The Manila Times | February 3, 2019

STORMING FINISH LIFTS FOWLER TO PHOENIX LEAD

SNAPSHOTS OF THE CELEBRATING KAREN GALLMAN PHILIPPINES WIN AND THE PHILIPPINES’ FIRST EVER IN EUROPEAN TILT MISS INTERCONTINENTAL CROWN

Golf Times F1

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Filipino Champions G3

The Sunday Times Foreign terrorist slain in Sulu clash

•• SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 1144 7 36

Sunday Times imes Magazine G1

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

R w w w.manilatimes.net

Trusted since 1898

Do religions make good people do bad things?

SUNDAY READ RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO

A

STONISHING AS THAT QUESTION MIGHT BE IT HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF INTENSE DEBATES AMONG THINKERS AROUND THE WORLD GIVEN THE INESCAPABLE FACT THAT AMONG THE WORST GENOCIDES AND ATROCITIES IN HISTORY HAD BEEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF 'OD .OBEL LAUREATE PHYSICIST 3TEPHEN 7EINBERG HAD SUCCINCTLY DESCRIBED THE gAFkRMATIVEu SIDE IN THESE DEBATES g)N THE ORDINARY MORAL UNIVERSE THE GOOD WILL DO THE BEST THEY CAN THE WORST WILL DO THE WORST THEY CAN BUT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOOD PEOPLE DO WICKED THINGS YOU LL NEED RELIGION u

BY ROY D.R. NARRA

A

FOREIGN terrorist was among those killed when soldiers clashed with more than 100 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Patikul, Sulu on Saturday, the military said. ,T #OL 'ERALD -ONFORT SPOKESM A N FOR *OINT 4ASK

& O R C E 3 U L U

SAID THE FOR-

EIGN TERRORIST IDENTIkED AS !BU "LACK

WAS AMONG THE !BU 3AYYAF REBELS WHO BATTLED MEMBERS OF THE TH 3COUT 2ANGER "ATTALION AT 3ITIO 3UNGKOGIN IN "ARANGAY +ABBON 4AKAS 4HE MILITARY IS YET TO DETERMINE !BU "LACK S NATIONALITY g3OMEONE ;IDENTIkED= AS !BU "LACK ;WAS= AMONG THE TERRORISTS KILLED 7E STILL DON T KNOW HIS NATIONALITY u -ONFORT

SAID IN A NEWS BRIEkNG (E ADDED THAT TWO OTHER !BU 3AYYAF REBELS DIED IN THE HOUR LONG CLASH WHILE OTHERS WERE INJURED 4HE kERCE kREkGHT IN THE REBELS MOUNTAIN LAIR ALSO LEFT kVE SOLDIERS DEAD AND kVE OTHERS INJURED -ONFORT SAID (E ADDED THAT THE GROUP THAT CLASHED WITH SOLDIERS WAS LED BY (ATIB (AJAN 3AWADJAAN WHO WAS

³Clash A2

³Tiglao A4

No safe place SUNDAY STORIES MARLEN V. RONQUILLO

T

HE HIGH PROkLE POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS THAT TOOK PLACE RECENTLY IN 1UEZON #ITY ACCORDING TO THE NEWS ARCHIVES WERE GRUDGES THAT HAD ROOTS ELSEWHERE FAR AWAY CONlICTS THAT GUNMEN OPTED TO SETTLE IN THE CAPITAL CITY .OT CITY GROWN NOT LOCAL kGHTS BETWEEN AND AMONG 1# POLITICIANS TURNED BLOODY AND MESSY /NE SUCH HIGH PROkLE KILLING HAD ITS ORIGIN IN VIOLENT -ASBATE POLITICS AND ANOTHER WAS A BITTER POLITICAL DISPUTE IN !BRA THAT FOUND ITS TRAGIC END IN 1# WITH THE CONGRESSMAN BROTHER OF THE CURRENT CHIEF JUSTICE AS VICTIM

³Ronquillo A5

‘HOT’ SUCCULENTS

Moon cactus in various colors are on display at the Hortikultura Filipina garden show at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. The succulents are popular among buyers because of their colorful flowers. PHOTO BY ROGER RAÑADA

BONG GO TOP CHOICE FOR SENATE SEAT – SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT Table 1. Exposure, Popularity,Virality

RANKED BY EXPOSURE

RANKED BY POPULARITY

RANKED BY VIRALITY

1

GO, CHRISTOPHER “BONG” T. (PDP-LABAN)

ONG, WILLIE “Doc Willie Ong” (LAKAS-CMD)

ROXAS, MANUEL “MAR” II (LP)

2

ROXAS, MANUEL “MAR” II (LP)

GO, CHRISTOPHER “BONG” T. (PDP-LABAN)

ONG, WILLIE “Doc Willie Ong” (LAKAS-CMD)

3

CHONG, GLENN (KDP)

ROXAS, MANUEL “MAR” II (LP)

GO, CHRISTOPHER “BONG” T. (PDP-LABAN)

4

POE, GRACE L. (Independent)

CHONG, GLENN (KDP)

POE, GRACE L. (Independent)

5

ANGARA, JUAN EDGARDO “SONNY” M. (LDP)

TOLENTINO, FRANCIS “TOL” (PDP-LABAN)

TOLENTINO, FRANCIS “TOL” (PDP-LABAN)

6

ONG, WILLIE “Doc Willie Ong” (LAKAS-CMD)

MARCOS, MARIA IMELDA JOSEFA “IMEE” (NP)

CHONG, GLENN (KDP)

7

COLMENARES, NERI (MAKABAYAN)

DELA ROSA, RONALD “BATO” M. (PDP-LABAN)

AQUINO, PAOLO BENIGNO “BAM” IV (LP)

8

MARCOS, MARIA IMELDA JOSEFA “IMEE” (NP)

POE, GRACE L. (Independent)

MANICAD, RODRIGO “JIGGY MANICAD” JR. (PDP-LABAN)

9

GADON, LORENZO “LARRY” (KBL)

AQUINO, PAOLO BENIGNO “BAM” IV (LP)

DELA ROSA, RONALD “BATO” M. (PDP-LABAN) MARCOS, MARIA IMELDA JOSEFA “IMEE” (NP)

10

DELA ROSA, RONALD “BATO” M. (PDP-LABAN)

REVILLA, RAMON “BONG” JR. (LAKAS-CMD)

11

VILLAR, CYNTHIA (NP)

VILLAR, CYNTHIA (NP)

VILLAR, CYNTHIA (NP)

12

TOLENTINO, FRANCIS “TOL” (PDP-LABAN)

HILBAY, FLORIN “PILO” (AKSYON DEMOKRATIKO)

REVILLA, RAMON “BONG” JR. (LAKAS-CMD)

13

AQUINO, PAOLO BENIGNO “BAM” IV (LP)

AGUILAR, FERDINAND “FREDDIE AGUILAR” (PDP-LABAN)

AGUILAR, FERDINAND “FREDDIE AGUILAR” (PDP-LABAN)

14

REVILLA, RAMON “BONG” JR. (LAKAS-CMD)

GADON, LORENZO “LARRY” (KBL)

ESTRADA, JOSE “JINGGOY” (PMP)

15

EJERCITO, JOSEPEH VICTOR “JV” G. (NPC)

TANADA, LORENZO “ERIN” III (LP)

COLMENARES, NERI (MAKABAYAN)

16

HILBAY, FLORIN “PILO” (AKSYON DEMOKRATIKO)

COLMENARES, NERI (MAKABAYAN)

HILBAY, FLORIN “PILO” (AKSYON DEMOKRATIKO)

17

PIMENTEL, AQUILINO MARTIN “KOKO” III L. (PDP-LABAN)

EJERCITO, JOSEPEH VICTOR “JV” G. (NPC)

TANADA, LORENZO “ERIN” III (LP)

18

>hE E͕ Z & > ͞ZĂīLJ͟ /// ; 'hD z EͲsEWͿ

LAPID, MANUEL “LITO” (NPC)

LAPID, MANUEL “LITO” (NPC)

19

TANADA, LORENZO “ERIN” III (LP)

ENRILE, JUAN “JOHNNY” PONCE (PMP )

>hE E͕ Z & > ͞ZĂīLJ͟ /// ; 'hD z EͲsEWͿ

20

CAYETANO, PILAR JULIANA “PIA” (NP)

DIOKNO, JOSE MANUEL “CHEL” (LP)

EJERCITO, JOSEPEH VICTOR “JV” G. (NPC)

21

ROQUE, HERMINIO HARRY “HARRY”, JR. L. (PRP)

ESTRADA, JOSE “JINGGOY” (PMP)

GADON, LORENZO “LARRY” (KBL)

REACH US AT:

E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

Teachers will US bolts nuke treaty get paid for Russia warns of new arms race poll duties – Aquino 3%. 0AOLO "ENIGNO g"AMu !QUINO TH ON 3ATURDAY SAID THE HARD WORK AND INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS SHOULD BE PROPERLY RECOGNIZED AS THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE MID TERM ELECTIONS

³Duties A8

WASHINGTON, D.C.: 4HE 5NITED 3TATES SAID &RIDAY 3ATURDAY IN -ANILA IT WOULD EXIT A LANDMARK #OLD 7AR NUCLEAR MISSILE TREATY DUE TO PURPORTED VIOLATIONS BY 2USSIA

WHICH HAS WARNED OF A NEW ARMS RACE IN %UROPE 7ASHINGTON SAYS A NEW 2USSIAN MEDIUM RANGE MISSILE SYSTEM BREACHES THE )NTERMEDIATE 2ANGE .UCLEAR &ORCES ).& 4REATY ALTHOUGH 53 OFkCIALS ALSO HAVE AN

EYE ON #HINA AS THE PACT RESTRICTS THE 53 BUT NOT THE RISING !SIAN POWER 0RESIDENT $ONALD 4RUMP SAID THE 53 WAS SUSPENDING ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE ).& TREATY AS OF 3ATURDAY AND STARTING A PROCESS TO WITHDRAW IN SIX MONTHS "ROKERED BY 53 0RESIDENT 2ONALD 2EAGAN WITH LAST 3OVIET LEADER -IKHAIL 'ORBACHEV THE TREATY

³Treaty A2

05",I#53 !SIA )NC ON 3ATURDAY RELEASED THE RESULT OF ITS *ANUARY 3OCIAL -EDIA )NTELLIGENCE 2EPORT 3-)2 SHOWING 0RESIDENT 2ODRIGO $UTERTE S FORMER TOP AIDE #HRISTOPHER ,AWRENCE g"ONGu 'O 0$0 ,ABAN $R 7ILLIE g$OC 7ILLIEu /NG ,AKAS #-$ AND FORMER 3EN -ANUEL g-ARu 2OXAS ND ,0 AS THE TOP THREE CHOICES FOR THE -AY RACE TO THE 3ENATE !CCORDING TO 05",I#53 !SIA A YEAR OLD POLITICAL CONSULTING kRM BASED IN -ANILA THE ELECTION BATTLEkELDS ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUND AIR AND DIGITAL 3-)2 WAS GENERATED USING A PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE OF !UTO0OLITIC 4HE REPORT EXTRACTED SOCIAL MEDIA DATA FROM $EC

TO $EC

DATA POINTS AND FROM *AN TO *AN

DATA POINTS !LL THE EXTRACTED DATA ARE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT REACTIONS BEHAVIOR INDEX AND THE NATURE OF THE EXTRACTED DATA WAS PASSIVE WITHOUT AN ACTIVE STIMULUS 4HE REPORT COVERS FOUR RANKING METRICS

³Senate A2

A2

News

˜ The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Tolentino drops poll protest vs de Lima

BY BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

F

ORMER Malacañang adviser Francis Tolentino has withdrawn his election protest against Sen. Leila de Lima in order to give his “undivided attention” to his bid for a Senate seat in the May 2019 midterm polls.

4OLENTINO PLACED TH IN THE RACE TO THE 3ENATE IN THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS (E LOST TO DE ,IMA WHO TOOK THE TH SPOT

BY OVER MILLION VOTES

)N A MOTION DATED *ANUARY

4OLENTINO TOLD THE 3ENATE %LECTORAL 4RIBUNAL THAT HE DECIDED TO WITHDRAW HIS ELECTORAL PROTEST gIN VIEW OF AN IMPENDING RIGOROUS

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN u ! CANDIDATE OF THE $UTERTE ADMINISTRATION HE SAID THE gWITHDRAWAL IS BORNE OUT OF PURE EMPLOYMENT OF PRACTICALITY AND BY NO MEANS TO BE TAKEN AS A SURRENDERu OF HIS ADVOCACY TO EXPOSE ELECTION FRAUD 4OLENTINO ADDED THAT HE WAS WITHDRAWING gWITH HIS HEAD HELD UP HIGH AND PRIDE AND HONOR INTACT NOT ONLY FOR HIMSELF BUT ALSO TO THOSE WHO ASPIRE FOR FREE AND HONEST ELECTIONS u

(E SAID IT WAS gBEST TO VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAW HIS PROTEST BUT WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO HIS RIGHTS PERTAINING TO THE MOTION FOR THE RETURN OF PAYMENTS WHICH IS YET TO BE RESOLVED

BY THIS HONORABLE TRIBUNAL AND THE RETURN OF ANY EXCESS DEPOSIT MADE u /N /CT 4OLENTINO kLED A MOTION TO ARCHIVE HIS PROTEST

BUT THE 3ENATE %LECTORAL 4RIBUNAL DENIED HIS MOTION IN A DECISION DATED .OVEMBER $E ,IMA HAS BEEN DETAINED FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS ON DRUG CHARGES

Centerpiece infrastructure program means ‘more’ jobs "5),$).' MORE INFRASTRUCTURE ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE -ETRO -ANILA .ATIONAL #APITAL 2EGION WILL CREATE MORE JOBS FOR &ILIPINOS $URING THE GROUNDBREAKING FOR #IUDAD DE 6ICTORIA INTERCHANGE LED BY THE $EPARTMENT OF 0UBLIC 7ORKS AND (IGHWAYS $07( IN COORDINATION WITH -ETRO 0ACIFIC )NVESTMENTS #ORP -ALIGAYA $EVELOPMENT #ORP AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF "OCAUE "ULACAN 3EN %MMANUEL *OEL 6ILLANUEVA OVER THE WEEKEND HAILED THE GOVERNMENT S "UILD "UILD "UILD PROGRAM THAT IS gPOISED TO OPEN MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR &ILIPINO WORKERS u g4AMANG TAMA PO ANG GANITONG PROYEKTO DAHIL INIHAHANDA PO NATIN ANG BUONG REHIYON NG #ENTRAL ,UZON PARA SA MAS MARAMING PROYEKTO NEGOSYO AT TRABAHO PARA SA ATING MGA KABABAYAN 4HIS IS A MOST APPROPRIATE PROJECT BECAUSE WE RE PREPARING THE WHOLE REGION OF #ENTRAL ,UZON FOR MORE PROJECTS BUSINESSES AND JOBS FOR OUR COUNTRYMEN u SAID 6ILLANUEVA

CHAIRMAN OF THE 3ENATE #OMMITTEE ON ,ABOR %MPLOYMENT AND (UMAN 2ESOURCES $EVELOPMENT g4ULAD PO NG PALAGI NATING SINASABI @"UILD "UILD "UILD %QUALS *OBS *OBS *OBS AT ITONG ARAW PO NA ITO ANG MAGPAPATUNAY NA TAMA ANG PORMULA NATIN PARA SA KAUNLARAN *UST LIKE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN SAYING @"UILD "UILD "UILD %QUALS *OBS *OBS *OBS AND TODAY IS THE PROOF THAT OUR FORMULA FOR PROGRESS IS CORRECT u THE SENATOR SAID 4HE #IUDAD DE 6ICTORIA INTERCHANGE IS A 0 MILLION PROJECT THAT WILL TRAVERSE A METER NEW

ROAD OPENING FROM -ANILA .ORTH 2OAD TO THE EXISTING METER "OCAUE -UNICIPAL 2OAD 4HE ROAD NETWORK WILL CONTINUE TO TRAVERSE A METER NEW ROAD OPENING AND WILL TERMINATE AT THE EXISTING INNER ROAD OF THE #IUDAD DE 6ICTORIA 4HE TOTAL LENGTH OF THE PROJECT WILL BE METERS WITH A METER BRIDGE CONSISTING OF FOUR LANES !LSO INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL ROAD LENGTH IS THE REHABILITATION OF

METERS OF INNER ROAD OF #IUDAD DE 6ICTORIA LEADING TO THE ONGOING 3ANTA -ARIA "OCAUE "YPASS 2OAD PASSING TO THE ONGOING 3AN 'ABRIEL "RIDGE IN 3ANTA -ARIA

"ULACAN AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF

METERS OF ROAD TO CONNECT TO THE EXISTING 0ATUBIG 2OAD LEADING TO -ARILAO ALSO IN "ULACAN 4HE PROJECT WILL SERVE AS AN ALTERNATE ROAD TO THE HEAVILY CONGESTED 'OVERNOR & (ALILI 2OAD IN 3ANTA -ARIA 4HE INTERCHANGE IS ALSO SEEN AS A LONG TERM SOLUTION TO ALLEVIATE TRAFFIC AT THE "OCAUE %NTRY %XIT 4OLL 'ATE OF THE .ORTH ,UZON %XPRESSWAY 6ILLANUEVA SAID HE BELIEVES THAT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN #ENTRAL ,UZON WILL LEAD TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION !SIDE FROM THE #IUDAD DE 6ICTORIA INTERCHANGE OTHER APPROVED GOVERNMENT PROJECTS IN #ENTRAL ,UZON ARE THE 4UTUBAN -ALOLOS 4RAIN OR THE .ORTH 3OUTH #OMMUTER 2AIL 0ROJECT AND THE .EW #LARK #ITY IN 4ARLAC JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

Q TREATY FROM A1

OVER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE TREATY S DEMISE AND CALLED ON 2USSIA TO ADDRESS CONCERNS BEFORE THE 5NITED 3TATES FORMALLY LEAVES IN !UGUST g4O US IT S CLEAR THAT 2USSIA VIOLATED THIS TREATY AND THAT S WHY WE MUST TALK WITH 2USSIA u 'ERMAN #HANCELLOR !NGELA -ERKEL SAID %5 DIPLOMATIC CHIEF &EDERICA -OGHERINI SPEAKING AS THE BLOC S FOREIGN MINISTERS GATHERED IN "UCHAREST

SAID THAT THE %UROPEANS DID NOT WANT gOUR CONTINENT GOING BACK TO BEING A BATTLEkELD OR PLACE WHERE OTHER SUPERPOWERS CONFRONT THEMSELVES THIS BELONGS TO A FARAWAY HISTORY u 4RUMP ALSO FACED CRITICISM AT HOME WHERE $EMOCRATS SAID THE g!MERICA &IRSTu PRESIDENT WAS TOO EAGER TO WITHDRAW FROM YET ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL TREATY g4HE 4RUMP ADMINISTRATION IS RISKING AN ARMS RACE AND UNDERMINING INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND STABILITY u (OUSE 3PEAKER .ANCY 0ELOSI SAID

US bolts FIGHTING POLLUTION

A firefighter joins dozens of “cleaners” who gathered on Saturday to continue the clean-up operation at the Manila Bay. PHOTO BY RUSSELL PALMA

Q CLASH FROM A1

Foreign terrorist ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN THE TWIN BOMBINGS AT THE /UR ,ADY OF -OUNT #ARMEL #ATHEDRAL IN *OLO

3ULU ON *ANUARY g4HE FIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO ;GROUPS= WAS INTENSE SINCE OUR TROOPS WERE TRYING TO CAPTURE THE HIGH GROUND u -ONFORT SAID )NTERIOR 3ECRETARY %DUARDO !ÄO ON &RIDAY CONkRMED THAT )NDONESIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS WERE BEHIND THE *OLO BLASTS !N INTELLIGENCE SOURCE SAID THE TERRORISTS A MAN AND A WOMAN

CAME INTO CONTACT WITH THE GROUP CONTROLLED BY 3AWADJAAN WHOSE !JANG !JANG SUBGROUP RAN ERRANDS FOR THE !BU 3AYYAF KIDNAP AND TERROR GROUP "ASED ON EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

THE WOMAN BROUGHT THE BAG CONTAINING THE BOMB AND PLACED IT ON ONE OF THE PEWS 3HE DETONATED IT FROM A DISTANCE g4HE SECOND )%$ IMPROVISED

EXPLOSIVE DEVICE WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DETONATED BY THE MAN HIMSELF WITH THE BAG ATTACHED TO HIS BODY u THE SOURCE SAID #OL .OEL $ETOYATO MILITARY PUBLIC AFFAIRS CHIEF CONkRMED THAT THE TWO SETS OF BODY PARTS WERE RECOVERED BY AUTHORITIES IN *OLO 3OLDIERS ALSO FOUGHT MEMBERS OF THE !JANG AJANG FACTION ON 4HURSDAY BUT NO CASUALTIES WERE REPORTED )MMEDIATELY AFTER THE *OLO CATHEDRAL ATTACK THE MILITARY LAUNCHED AIR STRIKES ON THE LAIRS OF !BU 3AYYAF REBELS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE ORDER OF 0RESIDENT 2ODRIGO $UTERTE TO CRUSH THE TERRORIST GROUP 4HE 0RESIDENT ON 3ATURDAY SOUGHT THE HELP OF LOCAL OFkCIALS IN kGHTING TERRORISM )N HIS MESSAGE AT THE "ARANGAY 3UMMIT ON 0EACE AND /RDER IN 0ALO ,EYTE $UTERTE VOWED TO DO

Q SENATE FROM A1

Bong Go top choice EXPOSURE POPULARITY VIRALITY AND SOCIAL CAPACITY 5NDER EXPOSURE 'O RANKED NUMBER ONE FOLLOWED BY 2OXAS ND 'LENN #HONG RD 'RACE 0OE TH *UAN %DGARDO !NGARA TH 7ILLIE /NG TH .ERI #OLMENARES TH )MEE -ARCOS TH

,ARRY 'ADON TH 2ONALD g"ATOu DELA 2OSA TH #YNTHIA 6ILLAR TH &RANCIS 4OLENTINO TH

0AOLO "ENIGNO g"AMu !QUINO TH TH AND 2AMON g"ONGu 2EVILLA *R TH "Y POPULARITY /NG RANKED NUMBER ONE FOLLOWED BY 'O ND

2OXAS RD #HONG TH 4OLENTINO TH -ARCOS TH DELA 2OSA TH 0OE TH !QUINO TH

2EVILLA TH 6ILLAR TH &LORIN (ILBAY TH &REDDIE !GUILAR

TH AND 'ADON TH &OR VIRALITY 2OXAS RANKED kRST

FOLLOWED BY /NG ND 'O RD

0OE TH 4OLENTINO TH #HONG TH !QUINO TH *IGGY -ANICAD TH DELA 2OSA TH -ARCOS TH 6ILLAR TH 2EVILLA TH

!GUILAR TH AND *OSE g*INGGOYu %STRADA TH 5NDER SOCIAL CAPACITY 'O AGAIN RANKED kRST FOLLOWED BY (ILBAY ND :AJID g$ONGu -ANGUDADATU RD %RIN 4AÄADA TH 2EVILLA TH DELA 2OSA TH -ARIA ,OURDES .ANCY "INAY TH !QUILINO 0IMENTEL RD TH /NG TH (ARRY 2OQUE *R TH -ARCOS TH #OLMENARES TH 'ADON TH AND $ANILO 2OLLEDA TH &OR HIGH CONkDENCE 'O RANKED

HIS BEST TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE NATION BUT THAT HE WOULD NEED THE COOPERATION OF COMMUNITIES g)T IS IMPERATIVE FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS UNDERTAKING BY ADVOCATING AND IMPLEMENTING POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT STRENGTHEN THE GOVERNMENT S CAMPAIGN AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS CRIMINALITY CORRUPTION AND TERRORISM u $UTERTE SAID g0EACE AND ORDER AND THE ADHERENCE TO THE RULE OF LAW ARE VITAL IN ENSURING THE PROGRESS OF A NATION u HE ADDED 4HE 0RESIDENT EXPRESSED HOPE THAT LOCAL LEADERS WOULD UNITE TO kGHT THREATS TO THEIR LOCALITIES

4HE TERROR ATTACKS IN -INDANAO ALSO PROMPTED THE 0HILIPPINE #OAST 'UARD 0#' IN )LOILO TO HEIGHTEN ITS ALERT STATUS 0#' )LO ILO COMMANDER ,T #OMMANDER 2ODOLFO DELA 0EÄA

SAID 0#' PERSONNEL WERE DEPLOYED TO )LOILO AND 'UIMARAS TO AUGMENT THE SECURITY FORCE THERE

g7E HAD DOUBLED OUR EFFORTS IN ENSURING THE SAFETY OF INBOUND AND OUTBOUND PASSENGERS LAST $INAGYANG &ESTIVAL .OW ) CAN SAY THAT OUR EFFORTS TRIPLED u DELA 0EÄA SAID (E SAID SECURITY MEASURES WERE AIMED TO PREVENT THE ENTRY OF ANY TERROR GROUP 4HE 0#' IN 7ESTERN 6ISAYAS SAID IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR SOME TERROR GROUPS TO PENETRATE THE ISLAND THROUGH MOTORIZED BANCAS THUS THE NEED FOR REGULAR S HORE PATROLS

DELA 0EÄA SAID g7E CONTINUE TO MONITOR OUR SHORES SINCE TERROR GROUPS MIGHT GAIN ACCESS TO )LOILO THROUGH THE WATERS u HE SAID (E SAID CARGO TRUCKS AND ROLL ON ROLL OFF 2O2O VESSELS COMING IN AND OUT OF )LOILO PORTS AS WELL AS THE BAGGAGE OF INBOUND AND OUTBOUND PASSENGERS WILL BE THOROUGHLY SCREENED $ELA 0EÄA CALLED ON VILLAGE OFkCIALS TO REPORT STRANGERS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD WITH CATHERINE VALENTE AND PNA

NUMBER ONE FOLLOWED BY DELA 2OSA ND AND 2EVILLA RD &OR THE REPORT 05",I#53 TRACKED SOCIAL MEDIA USE VIA ITS Û0AHAYAG3URVEYS NATIONWIDE !UGUST ,UZON -AY AND .ATIONAL #APITAL 2EGION .OVEMBER -AJORITY OF THE VOTERS HAVE SMART PHONES AND ARE COMMON TO ACCESS SOCIAL MEDIA USING IT !NNEX " !MONG THE POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS &ACEBOOK IS MOST COMMONLY ACCESSED !NNEX # !

THIRD OF THE VOTERS GETS NEWS ABOUT GOVERNMENT LEADERS POLITICS CURRENT EVENTS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA !NNEX $ 3EVENTY kVE PERCENT OF VOTERS SAY INTERNET BASED NEWS IS IMPORTANT FOR THEM !NNEX % 0HILIPPINE DIGITAL SPACE BASED ON THE RECENTLY RELEASED g 7E !RE 3OCIALu GLOBAL SURVEY REPORT REVEALED THAT MILLION &ILIPINOS ARE INTERNET USERS OR A PENETRATION RATE OF PERCENT 5NIQUE MOBILE

USERS STAND AT MILLION WHILE ACTIVE MOBILE SOCIAL USERS ARE AT MILLION OR PERCENT PENETRATION 4HE NUMBER ONE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM IN THE COUNTRY IS &ACEBOOK WITH OVER MILLION JOINING SINCE THE LAST REPORT IN AT MILLION &ILIPINOS SPEND AN AVERAGE OF HOURS AND MINUTES PER DAY ON THE INTERNET VIA ANY DEVICE AND AN AVERAGE DAILY TIME OF HOURS AND MINUTES USING MOBILE )NTERNET &OR THE -AY MIDTERM ELECTIONS THERE ARE

TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS PERCENT OF THE VOTING POPULATION NATIONWIDE IS IN ,UZON 6ISAYAS AND -INDANAO ACCOUNT FOR THE REMAINING PERCENT 6ISAYAS IS AT PERCENT WHILE -INDANAO ACCOUNTS FOR PERCENT "ALANCE ,UZON IS BIGGER THAN COMBINED 6ISAYAS -INDANAO AT PERCENT WHILE .#2 .ATIONAL #APITAL 2EGION OR -ETRO -ANILA IS AT PERCENT

High alert

ENDED A SUPERPOWER BUILDUP OF WARHEADS THAT HAD FRIGHTENED %UROPEANS BANNING GROUND LAUNCHED MISSILES WITH A RANGE OF TO KILOMETERS AROUND TO MILES g4HE 5NITED 3TATES HAS FULLY ADHERED TO THE ).& TREATY FOR MORE THAN YEARS BUT WE WILL NOT REMAIN CONSTRAINED BY ITS TERMS WHILE 2USSIA MISREPRESENTS ITS ACTIONS u 4RUMP SAID IN A STATEMENT 53 3ECRETARY OF 3TATE -IKE 0OMPEO SAID THE 5NITED 3TATES WHICH FORMALLY ANNOUNCED ITS CONCERNS TWO MONTHS AGO HAD RAISED THE ALLEGED TREATY VIOLATION WITH 2USSIA MORE THAN TIMES g2USSIA S VIOLATION PUTS MILLIONS OF %UROPEANS AND !MERICANS AT GREATER RISK IT AIMS TO PUT THE 53 AT A MILITARY DISADVANTAGE AND IT UNDERCUTS THE CHANCES OF MOVING OUR BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP IN A BETTER DIRECTION u 0OMPEO SAID "UT 0OMPEO SAID THE 53 WAS STILL WILLING TO TALK TO 2USSIA IN HOPES THAT IT COMES INTO COMPLIANCE 4RUMP SPEAKING TO REPORTERS

SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO gGET EVERYBODY IN A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL ROOM AND DO A NEW TREATY u BUT IN THE MEANTIME THE 5NITED 3TATES gCAN T BE PUT AT A DISADVANTAGE u

Russia warns of arms race 2USSIAN 0RESIDENT 6LADIMIR 0UTIN

WHO HAS SOUGHT A WARM RELATIONSHIP WITH 4RUMP BUT IS WIDELY REVILED BY THE 53 ESTABLISHMENT HAS DECLARED THAT THE 53 WITHDRAWAL WOULD SET OFF A NEW ARMS RACE &OREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN -ARIA :AKHAROVA SAID &RIDAY S DECISION WAS NOT ABOUT 2USSIA BUT RATHER gTHE STRATEGY OF THE 5NITED 3TATES TO GET OUT OF ITS INTERNATIONAL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS IN DIFFERENT AREAS u :AKHAROVA TOLD TELEVISION CHANNEL 2OSSIYA THAT THE 53 HAD PROVIDED gNO EVIDENCE NO SATELLITE PHOTO NO EVIDENCEu TO BACK ITS ALLEGATIONS AND THAT ONCE 7ASHINGTON LEAVES THE TREATY 2USSIA gRESERVES THE RIGHT TO AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE u .!4/ SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT THE 53 ALLIES gFULLY SUPPORTu THE WITHDRAWAL AND AGREED THAT 2USSIA S - GROUND LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE SYSTEMS WHOSE RANGE IS THE CAUSE OF 53 CONCERNS

VIOLATED THE TREATY "UT %UROPEANS ALSO VOICED FEARS

Fears for more treaties 4O ADD FURTHER TO %UROPE S WORRIES -OSCOW S TOP ).& NEGOTIATOR

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WHERE WE MIGHT WANT TO DEPLOY u 7HILE RELATIONS REMAIN TENSE WITH 2USSIA 53 DEFENSE PLANNERS HAVE PUT A MAJOR FOCUS ON #HINA DUE TO ITS FAST GROWING MILITARY SPENDING AND INCREASING ASSERTIVENESS IN THE DISPUTE RIDDEN WATERS OF !SIA 53 OFkCIALS SAY THAT SOME PERCENT OF #HINA S BALLISTIC AND CRUISE MISSILES A CORE PART OF "EIJING S DEFENSE STRATEGY WOULD VIOLATE THE ).& TREATY IF #HINA WERE A PARTY TO IT AFP

News

The Sunday Times

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SUNDAY February 3, 2019

A3

Budget ratification seen this week

BY REINA C. TOLENTINO

S

ENATORS and lawmakers from the House of Representatives have reached an gUNDERSTANDINGu TO kNISH DELIBERATIONS on the proposed P3.757-trillion budget for 2019 next week, House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro said on Saturday.

He said lawmakers were hoping that the budget measure WOULD BE RATIkED BEFORE #ONGRESS ADJOURNS ON &EBRUARY “There is an understanding... hindi ko po sasabihin na may

agreement o may kasunduan, meron lang pong understanding ang mga members ng House at Senate na maaaring matapos ang usapin nitong susunod na linggo (I will not say that there is an

agreement, for members of the House and Senate to settle the issue next week),� Castro said in a forum in Quezon City.

Castro said the House was against a reenacted budget because it would be bad for the economy.

In the same forum, he said the amendments made by senators amounting to P189 billion have not been itemized.

Sen. Loren Legarda, who leads the Senate Finance Committee, had said that almost P50 billion were amendments of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the vice chairman of the committee.

Lacson had said that a

P4-billion fund was requested for the activation of an infantry division.

Castro said the P50 billion military budget, which Lacson said was not an insertion or pork barrel, should be itemized. “In the spirit of accountability and transparency, kailangan i -line item ito lahat. Hindi papayag ang Mababang Kapulungan sa reenacted budget dahil sa hindi maganda ang epekto nito sa ating ekonomiya (the House will not allow a reenacted budget because its effect will not be good for our economy),� he added.

Q House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro PHOTO BY ROGER RAĂ‘ADA

Navy to acquire anti-submarine choppers Tulong Trabaho bill awaits THE Philippine Navy will for the first time acquire antisubmarine helicopters this year, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Lorenzana said two anti-subma-

rine choppers from AgustaWestland will be delivered in May. The helicopters were tested in the United Kingdom last year. “Anti-submarine helicopters are in the process of being acquired,

additional information from the PN (Philippine Navy) said they will arrive in May 2019,�

Lorenzana said in a text message.

The helicopters, worth P5.4 billion, include munition, mis-

sion essential equipment and integrated logistic support.

The AW-159 choppers can be armed with rockets, machine guns, missiles, torpedoes and depth charges. DEMPSEY REYES

Bong Go seeks more benefits for elderly FORMER special assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong� Go on Saturday vowed TO IMPROVE THE BENEkTS BEING ENJOYED BY THE ELDERLY SAYING senior citizens should be given love and respect. “Ang mga senior citizens dapat bigyan natin ng halaga, pagmamahal at kalinga. Malungkot isipin na marami sa matanda sa Pilipinas ay nahihirapang matugunan ang kanilang pangangailangan (Senior citizens should be given love and care. It is sad to know that many of our elderly can hardly support themselves),� Go said in a radio interview.

Go, who is seeking a Senate seat in the May 2019 elections, said he would look into the possibility of increasing the 20 percent discount for senior citizens or giving free medicines to the elderly if there is adequate funding for it. “Sana po kung may paraan ay maging libre na lang sa kanila at dagdagan po natin ang kanilang social pension para sa pangangailangan nila )F WE CAN kND A A way, I hope that they will get free medicines and increase their social pension),� Go said.

He welcomed the approval on THIRD AND kNAL READING OF 3ENATE Bill 2159 that seeks the creation

Q Senatorial candidate Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go assures the elderly of his support. of the National Commission of Senior Citizens.

The proposed commission will ensure the effective implementation of laws, policies, programs AND PROJECTS TO PROMOTE AND protect the rights and well-being of senior citizens.

If elected, Go said he would see to it that the proposed commis-

sion would be given ample funds.

He also proposed granting more funds to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), so that it could raise the social pension of the elderly.

Go reminded senior citizens that if they need medical treatment, they could go to the nearest Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop

housing concerned agencies like the Department of Health, DSWD, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes /FkCE AND 0HILIPPINE (EALTH )Nsurance Corp. to ensure easier and faster assistance to patients.

As part of his legislative agenda, Go is pushing that every province and urban center would have its own Malasakit Center.

Fraud as ground for annulment Dear PAO, My sister is having problems with her husband after discovering his dating history before they got married. She has been married to him for two years, but she only recently discovered his premarital dating history after talking to his friends. This bothered my sister a lot because some of the women my brother-in-law dated were her closest friends, including one of her teachers. She feels like he defrauded her with his failure to inform her about his previous relationships. This has caused her heartbreak and serious stress to the point that she is thinking of annulling her marriage. She really wants to sever her marital ties because of this fraud and dishonesty. Can she use this kind of fraud as a legal ground to kLE A CASE FOR ANNULMENT 4HANK YOUĂœ Lily

at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man other than her husband; “(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the marriage; or “(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholDEAR PAO ism or homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage. “No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity shall constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage.�

(Emphasis supplied) The different forms of fraud for purposes of annulment of marriage are exclusively enumerated in the above cited provision. There is no mention of failure to disclose previous relationships prior to the marriage as a form of FRAUD )N FACT THIS PROVISION SPECIkCALLY STATES that no other kind of misrepresentation or deDear Lily, ceit shall be considered as fraud for purposes To address this question, we need to refer to of annulment of marriage. Considering this, the Family Code of the Philippines which the fraud that your sister has in mind with enumerates the kinds of fraud that can be regard to her husband’s non-disclosure of his used as a ground to annul a marriage, to wit: previous relationships is not the kind of fraud “Article. 46. Any of the following circum- allowed by law as a ground for annulment. stances shall constitute fraud referred to in This law is applied in a decision of the Number 3 of the preceding Article: Supreme Court where it ruled against using “(1) Non-disclosure of a previous convic- non-disclosure of dating history as a ground TION BY kNAL JUDGMENT OF THE OTHER PARTY OF A for annulment, to wit: crime involving moral turpitude; “Non-disclosure of a husband’s pre-marital “(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that relationship with another woman is not one of

PERSIDA ACOSTA

the enumerated circumstances that would constitute a ground for annulment; and it is further excluded by the last paragraph of the article, providing that “no other misrepresentation or deceit as to ... chastity� shall give ground for an action to annul a marriage. While a woman may detest such non-disclosure of premarital lewdness or feel having been thereby cheated into giving her consent to the marriage, nevertheless the law does not assuage her grief after her consent was solemnly given, for upon marriage she entered into an institution in which society, and not herself alone, is interested� (Anaya vs.

Palaroan, GR L-27930, Nov. 26, 1970, Ponente: Associate Justice JBL Reyes).

To reiterate, what your sister assumes as fraud is not the same kind of fraud allowed by law to be a ground for annulment. Non-disclosure of his pre-marital relationships, while detestable to your sister, does not amount to fraud for purposes of annulling a marriage. The law is clear and exclusive on what can be considered as fraud in relation to annulment of marriage. Thus, your sister cannot invoke her husband’s pre-marital activities to annul her marriage.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@ manilatimes.net

Duterte’s signature SEN. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva on Saturday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to sign into law the Tulong Trabaho bill that seeks to provide free access to technicalvocational (tech-voc) education.

Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, said the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) submitted the harmonized version of Senate Bill 1431 and House Bill 8139 to MalacaĂąang on January 24. “The passage of our Tulong Trabaho bill into law will make tech-voc accessible to all, boost OUR WORKERS CONkDENCE TO FACE THE world of work and ensure that the youth who are ready to work hard with the right skill sets to obtain IN DEMAND JOBS u THE SENATOR SAID The proposed law, he added, could address the problem of JOB SKILLS MISMATCH The unemployment rate in the Philippines rose to 5.1 percent in the last quarter of 2018, from 5 percent in the same period in 2017.

The number of unemployed persons went up by 17,000 to 2.2 million, while the number of employed dropped by 218,000 to 41.3 million.

Based on the JobsFit 2022 Labor Market Information (LMI) Report of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), 43.9 percent or almost a million of the unemployed across the country in 2017 either reached or graduated from high school. /F THE SAID kGURE

WERE college graduates. “This is a serious concern since it highlights the prevaLENCE OF JOB SKILLS MISMATCH To help resolve unemployment, the knowledge and skills of our graduates must match with the JOBS NEEDED BY THE MARKET u Villanueva said.

The report also noted that college undergraduates or gradu-

ates are less likely to get hired COMPARED WITH JOB SEEKERS WITH lower level of educational attainment due to the former’s “higher reservation wages� and patience TO WAIT FOR BETTER JOB OFFERS The DoLE added that the CHANCE OF kNDING EMPLOYMENT may also depend on the course OR COLLEGE DEGREE A JOB SEEKER “Job-skills mismatch remains a problem that is why we are adamant in pushing for the passage of our Tulong Trabaho that seeks to narrow the gap of unemployment by providing free tech-voc training and ADDRESSES JOB SKILLS MISMATCH through establishment of a Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program that is based on Labor Market Intelligence Reports,� said Villanueva, the measure’s principal author and sponsor.

The proposed law increases the funding for technical and vocational education training (TVET) by providing for a Tulong Trabaho Fund that will grant qualified recipients access to TVET training programs.

The fund also grants additional kNANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS such as transportation allowance and laboratory fees.

The Tulong Trabaho fund would be administered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

Increasing the allocation of Tesda scholarship programs would lead to greater output and productivity of workers, the senator said.

The agency received P2.2 billion for its Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) last year.

However, Villanueva said the funding for TWSP remained the same for this year despite the increasing demand for tech-voc courses.

Tesda records showed enrollees of tech-voc courses increased sharply by 45 percent or 2.3 million in 2015 from 1.6 million in 2010.

JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

BORACAY HUBS TO OPEN IN APRIL THE Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) said establishments that were closed for the rehabilitation of Boracay would be fully operational in April.

A total of 10,982 establishments have been allowed by the Department of Tourism (DoT) to operate since the tourist destination was reopened in October last year. “I would say... at least by the end of the first quarter, in time for Holy Week, all establishments would be fully operational,� TCP President Jose Clemente 3rd told The Manila Times.

Hotels, resorts and other tourism hubs were shut down to give way for the massive clean-up and rehabilitation of Boracay.

Clemente said the establishments have been warned by the Boracay InterAgency Task Force to be compliant with

easement regulations or the distance allowed for establishments to operate from the beach. “All standards [set by the government] are already being followed by these establishments. In the said rules, there are penalties that range from a fine or closure, depending on the severity of the violation,� he said.

Clemente said with almost 80 percent of all establishments open, tourists are again flocking to Boracay. “We’re experiencing the influx of visitors already. If you ask hotels and other establishments in Boracay, they’re either on high occupancy or fully booked [status],� he said. “I think business is back as far as Bora[cay] is concerned,� he added. NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS

A4

Opinion

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

The Sunday Times

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E d i to r i a l

P

PITX risks becoming a white elephant

OLICYMAKERS and the public had such high hopes when the ParaĂąaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) began operations in November 2018. Due to poor planning, lack of foresight, and perhaps, even corruption, the P2.5-billion multimodal terminal risks becoming another white elephant.

The PITX was launched with much fanfare, and with the presence of no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.

It was touted as a modern, airport-like terminal with electronic and online ticketing systems, capable of serving at least 100,000 passengers a day.

The goal was a clear one: to help decongest Metro Manila by removing provincial buses plying its clogged arteries. In the case of the PITX, it caters to passengers in Cavite province and nearby areas going into and out of Metro Manila.

To do this, regulators must require Cavite buses to drop off passengers and end their journey at the PITX. From the PITX, passengers then choose from a variety of options to reach their Metro Manila destinations — city bus, taxi, UV Express or jeepney.

Going to Cavite, passengers reach the PITX via Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard or Coastal Road. Aside from city buses, there are jeepneys and UV Express vehicles from the Baclaran area in ParaĂąaque City that passengers going to the PITX can take.

We reproduce here last year’s official announcement of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) of its policy on buses coming from Cavite and its environs: “All provincial public utility buses, UV Express service and public utility jeepneys originating from provinces southwest of Metro Manila entering via Coastal Road and Manila Cavite Expressway shall end their routes at the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) in Coastal Road ParaĂąaque from the date PITX is fully operational.â€?

Since the terminal started operations in November, however, complaints have piled up over the lack of transfer trips, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito pointed out earlier this week.

As a result, the number of passengers using the PITX has been below optimum levels. Horror stories are all over social media; one passenger from Cavite, for instance, had to walk all the way to SM Mall of Asia to get a ride.

The reason? Ejercito alleges that, contrary to the LTFRB announcement in November, not all buses have been using the PITX. In fact, in December, the Senate public services committee found that 195 provincial buses were exempted by the LTFRB from making the PITX their endpoint, meaning, their passengers could still disembark in Metro Manila.

It’s a no-brainer — there’s no need for the PITX if provincial buses can still get into the capital, and no one will prefer to stop over at the PITX if there are not enough transfer options from there.

The LTFRB owes the public an explanation on why it exempted nearly 200 buses from the PITX. It must state the economic justifications for the decision, and why such considerations didn’t figure in the feasibility studies undertaken prior to the opening of the terminal.

As Ejercito pointed out, there must be enough shuttles to and from various business districts, such as Makati, Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City, to ensure the smooth operations of the integrated terminal. The PITX is supposed to ensure convenience for provincial passengers who have been used to going in and out of Metro Manila without transfers.

For now, using the PITX is anything but convenient.

Regulators must fix the mess at the terminal, or leave a mess that’s worse than the one it had intended to fix.

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

The Sunday Times

VOLUME 120 NUMBER 114

DANTE A. ANG, Chairman Emeritus RENE Q. BAS, Publisher Emeritus NERILYN A. TENORIO, Publisher-Editor ARNOLD E. BELLEZA, Executive Editor FELIPE F. SALVOSA II, Managing Editor LEENA C. CHUA, News Editor LYNETTE O. LUNA, National Editor TESSA MAURICIO-ARRIOLA, Lifestyle Editor PERRY GIL MALLARI, Sports Editor LEA MANTO-BELTRAN, Supplements Editor JOMAR CANLAS, Chief of Reporters RENE H. DILAN, Chief Photographer DANTE F. M. ANG 2ND, President and CEO BLANCA C. MERCADO, #HIEF /PERATING /FkCER RODA A. ZABAT, Advertising Director VICENTE P. CRUZ, JR., Circulation Director DENISE O. CALNEA, Marketing Communications and Services Director Telephone All Departments: 524-5665 to 66; Subscription: 524-5664 Local 222 Advertising: 524-5664 Local 121 Telefax: 310-5895 or e-mail advertising@manilatimes.net www.manilatimes.net • e-mail newsdesk@manilatimes.net Letters to the Editor THE MANILA TIMES is published daily at 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002 The owners, managers, publishers and editors do not necessarily share the opinions expressed and the statements made by individual authors of columns, commentaries and other articles published in The Manila Times.

As Valentine’s Day nears, a love letter from God Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends ... — The First Letter to the Corinthians, 13:4-8, 12-13

B

EFORE the headline topic, a quick take on the Catholic

plored the bloodletting in many places, from the Jolo Cathedral bombing to drug-war killings and summary executions by armed groups. Also lambasted were Congress bills lowering the minimum age of criminal liability to 12 years from 15. And President Bishops Conference of the Philip- Rodrigo Duterte’s derogatory PINES PASTORAL STATEMENT AT THE kRST statements against God and the of the CBCP’s two semi-annual Church were deplored for insultplenary conferences on January ing believers and doctrines.

25-28 (the next is in July).

Where the CBCP may have The statement predictably de- surprised observers somewhat

FAITH HEALER

RICARDO SALUDO

is in its opening apology for being collectively silent over attacks against the Catholic Church; note Pope Francis’ own response of prayer and silence against public criticism. And the ending, while reiterating a past statement, was forthright in maintaining that “the battles we fight are spiritual,�quoting St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.

How will the bishops and the Church wage spiritual battles?

ÂłSaludoA5

Q SUNDAY READ FROM A1

Do religions make good people do bad things?

We a r e r e m i n d e d o f t h a t question again with the report that the recent horrific Jolo cathedral bombings that killed more than 20 Filipinos were committed by suicide bombers from Indonesia who were members of an Islamic fundamentalist sects. Indeed, only religion can make a man go against his fundamental instinct of self-preservation, the product of millions of years of evolution, to extinguish himself in an explosion.

Christians may sneer that such jihadist suicide bombers do it only because of the selfish expectation, as purportedly taught in their holy book, that a jihadist martyr will be rewarded in the next life, with 72 virgins he would enjoy for eternity. Christians would even snigger at the recent conclusion of several Islamic and Western scholars that it is a colossal lostin-translation case. The Syriac word the Quran used meant “raisins� — a rare delicacy in the Prophet’s time and in the desert — not “virgins.�

But then how different are those rewards, raisins or virgins, for murdering people, from the prize of living in eternity in Heaven that Pope Urban 2nd promised to the hundreds of thousands of Christians in Europe in the 11th century for them to join the Crusade to capture Jerusalem? Historians estimate the Crusade to have massacred at least 2 million people, not only in Palestine, but also other peoples in Europe, such as the Cathars in Southern France, who did not believe in the Vatican’s teaching of a single God.

Etched The Crusades were, in fact, so horrific that it has been etched in the collective consciousness of Muslims to justify to this day suicide bombings and horrendous acts such as the beheading of hostages done by the Abu Sayyaf. Indeed, in its statement claiming responsibility for the Jolo Cathedral attack, the Islamic State declared that it was bombed during a “gathering of

the Crusaders to perform their polytheist rituals.�

Such massacres of nonChristians in the medieval era, of course, must have been justified by the Bible in the stories in the Old Testament, such as the Israelites’ murder of everyone in Jericho after its walls collapsed for them to easily capture the city; the razing by Yahweh Himself of Sodom and Gomorrah; even the killing of every Egyptian first-born (even those of animals) by the Angel of Death in the Exodus saga. The brutal “Lehi� Zionist paramilitary group (pejoratively called the Stern Gang), which assassinated British officials to force them to leave Palestine and turn it over to an Israeli state, adorned their manifestoes with Old Testament passages.

Bad things certainly were the horrific tortures and burningby-the-stake of about 300,000 people (other historians estimate 1 million) in the Spanish Inquisition ordered by Pope Sextus 4th in the late 15th century of suspected heretics.

Atrocities and mass murder were not the monopoly of the three religions of the Book.

Religious conflict estimated to have had 150,000 casualties were committed both by Muslims and Hindus in the partition of India that created Pakistan in 1947. Even Buddhism had been used to justify the mass murders of Muslims and Hindus in Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

We could go and on. The purported teachings for that embodiment of the highest good — the Deity — have been used to justify the vilest behavior of men. What explains this?

Selfishness In the case of the jihadist suicide bomber, it is obvious: Selfishness, the expectation of an orgy in Paradise, certainly a huge relief for a Muslim living in poverty, who can’t even afford the dowry required of him to get just a single wife.

But why would a version of

Q Pope Urban 2nd calling on the faithful to invade the Muslim world. the Islamic faith promise that in its dogma?

Same reason why the Catholic Church dogma says the sinner WOULD SUFFER ETERNITY IN THE kRES of hell, while the faithful would enjoy the undescribed delights in A CLOUD kLLED HEAVEN !ND WHO IS the sinner? Other than those who violate the Ten Commandments, those who don’t believe in its teachings, and do not profess loyalty to the Holy Mother Church and its ruler, the Pope.

That obviously is a clever means by an organized religion to retain and recruit members, even get them to kill those threatening it.

So tragic, isn’t it, that men tried to extinguish their fear of death, by killing other people, believing that act would give them a wonderful life after this miserable one?

One other question that needs to be answered: Why did such religions with such r i d i c u l o u s b e l i e f s g r ow s o much that most of mankind

are their faithful?

They were state religions of the most powerful empires, states, or groups of states in the world: the Roman Empire and Europe in the case of Christianity, and the Ottoman Empire, and now the oil-rich Middle Eastern states in the case of Islam.

And if you don’t belong to a state religion of an empire you have lived in, either you have been eventually killed, driven out, or are a pariah.

The easiest way for a person living in such states with state religions would be to really brainwash oneself that the religion is true.

And why would states adopt state religions? It made it easier for the rulers to rule, since their dogmas said they were anointed by God Himself.

Email: tiglao.manilatimes@ gmail.com Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao Twitter: @bobitiglao Archives at: www.rigobertotiglao.com

The Sunday Times

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O

N Monday, February 4, the Philippine Senate may decide whether to change the law and lower the age of criminal liability from 15 years of age to 12. If the bill is passed, that will make 12year old children who commit serious crimes liable for their act and be sent to a children’s detention center, or youth care facility as they are called. These places are no better than prisons where occupants live a life behind bars.

They will be bullied, beaten and made slaves by the older, 17-year-old inmates, and made to do sexual acts with the older boys.

There is nothing else to do inside most of these places.

We are appealing to the senators not to lower the age of criminal liability for these children. The swing votes are with the senators whose email addresses are shown on the right side. We appeal to you to act and help save the children: Send a short message to the senators not to change the existing law, not to lower the age that would make these younger children criminals at 12 years of age.

Dear Senators: The Philippines is facing a historical decision regarding its millions of young children under the age of 15.

Their future is in the realm of your

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

REFLECTIONS

FR. SHAY CULLEN, SSC rational decision that will save thousands of young innocent children 12 to 15 years of age from jail.

They will be put on trial charged with criminal acts if you vote to lower the age of criminal liability.

Please do not vote to lower the age.

Instead, protect the children and uphold the present law.

The nation, child rights advocates and the parents of hundreds of millions of young children will remember you and your vote as the ones who turned the Senate in favor of children and did not act against their best interest. History will remember your vote as the

vote that saved these children from jails. More than 300 civil society organizations have signed and published an open letter appealing to you not to lower the age. Majority of Filipinos said they are against lowering the age. The international community is against it.

They are just children and have no knowledge or culpability of what they will do. This is due to their lack of education and being exposed to the bad examples OF ADULTS AND INlUENCE OF A CORrupt society. You, as honorable senators, are called upon to protect children from harm and not to expose them to harm. Please do not vote to lower the age. Do not condemn these children to jail.

There are almost no decent government homes or Bahay Pagasa FOR CHILDREN IN CONlICT WITH the law. The children are placed

Sen. Sonny Angara

sensonnyangara@yahoo.com

Sen. Gregorio Honasan 2nd

piu0720@yahoo.com, gringobhonasan@gmail.com

Sen. Loren Legarda

loren@lorenlegarda.com.ph, appointments@osl.ph

Sen. Ralph Recto

ralphgrecto@gmail.com

Sen. Cynthia Villar

sencynthiavillar@gmail.com

As Valentine’s Day nears, T a love letter from God BE INkNITE AND DIVINE )NDEED

only by living a human life all the way to cruel and ignominious death did God demonstrate the INkNITY OF (IS LOVE AND MERCY What a cosmos-shaking love the Creator showed in embracing the utter nothingness of a creature and suffering the greatest injustice, indignity and agony out of love for a world that could give nothing in return, but more injustice, indignity and agony.

And in doing so, our Lord has made it possible for you and me to also show the same divine, limitless, eternal love, simply by taking up our crosses and following Him. Adam and Eve’s misguided quest to become like gods, as the serpent falsely foisted on them in Eden, was finally realized in the life and sacrifice of Christ, which has then been offered for every human being to follow, so that we, too, can partake of divinity.

But I’m just a man ‘Love never ends’ The above-quoted reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians is the staple of weddings, of course. The discourse raises the bar for conjugal love about as high as that of the marriage vow itself: “For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.�

Actually, even higher, for Pauline love not only bears, believes, hopes and endures all things, but it never ends, not even when life ceases.

The reason for love’s eternity is found in the First Letter of John:“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love�(1 John 4:7-8).

So, if love is nothing less than the Almighty Himself, then love must, indeed, be boundless and endless.

Well and good, but is it still human? Can the love between man and woman, parents and children, nation and citizens, and other persons and groups bound by this thing called love partake of love that is God? Now we know why God had to become man in Jesus Christ.

For if the Lord above did not become one of His creatures down below, then, indeed, God’s love may never be for us earthlings.

But as God made man, Jesus showed how human love could

A5

The vote that can save the children

Q SALUDO FROM A4

The statement cited the need for better instruction on Catholic doctrines. Indeed, if the faithful were properly catechized on the tenets of the faith, even presidential blasphemy and insults would shake our beliefs.

More important, proper moral instruction, especially on the Fifth Commandment, would make Filipinos see the grave social transgression in the many thousands of drug-war killings, both in police operations and in suspected vigilante murders, even if the carnage drove more than a million narcotics pushers and users to surrender.

Yes, Your Excellencies, lead your flocks toward greater spiritual enlightenment. Then, as the Lord promised those who seek the +INGDOM OF 'OD kRST ALL THE REST — that is, the worldly concerns — shall be provided for as well.

And that primacy of the Spirit is also the paramount point in the rest of this article, based on today’s Sunday Mass readings: Put God’s love first.

Opinion

For many a soul, however, especially in our time of forgetfulness about God and things spiritual, endless love is nothing more than an audience-tickling movie title. Death eventually ends even the most enduring of romances, and the majority of affections and endearments fade years, if not decades, before breathing stops.

So, many shrug, why even try?

Jesus was God and man, they argue, I’m just a man. Which is pretty much what his townmates in Nazareth said in the Mass Gospel reading from St. Luke. After our Lord declared that the Scripture reading from the Prophet Isaiah WAS FULkLLED IN (IM PEOPLE ASKED “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?� “How can he be the Messiah?,� many must have thought.

And when Jesus said that “no prophet is accepted in his own native place,�the skepticism of his fellow Nazarenes turned into murderous anger, and they tried to throw Him off a cliff.

"UT AS THE kRST READING FROM THE Prophet Jeremiah promised, “They WILL kGHT AGAINST YOU BUT NOT PREvail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.�

So it is with those who madly follow the Lord on the road of endless love. The world will scoff and scowl, as they did in Nazareth and Calvary. But all that will pass, and what will last is the love God shall pour into our waiting hearts. Amen.

HE statement from a DepartMENT OF %DUCATION OFkCIAL ON Feb. 1, 2019 quoted in the Manila Bulletin ARTICLE THAT gNO kNANCIAL clearance is required for students transferring to public schools� may not be accurate.

DepEd Order 40 s. of 2010, as amended, otherwise known as the "Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education," expressly provides under Section 127, “a pupil or student enrolled in one school is entitled to transfer to another school, provided he has no unsettled obligations with the school he was enrolled in.�

7HILE kNANCIAL CLEARANCE IS NOT listed as one of the requirements for enrollment or transfer, the student upon enrollment will need his or her transfer credentials, which include his or her permanent school records in the school last attended, such as Forms 137 AND AND A CERTIkCATE OF ELIGIbility signed by the school head.

behind bars, in cages without help or hope, or education, or proper food. This incarceration is illegal under all Philippine child protection laws and international law.

But it happens now, and everyday hundreds of children as young as 10 years of age are jailed.

They languish in subhuman conditions, become sick and are abandoned behind bars for no crime. They are sexually abused by older youth in small, overcrowded cells. This is happening now, today.

This is a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of children. We rescue as many as we can and they tell us of the abuse they

making an enlightened and rational vote by saying "NO" to lowering the minimum age of criminal liability of suffer. Please allow them to testify, the little children.

On behalf of hundreds of civil view the photos attached. society organizations and the The vast majority of children are majority of the Filipino people, jailed for simple misdemeanors who said in a survey they do not like breaking curfew, taking fruit approve of the lowering of the age IN THE MARKET SNIFkNG GLUE TO EASE whereby their children can be put pain and because they are hungry. on trial and jailed, please vote NO. They are on the streets because their parents are beating them at Sincerely, home or sexually abusing them, and they had to run away.

FR. SHAY CULLEN Your vote will be as historical Founder and President, AND SIGNIkCANT AS THE 3ENATE VOTED Preda Foundation Inc. to remove the US military bases in this country in 1992. You have the FRANCIS B. BERMIDO JR. swing votes to save the children. We Executive Director hope you will make a stand, change Preda Foundation Inc. history and protect the children by

Unpaid tuition holiday?

TIkABLE CIRCUMSTANCES NOT TO BE abused by everyone.

If DepEd adopts a policy that ACCEPTS STUDENTS WITH UNPAID kJOSEPH NOEL nancial obligations from private ESTRADA schools, without inquiry, is it not violating its own manual?

The school last attended by Over the years, I have received the student is actually authorized numerous concerns from private by the DepEd to withhold these schools with students and parents credentials on account of unpaid disappearing, leaving behind unkNANCIAL OBLIGATIONS 4HE -ANUAL PAID kNANCIAL OBLIGATIONS WITHOUT of Regulations expressly provides A WORD ONLY TO kND OUT THAT THESE under Section 128, “the release students eventually graduate in the of the transfer credentials of any public school system. It is perplexpupil or student may be withheld ing how this happens, given that for reasons of suspension, expul- the private school last attended SION OR NON PAYMENT OF kNANCIAL actually withhold their permanent obligations or property responsi- academic records because of unbility of the pupil or student to paid obligations. the school. The credentials shall be For private schools that rely released as soon as the obligation solely on tuition payments, the shall have been settled.� defaults and even undue delays in While the same manual allows THE SETTLEMENT OF kNANCIAL OBLIGAprovisional enrollment of students tions cause serious problems on without transfer credentials, this teacher salaries, maintenance of is only reserved to those with jus- basic school facilities, and even

payment of their own utility bills.

While the Constitution mandates the state to take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all, it also recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the entire education system, and that reasonable regulation and supervision shall be exercised.

The author is the corporate secretary and legal counsel of The Manila Times, and managing partner at Estrada & Aquino Law, Co. He is also the legal counsel of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAPSCU), Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, & Universities (PAASCU), and the Asian Association of School HRMD Practitioners, Inc. (AASHPI).

Q RONQUILLO FROM A1

No safe place QC may have its own share of failings, sins and omissions, but nurturing political assassins was not one of them.

Candidates competing for major elective posts in the city throw mud and brickbats at each other during the election season. But the temporal animosity automatically dissipates after the election season ends.

Even in the City Council, the spirit was usually one of bipartisanship, especially when the issues were grants of permits and special use orders. Everybody happy, as they say.

and opponents, supporters and detractors. But with the formal campaign season about to start, it is not baseless to connect the ambush of Beltran to the heat and passion of the political season.

The city was officially removed from the fast-diminishing list of places free from violence on a day that saw so much blood spilled due to extreme violence and reckless murders that happened across parts of the country.

NDF consultant shot

While asleep on board a bus bound for Northern Luzon, Randy Malayao, a consultant of But the reputation of Quezon the National Democratic Front City as “Exhibit A� of political (NDF), was shot at close range civility came to a tragic end on by a man who boarded the bus January 30, when one of the at a stop in Aritao, Nueva Vizthree congressional candidates caya. The gunman fired twice, for the second district of the then calmly stepped out of the city — the Novaliches area — bus into a waiting motorbike. It was ambushed while her SUV was the kind of professional hit was negotiating a major street that could only be undertaken in Bagong Silangan, where she by a trained assassin. was the village chief.

NDF Northern Luzon said that Crisell “Beng� Beltran was the culprit came from the “death taken to a nearby hospital squads� sponsored by the Army’s but was pronounced dead on 5th Infantry Division, but the 5th arrival. Same with her driver, ID has denied the charge.

Melchor Salita, who was rushed Who would kill a sleeping to the hospital but did not sur- man who was probably dreamvive the short trip. ing of a better life for the counCity residents who are used to try during the time of his death? the civility of political campaigns A better life for the weak, the are still in a state of shock and be- meek, the persecuted and those wilderment, and are now asking seeking peace. But none of that questions. Why did this happen? dreaming for the better good According to the city hall, Beltran and decades of activism saved had no political enemies. She him from the cold, hard bullet GOT ALONG kNE WITH BOTH ALLIES of the assassin.

Tragic end

The death of a sleeping man on a bus whose work was that of a consultant for the peace process has forced the nation to ask this hard question: Is there a place in the country still safe from predators and assassins? A place where the phrases “death squads� and “guns-for-hire� and “riding in tandem� have no relevance and traction?

the two attacks, Zamboanga City Mayor Isabelle Salazar appealed for calm. “We do not want to give the impression that this is another attack on religion,� she said.

That the Jolo bombing was reported to be the work of Islamist jihadists and suicide bombers set off the explosives — which led to their own annihilation — all the more heightened the Church blasts tension and fear in Southern Mindanao. There is no scenario O n t h a t s a m e b l o o d y d ay, more scary than a place that is “Bloody Wednesday� as a news- turned into a staging ground for paper headline called it, the an- tit-for-tat, terror act for terror swer to that question came from act, based on religious urges.

Mindanao. It was a clear “NO.� The Forever War in the ravaged In a thickly populated area areas of the Middle East all had of Zamboanga City, a grenade their origins in religious fervor hurled into a mosque through and fundamentalism. an open window instantly killed As massive military operations two sleeping Islamic preachers are now taking place in Sulu and wounded four others. When against the perpetrators of the one lobs a grenade into a place cathedral attack, and Zamboanga of worship — and a sacred place City is desperate to remove relithat preaches peace among men gion from the mosque grenade regardless of religious beliefs — attack equation, Quezon City, that act is meant to do two things: meanwhile, once the haven of KILL PEOPLE AND INlAME THE MOST civil politics, is now torn by selfoutrageous of human urges. doubt. What will happen next?

A sizable swath of Southern Assassins crossed the line when Mindanao is now gripped by they targeted local politicians, religious tension as the grenade Quezon City’s own. attack on the small mosque From the hotbeds of religious took place just a few days after tension in the South, to what were a dastardly attack on the Jolo supposed to be nurturing grounds Cathedral during a morning of non-violent politics in the Mass on January 27. The attack highly urbanized areas up North, on the Jolo Cathedral killed the carnage on Bloody Wednesday more than 20 people, mostly showed there are few places in the church regulars, and wounded country unvisited by vehement more than 100 others. men who spread mayhem.

To defuse the religious tenWhere is that big promise of sion that came in the wake of “peace for the living?�

A6

Opinion

The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Unheard stories from Batasan

The Philippines 50 years hence

O

NE year ago to this month, a prediction was made that by YEAR THE 0HILIPPINES COULD be one of the richest countries in the world. The prediction was contained in an article by Tiff Conde, published by the website %SQUIRE WITH THAT LAST PHRASE BEing the title. Actually the article QUOTES THAT PREDICTION FROM A REPORT BY "ILL -ARTIN IN THE "USIness Insider. g)N YEARS TIME u WRITES -ARtin, “the global economy could more than double in size, far outstripping population growth due to continued technology-driven productivity improvements.�

According to Martin’s report, COUNTRIES WERE LISTED BY PROfessional services network PriceWaterhouse Coopers as the most powerful economies in the world half a century hence, based on their projected global GDP and PURCHASING POWER /F THE THE Philippines, says Conde, is far FROM THE LAST PLACE ‡ AT QUITE A COMFORTABLE TH SLOT BETTERING Asean neighbors Vietnam, MalaySIA AND 4HAILAND AT TH TH AND TH RESPECTIVELY AND OVERtaken only by Indonesia (4th) in Southeast Asia and in the Far East BY 3OUTH +OREA AND *APAN TH AND TH RESPECTIVELY With China on top of the list, followed by India, with the United States having slipped DOWN TO RD THE ST CENTURY has turned the Obama-envisaged !MERICA S 0ACIkC #ENTURY INTO A sorry shambles. That vision was ELABORATED IN BY THEN 53 State Secretary Hilary Clinton in ARTICLE TITLED g!MERICA S 0ACIkC Century,� cocksure predicting THAT THE ST CENTURY IS !MERICA S century of domination over the !SIA 0ACIkC 2EGION 4HE CURRENT scrambling by President Donald Trump in correcting US trade imbalances with trading partners, particularly China, already apPEARS TO CONkRM -ARTIN S PREDICtion that America will slide down the scale further as the century surges to its half mark.

"ELOW IS THE COMPLETE LIST WITH which the "USINESS )NSIDER report delineated the PWC rating of the MOST POWERFUL ECONOMIES IN the world with their corresponding GDPs (in reverse order): .ETHERLANDS ‡ TRILLION #OLOMBIA ‡ TRILLION 0OLAND ‡ TRILLION !RGENTINA ‡ TRILLION

MY SAY

MAURO GIA SAMONTE !USTRALIA ‡ TRILLION 3OUTH !FRICA ‡ TRILLION 3PAIN ‡ TRILLION 4HAILAND ‡ TRILLION -ALAYSIA ‡ TRILLION "ANGLADESH ‡ TRILLION #ANADA ‡ TRILLION )TALY ‡ TRILLION 6IETNAM ‡ TRILLION 0HILIPPINES ‡ TRILLION 3OUTH +OREA ‡ TRILLION )RAN ‡ TRILLION 0AKISTAN ‡ TRILLION %GYPT ‡ TRILLION .IGERIA ‡ TRILLION 3AUDI !RABIA ‡ TRILLION &RANCE ‡ TRILLION 4URKEY ‡ TRILLION 5NITED +INGDOM ‡ trillion 'ERMANY ‡ TRILLION *APAN ‡ TRILLION -EXICO ‡ TRILLION 2USSIA ‡ TRILLION "RAZIL ‡ TRILLION )NDONESIA ‡ TRILLION 5NITED 3TATES ‡ TRILLION )NDIA ‡ TRILLION #HINA ‡ TRILLION Certainly the above figures seem good only as far as painting the rosy picture of economies go. The nitty-gritty of how those individual economies will make the prediction come true is theirs and theirs alone.

At any rate, if economic growth is dependent on markets, then there is no better guarantee for the Philippines achieving that predicted ranking as one of the world’s most powerful economies than by really inteGRATING WITH #HINA S "ELT AND 2OAD )NITIATIVE "2) )N THIS world economic thrust, China has greatly succeeded in getting across to countries the world over its sincerity in achieving for all of mankind a future of shared economic benefits. If China has brought the blessing of economic growth to one of the poorest countries of Europe, all the more must it be able to help propel an Asian neighbor to a yet untouched height of economic development.

From the looks of it, President Rodrigo Duterte did the right thing in executing that dramatic

turnaround in Philippine foreign policy early on in his administration. From a decades-long dependence on America in foreign relations, it opened up (as President Ferdinand E. Marcos did in THE @ S TO SOCIALIST GIANT #HINA under Duterte and instantly produced tangible results.

Hitherto embargo enforced by China on Philippine agricultural products were lifted, ditto with the ban on Chinese tourists to THE COUNTRY "Y NOW THE #HINESE have dislodged Koreans from the number one slot in foreign tourist arrivals in the country.

4HE LATEST kGURES MADE AVAILABLE to this column put economic BENEkTS FROM #HINA INFRASTRUCture funds, business investments, loans and grants) as having alREADY AMOUNTED TO BILLION

and counting.

In one of my past columns, I wrote that no nation comes to world prosperity if not by China.

It was no hyperbole. Indeed, how do you beat the economic pragmatism inherent in the Chinese nation? What bigger market is there in the world than China’s AWESOME BILLION POPULATION For instance, thousands upon thousands of English teachers are needed by China’s burgeoning sector of technocrats to achieve better competitiveness in the world. China has expressed partiality to Filipino English teachers, who by far have barely scratched the surface of this market. And then there is the ever increasing need for Filipino caregivers who could earn hefty salaries a lot better than what OFWs do in the Middle East. &ROM LAST YEAR S "OAO &ORUM

President Duterte came home with a number of economic packages meant for pushing his OWN INITIATIVE OF g"UILDĂœ "UILDĂœ "UILDĂœu !S IF THOSE PACKAGES were not enough, the President is again slated to guest in this year’s version of the event — surely to bring home more economic gains.

If there is any assurance that the Philippines will measure up to the rating given it by the PCW, it is the assumption that it has solid Chinese connections.

As I intend to express it for a title of an anthology of my articles that came out in this column about such connection: “China: The way, the truth, and the life.�

T

HE House of Representatives is have been kept secret again MIRRORLESS would often found in “mute� mode had the House conferees agreed to when at work, and so it is often ridithe senators’ proposal not to allow culed unfairly. Not many outsiders media coverage of the bicameral sesknow when it has prepared pieces of SIONS "RAVO SAID THE (OUSE CONFEREES legislations in the pipeline, or its list pushed for media coverage of the of meritorious bills already approved bicameral sessions precisely to avoid and due for signing into law. suspicions of horse-trading or secret insertions.

I suspect the lawmakers of the lower house of Con*** gress have been infected within a very short time with ! CLARIkCATORY STATEMENT ON (OUSE 2ESOLUTION the work ethics of their overall conductor — Former (OUSE -AJORITY ,EADER AND #APIZ 2EPRESENTATIVE president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Fredenil Castro said on Friday, with the unanimous The lady’s energy can be contagious when she deals approval of this resolution, public access to the with any job thrown at her table. This feisty but 3TATEMENTS OF !SSETS ,IABILITIES AND .ETWORTH workaholic leader knows that a 24-hour cycle is not 3!,. WILL SOON BE MADE MUCH EASIER enough to constitute a day. Meticulous planning and He said the days of tedious and expensive way of studying the impact of her work for the greater good SEEKING COPIES OF THE 3!,. OF LAWMAKERS ARE OVER is her consistent menu for the day.

4HE PARTIES MAKING THE REQUEST NO LONGER HAVE TO *** ask the courts to issue a subpoena duces tecum; Here are highlights of some of those feats yet unheard: they merely have to ask and follow the simple The lower house, upon Speaker GMA’s return from PROCEDURE PROVIDED UNDER (2 a Saudi mission, created a technical working group 3!,. SUMMARY COPIES ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED (TWG) to assess the status of roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) much earlier than in previous years, since the resolution Port System missionary routes. offers a provision for self-imposed deadlines in the Speaker Arroyo wants the RO-RO system to be revital- distribution of the summary. ized and expanded to further spur growth in the regions. *** The TWG, to be chaired by Speaker Arroyo, will oversee The House of Representatives has approved on second the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) as it acts on reading a bill that shall further promote and protect the committee’s suggestion to sell the unused RO-RO THE RIGHTS OF SENIOR CITIZENS (OUSE "ILL OR THE missionary routes to the private sector. proposed “Anti-Elder Abuse Act,� principally authored Speaker GMA said the investment mission that she by Rep. Victor Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), seeks to protect led in Saudi Arabia has been fruitful. Arroyo said the SENIOR CITIZENS FROM VIOLENCE 7ITH THIS THE BILL DEkNES INVESTMENT MISSION CAME UP WITH SIX SPECIkC PROJECT elder abuse and prescribe penalties for offenders. *** proposals that she hoped would jumpstart the next ,EGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY ACROSS THE COUNphase of development in Mindanao following the RATIkCATION OF THE "ANGSAMORO /RGANIC ,AW "/, 3HE try continue as the House of Representatives adopted LOOKS WAY AHEAD INTO THE FUTURE KNOWING THAT THE "/, 3ENATE "ILL AS AN AMENDMENT TO (OUSE "ILL

or the proposed “Magna Carta of the Poor.� will need pump priming at the earliest possible time. )T SEEKS TO UPLIFT THE STANDARD OF LIVING AND QUALITY *** The House Committee on Housing and Urban De- of life of the poor, and provide them with sustained velopment, led by GMA and chaired by Rep. Alfredo opportunities for growth and development. It also "ENITEZ CALLED FOR THE 0HILIPPINE .ATIONAL 2AILWAYS aims to achieve an inclusive and sustainable path 0.2 TO OFkCIALLY WAIVE ITS CLAIMS OVER A SQUARE to end poverty in all its forms. *** meter property in Parola Estate in Tondo, Manila for The House has also approved on second readTHE BENEkT OF ITS URBAN POOR OCCUPANTS 4HE 3PEAKER announced that the Committee shall reconvene even ING (OUSE "ILLS ("S AND during the session break and the election period to en- These measures are expected to be approved on sure that the socialized housing projects are completed third and final reading next week. (" SEEKS TO EXPAND THE COVERAGE OF TRAVEL TAX at the soonest possible time.

EXEMPTION AND PROVIDE A PERCENT TRAVEL TAX DISCOUNT *** ) HAVE TO GIVE IT TO 2EP !NTHONY "RAVO OF THE to senior citizens and PWDs. (" SEEKS TO INSTITUTIONALIZE LIKEWISE THE GRANT COOP-NATCCO Partylist. He deplored the maLICIOUS TIRADES OF 3EN 0ING ,ACSON VILIFYING THE OF PERCENT STUDENT FARE DISCOUNT PRIVILEGES ON PUBLIC House members and the institution as a whole. He TRANSPORTATION 3TUDENTS WILL ALSO RECEIVE A PERCENT CONTESTED ,ACSON S DEROGATORY LABELING OF THE (O2 S discount on regular domestic fares of all public transbudget initiatives as “pork,� while labeling those of portation utilities, including land, rail, sea and air. (" WILL AMEND 2EPUBLIC !CT OR THE the Senate as “institutional ammendments.� ,AND 4RANSPORTATION AND 4RAFkC #ODE TO ADDRESS *** "RAVO CRITICIZED THE 3ENATE CONTINGENT TO THE the tremendous daily suffering of commuters beBICAMERAL CONFERENCE ON THE NATIONAL BUDGET CAUSE OF THE TRAFkC CONGESTION If approved into law, the ride application Angkas and for its refusal to submit the list of the Senate’s individual amendments to the national budget, despite the habal-habal will be permitted. *** insistence by the House conferees.

I really hope the sonics will reverberate to the He said the House conferees, led by the Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., ears of their constituents. Your taxes are well made a very public statement in a bicameral session that spent in this work mode. *** THE 3ENATE INSERTED 0 BILLION IN AMENDMENTS TO THE Good work, good deeds and good faith to all.

BUDGET (E SAID THE 0 BILLION 3ENATE INSERTIONS

ROLLY G. REYES

Electronic devices outnumber humans and trigger a surge in e-waste BYÂ THALIF DEEN UNITED NATIONS: The widespread innovations in modern digital technology have a devastating downside TO IT THE ACCUMULATION OF OVER million tonnes of electronics waste (e-waste) globally every year.

And that’s greater in weight than all of the world’s commercial airliners ever made, or ENOUGH %IFFEL 4OWERS TO kLL THE borough of Manhattan in New York city, warns a new report released at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, January 24. #URRENTLY ONLY PERCENT OF e-waste — including desktop computers, cell phones, laptops, television sets, printers and a wide variety of household electrical appliances — is formally recycled.

If nothing changes, the United Nations University (UNU), one of the authors of the report, predicts e-waste could nearly triple to NEARLY MILLION TONNES BY 4HE STUDY SAYS IT IS DIFkCULT TO gauge how many electrical goods are produced annually, but just taking account of devices connected to the internet, they now number many more than humans, whose total world population now STANDS AT OVER BILLION The joint report, titled “A New Circular Vision for Electronics – Time for a Global Reboot,“ and backed by seven UN agencies, points out that rapid innovation and lowering costs have dramatically increased access to electronic products and digital TECHNOLOGY WITH MANY BENEkTS This has led to an increase in the use of electronic devices and

EQUIPMENT !ND THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS A BALLOONING of electronic and electrical waste.

The study says e-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Some forms of it have been growing exponentially.

Asked how feasible is it for countries to have mandatory legislation on recycling e-waste, Dr. Ruediger Kuehr, co-author of the report and DIRECTOR 5.5 6I% 3#9#,% 3UStainable Cycles Program, told IPS mandatory e-waste recycling legislations are in place, for example, in the European Union (EU). !S PER SUCH PERCENT ALL E waste generated in the EU must BE RECYCLED IN (OWEVER

this target is not going to be reached at all, he noted.

Collection is the biggest challenge and recent attempts to substantially increase it by forcing, for example, retailers to accept obsolete e-products have not substantially increased collections.

Hence, he said, e-waste recycling legislations must come together with innovative and rewarding collection systems; consumer awareness (for example, NOT FOR STORING OBSOLETE EQUIPment at home, but returning it early on) but also new systems to consume electronics such as dematerialization — purchasing the service instead of the product.

This will ease collection, because the ownership of the product would remain with the producer, he added.

He also said such systems are necessary in the long-run, because extend-collection systems

BY RETURNING EQUIPMENT WITH RE-

should be on the agenda of the UN General Assembly in order to motivate firm commitments from THE MEMBER states, Dr. Kuehr told IPS that some stakeholders in politics and industry are of the standpoint that the e-waste issue is sustainably solved, though all numbers speak a different language and are alarming.

And though ewaste has moved up on the polititailers; recycling points or collec- unions, civil society and associacal agenda, also tion bins have proved to be key, tions, in a deliberative process to within the UN, it is still regarded but do not provide the necessary change the system as a niche issue. International breakthrough.

The joint report supports the and globally harmonized at@)N CONSEQUENCE THE PURE E work of the E-waste Coalition, tempts, partly revolutionary, are waste legislation will not change which includes: the International REQUIRED FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUthings, especially also because in ,ABOR /RGANIZATION ),/ THE tions, he argued. many countries their enforcement International Telecommuni“And the UN General Assembly cation Union (ITU); the UN could play an important role in is lacking,� Dr Kuehr warned.

In terms of material value, says Environment Programme (UN taking the discussion to the next the study, e-waste presents an op- Environment); the UN Industrial level, also illustrating the urgency PORTUNITY WORTH OVER BILLION Development Organization (Uni- for regional and national action.� per year, more than the GDP of do); the UN Institute for Training g"UT WE MUST ALSO TAKE FURTHER most countries and three times the and Research (Unitar); the UNU, attempts in greening the blue, by output of the world’s silver mines. AND THE 3ECRETARIATS OF THE "ASEL also re-considering our UN inter4HERE IS TIMES MORE GOLD IN and Stockholm Conventions. nal consumption of electrical and The Coalition is supported by ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENTu a tonne of e-waste than a tonne of gold ore, according to the report. THE 7ORLD "USINESS #OUNCIL FOR Seeing the UN as a large conThe study calls for a new vision 3USTAINABLE $EVELOPMENT 7"#- sumer, he said, “we can have a say for electronics based on the cir- SD) and the World Economic in what products and services we cular economy and the need for Forum and coordinated by the WANT FROM THE PRODUCER "UT SO collaboration with major brands, Secretariat of the Environment FAR IT IS HARDLY RElECTED u small and medium-sized enter- Management Group (EMG).

However, national governAsked if the issue of e-waste ments, companies and other prises (SMEs), academia, trade

stakeholders must do substantially better in researching the e-waste challenge and coming up with sustainable solutions, declared Dr Kuehr.

Meanwhile the study cites several concrete examples in the battle against e-waste in a “circular economy�.

The Nigerian government, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNEP have jointly ANNOUNCED A MILLION DOLLAR investment to kick off the formal e-waste recycling industry in Nigeria. The new investment will LEVERAGE OVER MILLION DOLLARS IN ADDITIONAL kNANCING FROM THE private sector. !CCORDING TO THE ),/ UP TO

PEOPLE IN .IGERIA WORK in the informal e-waste sector.

This investment is expected to help create a system which formalizes these workers, giving them safe and decent employment while capturing the latent value in NigeRIA S TONNES OF E WASTE Unido is collaborating with a large number of organizations on e-waste projects, including UNU, ),/ )45 AND 7(/ AS WELL AS various other partners, such as Dell and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). )N ,ATIN !MERICA AND THE #Aribbean, a Unido e-waste project, co-funded by GEF, seeks to support sustainable economic and SOCIAL GROWTH IN COUNTRIES From upgrading e-waste recycling facilities, to helping to establish national e-waste management strategies, the initiative adopts a circular economy approach, whilst enhancing IPS regional cooperation.

˜ The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

Regions

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

A7

‘Yes’ for peace, ‘No’ to violence – MILF Â

BY MASIDING NOOR YAHYA

I

LIGAN CITY: “Vote ‘Yes’ for peace and ‘No’ to continued violence.� This was the message of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) top commander in a statement urging the people of Lanao del Norte to vote ‘Yes’ on February 6, the second plebISCITE FOR THE RATIkCATION OF THE "ANGSAMORO /RGANIC ,AW "/,

On the other hand, the Dimaporo clan in Lanao del Norte is strongly opposed to the inclusion of six towns in Lanao del

Norte in the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). These are Balo-i, Munai, Nunungan,

PH Army denies role in NDF consultant’s slay BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya: The Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division (5th ID) in Gamu town, Isabela has denied involvement in the killing of a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Felix Randy Malayao, NDF consultant, was shot dead by still unIDENTIkED GUNMAN AT ABOUT a.m. on Wednesday while he was inside a Victory Liner bus in CCQ terminal in Barangay Darapidap, Aritao town.

The NDF is an umbrella group composed of the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing the New People’s Army, among other organizations.

The NDF in Cagayan Valley (Re-

GION RELEASED A STATEMENT ACCUSING the 5th ID of the killing of Malayao. “With all its allied organizations and member individuals, [the NDF Cagayan Valley] condemns the murder of NDF consultant Felix Randy Malayao by death squad elements of the 5th ID [Infantry Division],� the statement said. “This allegation of the NDF Cagayan Valley is not true and has no basis. We challenge whoever wrote the statement to come out in the open and report to the Philippine National Police and present evidence if there is any,�

Maj. Jefferson Somera, 5th ID spokesman, said.

LEANDER C. DOMINGO

HE’S LISTENING

Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go (left) on Friday listens to a resident of Orion town in Bataan, who was among victims of a fire that hit a barangay (village) in the town on January 29.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Bong Go visits fire victims in Bataan BATAAN: Former special assistant to the President (SAP) and aspiring senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong� Go has announced that a Malasakit Center will be opened at Bataan General Hospital in Balanga City, Bataan.

Go made the announcement during his visit to fire survivors of Sitio Depensa, Barangay Capunitan in the town of Orion in Bataan on Friday.

Sitio Depensa in Barangay Capunitan was the site of the catastrophic January 29  fire that destroyed about 800 houses, affected 1,018 families and caused the death of a  resident, Rey Suson, 45.  According to Capunitan Barangay Chairman Ernesto Delona, the fire started at about 9 a.m.  and was extinguished by 1 p.m. of the same day. The residents evacuated to nearby Capunitan Elementary School. The fire caused such massive destruction  that Orion Mayor Antonio Raymundo declared a state of calamity after being authorized by the town council. On February 1, Go and his supporters visited to provide assistance and comfort to the fire survivors. They distributed grocery items, food packs, meals and cash assistance. “What is most important for them is to be able to return to their homes. So I told them that I will talk to the Department f Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to look if it is safe for the survivors to go back to their place,� he said. “I will also ask the National Housing Authority [NHA] to see if their barangay [village] is suitable for relocation and also to see if the place

can still be rebuilt and suitable for housing,� Go added.

He  joined a boodle fight and feast with tricycle drivers and operators of the area. He ate with them and reminded them to join the government’s ongoing fight against illegal drugs, crime and corruption.

Go then spoke about the Malasakit Center that will soon be opened in Balanga.

A program of the Duterte administration, the Malasakit Center is a onestop shop where satellite offices of the Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurancce Corp. and other relevant government agencies are housed together in one location to ease the process for patients applying for quick medical and financial assistance. Go, who was integral in setting up the Malasakit Center program when he was serving as the top aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, said he wants to push a law that would institutionalize the establishment of Malasakit centers in more provincial and urban areas of the country.

Aside from the Malasakit Center, Go's legislative agenda include programs for agriculture, housing, improved health service delivery, education, long-term sports development, localized peace talks, anti-drug and crime drive, anti-corruption drive, barangay welfare, creation of a Department of Overseas Filipino Workers, as well as senior citizen concerns.

He ended his visit to Orion, Bataan, by assuring residents that he would be there to help and serve the people.Â

Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal.

In a video post, the controversial commander of the MILF Northwestern Mindanao Command Abdullah Macapaar, p o p u l a r l y k n ow n a s C o m mander Bravo, appealed to voters for unity and peace to vote "Yes� on February 6 for the inclusion of the six municipalities in the BARMM. He expressed his group’s appeal to all voters in Lanao del Norte to vote "Yes� for peace and prosperity and for the future of their children. “We don’t want war,� the MILF commander said. “Your

vote for ‘Yes’ means that you want peace and you give us the opportunity to live in peace and we will take this as a debt of gratitude.� “But if you vote ‘No,’ you violate our right to live in p e a c e, � h e a d d e d , n o t i n g that is what the MILF and the government are avoiding as it may result in conflict in Lanao del Norte.

The second Bangsamoro plebiscite on February 6 will be held in the six towns of Lanao del Norte and 67 barangay (villages) in North Cotabato.

The first plebiscite held on

*ANUARY RESULTED IN A BIG "Yes� win for the BOL in the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as well as in Cotabato City.

This is the culmination of the peace process began by THE !QUINO RD ADMINISTRATION and the MILF aimed at granting genuine self-rule for Moros and ending decades of conflict in the region.

During the Arroyo’s administration, Commander Bravo attacked communities in Lanao del Norte when peace negotiations bogged down.

In January, Secretary Car-

lito Galvez Jr. of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Peace Process brokered a dialogue between Bravo and the Dimaporos to ensure a peaceful plebiscite in Lanao del Norte.

Both parties promised that there would be no violence during the conduct of the plebiscite.

Meanwhile, in a news briefing in Cagayan de Oro on Friday, Salahoden Benhamza, legal officer for the MILF’s Northwestern Mindanao Command, said a "No� vote could disenfranchise Moro youth, and this might encourage them to rise up and rebel.

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SUNDAY February 3, 2019

News

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

‘Stop circulating bomb threats’

BY ROY D.R. NARRA

T

HE Armed Forces of the Philippines called on the public to refrain from sharing unverified reports of possible bombing incidents as these could spread fear or worsen the security situation.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, issued the statement following reports that some individuals have circulated messages on social media on alleged threats of bombings in some areas.

He said the bomb threats circulating on social media were

UNVERIkED “With the very volatile situation, there are some individuals who are circulating messages in the social media threatening the public of more bombings has triggered fear among the populace,� Sobejana said. “I am appealing for sobriety and request everyone to stop from

SPREADING UNVERIkED STORIES AND reports that could aggravate the current situations in the affected areas.�

4HE MILITARY OFkCIAL ASSURED THE PUBLIC THAT SECURITY OFkCIALS HAVE taken steps to protect the people.

He said troops under his command have been ordered to guard

areas of convergence, including places of worship. “We will also further intensify our intelligence efforts and initiate pro-active security measures to thwart possible hostile plans. We appeal to the public not to spread ANNOYING MESSAGES UNLESS VERIkED to be true,� Sobejana said.

MMDA reroutes traffic for QC solidarity walk THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will REROUTE TRAFkC AND IMPLEMENT THE “stop and go� scheme in parts of Quezon City on Sunday for the solidarity walk of Muslim and Christian groups at the Quezon City Memorial Circle (QCMC ) to condemn the bombing incidents in Mindanao.

The march was expected to draw 4,000 participants, resulting in trafkC DISRUPTIONS IN CERTAIN PORTIONS OF the Elliptical Road and its junctions.

The agency said religious groups including Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and other Christian denominations would start assembling at 5 a.m.

Muslim participants would assemble at Commonwealth Avenue, while Christians would gather at East Avenue.

At 7 a.m., the MMDA would STOP AND MOVE TRAFkC AT -ASAYA Street corner Commonwealth Ave. to allow Muslim groups to cross the Elliptical Road from their assembly area at the Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa).

The group will pass through the east side gate facing Commonwealth Ave. all the way to Liwasang Aurora in QCMC, where the marchers will hold a program.

4RAFkC REROUTING WILL BE IMPLEmented along the Elliptical road and the East Ave. junction as Chris-

tian groups will enter the QCMC gate facing East Ave. all the way to Liwasang Aurora.

Vehicles from Elliptical Road going to Kalayaan Road, University of the Philippines Diliman and Commonwealth Ave. are advised to turn right to East Ave., left at Matalino St., left at Kalayaan Ave., and right to Elliptical Rd. going to their destination.

Meanwhile, all vehicles from EDSA via East Ave. shall turn right to Matalino St., left at Kalayaan Ave., and right to Elliptical Road going to their destination.

Dubbed as “Lakad para sa Kapayapaan Laban sa Karahasan,� the solidarity walk aims to show that Muslims and Christians are “allies promoting peace and not war.� “There would be exchange of bibles and [Qur’an]... and participants would embrace upon the convergence [point]. This was also done during the bombings in Zamboanga. Faith leaders will again join to condemn the bombING IN *OLO u --$! S TRAFkC CHIEF for EDSA Edison Bong Nebrija told reporters.

Delegates from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the MMDA will also participate. .EBRIJA SAID TRAFkC WOULD RETURN to normal at 10 a.m.

NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS

Modesto, 61 Carlota A. Modesto, mother of The Manila Times reporter Catherine Modesto, passed away on Thursday, January 31.

She was 61.

Her wake is at the Loyola Memorial Chapels and Crematorium in Guadalupe, Makati City until 4 p.m. of February 4.

Mrs. Modesto was executive assistant at the Court of Appeals for 13 years.

NO EASY WORK

Workers install steel rods at the MRT 7 station along Commenwealth Ave. in Quezon City. The rail project is one of the infrastructure projects under the government’s Build,Build, Build program. PHOTO BY ROGER RAÑADA

Q DUTIES A1

Teachers will get paid DICT to pursue common tower policy Aquino issued the statement after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned that teachers who will serve in the 2019 polls will not receive their honoraria in case of a reenacted budget in 2019.

The vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and member of the Senate bicameral conference committee on the proposed 2019 budget said Congress is determined to pass the General Appropriations Act next week.

In case of a reenacted budget, the lawmaker said Congress could pass a supplemental budget for the payment of the teachers’ honorarium. “Gagawin natin ang lahat para masigurong mababayaran ang ating mga guro sa kanilang trabaho sa darating na halalan.

Bigyan natin sila ng karampatang pagkilala at huwag ibitin ang mga kompensasyon at benepisyong itinakda ng batas para sa kanila (We will do everything to ensure that our teachers are paid for their work in the coming elections. We will give them the recognition they deserve and PAY THEIR COMPENSATION BENEkTS as provided in the law),� Aquino added. “Sayang naman ang batas na ating isinulong kung hindi mapakikinabangan ng mga guro (Such a waste of a law we pushed IF THIS WILL NOT BENEkT OUR TEACHers),� he said, referring to Re-

public Act 10756 or the “Election Service Reform Act� (ESRA) that he pushed as principal author in the 16th Congress.

The law increases the honorarium and other election service benefits and makes election service optional for public school teachers. It also increases honoraria for the board of election inspector (BEI) and their support staff.

Under the law, compensation for the BEI chairman will be increased to P6,000 from P3,000, while the BEI members will receive P5,000 from P3,000.

From P3,000, a Department of Education (DepEd) supervisor/ OFkCIAL WILL EARN 0 WHILE support staff will receive P2,000 from P1,500.

The teachers and all persons who render election service will also be entitled to a travel allowance of P1,000 each. !LL GOVERNMENT OFkCIALS AND employees serving as members of the electoral boards, DepEd SUPERVISOR OFkCIAL AND SUPPORT STAFF WILL BE GIVEN kVE DAYS OF service credit.

The ESRA also increases the DEATH BENEkTS FROM 0 TO P500,000 and the medical assistance in such amount as may be gSUFkCIENT TO COVER FOR MEDICAL and hospitalization expenses until recovery� of injuries sustained while in the performance of election duties, Aquino said.

JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Saturday it would implement its common tower policy even without the entry of a new major telecommunication company (telco) player.

DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said THIS WOULD ALLOW CELL TOWER kRMS TO BUILD AND deploy communication infrastructures that may be leased to telcos to further improve the delivery of their services to the public. “We will go ahead with the common tower initiative even if we have only two telcos because the fact remains that we still need

an additional 50,000 towers to improve our connectivity,� Rio said in a statement. “Common towers can bring down the cost of our telecommunication services so there is definitely a need for this initiative, whether we have two or three or even four telcos,� he added.

The DICT official issued the statement amid concerns on the validity of the franchise of the third telco player.

Some lawmakers have expressed concern that Mislatel Consortium, a joint venture of Udenna Corp. of businessman Dennis

Uy and Chinese state-owned firm China Telecommunication Corp. failed to comply with the conditions of its franchise as it has not operated within a year after the franchise was granted.

Mislatel was granted a legislative franchise in 1998.

Rio estimated that the common tower initiative would create thousands of jobs.

The DICT earlier said the Philippines needed additional 50,000 cell towers.

The country has about 16,000 cell sites, the lowest cell density in Asia.

PNA

Catholic migrants abuzz ahead of Pope’s visit DUBAI: Like millions of his compatriots, Filipino migrant Ray Erwin adores Pope Francis. This weekend, he is counting down the hours to a historic papal Mass in Abu Dhabi. “We are very grateful,� he told Agence France-Presse. “It’s a chance of a lifetime.�

Erwin, 44, will be among 135,000 worshippers expected to gather on Tuesday when “Lolo Kiko� (Grandpa Francisco), as the pontiff is affectionately known in the Philippines, holds a vast openair mass in the Muslim-majority Arabian Peninsula.

The Pope’s three-day trip, which STARTS 3UNDAY IS THE kRST PAPAL VISIT to the Arabian Peninsula — the birthplace of Islam.

While Muslims make up nearly four fifths of the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) population, the country is also home to nearly a million Catholics, according to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern

Arabia.

Most are from India or the Philippines — like Erwin, who has a wife and two daughters and has lived there for 20 years.

Migrants from Asian countries make up about 65 percent of the population.

‘Connected by faith’ $ECKED OUT WITH 6ATICAN lAGS AND a lifelike picture of the Pope, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the neighboring emirate of Dubai has been abuzz with worshippers preparing for the pontiff’s arrival.

The church, which can hold about 2,500 worshippers, was packed during Mass on Friday (Saturday in Manila).

People lined the walls inside, while others stood in the open air to watch the sermon on two big screens.

Indian Irene Ann Tomi, 16, said the Pope’s visit would be “an eye

opener for all the Christians and the Muslims in the UAE.� “We are all human,� she said. “I believe we are connected by one thread, and that is faith.�

On Saturday, the last day to collect tickets for the Mass, hundreds of people queued for passes while others lined up in front of a kiosk distributing goodie bags of memorabilia.

‘Thank you, Lord’ The UAE prides itself on its religious tolerance and cultural diversity.

It has eight Catholic churches, compared to four each in Oman, Kuwait and Yemen.

Qatar and Bahrain have one each, while ultra-conservative Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia bans all non-Muslim places of worship.

The pontiff’s trip is widely seen as encouraging inter-religious

dialogue in the region.

Pope Francis will take part in an interfaith conference on Monday and will meet Sheikh Ahmed alTayeb, the imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s highest seat of Islamic learning.

Early on Tuesday morning, more than 2,000 free buses will transport worshippers from across the Emirates to Abu Dhabi.

Local media say it will be the largest ever public gathering in the UAE. Filipina Ruthcel Fermana, a nanny who has been living in $UBAI FOR OVER kVE YEARS SAID SHE started jumping on the bed when she found out she would be on one of the buses. “Early in the morning when I woke up and opened my phone and then saw the message and my name was on the list. I said: ‘Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you Lord!’� she said. “Everything happens for a reason.�

AFP

Business Times

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Editor: Edwin P. Sallan Email: edwin.sallan@manilatimes.net

B1

CEO CORNER

Teaching Chinese kids to talk in English

51Talk offers work-at-home opportunities for Filipino online English language teachers

BY MAAN D’ASIS PAMARAN

W

ITH the rapid globalization of China, its locals are now understanding the importance of communicating in the English language. While Mandarin or Putonghua is still the most spoken language in the world, many Chinese people are realizing that learning how to speak in English helps them in their travels and in the ease of doing business or in pursuing their studies in other countries.

There are schools in China, particularly in the big cities where English is taught, but there is a big market for online tutorials. According to Jennifer Que, country head of 51Talk, an online English teaching platform headquartered in China, the online learning market is big and with huge potential for growth. Data from iResearch reveals the size of the online learning market is expected to reach RMB272.7 billion in 2019, from RMB235.1 billion in 2018, with an increase of 16 percent. “Based on the current status of China’s online learning market, a large user base and underdeveloped technologies create a huge potential for market development in the future,� she says. She reveals that 51Talk clients are from Mainland China, with a majority of them kids whose ages range from 5 to 12 years old.

The company provides the Filipino online English teachers with tools such as modules, along with training on how to be effective

communicators. “Home-based online English teaching is different from telecommuting. 51Talk is providing online teaching opporTUNITIES TO QUALIkED INDEPENDENT service providers to those who want to stay at home full time, be their own boss, and be able to choose their own schedule.�

Que is a Computer Science graduate from the De La Salle University who also holds an MBA degree from the University of Western Australia.

She had her own start in “outsourcing� through Navitaire, which became the number 1 airline solutions provider for low-cost carriers. “Before the word ‘outsourcing’ became commonly used, I was already showcasing Filipino talent in the software industry by bringing work to the Philippines because I believe Filipino software developers are equally competitive with their counterparts in the world. I’m now here at the forefront with another kind of earning opportunity where work can now be done at the comfort of one’s

home. 51Talk changed the game of English education and at the same time provided another stage to showcase Filipino’s English PROkCIENCY THROUGH ONLINE %NGLISH teaching at home.�

This burgeoning industry brings with it a set of challenges, Que admits. “As this is a home-based online opportunity, the biggest challenge is the Philippine infrastructure — strong and stable wired internet is not readily available to make this opportunity available to MORE QUALIkED INDIVIDUALS u Another challenge which 51Talk will embark on is professionalizing the industry called EFL or English as a Foreign Language, she adds. “Filipinos are more familiar with ESL where students from non-speaking English countries typically come to the Philippines to learn English in a classroom setting. In the EFL space, students are based in China so they have less opportunities to practice speaking English outside of the online classroom.�

She suggests that beyond the regular course offerings of universities and colleges, teaching English online can now be part of a curriculum, faculty training or electives for students so more people can consider EFL as a career option.

As for her leadership style, Que labels herself as an innovative visionary. “I really like to pioneer things and be at the forefront. I like to change things UP BECAUSE ) AM NOT SATISkED WITH status quo. I’m also a dynamic person and people say I’m a cool leader. I can blend in easily and direct people towards the goal.� “There’s a saying that managers

say ‘Go’ and leaders say ‘Let’s go’,� she adds, explaining, “I’m a ‘Let’s go’ kind of leader and you earn respect this way such that my team will always say they have my back because I also have their backs.

Once people trust each other, work is never work and it gets done.�

As the leader of this educationcentric organization, she says, “Happy teachers make happy students.� She expounds: “Normally, people get attracted to join 51Talk because of the potential EARNINGS lEXIBLE SCHEDULE BEING home-based, the professional support and training that they would enjoy. However, if you ask teachers later on what makes them happy with 51Talk, they usually say it’s their students.�

The Filipino teachers get a SENSE OF FULkLMENT WHEN THEY see their students learn and START TO SPEAK lUENTLY AND confidently, she shares. “They celebrate successes online with their students for passing exams, winning a contest or getting a job, or after they’ve traveled. 51Talk teachers believe in their students and this is why students love them. Students are excited t o h ave l e s sons with their teacher because they can learn, have fun even though it’s only for 25 minutes.�

Q Jennifer Que, Philippines country head of 51Talk

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES THROUGH AGRIBUSINESS BY YUGEL LOSORATA COUNTLESS Filipino lives may have been unfavorably affected because of the thinking that agriculture belongs to backward societies and there’s not much money in it.

The idea to discredit this myth and spread good word about how agribusiness goes if properly handled, along with its great potential to help and sustain communities through worthy food production and livelihood provision, is essentially the cornerstone of Magsasaka TV, a show dedicated to sharing the reality of farming as viable business venture and livelihood advocacy lifeblood. It is set to air beginning this February on the popular DZMM Teleradyo to be anchored by two Dexters, DZMM anchor Dexter Ganibe and DV Boer Farm International Corp. founder Dexter Villamin. “We are going to show the true light and the goodness of agriculture. Ito ang magiging

daan sa panibagong mukha ng agrikultura sa ating bansa,� said Villamin whose so-called “People’s Farm� is the country’s kRST COMMERCIAL STUD FARM SPEARheading profitable agriculture business program for beginners.

Previously airing on PTV-4, the show’s second season ensures a more mainstream reach and approach in delivering a program tackling matters like integrated farming, livestock, and pa-iwi system — one that ultimately provides farmers with livelihood opportunities.

Magsasaka TV was launched January 22 at the Shangri-La at The Fort wherein Villamin shared the current project developments for both his DV Boer Farm, an 11-hectare land situated in Balibago, Lian, Batangas, and its farming umbrella arm, Magsasaka Inc. (which officially means Magkakasama sa Sakahan at Kaunlaran Inc.), with its membership, including around 100 sub farms. “Ang akala ng

Q ‘Magsasaka TV’ co-anchor Dexter Villamin, founder of ‘The People’s Farm’ DV Boer International Corp. and a strong advocate of farming as stable business and livelihood, with composer Gary Granada whose classic ‘Tagumpay Nating Lahat’ serves as rallying theme to the said program to air beginning this February on DZMM Teleradyo.

karamihan, kapag wala kang nakuhang pera sa agrikultura, lugi ka. My philosophy tells that there is wealth in the nutrients na makukuha mo sa gulay na itinanim mo,� he expressed.

A non-stock and nonprofit organization registered with SEC (Securities and Exchange ComMISSION AS A MICROkNANCE .'/ is providing farmers within the community associated with DV Boer some real access to capital required for agriculture-related projects. The long-term goal is to apparently develop livelihood packages farmers can choose from.

One of Magsasaka TV’s interesting featured recipients turned out to be the indigenous people from South Cotabato in Mindanao. Villamin recently reached out to the tribes of Blaan and Tboli for ample support from Magsasaka Inc. to enable social economic development for them through agriculture.

From the initial discussion with the tribes, the authorities granted

some 500 hectares of agricultural land as ancestral domain for the said indigenous group.

Villamin further shared, “In order for us to move forward, we really need to have this inclusion growth wherein no one shall be left behind.

P’wede nating paunlarin ang ating bansa kung tayo ay sama-sama sa ating gagawin na programa na may kinalaman sa agrikultura.�

Magsasaka TV, featuring iconic songwriter’s Gary Granada’s “Tagumpay Nating Lahat� as rallying theme, also serves as Villamin’s mouthpiece to encourage Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to come home in the Philippines for good and embraced agribusiness as main source of living and a good platform for helping others. “Ang natatamasang success po ng DV Boer Farm ay dahil na rin sa mga OFWs na nagtiwala sa business na meron sa agriculture,� he argued.

Villamin himself was once an OFW before successfully venturing to farming business.

lection of P1.78 trillion.

Without going into the actual COLLECTION kGURES THE ")2 FELL SHORT on its 2018 collection for income tax, value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax. It is disappointing to note that, on the crucial collection of higher excise taxes on fuel, sugar-sweetened beverages and vehicles, the BIR also missed on these targets. However, there was a surge in the collections of percentage tax, donors tax and other taxes, such as documentary stamp tax (DST), presumable caused by reforms introduced under Train.

As a result, House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez of the Third district of Quezon asked for the full implementation of RA 9335, or the “Lateral Attrition Act of

2005,� which provides for sanctions against officials and employees of the Internal Revenue and Customs bureaus who missed their collection targets.

Ron Arriesgado is a partner of the LMA Law Offices in Makati City. He has managed and resolved taxation issues of local and multinational entities and service industries; resolved various tax assessment cases issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue; and provided clients with the proper tax strategies to cancel or substantially lower clients’ tax assessments, among others. He is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

BIR misses 2018 target

“Y

OU’RE waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope the train will take you, but you can’t know for sure. Yet it doesn’t matter.�

That’s a popular quote from the movie “Inception,� starring Leonardo diCaprio and Marion Cotillard. The quote is rather apt to describe the current state of the Philippine economy, particularly with how Philippine tax laws have shaped it.

And of course, the tax law that immediately comes to mind is Republic Act (RA) 10963 or the “Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act� (Train).

4HE kRST PHASE OF 2!

OR Train 1, provided new reduced

THE FINE PRINT RON ARRIESGADO income tax rates for individuals, but also raised the excise taxes on fuel, vehicles and sugar-sweetened beverages, among other measures.

On Sept. 10, 2018, the House of Representatives approved on THIRD AND kNAL READING (OUSE "ILL (HB) 8083 — Train 2, or more popularly called the “Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Highquality Opportunities� (Trabaho) bill — which aims to reduce the corporate income tax rate from 30

percent to 20 percent, and proposES TO REMOVE kSCAL TAX INCENTIVES currently enjoyed by companies registered under RA 7915, or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, and other related laws.

For the most part, be it Train 1 or 2, the Train Law has received a bad reputation, and is perceived to be the indirect cause of soaring INlATION DURING THE LATTER PART OF 2018. The higher excise taxes on fuel (P7.00 per liter of gasoline and P2.50 per liter of diesel), coupled with the rising price of crude oil in the world market, could have been the contributing FACTORS TO SOARING INlATION WHICH peaked at 6.7 percent in September and October.

4RAIN HAS ALSO RECEIVED lAK FOR

raising the prices of sugar-sweetened beverages and vehicles, with the imposition of higher excise taxes that took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

With all these criticisms hurled against Train, the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have always countered by saying all these higher taxes would only mean one thing: higher revenue collection.

Well, not really. During a hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the BIR reported that it missed its 2018 collection target of P2.04 trillion by P82.04 billion (around 4 percent). The BIR, of course, was quick to note that its 2018 collection of P1.962 trillion improved on its 2017 col-

B2

Business Times

˜ The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

The EB-5 visa and the American dream

BY YUGEL LOSORATAÂ

F

OR the uninitiated Filipinos, EB-5 may sound like a thoroughfare or a Korean boy band. It’s actually the name of an investment visa program that offers its holders practically an easy route to working and living in the United States.

Traditionally, Filipinos are known for their strong will to do what it takes to migrate or acquire permanent residence status in the so-called land of opportunities.

With no quota backlogs and valued as the fastest option in acquiring that residence status in the US, Investment Visa EB-5 was a creation by the US Congress to stimulate the country’s economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. “There are 10 thousand EB-5 visas and no country can take more than 7 percent of those visas. China is the driver for EB-5 program due to its overwhelming success among Chinese investors,� says Nicolai Hinrichsen, senior attorney with the Miller Mayer LLP and managing partner of its Asia EB-5 practice.

By basic arithmetic, one has to invest a minimum of $500,000 to at least qualify for the program which by the current exchange rate should mean around P25 million. EB-5 holders can bring along family members (spouse and unmarried children below 21) to study, work and reside in the US “without additional im-

migration requirements� that sounds synonymous to being hassle-free.

Hinrichsen recently presented the said US visa program to some members of the Filipino press as he endorsed “an ideal window to acquire the EB-5 visa� through the assistance of New Yorkbased Lightstone Investments, one of the biggest privately held real estate companies in the US with roughly $6 billion in assets.

A quick glance through that window suggests that minimum inves t m e n t should be coupled “with an eye in opening up job opportunities for those residing in the US.�

It has been proven that more than $1.6 billion has been invested by more or less 18,000 investors in real estate investment funds being managed by Lightstone.

Recognized by EB-5 Investor

Magazine as belonging to the top 25 LEGAL PROFESSIONALS IN THE kELD (INrichsen noted that Lightstone is an expert on empowering the Regional Center Program which he describes as having “entities designated by the US government to operate industries raising money.� He said, “The Regional Center Program allows the pulling of money from multiple inves-

tors and deploying of that money into certain projects. Lightstone has projects and functions like a bank.�

Lightstone as a company has holdings in 28 states and owns 15,000 apartments all over the US. It is said that Hinrichsen, who regularly speaks at EB-5 engagements the world over, also represents regional centers and developers in structuring EB-5 compliant projects. “Starting in 2008,� Hinrichsen noted, “EB-5 became a powerHOUSE ALTERNATIVE TO BANK kNANCING $27.6 billion has been invested to US economy via EB-5. By rough calculation, about 4 percent of the growth in the private sector can be attributed to EB-5 investments.� “That’s sizeable. That moves the needle,� added the decorated member of American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Some pundits may say EB-5 is not for Filipino investors, owing to its relatively high cost to merely qualify for the application. Well, nothing is impossible for people known for laying down all their eggs to reach the land of milk and honey and change for the better the course of their future.

Q Nicolai Hinrichsen, a senior attorney with the Miller Mayer Immigration Law Group, recently met with Filipino reporters to discuss what EB-5 is all about.

CALTEX EXPANDS MARKET PRESENCE IN PH CALTEX, the gasoline station-chain and petroleum-product brand of Chevron Philippines Inc., continues to grow its retail business and consequently strengthen its presence in the country.

In an emailed statement, Chevron Philippines said it had been exerting efforts to expand its business, adding it had opened 29 new services stations in 2018 — or an average of two a month — including in Palawan province and Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental province. It currently has more than 600 stations nationwide.

According to the fuel distributor, the increase helped its Euro 4-compliant fuels extend its market reach.

Euro-4 is a European emission standard for vehicles that requires fuels to have reduced amounts of sulfur and benzene, thus making them more environment-friendly. “This steady growth in our retail expansion efforts across the country

is a testament to our determination to rise above the challenges and to bring high-quality, Euro 4-compliant fuels to more Filipinos,� Chevron Philippines Country Chairman Louie Zhang said in the statement.

The company said, “2018 was particularly challenging for both motorists and oil companies,� adding that excise-tax hikes and rising inflation had pressured the industry.

Republic Act 10963, or the Tax

Q A Caltex station in the Philippines. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law, which was implemented at the beginning of 2018, raised the excise tax on fuel, among other products. This led to a price surge in the market.

Last year, inflation reached a nineyear high of 6.7 percent in September and October before slowing to 6 percent in November. It further eased to 5.1 percent in December. Inflation for 2018 averaged 5.2 percent.

Chevron Philippines said it did its part in helping Filipino consumers amid fluctuating oil prices by offering “public utility vehicle discount lanes, fuel rebates through loyalty promos, and by supporting the Department of Energy’s Pantawid Pasada Program.�

There are three Chevron units in the country: Chevron Malampaya LLC, Chevon Philippines and Chevron Holdings Inc. TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD

S

The curse of failed successions

UCCESSION issues pose the greatest threats to the survival of family businesses. The death of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest individual, Henry Sy Sr., almost two weeks ago raised serious concerns on how the next-generation members of his family would manage the transition.

Stakeholders are waiting with bated breath for the family member who would emerge as the heir apparent, AND SO FAR THERE HAS BEEN NO OFkCIAL pronouncement. A loyal and trusted professional, 79-year-old Jose Sio, still presides over the board as chairman of SM Investments Corp. I can only imagine Sio’s dilemma: Continue faithfully serving the Sy family and defer a much-deserved retirement or step down during this transition and be with his grandchildren.

Most companies in Asia are familyowned and, unfortunately, statistics do NOT LIE PERCENT OF kRST GENERATION businesses fail to reach the second generation due to sibling rivalries, power struggles, fights over ownerSHIP CONTROL AND PERSONALITY CONlICTS Another reason is that the goals of the founding generation rarely match those of the succeeding generation. When left unmanaged, any of these issues can break families apart.

If succession planning is important, why are the founders and senior-generation members not letting go? Studies point in part to personality, ego, power and, most important, mortality. These attributes lie at the heart of succession planning (Ogden & Wood, 2008).

Business leaders, particularly the entrepreneurial founders, often neglect the issue of succession because they are so protective of the businesses they started. Although they want their ventures to outlast them and to pass the torch of leadership on to their children, they seldom support their intentions with a plan to accomplish that goal.

They just dream of continuing the business long after they are gone, but take no steps to make that dream a reality.

It is most unfortunate that succession planning begins in response to an external event, such as an illness, accident or death. Planning should not be undertaken only as a reaction to a major health emergency, especially by the leader of the family business, because everything might be too late by then.

One of the worst mistakes entrepreneurs can make is to postpone naming a successor until just before they are ready to step down. Sometimes, founders avoid naming successors because they don’t want to hurt the family members who are not chosen to succeed them. Yet, both the business and the family will be better off if, after observing the candidates as they work in the business, the founder picks his or her successor, based on that person’s skills and abilities, early enough.

Grooming the successor can begin at an early age simply by involving children in the family business and observing which ones have the greatest ability and interest

FAMILIES IN BUSINESS PROF. ENRIQUE SORIANO in the company. Effective succession planning does not merely involve designating a family member and training him or her for the takeover.

In fact, grooming the successor is the founder’s greatest teaching and development responsibility, because it involves a long-term, continuing effort to balance competing interests and pressures. It should be comprehensive ENOUGH TO DEkNE SALIENT ISSUES AND identify a range of options for each issue that may be contentious.

Another key feature of many successful planning processes is the third-party advisor or consultant to guide the family through the many intricacies of management succession. The advisor would be able to help identify the relevant issues while avoiding interference that emerges from emotional factors. His or her objective and independent judgment can serve as a means to resolve CONlICTS AND OVERCOME OPPOSITION BY bridging generational gaps with his or her experience and expertise.

In my family-business coaching work in Asia, mentoring second- and third-generation leaders, I have personally met many family-business leaders who believe that they are taking considerable risks in transferring a successful business to the next generation.

However, once they made a concerted effort to plan for succession, they were able to reduce these daunting odds.

The choice is really yours. Failure to plan for succession is simply a plan for failure. As Peter Drucker once said: g4HE kNAL TEST OF GREATNESS IN A FOUNDER is how well he chooses a successor and whether he can step aside and let his successor run the company.�

Prof. Enrique Soriano is a World Bank/IFC governance consultant, senior advisor of Post and Powell Singapore, and the executive director of Wong + Bernstein, a research and consulting firm in Asia that serves family businesses and family foundations. He was a chairman of the marketing cluster at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Manila, and is currently a visiting senior fellow of the IPMI International School in Jakarta, Indonesia.

He is also an associate member of the Singapore Institute of Directors and an advisor to business families worldwide, a sought-after governance speaker at conferences, and author of more than 200 articles and publications, including two best-selling family business books.

He currently mentors and advises family businesses, CEOs and toplevel entrepreneurs on how to successfully systemize their businesses, so that they can increase revenue, scale, and even exit their business.

About that ‘dangerous’ PH media landscape First of two parts ORMER TV news personality Jiggy Manicad sparked an explosion of existential angst among media advocates in the Philippines this week by daring to differ with the widely-held, fashionable pretension that “press freedom is under attack� in the Philippines. What the angry reactions — many of which branded Manicad a “traitor� and a “sellout� — to his comments reveal is how remarkably clueless many media practitioners and much of the public are about the media business here.

Manicad, who is running for Senate, suggested in an interview that the string of legal troubles bedeviling the oncepopular tabloid news website Rappler might very well have been provoked by its aggressive anti-government editorial policy, but that the charges against the company were nevertheless JUSTIkABLE AND NOT INDICATIVE OF a general institutional threat to “press freedom.�

After being singled out by an angry President Duterte last year for its criticism of him and his administration, Rappler had its business registration revoked

F

ROUGH TRADE BEN KRITZ by the Securities and Exchange Commission, who determined that it had violated the legal prohibition against foreign ownership of Philippine media entities. The company and its controversial CEO Maria Ressa — a former CNN reporter and one-time media darling who was driven from ABSCBN in disgrace after numerous allegations, including hints of sexual misconduct, were raised against her — are now facing numerous charges of tax evasion.

All of this, government critics and “press freedom� advocates — not a few of which have been casual foreign observers drawing conclusions from a distance — is nothing more than a sinister, organized campaign by the Duterte REGIME INTENDED TO STIlE MEDIA criticism of his brutal rule. In addition to Rappler, Duterte has also targeted the Inquirer company, which was also notable for its aggressive criticism of the govern-

ment, forcing the former owners of the country’s largest newspaper to sell their interest. In the Inquirer’s case, the legal lever was the company’s occupation of a government PROPERTY IN -AKATI IN DEkANCE OF A more than ten-year-old court order to pay rent for it.

Duterte has also threatened to revoke the license of broadcaster ABS-CBN for its unfavorable reporting, although that threat has come to nothing. Unlike Rappler and the Inquirer, the TV network seems to have taken care to make sure that its business operations are conducted legally.

-ANICAD IS BEING CRUCIkED FOR having the temerity to point out this reality, to cast a spotlight on the elephant in the room: The reality of the media business here in the Philippines is that it is, in fact, a business. Moreover, it is a busiNESS FOR WHICH A MARKET DEkNED BY some quaint notion of journalistic neutrality does not exist, which obliges anyone pursuing this business to adopt an inevitably adversarial position one way or another.

First of all, we must dispense with the twisted idea of “media freedom,� at least in the terms by WHICH IT IS DEkNED BY THOSE WHO now cry that it is under threat.

Freedom of speech or expression

is considered a near-sacred right in most democratic societies, including this one. But freedom of expression is not a one-way street with a single lane. All it means to a media entity (or anyone else) is that the right to expression cannot be denied for its own sake; in other words, shutting down newspapers (as Ferdinand Marcos did) or arresting dissident writers simply because they are critical of the regime, and for no other valid reason provided by the law, is unacceptable.

What the media, or at least the ones who feel they are being persecuted, seems to forget is that freedom of expression applies to everyone. It implies not only freedom of expression, but freedom of someone else to express a reaction to one’s expression, the freedom to choose the mode of expression, and the freedom not to express something.

And unless otherwise clearly DEkNED BY LAW ALL OF THAT APPLIES TO institutions as well as individuals.

The government is duty-bound by tradition and to some extent by law to provide information about its activities and policies to the public. )T IS NOT SPECIkCALLY DUTY BOUND TO provide that by way of the media. It does so as a matter of practicality,

and for the sake of keeping order, selects which media entities it shares information with. Again, as a matter of tradition and democratic expectations, it generally makes information available to almost anyone who asks for it, but it does not necessarily have to do so.

Thus, whether they like it or not, media have to make a choice: They may either be favorable — or at least demonstrably neutral — to the powers that be in order to have access to information that THEY HAVE NO MORE SPECIkC RIGHT to than any other citizen; or if they choose to be critical, they may do so very carefully, making certain that when those whom they criticize exercise their own freedom to express displeasure over being criticized, there are no other consequences.

That means being certain that any assertion is backed by unassailable evidence, thorough research, and accurate recording.

And it also means — and revealing this dirty little secret is why Jiggy Manicad is being spitefully disowned by most of his former profession — making certain that the people you’ve pissed off do not have a legitimate means to land a counterpunch against you.

If you have done proper, defen-

sible work and the government sends in the goon squad to wreck YOUR OFkCE OR THE MOTORCYCLE riding assassins to shoot you in the street, then you can claim persecution according to the law and morality. And to be fair to those who worry about “press freedom,� that does happen here, far too often. So often, in fact, that the current government, in contrast to its characterization as an enemy of the media, created a task force led by a former colleague of mine to try to curb the problem.

On the other hand, if you’re a tax evader or an illegal squatter, well then, that is all you are, no matter the quality of your work. Most media in the Philippines are not those things nor do they behave in other legally unseemly ways, which is why they are left in peace, as Manicad noted.

So much for the philosophical basis of “press freedom.�

In Tuesday’s installment, I’ll discuss the economic aspects of the Philippines’ media landscape, and why the notion of “media independence� has become laughingly impractical.

ben.kritz@manilatimes.net

˜ The Sunday Times

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The Facebook killer might be made in China THE DIGITAL NOMAD JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE

W

ITH over 2.3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is undoubtedly casting a long, dominating shadow over the social media landscape. And nothing ever grows in the shade of a behemoth.

But the recent controversies on data privacy and perpetuating misinformation have shown the social media giant might be weakening.

In fact, just last year, it was reported that Facebook was losing daily active users in Europe, while the company’s daily active users in the US and #ANADA COME IN lAT FOR THE THIRD QUARTER IN A ROW The movement to #DeleteFacebook is also GAINING SIGNIkCANT MOMENTUM NOT ONLY BEcause of the issues hounding it but also due to it being deemed as a health hazard.

A recent study from researchers at Stanford and New York University revealed that deactivation of Facebook “caused small but SIGNIkCANT IMPROVEMENTS IN WELLBEING AND in particular on self-reported happiness, life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety.�

While Facebook maintains an iron grip on social media, the cracks on its reputation is slowly but surely eroding its throne on top.

This was what I told a colleague when I was asked about the future of the tech giant. But when he followed up with: “Who will then take its place?� I began to scratch my head.

Since annihilating its predecessors, Friendster and MySpace in the early 2000s, it’s hard to imagine anything else that might disrupt its dominance.

But a serious contender might be in the horizon, and for that, we need to turn East where a new star is rising: WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social media and mobile payment app developed by Tencent.

Those outside China, only know WeChat as a messaging and unintentional dating app, thanks to its GPS function that tells you who IS NEARBY FOR A QUICK CHAT OR MORE But among Chinese mainlanders, WeChat is a way of life.

WeChat has integrated several apps within its universe so people could not only use it as a means to communicate with each other virtually, but it also serves as a place to shop, HAIL A RIDE ORDER FOOD AND EVEN AS AN EFkCIENT digital wallet which you can use to purchase and pay for services. On top of this, WeChat is also poised to have its own search engine, MAKING IT A DEkNITIVE ONE STOP SHOP APP As the world is becoming more reliant on technology for people’s day to day lives, the convenience that an integrated app like WeChat is offering is enough to make everyone notice it.

It currently has 1 billion active monthly users, with over 100 million accounts regisTERED OUTSIDE #HINA 4HIS kGURE IS MINUSCULE compared to the global social media giants LIKE 4WITTER AND 9OU4UBE EVEN &ACEBOOK -ESSENGER BUT 7E#HAT IS KEEN ON EXPANSION It is setting a foothold in South America and Africa, with international football superstar Lionel Messi as its endorser. There are now more than 5 million users based in South Africa alone, according to Medium’s Clark Boyd. “Moreover, it has been reported that foreigners based in China have become even more addicted to the app than locals. As such, that could help to expand WeChat’s reach to Western markets.�

But could WeChat really expand beyond the Chinese market and take on Facebook head on?

Boyd explains, it might be an uphill climb as its success is reliant on its ownership of so many aspects of daily life, which is already dominated

by Google or Facebook in the West.

A wide range of studies has highlighted how differently Chinese and American consumers perceive their respective environments.

Where Americans will hone in on the people contained in an image, Chinese people will typically “look more at the background and the surrounding items.�

But with Facebook announcing that it will be merging Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp, something tells me Mark Zuckerberg is looking at WeChat’s approach in integrating other apps.

Until that day comes however, Facebook, warts and all, remains as the unopposed Goliath in the social media sphere. We can only wait by the sidelines for a David to take A kRST SWING AT IT Joseph Ubalde is a digital content expert and social media strategist who has worked for various local and global companies. “The Digital .OMADu IS THE kRST AND ONLY COLUMN DEDICATED to social media in the Philippines. If you have comments or want to connect with him, send an email to markjubalde@gmail.com.

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Business Times

B3

TRENDS

Social media marketing: To ‘hear’ is to believe While trends indicate a five-level approach, Filipino companies operate only up to the second level

BY CORA LLAMAS

I

T is safe to say that all companies that want to reach out to an exploding online market of billions of users dabble in social media marketing. Their marketing professionals regularly post their promos, updates and other visually-attractive news on a variety of platforms. At the very least, they have a Facebook Fan Page. However, regardless of how many times they update their newsfeeds every single day, information dissemination is only the beginning of an effective social media campaign. A large part has to do with a trend now called “social media listening.�

Q Contributed infographic

Joven Barcenas, the regional director of the, marketing and commercial unit of the Southeast Asian digital COMPANY :ANROO DEkNES IT AS A CONstant monitoring of customer-driven data from the various web and social media channels that the company is using. The information constantly being tracked and analyzed includes “sentiment scores, share of voice, top trends, etc. By analyzing colLECTED DATA BRANDS EQUIP THEMSELVES with actionable insights on brand reputation, competition landscape, industry trends, customer’s journey and personas. The tool also provides crisis management alerts which notify brands any time of any possible crisis.

This enables the brands to act fast before the crisis get worse and even MORE DIFkCULT TO HANDLE u The creation of insights from regular reporting is actually the second level OF SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT 4HE kRST level, which many Philippine companies are most focused on, is basic channel measurement, which assesses the demographics that respond to a CAMPAIGN OR A MESSAGE THE FREQUENCY of likes or posts, and the time hours spent on a particular social media site.

Barcena cites a Gartner Report that

etc. Barcenas describes the current disposition of businesses and their marketers to social media management: “A lot of brands embraced the power of social media and built their own social media channels for brand awareness purposes, information dissemination, etc. They continuously create great materials for their social engagement.

However, it is saddening to observe that BRANDS ARE IGNORING QUESTIONS COMplaints and even compliments posted by their customers. Perhaps, their customer service team is not aligned with their social media team, or brands take these social media comments as not as serious and important.�

What Zanroo does to fill in the gap is synergize social engagement with social customer service. Barcenas elaborates, “Our desk platform collects all comments on the brand’s social media pages and messages sent through private messaging. It works like a call center operation. Once the comment or message is in, the tool assigns each message to an available customer service representative. Our clients can also create canned responses for faster response time. It also gives insights on THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF THE QUEStions, complaints and compliments.

these two levels are only preparation for the more critical stages.

Level 3 of social media management REQUIRES A MORE HOLISTIC MULTI CHANNEL approach which, at the very least, sees to it that the messages, responses and all kinds of interaction that happen across all social media platforms are CONSISTENT AND UNIkED ,EVEL IS ALL about personalization and targeting, which means actually understanding to the deepest level the motivations, purchasing preferences and lifestyle behavior of a customer. Finally Level 5 is real-time decision-making, which MEANS A RAPID kRE RESPONSE TO WHAT THE customer wants at any given moment, AND ADDRESSING THEIR QUESTIONS CREATing a campaign that appeals to their deep-seated needs and aspirations. The speed with which level 5 races to take advantage of current news to capture the public attention or avert a crisis belongs to this category.

Zanroo, which has five offices in Asia, has a team of dedicated data analysts who work with brand and marketing agency partners and provide them reports that are useful for brand positioning, marketing engagement strategy, product development, and business expansion to other markets,

Like a call center environment, we can SET UP 3,!S PARTICULARLY THE REQUIRED response time.�

Zanroo is working to build its sixth PHYSICAL OFkCE IN -ANILA FOLLOWING THE establishment of their brick-and-mortar as well as digital presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Japan. Barcenas is a Filipino who has immersed himself in the Southeast Asian digital world and is leading the charge to capture the market back home.

He emphasizes that round-the-clock posting of memes and videos is just a very basic element of social media management. It is imperative that companies listen to their clients, and not just talk to them. He says, “According to the report by Walker on Customer Experience, 86 percent of buyers will pay more for better customer experience. Through social customer service tools, customers would feel important and create a positive perception and relationship with existing and potential customers.

Through this, customers’ retention and brand loyalty are just the usual response of happy customers. And the bonus part if they transform to be your brand ambassadors and advocates.�

For more information, click on https://enterprise.zanroo.com/

MAP pushes for ease of doing business ‘Double-digit growth awaits life insurance sector’ EASE of doing business is a key area that the Management Association of THE 0HILIPPINES -!0 IS FOCUSING on this year to boost the country’s competitiveness.

During the organization’s 70th inaugural meeting and induction of

OFkCERS IN -AKATI #ITY LAST WEEK NEW MAP President Rizalina Mantaring said the group was keen on promoting advocacies and programs aimed to enhance such ease. “The MAP will continue to work with the government to improve the ease of doing business in the Philippines, so we can attract local and foreign investments, create more jobs and ensure inclusive growth,� she added.

Efforts exerted by t h e g ove r n ment in this regard include reducing the number of steps in processing transactions, implementing online transaction process and improving infrastructure, according Q New MAP President Rizalina Mantaring delivers to her. her inaugural speech.

Despite dropping 11 places to No. 124 out of 190 countries in the “2018 Global Competitiveness Ranking� report of the World Economic Forum, Mantaring pointed out that the country had come a long way from placing 138th out of 185 countries in 2013.

MAP is also implementing initiatives to improve human capital, urging business leaders to create job opportunities for Kindergarten-toGrade 12 graduates, she said.

The organization is interested in holding training programs, in partnership with the government and educational institutions, to strengthen digital literacy and competitiveness of human capital amid a technologically advanced working environment, she added.

Mantaring is the group’s fourth female president and 70th since MAP’s establishment, succeeding Ramoncito Fernandez. She is the chairman of the Sun Life Financial Philippine Holding Co. and the Sun Life Foundation, as well as director at Sun Life Grepa Financial.

TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD

Q Dr. Diosdado Banatao (fifth from right) leads the induction of officers during the Management Association of the Philippines’ 70th inaugural meeting in Makati City on Tuesday.

PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

THE country’s life insurance sector is expected to record double-digit growth in 2018, with ITS FOURTH QUARTER PERFORMANCE SEEN TO MIRROR its year-ago showing, according to the chief of the Philippine Life Insurance Association )NC 0,)!

During a PLIA event in Makati City on Thursday, PLIA President Olaf Kliesow estimated that gross insurance premiums grew by 16.75 percent to P236.73 billion last year from P202.77 billion in 2017.

This would be achieved if it would record 7-percent growth for October-to-December, WHICH WAS THE kGURE POSTED IN THE SAME PEriod in 2017, he explained. g) THINK THE FOURTH QUARTER WAS A GOOD QUARTER BUT ) CANNOT TELL UNTIL THE ;OFkCIAL kGURES are out],� he told reporters, saying he felt positive that double-digit would be achieved.

According to him, the positive outlook proves that the growing middle-class could afford insurance. “More and more people are becoming aware of the need to be insured,� Kliesow said.

The sector reported premiums worth 0 BILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER A 20.4-percent increase from P144.63 billion in the same period in 2017. This accounted for almost 80 percent of total premiums.

4HE PERCENT kGURE THE 0,)! CHIEF said, “should be enough to close that gap of 0.02 percent to achieve the highest insurance penetration in the country.�

As of July-to-September, the country’s insurance penetration rate stood at 1.76 percent, compared with 1.78 percent in 2013.

For 2019, Kliesow expects the industry to also post double-digit growth, citing the positive economic outlook offered by First Metro )NVESTMENT #ORP &-)# In its forecast of the year, FMIC said gross domestic products growth would range from PERCENT TO PERCENT AND INlATION WOULD settle at 3-3.5 percent.

TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD

B4

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Business Times

BDO Foundation to launch financial literacy program R

BY DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ

OLANDO Balza has been an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) for 14 years.

Despite having to leave his wife and his three-year-old son in the Philippines, he continues to work as a senior inventory controller in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in order to support his own family and his parents. He was able to set aside some savings, but he hopes to earn more for housing, a business and retirement.

Meanwhile, Rhy Datu has gone to various countries in the Middle East, most recently to the United Arab Emirates, working as a senior planning engineer in order to SUPPORT HIS FAMILY ,IKE "ALZA HE endures the distance from his wife and his one-year-old child in order to save up for a big business he is planning to set up.

Balza and Datu are only two of over 2 million OFWs who leave the country annually in order to provide for their families. However, this is a temporary setup that they hope to do only until they have saved enough for their families and a long-term source of income.

This is why BDO Foundation, the corporate responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, has opted to exTEND ITS kNANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM to OFWs. As part of its corporate citizenship initiative, BDO Foundation aims to reach out to milLIONS OF /&7S WHOSE SIGNIkCANCE to the country’s economy remains unabated. Through our overseas workers, the Philippines continues to be the one of the top recipients of international remittances, next to India and China.

BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito said the foundation understands the need to educate OFWs, their dependents and other recipients of remittances

on options available to help them manage their hard-earned money. “Financial literacy is important so that people will have the knowledge about the concept of saving, the concept of growing their savings through investments and entrepreneurship, protecting their investments from scams and other threats,� Deriquito said.

The foundation is set to launch this project for OFWs on February 18, in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Deriquito said the foundation would be facilitating the project through creation of videos and education materials ON SAVING kNANCIAL MANAGEMENT

investments and entrepreneurship that will be utilized in one of topics in pre-departure, orientation and post-arrival seminars under the OWWA.

Other beneficiaries 4HE kNANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM FOR OFWs is an expansion of the existING kNANCIAL INCLUSION PROJECT OF BDO Foundation.

In June 2018, it launched its financial literacy program for Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students and their teachers in partnership with the Department of Education

Q BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA (DepEd) and the BSP. The first stretch of the program aimed to reach some 24 million students and 700,000 teachers in 47,000 public schools across the country. “The goal of the program is to build the capability of institutions — like the Deapartment of Education, the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration, and THE OTHERS ‡ IN PROVIDING kNANCIAL education to their constituents,�

Deriquito said.

Deriquito explained that the foundation has created “interesting and engaging� financial literacy videos and education materials appropriate for each age group in order to facilitate learning

at a young age. For instance, videos about saving up for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students are presented through upbeat nursery-rhymelike songs. Videos for teachers, on the other hand, contain characters and topics related to their interests.

These materials have been rolled out through the DepEd’s instructional database, which is accessible to all teachers nationwide. “Financial literacy should start at the youngest age. Sabi nga nila, (They say) the younger the better. For the young kids, it’s never too early. For the older people, the teachers, OFWs — it’s never too late to start learning,� Deriquito said.

The Sunday Times

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‘Strong demand for LPG presents opportunity’ 7(),% it was predicted that the of other, newer players have also rate would slow down — between increased over the years. South 4 to 12 percent — because of Pacific Inc., a Filipino-owned the growing economy and other company whose stakeholders have concerns on energy security, the BEEN IN THE ,0' BUSINESS HAS 7ORLD ,0' !SSOCIATION 7,0'! expanded its share from three persaid that strong economic growth, cent (38,000MT) in 2015 to 13.6 limited natural gas infrastructure percent (218,000MT) in 2017. in most areas, high enIn 2018, SPI snared ergy prices and issues 16 percent, positioning with energy security itself a strong player in present a strong opthe market. It has been PORTUNITY FOR ,0' PROVIDING QUALITY ,0' “With limited natuand service across the ral gas infrastructure in ISLAND OF ,UZON EXmost areas of the countending its operation in TRY THE USE OF ,0' AS A Q Since 2014, the Metro Manila, Regions ‘bridging’ fuel presents demand for LPG 1, 3 and 4A, and even to a strong opportunity still continues to Southern Philippines. in the next 10 to 20 steadily increase at g,0' CONSUMPTION years,� it enthused. has greatly expanded at approximately 10 Today, almost half percent per year. a rate that challenges peof electricity generatroleum demand. SPI is tion in the Philippines is from responding to this demand growth by coal, which will be gradually extending our reach to Southern Phildisplaced by a mixture of natural ippines, particularly in Cebu province. gas and renewables as per the Expanding to this part of the country government plan. According to will not only address market demand.

THE 7,0'!

GEOTHERMAL AND Additionally, it will create investment hydro are responsible for over 20 opportunities in all segments,� said percent of electricity generation. SPI President Inigo “Jun� Golingay Jr. Diesel and oil currently account SPI’s Chief Business Developfor 6 percent of power generation ment Officer Ronie Badidles observing the most remote locations SERVED THAT THE ,0' INDUSTRY HAS of the country.

UNDERGONE POSITIVE AND SIGNIkCANT Based on the development plan changes since 1990s. In the Philipof the Philippine government, pine market alone, he said demand 17,300 megawatts (MW) is needed ballooned from just over 250,000 from 2016 to 2030, with additional MT to 1.598M MT in 2017.

26,000 MW for the next decade After the SPI Cebu terminal and SPI from then on, totaling to 43,000 "ATANGAS 4ERMINAL THE ,0' COMPANY -7 7,0'! LOOKED AT ,0' AS PLANS TO CONSTRUCT kVE MORE TERMINALS possible short-term solution for with the same capacity of 2,000 metthe country’s energy security issues. ric ton. To serve the smaller islands of Reports showed that the indus- the Visayas, SPI recently acquired ISO trial and commercial sectors con- TANKS AND AN ,#4 sumed 26 percent and 14 percent of “In the Southern Islands, even if THE TOTAL ,0' DEMAND RESPECTIVELY THERE IS AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF ,0'

According to the Department of this is usually limited to the major Energy study, “Overview: Philip- players which have their own brand. pine Downstream Oil Industry,� This makes the security of supFROM THE TOTAL ,0' DEMAND 0E- ply challenging for independent tron took the biggest share, with players. The Cebu plant ensures 28.9 percent; followed by Shell, with a steady and secure supply for 19.98 percent; Chevron, 7 percent; independent players that is also and end users, 8.6 percent.

COST EFkCIENT u SAID 'OLINGAY But the respective market shares MA. GLAIZA LEE

Apple reveals drop in iPhone sales, increase seen in other products A S more consumers refuse to upgrade to newer smartphone models, Apple recently reported a 15-percent plunge in its iPhone sales, the most since 2001.

Tom’s Guide reported that the dent in sales was worth $9 billion. “For a company that just saw revenue from its most important business segment nosedive by $9 billion during its most important quarter, Apple looked to strike an optimistic note about its outlook when announcing its holiday quarter earnings today,� said an article published on January 31.

To calm investors — and while it is busy looking for an innovation rebound — Apple highlighted products and services that are PERFORMING WELL !PPLE #HIEF %XECUTIVE /FkCER 4IM #OOK AND #HIEF &INANCIAL /FkCER ,ICA Maestri disclosed that Mac revenues actually went up by 9 percent, alongside iPad’s 17-percent growth.

The latter was most likely due to the way the latest iPad Pro was marketed as a possible laptop replacement.

Accessories and AFP PHOTO wearables, like AirPods and Apple Watch, performed even better with a huge 50-percent increase. Apple also predicted that subscriptions will grow from the current 360 million to 500 million by 2020.

Cook told Wall Street analysts: “We are as CONkDENT AS EVER IN THE FUNDAMENTAL STRENGTH of our business, and we have an exciting pipeline with announcements coming later this year. We’re not taking our foot off the gas.�

Still, analysts are asking: “Is Apple falling VICTIM TO ITS OWN FAMED REALITY DISTORTION kELD u Content is another facet Apple is relying on.

CNBC reported that “the company has been

ramping up its original content arm, announcing a multiyear deal with [media titan] Oprah [Winfrey] in June, bought a show from NBA star Kevin Durant in December, and was in advanced talks as of December to buy an Israeli TV show that would star Richard Gere, according to sources.� “This is all part of Apple’s plans to develop a new digital video service that would come pre-installed on Apple devices through the TV app. Apple sees these initiatives as opportunities to gain consistent subscription revenue from those 1.4 billion active installed devices.

With Tuesday’s disclosures of services margins, investors kNALLY SEEM TO BE BUYING IN u IT ADDED Meanwhile, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple’s sales numbers would improve in the second half of 2019. “Apple’s worst days are behind it... We maintain our forecast of 188 [to]192 million units for 2019 iPhone shipments. We believe the downside risks of share prices for the Apple and iPhone supply chain are limited in the near term, given that [second-quarter] iPhone shipments will likely be better than the market consensus.�

Apple has been in the news for the wrong reasons lately with iPad’s version of the Bendgate and some apps that simply fail to work on iOS. Consumers will switch to the latest iPhones once Apple totally departs from the LACKLUSTER TECH UPGRADES OF ITS lAGSHIP PRODuct and change its pricing strategy.

TAP, SWIPE, SCROLL KAYE VILLAGOMEZ

The author is a former broadsheet entertainment and lifestyle reporter and section editor for an entertainment magazine before crossing over to corporate and marketing public relations.

Sunday Business & I.T. www.manilatimes.net

A

Tools for startups

S a budding entrepreneur, I love to learn more about NOEMI building my LARDIZABAL-DADO business.

The year 2019 started off with an event that gathered current and aspiring entrepreneurs under one roof to learn all about tools and techniques to kick-start their business goals for the year. “Bizfest: Business Tool kit for Entrepreneurs,� organized by Google Business Groups in Manila, gathered resource speakers to share technology tools from running one’s business on a mobile phone to managing teams remotely.

I already know about Google’s business solutions because I use tools in my blogs.

Learning how to analyze data easily is done through Google Analytics and Google Webmasters. There is Google Drive, a free service THAT ALLOWS YOU TO STORE kLES ONLINE AND ACCESS them anywhere using the cloud. I love how it provides access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. It is great for team members who work remotely. Google My Business is another free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.

The Bizfest allowed fellow entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn, share and network.

Aside from Google solutions, learning startup hacks from Mench Dizon, the chief executive and founder of Trip Club, proved to be useful.

Growing a startup from an idea into a viable enterprise is much easier when one uses the right software. It is important to understand the lifespan of the business to determine which solutions you can afford to wait on, and which you can implement as soon as possible. She has been managing start-ups since 2014.

Dizon shared the following technology tools she uses based on current needs but being mindful of scaling.

1. Bubble — This web development framework and visual programming tool enables non-techies to build production-ready web and mobile apps without code.

2. Question Pro — Its online survey software and survey tools allow you to create surveys and questionnaires for market research purposes.

3. Quick MVP — How do we prove that our ideas are worth our time and money? This tool helps you validate any business idea without writing any code. It starts with building a landing page and creating a Google Ad. One can then see how customers respond to your idea before pursuing further investments.

0REkNERY ‡ 4HIS TOOL IS A VIRAL ACQUISITION platform for professional product launches and closed beta launches. It is the perfect tool for any startup that wants to build a wait list.

5. 99 designs — Brand with oomph where one designs beautiful logos instantly.

6. SquareSpace — This DIY website builder comes with beautiful templates. Capabilities and integrations, including support for Apple Pay, Mailchimp and PayPal are included. All sites built with Squarespace receive free SSL and domain registration. Squarespace competes directly with Weebly, Wix, and WordPress.com.

7. Heroku, for hosting needs — This service SIMPLIkES THE PROCESS OF GETTING YOUR kNISHED app to potential users. Heroku’s free tier of service covers everything newbies need.

8. For Prototyping, there is Invision, Balsamiq and Marvel — Prototyping is essential in the design process. It helps simulate designs and explore different user experiences.

9. Hubspot for the sales process, generating leads and closing deals 10. Intercom for customer support — This helpdesk software integrates chat bots, multiple channels, self-service, and powerful automations.

11. Slack — This communication software’s aim is great for remote work setup, with the objective of improving the process of communication between teammates 12. Trello — The simple project management tool provides a straightforward system for organizing and monitoring projects at a glance.

13. Xero, a small business accounting software that sends invoices, or create expense claims.

Not all of these tools are free, but some allow trial versions. With these startup tools, one need not build apps or prototypes’ design from scratch. You can use tools to get your data to your market quickly. The most important thing is to select tools based on what you need now but have a mindset to scale or expand. Design thinking is applied in all facets of the business.

One needs to always think of the user as part of the process.

Dizon’s advice to startups? “Just get started!�

LET’S TALK #SOCIAL

C1 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2019 Editor: Jing Garcia

2018: WORST YEAR EVER

Smartphone woes continue in Q4

A

CCORDING to preliminary data from research kRM )$# SMARTPHONE VENDORS SHIPPED A TOTAL OF 375.4 million units during the fourth quarter of 1 DOWN PERCENT YEAR OVER YEAR AND THE kFTH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER OF DECLINE The challenging holiday quarter closes out the worst year ever for smartphone shipments, with global smartphone volumes declining 4.1 percent in 2018 with a total of 1.4 billion units shipped for the full year.

With challenging market conditions CONTINUING INTO THE kRST QUARTER OF

the likelihood of a declining market this year becomes more of a reality, IDC said. “Globally the smartphone market is a mess right now,� said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “Outside of a handful of high-growth markets like India, Indonesia, Korea and Vietnam, we did not see a lot of positive activity in 2018. We believe several factors are at play here, including lengthening replacement cycles, increasing penetration levels in many large markets, political and economic uncertainty, and growing consumer frustration around continuously rising price points.�

Despite all the challenges the smartphone market is facing, the largest focal point remains the China market as recovery continues to get pushed further forward. China, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the world’s smartphone consumption, had an even worse 2018 than the previous year with volumes down just over 10 percent.

High inventory continues to be a challenge across the market as is consumer spending on devices, which has been down overall. At the same time the top 4 brands, all of which are Chinese — Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi — grew their share of the China market to roughly 78 percent, up from 66 percent in 2017.

On a worldwide basis, the top 5 smartphone companies continue to get stronger and now account for 69 percent of smartphone volume, up from 63 percent a year ago. If Vivo is included, which is currently number six and has

been in and out of the top 5 in recent quarters, the share of the top companies is 75 percent and growing. While the market faces some very serious challenges in general, none are greater than the challenges facing the brands that continue to lose market share and channel positioning. “With replacement rates continuing to slow across numerous markets, venDORS WILL NEED TO kND A NEW EQUILIBRIUM that balances the latest smartphone features, compelling design, and affordability,� said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “The arrival of both 5G and foldable devices later this year could bring new life to the industry depending on how vendors and carriers market the REAL LIFE BENEkTS OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES However, we expect these new devices to elevate average selling prices as new displays, chipsets and radios will bring an increased price to the BOM (build of materials), which will translate to higher price points for consumers. To combat this, carriers and retailers will need to fully maximize trade-in offers for older devices as a type of subsidy to push upgrades throughout 2019.�

Smartphone company highlights Samsung saw smartphone volumes decline 5.5 percent in 4Q18 with total shipments of 70.4 million units. While this was enough to maintain the top position for the quarter, its share once again fell below 20 percent to 18.7 percent, just a few points above Apple and Huawei. Things weren’t much better for the full year as 2018 volumes were down 8 percent to 292.3 million. With a barrage of 5G smartphones right around the corner, it will be interesting to see if Samsung has enough in the tank to

weather the competitive environment and maintain the top spot in the market.

Apple saw iPhone volumes drop 11.5 percent in 4Q18, marking one of the more challenging iPhone quarters in terms of growth, despite the three new models. Total iPhone volumes were down 3.2 percent for the full year, which is understandable considering its two largest markets (the United States and China) both experienced the worst year for smartphone performance ever. Apple is certainly not out of the game, but the likelihood of not having a 5G iPhone in 2019 means it will need to tell a strong iPhone and, more importantly, ecosystem story to succeed. If anyone can do it, it is Apple. But it certainly won’t be easy when faced with all the other downward market pressures.

(UAWEI continued to capitalize on strong momentum in some markets with 4Q18 volumes up 43.9 percent year over year and 2018 volumes up an impressive 33.6 percent. Huawei continues to see growing success from its Honor line of devices, which are now representing close to half of its overall volume. China represents about half of

Huawei’s smartphone business, but that is dropping as the company continues its international success with growth in almost every international market where they participated in 2018.

Oppo kNISHED 1 IN THE FOURTH position with full-year shipments of 113.1 million, up 1.3 percent from 2017.

While the growth wasn’t as high as in past years, growth is still a feat given current market conditions, especially for a company that still does most of its business in China. India and Indonesia continue to be Oppo’s largest focus markets outside of China with ongoing success from its A-series devices.

Xiaomi rounded out the top 5 in 4Q18 with full-year shipments up 32.2 percent year over year and volumes surpassing the 100 million market. Like Oppo, India and Indonesia continue to be the focus markets outside of China.

However, Xiaomi has done exceptionally well in a few markets in Western Europe, most notably Spain. Its Redmi series devices continue to lead in emerging markets, but its Mi Mix/Max/Pro devices ARE INCREASINGLY BECOMING lAGSHIP CONtenders with attractive price points.

$SSOH WR À[ )DFH 7LPH EXJ WKDW DOORZV HDYHVGURSSLQJ APPLE has disabled a groupchat function in FaceTime after users said a software bug could let callers activate another person’s microphone remotely.

With the bug, a FaceTime user calling another iPhone, iPad or Mac computer could hear audio — even if the receiver did not accept the call. The bug is triggered when callers add themselves to the same call to launch a group chat. That makes FaceTime think the receiver had accepted the chat.

The bug, demonstrated through videos online, comes as an embarrassment for a company that is trying to distinguish itself by stressing its commitment to users’ privacy. “This is a big hit to their brand,� said Dave Kennedy, #%/ OF /HIO BASED SECURITY kRM 4RUSTEDSec. “There’s been a long period of time people could have used that to eavesdrop.

4HESE THINGS DEkNITELY SHOULD BE CAUGHT prior to ever being released.�

There is no longer a danger from this particular bug as Apple disabled group chats, while regular, one-on-one FaceTime remains available.

NBC News and The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the family of

tational dent could soon be forgotten if it doesn’t become part of a pattern. “All bugs are obvious in retrospect,� said Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The truth is bugs are subtle, code is complicated and sometimes things get through.�

Galperin said Apple should develop a better process for fielding reports about potential seCURITY lAWS 3HE SAID THE 14-year-old’s discovery of the problem “just tells us a lot about reporting security bugs depends on knowing the right person.�

Apple had introduced the 32-person video conferencing feature in October for iPhones, iPads and a 14-year-old high school student in ONE AS THE PHONE WOULD RING kRST ‡ AND Macs. Regular FaceTime calls aren’t affected Tucson, Arizona, tried to inform Apple it’s easy to identify who called. about the bug more than a week before it !PPLE SAID 4UESDAY THAT A kX WOULD unless the caller turns it into a group chat.

Word of the bug came as Apple reported became widely known to the public. The come in a software update later this week. boy, Grant Thompson, said he discov- Apple declined to say when it learned that profit for the last three months of ered it by accident while calling friends about the problem. The company also 2018 dipped slightly to $20 billion, while to play the game “Fortnite.� wouldn’t say if it has logs that could show revenue fell 5 percent from the prior year to It’s hard to know if anyone exploited the if anyone took advantage of the bug before $84 billion. Earlier this month, Apple said that demand for iPhones was waning and bug maliciously, said Erka Koivunen, chief it became publicly known this week.

INFORMATION SECURITY OFkCER FOR &INNISH Kennedy commended Apple’s quick THAT ITS EARNINGS FOR THE kNAL QUARTER OF company F-Secure. He said it would have response this week following reports of the would be below its own forecasts — a rare AP been hard to use the bug to spy on some- bug by tech blogs. He predicted the repu- downgrade from the company.

C2

Sunday Business & I.T.

The Sunday Times

Most consumers don’t want to talk to a robot T

HE GLOBAL STUDY OF CONSUMERS AND RETAIL EXECUTIVES ACROSS THE 53 5+ AND !USTRALIA FOUND A HUGE DISCONNECT BETWEEN SHOPPER DEMANDS AND WHAT RETAILERS DELIVER IN AREAS SPANNING THE OVERALL RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALIZATION AND USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS CHATBOTS ARTIkCIAL INTELLIGENCE !) AND VIRTUAL REALITY 62 g4HESE kNDINGS POINT TO A CLEAR and urgent need for better customer service. No retailer wants their customers to be confused or anxious, yet more than half of respondents have felt that way while shopping,� said Bob Phibbs, chief executive of The Retail Doctor. “Customers will feel confident when they develop an emotional connection to the brand. This happens when retailers foster positive, helpful in-store interactions; contrary to popular belief, millennials want store employees to help them. With nearly every respondent reporting that they value brick-and-mortar stores, now is the time to craft every in-store interaction to keep shoppers coming back.� $ESPITE SIGNIkCANT INVESTMENTS IN enhancing the customer experience online and in-store, retailers are not able to keep up with rapidly changing customer expectations and this is creating a huge disconnect.

Seventy-three percent of retail executives believe that the overall environment in retail stores has become more inviting in the past 5 years. Only 45 percent of consumers agree, with 19 percent stating it has become less inviting.

Eighty percent of retail executives believe that consumers would feel more welcome if in-store staff interacted with them more.

Less than half (46 percent) of consumers agree, with 28 percent noting they would feel more annoyed.

Seventy-nine percent of retail executives believe chatbots are meeting

consumer needs. Two-thirds of consumers (66 percent) disagree, with respondents noting that chatbots are currently more damaging to the shopping experience than helpful.

Almost all (98 percent) retail executives think that engaging with customers on social media is important to building stronger relationships with them. Only 12 percent of consumers think it has a SIGNIkCANT IMPACT ON THE WAY THEY think or feel about a brand.

Despite almost half of consumers (42 percent) — and almost twothirds of millennials (63 percent) noting that they would pay more for improved personalization — only 11 percent of retail executives fully believe that their staff has the tools and information needed to give consumers a personalized experience.

The gap between consumer demand for improved personalization and retailers’ ability to deliver is damaging the customer experience.

Eighty percent of consumers do not feel they are provided with a personalized shopping experience both in-store and online.

More than half (58 percent) of consumers are uncomfortable with the way stores use technology to improve personalization in their shopping experience and almost half (45 percent) reported negative emotions when they receive personalized offers online.

The majority of consumers (53 percent) felt negative emotions the last time they visited a store; only

PERCENT FEEL CONkDENT IN RETAIL stores today.

While retailers are aware that they don’t have the tools and information needed to meet rapidly changing customer expectations, the study found that hyped technologies such as AI and VR are not yet the answer.

Nearly all (90 percent) retail exECUTIVES ARE NOT CONkDENT THE USE OF advanced technologies to customize the shopping experience is meeting consumers’ needs.

Seventy-nine percent of retailer executives believe having AI and VR in stores will increase sales; only 14 percent of consumers believe the TECHNOLOGIES WILL HAVE A SIGNIkCANT impact on their purchase decisions.

Almost all (98 percent) retail executives believe AI and VR will INCREASE FOOT TRAFkC PERCENT OF consumers do not think VR or AI would have any impact on how likely they are to go into a store.

Despite the popularity of online shopping, physical stores aren’t going anywhere. As long as retailers keep the experience easy and seamless, consumers will keep shopping in-store.

Nearly all (97 percent) of consumers agree there is a need to go into a physical store to purchase items and the majority (70 percent) believe the most appealing retail stores have features that

simplify and streamline the shopping experience.

The top features attracting consumers to physical stores are options consistent with online (36 percent), simpler store layouts (35 percent), staff orders on a mobile device (29 percent) and in-store kiosks that allow consumers to purchase products that are unavailable in-store (23 percent).

The top technology advancements that consumers want to utilize when shopping in-store or online are selfcheckout kiosks (38 percent), VR try-on (23 percent) and mobile payments (15 percent). Only 5 percent of consumers selected robots and chatbots as the technologies they most want to utilize. “Consumer expectations are not only rapidly changing, but exactly what expectations look like vary from person to person and moment to moment. This makes it incredibly hard for retailers to keep up,� said Matthew Rhodus, director of retail at Oracle NetSuite. “The results of this survey show that while the retail industry is often considered to be at the forefront of consumer experience innovation, there’s still a long way to go to meet shopper expectations. What this means is the opportunity for retailers to improve the relationship with consumers is tremendous.�

CEOs must pivot to seize AI-driven growth BUSINESSES risk missing major growth opportunities unless CEOs take immediate steps to pivot their workforces and equip their people to work with intelligent technologies, according to new research by Accenture.

The Accenture Strategy report “Reworking the Revolution: Are you ready to compete as intelligent technology meets human ingenuity to create the future workforce?� estimates that if businesses invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human-machine collaboration at the same rate as top performing companies, they could boost revenues by 38 percent by 2022 and raise employment levels by 10 percent.

Collectively, this would lift profits by $4.8 trillion globally over the same period. For the average S&P500 company, this equates to $7.5 billion of revenues and a $880 million lift to profitability.

Both leaders and workers are optimistic about the potential of AI on business results and on work experiences, according to the study. Seventy-two percent of the 1,200 senior executives surveyed said that intelligent technology would be critical to their organization’s market differentiation and 61 percent thought the share of roles requiring collaboration with AI would rise in the next three years. More than two thirds (69 percent) of the 14,000 workers surveyed said that it was important to develop skills to work with intelligent machines.

Yet, a disconnect between workers’

embrace of AI and their employers’ efforts to prepare workers puts potential growth at risk. While a majority (54 percent) of business leaders say that human-machine collaboration is important to their strategic priorities, only three percent say their organization plans to significantly increase its investment in reskilling their workers in the next three years. “To achieve higher rates of growth in the age of AI, companies need to invest more in equipping their people to work with machines in new ways,� said Mark Knickrehm, group chief executive, Accenture Strategy. “Increasingly, businesses will be judged on their commitment to what we call Applied Intelligence - the ability to rapidly implement intelligent technology and human ingenuity across all parts of their core business to secure this growth.�

The research suggests that there is a strong foundation on which to boost AI skills investment. Sixty-three percent of senior executives think that their company will create net job gains in the next three years through AI. Meanwhile, the majority of workers (62 percent) believe AI will have a positive impact on their work.

The report shows how pioneers are using human-machine collaboration not just to improve efficiencies, but to drive

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SUNDAY February 3, 2019

growth through new customer experiences. An online clothing retailer’s AI helps its stylists learn more about customers’ preferences so that they can offer a unique and highly personalized service.

And a sports shoe brand set a new bar in customisation and speed-to-market by aligning highly skilled tailors and process engineers with intelligent robots to design and manufacture in local markets. “Business leaders must take immediate steps to pivot their workforce to enter an entirely new world where human ingenuity meets intelligent technology to unlock new forms of growth,� said Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources afficer, Accenture. “Workers are impatient to collaborate with AI, giving leaders the opportunity to demonstrate true Applied Intelligence within their organization.�

To help leaders shape the future workforce in the age of AI, Accenture makes the

following recommendations: Reimagine work by reconfiguring work from the bottom up. Assess tasks, not jobs; then allocate tasks to machines and people, balancing the need to automate work and to elevate people’s capabilities. Nearly half (46 percent) of business leaders agree that job descriptions are already obsolete; 29 percent say they have redesigned jobs extensively.

Pivot the workforce to areas that unlock new forms of value. Go beyond process efficiencies and prepare the workforce to create new customer experiences. Fuel new growth models by reinvesting the savings derived from automation into the future workforce. Foster a new leadership DNA that underpins the mindset, acumen and agility required to seize longer-term, transformational opportunities.

Scale up “new skilling.� Measure the workforce’s level of skills and willingness to learn to work with AI. Using digital platforms, target programs at these different segments of the workforce and personalize them to improve new skills adoption.

Accenture has developed a “new skilling� framework based on a progression of skill level and using a suite of innovative digital learning methods that maximizes training investment at speed and scale.

I

Moving business relationships from formal to personal

T’S 5 p.m. in the afternoon on one cold December day in the busy city of Makati when my friend, Lowie, sent me a message in Whatsapp, asking what my plans are that night. When I told him I had none, he sent me an encrypted message, “Mommy Mila has prepared the room, he expects the gang tonight. Fresh towels have been reserved.â€? — Mommy Mila, the Makati based Mama-san we couldn’t say no to. She built a decade of relationship with us that saying “Noâ€? is almost like a death sentence ‌ a banishment from her paradise. Mommy Mila is a great example of how she leveraged her strong relationship with her clients to produce the results she wants.

Over the years that I have been involved in multiple businesses, I crafted a basic rule in engaging possible stakeholders, from business partners, to employees, to shareholders — choose them wisely and carefully move the relationship from formal to personal.

How do you know the right person?

The simple answer to this is “By taking time to know the person�.

Being in business with someone is the same as choosing a life partner, you wouldn’t want to sleep in the same bed as a person you don’t like‌ especially if you have low tolerance for his sleep apnea. Unfortunately, people being people have a bad habit of interchanging infatuation with the real thing.

You can never know a person from a first meeting, you need to take time and effort. As an example, in the hiring process, from both an employer and employee perspective, either side can easily GIVE A GOOD kRST IMPRESSION ABOUT themselves. A company can frame itself as an organization with a great culture and lots of room for growth, while an applicant can boost himself by overstating his capabilities and positive outlook. The real work OF UNDERSTANDING HOW kT YOU ARE with each other happens during the kRST FEW MONTHS AND IN THIS PERIOD

you really have to pay attention.

As an employer myself, I spend a lot of time knowing my managers IN THE kRST MONTHS !SIDE FROM meeting them for work, I spend time with them outside of the ofkCE PREMISES FOR COFFEE LUNCH OR dinner. I spend this time to share my insights and my outlook on the business and other matters. I also use this period to understand what makes the person tick. A simple conversation about family can lead to deeper discussions that will help me understand him as a person, what his goals and priorities are. And from the insights I gather, I can design our working relationship moving forward to something that works well for both of us. This could also be a good time to know whether the relationship is going STRONG OR RED lAGS START TO POP

Maintaining a strong relationship Anything that is left unattended

GALLEON E-TRADE MAGELLAN FETALINO will die out, especially in business.

There will always be a time when a person has to choose between one thing or the other, and from the words of Marie Kondo, people will always choose the thing that sparks them more joy.

Let’s say you have a client, and you’re supplying to them regularly for the past two years.

Business seems to be good despite the fact that your client has four other suppliers providing the same item that you do. You’ve noticed that over the years, three of the other four suppliers seem to have become good friends of the client. You see them going to multiple golf tournaments with him. You decided not to bother joining, since you wanted to keep the relationship strictly business, and you thought, you’re not into golf anyway. A few years after, your client decided to scale down due to decreasing demand for their product. Now, they only need three suppliers out of the five.

Who do you think gets cut?

Business is a human endeavor, just like anything else. Transactions are built on the basis of trust, and trust is built on the basis of a relationship.

In one of my meetings with a client, one of the biggest retail companies in the country to offer our product, it was very emphatic how important its top suppliers are to it. The exact words that the supply chain manager used were “these suppliers have been supplying us since the 70s and are very good friends with our patriarch.

We have to make sure they are taken care off well.�

When I was starting, I had this thought that if we present well TO THE CLIENT THE kRST TIME WE can close it. I remember spending so much time preparing and perfecting my 10 slide deck. We would practice for hours and hours for every big meeting.

There was this one time after one of our presentations when my client asked us if we want to join them for a drink that night.

When we decided to join them that night, the way we look at deal making and business were altered. Majority of deals are closed outside the boardroom — nothing is more truer than this.

During that night at the bar, our client became more open about what they need and how we can work together.

This became our gateway for them to be more comfortable with us and trust us. We kept seeing each other for the next few WEEKS OUTSIDE OF OUR OFkCES IN that same bar to craft the deal, to the point that the bar manager, a lady called “Mommy Mila,� started reserving the best seats in the house for us and my client. A few more weeks after, we closed our biggest at that time.

Meltdown, Spectre remain major computer challenges in 2019

2

018 began with widespread panic in the global IT community in response to the discovery of Meltdown and Spectre exploits on Intel microprocessors.

-ELTDOWN IS A DESIGN lAW that allows malicious code to affect the processor and leak information from other processes thereby adversely impacting the operation of high performance CPUs. Spectre also degrades processor performance with its capacity to coerce information leaks in any CPUs and affects not just Intel but other microprocessors as well.

At one point, it was believed that Meltdown and Spectre could take down virtually all comput-

TECH SPACE TONY MAGHIRANG ers and mobile devices in use. Still, despite the scale of the potential catastrophe they can bring about, these recently discovered vulnerabilities received scant attention in the local IT industry and media as well.

As soon as the discovery was announced in early January last year, then Intel CEO Brian Krzanich issued an open letter assuring its partners and customers that software and firmware patches

would be immediately released.

Security updates for 90 percent of ITS #05S LAUNCHED IN THE PAST kVE years would be released by January 15. Patches for the remaining 10 percent would be issued by the end of January last year.

The problem proved to be intractable, however. The researchers who DISCLOSED THE DESIGN lAWS ASSESSED that Meltdown and Spectre to be not well understood and could therefore BE DIFkCULT TO MITIGATE A few things were known early on about the hardware bugs: they are not a means to corrupt memory or introduce malicious code, not a denial of service incident, nor a NETWORK ATTACK !S HARDWARE lAWS

THEY CANNOT BE kXED AND CAN ONLY

be remediated by software.

Intel issued an initial set of microcode patches that unfortunately, caused hardware instabilities primarily sudden reboots.

Microsoft advised users to disable the initial updates.

3EVERAL REkNEMENTS TO THE MIcrocode were published in 2018 while at the same time, new variants of the Meltdown and Spectre were found. At the beginning of 2019, researchers at Graz University in Austria reported more security holes, 14 Meltdown-like and 13 Spectre-like ones — a total of 27 CPU hardware vulnerabilities.

There were only two a year ago.

New chips and software applications were also unveiled featuring

hardware-level Meltdown and Spectre fixes, (Side note: They came out after the release of a STUDY THAT !SIA 0ACIkC 3-%S OWNing old PCs are most vulnerable to cybercrime and similar attacks.)

What does the future hold?

Experts say desktop computers are immune from the recent vulnerabilities However, Intel and AMD CPUs run on billions of computers around the world to which untold number of devices are attached via the Internet. The prospects of adverse implications on future technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G enabled applications like smart cities and driverless vehicles hang in the balance.

1UICK kXES ARE IN ORDER !3!0 The initial impression is that the recent variants are likely to affect organizations as well as personal and home users. In addition, experience during the past year showed Spectre to be particularly devilish: It affects several functions in the chip.

Each affected function requires a separate patch that will, in turn, deactivate certain existing sub-functions or execute new ones thereby leading to a cumulative drop in CPU speed and performance.

The future doesn’t exactly look very bright. Let’s hope the twin bugs don’t live up to the specter of a digital meltdown.

˜ The Sunday Times

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SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Sunday Business & I.T.

C3

OPPO unveils Find X 5G prototype R

cept of “5G+,� with a belief that the 5G+ era will be an era where everything is connected and “experience is king.� “The smartphone will be at the core of a wide range of smart devices, which will all be connected through the 5G network. To address

the areas of ‘smart health’ and ‘smart home,’ OPPO has already begun work on several smart devices, exploring the intersection of 5G and cutting-edge technologies, and is collaboratively building a 5G+ innovation ecosystem with the entire industry,� said Shen.

In building a 5G ecosystem, OPPO will continue deepening its collaboration with Qualcomm, network infrastructure manufacturers, telecom service providers and other supply chain partners.

OPPO will work with telecom service providers all over the world to accelerate the commercialization of 5G devices and build a new ecosystem for the 5G industry. “OPPO will drive the advancement of 5G together with AI, Big data and Cloud Computing (5G + ABC), making smartphones and smart devices true ‘intelligent personal assistants’, said Levin Liu, head of OPPO Research Institute. “We believe that rich 5G application scenarios and killer 5G applications will emerge in the future, bringing disruptive experiences to users�

ting by Apple. Those in the program can skip Apple’s compliance and user safety checks, which leads to faster updates.

Still, the shutoff didn’t seem to debilitate Facebook’s ability to work. Its developers work on code on Facebook’s internal systems. And version 206.0 of the Facebook app for iPhones was sent out on Thursday morning, while the shutoff was still in effect.

Google said Thursday that Apple has also revoked its enterprise certificate, blocking Google employees from testing new app features on iPhones.

But the company seemed confident it would quickly

regain its access. “We’re working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps, which we expect will be resolved soon,� the company said in a statement.

Google declined to say why it lost the certificate, but came a day after the company voluntarily withdrew market-research app called “Screenwise Meter� that had been distributed to consumers, although not to teens.

Google and Apple have a lucrative business relationship worth billions of dollars a year, since Googles pays a commission for the ads that it sells as the built-in search engine on iPhones.

AP

ECENTLY UNVEILED TO THE WORLD IN 'UANGZHOU #HINA /00/ SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCED A PROTOTYPE ' VERSION OF ITS lAGSHIP SMARTPHONE &IND 8 !T THE SAME TIME

/00/ ALSO ANNOUNCED ITS PLAN OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS WORLDWIDE TO DEVELOP A NEW ' ECOSYSTEM

The Find X 5G Prototype is one OF THE kRST OF MANY OTHER ' PRODucts that OPPO will be unveiling to the public this year.

As the Find X leads the all-screen trend in the smartphone industry, THE SMARTPHONE MAKER OFkCIALLY entered the Western European market with the launch of the lAGSHIP MODEL ENABLING THE COMpany to reach more consumers in developed countries.

The OPPO Find X 5G prototype garnered a lot of attention from visitors at the 2018 China Mobile Global Partners Conference with its engineering sample Snapdragon 855 and X50 5G modem that offers outstanding 5G performance.

At the event, OPPO, Qualcomm

and Keysight Technologies Inc., a world-leading electronic measurement company, demonstrated 5G data connectivity and applications including browsing, online video replay and video call using the Find X 5G prototype. g7E ARE CONkDENT /00/ WILL BE ONE OF THE kRST COMPANIES TO launch commercial 5G smartphones in 2019,� said Brian Shen, OPPO global vice president and president of Chna Business, speaking at the conference.

As a pioneer in the 5G era, OPPO has been working on 5G standards, product R&D and the exploration of applications since early in 2015 and has made a series of leading achievements.

In May 2018, OPPO completed

THE WORLD S kRST ' $ VIDEO CALL featuring structured light technology and proposed the concept of “Ubiquitous Reality.�

OPPO then completed one OF THE WORLD S kRST ' SIGNALING and data connections on a smartphone that same year in August

and became the first company to complete a 5G Internet access test on a smartphone in October.

Its latest 5G milestone was on November 30 as OPPO made the WORLD S kRST MULTIPARTY VIDEO CALL on a smartphone via 5G network.

OPPO has introduced the con-

Xiaomi’s first ‘Android Go’ Facebook says smartphone now in PH Apple is restoring a key developer tool XIAOMI, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone brand, recently deBUTED ITS kRST !NDROIDTGo smartphone Redmi Go in the Philippines. Packed with useful software AND EFkCIENT HARDWARE 2EDMI 'O will be available at P3,990.

The Android Go program was launched

by Google in 2017, with affordable smartphones running on a HIGHLY EFkCIENT VERSION of Android. Out of the box, Redmi Go runs the Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) operating system, featuring reimagined Google apps that have been optimized to reduce storage and data use. “Xiaomi has received such a warm welcome in the Philippines since its reentry last year, and we are really grateful to all Mi fans for their support,� said Steven Shi, head of Southeast Asia, Xiaomi Global. “With Redmi Go making its global debut here, we hope that even more users here will be able to enjoy an amazing smartphone experience at

an amazing price. This is part of our commitment to make innovation available to everyone.�

Redmi Go features a 5.0-inch HD display, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC, and a 3000mAh battery.

On the back it sports a 8MP main CAMERA SUPPORTED BY AN ,%$ lASHlight. On the front, Redmi Go has A -0 CAMERA FOR SELkES )T COMES with two SIM card slots and has a dedicated microSD slot that supports up to 128GB microSD cards.

Redmi Go will come in Black or Blue, and will be available in 8GB storage capacity at P3,990.

Pre-orders on Lazada start from Jan. 31 ,

through Feb. 3, 2019.

The first 200 customers to preorder will receive a free pair of earphones. Redmi Go will be available in authorized Mi Stores nationwide starting Feb. 4, 2019.

Redmi Go will be released in more markets globally. Local availability in other markets will be announced closer to launch date.

FACEBOOK says Apple is restoring its access to a key development tool that the iPhone maker disabled Wednesday.

Late Tuesday, TechCrunch reported that Facebook paid teens and other users who agreed to download an app called Facebook Research. That app could extensively track their phone and web use. Apple said Facebook was abusing the tool, known as a developer enterprise certificate, to distribute the app on iPhones in a way that allowed the social network to sidestep Apple restrictions on data collection.

By revoking the certificate for the iOS software that powers the iPhone and iPad, Apple closed off Facebook’s efforts to sidestep Apple’s app store and its tighter rules on privacy.

Apple did not immediately respond to a message for comment Thursday afternoon. Facebook did not say whether it agreed to any conditions for the certificate restoration.

In an internal memo sent on Wednesday, Facebook told employees it is “working closely� with Apple to reinstate access. It also told workers to install the public

versions of apps from the app store. Apps that it said “may not work� included internal versions of Facebook, Workplace, Instagram and the Ride app, which helps workers with transportation. WhatsApp was not affected.

While Facebook engineers could still write code and work on iPhone apps during the shutoff, their ability to test them in the field was limited.

In a statement, Facebook said it was “in the process of getting our internal apps up and running.� The company noted that the issue had no impact on its consumer services.

During the shutoff, Facebook also lost the ability to create and push out iPhone apps such as internal tools and apps to its own employees. That’s a big deal since Facebook publishes tools and future products to its own team to test before providing them to the public, said Marty Puranik, CEO and founder of cloud hosting company Atlantic.Net. Puranik, who regularly works with developers, said the certificate revocation also meant developers lost the ability to publish their iPhone apps without vet-

Helpful apps when completing one’s thesis

M

9 BROTHER IS ON HIS kNAL lap at the University of the Philippines in Los BaĂąos.

Though I am not involved with his thesis, which he’ll complete this semester, I decided to do research on apps that might help him in this most crucial task.

In the past I have already mentioned Evernote as an indispensable tool in business, and may prove really useful in making a thesis. It can save audio files, photos, scanned images and web pages. It can also import whole web pages and store these instead of just a URL. It is also great for syncing notes, such as reading summaries, annotated bibliographies, group discussions and arrangements, all across devices. And it is also a studio recorder to record parts of a lecture or ideas for a research paper.

My brother’s thesis will be a

APP’TIGHT DERIQ BERNARD “visual narrative,� thus there are other challenges that may require other apps.

There is one non-app in this list, a Google Chrome extension called Momentum. It does one thing and one thing alone: focus. $ISTRACTIONS SUCH AS .ETlIX

Facebook, the Sony PS4 can ruin the freight train of thought. This extension will help keep focus on the main task. When on #HROME OPENING A TAB WILL kRST revert to a beautiful photo as a reminder of the task that needs to be completed. So, instead of CHECKING &ACEBOOK NOTIkCATIONS each time you open a new tab, you’re instead reminded of your main task with a stunning pho-

tograph. The idea is that it stops you veering away from your tasks as if on autopilot. The reminder comes in the form of a new, even more stunning photo and keeps you on track with your goals.

It also tells you the time and the weather, and has a space where you can enter and tick off your to-do list.

Related to Momentum is another extension called Onetab. When making thesis research online is the same process as having many books on the table. I noticed how my brother would have 30 tabs open on his browser.

What the app does is it organizes all open tabs into a single, easy-toREAD WINDOW WHENEVER YOU kND yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once.

Using the app will save up to 95 percent of memory on the laptop

or PC because of the reduced number of tabs opened in Chrome.

Dropbox has a desktop and corresponding mobile app, which I have mentioned before as the goto cloud facility. For thesis making it is a must-have as it’s free and has enough storage even for a small video production. 5GB storage is more than enough for a thesis.

Dropbox allows for personal accumulation of a lot of stuff but also allows the sharing of documents, videos, photos and other files with collaborators or the thesis adviser. Anytime, anywhere.

9OU CAN ALSO USE IT TO ACCESS kLES when on-the-go.

While we are on the subject of Dropbox, also consider Pocket.

This nifty app is great for annotating and organizing all those PDFs. It can also auto sync with Dropbox, allowing you to access your ANNOTATED kLES FROM ANY DEVICE at any time.

The soul of the thesis is its outline. And though the theses I made

in my last two years in college were amateur works compared to the college stuff my Kuya Diego is doing, I do know it is truly the most daunting tasks in writing a thesis. The outline is the document your adviser will use to determine the feasibility of your thesis and consequently your graduation and future life.

Enter Outliner. This app helps you to organize your ideas into concepts and list these thoughts into an easily editable outline format. Ideas hit you on the must uninspired moments like in the toilet or walking to the LRT. You can capture these with outliner.

Pocket is a bookmarking extension useful to the student in the midst of a thesis as it can pin and locate interesting and relevant webpages. So, why not just bookmark? Well, bookmarking requires a browser. Pocket doesn’t. As you sponge thesis-related content from the web because you don’t have time to read it all, Pocket can ar-

chive it for you which you can read layout you’ve saved even without Wi-Fi. Mendeley is a fantastic tool for and is like having one’ own personal research assistant.

It has a huge collection of 30 million research papers, import references. It can also create personal libraries with the selected content.

This tool is great for the research and reading phase of your thesis process, particularly if you’re reading a lot of online sources.

Since I am unsure what the visual narrative is, I think that Pinterest and Instagram will prove useful. These two apps are full of photos, memes drawings, which may HELP GET IDEAS lOWING IN CREating a thesis.

I am sending Kuya Diego a copy of this article and hope it will help in his thesis completion.

World 2 dozen dead in northern US cold C The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

HICAGO: The dangerous cold and heavy snow that hobbled the northern US this week has retreated, but not before exacting a human toll: more than two dozen weatherrelated deaths in eight states and hundreds of injuries, including frostbite, broken bones, heart attacks and carbon monoxide poisoning.

In Illinois alone, hospitals reported more than 220 cases of frostbite and hypothermia since Tuesday, when the polar vortex moved in and overnight temperatures plunged to minus 30 (minus 34 degrees Celsius) or lower with wind chills of minus 50 (minus 45 C) or worse in some areas.

Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis normally sees around 30 frostbite patients in an entire winter. It admitted 18 in the past week, spokesman Christine Hill said Friday (Saturday in Manila). g) DEkNITELY SAW MORE FROSTBITE than I’ve ever seen in my entire career just in the last three days,� said Dr. Andrea Rowland-Fischer, an emergency department physician at Hennepin Healthcare.

Most of those patients, she said, had underlying problems

THAT MADE IT DIFkCULT FOR THEM to take care of themselves: the developmentally delayed, the mentally ill, the very young and the very old. They also included people with injuries related to drugs and alcohol people who passed out or did not realize they were cold or injured.

Others got frostbite on their way to work after being exposed to the cold for a short time, often on their hands, feet, ears and face. That included people whose cars would not start or who got stuck outside for other reasons, as well as those who just did not think they could get frostbitten so quickly and went outside without gloves or other protective gear.

Several required “maximal treatment,� admission to the hospital’s burn unit for therapies that in-

DEEP FREEZE

Tourists carry their luggage across Lafayette Park as snow falls in Washington, D.C. Brutally cold temperatures gripped the US Midwest, freezing water mains, causing power outages, canceling flights and straining natural gas supplies. AFP PHOTO clude drugs to restore circulation to try to avoid amputations. Some of them will probably still require amputations, a decision usually made by burn doctors four to 10 days after the injury.

In western Michigan, a health care system’s online service saw a

major spike this week.

More than 400 people over four days used Spectrum Health’s MedNow to see a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant about non-emergency issues, such as ACHES RASHES COLD AND lU SAID *OE Brennan, MedNow senior director.

Most used an app on their phone.

The usual four-day volume is 250. “We had soreness-and-sickness calls from people who were shoveling 2 ½ feet of snow,â€? Brennan said. “Instead of going to urgent care or an emergency department, they had an option to stay at

D1

home.�

Another danger was from carbon monoxide. A family of nine in Wheeling, Illinois, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago, was taken to local hospitals after heating their home with a charcoal grill.

In Rockford, Illinois, four people were treated because they had warmed up cars in a closed garage or because a furnace vent became blocked by ice and snow.

The snow that accompanied the cold also caused problems.

In Raymond, New Hampshire, the driver of a state Department of Transportation vehicle was struck in the head Thursday after ice and SNOW lEW OFF A TRUCK AHEAD AND broke through the windshield.

The driver was hospitalized with a laceration to the head and other possible injuries.

In just a two-day period, Tuesday and Wednesday, Mercyhealth in Rockford treated 15 people for broken bones from falling on the ice, 10 people who were in car crashes caused by snow and eight people who complained of chest pain or shortness of breath from SHOVELING SNOW HOSPITAL OFkCIALS said.

AP

Taiwan’s Foxconn to build factory in US Japan to host 4 Qatar is Cambodian villages safest Middle East country

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump on Friday (Saturday in Manila) cheered the “great news� that Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn said it was going ahead with plans for a major factory in Wisconsin.

The company announced that following a conversation between Trump and Foxconn chief Terry Gou, it was “moving forward with our planned construction of a Gen 6 fab facility.�

It was a reversal from news earlier this week that the company was scaling back its plans to open a factory and create manufacturing jobs. “Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!� Trump tweeted.

The reports that plans were being scaled back were a blow to the administration since Trump had publicly claimed credit for the investment, which was backed by

$4 billion in controversial local tax breaks.

Foxconn, which makes devices and components for a host of maJOR TECH kRMS INCLUDING !PPLE HAD planned to build a factory producING ,#$ lAT SCREEN TELEVISIONS AND create around 13,000 jobs.

Trump bragged about the plan and appeared alongside Gou at a groundbreaking ceremony last summer wielding golden shovels.

The company previously said the changing global economic climate — roiled by Trump’s trade war with China where Foxconn has most of its assembly lines — prompted it to revise its original plans.

"UT THE kRM NOW SAYS IT IS GOING ahead after “productive discussions between the White House and the company, and after a personal conversation between President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Terry Gou,� according to the statement, which was pub-

lished Friday in media reports. “This campus will serve both as an advanced manufacturing facility as well as a hub of high technology innovation for the region.�

Foxconn said the decision also was based on a “comprehensive and systematic evaluation to help DETERMINE THE BEST kT FOR OUR 7ISconsin project.�

It did not provide details on employment or products, although it said it intended to “broaden our investment across Wisconsin far beyond our original plans.�

Speaking to thousands of Foxconn employees at a Chinese New Year carnival in Taipei Saturday, Gou said investing in the US “is undoubtedly a right decision and kTS WITH FUTURE ECONOMIC TRENDS u Gou, who described the ongoing US-China trade war as a “major concern,� said he had spoken with Trump by phone on Friday night.

AFP

GOOD LUCK

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou (center) poses for photographs during a year-end company party ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Pig in Taipei on Saturday. AFP PHOTO

Worldinbrief STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH THEME: ‘CHOOSING GREATNESS’ WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump heads into his State of the Union address dogged by bruising midterm losses and sinking poll numbers, wounded by a blistering standoff with Democrats. But for the stately speech, he plans to embrace unity at least for the night. “Choosing Greatness� is the official White House theme. Addressing the nation at the weakest point of his presidency, Trump will seek to use the ceremonial moment to pitch a unifying vision and reset relations with Democrats. The prime-time presidential set-piece Tuesday night comes amid a bitter border wall fight that nearly derailed the speech altogether, but Trump is not expected to dwell on the rancor. “I really think it’s going to be a speech that’s going to cover a lot of territory, but part of it’s going to be unity,�Trump told reporters this week. AP

GUAIDO SUPPORTERS BACK IN THE STREETS CARACAS, Venezuela: Momentum is growing for Venezuela’s opposition movement led by lawmaker

THE Japan Cambodia Interactive Association (JCIA) plans to create cultural villages in four locations where Cambodians who work/live in Japan can meet and celebrate while they are far from home.

Hou Vudthy, Undersecretary of State at the Labor Ministry, said on Friday that the JCIA wants the villages so that families of Cambodian workers in Japan have a place to come to and celebrate traditional Khmer festivals together. “Our workers and trainees can congregate at a cultural village to entertainment themselves or play traditional games together. It is also a place where Khmer culture and traditional are showed to Japanese people and other foreigners; once they know [about it] and they will come to

visit more and more.�

Vudthy averred that the Minister of Labor agrees that the project will facilitate reunions with the relatives and friends of the Khmer in Japan.

JCIA Director Fumio Yamada said that previously, Cambodians working in Japan were few in number, but now they are over 9,000. Yet when there is a Cambodian national festival, they have no place to get together and celebrate. “One more reason for me to make the cultural village is for them to have a place to gather with friends or family.�

Yamada will use the JCIA budget to finance the project but additionally requests support from charities of both countries.

KHMER TIMES

Iran marks 40th year of Islamic revolution TEHRAN, Iran: Iran on Friday (Saturday in Manila) began celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah, overturned 2,500 years of monarchical rule and brought hard-line Shiite clerics to power.

The climactic events that year — from revolutionaries in the streets of Tehran to blindfolded American hostages in the US Embassy hostage crisis months later — not only changed Iran’s history but also helped shape today’s Middle East.

The festivities start every year on February 1 — the day Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned home from France after 14 years in exile, to become the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Across Iran, sirens wailed from trains and boats, while church bells tolled at 9:33 a.m. — the exact time that Khomeini’s chartered Air France Boeing 747 touched

Juan Guaido, who has called supporters back into the streets for nationwide protests Saturday (Sunday in Manila), escalating pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to step down. A defiant Maduro’s socialist government has called on its own loyalists to flood the streets waving flags to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution launched by the late Hugo Chavez. The dueling demonstrations will play out amid a political standoff in its second week of heightened tensions and with the potential to spark violent clashes between the opposition and security forces. Guaido has turned down offers from the presidents of Mexico and Uruguay to negotiate with Maduro. In a letter Guaido urged both presidents to back Venezuela’s struggle, saying to remain neutral aligns them with Maduro.

AP

MODEL GAVE TRUMP INFO TO RUSSIAN TYCOON MOSCOW: A Belarusian model who claims to have information on ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s election campaign told The Associated Press on Friday that she has turned that material over to Russian billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska. Anastasia Vashukevich fueled speculation around possible ties between Trump and the Kremlin last year when she posted a video from a police van, saying she had 16 hours of audio and video proving ties between Russian officials and the Trump campaign that influenced the 2016 US elections. Deripaska denied the al-

down 40 years ago at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

The festivities, known as the “Ten Days of Dawn,� conclude on February 11, the date Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s government collapsed after brief clashes between some army units and revolutionary gunmen, following nationwide protests.

As part of the celebrations, many Tehran buildings, mostly government institutions and ofkCES WERE DRAPED IN THE COLORS OF )RAN S GREEN WHITE AND RED lAG

while multicolored lights decorated the main streets.

Car drivers turned on their headlights and honked in celebration as helicopters dropped clusTERS OF lOWERS ALONG +HOMEINI S 21-mile route from the airport to the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran where he made HIS kRST SPEECH BACK HOME AND where his tomb stands today. AP

legations and even went to court to seek to remove the video Vashukevich posted in which he discusses US-Russia ties with a senior Russian government official. Vashukevich, who is also known as Nastya Rybka, returned to Russia last month almost a year after she was detained in Thailand on charges of soliciting sex, in what some believe was an attempt to silence her.

AP

CHINESE ‘UNDERGROUND’ CLERIC MADE COADJUTOR BISHOP AN inauguration ceremony for Jin Lugang as coadjutor bishop for the diocese of Nanyang, Central China’s Henan Province was held in a grand and peaceful manner, the presider said Friday. The ceremony, the first of this kind for a bishop from underground churches after a landmark bishop appointment agreement was signed between China and the Vatican in September 2018, was hailed as a landmark event for Chinese Catholics. The ceremony was held in a “good, grand and holy� atmosphere, and a joyful mood could be felt from the bishops present, Bishop Yang Yongqiang, who presided over the ceremony, told the Global Times. Over 250 attended the ceremony at a Catholic church in Nanyang on Thursday, including clergy from Henan and local priests and nuns. Bishop Zhang Yinlin, from the diocese of Anyang who also attended the ceremony, told the Global Times on Friday that the ceremony, which openly acknowledges the episcopal role of Bishop Jin, is a “good beginning� for further communion in the diocese.

GLOBAL TIMES

QATAR is the safest place in the Middle East, relegating other Gulf Co-operation Council countries by a wide margin, in the Global Finance Index of safest countries.

Qatar also ranked seventh in the world, and it is the only country outside Europe to come in the top 20 safest countries in the world, said Global Finance magazine, whose safety index factors in risks of natural disaster with crime, terrorism and war to present a more rounded analysis of the world’s safest countries.

The countries at the top offer little surprise; they are mostly European countries with developed economies and healthcare systems, it said, adding “in fact, 16 of the top 20 safest countries are located in Europe while only Qatar, Singapore, New Zealand, and Canada rank in the top 20 without being in Europe.�

Qatar, with a safety index score of 7.28, was also ranked above Singapore, Denmark, New Zealand and Canada, which ranked 8, 9, 10 and 11 with scores of 7.34, 7.41, 7.42 and 7.42, respectively.

The other countries that ranked above Qatar are Iceland (ranked kRST AND SCORE 3WITZERLAND (second, 7.01), Finland (third, 7.04), Portugal (fourth, 7.07), !USTRIA kFTH AND .ORWAY (sixth, 7.27). The safety score for countries equally weighs each of the three factors: war and peace, personal security, and natural disaster risk.

The safety score aggregates the indices from these three risks, thus presenting a comprehensive view of safety for each country, implying that a high level of risk in one factor will have limited effect on the country’s overall ranking.

In the previous month, an annual report from “Numbeo�, the world’s largest database of user contributed data on cities and countries, had said Qatar has retained its global distinction as the safest country among Arab countries as well as globally after being RANKED kRST IN TERMS OF SAFETY AND security among 118 countries.

In November last year, the director general of Public Security Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi had said Qatar holds a high ranking on the list of safest countries in the world and its successful development is a reflection of the stability, safety and peace in the state, despite all challenges and crises in the region.

GULF TIMES

PAGE FROM THE PAST

Today, we look back at an old front page of The Manila Times, the oldest national daily that was founded on October 11, 1898. (Note: This image was adjusted to fit the page.)

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS Contract ID Contract Name

: :

Contract Location

:

19HC0092 003: CONVERGENCE AND SPECIAL SUPPORT PROGRAM- CONSTRUCTION/IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS ROADS LEADING TO SEAPORTS- ACCESS ROAD LEADING TO TALIBON PORT VIA SAN JOSEBRGY. SAN FRANCISCO- REVILLES ST., BRGY. POBLACION, TALIBON, BOHOL TALIBON, BOHOL

BOHOL 2ND DISTRICT ENGINEERING OFFICE REGIONAL OFFICE VII Ubay, Bohol INVITATION TO BID JANUARY 28, 2019 The Department of Public Works and Highways – Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2I¿FH through its herein. The Department of Public Works and Highways now invites bids for the project below:

Project Description Contract ID Contract Duration Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) PhP Source of Fund

19HC0092 100 Calendar Days PHP 19,600,000.00 Regular Infra FY 2019

The BAC is conducting the public bidding for this Contract in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

To be eligible to bid for this Contract, a contractor must meet the following major requirements: (a) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership/corporation with PCAB license for size Range Medium A License Category B, (b) completion of similar contract costing at least 50% of the ABC, and (c) Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) at least equal to the ABC. The DPWH will use non-discretionary “pass/failâ€? criteria in the eligibility check, preliminary H[DPLQDWLRQ RI ELGV HYDOXDWLRQ RI ELGV SRVW TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ DQG DZDUG ,I DW WKH WLPH RI WKH SRVW TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ SURFHGXUH WKH %$& YHULÂżHV WKDW DQ\ RI WKH GHÂżFLHQFLHV LV GXH WR WKH FRQWUDFWRUÂśV IDXOW RU QHJOLJHQFH SXUVXDQW WR E LL F RI WKH 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act. No 9184 (2016 RIRR of RA 9184), the Procuring Entity shall disqualify the contractor from the award without any right to reimburse fees and incidental cost paid for the procurement of infrastructure contract subject of the Bid.

Classified Ads

2. Pre-Bid Conference 3. Receipt by the BAC of Bids 4. Opening of Bids

FEBRUARY 4, 2019 10:00 A.M. Deadline: FEBRUARY 18, 2019 10:00 A.M. Deadline: FEBRUARY 18, 2019 2:00 P.M.

Place Hard copies at BAC Secretariat, DPWH nd Bohol 2 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH Ubay, Bohol. Downloadable from DPWH Website www.dpwh.gov.ph and PhilGEPS website www.philgeps. gov.ph BAC Secretariat, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO BAC Secretariat, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO Conference Room, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO

NOTICE OF LOSS

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 77981 – 77990 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 5276 - 5300 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 242581 242590 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored

by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

NOTICE OF LOSS

NOTICE OF LOSS

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 33726 – 33750 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Chinabank APDC Receipt Nos. 10751 - 10760 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Chinabank Life.

Any request for additional information concerning this bidding shall be directed to the following.

1.

For further information, please refer to: PRIMITIVA E. ABAN Procurement Engineer 'HSDUWPHQW RI 3XEOLF :RUNV DQG +LJKZD\V 5HJLRQDO 2IÂżFH 9,, %RKRO QG 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH Ubay, Bohol (038) 518-8051 Email address: dpwhbohol2@yahoo.com (SGD.) RAIMUNDA M. LUMANTAS BAC Chairman

NOTICE OF LOSS

NOTICE OF LOSS

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 345576 - 345600 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 42701 - 42725 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 79721 - 79730 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

Department of Public Works and Highways

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 50076 – 50100 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 28871 – 28880 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 8601 – 8625 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 161421 161430 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored

by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

NOTICE OF LOSS

MT - Jan. 31, & Feb. 3, 2019

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS Contract ID Contract Name

: :

Contract Location

:

19HC0093 CONSTRUCTION/ REHABILITATION/ IMPROVEMENT OF LEVEL III WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM, UBAY, BOHOL UBAY, BOHOL BOHOL 2ND DISTRICT ENGINEERING OFFICE REGIONAL OFFICE VII

Ubay, Bohol BOHOL 2ND DISTRICT ENGINEERING OFFICE REGIONAL OFFICE VII Ubay, Bohol INVITATION TO BID JANUARY 28, 2019 The Department of Public Works and Highways – Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2I¿FH through its herein. The Department of Public Works and Highways now invites bids for the project below:

Project Description Contract ID Contract Duration Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) PhP Source of Fund

19HC0093 251 Calendar Days PHP 49,000,000.00 FY 2019 Regular Infra Projects

The BAC is conducting the public bidding for this Contract in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

To be eligible to bid for this Contract, a contractor must meet the following major requirements: (a) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership/corporation with PCAB license for size Range Medium A License Category B, (b) completion of similar contract costing at least 50% of the ABC, and (c) Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) at least equal to the ABC.

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 222321 - 222330 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

The schedule of key procurement activities for this Contract is shown below:

Activity Time 1. Issuance/ JANUARY 29, 2019 Downloading of Bidding Documents 2. Pre-Bid Conference 3. Receipt by the BAC of Bids 4. Opening of Bids

FEBRUARY 4, 2019 10:00 A.M. Deadline: FEBRUARY 18, 2019 10:00 A.M. Deadline: FEBRUARY 18, 2019 2:00 P.M.

Place Hard copies at BAC Secretariat, DPWH nd Bohol 2 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH Ubay, Bohol. Downloadable from DPWH Website www.dpwh.gov.ph and PhilGEPS website www.philgeps. gov.ph BAC Secretariat, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO BAC Secretariat, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO Conference Room, DPWH Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH 8ED\ %RKRO

Bidders shall pay the BAC a non-refundable fee of PhP 25,000.00 for the Bidding Documents, upon securing hard copies of the Documents. Bidders that download the Documents from the DPWH/PhilGEPS website shall pay the fee upon submission of their bids.

The Department of Public Works and Highways – Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2I¿FH reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and to annul the bidding process any time before the Contract Award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders, in accordance with the provisions of Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR.

Contract ID

:

19JB0041, 19JB0042, 19JB0048, 19JB0051, 19JB0052, 19JB0053, 19JB0054, 19JB0055, 19JB0057, 19JB0067 19JB0068, 19JB0070 & 19JB0072 Contract Name: 1.)

Rehabilitation/Major Repair of Bridge – Dohinob Duit Br. (B00433MN) along Dipolog – Sindangan – Liloy Road.

2.) Rehabilitation/Major Repair of Bridge – Manawan Br. (B00447MN) along Dipolog – Sindangan – Liloy Road.

5HWUR¿WWLQJ 6WUHQJWKHQLQJ 5HSDLU RI %ULGJH ¹ 'LVDNDQ %U (B00444MN) along Dipolog – Sindangan – Liloy Road.

4.) Construction of Drainage along Dacua Road (Both Sides), Brgy. Sta. Felomina, Dipolog City, Zamboanga Del Norte.

5.) Construction of Drainage at Capitol Avenue, Brgy. Estaka, Dipolog City, Zamboanga Del Norte.

6.) Construction of Drainage Canal at Purok Forever, Brgy.

Olingan, Dipolog City, Zamboanga Del Norte.

7.) Rehabilitation of Sitog – Bulawan Bridge, Brgy. Sitog, Katipunan, Zamboanga Del Norte.

8.) Concreting of Road, Sitio Dagum, Brgy. Nato, Sindangan, Zamboanga Del Norte.

9.) Construction of Level II Water System, Sitio Layasan, Purok 3, Brgy. Galokso, Pres. Manuel Roxas, Zamboanga Del Norte.

10.)Construction of Multi – Purpose Building (Home Economics Building), Sitio Dicoyong Diot – Dicoyong Elementary School Extension, Brgy. Dicoyong, Sindangan, Zamboanga Del Norte.

11.) Construction of Multi – Purpose Building, Poblacion Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte.

12.) Widening of Bridge – Minang Br. (B00428MN) along Dipolog – Sindangan – Liloy Road.

13.) Widening of Bridge – Tangian Br. (B00431MN) along Dipolog – Sindangan – Liloy Road.

Location of the Contract: Zamboanga Del Norte ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE 1st DISTRICT ENGINEERING OFFICE REGIONAL OFFICE IX Sta. Isabel, Dipolog City BID BULLETIN NO. 53

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 16401 - 16410 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

SUBJECT : Resetting of the Dropping /Opening of Bids This Bid Bulletin No. 53 is issued to amend provisions in the Bidding Documents (BDs) for the above stated Contract, as follows: Current Provision of BDs (including Previous Amendments)

Amended Provision of BDs under this BID Bulletin

Schedule of Dropping of Bids February 01, 2019 (10 A.M.)

Schedule of Dropping of Bids On or before February 08, 2019 (10:00 A.M.)

Schedule of Opening of Bids February 01, 2019 (10:00 A.M.)

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 375951 – 375975 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

The DPWH will use non-discretionary “pass/failâ€? criteria in the eligibility check, SUHOLPLQDU\ H[DPLQDWLRQ RI ELGV HYDOXDWLRQ RI ELGV SRVW TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ DQG DZDUG ,I DW WKH WLPH RI WKH SRVW TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ SURFHGXUH WKH %$& YHULÂżHV WKDW DQ\ RI WKH GHÂżFLHQFLHV LV GXH WR WKH FRQWUDFWRUÂśV IDXOW RU QHJOLJHQFH SXUVXDQW WR E LL F RI the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act. No 9184 (2016 RIRR of RA 9184), the Procuring Entity shall disqualify the contractor from the award without any right to reimburse fees and incidental cost paid for the procurement of infrastructure contract subject of the Bid.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

Bidders shall pay the BAC a non-refundable fee of PhP 25,000.00 for the Bidding Documents, upon securing hard copies of the Documents. Bidders that download the Documents from the DPWH/PhilGEPS website shall pay the fee upon submission of their bids.

The Department of Public Works and Highways – Bohol 2nd 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2I¿FH reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and to annul the bidding process any time before the Contract Award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders, in accordance with the provisions of Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR.

D3

NOTICE OF LOSS

The schedule of key procurement activities for this Contract is shown below:

Activity Time 1. Issuance/ JANUARY 29, 2019 Downloading of Bidding Documents

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 22826 – 22850 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 147051 147060 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored

by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 328176 – 328200 Manulife Phils. APDC Receipt Nos. 199261 – 199270 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored

by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

Schedule of Opening of Bids February 08, 2019 (10:00 A.M.) * NOTE: Adjustment of Program of Works (POW) are still on Process.

This Bid Bulletin shall form an integral part of the said Bidding Documents.

For guidance and information of all concerned.

For and in the absence of the BAC Chairperson

JOSE TEOVY S. OCHOTORENA Chief, Quality Assurance Section BAC Vice Chairperson MT – Feb. 3, 2019

WARNING TO THE PUBLIC The Manila Times is warning the public that certain individuals posing as our employees have been threatening to publish articles against some companies.

Anyone who receives a call from these extortionists should report the matter to the police.

Any request for additional information concerning this bidding shall be directed to the following.

1.

NOTICE OF LOSS

For further information, please refer to: PRIMITIVA E. ABAN Procurement Engineer 'HSDUWPHQW RI 3XEOLF :RUNV DQG +LJKZD\V 5HJLRQDO 2IÂżFH 9,, %RKRO QG 'LVWULFW (QJLQHHULQJ 2IÂżFH Ubay, Bohol (038) 518-8051 Email address: dpwhbohol2@yahoo.com (SGD.) RAIMUNDA M. LUMANTAS BAC Chairman

MT - Jan. 31, & Feb. 3, 2019

Notice is hereby given that the following Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 8976 – 9000 Manulife Phils. Provisional Receipt Nos. 102726 - 102750 have been cancelled. Any transactions covered by any of said receipts will not be honored

by Manulife Philippines.

MT – Feb. 3, 2019

The Manila Times DOES NOT ask for money to stop news articles from being published.

This paper does not condone any form of blackmail.

SSUNDAY U N DAY FEBRUARY 3,, 2019

Public Square

D4 Public Square appears on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

For contributions, email to publicsquare@manilatimes.net

publicsquare@manilatimes.net

US Ambassador Kim, Lorenzana open the first major EDCA project U

.S. Ambassador Sung Kim and Secretary of National $EFENSE $ELkN ,ORENZANA LED THE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY OF THE kRST MAJOR PROJECT UNDER THE %NHANCED Defense Cooperation Agreement %$#! AT #ESAR "ASA !IR "ASE

0AMPANGA ON *AN 4HE CEREMONY MARKED THE completion of construction on a Humanitarian Assistance and $ISASTER 2ELIEF WAREHOUSE WHICH will be used to preposition equipMENT AND SUPPLIES CRITICAL TO THE 53 AND 0HILIPPINES ABILITY TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY TO HUMANITARIAN CRISES IN THE REGION g4HIS PROJECT ILLUSTRATES NOT ONLY OUR COMMITMENT TO THE 53 0HILIPPINE ALLIANCE BUT ALSO BOTH OF OUR COUNTRIES DEDICATION TO PEACE AND STABILITY IN THE LARGER )NDO 0ACIkC REGION u SAID !MBASSADOR

Q Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana (left) and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim cut the ribbon on the first major EDCA project, a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) warehouse, at Cesar Basa Air Base. +IM g&OR OVER SEVEN DECADES OUR ALLIANCE HAS EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSED SECURITY ISSUES IN THE REGION u %$#! BUILDS CAPACITY FOR 53 FORCES AND THE !RMED &ORCES OF

THE 0HILIPPINES BY ENABLING GREATER INTEROPERABILITY CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT AND MODERNIZATION 4HE 5NITED 3TATES IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE 0HILIPPINE GOVERN-

MENT ON FUTURE %$#! PROJECTS AT FOUR OTHER LOCATIONS &ORT -AGSAYSAY -ILITARY 2ESERVATION ,UMBIA !IR "ASE !NTONIO "AUTISTA !IR "ASE

AND -ACTAN "ENITO %BUEN !IR "ASE

Newly appointed DoLE officials take oath

Duty Free PH pays tribute to Filipino seafarers ,!"/2 3ECRETARY 3ILVESTRE "ELLO RD ADMINISTERS THE OATH OF OFFICE TO !NA $IONE TH 2 AS UNDERSECRETARY *OEL -AGLUNSOD AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE .A-

TIONAL -ARITIME 0OLYTECHNIC .-0 3ALOME 3IATON AS DIRECTOR OF $O,% 2EGIONAL /FkCE ,ILIA %STILLORE AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF $O,% 2EGIONAL /FFICE AND

,ILIA 5Y 0ARALLA AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF $O,% 2EGIONAL /FkCE

DURING A CEREMONY AT THE $O,% #ONFERENCE 2OOM )NTRAMUROS

-ANILA ON *AN *OINING THE

3ECRETARY ARE FROM LEFT /77! !DMINISTRATOR (ANS ,EO #ACDAC

$O,% 5NDERSECRETARIES #IRIACO ,AGUNZAD RD #LARO !RELLANO

AND 2ENATO %BARLE

DoST-TAPI unveils milestones, aspirations in Director’s Report 4(% 4ECHNOLOGY !PPLICATION AND 0ROMOTION )NSTITUTE OF THE $EPARTMENT OF 3CIENCE AND 4ECHNOLOGY $O34 4!0) HELD THE $IRECTOR S 2EPORT WHICH REVEALED THE INSTITUTE S ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS ON ON *AN AT THE 0HILIPPINE )NTERNATIONAL #ONVENTION #ENTER 0)## 0ASAY #ITY 4HE THEME g,EVEL 5P %MBRACING THE 0AST -OVING THE &UTURE u REFLECTS THE INSTITUTE S JOURNEY BY USING THE LEARNING OF THE PAST AS THE FOUNDATION AND

BY INSPIRING THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY TO MOVE THE FUTURE 3UBSEQUENTLY THE CONDUCT OF THE $IRECTOR S 2EPORT COINCIDED WITH THE VERY FIRST $O34 4!0)

!WARDS AND THE ND !NNIVERSARY OF THE INSTITUTE DoST Secretary Fortunato de ,A 0EÄA WHO HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST DIRECTOR OF $O34 4!0) GRACED THE EVENT WITH HIS INSPIrational message. g)T IS HUMBLING TO REMEMBER YEARS BACK WHEN ) SPEARHEADED THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 4ECHNOLOGY "USINESS )NCUBATION AND THE -ANUFACTURING 0RODUCTIVITY %XTENSION Programs to support our small ENTERPRISES u SAID DE ,A 0EÄA g.OW THE INSTITUTE HAS STEPPED IT UP NOTCHES HIGHER WITH PROGRAMS HELPING TECHNOLOGY GENERATORS INVENTORS AND MICRO

Q DoST Secretary Fortunato de La Peña gives his inspirational message during the Director’s Report on Jan. 25 at the PICC. small and medium entrepreneurs AND INVENTION IN REACHING THE LOCAL -3-% PUSH THEIR TECHNOLOGIES MARKETS u HE ADDED

0RESENT DURING THE OPENING FROM %USEBIO #OUNCILOR )GNACIO 3ANGGA (ERNANDEZ #OUNCILOR &LORANTE $ELA LEFT #OUNCILOR -ARK !NTHONY 3AN- #OUNCILOR 2UBYMAR 2AMOS #OUNCIL- #RUZ #OUNCILOR &ILEMON !GUILAR RD TOS #ITY (EALTH /FkCER &ERDINAND OR (ENRY -EDINA #OUNCILOR $ANILO AND #ITY $EPARTMENT HEADS

Marikina Shoe Expo kicks off in Muntinlupa &2/- *AN TO &EB -UNTINLUPA RESIDENTS SHOPPED AT THE &ILIPINO MADE SHOE PRODUCTS IN THE -ARIKINA 3HOE %XPO AT -UNTINLUPA #ITY (ALL 1UADRANGLE 0UTATAN -UNTINLUPA -AYOR *AIME &RESNEDI -ARIKINA 3HOE )NDUSTRY $EVELOPMENT /FkCER .OEL "OX

-UNTINLUPA #ITY !DMINISTRATOR !LLAN #ACHUELA AND OTHER LOCAL OFkCIALS ATTEND THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE EVENT INSET &RESNEDI INVITES -UNTINLUPEÄOS TO SUPPORT PROUDLY 0INOY PRODUCTS AND TO COME VISIT THE EXPO 4HE CITY GOVERNMENT OF -UNTINLUPA CONTINUES TO PARTNER WITH -ARIKINA ,'5 TO PROMOTE local products and foster mutual cooperation for trade fairs.

PING MORE AFFORDABLE SO THEY COULD BRING HOME MORE GIFTS TO THEIR LOVED ONES u HE ADDED 4HE SAID PROGRAM IS OFFERED TO seafarers employed by a DFPC accredited manning agency. g4O DATE $&0# HAS ALREADY ACCREDITED MANNING AGENCIES AND WE ARE WORKING AGGRESSIVELY TO ADD MORE u SAID !NGALA 3EAFARERS COULD SHOP DAYS UPON ARRIVAL AND ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS TO CLAIM THEIR DISCOUNT SLIP FROM THEIR AGENCY AND PRESENT IT TOGETHER WITH SEAMAN S BOOK AT THE Customer Registration Counter.

Comelec, Tag Media Group partner for #VotersEducation Campaign

New health building inaugurated in Las Piñas City -!9/2 )MELDA g-ELu !GUILAR RD 2 AND HER DAUGHTER !PRIL !GUILAR RD , LED THE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY TO OPEN THE NEW (EALTH "UILDING AT THE #ITY Hall Compound.

4HE NEW (EALTH "UILDING HOUSES A SPACIOUS HEALTH CENTER WITH A well-equipped clinical laboratory AND DENTAL CLINIC 4HE ,AS 0IÄAS #ITY (EALTH /FkCE IS ALSO LOCATED IN THE SAID BUILDING 4HE SERVICES IN THE NEWLY OPENED HEALTH CENTER ARE FREE OF CHARGE FOR THE RESIDENTS OF ,AS 0IÄAS #ITY

4/ RECOGNIZE THE STRUGGLES AND SACRIkCES OF &ILIPINO SEAFARERS ABROAD $UTY &REE 0HILIPPINES #ORPORATION $&0# IS GIVING THEM A kVE PERCENT DISCOUNT 4HROUGH THE 3EAFARER 3HOPPING 0RIVILEGE 0ROGRAM SEAFARERS CAN NOW ENJOY DISCOUNTS ON CHOCOLATES LIQUOR WINES CIGARETTES AND AMONG OTHERS AT THE $&0# &IESTAMALL IN 0ARAÄAQUE #ITY g4HIS IS OUR WAY OF HONORING THE THOUSANDS OF SEAFARERS WHO MAKE THE SACRIkCE TO LEAVE THEIR FAMILIES BEHIND u $&0# #HIEF /PERATING /FkCER #// 6ICENTE 0ELAGIO !NGALA SAID g4HIS PROGRAM WILL MAKE SHOP-

#/--)33)/. /N %LECTIONS #OMELEC REPRESENTED BY $IRECTOR *AMES *IMENEZ SEALED A PARTNERSHIP WITH 4AG -EDIA 'ROUP HEADED BY %NTREPRENEUR 'RACE "ONDAD .ICOLAS FOR Û6OTERS%DUCATION #AMPAIGN TO HELP THE VOTERS HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT ALL THE CANDIDATES BEFORE THE ELECTION AND TO EDUCATE THE STUDENTS ABOUT THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AS THEY PREPARE TO VOTE FOR THE kRST TIME BUT ALSO ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING INFORMED CHOICES !CCORDING TO .ICOLAS g7E ARE VERY PROUD TO PARTNER WITH #OMELEC 7E RE TOGETHER SINCE NOT JUST FOR Û6OTERS%DUCATION BUT ALSO IN DIFFERENT ADVOCACY $IRECTOR *AMES *IMENEZ IS VERY CONSISTENT SAME AS 4AG -EDIA 'ROUP /UR OBJECTIVE IS TO DISSEMINATE THE INFORMATION FAST TO THE MASSES AND TO REACH EVERYONE SO THAT THEY HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT ALL THE CANDIDATES NOT JUST THE POPULAR ONES 6OTER EDUCATION PROVIDES POTENTIAL VOTERS WITH THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO MAKE AN INFORMED AND RIGHT CHOICE IN THE VOTING BOOTH 0ARA SA "AYAN u

Q Tag Media Group Co- Founder, Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas and Comelec Spokesman, Director James Jimenez during the MOA signing. g4AG -EDIA 'ROUP IS ONE OF OUR PIONEERING PARTNERS WITH AN ADVOcacy for information dissemination WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT NOWADAYS 7E SAW IN HOW IMPORTANT IS SOCIAL MEDIA ALSO 4HE PLATFORM IS NOT JUST FOR MAKING FRIENDS ONLY OR GAMING IT S ALSO A PLATFORM TO KNOW THE CANDIDATES AND TO EDUCATE VOTERS WE RE LUCKY THAT 4AG -EDIA 'ROUP HAS THIS INITIATIVES u $IRECTOR *AMES *IMENEZ SAID &OR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL grace@tagmedia.asia

Mayor Bautista orders probe on slain Brgy Bagong Silangan chairman 15%:/. #ITY -AYOR (ERBERT "AUTISTA ORDERED THE 1UEZON #ITY 0OLICE $ISTRICT 1#0$ TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO THE KILLING OF "ARANGAY "AGONG 3ILANGAN #HAIRMAN #RISELL g"HENGu "ELTRAN g-AYOR (ERBERT "AUTISTA ORDERED THE 1# 0OLICE $ISTRICT TO INVESTIGATE THE KILLING OF 0UNONG "ARANGAY Crisell @"HENG "ELTRAN AND BRING THE PERPETRATORS TO JUSTICE u #ITY )NFORMATION /FkCER !RES 'UTIERREZ SAID IN A STATEMENT !CCORDING TO INITIAL REPORTS "ELTRAN TOGETHER WITH HER THREE STAFF AND DRIVER WERE AMBUSHED BY FOUR

unidentified assailants riding in TANDEM ON TWO MOTORCYCLES WHILE TRAVERSING ALONG *0 2IZAL 3TREET IN "ARANGAY "AGONG 3ILANGAN (ER STAFF SURVIVED THE ASSAULT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS ANNOUNCED DEAD ON THE SPOT 4HE CHAIRMAN WAS RUSHED TO &AR %ASTERN 5NIVERSITY (OSPITAL BUT WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD ON ARRIVAL AT IN THE AFTERNOON "ELTRAN WHO WAS SERVING HER LAST term as a barangay CHAIRMAN IS RUNNING AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECOND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT OF 1UEZON #ITY

Sports

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2019

www.manilatimes.net

Q Manny Pacquiao (left) jars Adrien Broner with a solid left in their match for the WBA welterweight title on January 19, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WENDELL ALINEA

E1

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

EDDIE G. ALINEA

Where Spoelstra succeeded, Blatt and Lue failed D

Bring ‘em all on – Pacquiao W

BY EDDIE G.ALINEA

ORLD Boxing Association regular welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, who had outpointed Adrien Broner to retain his belt two Saturdays ago, said on Thursday he’s READY TO kGHT TWO MORE TIMES BEFORE THIS YEAR S END TO COMPLETE A THREE kGHT IN CELEBRATION OF HIS TH YEAR AS A PRIZEkGHTER Asked of his immediate plan during a thanksgiving party he hosted for local sports MEDIA AT THE 3HANGRILA (OTEL IN -AKATI THE &ILIPINO RING GREAT SAID HE PREFERS ARCHRIVAL &LOYD -AYWEATHER *R TO BE HIS DANCING PART NER THE NEXT TIME HE CLIMBS THE RING g"UT JUST IN CASE &LOYD ISN T READY YET TO unretire as he promised when we met in

4OKYO LAST YEAR ) CAN FACE ANYBODY IN THE TOP LIST INCLUDING +EITH 4HURMAN WHO ) LEARNED IS WILLING TO DO BATTLE WITH ME u THE YEAR OLD RING ICON SAID “As I’ve said two weeks ago after beating "RONER ) LL kGHT ANYBODY na gustong lumaban sa akin,� HE ASSERTED gKilala na naman ninyo ako, hindi ako pumipili ng kalaban Whoever

my promoters put on the table, puwede u g%RROL 3PENCE *R -IKEY 'ARCIA 3HAWN 0ORTE "RING THEM ALL ON Basta gusto rin nila pasayahin ang fans sa magandang laban, laban din tayo, HE SAID gDalawang laban na naman na napatunayan natin na kaya pa, so samantalahin na natin hanggang my speed AND STRENGTH ARE STILL THERE u “Kahit sino makalaban ko sa kanila, magan dang TUNEUP FOR THE -AYWEATHER JUST IN CASE HE S READY TO kGHT THIS YEAR HE ADDED SMILING *ULY LAST YEAR 0ACQUIAO 4+/ED ,UCAS -ATHYSSE IN SEVEN ROUNDS TO TAKE A PIECE OF THE POUND JEWEL HE LOST TO !USTRALIAN *EFF (ORN A YEAR BACK (E FOLLOWED THIS UP with that unanimous decision triumph over "RONER LAST *ANUARY AT THE -'- 'RAND g)T S A MATTER OF HOW YOU TRAIN 4HERE IS NO SECRET !ND THE WAY ) SEE IT WE HAD BETTER PREPARATIONS IN MY LAST TWO kGHTS -Y TRAIN ING TEAM IS MORE SOLID NOW THAN BEFORE 4HE

COMMUNICATION IS BETTER u HE SAID 0ACQUIAO WAS REFERRING TO HIS COACHING TEAM HEADED BY "UBOY &ERNANDEZ CONDITIONING GURU *USTIN &ORTUNE .ONOY .ERI 2OGER g(APLASu &ERNANDEZ AND CONSULTANT &REDDIE 2OACH 0ACQUIAO S THREE kGHT PERFORMANCE IN A YEAR HAPPENED IN THE YEAR HE CON SIDERED HIS BEST YEAR BEATING *UAN -ANUEL -ARQUEZ BY SPLIT DECISION -ARCH THAT YEAR TO CROWN HIMSELF THE 7"# SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT KING AND $AVID $IAZ WHOM HE 4+/ED IN nine rounds for the WBC lightweight diadem, (E ENDED THAT YEAR BY RETIRING LEGENDARY /SCAR $E ,A (OYA IN NINE IN HIS kRST kGHT AS A WELTERWEIGHT (E TOO FOUGHT AND WON THRICE IN

INCLUDING A 4+/ OF -ARCO !NTONIO "ARRERA AT the San Antonio Alamodome on November TO CLINCH HE 2).' FEATHERWEIGHT PLUM 0ACQUIAO S BUSIEST YEAR WAS IN WHEN HE STARTED HIS PRO CAREER CLIMBING THE SQUARED RING TIMES AND WINNING ALL HIS ASSIGNMENTS

Irving scores 23 points in front of admiring Knicks fans LOS ANGELES: Kyrie Irving, who could become A FREE AGENT AT THE END OF THE SEASON kNISHED WITH POINTS REBOUNDS AND SIX ASSISTS AS the Boston Celtics defeated the struggling New 9ORK +NICKS &RIDAY 3ATURDAY IN -ANILA 4HE CONTEST CAME JUST ONE DAY AFTER THE +NICKS TRADED INJURED +RISTAPS 0ORZINGIS TO THE $ALLAS -AVERICKS WHICH WILL GIVE .EW 9ORK THE FUNDS TO GO AFTER TOP FREE AGENTS THIS SUMMER Knicks fans are hoping Irving will be willing to SIGN WITH THEM AND HE GOT A LOUD OVATION FROM THE CROWD OF AT -ADISON 3QUARE 'ARDEN WHEN THE STARTING LINEUPS WERE ANNOUNCED A “We want Kyrie! We want Kyrie!� chant ECHOED THROUGH THE ARENA IN THE THIRD QUARTER “It’s nothing but a distraction at this point,�

SAID )RVING WHO WAS BORN IN -ELBOURNE !USTRALIA BUT GREW UP IN .EW *ERSEY “Like I said, I’m appreciative of the fan support ) GET IN ANY ARENA u HE SAID ON &RIDAY g/BVIOUSLY what’s going on in terms of that noise and com MENTARY IS JUST A BUNCH OF NONSENSE RIGHT NOW “Can’t do anything about it so I’m just accepting, I’m appreciative, but at the same TIME ) VE GOT A GAME TO FOCUS ON u 4HE .EW 9ORK FANS ADMIRATION MIGHT BE misdirected as Irving already made a point at a Celtics’ fan event last fall of telling the CROWD HE WOULD RE SIGN WITH "OSTON Although he seemed to back off on that SOMEWHAT &RIDAY WHEN ASKED IF HIS MIND HAS CHANGED ABOUT REMAINING A #ELTIC g!SK ME *ULY u HE SAID -ARCUS -ORRIS ADDED POINTS FOR THE #ELT ICS WHO WON FOR THE EIGHTH TIME IN NINE GAMES $AMYEAN $OTSON SCORED POINTS AND +EVIN +NOX HAD FOR THE HAPLESS +NICKS

WHO LOST THEIR TH STRAIGHT .EW 9ORK HAS NOW STARTED &EBRUARY WITH A LOSS AFTER LOSING OF GAMES IN $ECEMBER AND *ANUARY )N 4HURSDAY S MULTI PLAYER DEAL THE +NICKS GAVE UP 0ORZINGIS 4IM (ARDAWAY #OURTNEY ,EE AND 4REY "URKE TO $ALLAS AND RECEIVED Dennis Smith, DeAndre Jordan and Wesley -ATTHEWS PLUS TWO FUTURE kRST ROUND PICKS 4HE +NICKS NEW PLAYERS WEREN T AVAILABLE SO THEY STARTED $OTSON AND +ADEEM !LLEN AS GUARDS $ALLAS ANNOUNCED &RIDAY THAT 0ORZINGIS

Q Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (No. 11) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Kadeem Allen (No. 0) during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

AP PHOTO likely will not play this season as he continues TO RECOVER FROM A TORN !#, INJURY %LSEWHERE 0AUL 'EORGE SCORED POINTS AND HAD A CAREER HIGH THREE POINTERS AS THE /KLAHOMA #ITY 4HUNDER BEAT THE -IAMI (EAT

EXTENDING THE ."! S LONGEST CURRENT WINNING STREAK TO SEVEN GAMES g0AUL 'EORGE TONIGHT WAS TREMENDOUS u (EAT COACH %RIK 3POELSTRA SAID g/NE OF THE MORE IM PRESSIVE SHOOTING DISPLAYS ) VE SEEN THIS SEASON u 2USSELL 7ESTBROOK GOT HIS kFTH STRAIGHT TRIPLE

DOUBLE AND TH OF THE SEASON kNISHING WITH POINTS REBOUNDS AND ASSISTS AS THE 4HUNDER DEFEATED THE (EAT FOR THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE TIME g4HERE WERE SOME REAL GOOD POSITIVE THINGS to take from the game all the way around,�

4HUNDER COACH "ILLY $ONOVAN SAID +ELLY /LYNYK SCORED *OSH 2ICHARDSON SCORED AND (ASSAN 7HITESIDE kNISHED WITH POINTS AND REBOUNDS IN THE LOSS )N THE LATE GAME .IKOLA *OKIC HAD POINTS AND REBOUNDS AND -ALIK "EASLEY HAD A CAREER

HIGH POINTS AS THE $ENVER .UGGETS BEAT *AMES (ARDEN AND THE (OUSTON 2OCKETS (ARDEN SCORED POINTS TO STRETCH HIS STREAK TO GAMES OF SCORING OR MORE POINTS (E NEEDED A LATE THREE POINTER TO KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE (ARDEN S STREAK STARTED WITH A POINT night against the Los Angeles Lakers on De CEMBER AND NEARLY ENDED ON A DIFkCULT SHOOTING GAME FOR THE REIGNING LEAGUE -60 $URING ONE STRETCH (ARDEN MISSED OF SHOTS AND FOUR FREE THROWS AFP

ID you know that the now Los Angeles Lakers’ spiritual leader LeBron James, RIGHT IN HIS VERY kRST YEAR IN -IAMI WANTED THE (EAT HEAD COACH %RIK 3POELSTRA kRED !ND THAT HAD -IAMI (EAT PRESIDENT 0AT 2ILEY FOLLOWED *AMES WISH THE 0HILIPPINES could not have prided itself the honor OF HAVING A kRST &ILIPINO !MERICAN HEAD COACH TO WIN AN ."! CHAMPIONSHIP /R !SIA FOR THAT MATTER OF HAVING A kRST !SIAN !MERICAN TO EARN THAT DISTINCTION 0RIOR TO THE m SEASON YOU SEE 2ILEY ASSEMBLED A SUPERSTAR TRIO OF FREE AGENTS m James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade in the Heat lineup with Spoelstra, whose MOTHER IS A &ILIPINA AS HEAD COACH 3PO BY that time and up to this present time, has BEEN THE (EAT S HEAD COACH SINCE !PRIL AS 2ILEY S HANDPICKED SUCCESSOR Expectations of the team’s success soared SIGNIkCANTLY AFTER THE FREE AGENT ACQUISITIONS OF *AMES AND "OSH IN THE SUMMER OF Despite this attempt to strengthen the team, THE (EAT STARTED OFF THE m SEASON WITH AN UNEXPECTED m RECORD RESULTING IN some players, heeded by James, “frustrated�

WITH 3POELSTRA AND QUESTIONED IF HE SHOULD REMAIN THEIR HEAD COACH In the Heat’s elimination round loss to THE $ALLAS -AVERICKS THAT BROUGHT THEIR WIN LOSS CARD TO ,E"RON WAS CAUGHT BY VIDEO that went viral bumping into Spoelstra on his WAY TO THE BENCH DURING A TIMEOUT 4HESE TWO ISSUES PUT 3POELSTRA ON THE COACHING HOT SEAT -IAMI BOUNCED BACK THOUGH AND MADE the playoffs while posting the second best RECORD IN THE %ASTERN #ONFERENCE 3POELSTRA LED THE (EAT TO AN APPEARANCE IN THE ."! &INALS BUT LOST TO THE $ALLAS -AVERICKS IN SIX GAMES !FTER 3POELSTRA FAILED TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP DURING HIS kRST SEASON AS HEAD coach of the “big three,� Riley was asked if he would consider returning to coach the team Riley scoffed off the idea in support of Spoelstra as the head coach going FORWARD 7HY THE &IL !M MENTOR EVEN received a $6 million contract extension IN $ECEMBER WHICH LASTED THROUGH THE m ."! SEASON 4HE (EAT MADE FOUR CONSECUTIVE FI nals appearances including trips to the

AND ."! &INALS

WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN BOTH AND THUS GIFTING *AMES HIS FIRST TWO ."! CHAMPIONSHIPS James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the (EAT IN FREE AGENCY BEFORE RETURNING TO #LEVELAND IN FREE AGENCY IN WHERE HE EARNED HIS THIRD TITLE 7HAT HAPPENED TO 3POELSTRA AT -IAMI HAPPENED TOO TO $AVID "LATT AND 4YRONE ,UE AT #LEVELAND 4HE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS ,E"RON SUCCEEDED IN HAVING BOTH "LATT AND ,UE kRED .OW IT IS PRES ent Lakers coach Luke Walton’s turn to block ,E"RON S FOURTH ATTEMPT TO GET RID OF HIS COACH 3POELSTRA WAS BORN .OVEMBER

OF &ILIPINO DESCENT FROM HIS MOTHER S SIDE HE IS THE FIRST !SIAN !MERICAN HEAD coach in the history of the four major .ORTH !MERICAN SPORTS LEAGUES In naming Spoelstra as head coach kin

2ILEY SAID g4HIS GAME IS NOW ABOUT younger coaches who are technologically SKILLED INNOVATIVE AND BRING FRESH NEW IDEAS 4HAT S WHAT WE FEEL WE ARE GETTING WITH %RIK 3POELSTRA (E S A MAN THAT WAS BORN TO COACH u 3POELSTRA BECAME THE kRST EVER &IL !M ."! HEAD COACH (E LED THE (EAT TO THE ."! 0LAYOFFS IN HIS kRST YEAR AS HEAD COACH

despite the team’s league worst record of THE PREVIOUS SEASON 4HE (EAT HOW ever, were defeated in seven games by the !TLANTA (AWKS IN THE kRST ROUND 3POELSTRA S team once again reached the postseason the FOLLOWING SEASON BUT AGAIN LOST IN THE kRST ROUND TO THE "OSTON #ELTICS IN kVE GAMES $URING THE m SEASON 3POELSTRA WAS SELECTED AS HEAD COACH OF THE %ASTERN #ONFERENCE !LL 3TARS IN THE ."! !LL 3TAR 'AME WITH THE (EAT HOLD ing the best record in the Eastern Confer ENCE AT THE TIME OF SELECTION Spo is the only son and the younger of two children of Jon Spoelstra and Elisa #ELINO *ON IS $UTCH )RISH !MERICAN AND A former NBA executive of the Buffalo Braves, 0ORTLAND 4RAIL "LAZERS $ENVER .UGGETS

AND .EW *ERSEY .ETS %LISA IS A NATIVE OF 3AN 0ABLO #ITY IN ,AGUNA (E IS ALSO THE GRANDSON OF 7ATSON 3POELSTRA A LONG TIME SPORTSWRITER FOR 4HE $ETROIT .EWS /N *ULY

3POELSTRA MARRIED FOR MER -IAMI (EAT CHEERLEADER .IKKI 3APP

Nowitzki, Wade added to rosters for 2019 NBA All-Star Game NEW YORK: Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade were named Friday (Saturday in Manila) as special roster additions for the 68th NBA All-Star Game by league commissioner Adam Silver.

The iconic veterans will give each club a 13th roster player when teams captained by LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo meet on February 17 at Charlotte, North Carolina. “Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade embody the best of the NBA: remarkable skill, drive and professionalism as

well as a deep devotion to strengthening their communities and growing the game around the world,� Silver said. “As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs.�

Greek star Antetokounmpo and James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, will pick from Germany’s Nowitzki, 40, and Chicago-born Wade, 37, after selecting the remainder of their rosters from other available players among starters and reserves.

James will have the first pick among the potential starters and between Wade and Nowitzki, so it’s likely his pal and former Miami and Cleveland teammate Wade, who announced before the season he would retire after this campaign, could partner with the superstar one more time in the All-Star matchup.

Nowitzki, a 13-time NBA All-Star, ranks seventh on the NBA all-time points list with 31,275 and ranks first among players from outside the United States. In 2007, he was the first European-born player to win

the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

In 2011, Nowitzki was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after leading Dallas to the league title by beating James and Wade’s Miami Heat in the final.

This season, Nowitzki became the first person to play 21 seasons with the same NBA club. His 1,491 games played rank fourth in league history and his 906 career regular-season wins rank sixth in NBA history.

Nowitzki has career averages of 21.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game for the Mavericks and ranks as the

team’s all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots.

Wade, the 2010 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, won NBA titles with Miami in 2006, 2012 and 2013 and Olympic gold with the 2008 US team. He was also the 2006 NBA Finals MVP and 2008-09 scoring champion.

Wade has career averages of 22.2 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.55 steals per game over 16 NBA seasons.

Only James, 1990s Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Wade have recorded at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocked shots and 500 3-pointers.

E2

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Nascar

˜ The Sunday Times w w w.manilatimes.net

NASCAR EVENTS NOT ON HIS RADAR YET

$ORQVR WXUQV IRFXV WR ÀQDO OHJ RI PRWRU VSRUWV¡ 7ULSOH &URZQ NASCAR bans drivers, D team members from

AYTONA A YTONA BEACH, BEACH, Fla.: Fla.:: Fernando Fernand do Alonso raced into retirement from Formula One dedicated to WINNING THE kNAL LEG OF MOTOR SPORTS VERSION OF THE 4RIPLE #ROWN 4HE )NDIANAPOLIS IS THE MISSING PIECE ON HIS resume, one he intends to add in May. But Alonso has been considering his future for quite some time, and his November retirement from F1 has opened his schedule to race in anything he wants. After anchoring Wayne Taylor Racing to a victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Spaniard was coy about his future. “The aim is to do something unprecedented in motor sport,�

Alonso said Sunday after picking up his new Rolex watch. .OT VERY SPECIkC BUT A CLUE that Alonso is open to any and all ideas in this new chapter of his career.

“Right now full focus is on the Indy 500,� he said. “But yeah, I’m thinking I’m trying to do something more, maybe in different disciplines. I need to think, I need to plan, I need to make sure that I’m competitive, to have the right people, the right teams, and the right preparations. “Whatever adventure is next, I will not do it if I’m not competitive or I don’t have a shot for winning. I need to be very calm and clever with the decisions for the future.�

The plan was put in motion two years ago when

Q Fernando Alonso,right, of Spain, celebrates with crew members after winning the IMSA 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway on Monday in Daytona Beach, Fla. AP PHOTO

the two-time F1 champion persuaded his McLaren team to let him skip the Monaco Grand Prix and instead race the Indianapolis 500. Alonso had twice won in Monte Carlo — perhaps the toughest leg of the Triple Crown — and now he wanted to kiss the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He had never driven an Indy car before and had never raced on an oval, yet he was in contention to win his inaugural Indy 500 until a late engine failure.

His sights next turned to 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a sports car racing debut in last year’s Rolex 24 as the warmup. Alonso announced he would race at Le Mans THE MORNING AFTER HE kNISHED HIS kRST 2OLEX AND SIX MONTHS LATER he won in France to move closer to the Triple Crown.

His attention turns now toward the Indy 500, but with the freedom to pick and choose what he wants to do, Alonso is studying every opportunity. A kVE YEAR LOSING STREAK in F1 had pushed him to the fring-

es of that series, and although he remains one of the most popular drivers in the world, some began to wonder if his skills had slipped at the tail of his 17-year F1 career.

What he has done moonlighting in different disciplines has proven his talent has not wavered and that as he prepares to turn 38, Alonso still rates among the best drivers on the planet. “Whenever you put a guy in a different car on a different track, NORMALLY IT TAKES FOUR OR kVE LAPS for them to get (comfortable),� said Rolex winning team owner Wayne Taylor. “I remember his kRST SPLIT ON THE kRST TURN WAS AS quick as everybody. I thought, ‘How are we going to manage THIS (E WAS JUST TERRIkC u Alonso did the heavy lifting for Taylor at Daytona, a race stopped TWICE FOR THE kRST TIME IN HISTORY for rain, then called shy of the 24-hour mark because conditions were too treacherous for drivers to be on the track.

Two of Alonso’s three stints i n

betting on races DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. : NASCAR has banned all drivers and team members from betting on its races as part of new gambling guidelines established in this season’s rulebook.

NASCAR employees are prohibited from disclosing confidential information and from requesting insider information that could potentially help “their own gain or for the gain of others.� They are allowed to participate in fantasy sports relating to the three national touring series, Cup, Xfinity and Truck, but may not accept prizes with a value of more than $250 in any games.

NASCAR partnered with Sportradar Integrity Services to develop a comprehensive gambling policy intended to protect the integrity of the sport.

Dover International Speedway opened an on-site betting kiosk last fall, becoming the only track to allow sports gambling on its property.

AP

the car were during the rain, in part because F1 had made him the most experienced driver on the Taylor lineup in wet conditions, and because he had the control and steadiness to manage the risks versus reward in a torrential rainstorm. Alonso found the limited visibility and standing water on the track to be the most dangerous conditions of his career, and he had had more than enough when he saw the pace car driver hydroplane and nearly crash when he was following under caution.

But he didn’t turn a single wheel wrong and drove the Cadillac DPi to the lead every time he was on the track to win the Rolex in his second try. He noted after that that his sports car career was exactly a year old and continued to hint at his future.

Although he did a car swap with seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson in November and ran exhibition laps in a stock car, Alonso said at Daytona that NASCAR events are not

currently on his radar. He is competing this year in the World Endurance Challenge — he won in his series debut last season in the Six Hours of Spa — and quipped he has so many plans he may need to return to F1 to lessen his load.

There are plenty of opportunities for Alonso all over the world, and his next big announcement could be next year’s Dakar Rally in Paris. Alonso’s win in Daytona made him the third F1 champion to win the Rolex, joining Phil Hill and Mario Andretti. He seemed envious of the drivers before his time who could race all over the world in any sort of formula, and proving that it can still be done might be what Alonso does next. “I think to win in different series, in different disciplines of motorsport which are quite SPECIkC YOU NEED TO PROBABLY BE born with that talent and grow up with that knowledge of that series,� he said. “Like oval racing, like IndyCar and things like that — to come there and try to be competitive or winning is something that I think in motorsport IS QUITE DIFkCULT “I think in the past it was a little bit more open, motorsport in general. But now every series became very, very professional, and you need to take full dedication to each series, each driving style and things like that. I think hopefully soon I can tell you AP more of the plans.�

Motor Sports Tsukada, Coseteng, Bustamante top Asian karting series

The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

E3

Q Kaito Tsukada from Japan cruises to victory in the Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC). The Philippines’ Eduardo Coseteng finished second.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BY MIKE POTENCIANO

K

AITO TSUKADA from Japan led the regional bets in the Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC) that was held all around Southeast Asia.

4SUKADA EXPLOITED TO THE HILT THE kVE IN THE THREE OTHER ROUNDS HELD ABSENCE OF TOP &ILIPINO KARTERS IN IN -ACAU AND BACK HERE THE !+/# THIRD ROUND HELD IN THE 4SUKADA kNISHED kRST WITH 0HILIPPINES AND ENTERED THE TOP POINTS FOLLOWED BY THE 0HILIP

#HALLENGE 0HILIPPINES PREMIERE 3ENIOR $IVISION WAS DOMINATED BY #OSETENG WHO WON ALL SIX ROUNDS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A TOTAL OF POINTS /NLY COMEBACKING KARTER 2AYMOND #UDALA POSED A THREAT BEATING #OSETENG IN SOME PRE FINAL HEATS FOR POINTS .EW 4OYOTA 6IOS #UP 0ROMOTIONAL Local karting series #HAMPION *OHN $IZON HAD A GOOD RUN TO kNISH THIRD WITH POINTS 4HE 0ETRON "LAZE 8 )N THE 8 *UNIOR CLASS LADY PINES %DUARDO #OSETENG WITH POINTS THOUGH THE LATTER MISSED THE THIRD ROUND 2EECE 5SHIJIMA FROM THE 5NITED +INGDOM ALSO FAILED TO RUN IN THE SAME ROUND AND kNISHED THIRD WITH POINTS

JUST ONE POINT AHEAD OF #HINA S 9AN ,IANG

DRIVER "IANCA "USTAMANTE ALSO SHONE WINNING ALL LEGS OF THE SERIES INCLUDING ALL THE PRE kNAL RACES "USTAMANTE A WELL KNOWN INTERNATIONAL KARTER kNISHED WITH POINTS FORGING A CLASH WITH #O SETENG IN THE 0REMIERE #LASS 3HE WAS WAY AHEAD OF -IGUEL *OSEPH 1UINONES AND *ARRED +IM WHO GOT AND POINTS RESPECTIVELY 4HE CLASSES FOR YOUNGER KAR TERS WERE MORE ATTENDED WITH

:ACH $AVID WINNING TWO TITLES NAMELY THE -INI2/+ 0ETRON 8#3 #LASS AND THE &ORMULA #ADET %XPERT $IVISION 3ECOND AND THIRD PLACERS IN BOTH CLASSES WERE *OHARRY 6ICTOR 3UBA AND -ICHAEL *UDD !NGELES .EW ENTRY 3EB +AWPENG WON THE &ORMULA #ADET .OVICE CLASS FOR THE YOUNGEST DRIVERS 7ILLIAM #ALLEJA kNISHED SECOND AND "RICE 6INCENT "AISA THIRD

Sauber F1 team rebrand as Alfa Romeo Racing OGIER TAKES WRC MONTE CARLO RALLY

BY MIKE POTENCIANO THE notorious and tricky first round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Monte Carlo Rally, finished in dramatic fashion with defending champion Citroen’s Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia emerging overall winners.

With only 2.2 seconds, Ogier had to work hard against Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul who really made it an exciting battle till the last stage. The battling duo was never separated by more than 5.5 seconds during the last two days of the rally held last weekend.

The spectacular win by Ogier is his sixth consecutive and he now has a total of seven wins in the Monte Carlo. Six-time WRC champion Ogier had just gone back to Citroen after taking the 2018 WRC championship with Ford. This season is truly becoming to be an exciting year with Toyota also promising to challenge for the lead.

Toyota’s Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja were

always up there battling for the lead but suffered a punctured tire that prevented them from crowding the two leaders. They came in 2 minutes 15 seconds after the leader and ended at third place.

There was also much commotion between Toyota Team Manager Tommi Makkinen asking for some dangerous stages to be canceled during the first day of the rally.

Come backing, ninetime WRC champion Loeb and Daniel Elena in the other Hyundai finished at fourth place after not having much practice with the car. Loeb just came from the 3,600-kilomterkm Dakar Rally a few days before and finished in a superb fourth place on Jan. 12 in Lima, Peru.

The two Toyota Yaris drivers of Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke made it to fifth and sixth places, respectively, and both were also in contention for the overall lead.

Only poor tire choices and punctures prevented them from charting into the top three.

PARIS: &ORMULA /NE TEAM 3AUBER HAVE REBRANDED AS !LFA 2OMEO 2AC ING FOR THE SEASON THE 3WISS OUTkT ANNOUNCED &RIDAY ENDING YEARS OF COMPETING UNDER THE 3AUBER NAME !LFA 2OMEO HAD ALREADY BEEN

THE TITLE SPONSOR OF 3AUBER LAST YEAR WHEN THE TEAM WAS KNOWN AS !LFA 2OMEO 3AUBER & TEAM g)T IS A PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WILL ENTER THE &OR MULA /NE 7ORLD #HAMPIONSHIP WITH THE TEAM NAME !LFA 2OMEO

ENCED )TALIAN !NTONIO 'IOVINAZZI !LFA 2OMEO WHICH DROPPED OUT OF &ORMULA /NE IN WON THE kRST TWO WORLD TITLES WITH 'IUSEPPE &ARINA IN AND !RGENTINIAN kVE TIME CHAMPION *UAN -ANUEL &ANGIO IN AFP

HALL OF FAMERS CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame stand on stage during the 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center on February 01, in Charlotte, North Carolina. AFP PHOTO

I

Out of hibernation

REDISCOVERED MY kRST LOVE AND ) NEVER STOPPED DREAMING AFTER THATÜ 3ORRY BUT IT S NOT WHAT YOU THINK EVEN THOUGH ) KNOW WE ARE IN THE LAND OF BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE )T S ALL ABOUT MY kRST LOVE FOR MOTOR SPORTS SPECIkCALLY THE VERY DEMANDING AND FULFILLING SPORT OF RALLYÜ /UR 0ETRON -0 4URBO 2ALLY OF #HAMPIONS LAST LEG HAD $IRT 4RIALS AS ITS FEATURED RACE DISCIPLINE AND THAT TRIGGERED THIS PASSIONATE REVIVAL 7HEN WE HAD OUR #AN LUBANG $IRT 4RACK $AY LAST 3UNDAY THIS FURTHER REINFORCED MY DESIRE FOR 2ALLYING AND WILL HAVE TO BRING IT BACK SOONÜ

Canlubang Dirt Track Day

Q Citroen’s Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia shone at Monte Carlo, signaling a good start for the defending World Rally Championship titleholder. PHOTO FROM WRC.COM

2ACING u SAID TEAM PRINCIPAL &REDERIC 6ASSEUR &ORMER WORLD CHAMPION +IMI 2AIKKONEN WILL LEAD !LFA 2OMEO 2ACING IN THE WORLD CHAMPI ONSHIP AFTER THE &INN S MOVE FROM &ERRARI SUPPORTED BY THE INEXPERI

4O START OUR MOTOR SPORTS YEAR RIGHT WE THOUGHT OF HOLDING A $IRT 4RACK $AY IN OUR FAVORITE OFF ROAD VENUE THE #ANLUBANG ,IFESTYLE #ENTER 7E KNEW FROM THE LAST 2/# LEG THAT ALMOST PERCENT OF THE PAR TICIPANTS WERE ALL NEW TO $IRT 2ALLYING 7E BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO GET THE NEWBIES INTO THE SPORT WAS TO HOLD A TRACK DAY AND LET THEM GET THEIR FEET WET BEFORE THE ACTUAL RACE EVENT /UR TRACK DAY HAD GOOD INSTRUCTORS IN THE FORM OF 2/# -ASTERS #HAM PION 2AUL 4UASON AND MYSELF PRESENT TO GIVE TIPS ON HOW TO DRIVE AROUND THE TECHNICAL AND HARD PACKED TRACK 7E WERE FORTUNATE TO HAD HAD "ENET

'ALANG 2ICK 0ADRINAO "ERNARD 3Y AND *AHAN +ALAM TO JOIN US !FTER A GOOD DAY OF GOING AROUND THE TRACK AND TEACHING THEM THE BASIC TECHNIQUES OF DIRT DRIVING RALLY LINES HAND BRAKE TURNS AND 3CANDI TURBO NAVIAN TURNS THEY WERE TIMES SOON ENJOYING WHAT WE HAD ALWAYS LOVED TO DO ,OOKS LIKE WE WILL HAVE NEW BLOOD IN OUR 2/# DIRT LEGS SOONÜ

KTM bike thrills 7E WERE HAPPY TO GET THE SUPPORT OF +4- FOR THE USE OF THEIR %8# & DUAL SPORT BIKE FOR THE EVENT AND MADE IT OK FOR OUR WHEELED BROTHERS AS WELL /UR GOAL OF SETTING UP A $AKAR 2ALLY FOR ALL KINDS OF VEHICLES WHEELS HAD JUST MOVED UP A NOTCH 4HIS REALLY MADE IT VERY EXCITING ESPECIALLY AS ) HAVE NOT BEEN ON A DIRT BIKE IN AGESÜ ) HAD -OTOCROSS EXPERIENCE BEFORE BUT WAS NEVER PERMITTED TO RACE BY MY PARENTS AS WE WERE STILL BARELY TEENAGERS AND JUST GOT INTO HIGH SCHOOL ) GUESS ) CAN T COMPLAIN AS ) HAVE NOT YET BROKEN ANY BONES IN MY LONG MOTOR SPORTS CAREER KNOCK ON WOODÜ -Y BROTHERS AND ) WERE FORTUNATE TO EX PERIENCE THE -8 REVOLUTION IN THE EARLY S AND MY FIRST BIKE WAS A (ONDA #2 %LSINORE WITH A DOWN PIPEÜ -Y BROTHER PICKED THE RIGHT ONE AND GOT THE 9AMAHA 9: WITH THE FIRST -ONOSHOCK FRAME 4HOSE WERE AWESOME TIMES AND WE HAD A LOT OF FALLS AND WOUNDS IN THE PROCESS ) HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE HOW A MODERN DIRT BIKE LIKE THE +4- %8# & WOULD HANDLE AND POWER UP IN THE DIRT !FTER WE RODE THE +4- %8# & WE ALL AGREED THAT WE PICKED A GREAT BIKE TO GET OUR PASSION FOR -8 BACK ON TRACK 4HE FOUR STROKE ENGINE HAD SO MUCH TORQUE THAT YOU DON T HAVE TO CRANK IT UP TO GET THE FORWARD MOTION 4HE SUSPENSION AND HANDLING WAS ANOTHER REVELATION THAT WE COULDN T FORGET

%VEN THOUGH WE WERE NOVICE -8 DRIVERS WE WERE SO CONkDENT OF CRANKING UP THE THROTTLE AS THE HANDLING AND POWER WERE JUST RIGHTÜ 4HE RUTS DISAPPEARED AND THE SUPPLE RIDE JUST MADE IT EASIER TO HOLD ON TO THAT POWERFUL BIKEÜ /UR TIME ON THE +4- WAS JUST TOO SHORT AS WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BROUGHT THE BIKE UNSCATHED !BOVE ALL ) DIDN T WANT TO BE IN A SILLY ACCIDENT AND HAVE EVERYTHING CAUGHT ON CAMERAÜ (AHAÜ ) WILL HAVE TO BORROW IT AGAIN AND GET IT ON A PROPER -8 TRACK AND GET SOME EXPERT TRAINING FROM FRIENDS

WRC 2019 Season 4HE NEW 72# 3EASON HAS JUST STARTED WITH THE -ONTE #ARLO 2ALLY AND HAD WRITTEN ABOUT IT HERE IN THE MOTOR SPORT 3ECTION 7ITH OUR COVERAGE OF THE $AKAR 2ALLY ALSO HERE AND IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES THE STAGE HAD BEEN SET TO GET THE NEW DRIVERS EXPOSED TO TOP OF THE LINE 2ALLYING AROUND THE GLOBE 4HE 72# IS HAVING A RESURGENCE LATELY WITH LIVING LEGENDS TIME #HAMPION 3EBASTIEN ,OEB AND TIME WINNER DEFENDING CHAMPION 3EBASTIEN /GIER ALL BATTLING IT OUT THIS YEAR IN SEPARATE TEAMS 4HEY ARE JOINED BY VERY FAST DRIVERS *ARI -ATTI *ATVALA +RIS -EEKE AND 4HIERRY .EUVILLE TO NAME A FEW 4HE CAR MANUFACTURERS HAVE ALSO BOOSTED THE NUMBER OF TEAMS WITH #ITROEN (YUNDAI

4OYOTA AND &ORD ALL COMPETING WITH MULTIPLE CAR ENTRIES 4HERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF VERY GOOD LOCAL DRIVERS IN THEIR WELL FUNDED PRIVATE TEAMS TO HOPEFULLY MAKE THEIR MARK IN ANY OF THE SCHEDULED ROUNDS OF THIS SEASON 7ITH ONLY SECONDS SEPARATING THE -ONTE #ARLO WINNER #ITROEN S /GIER AND (YUNDAI S .UEVILLE ) M SURE THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE MORE EXCITING SEASONS THAT WE WILL SEE IN 72# S HISTORYÜ 3TAY TUNED AND SEE HOW WE kNALLY GET THE SPORT WE LOVE REVIVED THIS YEAR 'ODSPEED TO ALLÜ

Sports Batang Pinoy Mindanao leg opens today E4

˜ The Manila Times

SUNDAY February 3, 2018

w w w.manilatimes.net

BY JOSEF T. RAMOS

D

AVAO del Norte: A total of 3,553 athletes below 15-years old are raring for action in the Mindanao Leg of 2019 Batang Pinoy that will hold its opening rites today at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex (DNSTC) here in Tagum City.

$AVAO DEL .ORTE 'OVERNOR !NTHONY DEL 2OSARIO WILL DELIVER THE OPENING REMARKS AT P M WHILE $AVAO #ITY -AYOR 3ARAH $UTERTE #ARPIO IS EXPECTED TO DELIVER HER SPEECH TO THE YOUNG ATHLETES Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez, PSC Commissioners Celia Kiram, Mon Fernandez and Charles Maxey, Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Department of )NTERIOR ,OCAL 'OVERNMENT 3ECRETARY %DUARDO AĂąo will also grace the affair.

The competition proper will begin on Monday.

Among the sports featured are athletics, swimming, archery, badminton, arnis, baseBALL BOXING CHESS VOLLEYBALL DANCESPORTS

pencak Silat, karatedo, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and futsal.

"ESIDES POWERHOUSE $AVAO #ITY AND :AMboanga City, seeing action in the Mindanao LEG ARE $APITAN #ITY 'IPAS 0AGADIAN #ITY

2OXAS #ITY :AMBOANGA $EL .ORTE #AGAYAN De Oro, Plaridel, Misamis Oriental, Tacurong City, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, Antipaz and Agusan Del Norte.

Q Rookie Jayvee Mocon of Rain or Shine dribbles past San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter during a Season 44 PBA Philippine Cup game last Friday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.

PBA MEDIA BUREAU PHOTO

ROS AIMS TO SOLIDIFY HOLD OF NO. 2 VS ALASKA RAIN or Shine aims to strengthen its hold of the No. 2 spot as it faces Alaska at 4:30 p.m. today in Season 44 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Elasto Painters, shooting for their FOURTH WIN IN kVE GAMES ARE UPBEAT AFTER beating defending champion San Miguel

Beer, 108-98, last Friday behind rookie *AYVEE -OCON AND *AMES 9AP “Basically, I do not want to fall into a TRAP BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT PLAYED !LASKA yet. I just told the players same thing as BEFORE THAT WE HAVE TO PLAY WELL AND BE consistent. We can’t go out there and RELAX SO WE HAVE TO TREAT THIS AS A DO OR

die game,� said Rain or Shine COACH #ALOY 'ARCIA -OCON kNISHED WITH POINTS

17 rebounds and four assists WHILE 9AP CONTRIBUTED POINTS against San Miguel Beer.

Rain or Shine is currently holding a 3-1 win-loss record.

Alaska, playing its first game this season after a heartbreaking loss to Magnolia in the LAST 'OVERNORS #UP &INALS

WILL PARADE NINTH OVERALL PICK Jesper Ayaay, Vic Manuel, Jeron Teng, Chris Banchero and Simon Enciso. ) N T H E P M G A M E

Magnolia starts its campaign against TNT KaTropa (2-3). “I think we are ready. Our last tune up game with Mighty

Sports has really helped us a lot in terms of preparation,� said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero, noting that he’s expecting a gritty game with TNT KaTropa. “It’s going to be tough because THEY HAVE A LOT OF SHOOTERS SO WE HAVE TO BE READY DEFENSIVELY u Victolero said they would be playing without Jean Marc Pingris and Aldrech Ramos who are both sidelined by injuries.

Last conference Finals Most Valuable Player Mark Barroca and Best Player of the Conference winner Paul Lee will lead the Hotshots.

TNT is out to bounce back from a 77-88 loss to Meralco last Wednesday. JOSEF T. RAMOS

The tournament is Mindanao’s qualifying LEG FOR THE NATIONAL kNALS TO BE HELD EITHER in Tagbiliran City or Ormoc City in October.

After the Mindanao leg, Batang Pinoy will be in Iloilo City from February 23 to March 2 for the Visayas qualifying leg. The Luzon qualifying leg will be in Iligan, Isabela from March 16 to 23.

Batang Pinoy, the PSC’s grassroots sports program, has produced some of the country’s kNEST ATHLETES AMONG THEM 2IO /LYMPIC SILVER medalist Hidilyn Diaz, boxers Rogen Ladon and #ARLO 0AALAM AS WELL AS GYMNAST #ARLO 9ULO

Navymen brace for LBC Ronda Pilipinas MANY-time champion Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance will to try to defend their turf and lead the Filipino hosts against the expected strong foreign challenge in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2019 set February 8 to 12 in Iloilo, Guimaras, Roxas City and Antique.

The Navymen will have a chance to compete against the best of them after lording over the past few editions of this annual race, which is considered the biggest in the country today, and help the country earn vital Olympic qualifying points for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Navy will be spearheaded by a loaded roster headed by reigning Ronda king Ronald Oranza, two-time champion Jan Paul Morales and last year’s third placer and many-time King of the Mountain winner Junrey Navarra.

Navy also boasts having Ronald Lomotos, Rudy Roque and El Joshua Carino, who are all consistent top 10 finishers in the past, in the fold, making it one of the teams to watch out for in this five-stage race bankrolled by LBC and MVP Sports Foundation. “This is our chance to show we can also compete against strong international teams,� said Morales, the Navy skipper, in Filipino.

For Oranza, who beat Morales last year claim his very first Ronda crown, it will be about for country and pride. “In the past, we race to win for our Navy team and ourselves. This year, it will be for the country,� said Oranza.

Sanctioned by the world governing Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for the first time in the nine-year history of the country’s biggest cycling race, the event has drawn participation from 15 teams including seven local teams headed by Navy Other local teams seeing action are Army Bicycology, Go for Gold, 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines, Team Franzia, Team Tarlac and Bike Xtreme while the international challenge will come from Matrix Powertag Japan, Nex Cycling, Korail Team Korea, PGN Road Cycling Team, Sri Lanka Navy Cycle Team, Customs Cycling Indonesia, Terengganu Cycling Team and Cambodia Cycling Team.

UCI is using a new qualification rule in this Olympic cycle leading Tokyo will allows the top 50 countries to make it straight to the quadrennial meet and LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2019’s presence gives the country a chance to earn more qualifying points.

The race opens with the 197.6-kilometer Iloilo-Iloilo Stage One on February 8 and will proceed with the 101.8km Guimaras-Guimaras Stage Two the next day.

The cavalcade will then go back to Iloilo for the 179.4km Iloilo-Roxas City Stage Three on Feb. 10 followed by the 146.9km Roxas-Roxas Stage Four on February 11.

It will conclude with the 148.9km Roxas-Antique Stage Five on February 12.

The awarding ceremony will be held in the island paradise of Boracay the same day.

Mighty Sports crushes AUD JUSTIN BROWNLEE powered Mighty Sports Philippines to an 87-58 win against the American University in Dubai (AUD), it’s debut win in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship at the Shabab Al-Ahli Club in United Arab Emirates on Friday night (early Saturday in Manila).

Off the bench, Brownlee led Mighty Sports with 17 points highlighted by three triples on top of six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in mere 18 minutes of play.

Mighty Sports dictated the tempo with aggression early in the game en route to a win that marked former National Basket-

ball Association star Lamar Odom’s return to pro hoops. Odom lapsed into coma after multiple heart attacks in 2015.

Odom only scored four points but made up for his paltry 8-of-10 shooting clip with seven boards, two dimes and a steal.

Filipino American cager Jeremiah Gray finished with 15 points in an efficient 7-of-9 shooting from the field in just 13 minutes of action while ex-NBA center Randolph Morris had a 14-marker, six-rebound, four-assist output.

Jett Manuel, who recently retired from the Philippine Basketball Association at a young age

of 26, emerged as the fourth double-digit scorer with 12 points anchored on two three-pointers.

Mighty Sports posted a commanding 37-17 advantage near halftime as Brownlee went for a vicious dunk off Odom’s crosscourt pass and drained a deep trey in the next play.

The Charles Tiu-coached Filipino squad erected its biggest lead, 60-25, on Roosevelt Adam’s layup halfway through the third period and was never threatened from then on.

Tiu and his men already surpassed the winless record of San Beda University, the country’s representative to the tilt last year.

Mighty Sports was playing against the United Arab Emirates national team at press time.

JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

Alab faces Saigon Heat in Cebu SAN Miguel Alab Pilipinas, battles felLOW HEAVYWEIGHT 3AIGON (EAT IN 3EASON 9 Asean Basketball League (ABL) at 7 p.m. tonight at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Alab Pilipinas, unbeaten in nine games at home is fresh from thrashing Hong Kong Eastern Sports Club last week at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.

The Jimmy Alapag-mentored team, which leads the ten-team standings with AN CARD IS PUTTING ITS kVE GAME WINning streak on the line. !LAB GRABBED ITS kFTH WIN IN A ROW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LOWLY :HUHAI 7OLF 7AR-

riors, 100-81, last Tuesday at the Doumen 'YMNASIUM IN 'UANGDONG #HINA Puerto Rican reinforcements Renaldo Balkman and PJ Ramos are expected to LEAD THE &ILIPINOS kERY CHARGE ANEW "ALKMAN THE LAST SEASON S $EFENSIVE 0LAYER OF THE 9EAR EXPLODED WITH points and 13 rebounds in Alab’s rout of :HUHAI WHILE THE FOOT CENTER 2AMOS WAS ALSO IMPRESSIVE WITH MARKERS AND BOARDS IN THEIR LAST TWO WINS Local standouts Lawrence DominGO %THAN !LVANO AND 0AO *AVELONA ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE EXTRA FIREPOWER AS 2AY 0ARKS IS STILL CONVALESCing from a groin injury .

Saigon, on the other hand, is eyeing TO ASCEND TO .O AS IT TRIES TO IMPROVE its third-best 10-6 sheet.

But the Heat is currently on a losing skid, stumbling in its two PREVIOUS GAMES AGAINST (ONG +ONG %ASTERN AND THE 3INGAPORE Slingers (80-87). !MERICAN GUARD 4REVON (UGHES

American big man Kyle Barone and Canadian forward Murphy Burtanowski will lead the struggling Saigon.

(UGHES HAD AN AVERAGE OF POINTS per game while Barone and Burtanowski AND RESPECTIVELY

JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

Golf

F 1 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2019

www.manilatimes.net Q Rickie Fowler plays his shot from the 15th tee during the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona.

US PGA PHOENIX OPEN SCORES LEADING second-round scores on Saturday in the US PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale course (par-71; USA unless stated): 129 - Rickie Fowler 64-65 130 - Justin Thomas 64-66 131 - Branden Grace (RSA) 67-64, Trey Mullinax 67-64 132 - Matt Kuchar 67-65, Cameron Smith (AUS) 67-65 133 - Bubba Watson 66-67, Martin Laird (SCO)

65-68 134 - An Byeong Hun (KOR) 66-68, Charley Hoffman 66-68 135 - Tom Hoge 67-68, Harold Varner 64-71, Jon Rahm (ESP) 67-68, Gary Woodland 68-67, David Hearn (CAN) 67-68, Andrew Landry 67-68 136 - Chesson Hadley 71-65, Russell Henley 68-68, Ollie Schniederjans 67-69, Webb Simpson 67-69, Nick Watney 67-69, Brandon Harkins 70-66, Denny McCarthy 69--67 AFP

AFP PHOTO

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OS ANGELES: Rickie Fowler birdied his last four holes on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to seize a one-shot lead — and at least temporary bragging rights — over good friend Justin Thomas after two rounds of the US PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open. “It’s fun, getting to play with your buddies, those are the people you want to lose to the least,� &OWLER SAID AFTER HIS SIZZLING kNISH propelled him to a six-under par AT 40# 3COTTSDALE His 13-under par total of 129 put him one stroke on front of

4HOMAS WHO CARDED A kVE UNDER 66 and at 130.

It was a further stroke back to South African Branden Grace, who highlighted his 64 with a hole-inone, and American Trey Mullinax.

Fowler, who shared the

overnight lead with Thomas — his housemate this week — and Harold Varner, was two-under for the day after three birdies and a bogey when he birdied 15 to launch his run.

At the par-three 16th, where a raucous crowd of thousands surrounds the green, he rolled in a 10-footer. He drained a 13-foot birdie at 17 and capped his round with an eight-foot birdie. “I hit some really good putts to kNISH THE DAY OFF u SAID &OWLER "UT WITH TWO RUNNER UP kNISHES in Phoenix on his resume, the American was well aware that there remains “a lot of golf to be played�.

“We’re halfway, and we’re going to battle it out,� he said.

Thomas made the last of his six birdies at the 15th, bouncing BACK FROM HIS kRST BOGEY OF THE week at 14. “To only have one bogey through 36 holes is good, especially when it very easily could have gone in for a par,� who just missed his 10-footer for par at the hole. “I’m playing solid. Rick, when he’s playing like this at a course that he loves like this is going to be tough to beat. But 36 holes left and there’s a lot of players that are within striking distance.�

Lefty misses cut

before the ball actually went in.�

Mullinax also carded a 64, That included Grace, whose ace draining an eight-footer at 18 to at the par-three seventh was just join Grace in third place.

American veteran Matt Kuchar THE kRST OF HIS TWO EAGLES (E ALSO AND !USTRALIAN #AMERON 3MITH CHIPPED IN AT THE PAR kVE TH Grace admitted his third career WERE TIED FOR kFTH BOTH POSTING hole-in-one, and his first on the 65s for 132.

Five-time major winner Phil MickUS PGA Tour, owed something to CADDIE #RAIG #ONNELLY WHO ADVISED elson, an Arizona State University going with an eight-iron when Grace graduate playing in his 30th Phoenix Open, missed the cut for just the secwas contemplating a seven-iron. “I said, ‘OK, if that’s what you think ond time in the last 10 years.

The three-time winner of the then I’m going to go for it,’� Grace said. “I felt really good over the shot, event carded a second-round 75 hit a great shot and the guys behind for a one-over total, missing the AFP the hole actually started jumping up cut by two strokes.

JDA tees up sponsorship Johnson powers into with golf star Jon Rahm

Saudi Arabia lead, Rose misses cut

Q Dustin Johnson AFP PHOTO

KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY: AmeriCAN $USTIN *OHNSON GRABBED A three-shot lead at the halfway stage of the inaugural Saudi International, the first top-level golf tournament to be held in the country, on Friday (Saturday in Manila) as world No. 1 Justin Rose missed the cut.

Former world No. 1 Johnson established the course record at the brand-new layout with a nineunder-par 61, which hauled him to the top of the leaderboard at 11-under, three shots better than South African Zander Lombard AND #HINA S ,I (AOTONG However, current No. 1 Rose made an early exit from the tournament.

The 38-year-old, winner of last week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on the PGA Tour, shot a two-over-par 72 and failed to make it to the weekend by two shots.

Second-ranked Brooks Koepka, who can now regain the top spot by winning the tournament after Rose missed the cut, shot an even-par 70 and is tied 47th in the tournament which has been criticized over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

A f t e r struggling on the greens throughout his first round on Thursday afternoon, Johnson made full use of the calm morning condi-

Q Justin Rose AP PHOTO

tions and the fresh greens, converting one eagle and seven birdies. “Obviously, you always have fun when you’re playing well. I did a lot of the same things I did yesterday. I drove it really well and gave myself a lot of opportunities,� said Johnson.

Li, who was penalized two shots ON THE kNAL HOLE OF THE $UBAI $ESERT #LASSIC AND DROPPED FROM tied third to tied 12th after his caddie was deemed to have lined up his putt, put himself in content i o n again with a solid round that just featured one bogey — on the parkVE FOURTH HOLE “It was very pleasing.

I played quite solid and

disappointed in hole four, which is a birdie hole, but I made a bogey.

That is like giving two shots there.

Otherwise, I think I did everything very well,� said the 23-year-old, now ranked 44th in the world.

Rose pays for poor first round Rose, whose round included a double bogey on the picturesque par-three 16th hole, said he did himself no favours after an even-par 70 in easier conditions on Thursday morning. “That is the reason why I am disappointed. I should have been at least five-six-under through that middle stretch yesterday. I did feel I was chasing the cut towards the end, which is why I started playing aggressively,� said Rose. “I could have made a run in the morning tomorrow if I had scored SLIGHTLY BETTER IN THE kRST ROUND As for the number one ranking, I did manage to open up a bit of gap after the win at Torrey Pines, but these are great players. “I don’t expect them to play badly, but then the number one is not my focus this year. I am enjoying being one, but my focus is on the majors.�

Australian Scott Hend put together a great seven-under 63 late in the afternoon and catapulted to tied fourth at seven-under alongside Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti. AFP

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.: JDA Software Inc., has landed in the world of professional golf, announcing a new sponsorship with global golf star Jon Rahm. In just over two years as a professional, Rahm has taken the golf world by storm, amassing six career wins, two top-five finishes in Major Championships, and been ranked as high as second in the Official World Golf Rankings. Rahm is presently the No. 6 ranked player in the world.

As part of partnership, Rahm will serve as brand ambassador for JDA. Rahm will wear the JDA logo on the chest of his golf shirt at PGA events beginning today at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Rahm will also make a number of appearances on behalf of the JDA brand and take part in various marketing and social media campaigns to promote the partnership.

The partnership between Rahm and JDA is unique because of several synergies between the two. JDA’s global headquarters is in Scottsdale, where Rahm currently lives and where he starred as a collegiate player at nearby Arizona State University, including a record sixty-weeks as the top amateur in the world. JDA has enjoyed an over 30-year longevity in Arizona and is the largest software company headquartered in the state, employing nearly 400 Arizonians and more than 4,600 associates worldwide. JDA is the universally recognized leader supply chain software and artificial

Q Jon Rahm AP PHOTO

intelligence, serving 4,000+ global customers including 75 of the world’s Top 100 Retailers and 77 of the top consumer goods companies. Rahm’s roster of corporate sponsors includes highly valued JDA customers adidas, Mercedes-Benz and TaylorMade, along with Bighorn Golf Club and Rolex. Additionally, the 24-year-old Rahm hails originally from Spain, where JDA has offices and significant business operations. “We are thrilled to welcome Jon as a brand ambassador to JDA. He is a clear reflection of a number of our core values including being relentless and delivering results — and he couldn’t be a better fit to extend our brand,� said Kevin Iaquinto, chief marketing officer, JDA. “His track record in just two years on both the PGA TOUR and European Tour is very impressive and his dedication to his sport is unmatched — aligning well with our relentless obsession to deliver results and value to our customers worldwide.� “JDA is a transformational company with an incredible roster of customers around the world and given our shared roots in both Arizona and Spain, we are a great match,� said Rahm. “I’m thrilled about this great new partnership and look forward to working together with everyone at JDA to help expand its fantastic brand.� AP

F2

Golf

The Sunday Times

w w w. m ani l at i m e s. ne t

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Q Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 11th hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course during the final round of the Farmers Insurance golf tournament on January 27, in San Diego.

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BY DOUG FERGUSON

AN DIEGO: With nothing to gain, Tiger Woods was happy to take WHATEVER VICTORY HE COULD kND AT Torrey Pines.

His goal Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where he started THE kNAL ROUND SHOTS BEHIND

WAS TO REACH DOUBLE DIGITS UNDER PAR 7OODS BIRDIED HIS LAST TWO HOLES FOR A ON THE FRONT NINE OF THE 3OUTH #OURSE AND kNISHED AT UNDER PAR “Got to have these little goals when I’m not in contention to

WIN A TOURNAMENT u 7OODS SAID “Still something positive to end THE WEEK ON u !NOTHER TINY VICTORY )T WAS THE kRST TIME SINCE THAT 7OODS BROKE PAR ALL FOUR ROUNDS AT 4ORREY 0INES 7OODS CLOSED WITH A UNDER AND TIED FOR TH )T WAS NEVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH

to catch Justin Rose, though Woods BELIEVES HE GOT ENOUGH OUT OF THE WEEK TO FEEL REASONABLY WELL ABOUT THE START OF HIS YEAR g) FEEL LIKE ) KNOCKED SOME RUST OFF WHICH WAS GREAT THIS WEEK u 7OODS SAID g&IGURED A FEW THINGS OUT AS THE WEEK WAS GOING ALONG ) JUST FELT LIKE ) GOT BETTER EACH AND EVERY DAY -Y ROUNDS GOT CLEANER

and that’s what I want to have hap PEN ) LL BE READY IN A COUPLE WEEKS u (IS PERFORMANCE AT A TOURNA ment he has won seven times was ABOUT THE SAME AS LAST YEAR WHEN HE SHOT IN THE kNAL ROUND ON a much tougher South course and

AP PHOTO

TIED FOR RD NEVER A THREAT TO THE WIN THE TOURNAMENT BUT PICKING UP SPOTS ON THE LEADERBOARD 4HE DIFFERENCE WAS HIS OUTLOOK THE REST OF THE YEAR (E WAS JUST RETURNING TO THE 0'!

4OUR FROM HIS FOURTH BACK SURGERY last year, and Woods says he wasn’t SURE HOW HIS BACK WAS GOING TO HOLD UP THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR until he made it to Florida without ANY PHYSICAL ISSUES While he conceded to some tournament rust — this was only his second event since he won THE 4OUR #HAMPIONSHIP ON 3EPT ‡ 7OODS SAYS THERE IS FAR LESS

UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHAT HE EXPECTS OUT OF HIS GAME “Finishing the year the way I did, hitting it like I did was great BECAUSE ) kNALLY BUILT IT TO A PLACE WHERE ) CAN TAKE A LITTLE TIME OFF and I know what I’ll have when I COME BACK u 7OODS SAID g) DON T HAVE TO GO LOOKING SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING 3O THAT HELPS A LOT u 7OODS WAS STUCK IN NEUTRAL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY AFTER STARTING ON .O !ND THEN HE MADE A PAIR OF FOOT BIRDIE PUTTS EARLY ON THE FRONT NINE

SAVED PAR WITH A FOOT PUTT ON .O AND HIT IT TIGHT ON .O FOR ANOTHER BIRDIE !FTER A THREE PUTT PAR ON THE

PAR SIXTH 7OODS CLOSED WITH TWO BIRDIES FOR HIS HIS BEST SCORE ON THE 3OUTH COURSE AT 4ORREY SINCE A ON 3ATURDAY IN WHEN HE WON THIS 0'! 4OUR EVENT BY EIGHT SHOTS 4HE BIGGEST QUESTION ABOUT 7OODS WAS THE COLOR OF HIS 3UNDAY SHIRT WHICH UP CLOSE WAS RED AND WHITE STRIPES BUT WITH ENOUGH TINY STREAKS IN THE RED THAT FROM A DISTANCE IT APPEARED TO BE PINK So, was it pink or red? g9EAH u 7OODS SAID WITH A SMILE He now heads home to Florida FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE RETURNING AT 2IVIERA FOR THE 'ENESIS /PEN WHERE LAST YEAR HE MISSED THE CUT AP

Be it age or injury, Woods now begins year at a slower pace

BY DOUG FERGUSON SAN DIEGO: Tiger Woods wrapped up his week at Torrey Pines with a 67 to tie for 20th and said it was good to shake off some rust and see what needs work.

It was his first competition in seven weeks, and only his second event since the Ryder Cup ended on Oct. 1.

Whether it’s because of age or injury — both are relevant — keep in mind that for the first 12 years of his pro career, Woods never finished outside the top 10 in his first event of the year, winning six times. The streak ended at the Match Play in 2009 after he sat out eight months recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.

Dating to 2009, he has finished in the top 10 just twice in his first event of the year — a tie for fourth in the 2010 Masters and a tie for third in Abu Dhabi in 2012.

Even at his best, and when healthy, when Woods didn’t win his first start of the year it was written off in some corners as spring training. Everything was geared toward that first full week at Augusta National. In some respects, that remains true.

It’s about peaking four weeks every year, and Woods said that starts “months out.�

But when does it become important to start seeing results? “Just want to keep building, keep getting more crisp,� Woods said. “It’s hard to peak for four major championships. It’s not easy. I’ve only done it 14 times.�

Most players would love to peak at majors half as much — if that many — in their careers. While conceding that “only� 14 sounds like a lot, Woods put it into context by referencing Jack Nicklaus winning “only� 18 times in 164 majors. “It’s not easy to do,� said Woods, who has played 80 majors, six as an amateur. “It’s hard to have mind, body and soul come together at the same time. Luckily in this sport, we have four chances per year.�

What has his attention this year is not getting ready for the Masters, but the quick turnaround for the next one, with the PGA Championship moving to May. Last year, for example, there were nine weeks between the Masters and the U.S. Open. Now, there are four weeks between the Masters and the PGA. “It’s very different because it feels like it’s our Players Championship week,� Woods said. “I’m familiar with the new date where we are with the Players (March). That’s not a big change for me. But having the PGA in May is going to be a little bit different.�

Miller time Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is typically about the volume and antics on the par-3 16th hole. This year, NBC Sports will devote a fair amount of the broadcast saying goodbye to Johnny Miller, the biggest voice in golf over the last 30 years.

Miller announced last fall he would retire. The third round will be his final day so nothing will detract from the winner on Sunday.

The two-time major champion never had a problem saying what he thinks. This time, his biggest concern is guarding his emotions. “This is going to be quite the one-day telecast for me,�

Miller said. “Yeah, I’ve given a lot of thought about this last event for me. I know it’s time.

I could feel it was time to step down, but I stepped down a little early in my playing career, and I think maybe I’ve done the same thing here with my announcing career. “I’m looking forward to trying not to cry, basically.�

Miller will be joined

briefly in the booth Saturday by Paul Azinger, who replaces him as the lead analyst at NBC, and then Azinger will call the shots on Sunday. Azinger’s first full tournament as Miller’s replacement will be the Mexico Championship.

Q Haotong Li of China walks on the 14th hole during round three of the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on January 26. AP PHOTO

GOLF NOTES New rules Each week of the new year seems to bring a new rules debate, whether it’s the knee-high drop or putting with the flagstick still in the cup. On Sunday in Dubai, it was the rule created to keep caddies from lining up the player.

And the debate was between two administrators.

Li Haotong was penalized two shots on the 18th green when he began to take his stance on a short putt with his caddie behind him.

The caddie stepped away immediately and it appeared there was no intent to align him. If Li had stepped away and began his routine anew, there would not have been a penalty. But he was docked two shots, turning his 71 into a 73, and his tie for third into a tie for 12th, a difference of about $100,000.

After outrage on social media for how bad it looked, European Tour chief Keith Pelley issued a statement saying that while the officials made the right call by the strict wording of the rule, the officials should have been allowed some discretion in applying the rule. He referred to the outcome as “grossly unfair.�

Pelley said there needs to be a proper balance between maintaining integrity and promoting golf’s global appeal.

That prompted a statement a short time later from Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, which read more like a rebuke that even the modernized Rules of Golf that took effect Jan. 1 are not designed for officials to apply them based on how it looks. “Whether the player intends to be lined up is not the issue,� Slumbers said. “We appreciate that it was a very unfortunate situation and I completely understand Keith Pelley’s concerns when a rules incident occurs at such a key stage of a European Tour event. But there is no discretionary element to the rule precisely so that it is easier to understand and can be applied consistently.�

Bhatia’s path Akshay Bhatia tried again to get into his first PGA Tour event. He made it through the pre-qualifier, but then missed by three shots in Monday qualifying for the Farmers Insurance Open.

The 16-year-old from North Carolina plans to turn pro when he finishes high school, though the amateur game still holds plenty of appeal. He already is the first boy to win the Junior PGA Championship in consecutive years since it began in 1976. He would love to repeat in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in Augusta, Georgia, again. He wants to be the No. 1 amateur, win the U.S. Amateur and play on the Walker Cup team this year. “I know I can do it as long as I work on the right things,� Bhatia said.

Bhatia recently was featured in the Whistle Sports’ docuseries “No Days Off,� which looks at prodigies in various sports.

It showed a teen who is relentless in his

work ethic, and Bhatia doesn’t mind a perception that he is all golf and no play. “It doesn’t bother me what people think,� he said. “I do have a life. I do have fun.�

But he loves his golf.

He says he has tried Monday qualifying since he was 14, and once got into a playoff for the final spot at a Web.com Tour event at his home course. In the meantime, he has three American Junior Golf Association victories, winning the Polo Golf Junior Classic by 10. He won his second Junior PGA by holing a 40-foot eagle chip on the 18th hole to win at Valhalla. “Especially in this game, you have to learn how to win, learn how to close,�

Bhatia said. “Any time you can put yourself in position like that, it’s definitely key because it helps going to the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour.�

Divots Fred Couples, Jim Furyk and Bill Haas have been given sponsor exemptions to the Genesis Open at Riviera. Haas withdrew last year when he was the passenger in a fatal car accident. ... Justin Rose ended one streak at Torrey Pines. He was the first player in nine years to start the Farmers Insurance Open on the easier North Course. ... Gary Nicklaus, the third son of Jack Nicklaus who played two years on the PGA Tour, has received a sponsor exemption to the Oasis Championship on Feb. 8-10 on the PGA Tour Champions.

Stat of the week With their 1-2 finish at Torrey Pines, Justin Rose and Adam Scott both went over the $50 million mark in career earnings on the PGA Tour.

Final word “I’ve made myself look silly enough through the years. It’s nice to be left out of that for a change.� — Ian Poulter, on not being part of the latest European Tour social media spot.

AP

The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

Q Adam Scott, of Australia, watches his shot off the first tee with Justin Rose, of England, during the second day of the British Open Golf championship on July 18, 2014 at the Royal Liverpool golf club, Hoylake, England. AP PHOTO

Justin Rose, Adam Scott hit $50M milestone together

S

BY DOUG FERGUSON

AN DIEGO: Justin Rose won at Torrey Pines. Adam Scott challenged HIM TO THE kNAL HOLE !ND THANKS TO THAT kNISH AT THE &ARMERS )NSURANCE Open, both surpassed $50 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.

)T S A FEAT ACHIEVED BY ONLY kVE other players. These days, it’s little more than a monetary milestone.

But it was fitting they did it together.

Born 14 days apart in July 1980, they have been great friends since they tussled in South Africa at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in January 2001. Both were 20. Scott made a 4-foot birdie putt on the

last hole to beat Rose and win FOR THE kRST TIME AS A PRO /DDLY enough — or maybe not — Rose WON HIS kRST PROFESSIONAL TITLE A year later in the same tournament.

What makes the timing so appropriate that both joined the $50 million club on the same day is that their PGA Tour careers effectively began together, with a little help from the men who

now run the PGA Tour (commissioner Jay Monahan) and the PGA of America (chief executive Seth Waugh).

Go back to a rainy Labor Day in 2003 on the TPC Boston to find Scott closing with a 66 for a four-shot victory in the inaugural Deutsche Bank Championship, which had given him a sponsor exemption. The victory gave him instant PGA Tour membership. Rose also was given an exemption, shot 67 in the final round and finished third. He earned $340,000 that day, giving him enough money to earn a tour card.

Waugh at the time was CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, the title sponsor of a new tournament that had the Tiger Woods Foundation as the charitable arm. Monahan was hired as the tournament director. “We gave them both exemptions,� Waugh said Tuesday from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was caddying for his son in a PGA Tour Latinoamerica qualifying tournament. “Adam was pretty obvious. Jay called me and said, ‘Let’s talk about exemptions,’ which I’d never done.�

Monahan mentioned using a special exemption for international players on an English kid who had had a good British Open, turned pro and missed 20 consecutive cuts before getting his career on track. Waugh already was aware he was talking about Rose, who had won on three tours (Europe, South Africa, Japan) the previous year.

And then Waugh really got to know him. “We get to the pro-am draw party Wednesday night at the statehouse in Boston,� Waugh said. “It was a formal deal. Mitt Romney was the governor, and we’re all giving our suit speeches.

There’s this tall kid by the seafood bar eating shrimp and looking lonely. I walk up to him and said: ‘How are you doing? Are you Justin Rose?’ I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ “He said Deutsche Bank was nice enough to give him an exemption and he thought

Golf

F3

he would come up and thank somebody,� Waugh said. “He was staying all the way in Providence. I said, ‘You just did.’ But that’s Justin. No agent, nobody telling him what to do. He ended finishing third. And the rest is history.�

The history between Scott and Rose was just getting started.

They have piled up victories around the world, amassing long streaks of winning. Scott went 14 consecutive years with at least one victory worldwide and has 27 for his career. Rose won Sunday for the 22nd time worldwide, extending his streak to 10 consecutive years with at least one victory, including his gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

They now are neighbors at Albany in the Bahamas, both married with two children.

They each have won one major, which they won consecutively.

3COTT kNALLY DELIVERED !USTRALIA a green jacket when he won the 2013 Masters. Rose sent him a text message of congratulations, which prompted this famous reply from Scott: “This is our time.�

Two months later, Rose won the U.S. Open at Merion.

He had practiced the week before the Masters with Scott in the Bahamas, even played a couple of rounds together. “I took his money both times,�

Rose said.

And then Scott won the Masters, which made the text exchange really hit home.

Indeed, it was their time, and they kept going. Scott reached No. 1 in the world in the spring of 2014. Rose reached No. 1 in the world late last summer, and the Englishman extended his lead atop the world ranking with his two-shot victory at Torrey Pines.

Waugh still thinks about that Monday afternoon at the TPC Boston, where Scott and Rose spent the entire week together, at restaurants and on the leaderboard.

They have won so much and done SO WELL THAT MONEY DOESN T DEkNE them.

In this case, it was simply a reminder of where it all began. AP

Son of golf great Gary Spieth, Reed reunite with a hug and a laugh Player charged with fraud

BY DOUG FERGUSON

A SON of three-time Masters Tournament winner Gary Player was arrested in Columbia County last week on a fraud charge.

Wayne Gary Player, 56, was charged with deposit account fraud/bad check last Wednesday. According to the incident report, Player had rented a residence in Evans for two nights, April 3 and 4, during Masters Week last year. The homeowner told deputies that he was paid by check !PRIL BUT IT WAS RETURNED FOR INSUFkCIENT funds by the bank.

According to the incident report, the homeowner said his lawyer made several attempts to contact Player and sent him a CERTIkED LETTER -AY WITH NO LUCK Player, who lives in Tequesta, Fla., contacted the homeowner’s lawyer and said he would send $1,000 to take care of the debt, according to the report. The homeowner never received the money and was advised of the warrant process.

The homeowner didn’t report the incident to police until July.

Player has been released on bond.

Player, along with Wayne Player Enterprises LLC, is also being sued in a civil suit that says he didn’t live up to promises for hospitality services during the 2018 Masters. The lawsuit by Todd Feltz states that Player and his company promised a customized “Green Jacket Masters Experience 2018� to him and his wife, Amy.

The suit states that Player was hosting accommodations at a private home close to Augusta National Golf Club for April 3 and 4. It is unclear whether it’s the same home in the other case.

According to court documents, the customized experience included dinner and open bar with Player, breakfast or lunch at the Founders Club on April 4 and 5, one ticket each for the Par-3 Contest, one series badge each for the opening Masters round, a daily 9:30 a.m. walk of the back nine with Wayne Player, and a meet-and-greet with Gary Player and other Masters champions at Augusta National, among many other things. The cost was $6,850 per person AND ALL SALES WERE kNAL WITH A PERCENT nonrefundable deposit required.

When Feltz met to talk with Wayne Player, he “became angry and intentionally made physical contact with (the plaintiff) by headbutting him and knocking him to the ground,� according to court documents. The suit also claims Player has acted in bad faith and caused Feltz unnecessary trouble and expense.

Player’s father, Gary Player, is one of the most successful golfers to ever play the GAME AND ONE OF kVE PLAYERS TO WIN THE CAreer Grand Slam. He, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus each designed nine holes at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans.

TNS

SAN DIEGO: Jordan Spieth ended any speculation about his relationship with Patrick Reed with a hug.

Spieth and Reed

played together Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

It was the most time they have spent with each other since sitting on opposite sides of a table in a closing Ryder Cup press conference amid questions why they weren’t partners in France.

Reed made it a divisive issue in a telephone interview with The New York Times a few hours earlier when he blamed Spieth for them not playing together. When asked at the end of last year whether he has spoken to Spieth, Reed said no and that Spieth had his number.

At Torrey Pines, it was as if nothing had ever happened — EXCEPT FOR THE kRST TEE Spieth walked over and shook hands with Reed’s caddie, John Chin and his caddie, and then he smiled and wrapped his arms around Reed as both laughed.

“ I t wa s m o r e k i n d o f sarcasm toward y’all,� Spieth told reporters. “We’ve seen each other plenty of times at Sony and here and everything has been the way it normally is. We knew the cameras were on and we knew people were interested in that, so I just thought it would be kind of funny.�

Reed said the Ryder Cup moment was forgotten in his mind as soon as they got off the plane from France. “It’s really nothing,� Reed said. “Jordan and I, we’ve moved on. We’re now just out here trying to play some good golf and trying to feed off of each other as well as just trying to go out and shoot low numbers.�

Spieth and Reed were 4-1-2 as Ryder Cup partners in Scotland and Minnesota.

At last year’s Ryder Cup, h owe ve r, S p i e t h p l aye d

with Thomas and it was the most successful U.S. team in France as they went 3-1. Reed played with Tiger Woods and went 0-2.

Spieth predicted a moment like this when he showed up in Honolulu two weeks ago and was asked about Reed. “It will be interesting if we’re competing on Sunday, what will be talked about outside of us. Between us, it won’t be anything extra than what there always is, which is peers trying to win a tournament,� he said then.

And that’s how it looked Saturday. “Everything got blown up more than it should have been,� Spieth said. “It was just another round.�

Reed had a 3-under 69. Spieth was making a run until a triple bogey on the 15th hole, and he had to settle for a 72.

AP

Q Jordan Spieth hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course on January 25, in San Diego. AP PHOTO

Johnson hopes bank on good showing at Saudi International LONDON: Dustin Johnson is hoping a good showing at the Saudi International will act as a springboard to a second Major.

The big-hitting American is just one of a host of big names set to tee it up at the inaugural European Tour event in the Kingdom at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club tomorrow.

As well as the man known as “DJ�, world No. 1 Justin Rose, three-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, and last weekend’s champion in Dubai Bryson DeChambeau will all be on the first tee in a bid to win the title -- a trio that along with Johnson make up four of the world’s current top five.

With other top-class golfers such as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood

and Patrick Reed also in the mix, the field is as strong as any you will find this time of year. And Johnson is hoping that pushes him to lay down a marker for the rest of the season. “Quite a few of the top 20 in the world will be in Saudi, so it’s a very competitive field, for sure,� the former world No. 1 said. “In the past, the Middle East tournaments at the start of the year have been a good marker for who’s in great form.�

Johnson’s record of five WGC titles — second only to Tiger Woods — and 19 PGA Tour titles suggests he is worth more than the solitary Major he has won so far, the US Open in 2016. Last year he claimed three titles, but failed to challenge for that

elusive second Major. A good showing on the banks of the Red Sea would certainly prove once again that he is the man to beat — if any confirmation was needed.

But he is aware that, as with the field at the Saudi International, the strength in depth in world golf is as strong as his

booming drives are long.

Q Dustin Johnson AFP PHOTO

“The competition is so fierce, and there are so many guys pushing for the big titles and in the world rankings,� Johnson said. “The obvious ones are the players up in the top 10 currently, and it’s pretty close between me, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas at the moment. You also have players who can get on a hot streak and are suddenly pushing into the top five, such as Xander Schauffele after his win in Hawaii.�

The 34-year-old, however, is feeling good and looking for a win this weekend to set up an even more successful 2019. “My golf swing feels great and I have a lot of confidence in it,� Johnson said. “I’m driving the ball well, and I’ve been

working on the short game, hitting a lot of wedges. I’m happy with where I’m at and really looking forward to the season ahead.�

Even at the best of times, predicting golf is a fool’s game — and this week at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club could well confirm that view. It will be the first time 99 per cent of the field will have played the course and if the wind picks up off the Red Sea, it could be anyone’s title. “The golf course looks great and after speaking to the other guys it sounds like a very interesting place to come and play a golf tournament,� Johnson added. “The field is set to be very strong, so any chance to play against the best players in the world is tough to turn down.�

TNS

F4

Golf

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

FOR announcements on tournaments, rankings and other golf-related events, email the sports editor at pgs_mallari@manilatimes.net es net

˜ The Sunday Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

Q Winners of the 2019 Orchard Junior Golf Championship held last January 27 in Dasmariñas City, Cavite. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Kang bags Orchard Junior Golf Championship overall crown

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Sato-Kawano duo snares Jose AIM Higher Golf Tournament takes off Feb 11 Yulo Memorial overall title

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Wilcon holds charity golf tournament

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5th G&W-TBV Golf Cup begins February 18

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"UHANGIN $AVAO #ITY 4 H E F O U R D A Y ANNUAL MEMBER GUEST TOURNAMENT IS EXPECTED TO DRAW MORE THAN EN TRIES 4HE EVENT AIMS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE CHARITABLE PROJECTS OF THE 0OMELO 4EE &OUNDATION )NCORPORATED AMONG THEM COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FOR SELECTED WORK ERS AND CADDIES DEPENDENT 0ART OF THE PROCEEDS WILL ALSO BE USED TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL EQUIPMENT AND OTHER LEARNING MATERIALS TO -ANDUG (IGH

3CHOOL AND )NDANGAN (IGH 3CHOOL %NTRY FEE IS 0

INCLUSIVE OF TWO DAY ONE MULLIGAN PER NINE HOLES 4HE TOURNAMENT S TEAM AND INDI VIDUAL CATEGORIES WILL FOLLOW A HOLE STROKE PLAY UNDER THE MODIkED 3TABL EFORD SCORING SYSTEM &OR REGISTRATION CONTACT 2ANCHO 0ALOS AT

OR

The Sunday Times

Inspiration.

Celebrity.

Style.

February 3, 2019 Volume 118 | No. 77

Celebrating Karen Gallman DQG WKH 3KLOLSSLQHV· ÀUVW HYHU Miss Intercontinental crown •

LITERARY LIFE

FILIPINO CHAMPIONS

ARTS AWAKE

Stalin-era novel tells story of survival, love

Snapshots of the Philippines win European tiltt G3

Interactive, collaborative edition of Art Fair 20199 G8

G2

Literary Life SUNDAY February 3, 2019

G2

POETRY

F E AT U R E

Stalin-era novel tells story of survival, love

BY MARIA DANILOVA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

M

OSCOW: Guzel Yakhina’s grandmother was a little girl when Soviet agents burst into her home and deported the whole family to the frozen woods of Siberia. Decades later, she shared those memories with her granddaughter, telling her of immense suffering and death, but also of resilience.

Out of those conversations was born Zuleikha, Yakhina’s widely acclaimed debut novel that tells the story of love and friendship on the brink of death in Josef Stalin’s camps.

The novel became a national bestseller, received two prestigious literary awards in Russia, and has been translated into more than 20 languages. In February, Zuleikha COMES OUT IN %NGlish from Oneworld Publications, an independent global publisher based in London.

More than four decades after Alexander Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel prize for exposing the horrors of Stalin’s purges, Russian literature is again returning to the subject, examining an unhealed wound. The renewed interest comes as many Russians are dismayed by the efforts of some ofkCIALS TO GLOSS OVER 3TALIN S CRIMES and paint him in a positive light. “Russian society suffered a great deal of trauma during the early Soviet period and unfortunately you cannot work through this trauma very quickly,â€? Yakhina said in an interview in a Moscow cafĂŠ over the summer.

In the book, Zuleikha, a slender 30-year-old Muslim woman, lives in a Tatar village in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s, a near-slave to her abusive husband and cruel mother-in-law.

She knows no love and warmth, and her world is limited to the

CONkNES OF HER VILLAGE “Lie still, woman,� orders Zuleikha’s husband Murtaza, as he beats her with a broom for a transgression she did not commit, but then he cools off quickly. “She was given a good husband after all,� Zuleikha reminds herself.

Written in a rich and highly visual prose, the novel is interspersed with Tatar words, as Yakhina pays tribute to her heritage and painstakingly recreates the fabric of Tatar life of the time when men and women lived in separate quarters and where Zuleikha prays both to Allah and to pagan spirits. The BOOK IS TRANSLATED INTO %NGLISH BY ,ISA (AYDEN That life ends for Zuleikha when Red Army soldiers show up TO CONkSCATE -URTAZA S PROPERTY and force him to join a collective farm. When he refuses, blood is spilled and Zuleikha is taken away. Much like Yakhina’s grandmother, Zuleikha spends months traversing the vast Soviet empire by sled, in overcrowded train cars, and then by boat, only to be left on the barren bank of the Angara River with just a handful of fellow “heads,� as they are referred to, who survived the journey. The deportees dig pit-houses to hide from Siberia’s merciless cold and FEED OFF WHAT THEY CAN kND IN THE forest. Many still die. “She told me scary things, but on the other hand, she told me

Q Merlinda Bobis. PHOTO FROM THE MERLINDA BOBIS – FILIPINA CONTEMPORARY WRITER FACEBOOK PAGE dramatic works that were perFORMED INTERNATIONALLY (ER LAT-

BY EDGARDO S. TUGADE What a nice dream Me moving out, Far from your scream, Far from your shout.

Isle in the stream, "IRD lYING SOUTH Till when a dream My moving out?

To Marc Almagro

BY EDGARDO S. TUGADE You can wear my new poem like a new shirt.

0UT YOUR THOUGHTS IN kRST THEN YOUR HANDIWORK Spread your love and hate, your hunger and mirth, And then the roles of the parts in the fork

Q Guzel Yakhina (left) and the cover of the English translation of Zuleikha.

PHOTOS FROM NAZARETUJS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS AND ASHRAF ABOUL-YAZID ASHRAF-DALI’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

about some warm moments,�

Yakhina said of her grandmother. “The warmest moment was friendship, a very peculiar kind, which is stronger than family ties.�

Yakhina, 41, petite and softspoken, was born in Kazan, the capital of the mostly Muslim Russian province of Tatarstan, to an engineer and a doctor. Yakhina moved to Moscow to work in public relations, but her grandmother’s story was always on her mind. The woman’s death eight years ago kNALLY GAVE 9AKHINA THE DETERMInation to quit her job and devote herself fully to writing.

Unlike Solzhenitsyn, Varlam Shalamov and other Soviet authors whose books are based on their kRST HAND EXPERIENCE IN THE CAMPS

Yakhina offers a new perspective, trying to examine that period from a distance and relying on her grandmother’s recollections and archive materials. Zuleikha’s story is one of injustice and pain, but also of a woman’s emancipation and renewal. “For the modern reader, I think, it is very important to understand how light and total

darkness existed at the same time,� said Russian literary critic 'ALINA 9UZEFOVICH g(OW PEOPLE who lived in Stalin’s hell had the courage to fall in love, have children and simply live.�

In recent years, Stalin has been making a comeback in the public eye in Russia, with monuments erected in several cities and his face dotting souvenir stands. Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that Stalin killed millions of his compatriots, but at the same time warned against “demonizing� him. “Stalin is a tyrant and his rule was a tyranny, and this is what my books are about,� Yakhina said.

But despite all that her grandmother lived through, Yakhina said the older woman loved and respected Stalin, something that Yakhina is still trying to grasp. “This silent generation absorbed all the hardships of the early Soviet years and preferred to remain silent in order to protect us,� Yakhina said. “Now we want to make sense of all that on our own. I want to tear through this veil of silence.�

Prize-winning writer Bobis to give lecture at DLSU AWARD-WINNING poet and fictionist Dr. Merlinda Bobis will deliver a lecture titled “Salba Istorya/Salba Buhay (Save Story Save Lives): Following the Water� at the Philippe Jones Lhuillier Conference Room on the 14th lOOR OF THE (ENRY 3Y 3R (ALL OF De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila on February 9 from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

The lecture aims to chart the notion and practice of “saving� in traditional storytelling and in the creative navigations of water in her books White TurTLE &ISH (AIR 7OMAN and Locust Girl. A Lovesong.

Bobis has authored four novels, six books of poetry and nine

SueĂąo

est novel, Locust Girl, received Australia’s 2016 Christina Stead Prize and the 2016 Philippine National Book Award; and her latest book of poetry, Accidents of Composition, was highly commended for the 2018 ACT Book of the Year in Australia.

Movements of peoples across borders and differences, women and girls, geopolitics and environment, war and memory, migrating arts practice, the poetics and politics of care are among the themes of her literary, performance and scholarly works.

"OBIS TAUGHT %NGLISH AND LITERATURE for 10 years in the Philippines, including a year at DLSU, and creative writing for 21 years at the University

of Wollongong. She is currently an honorary senior lecturer at the Australian National University.

3PONSORED BY THE $,35 S /FkCE of the Vice Chancellor for Academics and College of Liberal Arts, this event is organized by the university’s Literature Department and the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center (BNSCWC). It is part of the department’s Graduate Research Forum and the yearlong centennial celebration of the College of Liberal Arts.

Slots for the lecture are limited.

Pre-registration is required. To pre-register, call the BNSCWC at (632) 524-4611, local 233; or email bnscwc@dlsu.edu.ph.

Of your limbs. You may choose another art Or another rhyme to match my weaving And go. I’m off to make another start At receiving more blessings and giving.

New program, improved bar at Kwago relaunch A LITTLE over a year after it first opened, the Kwago independent book bar is set to be launched anew with a more curated book inventory, as well as new programs and partners, in an event called “Rites of Passage at the Warehouse� at Warehouse Eight in Makati City on February 9 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. “Rites of Passage� shall reveal a refurbished book bar aimed at accommodating more books and presenting a homey, minimalist aesthetic that could spark longer conversations, and create headspace for clarity and serious play. “The ongoing changes at Kwago reflect everything that I’ve learned and all the insights I’ve gleaned from being hands-on in bootstrapping the book bar at the doorstep of Warehouse Eight for over a year now,� Kwago founder Czyka Tumaliuan said. “I have learned a lot from 11 months of constant experimentation, from failing a lot and from meeting brilliant and passionate people in the book bar like Roy Voragen, my partner for Kwago’s new program, ‘A Curated Shelf,’� she added.

According to Tumaliuan, “Rites of Passage� also serves as a big “thank you� to everyone who believed in her from the very beginning, especially Warehouse Eight.

It’s also a declaration of Kwago’s commitment to be of better service to the community of readers, and local and independent publishers that continue to trust the book bar, she said. “Wouldn’t know what Kwago [would be] today without Warehouse Eight’s tough love,� Tumaliuan said. “They [the people at Warehouse Eight] just do it because they believe in reading, in books, in what I’m trying to do. There’s no systems in place. No metrics. No one checks on me regularly. They don’t ask me to report. They just make sure I pay the rent. Everything is so organic. It feels serendipitous. That’s got to be love, you know,� she added.

Warehouse Eight co-owner Kayla

Dionisio said she was just happy that friend and longtime collaborator Tumaliuan was able to create something meaningful and disruptive at the events space. “I just wanted to give a home to her vision because I believe in it. It’s really a genuine desire to see it grow, making sure she’s okay but not hovering over her so she has room to find her own footing,� she added.

The event also marks the entry of Jean Karl Gaverza, founder and writer of The Spirits of the Philippine Archipelago, as Kwago’s new co-owner after initially becoming involved in the bar as a volunteer and frequent patron. “Kwago is a space where you can exercise freedom without constraints, where you can be yourself, where you can debate with people, and find yourself through the works of others,�

Gaverza said. “Kwago is more than just a bookstore, it’s a community of people who love what they do and do what they love. This is the reason why I’m here to help it grow,� he added.

Also during “Rites of Passage,� Kwago will announce a long-term partnership with publishing platform Comma. A branchild of Tumaliuan and Voragen, Comma will be the bar’s guide and partner in curating its collection of books, zines and other publications.

Their first collaboration is “A Curated Shelf,â€? a two-month publication exhibit during which they will invite an individual to curate 15 publications under a certain theme. Their first curator is award-winning writer and media artist Tad ErmitaĂąo.

The pledge or door charge at the event is P380, inclusive of a zine and a new, fiction-inspired drink.

Kwago is at Warehouse 8a, La Fuerza Plaza, 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City. For more details on the relaunch, visit bit.ly/binyagannayan. For more information about Kwago, visit www. isipkwago.com.

Luntiang Palihan now open to applications 4(% "IENVENIDO . 3ANTOS #REative Writing Center (BNSCWC) of De La Salle University (DLSU) is inviting undergraduate and graduate students in Metro Manila to submit their applications to Luntiang Palihan 2019: The DLSU Young Writers’ Workshop in Local Languages, to be held at the university’s Faculty Center on April 10.

The workshop aims to promote creative writing in the local languages among students. It also aims to hone the craft of young writers who have the potential to

contribute to the growth of Philippine literature.

This year, the languages the workshop would focus on are Filipino AND (ILIGAYNON !PPLICANTS MUST BE from 18 to 39 years old. Five to six applicants will be chosen.

Applicants should submit the following: — Two printed copies of their ORIGINAL WORK &ILIPINO OR (Iligaynon): three poems or one short story, font size 12 points, double-spaced, 1�x1� margin.

The short story must be numbered, by paragraph, on the left

THE Literary Life page of The Sunday Times Magazine is now accepting contributions of new, original and unpublished short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, preferably in English, from emerging and established writers. Works must be encoded in Microsoft Word using the typefaces Arial, Times New Roman, or Palatino Linotype, font size 12 and letter-sized paper (8.5 x 11 inches),

MARGIN 7ORKS IN (ILIGAYNON must be accompanied by a FiliPINO OR %NGLISH TRANSLATION — A short resumÊ that must contain the applicant’s birth date, university, degree, and complete contact information (residence address, email address and contact number). — A cover letter stating the applicant’s reasons for applying to the workshop and his/her writing goals. Address the letter to the workshop director, Dr. John Iremil Teodoro. — A 2� x 2� ID photo

Please submit the application portfolio to: Luntiang Palihan 2019, The Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, Miguel Building Room 208, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila.

Applicants must also email the PDF of the portfolio to bnscwc@ dlsu.edu.ph. In the subject, please write “Luntiang Palihan 2019.�

Deadline is on Feb. 28, 2019.

Incomplete applications will not be processed.

For inquiries, email bnscwc@dlsu. edu.ph

and saved in either .doc or .rtf format. Each short story and creative nonfiction piece should be between ten (10) and twenty (20) pages (double-spaced), while each poem should be limited to only one (1) page (single-spaced).

Works littered with glaring grammatical and typographical errors will not be considered. Send your works to the literary editor, Alvin I. Dacanay, at literarylife[at]

manilatimes[dot]net. Kindly put the genre and title of the work in the email’s subject line (example: Short Story: Dead Stars). Authors whose creative works are published in the magazine agree to have these included in literary anthologies that The Manila Times may conceive and publish in the future. Full copyright ownership of the works shall remain with their respective authors.

Filipino Champions The Sunday Times

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

G3

Snapshots of the Philippines win European tilt

T

HE natural wonders and the rich culture of the Philippines took center global center stage stage iin n tthe he g lobal arena anew, this timee through throug gh the impeccable images by Manila-based anill a -based a p her PerPerr world-renowned photographer Andre Hoffmann, through tthe he eefforts fforts of the Department of Tourism m (DOT).

(DOT).

4HE $/4 JOINED VARIOUS NATIONAL TOURISM OFFICES TRAVEL AND TOURISM COMPANIES AND PROFESSIONAL AND INTER NATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LATEST ROSTER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS 02 "ILD !WARDS ALSO COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE 02 0HOTO !WARDS THE MUCH AWAITED 02 EVENT IN %UROPE #ONDUCTED BY .EWS !KTUELL A SISTER COMPANY OF THE LEADING 'ERMAN PRESS AGENCY $EUTSCHE 0RESSE !GENTUR 'MB( $0!

THE 02 "ILD !WARDS AIMS TO HONOR THE IMPORTANCE OF 02 PHOTOGRA PHY AS IT RECOGNIZES THE PERFORMANCES OF THE COMPANIES AND AGENCIES IN THE FIELD OF 02 AND COMMUNICATIONS !FTER A METICULOUS SELECTION PROCESS OF OVER ENTRIES THE POWERHOUSE PANEL COMPRISED OF EDITORS IN CHIEF OF STERLING PUBLICATIONS MULTI AWARDED ACCOMPLISHED PHOTOGRAPHERS AND LEADING GLOBAL 02 AND MEDIA EXPERTS

CHOSE THE TOP TEN IMAGES PER CATEGORY THAT EXHIBITED THE EXCEPTIONAL BALANCE BETWEEN TECHNICAL QUALITY VISUAL STO RYTELLING PRODUCTION EFFORTS AND THE SUCCESS OF A CAMPAIGN 4HE $/4 BAGGED THE &IRST 0RIZE IN THE 4OURISM AND 4RAVEL #ATEGORY WITH A CAPTIVATING PHOTO OF A CARABAO ENTITLED )NTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIP BEYOND PREJUDICE

Interracial friendship beyond prejudice by Per-Andre Hoffmann won first prize over-all in the Travel and Tourism Category

PHOTOGRAPHED BY (OFFMANN THE BRAND AMBASSADOR OF #ANON 4HE OTHER PHOTOS BY (OFFMANN

WHICH WERE ALSO SUBMITTED BY THE $/4

ENTITLED 9AKAN "RIDE WITH TRADITIONAL MAKE UP "ASILAN )SLAND -ILKY 7AY OVER #HADPIDAN "EACH "ATANES )S LANDS )FUGAO $ANCE #ORDILLERAS AND 0ARADISE 0ALAWAN WERE SHORTLISTED IN THE SAME CATEGORY (IS WORKS HAVE APPEARED IN PUBLICA TIONS SUCH AS THE .ATIONAL 'EOGRAPHIC -AGAZINE GRACED ICONIC ADVERTISING

Ifugao Dance, Cordilleras

Yakan Bride in Basilan Island

Milky Way over Chadpidan Beach in Batanes Islands

CAMPAIGNS WORLDWIDE AND WELL PAR TICIPATED EXHIBITIONS ACROSS THE FOUR CONTINENTS (OFFMANN WHO HAS BEEN CREATING PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND WORKING AS MEDIA CONSULTANT OF THE $/4 SINCE

CURRENTLY SHARES HIS EXPERTISE AS 3ENIOR )NDUSTRY &ELLOW OF THE 0HOTOGRA PHY 0ROGRAM OF $E ,A 3ALLE #OLLEGE OF 3AINT "ENILDE 3CHOOL OF $ESIGN AND !RTS 4HE 02 "ILD !WARDS ALSO REC OGNIZED THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS -INI -OLARS #AMBODIA S $REAM "IG BY !NTON "ASS AS THE 02 0ICTURE OF THE 9EAR 'ERMANY 6ETERINARY 5NIVERSITY 6IENNA S -INI 0IG 2UDI "ACK TO (EALTH BY 3TEPHANIE 3CHOLZ AS 02 0ICTURE OF THE 9EAR !USTRIA 'R¸CHEN AND 3T .IKLAUS 4OURISM AND 4RADE S !LPINE ,IFE BY 3TEFAN 7ALTER AS 02 0ICTURE OF THE 9EAR 3WITZERLAND 4HE TROPHY FOR THE OUTSTANDING (OFFMANN WORK WAS PROUDLY ACCEPTED BY -ARGARITA 6ALDES 4OURISM !TTACH¼ OF THE $/4 BASED IN &RANKFURT 'ER MANY AT THE AWARDING CEREMONY RE CENTLY HELD AT THE FAMOUS (AMBURGER 'RÌNSPAN "UILDING Paradise Palawan

Meet Jane Lacap — 'serial entrepreneur,' Neutra Organics Founder

T

HE kRST TIME ) HEARD OF *ANE ,ACAP WAS THROUGH A PRIVATE &ACEBOOK GROUP FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS CALLED 4HE &ULkLLED 7OMEN #OMMUNITY ! &ACEBOOK POST SHE SHARED WITH THE GROUP CAUGHT MY ATTENTION BECAUSE OF HER ENTHUSIASM AND HER LOVE FOR 'OD 4HE &ACEBOOK POST ALSO RElECTED THE MANY BUSINESSES SHE STARTED AS A SELF PROCLAIMED gSERIAL ENTREPRENEUR u !S A CHILD *ANE ALREADY SHOWED SIGNS OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR WHEN SHE STARTED SELLING FRIENDSHIP BANDS AND HANDMADE CARDS AT THE AGE OF SEVEN "Y THE AGE OF EIGHT SHE WAS ALREADY DREAMING OF OPEN ING HER OWN ORGANIC STORE CREATING ORGANIC PRODUCTS "UT IT WAS A DREAM THAT SHE SET ASIDE AS SHE PURSUED OTHER BUSINESSES SUCH AS A BOUTIQUE A BEAUTY SALON AND MAKE UP BAR AND A MODELING AND CASTING AGENCY THAT LASTED FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS 3HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN THE MODELING INDUSTRY AND EVEN TRIED HER HAND IN REAL ESTATE BEFORE PURSUING .EUTRA /RGANICS *ANE WAS LED TO HER INITIAL DREAM AS A CHILD AFTER A SEASON OF PRAYER AND FASTING IN THEIR CHURCH IN g) FELT LIKE PRAYING FOR DIRECTION IN WHICH BUSINESS TO PURSUE )T LED ME TO CREATE PRODUCTS THAT PROMOTE

THE THOUGHT JUNKIE CARLA BIANCA RAVANES-HIGHAM WELLNESS AND HEALING FOR THE FAMILY u )T WAS DURING THAT PERIOD THAT .EUTRA /RGANICS WAS BORN AND HER CHILDHOOD DREAM REALIZED .EUTRA /RGANICS PRO VIDES HAND CRAFTED PRODUCTS THAT ARE FRESH AND ORGANIC FOR THE WHOLE FAM ILY *ANE THROUGH EXTENSIVE RESEARCH

CREATED SAFE PRODUCTS FOR EVERYONE TO USE INCLUDING COSMETICS WELLNESS KITS

AROMATHERAPY AND EVEN BODY CARE &OR *ANE .EUTRA /RGANICS IS MORE THAN A BUSINESS BUT IT IS WHAT 'OD HAS CALLED HER TO DO g) BELIEVE THAT MORE THAN IT IS A BUSINESS

IT IS ALSO AN ADVOCACY AND A CALLING .EUTRA /RGANICS PROVIDES PRODUCTS THAT PROMOTE WELLNESS AND HEALING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY ) ALSO DESIRE TO PROTECT WHAT 'OD HAS BLESSED US WITH AND THAT IS WHY ) STARTED INVESTING IN GREEN ENERGY DEVICES AND IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT SOLAR INSTALLATIONS THAT PROVIDES GREEN ALTERNATIVES TO PEOPLE u

3HE ALSO SHARES THAT THE HEART OF .EUTRA /RGANICS IS RElECTED IN THE LEAVES OF THE TREE THAT IS FOUND IN ITS LOGO g4HE LEAVES OF THE TREE ARE FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS WAS ONE OF THE MAIN CORE OF THE BUSINESS AND THE HEART OF THAT IS CREATING A BUSINESS THAT IS SUSTAINABLE AND HELPS BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND FAMILIES u *ANE AIMS TO BE A TRAILBLAZER IN PROVIDING GREEN OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PURSUE HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING AND TO BE ABLE TO INVENT GREEN SOLUTIONS !SIDE FROM .EUTRA /RGANICS *ANE IS ALSO PASSIONATE ABOUT 4HOU !RT IN (EAVEN AN ORGANIZATION THAT SHARES THE HEART OF 'OD THROUGH ARTS THAT ALLOWS HER TO PURSUE HER LOVE OF CREATING THINGS WITH HER HANDS WHILE SHARING 'OD S LOVE THROUGH ARTS TO CHILDREN NOT JUST IN THE 0HILIPPINES BUT THE WHOLE WORLD *ANE DOES LEAD A BUSY LIFE BUT SHE SAYS SHE IS ABLE TO DO IT ALL THROUGH PLANNING AND SETTING PRIORITIES WHILE ALSO RECOGNIZ ING THE IMPORTANCE OF DELEGATING WORK ) ALSO ALWAYS BELIEVED IN THE VERSE AS WELL THAT g) CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH #HRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME u 7HEN ASKED FOR WORDS OF ENCOUR

Lacap's company produced hand crafted products that are fresh and organic for the whole family.

AGEMENT SHE SAYS g)F YOU WANT TO GO AND MONEY WILL SURELY COME u SOMEWHERE DECIDE TO LOOK FOR WHERE &OR MORE INFORMATION ON .EUTRA /R YOUR GREATEST CALLING IS kND PURPOSE IN GANICS YOU CAN VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AND WHAT YOU DO AND PURSUE IT 7HEN YOU RE LIKE THEM ON &ACEBOOK LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES DON T JUST DO *** WWW CARLABIANCARAVANES COM IT FOR MONEY LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS TO HELP

Cover Story The Sunday Times

G4

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

COVER PHOTO FROM KAREN GALLMAN’S FACEBOOK PAGE INSIDE PHOTOS BY RUSSELL PALMA,GERARD SEGUIA, MISS INTERCONTINENTAL, BINIBINING PILIPINAS AND GALLMAN’S INSTAGRAM PAGE

As she succeeded Miss Intercontinental 2017 Veronica Vallejo of Mexico, Karen Gallman ended one of the longest droughts in an international pageant for the Philippines.

Celebrating Karen Gallman and the Philippines’ first ever Miss Intercontinental crown

BY ARLO CUSTODIO

F

ORTY-seven long years. That’s how Miss Intercontinental has existed since the beauty pageant began in 1971 as a tourism event in Aruba, a tiny Dutch island territory in the Carribean. But in all that time, the beauty powerhouse known all the world as the Philippines never had a winning bet until Karen Gallman was crowned on January 26 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.

Initially a teen pageant, the contest truly became an intercontinental parade of beauties when it adjusted its age requirement of candidates to 26 years old, thereafter mounting coronation nights around the world in such destinations as Cartagena, Colombia; Berlin, Germany; Huangshan, China; Mahe, Seychelles Islands; Minsk, Belarus; and Nassau, Bahamas. Its current headquarters is located in Panama City, and again for THE kRST TIME ITS BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR

The Sunday Times

magazine TESSA MAURICIO-ARRIOLA Editor ALVIN I. DACANAY Literary Editor CHRISTINA ALPAD IZA IGLESIAS Staff Writers ARLO CUSTODIO Deskman

made its way to Manila, Philippines.

No matter that original plans for the 47th coronation night were being made in the Land of the Rising Sun, which unfortunately had limited VENUES AVAILABLE THIS EARLY IN PREPARAtion for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The Philippines still emerged as the kRST CHOICE OF THIS YEAR S HOSTS -ISS Intercontinental-Japan, and after alMOST A FORTNIGHT OF ACTIVITIES IN AND around the capital, the pre-pageant ACTIVITIES ALL THROUGH THE MAIN EVENT at the SM Mall of Asia Arena unfolded beautifully and without a hitch.

And fortuitous as it may seem, the support of an entire nation still high on the win of the Philippines at the Miss 5NIVERSE PAGEANT AUTOMATICALLY BOOSTED THE CONkDENCE OF THE COUNTRY S DELEGATE TO THE kNAL CROWN STILL UP FOR GRABS BY A Binibining Pilipinas 2018 queen.

Pressured to clinch the only remainING MAJOR TITLE ELUSIVE TO THE 0HILIPPINES right after Catriona Gray won the counTRY S CROWN IN $ECEMBER 'ALLMAN WAS NEVERTHELESS A PICTURE OF POISE AND GRACE the moment the Miss Intercontinental FEVER BEGAN TO RISE ON HOME GROUND It was therefore not surprising that she EMERGED AN EARLY FAVORITE BAGGING SPE-

cial awards through from day one of the PRE PAGEANT ACTIVITIES 'ALLMAN WAS CHOSEN AS ( ( 3ALON S 3TANDOUT "EAUTY -EDIA &AVORITE AND Miss Fiber Health Body Beautiful, WHILE GARNERING ATTENTION AT THE %VENING 'OWN $ESIGNERS &ILIPINIANA AND the National Costume competitions.

It was at the sidelines of the National Costume Competition on January 19 that Gallman told The Sunday Times Magazine how grateful she is for the support she has RECEIVED FROM EVERYONE THROUGH HER Miss Intercontinental journey. g) M OVERWHELMED BY IT ALL AND ) M HAVING FUN ;IN ALL THE ACTIVITIES= ) PROMise to do my best, hopefully makuha natin ;WE SNAG THE= ang kRST CROWN ;FOR THE= 0HILIPPINESÃœu SHE ENTHUSED And that she did.

Winning answer 4WENTY SEMI kNALISTS WERE CHOSEN proportionally from continents of Africa — Ethiopia and Ghana; Asia and Oceania — Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam; Europe — Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, 3LOVAK 2EPUBLIC AND 5KRAINE .ORTH America — Costa Rica, Mexico and USA; South America — Paraguay, Colombia and Ecuador.

After the Swimsuit and Long Gown Competitions, the Continental Beauties were announced: Ethiopia for Africa, Philippines for Asia and Oceania, 3LOVAK 2EPUBLIC FOR %UROPE #OSTA 2ICA for North America, and Colombia for 3OUTH !MERICA 4HE SIXTH kNALIST AS 0EOPLE S #HOICE WAS 6IETNAM One common question asked of the candidates was, “How would you DEkNE SUCCESS u

Philippines’ hometown girl stands out during the media presentation where she wore a revealing version of the Philippine terno—a white mullet dress with a low neckline.

7ITH 0HILIPPINES THE SECOND kNALIST TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT 'ALLMAN GAVE A straightforward and concise answer: “For me, success is not just about winning in life but setting goals, smallER GOALS AND ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS AND WORKING HARD FOR EVERYTHING YOU

*** PETER BAGA ZENAIDA D. ERISPE MARJORIE T. DIZON ENRICO D. BERATA JOANNA C. UMADHAY HORACIO MAKABENTA Layout Artists *** DANTE FRANCIS M. ANG 2ND President & CEO *** Telephone: 524-5664 to 66 Telefax: 521-6897 • 521-6872 Subscription: 528-1319 www.manilatimes.net Website lifestyle@manilatimes.net E-mail

~

The Manila Times is published daily at 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

The Filipina beauty with (from left) 4th runner-up Miss Vietnam Ngan Anh Au Le, 3rd runner-up Miss Colombia Hillary Hollmann del Prado, 1st runner-up Miss Costa Rica Adriana Moya Alvarado, 2nd runner-up Miss Slovak Republic Laura Longauerova and 5th runner-up Miss Ethiopia Bella Lire Lapso.

want, and always looking up to God AND BEING THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING &OR ME THAT IS SUCCESS u Binibining Pilipinas Charities Chairman Stella Marquez-Araneta, also the national director of the franchise, was seen heartily applauding and cheering soon after Gallman ended her speech within the allowable 30-second answer. Of course, the largely Filipino crowd at the MOA Arena erupted in cheers, chanting g0HILIPPINESÜu AND g+ARENÜ +ARENÜu 2OUNDING UP 'ALLMAN S COURT WERE Miss Costa Rica Adriana Moya AlVARADO AS ST 2UNNER 5P WHO EARNED NETIZENS PRAISE FOR kXING THE CROWN ON THE NEW QUEEN S HEAD AS IT FELL OFF AFTER A FEW STEPS OF HER VICTORY WALK -ISS 3LOVAK 2EPUBLIC ,AURA ,ONGAUROVA

2nd Runner-Up; Miss Colombia Hillary Hollmann del Prado, 3rd RunnerUp; Miss Vietnam Ngan Anh Le Au, 4th Runner-Up; and Miss Ethiopia Bella Lire Lapso, 5th Runner-Up. Marquez-Araneta in her ecstatic message, congratulated the newly crowned Miss Intecontinental 2018, A kRST FOR THE 0HILIPPINES g+AREN brings home the crown as a true honor to the country, a testament of her being a true Binibini, and the epitome of an inspiring Filipina EVERYONE AROUND THE GLOBE CAN LOOK up to. We are proudly behind you in your continUING JOURNEY u

Cover Story The Sunday Times

SUNDAY February 3, 2019

G5

For country /N *ANUARY AFTER HER kRST LONG REST from the rigors of the pageant, and HER WIN kNALLY SINKING IN THE COUNTRY S kRST EVER -ISS )NTERCONTINENTAL CONVEYED HER HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE WHOLE NATION VIA SOCIAL MEDIA g7E DID IT 0HILIPPINESĂœ ) M SO PROUD TO BRING OUR NATION ITS kRST )NTERCONTINENTAL CROWN 4HE OVERWHELMING support from you all has been amazING AND ) CAN T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH NOR HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU 4HIS CROWN IS NOT JUST FOR ME IT S FOR ALL OF you and a representation of what we CAN ACHIEVE AS A NATION +EEP PUSHING TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF BY ‘always looking up to God and being THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING 4HANK YOU TO my MIC queens, chaperones and the team for a wonderful three weeks that ) WILL ALWAYS CHERISHĂœu

Queen Karen’s ‘most expensive crown’

Up close and personal Born and raised in Ubay, Bohol as +AREN *UANITA "OYONES 'ALLMAN ON September 27, 1992 to a Filipino mother and Australian father, she migrated to Australia at a young age.

'ALLMAN kNISHED COLLEGE IN !USTRALIA then worked as operations analyst IN ,ONDON BEFORE kNALLY RETURNING to the Philippines where she joined Binibining Pilipinas in 2012. That year, she ended in the Top 12, and was also named Miss Photogenic.

Upon the urging of friends and under the tutelage of Rogie Flores OF +AGANDAHANG &LORES +& BEAUTY camp, Gallman joined Binibining Pilipinas anew in 2018 and won the right to represent the Philippines in the Miss Intercontinental pageant.

Recalling her decision to try again, Gallman said it was also her boyfriend OF kVE YEARS !USTRALIAN )AN 'ARTON

who encouraged her the most to return to Binibining Pilipinas. “Siya nga yung nag-push sa akin na mag-Binibini. (E KNOWS THAT IT S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ) D BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR SIX YEARS (E S THE ONE WHO PUSHED ME NA YOU HAVE TO DO IT IF THAT S WHAT you want to do. +AHIT MAY PLANO NA siyang mag-propose, he still supported MY DREAM u 'ALLMAN SAID IN .OVEMBER “The wedding would be around 2020 pa, so win or lose, it would be

SO IT S A SAFE YEAR Matagal pa u she explained then.

Back in June, Gallman broke the news of her engagement to Garton on Instagram, where she showed off her diamond ring.

In that post, Gallman wrote, “Two WEEKS TODAY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE asked me to marry him... I said yes OF COURSEĂœ 4HANK YOU FOR MAKING ME the happiest girl on the planet, I am SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN MY LIFE u Soon after the coronation, a press conference and photoshoot was held for the new queen in MoA backstage and by chance, The Sunday Times Magazine was able to engage her BOYFRIEND INTO CONVERSATION g) M HAPPY FOR HER u 'ARTON GENUINELY DECLARED g7E RE ENGAGED BUT WELL SHE has a responsibility as the winner and that should be the priority now. MarRIAGE CAN WAIT UNTIL HER REIGN IS OVER u Garton was with his parents proudly WATCHING 'ALLMAN CLINCH THE kRST -ISS Intercontinental crown for the Philippines in its 47 years of existence.

Gallman on pageant night’s swimsuit segment looked simply perfect.

The Philippines’ 26-year-old stunner chose bright yellow ensemble inspired by Marinduque’s Moriones festival for the national costume competition.

THE HE Miss Mi IIntercontinental t ti t l OOrganization i ti (MIO) claims that the “Oriental Holy Water� tiara placed on the head of the Philippines’ Karen Gallman is the “most expensive pageant crown.�

According to pageantry-dedicated website Missosology, the Miss Intercontinental crown is designed by Fuqi China, the official jewelry sponsor of the 2005 Miss Intercontinental by the World Beauty Organization (WBO). It has 720 diamonds and one huge .50 diamond carat for a grand total of 21 carats on a single crown. It is valued at $361,446, or at the exchange rate of P52.32 as of this writing, an estimated P18,910,854.72. Put in perspective, the Miss Universe pearl-studded Mikimoto crown is worth $250,000 or P13,080,000 According to MIO, the crown’s inspiration came from water — the source of life, representing the natural beauty and purity of women, signifying strength and power with the image of a woman in the center, thus the pageant’s tagline, “The Power Of Beauty.�

Ian Garton happily supported his girlfriend of five years throughout the entire competition.

Winning words To conclude 4HE -ANILA 4IMES EXTENSIVE COVERAGE ON +AREN 'ALLMAN S JOURNEY TO the Miss Intercontinental crown, it is but kTTING TO RE PRINT THE VERY WORDS THAT LED her success in the hopes that it will also INSPIRE HER FELLOW &ILIPINAS NEVER TO GIVE up on their dreams. g) AM +AREN 'ALLMAN AND ) VE ALWAYS BEEN A kRM BELIEVER IN THE LAW of attraction combined with hard WORK AND THE IDEA OF CREATING ONE S own happiness. Self-awareness was SOMETHING INSTILLED IN ME AT A VERY young age by my mother and late FATHER ) WAS TAUGHT NOTHING IS EVER TOO BIG TO ACHIEVE THAT EVERYTHING is possible if you set your mind to it and are willing to work hard for it. “After completing my tertiary educaTION AT A TOP TIER 5NIVERSITY IN !USTRALIA ) VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO REAP the rewards and establish a successFUL CAREER IN ,ONDON )T GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO TRAVEL TO MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD 4RAVELING AND THE EXPERIENCE gained from it, widens your horizon AND GIVES YOU A BIGGER KNOWLEDGE OF the world — something that not only INSPIRES YOU BUT ALSO GIVES YOU BETTER empathy toward different kinds of PEOPLE (AVING HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE AND WORK IN DIFFERENT CITIES ) became good at coping in different ENVIRONMENTS AND LIVING IN HARMONY with the people around me. “Those close to me know me as a risk-taker; someone who relishes a good challenge. I would say being part of this prestigious pageant is one of the biggest CHALLENGES ) HAVE FACED SO FAR ‡ AND NOT ONLY AM ) READY FOR IT ) WOULD ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT AND COME OUT AN EVEN BETter human being from the experience. ) WOULD LIVE TO BE A STELLAR EXAMPLE OF A Filipina, and a woman of substance for people to look up to, and be the light of LOVE AND POSITIVITY TO EVERYONE ) MEET u

Wearing a Sasa Abarentos during the Philippine Designers Night.

Just like Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, Gallman is a Filipino-Australian and proudly hails from Bohol.

Flashback. Gallman (second from right) in the 2018 Binibining Pilipinas coronation night with fellow queens (from left) Bb. Pilipinas 2nd Runner-up Samantha Bernardo, Bb. Pilipinas Globe 2018 Michele Gumabao, Bb. Pilipinas Grand International 2018 Eva Psychee Patalinjug, Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray, Bb. Pilipinas International 2018 Maria Ahtisa Manalo, Bb. Pilipinas Supranational 2018 Jehza Mae Huelar and Bb. Pilipinas 1st Runner-up Vickie Rushton.

Fun Times The Sunday Times

G6

»horoscope

THE SUNDAY CROSSWORD

Split Personalities

By Merl Reagle February 3, 2019

...Something’s come between us This puzzle is part of Merl's best-of series 1 5 8 11 14 17 18 19 21 22 25 26 27 28 30 32 33 35 36 39 41 44 49 50 51 52 53 55 57 59 62 63 69 70 71 72 73 80 81 82 83 85 86 88 91 93 95

ACROSS Ex-student who’ll make you pucker up?

Winter woe Toy-making shorty Agnus ___ Robot banker, briefly Lee who’s in the dough Service’s McGrew It has great expectorations A personal question “I’ll work the Across clues; ___” Leading cause of inflation?

“Love muffin” With 33 Across, an arm of the Mediterranean Coin-flipper’s words Asian holiday Ryan’s Love Story co-star See 27 Across Things under computers, often Architect Castaway’s relief Joel of Hollywood Get irked in traffic Money for udon Groundwater: abbr.

Pisa’s river Bullet’s path: abbr.

Lumberjill’s feller?

Critter’s coat Bit of advice A minor accomplishment?

Crossword diagram Instruction to a contestant With “tar,” a paving material Not strict Lyrical oeuvre Operetta princess, 1884 Waiter’s query Stock page abbr.

Lake transportation “Or ___ thought” Fooled Club Med.?

Humbug preface Cummerbund Allow Snickers-bar crunchy “Emerge from your shell, ___”

101 Northern Adriatic peninsula 102 ___ contendere 103 Busy, design-wise 104 Payoff 107 Backtalk 109 Harem room 110 Ness was one 111 With 121 Across, “forget it!”

114 Rafting dangers 117 Smack or switch ending 120 P.O. alternative 121 See 111 Across 125 Robbins of The Player 126 Highly thought of 127 Forty-niner’s find 128 Online search result 129 A 130 Tijuana tango minimum 131 Curse of a sort 132 “___ cracking!”

133 Rx amount DOWN 1 Tree with winged seeds 2 Praise 3 Primal feeling 4 Venerated one 5 Pill approver, briefly 6 Tinseltown Turner 7 Still on deck?

8 Old Hebrew weight 9 Homeowners’ debts 10 Florists’ network 11 Op-Ed writer Maureen 12 Truly, a serious wait 13 Within 14 Some distance, colloquially 15 Burn up some brain cells 16 A.m. times 19 Film composer Max 20 “___ his own” 23 Baskets for bass 24 Some Sioux 29 Reason for depreciation 31 Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, for one 34 Paramedic: abbr.

36 Ointment spoiler 37 Coral buildup 38 Per ___ (yearly) 40 Director Stanley

Gift givers! For info on Merl’s books, visit www.sundaycrosswords.com.

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76 Blood of the gods 77 Long 78 Rio quest, 2016 79 He’s very elf-reliant 84 Tear vessel 86 Cut in two 87 Colonist with mandibles 89 Flew, in a way 90 “Stop!”

92 O.K. type of wireless connection 94 American article 96 Messy beef entree 97 “___ Meet Again” 98 “Bali ___” 99 Pig on the highway 100 Cyborg’s cousin 104 Olive chaser 105 Affix anew, as a brooch 106 Knocker’s I.D., perhaps

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“I see,” to Mr. Moto Soaks, as flax Answer-reader Trebek 116 “Your Grace”

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“Yes ___” Pay or play ending Like some cats CPA’s column Enemy

Solution: ¶$ 9DVW 3XQ RUDPD· (Jan 27) F I A T

D A R N I T

M A T E

A D A Y

Y E S H A T

A M O N T H

D E N O T E

A D D E V L E A N R E DD E D E Y R E BO I N

Y OR K E E D T P E A UMP R I E E T M A MA RN OME F D I PO E N R

A R I O S E

especially busy for a few days. With Venus in Capricorn, romance sparkles. Artistic efforts work in your favor. Have fun with your love.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Cook up some romance today and tomorrow. Your home is your love nest. Enjoy domestic arts, with Venus in Capricorn. Wrap your family in love.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Home and family have your focus. Enjoy studies and travel, with Venus in Capricorn. Research and write. Expand your educational frontiers. Discover rare beauty.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) -- Today is an 8 -Friends are a big help today and tomorrow. Take on more professional responsibility over the next three weeks, with Venus in Capricorn. Watch for career advances.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) -- Today is a 9 -- Issue statements and communications today and tomorrow.

The next three weeks, with Venus in Capricorn, can get especially profitable. Get into a productive groove.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Professional opportunities arise for a few days. The next three weeks favor travel and education, with Venus in Capricorn.

Venture forth. Study what you love.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) -- Today is a 9 -Profits are available through tomorrow. You’re especially charismatic and attractive with Venus in your sign. Splurge on a new look or style. Use your charm.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Study your destination. The next month is good for growing shared finances, with Venus in Capricorn. It’s easier to save.

Increase assets, and reduce expenditures.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) -- Today is a 9 -- Take charge for what you want. Make long-term plans and visions, with Venus in Capricorn. Let your imagination run wild. Nurture seeds with love and care.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Today and tomorrow favor discussing shared finances. Romance especially sparkles for three weeks. Partnerships flow with greater ease, with Venus in Capricorn.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) -- Today is a 5 -- Rest and recharge. You’re especially popular for the next month, with Venus in Capricorn. Enjoy the public spotlight. Social activities benefit your career.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Collaborate with someone attractive through tomorrow. Your physical practice leads to higher performance levels for three weeks, with Venus in Capricorn. Work is especially fun.

Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Black’s legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @lindablack. For more astrological interpretations visit Linda Black Horoscopes and www.nancyblack.com)

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Today’s Birthday (02/03/19). Fortunes rise through connections and friends this year. Lay the backstage groundwork for success. Make repairs before things break. Energize your work, health and physical action this summer, followed by a period of peace and quiet. Winter insights inspire healthy changes.

Nurture your team.

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SUNDAY February 3, 2019

C A F E

A G I T A A T CO E P MO A L L L Y A R N

E S C E

R T E R ME

R E C O L O R

T A DR A R R OWB I E NC Y A AOK I S MA MY AWA R D MOR T O T I OS E EW I T RN A Y A ND E L I E I S A NDCR TWE A K ME N I F S T GORD U SOHR E A A S A P S S T CU T H E HO L L A E X F E S T D Y A S E A

F O R B I D

T A L S A T COP ME N I A I D E N L S R T E D A H L AM I GOS T AME R RUN U E D AM E S S I D A T S A R S OE L Y S I E L L Y U S ME A N A S E MD S E ND A I S E S H E E P C A S S

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- You’re

SUDOKU

NANCY BLACK. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

By ROGER SEVILLA Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 square contains the digits 1 to 9 with no repeats.

Solution from yesterday’s puzzle.

Arts Awake SUNDAY February 3, 2019

The Sunday Times

G7

The revolution of Brocka and Bernal

I

BY NIKA ROQUE

N celebration of Philippine Cinema’s 100th year and the revolutionary stories it produced, the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde unveiled an exhibit that honors the life and works of the country’s two iconic filmmakers.

Titled “Brocka, Bernal, and the ng Liwanag.â€? A controversial story City,â€? the exhibit pays tribute to the released during Martial Law, Roco’s late National Artists for Film Lino portrayal of Julio Madiaga received Brocka and Ishmael Bernal through overwhelming critical acclaim and photos, urban made him a star. sketches, interviews, “Si Lino ay aking DQG Ă€OP VFUHHQLQJV naging mentor, direkThe opening was tor, and personal na held at the Center for kaibigan. Masaya si Campus Art and atLino pero napakaWHQGHG E\ Ă€OP YHWHUseryoso sa trabaho,â€? ans Jose Javier Reyes, he continued, truly Bembol Roco, Cherie missing his director Gil, Gina Alajar and and friend. “Marami Gabby Fernandez, Cherie Gil, director Doy del Mun- Gina Alajar, and CSB's Center for akong natutunan sa Campus Art Director Architect do, among others. kanya. Siya actually Reyes is also the Gerry Torres ang gumawa sa akin.â€? department head of “Maynila,â€? endthe Digital Fi lmed up giving Roco making program of KLV Ă€UVW EHVW DFWRU the school.

DZDUG 7KH Ă€OP ZDV “I guess I was exshown internationtremely lucky beally and is the only cause I was a young Filipino film part writer at the time, of the book “1,001 and was given the Films to See Before opportunity to work You Die.â€? with both Lino and Following Roco’s Ishma,â€? Reyes respeech, Gi l then called as he opened discussed her own Kokoy Brocka Anupol and Danilo the program. beginnings in the Brocka “If we need to celshowbiz industry. ebrate who they are right now it is Starting out with roles in “boldnot only because of the genius of their ZDJRQÂľ Ă€OPV GXULQJ KHU HDUO\ WHHQV Ă€OPV EXW EHFDXVH RI WKHLU ORYH IRU WKH Gil has her “Tito Bernieâ€? — as she Filipino and for the city of Manila,â€? fondly called Bernal — to thank for he added. getting her outside of that genre. The actress started with a cameo role in Brocka and Bernal’s discoveries “Salawahan,â€? until gaining recognition in the classic “Manila by Night.â€?

Meanwhile, actor Roco, who was discov“I was doing a lot of campy teen ered by Brocka during his stint in rehab Ă LFNV VLWWLQJ RQ D WUHH EUDQFK LQ D in the early ‘70s, noted, “Napaka-halaga bikini, eating an ice cream cone. I was ng exhibit na ito para sa akin.â€?

WKHQ Ă€IWHHQ \HDUV ROG At that time, Roco had already “It was through Bernal that I was recovered and was working as a facili- able to go beyond those roles. He tator at the rehab center when Brocka gave me challenging, complex roles immediately cast him. of women that feel and think, and are Roco starred in “Maynila: Sa Kuko yet vulnerable. Nung araw wala kam-

Brocka, Bernal, and the City is on viewat the 12th floor, Center for Campus Art, School of Design and Arts Campus of the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde until April 29. PHOTOS BY JUSTINE BITANCOR

ing mga workshops, but he gave me a fresh start into learning what the craft of acting is all about. “I have the greatest memories of Tito Bernie. Well, hilarious now but I was really scared of Bernal. He was someone to reckon with. With all the Ă€OPV WKDW KH KDG GRQH LQ WKH SDVW , was proud to say I was part of at least six. I’d like to think that I’m his favorLWH Âľ WKH DFWUHVV WHVWLĂ€HG ODXJKLQJO\

The legacy of Philippine cinema As the stories of Brocka and Bernal often threaded on controversial topics and at the challenging time of Martial Law, WKHLU ÀOPV ZHUH FRQVHTXHQWO\ EDQQHG and became the subject of ridicule.

However, according to his brother Danilo Brocka, the late director did not want to stop making statement Ă€OPV QRW HYHQ ZKHQ KH JRW LPSULVRQHG for doing so during the Marco regime. “Sabi nga ng kapatid ko noon, sa sulok ng pelikula, dito nakikita ng mga tao at na-eevaluate nila kung ano yung nangyayari,â€? Danilo told The Sunday Times Magazine. “Talagang depressed kami nung mga panahon na iyon. Kumbaga sa paraan ng

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Digital Filmmaking Program Chairperson Director Jose 'Joey' Javier Reyes

mga pelikula lamang niya ipinalarawan, dun pa siya nakulong,� he recalled.

When asked if their family ever asked Brocka to tone down the theme of his films, his brother answered, “Hindi pwede sa kapatid ko ‘yun kasi ang sabi niya, kung mali, mali. Nung panahon na yun natatakot ako at sinasabi ko sa kanya na palipasin muna natin ang panahon ng Martial Law. Pero sabi niya: kinakailangan. Kung ano yung tama ay dapat nating gawin.�

Brocka’s grandnephew and an aspirLQJ ÀOPPDNHU .RNR\ %URFND $QXSRO agreed, noting that the same same sentiments and passion rules the projects he

Veteran actor Bembol Roco, who was first discovered by Brocka

does nowadays, “Yung lolo ko sinasabi niya, it’s not about making the great Filipino movie, but rather what he wants to make is the great Filipino audience. “In the same sense, yung mga nangyayari around us, never mo ‘yan idGLVDVVRFLDWH ZLWK Ă€OPV /LNH IRU PH affected din siya sa scripts na ginagawa ko kasi yun yung ginagalawan nating environment. It’s about standing with your principles,â€? he ended.

Brocka, Bernal, and the City can EH YLHZHG DW WKH WK Ă RRU &HQWHU IRU Campus Art, School of Design and Arts Campus of the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde until April 29.

NPDC hosts National Arts Month 2019's Sayaw Pinoy THE National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), led by its executive director, Penelope Belmonte, spearheads the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) National Arts Month (NAM) 2019 Sayaw Pinoy festive kick off launch at the Open Air Auditorium, Rizal Park today.

The Sayaw Pinoy 2019 launch will organize free art workshops: baybayin writing, egg painting, kite making, baybayin henna tattoo, silk screen

printing, live portrait sketching, and face painting.

And the night’s highlight, the dance concert, will form a collaboration among different dance troupes and companies both professional and upcoming groups all over the country.

There w i l l also be Concer t at the Park to take place at the Open Air Auditorium, Rizal Park on the remaining Sundays of February with performances from different dance groups.

Apart from the Concert at the Park, Sayaw Pinoy will also have a monthlong traveling dance concert series in different parts of the country.

The dance tour brings together dance forms such as classical ballet, folk dance, contemporary and

Âťnccaupdate

The National Committee on Dance takes ‘Sayaw Pinoy’ to different parts of the country with the aim of reaching as many Filipinos as possible.

modern dance as the country’s top dance companies perform with the local dance troupes of host cities and municipalities.

In doing so, it will showcase the colorful tradition of dances and movements in the country and reach out to the grassroots to discover new talents.

The National Committee on Dance, headed by Shirley Halili-Cruz, has been undertaking the Sayaw Pinoy since 2009. Through the years, the committee has nurtured young and upcoming dance groups that have participated in different events both local and abroad.

The annual celebration of National Arts Month started with the signing of Presidential Proclamation 683, in 1991, declaring February as National Arts Month. Over the years, NCCA, as well as private and government agencies, has been organizing events and activities to highlight the artistic brilliance of the Filipinos.

The NPDC, country’s leading agency that provides fully-developed and well-maintained parks for the Filipinos has the authority to oversee, develop, administer, and maintain naWLRQDO SDUNV VSHFLÀFDOO\ WKH 5L]DO 3DUN or Luneta, Paco Park, the Pook ni Maria Makiling, and Burnham Park.

It's Mozart and Brahms for PPO this February CONTINUING its 36th concert season, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) will hold its sixth concert on Friday at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Under the baton of Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura, the PPO will perform Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischutz Oveture,â€? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Symphony No. 39,â€? K.543 in Ă DW PDMRU DQG -RKDQQHV %UDKPV¡V ´6\PSKRQ\ No. 2,â€? op 73 in D major.

Originally, the program for the Concert Series 5 was set to feature Hungarian pianist and conductor Maestro Tamas Vasary, through the auspices of the Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines.

But due to unforeseen circumstances, the Hungarian Maestro could not perform in the country.

Maestro Fukumura has added a dynamic and innovative chapter to the constant evolution of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra as its music director and principal conductor since 2016.

Considered as a maverick in the classical music scene in Japan, Maestro Fukumura moved to his new post after his stint with Tokyo Ballet, Kyoto Municipal Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic.

After learning conducting in one of Japan’s most prestigious music schools, he has come a long way to conquer the international classical music scene, gaining reputation as one of the most revered conductors not just in his home country,

but also in Europe, Latin America and in Asia, ZKHUH KH ÀQGV D KXJH VDWLVIDFWLRQ LQ ZRUNLQJ ZLWK Asian orchestras.

His expertise, musical sensitivity and experience have been invaluable assets that enable the PPO to attain greater musical heights.

He was instrumental in bringing the PPO to Tokyo, Japan for the 2018 Asia Orchestra Week, a prestigious festival attended by the world’s best orchestras. Maestro Fukumura has been the honorary principal guest conductor of the Cuba National Symphony Orchestra since 1995.

For inquiries and ticket reservations, call the &&3 %R[ 2IĂ€FH DW RU 7LFNHW:RUOG DW 891-9999.

Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura

Arts Awake The Sunday Times

G8

The fair will feature an interactive piece by David Medalla called 'A Stitch in Time,' the very one that earned him to international fame in 1968.

February 3, 2019 SUNDAY

Long-time CCP gallery curator and director Ray Albano’s awardwinning 'Step on the Sand and Make Footprints,' art print will debut as a collaborative piece.

Ressurecting 'Malang's Women.' Never-before-seen paintings and prints by Mauro 'Malang' Santos will be on public exhibit rom the family’s private collection.

'The purpose of the fair is to widen the audience’s views on art with a much wider offering this year,' says event organizer Lisa Periquet.

ART FAIR 2019

The interactive, collaborative edition

N

BY NIKA ROQUE

and the Philippine art scene in general, the event will once again include Art Fair PH/ Projects, a special section of pieces made by both veteran and emerging Filipino artists. “They [viewers] all look forward to the special exhibits. Everyone wants to see what’s new. It’s always an honor to have them with us. It’s special this year because we have the artists that were active since the 1970s,â€? said event organizer Lisa Periquet at the Art Fair media launch. “We never really have a theme and ficially commence this year a week we’re not going with one curatorial EHIRUH WKH RIĂ€FLDO IHVWLYLWLHV ZKDW ZLWK trend,â€? Periquet furthered. “The pur“The 10 Days of Art.â€? Beginning Feb- pose of the fair is to widen the audience’s ruary 15, the surrounding areas of The views by also widening the offerings we Link and the bustling business district have or our choice for the exhibits.â€?

Part of Art Fair PH/Projects is an will see both local and international interactive piece by David Medalla artists’ eye-catching works. called “A Stitch in Time,� the same piece that have catapulted him to inArt Fair PH/Projects ternational fame back in 1968.

Surprisingly, A Stitch in Time has To demonstrate their vision for the fair

OW a much-awaited annual event, Makati City's upcoming Art Fair from February 22 to 24 will transform The Link Carpark anew to a thriving, colorful and immensely creative environment for the public and art lovers alike.

With a strong lineup of iconic and up-and-coming artists, the organizers of Art Fair continue to promote art even outside the carpark grounds.

6WDUWLQJ DW /DQGPDUN¡V UG à RRU WKH nearby department store has built a bridge way that goes directly to The Link. One of WKUHH IDLU HQWUDQFHV WKH EULGJH LV DOVR ÀOOHG with a large statement art piece composed of the trash left in oceans.

Additionally, Art Fair will unof-

traveled internationally, but was never staged in Medalla’s home country. This year, viewers can be part of the piece by sewing memorable items onto a large canvas displayed at the fair. By the end of the weekend, the canvas will get more full and will become a whole different piece.

Also included in Art Fair PH/ Projects is long-time gallery curator and director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Ray Albano. He has played a large role in conceptual art with his legacy living on until today.

Starting out as an award-winning art print, Albano’s best-known work “Step on the Sand and Make Footprints,� will now involve collaboration with viewers.

Finally, the never-before-seen paintings and prints by Mauro “Malang� Santos will debut at the Art Fair. His son, another accomplished artist Soler Santos, has chosen works from the family’s private collection

Art Fair PH/Talks The learning does not stop at the art exhibits, as Art Fair PH/Talks have also been organized with speakers in various parts of the industry.

Kathy Galitz, an art historian from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, will be discussing her knowledge with local artists and enthusiasts.

Specializing in French art from the 18th and 19th century, Galitz will also be launching her book, “Masterpiece Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.�

More talks include topics about taxes DQG ÀQDQFHV IRU FUHDWLYHV FRQYHUVDWLRQV between artists, local art history. For the complete list of participating artists, galleries and full schedule, visit artfairphilippines.com.

The Flying Artist finds her purpose

Filipina cartoonist goes international WHILE artwork from local comic strip craft, often just posting her work online to legends such as Mars Ravelo (“Darna�) and little notice.

Carlo J. Carapas (“Pandayâ€?) are utterly Then, in a combination of sheer luck and adored throughout the country, there is little fortuitous timing, Matt Moses of Hic and Hoc local attention being given to a Filipina car- Publications stumbled upon her blog and oftoonist who is making big waves all around IHUHG WR SXEOLVK KHU Ă€UVW FRPLF the world.

In 2017, Foggy Notions was released and From cr itica l globally distributed. acclaim and maIt soon garnered nearjor showc a s e s , universal critical act o fe at u r e s i n claim around the world. prominent comIt has also been feaics conventions tured in The Comics and antholoJournal, Broken Frongies, November tier, High-Low, Just Ga rci a’s w i ld Indie Comics, and more. r ide to i nterFo g g y No t i o n s i s national notice a collection of autobegan in earbiog r aph ic a l shor t s nest just a few that detai ls Garcia’s yea rs ago — episodic misadventures yet, it is something Garcia's works are during the many years sold at the Chicago Alternative t h at s h e’s b e e n usually Comics Expo, Small Press Expo in Maryland, that she spent living in working towards and Komikon in the Philippines.

San Francisco. her entire life.

Garcia’s s figure drawing Born and raised in the Philippines, is simple and efficient, but that aesthetic Garcia always drew and created com- is also homage to her roots in the underics for fun. However, it wasn’t until she ground, indie comics of her predecessors. moved to San Francisco in Whereas her style is nothing her early 20s to attend art like the ultra-rendered superheschool that she discovered roes people sometimes associate independent (or “indie�) with the words “comic books,� and underground comics.

KHUV LV EDVHG RQ WKH LQĂ XHQFH “Reading Peter Bagge, R. of Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Crumb and Jim Woodring is John Porcellino and Lynda what made me want to seriously Barry have on her, with storymake comics. telling increasingly becoming “I tried to avoid doing any a focal point in her craft. It is real writing because I wasn’t the conscious and complete confident in my abilities.

DQWLWKHVLV RI Ă DVK\ VXSHUKHURHV Meanwhile, my professors From the subtleties of real would encourage me to enter life, alcoholism, and the munpieces into the school’s art dane come moments of great shows even though I never humor and the occasional Malarkey #2' was listed in the GLIĂ€FXOW WLPHV got in. I guess they always 'Malarkey loved my funny ideas and 'Top Ten Single Issues of 2017' Her serial comic, Malarkey weirdo characters but my art was lacking in (which captures funny events from her daily execution.â€? life, random (mis)adventures, and oddly hiReturning home to the Philippines in 2014, larious conversations with her mother), has she continued to make comics, persistently also generated its fair share of critical praise. and diligently focusing on improving her Malarkey #1 made the list of “The Best Short-

with one of Malang’s favorite subjects, aptly called “Malang’s Women.�

November Garcia's comic books are more focused on storytelling than ultrarendered superheroes.

Form Comics of 2016� in The Comics Journal while Malarkey #2 was listed in the “Top Ten Single Issues of 2017� by the Daily Grindhouse.

In 2018, Garcia became recipient of Short Run Seattle’s Dash Grant, and was featured as a special guest at the Short Run Seattle festival, where she premiered Malarkey #3.

Garcia was also approached to contribute a comic to the Illustrated PEN, a prestigious American literary publication. Launched in November, it featured Garcia’s comic about growing up Catholic in the Philippines.

To add to her growing list of international stint, Garcia will also be part of the Sweaty Palms 2 anthology coming out this 2019.

Garcia exhibits and sells her comics at various alternative comics shows like the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo in 2017, where she debuted two more critically acclaimed ‘zines (Rookie Moves and More Diary Comics from a Relative Nobody); Small Press Expo in Maryland; and in the Philippines, at Komikon which she has been doing for the past three years.

Now that she’s back in her home country, Garcia is able to cut back on her graphic design work in order to dedicate more time to her comics.

It’s hard to tell what the future holds, but for now, Garcia promises to keep making better comics and working a lot harder each day. “It’s a blessing and a curse but I’ll probably do comics until the day I die,� the artist ended.

IT’S a question all people — from Generations X to Z; for both men and women — ask themselves, “What is my purpose, my passion or art in life?�

For v i s u a l a r t i s t Mary Eugenie Galeon, the answer came later on in life.

5LJKW DIWHU Ă€QLVKLQJ Bachelor of Science in Tourism with French, Humanities and Art Appreciation from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, Galeon immediately joined Saudia Airlines DV D Ă LJKW DWWHQGDQW While in service, she ‘Roses on Antique Vietnamese discovered her burning Vase,’ mixed media, 16 inches by 20 passion for the arts and inches (2018) later on, would even facilitate art seminars for her colleagues. In doing, she earned the nickname, “Flying Artist.â€? *DOHRQ ORYHV WR SDLQW QDWXUH Ă RZHUV ZRPHQ SRUWUDLWV and abstract resulting into a vibrant mixed media art called Moorish Mosaic Art. While the artist has showcased her works in her home country it was in February of 2018 that she reached an international milestone: a solo exhibit at the bustling art city of Los Angeles, California, USA. She is also slated for her 10th year anniversary art show from this year until 2020, the first of which will be “Mary Eugenie Galeon’s Artworks and Gemsâ€? which will open on February 25 at The Lobby Lounge of the Aliw Theater in ‘Roses of Royalty,’ mixed media, Cultural Center of the Philip20 inches by 16 inches (2018) pines Complex, Pasay. :LWK D FOHDU DQVZHU RQ PLQG *DOHRQ KDV GHĂ€QLWHO\ IRXQG WKH reason of why she creates art. This she does while continuously supporting foundations, charities and advocacies. “These things make my art and life so colorful and meaningful,â€? Galeon noted.