the major driving force for the brand.

Food, games and prizes were distributed for both the kids and kids at heart during the celebration. Hanabishi also donated some items including toiletries,

condiments, chocolate drinks, sacks of rice, school supplies, and clothes. “More than the items we donated, I think what matters more are the quality time that we spent with the kids,” says Ong-Chua. “We share the same belief with the Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres Rehabilitation Center that by giving these disadvantaged children a safe home, empowering them with opportunities for growth and development, and making them feel the love of a family, they can become productive citizens of society in the future,” she adds.

For more information about Hanabishi, visit www.myhanabishi.com and like them on Facebook at MyHanabishiAppliances.

TEAm Up To AchIEvE YoUr goALS AmwAy’s TeAm NuTriliTe helps you live A heAlThy ANd wiNNiNg life

Achieving your goals is made easier when you have friends to support you

Struggles in life become easier to overcome when you have a group of friends or partners to support you, whose encouragement keeps your eyes focused on the goal. This is also true for those who have resolved to live their lives as healthy and fit individuals but are finding it difficult to stick to their diet and need an extra push to keep them motivated and remind them to keep that exercise appointment and work out even if they feel like just lazing around and playing couch potato.

This was the thought behind Amway’s Team Nutrilite, a global community of people interested in achieving optimal health through living a healthy lifestyle.

This includes engaging in regular fitness activities, eating a healthy diet, and taking Nutrilite’s Food Supplements to help fill in the nutrient gaps in line with Nutrilite’s mantra: “Color yourself healthy.”

Members of team Nutrilite support and inspire each other to achieve that ultimate goal: optimal health.

Aside from the advantages of having a growing global support group to help members achieve their health

and fitness goals, those who join the team are also happy to get exclusive membership perks that encourage them to go even further such as a PPV point earning system, invitations to special exclusive events, and discounts on Nutrilite products. Joining is also easy since a purchase of select Nutrilite products like the Double X 31-Day Supply, Double X 62-Day Supply, BodyKey Jumpstart Kit, or BodyKey Renewal Kit and a filled-

The Nutrilite Double X 31-Day Supply

out enrolment form submitted to any Amway distribution center gets one into the team, with a free shirt to boot.

And if your team does very well, you have the chance to visit Vietnam as a reward. Interested now? Check out Amway Philippines’ YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/1XBlrnE for more information on the Team Nutrilite program and how you can win round trip tickets to Vietnam.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

A

fter the words “Yes” and “I will” comes “I do” – but before saying those two words, there are a lot of preparations and tasks to be done.

Edsa Shangri-La, Manila in collaboration with prominent names in the bridal industry is setting up a grand bridal fair to help engaged couples decide and take inspiration for their planned weddings.

Dubbed as Unveil 2016, the Isla Grand Ballroom will be transformed into a romantic sight to behold on April 2 to 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. It has been the custom of the hotel to hold this bridal fair annually.

The highlight is on signature weddings that the hotel can offer to couples dreaming of having a wedding that is uniquely theirs within the hotel premises. The hotel will showcase Exclusive Honeymoon offers from nine international chefs, a specially designed Lauriat menu by Summer Palace’s Chinese executive chef Tony Sum, Chinese Weddings and Ting Hun exhibit curated by director of Chinese Operations Nancy Farm, Wedding Cakes by executive chef Martin Frowd, wedding gifts and souvenirs, beauty bridal treatments by CHI, The Spa, and bride and groom pre-wedding fitness programs.

The event is made possible by partnerships with Wedding Treasures, StarWorld, Fashion Pulis, Wedding Essentials and Weddings at Work. Other greats in the wedding industry will be showcasing what they can offer from wedding gowns to florists, photographers and other selected elite exhibitors that will showcase bridal themes, makeup and grooming, prints and giveaways and everything else needed by the discerning brides in planning their dream wedding.

Couples are invited to join several activities throughout the fair including musical performances by renowned artists in the wedding industry and interactive talks by notable experts such as Chinese Engagement

by Denise Doratan Chua and Evelyn Doratan Balay of New Victory Trading, and Chinese Wedding Traditions by Jerome Go. To spice up the festivities, guests will get a chance to win holiday stays in Shangri-La properties worldwide. Throughout the duration of the fair, there will be a Bridal Show by a group of outstanding wedding designers in the country. From 7:00 p.m. onwards daily, there will be a showcase of known designers in the wedding industry. Creations by Rosa Clara, Jun Escario, Val Taguba, Veluz, and Freego will take center stage together with The Bernie Pasamba Orchestra with Michael Lim as director. On the second night, another show will feature the works of designers Roullette, Elizabet Hellie Yeao, Happy Andrada, Jazel Sy, Joe San Antonio, Zandra Lim, Hanna Kong and Andorata Weddings with Francis Day as director.

For inquiries on Unveil, please contact Edsa Shangri-La, Manila at (02) 633-8888 or email events.esl@shangri-la.com. Couples may also pre-register by sending their names, email addresses, mobile numbers and planned wedding dates.

Unveil 2016:

Bridal fair at edsa shangri-la, Manila The prominent names in the bridal industry will come together for the grand bridal fair happening at Edsa Shangri-La on April 2 to 3

Unveil 2016 will showcase wedding promotions and ideas for soon-to-be newlyweds

The Isla Grand Ballroom will be transformed into a romantic venue during the two-day bridal fair

50 Years in retrospect St. Scho’s golden girls celebrate with a commemorative book

golden girls. The book publishers of ‘Our Stories To Tell: Fifty Years In Retrospect’ with special guests (from left): Chit Quimbo-Rader, Aya Villegas, Tess Calupitan-Medina, Mother Prioress Adelaida Ygrubay, Sub-Prioress Sr. M. Lydia Villegas, Therese Rodriguez, Sr. Mary John Mananzan, St. Scholastica’s Alumnae Foundation Inc. president Gigi Prats, Sr. Mary Placid, Sr. Celine Saplala, Tim Rodriguez-Manalo, Sr. M. Pia Lansang, and Cita Sevilla

Members of St. Scholastica’s College Manila High School Batch 1966 celebrated their golden jubilee with a presentation of the book Our Stories To Tell: 50 Years In Retrospect to the sisters of SSC and the president of its alumni association. The commemorative book contains 82 first-person essays detailing the lives of each batch ’66 member after graduating from SSC. A team of New York-based batch mates led by Therese Rodriguez put the book together – a no mean feat that required the formidable task of piecing classmates’ profiles which was akin to “a great adventure in international detective

work. Hopefully, anyone who will read our golden book will conclude that the Benedictine values are well rooted and alive in our class,” noted Rodriguez.

Cabinet Secretary and Presidential Communications Operations Office head Sonny Coloma Jr. offered well wishes on behalf of President Benigno Aquino III. “Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul,” Coloma said, quoting American businessman, poet, and humanitarian Samuel Ullman.

Revenues from the sales of the book’s second copy as well as excess funds will go to a scholarship fund for financially challenged yet deserving SSC students.

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S U N D AY : m A r c h 2 7, 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

OF EggS, BUNNIES AND EAStEr From C1

rECHargE and rEFlECt at HotEl JEn

Holy Week is the perfect time to take a breather from life’s daily ups and downs, and for that, Hotel Jen Manila opens its doors to be your humble home while fulfilling your lenten traditions.

Book a deluxe room for only P4,800 nett per night and enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast for two at Hotel Jen’s Latitude restaurant. Guests will also get

a 20 percent discount at the hotel’s other F&B outlets.

Those who prefer to enrich their spiritual wellbeing may hop on to the complimentary scheduled shuttle service courtesy of the hotel. The shuttle will drop off guests to Manila Cathedral, one of the country’s most iconic religious sites.

For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 795-8888 or email food&beverage.hjm@hoteljen.com.

aCaCia HotEl’s Eggs-CapadE For eggs-plorers

Easter Sunday at Acacia Hotel is both celebratory and restful as the five-star hotel in Alabang invites families for a day full of exciting activities and a night of peaceful sleep.

Those who checked in on March 26 (Black Saturday) until March 27 (Easter Sunday) can take advantage of Acacia’s Eggs-capade room package at P7,800 nett. The offer includes an overnight stay in a Deluxe Room inclusive of buffet breakfast for two at Acaci Coffee Shop, complimentary WiFi, use of swimming pool and fitness center, and shuttle service within the Alabang area. The room package

tHE BEllEvuE Manila’s supErB EastEr trEat EastEr royal Ball at rEsorts World Manila

A royal Easter treat awaits kids from four to 12 years old during the Royal Easter Ball to be held in Newport Mall at Resorts World Manila (RWM) starting at 1:00 p.m. today Children will definitely enjoy the RWM Royal Easter Ball loaded with educational and exciting activities that include performances by magician, illusionist and quick change artist Ron Mariano, and the dazzling balancing act of international acrobat Vladimir Ivanov.

Adding to the fun are the various booths offering goodies for kids such as a flipbooks photo booth and cotton candy and Filstar Art Attack booths.

Exciting prizes are also in store for mini games while the Royal Easter Ball kiddie fashion show segment with a

best in costume contest will add color to the festivities.

A minimum of P2,500 single receipt for shopping at any outlet in Newport Mall or at any RWM signature restaurant may get RWM members a chance to win any of the 350 excusive entrance stubs for the fun kiddie event. RWM members must present receipts together with their RWM membership cards at the membership counter located at the second floor of Newport Mall from 12 noon until to 3:00 p.m. today.

Qualified participants will be entitled to pick one stub for a chance to win an entrance ticket for their kids to participate in the special event.

Visit www.rwmanilla.com or call the Tourist/Visitor Hotline at (632) 908-8833 for more upcoming special events, offerings and attractions at Resorts World Manila.

The Bellevue Manila’s Viking-themed Easter Party is sure to give your kids an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind Easter experience to be held at the hotel’s Grand Ballroom today from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Taking inspiration from the popular movie How to Train Your Dragon, the funfilled activities are sure to entertain the little ones as it is made even more delicious with a mouthwatering snack buffet, exciting games and egg hunting. What’s more, the kiddies also get to take home a loot bag!

Bring your kids to the Bellevue Manila – premiere five-star hotel in the Southern Metro – for an eggs-travagant Easter celebration.

Ticket price for the event is at P990 net.

For more details and other information, call (02) 771-8181. Email tbmnl@thebellevue.com or visit the website www.thebellevue.com. For real time updates, like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thebellevuemanila.

also comes with two tickets to the Little Eggs-plorers Easter Party.

The Little Eggs-plorers Easter Party is happening from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. today at Grand Acacia Ballroom. For P1,050 nett per person, families, especially the kids, will get to enjoy a sumptuous brunch buffet, various station activities, parlor games, interactive storytelling, a mini petting area, raffle prizes, and the traditional hunting of at least 1,000 eggs.

Children will also take home a goodie bag packed with snacks and other freebies.

For more information and for reservations, call (02) 720-2000 or email enquiry@acaciahotelsmanila.com.

SunDAy : m A RcH 27, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

“Shelter” is an American drama film written and directed by Paul Bettany

R

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Jennifer connelly and Anthony mackie bond together for survival on the streets of new york

HOmElEssnEss In AmERIcA ExpOsED In ‘sHElTER’

eal life couple Paul Bettany and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly collaborate in the actor’s directorial debut, Shelter.

Bettany, best known for his role in the global blockbuster Avengers movies, Iron Man, Legion, and The Da Vinci Code, takes the back seat and helms a movie with a very powerful message on homelessness set in New York.

Bettany’s wife, Jennifer Connelly, who starred with the late David Bowie in the classic and unforgettable Labyrinth and whose hit and acclaimed film credits include A Beautiful Mind, Hulk, Blood Diamond, Noah, and Little Children, gives a riveting performance in the movie as a homeless woman named Hannah, heroin addict who abandoned her son after she lost her husband during 9/11 mission.

Co-starring with Connelly is Anthony Mackie as Tahir as Nigerian immigrant whose recent release in jail led him to an encounter with Hannah. Coming from two different worlds, and as they learn about each other’s past, they begin to realize that they need each other to survive.

Shelter is inspired by a man who lived on the sidewalk to the left of Bettany’s apartment building in TriBeCa where he lives

with wife and children.

Bettany further reveals that he decided “He had three shopping trolleys (“carts” to take the director’s chair because for him, if you’re an American) stacked full of the script seems to be an interim document, books—heady books: Ulysses, Remem- “I’ve been wondering whether in our atbrance of Things Past, and so on. Over the tempt to control the outcome of our efforts years, I tried to talk to him, but he was and to protect our investment, we sometaciturn in the extreme, and after many times develop scripts to death. Over develattempts, I decided to respect his silence op them to the point where there is no real and privacy. I returned to watching him imaginative job left for the actor, no room from my window and he to reading and for surprises, just enough space for him protecting his books from the elements. or her to paint by numbers and fill in the When hurricane Sandy hit New York City blanks. I’ve finally become bored of hearin 2012, it saw a mandatory evacuation of ing myself moan on about how it isn’t the our neighborhood on the Hudson River, 70’s anymore, and have decided to try and and in the mayhem of trying to fit three do something about it—I love actors, they unruly kids and a dog in the car and head are magical and anarchic and trustworthy to higher ground, I never once stopped storytellers, and I want to give them their to think about where my silent, well-read jobs back. To that end, I will be shooting friend would go to weather the storm. I’ve Shelter fast and loose. Handheld, 1.85:1, never seen him again,” shares Bettany. which feels intimate to me and to my mind Long before he started shooting, he is a very actor friendly format—actors beshowed the script to Coalition for the ing, with very few exceptions, more vertical Homeless, an advocacy group in New than they are horizontal,” reveals the actorYork, who vetted it. Bettany wanted to director on helming Shelter. highlight the bureaucracy that prevents Shelter as Paul Bettany puts it is a love the homeless from getting help and find- story is for him and for all people who for ing shelter. “But I didn’t want to make a whatever reason slip by the wayside. film about homelessness,” he insists. “I It opened yesterday in cinemas from wanted it to be about judgment.”

CrystalSky Multimedia.

Jennifer connelly is a homeless junkie in “Shelter”

AnnA KEnDRIcK AnD An ASSASSIn In ‘mR. RIgHt’ Produced by hit moviemakers, the upcoming romantic action comedy Mr. Right sees a hyperactive at the best of times, Martha (Anna Kendrick) has gone full-on manic since her latest breakup.

She babbles, parties like a monster, cooks everything in sight — and is looking to do something terrible when she meets Francis (Sam Rockwell of The Way Way Back). To anyone else, Francis’s approach

Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick star in a romantic action comedy “mr. Right”

would come across as creepy, but Martha can’t help but be intrigued. They seem a perfect match: she’s bananas, he’s bananas... except he’s a deadly sort of bananas.

He’s a professional assassin.

Francis is a hit man with a cause: he unexpectedly kills the people ordering the hits. Just as Martha begins to realize her new beau wasn’t joking when he said he had to step out for a moment to shoot someone, things start heating up for Francis. His services are solicited by a dubious client who’s being sought by an equally dubious FBI agent (Tim Roth of The Hateful Eight and Reservoir Dogs). As the bodies pile up, Martha needs to decide whether to flee or join in the mayhem.

Several years before writer Max Landis’ mastery of offbeat storytelling became evident in American Ultra, Victor Frankenstein and the $122 million-grossing superhero hit Chronicle, he dreamed up an outrageous contribution to the rom-com canon in Mr. Right. When the dancing hit man high concept proved too challenging for mainstream Hollywood tastemakers, Circle of Confusion producers Rick Jacobs and Stephen Emery, who also manage Landis, decided to produce the script themselves.

“For all its fun and dynamics, Max’s story

didn’t immediately catch the eyes of the studios, so that became an opportunity where Stephen and I decided to put the movie together organically,” Jacobs says. “The great thing about Mr. Right is, it’s got a little bit of everything -- action, romance, comedy.

The story doesn’t fit in one box, which can make it hard for some people, but for us it seemed like a really fun ride to jump on.”

Making sure Mr. Right featured all the right moves, stunt coordinator Kevin Beard joined forces with fight coordinator James Lew to design Rockwell’s eye-popping stunts. “Our challenge was to make all this action come alive,” says Beard, whose stunt resume includes Texas Chainsaw 3D and The Expendables. “Before the shoot began we had a three and a half hour meeting with Paco where the big question was ‘How do you do a dance fight and not make it look stupid?’ He had us go back and take a look at Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin movies from silent era. Once we started working out the moves, we came up with some cool stuff.”

Mr. Right opens in cinemas on April 6 from Pioneer Films.

Check out the films’ trailer here: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsFkfIMQXg E&feature=youtu.be

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SunDAy : m A RcH 27, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

sEaRch fOR 2016 MIss scuba phIlIppInEs

f you have a passion for scuba diving and the ocean, then you could be the next Miss Scuba Philippines. The search for Miss Scuba Philippines 2016 is now open with screenings to be held in key diving destinations in Cebu, Bohol, Davao, Subic, Batangas and Manila. The winner to be known in the finals set in September, which promises to be an exciting evening, will compete in the Miss Scuba International pageant to be held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on Nov. 19.

Miss Scuba International, now on its sixth year, is a one of a kind pageant that promotes scuba diving and ocean conservation while celebrating the inner beauty and courage of today’s women. The Miss Scuba International Organization, formed

by Robert Lo in 2011, focuses on saving

the oceans through the celebration of the inner beauty and courage of today’s modern women advocating worldwide marine conservation and protection. Lo hopes that through his pageant, more people will understand how fragile the oceans are and how to make a difference by protecting it for generations to come.

Last year, Cindy Madduma, a native of Palawan, became the first Filipina to wear the Miss Scuba International crown after winning over 17 licensed scuba diver contestants from all over the world. Christine Love Paula Bernasor, first runner up in 2013 Miss Scuba International, is the new National Director for Miss Scuba Philippines search.

Madduma has taken the role as international ambassadress of marine conserva-

Reigning miss Scuba International cindy madduma (second from right) and national pageant director christine Love paula Bernasor (second from left)

tion and scuba diving, travelling to different countries to educate people on marine life and ocean preservation and protection and promote safe diving practices. “We need to be more active in marine conserva-

tion to maintain the Philippines’ claim as one of the countries with high biodiversity,” said Madduma via the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines program. – Eton B. Concepcion

HAppInESS AccoRDIng to JoEy REyES Success is not the key to happiness. Living a happy life, rather, is a choice and is one of the keys to true success. This is according to multi-awarded writer and direc-

tor, Jose Javier Reyes, who served as the inspirational speaker during the formal opening of Ad Summit Pilipinas 2016.

“I am responsible for my own happi-

multi-awarded writer and director Jose Javier Reyes in a talk during the Ad Summit pilipinas 2016

cROsswORD puzzlE 80 84 85 86 87 88

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe ACROSS 1 Raccoon cousin 6 Like some yogurt (hyph.)

11 Risque 15 Tylenol rival 20 Inert gas 21 Use a pen 22 Loathe 24 Sluggish marsupial 25 Singer Bonnie — 26 Arena seating 27 Zen poem 28 Silver bar 29 Playful swimmers 31 The fabulous Garbo 33 Gator kin 34 Soft purple 35 Voles (2 wds.)

37 Takeover 39 Frequent 007 foe 41 Always, in verse 42 Lyon’s river 43 Peeves

44 46 50 51 52 53 57 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 72 73 74 75 76 79

Grapevine produce Spiky flower Geol. formations Throne It’ll hold water Shed, as light Valentino of silents — dollar 13 witches Heroic tale Comes to terms Green-egg layers Airport exits Keystone Konstable Derrick or crane Screw up Improve the highway Mist and smoke Film speed no.

Tangy taste Quits, in poker Wooden trunk Precise details Robust

Distances Superman’s alias Thwarts a villain Very funny person Criticize Domestic sci.

(2 wds.)

91 Piece of lumber 92 Swarms around 93 There!

95 Gary’s st.

96 Draws close 97 Hot tub features 98 Geezer 99 Kind of straw 101 Ocean or Wilder 102 Insurance claim 103 Somebody feted 104 Teller’s stack 105 Fakes it 106 Keep — on (watch) 107 — vivant 108 Outer coat 109 Fringe benefits 111 Reed and Piniella 112 Thick soup 114 Almost grads 117 Duryea or Marino 118 Go off course 119 Burlap bags 124 Teenage 126 Part of WATS 128 For — — (cheap) 130 Caesar’s book 131 Arm bones 132 Dawns, in poetry 134 Heads opposite 136 Comedian — Mandel 137 Banal 138 Slalom runs 139 “En garde” weapons 140 Make corrections 141 “Roots” Emmy winner 142 Deserve 143 Succinct 144 Crosses the creek

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2016 DOWN 1 Billiards shot 2 Speak publicly 3 Tummy trouble 4 Lugged 5 Opening remarks 6 Yellowknife loc.

7 Beginnings 8 Vehement 9 Up — — (stumped) 10 Dry run 11 Bleachers cry 12 Old calculator 13 Bird sound 14 She loved John 15 Hands-on-hips 16 Spanish title 17 Clear as mud 18 “— — a Rainy Night” 19 —, gator!

23 Uproars 30 Quicksand locales 32 Bitter 36 Wool-eater 38 Rubber-stamps 40 Feds (hyph.)

43 Holm and Woosnam 44 Fairy-tale black 45 Musical notes 46 Kind of cracker 47 Big name in horror films 48 Conductor — Boult 49 Forest browsers 51 Smear 52 Has a say 54 Hammerhead kin 55 Mr. Stravinsky 56 Collects maple sap 58 Grant approval 59 Chimney deposit 60 Tea container 63 Ultimatum word 64 Coats with gold 67 Daring deed 68 Globe

69 70 71 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 96 97 98 100 101 102 103 106 107 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 118 119 120 121 122 123 125 127 129 133 135

ness. Nobody can tell you how you can be happy,” Reyes declared as he shared his life lessons to the more than 2,000 advertising and marketing practitioners in the plenary hall of the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

In his talk, Reyes revealed more about his personal and professional experiences while working with different people in various industries.

“You choose to be happy because you learn the differences between your wants and your needs. You need to appreciate your strengths but you should also accept your limitations. Because by choosing to be happy, you must accept that no one is perfect,” he explained.

Reyes, who has set up his own production company, Available Light, began his career as a college instructor at De La Salle University teaching literature before transitioning into writing and film.

A Gawad Urian and Metro Film Festival awardee, he is best-known for his works, including the blockbuster hits Pahiram ng Isang Umaga, Batang PX, and Kasal Kasali Kasalo.

Bit of a shock Andy Capp’s quaff Princess perturber Brass component County events Short lives?

Luau strummer Driver’s peg Ancient Playing marbles Amulet from Africa (var.)

Soprano — Farrell Was merciful Mares’ offspring Composts Hawaiian port — — even keel Consumer gds.

Punches very hard Predicament Baron — Richthofen Skunk’s defense Informal moniker Classified listings Rabbits Salt meas.

Vamp Theda — Dern of “Jurassic Park” Fearsome cape “Little piggie” Screws up More nervous Less fatty Weaker Forgo Turkey neighbor Reddish-browns Where Khartoum is Vice — Freak out (2 wds.)

Luncheonette lure Bullied “Dave” actor Travels on snow Prime-time hour Trellis coverer Dele canceler W-2 info Vane dir.

“It is really okay to fail, and sometimes it is more fun to fail than to be successful, because in failure you realize how much it is that you need to be happier rather than to be merely successful. No one in the world gets everything he wants,” he continued.

A proud senior citizen, Reyes, 61, also noted that it is important to be “fulfilled” than to be merely successful. “You cannot define happiness through the eyes of others. Stop comparing yourself to others.”

At the end of his talk, Reyes shared his five cardinal rules for a happier life: Choose your battles; before people get tired of you, get tired of yourself; remember that there is no such thing as “acting your age;” you can only be interesting as you are interested; and most importantly, be grateful.

“It is never about how much you have but how you get them. It is never how much you accumulated, but how you get that.

You can be the biggest box-office success, you can be the most promising artist in media—but then, when that moment comes, it is not how far you have come but what you have become to get there,” he concluded.

SunDAy : m A RcH 27, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ManzanO wanTs bETTER OppORTunITIEs fOR Ofws TO RETuRn hOME

S

enatorial candidate Edu Manzano underscored the need to create more and better opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) so that they can be reunited with their families and find a decent job in the country.

Manzano, who is eyeing a Senate seat under the umbrella coalition Partido Galing at Puso this coming May elections, said the government should work hard in attracting in-country investments that could generate enough jobs to keep our OFWs home.

“Ang Pilipino ay likas na masisipag. Bigyan lang natin ng tamang oportunidad. Tignan mo sa ibang bansa, ang ating mga OFW ay mayroon tatlotatlong trabaho. Kaya sila nandoon kasi kulang sa oportunidad dito sa bansa natin,” he said.

Manzano is running on a platform of improving quality education for the youth and out-of-school youth, creating decent jobs especially in agri-tourism, BPO and ICT industries, and providing better opportunities and protection for Filipino families.

While labor migration has its economic benefits, Manzano also recognized its social costs, particularly among Filipino families which have to bear with broken marriages, drug or substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, among others.

Easter at Hard Rock café

Celebrate Easter with the whole family at Hard Rock Café (HRC) and enjoy its exciting line up of events from lunch to evening. Feast on the best sampling of Filipino, Asian, Continental, and American cuisines in HRC’s fabulous lunch buffet for adults and kids. Kiddies can participate in HRC’s annual Easter egg hunt and magic show and win amazing prizes.

In the evening, Part 3 will dish out live the best of classic rock. Hard rockers can look forward to an evening of great music as Part 3 performs a combination of classic rock ballads, homegrown favorites, chart-toppers, and party anthems. Part 3’s performance starts at 9p.m.

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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Actor and Partido Galing at Puso senatorial candidiate Edu manzano

“Kung ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino ay mayroong sapat at tamang oportunidad, kasabay na nito ang pagbagsak ng krimen at unti-unting pagkawala ng problema sa droga,” he added.

The popular actor and TV host said he has high regard to many Filipino workers who are making all the sacrifices so that they can send their children to good schools and provide better opportunities in life for their families.

“Nakalulungkot makita ang paghihiwalay ng pamilya sa tuwing ang isang ama o ina na iiwan ang kanilang mga anak upang magtrabaho sa ibang bayan. Kung mayroong sapat na oportunidad dito, hindi na nila kailangang umalis pa,” he said.

OFWs should be given better choices of domestic employment by creating a favorable environment for business investments to flourish and promoting best ethical practices in local recruitment and employment, he added.

To date, an estimated 10-12 million Filipinos have been separated from their children and families in exchange of better income and opportunities in other countries, some have even accepted riskier jobs or where they are vulnerable to abuses.

cardo saves Junior from illegal kidney trade syndicate Cardo’s (Coco Martin) mission gets more complicated now that his nephew Junior (Lei Andrei Navarro) is in the hands of doctor Ivan Gomez (Eric Quizon) in ABS-CBN’s hit primetime series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.

Doc Ivan’s men abduct the unknowing kid to be used as kidney donor for his customer Belinda Ojeda (Gelli De Belen), who is desperate to prolong the life of her dying son. This fires up Cardo even more to hunt down the gang responsible for Junior’s disappearance as soon as possible and save his nephew’s life from danger.

Meanwhile, Joaquin (Arjo Atayde), worried for the safety of his stepson, confronts his father Tomas (Albert Martinez) about his involvement in the crime. But Tomas

is quick to deny his son’s allegations. Little does he know that one of his men, Fernan (Ping Medina), has framed him to be blamed as the mastermind of the organtrading syndicate to cover up for Doc Ivan as a way of thanking him after saving his child’s life.

Will Cardo be able to find Junior? How can he stop Doc Ivan?

Don’t miss the action-packed scenes in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, weeknights on ABSCBN. For more information about the program, visit the official social networking site of Dreamscape Entertainment Television at Facebook.com/DreamscapePH, Twitter.com/DreamscapePH, and Instagram.com/DreamscapePH.

coco martin (top) as cardo and Lei Andrei navarro as Junior in the top-rating action drama “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano”

HEARt In DIVISoRIA

Heart Evangelista and Dennis trillo star in a new soap

It was Heart Evangelista’s first time to go around Divisoria and she enjoyed the experience.

She was accompanied at 168 and Tutuban Mall by fans that belong to Heart World and members of Youth For Chiz, the youth supporters of her husband who is gunning to be the next vice president.

According to the actress she doesn’t have problems dealing with people and she enjoys going around the country to help her husband campaign for the coming elections. Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is running for vice president, Recently, she was in Ilocos with best friend Lovi Poe. “Nandito kami ni Lovi, siyempre gusto naming tumulong sa mga mahal namin sa buhay,” Heart said on the radio while being interviewed in Ilocos Norte.

“And kaming dalawa lang talaga ang makakakilala kung sino talaga ang mga candidates na Chiz and Grace (Poe). Gus-

to naming ipakilala sa lahat ng tao through us at iparating ang pagmamahal nila at pasasalamat nila sa pagsuporta at na-mimaintain nila ang posisyon nila sa surveys.

Kaya, maraming salamat,” the actress said.

Heart said that although there’s a lot of pressure being the wife of a politician, her husband constantly reminds him to be honest and truthful and be herself.

“Pagdating sa pulitika siyempre na-prepressure din po ako kasi maraming nagsasabi iyong mga serious na mga tao nakapaligid sa kanya, kelangan ganito ka, kelangan kapag magsalita ka kelangan ganyan. Pero sya, lagi niya sinasabi sa akin na just be your self,” Heart added. “Dapat magpakatotoo ka kung sino ka, minahal ka ng tao kung sino ka. Gusto ko ganon ka rin na kahit na nakapangasawa ka ng politician,”dagdag nya.

Heart says it’s no joke to be really under pressure especially that the elections is getting closer. But she is behind her husband all the way.

s unday : m a rch 27, 2016

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Isah V. rEd EDITOR nIcKIE WanG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

AlDEn RIchARDs knOWs ThE bEsT REmEDy fOR cOlDs ISAH V. RED

T

he toast of show business, Alden Richards, joins the ranks of the country’s top and trusted brand ambassadors for United Laboratories, Inc (UNILAB). The actor recently signed up as the latest addition to the NEOZEP family.

NEOZEP is the trusted colds remedy. It also relieves you from symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, clogged nose, headache, itchy throat, itchy and watery eyes, body aches, fever, and allergy.

“I am deeply honored to be part of the UNILAB family and to endorse a trusted product such as NEOZEP that takes care of the health of the Filipinos. I am also very happy that I share the same belief with the brand and that is ‘valuing relationships with loved ones and being able to protect them’,” says Alden.

Pambansang Bae, as Alden is popularly known, is a regular face on noontime TV from Monday-Sunday. In between, he is engaged in other commitments such as interviews, shoots, tapings, and personal appearances. Needless to say, Alden is one busy body. Given all that, he makes the most out of every chance he gets to spend with family and friends. “Now that I’m very busy, I realize the importance of my relationship with my family more than anything,” expresses Alden.

“I am really close to my grandmother,” reveals Alden, pertaining to Lola Linda, his Dad’s mom. “She has always been with me. She is like a second mom to us me and Kuya RD and Riza after mom passed away.

That is why no matter how busy I am I make it a point to spend

time with her whenever I can. The same goes with my siblings. Our favorite bonding moments include watching movies. We’re used to a lot of movie marathons!”

Next to his family, Alden values the team he works with day in and day out as they have become his barkada: his grooming stylist Kusie, long-time personal assistant Tenten, and handler Sam –the people who take care of him.

“These are the important people in my life,” says Alden. “I value the moments I have with them so I don’t want these moments to be restricted just because of a simple cold. I don’t want to have to distance myself from them out of concern that I might pass it on to them. Ayoko namang mahawaan ko pa sila.”

The good news is that Alden has found an ally that would provide “ginhawa” from his colds and protect him and his loved ones so he doesn’t need to distance himself from them.

“I am very grateful that I can always rely on NEOZEP every time. No more hatsinghatsing, no more hawa-hawa, and most importantly, hindi na kailangang umiwas o lumayo sa mga mahal ko sa buhay at mga kaibigan,” Alden says proudly.

Meanwhile, Christine Nuevo-Lim, Product Manager of NEOZEP, expresses how they are very happy to welcome Alden to the NEOZEP family. “We are excited to have Alden as the newest member of the NEOZEP family. He embodies the attributes important to the brand. Like NEOZEP, loved ones are important to Alden. He greatly values caring and protecting his loved ones; their well being is his responsibility. We couldn’t be happier with this new partnership.”

NEOZEP is an overthe-counter medicine that is clinically-proven to work synergistically to completely relieve colds and its symptoms.

Pambansang Bae alden richards is the new face of nEOZEP

Lola Linda, alden richard’s grandmother, joins him in a new commercial for the unILaB product