Manila Standard - 2017 January 22 - Sunday

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VOL. XXX • NO. 344 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

AMERICA FIRST, TRUMP PLEDGES

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ASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald Trump assumed power Friday with a fiercely nationalistic vow to put “America first,” taking a stinging swipe at the legacy of his predecessor hours after reciting the oath of office.

Hundreds of thousands of people stood on the rain-splattered National Mall to see the 70-yearold Republican billionaire be sworn in, and deliver a stridently populist call-to-arms.

Trump promised to lift up the nation’s disenfranchised and those who felt betrayed by the political

elites, declaring with vindication that “the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.”

“From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land,” Trump said, promising an end to businessas-usual in Washington. “From this moment on, it’s going to be only

America First.” [Full text of Trump’s inaugural speech on Page B2] Adhering to his vow to immediately start dismantling the healthcare reforms passed by outgoing president Barack Obama, Trump signed his first executive order in the Oval Office, targeting Obamacare.

It commands government offices to grant all possible exemptions to limit the “economic and regulatory burden” of the Affordable Care Act, as a prelude to a full repeal.

As the day’s ceremonial rituals drew to a close, Trump and his wife Melania stepped out—the first lady stunning in an off-theshoulder ivory gown—to lead the

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dance at one of the string of glitzy inaugural balls being held across the capital.

The pair slow-danced in a close embrace to a version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” before they were joined by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, and both families’ children.

“Well, we did it,” Trump told the revelers. “We won. And today, we had a great day.”

“This was a movement. And now the work begins.”

At another ball, Trump echoed his campaign pledge to help create lots of industrial jobs in the United States.

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MELANIA TRUMP STUNS IN FIRST LADY FASHION STAKES

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BIONIC WOMAN: ROBOT TURNS ON THE CHARM

INDONESIAN FISHERMEN MISSING OFF SULU

HAVING A BALL. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump dance on a seal of the presidency during the Armed Services Ball, one of three inaugural balls in Washington, D.C. after Trump’s oath-taking. AFP

PALACE SEES PROMISE OF SPRING IN TRUMP ERA

By John Paolo Bencito MALACAÑANG on Saturday welcomed the inauguration of US President Donald Trump and his declared “America First” policy which promises a new spring for US-Philippine relations.

“The Philippines welcomes President Trump’s foreign policy direction. It promises a more

placid and mutually beneficial relationship especially with longstanding allies like us,” said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

“We find resonance with their intention to ‘seek friendship and goodwill and reinforce existing alliances, without imposing America’s way of life on others’,” Abella said.

“While there is a promise of spring US-ward, as an independent and sovereign nation we will expand our collaboration with other friends and partners in the international community, in accordance with the principles of international law,” he added.

Abella said Trump’s “America First” policy is similar to the policies of the Duterte administration.

“In like manner national interest is the primary consideration that guides President Rodrigo Duterte.

His pursuit of peace and order is the bedrock of economic inclusivity and self-sufficiency.”

Duterte’s spokesman said that the Philippines will be focusing on strengthening its relationship not only with the US, but to other countries as well. Turn to A2

BATO REFUSES TO RESIGN, WILL CONSULT DUTERTE RESPONDING to the demands that he resign over the kidnapping and killing of Korean executive Jee Ick Joo, Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa refused to resign on Saturday and said he will instead ask President Rodrigo Duterte if he has become a burden to him.

“I will ask the President if I am burden to him,” Dela Rosa told reporters during a shooting competition held in honor of his 55th birth anniversary at the Camp Karingal

headquarters of the Quezon City police.

“There is no need to be formal about it. I will only ask him,” Dela Rosa said, adding that his birthday wish is that erring policemen change their ways.

“My birthday wish is that all policemen will be good, no police would be involved in syndicates anymore. This is my only birthday wish,” Dela Rosa said. “Even if I have to leave on this very day, so long as our lunatic colleagues change.”

Dela Rosa made the remarks as calls

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for his resignation mounted after the public learned that Jee was killed at the PNP’s Camp Crame headquarters. He was severely criticized on Twitter with the hashtag #BatoResign which has been trending since Thursday.

Even Speaker Pantaleon Alavarez joined the calls for his resignation on Friday “to save President Rodrigo Duterte from further embarrassment and restore respect to the Office of the PNP Chief.”

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BIRTHDAY BOY. Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa fires away during a shooting competition held in honor of his 55th birthday at Camp Karingal in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

THREE Indonesian fishermen have gone missing in waters off the southern Philippines, the authorities said Saturday, an area that has seen repeated kidnappings for ransom by Islamist militants.

Authorities said the three Indonesians went missing on Wednesday in waters bordering the Philippines and Malaysia but the circumstances of their disappearance were still unknown.

“They are missing but we don’t have confirmation yet on who took them and where they were taken,” regional military commander Major General Carlito Galvez told AFP. “Because of that, we do not consider them kidnap victims yet.”

Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported that the missing Indonesians’ boat had been found crewless with its engine running.

The Philippine-based Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf began kidnapping sailors in waters between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines last year, taking several dozen hostages and attacking cargo ships.

The spike in abductions sparked Indonesian warnings that the region could become the “next Somalia” and pushed the three neighbors to pledge coordinated patrols.

The International Maritime Bureau said this month the number of maritime kidnappings hit a 10-year high in 2016, with waters off the southern Philippines becoming increasingly dangerous.

Abu Sayyaf are based on remote and mountainous southern Philippine islands. Their leaders pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group, but analysts say they are more focused on lucrative kidnappings. AFP

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AMERICA...

From A1

“We will not be taken advantage of any more. We’re going to have those great companies come pouring back in,” Trump promised again.

“We are not going to let you down.

Remember the theme: Make America Great Again...Greater than ever before—it will happen.”

During his inaugural address, Trump vowed that his presidency would usher in a new political era.

“We are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people,” he said.

Moments earlier, the incoming US leader had placed his left hand on a bible used by Abraham Lincoln and recited the 35-word oath spoken since George Washington.

The popular turnout was visibly smaller than for Obama’s two inaugurations, in 2009 and 2013, with sections of the mall and bleachers along the parade route left nearly empty.

Throngs of Trump’s opponents also converged on Washington.

Most of their protests—by an array of anti-racist, anti-war, feminist, LGBT, and pro-immigration groups— were peaceful, but sporadic violence marred the day.

Several hundred masked, blackclad protesters carrying anarchist flags smashed windows, lit fires and scuffled with riot police blocks from the parade held in Trump’s honor, with at least 217 people arrested for vandalism.

Even the peaceful protesters were intent on spoiling Trump’s party—letting out a deafening roar as the presidential limousine rolled past.

“Not my president! Not my president!” they yelled, as the pro-Trump crowd in nearby bleachers chanted “USA! USA!” For Trump’s critics, there was disbelief that a man who 19 months ago hosted “The Apprentice” reality TV show is now leader of the free world—sworn in with a 37 percent approval rating, the lowest on record, according to a CBS News poll.

Trump’s inauguration caps the improbable rise of the Manhattan real estate magnate who has never before held elected office, or served in government or the military.

Rather than appealing to a desire to bridge political divides and lift Americans’ gaze to the horizon, his first address to the nation was deeply unorthodox.

Trump painted parts of America as a dystopian hell, with mothers trapped in poverty and “rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape.”

“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” he said.

It was a deliberate and striking contrast from the uplifting message of Obama, who was among the dignitaries in attendance.

Obama and his wife Michelle departed the Capitol by helicopter minutes after the swearing-in, turning a page on eight years of Democratic leadership in the White House.

The first two Trump cabinet members were sworn in after being confirmed Friday by the US Senate. Both are retired generals: Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

For the next few weeks, the White House plans a series of daily executive orders to roll back Obama’s agenda.

Trump has also vowed to reexamine long-running alliances with Europe and in Asia.

“We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.”

AFP

PH, CH FORM WAY TO SETTLE DISPUTE F

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

OLLOWING the note verbale the Philippines filed against China, both Manila and Beijing agreed to establish a bilateral consultation mechanisms in resolving the territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea. Citing his recent consultation with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Liu Zhenmin, Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said both the Philippines and China have agreed to come up a peaceful resolution through the principles of freedom of navigation and overflight.

“The Philippines and China should work together and cooperate for peace and stability in the region, and build mutual trust and confidence,” said Manalo who led the Filipino delegations during the 20th Philippines-China Foreign Ministry Consultations in Manila last Jan. 18.

Under the bilateral consultation mechanism, Manalo said both countries can raise current and other issues of concerns over the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Manalo said that the bilateral consultation mechanism was first

agreed during President Rodrigo Duterte’s first official visit to China in October 2016.

“Both sides agreed to establish a bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea, which will discuss current and other issues of concern to either side, as stated in the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of President Duterte’s State Visit to China in October 2016,” Manalo said.

This week, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. admitted that he sent at least three or four note verbale or diplomatic protest against China’s activities in the South China Sea within seven months under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

The recent diplomatic protest he submitted was China’s installation of weapons on Philippines’ owned reefs-turned-islands in the Kalayaan Group of Islands.

Manalo said that during the consultation, he also conveyed Philip-

pines’ concern on China’s recent activities in the South China Sea. Although he did not discuss further what was Liu’s response, Manalo said that both reaffirmed its commitment for a peaceful and stable climate in the disputed area.

“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea, guided by the principles of freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes,” Manalo said.

China also assured that it will cooperate in the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct Framework by June of 2017.

The Philippines welcomed the plan of China and the Asean to finish the general framework of the COC by June 2017.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose explained before that the framework is the skeleton or the outline of the COC and not the detailed guideline to solve the territorial dispute.

“That’s the mutual aspiration of Asean and China, especially the Philippines, because it is consistent with our position to have an expeditious conclusion of the negotiation for the Code of Conduct,” Jose said.

“But of course it should be noted this is only the general framework, this is only the skeleton or the outline of the COC. We need to put the

flesh on the only bone,” he added.

The Declaration of Conduct was signed in 2002 between China and Asean, a non-binding edict aimed to reduce tensions in the region and prevents claimant-countries— China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan—from aggressively pursuing their claims.

The Code of Conduct, on the other hand, is a more binding edict that was enshrined in the DOC. It hopes to further promote peace and stability in the economically vital sea lane.

“Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening cooperation under the Asean framework, as China reiterated its support for the Philippines’ Asean Chairmanship in 2017,” Manalo said.

During the consultation, the Philippines and China discussed a wide range of areas for cooperation, including law enforcement, trade and investment, finance, tourism, culture, people-to-people exchanges, among others.

The Philippines highlighted that it would continue to enhance functional cooperation with China guided by the Philippine Development Plan and President Duterte’s 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.

The last FMC was held in Beijing in 2013. Both sides agreed to hold the 21st FMC at a mutually agreed date in 2018, with China as the host.

FAR FROM HOME. Three American expatriates Omar Tiwana, Tim Ortiz and Donald Goertzen hold a candlelight protest at the gate of the American Cemetery in Makati City on the eve of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. AFP

BATO ...

From A1

“The commission of a heinous crime right in his very nose is not only an insult but a clear indication that he has lost the respect of his people,” Alvarez said.

“They probably think my position I enjoy being PNP chief. They want me to resign, I can do that any time. Frankly speaking, I didn’t wish to be in this position. This was given to me and I know I was placed here because God has a mission for me,” he said.

The PNP chief was also lambasted for attending a Bryan Adams concert on Thursday night but he said deciding not to go to the concert would not have made a difference in the case.

“The victim was long dead when I attended the concert. Would he have risen from the dead if I decided not to go?” he said.

“What more do they want me to do? Commit hara-kiri? Do I need to kill myself so they will be happy. But hara-kiri is painful. Maybe I’ll do it if they will do it with me. To those who want me to resign, let’s commit hara-kiri together.”

“Besides, the case was solved anyway. The mastermind has been identified and we are looking for the other suspects,” he said.

PALACE...

From A1

“Our diplomatic ties need to reflect our long-standing relationship but under terms and conditions that protect our people’s interests,” Abella said. “The community of nations prosper as each one seeks its common good, and when it comes together to support the well-being of our common humanity.”

“Our priority remains to be the common good of the Filipino people and the national interest,” he added.

On a policy declaration on its website, the White House said the Trump administration is committed to a foreign policy focused on American interests and American national security.

“Defeating ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups will be our highest priority. To defeat and destroy these groups, we will pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations when necessary.

“In addition, the Trump administration will work with international partners to cut off funding for terrorist groups, to expand intelligence sharing, and to engage in cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable propaganda and recruiting.

“Next, we will rebuild the American military. Our Navy has shrunk from more than 500 ships in 1991 to 275 in 2016. Our Air Force is roughly one-

third smaller than in 1991. President Trump is committed to reversing this trend, because he knows that our military dominance must be unquestioned.

“Finally, in pursuing a foreign policy based on American interests, we will embrace diplomacy. The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of enemies, that we are always happy when old enemies become friends, and when old friends become allies.

“The world will be more peaceful and more prosperous with a stronger and more respected America,” the White House said.

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HOUSEURGED TOPASS BILL ONREGULATINGE-COMMERCE

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

House leader on Saturday urged Congress to pass a bill regulating online commerce aimed at encouraging the flow of venture capital to Filipino technology entrepreneurs who need close to $4 billion in startup funding over the next 10 years to cash in on today’s digital economy.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte made the call as he cited a joint study done by Google and Temasek, which showed that in the next decade, the Philippines’ startup entrepreneurs need at least $4 billion, or roughly equivalent to P195 billion, to allow the country’s digital economy to hit $19 billion (about P930 billion) by 2025.

“We cannot cash in on the new frontier of digital economy, which offers unparalleled business

opportunities for Pinoy startups if we do not put in place the necessary regulatory reforms to help them tap the billions of dollars and pesos in funding available from foreign and local sources,” Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said.

The Google-Temasek study noted that some $200 billion in digital opportunity is available in Southeast Asia alone by 2025, of which the Philippines’ share is

about $19 billion in 10 years’ time, Villafuerte said.

The $19-billion share is more than 10 times the current value of $1.7 billion, according to the joint study.

Villafuerte said that based on the study, the country’s digital economy is primarily fueled by online shopping and travel spending but is sadly lacking the investments needed to spur the growth of Filipino startups.

“We can tap both foreign and local sources for funding, but they would be wary about investing in our startups if we do not have a concrete set of rules and the incentives that would encourage them to park their money here, instead of, say, Singapore or Indonesia,” said Villafuerte, who was a successful young entrepreneur before his three-term stint as CamSur governor from 2004 to 2013.

Citing a separate study, Villafuerte

said that in terms of electronic commerce, the Philippines, and the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean-6) account for under one percent of the total global online retail market out of the sales projected to top $1 trillion this year.

The study showed that retail e-commerce is projected to expand to nearly $2.7 trillion in 2020, but with the Asean-6 tapping only a small percentage of this market even if it accounts for 3 to 4 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product and around 8 percent of the world’s population.

“This is very unfortunate because e-commerce could be a very powerful instrument in helping our SMEs [small and micro enterprises] thrive not only here but in the global market as well,” Villafuerte said.

PROMOTING TACLOBAN. Leyte (1st District) Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez (right), in partnership with Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez (2nd from right), discusses with representatives from Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Tecnology, Department of Tourism and Department of Agriculture the creation of Pasalubong Center in Tacloban City to promote the products of Eastern Visayas including hotels, restaurants and airport. Ver Noveno

TAX REFORM TO PROVIDE INCENTIVE TO POOR THE proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law will provide an additional P6,000 per year to some 7.5-million poorest families in the country, three to five million more households, and dramatically reduce the Personal Income Tax of low-salaried earners within defined wage brackets.

This represents the single largest direct transfer of wealth estimated at P170 billion to P30 billion in reduced personal income taxes and about P40 billion in income transfers to the lower income classes, on top of the P68 billion under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipinong Program or 4Ps. Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of House Bill 4688, said the proposed

scheme best balances the need to restore equity in the tax system, while raising muchneeded revenues to support public spending in infrastructure and in the people.

“While restoring equity in the tax system will cost government reduced collection of income taxes by P127 billion, based on initial estimates, the increase in the taxes of goods consumed mostly by rich Filipinos will raise collections by P302 billion,” Salceda explained.

The lawmaker said TRAIN will allow government to collect additional P170 billion more taxes in 2018 to fund infrastructure projects.

The tax reform package, Salceda said, provides relief to people by lowering income taxes for the

vast majority of Filipinos at the soonest possible time, by 2018 and further by 2019. Delaying approval of the bill will delay the benefits to Filipino workers.

In addition to current minimum wage earners, an additional three-million workers will no longer pay income taxes based on adjusted brackets, he added. Citing an example, Salceda said a call center agent paying P9,200 under current personal income tax rates, will only pay less than P1,600 under the proposed scheme, with a savings of about P7,600. An entry level Clerk III who earns less would be exempted. On the other hand, those earning high annual incomes will pay more taxes than they presently pay. PNA

DEPED TO STRENGTHEN DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM

THE Department of Education is strengthening its National Drug Education Program in an effort to protect students from the scourge of illegal drugs.

“The DepEd has been implementing the NDEP for years now to prevent drug use and abuse among students.

The department sees the need to continuously strengthen it because of the rampant cases of drug-related incidents in the country,” DepEd NDEP focal person Girlie Azurin said in a release issued Saturday.

The program provides a holistic approach in preventing and eliminating the menace of drugs in the country and enables all sectors to work collaboratively with the school system. It has five components used by the DepEd to create awareness on the ill effects of illegal drugs: curriculum and instruction; co-curricular and

ancillary services; teacher and staff development; parent education and community outreach; and research, monitoring, and evaluation.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, in a recent interview, assured that the program will be age-appropriate.

“We are implementing it at the present curriculum but we are developing enhancements. I have already instructed the undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction to look into it,” Briones said.

The DepEd has also established the Barkada Kontra Droga Chapters in schools; intensified anti-drug abuse information campaigns; supported the activities planned by the designated regional and schools division NDEP coordinators; and involved parentteacher associations and student organizations in drug abuse prevention activities.

FOR GOOD HYGIENE. Senator Cynthia A. Villar urges Baseco residents in Manila to observe proper hygiene and stop defecating in open or public places to avoid serious health and sanitation problems in their area. Villar linked up with the Department of Health and other agencies to launch a toilet bowl project in Baseco. Dra. Corazon Flores (left), assistant regional directorDoH NCR, joins Villar in this photo.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

ORBOS SUSPENDS NUMBER CODING SCHEME

By Joel E. Zurbano METRO Manila Development Authority acting chairman Thomas Orbos has suspended the issuance of exemptions to the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the number coding scheme as the agency is reevaluating existing policies aimed to improve traffic in the metropolis.

“The volume of vehicles is there but we have to revisit the policies on the exemptions under the UVVRP because this might defeat the purpose of reducing the number of cars on the roads,” said Orbos.

Orbos said the agency has been swamped with applications for exemptions from the number coding scheme. He added that the issuance of an exemption from the UVVRP is not mandatory but subject to evaluation and in consideration of exceptional humanitarian reasons.

He also reminded the public that the MMDA memorandum circular allows for automatic exemption without the need for exemption certificate under certain circumstances such as vehicles carrying person needing immediate medical attention, official and marked media vehicles, among others.

Under the coding scheme, vehicles with license plates ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited on major thoroughfares in Metro Manila every Monday; 3 and 4 every Tuesday; 5 and 6 every Wednesday; 7 and 8 every Thursday; and 9 and 0 every Friday.

The scheme is lifted during Saturday, Sunday, and regular holidays.

A recent resolution from the Metro Manila Council, the MMDA’s supervising board and policy-making body, has suspended the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. window hours until Jan. 31, 2017.

The same resolution also expanded the UVVRP coverage to all radial and circumferential roads in the metropolis.

‘SCHOOLS NEED WATER MORE THAN CONDOMS’

By Joel Zurbano and Maricel Cruz SENATOR Ralph Recto on Saturday urged the departments of Health and Education to focus their attention not only on distributing condoms, but also on the problem of waterless public school facilities in the country.

“The DepEd and the DoH should be as aggressive in putting an end to waterless schools as they are in pushing for the distribution of condoms in public schools. We would like to see the same determined collaboration in installing water facilities, in building more toilets, in providing other health services in the country’s 46,739 public elementary schools,” Recto said.

“If we’re going to give away condoms, then let us also provide clean drinking water to millions of schoolchildren. Let’s erase the backlog in water and sanitation facilities,” added Recto, who explained that hand washing is a basic preventive measure that staves off sickness that leads to class absences.

There are 3,628 out of 46,739 public schools nationwide are waterless based on records presented by the Department of Education last March.

“However, 8,109 schools rely primarily on rainwater catchment, which renders them basically waterless. This brings up the real total of waterless schools to 11,737.

So about one in four, how many children are affected? Easily 5 million students,” he said.

Recto said only 18,393 schools nationwide have piped-in water while the next biggest source are deep wells, which 17,757 schools have.

“With lack of water comes the problem of sanitation facilities. There is a toilet shortage in all schools and you don’t need statistics to back that claim,” he said.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Francis S. Lagniton, Issue Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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HOUSE OKS BILL ON ESTATE TAX AMNESTY T

By Maricel V. Cruz

HE House committee on ways and means has passed a substitute bill granting amnesty in the payment of estate taxes.

The panel chairman, Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua, spearheaded the passage of the unnumbered bill, which replaced House Bill 1889 authored by Rep. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo and HB 3010 by Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo of Marikina, both titled “An Act Granting Amnesty in Estate Tax.” The bill seeks to increase tax collection levels by granting amnesty in the payment of unsettled estate taxes, and to promote the settlement of estates. The amnesty would free

up properties of unsettled estates, “with the end goal of generating financial transactions and stimulating economic activity,” the bill states.

The bill provides that the tax amnesty shall cover estate taxes for taxable year 2016 and for prior years that have remained unpaid as of Dec. 31, 2016.

It grants the following immunities and privileges to taxpayers who avail of the tax amnesty: (1) immunity from the payment of estate taxes, civil, criminal, or administrative penalties; (2) the taxpayer’s Estate Tax Amnesty Returns for 2016 and prior years shall not be admissible as evidence in all judicial, quasijudicial, or administrative proceedings; and (3) the books of accounts and other records of the taxpayer for the years covered by the estate tax amnesty availed of shall not be examined.

The tax amnesty is being sought because the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s estate tax collection is insignificant compared to the overall tax take, Defensor explained.

Defensor said the amnesty is an administrative cleanup measure because “there are so many properties tied to unsettled estate taxes, which can reach billions of pesos and which have become idle capital.”

“If these properties are sent back to commercial circulation and are made subject to transaction such as sale, lease, or joint venture, in the long run, they can generate more taxes,” said Defensor, the House deputy majority leader.

Quimbo explained the bill seeks to ensure that properties “that are caught in a bind, not being utilized, and are not being part of the economy because estate taxes have remained unpaid, are brought back to commercial circulation.”

“The primary cause of the inability to settle estate tax is due to high estate tax rates and secondly, the inability to cope with the penalties that have accrued. In 95 percent of the cases, the penalties are even higher than the value of the properties,” said Quimbo.

'COCKS' FOR SALE. A week before the Chinese New Year celebration, vendors sell 'Fire Rooter' balloons, Feng Shui charms and round fruits along Ongpin Street in Binondo, Manila. 2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster in the Chinese astrological calendar. Norman Cruz

SOLONS SEE SUCCESSFUL GPH-NDF ROUND 3 LAWMAKERS expressed optimism Saturday that the Duterte administration will succeed in making peace with the National Democratic Front.

As the third round of peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front started in Rome, Italy, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said he was hopeful but also renewed his call for the immediate release of all political prisoners.

Reps. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela and Tom Villarin of Akbayan party-list were likewise optimistic of the prospects of the peace talks.

“Let us end the longest [communist] insurgency in Southeast Asia.

Too many lives have been lost and

A DUMP NO MORE?

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has ordered the Quezon City government to close the Payatas dumpsite pictured here, but the city is asking Lopez to reconsider since it doesn't have an alternate dumpsite yet. Manny Palmero

too much sufferings have befallen our country,” said Albano, majority leader for the House of Representatives’ Commission on Appointments.

“As the Duterte administration has been pushing hard to achieve a longlasting peace for the Filipino people, it is high time to put an end to the war.

Anyway, nobody is winning,” Albano added.

Villarin echoed a similar view. “I am optimistic about its prospects and fully support our people’s clamor for a just and lasting peace,” he said.

“Both camps I think can agree on many issues like social and economic reforms, release of political prisoners, JASIG list, affirmation of

previous agreements, and others,” added the opposition solon.

However, Villarin said the issue of a prolonged ceasefire and eventual laying down of arms by the NPA will be a thorny one.

“The right to bear arms as a revolutionary principle will not be abandoned by the CPP,” Villarin said.

Meanwhile, the detainees Tinio called political prisoners were either arrested or convicted of common crimes, police records showed. But the solon insisted they were “victims of trumpedup charges.”

“We demand the immediate release of the political prisoners, especially those who are old and sick, including

our colleagues in the education sector Amelia Pond and Dominciano Muya, Lumad educators of Davao; Rhea Pareja, volunteer teacher of Quezon; and Rene Boy Abiva, an organizer of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Cagayan Valley chapter,” Tinio said.

“They were arrested and detained as criminals while serving the poor and marginalized and fighting for basic human rights,” he added.

The ACT Teachers party-list group also said the government must end militarization in rural areas and indigenous peoples’ communities where “redtagging, threats, and harassment are unleashed upon the community, teachers, and students.” Maricel V. Cruz

ANTI-PROFANITY MEASURE PROPOSED

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance instituting a ban on profanity in all schools, computer shops and other business establishments frequented by children, high school and college students in the city.

Authored by Councilor Lilia A. Fariñas, the proposal says profanity “refers to blasphemous or obscene language, regular or irreverent speech or action, expletives, oath, swearing, swearword, coarse, coarseword, cussing, profane, or obscene expressions, usually of surprise or anger.”

Anti-profanity, as defined by the proposal, “would mean acts or measures to counter and prohibit the practice of profanity or the

use of obscene language.”

Children in all schools and all levels, and those in establishments that kids frequent such as computer shops, would be banned “from cursing, cussing, expressing insults, whether directly or indirectly, to anyone or using profane and foul language as a means of expression, or as a manifestation of anger, surprise, disgust, or any other form of extreme emotion that yields to such expressions of profanity.”

Fariñas said the “revolting habit” can be observed most often in areas where children of different ages play games. It happens “especially among those that engage in war games and feudal battles [in computer shops], which cause them to insult each other with indecent and profane language, as if it were okay to do so.”

EASTERN PH FACES 2-MONTH RAIN WOES EXPECTED near-normal to abovenormal rainfall in the next two months could trigger new landslides and flash floods in the eastern areas of Visayas and Mindanao, which are already reeling from weather-borne disasters this month, state weather bureau Pagasa said Saturday.

Rains in February and March can cause rough sailing and more landslides and floods in Eastern Visayas and the Caraga region in northeastern Mindanao “despite waning prospects for the rain-driven La Niña phenomenon’s full-blown development,” Pagasa said.

“Those areas can experience La Niña-like conditions, so communities concerned must prepare for such possibility,” said weather specialist Rusy Abastillas.

Pasagas said most of the country’s eastern seaboard has Type II climate that has no dry season but is marked by a “very pronounced” maximum rain period from December to February.

“Very wet weather is normal in the eastern seaboard during this time of the year,” Abastillas said.

Even if La Niña isn’t full-blown, she said rain over the country’s eastern provinces in the next two months “can be more intense than normal.”

The La Niña and El Niño phenomena are the cold and warm phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle, respectively, Pagasa said.

ENSO is characterized by temperature fluctuations between the ocean and atmosphere in east-central Equatorial Pacific.

Several days’ downpour helped trigger the large-scale February 2006 landslide in Guinsaugon village in Eastern Visayas’ Southern Leyte province that caused about 1,221 fatalities.

The bureau declared a weak La Niña that year, Abastillas recalled.

“People must be aware of La Niña’s possible impacts,” she said.

Earlier, Pagasa said oceanic and atmospheric indicators reached “weak or borderline La Niña levels” in October 2016.

Prospects for La Niña’s full development remain dim, the bureau said. Among the latest international forecasts is La Niña’s transition to ENSO-neutral condition around next month, it added.

Even if such a transition occurs, Pagasa said La Niña’s impacts “can still linger for some time.”

The northeast monsoon or “amihan” thunderstorms, low-pressure areas, the tailend of a cold front. and tropical cyclones are rain-driving weather systems that can affect the country from February to July this year, Pagasa added. PNA

NO DAMAGE AFTER 5.5 QUAKE OFF DAVAO OCC. THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology expects no damages and aftershocks from the magnitude-5.5 earthquake that struck below the waters off Davao Occidental province on Saturday.

“The earthquake wasn’t that strong,” said Phivolcs science research specialist John Deximo. He also said the earthquake struck “at a very deep depth.”

According to Phivolcs, the earthquake occurred at 1:16 p.m.

445 km south and 44 degrees east of Davao Occidental’s Sarangani town at a depth of 91 km.

“That was an offshore earthquake of tectonic origin,” Deximo noted.

There were no reported intensities for the earthquake.

Phivolcs said it would update its information on the earthquake as soon as it became available. PNA

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Opinion

Adelle Chua, Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

A NEW LEADER I

was why Americans took a chance on a maverick.

For us Filipinos, what makes the transition significant is not the colorful personality of the new president or the traits he seems to share with ours.

Recall that just a few months back, our President Duterte hurled invectives at the Americans for calling him out on his supposed human rights violations while conveniently forgetting the violations they committed on us decades ago.

And while we may just be a minor partner to the

N THE beginning, many people thought of him as a joke.

He was not presidential enough, they said. He talked too much and was politically incorrect. He had no qualms showing off his low regard of women. He uttered the most awkward things and cracked the most inappropriate of jokes. He does not seem to speak from facts and statistics.

How would he represent his country before the rest of the world?

But this weekend, Donald Trump became president of the United States of America.

The day was marked by both cheers and protests. Trump’s victory was unexpected. His Democrat opponent, the former State Secretary, Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton, was perceived to be the sure winner— she had way more experience in politics and in everything else.

On social

media, Trump was derided as a racist, a misogynist, an insanely wealthy man and nothing else. Yet he will determine the fate of the US for at least the next four years.

In his inaugural address, Trump said he would bring back America to the people because for many years it has been Washington that has made all the decisions. He would bring back jobs and reclaim borders. These words resonated with those who felt short-changed by the traditional system. This

A FOCUSED SPACE PROGRAM FOR A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Americans, they are our major partners in trade and in geopolitics. It will be interesting to watch how Duterte and Trump will get past their superficial similarities and actually work together for mutual benefit—that is, if they truly can.

It’s an exciting time for Americans, indeed, and the rest of the world.

We look forward to seeing how they can transcend fiery rhetoric and translate good intentions into results. It’s not a joke to be chief executive, and it’s not a job for jokers.

IN A previous piece, I wrote about the reasons why I think a space program will benefit the Philippines. I gave justifications on why a country plagued by pressing problems such as poverty, lack of food security, and the effects of climate change can even begin to think about going into space.

Ever since I wrote that piece, the move to create a national space policy has advanced on several fronts. Several bills have already been submitted to committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate that push for the creation of a Philippine Space Agency and the formulation of a National Space Development and Utilization Policy.

The latest of these are Senate Bill 1259 filed by Senator Loren Legarda and House Bill 4367 filed by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. Prior to these, Senator Bam Aquino introduced Senate Bill 1211 in the Senate while Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado and Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos introduced House Bill 3637 in the Lower House of Congress. Taken together, these bills take us closer toward a legislated Philippine Space Act. As an advocate of a space program for the Philippines, I wanted to find out what other people thought of the idea. Most of the people I know personally are for it, mostly for the reasons that I, too, am for it. But since I wanted to get a sense of what the general public thought about investing in space, I had to go out of my social media bubble and scoured the comments sections of many online publications.

What I found was that many commenters and people on social media were critical of efforts of the Philippine government to prioritize space program given our many earthly problems.

The most common sentiment can be expressed as follows: We have many problems here on the ground ranging from urban gridlocks and poor infrastructure to super typhoons and droughts.

Why spend our limited resources on going into space? Why not use government funds on helping hungry farmers instead or investing in better disaster risk reduction and management?

A more scientific survey would help us know the true pulse of the nation on this issue. However, such sentiments, even if they turn out to be of the minority, need to be addressed. Hence, although my response to these criticisms is contained in my previous article, I think it bears repeating here. It also bears repeating because I believe these criticisms can and should be used constructively to formulate

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MAKING TOKHANG PALATABLE LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA

THE first red flag was the invitation.

On that breezy Saturday morning in December, the barangay captain, during her welcome remarks, said she was overwhelmed at the turnout of residents at the village basketball court.

This comment was met with silence by the crowd. People were thinking: Of course we would show up. Who would dare be absent if your household received a letter that went like this?

“Rather than have police knocking

at doors of your houses there will be a meeting to be conducted by the Quezon City Police District for all residents and homeowners.

1. All residents and homeowners of [village] must attend. If you cannot come, please send an adult family

representative.

2. Only adult family members may come as family representatives.

Household help, drivers and maids are not qualified to represent you and the family.

Turn to B2

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Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

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ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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Chairman Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager OIC-Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

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Opinion

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A FOCUSED...

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a more focused and suitable space policy. We need as many wellintentioned people to be on board for this.

What people who criticize having a space program need to know is that investing in space technology is a cost-effective way to help us solve many of our problems here on the ground. For example, having our own satellites can help us monitor the weather and assess the damages caused by extreme weather conditions better and more cheaply.

The following facts put this into perspective. Our current weather monitoring systems rely on licensing of satellite data sourced from foreign satellite operators. The government spends a total of P3 billion per year on procuring these data. After Typhoon Yolanda, the government had to spend about P56 million to purchase satellite imagery of the area ravaged by the storm.

With the effects of climate change expected to become worse over the coming years, we can expect such storms to become more common and stronger. We, of course, hope for the opposite to happen. But hope is not a good disaster risk reduction and management policy.

A better policy would be to invest in technologies that will help us save lives. As I argued, it can also help us save money in the process.

And the claim about saving lives by making investments in space technology is not based on hope.

Rather, it is an expectation based on facts. The example of India is instructive. In 1999, a strong cyclone hit the coast of India, leading to the death of more than 10,000 people.

When, in 2014, a storm of similar strength was about to hit the same region, early warning systems that utilize space technologies was used to help evacuate millions of residents to safer places. The satellites not only helped in weather forecasting and monitoring, they also helped in communicating to remote areas.

When the cyclone passed, 21 lives were lost. The thousands of lives saved is, I believe, more than enough justification for the frugal Indian space program.

I invite the critics of the Philippine Space Act to consider these facts and turn their good intentions into support for a more focused and frugal Philippine space program.

Decierdo is resident astronomer and physicist for The Mind Museum.

MAKING...

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3. During the meeting, the objectives, processes and methods of Operation Tokhang will be explained.

You may ask questions on this topic and other concerns as well.

4. If you do not attend or send a qualified family representative, then the police team of Operation Tokhang together with Barangay representatives will come knocking at your door.

The Quezon City Police District have kindly consented to a barangay meeting to save you the concerns and trouble of having police from knocking at your door. So please take the effort to attend and participate in this important meeting. Again we reiterate, come personally or send an adult family member as representative. Attendance will be recorded.”

Subtlety is a virtue—and apparently it’s difficult to come by. *** At the full-house meeting, Police Chief Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, district director of the QCPD, explained that they specifically sent out invitations couched in this language to get more people to come and heed the message of the police.

“It was never meant to be a threat,” he later on said. They just really wanted a high turnout.

What was the message? That people need not be afraid of Oplan Tokhang.

Tokhang, which is a combination of the terms “toktok” and “hangyo” (to knock and to plead) is actually part of the Philippine National Police’s two-pronged approach—Project

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: TOTAL ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump dance during the Freedom Ball at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The ball is part of the celebrations following Trump’s inauguration. AFP

(Full text of US President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech) CHIEF Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.

We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.

We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done.

Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people.

For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth.

Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

Their victories have not been your

Double Barrel, as directed by PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa on July 1, 2016—to curb the illegal drug problem in the country. (The second component distinguishes between high-value and low-value targets and prescribes different approaches for them.)

Eleazar presented a flowchart of how Oplan Tokhang should go. It begins with collection and validation of information about people known in the community as engaged in illegal drugs. There will be coordination for the house visitation. The person will be “invited” to come along. He may or may not come. Eleazar played a video that showed how a drug addict in the family was rehabilitated because he decided to heed the police’s invitation and submitted himself to a reform program.

The police director took the conversation one step further.

Since there is less instance of drug activity in Quezon City villages, he

victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

Everyone is listening to you now.

You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before.

At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens.

Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.

But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories

We are told there is nothing to fear. said, they modified their approach so that the police no longer have to go to neighborhoods and knock on doors. Rather, the supposedly more enlightened citizenry would be invited to a meeting where representatives of the police would discuss their efforts to curb the drug menace.

Call it “taphang” instead—from “tapok,” to gather, and “hangyo,” to plead. What’s to fear? *** All this sounds benign on paper, but it is starkly different from what we actually know and feel about the government’s efforts to curb illegal drugs—seemingly at all costs

scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.

This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.

We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.

And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We’ve made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world.

But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future.

We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.

From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.

Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.

Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before.

We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.

We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on

anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.

At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement.

And most importantly, we will be protected by God. Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it.

The time for empty talk is over.

Now arrives the hour of action.

Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America.

We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.

It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.

We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator.

So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words.

You will never be ignored again.

Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again.

And yes, together we will make America great again.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

and through whatever measures.

The Tokhang Eleazar was talking about seems different from the police operations we hear about, where suspected dealers and users are killed for “resisting.” Reports on planted evidence abound. And now there is a new scheme—tokhang for ransom—that unscrupulous cops are going into. It’s a way to make money, really, taking advantage of the war being led by no less than the President himself.

As the new year kicked in, we heard that nearly 6,000 have been killed in the name of this war and the people are beginning to fret.

This is shown in a recent survey that said eight out of 10 Filipinos feared they or somebody they knew would become victims of the government crackdown on so-called drug personalities, whether these are founded or not.

In November we heard about how a suspected drug lord was killed by cops

right inside his jail cell in Leyte. And just this week, we were appalled to know that a Korean businessman was strangled by policemen inside Camp Crame.

And we are told there is nothing to fear. *** We do not argue that the drug menace threatens our nation and our young. We also find merit in the determination of the government to crack down on those who enrich themselves by endangering the lives of others. But the manner in which the objective is carried out, and the temptation to abuse this blanket authority, cast terror and doubt among us all.

Not even the best made videos or the most eloquent of explanations can make the war against drugs palatable if it violates the most basic of rights. adellechua@gmail.com

World

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SOKOR CULTURE MINISTER RESIGNS AFTER ARREST OVER BLACKLIST SEOUL—South Korea’s culture minister resigned after being arrested Saturday for allegedly creating a “blacklist” of nearly 10,000 artists who voiced criticism of impeached President Park Geun-Hye. Cho Yoon-Sun, who is the first minister in active service to be arrested in South Korea, is accused of creating the vast catalogue to starve the artists of government subsidies and private investments and place them under state surveillance.

The list’s existence has sparked widespread anger, raising the spectre of Seoul’s 1960-80s army-backed rule – including under dictator Park Chung-Hee, the impeached leader’s late father – when the news, arts and entertainment were heavily censored.

Shortly after her arrest, Cho tendered her resignation to Prime minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said.

An earlier report by Yonhap news agency said Hwang had accepted Cho’s resignation but the spokesman said no decision had been made yet.

The Seoul Central District Court had issued a warrant to arrest Cho on charges of abuse of authority and perjury following a request from prosecutors. AFP

INDIA PM OVERTURNS COURT BAN ON BULLWRESTLING NEW DELHi—Prime Minister Narendra Modi has overturned a Supreme Court ban on a bull-wrestling festival that fueled massive protests in southern India by demonstrators who called it an attack on their culture.

India’s Supreme Court outlawed the Jallikattu festival last year after a plea by animal rights groups, which have long accused participants in the event – held every year in different parts of southern Tamil Nadu state – of cruelty to the animals.

Tensions have escalated in recent days as thousands of protesters gathered in state capital Chennai and other cities, prompting Tamil Nadu’s chief minister to travel to Delhi to ask Modi to overturn the ban.

“We are very proud of the rich culture of Tamil Nadu. All efforts are being made to fulfil the cultural aspirations of Tamil people,” Modi posted on Twitter on Saturday.

The Tamil Nadu governor is expected to approve Modi’s executive order later in the day, paving the way for Jallikattu to resume as early as Sunday.

Critics say that organisers lace the bulls’ feed with liquor to make them less steady on their feet and throw chilli powder in their faces to send them into a sudden frenzy as they are released from a holding pen. AFP

FOUR MORE SURVIVORS PULLED FROM AVALANCHE HOTEL PENNE, Italy—Emergency workers on Saturday pulled four more survivors from the ruins of an Italian hotel buried under an avalanche three days ago, after the “miracle” rescue of a woman and four children on Friday.

Two women and a man were pulled out around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) and another man was extracted soon after dawn from the ruins of the Rigopiano hotel in the mountains of central Italy.

The latest operations bring to 11 the total number of survivors of the disaster, including two hotel guests who were outside the building when the avalanche struck on Wednesday evening.

Four bodies have been recovered so far, leaving at least 12 people and possibly up to 20 unaccounted for. It is not certain how many people were at the hotel at the time of the avalanche.

Scores of mountain police, firefighters and other emergency personnel have worked painstakingly since the first rescuers battled through a snowstorm to reach the hotel early on Thursday.

Progress has been agonizingly slow, with rescuers wary of triggering further movements in the snow piled up on top of the masonry. AFP

BELOW ZERO FUN. Children push their chairs on ice to skate on a frozen river in Beijing on January 21, 2017. During the winter,

frozen lakes and canals turn into skating rinks in the capital. AFP

PAKISTAN MARKET BOMBING KILLS 20

P

eshawar, Pakistan—A bomb exploded at a market on Saturday in a mainly Shiite area of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, killing at least 20 people and wounding 40 others, officials said.

The bomb detonated in a crowded vegetable market in Parachinar city, the capital of Kurram tribal district on the Afghan border.

“20 people have been martyred [killed],” the Pakistan military said in a short statement, adding that the injured had been taken to military and civil hospitals in the region’s main city of Peshawar.

“Troops from army and (paramilitary) Frontier Corps are under taking relief and rescue operations,” it said.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, governor for Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province confirmed the death toll in a televised interview with Pakistan’s private news channel TV Geo.

Jhagra said at least 40 people were wounded in the blast, 12 critically.

Ikramullah Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar, told AFP that the blast was caused by an IED (improvised explosive device) hidden in a vegetable box.

In a telephone call to AFP, the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack.

“It was to avenge the killing of our associates by security forces and to teach a lesson to Shiites for their support for Bashar al-Assad,” said the group’s spokesman Qari Saifullah, referring to the Syrian

president.

Saifullah warned that his Sunni Muslim group will continue attacking Shiites if they back Assad, whose regime is entrenched in a civil war that began in 2011 and has claimed more than 310,000 lives.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the latest loss of life, his office said in a statement.

Kurram is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts which are governed according to local laws and customs.

The district is known for sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, who make up roughly 20 percent of Pakistan’s population of 200 million. AFP

IS WREAKS NEW DESTRUCTION IN SYRIA’S ANCIENT PALMYRA

PRESSING ON. Iraqi forces advance towards an area northwest of Mosul on January 20 during an ongoing military operation against IS group jihadists. AFP

DAMASCUS, Syria—The Islamic State group has demolished more treasured monuments in Syria’s ancient Palmyra, a month after recapturing it from government forces, the country’s antiquities chief said.

The news is a fresh blow for the Unesco World Heritage site, which had already been ravaged by the jihadist group during the nine months of control before being expelled in March last year.

“Local sources told us that 10 days ago Daesh destroyed the tetrapylon,” a 16-columned structure that marked one end of the ancient city’s colonnade, Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP using an Arabic acronym for IS. Before being forced out of Palmyra in a Russian-backed offensive in March, IS razed world-famous temples and tower tombs at the site.

The UN’s cultural agency reacted with outrage Friday, calling the fresh destruction a “war crime” and “cultural cleansing.”

The tetrapylon, built during the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd Century AD, consisted of four sets of four pillars each supporting massive stone cornices.

The monument had suffered considerable damage over the centuries and only one of the 16 pillars was still standing in its original Egyptian pink granite.

The rest were cement replicas erected by the antiquities department in 1963.

The Roman amphitheater dates to the 1st Century AD and was used by IS for public executions during its occupation of the city between May 2015 and March last year.

“From the first day, I was bracing myself for a terrible outcome,” Abdulkarim said. “We had already witnessed the terror of the first occupation and frankly I had never thought that the city would be occupied for a second time.”

IS recaptured Palmyra late last year as Syria’s government waged a fierce battle to take back all of the northern city of Aleppo from rebel forces. AFP

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

World

/ Joyce Pangco-Pañares, Issue Editor

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MATTIS SWORN IN AS US DEFENSE CHIEF W

ASHINGTON—Retired Marine general James Mattis was sworn in Friday as US defense secretary, praising intelligence agencies and calling for stronger ties with allies in a break from positions taken by President Donald Trump.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis

Mattis was confirmed by a 98-1 vote earlier Friday in the first action taken by US senators after Trump took the oath of office, and was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence.

“Together with the intelligence community we are the sentinels and guardians of our nation,” Mattis said in a statement to the Department of Defense – tipping his cap to the agencies that Trump has sharply criticized as they investigate claims of Russian interference in the US election.

“Every action we take will be designed to ensure our military is ready to fight today and in the future...Recognizing that no nation is secure without friends, we will work with the State Department to strengthen our alliances,” he said, a contrast to Trump’s recent branding of the NATO military alliance as “obsolete.”

Lawmakers passed a special waiver allowing Mattis, who retired in 2013, to serve before a customary seven-year limit on former military personnel assuming the Pentagon’s top post.

John Kelly, another retired Marine general, was also confirmed and sworn in to head the Department of Homeland Security.

“These uniquely qualified leaders will immediately begin the important work of rebuilding our military, defending our nation and securing our borders,” Trump said in a statement. “I am proud to have these two American heroes join my administration.”

Mattis has won accolades from both parties and many in the armed forces, and his path to Trump’s cabinet was relatively uncontroversial compared to that of other nominees.

A cornerstone of US democracy is that civilians, not people in uniform, control the military, and the commander-in-chief is the president.

Some in Congress initially raised eyebrows because Mattis, a 66-year-old Washington state native, had only retired from active duty in 2013.

The waiver allowing him to take the top Pentagon post was only granted once before, for the famous World War II general George Marshall who served under President Harry Truman from 1950-1951.

Mattis is known as a colorful commander and famed for his pugnacious aphorisms. The media dubbed him “Mad Dog” for his battlehardened swagger and the sort of blunt language Marines are famous for.

He has been quoted as saying, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.”

But Mattis also has a well-known cerebral side: he issued reading lists to Marines under his command, and instructed them that the most important territory on a battlefield is the space “between your ears.”

While Mattis sailed through his confirmation, Democratic lawmakers are putting up stiff resistance to other Trump cabinet picks, including nominees to head the departments of education and health and human services.

Mattis replaces Ashton Carter, a longtime Pentagon bureaucratic warrior who served as former president Barack Obama’s fourth defense secretary. AFP

First Lady Melania Trump wears a beautiful off-the-shoulder cream dress by New York-based designer Herve Pierre. AFP

Homeland Security chief John Kelly

MELANIA TRUMP STUNS IN FIRST LADY FASHION STAKES WASHINGTON—First Lady Melania Trump stunned fashion watchers by donning a sleek, offthe-shoulder cream dress with a daring thigh-high slit to dance with President Donald Trump at the inaugural balls.

Her column dress, finished with a sculpted ruffle that cascaded down the front of the gown and cinched at the waist with a red ribbon, won praise for being fresh, modern, elegant and yet understated.

She won rave reviews for her look and originality in choosing in Herve Pierre a New York-based de-

signer who last year struck out on his own after working as creative director for famed label Carolina Herrera.

Her pick is likely to boost sales and publicity for the relatively unknown Pierre, much like her predecessor Michelle Obama’s selection of the then relatively unknown Jason Wu in 2009 turned him into a star.

The 46-year-old former model glowed as she stepped onto the dance floor, her auburn hair hanging around her shoulders, with her husband, dressed in a black tie, to

“My Way” the song made popular

by Frank Sinatra and considered something of a personal anthem for Trump.

The couple swayed rather gingerly, the Republican president clutching his wife tightly by one hand and placing his other on her back as they nuzzled, and exchanged smiles and laughs.

The former reality TV star, who reportedly refused to practice the dance ahead of time, at times broke away from his wife to wave or flash a thumbs up to unidentified members of the crowd. AFP

100 AL-QAEDA FIGHTERS KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE Washington—A US strike has killed more than 100 Al-Qaeda fighters at a training camp in northwestern Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.

The air strike occurred Thursday at a camp in Idlib province that had been operational since 2013, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

“The removal of this training camp disrupts training operations and discourages hardline Islamist and Syrian opposition groups from joining or cooperating with Al-Qaeda on the battlefield,” Davis said.

US plane and drone strikes have killed more than 150 Qaeda fighters since January 1, Davis said, including Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi, an “external operations leader” in Syria.

“These strikes, conducted in quick succession, degrade al-Qaeda’s capabilities, weaken their resolve and cause confusion in their ranks,” Davis said. AFP

BROTHER OF UN CHIEF INDICTED FOR BRIBERY NEW YORK, United States—US government prosecutors have asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former UN secretarygeneral Ban Ki-moon indicted in New York on charges of bribery.

An indictment unsealed on January 10 accuses Ban Ki Sang, a senior executive in a South Korean construction company, and his son Joo Hyun Bahn, a Manhattan real estate broker, over the attempted $800 million sale of a building in Hanoi.

During a court hearing in a federal court in New York on Friday, an assistant US attorney said a request had been made for the arrest of Ban. The suspect, who was an executive at Keangnam Enterprises, a South Korean construction company, has not yet been arrested, the prosecutor told the court.

Ban’s brother stepped down from the helm of the United Nations on January 1, replaced by former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres. Bahn is the former UN chief’s nephew. AFP

16 DEAD IN SCHOOL BUS CRASH IN ITALY ROME—A coach carrying Hungarian teenagers home from a school trip crashed and burst into flames on a motorway in northern Italy, killing 16 people, firefighters said Saturday.

Some 39 injured were taken to hospital following the accident near Verona on Friday night, which occurred when the vehicle smashed into a bridge pillar, according to emergency workers.

A huge inferno engulfed the bus, dramatic pictures released by police showed, completely destroying the interior and reducing the vehicle to a burned-out wreck.

Some were killed when they were thrown from the coach, but most were found badly charred inside the vehicle.

Most of those on board were Hungarian schoolchildren aged between 14 and 18, along with teachers and parents, returning home from a trip to France.

A spokesman for Hungary’s foreign ministry said the bus was carrying two drivers and 54 passengers. AFP

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@thestandard.com.ph

ROCKET GUYS SHAKE PH HOTEL INDUSTRY

wo young Frenchmen, working for Rocket Internet SE of Germany, are shaking the Philippine accommodation industry, offering budget hotel rooms in premium locations such as Manila, Cebu and Boracay for as low as P850 a night.

“Our mission is to be the best budget hotel brand in the Philippines and in general Southeast Asia. What is happening in Southeast Asia is that traditionally, budget hotels are either unprofessional or expensive, and so we are coming with a disruptive brand that is essentially rationalizing the market,” says Nathan Boublil, the 31-year-old co-founder and global managing director of Zen Rooms.

Zen Rooms, which has venture capital company Rocket Internet as a major investor, is a network of branded budget hotels that offers cheap prices and guarantees highquality standards such as free Wi-Fi, clean comfortable bed, cool air-conditioning, hot shower and 24/7 customer care.

Boublil says Zen Rooms aims to disrupt the Philippine hotel industry. “I don’t know why it has not been disrupted before. It is full of inefficiencies and that is why the prices are so high. The value for money ratio is one of the worst in Southeast Asia,” he says.

“First and foremost, it is our company culture. Our investor, Rocket Internet, has the culture of speed, culture of disruption.

We move fast and break things. The founder of Rocket Internet operates this way and we definitely operate this way. All our team is young and energetic and working very hard.

That’s the difference from the traditional budget hotel market,” he says.

He says the word Zen refers to the state of being stress-free. “It is all about budget stay, but with the quality that is guaranteed.

You have that reliability of standards in all of our locations. Zen means peace. It is quiet and stress-free. You know that when you book a room through Zen, you will get best value-for -money, so it is stress-free,” says Boublil.

“Today, Zen Rooms operates in 1,000 locations in Southeast Asia. We started the company in Jakarta 18 months ago. Now, we are one of the main budget hotel brands in Indonesia,” Boublil says in an interview in Makati City.

Zen Rooms appointed Benjamin Nicolas, a Filipino-French executive as country manager for the Philippines last year. Within sixmonths of launching, Zen Rooms grew the brand to cover 600 rooms in Manila, Angeles City, Cebu City, Boracay, Palawan and other key areas, making it one of the five largest budget hotel operators in the country, and challenging the leadership of other brands such as Go Hotels and Red Planet.

Boublil says the plan is to double the number of rooms within the next six months, making it the third largest budget hotel operator, and emerge as the largest brand by 2018.

“Now, we have more than 600 rooms in 100 locations. You can find Zen wherever you travel in the Philippines. A big push is going to happen,” he says. “We went live six months ago in the Philippines, first in Manila, then expanded to key cities and more are to come.

We are opening in Palawan in two weeks.”

Aside from the Philippines and Indonesia, Zen Rooms is also present in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Brazil.

Boublil describes the budget hospitality market in the Philippines as quite inefficient. “The prices are high for standard of quality. We come in with competitive prices.

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DISRUPTORS.

Zen Rooms global managing director Nathan Boublil (left) and country manager for the Philippines Benjamin Nicolas

Turn to C2

PLDT LAUNCHES ‘NEGOSYO’ PACKAGE MILLIONS of Filipinos continue to work overseas to help provide a better life for loved ones and to secure for themselves a comfortable, more stable retirement life in the future.

In the 2015 Global Pinoy Entrepreneurial Survey conducted by PLDT Global, majority of the Filipino respondents expressed their aspiration of owning a sustainable business to help augment their income and support their dependents in the Philippines. Results showed that the top three businesses that they would like to invest in are e-loading stations, food carts and water refilling stations.

PLDT Global Corp., through its Smart World brand, has come up with a solution to answer the wishes of overseas Filipinos and their families—the Smart Negosyo Package.

The Smart Negosyo Package is a load retailer business for families of Filipinos working abroad.

It comes with a retailer SIM, mobile phone, retailer manual, and retailer merchandise, that can be purchased for $64 for kits with P2,000 worth of e-load, and up to $128.00 for kits with P5,000 worth of e-load.

Overseas Filipinos can purchase and also reload their Smart load retail kit online via the Smart World Store (www. smartpinoystore.com). They can pay directly online using a debit or credit card or pay in cash through the PayRemit outlets in UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Once the order is confirmed and paid for, the retailer kit will be delivered directly to the address in the Philippines provided by the buyer.

“This special Negosyo package was designed with the overseas Filipinos in mind. We have proven over the years that the e-loading business is a sound business model, and also lucrative because the product being sold is like a basic commodity for most Filipinos. This is a good investment that can empower Filipino expatriate workers and their families to shore up their income while working abroad,” said Kat Luna-Abelarde, president of PLDT Global Corp.

“With over 12 million overseas Filipinos celebrating the holiday season in the Middle East, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, United States, and United Kingdom, this is a practical gift that they can share with their families in the Philippines,” said Abelarde.

The Smart World Store is an online portal that allows overseas Filipinos to buy gifts for their loved ones back at home, ranging from affordable negosyo packages, gift checks, to the latest gadgets at flexible and secure payment options.

AYALA LAND RAISES FUNDS TO STEP UP SUPPORT FOR MILITARY ORPHANS AYALA Land Inc. continued to raise funds for children of fallen Filipino soldiers over the holidays by distributing greeting cards, which represent cash donations to Help Educate and Rear Orphans or Hero Foundation as a “gift of hope” to corporate partners and clients. The ALI-Hero Christmas card project has generated millions of pesos in funding for the orphans’ education.

“We remain committed partners of the Hero Foundation, sharing its goal of providing military orphans with quality education and honoring

our fallen heroes by creating a bright future for their children,” said ALI human resources and public affairs head Eliezer Tanlapco.

ALI shared Hero Christmas cards with its clients and partners with the aim of raising more awareness and financial support for the children. The company had already raised over P2 million in donations for the Foundation through the cards since 2010, but ramped up promotions in 2016 to turn over close to P4 million more.

Established in 1988, Hero Foundation is a non-profit

organization that provides educational assistance in the form of stipends to children and dependent siblings of Filipino soldiers killed in actionor totally incapacitated while in line of duty. The educational stipends from the Foundation help augment their resources, allowing the children to finish their schooling and pay for other school-related expenses such as uniforms, meals, transportation and school supplies.

ALI has been a partner of Hero Foundation from the beginning, being one of the first companies to pool its

resources for the soldiers’ children.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala was a founding member, while his son Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chairman of the board of ALI, also heads the foundation’s current board of trustees.

Through the years, ALI has sustained its support for the foundation by providing annual monetary donations, and more importantly, by encouraging employee volunteers and other companies as well to share their time and talent with the orphans. Aside from these, ALI also offers internship

and employment opportunities to the Foundation’s scholars at various Ayala Land companies, and makes Hero donation boxes available at Ayala Malls nationwide.

ALI’s continued support for Hero Foundation reinforces its commitment to local economic growth and nationbuilding. As a leading developer of sustainable estates, the company not only builds properties that help enrich quality of life, but is also actively engaged in various social development initiatives to reach out to more Filipinos.

Business

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 business@thestandard.com.ph

FIRST OCEAN POWER PLANT RISING IN SAN BERNARDINO ANDERSON ADDRESSES FILIPINO EXECUTIVES ROBERT Anderson, the renowned leadership authority and founder of global leadership assessment and development company The Leadership Circle, has recently discussed with Filipino leaders crucial aspects of effective leadership.

He tackled what constitutes effective leadership, what hinders its practice and how best to develop leaders in today’s organizations.

Hosted by the Management Association of the Philippines, Anderson’s talk entitled “The Leadership Imperative in Complex Times” was held on Jan. 18 at The Peninsula Manila, Makati City.

“There is no substitute for effective leadership. If we want to develop more effective leaders, and do that more rapidly and sustainably, we need a more comprehensive approach. Leadership is a process of transformation where a leader makes a profound shift—to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, the world, and their relationship to others,” Anderson, The Leadership Circle director, chairman and chief development officer says.

Leadership Circle is a competencybased, 360 degree leadership profile that claims to be the sole profile that measures two primary leadership domains—creative leadership competencies and reactive tendencies—which it then integrates so key development opportunities are identified.

One of the few Philippine companies that has benefited from The Leadership Circle assessments is the Aboitiz Group. With Anderson’s help, the Aboitiz leader was further redefined through six leadership dimensions: mentoring and developing, fostering teamwork, courageous authenticity, achieving results, sustainable growth, and integrity.

In 2015, these leadership dimensions were rolled out through various programs and interventions to help leaders embrace these key elements to be an integral part of the Aboitiz leader DNA. On Jan. 19, Anderson also addressed the Aboitiz Group’s leaders for the first time at the company’s Aboitiz Annual Leaders Conference in Bonifacio Global City.

“At the heart of every Aboitiz leader is the commitment to live out the organizations core values of integrity, teamwork, innovation and responsibility. The Aboitiz leader is also equipped with the right competencies to adapt to challenges using innovative responses,” says Txabi Aboitiz, Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. chief human resource officer.

The Aboitiz Group says it recognizes the pivotal role of the leadership team in growing the business and becoming a formidable partner in creating shared value. This highlights the importance of placing succession management and leadership development as the topmost priorities in the HR agenda for the group.

ROCKET...

From C1

Here in the Philippines, you have quality issues and on top of it, real price issues.

Relative to the cost of living and the wages, hotels are expensive. It makes no sense to pay P2,000 for a budget hotel,” he says.

Zen Rooms does now own properties, but teams up with independent hotels, guesthouses and even apartments. “We don’t build new hotels. We partner with the existing ones and we force upgrades, if we think they are needed. In the end, every Zen Rooms has the same quality standards. We operate on the budget segment. Our prices start in the Philippines at P850 to P1,500. We also have some premium properties in Palawan and Boracay because of the demographic profile,” says Boublil.

Property owners will get a clear brand in return, he says. “We essentially bring the power of the franchise to them, which means a franchise with clear quality—the Zen Rooms. And then we bring them the power of marketing, we bring them the loyalty program and then the power of leverage,” he says. “All of that contributes

D10 turbine

P

NOC-Renewables Corp. has assigned local energy company H&WB Asia Pacific (Pte. Ltd.) Corp. and French partner Sabella SaS to build the first ocean power plant in the Philippines.

It will also be the first facility to tap tidal energy in Southeast Asia.

The companies will deploy tidal in-stream energy conversion technology in H&WB’s three concession areas in San Bernardino Strait between Matnog, Sorsogon and Capul and Dalupiri in Northern Samar.

H&WB is a registered Philippine corporation that promotes and develops systems that produce, process and generate energy from fossil and renewable energy resources.

Its French partner Sabella brings into the project its expertise in marine technologies.

PNOC RC says it believes in harnessing renewable energy from tidal streams along Philippines’ coasts, and commits to contribute to energy self-sufficiency in line with the Department of Energy’s policy of a balanced energy mix.

The renewable energy unit of PNOC signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 27, 2016 with H&WB on three service contracts from the Department of Energy, mainly in San Bernardino Strait, and with Sabella SAS of France, a

to getting more sales.”

Boublil says as a budget hotel franchise, Zen Rooms is powered by an efficient online platform. “We operate rooms within a property or apartment. We agree with the hotel owner on the price that is our price. The room becomes exclusive to us, then we resell the rooms at the price that we want. It is up to us to manage our operations based on demand and supply,” he says.

“We have people in every city who are in charge of audit quality control of the rooms that happens every two to three weeks. We constantly do quality control.

For some occasions, we have mobile receptionists. In the end, the customer experience always has to be the same and it is the best value-for-money proposition in the market,” he says.

Zen Rooms employs 20 people in the Philippines right now, but plans to add 25 this year to support its expansion. “Our occupancy level is very high. We are filling our rooms. We constantly need more supply. It will double in the next six months,” says Boublil. “We are planning to grow the team very fast over the next three months, including sales people, operations people whom we can train.”

Boublil, whose first job was a night

global leader in the marine energy industry.

H&WB earlier performed ocean resource assessment and preliminary in situ current measurements to determine the overall energy potential of San Bernardino Strait between Matnog in Sorsogon and Northern Samar.

Moreover, it carried out a thorough review and analysis of proven tidal in-stream energy conversion technologies. The evaluation process led to the firm selection of Sabella as the technology-of-choice on Tisec technologies. On Oct. 15, 2015, H&WB and Sabella signed an exclusive memorandum of agreement to jointly develop and implement a “demonstration project” in viable blocks of San Bernardino Strait that lead to commerciality.

The Islands of Capul and San Antonio in San Bernardino Strait are in the Small Power Utilities Group fueled by diesel power plants. Connection to electricity is limited, sometimes nil, especially in Capul where its islanders have electricity merely for six hours a day.

The local government of Capul

receptionist at a London hotel while he was studying in the UK, says the idea of Zen Rooms came up, after he started seeing inefficiencies in the market.

“The position itself was an inefficiency because if you have a night receptionist in the hotel, it means it is not optimized.

There are a lot of things such as human resources in hotels that can be automated. And so basically, this sector has never been disrupted ever. A hotel looks exactly the same today as it was 50 years ago. You have people on the reception, you have cleaners, you have a lot of human resources to attend to and those human resources means the prices of accommodation are quite high,” he says.

“The realization of the general inefficiency of the hotel market is magnified here in Southeast Asia. Here, any traveler that has been around would have seen the lack of professionalism of independent hotels at times. You will find dirty sheets, no working Wi-Fi, or air-conditioning is broken. So clearly they have quality issues,” he says.

He says Zen Rooms was also designed to meet the needs of the new generation of travelers. “On the demand side, the travel dynamics are very clear and millennials travel younger in life. They want

displays strong political will, and its populace actively gets involved to augment power supply because their old diesel generators often fail, leading to prolonged blackouts.

Growth has been exceedingly slow.

Besides, the deleterious effects of fossil-based power impact negatively on environmental sustainability.

In view of this, tidal power as part of an innovative, insular energy model is a green, and cost-competitive alternative to fossil energies, and guarantees clean power supply, 24/7, aspired for in a carbon-neutral economy.

Sabella is a pioneering and leading player in the Tisec energy field.

It was originally acclaimed in 2008 for its D03 (3-m rotor diameter), the first experimental marine current turbine installed in France. In June 2015, the D10 (10-m rotor diameter with 1 MW maximum power) was submerged in Passage du Fromveur, and in November 2015 was connected to Ushant, an autonomous island grid akin to SPUG. It remains the first full-scale Tisec connected to the French grid in the region of Brittany.

The technology drivers are rooted on modular architecture, which facilitates and reduces the cost of maintenance by requiring the lifting and recovery only of the turbine during maintenance operations. This allows easy deploy-

ment and recovery by letting the gravity-based support structure on the seabed.

The tidal turbine operates fully immersed, causing no hindrance to navigation or landscape impact.

Moreover, the electric signal was fully qualified by a grid manager in terms of voltage and frequency.

After a one-year authorized demonstration, the D10 turbine was retrieved in July 2016 for complete evaluation and data extraction. It will be laid back in early 2017 to pursue its power production in Ushant grid for a 3-year period.

Sabella and H&WB have recently completed a detailed in situ bathymetry measurement, to move towards a full 3D current numerical model in order to locate the first demonstration project, which will consist of three to five turbines.

Their cohesive partnership aims to establish a special purpose company in the first half of 2017 to commence project finance and engineering works, thereby, launching the first-ever Tisec power not only in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia.

PNOC RC’s role is vital, and the MOU with H&WB and Sabella is a pro-active strategy that can support the project’s success, more so, when PNOC RC decides to invest into the SPC. With PNOC RC, the promise of a new field of ocean energy can be realized in the Philippines.

to travel more often. They tend to favor budget options because they don’t want to pay more for hotels than their flights.

You combine the lack of disruption in the supply problems and the growth in demand over the next 20 years and you know you have a great business opportunity. That is how it started,” he says.

Nicolas is also optimistic about the Philippine tourism market, as young generation of people want to travel more. “Thanks to Zen Rooms, they can go to Cebu, Davao, Palawan. They can go to these places at cheap prices. They have cheap flights with AirAsia and Cebu Pacific and now they have cheap hotels to stay and enjoy these cities,” he says.

About 60 percent of Zen Rooms’ guests are domestic and 40 percent are international, with a big focus on the millennials.

“Younger travelers travel more often than their parents. They want to travel young in life, and they don’t want to travel until they are 40. They don’t care about the color of the curtains, but they care about Wi-Fi connection. Wi-Fi is like water for millennials,” says Boublil.

Zen Rooms has an existing partnership with low-cost carrier AirAsia. “We share the same values, so we partnered with them last year. We have 102 locations.

From a travel perspective, it makes more sense,” says Boublil, who wants to disrupt the accommodation industry the same way budget airlines shook the airline industry.

“It is of course our long-term vision.

We started the company to first become the biggest budget hotel brand in Southeast Asia and second, one of the biggest if not the biggest budget hotel brand worldwide. That’s the ten-year plan,” he says.

Boublil predicts that in the first half of 2017, Zen Rooms will enter the top three budget hotel operators in the Philippines, as it doubles its room inventory. “To enter the top three, we need to have 1,200 to 1,300 rooms which will happen in the next six months. I see no reason why in 2018 we are not going to take the top spot in the Philippines. We will become the No. 1 budget hotel chain in this country which in itself is a billion-dollar opportunity,” he says.

“I know that Red Planet and Go Hotels are looking at us. They don’t like what we are doing. I am just happy that it is working so well in the Philippines. I am happy that we are going to be the top player in 2018, or even sooner,” says Boublil.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

Sports

Team Lakay standout Honorio Banario (left) trades blows against Koji Oishi in their ONE: Moment of Truth bout. Banario moved up from Featherweight to Lightweight to tally three consecutive victories. ONE Championship

FILIPINOS STAND TALL IN ASIAN FIGHT ARENA

T

HE PHILIPPINES has carved a niche in mixed martial arts as a breeding ground of world-class fighters.

While ONE Championship Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang leads the charge of Filipino combatants, other stars also glitter like diamonds atop an international MMA stage in ONE Championship.

Brandon Vera as well as Team Lakay fighters Honorio Banario, Edward Kelly, Geje Eustaquio and others also stamped their class and made names for themselves atop the MMA cage.

Vera proved worthy to be called ONE Heavyweight World Champion by defeating Japanese challenger Hideki Sekine in the headliner of ONE: Age of Domination this December. Vera won by technical knockout just minutes into the first round.

Team Lakay has become an instantly recognizable name in the Philippine MMA scene because of the success of homegrown talents at ONE Championship cage since its inception in 2003.

Members of the fabled Team Lakay accomplished a breakout year in 2016 as they tallied one impressive victory after another.

Honorio Banario, the former ONE Featherweight World Champion, broke his losing spell in 2016 and is currently riding high on a three-bout winning streak.

He defeated Vaughn Donayre via a lopsided unanimous decision at ONE: Global Rivals in April.

He followed that with an equally

lopsided unanimous decision over Eddie Ng at ONE: Heroes of the World in August. He then capped his blazing streak with a decisive armbar submission of Eddie Ng right in the first round at ONE: Age of Domination in December.

Kelly attained a come-from-behind submission victory over Jordan Lucas in March and then picked up imposing knockout wins over Vincent Latoel and Sunoto.

Eustaquio started 2016 with a bang by scoring an electrifying one-punch knockout victory over Saiful Merican in January before completing a lopsided decision victory over Gianni Subba April of the same year.

Filipino MMA fighter Edward Kelly makes a triumphant entrance at ONE: Union of Warriors ahead of his fight against Jordan Lucas. One Championship

Team Lakay’s Kevin Belingon nandes in January, but he made might have stumbled in his meet- up for it by outpointing Muin Gaing with ONE Bantamweight furov this past October.

Female MMA fighter April OsenWorld Champion Bibiano Ferio pulled off a major upset triumph in September by submitting Malaysian superstar Ann Osman with a first-round guillotine choke.

The Philippine MMA scene has a promising future as 2016 witnessed the emergence of Team Lakay’s young guns Joshua Pacio and Danny Kingad.

Pacio earned a date with ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito this past October. He lost but there can be no denying that he has reached world class status with his year-long performance.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc. com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like on Geje Eustaquio (right) unloads a roundhouse kick to the body which Facebook at https://www.facebook. is barely avoided by his opponent Gianni Suba (left) during their com/ON EChampionship. fight at ONE: Global Rivals. One Championship

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 reuelvidal@yahoo.com

Gaby Zoleta

ZOLETA TARGETS WORLD STAGE

By Peter Atencio AMANDA Gabrielle “Gaby” Zoleta, 13, has managed to earn podium finishes in numerous age group tennis competitions throughout the Southeast Asian region.

She was introduced to the game watching her aunts Bien and Bambi play in a lot of tournaments at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center at age four. During their teens, Bien and Bambi were reaping honors in many tournament, local or international.

“I got used to being taken to the Rizal Memorial Courts to watch them play.

That’s when it started,” said Gaby, one day after reaching the semifinals of the 28th Andrada Cup age tournament’s 14-under girls tournament two weeks ago.

Bambi is considered as the second generation of the tennis-playing Zoleta siblings and that’s Karl, Borgy, Bambi and Bien.

Her dad Karl handed her a racquet during a break in the games of Bambi and Bien while watching them train.

One thing led to another. She started hitting the ball towards the net and soon, Bambi was learning how to play tennis.

Four years later she won her first title in just the second tournament she joined in their hometown in Lucena, Quezon.

Her first taste of a crown was at the 12 years and under 1st Pinoyislands.com National Age-group 2011.

Two years later, at age 10, she would win nine of 16 championships in tournaments that she joined in the Southern Tagalog region.

According to Bambi, who works as gym receptionist at Shangrila Hotel in The Fort, she teaches her nice as the young girl’s hitting partner.

“Ever since she started I’ve always helped. I was always ready to her hitting partner,” said Bambi.

With Bambi around, it was only a matter time before Gaby developed strength and power with serves, volleys and how she hits the ball.

Gaby plans to join the International Tennis Federation world junior competitions in India this year. This fulfills her dream to follow her two aunts’ footsteps and become the second generation Zoleta to have played in the world juniors.

That is a privilege that the Zoleta family would like to see.

SUMANG SHOWCASES TRUE POTENTIAL

Blackwater Elite point guard Roi Sumang (12) uses a pick by teammate Arthur Dela Cruz (25) to elude Meralco Bolts defender Baser Amer (9).

FINALLY. Former collegiate standout Roi Sumang is starting to play to his full potential after spending much of his rookie season in obscurity.

Sumang was projected to be taken in the middle of the first round in most mock drafts but was drafted only in the third round at 27th overall by GlobalPort in 2015.

This despite the fact that Sumang was a legitimate star in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

In his sophomore season at University of the East he was among the league leaders in multiple categories: third in scoring (18.4 ppg), second in assists (4.9 apg) and fifth in steals (1.4 spg). He really came into his own in his third year when he made the league’s Mythical First Five. He was also second only to Terrence Romeo in scoring despite playing the point guard position.

The pint-sized Sumang played just 27 games averaging 8.4 minutes and producing underwhelming numbers of 3.4 points, 0.7 rebound and 0.7 assist with the GlobalPort Batang Pier and late in his rookie year, with the Blackwater Elite.

Everything has changed this season with Sumang seemingly right at home with Blackwater.

Coming off the bench, Sumang provided the big spark, firing 17 of his 19 points in the second half as Blackwater pulled the rug from under fancied Alaska, 103-100 for a franchise-best fifth win.

The 26-year-old Sumang showed quick hands and feet, attacking Alaska’s defense repeatedly with hard drives to the basket to help Blackwater establish a doubledigit spread in the final period. Although the Aces came back strong, Sumang and veteran teammate Denok Miranda sank crucial free throws late in the game to seal the win.

But more importantly, the native of Tondo, Manila was a steady defensive presence after finishing the game with three steals, while issuing two assists to seal the win for Blackwater.

Sumang’s sterling effort earned him the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, beating the likes of Mahindra guard Philip Paniamogan, San Miguel Beer slot man June Mar Fajardo, GlobalPort high-scoring guard Terrence Romeo, Barangay Ginebra forward Joe Devance, Star wingman Allen Maliksi and big man Ian Sangalang as well as Calvin Abueva of Alaska.

Sumang took home the Best Player of game honors against Alaska. The diminutive Blackwater playmaker then vowed to work even harder in practice as the Elite shoot for a playoff spot in the All-Filipino conference.

Blackwater closes its elimination round assignment against Star on Jan. 25.

C4

Sports

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

THE JOYS OF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

By Lito Cinco

M

EET the true Joys in women’s basketball—Love Joy, Lyla Joy and Leah Joy Sto. Domingo from Sto. Nino in Marikina.

The eldest, Love Joy, 19, plays for the University of the East women’s team.

In her four-year stint under Coach Ai Lebornio, she has already made a name for herself, winning the Rookie of the Year award four years ago and late last year, got herself an early birthday and Christmas gift as she was selected in the UAAP’s Mythical Five, together with National University’s trio of MVP Afril Bernardino, finals’ MVP Gemma Miranda, and Jack Danielle Animam, together with De La Salle University’s Mary Snow Penaranda.

Not bad at all for someone, who wanted to play collegiate basketball to earn a free education for any team for as long as gets a chance to play the game she has been playing since she was in her elementary years. After all, right beside her house is a basketball court.

But then again, after winning the top rookie honors, she began dreaming of playing for the national team.

And with her selection as one of the best in UAAP’s women’s basketball, a stint with the Perlas Team is a great possibility for her.

Fact is, according to her, Coach Ai informed her that she will be getting an invitation to try out with the national squad and perhaps realize her dream within this year.

But first things first. She wants to help the Lady Warriors in their bid to win the UAAP crown.

“This is my biggest dream--to win the UAAP. Last year, we fell short after losing to De La Salle in the semifinals. We were so disappointed as we prepared hard for that game, but in the actual game, hindi lumabas ‘yung game namin. This year, malaki chance namin to reach the finals, paghihirapan namin talaga ito,” said Love Joy, who used to play in inter-barangay tournaments in Marikina during her high school years.

What Love Joy did not realize was that her making it in the UAAP stirred the interest of her two younger sisters, Leah Joy and and Lyla Joy, who took turns watching their “ate” whenever UE played a game in the UAAP. Leah Joy, 15, a Grade 10 student at the

De La Pena High School in Marikina, was into basketball first before she shifted to volleyball, then back to basketball after seeing Love Joy make a name for herself in the game.

“Si ate, 100 percent effort palagi sa laro. Bilib ako sa inside game niya, at alam ko, kaya ko siyang sundan sa basketball, iba lang nga ang ipapakita ko kasi mag-kaiba

posisyon namin sa loob,” said Leah Joy, who has already seen action in inter barangay and inter-district meets.

For her part, Lyla Joy, the youngest at 13 and presently an 8th grader at the Sto. Nino High School, was into badminton first, but was influenced too by Love Joy’s success in basketball.

Love Joy got herself an early birthday and Christmas gift as she got selected in the UAAP’s Mythical Five. Photo from Tiebreaker Times

Love Joy Sto. Domingo (left) is joined by her sisters Lyla Joy (center) and Leah Joy.

“Parang mas unique ‘yung basketball kaysa sa badminton, lalo na nu’ng nakita ko si ate na naglalaro sa UAAP. Namo-motivate niya ako every time I watch her play, kahit di pa ako ganu’n kagaling, alam ko, aabot din ako sa ganu’n,” said Lyla Joy. Being the eldest, Love Joy has taken it as her responsibility to teach her two younger siblings what she has learned over the years.

“I am happy that both of them have decided to follow me in basketball. They even want to go to UE when they reach college. But on my part, I know I still need to improve my game especially dribbling,” said Love Joy. Coach Ai is impressed with the attitude of Love Joy inside the game as she tries to get every rebound she can. (Love Joy is averaging double -double in rebounds and points in the UAAP).

“Hinahabol talaga ang bola and she is very willing to learn, maganda ang attitude,” said Coach Ai of her prized player, a graduating HRM student next school year.

GAB: 3 SPORTS LEAGUES ARE PROS

By Randy Caluag BASED on the evidence it has gathered, the Games and Amusement Board is convinced that three existing sports leagues are professional in nature and must secure their licenses and permits to continue operating in the country.

“From all indications, these leagues are indeed professional sports leagues,” said GAB Commissioner Fritz Gaston, referring to the Philippine Super Liga, Shakey’s V-League and the Asean Basketball League, that is represented here by Alab Pilipinas.

Initial discussions with representatives from the three camps have already been made by GAB, but all of them maintained they are just amateur leagues.

“Most of them say their players receive only allowances, not salaries. But we have information that their players have contracts with their commercial teams in the league and that’s one major consideration in determining a professional league,” said Gaston, himself a former pro player, having donned the uniforms of U-Tex and Great Taste Coffee in the Philippine Basketball Association.

To confirm its claim, the GAB will bolster an inter-agency coordination with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Immigration and the Office of the Solicitor General.

GAB Commissioner Eduard Trinidad said they will clarify with the BIR the claims of these leagues regarding allowances and confer if the leagues themselves and the players under them have tax records with the finance agency.

“Ayaw naming maging kontrabida sa kanila pero mandato namin ito. Isang sinasabi nila kung bakit ayaw nilang maging pro is wala naman daw silang kita. Kung walang income, wala naman kaming kakaltasin sa kanila,” said Trinidad.

“Sa probinsiya nga, mas mababa ang take-home ng daily wage earners but they get taxed. This is not being fair to other taxpayers like you and me.”

The GAB’s guiding principle is that players who sign a “play-for-pay” contract are considered professionals. Therefore the league maintaining these players is a professional, just like the Philippine Basketball Association.

“It’s the mandate of the GAB to oversee how professional leagues conduct themselves and, at the same time, protect the interests of professional athletes,” explained Gaston.

Gaston said it is understandable why these leagues are resisting professional status. Their financial records will become open to government scrutiny.

As prescribed by PD 871, professional games (leagues) “shall set aside and remit to the Board three per cent (3%) of the gross gate receipts and income from television, radio and motion picture rights if any.”

Nevertheless,Atty. Omar Benitez of GAB’s legal division said “legal options have already been decided on with the OSG” and it’s just a matter of pursuing those options in the coming days.

TOP COLLEGIATE CAGE STARS TO BE FETED ON JAN. 26 A PAIR of La Salle stars and three of the NCAA’s best players comprise the Mighty Sports Collegiate Mythical Five that will be awarded on Jan. 26 in the Collegiate Basketball Awards at the Montgomery Place Social Hall in E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City.

The duo of Ben Mbala and Jeron Teng, who joined hands in leading La Salle to the UAAP championship last month, lead this year’s batch alongside Mapua’s Allwell Oraeme, San Beda’s Javee Mocon and Arellano University’s Jio Jalalon.

They earned a place in the best five selected by the UAAP-NCAA Press Corps

and backed by Mighty Sports for their outstanding performances during the collegiate season.

Their inclusion in the Mythical Five also makes them as candidates for the Smart Player of the Year, one of the major awards in the event backed by Smart, Accel, Mighty Sports, MJM Productions and Chooks to Go. Aldin Ayo and Jamike Jarin were named Coach of the Year for leading La Salle and San Beda to the championship of their respective leagues.

Mbala was named UAAP Most Valuable Player, while Teng took the Finals MVP plum as the Green Archers won

their ninth championship in near-perfect fashion, winning 16 of 17 games including a sweep of the archrival Ateneo Blue Eagles in the finals.

Meanwhile, Oraeme bagged his second straight NCAA MVP plum after carrying the Cardinals back to the Final Four.

Mocon was one of the vital figures of the Red Lions’ successful championship run in the NCAA, sweeping Jalalon and the Chiefs in the finals held last October.

Jalalon, now a PBA rookie, showed why he was one of the country’s amateur cagers after carrying the Chiefs to their second finals appearance in three seasons.

Jeron Teng

Ben Mbala

D1

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017

Jimbo Gulle, Editor

Roger Garcia, Issue Editor

LGUs

Local Gov’t Units

mslocalgov@gmail.com

DPWH URGED TO RETROFIT ALL QC-BASED GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

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MANGROVE PLANTING. Personnel of the Bataan’s provincial environment and natural resources office plant a mangrove propagule during the 3rd Mangrove Planting Project of Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippine Corp. in Calaguiman, Samal, Bataan. Through the leadership of Penro officer Raul Mamac, Bataan has done massive mangrove planting in the past few years. Butch Gunio

ECOZONE IS CAGAYAN VALLEY’S ECONOMIC PROPELLER T

By Brenda Jocson

UGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan—Despite difficult challenges in the world of business, the government-sanctioned Cagayan Economic Zone Authority has become the top economic driver of the Cagayan Valley region after 10 years of operation.

This is a result of the establishment in CEZA of international standard tourism, leisure and recreation, as well as information and communication technology-business process management or IT-BPM, ecozone officials said.

CEZA public relations head Marie Joyce Jayme-Calimag said significant and successful accomplishments of the economic zone and freeport in 10 years of operation contributed to the region’s fast-growing economy.

The tourism industry in Cagayan is booming after the massive promotion of its beautiful islands and white sand beaches, particularly in Sta. Ana town on the northeasternmost point of Luzon.

“The Palaui Island here, for example, is ranked 10th among the 100 best islands in the world, and is one of the three best islands in the Philippines by ‘CNN Travel Blog,’” Calimag said.

The ecozone has been hosting annual water sports activities like jet skiing, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, and game fishing, particularly in Palaui Island and the beaches of Anguib, Gotan, Nangaramoan, and Pozzorobo all in Sta. Ana. Big and small private tour operators are mushrooming in the hotel and restaurant industry, which contribute much to the development of CEZA, Calimag added.

The increasing tourist arrivals in the area is a result of the recent “Survivor America” television reality show filed on the island.

In 2016, the Cagayan Freeport exceeded its target of 200,000 tourist arrivals, a significant increase from only 4,604 in 2007, both local and international tourists.

The economic zone is now also tagged as Game Fishing Capital of the Philippines, Calimag said.

Cagayan Valley also has the facilities and manpower resources that can accommodate small and medium business process outsourcing companies with its IT-BPM facilities at

the ecozone.

While the country maintains its position as the first location for voice and second for non-voice services, the establishment of a “cyber park” in the ecozone is going to be one of the top 10 best in the world, she said.

The ecozone’s telecommunications network “now boasts to be one of the best in Asia in terms of latency and capacity, and this is backed up by Cagayan province’s reputable schools and universities that groom the pool of labor for flourishing industries, like the IT-BPM, in the freeport,” Calimag said.

Apart from converting the economic zone into the technohub center of the Philippines, she said CEZA is “also aiming to make it the gateway to Northern Luzon’s tourism frontier.”

These developments also make CEZA a major job generator in Cagayan Valley, with more than 12,000 individuals employed in various sectors within the economic zone.

In addition, the new P1.7-billion Cagayan North International Airport in Lallo town contributes much to the economy of Region 2, particularly in job generation.

Last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines granted a new certificate to the CNIA, allowing it to cater to bigger commercial aircraft under the Global Express Aircraft Category and below with Code 3C. With it, the airport can now cater to 100-seater and below aircraft.

“We can now invite bigger aircraft operators to operate in the Airport, which means more employment. That is why we have been aggressive in inviting investors to locate at the ecozone,” Calimag said.

CEZA was created through Republic Act 7922 as a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President to manage and supervise the development of the economic zone and freeport.

THE Quezon City Council is urging the Department of Public Works and Highways to spearhead the structural retrofitting of all national government buildings based in the city.

Under City Resolution No. SP-6926, S2016, Councilor Gian Carlo G. Sotto asked Public Works Secretary Mark Villar to facilitate the structural retrofitting of all national government buildings as a precaution against a major earthquake that may strike Metro Manila in the future.

Sotto explained that part of the city government advocacy is instilling preparedness among the city’s populace. He said there is an imperative need to make major structures, particularly government buildings more calamities resilient specifically during earthquakes and super typhoons.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had identified large areas in QC as traversing the West Valley Fault Line that poses grave risk and damage in the lives of the people in the eventuality of a major earthquake. Rio N. Araja

BLOCKAGE-FREE THOROUGHFARES IN MANILA EYED STARTING this January, the City of Manila will set up traffic discipline zones called “Pook Kaayusan” in at least 23 identified traffic choke points in the city’s busiest areas.

“By the mere term itself means these areas will serve as our new model for traffic management—free-flowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic, it will be organized,” Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada said.

“No illegal terminal or illegal parking, no trash … in other words, no blockage on the streets,” he added.

The 23 identified zones, Estrada said, are the most congested areas in Manila that need extra attention. And these traffic zones will be manned roundthe-clock by traffic personnel who will be strictly enforcing traffic regulations.

Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau chief Dennis Alcoreza said Pook Kaayusan is similar to Pook Batayan implemented during the administration of then President Corazon Aquino.

Aquino issued Proclamation No. 312 on Sept. 1, 1988 identifying 19 areas in Metro Manila as strict traffic discipline zones.

“Our Pook Kaayusan will be manned by our new traffic enforcers who will be equipped with communication radios, megaphones, traffic violation tickets… and they will strictly enforce the rules and regulations,” Alcoreza said. Sandy Araneta

STUDENT BEATS THE ODDS WITH INYDO SCHOLARSHIP Kaye Ann Domingsil thought she had a slim chance of qualifying for the Sirib Young Leadership Scholarship of the Ilocos Norte provincial government when she applied. Now on her third year at Northwestern University, Domingsil is on course to finish with a degree in business administration thanks to the scholarship grant.

“HMP, maalaka kad’ met?” [You think you’ll be picked?]

Kaye Ann Domingsil’s family had reason to doubt she would pass the exams for the Sirib Young Leadership Scholarship. With about 200 applicants and only 31 slots available, her chances seemed slim, as she had never been a scholar during her high school years.

So when the Ilocos Norte Youth Development Office—formerly called the Sirib Youth Office—informed her that she was to be a beneficiary of the program, the Domingsils were overjoyed.

“Naragsakanda met kasi daydiay ngarud, napagasatannak… adu met iti nag-apply’ak

a scholarship’ en, saannak a naala [They were happy because I was blessed to qualify this time. I’ve applied to many scholarships but was not selected],” Kaye Ann said in her native Ilocano.

Nineteen-year-old Domingsil revealed that at the time, in her second semester of her freshman year in college, she had been worried about failing and struggling to maintain her grades. “But now, I am in my third year, and thank God I have maintained my scholarship.”

Financially, her scholarship at Northwestern University is a great help to the Domingsils, as her father Alex works both in construction and on a farm, while her mother Lerma

mans a convenience store at their home. She has one sibling in second year college at the Ilocos Norte College of Arts and Trades.

SYL scholars are also required to exercise a leadership position, whether at school, in the community, or at church. Domingsil thus holds the external vice presidency of the Philippine Association of Students in Office Administration-NWU Chapter, and serves as the Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson in Barangay 20-Cabisuculan of Vintar, her hometown.

“It’s not enough that you have a position to write below your name. [The INYDO] also requires photo documentation to prove that you are an active leader,” Domingsil shared.

LGUs

D2

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

10 FETED IN CORDILLERA GAWAD KALASAG AWARDS BAGUIO CITY—Ten local governments and private organizations regionwide were this year’s recipients of the 2016 regional Gawad Kaligtasan at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan or KALASAG awards for their exemplary performance in disaster risk reduction and management and climate change adoption in their respective fields of expertise.

Deputy Administrator Christopher James Purisima of the Office of Civil Defense and OCD-CAR Regional Director Andrew Alex Uy handed out the trophies during the awarding ceremonies held at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center.

OCD-CAR confers the Gawad KALASAG to local governments and private organizations that excel in implementing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programs vital in empowering communities regionwide.

Uy expressed optimism that more LGUs and private organizations will be empowered to join the awards in the future because of the successful implementation of the initiative regionwide.

Apayao was adjudged the best provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, while Mountain Province placed second.

For the city level, the Baguio City DRRMC bested other cities in the region for the coveted award.

In the first to third-class municipality category, La Trinidad led by Mayor Romeo Salda placed first and Luna, Apayao led by Major Josephine Bangsil placed second.

Tublay in Benguet, headed by Mayor Armando Lauro, emerged the best municipal disaster risk reduction council for the fourth to sixth class municipality division.

The University of the Cordilleras was the runaway winner for the best school urban category for the third consecutive year, while the BaguioBenguet Public Information and Civic Action Group was adjudged the best volunteer group private category.

For the best government emergency management team, the Tuba fire station emerged the winner for the second straight year, while the Baguio City Emergency Medical Services landed second.

Aside from the giant trophies, first-place winners received separate checks amounting to P50,000 each, while second placers received checks for P30,000.

The OCD-CAR also recognized the significant contributions of its DRRM partners through the DRRM Commitment Award individual category.

Trophies were handed to Nerissa Barbosa, Benguet DRRM coordinator for DepEd; Abner Lawangen, Tublay MDRRMO; Erosbon Sabedo, Licuan-Baay MDRRMO; lawyer Edward Chumawar, PDRRMO; Yoshio Labi, La Trinidad MDRRMO and PSSUPT Angelito Casimiro, PROCOR deputy for Operations.

The regional office also issued citations to its DRRM partners that resulted in successful of plans and programs before, during and after the onslaught of Super Typhoon "Lawin" in the region. Dexter A. See

CHEERFUL GIVING. Tacloban City Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez distributes food packs to families in Barangay 83-C in Taguictic, San Jose, Tacloban as part of the city government’s relief efforts in communities flooded by heavy rains last week. Mel Caspe

FAO AND NEW ZEALAND

PARTNER TO SUPPORT CONFLICT- AND DROUGHT-AFFECTED MUNICIPALITIES IN COTABATO PROVINCE

P

IGKAWAYAN, Cotabato Province—Farming and fishing families in Mindanao are no stranger to both natural and human-induced disasters.

For more than four decades now, their lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by incessant transfers resulting in displacement due to periodic armed clashes, strong typhoons and widespread drought that have by and large, worsened their life struggles in recent years past.

Philippine representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations José Luis Fernández told Manila Standard that equipping farming and fishing communities with skills, knowledge and resources to recover from crises, to minimize losses from future disasters, and eventually rise from poverty are among the most important programs of the organization.

Through a US$3.0-million grant from the New Zealand Government, FAO is currently supporting the recovery of more than 10,000

farming and fishing households in Cotabato province.

The support program—which will operate until October 2017— aims to restart agricultural livelihoods and improve the coping abilities and resilience of smallholders in five municipalities: Aleosan, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pigkawayan and Pikit.

Distribution of farm and fisheries inputs is currently under way.

This includes rice, corn and vegetable seeds, fruit tree seedlings, fertilizer, drying nets, small farm machinery, post-harvest equipment, hand tools, livestock and poultry, tilapia fingerlings and gillnets.

To complement these resources, FAO is also conducting climatesmart farmer field schools and other livelihood skills trainings, training on basic planning for disaster risk reduction and

management in agriculture including in agriculture hazard and vulnerability mapping and analysis, good practice options and technologies, and early warning and disaster preparedness.

“We have seen how peace, food security and economic growth are often mutually reinforcing. It is from this perspective that we emphasize the need for communities to be provided the kind of support that the Government of New Zealand is enabling us to deliver,” Fernández added.

Food security situation

National accounts reveal that 11 of the 20 poorest provinces are in this primarily agriculture-dependent region. Some three-fourths of the population of Mindanao or about 12.6 million people fall under levels 2 (mild chronic food insecurity), 3 (moderate chronic food insecurity) and 4 (severe chronic food insecurity), on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Of them, 1.96 million were found to be suffering from severe chronic food insecurity in 2015.

SBMA’S FIRST LADY ADMINISTRATOR AND CEO ASSUMES POST SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—It was a homecoming of sort, as far as the newly appointed head of the country’s leading freeport is concerned.

A member of original volunteer corps who stepped up to protect the former naval base in Subic after the pull-out of the US bases in 1992, lawyer Wilma “Amy” T. Eisma assumes her post as the seventh administrator and chief executive officer of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Eisma was warmly welcomed back to her “home” by agency officials and employees in a simple program highlighted by the traditional passing of the SBMA flag symbolizing the turnover of the helm to Eisma, the agency’s first woman administrator and CEO, from her predecessor Roberto V. Garcia.

The ceremony was also witnessed by the members of the SBMA Board of Directors and local government officials from Olongapo City, and the contiguous provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

She formally took her oath of office as SBMA ad-

ministrator before President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang on Jan. 9, 2017 along with the new members of the SBMA Board of Directors Benny Diaz Antiporda, Maria Cecilia Bobadilla Bitare, Tomas Lahom III and Stefani Creer Saño.

As administrator and CEO, Eisma shall also sit as vice chairman to the SBMA Board of Directors.

Born and raised in Olongapo City, Eisma is a seasoned lawyer with over 23 years of experience in both government service and the private sector.

Prior to her appointment, she was the Sustainability and Contributions Manager of PMFTC Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International.

Eisma was instrumental in PMI’s decision to locate its regional tobacco warehouse for Asia Pacific in Subic Bay Freeport.

Eisma is very much at home in SBMA. As a young lawyer, she started her career as the Executive Assistant to the Chairman and member of the Legal Department at the time of the agency’s formation and foundation from 1993

Lawyer Wilma T. Eisma, the new SBMA administrator (left), receives the freeport’s flag from former SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia during a turnover ceremony. Butch Gunio

to 1998. She was also a member of the team that successfully negotiated assistance of the World Bank to SBMA including the entry/investment of Federal Express, and various international and local investors resulting to thousands of jobs. Butch Gunio

FAO program in Mindanao

Since 2015, FAO has been working with the government to address priority agricultural development issues in the region through its Mindanao Strategic Program for Agriculture and Agribusiness.

While yet to be fully funded, the MSPAA has served as a framework for the implementation of at least five projects in areas most severely affected by natural and manmade calamities.

FAO’s work in Mindanao is implemented in close partnership with the government through its various agencies on the national, regional and local levels. FAO also coordinates with the Mindanao Development Authority and works closely with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and other pertinent agencies and local government units.

PORTAL FOR PANGASINAN OFWS, BALIKBAYANS LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Aggressive in its aim to attain a systematized and comprehensive engagement with the Overseas Filipino Workers and their families, the provincial government is set to adapt and implement the “BaLinkbayan,” “Overseas Filipinos’ One-Stop Online Portal for Diaspora Engagement.”

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas and the provincial government led by Gov. Amado I. Espino III is set to ink a memorandum of agreement following the endorsement of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the e-governance project.

“The implementation of BaLinkbayan, a project of the national government and will boost further our migration and development initiatives,” PESO manager Alex Ferrer said, as he pointed out that the database system for the egovernance project will be maintained by a unit in PESO specifically designated for OFW affairs. Dexter A. See

Gadgets & Games

LENOVO LAUNCHES THINK UNIVERSITY

With the Lenovo computers, the students are able to access technological resources that will strengthen their learning experience.

R

ECOGNIZING the growing role of technology in the learning process of students, Lenovo Philippines launched Think University, an initiative that empowers partner schools to provide an enhanced and more interactive learning experience through a grant of 10 units of ThinkCentre M73 Tiny Desktop to qualified colleges and universities.

By purchasing a certain number of Lenovo computers, a school can qualify for the program.

“Lenovo believes that empowering the youth through quality education is vital to nation-building.

Think University is part of our efforts to leverage our innovative devices to aid the academy in enhancing the overall experience,” said Michael Ngan, Country General Manager of Lenovo Philippines. “We hope that through this, our partner schools can create an immersive, interactive learning environment for their students.”

With the Lenovo computers, the students are able to access technological resources that will strengthen their learning experience. It will allow them to engage more fully in class activities and access worldwide databases with ease, acquiring competence in technologies that are relevant to their studies.

Ngan explains that an improved IT infrastruc-

ture in schools can further boost learning in the classroom.

“Technology today enables students to learn at their own pace. Almost all educational apps allow for individualized instruction and there are plenty of legitimate resources that can be accessed anytime on the Internet. With this, students can learn according to their abilities and needs. This form of teaching is also great for the teacher because it gives him or her the time to work individually with students who may be struggling,” said Ngan.

As the leading PC manufacturer and seller of consumer electronics in the country, Lenovo’s products are known for their durability, ruggedness, and reliability—three critical factors which the company believes are tailor-made for the classroom. Lenovo’s products are flexible enough to adapt to the many ways technology can be incorporated into the overall school experience.

Not only for students

Knowing that improved education technology leads to better teaching opportunities, Lenovo also aims to assist educators. The products enables teachers to deliver more dynamic lessons by providing reliable access to the latest online multimedia materials and connecting their PCs to interactive online classroom boards. Administrators can also update policies and procedures on the overall network in real-time, maintain up-to-date emergency plans and increase collaboration among staff for school-wide initiatives.

“Being a global leader in technology and innovation, we have a special role in developing the use of technology in the classroom. We also understand the challenges schools face in improving education with new models of teaching while managing cost, efficiency, and security and that is why Lenovo will continue to support its partner schools,” added Ngan.

ThinkCentre M73 Tiny Desktop is a compact computer packed with the same reliable and powerful performance one expects from bigger desktops. It features 4th Gen Intel® Core™ processors as well as plenty of storage and memory, making it a good fit for school use. Moreover, the model comes with an advanced heat regulator and an ultra-efficient Green design to help lessen energy use.

VIDEO STREAMING TRIBE IS HERE

TRIBE, Southeast Asia’s newest mobile-first over-the-top video streaming service has finally arrived in the Philippines.

In partnership with Globe Telecom, Tribe offers live and on-demand content exclusive to the region from popular genres such as Korean entertainment, anime, e-Sports, Asian thrillers, and fight sports.

Tribe features K-entertainment programs from KBS World and tvN and soon, ondemand content from K plus.

Also streamed by the app are Anime shows from Aniplus, e-Sports events via eGG channel, and action and Asian Thriller programs from Kix and

Thrill channels.

K-drama fans will be able to watch dramas such as Hwarang and My Fair Lady. Anime fans get to view the latest anime series such as Drifter and Occultic Nine. They can also catch up on Anime favorites like Erased,Terror in Resonance, and Psycho Pass.

E-sports fans on the other hand have access to gaming tournaments such as the recently streamed Boston Major Dota Tournament on its 24/7 eGG channel.

Action, thriller, and fight fans will definitely enjoy programs such as Bellator, Top Gear Korea and a wide selection of Asian suspense thriller

movies in their line-up.

Beyond quality content, Tribe aims to create immersive experiences and build connections among different fan groups through events, contests.

Tribe’s launch was headlined by a viewing party of the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards 2016, the largest Ko-

rean pop awards show. The launch gathered the country’s largest K-Pop communities.

Upon its Philippine launch, Tribe plans to unlock its highlight categories: K-entertainment, Anime, and e-Sports by spearheading more initiatives that resonate with millennial communities.

“More than increasing Tribe’s subscription base, we want to unite fans by providing avenues for interactions.

In the coming months, Filipino millennials can definitely expect more engaging activities that help them find their respective tribes,” according to Ryza Dipatuan, Head of

SET...

From D4 whole day without charging. Moto G Play, meanwhile, is a boon to mobile gaming enthusiasts: it packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor with 2GB and a 2800mAh battery that allows users to

VIEWSONIC...

From D4 top computer monitor choice,” said Jeff Volpe, president of ViewSonic Americas.

“Our product portfolio supports a wide range of display needs, from professional graphics and video production to engineering and finance, plus our newest line of XG Gaming monitors are the choice of e-sport professionals around the world.

“With the average monitors lasting for several years, it’s no

Marketing of Tribe Philippines.

Finding your Tribe has never been this easy! Download the app and have access to relevant and quality content, anytime, anywhere.

The app is available via Google Play and Apple Store with a 30-day free trial.

Users can continue to stream shows after the free trial for a subscription fee of just P69 a month or P30 a week.

For more information on Tribe, please log on to: http:// www.tribenow.tv.

Join the Tribe on Facebook via facebook.com/ Tribe.ph and on Twitter and Instagram (@ tribe_ph) and #FindYourTribePH.

play all night. Pricing for the Moto G4 Plus starts at P13,999. Moto G Turbo and Moto G4 Play may be availed exclusively for free with Smart’s GIGA Plan 999 and Globe’s MyLifestylePlan 799, respectively.

Welcome the New Year with a new Moto smartphone, and fearlessly take on 2017’s challenges without skipping a beat!

surprise that PCMag.com readers value quality and performance in their monitor choice. This is truly an honor for each employee here as we celebrate 30 years of making great monitors,” he added.

This year, ViewSonic celebrates its 30th Anniversary and this award “makes it even more meaningful,” Volpe said.

“As a leading global supplier of display technologies that combine innovation, reliability and quality in its products our heritage is rooted in delivering excellent performance, functional designs and advanced technologies to our customers.” Jimbo Gulle

D3

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

SANYO: NEW NAME, SAME QUALITY LONG trusted in the home appliances market, Japanese electronics brand Sanyo in the Philippines is taking a step forward as it refreshes itself with new products along with a new name: Haier. The transition follows the acquisition of Sanyo Philippines by the Haier Group in 2012.

Now under Haier Electrical Appliances Philippines Inc., Sanyo products are expected to fully transition by the middle of next year. Haier promises to continue delivering Sanyo’s “affordable quality,” but with the introduction of new product categories, designs, and technologies to give Filipino consumers more value for the low price.

“Haier wishes to build on the success of Sanyo in the Philippines. This is why the company retained the brand’s Japanese management and business style,” Haier Philippines president and CEO Yutaka Itamochi said. “The acquisition also enables us to take advantage of Haier’s R&D and manufacturing facilities across the globe so that Filipino consumers can enjoy highquality products that fit their budget.”

With the aim to elevate ordinary home life to “inspired living,” Haier delivers appliances that not only bring convenience, but also foster togetherness among families.

New name, new products

The shift expands Sanyo’s existing product lines with new selections care of Haier for home appliance shoppers to choose from.

Adding to Sanyo’s popular Single-Door fridge, Haier offers a full range of Basic and Two-Door refrigerators on top of its Inverter, Side-by-Side, and French Door models. Haier’s Window-Type air conditioners, along with its Split models, have also been added to Sanyo’s collection of Window ACs. Haier has begun transitioning Sanyo’s television sets and washing machines this year, but while the process is ongoing, these product lines are already gaining market share.

Across these transitions, Haier adopts Sanyo’s technology, quality, and latest innovations in its manufacturing plants to produce the same appliances that consumers trust.

Quality within budget HPI leverages the Haier Group’s 29 manufacturing bases in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia; 16 industrial parks in the US, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; and eight research and development (R&D) centers in Germany, Japan, the US, and Korea to ensure worldclass products at more competitive prices.

“By owning our own manufacturing plants and R&D centers, we at Haier are able to offer affordable products without sacrificing quality,” Itamochi said. “This gives Filipino consumers the assurance that they will continue enjoying top-class products even after the Sanyo brand name phases out.”

This capability further allows Haier to innovate products for better functionality, energy savings, and convenience. It also enables the company to offer warranties that go beyond industry standards for complete customer satisfaction long after the sale.

Itamochi is optimistic about the reception to Sanyo’s transition. “We will continue working hard so that Filipino consumers will remain confident in our products,” he said.

GOOGLE GRABS FABRIC

SAN FRANCISCO—Google is acquiring Twitter’s mobile application developer platform Fabric, a move which could give some breathing room for the social network after charting an independent path without a suitor.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

Twitter last year was in talks to sell itself with several firms including Google parent Alphabet, but without a deal decided to continue on an independent path, cutting jobs and refocusing on its core services.

The sale of Fabric will shift to Google the platform used by developers for mobile apps.

“When we launched Fabric in 2014, our goal was to provide the best tools to help developers create amazing apps,” the Fabric team said in a blog post.

“Today we enter the next chapter for Fabric and are pleased to announce that we’ve signed an agreement for Fabric to be acquired by Google and for our team to join Google’s Developer Products Group, working with the Firebase team.” AFP

D4

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Gadgets & Games SET YOUR GOALS WITH MOTO A FRESH year is always a nice excuse to get a new smartphone—go-getters and adventure seekers need a smart, reliable digital sidekick to complete their bucket list for the year, after all.

Welcome 2017 with a bang and try Moto’s newly launched smartphones, which packs in fun and functionality.

With the enhanced productivity, speed, and mobility features, you can be sure to accomplish your #2017goals without a hitch.

Humanoid robot Jia Jia, created by a team of engineers from the University of Science and Technology of China, is seen following a presentation at a conference in Shanghai. "Jia Jia" can hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked, and her creator believes the eerily life-like robot heralds a future of cyborg labour in China. AFP

BIONIC WOMAN: ROBOT TURNS ON THE CHARM

S

HANGHAI—”Jia Jia” can hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked, and her creator believes the eerily life-like robot heralds a future of cyborg labour in China.

Billed as China’s first human-like robot, Jia Jia was first trotted out last year by a team of engineers at the University of Science and Technology of China.

Team leader Chen Xiaoping sounded like a proud father as he and his prototype appeared Monday at an economic conference organised by banking giant UBS in Shanghai’s futuristic financial centre.

Chen predicted that perhaps within a decade artificially intelligent (AI) robots like Jia Jia will begin performing a range of menial tasks in Chinese

restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and households.”In 5-10 years there will be a lot of applications for robots in China,” Chen said.

With flowing black hair and dressed in a traditional Chinese dress, Jia Jia looks strikingly real. Yet her charm has its limits and simple questions frequently stump her.

Still, Chen said his team has made great progress over the past two years in developing her AI. She was able accurately to answer a query about the day’s weather, hold basic conversations and recognise the

gender of her questioners.

“You are a handsome man,” she complimented one, but when asked later if she has a boyfriend, replied, “I prefer to stay single.”

Rapid advancements are being made in artificial intelligence and such products stole the limelight at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

A range of products were unveiled that can respond to voice commands to play music at home and follow other remote-control orders—or even think on their feet by accessing and “learning” from the Internet cloud.

One company, Hanson Robotics, unveiled its life-like“Professor Einstein,” which has realistic facial expressions and can engage in informative conversations such as lessons in math and science.

Jia Jia is not quite there yet, but Chen sees a bright future for her kind in China.

He said growing prosperity was causing many young Chinese to eschew jobs like waitressing, while an ageing population would require more hands on deck in hospitals and nursing homes—even if they aren’t human hands.

Chen showed a video of a less lifelike, but more functional, robot making and serving tea to team members at his university lab in the eastern province of Anhui.

Chen, however, dismissed sci-fi fears of future robots getting too smart for our own good.

“As long as this is done in a step-by-step and controlled manner, I don’t think there will be a big impact on society. It won’t harm human beings,” he said.

VIEWSONIC IS READER'S CHOICE

ViewSonic received the highest rating in all categories in which it received a rating.

VIEWSONIC Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, has been selected as this year’s PCMag Reader’s Choice Award winner for monitors.

In its 28th year, PCMag.com readers were asked to rate products and services they use in overall product satisfaction, picture quality, ease-of-use, likelihood to recommend, and reliability within the past 12 months. ViewSonic swept all categories and easily won the overall award.

“Sometimes, it pays to specialize,” said Ben Gottesman, executive editor at PCMag.com. “While most computer monitors are made by companies that build a variety of electronics products—computers, phones, cameras, printers, refrigerators, and more—our 2016 PCMag Readers’ Choice Award winner for computer monitors is a company that specializes in displays only: ViewSonic.

“This is the second time in the last three years that ViewSonic has

won the award,” Gottesman added.

According to the annual survey, ViewSonic received the highest rating in all categories in which it received a rating. ViewSonic collected a rating of 9.1 for both “Overall Satisfaction” as well as for “Likelihood to Recommend,” a 9.2 for “Ease-of-Use” and “Satisfaction with Picture Quality,” and finally a 9.3 for “Satisfaction with Reliability.”

“We’re honored the readers of PCMag voted ViewSonic as their Turn to D3

Empowering Go-Getters with Moto Z Series Beautifully crafted for fashion trendsetters, Moto Z epitomizes elegance and style: Moto Z is a head turner with its military, aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel build. As the world’s thinnest premium smartphone, Moto Z is only 5.2 mm thin. Don’t be fooled by its size though, as it packs a punch: powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon TM 820 processor with 4G of RAM and 62G of internal storage, Moto Z delivers a smooth and blazing performance that keeps users ahead of the game. Moto Z sports a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display for optimal viewing experience. To top it all off, fashionistas can enjoy taking their OOTDs using Moto Z’s high-resolution 13MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and laser autofocus. Pricing for the Moto Z starts at P33,999.

Meanwhile, Moto Z Play is the perfect companion for heavy multimedia users who need a smartphone that can last throughout the day. As the Moto smartphone with the longest battery life on a single charge, Moto Z Play can last up to 50 hours with regular use.

Moto Z Play boasts of a 5.5-inch 1080p HD AMOLED display that delivers crisp and vivid images. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon TM 625 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32G of internal storage. Moto Z Play’s 16MP rear camera with laser and phase detect autofocus makes taking photos on any lighting condition such a breeze. Pricing for the Moto Z Play starts at P22,999.

Moto Z Series smartphones are compatible with special snap-ons called Moto Mods: the Incipio OffGrid Power Pack, JBL Soundboost Speaker Mod, Moto Insta-Share Projector Mod, Hasselblad True Zoom Camera Mod, and Moto Style Shell Mods, which enhance the functionality of the smartphones.

Without having to turn off the phone and remove the back panel, users can just simply snap the Moto Mods on using strong magnets that work like magic.

Elevate Your Digital Prowess with Moto G Family The Moto G family of smartphones packs in all the essential features social media-savvy millenials need. Today’s selfie generation can capture the perfect picture with Moto G4 Plus’s 16MP camera with enhanced autofocus features, and upload them directly on social media without missing a moment.

YOLO travelers keen on documenting their journeys will love Moto G Turbo, which is as adventurous as they are: Moto G4 Turbo features the IP67-rated dust and water protection, so users won’t have to worry about splashes and spills when they take travel selfies.

Moto G Turbo also features a 5-inch full HD scratch-proof screen protected

by Gorilla Glass 3. Notable for its long battery life, Moto G Turbo is powered by 2470mAh battery, which lasts the

Turn to D3

SAMSUNG UNVEILS ITS BIGGEST MOBILE SERVICE CENTER

By Peter Paul Duran

GLOBAL tech giant Samsung unveiled its biggest, exclusive mobile service center in the country to date, staying true to its commitment of providing premium consumer satisfaction.

The brand recently opened its Service Center in SM North EDSA, Quezon City, offering Samsung users a new destination for their product-related inquiries and repair needs.

Formally presented to the public on Dec. 17 of last year, the grand opening was graced

by Samsung Service Operations Head Sheila Jaucian and one of Mind Alliance’s Top management heads, Jeffrey Wong.

The new Samsung Service Center boasts of its vibrant store display that creates a more fun and enjoyable environment for visitors. It has high-density fixtures that make the store look and feel both bold and iconic.

Precisely crafted lines on the wall and bright lighting also create a more refined space. With its accessory wall and available live demo units, the new service center not only aims to provide efficient frontline assistance and repairs, but also allows customers to have an immersive, in-depth experience.

Being the company’s current biggest exclusive mobile service center in the Philippines, the store provides support for all Samsung mobile products such as smartphones,

tablets, and other accessories.

As Samsung’s pledge to ensure that users get to fully enjoy their devices to the optimal level, customers can get assistance from highly-skilled service engineers and staff for device services from Level 1–Level 3 repairs, including but not limited to software updates and recovery, device set-up, troubleshooting and parts’ replacement.

Visit the store now at the 4th Level, Cyberzone, SM City North Edsa-Annex.

The new Samsung Service Center boasts of its vibrant store display that creates a more fun and enjoyable environment for visitors.

E1

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor

/

Young Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com.ph

LIFE IS FUN WITH PUNS Scan this icon to view the PDF

COFFEE OR SAVINGS?

WE LOVE a good pun, especially when it’s on point and somehow relatable. This retail brand now makes it possible to wear a pun or two with their modest selection of T-shirts.

Linya-Linya is the one responsible for some pun-ny statement shirts we see online. What started as an “idea factory of puns and illustrations” on Facebook, became a retail brand when the group Yabang Pinoy turned Ali Sangalang and Panch Alvarez’s (Linya-Linya founders) creations into tees in 2012.

“We create relatable entries out of our shared ordinary experiences such as getting giddy in love, feeling exasperated, or even dreading Monday, and post them on our social media site,” said Linya-Linya on its Facebook page.

Here are some of their witty tees that can make your and other people’s day better.

By Bernadette Lunas

having dinner,” she told Manila Standard Young Life.

“It’s psychological, I guess, because I HERE is a mug on my table in the office that says, “But can’t seem to function very well without first, coffee.” I bought it because that’s exactly what I do having my first coffee in the morning,” before I start working. Drink coffee. Then do the things. she shared.

Much like many others, drinking coffee also serves as her meditation, she It’s caffeine dependence, I admit. But as about 44 percent of US coffee demand, said. “Having my morning coffee is also a it turns out, many people of my age are so with more and more young individuals means of savoring time for myself. In the dependent on caffeine—or in love with it consuming coffee (48 percent increase afternoon, when I take a break over cofthat their daily caffeine fix is literally drink- among ages 18-24, and 51 percent up fee, I take it as a time to reaffirm the positive events that took place earlier and to ing the world supply dry, and they are also among 25-29). spending more on a cup of java than putFor 29-year-old Joanna*, drinking cof- motivate myself to do more and be positing money in their retirement savings. fee is part of her daily routine. “I drink cof- tive for the rest of the day.”

Millennials’s love for coffee is evidently In an October 2016 report of Bloom- fee in the morning before going to work, berg, it stated that millennials account for after having lunch and before or after Turn to E2

T

A CUP THAT CAN COST YOUR RETIREMENT. According to a commissioned survey by a micro-investing app, 41 percent of millennials spent more on coffee in the past year than they invested in their retirement.

Damndamin

Feelings are a good thing, but they can also be a bad, damning thing.

Weight loss, Wait lang

Aching to get that Summer bod but a plateful of crunchy sisig staring at you? Yes, weight loss can wait.

Eat Girl

With those always put-together look, stylish OOTDs and lean physique, we could only imagine how possibly hard it is to be an It Girl, so let’s stick to the more important thing in life: Eat!

One More Tiyans

If Basha gave Popoy one more chance, then there’s no reason to fuss so much about your bulging tiyan.

Turn to E2

Young Life

E2

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A MARATHON LIKE

LIFE...

From E1

GERALD ANDERSON

By John Ray Villanueva

Over My Dad Body

Don’t let other people take advantage of you, show them that you are someone not to be messed with.

Bed Vibes

No one like bad vibes, but when its raining and there’s no better thing to do—or even if there is, as long as its cold outside—then it’s definitely good, bed vibes.

Ang Sushi ng Pag-ibig

As the saying goes: The way to a man’s or woman’s heart is through their stomach. So fill it with sushi and other good food.

Nagmumura Pero T*angina Nagmamahal

Be with the person who swears, because they will be true to you when they say they love you.

Linya-Linya stores are located at SM Megamall.

COFFEE...

From E1

growing stronger, as according to the first Money Matters Report of micro-investing app Acorns, almost half or 41.29 percent of its 1,911 18to 35-year-old respondents said they spent more on coffee in the past year than they invested in their retirement. The survey, which looked at the spending habits of Generation Y, was commissioned through Survey Monkey in November 2016.

Joanna’s multiple visits to nearby coffee shop across her residence costs her about P4,000 a month. “I know this amount could have gone into my savings,” she admitted.

But at least, she said, it’s “more or less” the same money she sets aside for her retirement, “but I’m looking at adding more as I get older.”

Sandy*, a store supervisor in a large coffee shop chain told MS Young Life that the largest market in their branch are customers age 25 to 35. The number could be because the branch’s said location is near offices, but could also be because the “always-on-the-go” generation needs to be on top of their game as they embark on tasks or awake as they spend time having fun with friends.

If one spends more money on coffee than investing in their future, that could be a dangerous thing, no matter how perky one becomes as he takes on any challenge. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told USAtoday.com the youth need “to drastically change their financial behaviors and start saving towards retirement.”

However, as the young lot chug down their cups of joe, only 8.47 percent of Acorns’ survey respondents are actually prioritizing saving for their sunset days.

There’s nothing wrong in indulging in a cup of java, or even being dependent to its stimulating effect, especially at times when you need it.

But if a chunk of your budget goes to coffee shops thereby straining your finances, then you’re probably better off getting a coffee maker and beans of your choosing, and brew your own coffee at home or in the office.

Don’t forget to get a reusable cup, too, so you don’t add up to the waste destroying our environment.

O

N MARCH 19, Gerald Anderson will run his first marathon. This will be his first foray into 42km running event after graduating from 10km runs, and it will happen in Los Angeles, USA.

“Lagi Lagi akong sumasali sa mga runs but hanggang 10K lang. Nung nag-start -start akong mag-training [for the upcoming LA Marathon], naramdaman ko na parang kaya ko ‘to (I always join in runs but only up to 10K. When I started training for the upcoming LA Marathon, I felt like I could do it),” shared Anderson.

The 27-year-old actor and sports and fitness enthusiast has joined several races in the past. He finished his first triathlon at the 2015 ASTC Asian Triathlon Cup. Last year, he participated in the Powerman Duathlon Asian Invitational held in November where he won 4th place and the Powerman Duathlon Pilipinas World series in December where he finished at 6th place, both under the Male 24-29 Age Group.

For this run, Anderson exercises everyday, since November, with the help of triathlete coach George Vilog. His routine exercises include working out, swimming, biking and running, with one hour of rest. A week or two before the marathon, he said he plans to lighten his exercise routine to release tension.

He admitted that he has no serious diet in the span of his training because of his busy work schedule, however he gave up some food items such as burger, pizza, kare-kare and chicken curry, to name a few.

Joining a 42km marathon is already a feat in itself, but Anderson goes farther and further than he ever went as he will be the Philippine representative of Skechers Performance to the 32nd edition of the prestigious LA Marathon.

Skechers Performance, a division of Skechers USA, is taking delegates from different countries to join the race, which will start at the Dodger Stadium and will end near the Santa Monica Pier. Anderson will join over 25,000 amateur and professional runners.

In choosing Anderson as the Philippine representative to the running event, Skechers Performance officials said he is the “perfect embodiment” of the brand’s campaign “Go Like Never Before.”

“Gerald is really the perfect example of a person who just wants to go after his dreams and achieve what’s limitless,” enthused Christina Tang,, marketing manager of Skechers Performance. She added that Anderson is not just an actor but also a person who has a heart to inspire people.

Anderson is likewise thrilled to be the chosen Philippine delegate to the LA Marathon 2017. He shared how he always wanted to be athletic—a childhood dream he’s making possible today.

“Big things, big dreams. When you really want something and you work hard for it, magkakatotoo talaga (it will come true),” he mused.

He added, “[2017] is gonna be a more active [year for me] because aside from the LA Marathon, there will be other marathons the whole year, so sobrang nagpapasalamat ako kay God na pumasok yung Skechers at this exact time (I am grateful to God for this partnership with Skechers).”

His only advice to other runners is simple, “Lumabas ka ng bahay niyo, magsuot ka ng Skechers, and run (Get out of your house, wear a pair of Skechers, and run). Start from zero. Everybody starts from zero. And always do your best.”

GO LIKE NEVER BEFORE. Gerald Anderson is Skechers Performance’s Philippine delegate to the prestigious LA Marathon happening on March 19.

NEW CUTIE ALERT: MOTOGP RACER MARC MARQUEZ HE’S A Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, a three-time MotoGP world champion, and a 23-year-old Spanish lad with a talent that wows the world and a face that swoons the crowd. He’s name is Marc Marquez.

Born in the Catalan town of Cervera, Marquez rode a motorcycle for the first time when he was four years old. At 15, he made his championship debut at the 125cc World Championship in 2008. Aside from his title in MotoGP class (2013, 2014 and 2016), he also currently holds two world championship titles, making him the youngest rider to get five World Championship titles.

Marquez also owns other long list of records—most of which for being the youngest to achieve something: “Youngest rider to win five successive Grand Prix,” “Youngest ride to win at least one race in three classes of GP Racing,” and “Youngest rider in the history of

world motorcycling to get 50 wins,” among many others.

Blame it on his talent and multiple recognitions, but we can also argue that it’s because of his face that youth fashion label Pull&Bear teams up with Marquez to launch a collection that brings together the latest trends and the main identifying characteristics of a Spanish rider.

The young athlete will design his first collection in collaboration with Pull&Bear’s creative teams. The collection, composed of urban inspired garments, will feature some of the symbols that best represent Marquez: the number 93, the year of his birth; and the ant, the mascot that’s been with him since his first days in the racing world.

Non-motorcycle road racing fans will get to see more of this Spanish cutie as he will be the fashion label’s image in 2017 and 2018.

The threetime MotoGP world champion embarks on a new journey as Pull&Bear’s image model.

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017

E3

STANDARD'S CHOICE...

From E4

5. Miss Indonesia - Kezia Warouw is a towering 6-foot model.

The 25-year-old Indonesian is an Informatics Engineering graduate and volunteers for Smile Train Indonesia. Another press favorite, Warouw has recently won a special award in an auxiliary event in Davao.

6. Miss Japan – Sari Nakazawa is a senior dental student with a passion for children and travel and has volunteered at orphanages and children’s hospitals in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The 23-year-old model plays volleyball, arranges flowers, hosts tea parties and plays the piano.

She has a very good knowledge about beauty and health.

American rock duo Twenty One Pilots is changing rock music landscape with its chart-toping singles

TWENTY ONE PILOTS

Miss Japan Sari Nakazawa

Miss Indonesia Kezia Warouw

7. Miss Australia Caris Tiivel stands 5-foot-10. She is a model from Perth who loves to paint to express herself and works closely with children who are in need. She has used her role as Miss Australia to shine a light on mental health. The stunning 23-year-old revealed to the Herald Sun she once suffered from depression and anxiety, which something she overcame.

9. Miss Dominican Republic – Sal Garcia is an international model.

Stunner in 5-foot11 frame, Garcia has modeled for some of the most prestigious designers and fashion houses in the world, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, and Prada, to name a few.

Miss Dominican Republic Sal Garcia Miss Australia Caris Tiivel

8. Miss Colombia – Andrea Tovar is 5-foot-11. She is currently studying Industrial Design and Photographic Image Production at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá. The longest reigning Miss Colombia is also the second woman of color from Chocó to win a national crown after Vanessa Mendoza in 2001.

Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar

10. Miss South Africa Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, 24, is a 5-foot-9 Education graduate and currently an ambassador for the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day which gives South African girls first-hand experience in an industry as future career opportunities.

Miss South Africa Ntandoyenkosi Kunene

11. Miss USA - Deshauna Barber is one of the oldest Miss Universe delegates.

The 27-year-old black beauty is an active US Army Reserve and holder of Masters of Science in Computer Information Systems. She works as an IT Analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce and has been spending her year as Miss USA working directly with soldiers suffering from PTSD and focusing on suicide prevention in the Armed Forces. with Eton Concepcion

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Sunday, January 15, 2017

ACROSS 1 Arms of Morpheus 6 Camel’s pit stop 11 Sell hot tickets 16 Sauce with basil 21 Major oil hub 22 Girl from Baja 23 Ryder rival (hyph.)

24 Shoot-’em-up 25 Defy authority 26 Sheik’s bevy 27 Hippie greeting 28 Museum employee 29 Have — — at 30 Wrestling match 32 Promising rookie 34 Corn syrup brand 36 Mao — -tung 37 Fluffier 39 “Emptor,” translated 40 Passport companion 41 Swerve 42 Grill, maybe 43 Floated with the current 44 Heated argument 46 Burn or sting 49 Like baked apples 50 Feel sure of 51 Bricklayer’s need 55 Dusting powder 56 Slams, as a door 57 Dents 58 Charming 59 NASA counterpart 60 Flashy dressers 61 Here again 62 Brooches 63 Poor review 64 Some studs 66 Parakeet home 67 Join the chorus 68 Helper, briefly 69 Citrus cooler 70 Panache 71 Soft metal 72 Vast chasm 73 Elev.

74 Not bound in (2 wds.)

76 Brother’s title 77 Pavement flaws 80 Sell 81 Pitch 82 Abate 86 Horus’ mother 87 Gear teeth 88 Playing marbles 89 Took dead aim (2 wds.)

90 Wrench target 91 Oily substances 92 Monster’s loch 93 Crayola choice 94 — take forever!

95 Swift antelope 97 Road shoulder

98 Prospector, maybe 99 Link 100 “Forgot” a letter 101 Tiny particle 102 Windmill blades 103 Herd follower 104 Antennae 106 Waited 107 Left, to a mule 108 Baba au — 111 Not twice 112 Chafed places 113 Substitute for 117 Sweetie-pie 118 Pharaoh’s amulet 119 On the blink 120 Kind of ox 121 Glamorous wrap 122 Earthenware pots 124 Casual wear 126 Did the exterior 128 Caddie bagful 130 Whinny 131 Social mores 132 Correct 133 Remind silently 134 Helena rival 135 Bad-tempered 136 Like pomegranates 137 Sam the golfer DOWN 1 Prized viol.

2 “Hasta —!”

3 Push rudely 4 WNW opposite 5 She knows her lines 6 Dark yellow 7 At the drop of — — 8 Hitchcock’s title 9 Bar “rocks” (2 wds.)

10 Siberian sled dog 11 Terrific 12 “Moonstruck” lead 13 Road-map org.

14 Fortunately 15 If you — 16 Comic-strip possum 17 — de cologne 18 Kind of fair 19 Laconic 20 Gavel-banger’s cry 31 Cartoon shriek 33 Glove sz.

35 Plowing into 38 DEA operative 39 Villages 40 Encyc. sections 41 TV hookups 43 Firms muscles 44 Job benefit 45 They’re not free of charge 46 Nerves of — 47 Pastoral Kenyan 48 Frighten 49 Mooch 50 Rev the engine

52 53 54 56 57 58 60 61 62 65 66 67 68 70 71 72 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 82 83 84 85 87 88

— -turvy Accumulate Leases out Ring-shaped cake Animal — Breeze or gale Uses an old phone Pasture sounds Chanteuse Edith — Enjoys, as benefits Clump of dirt Wave makers Humiliate Untold centuries Reduced Trellis Easel supports Slow pitches Uproar Shopping spree The — suspects Gaynor of films Pull the lever Monica of tennis Common phrase Tough-talking coach All through Witch’s vessel Only

89 91 92 93 96 97 98 99 101 102 103 105 106 107 108 109 110 112 113 114 115 116 118 119 120 123 125 127 129

Like city lots Vamoose Hockey goals Films Holland export Tree trunk Sped along (2 wds.)

Caterwaul Jungle knife Flu bugs Diner freebies Printer (2 wds.)

Fast-tempo jazz “— So Shy” River in France Bagel centers Awaiting ignition Smart-mouthed Healthy-looking Shack or mansion Chain dance Soothed “Off the Court” author Granny or square — Patch up Epoch Contented sighs Billy — Williams Pantyhose ruiner

Miss USA Deshauna Barber

TEASES FANS WITH NEW MUSIC CLIP ALTERNATIVE rock duo Twenty One Pilots scored the best-selling vinyl album of 2016 with its first chart-topping record, Blurryface.

The duo, comprised of musicians Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, had one of the best years of any musical act, especially on the Hot Rock Songs chart, which is Billboard’s tally that measures the most popular rock-only songs every week.

Its singles “Stressed Out,” “Ride,” and “Heathens” (Suicide Squad soundtrack) have stayed at No. 1 for a combined 52 weeks, and that number isn’t done growing just yet.

Now, Twenty One Pilots appears to have teased a new music video for another possible hit.

The band recently posted a black and white image to Instagram, which featured a burning car on a darkened road. The caption read: “mistermistyeyed,” which refers to a lyric from their album opener “Heavydirtysoul.”

The track was released as a single in December, with fans now speculating that a music video could follow shortly.

E4

Showbiz

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor / Nickie Wang, Issue Editor isahred@gmail.com

VIRAL

STANDARD’S CHOICE

65TH MISS UNIVERSE HOT PICKS

By Nickie Wang

P

AGEANT fever is taking over the entire country as 86 of the most “confidently beautiful” women in the world descended on the Philippine capital to compete for the coveted diamond-encrusted Miss Universe crown.

On Jan. 30 (Jan. 29 in the US), the world will witness the most prestigious beauty pageant crown the successor of Pia Wurtzbach. But instead of the usual top 15, only 12 will be called to advance in the semifinal round where they will compete in their swimsuit. To make it more intense, only 11 semifinalists will be chosen by the pre-pageant judges, the last slot will be decided through popular votes. Voting will start tomorrow.

With the 65th Miss Universe preliminary competitions fast unfolding in Manila and in the countryside, comments and reviews of the candidates after the Governor’s Ball, the Philippine Terno fashion show in Vigan, the swimsuit parade in Cebu, and the auxiliary event in Davao have been appearing almost daily in the media.

As customary in every pageant, we are making a list of eleven so-called Hot Picks or favorite delegates that could make the cut during the coronation day.

1. Miss Venezuela - The towering Mariam Habach Santucci is a 20-year-old model and dental student. She’s a volunteer in a children care, was raised in a Syrian and Italian family, and speaks four languages including Spanish, English, Arabic and Italian.

Santucci is the most favored candidate to win the crown. As early as now, she’s won two prepageant awards.

PAOLO BALLESTEROS’

PIA

WURTZBACH TRANSFORMATION INTERNATIONALLY recognized for his uncanny ability to transform into celebrities with cosmetics, Paolo Ballesteros did it again in a social media post which serves as a run-up to the Miss Universe pageant.

In his most recent makeup transformation posted on Instagram, transformation king turns into Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach.

In a photo uploaded on Instagram, Ballesteros shows himself transforming into current Miss Universe title holder. In his caption, the comedian and TV host promised that he will be uploading he video transformation, too, soon.

To date, the post has received 60 thousand like and continues to garner likes, shares and positive comments from netizens.

Ballesteros is known for honoring Filipina beauty queens after their stint on the international stage. Some of them were Shamcey Supsup, Ariella Arida, and Megan Young.

In his previous posts, he also transformed into other beauty queens including Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss USA Olivia Jordan, Miss Philippines Universe 2014 Mary Jean Lastimosa, Miss Jamaica 2014 Kaci Fennell, Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez and Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega.

Miss Venezuela Mariam Habach Santucci

2. Miss Thailand - Chalita Suansane is a 21-year-old microbiology student. Back in her hometown, she’s a volunteer at Baan Home Hug orphanage that houses HIVafflicted children, abused and orphaned children (talk about beauty with a purpose). The 5-foot-7 stunner is also a social media favorite due to her signature pose.

4. Miss Philippines - Maxine Medina is a print and runway model.

She’s a professional interior designer and volunteers for social works for children with cancer, supports “Operation Smile” and Gawad Kalinga street children and participated in relief operations to typhoon victims in the Philippines.

The 5-foot-8 beauty is gunning for the elusive back-toback victory for the country... Turn to E3

3. Miss Brazil - Raissa Santana is a 21-year-old Marketing graduate who loves to play basketball and cooking. She is an advocate of children welfare and an ardent supporter of organizations that focuses on child adoption and care for the elderly. The 5-foot-9 Brazilian model is the first woman of color to represent her country at Miss Universe in 30 years.

KOREAN STAR RAIN GOT HITCHED Korean superstar couple Rain and Kim Tae Hee

SUPERSTAR couple Rain and Kim Tae Hee blew their fans’ minds with the surprise wedding announcement. The couple finally tied the knot on Jan. 19 at Gahoe-dong Cathedral in Seoul after dating for around four years.

The two held a private wedding where only relatives and close friends attended. Their wedding mass lasted about 90 minutes. The groom wore a black suit and the bride a white dress that ended above knee.

Preparations for the wedding were carried out in secret, with guests told of the place and time only yesterday. The venue was guarded by private security guards for hours, preventing a group of reporters from getting a glimpse of the couple.

A few days ago, the couple were rumored to get married on February 19. But reports were debunked by their respective agencies. However, Rain confirmed the wedding, with no specific date, through his Instagram post.

Paolo Ballesteros transforms into Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.