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Verbatim You will not know the value of democracy and freedom until it is taken away from you. Hindi mo alam na ang sarap pala kapag tayo ay malaya. At iyan po ay sana huwag natin malimutan.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, citing the significance of the Edsa I People Power Revolt that ousted the Marcos dictatorship

Sabi mo, Vice President Binay, gagawin mo sa Pilipinas kung ano ang ginawa mo sa Makati.

Naku, ‘wag naman. Kawawa naman ang Pilipinas kung nanakawan mo ang Pilipinas tulad nang pagnanakaw mo sa Makati. ‘Yung mga mahihirap sa Pilipinas ay lalo pang FULL PAGE AD hihirap. ‘Wag naman po sana.

Administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas, mocking Vice President Binay’s vow to duplicate nationwide what he has done in Makati as mayor

Bakit naman magkakaroon ng batas para pagbawalan ang gustong magtrabaho, qualified naman at mahahalal naman sa isang malinis at marangal na halalan?

Vice President Jejomar Binay, opposing proposals to ban political dynasties

Kung hindi man lang niya makita ang mali sa ginawa ng kanilang pamilya, paano tayo aasang hindi niya ito uulitin?

President Benigno Aquino III during the 30th anniversary commemoration of the EDSA People Power Revolt, on Sen. Bongbong Marcos’ refusal to acknowledge the abuses during the Marcos dictatorship

Sa tingin ko naman hindi ko kailangan ng napakahabang karanasan para malaman na kulang ang tulong ng gobyerno.

Sen. Grace Poe, on criticism that she is too inexperienced to become an effective President

Hindi ako sang-ayon doon. . . ang Libingan ng mga Bayani, iyong nililibing doon, kung sino ang deserving. Ang tanong ngayon, deserving ba iyong dating Pangulong Marcos para ilibing doon? Siya ba ang halimbawa ng isang Pilipino na nagbuwis ng buhay, nagsakripisyo nang husto para sa ating bansa.

Kasi iyon ang simbolo.

Camarines Sur Rep. and vice presidential aspirant Leni Robredo, on whether the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos deserves to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani

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Poe, Binay Tied at Top Spot in Latest Pulse Asia Survey

S

ENATOR Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay share the top spot in the latest Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated survey released on March 4.

The results of Pulse Asia Research’s February 2016 Pulso ng Bayan Survey, conducted among 1,800 registered voters from February 15 to 20, showed Poe with 26% voter preference and Binay with 25%.

Administration standardbearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte are not far behind, both with 21% support of registered voters.

About 3% of voters support Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s presidential bid.

In the vice presidential race, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero dropped by 4 percentage points from 33% in January to 29% in the February 15-20, 2016 poll. His closest rival, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. got 26% in the latest survey, up by 3 percentage points from January. Given the ±2% margin of error, Marcos and Escudero are practically tied in the vice presidential race.

Less than 3 months before the elections, 4% of voters said they were still undecided or refused to divulge their preferred presidential candidate. This is 1 percentage point more than those who expressed this senti-

ment in January.

In a race as tight as this coming presidential election, the favor of this undecided segment is crucial. The nationwide survey has a ± 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level.

Among the presidential candidates, Poe experienced the biggest drop in voters’ ratings – 4 percentage points less than in January – while Santiago’s rating dropped by 1 percentage point.

Binay’s rating increased by 2 percentage points, and by 1 percentage point for both Roxas and Duterte.

PH divided among 4 bets Based on the survey results, each of the top four presidential candidates leads in a specific geographical location.

In Metro Manila, the leading presidential bet is Binay (33%), followed by Poe, and Duterte, both at 23%.

Poe is the top choice in the rest of Luzon (33%), followed

by Binay (29%).

In the Visayas, voters favor Roxas (35%), followed by Poe (24%).

In Mindanao, Duterte leads with 45% while Binay is a distant second at 21%, though

this is a 7 percentage-point increase from January. Roxas experienced a 6-percentage point drop in Mindanao, or to 15% from 21% in January.

Among the candidates, Poe was the only one to suffer a drop in voter preference in all geographical locations, the biggest in Metro Manila – a 10-percentage point drop from January – and a 6-percentage point drop in the Balance Luzon, where she still leads.

Among socio-economic classes, voters in the well-off Class ABC favor Poe and Roxas, both at 25%, and Duterte (24%).

In Class D, the primary choice are Poe and Binay, both at 25%, followed by Duterte and Roxas at 22% and 21%, respectively.

Those in the poorest Class E are most inclined to vote for either Binay (31%) or Poe (28%).

Roxas’ voter support in this class dropped by 6 percentage points, while the other 3 contenders – Poe, Binay, and Duterte, increased by 1 to 3 percentage points.

Vice presidential race In the vice presidential contest, Liberal Party and administration candidate Leni Robredo ranked third, gaining one percentage point from her previous 18% in January. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano got 12%, lower than his previous 14%.

Other vice presidential candidates remained at single digit percentages: Senator Antonio Trillanes IV with 6% (up from 4%), Senator Gringo Honasan with 4% (lower than his previous 5%).

Pulse Asia said the rest of Filipino registered voters (3%) in the February poll “still do not know whom they will elect to the vice-presidential post/refuse to name their chosen candidate/are not voting for any vice-presidential candidate.”

Metro Manila equally prefer Escudero and Marcos (35% and 34%, respectively). The same holds true for the rest of Luzon (31% and 32%, respectively).

Both candidates are also popular among Class D (30% and 26%, respectively), which constitutes the bulk of Filipino voters.

Among Visayans, Escudero is preferred (29%), followed by Robredo (28%). Among Mindanaoans, Escudero and Cayetano are each favored by 22%, followed by Marcos (19%), and Robredo (16%).

The better off ABC classes prefer Marcos (44%), while the poorest class E prefer Escudero (32%).

Pulse Asia said that the unchanged voter preference from January’s survey holds true not only at the national level, but in different geographic and socioeconomic classes as well. (Rappler.com) n

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By tim henares

U

NLIKE in Western countries, the notion of racism (or sensitivity towards people of other races) isn’t a topic of utmost importance in the Philippines. This explains why, outside of whether Leonardo DiCaprio (finally) won an Oscar, there was next to nothing about the Oscars that really captured our fancy.

Is it any wonder why the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite just made us scratch our heads in confusion? After all, it’s not like we Filipinos experience much racism in this country, except when stuff like this happens that makes us feel like we’re second-class citizens in our own country.

The truth is that Filipinos can be incredibly racist when given the chance. We just tend to not realize it because nobody really talks about it in this country, and anyone who does is often dismissed as being “oversensitive.” Here are 8 examples of the random acts of racial discrimination we practice in daily life that seem almost inconsequential to us.

8. Blackface Nita Negrita? Who thought this was a good idea in this decade? And whose bright idea was it that to make her beautiful she had to turn white?

The implication: If you have dark complexion, you are ugly.

Sure. Tell that to Beyonce.

7. Making fun of the “Pinoy accent” Internalized imperialism, anyone? Whenever we see a person put on a thick “Pinoy” accent, it never fails to grate.

Maybe it was funny the first time funnyman Rex Na-

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8 Random Acts of Pinoy Racism 4. “Bumbay” ⅚? ⅚? Motorcycles? Umbrellas? Turbans? Oh, the stereotypes never end! Nowadays, we even confuse the Indians with people from, say, the UAE, or Muslims wearing religious garb, regardless of country of origin.

Meanwhile, not every Indian hails from Bombay.

The implication: South Asians all look the same to us.

3. “Intsik” If they’re white, they’re Joe. varette did it, but the minute someone like Mikey Bustos thought it was a good idea to rip that off and make a schtick out of it for his abomination of a career in the Philippines, we realized that the Pinoy accent has worn out its welcome.

Black is beautiful.

Just ask Beyonce.

Not every Indian hails from Bombay.

The implication: Pinoys may know English, but they sound atrocious speaking it.

6. On Korean hygiene “I was in the elevator today, and the Koreans entered. They smell like kimchi!”

The implication: Koreans all smell alike and have poor hygiene.

Even if this isn’t even remotely true.

5. “Hey, Joe!” This is how kids on the street love to harass the white guys they meet on the street.

The implication: If they’re white, they’re named Joe. Even if they’re French. They all look the same to us, apparently.

When half the Chinese people I know consider the word itself a slur and when we have to pull our eyelids to do an impression of them, it really is cringe-inducing. Given how much we actually adore Chinitas in this country, it’s shameful that we poke fun at their stereotypes all the same.

The implication: We can’t tell the Chinese apart, and yet we rely on them for nearly everything.

2. “Nognog” Imagine that. Knowing full well how we look down on black people, we have turned them into the ultimate underdog.

The implication: Black (and white) people are imperfect because when God made them in His oven, they were overcooked and undercooked respectively. How self-serving a myth!

1. Regionalism Ah! Bisaya kasi katulong ko, eh! Eh ikaw? Ilokano? Ang kuripot mo! Teka lang, ha, inaaway na naman ako ng Waray kong kapitbahay.

The implication: Pinoys are so racist, we’re racist against ourselves in 7,107 ways during low tides. (8List.PH) n

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Migrant Mothers Bridge Distance With Virtual Parenting I By ana p. santos

T is nearly midnight and like most working mothers, 39-year-old Gemma, is preparing for the next school day before turning in.

It is about 5:30 a.m. in the Philippines and Gemma picks up her phone and goes on Viber to wake up her nine-yearold son, Vlad, and her husband, Nielson.

If the soft whir of the Viber ring doesn’t wake them up, she will try Skype from the laptop on the stump of a nightstand next to her bed.

“If that still doesn’t work, I’ll try calling the landline. That’s the loudest, you can hear it ring throughout the entire house,” said Gemma, chuckling at the familiar struggle of rousing a young child from slumber.

Gemma will only be able to sleep once she has performed the daily ritual of mothers everywhere: seeing her child off to school. Only for a migrant mother like her, it will mean that her goodbye kiss will have to be sent over the tiny screen of her laptop or mobile phone.

This is what parenting has been like for Gemma in the five years that she moved to Paris as an undocumented migrant. In her family home in Cavite her image and her voice are felt, but her presence never completely is. She is a virtual mother parenting her child from another country, another time zone.

Transnational parenting, or parents who attempt to raise their children from another

Vlad talks to his mother Gemma in Paris via a laptop. country, is the home arrangement for some 25 percent of children in migrant-sending countries.

The Philippines is one of the top labor exporters in the world. More than 10 million Filipinos work overseas and about half of this number are on fixed-term contracts working low-paying jobs, which make it almost impossible for their families to join them.

Official data is scarce, but based on the numbers of contract workers abroad, researchers have extrapolated that there are about 2.56 million Filipino children who have one or both parents working overseas.

Social media has become the link to keeping family ties tight.

Filipinos spend about 53 hours a week socializing online, or 11 hours more than the global average of 42 hours, according to a survey of more than one billion active Internet users conducted by UM, a division of advertising consortium IPG Mediabrands.

Of the 40 million who have social media accounts, about

74 percent use these platforms “to stay in touch with family and friends.”

“With some 11 million Filipinos living overseas, social networking has become a way to connect and communicate with friends and family. Filipinos now lead the world in the amount of time spent socializing online,” UM found.

Currently, more than half of Filipino labor migrants are women. But unlike the men before them, their absence in the home is not easily filled by the fathers left behind.

“Migration has not emancipated women from traditional gender norms. Their roles as mothers are emphasized by migration,” said Filipino sociologist Asuncion FresnosaFlot, who has done research on transnational families.

Not that they want to be relieved from their maternal obligations. Migrant mothers are desperate for ways to make their presence felt as something more than a “money angel” who magically wires money home every month.

Research by University College London shows that connectivity through the mobile phone allows for “intensive mothering,” where migrant mothers can be involved in everyday parenting, micromanage meals and homework and administer discipline.”

Vlad was around four when Gemma left for Paris. She has watched him grow up on her computer screen, on Facebook and through pictures sent via email or on Viber.

Her laptop and her smartphone are her umbilical cord to “my two boys,” a baby monitor of sorts that allows her to be part of her family’s life even while she is miles away.

It also helps her manage what the lonely monotonous routine of cleaning strangers’ homes and looking after other people’s children.

“I used to carry lesson plans. Now, I carry cleaning products,” she sighed, thinking back to her life in the Philippines as a school teacher.

Certainly, pictures stored on phones, Skype sessions and messages sent back and forth on instant messenger are a luxury migrants of earlier days did not enjoy.

“Migrants say technology helps them cope. But it is still not enough. It is still not a substitute for the warmth of a mother’s embrace,” said Susan Ople, head of the Blas Ople Foundation, a labor rights NGO in the Philippines.

It is a stinging reality Gemma knows too well.

“Once Vlad told me to come home even just for awhile so he could give me a hug - for real. I made up an excuse to hang up.

I couldn’t let him see me cry,” said Gemma.

Tonight and every night Gemma will bid her son good morning and he will wish her sweet dreams. Vlad will go off to school and Gemma will go to sleep hoping that she will be one day closer to the moment when she can hug him for real. (From Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster) n

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By vicente rafael

MARCH 2016

LONDON

What Was Edsa?

Return of old oligarchy

T

HE Philippines is marking the 30th anniversary of the Edsa uprising on February 25. It’s a good time to ask a few simple questions.

First, what kind of an event was it? Most historians describe it as a civilian-backed coup. Instigated by the attempt of RAM, backed by Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos, to overthrow the Marcos regime, it took place in haste and, by all indications, was badly planned.

The coup plotters quickly found themselves trapped in Camp Crame, and became sitting ducks for Ferdinand Marcos’ loyalist forces. Yet, their helplessness and vulnerability proved to be their strength.

Taking pity, or malasakit, on the coup plotters, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protect them at the behest of Jaime Cardinal Sin. What began as a civilianbacked coup soon turned into a hybrid event: A combination of fiesta, prayer meeting, political rally, it opened up for those who were there an unexpected horizon of democratic sociality. The mixing of people from different, formerly opposed, groups and social classes lent to the whole event the ambience of a New Jerusalem.

Second, why did it happen?

Edsa was not so much a miracle as the culmination of a series of events. Large crowds had already been gathering to oppose the dictatorship ever since the assassination of Ninoy Aquino on Aug. 21, 1983, and the snap elections three years later.

These were clearly dress rehearsals for Edsa, as civil society groups, oppositional elites, students, members of the Catholic clergy, and others opposed

Taking pity, or malasakit, on the coup plotters, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protect them at the behest of Jaime Cardinal Sin. to Marcos began to coalesce into a growing force. Some high officials began to defect, notably then diplomat and former senator Leticia Ramos Shahani, who publicly repudiated Marcos and sided with Cory Aquino before her own brother did. All these culminated in the show of “People Power” during the fateful days of February 1986 in response to the calls to occupy Edsa.

Who made it happen?

Third, who made it happen? A wide range of people from housewives to priests, students to nuns, workers, vendors, maids, drivers, teachers and others risked life and limb to turn back tanks and troops. Anti-Marcos opposition figures among the old elites were prominent at Edsa. My own parents, largely apolitical, camped out on the streets. Indeed, the courage of the crowd was crucial in turning the military as a whole against Marcos. Disillusioned by the Marcoses, US President Ronald Reagan, through his proxies, withdrew US support, providing the family with the transport planes to evacuate Malacañang. Interestingly

enough, the communist Left chose to sit out Edsa, misreading its nature and timing.

Fourth, and perhaps hardest to answer: What were Edsa’s effects and legacies? Most obviously, it got rid of the muchreviled Marcoses. For a while, there emerged a widespread sentiment that Edsa opened a “democratic space” with the promise for reconciliation and structural reforms. Political prisoners were freed and negotiations got under way with both the communists and the Moro rebels. A new constitution was framed, which provided many protections for civil liberties and set the path toward more equitable national development.

But hopes for change were quickly dashed. The savagery of paramilitary groups was unleashed on leftist rebels and civilians alike, even as negotiations with Moro rebels failed.

Military coup attempts multiplied and were turned back only with the staunch support of the United States. Criminality intensified and land reform of any sort failed, given the opposition of landowning families to any serious redistribution program.

On the whole, Edsa resulted in the return of the old oligarchy alongside the new—many of them Marcos cronies. It thus amounted to a regime change, not to social change. Far from being a revolution, it was really a restoration of political dynasties side by side with new economic elites.

Edsa also marked the decisive weakening of the Left.

Boycotting Edsa, the Communist Party of the Philippines descended into turmoil. Fearing infiltration from deep-penetration agents, the leadership ordered the execution of many cadres. The CPP split between those who reaffirmed and those who rejected its Maoist authoritarianism. To this day, the Left remains fragmented, unable to offer a real alternative to oligarchical rule.

Another legacy of Edsa is the return of the Marcoses, beginning with the dictator’s yetto-be buried corpse. With their loot largely intact, the family members remain unapologetic to the point of arrogance. Bereft of moral decency, they brim with the confidence of despots.

Presidential candidates have had little to say about this, while two of them—Miriam Defensor Santiago and Rodrigo Duterte— along with most local officials from the North, have openly supported Bongbong Marcos.

Thus the supreme irony of Edsa: By restoring elite democracy, it set the conditions for the return of the Marcoses.

That restoration began with the swearing-in of Cory in that bastion of ilustrado culture, Club Filipino, in 1986. Successive administrations, including her son’s, would continue the growth of political dynasties.

(Philippine Daily Inquirer) (Vicente Rafael teaches history at the University of Washington, Seattle.) n

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PH Still

Seeks $1-B in Marcos Wealth 30 Years After His Ouster T

HE Philippines is still seeking to recover about $1 billion worth of assets accumulated by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos through 100 court cases at home and overseas, a government official said last month.

“The task is not easy,” said Richard Amurao, head of an agency created in 1986 to recover funds from Marcos. “The people holding these assets have been slowing us down.

They have been using all sorts of delaying tactics to thwart our efforts.”

Marcos, who ruled the Southeast Asian country for about two decades, fled to Hawaii 30 years ago last month after a near bloodless popular revolt. He died in exile three years later.

Reuters’ efforts last month to contact his wife, Imelda, and son Ferdinand Junior, to seek a response to the comments were unsuccessful. Imelda has repeatedly said the family did not steal from the people and its wealth was acquired legally.

Amurao said that since the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) was created, it has recovered and given the national treasury

A Christie’s auction house appraiser examines a set of jewelry from Roumeliotes Collection, one of three sets of the Marcos Jewelry Collection, during appraisal in Manila last Nov. 24, 2015. about $4 billion.

In line with Philippine law, funds have been used mostly for land reform. Based on a Hawaii court ruling, 10 billion pesos ($210.04 million) was used to compensate about 10,000 victims of human rights abuses.

The government hoped to raise $17.7 million from an auction of some confiscated Marcos jewelry, property and stocks, sources said.

By unofficial estimates, Marcos had $10 billion of assets.

“We don’t really know if the $10-billion estimate is accurate but what we can tell you (about the $1 billion now sought) is based from estimates of the court cases and from what we already recovered,” Amurao said.

More than half of the court

Imelda Marcos pictured with a part of her collection in her Manila apartment. cases are civil lawsuits to recover shares, real estate, cash and jewelry, he said. A quarter of the cases involve “behest loans” state-owned banks gave individuals with political connections to Marcos, he said.

Andres Bautista, a former PCGG chairman, said most of the cases under litigation are complicated and difficult because government prosecutors could no longer locate witnesses and find documentary evidence.

“Some of the key players are also back in power,” Bautista said.

Members of Marcos’s family remain active in politics. His wife Imelda is a congresswoman from Ilocos Norte, the political base of the family where her eldest daughter is governor.

Her only son, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Junior, is a senator and running for vice president in the May 9 election. In independent polls, he is tied with another senator, Francis Escudero, who’s the son of a former Marcos-era minister.

P170B recovered Meanwhile, PCGG said it has recovered over P170 billion worth of ill-gotten wealth from the family of Marcos and his cronies from 1986 to 2015.

In an infographic released in time for the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution last February 25, the PCGG said almost P94 billion was re-

mitted to the national treasury and another P76 billion identified as escrow funds.

“The PCGG is mandated to prosecute and litigate cases involving the recovery of Marcos’ and his cronies’ ill-gotten wealth and investigate such cases of graft and corruption,” said the agency, which was created by former President Corazon Aquino when she assumed office in 1986.

“The recovered assets are deposited at the Bureau of Treasury for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program,” it added.

The biggest assets recovered by the agency include the Swiss bank deposits of the Marcoses worth over P35 billion and the proceeds from the sale of Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corp. shares worth over P25 billion.

The government recently bared plans to auction the Marcos jewelry collections valued at over P1 billion.

It is also seeking public support in its search of missing artworks that were allegedly part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.

Called the Missing Art Movement, the portal (http:// missingart.ph) contains the “Portraits of Corruption,” a gallery of missing artworks that were supposedly purchased by the Marcoses using people’s money. (Reuters and Philippine Star) n

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Remitting money, using online services through safe channels

T

HE RISE OF internet banking has made parts of our lives a lot easier. Bills can be paid, deposits put down for holidays, transfers made between accounts — all with a swipe on your smartphone screen.

THE rise of internet banking has made parts of our lives a lot easier. Bills can be paid, deposits put down for holidays, transfers made between accounts — all with a swipe on your smartphone screen.

But the advances come at a price. The easier it is to move funds around, the easier it is for fraudsters to part victims from their money and online fraud is growing at an alarming rate.

Cambridge University lecturer Ross Anderson never banks online and he is the professor of security engineering at the university’s computer laboratory and an expert on cyber security. He refuses to do so because he believes the risk of fraud is too high and borne by the customers rather than the banks.

Giving up the convenience of online banking is not something most of us would be willing to do, but consumers need to be aware of the potential dangers of fraud and how to protect themselves.

Obviously you should be careful not to leave yourself logged in on a shared computer or in a cyber cafe or other public place.

But with more and more of us using our smartphones while out and about, another thing to be aware of is the dangers of insecure, public wi-fi. Using unsecured public wi-fi hotspots has been described as like leaving your car doors unlocked.

It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get robbed but it makes the thief’s job a lot easier.

Carrying out a financial transaction using these networks, be it online banking or even shopping, is risky as scammers can capture password or credit card details.

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They can also glean information like your name and email address and combine the information to defraud you.

Scammers will also use a range of tricks to persuade people to either part with sensitive information or transfer money for what they believe is a good reason.

And with internet payments getting faster, even when sending money abroad, by the time the victim realises what’s happened the funds are long gone.

Never take the word of a complete stranger about anything to do with money. Common

scams include pretending that you have won a prize or are due a refund, but that your bank account or credit card details are needed.

Or it may be suggested that your accounts have been hacked and the person contacting you is in fact trying to remedy the problem. Fraudsters frequently pretend to be from a bank or inter-

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net provider and purport to be trying to help you.

There is no legitimate reason to give or send financial information to someone who contacts you out of the blue.

Someone pressurising you or offering reasons why money has to be moved in a hurry should always raise a red flag.

Be it that you’ll miss out on something or that someone needs help urgently, fraudsters will do their best to hurry you into making a transfer.

Don’t be rushed on the promise of some big payout, if something sounds too good to be true it probably is. This advice also holds if buying something online.

Online car sales in particular are a massive area for fraud, with scammers targeting both buyers and sellers.

Do a lot of background checks before transferring funds to buy a car online, even before making a deposit.

It is very easy these days to set up a website that looks like it belongs to a legitimate business, so always verify a company or use one that has been recommended to you.

A scam that is frequently tried on people selling cars is for a sale to be agreed and the buyer then sends a cheque for far more than the agreed amount.

When they contact the seller they are given bank details and told to transfer the difference back, often being told to keep some extra for their trouble.

By the time the cheque bounces, the transfer is complete and the funds gone.

If you do become the victim of a scam, report it as soon as you realise. Contact your bank so they can tell you what action you need to take.

(Examiner)

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JEJOMAR BINAY SOCIAL INCLUSION / IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES • Improve quality of basic education • Better transport system

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CANDIDATES’ PLATFORMS RODRIGO DUTERTE CRIME AND CORRUPTION • Increase police salaries • Reintroduce death penalty for heinous crimes

ECONOMIC DYNAMISM • Generate jobs in major employment sectors • AD Streamlined process in taxation PAGE EFFECTIVE CARING AND GOVERNANCE • Tight coordination between national and local governments

GRACE POE PEACE AND ORDER • Commit to sustained peace and genuine autonomy in Mindanao

INCLUSIVE ECONOMY • Study shift to federalism • More jobs in the countryside

FOREIGN POLICY • Push for rule of law and diplomacy, rules-based approach in West Philippine Sea dispute

EQUAL PROTECTION • Phase out contractualization • Income tax exemption for low wage earners

ECONOMY • Ensure inclusive growth • Reform tax system GOVERNANCE • Curb corruption, Effective delivery of services

MAR ROXAS

MIRIAM DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO

GOVERNANCE • Espouses Daang Matuwid • Expanded bottom up budget

ECONOMY • Create jobs, reduce poverty • Improve investment climate

ECONOMY • More jobs through BPO-IT • Grow tourism sector • Poverty eradication through 4Ps

GOVERNANCE • Electoral, political reforms • Fight corruption

PEACE AND ORDER • Justice system to punish rooks • Safety from disasters and crime

RULE OF LAW • Enforce law but respect due process ENERGY • Implement renewable energy policies

MARCH 2016 APRIL 2012

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Grace Poe cleared by Supreme Court for Presidential Run

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FORMER NURSERY school teacher who was raised by adoptive parents after being abandoned as a baby has been given the go-ahead by the Philippines Supreme Court to run in the presidential elections in two months’ time.

Senator Grace Poe, 47, had been disqualified by the country’s elections commission last December on the grounds that she was not a natural-born citizen and did not have the 10 years of Filipino residency required of presidential candidates – despite having been front-runner in the polls.

But she was able to tell a cheering crowd of left-wing supporters at an International Women’s Day rally in Manila that the decision to exclude her had been overturned by the country’s most senior panel of judges by nine votes to six.

“This victory isn’t only mine,” a triumphant Ms Poe declared in a park in the centre of the capital.

“This is most of all a victory for the oppressed, a victory for those who are burdened by this system and a victory for women.

“Women’s role goes beyond looking after homes: we can do a lot of things. Let’s make 2016 the year when women triumph in government.”

Asked afterwards how she felt, she replied: “Relieved, but this is only the start. We need to do a lot of things. There is now a big opening for us to start our work.”

The decision provided a major boost to the campaign of Ms Poe, who is already leading in popularity polls, and removes a cloud of uncertainty from what is shaping up to be a tightly fought fourway race to succeed President Benigno Aquino III, whose six-

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year term concludes at the end of June.

Pulse Asia, an independent polling body, placed Ms Poe in the lead with the support of 26 per cent of respondents in a survey conducted last month of 1,800 people nationwide, followed by Vice-President Jejomar Binay, who got 25 per cent. The former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, whose candidacy has been backed by Ms Aquino, and toughtalking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of southern Davao city, each got 21 per cent. Ms Poe’s lead was slightly wider in January.

“She will now be the candidate to beat,” political analyst Ramon Casiple said, adding that people

who were concerned that she may be taken out of the race because of her legal troubles now have a clear choice.

Although relatively new to politics, Ms Poe carries a popular family name and has a heartrending life story in a country where many are swayed more by personalities than policy positions.

She was adopted by one of the Philippines’ most famous movie couples after being left at a Roman Catholic church by her natural parents, whose identity is unknown. Her late father, Fernando Poe Jr, was an action star who mostly played roles as a defender of the poor in a country where

about a quarter of the more than 100 million Filipinos subsist in poverty.

She moved to the US as a student and settled in Virginia, marrying an American and giving up her Philippines citizenship until she decided to return home in 2004, after her father died. She came top in the Philippine senatorial race in 2013, running on his legacy. She was also accused by the election commission of lacking the required 10-year Philippine residency to be a candidate for president – a claim that the Supreme Court also rejected.

Appearing often in campaign sorties in a white shirt and blue denim trousers that many people identify with her father, Ms Poe has run on the same propoor platform that he supported, pledging that, under her presidency, “nobody will be left behind”.

Whoever takes over from President Aquino will need to grapple with poverty, corruption and Marxist and Muslim insurgencies – persistent problems facing a country that three decades ago toppled the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos through a “people power” revolt.

The election is being closely watched by investors who fear the political succession could scupper average economic growth of more than 6 per cent a year and derail efforts to crack down on corruption made under President Aquino.

Ms Poe has campaigned on a pro-poor campaign, promising to build on Ms Aquino’s programmes of creating jobs and building infrastructure, which have helped to propel the Philippines to become one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.

(Jim Gomez, Independent)

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Falling

ST RS So why, despite the romantic fantasies they sell on their movies and TV shows, can’t showbiz couples ever seem to make it work? The short answer might be that: Celebrities are people, too. The magic of love just fizzles out for them the same way it does for the regular Juan.

Bea and Zanjoe

By niki yarte

T

OWARDS the tail end of February, the romantic soap On the Wings of Love aired its final episode. The show’s stars, James Reid and Nadine Lustre, celebrated the occasion with a live show for their fans, as well as an admission that they had been seeing each other romantically for the past few weeks now. “We are now officially JaDine”, exclaimed the young actor before launching into revealing the exact date the couple became official: February 11.

Fans and casual observers alike have delighted in following and witnessing the JaDine tandem blossom into

Angelica and John Lloyd more than just a professional relationship. After all, they’re young and beautiful and, more importantly, at the peak of their careers.

Their story is the stuff of showbiz fairy tales and everyone is eager to see it through to the happy ending.

Yet: Didn’t they say the same of Gabby and Sharon?

Of Dawn and Richard? Rico and Claudine?

Are all love teams just doomed to fail as real couples?

Is it healthier for romantically entangled showbiz personalities to also not be work-

ing with each other?

Well, the answer to that may lie in the wake of a series of shocking showbiz breakups that has rocked the month of “Feb-Ibig”. One after another came varying degrees of confirmation that several high-profile relationships have reached their conclusions.

There was Bea Alonzo, and her beau, Zanjoe Marudo, followed by Bea’s erstwhile love team partner John Lloyd Cruz and Angelica Panganiban. More recently, there was Luis Manzano and Angel Locsin, this being the second time the couple had broken up in just two years.

So why, despite the romantic fantasies they sell on their movies and TV shows, can’t showbiz couples ever seem to make it work?

The short answer might be that: Celebrities are people, too.

The magic of love just fizzles out for them the same way it does for the regular Juan.

However, there are some experiences unique to the nature of the entertainment industry

MARCH 2016

LONDON that can only afflict showbiz relationships.

Take love teams, for example.

No other industry forces two people into an intimate pairing to create a product.

And this can have surprising pros and cons for couples who started out as one, especially if they’re younger.

As a pro, being paired into a love team allows two people to have a convenient avenue to get to know each other on a more intimate level. It’s almost like being set up on a blind date.

However, this can also be a big con as it exposes both parties to each other’s shortcomings at an early, vulnerable stage in the relationship. In this case, it’s more like two strangers have been forced to live with one another and hoping that whatever differences they may have can work themselves out.

This kind of arrangement can be particularly fatal to the relationships of younger actors, Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson for example, whose lack of experience in dating other people give them unrealistic expectations of their partners.

So what about Bea and Zanjoe? John Lloyd and Angelica?

Angel and Luis? None of these pairings were ever built up as love teams. Each of them had also likely racked up considerable experience ‎in dating. ‎What about them?

Well, aside from the collective timing of their respective falling outs, their relationships also have one other thing in common: Rumors. Weeks, if not months, worth of it immediately preceding the dissolution of their amorous partnership.

Here’s the thing: Rumors,

Luis and Angel by themselves, are not enough to cause disengagement between couples. However, for celebrities whose mere presence are attention-grabbing beacons in the public eye, rumors can hinder their personal efforts to get past a mistake that either party has committed and work on strengthening their relationship.

Take for example rumors of “third parties” that are always present whenever showbiz couples break up. Sometimes, the evidence presents itself after the fact -- as in the case of Colleen Garcia in the breakup of Billy Joe Crawford and Nikki Gil. However, sometimes, such

rumors likely stemmed from just a little, mostly harmless, flirting between two people. It happens -- even among mere non-celebrity mortals.

What went against the celebrity, however, was that there was just one too many witnesses. Thus, a rumor is born.

“Actress is seen cavorting with model; breakup with boyfriend imminent,” goes the tabloid headline the next day.

Here’s another thing: Nobody in their right mind would risk their relationship by openly flirting with another person, no matter how innocent -- unless they’re caught in a moment of weakness driven by other prob-

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lems plaguing their current relationship. For the regular couple, there are at least two choices for them to take moving forward from such an episode: Face it head on and work to get past their problems or just give up and break up.

For the celebrity couple, however, the option is bleaker: Rumors swirling around that one party has strayed, no matter how untrue, will certainly inform the pair’s decision.

Celebrities need to maintain an image to remain bankable and since the Philippines is a conservative society, the aggrieved party can’t be misconstrued as tolerating such behavior. Therefore, the pair can never be seen romantically ever again. Any chance of them working out the real issues hounding their relationship is quickly dashed into oblivion.

And that’s before the opinions of management even becomes a consideration.

What does this all mean? Is JaDine just as certainly doomed to fail?

Not necessarily. Because while it sounds like the odds are stacked against celebrity coupling, there are also quite a number who have also somehow made it work. Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzales, Carmina Villaruel and Zoren Legaspi, Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres, Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo, Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes spring to mind.‎ They’re all going strong as a couple and JaDine has just about as much chance to do so as well.

If they play their cards right, they may just reclaim “Feb-Ibig” as the month of hopeful romantic beginnings rather than tragic endings. n

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Showbuzz Kris takes a break from showbiz

Kris opts for stress-free lifestyle.

KRIS Aquino has revealed she would leave her work at ABS-CBN to pursue a stressfree life.

In a series Instagram posts last March 8, the “Queen of All Media” shared her farewell

statement, thanking the Kapamilya network for their relationship.

“Thank you, Kapamilya. Our relationship as a family started October 28, 1996 and it will soon end this March 23, 2016.

A total of 10,354 days working for ABS-CBN, my life’s most fulfilling professional journey because of your love, acceptance and loyalty,” Kris said.

The presidential sister said that she doesn’t want her siblings and two sons to worry about her health.

“I’m not putting a time frame, but with my type of work, it’s realistic to accept by leaving ABS-CBN I’ll be replaced and soon forgotten… My sons and I will travel, we’ll move to our new home, and I’ll eat healthy,

sleep early, exercise regularly, and live quietly-everything to make sure Kuya Josh and Bimby have a healthy mother.”

Kris also thanked her supporters and her endorsements and hoped that she will be missed.

“My not so healthy heart wants to thank all of you for your LOVE, for me, my family & my work. I’LL BE BACK W/ A 100% HEALTHY HEART SO I CAN LOVE ALL OF YOU EVEN MORE & for much longer,” she said.

Out of the spotlight, Kris plans to focus on her family and business interests.

She currently owns two fastfood franchises - Chowking and Mang Inasal – and hopes to put up a Jollibee outlet in Tarlac.

Jennylyn, Dennis ‘exclusively dating’ NO doubt about it, Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo are on cloud nine with their blossoming romance.

In an Instagram post last February 26, Dennis shared his jump shot with Jennylyn with a caption that read, “As High as the Sky.” The couple was able to squeeze in a quick trip to Batanes despite their hectic schedule.

In her separate post, Jennylyn shared a snapshot of her and Dennis with their hands forming a heart sign over their heads.

The Kapuso actress wrote in her caption, “We [heart emoji] Batanes.”

It’s been almost a year since Jennylyn, 28, and Dennis, 34,

started getting cozy with each other again, following their “secret” trip to Balesin.

Since then, the two had been almost inseparable but remained elusive about their relationship status.

But in an exclusive interview with YES! magazine’s March 2016 issue, Jennylyn admitted that she and Dennis are “exclusively dating”.

“Ayaw lang naming i-broadcast, kasi ano e, gusto na lang namin, tahimik na lang,” she shared.

Dennis and Jennylyn first became a couple on April 16, 2010, until it came to an end on March 5, 2011.

Now that they’re together

The lovebirds lapping it up in Batanes. again, Jennylyn said that their active lifestyle and love for biking are just two of the many reasons they click.

“Lahat no’ng mga ginagawa ko, kaya niyang sakyan, kaya niyang gawin,” she said.

Rachelle Ann as Fantine in Les Miserables.

Rachelle Ann is living a dream RACHELLE Ann Go is living a dream as opposed to the dark, destitute life of her character Fantine in the Manila presentation of Les Miserables. What’s going on in her career is a stark contrast to her reel world where dreams “were made and used and wasted” to borrow a line from Fantine’s song of lamentation.

Rachelle Ann is excited to share with her kababayan what she has been doing in London’s West End the past few years.

Les Mis is another manna from heaven after Rachelle Ann’s compelling portrayal of Gigi in another Cameron Mackintosh musical, Miss Saigon.

“It was surreal. When I first heard that they wanted me to play the role, I was crying,” shared Rachelle Ann during a media interview. “Seriously, I’m living a dream. Even with Miss Saigon, I never dreamt of going to London and doing musical theater, and to be part of the 25th anniversary of Miss Saigon and the 30th anniversary of Les Mis is a dream come true for me.”

“As customary to any actress playing Fantine, Rachelle Ann will get to sing the poignant song “I Dreamed A Dream.”.

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Showbuzz KimXi refuses to do a JaDine “THERE’S a proper time and place to admit it … not in a press conference where the move can be interpreted at different angles,” said Xian Lim when asked about the real score between him and his The Story of Us costar, Kim Chiu.

At the press conference of their latest drama series on ABS-CBN, reporters prodded Kim and Xian, who remained tight-lipped about their relationship.This was despite the recent admission of On the Wings of Love stars, James Reid and Nadine Lustre, that they are officially a couple. The two

announced this during their JaDine in Love show at Araneta Coliseum.

“Before this, I already apologized to most of you who are probably already tired of hearing us say ‘we’re happy together’ or ‘there’s something special between us,’ or that our relationship is ‘leveling up.’ But Kim and I don’t want to say anything more, for fear that this might complicate things between us,” Xian said.

The actor added: “I’m not afraid to publicly say that I love Kim, but my personal take on this issue is that, people might

Piolo, Dennis, Bea win big at 2016 Star Awards for Movies PIOLO Pascual and Dennis Trillo tied for the Movie Actor of the Year award at the 32nd Star Awards for Movies, held at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City on March 6.

Piolo won the award for his role in the independent movie Silong, while Dennis won for his role in the biopic Felix Manalo.

They bested John Arcilla (Heneral Luna), John Lloyd Cruz (Honor Thy Father) and Jericho Rosales (Walang Forever), among others, for the award.

Meanwhile, Bea Alonzo was named Movie Actress of the Year for A Second Chance, beating seven other nominees, including Nora Aunor (Taklub).

Felix Manalo was named Movie of The Year.

The other winners were: • Indie Movie of the Year: Bambanti • Director of the Year: Joel

Piolo and Dennis share the Best Actor award.

Lamangan (Felix Manalo) • Movie Supporting Actor of the Year: Tirso Cruz, III (Honor Thy Father) • Movie Supporting Actress of the Year: Alessandra De Rossi (Kid Kulafu) • Movie Child Performer of the Year: Micko Laurente (Bambanti) • New Movie Actress of the Year: Janella Salvador (Haunted Mansion) • New Movie Actor of the Year: Marlo Mortel (Haunted Mansion)

They love each other but no label, for now. react negatively (once we admit to something). We fear that the wrong story would be printed … I just want to protect Kim. I

don’t want her to get hurt.”

Xian said that “since it would not be nice for Kim to talk since she is a girl,” he would simply speak on her behalf. “To those who want to know our story, yes, we love each other. We simply refuse to put a label to it,” he insisted.

Kim, meanwhile, said she had long healed from her previous painful relationship. “That happened more than half a decade ago. I’ve long forgotten it.

Xian and I are happy now,” she said in Filipino.

Still traumatized, Zsa Zsa is afraid to plan her wedding ALTHOUGH she is all set to marry architect Conrad Onglao sometime this year, Zsa Zsa Padilla admitted that she still feels “traumatized” that she didn’t get to tie the knot with long-time partner Dolphy.

Zsa Zsa was in a relationship with the late Comedy King for more than two decades, starting in 1989 until his death in 2012.

“Meron pa akong naudlot na wedding,” she quipped at a recent press conference for an upcoming TV show.

“Kapag nagpaplano ako, natu-trauma ako. Parang nanenega na ako na hindi matuloy, baka may mangyari,” she said.

“Sabi ko, siguro kung bibiglain ko na lang. Pati siya (Conrad) mabibigla na lang.”

Zsa Zsa plans to marry Conrad in a simple ceremony this year.

Zsa Zsa and Conrad: counting the days “Napakasimple lang naman talaga ng gagawin namin, e. Ang gusto ko lang, talagang present ‘yong mga anak namin,” the 51-year-old singer-actress said. “I don’t want it to be big. Kasi sabi ko hindi ko naman ito first wedding. Hindi naman niya ito first wedding.”

Zsa Zsa was only 16 when she married dentist Modesto Tatlonghari, the father of her daughter Karylle. They separated in 1987.

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John Gokongwei Jr.: $5 billion

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Lucio Tan: $4 billion

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George Ty: $3.7 billion

David Consunji: $3 billion

Henry Sy, John Gokongwei, Lucio Tan Top PH Billionaires’ List

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Reshuffling at the top

LEVEN tycoons from the Philippines led by tycoon Henry Sy landed on Forbes Magazine’s 2016 roster of the richest people on the planet.

And despite the global stock market volatility, oil price slump and strengthening of the US dollar which have led to what Forbes Magazine described as a “dynamic reshuffling of wealth around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009,” the list of Philippine tycoons who made it to this year’s roster was pretty much the same as in 2015. However, there was mostly a decline in fortunes as well as some slight realignment of ranking among mid-ranked local tycoons.

Forbes Magazine, which has ranked the world’s richest for the 30th year, found 1,810 billionaires globally, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. The publication estimated their combined net worth at $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year.

“It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year,” the magazine said.

Henry Sy: $12.9 billion Henry Sy still rules Henry Sy, founder of the SM group which dominates local property, banking and retailing businesses, remains the richest person in the Philippines with an estimated net worth of $12.9 billion – down from last year’s $14.2 billion. He remains the only person from this country who is part of the Forbes’ top 100 richest.

JG Summit Holdings founder John Gokongwei, who remained number two on the list, also saw a decline in fortune to $5 billion from $5.8 billion.

Tycoon Lucio Tan kept his number three ranking with an estimated net worth of $4 billion, lower than $4.4 billion last year.

The complete list of tycoons from the Philippines who made it to the Forbes 2016 roster and their estimated net worth is as follows: 1. Henry Sy: $12.9 billion 2. John Gokongwei Jr.: $5 billion 3. Lucio Tan: $4 billion 4. George Ty: $3.7 billion 5. David Consunji: $3 billion 6. Andrew Tan: $3 billion 7. Tony Tan Caktiong: $3 billion 8. Enrique Razon Jr.: $2.4 billion 9. Lucio and Susan Co: $1.6 billion 10. Robert Coyiuto Jr.: $1.6 billion 11. Manuel Villar: $1.3 billion

Globally, Forbes reported a reshuffling starting at the top.

“Only two people in the top 20 managed to hold onto their ranks. Bill Gates remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than a year ago,” the magazine said. Gates has topped the list for three years in a row and top the list 17 out of 22 years.

Legendary American investor Warren Buffett remained at No. 3. while Zara ’s Amancio Ortega climbed to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slipped to No. 4. The magazine estimated that Slim’s fortune had fallen by $27.1 billion to $50 billion in the past year, as shares of his telecom business América Móvil tumbled.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had “the best year of all billionaires,” the magazine said, with the 31-year-old adding $11.2 billion to his fortune and moving up to No. 6 from 16.

Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos both made it to the top 10 list for the first time.

Meanwhile, a billionaire from China’s mainland, Wang Jianlin – whose company owns AMC Theaters and soon will own Legendary Pictures – has climbed into the top 20, the magazine said.

(Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

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MONEYGRAM, POST OFFICE CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP

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MONEY TRANSFER firm MoneyGram and the UK Post Office celebrated a milestone in their successful partnership on the 1st of March at the British Museum.

The press conference panel PAGE AD included MoneyGram International CEO Pamela Patsley, Post Office Ltd CEO Paula Vennells, Post Office Financial Service Director Nick Kennett, and Executive VP for Americas and Europe Peter Ohser.

Both companies celebrated

their 20-year-long partnership. They also recently celebrated their 20 millionth transaction.

Both firms hoped that the partnership will strengthen even further in this ever-changing economic climate.

Planet Philippines and Splash, the well loved tabloid and magazine publications in the community were invited to be their media partners for the event.

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DTI, PLDT open doors to e-commerce

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HE NEED to expand the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) doing business online has prompted the PLDT Smart SME Nation start the Techmobile and National Negosyo Sale across the Philippines.

The telco has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry to bring the tools directly to the MSMEs. “Unfortunately, only 1 percent of SMEs are online... We will bring the enablement, the tech mobile or the ecommerce on wheels to their stores,” Mitch Locsin, vice president of PLDT Smart SME Nation.

Through Techmobile, PLDT is sending out caravans to meet the e-commerce needs of MSMEs. The entrepreneurs will get free Internet domain, register and create a website, and market products online.

“Nothing is more important for micro, small, and medium businesses to be present where their customers are,” Locsin said in a separate statement.

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PLDT has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry to bring the tools directly to small businesses.

“With almost half of the Philippine population going online on a regular basis and a foreseeable increase in devices that help people connect to the Internet, more Filipinos are bound to be present in social media and have access

to resources online,” Locsin added.

The caravans will be on the move until the whole country is covered.

“We don’t really have a target right now on how many we can cover, because we’re launching this from nowhere.

We already have a target customer list so it’ll be like a roadshow. We also have a target city list based on entrepreneurs registering with the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry),” the PLDT official noted.

The caravan is a partnership with the DTI Negosyo Centers.

“This partnership between DTI and PLDT was forged around last year and we are making available our Negosyo Centers for their activities,” Alice Opeña of the DTI

Bureau of MSME Department said.

The Trade Department has 149 Negosyo Centers nationwide. The long-term plan is to increase the number to 1,000.

“MSMEs should avail of digital business solutions to be globally competitive,” Opeña noted.

PLDT opened a three-day sale on IT and business products.

“The National Negosyo Sale will feature several business productivity-enhancing products designed to help MSMEs usher their businesses into the digital landscape,” PLDT said.

The sale include SmartBro 499, Kaasenso Plan, PLDT myDSL Biz kits, and enterprise-grade tools such as iGate Leased Line Circuits and VOX Managed IP PBX services.

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By boo chanco Retirees are usually old people who are health conscious, thus the need for medical facilities in areas being promoted as retirement havens.

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E have been trying to sell the Philippines as a retirement haven for I don’t know how long now. While there may have been some trickle of retirees who eventually settled down here, the volume does not suggest we have been successful in our attempt.

Indeed, official figures peg the current level of retirees at 42,511 foreigners enrolled in the retirement plan. If we took into account what we have spent on promoting the program and the cost of maintaining a bureaucracy in the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), I am sure the cost wouldn’t justify the result.

The worst part is that PRA is only targeting 100,000 up to 2020. That isn’t commensurate to their loud protestations of a promising market in their press releases.

The problem with the PRA and how they go about attracting foreign retirees to settle here is as always, they put the cart before the horse. They emphasize marketing without developing the product. Disappointment with the product can hinder future growth.

Other than preferential treatment in the granting of visas for the retirees and our post card pretty countryside, the PRA and the Department of Tourism ignored the fact that retirees are usually old people who are health conscious.

Sure, we have excellent doctors here and there are good to excellent tertiary hospitals that can handle all sorts of medical conditions and emergencies.

But access to these medical centers is limited to those who choose to retire near Metro Manila and Cebu. Even then, horrible traffic conditions can result in a patient dying before reaching those hospitals.

Retirement

Haven?

Dumaguete City combines small-town ambience and modern amenities, including quality medical facilities.

Actually, access to emergency medical treatment is a problem not just for retirement tourism but to tourism in general. None of our important tourist destinations, including Boracay, El Nido and Bohol have medical facilities that can at the very least, stabilize a heart attack and stroke victim so the patient can be airlifted to a tertiary hospital that can handle the case.

No wonder PRA data shows that in the past four years, a third of foreign “retirees” in the Philippines belong to the stillactive 40 to 49-year old bracket.

Under PRA rules, foreigners as young as 35 years old can avail of the retirement program ben-

efits. PRA General Manager Valentino Cabansag told Reuters, “Right now, it’s the ambulatory and fun-loving retirees that we are targeting.”

How many people in the prime of their lives want to retire at all? Maybe these people are just using PRA incentives to go around immigration requirements. The thing is… any retirement program must be implemented in the context of a broader tourism program. We surely have very attractive sites ideal for tourism development.

But we have to take care not just of the airports and the hotels but also of the emergency medical facilities.

Come to think of it, if you

ended up with a medical emergency in Tagaytay Highlands or the fancy beach resort communities like Punta Fuego (in Batangas), your next destination is an appointment with St. Peter. Young people who plan and manage tourism developments have yet to feel their mortality and that explains the neglect of the problem.

The tourism department should work together with the health department in putting up such emergency facilities within minutes of important tourist destinations. The private sector like Ayala that is also now into healthcare can also respond to this need. Indeed, Ayala now owns the plush El Nido resorts and should consider such a medical facility in the mainland that can also service the community there.

The health department should allocate resources to upgrade the capability of some of their provincial hospitals close to tourist destinations.

The bare minimum is the capability to stabilize a heart attack or stroke patient during those critical minutes after an episode.

The news of one tourist dying of heart attack because the tourist or retirement haven does not have proper medical facilities can spread like wildfire. That will discourage others from visiting or retiring there.

(The Philippine Star) n

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MARCH2012 2016 APRIL

LONDON

WHAT’S ON

T

HE PHILIPPINES experienced strong growth in terms of visitor arrivals last year, but remains a long way short of its targets.

The country’s Department of Tourism has revealed that a total of 5.36 million overseas travellers visited the Philippines in 2015, up 10.9% yearon-year. The country’s international visitor revenues climbed 5.9% to PHP227.6 billion (approx. US$4.9bn).

But despite strong promotional efforts, including the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign, the country remains well short of its target of 10m overseas visitors.

South Korea was the Philippines’ largest visitor source market last year, providing 1.34m arrivals, followed by the US (779,217), Japan (495,662), China (490,841) and Australia (241,187).

Tourism is one of the largest employers in the Philippines, supporting approximately five million jobs.

The numbers would hopefully be boosted with the Philippine capital of Manila at the forefront as it is set to host the World Street Food Congress 2016 (WSFC16) in April.

WSFC16 announced the gathering in Manila, touted as “one of the world’s best food destinations” from April 20-24, 2016.

The world’s most influential movers, thinkers, food gurus and advocates will be together for 2 days at Bonifacio Global City Manila in the WSF Dialogue to share their latest ideas, developments, ideals and opportunities about culinary street food culture.

Participants from 10 countries will also offer their specialized fare at the WSF Jamboree, a street food feasting festival which will last for 5 days.

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Double-digit growth for Philippine arrivals

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Cooking demonstrations amid live music will be open to the public.

The WSF Awards will cap the event with recognition given in 5 categories, recognizing the best soldiers and leaders in the field of culinary street food.

Filipino food has been gaining recognition around the world with food festivals dedicated to the country’s unique fare.

WSCF brought about a dozen international and local media for a 15 hour Food Frenzy Safari in February, to sample the offerings of Manila and Pampanga. Reviews of the trip affirmed that comfort heritage street food such as that offered in the Philippines are the flag bearers of excellent but inexpensive food fare.

WSFC16 in Manila is the 3rd edition since its establishment in 2013.

MARCH 2016 APRIL 2012

LONDON

WHAT’S ON

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FIESTAS

11 June 2016

12 June 2016

Contact: Lolita Boddy 01765535015 Tess Wills 07920280549

Contact: 07428677870 tekkitevents@gmail.com

Web: www.maharlika.org.uk

FB: Tekkit Events

18-19 June 2016

24-25 June 2016

Yorkshire Barrio Fiesta Time: 10am-5pm (Sat) Venue: The Racecourse, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1UG

Morden Barrio Fiesta 2016 Time: 9am-6pm (Sat) Venue: Morden Park,FULL Lon- PAGE AD don Road, Morden SM4 5QX Contact: Bing Juco 07739479172 Mayette 07501530530 Tess Juco 07956593236

PHL Independence Day Celebration in Slough 2016 Time: 12nn - 4pm (Sat) Venue: The Centre, Farnham Road, SL1 4UT

Hertfordshire Barrio Fiesta 2016 Venue: Fairlands Valley Park Showground Arena, Broadhall Way, SG2 8RH

Web: www.bayanihan.org.uk

Contact: 07534711757 barriofiestainhertford shire@yahoo.com

25 June 2016

25 June 2016

Venue: Blaydon Rugby Club Field (Carboot Area) Hexham Road Swalwell, Newcastle NE16 3BN Contact: 07886742417 07824338251 07725892489

Time: 8:30am-6pm (Sat) Venue: Eastville Park, Muller Rd, Eastville, Bristol, BS5 6XA Contact: Carlo - 07528770491 Honeylyn - 07783343348 Clarence - 07500896239 Wil - 07900485194

26 June 2016

26 June 2016

Newcastle Barrio Fiesta 2016

Leeds Barrio Fiesta 2016 Time: 9:30am-6pm Venue: Event Field, Temple Newsam, Leeds LS15 0AF Contact: 07787510277 07917563070 01132174109 07449878657

Bristol Barrio Fiesta 2016

Scotland Barrio Fiesta 2016 Time: 10 am - 5 pm Hamilton Park Racecourse Bothwell Road, Hamilton, Lanarkshire ML3 0DW Contact: Lolita 07973 469450 Fe 07868 469149 Chel 07478 741277

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MARCH 2016

LONDON

Siquijor is so idyllic that it’s hard to see how all the voodoo and witchcraft stories started.

You really don’t want to miss Cambugahay Falls.

By erica paredes

M

Lazy Days on the Island of Siquijor

UCH has been said about the province of Siquijor, that the mystery and intrigue of its folklore aroused fear during my younger years.

I remember my nanny talking about voodoo and witchcraft being practiced in the place; although I had never been there until just a few weeks ago, all those stories have stuck since I was a child.

Seeing on a friend’s Facebook account a few photos of a resort she stayed in Siquijor left me obsessed with the idea of checking the place out.

So, I booked a flight, packed my bag and went.

There are several routes you can take to Siquijor—from Cebu, Dapitan or Dumaguete. I took the flight to Dumaguete, plus a two-hour ferry ride to the island costing less than P200.

Don’t expect anything fancy or exclusive because Siquijor is a small island that is not as developed as other more-visited tourist spots in the country.

At the Siquijor port, you can get a tricycle for P300 to take you to your chosen resort. It took about 20 minutes to get to U.Story—one of the last resorts in the town of San Juan.

This was the reason I wanted to

U.Story Guesthouse has five bungalows, all made of native materials, with décor sourced from Siquijor and all over Asia. go to Siquijor, and thankfully it did not disappoint.

The resort owners, a FrenchFilipino couple, have turned this piece of land they bought five years ago into something special.

U.Story started out as a restaurant with one bungalow, which the couple stay in from November to May (the rest of the year they reside in France while the resort is closed). It has now expanded to five bungalows, all made of native materials, with décor sourced from Siquijor and all over Asia.

The common area, where the dining room and bar are, looks like a bohemian’s dream—with lounge beds and a hammock to laze the day away, and dream

catchers and art work to enhance the vibe.

Farther down are beach beds overlooking a cliff, and although they don’t have their own beach, there are steps going down to the water for people who like to swim or snorkel.

After a restful sleep in one of the non-air-conditioned bungalows (yes, no television, Wi-Fi or phone signal either!), you can rent a motorbike for the day for only P300. Make sure you have a map in hand (you can borrow the resort’s) before you go off to explore the island.

Choose the route that allows you to drive right by the sea, so you can have a beautiful view on the way to Cambugahay Falls. You really don’t want

to miss this—so don’t forget to wear a swimsuit.

Climbing down the steps to the waterfalls, I could already see the beautiful aquamarine water and could not wait to dive in. The bantay at the falls said it was safe to jump off the cliff, so before I could stop myself, off I went!

They also have this rope hanging from a tree where you can swing and jump into the water.

More waterfalls Farther up, you will find more bodies of water and waterfalls. We were lucky to visit on a Monday last January, otherwise the Cambugahay Falls can get quite crowded.

For a quieter experience, you can go to the lesser-known Lugnason Falls on the other side of the island. From here, you can ride up to the mountains and go back down the other side.

Instead, we proceeded to the 400-year-old balete tree in Campalanas. This tree is believed to be enchanted and is both imposing and easy to miss, as it blends completely with its surroundings.

There is a small pond at the foot of the tree where visitors can dip their feet in the fish spa. You have to pay a P5 entrance fee.

For a quick late lunch, you can check out Baha Bar along Circumferential Road.

Seizing the opportunity, I asked someone in the resort about the folklore that Siquijor is known for. She told me that most of the healers lived in the mountains, and that she has never actually seen or heard of anyone being the unlucky victim of kulam. I took her word for it instead of doing my own research.

Besides, the island is so idyllic that it’s hard to see how all these stories started.

If you want something off the beaten track, a place in the country that has still maintained much of its natural beauty, I highly recommend a long weekend in Siquijor. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

MARCH 2016 APRIL 2012

LONDON

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2-3 July 2016

9 July 2016

Venue: Lightwoods Park, Adkins Lane, Bearwood, Smethwick, B67 5DP

Contact: 07985159203 07896082895 07472953935

Venue: Tingewick Hall, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU Contact: joarielan@yahoo.com chairman@filcom oxford.org.uk

9-10 July 2016

16-17 July 2016

Oxfordshire Barrio Fiesta 2016

Bham-Sandwell West Midlands Fiesta Celebration

Barrio Fiesta 2016 The Big Comeback Venue: Woodgate Valley Country Park, Clapgate Lane, Bartley Green B32 3DS Contact: 07810377208 07402201985 07850268868 07540633789

32nd Barrio Fiesta sa London Venue: Apps Court Farm in Hampton Court, Hurst Rd, Walton-onThames, Surrey KT12 2EG

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19-20 Mar. 2016

26 Mar. 2016

Entry fee: £250/team

Time: 3-5pm (Sat)

Manila Forwarders UK Cup Bolton

Venue: University of Bolton BL3 5AB Contact: 07446906608 07920067756 07595248917 07786950309

Jadine Love World Tour 2016

Venue: Excel London 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL

9 Apr. 2016

El Circulo Fernandino Ball Venue: Hotel IBIS, 47 Lillie Road, Earls Court SW6 1UD Time: 6pm-1am Tickets from £60

Contact: www.ticketmaster. co.uk

Contact: 07734474149 07817200444

30 Apr. 2016

1 May 2016

7 May 2016

Venue: Baden Powell House, Queens Gate, London

Venue: The Lighthouse CC, 12 Coronet Way, Eccles, Manchester M50 1RE Tickets: £22, £33

Mr and Miss Teen PH Islands UK 2016

Contact: 07541432314 Twitter: @MrandMissTeenPH

Lani Misalucha Live in Manchester 2016

Contact: Aurora 07748252530 Mayette 07501530530

Salo-Salo 2016 Venue: The Theatre Room at St Mary Abbots Centre Time: 12pm - 5pm Contact: http://www.fwa-uk. com/contact/

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MARCH2012 2016 APRIL

EMBASSY NEWS

LONDON

LONDON

LONDON

WHAT’S ON

OVERSEAS VOTING ADVISORY THE COMMISSION on Elections announces the adoption of Automated Election System Modified Postal Voting at the Embassy of the Philippines in London for purposes of the 09 April 2016 to 09 May 2016 overseas voting period.

Under this system, the voter has the option to vote either through personal voting or postal voting.

For personal voting, a voting precinct will be opened at the Embassy from 09 April 2016 until 11:00 a.m. on 09 May 2016.

There is also a plan to conduct field voting during the Embassy’s consular outreach mission to Dublin, Ireland on 16-17 April 2016.

For postal voting, a voter may either pick up the mailing packet from the Embassy, or request the Embassy to post the packet to the voter’s registered address.

All registered overseas voters of London PE in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Greenland who wish to receive their ballots FULL by post are requested to file a request before 22 April 2016 using any of these methods: • Send a written request by post to: Embassy of the Philippines, 6-8 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG • Send an e-mail with the subject “Send Ballot by Post” to: embassy@philemb.co.uk • Send a text message to +447802790695 All requests to send ballots by post should include the voter’s full name, date of birth and full mailing address with post code.

Requests without these data will not be entertained.

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Requests received after 22 April 2016 will not be entertained.

Please be guided accordingly.

EMBASSY CLOSURE: MARCH 2016 The public is advised that the Philippine Embassy will be closed on the following dates:

Thu, 24 March - Maundy Thursday (PHL Holiday) Fri, 25 March - Good Friday (PHL, UK Holiday) Mon, 28 March - Easter Monday (UK Holiday)

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Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, 29 March 2016.

In case of death or detention of a Filipino citizen in the United Kingdom, please contact the Embassy’s emergency mobile phone at 07802790695.

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MARCH 2016

LONDON

By mynardo macaraig

W

EB designer Maria Zurbano kisses her 3-year-old daughter goodbye and sets out in the pre-dawn darkness for a torturous commute through the Philippine capital.

Her ordeal, a return trip of up to 6 hours every weekday, is expected to get even worse as the number of cars explodes in the chaotic Asian mega-city of more than 12 million people.

Dubbed “carmaggedon” by locals, business leaders are warning Manila could come to a total standstill despite grand government plans to tackle its traffic.

“Physically, during these trips, I feel ill. My back is always hurting. It affects my health to have to sit down for so long,” said Zurbano, 36, as she waited for a bus outside her home at 5:00 a.m.

After finally ending a cramped mini-bus trip of just 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) to the financial district of Makati, Zurbano despaired of being trapped in a traffic hell.

“Traffic just gets worse and worse. I just get more stressed and stressed but it doesn’t look like anything will change. I will just have to learn to bear with it,” she said.

Huge traffic costs Traffic in the capital and its surroundings is already costing the country about P3 billion ($64 million) a day, or about 0.8% of gross domestic product, according to government figures.

And it is steadily worsening as an emerging middle class fuels an auto boom – car sales rose 23% last year with nearly 300,000 new vehicles hitting the roads.

Compounding the problem, decades of infrastructure neglect has left Manila with a just a few major roads across the city and their gridlock “peak hours” often last for 3 to 4 hours.

Commuters have few other

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Big Dreams, Little Action for Manila’s Traffic Nightmare

The traffic gridlock is going to be the most critical problem the next administration faces, says a foreign business executive. options with Manila’s dilapidated rail network tiny in comparison with neighboring Southeast Asian capitals such as Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

A chaotic private bus and mini-bus network with drivers who regularly flout traffic laws by, for instance, stopping in the middle of roads to pick up passengers, is widely perceived as adding to the problem.

“This is going to be the most critical problem the next administration faces,” John Forbes, a senior adviser at the American Chamber of Commerce in Manila, told Agence France-Presse.

Forbes warned Manila risked becoming “uninhabitable” in the next 3 to 5 years – meaning people would simply be unable to get around the city – if urgent action was not taken to build roads and rail lines.

Elections for a successor to President Benigno Aquino, who is required by the constitution to stand down after a single 6-

year term, will be held in May. Aquino has proved a generally popular president but he has been the target of fierce public criticism for a perceived lack of urgency in updating the nation’s creaking infrastructure.

He earned widespread condemnation mid-way through his term with comments that worsening traffic was merely a sign of a growing economy.

Dreams of urban bliss His aides have since sought to project a sense of empathy and urgency, pointing to new expressways and an extension of a train line as planned projects that will ease the congestion.

They have also emphasized the adoption in 2014 of a “Dream Plan” to fix the urban chaos, which outlines $65 billion of infrastructure spending by 2030.

The plan envisages a wide range of massive and unprecedented projects for the Philippines, such as a subway, satellite cities linked to Manila by

high-speed rail, relocating air and sea ports, as well as many new roads.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, an economist who has studied the traffic problem, said the plan’s huge price tag is within the government’s reach.

“Financing should not be a problem because the funders are ready,” Beltran told Agence France-Presse, pointing to the nation’s improved credit rating that will allow cheaper loans, as well as expected help from the Japanese government and multilateral lenders.

But many experts believe there is little chance of many projects going ahead.

They point to the nation’s chaotic and corrupt democratic system, as well as a strangling bureaucracy, which prevent infrastructure development.

A glaring example is the construction of a 19-kilometer light rail line on the outskirts of the capital that was meant to have been finished by the end of last year – but it has not even been started.

Touting the project in 2013, Aquino joked he was ready to be run over a train if it was not completed by the end of 2015.

But his government has not even finalized the tender process.

Gilbert Llano, president of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, a government think-tank, echoed the ironic tones of many experts when talking about the government’s infrastructure plan.

“It’s called a dream plan (because) it will stay in the realm of dreams,” said Llanto. (Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com) n

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