The Standard - 2015 April 05 - Sunday by Manila Standard

VOL. XXIX NO. 49 3 Sections 24 Pages P18 SUNday : aPrIL 5, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com editorial@thestandard.com.ph

BRAZILIAN STUNNER BRIGHTENS FILIPINO HOMES

THE PASSION

24,000 leave coastal areas storm surges pose a threat Next page

Chedeng’s eye. This handout picture received on April 2, 2015 from ESA/NASA shows the eye of Super Typhoon Chedeng (Maysak) as photographed from the International Space Station in space. Inset, an enhanced satellite image courtesy of PAGASA.

Five die PoPe Prays as boat For Persecuted sinks christians oFF sulu

Pope Francis presides over the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday on April 3, 2015 at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. Christians around the world are marking the Holy Week, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, leading up to his resurrection on Easter. AFP

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five die as boat capsizes off sulu By Florante S. Solmerin and Ben Cal FIVE people were killed while more than 30 others were still missing after a supposedly overloaded passenger boat capsized off the islands on Pata and Tapul in Sulu province on Maundy Thursday, officials reported on Saturday. Rear Admiral Reynaldo Yoma, commander of Task Force Zambasulta (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi), said they have been conducting search-and-rescue operations for the passengers of the “unregistered passenger vessel” MPB Wilayza which capsized around 8 p.m. . Joint Task Group Sulu commander Colonel Alan Arrojado said the vessel PG381 has so far found five dead passengers and 15 survivors, seven of them children, but they are still searching for at least 30 others. “The boat was reportedly overloaded with hundreds of bags of cement, iron bars and more or less 50 passengers excluding its crew,” Arrojado said, adding that most of the victims were residents of Talipao and Tapul in Sulu. Arrojado said passengers of the ill-fated boat had repeatedly urged the boat skipper to throw overboard its cargo of cement and steel bars to prevent the boat from sinking but the pleas were ignored. Before they knew it, waters started to seep into the boat. Seeing they were in peril of going down, they pleaded to the boat’s skipper to throw away its cargo and just pay damages to the owner. However, the boat’s skipper who was not immediately identified reportedly got angry and ignored their plea. Of the five fatalities, four were members of one family. Fifteen were rescued and brought to the hospital but were immediately released as they did not suffer any injury, Arrojado said.

Racing against time. two farmers rush to harvest rice in Nabua, camarines sur which was placed on alert as authorities feared typhoon chedeng would hit the bicol region on saturday. the typhoon has since weakened into a tropical storm and hit land hundreds of kilometers farther north. DANNY PATA

24,000 leave coastal areas

By Francisco Tuyay

TYPHOON “Chedeng” weakened to a tropical storm on Saturday and was expected to further diminish into low-pressure area on Sunday even as 24,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in the eastern seaboard of Luzon, according to disaster and government officials. Maysak, which days earlier hit several small islands in the Pacific Ocean as a Category-5 “super typhoon”, weakened into a 115-kilometer (71-mile) an hour storm, state weather forecaster Jun Galang

told AFP. It was also possible the storm would further weaken to between 65-85 kilometres an hour by the time it is projected to hit the northeast coast of the main Philippine is-

Stranded. sea vessel passengers wait at the tabaco port in albay after boats going to virac, catanduanes were held at port ahead of the arrival of typhoon chedeng on saturday. DANNY PATA

land of Luzon on Sunday morning, he added. “At those lower intensities, we can eliminate the threat posed by storm surges,” he said, referring to giant tsunami-like waves that had prompted local officials to evacuate coastal villages in the area. Such waves caused many of the fatalities when Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the country in November 2013, leaving more than 7,350 dead or missing. Early Saturday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council warned residents of Aurora and Isabela provinces to evacuate coastal areas in anticipation of Chedeng which was still churning at 250-kilometers an hour at that time. Aurora Gov. Gerardo Noveras said they also forced local and foreign tourists, who had flocked to the province from all parts of the country as early as April 1, who check out of their resort and hotel accommodations in anticipation of Chedeng. In Aurora’s capital of Baler, about 10,000 local and foreign tourists had to cut short their vacations and several millions in projected revenues were lost as hotel and resort owners refunded clients. “In anticipation of Chedeng’s effects in relation to the directive of provincial disaster officials, we advised our clients to cut short their stay and we just refunded their payments,” said Karren Samonte, owner of the popular Akkaw Beach Resort. “We too have left Baler, but will be back as soon the typhoon leaves the country,” Samonte added. Despite its reduced strength, Galang said Maysak was still forecast

to bring “moderate to occasionally intense” rain across a 400-kilometer front on Luzon’s mountainous northern section overnight Saturday. Even light or moderate rain, if sustained for several hours, can bring floods and landslides in a locality, he noted. The areas potentially affected have a combined population of about five million people, Social Welfare Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera told a news conference in Manila on Saturday. About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year, many of them deadly, but such weather disturbances are rare in April, the height of the tropical Asian nation’s dry season. Maysak is forecast to strike at the tail-end of a long Easter holiday that saw millions of Filipinos flock to the beaches to escape the heat. Cabrera said about 10,000 tourists were warned Friday to stay away from the beaches of Aurora province northeast of Manila. Galang said the eye of the storm was tracked 365 kilometres southeast of Aurora’s coast at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) Saturday. It was expected to hit land there between 6:00 am and 10:00 am on Sunday (2200 GMT Saturday to 0200 GMT Sunday), he added. “We plan to move people out of coastal villages,” Nigel Lontoc, a senior civil defence official for the region, told AFP earlier. In all, some 24,000 people from the coastal province of Aurora, where the storm is projected to make landfall Sunday, were evacuated, he said. With AFP

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‘PNOY, WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?’ By Maricel V. Cruz THE Palace should make clear to the Filipino people whether it is for the Filipino people or the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, especially after the rebel group came out with a report contrary to the findings of a police board of inquiry and a Senate investigation, an opposition lawmaker said Saturday. “Whose side is the government on, the MILF or the Filipino people?... Why is it that there seems to be no comment on this MILF report?” asked Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, referring to the MILF probe of the Mamasapano incident on January 25. Romualdez finds it unusual for the Malacanang not to comment on the MILF report when it had a lot to say about the separate investigations that were conducted by the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry and three separate Senate committees. Romualdez also lamented the apparent slow pursuit of justice to the victims and widows of the 44 police commandos who were killed in the Mamasapano incident although the PNP and Senate probes had already determined who were behind the deadly operation. “The MILF has finished its own report on the Mamasapano massacre and has submitted copies of it to the government. Therefore, the government can no longer claim that they have yet to identify the killers of the SAF 44?” Romualdez said.

No fear. Hundreds of Manila residents flocked to the breakwater along Roxas Boulevard to take a dip in severely polluted Manila Bay unmindful of the dangers to their health. AFP

GOOD FRIDAY BLAST By Florante S. Solmerin

FOUR people were hurt after a bomb planted underneath a pick-up truck exploded near a police station in Zamboanga City on Friday night, but the police ruled out the possibility of a terror attack and instead theorized it may be connected to the narcotics trade. Zamboanga City police chief Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro said two elderly women and two males, on of them only 14-years-old, were hurt when an improvised explosive device placed under a Nissan Navarra truck exploded at Zone 3 in Barangay Ayala around 8 p.m. Friday. Casimiro said the IED was made of ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) and “another incendiary device”, but he ruled out a terror attack and surmised the blast may have something to do with the arrest of two people linked to the drug trade. Zamboanga regional police

spokesperson Inspector Dahlan Samuddin identified the injured as Ofelia Eusebio, 77, who sustained injuries on her right leg; Magdalena Araneta, 61, with injuries in her stomach and bruises in the body; Marvin Esperat, 14, with injuries in the different parts of the body; and Victor Bartolome, 34, with injuries in his back. Eusebio, Araneta and Esperat were rushed to the Zamboanga City Medical Center while Victor Bartolome was brought to the Labuan Public Hospital. The last bombing in Zamboanga City was on January 23, when two people were killed while around 50

others were wounded when a similar car bomb exploded at a bus station in Barangay Guiwan, also on a Friday. Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco blamed the Barangay Guiwan blast on the Abu Sayyaf supposedly as part of a plan to spring 57 Abu Sayyaf members detained in the city jail. Climaco had earlier asked the Justice Department to transfer several high-profile Abu Sayyaf bandits from the city jail to a Metro Manila detention facility after jail officials foiled an earlier attempt to break them out from jail. Also on Friday, security forces foiled another plan of the Abu Sayyaf to set off a bomb that was apparently meant for soldiers who were patrolling the hinterlands of Patikul town in Sulu. The bomb was placed inside a hut at Sitio Gabban in Barangay Kabuntakas, but soldiers saw the triggering device and safely de-

fused the bomb, according to Ensign Chester Ian Ramos of Task Force Zambasulta. Ramos said Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT-10) troops were conducting clearing operation around 9 a.m. Friday when they said the IED triggering device buried in the ground at an area that used to be an encampment of the Abu Sayyaf. Ramos said the soldiers said the bomb was made up of ammonium nitrate fuel oil with with an 81-millimeter mortar ammunition as the main charge and mechanical pressured-type triggering device. He said the troops also recovered two empty cartridges, 81mm and two empty cartridges 60mm in the area. “The IED was buried inside the hut with a set of flashlight placed on the ceiling to inflict casualty to curious person who will attempt to check the flashlight,” he said.

COCO LEVY LAW URGED

By Macon R. Araneta

The legacy of our fathers. World War II-era weapons are displayed along with other war memorabilia at the Board of Trustees for the Veterans of World War II Museum at the Veterans Center in Taguig City. The curators announced that they will be waiving the museum entrance fee from April 5 to 11 in observance of Veterans Week. CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

WHILE the issuance of two executive orders on the controversial coconut levy funds can immediately help the ailing coconut industry, a Republic Act will have a more permanent effect and can have a greater impact on the lives of coconut farmers, according to Sen. Cynthia A. Villar. “While an EO can be implemented immediately, we maintain that a law will have a more permanent effect,” said Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture and food committee, even as she welcomed Executive Orders

No. 179 and EO No. 180 on the disposition and use of coco levy funds. The coco levy funds, estimated to be at least P71 billion, came from taxes imposed on coconut farmers during the Martial Law years. Villar stressed that a law will supplement the intention of the executive order to use the coco levy funds for the direct benefit of the farmers,” stressed Villar. President Benigno Aquino III signed last month the two EOs that provided the administrative guidelines on the coco levy funds, which the Supreme Court

allowed to be used by the national government in a ruling issued last December 2014. “We are glad to share the priority of this administration to resolve the decadeslong issue on the use of the coco levy assets for the benefit of 3.5 million coconut farmers and the development of the coconut industry,” said Villar. Villar said the President’s orders conforms with her desire for the Commission on Audit, the PCGG and the Philippine Coconut Authority to conduct a joint audit and inventory of all coconut levy assets.

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

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OPINION

CHASING HAPPY ADELLE CHUA

36 QUESTIONS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

BOTCHED MESSAGES BEFORE the Lenten holidays and during the graduation season, we saw at least three examples of graduation messages go awry. First, a high school salutatorian was stopped by school administrators to deliver the rest of her Welcome Remarks. The girl did something other than welcome parents and guests to their graduation; she ranted about how the school used unfair academic measures and gave the top award to another student when it should have been her. Because the video went viral online, the matter came to the attention of the Education Department which ordered an investigation. The girl’s teachers countered that she had always been overly grade conscious and defended their decision to make someone else valedictorian. The ensuing commentary on social media consisted of advice to the girl to let the matter go and change her mindset that grades are everything—because they aren’t. The second graduation incident was an invitation by a Manila university to its alumna to be guest of honor and speaker for the PhD and MA graduates. The alumna, now a doctor at an international humanitarian medical team based in France, decided to fly back to the Philippines for the event. When the school asked if it could have an advance copy of her speech, she said she did not have it yet because she was still going to write it during her long flight home. The university then sent her a note—a rude one clothed in attempts at politeness -- telling her it was canceling the invitation because she would not give a copy of her speech. The doctor turned to social media to vent her anger and frustration. Is not an invitation a sign of complete confidence in whatever a person decides to speak about and the and manner he or she wishes to conduct that speech? Aren’t guests of honor entitled to a bit of, well, honor, and respect? Finally, there is a congressman’s atrocious use of the English language in congratulating his city’s graduates in a written message. The rambling, convoluted sentences make us wonder, reading word after painful word, why the politician did not just use a simple subject-verb structure, write in Tagalog, or even employ a quality-control staff member for the purpose instead. Whatever good intentions the congressman may have had—assuming he was sincere —for his district’s graduates were thus lost in the language. If speech, spoken or written, were indeed a window into one’s mind, then we can imagine with horror what this congressman’s mind is like. These anecdotes remind us that while graduations are supposed to be conventional ceremonies that bring students from one stage of their life to another, such ceremonies are not immune to surprises. Whether we react to such surprises with amusement, compassion, humor, or disdain depends on our willingness to discover yet more things about human nature.

HOLY WEEK TRADITIONS ARE WE THERE YET? BONG C. AUSTERO WE’VE always made it a tradition to prepare something—a vegetable dish or native delicacy—on Good Friday to share with some of our neighbors in San Andres, Manila. In our hometown in Leyte, this tradition is observed by almost everyone so much so that between 11:00 am

and 1:00 pm on Good Friday, the streets would be full of people walking to and fro, with various containers of food in their hands. This tradition was supposed to have been inspired by the miracle of the Last Supper when bread and fish was multiplied as an act of sharing. Thus, when families sat down for lunch on Good Friday, they invariably sat down to a feast of vegetable and fish dishes and a selection of delectable desert. I know—people in

other places fast on Good Friday. To our credit, we can insist that at least the feast is 100% vegetarian. I haven’t been home for Holy Week for almost a decade already but I have always missed our town’s Good Friday tradition. I’ve always had this hankering for various types of guinataan and other types of kakanin on Good Friday. So in the last two years, we’ve been sending out kakanin to our neighbors - just out of habit without really ex-

They become part of who we are and will always help explain our current values and beliefs. pecting anything in return. Imagine our surprise last Friday when the neighbors reciprocated. I learned, however, while trawling the net that the tradition of sharing food on Good Friday is actually observed in many provinces,

although not in an organized way as it is in my hometown. I noted quite a number of friends posted photos of delicacies (mostly variations of guinataan), which they said they also also shared with their relatives and friends. I also came across many posts

where people reminisced about traditions that marked the way they celebrated the Holy Week in their respective towns and provinces. When I was growing up, all the boys in our town spent a good part of Good Friday preparing pala-pala, a bamboo instrument that made a loud clacking sound. It was the sound of the pala-pala that accompanied the Good Friday proces-

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sion around town. Visita Iglesia was not yet in vogue when I was growing up, although the different barangays and the various sociocivic and religious organizations took turns doing vigil of the Santo Entierro at the main church. The whole town would come out barefoot on Black Saturday morning to do the Stations of the Cross all over the poblacion. A live reenactment of the passion of Christ was

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part of the activity. For most of us kids, Easter Sunday was noteworthy for being the day when we finally got to eat meat after one whole week of subsisting on fish and vegetables. For me, however, Easter Sunday held a special significance. From the time I was four years old up until I was in Grade four, I played a special role in the dawn Easter Sunday Continued on A6

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THE 20 questions raised last week by the Makabayan bloc in Congress to President Aquino reminded me of a set of questions made popular earlier this year by a series of articles in The New York Times. These questions have nothing to do with politics, warfare or counterterrorism. On the contrary, they are the most personal questions one may ever come across. The idea is to put two people together in a room, have them take turns answering the 36 questions and then look into each other’s eyes for four minutes straight. The questions, designed by psychologist Arthur Aron, are collectively called The Intimacy Accelerator and have been shown to make those strangers fall in love with each other. The actual name of the experiment is “The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness” and the paper was published in 1997 in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. A pair of subjects in the Aron study were “successful”; they invited everybody from the psych lab to their wedding six months after going through with the experiment. The questions get progressively probing, beginning with “given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?”, moving on to “If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?” and “When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?” to describing one’s relationship with one’s mother. (The questions are found in this link http://www.nytimes. com/2015/01/11/fashion/no-37-bigwedding-or-small.html) Mandy Len Catron, a writer and creative writing professor, decided to try the experiment so she could write about it. At the onset, her situation deviated from the conditions in the study. For example, the man she dated was not a total stranger - he was a casual acquaintance at the university where they both worked. She was familiar with the things he posted on Instagram. They also were not in a lab but in a crowded bar. When she told him about the questions, he agreed to answer them with her. Continued on A6 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors P. Palacios News Editor FrancisJoel Lagniton News Editor Francis Lagniton Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares CityCity Editor Arman Armero Senior Deskman Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Leo A. Estonilo Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Romel J. Mendez ArtPhotographer Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

CHASING HAPPY ADELLE CHUA

36 QUESTIONS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

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Ma. Editha D. Angeles Advertising Manager Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

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OUR SEVEN LAST WORDS By Juan Alvin Tiamson AS the Lenten Season culminates, let us, in the context of current events in the country, look upon the last expressions of Jesus, who, being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow as stated in Sacred Scripture, has words that resonate and still apply in any time, place, and manner. First, as a nation, we collectively plead, “Father, forgive us, for we don’t know what we are doing.” We continue to vote for the incompetent, the corrupt, the foolish. We easily forget the sins of the past, putting people we have discarded into new pedestals of power. We don’t plan for the future of our youth, leaving them to fill slavewage work in foreign shores. And many of us continue to be indifferent to whatever happens in this country. We still hope for a better future, though, because we know that the moment we accept these faults and seek your face, we’ll have that chance to hear you say, “Today, you shall be with me in Paradise.” But utopia for this land remains elusive. Therefore, we also beseech our

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own country: Oh, Motherland, here are your sons and daughters! Continue to shelter us in your arms; and to the children of this nation, here is your Mother Philippines! Take care of her, nurture her, defend her from territory-grabbing beasts; and protect her till the end of your days. And to most leaders past and present of our beloved nation, we cry, “Why have you forsaken us?” Why have you left us to wallow in poverty? Why are you so far away when we groan for help as we face the daily grind in hospitals, in schools, in workplaces? Why have you abandoned us in broken-down shanties after we were washed away by tempests? Why have you left us to die in cornfields as we were fighting for you and for your children? We called on you, our dear leaders, but you did not answer. We thus say in unison, “We thirst.” We thirst for a better life for every Filipino. We thirst for justice for ourselves and for the

victims of countless crimes and massacres. We thirst for genuine and inclusive peace. We thirst for the end of contractualization and slavery in factories and malls. We thirst for efficient transportation and inexpensive communication. We thirst for the true path of clean governance, for sincere leaders who’ll guide us in the coming decades. And so we ask ourselves, “When can we say that ‘It is finished? That we have done our task of nationbuilding? That we have fulfilled our responsibilities as leaders and citizens?” It will not be easy. But our resilience as a people will pull us through. “We therefore offer into your hands, O Lord, our future as a nation. Into your care we entrust the Spirit of our beloved nation. As we continue to be strong in the face of the crosses of incompetence, crookedness, crime, and other evils, we believe that eventually, you will help us attain our much-awaited resurrection.” Mr. Tiamson is an educator and writer.

IS THE WEST READY FOR MORE MUSLIMS? By Christopher Flavelle BY 2050, the number of Muslims worldwide will grow by 70 percent, outpacing every other religion and matching Christianity as the world’s most numerous faith. That rate of growth means that by midcentury, 1 in 10 people in France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. will be Muslims. That’s according to a Pew Research Center study released last week, which looked at the age distribution, fertility and mortality rates, and patterns of migration and conversion of the world’s religious groups. The study projects that by 2050, 30 percent of the global population will be Muslim—all but equal to the 31 percent that Pew projects will be Christian. An additional 15 percent will be Hindu, 5 percent Buddhist and 0.2 percent Jewish. That shift will be especially pronounced in Western countries, many of which will see the share of their population that is Muslim double, and in some cases triple, over the course of just two generations. In a perfect world, that trend would be welcomed as an addition to the rich diversity of cultures and beliefs that make up any pluralistic liberal society. In practice, it will probably increase the strain on countries whose self-image of tolerance has clashed with the reality of lingering prejudice and unease toward people who are different.. Take Italy, where two in three respondents told Pew last year that they have unfavorable views of Muslims, and the government of the Lombardy region passed regulations in January that restrict the building of mosques.

Holy Week..From A4

Managing those tensions will only get more important: The share of Italy’s population that is Muslim is projected to roughly triple, to 9.5 percent, by 2050. Or Germany, where a court last month lifted a ban on teachers wearing headscarves, yet marches by the anti-Muslim group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West draw thousands of supporters. The share of Germany’s population that is Muslim is projected to double, to 10 percent, by 2050. Or France, where a Muslim woman told a BBC reporter after the Charlie Hebdo shootings that being rejected by her country because of her faith is “like being rejected by your mother,” and others said the French “would rather we have blond hair and blue eyes.” The share of France’s population that is Muslim is projected to increase 45 percent by 2050. Or Canada, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Parliament last month that the niqab is “rooted in a culture that is anti-woman.” His government is fighting to prevent immigrants from wearing the niqab while taking their oaths of citizenship. The share of Canada’s population that is Muslim is projected to almost triple by 2050. Those divisions and prejudices may have been inflamed by the rise of Islamic State, the attacks in Paris, the flood of refugees from Syria, a weak economy and any number of other challenges. But prejudice—whether its targets are Muslims, Jews or any other religious group—doesn’t need much of an excuse. If Pew’s projections are right, countering that prejudice is going to get more important. Bloomberg

salubong (the meeting of the risen Christ and the Virgin Mother). I was the angel tasked to lift the black veil that shrouded the Virgin Mother and symbolized grief and sorrow. Once the veil was lifted, a choir of little girls would sing the Regina Coeli and the whole procession would return joyfully to church for the Easter Mass. The salubong has understandably acquired better production values today thanks to more advanced audio-visual technology as well as pneumatic tools. The designated angels are now fitted with harnesses, or placed in trucks or forklifts that go up or down easily. During my time, the whole theatrical production would probably qualify a citation from the Department of Labor for working conditions unsafe for children. I was either tied to a makeshift swing, or placed inside a basket, or even simply lowered from a balcony window by someone clutching at my garments. In one occasion, we had to repeat the whole salubong because I accidentally lifted the Virgin’s crown and hair along with the veil. The Holy Week, which ends today, is not just a religious celebration. We are all shaped by the many traditions that we were exposed to growing up. They become part of who we are and will always help explain our current values and beliefs.

36..From A5 Her essay “To fall in love with anyone, do this” appeared in the Modern Love column of the Times on January 9 this year. They did fall in love, but Catron does not credit the experiment entirely. She noted that the questions did foster vulnerability, trust and intimacy, and at an alarming rate. She also discovered that while she liked learning about herself through her answers, she genuinely liked learning about her partner more. *** And then, Catron’s essay—and the questions—became viral. Somebody developed an app for it. It inspired an entire episode of The Big Bang Theory (it’s Sheldon and Penny who answer the questions). Couples across the world tried the experiment on their own—out of curiosity or desperation, one could not tell. Catron and her partner went out for pizza one night and found the couple next to them answering the 36 questions she had written about just weeks before. This column you are reading now is occasioned by those accelerators. The main questions arising from those questions is whether intimacy can really be accelerated, or whether this was just another pop-psych scheme to generate reader attention. It becomes easy to forget that the kind of intimacy fostered by the questions (okay, except the four-minute staring game) does not only apply to romantic dalliances but also to friendships. Can one really make friends with somebody and then feel as though one has known that person for a long time? Or meet somebody in a train, in “Before Sunrise” fashion, and be immediately drawn to him or her? Conversely, can one know somebody for decades and still feel like he or she is a stranger? The real point of the questions, Catron seems to say, is not to find a mate, per se, but to appreciate the joy of knowing and being known by another human being. As to acceleration—time may not be necessary in forming/ occasioning/ generating closeness. It is, however, crucial in keeping them. Time will test whether the ordinariness and the dissimilarities that are bound to emerge can challenge the bonds formed in the beginning, no matter how powerful, or magical, or mind-blowing they appeared to be. We don’t want the President’s handlers to get crazy ideas and make him answer these questions instead, if only in a bid to boost his sagging popularity. Horrors! Happy Easter, dear readers. May you form the bonds—and I mean all kinds—that will remind you how beautiful it is to know, and be known. adellechua@gmail.com

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CORDILLERA TAXI-FARE CUT OKAYED By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY—The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board has approved a provisional reduction of P5.00 in the flagdown rate of air-conditioned and nonair-conditioned taxi services in the Summer Capital and the rest of the Cordillera Administrative Region. LTFRB chairman Winston M. Ginez said the P5 provisional cut will only apply to the flagdown rate of P35.00. The old rate of P2 for every succeeding 200 meters will remain in effect, he said. Ginez said the order will take effect upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation of general or local circulation in CAR prior to its implementation. “The Board is fully cognizant of the peculiar circumstances attendant to the Cordillera Administrative Region. In contrast to Metro Manila and other regions, public thoroughfares in CAR are characterized by mountainous terrain and bad road conditions in addition to its distinctly cold climate,” Ginez stressed in his order. Likewise, the LTFRB official pointed out that during the last fare increase for taxi service granted by the Board, taxi operators in CAR had filed a separate petition for fare increase which was lower than the flagdown rate in other provinces and cities. Earlier, the Baguio-La TrinidadItogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) Taxi League filed a motion for reconsid-

eration before the LTFRB seeking a review of the order dated March 6, 2015 and supplemental order dated March 10, 2015 mandating a P10.00 reduction in the flagdown rate of all air-conditioned and airport taxis in the different parts of the country. On March 6, 2015, the LTFRB ordered the provisional reduction of P10 in the existing flagdown rate of P40 of all air-conditioned taxi services, including airport taxi services in the Philippines. Subsequently, the Board issued a supplemental order clarifying that the provisional reduction of P10 shall be deducted from the existing flagdown rates authorized in its region. Taxi operators and drivers in the city were confused during the implementation of the P10 provisional reduction on the existing flagdown rate after the Cordillera office of the Public Transport Affairs Office (PTAO-CAR) issued notices to them that the LTFRB decision did not cover taxi services in the city and the Cordillera. However, such notice was immediately withdrawn after the LTFRB issued a another order clarifying the rate cut.

IN MOURNING. Women garbed in black stand and weep in front of the im-

age of Jesus Christ during the Sto. Entierro Procession in Polangui, Albay on Good Friday. Sto. Entierro is a solemn event where thousands of Catholic devotees walk barefoot throughout the procession. DANNY PATA

MONTHLY PERKS SOUGHT FOR MISSING WORKERS’ KIN

(TS-MAR. 29 & APR. 5, 2015)

A LAWMAKER has sought a monthly income benefit for the families of employees who have gone missing and are in danger of death due to work-related causes. Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar of Diwa party-list filed House Bill 5558 or the proposed “Missing Employees Compensation Act,” acknowledging the policy of the State to provide relief and protection to distressed workers and their families. The congressman, vice chairperson of the Committees on Human Rights and on Transportation, said while the

State mandates compensation of benefits to families of employees who died or were disabled while in the course of their duties or employment, this leaves a grey area where a family of an employee, who has gone missing due to work related causes, gets nothing at all. Aglipay-Villar said this situation is all the more unconscionable because those whose loved ones are missing are, in some ways, worse off than those whose loved ones have died or become disabled as they lack the continued survival in the latter case, and the sense of closure and finality in the former case. Maricel V. Cruz

A8 TuTuban bids To be railway Transfer sTaTion THE Department of Transportation and Communications, Philippine National Railways, and Tutuban Properties Inc. have signed a memorandum of agreement on the completion of the government’s North-South Railway Project within six months. Under the agreement signed last April 1, the NSRP will involve the construction of the North Line (Phase 1), a 37-kilometer elevated commuter railway from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila, and a South Line (Phase 2), a 653-kilometer railway from Tutuban, Manila to Legazpi City, Albay. The NSRP Transfer Station will be located at Tutuban Center which will put it in the forefront of this massive railway transport project of the government. “This development cannot come at a more perfect time with Tutuban Center’s mother company, Prime Orion Philippines, Inc. (Prime Orion) that recently celebrated its 25th year of being publicly-listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange, baring their plan to pursue the expansion in the leasable space of Tutuban Center,” said Yuen Po Seng, president and chief executive officer of Prime Orion. Around 40,000 square meters (sqm) of leasable space will be added to Tutuban Center in the next two to three years from its current 60,000 sqm leasable space, Seng said in a statement. The LRT Line 2 west extension will also be extended up to the Manila port area, and will have one of its major stations right in front of Tutuban Center, he said. The LRT Line 2 Station will then interconnect with the NSRP Transfer Station and Tutuban Center. This will facilitate the transfer of passengers from the NSRP to the LRT Line 2 and vice versa. Based on initial studies made for the NSRP, the interconnection is expected to bring in additional 400,000 foot traffic per day to Tutuban Center’s area.

SUNDAY: APRIL 5, 2015

editorial@the standard.com.ph

P100-m ‘sweetener’ for sugar scholars By maricel V. Cruz

A totAl of P100 million in annual grant has been earmarked for college and post-graduate students who can contribute to the country’s sugar industry, a House official said on Saturday. House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Gerard Anthony Gullas Jr. of Cebu said the new Sugarcane Industry Development Law mandates an annual allocation of P100 million for scholarships meant to develop the human resources needed to boost the sector’s productivity. Republic Act 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Law will take effect on April 16. “Students taking up courses in agriculture,

agricultural engineering and mechanics, chemical engineering/sugar technology and related fields may qualify for scholarships,” P100M yearly set for sugar industry scholars Gullas said. “Scholarships will also be available to finance relevant vocational courses and skills development for cane farmers and farm technicians, along with workers in sugar mills, refineries, distilleries and biomass power generating plants running on bagasse and trash,” Gullas, vice chair of the House committee on higher and technical education,” said. Backed by 762,000 farmers and workers, the sugar industry contributed some P88 billion to the national economy in 2014. Annual national output of the commodity is around 2.4 million metric tons, of which up to 10 percent is exported, mainly to the United States, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

Gullas earlier disclosed that three out of every five Filipino high school graduates will be unable to proceed to college, mainly because of financial hardship. To ease the problem, Gullas favors the appropriation of up to P11 billion to jumpstart more public-funded college scholarships, grants-in-aid, study-now-pay-later plans and low-cost student loans under the proposed Unified Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education (UniFAST). The Senate is set to approve on second reading the UniFAST bill, which the House earlier passed on third and final reading. The Senate version of the bill that will be sent to the floor seeks to allocate an additional P11 billion for scholarships. “We support the Senate’s initiative to set aside fresh funding for all forms of government-sponsored financial aid programs for college students from marginal households,” Gullas said.

Ready foR the hunt. youngsters are amused by a giant egg which a Quezon City mall has prepared for easter sunday. manny PalmeRo

Tollway-harbor link in full swing

BRaCInG foR the StoRm. fishermen in legazpi

City albay move their wooden boats to higher ground as typhoon Chedeng poses a threat. bicol region was placed under storm signal number 2 as of press time saturday . danny Pata

AN increasing number of motorists are now using Segment 9 of the North Luzon Expressway-Harbor Link road project which is now operating in full swing following its soft opening on March 19. Segment 9 is a new 2.42-kilometer tollway that links NLEX from the Smart Connect Interchange to MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, Valenzuela City. It is the second component of NLEX Phase 2, the ambitious road expansion project of the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), builder and concessionaire of NLEX, that aims to make the expressway more accessible to motorists. “Traffic volume has steadily risen from about 1,000 to 7,000 vehicles a day as more and more motorists discover the convenience and shorter travel times this new tollway makes possible,” Rodrigo E. Franco, MNTC

president and CEO, said. Built at a cost of P1.59 billion, Segment 9 provides motorists on NLEX with a direct route to the CaloocanMalabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (CAMANAVA) district as well as the Port Area where Manila’s premier harbors are located. “Vehicles going to CAMANAVA via NLEX can now take the west-bound ramp of the Smart Connect Interchange, proceed through Segment 9 and take MacArthur Highway instead of exiting at the Valenzuela Interchange and passing through the congested Maysan Road,” Franco pointed out. “Vehicles going to the Port Area can take the same route and pass by Monumento in Caloocan instead of exiting at Balintawak and going through trafficheavy EDSA.” Meanwhile, an increasing number of motorists have also been using the

Segment 9-Smart Connect Interchange link as a traffic-free “short cut” from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to Karuhatan, Valenzuela and vice versa. MNTC is projecting traffic volume to reach 27,000 vehicles daily during the new tollway’s initial year. Segment 9 is expected to greatly facilitate the movement of people and goods between Central and North Luzon and Metro Manila, particularly the CAMANAVA district as well as the Port Area. “By linking NLEX and MacArthur Highway, we foresee increased economic activities in these areas since it will improve transport logistics through the more efficient movement of trucks,” Franco said. The economic benefits Segment 9 will bring are expected to increase further when Segment 10 of the NLEX Harbor Link is finished in late 2016.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK SUNDAY: APRIL 5, 2015

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

BUSINESS

BRAZILIAN STUNNER

BRIGHTENS

FILIPINO HOMES

Philips tornado bulb

by Jennifer ambanta

Living healthy, eﬃciently, and happy—that is how Fabia tettero-Bueno describes the vision of Philips electronics in its pursuit to innovate the lives of millions of Filipinos.

Philips Electronics country manager for the Philippines Fabia Tettero-Bueno

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Standing nearly six-feet tall, Fabia glows with grace and pleasant personality. Beyond the physical appearance, the Brazilian stunner captivates the heart of Filipinos for being a respected and cause-oriented business leader. She is the country manager of Philips Electronics in the Philippines and the general manager for lighting at Philips Lighting. Philips is in the forefront of developing and promoting energy-eﬃcient lightings, as a way of conserving energy. Fabia says switching to LED lights will help Filipino households cut electricity bill and the whole country to avoid an energy crisis. She speaks English, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish. She is a board member of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the Philippines Lighting Association. On March 28, she joined the observance of the Earth Hour in Quezon City and encouraged Filipinos to save energy by switching to energyeﬃcient LED lights. Fabia says her business philosophy is to understand the customers, which is why half of her day at work is spent checking Philips’ showrooms and listening to customer feedbacks. “I always tell my team to go

out and be where the customers are,” she says. “I want them to be properly equipped to win in the market,” Fabia says. Fabia says her strategy is not to micro-manage her staff, but to give them the skills that will allow them to work individually with little supervision. Born and raised in Son Paulo, Brazil, Fabia’s taste buds soon discovered the culinary treasures of the Philippines.

Everyone one has a part to play in energy conservation.

“The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish while Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese, so the food choices are pretty much the same,” she says. Fabia says among other dishes, she likes Cebu lechon the most, with monggo soup. “And dulce de leche [for dessert],” she says. Fabia says as she loves to eat Filipino food. It is a must for her to get into a fitness club. “I go to the gym three to four CONTINUED ON B3

SUNDAY: APRIL 5, 2015

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

Lamudi Philippines managing director Jacqueline van den Ende

FoodPanda Philippines co-founder and chief executive Mauro Cocchieri and Easy Taxi Philippines country manager Daniel Torres.

3 CEOs Establish Manila’s

sECrEt dining sOCiEty

Internet ventures under the rocket Internet group have recently organized and hosted what was dubbed the first secret dining society in Metro Manila. The event sought to display the capability of online businesses in fetching a taxi cab, finding a good location and ordering great food. “We have the perfect ingredients to host the first secret dining society in the Philippines,” says Jacqueline van den Ende, the Dutch managing director of Lamudi Philippines. “We have a big mix of people here. We figure that with the Rocket Internet ventures such as Lamudi for online real estate, we have the location. We have Easy Taxi, which could car pool people towards the venue and FoodPanda, which can supply the food,” says van den Ende. Lamudi is an online real estate website, while FoodPanda is an online food ordering platform. Easy Taxi is a mobile application for booking taxi cabs. “Our dream is that it will become a recurring series of events. Together, we will explore the most surprising places, the most exciting places in the Philippines. So expect more from secret dining society, which is an opportunity to find and meet new people,” she says. Rocket CEOs Van den Ende, a former investment banker along

with Italian Mauro Cocchieri, chief executive of FoodPanda Philippines and Colombian Daniel Torres, country manager of Easy Taxi have teamed up to host the first secret dining society at the Sky Lounge of Beacon Makati’s 47-story Roces Tower at the corner of Don Chino Roces and Arnaiz Avenue. “We basically realize that we are all part of Rocket Internet group. Rocket Internet group is a German company and it is the world’s largest incubator of online startups,” says van den Ende. Lamudi chose the location for the event. Easy Taxi provided the door-to-door transportation while FoodPanda tapped Relik Tapas Bar to serve the food. Organizers say the event marks the start of an enthralling series of dinners that will showcase both the Philippines’ gastronomic delights and breathtaking destinations. The three companies held a competition over Facebook to allow people to win a seat in the secret dining society. Private vehicles from Easy Taxi’s experimental Easy Plus+ service

Members of the First Secret Dining Society in the Philippines

were used to transport guests from a designated pick up point to the venue. “We wanted everyone to have a great night, and take away the burden of traveling to and from the location for the guests. We organized pickup locations in well-known places, and coordinated closely with our drivers and the guests in ensuring everyone got a ride to the venue,” says Torres. Relik served items such as mini mushroom tarts and pesto cream cheese, grilled tanigue white bean and chorizo stew and roasted

vegetable quinoa. Foodpanda also teamed up with Patron and Wine Depot to serve drinks. “The whole event went very smoothly. Everyone loved the venue, and enjoyed the meal that Relik Tapas Bar provided. It was a great opportunity to show off the various types of cuisines we have in the country,” says Cocchieri. Secret dining “What is a secret dining society? It is basically a dinner, where people are invited and the location is secret. It is a surprise. You meet new people, in a new location. The basic thing is that

there are surprise elements to the event,” says van den Ende. “Locations include top of the building, by the park, anywhere basically,” she says. Rocket Internet AG is the group behind some of the most successful online ventures in emerging markets. In the Philippines, it launched successful websites such as Zalora, Lazada, Lamudi, Easy Taxi, FoodPanda, Carmudi, PricePanda, Tripda and ClickBus. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company acquired a 10-percent stake in Rocket Internet for 333 NEXT PAGE

SUNDAY: APRIL 5, 2015

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

3 CEOS ESTABLISH MANILA’S SECRET DINING SOCIETY FROM B2

million euros last year, but the stake has been diluted to about 8 percent as market valuation of Rocket Internet surged. PLDT and Rocket Internet AG also formed a new joint venture called Philippines Internet Group to create and develop online businesses in the Philippines. Van den Ende, an active surfer, says the Philippines has good properties and locations that will support the continuous growth of the real estate sector. “We have over 100,000 properties on our website [lamudi.com.ph],” she says. “Last year, we had an island leased out through Lamudi, which was valued at P80 billion. Fuga Island in Cagayan was leased out to an American investor,” she says. “We have private islands. We also have social housing. Most properties are in the range of 1 to 5 million, or basically mid-range. We also have high-value properties

it is basically a dinner, where people are invited and the location is secret. it is a surprise. you meet new people in a new location.

at Forbes [Park] worth P300 million. We have 10 private islands for sale,” says van den Ende. 100,000 properties She says Lamudi has listings for more than 100,000 properties in the Philippines. “Basically, you can browse or search through filters. We have only licensed brokers and that is very important in real estate, because it increases the trust factor,” she says. Lamudi has 1,000 licensed brokers, who pay for subscription. “Over one year, we grew from zero to 800,000 visitors per month. In November, there were 400,000 visitors. So we doubled in the first quarter of the year. We have 100,000 postings and 1,000 brokers, all in one year. We have grown very, very fast. The market itself will expand. We have 100 million Filipinos. There must be more than 100,000 properties,” she says. “The number of people looking for properties online is going to grow. It is really just the start or in the early stage of development. It is going to grow fast in the next three years,” says van den Ende. Taxi booking Meanwhile, Torres, the Colombian country manager of Easy Taxi, says the mobile taxi booking application has made fetching and riding a taxi cab safer and more convenient in the Philippines. Easy Taxi is also in the experimental stage for Easy Plus+ service, which involves deploying brand-new private vehicles to pick up passengers. “It is a service we are trying out. We haven’t even formally launched anything,” he says. “What we see is the need for this type of service in Manila. People are looking for safety, people are looking to mobilize quickly, and not under the sun or under the rain for a long time. Our demand is very high,” says Torres. “What we are trying to do is add cars to serve more demand and to accommodate as many passengers as possible. We are trying to improve the service overall,” he says. Rocket’s expansion Rocket Internet plans to expand its operations in the country to take advantage of the growing population of smartphone users. “In the Philippines, Internet penetration grew from 7 percent in 2008 to 40 percent right now. That growth was super big, same with mobile. The Philippines has the fastest growing mobile Internet penetration rate in the world,” says van den Ende. “Something big will happen in the next six weeks. The Philippines is a priority country for Rocket Internet because it has so much potential,” she says. roderick t. dela Cruz

Philips consumer products

BRAZILIAN STUNNER BRIGHTENS FILIPINO HOMES FROM B1

times a week,” she says. On weekends, Fabia enjoys the underwater world with her husband during diving sessions. “I can only go as deep as 20 meters,” she says, “because I have asthma, so I am scared to go deeper.” She has explored many diving sites such as Anilao, Dumaguete and Apo Island in Negros Oriental. “My favorite is Coron, Palawan but I learned how to dive in Sabang Island,” she says. Aside from the open water, she has also explored mountains in Luzon such as Mt. Makiling in Laguna and Mt. Pinatubo in Tarlac. Fabia is a warm person who also loves animals; she is both a cat and a dog person as she has taken care of both as house companions. “I had a dog, a Labrador. But he was hit by a bus and that still gives me nightmares,” she says. “That is why, my husband gave me cats.” The cats, Quinty and Jumper, travelled with Fabia from Brazil to Germany, from Germany to Holland, from Holland to China, and finally the Philippines, where she leads various business units of Philips. “My cats don’t like to see the cage. Seeing the cage means, we will have to move again. They don’t like

that,” she says, with a slight laugh. Fabia jokingly says her cats also have passports and are even called by some friends as “expats”. In her line of work, Fabia says they move every two to three years, or as the job requires them to transfer from one country to another, considering the extent of Philipp’s influence in the global market for appliance and healthcare machineries. Because of this influence, Philips recently launched its energy saving campaign dubbed as “May Magagawa Ka.” The campaign aims to pose a challenge for Filipinos to stand up against the looming power crisis by conserving power. “The goal of the campaign is to call people to a challenge, that everyone one has a part to play in energy conservation,” she says. The campaign starts with smarter energy choices. According to Fabia, lighting plays a big role in this and the simple act of switching to LEDs goes a long way in energy savings. Philips is also to visit the Visayas and Mindanao to bring the campaign to Filipinos to the southern part of the country after the Easter Holidays. Aside from the energy saving advocacy, Philips is actively participating in forums that will help increase awareness in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and breast cancer. “We want to help people know that these diseases can be prevented,” Fabia says. Growing up with four brothers, Fabia did not mind working for an industry manned by men, as manufacturing industry is still considered a man’s turf. “I have brothers and I am the only girl. I am the oldest,” she says. “I grew up around many men. To work with men has never been an issue for me,” she says. Fabia says her expertise is marketing. “A marketer can handle different product lines. Lighting is interesting, in my view, because with a switch of a bulb, we can help save energy for the next generations. Great inspiration for a marketer,” she says.

to work with men has never been an issue for me.

world

a man is consoled after seeing the body of a relative killed by somalia’s shebab islamists at a Kenyan university, outside the chiromo funeral parlour in the Kenyan capital, nairobi, on april 3, 2015. the bodies of dozens of students massacred by somalia’s shebab islamists at a Kenyan university in Garissa arrived in the capital today, as grieving relatives faced a desperate wait to receive the remains of their loved ones. AFP

‘Gentle’ ex-teacher accused as mastermind of kenyan massacre Kenyan police have named homegrown militant Islamist Mohamed Mohamud, a quietly spoken former teacher, as the alleged mastermind of the massacre of 148 people in a university in Garissa. Known also by the alias Kuno, as well as ‘Dulyadin’ and ‘Gamadhere’—meaning “long armed” and “ambidextrous”—the alleged Shebab member is also wanted in connection with a string of recent cross-border killings and massacres in Kenya’s northeastern border region. Police have offered a 20 million shilling ($215,000, 200,000 euro)

bounty for information leading to his capture. Mohamud is a Kenyan national and an ethnic Somali—like more than two million other Kenyans or some six percent of the population. The minority mainly lives in the country’s vast, impoverished and arid northeast, where Garissa is one of the largest towns. Kenya’s ethnic Somali region

is also claimed by the Shehab as part of Somalia itself, and has long been lawless, including the brutal secessionist 1963-1967 “Shifta war”. While Mohamud did not take part physically in the Garissa attack, students who survived the massacre described the attackers as men like him: speaking Kenya’s Swahili language well, with some suggesting they may have been Kenyan too. The poster of Mohamud shows a slender man with a short beard. Kenyan police sources say he used to teach in a madrassa in Garissa, but later became radicalised

and crossed the porous border into southern Somalia to join the islamic Courts Union, a precursor to the Shebab. An AFP correspondent who met him in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2008 and 2009, when the majority of the city was under Shebab control, said Mohamud was a wellknown and feared commander. He commanded a much feared islamist unit in Mogadishu called the “Jugta-Culus”—or “heavy strikers”, who carried out some of the toughest fighting. Mohamud, however, also appeared in person as educated as well as “quiet and gentle”. AFP

obama,cuba’s castro to ‘interact’ in summit PreSiDenT Barack Obama and Cuban counterpart raul Castro will have an “interaction” when they attend next week’s Summit of the Americas in Panama, a US official said Friday. it will be the first between the two leaders since the historic rapprochement between Havana and Washington. “Clearly President Obama knew when he made the decision to go to the summit, and he knew that Cuba had been invited to the summit... that there would be an interaction,” US State Department official roberta Jacobson said at the Brookings institution. “The leaders are together a lot of the time. And so there will be an interaction with raul Castro,” she added, declining to speculate

about the nature of any possible meeting between the two leaders. But she added Obama’s only confirmed meeting was with Panama leader Juan Carlos Varela. “none of the president’s meetings are scheduled other than his bilateral with President Varela as the host,” she said. “So i don’t know exactly what kind of an interaction that will be. But they’ve obviously already spoken on the phone... and there’s been a lot of interaction since then at a lower level.” in separate remarks, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf expressed skepticism that the thaw in US-Cuba relations may lead to the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington before next week’s summit, which takes place on April 10-11. AFP

us President barack obama greets base personnel and well-wishers upon arrival at hill air force base on april 2, 2015 in utah. AFP

france to ban ultra thin models FrenCH lawmakers on Friday voted to ban ultra-thin models, despite howls of protest from modelling agencies in the world’s fashion capital. The national Assembly lower house of parliament also backed a law making a “retouched photo” tag compulsory when people’s bodies in commercial images are Photoshopped. The aim, the Socialist deputies sponsoring the measures said, is to bring body ideals hawked to the public back to a healthy reality. “Anyone whose body mass index... is below a certain level will not be able to work as a model,” according to the amendment of a bill voted by the lawmakers. Those found employing models considered too thin could be liable for a fine of up to 75,000 euros ($85,000) and six months in prison. “The prospect of such a punishment will have the effect of regulating the entire sector,” said Olivier Veran, the deputy proposing the amendment, who said that similar measures had been taken in Spain, italy and israel. AFP

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WORLD

ArMAN ArMErO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

SAUDI AIR RAIDS TURN BACK YEMENI REBELS

Saudi-led air raids drove back rebels in the last stronghold of Yemen’s absent president Friday, while al-Qaeda militants seized a major army base in the southeast. The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state has sunk further into chaos since the coalition spearheaded by Riyadh launched Operation Decisive Storm on March 26 to try to halt the advance by Shiite Huthi rebels. The turmoil has raised fears that Al-Qaeda will expand its foothold in the deeply tribal country, which borders oil-rich Saudi Arabia and lies near key shipping routes. On Friday the Sunni extremists captured unopposed the regional army headquarters in Mukalla, capital of the southeastern province of Hadramawt, a military official said. They now control nearly all of the city, where they stormed a jail and freed 300 inmates a day earlier. UN aid chief Valerie Amos said Thursday that 519 people had been killed and nearly 1,700 wounded in two weeks of fighting, adding that she was “extremely concerned” for the safety of trapped civilians. Alexey Zaytsev, spokesman for the Russian mission at the United Nations, said the UN Security Council would meet on Saturday at 1500 GMT to discuss a Russian proposal for “possible humanitarian pauses in air strikes”. The conflict has sent tensions soaring between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the foremost Shiite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East. Iran has angrily rejected accusations of arming the rebels, who have allied with military units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

A Yemeni woman holds a rifle during a demonstration against airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led Arab coalition against Huthi militia in the capital Sanaa on April 3, 2015. AFP

After a night of intense coalition bombardment, rebel forces withdrew from President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s palace in Aden, a senior official said. They had captured the hilltop complex a day earlier in a symbolic blow to Hadi, who had already fled to Saudi Arabia.

‘Logistical’ airdrop “The Huthi militia and their allies withdrew before dawn from the Al-Maashiq palace,” said the official in Aden. The rebels retreated to the nearby central district of Khor Maksar, where 12 rebels were reported killed by pro-Hadi militiamen overnight.

The coalition airdropped rifles, ammunition and communications equipment to Hadi supporters in Aden, a port official said. In Riyadh, coalition spokesman General Ahmed Assiri confirmed the parachute drop of “logistical support of all kinds”. AFP

pentaGon chief Visits s. Korea, Japan PENTAGON chief Ashton Carter will travel to Japan and South Korea next week to underscore President Barack Obama’s commitment to a strategic shift towards Asia, even as crises in the Middle East preoccupy Washington. Carter embarks on the first of two trips to Asia on Tuesday, stopping in Tokyo and Seoul before meeting the head of US Pacific Command in Hawaii, officials said. In May, Carter will return to the region for the annual Shangri-La security conference in Singapore followed by a visit to India, which he has worked closely with in the past to bolster defense ties. The two visits in two months to Asia will “affirm defense relationships with allies and build upon key initiatives of the rebalance to the region,” the Pentagon said in a statement. But while Obama has tried to make the Asia-Pacific region a higher priority for US strategy, upheaval across the Middle East —including the rise of Islamic State jihadists—has repeatedly diverted his administration’s attention. Since August, the United States has led a coalition carrying out air strikes against the IS group in Iraq and Syria, and last week Obama approved intelligence and logistical support for a Saudi-led air war in Yemen against Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Before flying to Japan, Carter will deliver a speech on the US “rebalance” to Asia on Monday at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Carter, who took office in February, will stress “the strong link between national security and economic security and the full-court press the administration will continue to take on the rebalance, “ the Pentagon said. AFP

pope prays for persecuted christians THE Pope led Catholics in prayer for persecuted Christians around the world at a Good Friday service in Rome, a day after 148 students and security officers were massacred by Shebab Islamists in Kenya. A small group of believers carried a cross between 14 “stations” evoking the last hours of Jesus’s life during the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession, as the Pope looked on. Tens of thousands gathered for the service, many clutching candles in the imposing surrounds of the Colosseum. “Lord Jesus, inwardly support the persecuted. May the fundamental right to religious freedom spread far and wide,” believers heard in a “meditation” written by Italian bishop Renato Corti. “Men and women are

imprisoned and even killed solely because they are believers or committed to justice and peace. They are not ashamed of the cross. They are outstanding examples to everyone,” Corti’s meditation continued. The procession was led by believers from Iraq, Syria and Egypt -- all of whose minority Christian populations face persecution from armed groups including Islamic State militants -- and Nigeria, where thousands have been murdered by jihadist organisation Boko Haram. The focus on religious persecution came after Thursday’s day-long siege of Garissa University, Kenya’s deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, and the bloodiest ever by the AlQaeda-affiliated militants. Hurling grenades and firing automatic rifles, Shebab

gunmen stormed the university at dawn as students were sleeping, shooting dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage. “In union with all people of good will throughout the world, His Holiness condemns this act of senseless brutality and prays for a change of heart among its perpetrators,” a papal telegram sent earlier on Friday said. Corti’s meditation also contained a passage expressing hope for an end to the death penalty, a long-held position of the Church, and went on to describe paedophilia as “barbaric”. “You have given us immense dignity, you beckon us towards freedom. Free us from all forms of slavery,” the meditation said, in prayer for child soldiers and victims of human trafficking. AFP

Pope Francis looks at the cross during the Celebration of Lord’s passion on Good Friday on April 3, 201 5 at St Peter’s basilica in Vatican. Christians around the world are marking the Holy Week, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, leading up to his resurrection on Easter. AFP

S U N D AY : A P R I L 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

REUEL VIDAL EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

By Reuel Vidal

WITH a feel of inevitability the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters and the Purefoods Star Hotshots seem inexorably headed to another championship showdown in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup. Semifinal opponents Purefoods (then San Mig Super Coffee Mixers) and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters battled for the title last season. But the Elasto Painters and the Star Hotshots look fated to meet in another championship duel this conference. The Star Hotshots have gone to the finals in five of the past eight conferences and won four in a row including the 2014 PBA Grand Slam. The Elasto Painters have gone to the finals four times and won the 2012 PBA Governors’ Cup. This PBA Commissioner’s Cup both teams have virtually overpowered the opposition and tied at the top of the standings after the eliminations. The Elasto Painters managed to return import Dwayne Chism in time to help them top the eliminations after the tie break. The 6’8” Chism is probably the most underrated import this conference. He is neither imposing nor explosive but is efficient and gets the job done for the Elasto Painters whether it’s scoring, grabbing rebounds or defending the big scoring import of the other team. Backing up Chism is arguably the most unstoppable guard in the league in Paul Lee who is too big and too strong to be guarded by other point guards and too wily and slippery to be defended by bigger players. Then there’s the burly pair of Beau Belga and JR Quiñahan who make up for their lack of ceiling by giving the Elasto Painters an inverted offense. Though both big men, the pair are more effective outside shooters instead of post up players. Then there’s the ever-improving Raymond Almazan who has proven to be more pro-ready than either Greg Slaughter or Ian Sangalang, the only two players who were drafted ahead of him during the 2013 PBA Draft. The rest of the squad include old reliables Gabe Norwood, Chris Tiu, Jervy Cruz, Jonathan Uyloan and Ryan Araña. And handling the coaching chores is throwback coach Yeng Guiao who espouses the blood and guts playing style demanded by Sonny Jaworski from his players and who has the Elasto Painters playing like the fiery Ginebra team of old. The Star Hotshots, on the other hand, will be led by returning import Denzel Bowles easily one of the most spectacular imports this conference. The 6’9” Bowles leads a core of veterans which include the most accomplished scorer the

Purefoods Star Hotshots star James Yap (18) explodes past Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters defender Jireh Ybañes (right). With a feel of inevitability the Star Hotshots and the Elasto Painters seem inexorably headed to another championship showdown in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.

RAIN OR SHINE, PUREFOODS TITLE SHOWDOWN LOOMS

Above from left: Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters combo guard Paul Lee (3) squares himself as he takes a jumpshot over Purefoods Star Hotshots defender Justin Melton (2); Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters import Wayne Chism (2) drives strong to the hoop against Barako Bull counterpart Solomon Alabi (left); and Purefoods Star Hotshots import Denzel Bowles (21) ﬁres a jumper over Barako Bull Energy Colas defender Dave Marcelo (10). With a feel of inevitability the Star Hotshots and the Elasto Painters seem inexorably headed to another championship showdown in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.

league has ever seen in James Yap, an equally creative scorer in Peter June Simon, tireless big man Marc Pingris and explosive playmaker Marc Barroca. With a deep bench that includes Joe Devance, Allein Maliksi, Alex Mallari, Justin

Melton, Mick Pennisi and Rafi Reavis, Purefoods head coach Tim Cone has the luxury of resting his best unit for large stretches of the game. With a rested Yap, Simon, Pingris, Barroca and Bowles on the floor at crunch time the Hotshots field a composed and

lethal unit that almost always wins closely contested ball games. The Elasto Painters manhandled the Meralco Bolts 99-86 while the Star Hotshots decisively turned back the challenge of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 100-

94, in their opening games of the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The semifinals may be just starting but already there is a feeling of inevitability that Rain Or Shine and Purefoods will meet in the finals of the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

S U n D aY : a p r i l 5 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

arman armero EDITOR

sports@thestandard.com.ph

DE LUNA UPSEtS VIADO IN MONEY GAME KING BILLIARDS tILt

DOHA Asian Games billiards silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna broke world topranked Filipino pool player Carlo Viado’s rhythm en route to a surprising easy victory, 11-5, during the initial salvo of the 2015 edition oif the King of Sports Money Game King 10-Ball billiards tournament at the KoS Restobar last Wednesday night in Quezon Avenue, QC.

Fresh from his Jakarta 9-ball triumph in Indonesia last February, De Luna took the upperhand in his first two racks in a pair of two clean-ups that put him ahead 2-0 in the early goings. Viado ,who finished runner-up behind Ko Pin Yi of China in the recent Rep. Manny Pagquiao 9-Ball Billiards tilt in General Santos City, got his turn to score in the third rack after de Luna’s dry break and at the seventh rack moved closer, 3-4 in an yellow 8-ball miscue by de Luna to clean it up and made the game exciting for a while. The Marinduque pride De Luna’s power break and precise pocketing in the next five racks put him on a commanding 9-4 edge after a missed jump cue by Viado in the 12th rack. as he cruised into the hill en route to the convincing victory in the race to eleven match organized by billiards patron Perry Mariano and supported by King of Sports Resto Bar. The Money Game King ‘s matches are held every midweek that is participated by the country’s pool sharks led by the original Money Game King and former world champ Dennis Orcollo, Roberto “Superman” Gomez and veteran international campaigner Warren Kiamco among others. DS

Jeff de Luna peforms a difficult jump shot, one of the highlights of his victory over Carlo Viado in the recent KOS Money Game King tournament.

qUiBoL’s passioN for BaskEtBaLL MOnTana Pawnshop, a business and sports vacion, Billy Mamaril,Samigue Eman and now endeavor, traces its humble beginnings in Baran- alaska coach alex Compton. gay Montana in Baclayon town in Bohol, which Quibol’s involvement in basketball has happens to be the birthplace of its owner, busi- extended from forming champion teams to nessman/sports patron armando Quibol. becoming an advocate for the sports he loves. Quibol’s passion for basketball began durIn return for the blessings brought about by ing his high school days in Bgy. Montana his successful business, he continues to and extended into college when he bemaintain basketball teams for kids came a varsity playe for Cebu aerand adults, and even for those onautics College in Cebu City. who had past their prime who Tall, talented and bulky, were given the opportunity to Quibol could have easstill play for fun, health and ily made it as a professional livelihood. player in the Philippine BasQuibol, who will turn 60 ketball association. in June, built a state of the art Instead, he had chosen to Montana Gym atop his buildtemporarily set aside his basing in agdao for his “advoketball career and set up his own cacy” teams, while maintaing a pawning business. That decision competitive team for commercial Armando Quibol proved right, as his Montana Pawnbasketball leagues in Davao and other shop had become one of the leading pawnshop cities in the South. companies in the Visayas and Mindanao and This team is composed of former profesgrew into what is now known as the Montana sional players and a number of collegiate players Group of Companies based in agdao District which had produced several championships for in Davao City. the popular ball club in Davao City which fans Despite his success in business, his love for compare to Barangay Ginebra in the PBafor its basketball has not waned. aside from main- never-say-die attitude in every game. taining a basketball team based in Davao, the “This is my humble way of giving back the Montana Pawnshop had a successful stint in the blessings that God had given me through my Philippine Basketball League (PBL) a decade ago pawnship business. I believe that for the young, and won a string of championships with now pro the adults and even old people, there’s still an players such as Ranidel Ocampo, Gary David, eternity of basketball of basketbll ahead of us,” Mark Macapagal,Jondan Salvador,Sunday Sal- Quibol said. Danny Simon

padiz Backs UNi LEaGUE iN LaGUNa By Danny Simon aT LEaST 14 sports disciplines will be on tap when the University League, a brand-new sports league located in Southern Manila touted to become the biggest school league in this part of the country, opens this summer. The league will be a collaboration between experts in their respective sports disciplines and organizers of the league led by Uni League founding chairman Solomon Padiz, currently the sports director of the De La Salle University Science and Technology in Canlubang, Laguna. Padiz has started the initial planning and Former gymnast Robin Padiz conceptualization of the event along with the various sports experts and has initially identified the sports disciplines that will be played this summer. These are athletics, swimming, basketball, football, volleyball, sepak takraw, jujitsu, arnis, judo, wrestling, chess, softball, baseball, and gymnastics. Padiz ,who is also the president of the Laguna Colleges and Universities athletic association (LaCUaa) also tapped his younger brother Robingen Padiz, a former national men’s gymnastics athlete and coach of the national gymnastics team to join the Uni League. The younger Padiz is a former national Philippine team member in gymnastics who had bagged several medals in various competitions abroad in 1988-1995 such as the International Confederation, asean School Games and Pacific School Games. after his athletic career, Robingen turned into coaching and became one of the youngest international coach who produced honors for the country from 2001-2005]in the Southeast asian Gymnastics Confederation, Singapore Invitational and the american Cup in new York.

SUNDAY: APRIL 5, 2015

Riera U. Mallari EDITOR sports@thestandard.com.ph

Two-time UAAP most valuable player Alyssa Valdez leads the top-notch roster of PLDT Home Ultera. She is expected to get valuable support from former MVP Suzanne Roces, National University ace Jaja Santiago, San Sebastian top hitter Gretchel Soltones and veterans Laurence Ann Latigay, Charo Soriano and Rubie de Leon.

SPORTS

THIS IS

WHERE IT ALL

STARTED GAMES TODAY

12:45 p.m. – Cagayan Valley vs Fourbees 2:45 p.m. – Coast Guard vs Navy 4:45 p.m. – PLDT Home Ultera vs Baguio

A HEAVY three-game bill, featuring six of the country’s top commercial squads, fires off the 12th Shakey’s V-League today (Sunday) at The Arena in San Juan with the Open Conference now the leadoff tournament of the longest-serving women’s volley league in the land. On paper, Cagayan appears to be strong with Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Ma. Angeli Tabaquero, Janine Maricano, Pau Soriano, Shiela Pineda and Rosemarie Vargas bannering the squad.

Cagayan Valley tests Fourbees of Perpetual Help’s mettle in 12:45 p.m.

match to be aired live on GMA News

TV Channel 11 in what looms to be an explosive clash between a former champion out to regain its lofty post and a newcomer raring to prove its worth. The organizing Sports Vision has tweaked its annual calendar and held the Open ahead of the regular First Conference featuring top collegiate teams to give way to give way for the Asian Under-23 women’s championship the country is hosting this May and the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore this June. Top Shakey’s V-League players will also anchor the country’s campaign in the twin regional tournaments. Philippine Coast Guard also hopes to come out strong against Navy in the 2:45 p.m. clash while powerhouse and league presentor PLDT Home Ultera battles Baguio in the 4:45 p.m. main game. Completing the eight-team cast in the league, sponsored by Shakey’s where it all started, are defending champion Philippine Army and Meralco. Matches will be shown on GMA News TV Channel 11 from Mondays to Thursdays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. while Sundays games are aired live at 12:45 p.m., according to the organizing Sports Vision. On paper, Cagayan appears to be strong with Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Ma. Angeli Tabaquero, Janine Maricano, Pau Soriano, Shiela Pineda and Rosemarie Vargas bannering the squad. But the Fourbees of NCAA champion Perpetual Help squad remains upbeat of their chances behind Mary Joy Calleja, Jeannie delos Reyes, Jessica Arceo, Wendy Abcede, Marijo Medalla and Jana Sta. Maria. Focus will also be on PLDT Home Ultera, which boasts of a top-notch roster headed by twotime UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo, former MVP Suzanne Roces, National U ace Jaja Santiago, San Sebastian top hitter Gretchel Soltones and veterans Laurence Ann Latigay, Charo Soriano Rubie de Leon. But Team Baguio is out for a big surprise in the league backed by Mikasa and Accel behind skipper Cindy Benitez, Roxanne Madulid, Edelyn Cartas, Roshelle Degay, Florence Madulid, Krissian Tsuchiya, Clarrisa Tolentino and Coleen Rossi. The Coast Guard-Navy matchup is also expected to be a tossup with the former to be led by Mary Joyce Chu, Nelet Clarete. Mary Rosale, Rossan Fajardo, Cindy Valencia, Arnie Yumul and Lea Acepcion and the latter to be bannered by Norie Diaz, Diane Ticar, Hezzymie Acuña, Lilet Mabbayad, Hannah Velarde and Carissa Martinez. Army, headed by the star-studded crew of Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Nerissa Bautista, Rachel Ann Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Tina Salak and Mary Jean Balse, opens its title defense against Fourbees on Tuesday after the 2 p.m. clash between Navy and Meralco. Format is a single-round robin elims, thus making each game important, with the top four moving into the semifinals, another singleround robin phase. The top two teams will then dispute the crown in a bestof-three series.

S U N D AY : A P R I L 0 5 : 2 0 1 5

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE E D I TOR

glweekend @ gmail.com

The life of Christ has always made for compelling viewing, and the contemplative mood of the Lenten season is the perfect time to catch up on these films:

HEAVY

CLASSIC

The Passion of the Christ (2004) Mel Gibson’s graphic and often violent ode to his own Catholic faith, with Jim Caviezel as Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as the Virgin Mary, covering the final tortuous 12 hours of Christ’s life, based on the Gospels of Luke, Mark, Matthew and John.

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) A blockbuster relating the life of Christ in all its drama and glory, with the Hollywood all-star cast, including John Wayne.

CONTROVERSIAL

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey and David Bowie, it was based on the equally controversial novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantakis, about a man torn by his own earthly desires and his pre-ordained divine destiny.

Jesus of Nazareth (1977) Franco Zifferelli’s miniseries on the life of Christ, covering his life and ministry, from birth to resurrection, brought to life by a stellar cast including Robert Powell as Jesus, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus, Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate, Olivia Hussey as the Virgin Mary, Ernest Borgnine as the Roman Centurion, and a suitably voluptuous Claudia Cardinale as The Adulteress.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) The film adaptation of the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Norman Jewison and starring Ted Neely, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman and Barry Dennen, is a product of its time - this was the era that ushered in Hair and Godspell, after all - yet it remains curiously resonant today. The music is catchy, and some of the numbers are unforgettably zany.

Music by the greats to ponder the Passion of the Christ during this period of introspection. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH St. Matthew Passion St. John Passion Easter Oratorio

EPIC

CAMP

HOLY HOLY HALLELUJAH

SATIRICAL

Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979) Because we all need a little bit of levity even during Lent, and what’s not to guffaw about Monty Python’s religious farce, centered around Brian Cohen, who was born on the exact same day, and next door to, Jesus, and is often mistaken for the Messiah, with hilarious results.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Christ on the Mount of Olives Missa Solemnis GREGORIO ALLEGRI Miserere FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL The Messiah

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY The first time I went to Israel in 1993, travelling across the Jordanian border through the Allenby Bridge, driving past dusty roads through stark sand formations and limestone buildings, sudden patches of green sprouting in the desert landscape, I thought I had died and awakened in a Jesus Christ Superstar theme park. In the northern city of Beit She’an, amidst the crumbling Roman pillars and travertine blocks overgrown with weeds, I imagined Simon Zealotes with his popping eyes bursting out into his manic number, declaring, with the crowd, “Christ you know I love you / Did you see I waved?” In a field of green, I could picture Jesus with the Apostles, passing bread from hand to hand, singing their innocent yet prescient ballad, “Look at all my trials and tribulations / Sinking in a gentle pool of wine / Don’t disturb me

THE VIEW FROM MY IRONY TOWER

now I can see the answers / Till this evening is this morning life is fine…” When our rather militant Zionist guide – recently transplanted from Brooklyn – brought us to The House of Caiaphas, the first thing that came to mind was that reedy, malevolent voice of Annas singing, “Good Caiaphas / the council waits for you / The Pharisees / and priests are here for you…” Almost everywhere I trod in Israel, from the cobbled streets of the Old City of Jerusalem to the eerie calm of Lake Galilee, from the olive groves in the garden of Gethsemane to the desolate stillness of Masada, it was as if the New Testament had come to life, courtesy of an Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical that in turn became a movie. At Masada, in fact, where King Herod maintained one of his many palaces, I practically had to be restrained from breaking out into lyrics from that ludicrously camp number, “So you are the Christ / You’re the great Jesus Christ / Prove to me that you’re no fool / Walk across my swimming pool…”

And, I must confess, I am an atrocious singer. To this day, I can still sing all the words to all the songs from Jesus Christ Superstar without having to glance at Google once for backup. Don’t take it as a testament to my faith; it’s more of a tribute to the pervasiveness of pop culture. Forget all those years of rote Catholic education. There’s nothing like catchy melodies and lyrics delivered with the appropriate dose of camp to render one of history’s most pivotal figures instantly real, making him all too human and relatable. Call me sacrilegious, but I do love my Jesus Christ Superstar sessions during Holy Week. Because, to quote another enduring pop classic, the Bee Gees, “Nobody gets too much heaven no more…” BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE ERRATUM: In last week’s School’s Out issue, we inadvertently forgot to credit Edric Chen for his wonderful cover image. We regret the omission.

SUNDAY : APRIL 05 : 2015

LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE E D I TOR

glweekend @ gmail.com

A S TA N DA R D L I F E S T Y L E E XC L U S I V E

TOUCHING HEAVEN

Eben Alexander, Author, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (Simon & Schuster, 2012) BY MANUEL TEODORO Editor’s Note: This interview, excerpted from a full-length television interview to be broadcast soon throughout Latin America, was conducted and made available exclusively to The Standard by the award-winning Bogota-based Colombian-Filipino journalist Manuel Teodoro. Eben Alexander, M.D., is the neurosurgeon who fell into a coma while suffering from bacterial meningitis. He claims to have had a transcendental Near-Death Experience (NDE), which allowed him a glimpse of heaven, as well as proof of the existence of God and the afterlife. He insists his experience was not a hallucination, as his brain was comatose and incapable of any activity. He wrote about his NDE in the book Proof of Heaven. His latest book is called The Map of Heaven, which touches on meditation and the path to transcendence. “It’s all about how the answers lie within us all,” he says. Alexander’s claims – and his own professional and personal history - are not without controversy, but that hasn’t stopped his book from climbing up the bestseller lists worldwide. MANUEL TEODORO: For the benefit of those in our audience that aren’t completely aware of your story… Run us through, Dr. Alexander, quickly what exactly happened and what the diagnosis was. EBEN ALEXANDER: Okay. It all came on very suddenly and I developed severe back pain, and headaches, and within 2-3 hours had grand mal seizures, was driven deep into coma and I was taken to the emergency room and at that point they determined that I had gram negative bacterial meningitis, which is really about the worst kind of bacterial meningitis you could have. In fact, I was extremely ill from this; my neocortex – the human part of the brain – the last sign of any kind of function of that neocortex was within an hour or so of hitting that emergency room, and from then on, my neocortex was gone. It’s something I came to realize in the months after my coma, trying to analyse and understand it, is that that kind of meningitis is the perfect model for human death, because meningitis attacks the surface of the brain, the outer surface of the neocortex is the part that makes us human. All of human conscious experience, according to conventional neuroscience, demands that that neocortex, or at least some part of that must be active. Everything we see, everything we hear, all of our emotions, falling in love, appreciating a beautiful symphony or sunset, every bit of that demands that the six-layer neocortex – the human part of the brain – be functioning. That’s why it was such a gift that I had a really flagrant case of meningitis that by all accounts should have killed me, and certainly should not have allowed for any rich, elaborate, ultra-real experience like I had deep in coma. MT: Allow me to ask you one really quick question – what were your religious beliefs before and how did heaven play into those beliefs before this happened? EA: Before this coma, I had grown up in a Methodist church in North Carolina, and my father was very religious. He had come from eastern Tennessee. He was very spiritual, he had grown up in the Baptist

church but he was a neurosurgeon, in fact he was an academic neurosurgeon, and he was the chairman of a neurosurgical training program. So he was deeply into science, he was every bit science, but he also had a religious faith. So a lot of that rubbed off on me when I was younger. I wanted to believe what I’d heard in church. But like so many who had grown up in the 60s and 70s, I knew full well that science is the pathway to truth. And I’ll tell you, I am more of a scientist now than I’ve ever been in my life, and I realize that what is happening now is that science needs to greatly expand its boundaries to fully encompass the fundamental role of consciousness and acknowledge that the soul exists. MT: So it would be fair to say you were agnostic before? EA: Yes, for 8 years leading up to coma. And I think that’s important for people to understand. I went into my coma journey open-minded, but certainly not a believer. And my coma journey showed me very clearly that God and that the eternal realm of our eternal spiritual selves are much more real that this. “This” is dreamlike by comparison. And that realm is absolutely, fundamentally rock-solid, that’s our soul home. And that is the most beautiful thing. So in other words when our physical brain and body die, it actually liberates our conscious awareness up to that grander knowing and being, reuniting with our higher soul, reuniting with our soul mates, going through our life review… If we were handing out pain and suffering to others we have to relive that in our life review on behalf of our victims. In our words there is no need for an eternal hell, we have to go through that in a life review and feel it, feel the power of the emotional impact of our decisions and choices in life, the impact on others around us. MT: What are some of the fundamental – what would you call them, visions? – or aspects of that experience that you had that make you-- that when you came back convinced you that you went to heaven? EA: In fact, for months after I came back, I was not convinced I’d gone to heaven. I knew something very shocking and completely – I mean shattering – had happened, that completely threw all my models of brain-mind consciousness and existence --

threw all that out of the window. What had happened weeks after my coma, going back to my medical records, I had gone back to the hospital to talk to my doctors, my neurologists, neurosurgeons I had seen, went through the medical records, went through all my scans, and started realizing, hey wait a minute, this brain was way too sick, the neocortex was far too damaged to come up with anything and so when I first came back I was blown away by the experience, completely. I mean, it’s the most shocking thing you can imagine. But remember that I didn’t know anything. All my knowledge, my brain, my consciousness, had been stripped away during the journey by the meningitis. That’s how I explained it initially, severe bacterial meningitis destroys the neocortex, of course it would get rid of all prior experience and memory. So that part seemed to be no surprise. But the deeper I got into it the more I realized, well, I shouldn’t have had any experience at all! And my doctors were very keen to tell me, when I tried to tell them what had happened, well you can’t have experienced anything, your neocortex was badly damaged, in fact we had no idea how you’d come back. To this day they have no explanation as to why I had a full recovery, and I think that’s an essential thing to understand about this: that I went through a long process, and that’s what Proof of Heaven is all about. It shows how I tried to explain this, as a brainbased mechanism. I tried to explain this as some kind of a dream, a drug-affected confabulation, a trick of the dying brain. That’s what my doctors told me when I came back. And yet the more I went over my medical records and my experiences with my doctors, the more I came to realize that there is no way that this brain, so devastated by bacterial meningitis, could have manufactured any of that. It should have been a state of nothingness, with the near-destruction of my neocortex. And yet it was much more like the blinders coming off and an awakening to a far richer, more vibrant and alive reality than the one in this world. And that was the deep mystery that demanded some kind of explanation. MT: What is your message, Dr. Alexander, to the inevitable skeptics that maintain to this day that what you had were hallucinations, and that it just wasn’t heaven? EA: Well I would say that anyone who says that simply doesn’t know enough about

gram negative bacterial meningitis. This is why you don’t have a lot of doctors out there coming out and saying, well, we see this now and then, and Dr. Alexander simply had a hallucination. If they know anything about the medical story, anything about gram negative bacterial meningitis, and about someone being driven into coma within 3 hours and spending 7 days in coma with that diagnosis, and know all the details of my medical illness, it was such a severe case there was really no way I could have had any kind of experience based on my neocortex and so that’s why the scientific world takes this story very seriously. So there’ll be plenty of skeptics – I would call them pseudo-skeptics, debunkers, deniers who simply won’t believe it no matter what. People who are addicted to scientific materialism as if it were the brain creating consciousness, and there are many people out there. I mean, I was exactly like that before my coma so I know exactly what that thinking is all about. But any pseudo-skeptic who puts it out there that this had to be a hallucination simply has not paid enough attention to the medical details of this case. MT: Can you describe a little bit of that coming back? What that phase was like? EA: Well the coming back was like... It was the hardest thing I can ever remember in all my existence. It was like climbing out of a gravel dirt pit where every move is just pulling and everything around you was – it was impossible to climb out of there and back into this world. And yet I knew I had to be strong, the sense of responsibility and love for that soul, for my 10-year-old son who again, I did not remember at the time, that I had to come back. So it was a tremendous struggle coming back to this world, it was all for the love for him that I had to. And when I first started waking up in that ICU, and was fighting the ventilator – they were pulling – they had finally pulled the tube out and all that – I remembered nothing of my life before. As I said before I remembered deeply everything I had been through in this coma journey and there were family members standing around and I had no idea who they were. MT: Do you as we speak believe that when you die, you will go to heaven? EA: All I know is that when I die, I will reunite with my higher soul to a much greater awareness. That’s probably the biggest shock for the skeptic when they die, is all of a sudden they come to this realization that not only are they still here, but they are far more aware than they ever were when they were incarnate in this physical form, and they they’ll reunite with their entire soul, soul mate, go through this life review and encounter than infinitely powerful deity that is pure love, to go back into that oneness of the core. And than plan that reincarnation to come back with the soul group to do it again and get it better. This is all about the essence of our soul group. And in fact all of humanity and beyond is part of this ascendance, this evolution of consciousness that is occurring. But each one of us is doing it on our own as part of that far grander evolution of consciousness. And that is something that will happen.

S U N D AY : A P R I L 0 5 : 2 0 1 5

LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

THE PASSION

The Crucifixion, re-enacted in Cutud, Angeles City on Good Friday 2015 BY EDRIC CHEN

photographer for the past four years, Edric is essentially an observer. His approach to life is laid back, as he prefers to step aside and see what’s happening to the world—gauging what he wants to do next, and following that. His approach to portraiture is one of discovery, where he first notices his subject’s gestures and the secret things that define them before even thinking of how to take a shot.

SUNDAY : APRIL 05 : 2015

LIFE glweekend @ gmail.com

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE E D I TOR

HOLY WEEK, HOW YOU LIKE IT

“I arrived at Cutud around lunchtime on Good Friday. It felt like a step back in time. Being a curious outsider, people were very welcoming and they extended a lot of liberty to me. I moved among the people as they acted out the events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ.” @edricchen Edric Chen is represented by At East Jed Root

SCAN THIS ICON TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY OF THE SENAKULO: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY BY MICHAEL C. OLIVARES ADVISORY: THE GALLERY OF IMAGES CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC SCENES

“What you see depends a great deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are,” said Aslan the Lion in The Magician’s Nephew, Christian auBY PATRICIA thor CS Lewis’ prequel OCAMPO to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. An example of this is today’s feast day, Easter—a Christian celebration of the Risen Christ, the biggest celebration of the liturgical year. Through my travels, I’ve discovered that the beauty of sharing a religion across continents is that its traditions are interpreted uniquely among cultures. During my time in Europe, I befriended girls from several countries. Through this, my eyes were opened to the distinct personalities of each nationality. Two nationalities contrasted to me the most, and these were the Spanish and the Germans. I discovered that Germans were, consistent with their reputation, organized, disciplined, and practical. On the other hand, the Spaniards were also predictably spontaneous, easygoing, and passionate. Airports and train stations were amusing testaments of this, being happily noisy Spain and dead silent in Germany. Most revelatory for me however, was how each culture lived the Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. The Holy Week celebrations in Seville, Spain echo the drama and passion found in the flamenco dance, and the Spanish bullfights. Unbeknownst to many, the Sevillanos have “brotherhoods”. More than a church community, each brotherhood is entrusted to care for a “paso,”—a float that carries Christ, or a “palio” which carries the Blessed Virgin. These are either made of wood, silver or gold and ornately decorated to inspire prayer and penitence. “Seeing the floats, we accompany Christ through the different scenes of his passion,” shared Reyes, a student of Oriental Studies. To see the floats, the entire town Center is closed off for them to tour the streets. Sevillanos roam the streets at different hours of the day, even moonlighting until dawn to catch a glimpse of their favorites. It reminded me of both a very solemn Mass and a movie premiere for fans who hoped to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrity. Easter Sunday Mass is another spectacle, as the floats, along with the rest of the town, converge in their best attire at the Cathedral to celebrate the Risen Christ, after which they share a special meal with family and friends. Conversely, the Lenten season in Germany is strictly practiced and not celebrated, emphasized businesswoman Bernadette. For the devout Catholics, it is an opportunity to unite oneself with the suffering of Christ. “We give up something we like as a sacrifice during the Lenten season”, shared Theresa, Theology student. During “Karwoche”, translating to “the week of mourning,” a strict silence is observed. Music and television are limited to maintain the solemn atmosphere. Once the clock strikes twelve however, the silence is broken and the celebrations begin. In addition to Sunday Mass and a special meal of lamb and potatoes, Germans also celebrate through the fun traditions of decorating eggs and giving out chocolate bunnies to symbolize new life. So whether one’s Holy Week is about strict silence or following floats, Christians are united worldwide in the celebration of Easter Sunday. And despite their differences, I did discover that Germany and Spain had one thing in common. It was that Holy Week for them wasn’t just a vacation or an opportunity to go to the beach (like most of us here in Manila do)—but truly a time to strengthen and deepen one’s faith. Something that, from wherever in the world we stand, is certainly something to consider for next year’s Easter celebration.

S U N D AY : A P R I L 5 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE MEANS LISTENING TO THE BODY

V Host, Actress, ABS-CBN’s Queen of Talk Kris Aquino is credible to many consumers, especially when it comes to sharing insights on family, kids, clean living and healthy lifestyle. She says, “I would say Josh, for me, defines healthy lifestyle. You see, I can’t claim that I exercise because I work seven times a week. With my kind of job, it’s really impossible. Unlike Josh, because he works out religiously three times a week and eats the right food at all times. “The Kris Aquino version of a healthy lifestyle is knowing when to listen to my body. Meaning what precautionary measures to take even before you cross the borders of getting sick.” And this is where her juicing routine comes in. Says Aquino, “When sometimes I would feel that my sinus passages are already stuffy, then headache follows and I’m about to get feverish, then that alerts me to take a rest, sleep, and drink lemon juice using my Hurom Slow Juicer. The lemon, plus warm water and honey is just perfect to make you feel good.” Unlike other juicers, Hurom Slow Juicer preserves the natural taste and nutrition not by grinding but squeezing raw ingredients through globally innovative Slow Squeezing Technology. That would mean 75 percent more juice, so you get more nutrients, more minerals, more enzymes and more flavor. “I’ve been into juicing for quite awhile. And we’ve had several juicers before. But Hurom is different. With Hurom’s slow juicing process, I can compare. The flavor is maintained, the true sweetness and color is there. And shelf-life of the juice is extended. You can see and taste the difference. “Since I’ve learned to do my own blends, with Hurom, I love the combination of pomelo-orange-ginger, cantaloupe, carrot, papa-

Kris Aquino makes sure the juice she and her kids drink are pure

Little Azkals team at the British embassy with their coaches and Azkals national team players Chieffy Caligdong and Phil Younghusband.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 It may be green 6 Ecru and taupe 10 With joy 15 Grounds 20 Harder to find 21 Just great 22 Ms. Zellweger 23 Tally 24 Maureen of film 25 “The — Limits” 26 Emitting light 27 Organ feature 28 Flirt 29 Deli crepes 30 Health food (2 wds.) 32 Juan Peron’s widow 34 Ease 36 Call in sick 37 Rack and — 40 Whodunit herring 41 London’s Big — 42 Jayhawker st. 44 DeLuise and Perignon

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Choose Royal pronoun Snags Balked Playing marble “The Magic Flute” composer Falana or Montez Perfume base Hartford competitor Croce’s “I Got — —” Transparent wrap Lowly laborer Mighty Freight train unit Silica mineral Actor — Neeson Party-tray cheese Dock denizen Mosque feature Undamaged Base runner’s need Fashion length Util. bill Boxing locale

LITTLE AZKALS DOCU ON KAPAMILYA

ya-ginger. For green juice, I like malunggay, celery, pineapple, green pepper, cucumber. “And since its summertime, I’m more into apple with carrots, cantaloupe, honey dew or watermelon with ginger. For my pineapple juice, I have the concoction of pineapple, orange and ginger, For some, they add romaine lettuce for extra dose of vitamins,” Aquino explains further. The healthy benefits of juicing is also passed on to other members of the family. “We do juicing twice a day, that’s every morning and midday. Josh and Bimby, they love apple juice. Josh is also more on citrus, mango or banana”. “When I discovered about Hurom and its good performance, I gave a lot of this to my family and friends, like “a gift of good health”. The Hurom Slow Juicer, plus I gave them baskets of fruits and vegetables so they can try the product. And all of them said that with Hurom, I was able to help them change their lives!” For more Hurom info and updates, like us on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/ HuromPhilippinesOfficial. HUROM Slow Juicer is available at Rustan’s, S&R, Abenson, , SM Dept. Store, True Value, Landmark, Wellworth Dept. Store, Crate & Barrel, FairNSquare Emporium, Abenson, Lee Super Plaza, Moost Brand Home Depot, Gourdo’s, and Saver’s Mart. Call (02) 9267782, 926-7786 for deliveries in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

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Persona — grata Atomizers Bravo opposite Dow Jones fig. Cellar, briefly What — can I do? Wonka’s creator Concussion result Caesar’s legions Heavy reading? Glasses, slangily Vegas game Slander’s kin Studied intently Cathedral part Andes vulture Pipe bend Fridge coolant Claptrap Desperado’s piece Batman and Robin Trickle Search eng. find “Honest” fellow Scout leader, often One-time JFK landers Cry of amazement Strait-laced person Dwarf maple, maybe Mir experience (2 wds.) Prow opposite Cuddly toy “And thereby hangs — —” Deep South “The Velvet Fog” Noted soap vixen Check endorser More remote Everglades wader On — — (winning) Downhill racers Wedding-cake levels Crowd noise Eva — Saint

The heartwarming documentary, Little Azkals: Pursuit of a World Cup Dream will premiere on April 12 at 10:30 p.m. (after Gandang Gabi Vice) on ABS-CBN. Baby Ruth Villarama (“Jazz in Love”) documented the experiences of 22 young Filipino footballers (aged 10-11) selected out of more than a thousand boys for an elite training in the United Kingdom’s Loughborough University, one of the foremost British institutions in sports education. Their training was made possible with the support of The British Council, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), Pru Life UK Philippines and Voyage Films. In those three weeks, the boys dealt with homesickness, the cold England weather, competing with more seasoned players and other challenges that were too great for their small shoulders. The special trip to the UK was part of the country’s long-term development plan to create a formidable national team to compete in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2019 and the 2024 Olympics. When the documentary was screened last year in selected SM cinemas, the film received good reviews. Oggs Cruz said, “(It) sums up all the joys and frustrations of the beloved sport it painstakingly paints with such bright and cheerful colors.” Dodo Dayao, director of the Cinema One Originals 2014 Best Picture Violator, said, “ It is charming and funny and, at points, exuberant. Little Azkals is a small film with a big heart.’” The film’s creative team is composed of topnotch filmmakers, like Albert Almendralejo, Clodualdo del Mundo, and Chuck Gutierrez (producers); Dexter dela Pena, Dindo Fortuno, and Baby Ruth Villarama (cinematographers); Von de Guzman (musical scorer); and Mike Idioma (sound engineer). The documentary also features Azkals National Team players Phil Younghusband and Rob Gier and former Azkals team captain Chieffy Caligdong.

SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015

DOWN 1 Walked heavily 2 Sunk fence (hyph.) 3 Europe-Asia range 4 Arthur’s sorcerer 5 Makes like a mule 6 Drove a semi 7 No later than 8 Shangri-la 9 Turkey neighbor 10 Famous pin-up girl 11 Cyclades locale 12 Do a mosaic 13 Trotsky or Spinks 14 Somber evergreens 15 Romantic isle 16 Ancient (hyph.) 17 Pakistan’s language 18 Box or bucket — 19 Snaky fish 21 Fishing float 31 Glazier’s unit 33 In — — (stuck) 35 UPS units 37 Canning tomato 38 On top of 39 Chichen — 42 Mongol title 43 Oxygen source 45 Hassocks 46 Educator Horace — 47 Pirate’s booty 49 Pitcher — Hershiser 50 Asta’s mistress 51 Bedside noise 52 Make taboo 53 Elegant wrap 54 Carbon 14 job 57 Kind of radio 58 Acid in milk 59 Horrify 60 Natural eyewash 62 Latin I verb 64 Getz or Kenton 66 Hurls 68 Comes up

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Loft locale Go together PC screen image Porter and stout Exasperate Shovel or rake — Paulo, Brazil Does sums Mope B’way signs of yore Part of mpg Cows’ mouthfuls Industrial region Daffodil digs

116 Deep-diving seabird 119 Shared a ride 121 More Bohemian 122 Customers 123 Attic window 124 Notched range 126 Curved moldings 127 Elf 128 Organic compound 129 Yankee catcher 130 First-stringers (hyph.) 131 Phaser blasts

132 Term paper abbr. (2 wds.) 133 Zany Martha — 134 Mine entrance 135 “Veni, vidi, —” 137 For takeout (2 wds.) 139 Designer label 140 Cicero’s 651 141 Padlock brand

S U N D AY : A P R I L 5 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com RJ Padilla renews his ties with Kapuso network

FILIPINA PLACES 3RD RUNNER-UP IN MISS SUMMER INTERNATIONAL 2015 Athena Catriz gave the country another runner-up finish after placing 3rd runner up in the Miss International Summer 2015 held recently in Baranquilla, Colombia. Catriz, a 24-year-old, mass communication student, major in media production at Assumption College-Makati, was the lone nonLatina beauty among the five finalists topped by hometown bet María Alejandra Serrano Sabogal. Miss United States Latina was named 1st runner-up, while Miss Brazil and Miss Bolivia were 2nd and 4th runner-up, respectively. Catriz, a freelance model, was named Tourism Ambassador with Sirene Sutton, Lorraine Erum, and Cindy Madumma in last year’s Miss Global Philippines won by Catherine Almirante, which gave her the right as Philippine representative at the relatively new pageant which attracted some 20 delegates from around the world. Catriz, who also won a special award as Miss Photogenic, has won several local beauty titles including Miss Summer Bodies 2012, Miss Sta. Lucia Sexy Bodies 2013 and Ms. Slimmers World Body Beautiful 2012. The Miss Summer International pageant was

RJ PADILLA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH GMA NETWORK Continued from C8

Athena Catriz finishes 3rd runner up in the Miss International Summer 2015

founded in Bulgaria and moved to Venezuela in 2011 and currently held in Colombia to gain popularity in Latin American countries. It pursues a platform for the promotion of world tourism through the participating countries, particularly, the summer destinations around the globe. – Eton B. Concepcion / Photo Miss Summer International 2015

FYI SHOW LINE-UP THIS MONTH Something wild comes to lifestyle channel FYI this April as animal rescue and relocation team Rick DeRidder and Andrew Biddle move deadly and dangerous animals in the show Wild Transport, which premieres 9 p.m. on April 28. Watch these guys hit backroads and highways carrying large mammals, reptiles, and raptors of all kinds in episodes that involve exciting, high-risk journeys. From anacondas to zedonks, lions, tigers, alligators, and cobras, trust the duo to finish the job of getting wild animals safely to their destination in this thrilling new show. Discover the wonders of little spaces in Tiny House Hunting. Premiering on April 13, at 10 p.m., the show follows realtors as they help families looking for mini-spaces find their perfect home. In each episode, families are presented tiny homes from which they choose their new abode. Join the search for cool new spaces from the scenic Rockies to sunny Florida in this show that gives a fresh perspective on “scaling back”. A sweet affair begins with Sugar Stars, a series about friends-turned-business partners who run their specialty dessert business. Turns out it’s not always sugary and nice, as the partners also experience the drama involved in creating elaborate confectionary creations for the biggest events in town. Get a taste of the show as it begins 7 p.m. on April 16. Scott Yancey breathes new life to run down properties in the show Flipping Vegas. Together with his interior designer wife Amie, Scott purchases and repairs dilapidated homes in the Las Vegas Valley and flips them for profit. Look at how they transform the houses despite conflict and drama in new episodes airing 8 p.m. every Monday. Tune in to FYI this April for hot, new shows that will keep you glued to your seat. FYI™ is available on SKYCable Ch 79 (SD) and Ch 200 (HD).

Rick DeRidder and Andrew Biddle move deadly and dangerous animals in the show Wild Transport

Discover the wonders of little spaces in Tiny House Hunting

Get a taste of Sugar Stars where friendsturned-business partners run their specialty dessert business

Scott Yancey breathes new life to run down properties in the show Flipping Vegas, together with his interior designer wife Amie

apuso artist RJ Padilla feels blessed after signing another two-year contract with GMA Network on March 25. “It’s an honor to be given the trust by GMA and be part of the Kapuso family. I promise to try to do the best I can in all the projects the network will assign to me,” expressed RJ. Present in the contract signing were GMA Senior Vice President for Entertainment Lilybeth G. Rasonable, GMA Vice President for Entertainment Marivin T. Arayata, GMA Vice President for Drama Redgie A. Magno, GMA Senior Assistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi S. Lara, GMA Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, GMA Artist Center Assistant Vice President and Head for Talent Imaging and Marketing Unit Simoun F. Ferrer, Program Manager Cecille de Guzman and RJ’s manager Betchay Vidanes. Apart from being part of the Kapuso Network’s longest-running gag show Bubble Gang, RJ plays Ronnie, best friend of Gabby Eigenmann’s character, in the upcoming family-oriented series InstaDad which brgins airing today. ★★★★★ In spite of time constraints due to Yagit taping, Kapuso actress Yasmien Kurdi still manages to spend some quality time for her family and herself. Apart from constantly posting sweet messages and photos for her husband

online, a lot of netizens noticed and became jealous after she posted a selfie with the international male solo artist, Ed Sheeran, who had a concert at SM Mall of Asia Arena. Yasmien considered herself lucky when she got a chance of meeting Ed Sheeran in person because tickets were sold out immediately. In her Instagram post, Yasmien expressed her gratiturde to her friends who gave her the backstage pass. According to her, things wouldn’t be easier without their help. Meanwhile in Yagit, the Starstruck alumna felt overwhelmed with the continued support of the viewers and netizens to their afternoon series. Aside from receiving positive feedbacks online, it has also been consistent on being a top-rating drama series. The Kapuso actress, who plays the role of Dolores in the drama series, also said, “You have to watch out for more. Can Dolores rise from poverty? Is there hope in her love with Victor? Can Elisa (Chlaui Malayao) be reunited with Dolores?” The Yagit team had some sort of a thanksgiving event on March 29, an outreach program for the children of ChildHope Philippines. Renz Fernadez, Maricris Garcia, Ina Feleo, Kevin Santos, James Blanco were with the Yagit kids –Malayao, Zymic Jaranilla, Judie Dela Cruz, and Jemwell Ventinilla. Yagit airs Monday to Friday, after The Half Sisters, on GMA Afternoon Prime. Yasmien Kurdi shares her Ed Sheeran moment with fans

S U N D AY : A P R I L 5 : 2 0 1 5

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Asia’s Songbird Regine VelasquezAlcasid wows fans with a mini-concert

Velasquez-Alcasid joins Davaoeños in a chorus of her songs

DAVAOEÑOS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF KAPUSO STARS SIMPLY RED ISAH V. RED Just one night, GMA Network’s unforgettable team-up made a rare comeback. Dennis Trillo and Tom Rodriguez thrilled Davaoeño fans when they looked at each other endearingly on stage, making the crowd go wild. That was just one of the two-night star studded Araw ng Dabaw celebration with GMA Regional TV. My Husband’s Lover may have off the air for several months now, but the crowd still had a hangover iwith the TomDen craze, as evidenced by the crowd’s reception of the two in a Kapuso Mall Show in Davao City’s Gaisano Mall on March 15. Dennis, a frequent Davao visitor, was still in utter amazement with the Davaeño’s reception to their show. “As always the crowd is very enthusiastic and very excited,” he while catching his breath after the show. “That’s why we are motivated and we give it all for the crowd because they are very welcoming and appreciative. It’s a nice feeling to perform for them..” Tom couldn’t agree more. “It’s a nice feeling. Everytime I visit Davao, I always feel the warmth and love of Davaoeños..” Asked for a message to the thousands of fans who went to see his on-stage reunion with Dennis, Tom exclaimed, “Thank you to all Davaoeños who came to our show. I am sure we will all see each other again.” Newly married and Kapuso primetime king and queen Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, meanwhile, were thankful work did not only allow them to spend time together but to reconnect with their Davaoeño supporters as well. Dingdong and Marian were I a show at the Abreeza Mall on March 16. In an interview prior to their mall show, Marian stressed the importance of finding time for Dingdong despite their busy schedules, he tapesfor the primetime series Pari ‘Koy and she for the upcoming The Rich Man’s Daughter. “It is important to have time for each other. We

fix our schedules,” Marian said, adding she and Dingdong always set a DongYan day, “Where we can go for a date, where we can have bonding in this or that day. At this point, our schedules still meet. I have work, so does he, and when I don’t have work, fortunately he doesn’t have, too. So we’re very thankful that there are still time that we are together, like this visit to Davao.” Dingdong was quick to agree, revealing that this practice they got from their Ninong Ogie Alcasid. “We set aside one day for family. And we follow it strictly. If it’s on a Sunday, then Sunday; if Monday, so Monday, right? We got that from our ‘ninong’ Ogie and Regine. I think they have set Tuesday aside as their day for the family, so whatever happens, they don’t accept any assignment of jobs on Tuesday.” Meanwhile, Regine Velasquez-Alacasid brought the house down in a Kapuso Fans’ Day at the SM City Davao for this year’s Araw ng Dabaw . Regine, who flew in the morning of March 16, also took the last flight out. “Whenever I can, I really make it a point to come home even after an event in the regions. I don’t mind if it’s just flyfly-out. I do it for my son Nate,” revealed Regine who strives to strike a balance between two important roles she has--one, as an idol to her multitude of fans, and two, as a mother to her three-year old son. “Araw ng Dabaw 2015 would not have been successful without the all-out support from the local government, the sponsors, and ultimately, the Dabawenyos whose warmth we from the Kapuso Network have always put premium on since day one,” said Oliver Amoroso, GMA Network’s head for Regional Strategy and Business Development (RSBD) Division and AVP for Regional TV. Highlights of the Network’s participation in this year’s Araw ng Dabaw can be seen via Let’s Fiesta! on April 19 airing in all nine GMA regional stations in Ilocos, Bicol, Dagupan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, GenSan, and Cagayan de Oro. To know more about the latest updates on the Network’s regional events, follow GMA Regional TV on Twitter and Instagram via @ GMARegionalTV. Continued on C7

Dennis Trillo delights female fans with a musical number

Tom Rodriguez joins the Davao revelry with fans

Davaoeños went wild when they saw Kapuso stars Dennis Trillo, Tom Rodrigues, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, and Regine Velasquez-Alcasid up close in separate mall shows in Davao’s most popular malls – Gaisano, SM City, and Abreeza Kapuso’s primetime king and queen, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, at Abreeza Mall to meet and greet fans

Velasquez-Alcasid and Regine impersonator Ate Redg pose with fans