SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016

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aittimes.net

02 06Metro Manila

conducts ‘stepped-up’

earthquake drill

Caricaturama Showdown:

‘The Punisher’

Rodrigo Roa Duterte

JAKARTA: Suspected militants in the southernPhilippines boarded an Indonesian tugboatand abducted seven of 13 crew members in athird such attack in the volatile region, theIndonesian foreign minister said Friday. Thecrewmen were believed to be taken by twoseparate groups to a jungle camp in Sulu, apredominantly Muslim province about 950kilometers (590 miles) south of the Philippinecapital, Manila, Foreign Minister Retno Marsuditold a news conference in Jakarta. Jolo islandin Sulu province is a stronghold of militantsfrom the Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for ran-som kidnappings and beheadings of hostages.“This third incident absolutely cannot be toler-ated,” Marsudi said. “The government will doeverything possible to ensure the release of allthose hostages. The safety of the sevenIndonesians will be prioritized.”—AP

DAVAO: The series of kidnappings by the AbuSayyaf Group has tarnished the image of thePhilippines and this must stop, President-electRodigo Duterte said on Friday.

Speaking during the turnover of commandceremony of the Davao City Police, Duterte saidhe would have “to confront the Abu Sayyaf.”

“Ayoko makipag-away (I don’t want to fight)with anybody but there will be a time, ayokolang sabihin (I just don’t want to say it), that I willhave to confront Abu Sayyaf,” he said.

“It is not yet forthcoming alam ko pero yungkidnapping nila must stop. It has given us a very

bad image,” he added. Duterte issued the state-ment after Filipina kidnap victim Marites Flor wasreleased on Friday morning by the bandit group.Duterte said he negotiated for the release of Florwith the help of Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan II.

Flor and her Canadian boyfriend Robert Halltogether with another Canadian John Ridsdeland Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, were kid-napped by the Abu Sayyaf on Samal Island inSeptember last year. The Abu Sayyaf beheadedRidsdel and Hall fter their ransom demands werenot met.

Duterte said they are also negotiating the

release of Sekkingstad. During a business forumhere, Duterte warned the Abu Sayyaf therewould be “a day of reckoning.” He asked thepublic to give him ample time to confront theproblem.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian ambassador to thePhilippines has thanked President-elect RodrigoDuterte for negotiating the release of theNorwegian kidnap victim of the Abu Sayyaf.

“ We are very thankful for what you aredoing,” Erik Forner, Norwegian Ambassador, toldDuterte on Friday.

Continued on Page 2

US calls on China,

rivals to be calm when

sea ruling issued

MANILA: The United States called onChina and other rival claimants Wednesdayto exercise restraint when an internationaltribunal issues a landmark ruling on theSouth China Sea disputes that Beijing haschosen to ignore.

A senior U.S. State Department official,who spoke on condition of anonymity toAsian journalists through a teleconference,said the upcoming decision by the arbitra-tion panel in The Hague may offer “a greatdeal of clarity” on the disputes and helpthe claimants forge an arrangement toavoid potential confrontations.

She said the decision, expected withinweeks, could also serve as a jumping offpoint to diplomatic talks.

“We would certainly call on all govern-ments to exercise restraint and to use thispost-arbitration period as an opportunityto restart those diplomatic discussions,”she said.

Continued on Page 2

DAVAO: Philippines’ president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, right, talks to released hostage Marites Flor, center, while incoming Peaceprocess secretary Jesus Dureza (L in red) looks on, as Duterte was attending a turn-over ceremony of police officials in Davao City.Islamic militants in the southern Philippines released a Filipina hostage June 24, but seven Indonesian sailors were abducted in nearbywaters, raising fears Manila was powerless to stop a months-old kidnapping spree. — AFP

Seven Indonesian

tugboat crewmen

abducted in Philippines

Kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf

must stop, says Duterte

Students nagbigay kaligayahan sa pamamagitan ng kawanggawaPage 3

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 2Kidnappings ...

Continued from Page 1

Duterte and Forner met at the PresidentialGuest House at the Malaca?ang of the Southhere hours after Fil ipina k idnap victimMarites Flor was released by the Abu Sayyaf.

Flor, along with Canadians Robert Hall andJohn Ridsdel and Norwegian KjartanSekkingstad, was kidnapped by the AbuSayyaf on Samal Island in September lastyear.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded Ridsdel andHall, Flor ’s boyfriend, after their ransomdemands were not met.

“He really needs help. I am so sorry Kjartanis not here,” Flor told the Norwegian ambas-sador during their meeting.

But Duterte said they were able to negoti-ate the release of Sekkingstad.

“We were able to negotiate but apparent-ly ‘yung kinidnap na Norwegian hindi pa rawnaka-cross because of the rough seas I wastold (the kidnapped Norwegian hasn’t yetcrossed the sea because of the rough seas, Iwas told). I don’t know if it is true. Hopefully,maawa ang Allah (Allah will have mercy), hewill be released in a short time,” he said.

In his speech at the turnover of commandat the Davao City Police on Friday, Dutertesaid the series of kidnappings of the AbuSayyaf Group has tarnished the image of thePhilippines and this must stop.

He said their would be “a day of reckon-ing” for the bandit group, saying he wouldconfront them soon. —Inquirer.net

MANILA : Alleged drug addicts and pushers file through to undergo drug tests following their surrender to authorities at the basketballcourt at Camp Karingal police station in Manila yesterday. Catholic Church leaders in the Philippines expressed alarm June 20 at a sharprise in police killings of suspected criminals since the election of a firebrand president who has vowed a bloody war on crime. — AFP

MANILA: It’s 9 a.m. Wednesday and the “Big One” was sup-posed to have just struck Metro Manila. What to do?Authorities first sounded a 45-second long siren to signal thestart of this year’s Shake Drill to check how prepared officials,ordinary folks and community leaders are to handle the after-math of a magnitude 7.2 quake caused by the movement ofthe West Valley Fault.

Traffic was stopped, work was disrupted, and people wereinstructed to duck, cover, and hold. Some buildings were evacu-ated. In Roxas Boulevard, traffic lights flashed yellow as peopleflocked to the streets. Firemen pulled out a fake cadaver from aburning car at the Guadalupe Bridge along EDSA. “Looters” ran-sacked an establishment at Marikina Riverbanks.

According to a 2014 joint report by the Philippine Institute ofVolcanology and Seismology and Geoscience Australia, a mag-nitude 7.2 earthquake on the West Valley Fault could lead to the

collapse of about 5,911 buildings and the deaths of about37,054 Filipinos around the greater Metro Manila area, whichincludes parts of Rizal.

One of the event’s organizers, the Metropolitan ManilaDevelopment Authority (MMDA) said that this year’s drill is a“step-up” from last year. In 2015, only Metro Manila disasterresponse officials carried out the quake exercise. This year,MMDA Chairperson Emerson Carlos said the drill was under thedirection of the National Disaster Risk Reduction andManagement Council (NDRRMC).

“We have more information dissemination this time around,and a lot of LGUs and other sectors have indicated their desireto participate this year,” MMDA Chairperson Emerson Carlos toldCNN Philippines. He said Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna wereincluded in the drill because the West Valley Fault traversesthese provinces, too. —CNN Philippines

US calls

Contined from Page 1

China has said it would not recognize any arbitration deci-sion despite calls by several Asian and Western governmentsfor it to respect international law. Some fear Beijing may takea harder stance and take provocative actions if it comesunder pressure from outside, including by the United States,to comply with an adversarial ruling.

In a harsh attack on U.S. policies in Asia, the flagship news-paper of China’s ruling Communist Party on Wednesdayaccused Washington of seeking to turn the South China Sea“into a powder keg” and warned it not to underestimateChina’s determination to defend its territorial claims.

The People’s Daily cited recent combined exercises by twoNavy aircraft carrier strike groups off the coast of thePhilippines as a sign of U.S. hegemony and said Washingtonhas made a mistake in seeking to intimidate China.

In making displays of military power aimed at China, theU.S. has “picked the wrong counterpart,” said the editorial, thecontents of which are usually vetted by high ranking partyofficials. U.S. military activity, including freedom of navigationcruises near China’s man-made islands and exercises withallies, is contributing to the militarization of the region, theeditorial said.

Beijing prefers one-on-one negotiations with each of therival claimants, an arrangement that gives it advantagebecause of its sheer size and clout and prevents Washingtonfrom playing any role to resolve the conflicts.

In the 2013 case, the Philippines challenged the validity ofChina’s so-called nine-dash line claiming virtually the entirestretch of the South China Sea, a crucial waterway where amajor chunk of the world’s oi l and trade passes. ThePhilippines also asked the tribunal to rule whether severaldisputed areas are outcrops, reefs or islands and how muchstretch of territorial waters they project.

The U.S. official also expressed concern over China’s coastguard ships escorting Chinese fishing vessels in areas includ-ing Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, where Indonesian vessels firedwarning shots.—-AP

Metro Manila conducts ‘stepped-up’ earthquake drill

MANILA: Rescuers carry a mock victim during a Metro-wide earthquake drill to test various government agen-cies’ response in Manila, Philippines last Wednesday. Government agencies, schools and private companiesparticipated in a massive drill across Manila designed to boost preparedness in the country. —AP

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 3KUWAIT: Hindi masusuklian ang sayaat tuwa na naibigay ng mgaestudyante ng CAP College sailalimng pamamahala ng I nternat ionalInstitute of Computer Science andAdministrat ion ( ICSA) sa mganamimighating O verseas Fi l ipinoWorkers (OFW ) na pansamantalangnaninirahansa Philippine Embassy saHateen, Kuwait noong unang bahaging Hunyo.

Ang ‘Charity Event’ ay isang pro-grama na isinagawa ng CAP CollegeStudent Council na pinangunguna-han ni Josel Bulado para mak a-paghatid saya at tulong sa ating mgak ababayan na pansamantalangnaninirahan sa Philippine Embassy.Mahigit 100 OFW ang kasalukuyangtinutulungan ng Philippine Embassypara maiproseso ang kanilang mgapapeles.

Sila ay nakatanggap ng pinansyalna donasyon at regalo mula sa mgaestudyante ng Cap Col lege.Matagumpay na naipatupad ng mgaestudyante at management ng CapCollege at ICSA ang nasabing CharityEvent kung saan lubos na nagpa-pasalamat ang ating mgakababayansa mga natanggap na tulong atkasiyahan sa nailunsad na programa,palaro at konting salo-salo.

Students nagbigay kaligayahan sa pamamagitan ng kawanggawa

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 4

KUWAIT: In their aim to share their bless-ings to the less fortunate, this group ofb e a u t i f u l m o m s o rg a n i ze d a o n e d ayg a r a g e s a l e h o s te d by m a d a m e Fl o rAwadh in her coz y home at Egaila lastJune 3, 2016.

The cozy home instantly turned into a

one stop showroom, put into displayassorted items ranging from clothes, slight-ly used branded bags, shoes, home appli-ances & kitchen wares to the delight ofshoppers, invited earlier. Proceeds of thegarage sale was donated to Tahanan niMaria , a home for the aged located in

Carmona, Cavite, Philippines. The one day charity event ended with

great success and again, these beautifulmoms is organizing another garage salesoon. Madame Flor wishes to extend herheartfelt thanks to Madame Nory Tolledo,Hadra Abullah, Jovelyn Hagoriles, Carmen

Linay, Cresecia Agulto, Bong Pagutayao &to all the vendors who despite their busyschedules took a day off to be a part of thisnoble endeavor.

Thank you for sharing your blessings andhopefully, we will see you again on ournext charity event.

Amazing moms organized Garage Sale at Egaila

RIYADH: Two Filipino migrant advocacy groups based in theMiddle East are urging the Philippine Overseas EmploymentAdministration (POEA), an adjunct agency to theDepartment of Labor and Employment (DOLE), to intensifythe crackdown of suspected human traffickers and illegalrecruiters.

The POEA’s main function is to administer and regulatethe employment of Filipinos abroad. AKO OFW, an OFWgroup based in Kuwait, and the United OFWs Worldwide (U-OFWs), also an OFW advocacy group based in Saudi Arabia,jointly made a call to POEA chief Atty. Hans Cacdac to inten-sify its efforts running after suspected human traffickers andillegal recruiters even among the ranks of POEA-licensedrecruitment agencies.

Mr. Chie Umandap, Kuwait-based AKO OFW foundingchairman, said, “We are handling numerous cases of Filipinohousehold service workers deployed here in Kuwait, and

some of them were brought to Saudi Arabia by their employ-ers.” He added that at the moment there are 4 HSWs hisgroup handles who were brought by their respectiveemployer to Saudi Arabia though they were originallydeployed in Kuwait. “We are providing special attention onthese 4 cases as they claimed abuses and labor malpracticesby their respective employers,” Mr. Umandap added. Mr.Umandap added that the 4 were deployed by POEA-licensedPH recruitment agencies.

On his part, U-OFWs convener John Leonard Monteronawho is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, also confirmed that hisgroup is handling 3 cases of Filipino HSWs who weredeployed in Kuwait but were brought by their respectiveemployers to Saudi Arabia. “During my exchanges to AKOOFW’s Mr. Umandap, we came to know that the practice ofdeploying HSWs to Kuwait only to be brought to SaudiArabia is that rampant now.

And this constitute human smuggling that needs to beprevented,” Mr. Monterona lamented. Mr. Monterona addedthat the Filipino HSWs were all deployed by POEA-licensedPH recruitment agencies. One of them is the agency namedKEY’s PLACEMENT, INC. (Please see attached case of OFWApple Evardone). “We conveyed and pleaded this issue toMs. Imelda S. Enriquez, official representative of KEY’sPlacement several times but whose usual reply to us is thatthey will write to the PH embassy.

Until now, we are still awaiting agency’s affirmative actionon these cases,” Mr. Umandap added. Both OFW leaderscalled on the POEA chief Atty. Cacdac to include the surveil-lance and investigate even those POEA-licensed agenciesthat were suspected of doing illegal recruitment and humantrafficking activities. A conservative estimate of two hundredthousand (200,000) Filipino workers is currently working inKuwait, while there are 350,000 in Saudi Arabia.

Intensify crackdown of licensed PH recruitment agencies

involve in human trafficking, illegal recruitment

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 6

Rodrigo Roa Duterte is to swear in (will be inaugurated) on June 30,2016 as the sixteenth president of the Republic of the Philippines.Last week Duterte was the chosen subject of the recent interna-

tional online competition dubbed ‘Caricaturama Showdown 3000’. Hereare the random samples of entries from various countries around theworld! Let’s support the new leadership and the promised change! -Courtesy Primitivo Aguilar III

Caricaturama Showdown:

Rodrigo ‘The Punisher’ Roa Duterte

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 7

KUWAIT: The first round of the FBC 72nd Eid tourney got off to aroaring start last Friday at Kuwait Disabled Club, Hawally. Onceagain, all veteran and budding new players gathered and getunderway in full force to kick-of the tournament. Dominatingpair for Level D - Jessamae Dumlao/Malou Dotillos, Level C - Louie

Ladaga/Jenny Ogalde and for Mix A&B - Sanchit Gupta/JoemarPelimiano. While other pairs are running close with several tiewin/scores. Expected for the next two weeks will be an excitingheated matches among all the hopefuls participants of this tour-ney to bag the championship.

FBC is inviting all badminton fanatics to register in their regu-lar tournaments from 8 am to 1 pm and adults/kids badmintoncoaching/tutorial and court rental from 1 pm to 5 pm. Forinquiries please call FBC hotline 66420529 or personally come atthe Kuwait Disabled Sports Club in Hawally.

FBC 72nd Eid tourney kicks off

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016

Page 7

FBC 72nd

Eid tourney

kicks off

MANILA: It has been two monthssince Kobe Bryant retired from pro-fessional basketball, closing thefinal chapter to a glorious 20-yearcareer decorated with five NBAchampionships.

Suffering three season-endinginjuries in the last four yearsbrought the end sooner rather thanlater for the 37-year-old shootingguard, who penned an emotionalpoem in November to announcehis decision.

Bryant left it all on the floor in hisfarewell game in Los Angeles in a60-point performance, the perfectswan song before finally moving onfor good.

“The game has always been avehicle through which I expressmyself and find out more aboutmyself going through various chal-lenges and obstacles,” he said. “Andso I’m very comfortable with lettingthe game go and continuing togrow through other things.”

The “Black Mamba” has beenbusy since his retirement last April,establishing his own company andventuring into story-telling busi-ness aside from coming up withnew color ways for his signaturekicks.

But he has never truly walkedaway from basketball - his playingdays may be over, but he has sinceembraced a mentorship role toyoung players and seemed to betaking great pleasure in preachinghis game philosophy and work eth-ic.

“It’s emotionally different. I thinkthere’s so much more value inteaching because there’s so muchenjoyment that come from watch-ing a player kinda have life, go off,”Bryant said in the Mamba MentalityTour press conference on Saturdayat the Shangri-La Hotel at The Fort.

“They’re doing something likethey don’t feel they can kinda pushthrough. Then they push through itand they realize they could do it.There’s a certain magic that comesfrom seeing that growth,” he added.

Bryant will be holding a KobeAcademy training camp for select-ed players on Sunday, hoping toinfluence the youth to learn the val-ue of hard work and relentlessness.

The Laker legend also sees abright future for the NBA evenwithout him, placing his trust in theyounger superstars of the league tocontinue where he left off.

“I think it’s our responsibility tocontinue to teach the next genera-tion so that the game is better

when you leave than it was whenyou arrived,” he said.

Bryant took note of howCleveland Cavaliers point guardKyrie Irving mentioned the MambaMentality in the NBA Finals, gladthat he can already see someonefollowing the footprints he left

behind.“It means everything I’ve done

throughout my career, it doesn’tjust stay in the history books, does-n’t just sit on a mantle in the formof trophies and gold medals,” saidthe former Most Valuable Player.

“The fact that he was thinking

about that in Game Seven meansthat I ’ve done something morethan simply win,” he said.

“It means that that legacy hasbeen passed on to the next genera-tion. And hopefully they can do thesame.” —ALG, GMA News

‘Basketball camp in Manila’

Kobe Bryant embraces role as mentor

MANILA: Former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant gestures as he speaks during a public appearance in Manila yesterday. —-AFP