02.03.2019 Views

03 MARCH 2019

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

PERFECTION<br />

SUNDAY<br />

ENDING I.S.<br />

WORK AND PLAY<br />

PAGE 14<br />

LIVING SPACES<br />

ECONOMY<br />

SAILS<br />

NORTH<br />

THAT MEDDLING<br />

AUSTRALIAN<br />

PARLIAMENT<br />

PAGE 17 SPORTS<br />

PAGE 9 BUSINESS PAGE 5 COMMENTARY<br />

PAGE 20<br />

Goal is lives<br />

made easier<br />

By Kristina Maralit<br />

WORLD<br />

The flurry of laws President Rodrigo<br />

Duterte has signed was all directed towards<br />

uplifting the conditions of Filipinos who have<br />

less in life, Presidential Communications<br />

Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar<br />

said yesterday.<br />

Turn to page 6<br />

MANILA, PHILIPPINES SUNDAY, 3 <strong>MARCH</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Why skip Noynoy?<br />

So what transpired was<br />

that they purchased<br />

a medicine that was<br />

not needed and is<br />

now banned by the<br />

Department of Health<br />

By Kristina Maralit<br />

and Elmer N. Manuel<br />

What to look for Street dance is the anticipated feature<br />

of the 24th Baguio Flower Festival or “Panagbenga,” the same<br />

way that cold justice should be expected in making public<br />

officials accountable.<br />

ALDWIN QUITASOL<br />

Where is President Benigno<br />

Aquino and former Budget<br />

Secretary Florencio “Butch”<br />

Abad in the criminal complaint<br />

related to the Dengvaxia scandal,<br />

a senator asked the Department<br />

of Justice (DoJ) yesterday.<br />

Gordon, who has been<br />

overseeing the probe on the P3.5<br />

billion purchases of anti-dengue<br />

vaccines, said he was “a bit<br />

disappointed” with the DoJ<br />

complaint.<br />

“The DoJ did not delve into<br />

the aspect of procurement and<br />

the reckless deed there was<br />

that they purchased medicines<br />

that they are not sure of,” the<br />

senator added.<br />

The DoJ resolution<br />

made public Friday<br />

found probable<br />

cause to indict<br />

former health secretary Janette<br />

Garin and several others for<br />

reckless imprudence resulting in<br />

homicide in connection with the<br />

deaths of eight children allegedly<br />

due to the controversial dengue<br />

vaccine.<br />

Gordon, chairman of the<br />

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,<br />

said the DoJ should have looked<br />

into the “involvement of<br />

(former)<br />

President<br />

Aquino, Abad<br />

and company.”<br />

“If you will<br />

examine that investigation, you’ll<br />

notice that the transaction for<br />

the purchases of Dengvaxia<br />

speeds up whenever Aquino is<br />

present,” he said on radio.<br />

Among the instances Gordon<br />

cited was Aquino’s trip to Paris<br />

to meet with officials from Sanofi<br />

Pasteur, which manufactured<br />

and distributed the vaccine,<br />

just months before the May 2016<br />

presidential elections.<br />

SARO came fast<br />

Gordon noted a Special<br />

Allotment Release Order for the<br />

Turn to page 2<br />

Free zone for stumpers<br />

By Maya M. Padillo<br />

Davao is an open city as far<br />

as candidates for the midterm<br />

elections are concerned, Mayor<br />

Sara Duterte-Carpio said as she<br />

officially opened the 82nd Araw<br />

ng Davao last 1 March.<br />

She added President Rodrigo<br />

Duterte’s hometown is open to<br />

everyone, including candidates<br />

of the opposition Otso Diretso.<br />

Duterte-Carpio, however, took<br />

a break from the Hugpong ng<br />

Pagbabago (HnP) barnstorming<br />

for administration candidates to<br />

celebrate the birthday of her son<br />

Stonefish.<br />

On social media Duterte-Carpio<br />

wrote a message “If our senators<br />

are the sun and HnP is the<br />

moon, you are my brightest star<br />

(Swordfish). I will always be the<br />

cheerleader behind you. I know<br />

your twins Swordfish and Sailfish<br />

Turn to page 2<br />

Humdrum out It used to be patched-up black rubber interior of jeepney tires<br />

but floats now add color to summer fun.<br />

BOB DUNGO JR.<br />

Justice via full effort<br />

By Elmer N. Manuel<br />

and Kristina Maralit<br />

While the Philippines<br />

has improved in its ranking<br />

in a global review called<br />

the <strong>2019</strong> Rule of Law Index,<br />

Malacañang on Saturday<br />

vowed to continue its efforts<br />

to strive for an improved<br />

ranking.<br />

In a statement, Palace<br />

spokesman Salvador Panelo<br />

said Malacañang is elated<br />

with the improvement, from<br />

88 out of 113 countries in<br />

Green grass of throne<br />

Two Filipinos have upstaged the late Emma Bombeck, an<br />

American prolific writer and humorist who achieved great<br />

popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban<br />

home life.<br />

She is also the author of several best seller books, including<br />

2017-2018 to 90 out of 126 in the<br />

2018-<strong>2019</strong> period, but stressed<br />

that there is still more work<br />

to be done.<br />

While the list released<br />

by the World Justice Project<br />

(WJP) last Thursday showed<br />

the Philippines had slipped two<br />

notches, the countries ranked<br />

grew by 13, thus indicating an<br />

actual improvement.<br />

Panelo enjoins every<br />

Filipino, particularly political<br />

and judicial leaders, to step<br />

up efforts in improving the<br />

Turn to page 6<br />

Turn to page 6<br />

ITALIAN Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino got<br />

hooked on Filipino masterpieces.<br />

Italian<br />

envoy:<br />

Phl art fan<br />

By Jojo G. Silvestre<br />

It has only been a year and<br />

a half since His Excellency,<br />

the Italian Ambassador to the<br />

Philippines, Giorgio Guglielmino,<br />

has been posted to Manila but<br />

already he has made a big dent<br />

in the Philippine art scene.<br />

Just recently, Ambassador<br />

Guglielmino hosted two separate<br />

talks, the first one at the Manila<br />

House where he spoke about “how<br />

one can appreciate and enjoy<br />

contemporary art,” he told the<br />

Daily Tribune in an interview<br />

held at the Italian Embassy in<br />

Legaspi Village, Makati.<br />

“I am deeply convinced that<br />

contemporary art is not as<br />

Turn to page 23<br />

MAILING ADDRESS<br />

3450 Concept Bldg., Florida St., Makati City,1235<br />

Email : dailytribune@tribune.net.ph<br />

FOR SUBSCRIPTION<br />

Phone : +632 8337085<br />

Email : ads@tribune.net.ph<br />

NEWSSTAND PRICE<br />

P18.00<br />

ISSUE<br />

Vol. 18 No. 342<br />

24 pages<br />

Follow us: FB tribunephl and ConceptCentral<br />

Twitter tribunephl and ConceptGrp<br />

Check our websites tribune.net.ph and conceptnewscentral.com


NEWS<br />

2<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

Why skip Noynoy?<br />

The DoJ did not delve into the aspect of procurement and the reckless deed there was that they<br />

purchased medicines that they are not sure of<br />

Figure it out Sen. Richard Gordon ponders on reasons for the Department<br />

of Justice to dodge powerful officials and settle for minnows in the Dengvaxia<br />

charges.<br />

From page 1<br />

Dengvaxia purchases was<br />

immediately released<br />

following the Paris<br />

meetings.<br />

“How do you<br />

explain the fact that<br />

the President met with<br />

Sanofi (officials) three<br />

times and if there is a<br />

measure on the speed<br />

of the negotiations, it<br />

always speeds up after<br />

the President’s meeting,”<br />

he said.<br />

“So what transpired was<br />

that they purchased a medicine<br />

that was not needed and is now<br />

banned by the Department of<br />

Health (DoH). Dengvaxia was<br />

not used and furious debates<br />

ensued,” Gordon added.<br />

The senator, however,<br />

admitted there is still no<br />

conclusive scientific evidence<br />

to prove that Dengvaxia was<br />

to blame for the deaths of<br />

those inoculated.<br />

“But, definitely, the<br />

procurement was wrong<br />

and the circumstances<br />

behind it created a<br />

hysteria which was<br />

entirely lamentable,”<br />

he said.<br />

“Spent was P3.5 billion. It<br />

seems that they merely looked<br />

for an excuse to use the money<br />

which resulted in the illegal<br />

procurement,” Gordon added.<br />

If convicted, Garin and her coaccused<br />

could face a penalty of<br />

up to six years of imprisonment.<br />

You’ll notice that the<br />

transaction for the<br />

purchases of Dengvaxia<br />

speeds up whenever Aquino<br />

is present.<br />

Retribution time<br />

In its resolution, the DoJ<br />

said state prosecutors found<br />

Garin and the other respondents<br />

“exhibited ‘inexcusable lack of<br />

precaution and foresight’ when<br />

they facilitated, with undue<br />

haste, ‘the registration and<br />

purchase of Dengvaxia’ and<br />

used the vaccine in implementing<br />

a school-based dengue mass<br />

immunization program.”<br />

“The panel found sufficient<br />

evidence that Garin and the<br />

other respondents circumvented<br />

various regulations in the<br />

purchase of P3.5 billion worth<br />

of Dengvaxia vaccine which<br />

constituted proof of their reckless<br />

imprudence,” the statement said.<br />

The prosecutors also found<br />

cause to charge nine other<br />

officials from the DoH, two<br />

from the Food and Drug<br />

Administration, two from the<br />

Research Institute for Tropical<br />

Medicine and six from vaccine<br />

maker Sanofi Pasteur for the<br />

same offense.<br />

Stop politicization<br />

Following the DoJ complaint,<br />

Malacañang appealed to<br />

involved parties to refrain from<br />

discussing the issue publicly<br />

and just let the legal process<br />

take its course.<br />

“The wheels of justice<br />

have begun to grind for<br />

the victims and families of<br />

children who died allegedly<br />

because of the Dengvaxia<br />

vaccine with the DoJ finding<br />

probable cause to charge<br />

former officials responsible<br />

for the failed immunization<br />

program initiated during<br />

their time,” presidential<br />

spokesman Salvador Panelo<br />

said.<br />

“Now that the legal process<br />

has taken its course, we wish<br />

everyone would finally stop<br />

politicizing the issue in the<br />

court of public opinion, noting<br />

that such exercise has only<br />

caused an unnecessary fear<br />

on the part of parents for<br />

good and creditworthy health<br />

programs of the government<br />

to the detriment of innocent<br />

children,” he added.<br />

“As for the defendants, they<br />

should welcome this latest<br />

development as an opportunity<br />

to clear their names and raise<br />

whatever defense they have in<br />

relation to the matter before a<br />

court of law,” the spokesman<br />

said.<br />

But definitely, the<br />

procurement was wrong<br />

and the circumstances<br />

behind it created a<br />

hysteria which was entirely<br />

lamentable.<br />

“We will not interfere in the<br />

proceedings save for the DoJ<br />

which is mandated by law to<br />

prosecute accused felons,” he<br />

added.<br />

Panelo also called on the<br />

public to stop seeing political<br />

color in the case.<br />

“Now that the legal process has<br />

taken its course, we wish everyone<br />

would finally stop politicizing the<br />

issue in the court of public opinion,<br />

noting that such exercise has only<br />

caused an unnecessary fear on<br />

the part of parents for good and<br />

creditworthy health programs of<br />

the government to the detriment of<br />

innocent children,” Panelo said.<br />

Free zone for stumpers<br />

She said President<br />

Rodrigo Duterte’s<br />

hometown is open to<br />

everyone, including<br />

candidates of the<br />

opposition Otso Diretso<br />

From page 1<br />

are happy for you.<br />

The mayor said since the<br />

opposition slate extended an<br />

invitation to the senatorial bets<br />

of HnP, referring to the debate<br />

challenge, “therefore I am<br />

forced to invite members of Otso<br />

Diretso,” she said in an interview.<br />

If our senators are the<br />

sun and HnP is the moon,<br />

you are my brightest star<br />

(Swordfish).<br />

In her speech she urged<br />

Davaoeños to go out and be<br />

part of the various activities,<br />

particularly to the new events<br />

added for this year.<br />

Hard work feted<br />

“Why celebrate Araw ng Davao<br />

every year? Simple. We need to<br />

celebrate as this is for Davaoeños<br />

in recognition of their hard work,<br />

sacrifices and successes,” she<br />

said.<br />

She added the<br />

celebration also aims<br />

to recognize also the<br />

ordinary city residents<br />

who work hard everyday.<br />

Duterte-Carpio also<br />

emphasized the celebration<br />

is a way to salute traffic<br />

enforcers, garbage collectors,<br />

streetsweepers, teachers, police,<br />

firefighters and military who<br />

keep the city in order.<br />

Celebration is for<br />

Davaoeños in recognition<br />

of their hard work,<br />

sacrifices and successes.<br />

“For every household that<br />

segregates and throws its waste<br />

on time, to the honest taxi<br />

drivers who returned things left<br />

by passengers in their taxis, to<br />

the responsible establishment<br />

owners, to the law abiding and<br />

disciplined Davaoeños who<br />

cross in the pedestrian lanes<br />

and follow the speed limit, no<br />

drunk driving policy — this<br />

Araw ng Davao is for every<br />

Davaoeño, man, woman and<br />

child regardless of cultural<br />

background, religious<br />

belief or gender<br />

identity,” she said.<br />

Best soon to come<br />

She added the best is yet to<br />

come for Davao City. She said if<br />

Davaoeños all work hard enough<br />

and double their efforts, “we<br />

might attain the best during<br />

our lifetime like the eagle flying<br />

towards the sun.”<br />

“Let the celebration all be a way<br />

to learn and honor the past and be<br />

hopeful for the future while always<br />

remaining vigilant,” she said.<br />

We might attain the best<br />

during our lifetime like the<br />

eagle flying towards the<br />

sun.<br />

Apart from the presentation<br />

of the finalists in the annual<br />

beauty search Mutya ng Davao, the<br />

opening was also highlighted with<br />

the presentation of the candidates<br />

of the first ever gay pageant Reyna<br />

Davaoeña <strong>2019</strong> and candidates of<br />

Ginoong Davao.<br />

Rehab no joke Manila Bay clean up goes full-steam as even benches are not spared to rid the area of obstructions<br />

to the path towards the beach.<br />

BOB DUNGO JR.<br />

Water needs saving Lack of rain due to the onset of an El Niño weather episode resulted in La Mesa Dam’s water level to reach a critical point.<br />

ANALY LABOR


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

PAGE THREE<br />

Media stunt<br />

by Colmenares,<br />

says Palace<br />

By Elmer N. Manuel and Kristina Maralit<br />

Malacañang on Saturday dismissed<br />

the allegations of former Bayan Muna<br />

representative and senatorial aspirant<br />

Neri Colmenares on the Philippines’ loan<br />

agreements with China, as nothing more<br />

than for media mileage.<br />

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo<br />

said Colmenares is merely politicizing<br />

the country’s loan agreement with China<br />

particularly the one intended for irrigation<br />

project in the Cordillera region.<br />

“It is clear that the matter has been<br />

studied at length by our economic managers,<br />

particularly the Department of Finance,<br />

unlike Mr. Colmenares who has only shown<br />

himself to be ignorant of the intricacies<br />

of finance and immature with political<br />

pettiness,” Panelo said.<br />

The project was approved and<br />

reviewed by government agencies.<br />

“Mr. Colmenares is just desperately<br />

seeking media mileage by unduly<br />

compartmentalizing the loan agreements<br />

of the country without the benefit of context<br />

and by maliciously labeling it as a China<br />

issue,” he added.<br />

Colmenares has claimed the Philippines<br />

has entered into an alleged disadvantageous<br />

loan agreement with China for the irrigation<br />

project, saying the “loan agreement for<br />

the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project is<br />

onerous and highly favors China.”<br />

“It is a disaster for the Philippines,” said<br />

Colmenares, who obtained a copy of the document<br />

from a non-government organization.<br />

According to Panelo, the project was<br />

approved and reviewed by government<br />

agencies.<br />

“For the information of Mr. Colmenares,<br />

the Philippines and China signed a $62.09<br />

million agreement last year to help fund<br />

the construction of the Chico River Pump<br />

Irrigation Project, which will provide a stable<br />

supply of water to around 8,700 hectares<br />

of agricultural land, benefit 4,350 farmers<br />

and their families and serve 21 barangays<br />

in the provinces of Kalinga and Cagayan in<br />

Northern Luzon once completed,” Panelo<br />

said.<br />

A suspected communist guerilla<br />

was killed during a clash between<br />

New People’s Army insurgents and<br />

joint police and military elements<br />

in Oriental Mindoro early Saturday<br />

morning.<br />

The firefight erupted at<br />

about 4:45 a.m. in Barangay<br />

Waygan in Mansalay town.<br />

According to initial reports, the<br />

firefight erupted at about 4:45 a.m. in<br />

Barangay Waygan in Mansalay town.<br />

Police officials confirmed the death<br />

By Vernadeth de los Santos<br />

Police reported on Saturday that<br />

six people were killed while nine<br />

others were injured after a V-hire<br />

van collided with a cargo truck in<br />

Barangay Mayabon, Zamboanguita<br />

town in Negros Oriental on Friday<br />

morning.<br />

The casualties — mostly students<br />

from Basay National High School in<br />

“The aforesaid project<br />

has gone through<br />

an Investment<br />

Coordinating<br />

Committee approval<br />

and the loan agreement was<br />

reviewed, negotiated and approved<br />

by the Interagency Committee composed of<br />

the Department of Justice, the Department<br />

of Finance (DoF) and the Bangko Sentral ng<br />

Pilipinas (BSP),” he added.<br />

The Presidential spokesman added<br />

that based on the report of the DoF, China<br />

provided a list of three contractors of good<br />

standing and the implementing agency was<br />

given the opportunity to vet and request for<br />

a replacement, if needed.<br />

He also stressed that the Monetary<br />

Board approved the terms under the loan<br />

agreement for the Chico River Project before<br />

and after signing the agreement.<br />

“On the concessional interest rate,<br />

according to the DoF, if we account for all<br />

salient factors and not just the nominal rate<br />

(e.g., project cost, denomination of loan and<br />

foreign exchange depreciation risk), the<br />

effective interest rates between the recently<br />

signed Japanese and Chinese loan agreements<br />

are actually quite close to each other. With<br />

regard to the interest rate, on the other hand,<br />

our Chinese loans are fixed and not subject<br />

to change over time,” Panelo said.<br />

“For each loan agreement, the DoF<br />

mentions that an arbitration clause is<br />

negotiated. We negotiate to make sure that<br />

the arbitration mechanism protects our<br />

interests. Contrary to what others believe,<br />

project debt to China is but a fraction of our<br />

project debt to Japan. By 2022, project debt<br />

to China is estimated to be at around 4.5<br />

percent of the total debt, while that of Japan<br />

will be at around 9.5 percent,” he added.<br />

With this, Panelo hopes that the “left-leaning<br />

opposition” would perform staff work as the loan<br />

agreement underwent study and review by the DoF.<br />

“We hope the political and left-leaning<br />

opposition would exercise completed staff<br />

work before issuing statements,” Panelo said.<br />

“We find it pitiful that candidate Neri<br />

Colmenares is politicizing our bilateral relations<br />

with China in aid of his senatorial bid by uttering<br />

financial nonsense at the altar of politics,” he<br />

added.<br />

of the NPA cadre, when soldiers and<br />

police in the Mimaropa region began<br />

conducting clearing operations right<br />

after the clash.<br />

Meanwhile, about 20 Communist<br />

Party of the Philippines-New People’s<br />

Army (CPP-NPA) gunmen set fire to<br />

heavy equipment being used in the<br />

construction of a concrete road and<br />

bridge in Barangay Agani, Alcala,<br />

Cagayan.<br />

In a report by the Philippine<br />

Army, the gunmen, who belonged<br />

to the CPP-NPA’s Northern Front,<br />

set fire to three cement mixers,<br />

southern Negros Oriental — were on<br />

their way home from Cebu City after<br />

participating in the Department of<br />

Education’s (DepEd) regional Math<br />

Sayaw dance competition there.<br />

The students who died in the<br />

accident were identified as 17-year-old<br />

sisters Cherry Rose and Cherry Ann<br />

Kadusale, 14-year-old Kevin Aguilar,<br />

17-year-old Christian Buenconsejo and<br />

18-year-old Joshua Busmeon.<br />

Another yet unidentified woman from<br />

Bayawan City was also killed in the accident.<br />

Initial investigation from<br />

Zamboanguita Police showed that<br />

the V-Hire, driven by a JP Sarad, was<br />

allegedly speeding southward along<br />

the Negros South Road early Friday<br />

morning when it started swerving,<br />

By Kathleen Mae Bulquerin<br />

The Philippine Navy on Friday welcomed its new Chief<br />

of Naval Staff Commodore Louemer Bernabe in a simple<br />

change of command ceremony graced by Vice Admiral<br />

Robert Empedrad, Flag Officer in Command<br />

Bernabe replaced Admiral Erick Kagaoan who will now<br />

serve as the new Commander of Naval Forces in Western<br />

Mindanao.<br />

The new Chief of Naval Staff is from Cabanatuan City,<br />

Nueva Ecija. He graduated from the Philippine Military<br />

Academy and is a member of Hinirang Class of 1987.<br />

Empedrad, during his speech, hailed<br />

Kagaoan and thanked him for what he<br />

had done during his stint as the Chief<br />

of Naval Staff.<br />

“I have nothing but praise for his<br />

passion to serve the Philippine<br />

Rebel killed in Mindoro clash<br />

a compactor, a grader, and a<br />

dump truck which was owned by<br />

the Tuguegarao City-based Camia<br />

Construction Company.<br />

Locals reported the attack to<br />

authorities, prompting the 5th Infantry<br />

“Star” Division to make a hot pursuit<br />

of the communist gunmen.<br />

“We condemn this criminal act<br />

committed by the NPA terrorists<br />

against the people of Cagayan. The<br />

burning of the heavy equipment affects<br />

the livelihood of innocent civilians and<br />

delays the delivery of development<br />

projects to those in need,” said 5ID<br />

reportedly due to the slippery road<br />

brought by rain.<br />

Upon seeing the van losing control,<br />

cargo truck driver Elpidio Delos Santos<br />

tried to stop to avoid the incoming<br />

V-hire which was already skidding<br />

down the opposite lane. As a result, the<br />

V-hire’s right side was severely damaged<br />

due to its impact with the truck.<br />

All the passengers were brought to<br />

two hospitals in Dumaguete City for<br />

treatment, but six of them were already<br />

pronounced dead on arrival.<br />

Case investigator Police Master<br />

Sergeant Janice Eluna said the accident<br />

may have been caused by the V-Hire’s<br />

worn rear tires that lost traction with<br />

the wet slippery road, a factor that<br />

Sarad acknowledged.<br />

Commander Brig. Gen. Perfecto<br />

Rimando Jr.<br />

In another development, troops<br />

under the Eastern Mindanao Command<br />

(Eastmincom) recovered firearms<br />

buried by the New People’s Army,<br />

after two former rebels tipped off<br />

their locations in Davao del Norte and<br />

Agusan del Norte.<br />

Col. Ezra Balagtey, Eastmincom<br />

spokesman, said that soldiers<br />

belonging to the 56th Infantry Battalion<br />

recovered four high-powered firearms<br />

in Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod, Davao<br />

del Norte.<br />

ENManuel<br />

CANDIDATES in this year’s midterm polls ought to focus on the issue of poverty exemplified by these children who wade through tons of trash in a Baseco<br />

shoreline in Tondo in hopes of finding something valuable to sell.<br />

BOB DUNGO JR.<br />

All the passengers were<br />

brought to two hospitals<br />

in Dumaguete City for<br />

treatment, but six of them<br />

were already pronounced<br />

dead on arrival.<br />

Negros vehicle collision claims six<br />

ONE of the early signs of summer is this scene in Pililla, Rizal where motorists stop to check out some local souvenir items<br />

being sold along the roadside.<br />

ROMAN PROSPERO<br />

Navy welcomes new chief<br />

Navy in another capacity. I told him thanks which I believe<br />

is not enough to express my gratitude for all his excellent<br />

service as the Chief of Naval Staff.<br />

Likewise, the Flag Officer in Command expressed<br />

his confidence in working together with Bernabe.<br />

“I have high respects for you<br />

and I am looking at you highly<br />

because of your potential and<br />

capability to lead the office<br />

of CNS,” Empedrad said.<br />

THE clenched fist sign says it all as a hospital patient meets former Cabinet official “Bong” Go who is running for a Senate seat.<br />

Comelec<br />

releases partylist<br />

nominees<br />

By Raymart T. Lolo<br />

THE wrecked V-hire van carrying the victims of the collision.<br />

In a bid to enhance transparency<br />

in the electoral process, the<br />

Commission on Elections<br />

(Comelec) on Saturday released<br />

the official partylist nominees<br />

for<br />

the sake of those voting in this year’s midterm<br />

polls<br />

Jimenez underscored how the list remains as<br />

a significant reference for the voting public.<br />

The list includes 181 names of partylist<br />

nominees bidding for seats in the House of<br />

Representatives.<br />

According to Comelec spokesman James Jimenez,<br />

the release of the names of partylist nominees was<br />

effected to enable voters to make an informed choice.<br />

“While the Comelec maintains that, in a partylist<br />

elections, it is the partylist organization as a<br />

whole that should be evaluated by the electorate,<br />

it cannot be denied that the identities of the<br />

nominees remain a significant reference for<br />

voters,” he said.<br />

Jimenez underscored how the list remain as<br />

a significant reference for the voting public.<br />

The national and local midterm polls are scheduled<br />

on 13 May this year.


COMMENTARY<br />

4 Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

“Rody<br />

said the<br />

Roman<br />

Catholic<br />

Church<br />

will not<br />

survive<br />

long<br />

given the<br />

scandal<br />

that is<br />

engulfing<br />

it.<br />

Daily<br />

Tribune<br />

WITHOUT FEAR • WITHOUT FAVOR<br />

Ninez Cacho-Olivares<br />

Crispin G. Martinez<br />

Chito Lozada<br />

Dinah Ventura<br />

Aldrin Cardona<br />

John Henry Dodson<br />

Jun Vallecera<br />

Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon<br />

Larry Payawal<br />

Komfie Manalo<br />

Patricia Ramos<br />

Board Chair<br />

Willie Fernandez<br />

Publisher and President<br />

Founding Chair<br />

Executive Editor<br />

Managing Editor<br />

Associate Editors<br />

Business Editor<br />

Central Desk<br />

Special Reports<br />

Predators<br />

in robes<br />

A President who holds no fear nor favor from the<br />

Catholic Church and an activist Pope who wanted the<br />

rank of the priesthood cleansed may have emboldened<br />

the faithful in reporting abuses which are getting more<br />

beastly as days go by.<br />

In Negros Occidental, a parish priest was accused of<br />

molesting a four-year-old girl in Cadiz City.<br />

The victim was a pupil of the daycare center in the<br />

parish church where her mother works.<br />

The statement from the bishop said he is “greatly<br />

saddened and shocked that a young child is alleged to<br />

have been molested by one of our clergies.”<br />

He said the priest has been removed from the parish<br />

and that the clergy has offered assistance to the family<br />

of the victim but he added the priest will be presumed<br />

innocent until proven otherwise.<br />

Since the mother is a church worker, the<br />

outcome of the probe to be initiated by the<br />

prelates is too predictable.<br />

The worsening problem of the Church<br />

is seen in the backdrop of Catholic<br />

bishops calling for a Catholic vote in<br />

the midterm polls.<br />

Had there been a Catholic vote<br />

as what the bishops are imagining,<br />

President Rody Duterte would<br />

have not even been a Davao City<br />

mayor.<br />

Rody who had been<br />

consistently giving the Catholic<br />

Church a piece of his mind<br />

recently predicted that the<br />

cover-up of abuses will lead to<br />

demise of the religion in 25<br />

years which is a bold prediction<br />

for a 2,000-year or so institution.<br />

With his usual profanities, Rody said the Roman<br />

Catholic Church will not survive long given the scandal<br />

that is engulfing it.<br />

“When they get horny, the sons of bitches, they go<br />

after nuns. If they’re gay, they go after young boys. Who<br />

needs a religion like that?” he said.<br />

Strangely, when Rody shocked the world with his rants<br />

and rhetorics against the most influential institution in<br />

the country, the Vatican started to pay attention to the<br />

allegations of sexual abuses from prelates.<br />

It is logical for Vatican to deduce that since the abuses<br />

that Rody had brought in the open giving himself as an<br />

example as he claimed to have been abused by a priest<br />

in Catholic school he went to, the incidences would be<br />

presumably widespread.<br />

Rody, however, professed his “highest<br />

esteem and respect” for Pope Francis,<br />

“Bishops<br />

during who he called a reformist for initiating<br />

the 2016 a crackdown on sexual abuses in the<br />

campaigns Church.<br />

called Rody The local bishops, however, are mostly<br />

a “morally<br />

of a different yellow breed who frequently<br />

reprehensible”<br />

upstart. prefers earthly pursuits to spiritual<br />

guidance of their flock.<br />

Church leaders have often said they found disturbing<br />

the lack of strong rejection by many Filipinos of the<br />

daily killings in the country.<br />

“To consent and to keep silent in front of evil is to<br />

be an accomplice to it,” a Catholic Bishops’ Conference<br />

of the Philippines (CBCP) pastoral letter said. “Let us<br />

not allow fear to reign and keep us silent,” it added.<br />

Filipinos, however, have not been silent about their<br />

overwhelming support on Rody which remains well above<br />

his predecessors considering that he is in the final half<br />

of his term.<br />

The letter said if “we consent or allow the killing of<br />

suspected drug addicts, we shall also be responsible<br />

for their deaths.”<br />

Rody due to his abrasive speeches, including those<br />

when he stated that he would like to kill all drug<br />

offenders, is being equated to the actual commission<br />

of a crime but the Palace repeatedly denied that his<br />

administration is behind the extrajudicial killings in<br />

the country.<br />

Bishops during the 2016 campaigns called Rody a<br />

“morally reprehensible” upstart and advised their flock<br />

not to vote for him. He won, convincingly.<br />

“The<br />

rule of<br />

moderation<br />

applies.<br />

“Ali was<br />

going to<br />

reinforce<br />

with<br />

fighting<br />

men his<br />

friend<br />

under<br />

attack.<br />

Devices off the table<br />

Growing up, meal times<br />

were always sacred times with<br />

family members. There were no<br />

cellphones then and landlines<br />

were left to keep ringing if<br />

we were having a meal. If a<br />

household staff answered such a<br />

call, they knew to get the details<br />

of the caller and politely say that<br />

their call would be returned at a<br />

later time as the family was in<br />

the middle of a meal. Nothing<br />

was allowed to disturb the family<br />

bonding time. That was Lolo and<br />

Lola’s rule. It was Mama and<br />

Papa’s rule and, ask my children,<br />

and you’ll know that this is<br />

also my strict rule. On the rare<br />

occasion when a very important<br />

call is expected or hoped for, the<br />

concerned family member may<br />

excuse herself or himself from<br />

the table and take the call.<br />

On school and work days dinner<br />

time was, and still is, the place<br />

and space to catch up on each<br />

other’s goings-on for the day. A<br />

precious opportunity to listen to<br />

and support one another. That is<br />

why I have consciously put my foot<br />

down from day one that there is to<br />

be no device allowed at the table.<br />

My fellow parents and I are<br />

very much aware of the need<br />

to develop these<br />

Last week we<br />

observed the EDSA<br />

revolt with less<br />

fanfare. Many felt<br />

sad because that<br />

was a defining<br />

moment for many<br />

Filipinos deserving<br />

importance. The<br />

public’s waning<br />

enthusiasm,<br />

however, doesn’t<br />

diminish the fact<br />

that the event has inspired<br />

world democracies and, in<br />

fact, has become a template<br />

to some longing a peaceful<br />

regime change through people<br />

empowerment.<br />

Many stories are told relating<br />

to this human drama, like the<br />

one I want to share with readers.<br />

The tale is based on factual<br />

events and had the potential<br />

then of altering the course of<br />

history, although I can’t help<br />

but feel that it is speculative<br />

bordering on farce.<br />

My story starts with the long<br />

friendship between Mohamad Ali<br />

Dimaporo and former President<br />

Ferdinand Marcos. From my<br />

perspective, being a relative<br />

and confidant of Ali the strong<br />

fraternal bond was not for<br />

political expediency although<br />

Ali wore many hats during the<br />

Marcos presidency, as governor,<br />

president of Mindanao State<br />

University (MSU) and member<br />

of the President’s Executive<br />

Council. who delivered the<br />

so-called “command votes”<br />

of Morolandia during the<br />

hustings. No, it was more of<br />

their common experience as<br />

soldiers of war — Ali as the<br />

unsung hero of the Battle of<br />

Fort Corcuera, in Malabang,<br />

Lanao del Sur as recorded in<br />

a US war history and Marcos<br />

with his Maharlika special<br />

forces battling the enemies in<br />

basic rules to support<br />

our growing children’s<br />

learning in this device<br />

and technology-laden<br />

world of ours.<br />

The rule of<br />

moderation applies.<br />

Not too little yet<br />

not too much time<br />

on gadgets such as<br />

cellphones, tablets<br />

and laptops. The trick<br />

lies in finding that<br />

middle ground within the wide<br />

spectrum with deprivation and<br />

overindulgence on opposite ends.<br />

Like it or not,<br />

this is the world<br />

that they and<br />

we will need to<br />

navigate. Much of<br />

what we do can<br />

be communicated,<br />

SOUTHERN VOICES<br />

Macabangkit B. Lanto<br />

marketed, accomplished,<br />

submitted, reviewed, assessed,<br />

tested, edited, completed,<br />

purchased, paid for, delivered and<br />

signed online. Much but never all.<br />

Face-to-face communication,<br />

good old catch-ups and, literally,<br />

seeing each other eye to eye,<br />

trumps most<br />

the hinterlands of<br />

Luzon (I am ready<br />

for brickbats<br />

and slur for this<br />

observation). Their<br />

friendship was<br />

likewise rooted<br />

on their original<br />

lofty desire to<br />

serve the people<br />

faithfully before<br />

its nobility was<br />

corrupted by time<br />

and circumstances.<br />

While Metro Manila was agog<br />

and on tenterhooks during the<br />

EDSA revolt, thanks to live<br />

coverage by trimedia, remote<br />

provinces experienced eerie<br />

calm.<br />

In Marawi<br />

there was no<br />

sign of tumult,<br />

the military and<br />

police did not<br />

show tension or<br />

conduct activity<br />

that was out of<br />

ordinary. In fact<br />

the only time I felt<br />

the seriousness<br />

of the situation<br />

(we were playing<br />

golf at Del Monte<br />

HALF FULL<br />

Lia Andanar Yu<br />

“I have<br />

consciously<br />

put my foot<br />

down from<br />

day one.<br />

An EDSA tale<br />

“My story<br />

starts with<br />

the long<br />

friendship<br />

between<br />

Mohamad<br />

Ali<br />

Dimaporo<br />

and former<br />

President<br />

Ferdinand<br />

Marcos.<br />

golf course in Bukidnon when<br />

the rebellion started) was<br />

when I was asked to attend a<br />

meeting of political leaders and<br />

relatives of Ali at the Summit<br />

Inn, the residence of the<br />

MSU President, where he held<br />

court. I saw that strongman Ali<br />

was in pain and feeling inutile<br />

to help his friend Marcos who<br />

was then teetering on the verge<br />

of being deposed. One scene<br />

on TV that unmasked Marcos’<br />

loses of grip of power was when<br />

in Malacañang while General<br />

Fabian Ver was asking the<br />

President to give him authority<br />

to confront the EDSA crowd, the<br />

government TV station suddenly<br />

relationships built<br />

and solely maintained<br />

online.<br />

Keeping devices<br />

off the dining table<br />

is a tried and tested<br />

way of ensuring<br />

those communication<br />

lines between family<br />

members remain open.<br />

Here are a few of the<br />

helpful tips I recently<br />

got from primary and<br />

junior high school educators at<br />

a parent information session:<br />

a) Focus on quality online<br />

time, b) No double standards. If<br />

children cannot use devices at<br />

mealtimes, neither can you!, c)<br />

Have upfront and honest faceto-face<br />

conversations and, d) All<br />

laptops, computers and mobile<br />

devices should remain and be<br />

charged outside one’s bedroom<br />

at night (Top Ten Tips, Alannah<br />

and Madeline Foundation, amf.<br />

org.au). I have been partially<br />

successful with the latter strategy<br />

because even as I leave my laptop<br />

and tablet in our study room,<br />

my cellphone is always at my<br />

bedside table at the<br />

end of the day. In my<br />

defense, a weak one I<br />

will admit, I need it as<br />

my alarm clock. I have<br />

been using it for that<br />

purpose for at least the<br />

last seven years. Right,<br />

enough of this old and<br />

tired excuse. Time to hit<br />

the shops and find myself<br />

a proper alarm clock. No<br />

more excuses! Cellphones<br />

off the dining and bedside<br />

table. Hmmm, let’s see<br />

how I go with the latter!<br />

went pfft. That was unthinkable<br />

before.<br />

Anyway, during the meeting<br />

of his leaders Ali asked me<br />

to go down to Iligan City to<br />

negotiate with the Philippine<br />

Airlines Office for a charter of<br />

an airplane that will ferry him<br />

and his supporters to Manila. I<br />

thought they were not serious.<br />

But he explained to me that<br />

I was chosen because I was a<br />

close friend of then PAL branch<br />

manager, Rogelio “Boy” Javier,<br />

now deceased, and being a<br />

lawyer equipped with enough<br />

knowledge of the intricacies of<br />

the transaction. Ali was going<br />

to reinforce with fighting men<br />

his friend under attack. He told<br />

his leaders that he is unable to<br />

contact Marcos even when he<br />

went to the Military Camp, now<br />

Kampo Ranao to use military<br />

communication system.<br />

Readers, at that time Ali<br />

was a favorite media copy and<br />

tagged as a fierce warlord<br />

with his dreaded Barracuda of<br />

armed-fighters.<br />

Sensing that Ali and his<br />

leaders were serious about<br />

reinforcing the loyalist troops of<br />

Marcos, I went down to Iligan.<br />

Javier told me that it was not<br />

easy and quick to charter a<br />

plane and will take days to<br />

consummate. He assured me<br />

though that he can block at least<br />

10 seats for every PAL flights<br />

to Manila which I conveyed to<br />

Ali. My greatest fear at that<br />

time was for Ali and his group<br />

trooping to the Cagayan de<br />

Oro Airport to hijack a plane.<br />

Luckily he didn’t pursue the<br />

plan. The rest is history.<br />

What could have happened<br />

if Ali and his armed men<br />

succeeded in chartering a plane<br />

or hijacking one?<br />

Email: amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com<br />

Published daily by the Daily Tribune Publishing Co., with offices at 3450 Concept Bldg., Florida Street, Makati City • Editorial: (02) 831-0496 • Administration: dailytribune@tribune.net.ph, (02) 833-7085 / (02) 551-5148. To advertise and subscribe: ads@tribune.net.ph, dailytribune@tribune.net.ph, (02) 833-7085 / (02)<br />

551-5148. To submit an opinion article, email opinion@tribune.net.ph. To submit a letter to the editor, email: letters@tribune.net.ph • News: news@tribune.net.ph • Metro: metro@tribune.net.ph • Lifestyle: lifestyle@tribune.net.ph • Business: biz@tribune.net.ph • Sports: sports@tribune.net.ph • PR: pr@tribune.net.ph.


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

“Such sad<br />

episodes in<br />

this period<br />

of its<br />

existence of<br />

2,000 years<br />

is not only<br />

humbling<br />

but, indeed,<br />

humiliating.<br />

In less than two weeks, two top<br />

leaders of the Catholic Church fell<br />

from the graces of men and laws,<br />

but not necessarily from the grace<br />

of God, for ultimately, it is God<br />

who would judge all of us, sinners.<br />

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick<br />

of the Archdiocese of Washington<br />

was defrocked by no less than the<br />

Pope himself after the Vatican<br />

investigation found him guilty of<br />

sexually abusing altar boys and<br />

seminarians decades ago. The<br />

decision was definitive in nature.<br />

A few days ago, another prominent cleric,<br />

Archbishop George Pell of the Archdiocese<br />

of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, was<br />

convicted by the court of sexual abuse and<br />

is awaiting sentencing. At the time of his<br />

conviction, he was prefect of the secretariat<br />

for the economy of the Vatican and a member<br />

of the council of Cardinal advisers to the<br />

Pope — both trusted positions in the Roman<br />

Curia, the central government of the church.<br />

Presently, some 120 bishops, mostly<br />

presidents of their respective bishops’<br />

conferences, are cracking their heads and<br />

Last year, Patricia Fox, an elderly Australian nun<br />

who delighted in participating in anti-government<br />

protest activities in the Philippines, was deported.<br />

This year, it’s the Australian parliament that’s<br />

meddling in Philippine domestic affairs.<br />

On 18 February, the Australian<br />

parliament passed a resolution<br />

“Without truly<br />

understanding<br />

what happened<br />

in the De Lima<br />

case, this<br />

Australian<br />

politician dared<br />

to interfere.<br />

“ This<br />

writer<br />

attended<br />

that<br />

ceremony<br />

as a guest<br />

of two<br />

of the<br />

graduates<br />

that year.<br />

calling on the Australian<br />

government to “use all its<br />

diplomatic measures” to urge<br />

the administration of President<br />

Rodrigo Duterte to release<br />

Sen. Leila de Lima from her<br />

detention cell at Camp Crame in<br />

Quezon City. The resolution was<br />

sponsored by Chris Hayes of the<br />

Australian Labor Party who visited the Philippines<br />

last year.<br />

Hayes told the parliament that De Lima is under<br />

detention because of her open criticism of President<br />

Duterte’s unrelenting war on drugs which, Hayes<br />

claimed, led to<br />

the deaths of drug<br />

suspects and small-time<br />

drug pushers. He also<br />

alleged that Philippine law<br />

enforcers used “untested<br />

statements by convicted drug<br />

lords, police officers and<br />

prison officials” to keep De<br />

Lima behind bars.<br />

To justify his interference<br />

in Philippine affairs, Hayes<br />

said an attack on human<br />

rights is an attack on<br />

collective humanity.<br />

Hayes’ accusations<br />

are groundless and<br />

are based on his very<br />

limited appreciation<br />

of why De Lima<br />

was detained by<br />

the Philippine<br />

government. Without<br />

truly understanding<br />

what happened in<br />

the De Lima case, this<br />

Australian politician<br />

dared to interfere in<br />

a local concern of the<br />

Philippines.<br />

The rude and irresponsible<br />

behavior of Hayes is an outright<br />

insult to the sovereignty of the Republic<br />

and Manila should give the Australian<br />

ambassador to the Philippines a dressing down.<br />

From the sweeping generalizations Hayes said to<br />

the Australian parliament, it is obvious that either<br />

he was fed the wrong information, or he did not<br />

bother verifying the information he obtained.<br />

The humiliation of Catholic Church<br />

TABLETS OF STONE<br />

Larry Faraon<br />

Hayes<br />

may have<br />

visited the country<br />

for a brief period,<br />

but unless he<br />

went around<br />

to interview<br />

President<br />

Duterte, the<br />

secretary of<br />

Justice<br />

or the<br />

It should be obvious by now that<br />

Imee Marcos, the eldest daughter<br />

of the late President Ferdinand<br />

Marcos, is running for the Senate<br />

in the coming elections. No less<br />

than President Rodrigo Duterte<br />

himself is campaigning for her.<br />

The surveys consider Imee<br />

Marcos as a likely winner in the<br />

senatorial race, and the Marcos<br />

camp is confident that she will<br />

win in the May polls because of<br />

the longevity of her incumbency<br />

as an elected official.<br />

Imee’s staunch supporters believe she<br />

will win also because the Marcos name has<br />

regained widespread public acceptability,<br />

as demonstrated by the 2010 senatorial<br />

victory of her brother, ex-Sen. Ferdinand<br />

“Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his near victory<br />

in the vice-presidential derby in 2016.<br />

It cannot also be discounted that their<br />

mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez<br />

Marcos, has held elective public office<br />

numerous times since the post-Marcos years.<br />

As in any election, candidates are<br />

vulnerable to issues. For Imee Marcos, the<br />

issue is about her academic credentials.<br />

The news media has created quite a<br />

hearts on how to address the<br />

biggest crisis ever to hit the<br />

Catholic Church since the<br />

Protestant Reformation in the<br />

16th century.<br />

In the words of Cardinal<br />

Blaise Cupich, a member of<br />

the executive committee, the<br />

purpose of the summit would<br />

be to “advance a framework<br />

of protocols for responding to<br />

allegations of clergy sexual abuse,<br />

including identifying concrete<br />

steps required to implement<br />

practices that safeguard children and to bring<br />

justice to victims in a way that is responsible,<br />

accountable and transparent — even in cultures<br />

where law enforcement or the government may<br />

not be reliable partners.”<br />

For the Catholic Church, which is holy, one,<br />

apostolic and universal, such sad episodes in<br />

this period of its existence of 2,000 years is not<br />

only humbling but, indeed, humiliating.<br />

Matters concerning sexual aberrations<br />

inflict a more or less permanent sting than,<br />

for instance, graft and corruption, especially<br />

for persons who are expected to take the<br />

prosecution<br />

witnesses, the<br />

information he got is<br />

one-sided and unreliable.<br />

What Hayes did is sloppy<br />

and reckless research. Just<br />

because he is a politician<br />

from a wealthy and powerful<br />

country does not excuse him<br />

from checking the veracity of<br />

what he was told.<br />

T h i s<br />

“The<br />

information<br />

he got is<br />

one-sided and<br />

unreliable.<br />

politician<br />

conveniently<br />

overlooked<br />

that De Lima was<br />

detained not because<br />

she is a critic of<br />

President Duterte, but<br />

because of the evidence obtained by the<br />

Department of Justice that seriously<br />

implicates her in the illegal drug trade<br />

at the national penitentiary, when she<br />

was still the secretary of Justice under<br />

then President Benigno Aquino III. As<br />

the secretary of Justice, De Lima<br />

had direct authority over the<br />

national penitentiary.<br />

Hayes also failed<br />

to consider that it<br />

was the news<br />

media which<br />

first exposed<br />

the glaring<br />

higher ground of moral ascendancy.<br />

Of course, sexual abuses committed by<br />

the clergy, like those committed by ordinary<br />

people, are private in nature. The Church, like<br />

any other organization, has its own internal<br />

mechanism which includes conviction and<br />

punishment in addressing such problems<br />

between its clergy and the Christian faithful.<br />

Depending on the nature and gravity of<br />

the offense, the punitive actions range from<br />

a simple suspension of ministries to being<br />

defrocked, meaning the permanent deprivation<br />

of one’s priestly ministry.<br />

Of course, romantic<br />

relationships with women,<br />

including paternity issues,<br />

are violations of the priestly<br />

celibacy, but still are<br />

considered within the purview<br />

of the “normal” dispositions of<br />

a healthy male.<br />

“Pedophilia,<br />

however,<br />

is neither<br />

normal nor<br />

outside the<br />

normal.<br />

Sexual relationships with the same sex,<br />

although loathsome, could still be subject to<br />

internal processes and resolutions, but<br />

are considered as “outside the normal”<br />

dispositions of the male kind. Most often,<br />

cessation of the exercise of one’s ministries<br />

Imee Marcos’ UP graduation issue<br />

stir when they questioned<br />

Imee’s announcement<br />

that she graduated from<br />

the University of the<br />

Philippines (UP) College<br />

of Law in April 1983. From<br />

what the news media<br />

have so far gathered,<br />

Imee’s name is not in<br />

the university’s record of<br />

graduates as attested to by<br />

a top official of the state<br />

university.<br />

It is also reported that<br />

although Imee’s name does not appear in<br />

the 1983 yearbook of the UP College of Law,<br />

she is prominently featured in a publication<br />

marking the 25th anniversary of the college’s<br />

graduating class of 1983.<br />

In support of the assertion that Imee<br />

graduated from the UP College of Law,<br />

her camp has shown to the news media<br />

photographs which show that she participated<br />

in a college ceremony held at the Meralco<br />

Theater in the Ortigas Center in Pasig in<br />

April 1983.<br />

This writer attended that ceremony as<br />

a guest of two of the graduates that year.<br />

One was an executive of the Philippine<br />

THE SCRUTINIZER<br />

Victor Avecilla<br />

anomalies in the national penitentiary,<br />

particularly the special treatment detained<br />

drug lords were getting from prison authorities<br />

for extended periods. The special treatment<br />

included air-conditioned accommodations,<br />

catered restaurant food and unbridled<br />

access to mobile phones, laptop computers<br />

and other electronic devices.<br />

A raid subsequently<br />

conducted by prison<br />

National Bank and the other later became a<br />

commissioner of the National Labor Relations<br />

Commission. Another invited guest was my<br />

fellow law student, Dennis Socrates, who is<br />

now the vice governor of Palawan.<br />

President and Mrs. Marcos, together with<br />

Bongbong, were present at the ceremony, and<br />

sat at the front row. The President and his<br />

family arrived in a black limousine.<br />

On the stage throughout the<br />

ceremony was Dean Froilan<br />

Bacungan of the UP College<br />

of Law.<br />

The guest speaker of the<br />

occasion was then Supreme<br />

Court (SC) Associate Justice<br />

Hermogenes Concepcion Jr.,<br />

whose speech was about the<br />

constitutionality of executive<br />

warrants of arrest.<br />

Other important personalities who also<br />

“Honors<br />

were given<br />

to the<br />

outstanding<br />

students<br />

present<br />

at that<br />

ceremony.<br />

sat in the front row were SC Chief Justice<br />

Enrique Fernando and Court of Appeals<br />

Justice Serafin Cuevas.<br />

Every graduate went on stage for the<br />

usual ritual. Honor graduates were given<br />

special acknowledgment on the stage. Imee<br />

was given honors.<br />

The ceremony started around 8 in the<br />

COMMENTARY<br />

5<br />

while undergoing intensive psycho-spiritual<br />

treatment to reorient the cleric is applied more<br />

commonly.<br />

Pedophilia, however, is neither normal nor<br />

outside the normal, but obviously “criminal”<br />

and, therefore, the external recourse to civil<br />

courts would be required. There are already<br />

cases of clerics serving time in jails.<br />

Unfortunately, publicity, mostly negative,<br />

both from the multimedia and social media is<br />

prejudicially maligning and hurting the image<br />

of the Catholic Church and even experts in<br />

damage control are whirling their heads on<br />

how to beat the cracks.<br />

Those who are neutral, biased, judgmental,<br />

vindictive or indifferent over such flagrant issues,<br />

probably are coming from what President Duterte<br />

often says: That the “Catholic Church is the most<br />

hypocritical institution in the world.”<br />

And the humiliation it now faces is welldeserved,<br />

so to speak!<br />

Yet, as in the past, in the midst of such<br />

unfortunate turn of events and trying moments,<br />

the Church which remains as a society of<br />

human beings, subject to weaknesses and<br />

limitations would still come out much better,<br />

for the better.<br />

That meddling Australian parliament<br />

authorities revealed the presence of narcotics,<br />

firearms, gambling equipment, electronic<br />

entertainment devices and plenty of money.<br />

The extent of the special treatment was so<br />

conspicuous that if De Lima conducted unannounced<br />

inspections of the national penitentiary, it would<br />

have been impossible for her not to have noticed<br />

the anomalies.<br />

Law enforcers have linked De Lima to the drug<br />

mess also through different witnesses, including her<br />

own driver, who was allegedly her bag man. The<br />

news media likewise<br />

asserted that<br />

her driver<br />

was<br />

also<br />

her<br />

lover<br />

whom<br />

s h e<br />

showered<br />

with expensive<br />

presents.<br />

Under the<br />

Constitution, bail<br />

is a matter of<br />

right, except when<br />

two conditions<br />

concur — the<br />

crime charged<br />

in not bailable<br />

and the evidence<br />

of guilt is strong.<br />

Serious drug<br />

offenses like the ones De<br />

Lima is facing, are not bailable<br />

under Philippine law. The initial<br />

evidence obtained against De Lima has<br />

been assessed by both the prosecution<br />

and the judiciary as sufficient enough<br />

to pursue anti-narcotics raps against<br />

her. These are the reasons why De Lima<br />

remains detained at Camp Crame and<br />

not those imagined by Hayes.<br />

Instead of recklessly meddling in<br />

Philippine affairs, Hayes should first<br />

do something about the way Australia<br />

treats its own aborigines. These native<br />

Australians are treated like second-class<br />

citizens there.<br />

morning, and ended long after lunch.<br />

President and Mrs. Marcos posed for<br />

photographs for some of the guests.<br />

Withal, the big mystery concerns the<br />

status of Imee Marcos as a graduate of the<br />

UP College of Law Class of 1983.<br />

If Imee Marcos is not in the official<br />

roster of graduates of the UP, why did the<br />

UP College of Law hold a college graduation<br />

ceremony at the Meralco Theater in April<br />

1983, with Imee and the members of her<br />

family, the college dean and the entire<br />

graduating class in attendance?<br />

To repeat, honors were given to the<br />

outstanding students present at that<br />

ceremony. What will be the status of those<br />

honors if the ceremony is bogus?<br />

It isn’t going to be easy for the news media<br />

to assert that Imee is not a graduate of the<br />

UP, because there was a graduation ceremony<br />

held at the Meralco Theater. In the same vein,<br />

Imee will have a difficult time insisting she<br />

is a graduate of the UP because her name is<br />

not in its roster of graduates.<br />

Difficult situations like this allow only<br />

one practical way out. The voters should<br />

decide, not so much as regards the academic<br />

credentials of Imee Marcos, but as to whether<br />

or not they want her as senator.


6 NEWS<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

Goal is lives<br />

made easier<br />

The POEA was also tasked<br />

to implement an intensified<br />

program against illegal<br />

recruitment<br />

From page 1<br />

and update periodically a handbook on<br />

the rights and responsibilities of migrant<br />

workers as provided by Philippine laws<br />

and the existing labor and social laws of<br />

the receiving country that will protect<br />

and guarantee the rights of migrant<br />

workers.”<br />

Idiotic act Dumped colorum tricycles make for an ugly sight at the Manila seedling bank on lawns and spaces which should have been<br />

used for growing trees.<br />

ANALY LABOR<br />

From page 1<br />

one entitled The Grass is Always<br />

Greener Over the Septic Tank.<br />

But John Barquilla and Carl Jhaziril<br />

have proven her wrong. The two were<br />

arrested Friday night with suspected<br />

drug pusher Marlon Rebucan following a<br />

Justice via full effort<br />

Effective rule of law is the<br />

foundation for communities of<br />

justice, opportunity and peace<br />

From page 1<br />

administration of justice as he said the<br />

Executive cannot do it alone.<br />

“The four universal principles<br />

of the World Justice Project rule<br />

of law framework, which include<br />

accountability, just laws, open<br />

government and accessible and impartial<br />

dispute resolution, require the support<br />

of all branches of the government,”<br />

Panelo said.<br />

“We need the support of Congress<br />

for the enactment of laws under just<br />

laws and open government as well<br />

as the cooperation of the Judicial<br />

Branch for the timely delivery of justice<br />

under accessible and impartial dispute<br />

resolution,” he added.<br />

All Rody advocacies<br />

“The Duterte administration has<br />

been tirelessly working on these since<br />

Day One and we are pleased of the<br />

Philippines’ improved global rank in<br />

<strong>2019</strong> as a result of our initiatives. We<br />

will not rest and continue exerting<br />

efforts on this aspect,” Panelo said.<br />

The country remains among the<br />

bottom three countries, along with<br />

Myanmar and Cambodia, in the East<br />

Asia and Pacific region when it comes<br />

to adherence to the rule of law.<br />

The report noted the rankings were<br />

made based on eight factors — constraints<br />

on government powers; absence of<br />

corruption; open government;<br />

fundamental rights; order and security;<br />

regulatory enforcement; civil justice, and<br />

criminal justice.<br />

Green grass of throne<br />

sting operation. Pictures from Barquilla<br />

and Jhaziril’s cellphones indicated<br />

the two are cultivating marijuana at a<br />

certain location.<br />

In a follow-up operation at a residence<br />

in Barangay Sta. Lucia, Quezon City<br />

authorities found pots in the rooftop of<br />

a house but whatever was planted in<br />

Panelo stressed that the WJP’s<br />

definition of the effective rule of law<br />

is already embodied in the Duterte<br />

administration’s Philippine Development<br />

Plan.<br />

“The World Justice Project defines<br />

effective rule of law as reducing corruption,<br />

combating poverty and disease and<br />

protecting people from injustice large<br />

and small — which are all embodied in<br />

the Duterte administration’s Philippine<br />

Development Plan 2017-2022 with the<br />

following strategic outcomes: enhancing<br />

the social fabric, inequality-reducing<br />

transformation and increasing growth<br />

potential,” Panelo said.<br />

Lags in Asia<br />

The WJP report revealed the<br />

Philippines also placed at the bottom<br />

of the roster for East Asia and the<br />

Pacific region, ranking 13th out of 15,<br />

ahead only of Myanmar and Cambodia.<br />

It ranked 14th out of 30 among lower<br />

middle income countries.<br />

Overall, ranked at the top of the WJP<br />

Rule of Law Index <strong>2019</strong> were Denmark<br />

(1), Norway (2) and Finland (3). The<br />

bottom three were the Democratic<br />

Republic of the Congo (124), Cambodia<br />

(125) and Venezuela (126).<br />

We need the support of Congress<br />

for the enactment of laws under<br />

just laws and open government.<br />

Meanwhile, East Asia and Pacific’s<br />

top performer was New Zealand (8th<br />

out of 126 countries globally), followed<br />

by Australia and Singapore.<br />

“Effective rule of law is the foundation<br />

for communities of justice, opportunity<br />

and peace,” William Neukom, WJP<br />

founder and CEO, said in the report.<br />

“No country has achieved a perfect<br />

realization of the rule of law. The WJP<br />

them were hurriedly taken out.<br />

Further search in an adjacent vacant<br />

lot led to the discovery of marijuana<br />

grown in six old water dippers used as<br />

pots. The raiding team was surprised to<br />

find another marijuana plant, a bigger<br />

one, growing in a toilet bowl filled with<br />

soil.<br />

The suspects are facing charges for<br />

violation of the Comprehensive Drugs<br />

Act. But Barquilla and Jhaziril have at<br />

least proven one thing: the grass grows<br />

greener at the toilet bowl.<br />

There were several laws signed<br />

last week, the rice tariffication, then<br />

the expanded maternity leave and the<br />

improvement of Social Security Service<br />

(SSS) benefits, Andanar said in a radio<br />

interview.<br />

“If you’re an SSS member and<br />

become involuntarily unemployed, you<br />

will receive an allowance of a minimum<br />

10,000 to tide you over while looking for<br />

a new occupation,” Andanar added.<br />

There was also the Universal Health<br />

Care Law which grants all Filipinos<br />

access to medication, he said.<br />

“That takes care of the eventuality of<br />

suffering a disease,” he added.<br />

Migrants plight eased<br />

Mr. Duterte also signed into law a<br />

measure that mandated the publication<br />

of a handbook that contains the rights<br />

and responsibilities of overseas Filipino<br />

workers (OFW).<br />

Signed by the President on 22<br />

February <strong>2019</strong> and made public by<br />

Malacañang yesterday, Republic Act<br />

11227, also known as the Handbook for<br />

OFW Act of 2018, directs the Philippine<br />

Overseas Employment Administration<br />

(POEA) “to develop, publish, disseminate<br />

Proudly local Footwear sells like hot cakes in Lucban, Quezon, a destination at this period of the year.<br />

Rule of Law Index is intended to be<br />

a first step in setting benchmarks,<br />

informing reforms, stimulating programs<br />

and deepening appreciation and<br />

understanding for the foundational<br />

importance of the rule of law.”<br />

Adherence to law<br />

The index measures rule of law<br />

adherence in 126 countries and<br />

jurisdictions worldwide was based on<br />

more than 120,000 household and 3,800<br />

expert surveys.<br />

Washington-based WJP said the<br />

index “measures countries’ rule<br />

of law performance across eight<br />

factors: Constraints on Government<br />

Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open<br />

Government, Fundamental Rights, Order<br />

and Security, Regulatory Enforcement,<br />

Civil Justice and Criminal Justice.”<br />

The administration<br />

of President<br />

Rodrigo Duterte<br />

Illegal recruiters targeted<br />

The POEA was also tasked to<br />

implement an intensified program against<br />

illegal recruitment, in cooperation with<br />

other law enforcement agencies.<br />

It also taps the POEA, Departments<br />

of Labor and Employment and Foreign<br />

Affairs (DFA) to promote the welfare of<br />

OFW and ensure that their rights are<br />

recognized and protected.<br />

The Overseas Workers Welfare<br />

Administration, DFA, Inter-Agency<br />

Council Against Trafficking, Commission<br />

on Filipinos Overseas and Maritime<br />

Industry Authority are also part of the<br />

undertaking.<br />

There were several laws signed<br />

last week, the rice tariffication,<br />

then the expanded maternity<br />

leave and the improvement of<br />

Social Security Service benefits.<br />

The handbook, to be written in<br />

English and then translated to different<br />

local dialects, will be given for free to<br />

land-based and sea-based OFW.<br />

It aims to empower Filipinos working<br />

overseas by making them fully aware of<br />

their benefits and drawbacks by being<br />

employed in a foreign land.<br />

ROMAN PROSPERO<br />

earlier had drawn criticisms for alleged<br />

violations of the rule of law in pursuit of<br />

its bloody war on drugs and the arrest<br />

of critics. Administration officials have<br />

many times defended the campaign,<br />

saying drug suspects slain in police<br />

operations had resisted arrest.<br />

Upon his inauguration in 2016,<br />

Duterte vowed to follow the rule<br />

of law.<br />

Real people power Restoring Manila Bay to its old glory needed peripheral rehabilitation work in other waterways such as in Navotas West where trash removal was led by barangay officials.<br />

ROMAN PROSPERO


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune NATION<br />

7<br />

Hotel closure vexes Mandaue traders<br />

By Rico M. Osmeña<br />

Mandaue City — based traders<br />

yesterday expressed concern over the<br />

decision by Mayor Luigi Quisumbing<br />

to order the closure of one of the most<br />

popular hotel brands in the region.<br />

Padlocked was Big Hotel, Big Hotel<br />

Suites and Linear Coffee Shop owned<br />

and managed by Cenore Corporation<br />

and Travelbee, respectively, for alleged<br />

contract violations and operating without<br />

business permit and registration.<br />

A separate order was served to<br />

Travelbee for Big Hotel Suites and Linear<br />

Coffee Shop for reportedly operating<br />

By Kathleen Mae Bulquerin<br />

The Philippine Army (PA) on Saturday<br />

bared that New People’s Army (NPA)<br />

rebels have intensified their recruitment<br />

activities in order to lure students<br />

and even teachers into joining their<br />

movement.<br />

This, as the PA 7th Infantry Division<br />

which is based in Nueva Ecija warned<br />

that NPA tacticians are actively operating<br />

in various schools and universities in<br />

the province to recruit students into<br />

their fold.<br />

Brig. Gen. Lenard Agustin, commander<br />

of 7th ID, revealed that Kathleen Ramos, a<br />

student of Central Luzon State University<br />

Muñoz campus, was recruited by the<br />

Apparently running out of<br />

space to operate and hide from<br />

government forces who were<br />

pursuing them relentlessly, some<br />

members of the terrorist group<br />

New People’s Army in Agusan del<br />

Norte became a bit more creative<br />

by using a cave as their hideout<br />

and dispensary.<br />

It did not take long, however,<br />

for the government troops from<br />

the 23rd Infantry Division to<br />

discover the Reds hiding place<br />

after residents of Buenavista town<br />

on Wednesday morning pointed to<br />

their location.<br />

And just like mice<br />

By Michael Pingol<br />

without business permits.<br />

The order also accused the firm of<br />

failing to pay business taxes and fees<br />

for calendar year <strong>2019</strong> and hiring an<br />

employee who did not pay occupational<br />

tax prior to employment.<br />

The development reportedly rattled<br />

the local businessmen some of whom<br />

expressed apprehension that they might<br />

be next in line.<br />

“The closure order was apparently<br />

sending a warning to us that we should<br />

toe the line or else” one of the traders<br />

who requested anonymity said without<br />

elaborating.<br />

Lawyer Deolito Alvarez, legal counsel<br />

League of Filipino Students and later<br />

by the NPA.<br />

Ramos was a veterinary medicine student<br />

in the said university when she was recruited<br />

by the student organization in 2002.<br />

After several<br />

years, Ramos was<br />

killed not during the<br />

pursuit operations of<br />

the military forces but<br />

by her NPA comrades<br />

who suspected her of<br />

being a snitch.<br />

Her remains<br />

were exhumed by<br />

the government<br />

soldiers through the<br />

information provided<br />

by a former rebel<br />

after being missing<br />

for three years.<br />

“All students and<br />

even teachers are<br />

vulnerable targets<br />

being chased by cats, the terrorists<br />

were forced to abandon their<br />

hideout in Sitio Bulak, Barangay<br />

Lower Olave after sensing the<br />

approaching soldiers.<br />

The 40x30-meter cave can<br />

accommodate at least 15 persons from<br />

where two Garand rifles, 90 pieces<br />

of medicine vials and subversive<br />

documents were recovered.<br />

The troops believed the rebels<br />

used their hideout as a makeshift<br />

hospital to perform operations on<br />

their wounded members based on<br />

the medicine vials found.<br />

Lt. Col. Francisco Molina<br />

Jr., commanding officer<br />

of 23rd IB praised the<br />

residents for helping<br />

them locate the<br />

hideout of the<br />

enemies.<br />

KMB<br />

The province of Palawan recently capped the month-long celebration of<br />

National Arts Month by showcasing<br />

the traditional and cultural dances<br />

through performances by select local<br />

dance troupes.<br />

With the theme “Carillon: Music<br />

and Dance Stage,” the night was truly<br />

a gathering of the province’s crème de<br />

la crème of local dance enthusiasts<br />

and artists.<br />

Among the performers were<br />

Palawan Dance Ensemble, Puerto<br />

Princesa City Banwa Dance and<br />

Arts, Palawan State University Dance<br />

Troupe, San Pedro Central School<br />

and Taytay Heritage Culture and Arts<br />

Program.<br />

Hundreds joined to<br />

watch the culminating<br />

program held in the al<br />

fresco garden fronting<br />

LOCAL<br />

the Puerto Princesa City<br />

Coliseum last 28 February.<br />

The event was<br />

organized by the<br />

provincial government<br />

in collaboration with<br />

the Puerto Princesa<br />

City Hall and the<br />

Philippine Folk Dance<br />

Society — Palawan<br />

Chapter.<br />

The spectators<br />

came to witness a<br />

world-class parade of<br />

local talents whose<br />

performances reflected<br />

the colorful folklore and<br />

rich traditions of the<br />

countryside.<br />

The month-long<br />

colorful celebration also<br />

featured Palaweño music<br />

and art exhibits through<br />

Pinta Kultura and was<br />

aimed at uniting all local<br />

artists of the province.<br />

The festival was also<br />

designed to showcase in<br />

visual art the unique and<br />

rich culture of Palawan<br />

and the Philippine<br />

countryside.<br />

Bobby Ricohermoso<br />

for Big Hotel, admitted the closure order<br />

notice was indeed served.<br />

He, however, insisted the hotel would<br />

be business as usual until a final decision<br />

is reached even as negotiations with the<br />

city hall were ongoing.<br />

A separate order was served to<br />

Travelbee for Big Hotel Suites<br />

and Linear Coffee Shop for<br />

reportedly operating without<br />

business permits.<br />

Alvarez likewise raised the possibility<br />

that politics played a role in the issuance<br />

of closure order.<br />

“The owners of Big Hotel are<br />

Reds intensify campus recruitment<br />

After several years, Ramos was<br />

killed not during the pursuit<br />

operations of the military forces<br />

but by her NPA comrades who<br />

suspected her of being a snitch.<br />

Artistic Young dancers perform a native dance during the celebration<br />

of National Arts Month in Palawan.<br />

Soldiers unearth terrorists<br />

cave hideout<br />

Good over evil St. Michael the Archangel triumphs over a demon in<br />

this statue inside the Malacañang compound.<br />

ROMAN PROSPERO<br />

Cops net meth-dealing<br />

university studes<br />

for NPA recruitment. I would like to tell<br />

everyone that if we want to see change<br />

in the government, we should change<br />

ourselves first,” said Agustin during a<br />

recent dialogue with local stakeholders.<br />

Red doctrine The New People’s Army is actively recruiting students to its fold.<br />

Palawan arts fest highlights<br />

cultural performances<br />

The spectators came to witness a world-class parade<br />

of local talents whose performances reflected the<br />

colorful folklore and rich traditions of the countryside<br />

METRO MANILA<br />

31°C<br />

22°C<br />

METRO CEBU<br />

31°C<br />

23°C<br />

METRO DAVAO<br />

34°C<br />

24°C<br />

INTERNATIONAL<br />

Tokyo<br />

JAPAN<br />

14°C<br />

6°C<br />

CLEAR SKIES<br />

BLURBAL THRUSTS<br />

Louie Logarta<br />

Louie Logarta’s column will<br />

resume next week.<br />

Hong Kong<br />

CHINA<br />

25°C<br />

PARTLY CLOUDY<br />

SKIES<br />

WE ARE HIRING!<br />

businessmen and not politicians. It is<br />

sad that businesses are often victimized<br />

by dirty, heartless and evil hands of<br />

politicians,” he said.<br />

It was gathered that during the time<br />

of Mayor Jonas Cortes, the city leased<br />

its property to Katumanan Hardware,<br />

Inc. which in turn subleased the same<br />

to Cenore Corporation through a deed<br />

of assignment.<br />

However, the Commission on Audit<br />

found out later that the deed of<br />

assignment did not have the authority<br />

of the city council.<br />

The city council reportedly tried to<br />

contact the management of the hotel to<br />

rectify the issue but the latter failed to<br />

comply with the summons.<br />

The city hall then gave Cenore<br />

30 days to justify and prove why the<br />

hotel shouldn’t be closed but failed,<br />

prompting the former to interpret it as<br />

clear manifestation of bad faith.<br />

Mandaue Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna<br />

WEATHER<br />

PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES<br />

PARTLY CLOUDY W/RAINSHOWER<br />

PARTLY CLOUDY W/RAINSHOWER<br />

Taipei<br />

TAIWAN<br />

20°C 27°C<br />

18°C<br />

PARTLY CLOUDY<br />

SKIES<br />

QUISUMBING<br />

said the original contract between the<br />

city and Katumanan was for 15 years,<br />

from 2007 to 2022, but this was extended<br />

to 25 years during renegotiation in 2012<br />

while Cortes was still mayor.<br />

The Cebu police on Friday arrested two college students while in<br />

possession of shabu which they claimed they were using to stay awake<br />

while studying their lessons.<br />

The suspects, identified as Marlito Alberca, 24, a second-year civil<br />

engineering student, and Blake Bantugan, 34, a third-year medical student.<br />

They were caught when they inadvertently dropped a packet of shabu<br />

along a sidewalk in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City and were spotted<br />

by cops on board a passing patrol car.<br />

Cpl. Giovanni Frasco of the Mambaling Police they were patrolling<br />

the area when they noted the suspects who were acting suspiciously.<br />

Looking for highly motivated and result-oriented<br />

individuals for the following posts:<br />

Accounting Clerk<br />

Applicants may bring or email their resumé to the Daily Tribune<br />

office at 3450 Concept Bldg., Florida St., Makati City.<br />

dailytribune@tribune.net.ph / 8337085


8<br />

METRO<br />

John Henry Dodson, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

Stay hydrated, DoH urges<br />

Water cheap antidote to heatstroke<br />

Duque upbeat on measles vaccination program seen to peak<br />

this month<br />

By Vernadeth de los Santos<br />

With the onset of summer, the<br />

Department of Health (DoH) yesterday<br />

urged Filipinos to stay fully hydrated to combat<br />

common dry-season<br />

ailments, especially<br />

heatstroke.<br />

DoH Secretary<br />

Francisco<br />

Duque III said<br />

dehydration is<br />

very common<br />

among children<br />

and the elderly,<br />

a condition<br />

easily<br />

remedied by drinking more fluids like water.<br />

“Make it a habit to drink water. Water<br />

is still the best and it’s free. People can<br />

also drink cold beverages but because<br />

they are loaded with sugar, they can<br />

trigger diabetes,” Duque said.<br />

He warned that heatstroke can<br />

be life-threatening more so for older<br />

people.<br />

“Water is all we need to fight heatstroke.<br />

Also stay out of the sun from 10 a.m. to 4<br />

p.m.,” Duque added.<br />

The DoH official, meanwhile, said the<br />

number of parents availing themselves<br />

of measles immunization for their<br />

children is very encouraging.<br />

He cited the importance<br />

of measles vaccination<br />

as he noted that of the<br />

200 fatalities due to<br />

measles, most were children.<br />

Duque said by mid-March they expect<br />

the total number of children given the<br />

anti-measles vaccine to grow bigger.<br />

A measles outbreak had affected<br />

Region 4-A, 3 and National<br />

Capital Region.<br />

Earlier, an<br />

infectious diseases expert had urged parents<br />

to have their children vaccinated against<br />

measles as she downplayed concerns over<br />

repeat shots.<br />

Those who are not sure whether<br />

they’ve already received the measles<br />

vaccine were advised by Dr. Anna Lisa<br />

Ong Lim to get themselves vaccinated.<br />

The president of the Pediatric Infectious<br />

Disease Society of the Philippines, Lim<br />

said there’s “no<br />

problem” with<br />

overdosage<br />

on the<br />

MMR vaccine which protects against<br />

measles, mumps and rubella.<br />

MMR is given to children from 9 months<br />

to 18 years old but can be given to babies<br />

as young as six months in the event of a<br />

measles outbreak.<br />

A repeat MMR vaccination poses<br />

no danger, experts<br />

had said, including<br />

the World Health<br />

Organization’s<br />

immunization<br />

technical officer<br />

Maricel Castro.<br />

3 in tow<br />

extort<br />

nabbed<br />

Police swoop down on<br />

MMDA impound area<br />

By Neil Alcober<br />

Three personnel of a<br />

towing company were arrested<br />

by the San Juan police for<br />

extortion in an operation<br />

late Friday afternoon inside<br />

the impounding area of<br />

the Metropolitan Manila<br />

Development Authority<br />

(MMDA).<br />

Tip leads to arrest of<br />

6 in shabu session.<br />

Senior Supt. Ariel Fulo,<br />

San Juan police chief,<br />

identified the suspects as<br />

Mario Ped, 46, a resident<br />

of Talipapa, Mindanao<br />

Avenue; Roberto Berberio,<br />

46, of Holy Cross Street,<br />

Mindanao Avenue, and<br />

Michaeal Tambo-Ong, 37, a<br />

resident of Carreon Village,<br />

San Bartolome, Novaliches,<br />

all in Quezon City.<br />

Fulo said Ped is San<br />

Juan’s 9th most wanted<br />

person facing robbery-extortion<br />

complaints in line with his<br />

and his cohorts’ modus<br />

operandi of extorting money<br />

from vehicle owners who<br />

had parking and road<br />

regulations.<br />

The three suspects were<br />

collared by tracker teams of<br />

the San Juan police during an<br />

operation inside the MMDA<br />

impounding area at Doña<br />

Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig<br />

City.<br />

The construction of the San Juan<br />

Medical Center is nearly complete,<br />

with its inauguration set this month,<br />

according to Mayor Guia Gomez.<br />

The outpatient department,<br />

emergency and operating rooms<br />

are already finished while the<br />

computer tomography (CT) scanner,<br />

x-rays and other medical imaging<br />

equipment will be installed soon,<br />

Gomez said.<br />

Mayor Guia sees March opening<br />

of half-billion-peso facility.<br />

The building is 90 percent<br />

By Alvin Murcia<br />

The National Bureau of Investigation<br />

(NBI) vowed yesterday to hound foreign<br />

criminals who think they can turn the<br />

Philippines into a safe haven and base of<br />

their nefarious activities.<br />

NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand<br />

Lavin said they have ordered intensified<br />

By Michael Pingol<br />

The government’s rehabilitation<br />

and clean-up drive at Manila Bay<br />

can benefit from the promotion of<br />

environment-friendly alternatives to<br />

single-use plastics.<br />

Several environmental groups<br />

gathered at the Rainbow Warrior ship<br />

docked at the Port of Manila over the<br />

weekend and raised this point, warning<br />

complete, Gomez said. “For me,<br />

that’s as good as complete,” she said<br />

in an earlier interview.<br />

“I am hoping by March we can open<br />

the outpatient department and the<br />

emegency rooms, and the operating<br />

rooms, CT Scan and laboratory by<br />

April or May,” the mayor added.<br />

The construction of the half-billion-peso<br />

San Juan Medical Center started in 2017.<br />

The refurbished center, at the old<br />

San Juan City Hall compound along N.<br />

Domingo St. in Barangay Balong-Bato,<br />

has a floor area of 7,130 square meters<br />

and projected to benefit thousands<br />

NBI warns foreign criminals<br />

operations against foreign nationals<br />

engaged in illegal activities following<br />

the recent arrest of two Chinese and<br />

their two Filipino cohorts for trafficking<br />

minors online.<br />

Also yesterday, the NBI presented a<br />

police officer alleged to have tortured an<br />

inmate in 2010. The suspect, PO1 Nonito<br />

Binayug, has been in hiding for nearly 10<br />

Southeast Asia is becoming a “hotspot”<br />

for plastic pollution.<br />

“We need to hold hands, stand together<br />

with government and push all reforms<br />

we need to see, especially in the most<br />

important source of the problem, which<br />

is the corporate sector,” Yeb Saño said.<br />

The SEA executive director of<br />

Greenpeace, Saño urged everyone to<br />

help address plastics pollution, noting<br />

that this problem can’t be solved by<br />

one sector only.<br />

Among the alternatives cited<br />

were reusable water and food<br />

containers.<br />

San Juan Medical Center nearly complete<br />

of residents.<br />

The medical facility,<br />

which has been operating<br />

for 20 years, was renamed<br />

as the Dr. Lorenzo M.<br />

Hocson Memorial Hospital,<br />

in memory of the center’s<br />

director from 1995 to 2008.<br />

NAlcober<br />

years when captured in Tondo.<br />

He is facing charges for violation of Republic<br />

Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009.<br />

The suspect is the younger brother of<br />

former Senior Insp. Joselito Binayug, the<br />

Sagip Manila Bay What better way to dig out garbage from the bay’s sands than to use the Department of Public Works<br />

and Highways’ heavy machineries?<br />

ALFONSO PADILA<br />

‘Help admin’s bay clean-up’<br />

Shun single-use plastic, private<br />

sector urged.<br />

“Corporations must also invest<br />

in alternative delivery systems for<br />

products,” the group said. “We can’t<br />

address the problem unless corporations<br />

that make products do their part<br />

as well.”<br />

Firefighter drones next? A member of the Raja<br />

Sulayman Fire Volunteers shows off their new firefighting robot<br />

during kick-off festivities of Fire Prevention Month at Quirino<br />

Grandstand at Rizal Park in Manila.<br />

BOB DUNGO JR.<br />

Phl will not serve as a safe haven for<br />

undesirable aliens.<br />

By Pat C. Santos<br />

Refreshing<br />

Coconut water or buko juice is great<br />

in beating the summer heat to prevent<br />

dehydration and heatstroke.<br />

ALFONSO PADILLA<br />

former commander of the Manila Police District<br />

Asuncion police community precinct.<br />

Senior Insp. Binayug had gained notoriety<br />

after a video surfaced showing him pulling<br />

a string attached to the genitals of a man<br />

arrested and brought to the precinct.<br />

“We are doing our best to protect our<br />

citizens against criminal elements preying<br />

on unsuspecting persons,” Lavin said.<br />

Cop quizzed<br />

on stolen bike<br />

The Manila Police District (MPD) anti-carnapping<br />

unit will investigate how a motorcycle stolen in Quezon<br />

City ended up in the possession of Police Officer 2<br />

Chuck Jethro Mariano.<br />

A man flagged at a police checkpoint in Paco, Manila<br />

fingered Mariano, assigned to the drug enforcement<br />

unit of MPD station 2, as the person from whom he<br />

borrowed the bike.<br />

1 hurt in Sampaloc dawn fire.<br />

According to Chief Insp. Salvador Tangdol, chief of<br />

the MPD anti-carnapping unit, John Louie Ramos, 29,<br />

was accosted at the checkpoint on A. Francisco and<br />

Onyx streets for driving a Yamaha Mio bike without<br />

a helmet.<br />

A verification of the motorcycle’s papers showed<br />

it was owned by a teacher and was reported stolen<br />

in July 2018 while parked in a burger joint along<br />

Tandang Sora.<br />

Found in the motorcycle compartment was a<br />

property acknowledge receipt for a gun bearing the<br />

name and photo of Mariano.<br />

Tangdol said Mariano will be asked to explain how<br />

he got hold of the stolen<br />

motorcycle.<br />

In Sampaloc, Manila, one<br />

person was<br />

rushed to the hospital after<br />

a fire gutted<br />

three apartment units and<br />

damaged<br />

three more apartments<br />

before dawn<br />

Saturday.<br />

A loud explosion<br />

was heard<br />

before the fire<br />

started in the<br />

apartment unit of<br />

the Ong family. A<br />

wall collapsed into<br />

a parked car.


MOST<br />

INNOVATIVE<br />

BROADSHEET<br />

2018<br />

44TH<br />

PHILIPPINES<br />

BUSINESS<br />

EXPO<br />

JBL‘S IN-EAR<br />

PLASTIC<br />

FANTASTIC<br />

FRYE BIDS<br />

GOODBYE<br />

ANOTHER<br />

C0-WORKING<br />

SPACE OPENS<br />

P11<br />

P17<br />

P13<br />

Jun Vallecera, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

SUNDAYBUSINESS<br />

9<br />

Economy sails north<br />

We are very positive with the Philippine<br />

market<br />

By Komfie Manalo<br />

The booming domestic economy and the emerging<br />

prospect of a stronger business environment have attracted<br />

a distributor of luxury yachts and wants to “moor” in the<br />

Philippines to set a foothold in the growing domestic<br />

yachting market.<br />

“We are very positive with the Philippine market,” said<br />

Bianca Jison, Asia Yachting Sales director in an interview<br />

with the Daily Tribune. “We see the economy growing so<br />

fast and we expect it to grow even bigger in the coming<br />

years ahead. So, yes, we are confident now is the perfect<br />

time to come to Philippine shores (to sell luxury yachts).”<br />

A survey released by Capital Economics in December<br />

last year titled Long-Term Global Economic Outlook,<br />

projected the Philippines to become the 18th largest<br />

economy in the world by 2<strong>03</strong>7. The London-based economic<br />

think tank said the country would outpace Turkey, Poland,<br />

Thailand, UAE, Egypt, Colombia, South Africa, Argentina,<br />

Czech Republic, Angola, Morocco and Kenya over the<br />

next 20 years.<br />

Independent data released by the Department of<br />

Finance showed the country’s gross domestic product<br />

(GDP) has been growing at a steady 6.5 percent average<br />

with foreign direct investments reaching an all-time high<br />

$10 billion in 2017 and $9.1 billion in the first 11 months<br />

of 2018.<br />

Filipino yachting community<br />

According to Jison, the domestic market for<br />

expensive boats vary, depending on the character<br />

and needs as the company customizes each yacht<br />

on the specifications of the buyer.<br />

What better way to enjoy exploring our<br />

islands than onboard a beautiful catamaran<br />

that combines high-performance, safety,<br />

space and design all into one amazing<br />

boat.<br />

JISON<br />

“Some buyers want to enjoy a family boat<br />

over weekends, so they probably want a house boat, while<br />

others, particularly the corporate types, might want to host<br />

company parties or even events. It really depends on what<br />

our customers want and we try to give them what they are<br />

looking for,” she added.<br />

Let’s sail<br />

With a brighter prospect here, Asia Yachting has introduced<br />

to the local market French boat Fountaine Pajot, which has<br />

been sailing around the world since 1976 and is encouraging<br />

everyone in the Philippines to create timeless memories by<br />

experiencing the beauty of its waters with those they love.<br />

“The natural beauty of the Philippines archipelago, clear<br />

waters, diverse marine life, warm weather — all make the<br />

Philippines one of the best cruising destinations in Asia,”<br />

New player enters cargo<br />

logistics industry<br />

J&T Express officially commenced<br />

operations in the country yesterday.<br />

THE entry of foreign distributor of luxury yachts is a strong indication of growing confidence on the Philippine economy.<br />

Jison said. “What better way to enjoy<br />

exploring our islands than onboard<br />

a beautiful catamaran that<br />

combines high-performance,<br />

safety, space and design all into<br />

one amazing boat,” she added.<br />

Fountaine Pajot is<br />

a producer of luxury<br />

catamarans. The shipyard<br />

launched its first catamaran<br />

sailboat in 1983, followed<br />

by its inaugural power<br />

catamaran in 1998.<br />

It recently smashed<br />

a sales record for sailing<br />

and motor yachts at the<br />

<strong>2019</strong> Miami Boat Show.<br />

Sales included several of<br />

its largest catamarans: Alegria 67 (sailing) and the new<br />

Power 67.<br />

Kevin Corfa, Fountaine Pajot’s business manager for<br />

Asia said the company aims to develop unique expertise<br />

to create high-performing, seaworthy, innovative and<br />

comfortable vessels. For example, “We build true motor<br />

yachts with our hulls designed and manufactured from<br />

the beginning; not like an adaptation of an already<br />

existing sail hull and then converting it into motor.<br />

This means incomparable performance and larger<br />

living space.”<br />

He added, “For sailing yachts, our helm stations, winches and<br />

other gears are very well designed to enable easier maneuvering<br />

even for inexperienced sailors. Most FP owners recognize this<br />

aspect as superior compared to the competition.”<br />

By AJ Bajo<br />

Hong Kong-established e-commerce<br />

courier J&T Express officially<br />

commenced operations in the country<br />

on Saturday, leveraging on technological<br />

innovation to penetrate the booming<br />

domestic express delivery service and<br />

digital market.<br />

As one of its primary goals, J&T<br />

Express is eyeing to expand to about<br />

1,000 branches across the archipelago.<br />

“We’re planning it in three years,<br />

but we (also) want to achieve it in two<br />

years,” J&T Express brand director Zoe<br />

Chi told reporters after the launching<br />

held in the courier’s biggest distribution<br />

GSIS offers emergency<br />

loan to ‘Usman’ victims<br />

The Government Service<br />

Insurance System (GSIS)<br />

is offering emergency loan<br />

to its active members and<br />

old-age pensioners who<br />

were affected by tropical<br />

depression Usman in<br />

Gloria, Oriental Mindoro.<br />

Old-age pensioners<br />

residing in the area<br />

may personally apply<br />

for a P20,000 loan.<br />

The deadline for<br />

application is 18 March.<br />

Active members with no<br />

existing emergency loan<br />

may apply for a P20,000<br />

loan while those who<br />

have not yet paid their<br />

emergency loan in full<br />

may borrow up to P40,000,<br />

from which the remaining<br />

balance will be deducted.<br />

To qualify, active<br />

members must be working<br />

or residing in the<br />

calamity-declared areas,<br />

not on leave of absence<br />

without pay, have no<br />

arrears in paying monthly<br />

mandatory life insurance<br />

or social insurance<br />

premium contributions,<br />

and have no unpaid<br />

loans for more than six<br />

months. They should also<br />

have a minimum net takehome<br />

pay of P5,000 after<br />

the monthly premium<br />

contributions and loan<br />

amortizations have been<br />

deducted.<br />

Active members may<br />

apply through the GSIS<br />

Wireless Automated<br />

Processing System<br />

(GWAPS) kiosk located<br />

in all GSIS branches<br />

and extension offices;<br />

provincial capitols; city<br />

halls; selected municipal<br />

offices; large government<br />

center in Taguig.<br />

The courier entered the Indonesian<br />

market in 2018, coming in second to<br />

the top after only three years with a<br />

record of 1.5 million packages delivered<br />

in one day.<br />

Currently, J&T Express is present in<br />

Southeast Asian countries Vietnam, Malaysia,<br />

Philippines and soon in Thailand. The courier<br />

is looking at expanding its delivery service<br />

country-to-country afterwards, it said.<br />

“The e-commerce market has grown<br />

exponentially and is poised to grow<br />

further in the Philippines,” J&T Express<br />

Philippines chief executive officer Dean<br />

Ding said.<br />

“That is why we are extremely<br />

agencies such as the<br />

Department of Education;<br />

29 Robinsons Malls and<br />

selected SM City branches<br />

in North EDSA, Manila,<br />

Pampanga, Cebu, SM Aura<br />

in Taguig, SM Southmall in<br />

Las Piñas and Mall of Asia<br />

in Pasay City.<br />

Old-age pensioners<br />

residing in the area may<br />

personally apply for a<br />

P20,000 loan. Pensioners<br />

who are also active<br />

members may apply for<br />

the loan only once.<br />

Emergency loan is<br />

payable in 36 equal monthly<br />

instalments at 6 percent<br />

interest rate per annum.<br />

It is covered by a loan<br />

redemption insurance,<br />

which deems the loan<br />

fully paid in case of the<br />

borrower’s demise, provided<br />

that loan repayment is up<br />

to date.<br />

excited to officially launch J&T<br />

Express in the country and become<br />

the express service of choice of<br />

Filipino merchants who are looking<br />

to sell their products online.”<br />

The technology-based and Internet<br />

development express company so far<br />

has established 254 branches in nine<br />

regions in the Philippines since<br />

starting preparations six months<br />

prior.<br />

It also has 41 distribution centers<br />

spanning from Baguio in the north<br />

and General Santos, Mindanao in the<br />

south, with a manpower of about 1,900<br />

employees and a fleet of 130 delivery<br />

trucks.<br />

How true is it that money from the conjugal dictatorship may<br />

soon flow at a major newspaper publication to help boost the<br />

candidacy of a sibling who is running in this year’s midterm<br />

polls?<br />

For all the controversy surrounding<br />

the inheritance fiasco of the late George<br />

S.K. Ty — one of the 10 richest Filipinos<br />

according to Forbes Magazine — GT<br />

Capital Holdings Inc., it turns out, is not<br />

stingy when it comes to donating for a<br />

worthy cause.<br />

GT Capital is a major-listed<br />

Philippine conglomerate involved in<br />

banking (Metrobank), automotive<br />

(Toyota), property (Federal Land<br />

and Pro-Friends), infrastructure<br />

(Metro Pacific), insurance (AXA) and<br />

motorcycle financing (Sumisho).<br />

Just recently, the primary vehicle<br />

for the holding and management of the<br />

diversified business interests of the Ty<br />

family, reportedly donated P30 million<br />

to the Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum<br />

Foundation Inc. through the George Ty<br />

Foundation Inc.<br />

It is said to be the most sizeable<br />

donation for the restoration of the<br />

museum housed at the century-old<br />

Gotiaco building named in honor of Don<br />

Pedro Gotiaco, one of the early Chinese<br />

settlers in Cebu. Other Cebu-based<br />

businesses that pitched in for the project<br />

gave only what can be considered paltry<br />

sums. The restoration began in 2016<br />

and was completed after 29 months of<br />

construction work.<br />

Extra care was taken to preserve the<br />

21 external and internal columns as well<br />

as the original elevator shaft claimed to<br />

house the first elevator in the Queen<br />

City of the South.<br />

He wants to know if there is an<br />

environmental regulation that<br />

can avert this practice of most<br />

developers.<br />

Last we heard, the wives of the late<br />

business tycoon are set to meet in court<br />

to settle their inheritance based on the<br />

86-year-old’s last will and testament.<br />

Ty’s first wife, Lourdes de Lara-Ty,<br />

petitioned the inheritance dispute after<br />

questioning the contents of Ty’s last will<br />

and testament that allegedly left her<br />

We could only ask<br />

and her two children out of<br />

the inheritance. The second<br />

wife, Mary Vy, had allegedly<br />

claimed all the inheritance<br />

left by the late tycoon.<br />

Reports have it that<br />

there were no official<br />

records that could confirm<br />

Ty married De Lara in<br />

Hong Kong in 1961. Official government<br />

records, on the other hand, showed Ty<br />

and Vy lawfully wed in the Philippines.<br />

They had four children.<br />

Ty succumbed to pancreatic cancer<br />

November last year at the age of 86.<br />

Manny Angeles<br />

q q q<br />

There is an ongoing joke that the<br />

“silent minority” could be back in the<br />

Senate with the political comeback of<br />

actor and former Sen. Lito Lapid.<br />

Lapid, who is running under the banner<br />

of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, is<br />

among the frontrunners in the “Magic 12.”<br />

But what’s this we heard that this early, his<br />

critics are out to thwart his bid because<br />

of the cash smuggling case of his wife,<br />

Marissa Tadeo-Lapid, who was sentenced<br />

to five months of home confinement and<br />

36 months probation after pleading guilty<br />

to the charges filed by the US immigration<br />

in 2013.<br />

Lapid’s wife originally<br />

came under suspicion in<br />

2010 when she failed to<br />

declare $40,000 in currency<br />

following her arrival at<br />

McCarran International<br />

Airport on a flight from<br />

the Philippines. According<br />

to court documents, US<br />

Customs and Border Protection officers<br />

subsequently found the money in Lapid’s<br />

luggage inside two socks and a cloth bag<br />

concealed under the suitcase’s lining.<br />

It is said to be the most sizeable<br />

donation for the restoration of the<br />

museum housed at the century-old<br />

Gotiaco building named in honor<br />

of Don Pedro Gotiaco.<br />

The question now foremost in<br />

everybody’s mind is, where did the money<br />

come from? Has the former senator got<br />

anything to do with this mess? Is he or his<br />

wife liable for any offense in the country?<br />

We could only ask.<br />

q q q<br />

TITTLETATTLES: Reacting to our<br />

previous column, a reader says he<br />

has it from a good source that trees<br />

at the entrance of the Ayala South<br />

Arca project in Taguig are being cut<br />

instead of balled, as should be the<br />

case so that they can be replanted<br />

elsewhere. He wants to know if<br />

there is an environmental regulation<br />

that can avert this practice of most<br />

developers. “They have done this to<br />

Makati, now they’re doing it again in<br />

Taguig,” the reader says… How true<br />

is it that money from the conjugal<br />

dictatorship may soon flow at a major<br />

newspaper publication to help boost<br />

the candidacy of a sibling who is<br />

running in this year’s midterm polls?<br />

The infusion of capital reportedly<br />

came after negotiations for the<br />

acquisition of the newspaper with<br />

the top honcho of a giant corporation<br />

fell through…A little birdie told us<br />

that horse racing, which enjoyed<br />

its heydays in the nineties, is now<br />

a dying industry. The advent of<br />

online games — some of which feature<br />

horseracing apps — has affected the<br />

sales of the three racing clubs in the<br />

country. He says the only chance that<br />

it could survive is for the three clubs<br />

to join hands and merge into one. As<br />

the late horseracing announcer Tony<br />

Trinidad hollers at the start of every<br />

race, “There they go!”


10 BUSINESS<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

Worldwide BPO business gives Phl advantage<br />

ISSUES AND VIEWS<br />

Kumar Balani<br />

COMMENTARY<br />

“The economy<br />

of the Philippines<br />

— about $332<br />

billion — was No.<br />

40 in size in the<br />

world among 190<br />

countries in 2018.<br />

NEW YORK, NY — When I call an 800-number<br />

seeking help related to a product or service<br />

I use, very often the person answering my<br />

call is someone located in Manila or Cebu or<br />

in Mumbai or Bangalore. Very seldom is the<br />

person located in Atlanta or New Orleans.<br />

I love that because I typically do not have to<br />

listen to a whole slew of other numbers for more<br />

options as is usually the case for United States-based<br />

call centers. Also, I can converse in Pilipino or<br />

Hindi and very often saying a simple “thank you”<br />

and expressing appreciation in these languages<br />

works miracles and saves me a lot of precious time.<br />

Globalization of business, particularly with<br />

large consumer-related companies in the US<br />

and Europe, has given the Philippines, India<br />

and other countries where many call centers,<br />

also known as business process outsourcing<br />

(BPO) facilities are located, huge competitive<br />

advantages.<br />

According to a recent Wikipedia article,<br />

BPO are now one of the fastest growing<br />

businesses worldwide and the Philippines is a<br />

top destination because of Filipinos’ proficiency<br />

in American-style English, including the use of<br />

slang words.<br />

In 2008, the Philippines surpassed India as<br />

the world leader in BPO and the majority of<br />

the top 10 BPO firms of the US operate in the<br />

Philippines. In 2005, the industry generated<br />

100,000 jobs and total revenues were placed at<br />

$960 million for that year. By 2011, BPO sector<br />

employment ballooned to over 700,000 people<br />

in the Philippines and generated $11 billion in<br />

revenues, contributing to a growing middle class.<br />

Several million Filipinos are employed in<br />

BPO, Wikipedia points out. In 2012, they were<br />

projected to grow to 1.3 million in number by<br />

2016 and generate revenues of $27 billion that<br />

year. Today they generate almost $200 billion<br />

including tourism or nearly 60 percent of the<br />

country’s gross domestic product (GDP).<br />

The Philippines has another advantage<br />

besides its large supply of English-proficient<br />

speakers, That is cost. With an exchange rate<br />

now of Philippine peso 52 to $1, hundreds,<br />

perhaps thousands of American and European<br />

companies now employ Filipinos typically<br />

through Philippine call centers.<br />

A broad range of services are provided by<br />

these centers, including customer care, education,<br />

financial services, online business-to-business and<br />

business-to-consumer support, travel services<br />

and much more. The BPO industry is one of the<br />

fastest growing in the Philippines and has much<br />

more potential.<br />

BPO facilities are located<br />

“The<br />

Philippines<br />

has another<br />

advantage<br />

besides its large<br />

supply of<br />

English-proficient<br />

speakers, That<br />

is cost.<br />

mainly in Metro Manila<br />

and Cebu City although<br />

other regional areas are<br />

now being promoted and<br />

developed for operations.<br />

The economy of the<br />

Philippines — about<br />

$332 billion — was No.<br />

40 in size in the world<br />

among 190 countries in<br />

2018, according to the<br />

International Monetary<br />

Fund. It was the 12 largest<br />

in Asia, on a nominal GDP basis after China,<br />

Japan, India, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia,<br />

Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and<br />

Singapore.<br />

What’s unique about the Philippines is its<br />

rapid GDP growth, with a four-year rounded<br />

average growth rate of 7.5 percent from 2013<br />

to 2017.<br />

By AJ Bajo<br />

Low-cost rice campaign<br />

reaches WalterMart<br />

The Department of Trade<br />

and Industry (DTI) successfully<br />

extended the availability of<br />

affordable imported well-milled<br />

rice amounting to as low as P38<br />

per kilo to 33 WalterMart stores<br />

nationwide.<br />

Varieties of well-milled rice are<br />

also made available in WalterMart<br />

supermarkets, for only about P34,<br />

P35 and P37 per kilo. Sugar is sold<br />

at P50 per kilo at the store.<br />

Known as the Presyong<br />

Paolo Eugenio Baltao, Union<br />

Bank of the Philippines<br />

(UnionBank) senior vice<br />

president and EON Banking<br />

group head, has been named one<br />

of the World’s Most Influential<br />

Payments Professionals at the<br />

World Payments Congress held<br />

in Mumbai, India last recently.<br />

Baltao was the only Filipino<br />

given the recognition alongside<br />

CEOs and top executives of<br />

other fintech companies<br />

including Madhu Sudhan<br />

of Mastercard, Yasmin<br />

Ulrich of Western Union<br />

Business Solutions and<br />

Siddharth Dhamija<br />

from PayPal India.<br />

The award<br />

recognizes<br />

financial technology<br />

(fintech) industry<br />

professionals who<br />

have played a key<br />

role in driving and<br />

adopting innovative<br />

digital payments<br />

solutions and practices<br />

all over the world.<br />

BALTAO<br />

Baltao has been championing<br />

the digital banking revolution. With<br />

almost three decades of experience<br />

Risonable Dapat (PRD) program,<br />

the government campaign was<br />

initiated last year to mitigate the<br />

effects of inflation.<br />

This removes traders in the<br />

process and makes quality<br />

rice more affordable for<br />

consumers.<br />

The program is also a “preview<br />

of the rice tariffication regime,<br />

which increases access points of<br />

cheaper rice to benefit Filipino<br />

consumers as well as enhances<br />

competitiveness of Filipino<br />

World’s Most Influential<br />

Payments Professional<br />

in product<br />

management<br />

and business<br />

development,<br />

Baltao, together<br />

with his team,<br />

has pioneered<br />

firsts in the<br />

banking<br />

industry<br />

through EON, the country’s first<br />

neo bank and first in Asia to do<br />

Selfie Banking.<br />

farmers,” DTI Secretary Ramon<br />

Lopez was quoted as saying during<br />

the launching on 26 February.<br />

The WalterMart inclusion<br />

brings the total number of<br />

participating major supermarkets<br />

to 471 nationwide.<br />

Other participating markets<br />

include 230 branches of SM<br />

Markets (SM Supermarket, SM<br />

Hypermarket and SM Savemore)<br />

in the Greater Manila Area and<br />

North Luzon, over 83 Puregold<br />

branches in Metro Manila and<br />

Luzon and nationwide branches<br />

of Robinsons Supermarket and<br />

The SM Store recently brought smiles<br />

and joys to thousands of kids around the<br />

country as they received new bundles of<br />

toys — educational board games, plush<br />

toys, play sets and novelty items — from<br />

the Share-A-Toy campaign.<br />

In this joint project of The SM Store and<br />

Toy Kingdom, booths were set up in all The SM<br />

Store and Toy Kingdom branches nationwide<br />

where shoppers had the chance to donate new<br />

and pre-loved toys for the benefit of the less<br />

fortunate children. Big hearted and generous<br />

shoppers donated 53,139 toys at all The SM<br />

Store and Toy Kingdom branches nationwide.<br />

Each donation entitled the customer to a<br />

P50 discount coupon which can be redeemed<br />

for every minimum P500 single-receipt purchase<br />

of regular-priced toys at any branch of The SM<br />

Store and Toy Kingdom. Coupons are valid until<br />

31 December <strong>2019</strong>.<br />

These toys were donated to thousands of<br />

less fortunate children from various schools,<br />

orphanages, local hospitals and churches. Among<br />

these were the Eugenia Ravasco Day Care<br />

Center and kids supervised by the Parañaque<br />

Development Foundation Inc.<br />

Less fortunate kids all over the country<br />

received toys from the campaign, as these<br />

were distributed in the Camp Aquino Station<br />

Robinsons Selections.<br />

The rice program is a<br />

partnership between the DTI,<br />

the National Food Authority,<br />

the Department of Agriculture,<br />

various supermarket chains and<br />

participating retailers.<br />

Participating retailers or<br />

importers with direct access to<br />

retailers directly import rice and<br />

sugar under the program and sell<br />

them at or lower than P38 per kilo<br />

and P50 kilo, respectively.<br />

This removes traders in the<br />

process and makes quality rice<br />

more affordable for consumers.<br />

VISITORS stand behind a 3D-printed model created for medical purpose at the stand of the US company Stratasys during the international fair FabCon 3D<br />

and Rapid Tech in Erfurt, Germany. China is quickly closing the gap on the adoption of 3D printing, a sector on the cusp of transforming from prototyping<br />

and design to real-life manufacturing and end-user engagement, according to an industry executive.<br />

CHINA DAILY<br />

These toys were donated to thousands<br />

of less fortunate children from various<br />

schools, orphanages, local hospitals<br />

and churches.<br />

CARS to be exported to Chile wait to be loaded onto a cargo ship in<br />

Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.<br />

CHINA DAILY<br />

China-Chile deal<br />

to boost ties<br />

More items will be exempted<br />

from tariffs after the upgraded<br />

free trade agreement between<br />

China and Chile came into place,<br />

with the exemption likely to cover<br />

98 percent of the items for bilateral<br />

trade, the Ministry of Commerce<br />

said on Friday.<br />

The China-Chile free trade<br />

area will become the country's<br />

highest-level one in terms of the<br />

opening-up in goods trade, the<br />

ministry said in a statement.<br />

The protocol will further<br />

explore the potential<br />

of China-Chile bilateral<br />

economic and trade<br />

cooperation.<br />

The renewed free trade<br />

agreement, signed in 2017, took<br />

effect on Friday. According to it,<br />

China will gradually eliminate<br />

tariffs on some wood products from<br />

Chile within three years and Chile<br />

will immediately eliminate tariffs<br />

on Chinese goods like textiles,<br />

clothing, home appliances and<br />

sugar products.<br />

"The protocol will further<br />

explore the potential of China-Chile<br />

bilateral economic and trade<br />

cooperation and enhance the<br />

level of trade liberalization and<br />

facilitation between the two<br />

'Share-a-toy' at the SM store<br />

countries," the ministry said.<br />

Wei Jianguo, vice president of<br />

the China Center for International<br />

Economic Exchanges, said<br />

China-Chile economic and trade<br />

cooperation can be further<br />

enriched, which is conducive to<br />

deepening ties between China and<br />

Latin America.<br />

Wei said China has an<br />

increasing demand for Chile's<br />

agricultural products such as fruit<br />

and meat and partnership in areas<br />

of e-commerce and environment<br />

has great potential.<br />

Official data showed bilateral<br />

trade reached $42.8 billion in<br />

2018, an increase of 24 percent<br />

year-on-year, accounting for<br />

almost one third of Chile's total<br />

foreign trade. Chile mainly<br />

exports mineral and forestry<br />

products to China, while it<br />

mainly imports textiles, light<br />

industrial products, electronic<br />

and machinery products from<br />

China.<br />

The China-Chile FTA, signed in<br />

2005, was the first FTA that China<br />

signed with a Latin American<br />

nation. In 2017, China and Chile<br />

upgraded the FTA, which covers<br />

protocol dealing with government<br />

procurement, competition policy<br />

and e-commerce businesses.<br />

China Daily<br />

CHILDREN from Eugenia Ravasco Day Care Center happily received their gifts filled with toys from<br />

The SM Store.<br />

Hospital, Cabanatuan City Day Care Center and<br />

Marilao Central School in North Luzon; and the<br />

Likha Molino IV Elementary School, Felicidad<br />

Sy Pediatric Ward and Lipa Archdiocesan Social<br />

Action Commission Inc. in South Luzon.<br />

These also brought joys to the VisMin<br />

area through the Life Care Community<br />

Services Foundation Inc. and Jeepney Bata<br />

Children Ministry in the Visayas and Communal<br />

Elementary School and Northern Mindanao<br />

Medical in Mindanao.<br />

Share-a Toy is one of the ways The SM<br />

Store and its customers team up to share<br />

blessings to the less fortunate.


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

TUNE 110BT<br />

JBL’s in-ear<br />

plastic fantastic<br />

By John Henry Dodson<br />

TECHTALKS<br />

11<br />

When the left channel of my Marshall<br />

Major II Bluetooth (BT) headphone conked<br />

out on me, I tried to resurrect from the<br />

grave my erstwhile go-to wired Sennheiser<br />

PX-100.<br />

Except that my soldering skills seemed<br />

to have deserted me and so the open-backed<br />

Senn stayed dead, leaving me with no<br />

option but to buy an el-cheapo replacement.<br />

Cheap is relative so for P1,999 I bought<br />

myself the JBL Tune110BT which, to my<br />

consternation, I found available at Lazada<br />

about P400 cheaper. I was not disappointed<br />

though as the little in-ear buds sounded<br />

big.<br />

Off the box, sans any break in, the JBL<br />

had the depth and punch bass heads crave<br />

for but without the congestion that muddy<br />

the midrange and overpower the highs. The<br />

sound is well-rounded and would do rock<br />

and even metal (think Korn or Systems of<br />

a Down) justice.<br />

It also has finesse even for chamber<br />

music and with the bass going down to<br />

about 24hz (it is rated at 20hz but it did<br />

not reach that low in my frequency sweep),<br />

you can play your Shostakovich and Bach<br />

and get plenty of goose bumps listening to<br />

pipe organ pieces.<br />

You can gallop through with the Light<br />

Cavalry and William Tell overtures and<br />

any of your favorite Telarc and Chesky<br />

recordings of full-orchestra spectaculars<br />

and the JBL will deliver oodles and oodles<br />

of fun.<br />

This is not to say though that I have no<br />

quibbles because there are some, including<br />

the too lengthy neck band that is about six<br />

inches longer than the crappy sounding<br />

(and more expensive at P3,600) Samsung<br />

Level Active Wireless earphones.<br />

Off the box, sans any break in,<br />

the JBL had the depth and punch<br />

bass heads crave but without the<br />

congestion that muddy the midrange<br />

and overpower the highs.<br />

Having been a fringe audiophile<br />

for most of my life, I can live with<br />

the longer band which hangs to your<br />

midriff when not in use. The magnets<br />

on each bud ensure they would stay<br />

together.<br />

For me, the JBL T110BT is all about the<br />

sound and that’s all that matters<br />

really when you have a Spotify<br />

Premium subscription. You can feed<br />

these buds any genre of<br />

music and you’ll be in, to<br />

borrow sports ed Aldrin<br />

Cardona’s descriptive,<br />

“sonic nirvana.”<br />

JBL is a brand that<br />

screams pro audio and<br />

rock stadium decibel-loud,<br />

chest-thumping bass.<br />

You’ll not get that here<br />

as for that you’ll need big,<br />

wired cans with matching<br />

top-notch headphone<br />

amplifications. But you’ll<br />

get enough bass as the<br />

packaging says, with the<br />

trademark JBL sound.<br />

My unit passed my<br />

bass frequency torture<br />

test and I detected no<br />

rattle or any physical<br />

anomalies with the<br />

drivers. So, is the JBL worth a<br />

listen? Yes, if you’re in the market for a<br />

good-sounding in-ear buds even if they feel<br />

unmistakably plastic.<br />

UNION Bank of the Philippines is spearheading capital engagement to better improve customer experience.<br />

We may not<br />

be the biggest<br />

bank now in<br />

terms of assets<br />

or number<br />

of branches,<br />

but with<br />

technology,<br />

we could be<br />

number one<br />

THE JBL<br />

Tune110BT.<br />

In digital arms race, UBP wins<br />

By Komfie Manalo<br />

Digital innovation is disrupting the banking industry, with<br />

technology playing an important role in optimizing consumer<br />

experience. In the digital arms race in the domestic banking sector,<br />

one company is staying ahead of the game by anticipating what’s<br />

next and taking bold steps to embrace what the future holds.<br />

“We want it to happen,” UnionBank of the Philippines (UBP)<br />

CEO and president Edwin Bautista told the Daily Tribune when<br />

asked to comment on studies showing all financial transactions<br />

in the Philippines will shift to digital by 2025.<br />

“We have prepared for it through careful<br />

planning and aggressively pursuing technological<br />

and digitalization programs in all our systems,”<br />

he added.<br />

And true enough, while almost all banks<br />

have focused their digitization by providing<br />

mobile functionality and online transactions,<br />

UBP anchored its digital transformation<br />

in establishing a robust architecture and<br />

infrastructure. The result is a complete<br />

digital organization that combines speed and<br />

convenience with human interactions and a<br />

unique business model that is changing the<br />

fundamentals of traditional banking.<br />

Artificial intelligence allows the bank to<br />

see granular cluster analysis to match<br />

an individual consumer product offering<br />

to the average for that consumer<br />

segment and use that data to cross-sell<br />

and strengthen relationships.<br />

UBP’s digital strategy is pillared on<br />

these four principles: Reinventing customer<br />

experience, leveraging the advantage of big<br />

data (artificial intelligence), creating a<br />

new business model and establishing a<br />

digitally-driven organization.<br />

Indeed, UBP is pioneering several<br />

initiatives that many of its much larger<br />

competitors are only starting to think of.<br />

The Aboitiz-led lender is the first to introduce<br />

BAUTISTA<br />

a face recognition technology platform that eliminates traditional<br />

passwords through its “Selfie Banking,” funded fintech (financial<br />

technology) sector, collaborated with rural banks with their i2i Project<br />

to enable connectivity and better financial services, used blockchain<br />

in its internal communications and even introduced the world’s first<br />

cryptocurrency ATM backed by a bank.<br />

“We may not be the biggest bank now in terms of assets or number<br />

of branches, but with technology, we could be number one. And even<br />

if full digitization of financial transactions does not happen, we can<br />

continue traditionally doing our business and still maintain UBP’s<br />

competitiveness,” Bautista described how the bank is positioning<br />

itself even with the uncertainties in the digital future.<br />

Customer experience<br />

According to Bautista, the customers are at the center of all the<br />

innovations UBP does. And this is evident on how the lender has<br />

reimagined and redefined its customer experiences with their<br />

digital initiatives.<br />

From manually mapping customer transactions, needs,<br />

purchases, advice and sales and administration, UBP is<br />

using big data or artificial intelligence to create a profile<br />

of each consumer’s journeys.<br />

Data analytics allow UBP’s relationship<br />

managers to choose which customer suits<br />

their expertise.<br />

Digitizing the customer journey not<br />

only saves money and free some bank for<br />

more critical functions like relationship<br />

building and cross-selling, streamlining<br />

the process makes their customers more<br />

satisfied because their needs are served<br />

from start to finish.<br />

Big data<br />

Using the big data or artificial<br />

intelligence, UBP has the<br />

advantage to identify business<br />

opportunities, better understand<br />

their consumers while reducing<br />

operational costs. Data mining<br />

allows the bank to better prospect<br />

and target clients.<br />

“In the old days, we analyze<br />

volumes of papers to understand the<br />

individual needs of our customers.<br />

But with data analytics, we now have<br />

a complete profile of our clients so<br />

we understand their requirement<br />

and we can provide them better<br />

services,” Bautista added.<br />

Data analytics allow UBP’s<br />

relationship managers to choose<br />

which customer suits their expertise<br />

based on the client’s demand and offer<br />

a tailored solution instead of suggesting<br />

a product that might not match.<br />

This means a relationship manager<br />

who is an expert in forex trading is<br />

partnered with a client who trades currencies or a commodities expert<br />

to a commodity trader and so forth.<br />

Artificial intelligence allows the bank to see granular cluster analysis<br />

to match an individual consumer product offering to the average for<br />

that consumer segment and use that data to cross-sell and strengthen<br />

relationships.<br />

The Ark experience<br />

Although digitization lessens the need for consumers to visit their<br />

branches, clients still prefer to be served the best of both worlds by<br />

interacting with an actual person for financial advice, while enjoying<br />

the speed and convenience of a digital experience.<br />

It is, for this reason, UnionBank launched The Ark, envisioned to be<br />

what bank branches will look in the future. The ARK hopes to win over<br />

a select clientele that is very comfortable with digital technology but still<br />

prefers the warmth of face-to-face transactions.<br />

Spend more<br />

to save more...memories<br />

SanDisk’s 1TB Card can be<br />

utilized as memory storage for<br />

various devices including mobile<br />

phones, digital cameras and<br />

even drones<br />

SANDISK is launching a flash card with 512 gigabytes of memory capacity.<br />

It’s still as small as a raisin but the memory it can<br />

house is unmistakably gargantuan.<br />

SanDisk, one of the most trusted technology<br />

brands in the world, has recently added one more<br />

product to its current roster: 1TB SanDisk Extreme.<br />

Now, you can capture and preserve memories as much<br />

as you want without having to fret about long transfer<br />

time or space restrictions.<br />

Compared to its competitor Micron which also<br />

introduced its C200 1TB MicroSD in the Mobile World<br />

Congress, what sets SanDisk’s 1TB flash card is its speed.<br />

Micron’s C200 1TB MicroSD has a 100 MB/s reading<br />

speed and a 95 MB/s for writing. While SanDisk’s 1TB<br />

MicroSD card has a write speed of 90 megabits per second<br />

and a 160 megabit per second for its read speed, making<br />

it the swiftest in the world yet.<br />

Although a majority of buyers are looking for a<br />

mobile device with high definition camera feature or<br />

long battery life, there are some who put a lot of weight<br />

on the memory capacity of their phone or a secure<br />

digital (SD) card.<br />

And here is SanDisk answering to that call.<br />

Aside from the large memory a 1TB MicroSD card<br />

can hold, SanDisk is also launching a flash card with 512<br />

gigabytes of memory capacity. These flashcards allow<br />

consumers to transfer and access files nearly half the<br />

times than the current memory cards in the market.<br />

Based on some expert’s standpoint, a 1TB SD card<br />

can hold up 183,104 photos with 16-megapixel captured<br />

using a Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera and up to<br />

18,304 compressed 16-megapixel images shot by the same<br />

camera model.<br />

SanDisk’s 1TB Card can be utilized as memory storage<br />

for various devices including mobile phones, digital<br />

cameras and even drones.<br />

Aside from the large memory a 1TB MicroSD card<br />

can hold, SanDisk is also launching a flash card<br />

with 512 gigabytes of memory capacity.<br />

1TB and<br />

512 GB<br />

cards will<br />

be made<br />

available to<br />

the market<br />

in April.<br />

Both of SanDisk’s ingenious 1TB and 512 GB memory<br />

cards will be made available to the market this April <strong>2019</strong><br />

and both are not pocket-friendly. With a price of $449.99<br />

and $199.99 respectively, consumers might have to<br />

spend more to save more.<br />

Gene Beatrice A. Micaller


12 TECHTALKS<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

By Gene Beatrice A. Micaller<br />

A group of Filipino innovators called Team it’s Now or<br />

Never (iNON) dominated the recent Space Apps challenge<br />

sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space<br />

Administration (NASA) with their ISDapp application<br />

that will benefit Filipino fisherfolks.<br />

Being an archipelago country, a majority of<br />

Filipinos rely on fisheries and aquaculture as<br />

their primary sources of livelihood and food.<br />

However, most of these fishermen belong to the<br />

segment which cannot or have limited access to<br />

the internet resulting in delayed or inadequate<br />

information on weather forecast that is crucial<br />

to their livelihood.<br />

Guide to preventing<br />

‘online epidemic’ Momo<br />

Bet you’ve heard of<br />

this internet figure that<br />

possesses wide eyes and<br />

a distorted cavernous mouth<br />

that’s taking everyone curious.<br />

Its name is Momo.<br />

Everyone’s asking, is it a hoax or not?<br />

But the question is not whether the<br />

story is true or not, but instead, it’s how<br />

their children.<br />

First on the list is to monitor your children’s online<br />

activities.<br />

In the Philippines where most of the internet users<br />

are young people, following this safety measure is vital<br />

in preventing Momo from entering and possibly breaking<br />

your child’s life.<br />

In recent posts, Department of Information and<br />

Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Eliseo Rio<br />

message from such account, do not click any malicious<br />

and suspicious link and immediately block it and report<br />

it to law enforcement agencies such as police and<br />

cybercrime board.<br />

Download applications and software only from<br />

trusted sources such as Google play store and Apple<br />

store app, and do not download third-party applications<br />

or those applications whose Android Package Kit (APK)<br />

you get from WhatsApp or any other source.<br />

to prevent this latest social media challenge stated the country do not have an effective law that can block<br />

from doing more harm before it’s too late. or regulate online platforms and applications, such as Facebook<br />

In the Philippines where most of the<br />

Momo, a creepy doll based from a sculptured and WhatsApp since its developers are situated abroad. internet users are young people, following<br />

artwork “Mother Bird” created by a Japanese special “The power to monitor, educate and empower the this safety measure is vital in preventing<br />

effects firm Link Factory, started making rounds on youth lies in the hands of parents and the rest of the Momo from entering and possibly breaking<br />

social media on 2016 and is making the public spooked and family,” the agency added.<br />

your child’s life.<br />

worried. Reports circulating online say that this horrifying<br />

character is targeting children and teenagers.<br />

And parents or guardians are the ones who feel more<br />

disturbed about this as the latest alleged victim is a three-year-old<br />

girl, Adaline Becerra.<br />

Experts advise the public, especially parents, that there are many<br />

effective ways to prevent Momo from having even a slight encounter with<br />

I.T. experts also advise the public to, as much as<br />

possible, connect only to private wi-fi and try avoiding<br />

browsing through public wi-fi. The momo challenge<br />

supposedly hacks someone’s device and scares them<br />

off by threatening to post their pictures and private<br />

information publicly.<br />

Furthermore, if you have received any form of a<br />

However, if your device has already been hacked<br />

and infiltrated, it is advised to reformat your system<br />

after backing up important storage and data.<br />

Some experts also suggest the public to cover-up<br />

cameras implanted on devices with stickers to prevent<br />

cyber-terrorists from infiltrating your device and taking<br />

photos of you impermissibly. Gene Beatrice A. Micaller<br />

Fishermen’s app triumph<br />

at NASA global tourney<br />

The interpreted data revolves around the<br />

weather and cloud coverage, the schedule of the sun’s<br />

rise and set, and the wind speed as well. These data will be sent as<br />

a short message service to a fisherman’s analog or digital phone.<br />

With these and the vision of helping and rebuilding Filipinos’ lives, Team iNON conceived ISDapp.<br />

To navigate ISDApp, a local government official has to download the app in his<br />

smartphone and enlist a specific fishing community in his locality.<br />

The next step, which is also the most pivotal one, will be the registration of each of<br />

the fisherman’s demographics and geographics starting with their name, age, birthdate,<br />

gender and address. In addition, the designated local official should also register the contact<br />

information of the fisherfolks. These fishermen will then be the community members the<br />

town official will watch over.<br />

On the more technical side, ISDapp will gather and transmit essential data from NASA<br />

and Weather Application Programming Interface (API) and decipher it for fishermen’s usage.<br />

The interpreted data revolves around the weather and cloud coverage, the schedule<br />

of the sun’s rise and set, and the wind speed as well. These data will be sent as a short<br />

message service (SMS) to a fisherman’s analog or digital phone.<br />

However, if a fisherman does not own any analog or smartphones, the town official has<br />

to disseminate the information manually most especially if the data is of significant impact<br />

to the community and the fishermen.<br />

US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim congratulates Philippine Team iNON for<br />

winning the NASA Space Apps Challenge Galactic Impact category. Team iNON members<br />

include (left-right): Matthew Concubierta, Revbrain Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, and<br />

Julius Czar Torreda.<br />

US EMBASSY<br />

PLDT answers Digong’s scare<br />

“If you see corruption, tell me. Call 8888. Bong, add another trunk line. The present<br />

setup can’t accommodate all the calls. It’s always busy. Tell PLDT. If not, I’ll shut down<br />

their business.”<br />

This was what President Rodrigo Duterte threatened dominant telecommunication<br />

company PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone) with during a campaign rally<br />

in Cebu recently.<br />

The 90-year-old company responded positively.<br />

Manny V. Pangilinan or more commonly known as MVP, in response to Duterte’s<br />

scare, said that they are “gonna put more lines than the 20 mandated in the contract<br />

with the government and we will man it ourselves.”<br />

MVP admitted that due to poor manning of the anti-graft and corruption hotline,<br />

the telco company has not been able to answer and address all the calls received.<br />

“We are responding to the President’s criticism,” the PLDT and MERALCO chief added.<br />

The business tycoon admitted the company’s shortcomings and also pleased that<br />

the President has gotten their attention.<br />

Despite the initial agreement that the telco<br />

company will only provide 20 lines in the 8888<br />

hotlines, Pangilinan said that they would<br />

augment the current roster of trunk lines in<br />

response to the clamor of the President and<br />

to accommodate more citizens’ needs. GAM<br />

PANGILINAN<br />

TESLA Model 3.<br />

Tencent restricts<br />

underage game<br />

players<br />

Chinese gaming giant Tencent has<br />

further tightened restrictions on underage<br />

game players by imposing a digital lock on<br />

logging onto some games.<br />

Players under 13 years old have to<br />

ask their guardians to unlock the game,<br />

the latest step from Tencent to avoid<br />

game addiction in children, the company<br />

announced Friday.<br />

The new restriction will be gradually<br />

piloted for the Chinese versions of its<br />

two popular games “Honor of Kings”<br />

and “PUBG Mobile” in 12 Chinese<br />

cities including Beijing, Chengdu and<br />

Changchun.<br />

The company has<br />

introduced a string of<br />

systems in the past two<br />

years to ensure that<br />

minors play games in<br />

a healthy manner.<br />

Tencent decided<br />

in 2017 that players<br />

under the age 12 could<br />

only play most of its<br />

games for one hour at<br />

most each day and are<br />

banned from playing<br />

from 9 p.m. in the day to<br />

8 a.m. the next morning.<br />

China is the world’s<br />

largest gaming market,<br />

with sales reaching<br />

214.44 billion yuan<br />

(about 32.01 billion<br />

U.S. dollars) last year,<br />

up 5.3 percent year on<br />

year, according to the<br />

China Game Publishers<br />

Association Publications<br />

Committee. Xinhua<br />

Technology has changed consumers’<br />

thinking and perception towards making<br />

purchases and transaction these days. And<br />

everyone’s going digital nowadays, from<br />

the business owners to the end consumers<br />

themselves.<br />

From booking flights, online shopping and<br />

ride-hailing apps are what drive consumers<br />

to go with digital wallet or go cashless when<br />

doing transactions. The main reasons? It’s<br />

convenient, fast and safe, some of the little<br />

luxuries paying with cash may sometimes<br />

can’t provide.<br />

GoDigital recently launched its OKTO<br />

series products that are designed to give<br />

customers a complete digital transaction<br />

experience. GoDigital introduced the OKTO<br />

Pay, OKTO Loyalty, and OKTO P.O.S.<br />

Started on 2016 composed mainly of<br />

gamers, GoDigital is now redefining the<br />

digital age with the vision of transforming<br />

and boosting the presence of SMEs in<br />

the country. But even with the presence<br />

of a lot of companies providing cashless<br />

transactions, the company still “don’t see<br />

anybody as competitor,” said Mark Joseph<br />

Gomez, the marketing director, during the<br />

press launch on Thursday.<br />

He explained, GoDigital focuses on their<br />

Tesla’s ‘mass market’<br />

$35k electric car ready<br />

Tesla said Thursday its Model 3 — heralded as an electric<br />

car for the masses — is available for order online only, at<br />

a price of $35,000 with delivery promised within a month.<br />

The announcement fulfills a vision of Tesla founder and<br />

chief Elon Musk, who has touted a more affordable electric<br />

car as part of his vision of weaning drivers from gasolinepowered<br />

vehicles.<br />

The Model 3 was to be priced at $35,000 when Tesla first<br />

began taking orders in 2016, but the cheapest version before<br />

today was about $10,000 more expensive despite price cuts<br />

that followed reductions in the US federal tax credit for vehicles<br />

not burning fossil fuels.<br />

Musk described the Model 3 early on as “the final step in the master plan: a<br />

mass market, affordable car.”<br />

Not long after Tesla was founded in 20<strong>03</strong>, Musk said the plan was to use money from<br />

high-end electric vehicles to create more affordable offerings to make the technology the<br />

new automotive norm.<br />

As it launched its least expensive Tesla, the company said it would sell only via the internet.<br />

“To achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable, Tesla is shifting sales<br />

worldwide to online only,” Tesla said in a statement.<br />

The “standard” Model 3 has a smaller range before recharging, of 220 miles (350 kilometers).<br />

Its specifications include a top speed of 130 miles per hour (208 kilometers per hour)<br />

and 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds.<br />

Not long after Tesla was founded in 20<strong>03</strong>, Musk said the plan was to<br />

use money from high-end electric vehicles to create more affordable<br />

offerings to make the technology the new automotive norm.<br />

“It is built to achieve the same perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version,”<br />

Tesla said.<br />

Tesla also introduced a Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which offers 240 miles of range,<br />

a more powerful drivetrain and premium interior features at a price of $37,000.<br />

Under pressure<br />

Tesla shares that closed the formal trading day up slightly slid three percent to $310.20<br />

in after-market trades that followed release of the news.<br />

“The bears will focus on this news as a sign that lower profitability and demand are<br />

catalyzing this move and strategic pivot, which we strongly disagree with,” Wedbush analyst<br />

Daniel Ives said in a note about Tesla to investors.<br />

“We believe this strategic shift was the right move at the right time for Tesla, although<br />

the stock will be a ‘prove me’ name for the next 6-9 months.”<br />

Tesla has been under pressure to increase production to show it can operate profitably<br />

and at the kind of scale needed to be considered a major auto company.<br />

While reaching the final step of his “master plan” with the Model 3, a standoff between<br />

US stock regulators and the flamboyant Musk has taken a dramatic turn over a tweet that<br />

could cost the entrepreneur his job at Tesla.<br />

AFP<br />

YOUNG Chinese gamers play Tencent's hugely popular mobile game Honour of Kings.<br />

GoDigital activates its OKTO series<br />

advantages, customization and robustness.<br />

For the benefits of both businesses and<br />

consumers, OKTO Pay provides cash-free<br />

transactions with the help of a user-friendly<br />

digital wallet. Through navigating the<br />

application, a consumer can, without an<br />

ounce of hassle, pay bills, purchase e-pins<br />

or even buy cellular loads.<br />

Wanting to disrupt the industry, GoDigital<br />

made the OKTO Pay available to the market<br />

without having them maintain a certain<br />

amount of balance.<br />

Gene Beatrice A. Micaller


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

LIVING SPACES<br />

13<br />

No traffic<br />

A TRENDY bar makes coffee breaks more fun.<br />

By Kathleen A. Llemit<br />

With traffic proving more difficult for motorists to cruise<br />

past Manila’s main thoroughfares and inner streets easily,<br />

more and more companies are searching for ways to efficiently<br />

run their business and, in the process, save on potential losses.<br />

The Japan International Cooperation Agency revealed<br />

in February 2018 that the Philippines is losing P3.5 billion a<br />

day due to traffic congestion in Manila. This definitely does<br />

not bode well for many businesses, more so for startups and<br />

MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises).<br />

The past years have seen shared spaces sprouting up<br />

within and in the outskirts of the central business districts<br />

in Makati, Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City (BGC).<br />

Recently, a global brand opened its first location at BGC<br />

in the city of Taguig. WeWork occupies the ninth and 10th<br />

floors of the Uptown Bonifacio Tower Three Building. It<br />

is an American company headquartered in New York City<br />

that offers shared work spaces and services for startups,<br />

freelancers, small and large businesses. It was founded in 2010<br />

by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and currently has<br />

425 locations in 100 cities in North America, South America,<br />

Africa, Europe and Asia.<br />

The new Manila offices bear the same aesthetic as all<br />

WeWork spaces — work stations that are splashed with pops<br />

of color and amenities that make work more fun. Juxtaposed<br />

with vibrantly colored conference rooms and private work<br />

spaces are game rooms with a table-top football and table<br />

tennis; a karaoke room and a whimsical garden overlooking<br />

the towers of BGC.<br />

Co-working and shared spaces have become<br />

the norm in recent years driven mostly by the<br />

worsening traffic (in some locations such as the<br />

Philippines) or the behavior of the majority of the<br />

workforce, which are the millennials.<br />

The latter features a mural by Filipino artist Bitto of<br />

artificial turf mounds and planters and a swing at one corner.<br />

To pay homage to its Filipino host, the BGC space has a<br />

neon sign at the 10th floor inspired by Filipino boxing icon<br />

Manny Pacquiao. Another sign is inspired by the popular<br />

Pinoy dessert, halo-halo (ice shaved dessert with bits of red<br />

beans, jellies at the bottom and topped with ice cream and<br />

leche flan).<br />

Growing business<br />

WeWork thrives on collaboration. Globally, it has 400,000<br />

members, 13,000 of which are enterprise member companies<br />

(businesses with 1,000 employees around the world). In Southeast<br />

Asia, it has grown to 13,000 after opening locations in Ho Chi<br />

Minh and Kuala Lumpur last year and in February in Manila<br />

with 800 members.<br />

Co-working and shared spaces have become the norm in<br />

recent years driven mostly by the worsening traffic (in some<br />

locations such as the Philippines) or the behavior of the majority<br />

of the workforce, which are the millennials.<br />

Many studies have found out that millennials, in particular,<br />

prefer co-working or shared spaces that cater to their need for<br />

work-life integration, a concept that tries to marry work and<br />

well-being in one space. Thus, most co-working or shared spaces<br />

appear as a more casual set-up than the traditional look of<br />

COLORFUL and relaxing lounges near the work spaces.<br />

Its report<br />

updated as of<br />

February <strong>2019</strong><br />

indicated that<br />

an average<br />

four-person<br />

company saved<br />

up to $18,000<br />

on average on<br />

rent, fit-out<br />

costs and<br />

broker and<br />

agent fees<br />

for an office<br />

space of 600<br />

square feet<br />

FUN time with<br />

table tennis and<br />

table top football.<br />

DE-STRESS at the indoor garden overlooking the city.<br />

modular and structured offices.<br />

But beyond the “more fun” look of these work spaces is the<br />

positive impact it gives to startups such as Klook Philippines<br />

and Edukasyon.ph.<br />

Beyond the hip and cool setup, WeWork, like similar<br />

companies, provides not just space but solutions for smaller<br />

businesses. Aside from the physical work spaces, it has a digital<br />

environment, accessible through an app, that not only answer<br />

to member inquiries and benefits but also helps link companies<br />

with fellow-member companies for potential collaborations.<br />

“Klook offerings are about in 20 countries worldwide and<br />

out of these, five are set up in WeWork locations with Manila<br />

as its newest addition. As a very cross-functioning structured<br />

company, we work closely with our colleagues from Singapore,<br />

Indonesia, Bangkok. As a travel company, we also empower our<br />

colleagues to see the world and it happens in other locations of<br />

Klook. So we really saw the value of having a global access with<br />

WeWork locations around the world. We are really banking and<br />

benefitting from the global network of WeWork,” Michelle Cruz,<br />

market lead of Klook Philippines, said.<br />

She added that since signing up with WeWork, Klook<br />

Philippines has grown from five staff including herself a year<br />

ago to more than 40 at present.<br />

Similarly, Judge Calimbahin, the Chief of Strategy of<br />

Edukasyon, shared how the global network of WeWork enabled<br />

them not just to handle their operations smoothly but touch<br />

base with other companies that can help in their cause.<br />

Edukasyon is an online platform for the Filipino Gen Z that<br />

aims to empower its visitors to make informed decisions.<br />

“It has helped take care of our daily operations but at<br />

the same time create events; it also helped us reach out to<br />

clients that we would have never reached out to if we didn’t<br />

have a space like this,” Calimbahin said.<br />

WeWork shared how it has made an impact in the<br />

United States, with locations from coast to coast such as its<br />

headquarters in New York City, Tampa, Florida and California.<br />

Its report updated as of February <strong>2019</strong> indicated that an<br />

average four-person company saved up to $18,000 on average<br />

on rent, fit-out costs and broker and agent fees for an office<br />

space of 600 square feet.<br />

Its data also showed that WeWork is the largest private-sector<br />

employer in New York and 17th largest in Los Angeles. It generates<br />

$16.7 billion, or approximately 2 percent of New York’s total gross<br />

domestic product.<br />

These promising numbers are yet to be seen for the<br />

Philippine market but WeWork already has plans to open<br />

a business at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City by Q2 of <strong>2019</strong>.<br />

Each unit is thoughtfully designed for optimal<br />

space usage and outfitted with the features that<br />

matter most to professionals<br />

Young urban professionals on the hunt for a perfectly<br />

balanced life can now say goodbye to heavy traffic,<br />

lengthy commutes and long queues!<br />

A dynamic place has risen in Amorsolo Street in<br />

Makati City.<br />

Premier real estate developer Ayala Land is<br />

redefining the co-living trend in Metro Manila with the<br />

opening of The Flats. The 15-story building (right behind<br />

Makati Medical Center) features co-living spaces for<br />

lease designed to revolutionize the way young urban<br />

professionals rent in the city. It’s hip, trendy and,<br />

above all things, it is close to both work and places for<br />

recreation.<br />

The Flats Amorsolo is all about having the luxury of time<br />

as it eliminates<br />

the need to<br />

rush from<br />

home to office.<br />

It mixes all the<br />

elements that<br />

make work-life<br />

balance possible<br />

— accessibility<br />

to work and<br />

living close to<br />

commercial and<br />

leisure spots.<br />

It’s located<br />

within a five-minute walk to Ayala Avenue and near<br />

the Dela Rosa Walkway, as well as other shops that<br />

cater to everyone’s convenience. So, there is no need to<br />

endure heavy traffic or wait in long queues at bus and<br />

UV express terminals. Occupants are free to walk from<br />

their unit to their office without rushing.<br />

The Flats Amorsolo is a solution for on-the-go<br />

professionals who are challenged by long commutes<br />

and traffic jams every day. Being close to everything<br />

means more chances to rest and recharge, bond with<br />

friends or enjoy<br />

Makati’s vibrant<br />

entertainment and<br />

dining offers.<br />

The co-living<br />

units are available<br />

for a six-month<br />

minimum lease<br />

term. Up to a<br />

maximum of four<br />

occupants can share<br />

each space. Units<br />

for three occupants<br />

and two occupants<br />

per room are also<br />

offered. These<br />

units are perfect<br />

for longtime friends,<br />

officemates and<br />

ACCESSIBLE and functional, the loft room even professionals<br />

can be the pick for those who want their who want to meet<br />

desk just below their bed.<br />

new flat mates to<br />

grow their network.<br />

Each unit is thoughtfully designed for optimal space<br />

usage and outfitted with the features that matter most to<br />

professionals — built-in beds, built-in cabinets, individual<br />

desk spaces, air-conditioning, a kitchenette to prepare<br />

your meals and an en suite toilet and bath with shower.<br />

Ample security is guaranteed as each occupant is<br />

given an electronic key card. A lobby and reception area<br />

feature basic service shops to ensure that occupants<br />

enjoy day-to-day home conveniences. Parking may be leased<br />

separately.<br />

More of<br />

these spaces<br />

carrying the<br />

Ayala Land<br />

brand will be<br />

launched in the<br />

coming months.<br />

These will be<br />

situated in<br />

other areas<br />

of Makati<br />

and Bonifacio<br />

Global City<br />

where a huge<br />

chunk of young urban professionals work.<br />

Send an email to hello@theflats.com.ph or a text<br />

message to 0917-5118113 for reservations. For more<br />

information about The Flats Amorsolo, visit theflats.com.<br />

ph or follow their Facebook and Instagram accounts @<br />

theflatsamorsolo.<br />

THE distinguishable<br />

and vibrant facade<br />

of The Flats brings a<br />

youthful and fun take<br />

on co-living.<br />

INVITING and bright colors greet tenants<br />

passing by the hallways.<br />

WORK desks inside the bunk bed type room<br />

provide functionality and efficiency.


14<br />

LIVING SPACES<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

When Nico<br />

and Erwan came<br />

to work…and play<br />

The end-result was their own<br />

space that is devoid of the<br />

traditional look of office spaces<br />

By Kathleen A. Llemit<br />

Along Chino Roces Avenue, there stands an<br />

old, nondescript building that seems just to fade<br />

away in the city that houses many of the country’s<br />

businesses. Along the stretch of the former Pasong<br />

Tamo Avenue are warehouse stores, car showrooms<br />

and offices with signages that scream the type of<br />

business they do.<br />

Those who have been to one of its floors,<br />

however, know the surprising sight of an<br />

unconventional space.<br />

From the moment they step foot on the<br />

staircase leading to the upper floor of Hectare<br />

One, they realize it is not the regular office with<br />

modular cubicles enclosed in white-washed walls.<br />

Rather, it is a cross<br />

between agricultural and<br />

industrial space. The<br />

walls are splashed with a<br />

somber gray, the flooring is<br />

cement, and the fixtures and<br />

furniture bear the green,<br />

brown and gray colors.<br />

There are occasional pops<br />

of color like a screaming<br />

fuchsia-colored square stool<br />

in one of the lounges and<br />

red chairs along one of the<br />

hallways.<br />

Accents are also very<br />

telling of who inhabit the<br />

place. There’s Yoda’s famous<br />

line, “Do or do not. There is<br />

no try,” stenciled on a piece<br />

of plywood, hanging by the<br />

rest stop in between the<br />

staircases. And then there’s<br />

a framed, signed football kit of Leo Messi at one<br />

of the prominent corners.<br />

By the looks of the office, it is a space<br />

frequented by unconventional office workers.<br />

Hectare One is the office of businessman Nico<br />

Bolzico and restaurateur and YouTuber Erwan<br />

Heussaff. Initially made famous through their<br />

showbiz girlfriends and now spouses, Solenn<br />

Heussaff and Anne Curtis, respectively, the<br />

gentlemen have successfully carved their names<br />

outside of the shadow of the gorgeous women<br />

they love.<br />

The popular brothers-in-law share the space<br />

where they let their creative side merge with their<br />

business practice.<br />

Work-life integration<br />

Bolzico heads LM10 Corporation. He sits as the<br />

president and chief executive officer of a “group<br />

of companies diversified to focus on bringing<br />

solutions.”<br />

The companies are Precision Agriculture, which<br />

conducts feasibility studies for land development;<br />

GenEx Biotech Group, a subsidiary that brings<br />

“advanced livestock genetics” in the country;<br />

Advanced Protein, an animal protein rendering<br />

plant and VieNovo,<br />

a manufacturing<br />

company that produces<br />

all-natural animal<br />

feeds.<br />

COMMUNAL areas define co-working spaces such as this pantry-cum-dining area.<br />

ERWAN does his Fat Kid Inside vlogs in his studio kitchen.<br />

NICO loves bringing his and Solenn's dog Pochola to the office.<br />

Heussaff, meanwhile, is in the<br />

restaurant business. He has put up<br />

dining outlets around the metro but<br />

he is more popularly known as “The<br />

Fat Kid Inside.” He started out with<br />

his blog bearing the same name as<br />

his moniker. The blog and his YouTube<br />

channel, all bearing the same moniker,<br />

have a combined million views.<br />

Viewers go to his sites for his travels,<br />

and most especially his cooking videos,<br />

which are shot in his studio at Hectare<br />

One.<br />

Workplace aesthetic<br />

“Most of the companies here are<br />

under the agricultural or food sector<br />

or a little bit of both. The name<br />

Hectare One stands for any agricultural<br />

endeavor that starts with one hectare.<br />

That’s where you’re starting, you grow<br />

from. The idea was to try to get all those<br />

agricultural notes — the rough flooring,<br />

the cement kind of feel, the very somber<br />

colors, but adding natural woods and<br />

greenery to get a very organic feel,”<br />

began Heusaff.<br />

Deciding on how the place was<br />

going to look like was a complementary<br />

process for the duo. Bolzico, Erwan<br />

recalled, was more of the “big picture kind of guy,”<br />

while he was more into the details.<br />

“I think both personalities really complemented<br />

each other in terms of how we wanted to<br />

create a space. Nico just wanted<br />

everything open, if Nico had his way<br />

there would be no walls. And then he<br />

realized: ‘Shit, I need walls,’” he recalled.<br />

His partner-collaborator agreed<br />

and corrected him a bit. “Being<br />

brutally honest I think I knew what<br />

I wanted but, I didn’t know how to<br />

make it to a reality so I think Erwan<br />

understood that, understood me very<br />

well because I have no taste; he has<br />

a lot of taste and he understands more<br />

about architecture — he knows what<br />

this is about. I have no idea. So I think<br />

he is being a modest about his answer,<br />

about the whole look and feel. I just said I<br />

wanted agri; I wanted it planned and I want<br />

it to look cool. Those were my three things,”<br />

Bolzico said.<br />

Fortunately for them, they found Mundo<br />

Design and Build, a design firm and<br />

general contractor that specializes<br />

in the fit-out phase of design and<br />

construction.<br />

The end-result was their own space that<br />

is devoid of the traditional look of office<br />

spaces. Was it because they both belong to<br />

the millennial crowd, that generation that is<br />

changing the landscape of the workforce in<br />

terms of behavior and workplace aesthetic?<br />

“Well, I think our generation is one that<br />

is very active and wants to as much as<br />

possible integrate our professional life with<br />

our regular life so we need to build spaces<br />

that are comfortable enough for people who<br />

are OK extending working hours or feel<br />

comfortable working on corporate hours.<br />

And that’s what we’re trying to foster here<br />

in terms of the culture — come and go as<br />

you please as long as the work’s done on<br />

time. And we’re all about productivity and<br />

POPS of color abound in Hectare One.<br />

efficiency versus clocking in and out of space.<br />

So what we have here is a very soothing feel but<br />

at the same time it is very professional. It’s kind<br />

of working at home but not really because it has<br />

structure,” Erwan explained.<br />

Space that fits<br />

They may strike one as carefree dudes who<br />

occasionally appear as goofballs in some of the<br />

videos they created with their wives, but here<br />

they present another facet of their personas as<br />

businessmen.<br />

“Well I guess the public sees a very small<br />

fragment of our lives. You know we’re just anybody<br />

else but in terms of the personalities of how we<br />

are very carefree but when it comes to work, we’re<br />

very professional. This is why the space is built<br />

this way. We didn’t want something too clinical<br />

and sanitized. We wanted something that fits our<br />

personality,” Erwan said.<br />

His partner and collaborator, Nico, turned<br />

serious and agreed. “Regardless of how public<br />

we are, we are entrepreneurs. The life of an<br />

entrepreneur is a rollercoaster. I think that goes<br />

that way. We work a lot in terms of a new project,<br />

we develop a lot of new things. We don’t have 9-to-5<br />

jobs but we still kind of like to work all the time,<br />

some even on Saturdays and Sundays. And yeah<br />

the place reflects a little bit of that,” Nico ended.<br />

The edge of owning<br />

an office space<br />

For business owners, an office space which they can call their<br />

own signifies they have achieved a major corporate milestone.<br />

As an investor or entrepreneur, ownership enables them to capitalize<br />

on their assets, as opposed to merely being a tenant. Ownership of an<br />

office space affords them the freedom to fit out and customize their<br />

unit’s amenities, depending on their business operation’s needs and<br />

specifications. Ownership also offers long-term financial advantages<br />

and investment potentials, including tax savings and better cash flow<br />

management.<br />

With a long-term fixed-rate mortgage, they can anticipate their<br />

monthly expenditures without fear of annual rent increases or,<br />

worse, lease expiration.<br />

The 32-story Parkway Corporate Center is now opening its doors<br />

to investors who want to give their businesses the singular advantage<br />

of occupying a corporate space in an intelligent, green-oriented<br />

building at Filinvest City in Alabang.<br />

Parkway Corporate Center’s building features and amenities<br />

are bound to attract top tenants. Business owners can acquire an<br />

office unit at a low cost. Typically, one can also demand higher<br />

rent that creates increased profits. And as landbank options in<br />

major central business districts (CBD) decrease and with the<br />

shortage of office spaces in Metro Manila, capital values and<br />

rents are experiencing an upsurge, with multinational tenants<br />

seeking longer lease terms for up to five to 10 years, allowing<br />

for longevity of guaranteed income and the assurance of steady<br />

and continuous returns.<br />

The building employs intelligent space planning with flexible<br />

and combinable office units averaging 36 square meters. Whole<br />

floor options for larger companies are also available.<br />

Modern building facilities include six high-speed elevators,<br />

24-hour security with CCTV cameras in strategic areas, 100<br />

percent back-up power and advanced fiber optic backbone. Other<br />

amenities include an elegant main lobby, a retail plaza at the<br />

ground floor, a fully-equipped business center for meetings and<br />

other small business functions, podium deck garden, balconies<br />

on every five levels, plus eight levels of secured parking.<br />

In keeping with Parkway Corporate Center’s green orientation,<br />

its glass curtain wall is double-glazed with a low e-coating to<br />

reduce heat and UV (ultra-violet) radiation, reducing cost while<br />

raising energy efficiency and sustainability.<br />

Filinvest City is a prime and strategic setting where a full<br />

spectrum of offerings — from premium lifestyle and retail facilities<br />

to one-of-a-kind residential concepts — are found for a genuine<br />

work-live-play environment.<br />

Enjoy greater accessibility as Filinvest City has an efficient<br />

public transportation hub South Station and easily connects to<br />

the north and CALABARZON area through Skyway, South Luzon<br />

Expressway and Daang Hari Road. Ninoy Aquino International<br />

Airport is just 10 kilometers away.<br />

For more information, call (02) 809-6517 or visit www.<br />

parkwaycorporate.com.<br />

ARTIST’S perspective of Parkway Corporate Center’s combinable office<br />

units averaging 36 square meters.<br />

DOT PROPERTY<br />

PHILIPPINES AWARDS<br />

2018<br />

LAROSA CAPITOL HILLS<br />

BY PRIMEHOMES<br />

BEST RESIDENTIAL<br />

BOTANICAL DEVELOPMENT<br />

www.dotpropertyawards.com


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

BLAST<br />

15<br />

POCKET ROCKET<br />

The manual transmission version of the<br />

<strong>2019</strong> Suzuki Swift subcompact hatch is a<br />

pocket rocket.<br />

That is because a 1,200 cc engine, slightly below<br />

870 kg of kerb weight, a stance reminiscent of a MINI<br />

Cooper and a stick shift make for thrills both forward<br />

and sideways.<br />

Going northward needs some skill in throttle moderation<br />

but there is always a positive response. You can’t let go of<br />

the gas and jump on it again, as there’s little to nil northward<br />

reaction. In fact, a notch or two after 2,500 rpm in second gear<br />

displays noticeable torque. If you want to make the car lively for<br />

long periods, don’t let the revs drop below 3,000 rpm. Just make sure<br />

that you’re in second gear as the ratio is somewhat tall. Short shifting<br />

to third gear drops the revs significantly as third gear feels like a mere<br />

bridge to fourth and fifth gears.<br />

If there is one quirk with the Swift’s stick shift, it’s the clutch pedal.<br />

The release point is high, which can be frustrating for those just learning to<br />

live with a manual transmission (M/T). Fortunately the leftmost pedal feel offers little<br />

resistance and the M/T stick has short throws. The shifter itself is a godsend when rifling<br />

thru the M/T slots on mountain passes, since your right wrist is void of tension on every row.<br />

A 1.2L straight four, slightly below 870 kg of kerb weight and a stick shift make<br />

for thrills both forward and sideways.<br />

The throttle and brake pedals are close to each other, which is great for heel-and-toe action. This movement<br />

requires you to step on the brake, your right heel hits the gas pedal in a manner that keeps the revs high and then<br />

going down a gear or two, in order for the engine speed to match the car’s speed. That way the transmission prevents<br />

itself from shift shock, thus prolonging its useable life.<br />

The Swift line is known for its handling. The <strong>2019</strong> Swift is no different, but this time toting 1,520 mm front and rear treads and<br />

Bridgestone Ecopia EP150 185/55R16 series rubber. The wide tire print and lateral distance between wheels make for supreme<br />

confidence going in and out of slow turns up to 80-90 kph. Surprisingly, even with the rim-and-tire combo, the ride is firm<br />

bordering on hard. Further, the dampers do a great job of absorbing most noise, vibration and harshness, helped a lot by the<br />

fabric seats. The steering has a light feel yet sharp on feedback. No need to make little corrections on sweeping decreasing<br />

radius turns as the front end rapidly follows the direction of the steering wheel.<br />

The Swift’s safety aspect can be a love-hate matter. The stoppers have strong grip, with just a simple middle pedal prod<br />

making the hatch display pitch at the first bite of the calipers. However, the rear brakes are drums. This means that on<br />

heavy deceleration, there are occasions when the rear end fishtails. Adding to this issue is the lack of stability control,<br />

which means your skill behind the wheel is what will save you and the Swift from a disastrous prang. It’s a fun car for<br />

the experienced performance driver, but for a newbie just getting used to driving an M/T, it’s best not to go flat out.<br />

Lights-wise, the daytime running lights are bright enough to replace the park lights and headlights at dawn or dusk.<br />

Just because the stick shift Swift is a speedster doesn’t mean that it can’t be comfortable. The fabric seats have a<br />

sofa-like thickness to them and allows any non-driver to get sleep on long trips. The front seats have pronounced bolsters<br />

similar to racing seats and help keep hips in place during cornering. The in-car infotainment has satellite navigation,<br />

a USB port and an auxiliary input jack, Bluetooth connectivity (including playing music via one’s smartphone) and<br />

steering wheel controls at the nine o’clock side. The airconditioning is cold, even at the blower one setting and the<br />

temperature at close to maximum level. There are eight cupholders, including one for each door and two within the<br />

rear backrest divider. The rear backrest doesn’t fold flush with the cargo bay but has Isofix latches to mount a child<br />

car seat or two. Last, the cargo hold can fit a balikbayan box and two to three medium travel backpacks, with the rear<br />

backrests upright and sans tonneau cover.<br />

The stick shift version of the <strong>2019</strong> Suzuki Swift may have some braking and secondary safety system issues but the forward<br />

motion, lateral behavior and cabin comforts make the hatchback a potential performance platform.<br />

JPM<br />

SPECIFICATIONS<br />

Vehicle: Suzuki Swift M/T (<strong>2019</strong>)<br />

Type: Subcompact passenger car (five door hatchback)<br />

Engine type: K12M DOHC 16-valve 1.2L inline four cylinder gasoline (73.0 mm bore x 71.5<br />

mm stroke, 11.0:1 compression ratio), naturally aspirated<br />

Transmission: Five speed manual, front wheel drive<br />

Price as tested: P755,000<br />

THE low ground clearance and overall<br />

design is similar to the current MINI<br />

Cooper line.<br />

Although<br />

the team refuses to admit<br />

it, timesheets and rivals deemed that Ferrari’s<br />

SF90 F1 car was the quickest in Barcelona circuit<br />

winter testing.<br />

At the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona,<br />

Spain, lead Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel topped<br />

the timesheets with a 1:18:161 lap, running 160<br />

laps or the equivalent of two-and-a-half Grands<br />

Prix distances. The German did most of his<br />

driving and data logging in the morning sessions,<br />

using the harder Pirelli Compound 3 tires.<br />

Second overall during the Barcelona winter<br />

testing was Vettel’s teammate Charles Leclerc.<br />

The Monaco resident posted a 1:18:247 and<br />

running three less laps than his teammate on<br />

the same Compound 3 rubber. Leclerc, however,<br />

was quick to downplay an alleged struggle to<br />

adapt himself to the SF90 after spending the<br />

previous F1 season with Sauber.<br />

“It’s a different position where I am now. Last<br />

year, (during winter testing), I was coming from<br />

Formula 2, so the step was big. Now it’s from one<br />

F1 car to another, so obviously the step is smaller.<br />

But I got used to it very quickly, (as I) already feel<br />

quite at ease with (the SF90). The car is quite easy<br />

to drive now,” said Leclerc in a statement to the<br />

Federation Internationale de l’Automobile or FIA.<br />

Ferrari was the fastest in F1 winter<br />

testing, with lead driver Seb Vettel<br />

posting a timesheet-topping 1:18:161.<br />

Alexander<br />

Albon ran a 1:19:301 and some 100-odd<br />

laps before spinning out. New Renault driver<br />

Daniel Ricciardo sped up to 1:19:886 and was<br />

well on his way to his 29th lap before the rear<br />

wing snapped and broke on his RS19. Red Bull<br />

racer Pierre Gasly (fastest time: 1:19:814) was<br />

getting close to a century of laps logged before<br />

he lost control of his RB15 and smacked the<br />

Turn 12 barriers.<br />

Defending F1 driver’s champ Lewis Hamilton<br />

and Mercedes F1 teammate Valtteri Bottas were<br />

content to just log testing laps. The Brit ran just<br />

74 laps and notched a fastest time of 1:19:928.<br />

On the other hand, Bottas and his W10 <strong>2019</strong> ran<br />

20 more laps than his teammate and was faster<br />

on a single lap (1:19:535). Bottas acknowledged<br />

during a late February event with Mercedes F1<br />

sponsor Petronas in Italy that the SF90 was<br />

fast during the Circuit de Catalunya tests, but<br />

maintained that it was too early to tell as to<br />

who will be this season’s pecking order. “The<br />

in-season development will be what decides who<br />

wins. Obviously it’s impossible to make detailed<br />

calculations, but we can’t rely on upgrades all<br />

the time. We do need to try and make (the W10<br />

<strong>2019</strong>) better and quicker.”<br />

Third overall during testing was McLaren<br />

F1 rookie Lando Norris. The F1 newbie logged<br />

a fastest time of 1:18:553 and ran 104 laps on<br />

the softer Pirelli Compound 2.<br />

The rest of the field were in the<br />

1:19 level, but there were some<br />

dramatic moments. Toro<br />

Rosso F1 rookie<br />

driver<br />

PRETTY much you<br />

could see Ferrari’s<br />

SF90 at the top of the<br />

testing leaderboard at<br />

Barcelona’s Circuit de<br />

Catalunya.


16<br />

BLAST<br />

Jude Morte, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

In a crowded compact sport-ute arena, the Hyundai Tucson is very<br />

much a topflight option.<br />

That’s because even with a minor change for the <strong>2019</strong> model year, the<br />

compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) can make any occupant extremely happy.<br />

What will most certainly appeal to the future Tucson driver-owner is the<br />

cabin, which sports a bevy of changes. The biggest upgrade, obviously, is the in-car<br />

infotainment or ICI. Now sporting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the ICI allows<br />

one to access his or her smartphone’s favorite apps and use them via the eight-inch ICI<br />

touchscreen atop the middle airconditioning vents. Even realtime satellite navigational<br />

apps such as Waze and Google Maps can be utilized on the head unit, very much helpful<br />

when you’re in a hurry and you need to avoid traffic slowdown areas during rush hour.<br />

Improved in-car infotainment and driving dynamics make the <strong>2019</strong><br />

Hyundai Tucson a serious consideration when it comes to compact<br />

sport-utes.<br />

The core competency of any ICI is the ability to play audio and video tracks without signal<br />

interruption — a bugbear of playing music via an auto’s head unit Bluetooth function. With Android Auto and<br />

Apple CarPlay, there’s no tendency for an audio or video file to slow down or skip. Plus, the six-speaker setup<br />

ensures that even pre World War 2 hits such as Tommy Dorsey’s rendition of “Sleepy Lagoon” are broadcast loud<br />

and clear throughout the interior. Lest this writer forgets, the Bluetooth function is also helpful. That’s because the<br />

Tucson’s built-in mic has strong pickup and allows any front occupant to talk to another party without background noise.<br />

What made the Tucson a game-changer in its original 2016 form were compact SUV confines that can sit five average<br />

Filipinos comfortably AND their respective baggage. There are eight cupholders, including two within the rear backrest<br />

divider. The rear backrest now has Isofix latches to mount child car seats. The cargo bay proper, with the rear backrests<br />

upright, swallows a balikbayan box and a DHL Jumbo Box plus two large backpacks. Last, the rear backrests can fold flat<br />

and flush with the cargo hold to handle long or odd-shaped items — with those items held securely by your choice of rope and<br />

the Tucson’s tie-downs near the d-pillars.<br />

Hyundai retained the turbodiesel R 2.0L straight four under the hood, but added two more forward gears, turned the Tucson<br />

into front-wheel-drive and introduced a more responsive tri-level Drive Select mode (Eco, Normal and Sport). As a result, there’s<br />

noticeable engine pull in the default “(D)rive” setup and the Normal mode, some two to three notches after 1,500 rpm. By 2,000<br />

rpm, the turbo is beginning to spool and is wide awake by 2,500 rpm. But if you need serious highway overtaking, toggle the Drive<br />

Select mode to Sport, toss the automatic transmission or A/T to “D” and move it to the right for the manual mode. Doing the said<br />

process makes full boost arrive early, but make sure you don’t bounce off the rev limiter in second and third gear. That’s because<br />

the A/T’s second and third ratios are short, encouraging early upshifts to fourth up to sixth gear.<br />

With 7.0J x 18-inch rims and Nexen Npriz RH7 225/55 tires, the tire-to-road contact patch is wide enough for commitment<br />

to most slow corners. You can actually enter slow sweepers at 70-80 kph without the front end plowing. On the other hand, the<br />

ride comfort is firm but rarely hard. Steering is light but sharp, the latter providing transmitted feedback to the steering wheel<br />

on every lock-to-lock attempt.<br />

There are some changes to the SUV’s safety features. The electronic, lever-based parking brake behind the A/T is now<br />

a footbrake at the dead pedal side of the cockpit, the footbrake displaying decent to good bite. Only the rear bumper has<br />

parking sensors, but long backing and parallel parking are aided by a reverse gear-activated camera and a color-coded guide.<br />

The lattermost feature depicts in real time where the rear end will move, based on steering wheel direction. Just about the<br />

only disappointment in this regard was the lack of a rear view mirror dimming feature, which can cut down on glare from<br />

headlights behind the Tucson.<br />

Improved in-car infotainment and driving dynamics make the <strong>2019</strong> Hyundai Tucson a serious consideration when it<br />

comes to compact sport-utes.<br />

JPM<br />

SPECIFICATIONS<br />

Vehicle: Hyundai Tucson 2.0 CRDi GLS 8AT 2WD FL<br />

Type: Compact sport utility vehicle<br />

Engine type: Hyundai R 2.0L inline four cylinder diesel (182 hp / 402 NM),<br />

with common rail direct injection, variable geometry turbocharger with<br />

elecronic boost control and front mount intercooler<br />

Transmission: Eight speed automatic (with Drive Select<br />

mode and manual mode), front wheel drive<br />

Price as tested: P1.835 million<br />

CONTENDER<br />

EVEN NOW<br />

THE <strong>2019</strong> Tucson is still<br />

a looker in the exterior<br />

department.<br />

Toyota admits that the RAV4 sport-ute is a niche product but<br />

the Japanese automaker insists that the auto is very much part of<br />

their <strong>2019</strong> sales and growth plans.<br />

In fact, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (tmpc) first vice president<br />

(brand and product planning cluster) Maria Cristina Arevalo was keen<br />

on making the RAV4 brand a positively noisy one for <strong>2019</strong>. “The RAV4 has<br />

always been a crossover SUV, always meant as a youth-oriented brand since<br />

its 1996 introduction here. The RAV4’s market is a niche market, (but it’s) quite<br />

significant. It’s classified per what we call the SUV-low segment, (competing) with<br />

the likes of the Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V. If we can sell more than 1,000 units<br />

per year, that’s still a good (performance).”<br />

TMPC first vice president (brand<br />

and product planning cluster)<br />

Maria Cristina Arevalo hopes<br />

the RAV4 sells more than 1,000<br />

units per year.<br />

The RAV4 has always been a crossover SUV, always meant<br />

as a youth-oriented brand since its 1996 introduction.<br />

Arevalo was confident about the fifth generation RAV4’s prospects, as she toted the previous<br />

model as a reference point. “The (fourth generation RAV4), when it was introduced, hit more than 100<br />

units per month. But then, through the years, based on natural model life cycles, sales goes down — the<br />

lowest being the last year before the next full model change. That’s because aside from the interest, the<br />

supply also is limited (during) the product’s last year.”<br />

Toyota stoutly maintains that although the RAV4 and the current Camry executive saloon have more or less<br />

the same price points, they are definitely different brands. To wit, the Camry’s prices are at P1.95 million (2.5G<br />

A/T) and P1.992 million (2.5V A/T), with an additional P15,000 for the white pearl exterior color. In contrast, the<br />

newly-launched RAV4’s prices are P1.638 million (2.5 LE), P1.87 million (2.5 XLE) and P2.188 million (2.5 LTD), with<br />

an extra P15,000 needed for those availing of the white pearl outside paint job. “The customer profile of the RAV4<br />

is different from the Camry. The RAV4’s target buyers are married males, usually in their mid-30 to early 40 and those<br />

who want to drive the unit themselves. The Camry’s target buyers are customers who are in the early 40-50 age group,<br />

executives use it and is chaffeur-driven.”<br />

Part of Toyota’s plans for the RAV4’s growth as a brand is to make it a top-of-mind choice when it comes to sport<br />

utility vehicles. RAV4 chief engineer Yoshikazu Saeki claimed that the RAV4 has a bevy of safety features stemming from<br />

the sport-ute being part of the Toyota New Global Architecture K platform shared with the US-market only Avalon and<br />

the Camry. These include raised longitudinal side beams, a trailing wishbone multi-link rear suspension, a lowered<br />

beltline, thinner a-pillars (the vertical columns of steel that hold the front windshield in place, so-called becuase they<br />

look like an upright “A” when a car is viewed straight at the front) and a unitized chassis that’s 57 percent more rigid<br />

than its precursor.<br />

An emphasis on secondary safety systems, in particular for the top end 2.5 LTD, was also part of the global mandate<br />

for the fifth generation sport-ute. The parking brake is now a button at the left side of the A/T. It also has a hill hold<br />

function that prevents the RAV4 from rolling downwards, should the unit be on an incline and the slushbox is being<br />

moved from Neutral to Drive. Seven airbags wrap around the cabin, including two curtain airbags for rear occupants.<br />

The rear view mirror has an anti-glare function that cuts down on the light beams from vehicles behind the vehicle.<br />

Last, the 2.5 LTD has sensors within both front and rear bumpers, plus a reverse gear-activated camera and<br />

viewing via the head unit to aid in parallel parking and long backing. “All these safety features are<br />

part of Toyota’s global direction to become safety leaders, if not the pioneers of safety for<br />

the brand. Whether or not these safety features make it to (lower-priced models) is<br />

still being studied,” tmpc assistant vice president<br />

(product planning and pricing) Nico<br />

Bravante said. JPM<br />

THINNER a-pillars, raised longitudinal side<br />

beams and a lowered beltline are part of<br />

the SUV’s safety benefits under the Toyota<br />

New Global Architecture K platform.<br />

Niche,<br />

but still a<br />

priority


KINGS<br />

GUN 3RD<br />

STRAIGHT<br />

P18<br />

LOYALTY<br />

COMES<br />

FIRST<br />

— XI<br />

P20<br />

FLOWER<br />

WOWER<br />

P22<br />

JAPAN’S<br />

SWEET BUN<br />

NOW IN<br />

MANILA<br />

P24<br />

Aldrin Cardona, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

SUNDAY<br />

SPORTS 17<br />

KAWHI NAILS GAME-WINNER<br />

Trained to perfection<br />

TORONTO Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard attacks the basket during the second half of an NBA<br />

basketball game against the Portland Trailblazers at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. AP<br />

It’s been an amazing ride<br />

CLEVELAND — Cavaliers veteran forward<br />

Channing Frye says he plans to retire at the<br />

end of this season.<br />

The 35-year-old made the announcement<br />

Friday on Twitter, saying: “It’s been an amazing<br />

FRYE<br />

Frye bids goodbye<br />

ride. I’ve had the chance to have some amazing<br />

teammates and play for some great coaches. I’m<br />

gonna miss it but I’m super excited to see the<br />

other side of the fence!”<br />

Frye is in his 13th NBA season. He’s in his<br />

second stint with Cleveland after being traded<br />

last season.<br />

One of the team’s most likable players,<br />

Frye has become a<br />

fan favorite because<br />

of his enthusiasm and<br />

leadership.<br />

Frye, who played<br />

on Cleveland’s NBA<br />

title team in 2016,<br />

signed with the Cavs<br />

this season to serve<br />

in a mentor’s role for<br />

the team’s younger<br />

players.<br />

He’s averaging just<br />

3.3 points and 9.5<br />

minutes.<br />

Frye was the no.<br />

8 overall pick by the<br />

New York Knicks in<br />

2005. He also played<br />

for Portland, Phoenix<br />

and Orlando. AFP<br />

We just practiced that exact scenario yesterday<br />

TORONTO — One day after the Toronto Raptors practiced<br />

“game-winning shots,” Kawhi Leonard made one against the<br />

Portland Trail Blazers.<br />

Leonard scored the go-ahead basket with three seconds remaining<br />

and the Raptors held on to beat the Trail Blazers, 119-117, Friday night.<br />

Toronto won it when Leonard used a screen by Kyle Lowry to<br />

drive against Portland’s Damian Lillard, then rose over his smaller<br />

opponent for the decisive basket.<br />

“We just practiced that exact scenario yesterday,” Raptors coach<br />

Nick Nurse said. “It was great. Kyle sets a screen and we try to get<br />

the smaller guy so (Leonard) can just vault up over him and shoot.”<br />

Elsewhere, Hornets stung Nets, 123-112; Bulls survived Hawks, 168,<br />

161; Celtics nipped Bullets, 107-96; Pelicans soared over Suns, 130-116;<br />

Clippers crushed Kings, 116-109; and Bucks dominated Lakers, 131-120.<br />

Toronto had run the same play moments earlier with Lowry<br />

making a layup. When the play was called again, Leonard was more<br />

interested in keeping the ball himself.<br />

“I was looking to get baseline,” Leonard said. “That first time<br />

I had seen I could be a little bit more aggressive and that’s what<br />

I did the second time down.”<br />

Leonard scored 38 points and Lowry had 19 points and 10 assists<br />

as the Raptors won for the ninth time in 10 games. Toronto is an<br />

NBA-best 11-4 in games decided by three points or fewer.<br />

“Just staying composed and understanding that situations<br />

aren’t always going to be perfect,” Lowry said.<br />

Marc Gasol scored 19 points and Pascal Siakam had 16 for<br />

Toronto, which has won four straight home meetings with Portland<br />

and seven of the past eight overall.<br />

The ball hit every part of the rim.<br />

C.J. McCollum scored 35 points and matched a career best<br />

by making seven three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to extend<br />

Portland’s season-best five-game winning streak.<br />

Lillard scored 24 points and Jake Layman had 13 as the Trail<br />

Blazers suffered their first lost after winning four straight to<br />

begin a seven-game trip.<br />

“Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose but I like the way we<br />

competed,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said.<br />

Ahead 93-84 to begin the fourth, the Raptors missed nine<br />

consecutive field goal attempts, allowing Portland to close to<br />

within one, 95-94, on a three-pointer by Lillard at 6:47.<br />

Leonard ended Toronto’s drought with a layup, but the<br />

Raptors couldn’t hold the lead and Lillard tied it 1<strong>03</strong>-all with<br />

another trey at 3:27.<br />

Lillard made another tying three with 13 seconds left, but<br />

Leonard won it with his baseline jumper.<br />

“The ball hit every part of the rim,” Lillard said. “That<br />

took time off. If it had gone straight in, it almost would have<br />

been better.”<br />

By the time Portland inbounded the ball, there was barely<br />

enough time for a full-court heave.<br />

The Raptors connected on 11 of 17 shots in the first quarter<br />

and led, 31-24, after one.<br />

AP<br />

Spurs part with Pau<br />

Pau Gasol is an exceptional<br />

individual and the ultimate<br />

professional<br />

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs<br />

announced a buyout agreement with Pau<br />

Gasol on Friday, allowing the veteran center<br />

to become playoff-eligible with another team.<br />

Gasol has been used sparingly by the<br />

Spurs of late, appearing in only two of their<br />

last seven games and his playing time has<br />

dropped this season to just over 12 minutes<br />

per game.<br />

“Pau Gasol is an exceptional individual<br />

and the ultimate professional,” coach Gregg<br />

Popovich said.<br />

“We are grateful for his contributions<br />

on the court, in the locker room and in our<br />

community.”<br />

The Spaniard signed with<br />

the Spurs in July 2016 and<br />

appeared in a total of 168<br />

games with San Antonio,<br />

averaging 10.0 points, 7.4<br />

rebounds and 2.6 assists<br />

in 22.4 minutes.<br />

The 18-year NBA<br />

veteran and two-time<br />

champion is a six-time<br />

All-Star.<br />

In 1,223 career<br />

games, he averaged 17.1<br />

points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2<br />

assists and 1.59 blocks in<br />

33.5 minutes. He is one of four<br />

players with over 20,000 points,<br />

11,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and<br />

1,500 blocks in his career, along<br />

with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim<br />

Duncan and Kevin Garnett. AP<br />

Friday’s Games<br />

(Saturday in Manila)<br />

Charlotte 123, Brooklyn 112<br />

Chicago 168, Atlanta 161, 4OT<br />

Boston 107, Washington 96<br />

Toronto 119, Portland 117<br />

New Orleans 130, Phoenix 116<br />

L.A. Clippers 116, Sacramento 109<br />

Milwaukee 131, Lakers 120<br />

EASTERN CONFERENCE<br />

Atlantic Division<br />

W L Pct GB<br />

Toronto 46 17 .730 —<br />

Philadelphia 40 22 .645 5½<br />

Boston 38 25 .6<strong>03</strong> 8<br />

Brooklyn 32 32 .500 14½<br />

New York 13 49 .210 32½<br />

Southeast Division<br />

Charlotte 29 33 .468 —<br />

Orlando 29 34 .460 ½<br />

Miami 27 34 .443 1½<br />

Washington 25 37 .4<strong>03</strong> 4<br />

Atlanta 21 42 .333 8½<br />

Central Division<br />

Milwaukee 48 14 .770 —<br />

Indiana 41 22 .651 7<br />

Detroit 29 31 .483 17½<br />

Chicago 18 45 .286 30<br />

Cleveland 15 47 .242 32½<br />

WESTERN CONFERENCE<br />

Southwest Division<br />

W L Pct GB<br />

Houston 37 25 .597 —<br />

San Antonio 34 29 .540 3½<br />

Dallas 27 34 .443 9½<br />

New Orleans 28 36 .438 10<br />

Memphis 24 39 .381 13½<br />

Northwest Division<br />

Denver 42 19 .689 —<br />

Oklahoma City 38 23 .623 4<br />

Portland 38 24 .613 4½<br />

Utah 35 26 .574 7<br />

Minnesota 29 33 .468 13½<br />

Pacific Division<br />

Golden State 43 19 .694 —<br />

L.A. Clippers 35 29 .547 9<br />

Sacramento 31 31 .500 12<br />

L.A. Lakers 30 32 .492 12½<br />

Phoenix 12 51 .190 31½<br />

Saturday’s Games<br />

(Sunday in Manila)<br />

Detroit at Cleveland<br />

Orlando at Indiana<br />

Brooklyn at Miami<br />

Golden State at Philadelphia<br />

Memphis at Dallas<br />

Oklahoma City at San Antonio<br />

L.A. Lakers at Phoenix<br />

Milwaukee at Utah<br />

New Orleans at Denver<br />

GASOL


18 SPORTS<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

ILONGGOS RULE BATANG PINOY<br />

Superb homestand<br />

This is good news for the city<br />

By Joel Orellana<br />

ILOILO CITY — The city known for its<br />

century-old churches and houses delivered a<br />

performance for the ages to claim its first overall<br />

crown in the Philippine Sports Commission’s<br />

Batang Pinoy Visayas leg here.<br />

With the Ilonggo athletes delivering in<br />

majority of the 20 events, the host city was<br />

declared the overall champion on Saturday of<br />

this weeklong event organized by PSC for the<br />

in-school and out-of-school children aged 15<br />

and below.<br />

“This is good news for the city. We’ve been<br />

preparing for this since December and we’re<br />

happy with the response not only by the players<br />

and coaches but also the parents as well,” said<br />

Iloilo City Youth and Sports Development Office<br />

Head Moises Salomon Jr.<br />

This was the city’s first overall title since<br />

joining the Visayas leg in 2012 and Salomon<br />

admitted it was not easy to accomplish the feat.<br />

“We only have 300 athletes while Cebu<br />

City and Cebu Province have more than 300.<br />

It’s really hard and our beloved mayor (Jose<br />

Espinosa III) was really happy with the results,”<br />

Salomon added.<br />

With a handful gold medals yet to be awarded<br />

on Saturday afternoon, Iloilo City was the<br />

runaway overall champion with 57 golds, 49<br />

silvers and 44 bronze medals to dethrone Cebu<br />

City, which settled for second position with a<br />

42-55-63 haul.<br />

Making it to the top 10 were Cebu Province<br />

(38-38-52), Negros Occidental (30-18-17), Lapu Lapu<br />

City (28-14-25), Bacolod City (23-27-35), Mandaue<br />

City (22-21-31), Dumaguete City (19-23-15) , Ormoc<br />

City (12-15-14) and Aklan Province (12-8-7).<br />

Fifty-eight out of the 71 local government<br />

units that participated in the Visayas leg won<br />

at least a bronze medal with Dumaguete City<br />

archer Naina Dominique Tagle winning the most<br />

number of gold medals with seven.<br />

Capping Iloilo City’s impressive showing<br />

here was its gold-medal performance in girls<br />

basketball after beating Cebu Province in a<br />

thrilling finals, 78-72, at the Iloilo Sports Complex<br />

covered court.<br />

“We did not expect this because we faced<br />

really strong teams here and it’s our first time to<br />

compete in this event,” said head coach Sharina<br />

Jane Padilla, whose squad was composed of seven<br />

players from Molo National High School.<br />

Iloilo City had to dethrone defending champion<br />

Cebu City, which settled for bronze medal, in the<br />

semis and got a big break in the end when Cebu<br />

ABEL Galliguez of Alaska and RJ Jazul of Phoenix clash for the loose ball during their Philippine Basketball Association Philippine<br />

Cup game late Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Fuel Masters prevailed, 94-80, to gain outright playoff spot. ROMAN PROSPERO<br />

Province’s wonder girl Shan Andrea Señagan<br />

got injured in the final two minutes of the game.<br />

Señagan, a Grade 9 student at Samboan<br />

National High School and is already drawing<br />

interests from major colleges in Metro Manila<br />

like Adamson and Far Eastern University, almost<br />

singlehandedly carried her team to the gold<br />

but a collision with an Iloilo City player put her<br />

unconscious and did not return to the game.<br />

We only have 300 athletes while Cebu<br />

City and Cebu Province have more<br />

than 300.<br />

The host city also swept the three events in<br />

lawn tennis with golden performances in girls<br />

singles, doubles and team events while La Carlota<br />

won the same number events in the boys division.<br />

Iloilo City’s Alain Vincent Dominguez and<br />

Levee Marie Oliva pocketed the gold in the mixed<br />

doubles event of table tennis.<br />

Kimberly Colaste added one more gold for the<br />

host city after ruling the 12-under girls blitz chess<br />

event. The 11-year old Asean Youth campaigner<br />

earlier won the gold in the standard and rapid<br />

events.<br />

Cebu Province took the gold in boys baseball<br />

while Iloilo City and Dumaguete City settled<br />

for silver and bronze, respectively. Bacolod<br />

City won the softball girls gold, beating Cebu<br />

City which took the silver medal while Iloilo<br />

City had bronze.<br />

Kings gun 3rd straight<br />

We hope to ride on that winning streak against<br />

Alaska tonight<br />

By John Bryan Ulanday<br />

Ginebra seeks to stretch its winning streak to three games when it clashes<br />

with Alaska while quarterfinalist Rain or Shine zeroes in on a twice-to-beat<br />

playoff incentive versus Talk ‘N Text in the Philippine Basketball Association<br />

(PBA) Philippine Cup tonight at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.<br />

The main game is set at 6:45 p.m. with the streaking Kings looking to<br />

climb in the team standings against the Aces, who will be looking to bounce<br />

back from an 80-94 loss to Phoenix two days ago.<br />

Before that, playoff-bound Elasto Painters are out to move a step closer<br />

to securing one of the twice-to-beat advantages in the post-season against<br />

well-rested KaTropa in the first game at 4:30 p.m.<br />

Like other teams, Ginebra is coming off a long break since taking a huge<br />

85-67 win over Blackwater last 9 February in Digos City, Davao del Sur for<br />

its second straight victory.<br />

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is confident that rust would not be a<br />

factor for his wards, who spent extended time in Digos City for team building<br />

before plunging back to action in Manila for continuous training these past<br />

two weeks.<br />

“We stayed for a couple of days in Digos and we had a team building<br />

there. It’s what we needed to re-energize our guys,” said Cone.<br />

“We kept working even during the break and we’ll keep working all<br />

the way through. We won a couple of games before the break so we don’t<br />

want to lose our momentum. We hope to ride on that winning streak<br />

against Alaska tonight.”<br />

UP cagers<br />

make impact<br />

After Javi Gomez de Liaño<br />

made a free throw, Ljay<br />

Gonzales missed the game-tying<br />

two, allowing UP to escape<br />

University of the Philippines<br />

made an early statement in its men’s<br />

championship title aspirations when<br />

it advanced to the Univeristy Athletic<br />

Association of the Philippines Season 81<br />

3x3 basketball tournament Saturday at<br />

the Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig.<br />

Behind a killer roster of FIBA 3x3<br />

veterans Ricci Rivero and Juan Gomez<br />

de Liaño, together with Will Gozum<br />

and Javi Gomez de Liaño, the Fighting<br />

Maroons opened their campaign with a<br />

13-8 romp of National University before<br />

nipping defending champion Far Eastern<br />

University, 13-11.<br />

After Javi Gomez de Liaño made a<br />

free throw, Ljay Gonzales missed the<br />

game-tying two, allowing UP to escape<br />

with its second win.<br />

Wendel Comboy’s two-pointer gave<br />

the Tamaraws their first win at the<br />

expense of University of Santo Tomas,<br />

11-9, after the 10-minute contest ended<br />

in a 9-9 standoff.<br />

Comboy became the remaining<br />

member of last season’s champion team<br />

as Kenneth Tuffin was sidelined with<br />

an injury with Gonzales taking over<br />

his spot.<br />

Women’s titleholder National University,<br />

behind FIBA 3x3 campaigner Jack Danielle<br />

Aninam, Ria Nabalan, Monique del<br />

Carmen and Congolese Rhena Itesi, went<br />

undefeated in three starts.<br />

The Lady Bulldogs set in motion their<br />

back-to-back title bid with a 12-7 win over<br />

University of the East and needed a 5-0<br />

finishing run to beat Ateneo de Manila<br />

University, 13-10.<br />

Then, NU scored a 14-8 win over De La<br />

Salle University to remain unscathed.<br />

The Bulldogs rebounded from their first<br />

loss with a 9-8 squeaker of the Growling<br />

Tigers to join their victims at 1-1.<br />

La Salle prevailed over Adamson<br />

University, 15-13, to chalk up its first<br />

win.<br />

Christine Cortizano’s late free throw<br />

gave University of the East a 7-6 win over<br />

UST to tie its victims at 1-1 in women’s<br />

play. The Tigresses nipped FEU, 9-8, in<br />

an earlier match.<br />

UP edged La Salle, 6-5, in the first<br />

women’s contest.<br />

Im, Mitchell share lead<br />

It’s just nice to kind of feel like you’re in<br />

contention and playing well<br />

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida — Sungjae Im was<br />

in the first group to tee off on the first hole Friday<br />

at The Honda Classic.<br />

He’ll be in the final group Saturday.<br />

Im, the 20-year-old South Korean rookie who<br />

around this time last year was winning the first Web.<br />

com Tour start of his career, shot a 6-under 64 in the<br />

second round at PGA National. He shared the 36-hole<br />

lead at 6-under 134 with Keith Mitchell (66).<br />

It could be considered a surprise final pairing:<br />

Combined, Im and Mitchell have zero PGA Tour wins.<br />

“It’s just nice to kind of feel like you’re in<br />

contention and playing well,” Mitchell said.<br />

“You’re out there actually trying to make birdies<br />

instead of trying to salvage and trying to make a cut,<br />

trying to make a birdie and force it. Today we were<br />

just out there trying to hit good shots.”<br />

Mitchell had five birdies and bogey Friday; Im had<br />

seven birdies and a bogey to match the low round of<br />

the week so far. First-round leader Jhonattan Vegas<br />

shot a 64 on Thursday, and Adam Svensson had one<br />

Friday.<br />

Im got through the second round on only 25 putts.<br />

He was the leading money-winner on the Web.com<br />

Zverev soars in Mexico<br />

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced to the<br />

Mexico Open final Friday, beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the hardcourt<br />

event at The Princess Mundo Imperial.<br />

Ranked no. 3 in the world, Zverev will face the winner of the late semifinal<br />

between third-seeded John Isner of the United States and Nick Kyrgios of<br />

Australia.<br />

Zverev has 10 ATP Tour titles, winning five times in 2017 and four<br />

last year.<br />

Earlier, China’s Wang Yafan reached her first final WTA Tour final<br />

Friday, rallying to beat third-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.<br />

Wang will face fifth-seeded Sofia Kenin of the United States, a 6-4,<br />

3-6, 7-5 winner over 18-year-old Canadian<br />

Bianca Andreescu. AP<br />

Tour last year, was atop the money list for the entire<br />

season and played his way into two majors.<br />

“I was hitting the ball really well today, so all my<br />

putts were under 10 feet,” said Im, who had a 6:45<br />

a.m. tee time. He’ll be able to sleep in much later<br />

Saturday, with his tee time scheduled for 1:35 p.m.<br />

Even though the Honda is played in an area of South<br />

Florida where a number of PGA Tour players live --<br />

including Tiger Woods — the field includes only three<br />

of the top 20 players in the most recent world rankings.<br />

Im grew up watching Woods, staying up until the<br />

middle of the night in many cases to see him play on<br />

television.<br />

I was hitting the ball really well today, so<br />

all my putts were under 10 feet.<br />

“Just watching him makes me nervous,” Im said.<br />

He’s got a 36-hole lead to be nervous about now.<br />

Lucas Glover (69) was third at 5 under. Svensson<br />

and Brooks Koepka were among those in a group at 4<br />

under, and 42 players were within five shots of the lead.<br />

“Can’t be too upset with 1 under around here,<br />

to be honest,” said Glover, the 2009 US Open<br />

champion who has three straight rounds in the<br />

60s at PGA National going back to his final-round<br />

66 last year.<br />

“Wind picked up a little towards the end. I didn’t<br />

hit it great, but got myself into the thing.” AP<br />

GREAT Britain’s Cameron Norrie makes a return during his Mexican Tennis Open semifinal match against Germany’s Alexander<br />

Zverev in Acapulco, Mexico.<br />

AP<br />

SUNGJAE Im of South Korea hits from the fairway of the 10th hole during the second round of the<br />

Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.<br />

AP<br />

Luisita dethrones Canlubang<br />

Veteran Rolly Viray turned in 52 points<br />

for Canlubang while teammate Abe<br />

Avena did not count with 42 points<br />

CEBU CITY — Luisita dominated bitter<br />

rival Canlubang to clinch its 17th title in<br />

the Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub<br />

gold tournament at the Alta Vista Golf<br />

Club here.<br />

Luisita finished the four-day event with<br />

569 points, three points clear of Canlubang<br />

which did not go down without a fight.<br />

Six points down before the start of the<br />

final round, Canlubang reduced the margin<br />

to just three after Abe Rosal edged Chino<br />

Raymundo, 49-46, in the first flight.<br />

Damasus Wong, the second man out, was<br />

cruising at one-over par through 15 holes, but<br />

finished disastrously with bogey, a pickup<br />

and double bogey to limp home with 47.<br />

Wong went out of bounds off the tee in<br />

the 17th and 18th after missing the green on<br />

the 16th for bogey.<br />

In contrast, Edmund Yee, his Luisita<br />

flightmate, breezed through the last three<br />

holes at one-under to salvage 49 points.<br />

That seven-point swing in the last three<br />

holes turned out to be what Luisita needed<br />

to dethrone Canlubang.<br />

Luisita also drew 50 points from Eddie<br />

Bagtas and 46 from Rafael Garcia.<br />

Veteran Rolly Viray turned in 52 points<br />

for Canlubang while teammate Abe Avena<br />

did not count with 42 points.<br />

Del Monte Golf Club finished third with<br />

552 points, closing out with 144 points behind<br />

Ramon Velez (54), Erning Apas (46) and<br />

Florencio Badelic (44).


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

DESPITE JITTERS<br />

SPORTS<br />

Rookie Ruzol strikes gold<br />

19<br />

It was my first time to compete so I was<br />

very nervous<br />

By John Bryan Ulanday<br />

ILAGAN CITY, Isabela — Rookie Maria Khrizzie<br />

Clarisse Ruzol rescued the Philippines from an openingday<br />

shutout as she struck gold in the girls’ pole vault<br />

event of the 14th Southeast Asian Youth Games at the<br />

Ilagan City Sports Complex here.<br />

After a dry performance in the morning events, the<br />

home squad pinned its hopes on the 16-year-old University<br />

of Santo Tomas stalwart, who made heads turn with an<br />

impressive performance in her very first international<br />

tournament.<br />

Ruzol tallied 2.60 meters to clinch the country’s first<br />

gold medal while compatriot Jessa Marie Libres settled<br />

for silver with a mark of 2.32 meters in this prestigious<br />

tourney that serves as a warmup for the 30th Southeast<br />

Asian Games in November.<br />

“It was my first time to compete so I was very nervous,”<br />

said Ruzol, who trains under the tutelage of pole vault<br />

specialist Emerson Obiena, whose son is heavily favored<br />

to make it to the Olympics in Tokyo next year.<br />

“This is actually not my first sport. I just started<br />

playing this five months ago.”<br />

While Ruzol was basking in glory, the rest of the<br />

national contingent failed by the wayside, no thanks to<br />

the superior performance of bets from other Southeast<br />

Asian countries, especially powerhouse Thailand.<br />

Thai Nattchicha Sengna clocked 15.40 seconds to<br />

dominate Filipina Princess Jean Nalzaro, who settled for<br />

silver medal with 15.61 seconds in the girls’ 100-meter<br />

hurdles.<br />

Nalzaro said height played a major role in her setback<br />

to the taller, more aggressive Thai sprinter.<br />

“The Thai runner was just too good,” said the 4-foot-11<br />

Cebu native who fell prey to her 5-foot-6 foe. “She’s too tall.”<br />

Patrick Shane Tolentino (boys high jump), middle<br />

distance runner Jeshrelvan Ombid (boys’ 800-meter) and<br />

Michael Alfred Adan (boys’ 2000-meter steeplechase)<br />

settled for bronze medals.<br />

Even the touted national youth athlete Tara Borlain<br />

bowed to the foreigners’ domination, finishing just at<br />

third place in her pet event, the girls’ 800-meter run,<br />

behind Vietnam’s pair of Thi Kim Phuong Le and Thu<br />

Quye Nguyen who secured a 1-2 finish.<br />

“It was very a tough race because of hot weather and<br />

of course, the competitors have more experience,” said<br />

the reigning Palarong Pambansa champion.<br />

The Thai runner was just too good.<br />

“It’s a whole different competition from the usual.<br />

I was challenged with different rivals and enjoyed the<br />

game.”<br />

Good thing for the 15-year old miler from St. Paul<br />

College-Pasig City, she still has a chance to test her<br />

mettle and seek vengeance in the girls’ 1,500-meter<br />

race on Sunday.<br />

Nalzaro also has a golden opportunity to deliver the<br />

country’s second gold medal with upcoming races in<br />

the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays today.<br />

Leading the medal tally so far was Southeast Asian<br />

powerhouse Thailand, which harvested six gold medals<br />

from Peerapat Insuwan (boys’ high jump), Sengna<br />

(girls’ 100-m hurldes), Bandit Singhatongkul (boys’<br />

discus throw), Supisara Klinla-Or (girls’ javelin throw)<br />

and Athibodee Aointhongyai (boys’ long jump).<br />

Cignal back on track<br />

This win is a blessing for us<br />

MALOLOS CITY — Cignal flirted<br />

with disaster before overcoming<br />

Foton, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13, 21-<br />

19, in the Philippine Superliga Grand<br />

Prix Saturday at the Malolos Sports<br />

and Convention Center here.<br />

American Erica Wilson was solid<br />

down the stretch, leading the HD<br />

Spikers to the marathon match that<br />

lasted for two hours and 24 minutes<br />

with ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast<br />

partners.<br />

Wilson, who once played for Team<br />

USA in the FIVB Women’s U23 Word<br />

Championship, delivered 21 kills,<br />

three blocks and five of Cignal’s<br />

10 aces for an impressive 29 points<br />

while Anastasia Artemeva and Rachel<br />

Anne Daquis chipped in 16 and nine<br />

markers, respectively.<br />

With the win, Cignal stepped<br />

back on winning track and improved<br />

to 4-2 in this prestigious women’s<br />

club tourney that has Asics, Mueller,<br />

Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports,<br />

Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel<br />

Sogo and Data Project as technical<br />

sponsors.<br />

“This win is a blessing for us,” said<br />

HD Spikers coach Edgar Barroga, who<br />

had to make adjustments to fill in the<br />

void left by middle blocker Ranya<br />

Musa and second setter Pauline<br />

Cardiente.<br />

MYLENE Paat and Jheck Dionela of Cignal take care of the reception during<br />

their match against Foton in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix match<br />

Saturday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center in Malolos City. The<br />

HD Spikers prevailed, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13, 21-19. ROMAN PROSPERO<br />

SBP eyes pocket<br />

tourneys<br />

Hosting pocket tournaments<br />

appears to be a more viable<br />

option since the Jones<br />

Cup runs smack with the<br />

schedule of the PBA in July<br />

Instead of competing<br />

in the annual William Jones<br />

Cup, Team Pilipinas will just<br />

compete in pocket tournaments<br />

in preparation for the FIBA World<br />

Cup in China this August.<br />

Samahang Basketbol ng<br />

Pilipinas president Al Panlilio<br />

said hosting pocket tournaments<br />

appears to be a more viable option<br />

since the Jones Cup runs smack<br />

with the schedule of the Philippine<br />

Basketball Association in July.<br />

Panlilio, who represents<br />

Meralco in the PBA board of<br />

governors, admitted that the<br />

league is already having a tough<br />

time adjusting its schedule and<br />

could run up to 2020 due to the<br />

staging of the World Cup and the<br />

Southeast Asian Games.<br />

“Hosting a pocket tournament<br />

and inviting teams for a couple of<br />

tuneup matches could be better<br />

options,” said Panlilio.<br />

“It would be hard to adjust<br />

the calendar for the Jones Cup<br />

alone because the tournament is<br />

that long. It’s nine days and that’s<br />

quite challenging.”<br />

The Philippines already hosted<br />

two pocket tournaments in the<br />

past dubbed as the MVP Cup<br />

Invitational Championships as<br />

part of the Nationals’ buildup for<br />

the Asian Games in 2010 and the<br />

FIBA Asia Championship in 2015.<br />

The SBP, however, would<br />

still have to wait for the FIBA<br />

World Cup Draw this 16 March<br />

to determine which teams are<br />

available to be invited here in<br />

the country.<br />

For sure, the Nationals will not<br />

be drawn with fellow Asia-Oceania<br />

countries so one of the countries<br />

the SBP is looking to invite is South<br />

Korea.<br />

JBU<br />

“It wasn’t easy, it was evident<br />

during the game, but we held on to<br />

finish the match and luckily we won.”<br />

Barroga converted team captain<br />

Rachel Anne Daquis to opposite<br />

spiker while Mumay Vivas became the<br />

second setter for the match.<br />

The move paid a handsome reward<br />

as the Tornadoes were left guessing,<br />

especially in the fifth set where the<br />

HD Spikers refused to give up.<br />

American Courtney Felinski<br />

delivered 23 points while Elaine<br />

Kasilag had 14 and Turkish import<br />

Selime Ilyasoglu chipped in 11 for<br />

Foton, which absorbed their fourth<br />

straight loss after an opening-day<br />

victory.<br />

FEU stops<br />

bleeding<br />

We still lacked maturity but the<br />

killer instinct is already there<br />

Far Eastern University snapped a<br />

two-game slide after turning back the<br />

hard fighting University of Santo Tomas,<br />

19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 27-25, in Season 81<br />

University Athletic Association of the<br />

Philippines women’s volleyball tournament<br />

on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.<br />

The Lady Tamaraws weathered the<br />

Golden Tigresses’ comeback in the fourth<br />

set and denied UST of sending the game<br />

into a deciding fifth set to book its second<br />

win in four games.<br />

Celine Domingo led FEU with 17 points,<br />

nine on attacks and six on blocks, while<br />

rookie Lycha Ebon had another solid<br />

showing for the George Pascua-mentored<br />

squad with 11.<br />

It was a tough loss for the Golden<br />

Tigresses, who appeared to have control<br />

of the game after pocketing the opening<br />

set but a knee injury by Filipino-Italian<br />

Milena Alessandrini late in the second set<br />

cost UST the match to fall to 2-2.<br />

“We still lacked maturity but the killer<br />

instinct is already there,” said Pascua,<br />

whose team blew a 2-0 set lead to Ateneo<br />

the last time out and lost the match.<br />

“I trust my players. We just have to<br />

be ready and lessen our unforced errors.<br />

We’re still working that aspect of our<br />

game,” Pascua added.<br />

Alessandrini, who is averaging 15.6 points<br />

prior the game, had a bad landing at center<br />

with the game tied at 18-all in the second<br />

set. She was rushed to the UST Hospital to<br />

undergo magnetic resonance imaging.<br />

Without Alessandrini, coach Kungfu<br />

Reyes lost a steady scorer and surrendered<br />

the next two sets but came out fighting in<br />

the fourth and was even leading 25-24 on<br />

Eya Laure’s attack.<br />

But Dimdim Pacres’ service error tied<br />

the game at 25-all and FEU blocked Laure<br />

in the next play and a crucial error by the<br />

UST rookie gave the Lady Tamaraws their<br />

second win of the season.<br />

Laure, who also hurt his shoulder after<br />

a collision with a teammate in the fourth<br />

set, led the Golden Tigresses with 20 attack<br />

points while Sisi Rondina added 16.<br />

MARIA Khrizzie Clarisse Ruzol of the Philippines competes in the girls’ pole vault event of the<br />

14th Southeast Asian Youth Games at the Ilagan Sports Complex in Ilagan City Isabela.<br />

Volleyball’s great debate<br />

The argument whether to<br />

compete in Asian tournaments<br />

or just go to training camps<br />

will be never-ending<br />

On Friday, the Larong Volleyball sa<br />

Pilipinas, Inc. will formally introduce the<br />

composition of the national pool that will see<br />

action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.<br />

It’s going to be a major press conference<br />

with the country’s brightest volleyball stars<br />

gathering to declare their readiness to win a<br />

SEA Games medal in their home turf.<br />

But, will this significant event wash away<br />

the disappointment of volleyball fans?<br />

Just two weeks ago, fans raised a howl<br />

over the federation’s decision to skip three<br />

major international competitions — the AVC<br />

Asian U23 Women’s Championship, the AVC<br />

Asian Senior Women’s Club Championship<br />

and the AVC Asian Senior’s Championship<br />

— so the team could train abroad and focus<br />

its full attention on winning a medal in the<br />

SEA Games.<br />

For them, it’s a blasphemy to think – or even<br />

consider — pulling out the country’s entries in<br />

these big-ticket Asian tournaments in exchange<br />

for mere foreign trainings.<br />

But LVPI president Peter Cayco bravely<br />

stood his ground.<br />

In one television interview, he said<br />

the greatest response to those who were<br />

questioning their decision to withdraw was<br />

just one word: Smile.<br />

And that’s what he did all throughout the<br />

thunderstorm of controversies.<br />

Well, Cayco has a point.<br />

With all the talents it has, the Philippines<br />

has a golden chance to emerge with a SEA<br />

Games medal of any color if the federation<br />

can do everything right.<br />

We have Filipino-foreign stalwarts like<br />

MJ Philips, Rebecca Rivera, Alohi Robbins-<br />

Hardy and Kalei Mau to provide offensive<br />

muscles while Jaja Santiago and Dindin<br />

Manabat would be coming back from a long<br />

stint in Japan.<br />

Of course, stars like Mika Reyes, Aby<br />

Marano, Jia Morado, Alyssa Valdez and<br />

Mylene Paat are a year older and more<br />

matured after becoming the first local team<br />

to see action in the Asian Games in 36 years.<br />

He said the greatest response to<br />

those who were questioning their<br />

decision to withdraw was just<br />

one word: Smile.<br />

Cayco was definitely on point when he said<br />

that competing in Asian tournaments would<br />

only expose our aces to the prying eyes of other<br />

Southeast Asian heavyweights like Thailand<br />

and Vietnam. Sure, their highlight reels are<br />

available all over social media, but seeing them<br />

live in action together with the national team<br />

will definitely give our regional neighbors a<br />

crystal-clear view on how to neutralize them.<br />

The alternatives are not bad, either.<br />

I believe that training in Asian volleyball<br />

hotspots like Japan, China and Korea will be<br />

a lot better than joining international meets.<br />

If they will see action in international<br />

tournaments, they will just play their usual<br />

game with Asian superpowers in three or<br />

four sets. Then, that’s it. They will have<br />

no chance to improve their weaknesses, to<br />

Hold My Beer<br />

Julius Manicad<br />

JOHN BRYAN ULANDAY<br />

correct their bad habits and get a clear view<br />

on how things are being done.<br />

In the next tournament, the SEA Games<br />

for that matter, they will just repeat those<br />

mistakes all over again. No progress. No<br />

improvement.<br />

On the contrary, establishing training<br />

camps abroad will give the Nationals access<br />

to the world’s best training facilities, best<br />

coaches and most disciplined training<br />

regimens. That’s two solid weeks of workouts<br />

and improvement.<br />

Yes, the LVPI’s decision to skip Asian<br />

tournaments is very unpopular.<br />

I was with the Nationals when they had<br />

their training camp in Japan in 2017 and I<br />

can say that I was greatly impressed.<br />

The squad did nothing but to play<br />

volleyball for 17 days and they were literally<br />

sleeping on the gym after sitting at the feet<br />

of Okayama Seagulls head coach Akiyoshi<br />

Kawamoto.<br />

Kawamoto, who used to train the Thai<br />

national team, was very precise in giving<br />

instructions both on offense and defense.<br />

He corrected the blocking form, sharpened<br />

the agility and floor defense techniques<br />

and improved the attack formation of the<br />

national team.<br />

Of course, the Nationals couldn’t put<br />

everything into their heads in just one<br />

trip, but at least it was a good start. The<br />

improvement was quite obvious as they<br />

were few good breaks away from winning<br />

the bronze medal in the Kuala Lumpur SEA<br />

Games in 2017.<br />

Well, the argument whether to compete<br />

in Asian tournaments or just go to training<br />

camps will be never-ending. It surely depends<br />

on whom you ask, the availability of financial<br />

resources and the schedule of players, most of<br />

them playing in various clubs in the Philippine<br />

Superliga.<br />

It would go down as Philippine volleyball’s<br />

greatest debate.<br />

But for me, if we want to feel good and<br />

celebrate small success like a good block on<br />

Pleumjit Thinkaow, a great dig on the booming<br />

attack of Kim Yeon-koung or a successful spike<br />

off the Chinese Great Wall, let’s compete in Asian<br />

tournaments.<br />

But if we really want to improve and learn<br />

from the best coaches in Asia for the sake of the<br />

future of Philippine volleyball, there is no doubt<br />

that locking our players in some Spartan-like<br />

training camp somewhere in Japan, Korea or<br />

China is the perfect way to go.<br />

Yes, the LVPI’s decision to skip Asian<br />

tournaments is very unpopular.<br />

But Cayco’s strategy appears valid.<br />

And once the mission of claiming a SEA<br />

Games medal has been completed, he would<br />

surely flash a big smile at his detractors.


20<br />

WORLD<br />

Loyalty comes first — Xi<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

He called on officials and cadres to place the<br />

people at the top in their hearts<br />

BEIJING — President Xi Jinping on Friday said training and selecting<br />

outstanding young officials is vital to the fate of the party, state and<br />

Chinese nation and to the people’s wellbeing, calling it an important task<br />

for generations to come.<br />

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central<br />

Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the<br />

statement during the opening ceremony of a training program of young<br />

and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee<br />

(National Academy of Governance).<br />

Xi told the officials to stay loyal to the party, remain grateful to the people,<br />

be motivated at work and hold law and party discipline in high regard.<br />

Party officials should be faithful, loyal, competent and disciplined, he said.<br />

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political<br />

Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of<br />

the CPC Central Committee, attended the ceremony.<br />

Officials should be determined to make great achievements,<br />

rather than to seek personal promotion.<br />

CHINESE President Xi Jinping (center), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military<br />

Commission, called for efforts in learning the thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, saying that it is necessary to fully grasp its<br />

significance for the time, the theory, the practices and the world.<br />

XINHUA<br />

FINAL ASSAULT BEGINS<br />

Putting an end to IS<br />

Xi said it is necessary to arm officials and cadres with Marxist theory<br />

in their development.<br />

He also called for efforts in learning the thought on socialism with Chinese<br />

characteristics for a new era, saying that it is necessary to fully grasp its<br />

significance for the time, the theory, the practices and the world.<br />

The Chinese leader noted that whether an official is loyal to the party<br />

is a key gauge of whether they have ideals and convictions. “Loyalty always<br />

comes first,” he said.<br />

He also called on officials and cadres to place the people at the top in<br />

their hearts, saying that to weather through with the people, keep close<br />

bonds and share the same future with them is the fundamental guarantee<br />

for the party to overcome all difficulties and risks.<br />

He asked the officials to maintain a strong sense of love, care and<br />

willingness to work for benefits of the people.<br />

Officials should be determined to make great achievements, rather<br />

than to seek personal promotion, in serving the party and the people,<br />

Xi said.<br />

Xinhua<br />

An unknown number of IS fighters are hunkered down in a small area<br />

NEAR BAGHOUZ — Kurdish-led forces<br />

on Friday launched a final assault against<br />

diehard jihadist fighters clinging to the last<br />

sliver of their “caliphate” in eastern Syria.<br />

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces<br />

(SDF) said they resumed their advance<br />

after plucking a last batch of civilians from<br />

the tiny riverside hamlet of Baghouz where<br />

jihadists are holed up.<br />

The offensive on<br />

a redoubt barely half<br />

Turkey’s accusations on human rights issues in<br />

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region<br />

are “groundless and unacceptable,” the Chinese<br />

Ambassador to Turkey said last Tuesday<br />

after the Turkish foreign minister<br />

voiced concerns over<br />

China’s alleged<br />

a square kilometer in size will cap a nearly six-month<br />

operation against the Islamic State (IS) group’s<br />

last bastions in the Euphrates Valley.<br />

The “operation to clear the last remaining<br />

pocket of IS has just started” at 6 p.m., SDF<br />

spokesman Mustefa Bali announced on social<br />

media, using another acronym for the jihadists.<br />

An unknown number of holdout IS fighters<br />

are hunkered down in a small area on the<br />

edge of Baghouz for a desperate final stand<br />

against the SDF.<br />

Last push Kurdish-led forces have launched a final offensive against diehard ISIS fighters clinging to the last sliver<br />

of their “caliphate” in eastern Syria.<br />

AFP<br />

Beijing disputes Turkey’s claims<br />

Bali said the decision to resume the push<br />

came after the evacuation of the last civilians<br />

willing to leave the enclave and following the<br />

release of captured SDF fighters.<br />

“The people we evacuated today told us<br />

that no civilians were inside and that those<br />

still inside did not want to leave,” he told AFP<br />

in the nearby base of Al-Omar.<br />

“If during the advance we discover that<br />

there are still civilians we will isolate them<br />

from the fighting but we are forced to push<br />

ahead,” he said.<br />

He declined to comment<br />

on how long the last phase of<br />

the offensive might take but<br />

the SDF’s general commander<br />

Mazloum Kobani said Thursday<br />

he expected final victory to be<br />

achieved within a week.<br />

An SDF commander told AFP<br />

that his force is advancing slowly<br />

and with caution because of the<br />

threat of underground tunnels and<br />

improvised explosive devices. AP<br />

THE HAGUE — The global chemical<br />

weapons watchdog said Friday it<br />

found “reasonable grounds” that<br />

chlorine was used<br />

Mars digger This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows an image<br />

acquired by NASA’s InSight Mars lander using its robotic arm-mounted,<br />

instrument deployment camera. Scientists said the lander has started digging<br />

into the red planet, but has hit a few snags.<br />

AP<br />

Syria attack: Chlorine likely used<br />

The mandate does not<br />

include laying blame<br />

as a weapon in a deadly attack on<br />

the Syrian town of Douma last year.<br />

The determination was<br />

contained in a detailed report by<br />

the Organization for the Prohibition<br />

of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW)<br />

fact-finding mission that investigated the<br />

7 April 2018 attack. Medical workers<br />

said at the time that the attack<br />

killed more than 40 people.<br />

The mission’s<br />

mandate does<br />

not include laying blame.<br />

In a statement, the OPCW said<br />

the mission visited Douma, analyzed<br />

samples taken from the scene and<br />

from people affected, interviewed<br />

witnesses and studied toxicological<br />

and ballistics analyses.<br />

The investigators were delayed<br />

by several days from reaching the<br />

scene by security concerns, leading<br />

to fears that evidence could degrade<br />

or be cleaned up.<br />

However, the data they eventually<br />

amassed and studied provided<br />

“reasonable grounds that the<br />

use of a toxic chemical as<br />

a weapon” took place,<br />

the OPCW said. AP<br />

mistreatment of<br />

Uyghurs at a UN Human Rights Council<br />

session on Monday.<br />

“Full realization of human rights has<br />

long been the goal of all Chinese people,<br />

including people of all ethnic groups in<br />

Xinjiang… who have the same status,<br />

enjoy the same rights and fulfill the same<br />

obligations according to the law,” Chinese<br />

Ambassador to Turkey Deng Li said in<br />

a statement published on the embassy’s<br />

official website on Tuesday.<br />

Turkey is making these statements<br />

in order to present itself as a<br />

great power in the international<br />

system.<br />

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu<br />

voiced concerns on Monday at the UN Human Rights<br />

Council over China’s alleged mistreatment of Uyghurs<br />

and other Muslims in Xinjiang and called on Beijing to<br />

protect freedom of religion and cultural identity, media<br />

reported.<br />

Cavusoglu also urged China to ensure “full protection of<br />

the cultural identities of the Uyghurs.”<br />

This was the second time that Turkey has openly<br />

criticized China’s policies in Xinjiang this year.<br />

In early February, China refuted claims made by Turkey’s<br />

foreign ministry spokesman alleging that a Uyghur musician<br />

had died in Xinjiang. The Chinese Embassy in Ankara<br />

confirmed the man is still alive and in good health.<br />

It is not pleasant to see Turkey repeatedly criticize Chinese<br />

policy towards Xinjiang. Turkey is making these statements<br />

in order to present itself as a great power in the international<br />

system, Li Bingzhong, director of the Center for Turkish Studies<br />

with Shaanxi Normal University, said. Global Times<br />

Saudi revokes Hamza’s citizenship<br />

DUBAI — Saudi Arabia<br />

announced Friday it had<br />

revoked the citizenship of<br />

Hamza bin Laden, the son of<br />

the late al-Qaida leader who<br />

has become an increasingly<br />

prominent figure in the<br />

terror network.<br />

There was no immediate<br />

explanation<br />

why the royal decree stripping his<br />

citizenship, signed in November, was<br />

only becoming public now. However,<br />

the announcement comes after<br />

the US government on Thursday<br />

offered a $1 million reward<br />

for information leading to his<br />

capture as part of its “Rewards<br />

for Justice” program. He also<br />

was added Thursday to a<br />

United Nations Security<br />

Council terrorism sanctions<br />

list.<br />

AP<br />

Top of the hill Environmental activists of Greenpeace demonstrate against the capital’s air pollution on the<br />

statue of Freedom on top of Gellert Hill in Budapest, Hungary.<br />

AP<br />

BRIEFS<br />

Captured pilot freed<br />

An Indian pilot released by Pakistan<br />

went back to India Friday night through<br />

Wagah border crossing near Pakistan’s<br />

eastern city of Lahore, Pakistan’s Ministry<br />

of Foreign Affairs said. Earlier, Pakistani<br />

authorities handed over the pilot, Wing<br />

Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, to<br />

Indian authorities after completing the<br />

required procedure.<br />

Xinhua<br />

Lula gets furlough<br />

Brazil’s jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula<br />

da Silva on Friday was granted leave from prison to<br />

attend the weekend funeral of his young grandson,<br />

who died at the age of seven. A federal court decided<br />

that Lula, who is serving two concurrent 12-year<br />

sentences for corruption, can attend Saturday’s services in<br />

Sao Paulo for Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva, who succumbed<br />

to meningitis.<br />

AFP<br />

Ratatouille?<br />

A British tourist visiting Boston captured on video<br />

a hungry seagull devouring a dead rat in a single gulp<br />

and posted it on social media, prompting thousands<br />

of horrified comments. The video shows the gull<br />

pecking tentatively at the rodent before picking it<br />

up in its beak and swallowing the entire animal.<br />

The bird then flies atop a parked car on Salem<br />

Street in the heart of Boston’s North End, popular<br />

for its dozens of Italian restaurants — the rat’s tail<br />

hanging from the gull’s mouth. The tourist can be<br />

heard exclaiming: “Oh my God, it just swallowed<br />

it whole ... Ratatouille?”<br />

AP


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

LIFESTYLE<br />

21


22<br />

SPOTLIGHT<br />

Dinah S. Ventura, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

“PANAGBENGA” is a Kankanaey term for “season of blossoming.” This festival was conceptualized in 1995 by Atty. Damaso Nagaoet to bring back<br />

Baguio’s reputation as one of the country’s premier vacation spots.<br />

Flower WOWer<br />

Every Panagbenga<br />

Festival, one of the<br />

major attractions is the<br />

Grand Street Dancing<br />

Text and photos by Aldwin Quitasol<br />

BAGUIO CITY — Baguio residents, local<br />

and foreign tourists alike continue to<br />

be amazed by the colorful cultural<br />

atmosphere brought by the staging<br />

of the Baguio Grand Street Dancing Parade<br />

in the annual Panagbenga (blooming) or the<br />

Baguio Flower Festival.<br />

Yesterday, the city’s elementary, high<br />

schools and college students and even<br />

guest participants from other places of the<br />

Philippines wowed the weekend crowds with<br />

their festive presentations.<br />

Leading the parade were government<br />

officials of Baguio City with their counterparts<br />

from the neighboring municipalities of the<br />

Province of Benguet.<br />

Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan,<br />

following tradition, carried on his shoulder the<br />

Panagbenga sceptre designed as a sunflower,<br />

for which the City is also known.<br />

Every Panagbenga Festival, one of<br />

the major attractions is the Grand Street<br />

Dancing where students from different<br />

schools and levels showcase the unique<br />

culture of the city. Most of the dances<br />

are inspired by the different tribes of the<br />

Cordilleras since Baguio City is a melting<br />

pot or convergence area of people from<br />

all over north Luzon.<br />

Adding to the attraction is the special<br />

participation of dancers like the champion<br />

of the Tadek (Dance) Festival of Ilocos Norte<br />

“Tan-ok ni Ilocano <strong>2019</strong>” (Proud Ilocano)<br />

and the “Tribu Ilonaganon” of the Iloilo<br />

Dinagyang Foundation.<br />

The parade started at the Panagbenga<br />

Park going down the famous Session Road<br />

and Magsaysay Avenue where spectators<br />

had been lined up as early as 5 a.m. The<br />

street dancers proceeded to the Baguio<br />

Athletic Bowl for the field demonstrations.<br />

PARTICIPANTS<br />

of the parade are<br />

required to have<br />

at least 95 percent<br />

natural flowers for<br />

their floats while<br />

the remaining 5<br />

percent can be<br />

used for other<br />

materials.<br />

After the parade, the residents<br />

and the tourists will again be<br />

delighted by the Small and<br />

Big Float Parades featuring<br />

flower-filled floats and vehicles<br />

of government agencies and<br />

non-government organizations<br />

and private companies and<br />

institutions. Every year, the<br />

floats will carry showbiz<br />

personalities, as well as<br />

famous sports men and<br />

women.<br />

SEVEN public schools took part in<br />

the 24th Panagbenga Festival along<br />

Session Road.<br />

MOST of the dances are inspired<br />

by the different tribes of the<br />

Cordilleras since Baguio City.<br />

CLOSING ceremonies of Panagbenga will culminate with grand fireworks<br />

display that is set to happen at five stations.<br />

THE festival was first known as the “Baguio Flower Festival” in 1995 until it was suggested and renamed in 1997 by archivist and Saint Louis University<br />

Museum curator, Ike Picpican.<br />

SUDOKU<br />

by Ramon Lorenzo<br />

Write a numeral from 1 to 9 in each box so that each<br />

appears only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.<br />

Answer for yesterday’s puzzle<br />

When a sieve is shaken, the<br />

husks appear; so do one’s faults<br />

when one speaks.<br />

As the test of what the potter<br />

molds is in the furnace, so in<br />

tribulation is the test of the just.<br />

D A I L Y G O S P E L<br />

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time<br />

Jesus told his disciples a<br />

parable: “Can a blind person<br />

guide a blind person? Will<br />

not both fall into a pit?<br />

No disciple is superior to the<br />

teacher; but when fully trained,<br />

every disciple will be like his<br />

teacher.<br />

Why do you notice the<br />

splinter in your brother’s<br />

eye, but do not perceive the<br />

wooden beam in your own?<br />

How can you say to your<br />

brother, ‘Brother, let me remove<br />

that splinter in your eye,’<br />

when you do not even notice<br />

the wooden beam in your own<br />

eye? You hypocrite! Remove the<br />

wooden beam from your eye<br />

first; then you will see clearly<br />

to remove the splinter in your<br />

brother’s eye.”<br />

FIRST READING<br />

Sirach 27: 4-7<br />

The fruit of a tree shows<br />

the care it has had; so too does<br />

one’s speech disclose the bent of<br />

one’s mind.<br />

Praise no one before he speaks,<br />

for it is then that people are tested.<br />

SECOND READING<br />

Brothers and sisters: When<br />

this which is corruptible clothes<br />

itself with incorruptibility and<br />

this which is mortal clothes<br />

itself with immortality,then the<br />

word that is written shall come<br />

about: Death is swallowed up<br />

in victory.<br />

Where, O death, is your<br />

victory? Where, O death, is your<br />

1 Corinthians 15: 54-58<br />

sting? The sting of death is sin,<br />

and the power of sin is the law.<br />

But thanks be to God who gives<br />

us the victory through our Lord<br />

Jesus Christ.<br />

Therefore, my beloved brothers<br />

and sisters, be firm, steadfast,<br />

always fully devoted to the work<br />

of the Lord, knowing that in the<br />

Lord your labor is not in vain.<br />

Luke 6: 39-45<br />

A good tree does not bear<br />

rotten fruit, nor does a rotten<br />

tree bear good fruit.<br />

For every tree is known<br />

by its own fruit. For people<br />

do not pick figs from<br />

thornbushes, nor do they<br />

gather grapes from brambles.<br />

A good person out of the<br />

store of goodness in his<br />

heart produces good, but an<br />

evil person out of a store of<br />

evil produces evil; for from<br />

the fullness of the heart the<br />

mouth speaks.


Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

ITALIAN ENVOY:<br />

Phl art fan<br />

LIFESTYLE<br />

23<br />

Sometimes galleries, museums or curators tend to scare you.<br />

Or that they want to make you feel that you don’t understand<br />

From page 1<br />

difficult to understand as most people<br />

think,” said the Ambassador, who based<br />

his talk on a book that he wrote about<br />

contemporary art as he has seen them in<br />

the countries where he had been posted,<br />

whether these are local art works or<br />

international works on exhibit at the time.<br />

He described his book as “a sort of a<br />

tour of the world. I talk about 60 works by<br />

60 different artists. And they are divided<br />

into geographical areas. So, I talk about<br />

Latin America, United States, Europe,<br />

Africa and Asia. So, compared to 40 years<br />

ago, contemporary art is much more global.<br />

Artists from various countries that move to<br />

Europe or the United States bring with them<br />

their traditions and work, but you also have<br />

a lot of things happening in areas where,<br />

maybe until a few years ago, nothing much<br />

was happening.”<br />

The Italian Embassy also hosted another<br />

talk, this time at the Manila Art Fair, given<br />

by Laura Chiari, Director and partner at<br />

Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome.<br />

Ambassador Guglielmino explained,<br />

“My idea is to bring here every six months<br />

a player of the art world. So I started in<br />

the first half of 2018. I arrived August of<br />

2017, so in the first half of 2018, a curator<br />

came here. During the second half of 2018,<br />

an art critic came here. First half of <strong>2019</strong>, a<br />

gallery director.<br />

“The lecture and conversation that<br />

was recently given by Laura Chiari at the<br />

art fair was very interesting because the<br />

subject was ‘How Contemporary Galleries<br />

Evolve,’ how they change, how they face the<br />

challenges of globalization, the increase in<br />

number of fairs, the Internet.<br />

So I put together Laura Chiari from<br />

the Lorcan O’Neill Gallery together with<br />

Isa Lorenzo of Silverlens Gallery. And the<br />

conversation was for about an hour. And it<br />

was interesting because at the end of the<br />

day, we saw that the issues and problems,<br />

difficulties and challenges they are facing<br />

and the enthusiasm is exactly the same.”<br />

In our personal conversation with him,<br />

the Ambassador told us that he himself does<br />

not create art, although briefly in his youth,<br />

he did try but realized soon enough he had<br />

better skills when it came to diplomacy. He<br />

also shared his encounters with artists from<br />

various parts of the world while naming<br />

two young Filipina artists whose works he<br />

admires.<br />

Art as parallel interest<br />

Daily Tribune (DT): You seem to know<br />

a lot about the arts. Were you an art<br />

student? Is it something that you saw<br />

when you were growing up?<br />

Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino<br />

(AGG): No, I was not an art student. It is<br />

something that I saw, thanks to my mother<br />

who brought me to museums, theaters and<br />

exhibitions.<br />

DT: What is your mother’s name?<br />

AGG: An unusual name, Viola. And<br />

my background in university, to answer<br />

your question, is more related to my job. I<br />

studied politics.<br />

DT: You took up politics, but you never<br />

left the arts.<br />

AGG: Yes, I took up politics. No, I never<br />

left the arts. And I’m glad because I think<br />

that whatever job you do, if you have the<br />

parallel interest, it saves your life.<br />

DT: That’s right. There’s something<br />

else to amuse you, or distract you, or<br />

to take you away from drudgery… or to<br />

retreat to.<br />

AGG: Yes, yes…I<br />

agree…<br />

I BELIEVE that people<br />

should be free to say<br />

what they want about a<br />

piece of art.<br />

DT: So, when you were growing up,<br />

were you also creating or just watching?<br />

What would you be more of, a spectator<br />

or a creator?<br />

AGG: No, no, just for fun, I tried to do<br />

something that I realized was not for me. So,<br />

I was just watching, and studying and reading<br />

and looking…I think it is so important to look.<br />

I always tell friends or people to whom I talk<br />

that if there are exhibitions, you have to go<br />

and see works in flesh. With the Internet, you<br />

can see all the works wherever they are in the<br />

world, but it’s different if you face the painting.<br />

You have to face the work to understand or to<br />

appreciate it, or to say you don’t like it. But I<br />

think that it is very important to train your eyes.<br />

Embassy of Italy Award<br />

DT: Is this your second art fair in the<br />

Philippines?<br />

AGG: Yes. Last year was the first but,<br />

of course, I was new here so I didn’t know<br />

much. Now it’s more interesting because<br />

I know the galleries, I know the artists,<br />

everything looks more familiar.<br />

DT: Of the ones you saw this year,<br />

which are your favorite?<br />

AGG: I like a couple of very young girl<br />

artists. One artist is Jel Suarez. She works<br />

with West Gallery and she was the winner<br />

of an art award that I started last year. In<br />

the framework of the Ateneo Art Awards,<br />

we added in 2018 what we call the Embassy<br />

of Italy Award. (It) is an acquisition award<br />

in the sense that the embassy chooses one<br />

artist among the 12 finalists of the Ateneo<br />

Art Awards. When the 12 finalists are there,<br />

I go there and the embassy chooses one of<br />

them and acquires a work of that artist. And<br />

the first winner was Jel Suarez.<br />

The idea is to build a small but<br />

significant collection of works of younger<br />

Filipino artists that will be shown in the<br />

Italian embassy. In 10 years’ time, there<br />

will be an interesting selection. The<br />

works are not intended to be brought<br />

abroad. They will stay here but they will<br />

be exhibited inside the Italian Embassy.<br />

People want to see the<br />

contemporary works while<br />

collectors want to collect them.<br />

DT: Who made the choice? What was<br />

the basis for the choice?<br />

AGG: (laughs) I made the choice, but I<br />

did it together with Boots Herrera, who is<br />

involved in the Ateneo Art Awards. First of<br />

all, the first selection among the 12 was done<br />

for practical reasons. One of the works there<br />

was a complex installation with moving<br />

things. Another one was a video projection.<br />

These things are not exactly what you expect<br />

to place in an office. Just for technical<br />

reasons, I said not to consider these works.<br />

So, what I saw as interesting, I told Boots. I<br />

shared with her my views about the painting<br />

that I liked. And she agreed. And so, this<br />

was the choice.<br />

DT: What about in the recent art fair?<br />

Was there an artist whose work you<br />

found interesting?<br />

AGG: There was another young girl.<br />

I think she’s very talented. Her name is<br />

Brisa Amir. And she works with Art<br />

Informal and Mabini. Jel Suarez and<br />

Brisa Amir are both very young. I<br />

suspect they are about 25 or 26.<br />

DT: Sir, you said that the book<br />

is about several countries. How<br />

did this come about? Are these<br />

the places to which you were<br />

assigned?<br />

AGG: Not all. For example, I’ve<br />

never been assigned to China but<br />

I talked about a couple of Chinese<br />

artists. I have visited the United<br />

States but I’ve never been posted<br />

to the United States. And of course,<br />

if you talk about contemporary art,<br />

you cannot avoid talking about<br />

some American artists.<br />

AMBASSADOR Guglielmino with Isa Lorenzo (left) and Laura Chiari.<br />

DT: In the case of China, how did you<br />

become exposed to Chinese art?<br />

AGG: Because Chinese art is quite<br />

famous worldwide. I saw exhibitions in<br />

London, I saw Chinese works in many art<br />

fairs. So, they’re very well known.<br />

DT: Can you name all those countries<br />

in the book? It’s quite a number.<br />

AGG: I started the book when I<br />

was in Buenos Aires. I started the first<br />

part of the book which is about Latin<br />

America. Then I talked about Africa.<br />

Then I put together China and India, two<br />

mega countries. Then, I talked about a<br />

group of artists who come from different<br />

countries. There’s a girl from Israel, an<br />

artist from Korea. If you visited certain<br />

countries, you would not expect to see<br />

the contemporary art scene, although<br />

THE Italian ambassador gave a talk on contemporary art based on a book he wrote.<br />

they are getting there and they are very,<br />

very important. Then, I talked about the<br />

United States.<br />

DT: Is your approach very academic<br />

or very personal?<br />

AGG: More personal. Some of the<br />

artists, I was lucky enough to meet. The<br />

idea is always to be very open, even very<br />

relaxed because sometimes galleries,<br />

museums or curators tend to scare you.<br />

Or that they want to make you feel that<br />

you don’t understand. I believe that people<br />

should be free to say what they want about<br />

a piece of art. And even free to say I don’t<br />

like this. Again, to approach the work<br />

with simpler minds, with simpler attitude,<br />

without being afraid of saying something.<br />

That’s especially because in contemporary<br />

art, there are lots of bad works. (laughs)<br />

Not everything is good.<br />

When you study the Renaissance, or art<br />

500 years ago in Italy, you of course study<br />

the geniuses, the best artists. But 500 years<br />

ago, even in Italy, during the Renaissance,<br />

there was a lot of bad artists. Of course,<br />

time canceled all the bad artists. The<br />

problem with contemporary arts is they’re<br />

all still here.<br />

Two or three hundred years from now,<br />

when our grand-grand-grandsons and<br />

granddaughters will study this century,<br />

they will just study the real good artists.<br />

You don’t know who will remain or who<br />

will not. But of course, there is such a vast<br />

number of artists and then there are lots<br />

of artists which are so-so.<br />

Prada Foundation<br />

DT: How is contemporary art in<br />

Italy now?<br />

AGG: That phase is a little bit the<br />

challenge of the past because we have<br />

so much ancient and classical art,<br />

Renaissance art. Until a few years ago,<br />

the museums were a little bit skeptical to<br />

deal with the contemporary. They didn’t<br />

want to deal with the contemporary -- it<br />

was too complex. I kept on with classics<br />

where I could not make any mistake which<br />

has led to acquiring contemporary art. So,<br />

in the last 50 years, I think the museums<br />

in Italy should make more effort to buy<br />

contemporary art. It’s going to change now,<br />

thanks to some private foundations.<br />

There are some significant foundations<br />

basically linked to famous Italian brands.<br />

For example, Prada, the famous clothes and<br />

bags (brand), opened only a few years ago<br />

a beautiful foundation in Milan. Trussardi,<br />

the brand, opened a foundation in Milan.<br />

Thanks to them, contemporary art in Italy<br />

is getting more and more attention.<br />

Also because young people and young<br />

audiences want the contemporary. So,<br />

contemporary is very popular now. There<br />

are not so many people very interested in<br />

the very classical arts. Now people want<br />

to see the contemporary works while<br />

collectors want to collect them. Maybe it’s<br />

also because it’s a little bit in fashion.<br />

DT: Considering that your education<br />

is on the classical side, how did you shift<br />

to liking contemporary<br />

art?<br />

AGG: Because I was<br />

interested in seeing how<br />

the artists reacted to and<br />

what they thought about<br />

the same work. If you see<br />

a painting of 300 years<br />

ago, you admire and like<br />

it, but what was really on<br />

the mind of the painter?<br />

It is very difficult to grasp.<br />

With contemporary art, I<br />

like the fact that the artist<br />

that is working now is<br />

exposed to the same work,<br />

the same television show,<br />

the same movie, the same<br />

news that I am watching<br />

now. I like the fact that we<br />

share what is good and bad<br />

that is going on today. It is<br />

all there on television and<br />

in the Internet.<br />

DT: Cultural exchanges are among<br />

the tools used by the diplomatic world<br />

in forging international friendship and<br />

peace. How do you see the role of the<br />

arts in diplomacy? Do the arts play a<br />

significant role in diplomacy?<br />

AGG: For me, yes. Because for me it is<br />

something that can put together countries<br />

(and I am not talking about the Philippines<br />

now) closer even if they have difficulties<br />

now. And I think that through art, you can<br />

achieve better relations. I am not referring<br />

to Philippine Italian relations because<br />

we have very good relations with the<br />

Philippines. So, no problem with that. But<br />

in any case, art is a big help.<br />

Venice Biennale<br />

DT: What is your main focus when<br />

it comes to Philippine-Italian relations?<br />

AGG: The main focus of our relation<br />

with the Philippines is the huge Filipino<br />

community in Italy. It’s the largest<br />

community in Europe together with the<br />

United Kingdom.<br />

DT: How do you think should Filipinos<br />

involve themselves in the arts in Italy?<br />

AGG: I think it is important for the<br />

Filipino community in Italy as well as<br />

in other countries to see to it that the<br />

Philippines takes part in the important art<br />

events in the country where they live. For<br />

example, the Philippines is taking part in<br />

the Venice Biennale. And I think that for the<br />

Filipinos residing there, it is something they<br />

should be proud of - that the Philippines<br />

is part of the most important visual art<br />

exhibition in the whole world. It should<br />

make them feel proud. The Biennale this<br />

year will open in mid-May.<br />

DT: Does the embassy have something<br />

to do with the Philippine participation?<br />

AGG: Apart from issuing the visa to<br />

the artists (laughter), the choice of the<br />

artists and the works is, of course, totally a<br />

Philippine matter. What I am trying to do is<br />

to help some journalists to go to Venice to<br />

report on the Biennale. Serious journalists<br />

are easy to sponsor. So, if they want to<br />

go and cover the Biennale, I will be very<br />

happy to help them. The Biennale starts in<br />

mid-May but it goes on for a little bit more<br />

of five months.<br />

DT: Of the different places you’ve<br />

seen, which one impresses you most for<br />

their arts?<br />

AGG: Well, it’s not easy to say. (laughs)<br />

I was in Latin America and I was based<br />

in Argentina. But I made several trips to<br />

Brazil and I must say that I was very much<br />

impressed by Brazil not only by individual<br />

artists but the strategy that they have. It is<br />

something that I never saw anywhere else<br />

in the world. When I was going there, each<br />

artist was trying to help other artists, critics,<br />

the galleries. It was really sort of an army<br />

that was moving forward. A critic would<br />

tell me you should go to this gallery. And<br />

one artist would say visit this other artist.<br />

So, it was really a network. The frontline is<br />

totally incredible.<br />

Five hundred years ago, even in<br />

Italy, during the Renaissance, there<br />

was a lot of bad artists. Of course,<br />

time canceled all the bad artists.<br />

Good economy<br />

DT: How has been your Philippine<br />

experience so far?<br />

AGG: I had never been in the<br />

Philippines before I was posted here.<br />

So, I didn’t know what to expect. I<br />

was surprised by two factors in the art<br />

world here. First, I was surprised by<br />

the galleries. And I mean, also by the<br />

structures of the galleries. These are<br />

beautiful spaces. They could be in New<br />

York, London or Berlin. Silverlens is very<br />

beautiful. So is Art Informal. The spaces<br />

are perfectly done and arranged. The<br />

second thing that I was impressed by was<br />

the very high level of sales of the galleries.<br />

Which means that there is a growing<br />

number of collectors and even young<br />

collectors buying works of art. And in fact<br />

I am talking with some gallery owners and<br />

they told me that it’s very new. Ten years<br />

or 15 years ago, they were more or less<br />

struggling to survive. Now they are doing<br />

very well and the art fair is a significant<br />

window of this development. I don’t know<br />

how many hundreds of works have been<br />

sold, but they are hundreds and hundreds.<br />

DT: Even the auction scene has been<br />

very active. What can you say about this?<br />

Are auction houses here to stay? Do you<br />

like the fact that many art works are<br />

being sold for millions of pesos?<br />

AGG: You can like it or not but it’s a<br />

reality. You have to face it. And even in the<br />

international market, when you hear that<br />

this work has been sold for $20 million,<br />

I should work for 2,000 years but it’s a<br />

fact. One of the reasons is contemporary<br />

art is very fashionable now and collectors<br />

want to have pieces in their houses that<br />

people recognize. If they put on their wall<br />

a beautiful art work by a minor artist 400<br />

years ago, not many people will recognize<br />

it and appreciate its value. For some<br />

collectors now, to have some works is a<br />

little bit like a jewel for a lady.<br />

DT: Do you see what’s happening in<br />

the Philippines now as a fad, or as a part<br />

of the seasonal turns?<br />

AGG: A little bit of ups and downs<br />

is normal. But I think the Philippines is<br />

growing; not only the economy but the<br />

interest in the arts.<br />

DT: My final question is, do you think<br />

that as far as the arts is concerned, we<br />

have come a long way? I ask this in the<br />

context of whether we have matured<br />

politically and economically as a country.<br />

AGG: Well, the growth in the numbers<br />

of collectors is surely a proof of the good<br />

economy of a country, no doubt about it. When<br />

there’s more money around, more people are<br />

able to buy art works. When a country is in<br />

a deep economic crisis, art is not sold. If the<br />

country goes well, the art market goes well.


24<br />

LIFESTYLE<br />

Dinah S. Ventura, Editor<br />

Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong><br />

Daily Tribune<br />

Two<br />

Asian<br />

of<br />

different types<br />

BBQ<br />

Unli-Korean BBQ is everywhere and the lines<br />

are longer than ever<br />

DIGEST<br />

Pamela Cortez<br />

ASSORTED sticks from Spicy BBQ Room.<br />

By Pauline L. Songco<br />

JAPAN’S<br />

SWEET<br />

BUN<br />

NOW IN MANILA<br />

It is best served with the shop’s signature gelato ice cream flavors<br />

and rusk — a form of biscuit — as its filling<br />

Filipinos still like to munch on the classic<br />

merienda combination of monay and sorbetes<br />

(bun and ice cream). But did you know that<br />

the Japanese have their own version? One of<br />

Asia’s trendiest dessert places finally opened<br />

its first branch in Manila, sweet surprise<br />

especially for lovers of all things Japan.<br />

Melonpan Ice, a dessert shop that sells<br />

sweet buns made from fluffy dough, opened<br />

its flagship store at the Eastwood City Walk<br />

2 in Quezon City earlier this month. Its<br />

owner, Shiro Mirakami, started off just by<br />

selling bread in a truck in Kanazawa City<br />

in Japan.<br />

Soon enough, it became a hit among high<br />

school students in town. “One day, a girl<br />

recommended to Shiro to put ice cream in<br />

the middle. And that’s where it all began,”<br />

Reagan Dykimching, Melonpan Ice Philippines<br />

partner, told Daily Tribune. Word spread, and<br />

Melonpan became the most popular dessert<br />

in Japan.<br />

Freshly-baked and crispy sweet, the bread<br />

used in Melonpan resembles a melon, hence its<br />

name. It is best served with the shop’s signature<br />

gelato ice cream flavors and rusk, a form of<br />

biscuit, as its filling. It is an ice cream sandwich<br />

with a distinctly Japanese twist.<br />

Melonpan Ice currently offers<br />

a full range of signature<br />

items which include<br />

Melonpan Ice in vanilla,<br />

chocolate, strawberry<br />

and matcha flavors,<br />

as well as the mini<br />

version, Minipan Ice.<br />

These sweet<br />

desserts may be<br />

ordered per piece<br />

or in boxes of five while the rusk can be ordered<br />

solo in either regular or large. For those who<br />

enjoy their desserts with a beverage, the shop<br />

also offers iced or hot coffee in black or white<br />

flavor.<br />

Melonpan Ice also offers savory meals such<br />

as Kani Tamago Melonpan, Chicken Teriyaki<br />

Melonpan and Pork Chashu Melonpan. The<br />

menu lineup will also carry Rusk Hachimitsu<br />

(honey), Matcha Melonpan, Choco Chip<br />

Melonpan and the Almond Crunch Melonpan<br />

this year.<br />

“Besides creating the store, we are<br />

expanding to more locations. We are eyeing<br />

two or more locations within this year,<br />

probably opening a fourth branch by the end<br />

of 2020,” Dykimching added.<br />

If you’re eager to sample this authentic<br />

Japanese treat for the first time, a quick visit<br />

to Melonpan Ice’s first branch in the country<br />

will surely provide you with a sweet and<br />

satisfying taste of Japanese culture.<br />

“Right now we have a partnership with<br />

Grab and Booky to make the product more<br />

accessible. And then lastly we will be<br />

expanding the menu. Right now it is strictly<br />

dessert but we will be launching the savory<br />

line so you can enjoy Melonpan for breakfast,<br />

lunch or dinner,” Dykimching concluded.<br />

Melonpan Ice currently<br />

has 50 branches in Japan<br />

and is present in over<br />

eight countries.<br />

Korean BBQ has dominated<br />

the Manila food scene<br />

in an unprecedented way.<br />

Samgyupsalamat pioneered<br />

this cultish movement with its<br />

“unlimited” offering, forcing<br />

other Korean restaurants to<br />

change their strategy or risk<br />

being left in the dust.<br />

Now, unli-Korean BBQ is<br />

everywhere and the lines are<br />

longer than ever.<br />

While yakiniku and Thai<br />

BBQ are also prevalent in<br />

the city, there’s another style<br />

that is secretly spreading<br />

good meats but is generally<br />

overlooked.<br />

Chinese BBQ is one of my<br />

favorite things to enjoy, and<br />

with the influx of Chinese<br />

nationals and workers (which<br />

I’m still divided on), there<br />

have been more of these<br />

restaurants popping up.<br />

To talk about these phenomenons, I visited<br />

two popular establishments to find out just what<br />

it is about them that makes them worth a visit.<br />

Romantic Baboy<br />

The other popular counterpart to Samgyupsalamat<br />

is the hilariously named Romantic Baboy which<br />

already has around 20 outlets all over Metro Manila<br />

after opening in 2018.<br />

It’s pretty typical, with eight meats to choose<br />

from, and a new addition that has also been taking<br />

Korean food in Manila by storm — cheese.<br />

I will always prefer the unmarinated meats just<br />

because they lend themselves well to different<br />

flavors like kimchi and the variation of dipping<br />

sauces so each bite is always different.<br />

It’s pretty typical, with eight meats to<br />

choose from, and a new addition that has<br />

also been taking Korean food in Manila by<br />

storm — cheese.<br />

Thinly sliced beef brisket known as woo samgyup<br />

is a favorite, or plain samgyupsal, a thicker cut of<br />

pork belly.<br />

What sets Romantic Baboy apart is their moksal<br />

or pork neck which is typically more expensive,<br />

but is still unlimited here. It’s fatty and incredibly<br />

full of pork flavor.<br />

By the way, never expect good service at<br />

these unlimited Korean restaurants, just because<br />

they’re always full of people and staff will be too<br />

busy to fill your order on time.<br />

Spicy BBQ Room<br />

The Chinese BBQ I’ll be talking about here is<br />

different from the Cantonese style we’re used to<br />

— I don’t mean roast duck, soy chicken or charsiu.<br />

I’m talking about the type that hails from<br />

Xinjiang and the Hunan province, which is<br />

incredibly spicy and full of cumin and other herbs<br />

and spices.<br />

These come to your table on tiny metal skewers,<br />

and are coated in spices which are delicious and<br />

numb your tongue.<br />

They serve up everything from lamb, to fatty<br />

BEEF Samgyup.<br />

GRILLED oysters.<br />

SPICY eggplant.<br />

beef, to squid, all with the same intense rub that<br />

will leave you reaching for bowls and bowls of rice.<br />

They even have oysters at this nondescript location<br />

along Bagtikan street in Makati, filled with piquant<br />

garlic.<br />

You can also order dishes that are all packed<br />

with heat, from eggplant to whole fish with<br />

Szechuan peppercorns.<br />

MATCHA Melonpan.<br />

THESE come to your table on tiny metal skewers and are coated in spices which are delicious and numb your tongue.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!