Rody Duterte in Davao for Weekend 'President Time'

By Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star)

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He flew to Davao right after the turnover ceremonies of the police and military in Manila, true to his word that he would not stay in Malacañang. Malacañang Photo Bureau/Released

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Duterte returned home on Friday night, using his “President’s time” to rest during his first weekend as Chief Executive.

He flew to Davao right after the turnover ceremonies of the police and military in Manila, true to his word that he would not stay in Malacañang.

For his inauguration last week, Duterte was reportedly billeted at the Holiday Inn Galleria in Ortigas Center.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines did not declare a 30-minute no-fly time over the skies of Metro Manila and its environs when the private jet carrying Duterte was flying. The Philippine Air Force (PAF) also did not send advance teams of helicopters.

This was in accordance with Duterte’s instruction given during his first meeting with his Cabinet last Thursday not to make a fuss about his flights.

“We do not have any presidential plane anymore. I want this stopped. We should not be treated different from other suffering Filipino passengers,” Duterte told the members of his Cabinet.

Again: Europe – quo vadis?

THU, JUNE 30, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

When the results were on the table, I really was shocked. And not only me? What does the Brexit mean for the United Kingdom’s and Europe’s future? What does the Brexit means for the whole global economy?

Let me focus especially to France and the United Kingdom. The French business might to gain from Brexit, but also a “Frexit” menaces. Following the Brexit, the UK’s closest continental neighbor faces its own political challenges. But the French are also poised to benefit should the UK lose access to the single market.

As Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” about Paris and London, begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The same could be said after Great Britain’s decision to leave the European Union with a nearly 52-percent vote. France, the United King-dom’s closest continental neighbor, will have its own set of political and economic challenges in the days ahead: from losing Great Britain as a partner at the EU round table to the specter of its own Frexit referendum. But the French are also poised to benefit should the UK lose access to the single market.

Honestly,  the Franco-British political relationship had never been defined by the European Union but is based on bilateral interests. I am sure, that this will not change.  It’s not like Germany, where the Franco-German relation-ship is extremely important as long as the EU is working well.

As for refugees – an issue that “Leave” campaig-ners had hammered hard to drum up votes – French center-right Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron had previously said migrants would no longer be stuck at Calais in the event of a Brexit. But Macron’s statement was just an empty threat, and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said France would uphold its end of the 2003 Le Touquet treaty, which allows UK immigration police to conduct controls on the French side of the channel.

Economy Minister Macron had said the Brexit would mean an influx into Britain from Calais. France had its own day of union reckoning in 2005, when voters rejected an EU-wide constitutional treaty. Could a Frexit be next?

Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Front party, has long been an advocate of ditching the Euro currency and has already said that France needs to follow Great Britain’s lead and get out of the EU. Le Pen is expected to reach the second round of next year’s presidential elections and says France isn’t the only country that should have a referendum: She wants all EU members to go to the polls. At the latest then, the question will arise: Europe – quo vadis?

Ahead of the Brexit referendum, Herve Mari-ton, who is running for the center-right presidential ticket, had said he would expect the French to ask for a vote similar to the Brexit referendum, and he was not confident that voters would necessarily choose to remain.

As the Brexit referendum result sank in in Paris on Friday, 32-year-old Victor Jauvin said it was good that democracy exists to allow such votes, but he is nevertheless upset about the United Kingdom’s looming exit. “This was 200 years of developing this Europe,” he said. “It’s sad that it’s begun to disintegrate.” “Hyperdemocracy is going to come one day for decisions like this, where we have to consult the citizens of all EU countries,” Jauvin said.

Some called the decision to leave hypocritical and selfish. Indeed, every country in Europe is in crisis. The vote isolates others more than building solidarity. It can’t just be ‘yes’ or ‘no’: European governments and their people have to take another look at the union.

The foreign affairs analyst Pertusot said that if France’s center-right Republicans were to win next year’s presidential election, several of the party’s stronger voices could call for a show “in or out” referendum knowing that an out would be “very, very unlikely.” “The French like to say that they are disappointed with the EU, disenchanted – all the words the French love to say,” Pertusot said. “They dislike many aspects, feeling it’s too big or not French enough. But, at the same time, there is no hostility towards the EU like we see in some parts of the UK.”

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visitwww.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com .

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Travelers Capture Why They Explore the Philippines

BY:  (philstar.com) 

Photo features Bohol, as captured by one of the travelers who flew to different places in the Philippines via AirAsia Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines - As an old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

AirAsia recently launched #WhyIFly, an online campaign that seeks to drive more people to pursue their travel goals and spread the love of storytelling through beautiful films and photographs.

Company CEO Joy Cañeba shares, “Travel inspiration is everywhere. People are eager to break their routines, and are hungry for new and authentic experiences. Thanks to the Internet, Filipinos are becoming increasingly aware of the beauty and vibrant natural wonders of the Philippines and social media has made it very easy for people to share their discoveries, and spread a sense of wonder.”

To kick-off the campaign, several traveler-storytellers flew to different places courtesy of the airline to get a firsthand experience and to capture vibrant landscapes and idyllic country life many weeks ago.

Some young Filipino travel groups such as Where to Next, Free Spirits PH, SinoPinas, as well as videographer Patrick Martin journeyed far and near to explore Biri Rock Formations of Northern Samar; the bright turquoise waters of El Nido; the undiscovered beaches of Kalibo; and the lush forests of Bohol, and discovered little and large pockets of beauty.

One of the travelers is Javi Cang said the experience let them discover more places that are not known to many.

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"If you go San Vicente in Palawan, there's so many nice beaches. If you drive through San Vicente,just on the road side, there will be white sand beaches just like what you see in El Nido and Boracay. It's a little rugged pa and not yet developed, but what travelers can do is just take on the challenge of exploring the areas," shares the 25-year-old finance professional/adventurer.

Below are some of the photos from the travelers, chosen for the exhibit which was displayed on June 23 at the CBTL in BGC.

Bohol

Kalibo

Tacloban

Palawan

#WhyIFly aims to inspire more stories and journeys from people through the #WhyIFly Challenge, a call to inspire friends and loved ones to embrace local travel by sharing their travel motivations through beautiful photos in social media. The challenge will take place via Instagram, and will require participants to post one photo of their trip a day for five consecutive days, and provide an answer to “Why I Fly” as captions.

Four winners will be randomly chosen from the pool of entries from June 24 to Sept. 30, 2016 and will win seats for two to Bohol, Palawan, Tacloban or Kalibo and discover their own #AirAsiainBohol, #AirAsiainKalibo, #AirAsiainTacloban, or #AirAsiainPalawan stories. - Alixandra Caole Vila

United or alone?

THU, JUNE 23, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

If it comes to relations with China, this question arises. Always. The German chancellor Angela Merkel is winding up her ninth state visit to China. Observers predicted this trip would be more difficult than previous ones: China is more self-confident. That’s also a chance! Yes, it is. And I agree with German TV commentator  Dagmar Engel in Berlin.

This commentary could be worded exactly like the commentaries on the chancellor’s past eight trips to Beijing. Was Angela Merkel outspoken enough on human rights, did she meet with artists and lawyers who are under threat, did she condemn the new repressive NGO legislation, did she demand free access to markets for foreign investors and did she criticize the Chinese steel industry’s surplus capacities and dumping prices? She was, and she did.

Let’s discuss the step in the right direction.

That’s the present. The future could be glimpsed, quite unexpectedly, in the joint final declaration. Chapter 2, as Dagmar Engel says, is about “cooperation in third countries and on third markets.” The Republic of the Philippines should be soon part of this “third-world-circle” too.

A first trilateral project – on disaster management and a university-level cooperation on coal mining – in example involving Germany and China has been launched in Afghanistan. That may seem like a small step, but for China, a country that normally follows strict noninterference policies, it’s a new direction. The German side’s plan is to get China involved and to use its influence – a strategy that already worked in the nuclear talks with Iran.

How about the new dimension of market power?

Concerning cooperation in third country markets, Germany’s idea is to include China, use its economic power – and make money.

Just one example: If the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) and Siemens join forces on high-speed trains in third countries, flanked by the China Railways Group and Deutsche Bahn in the fields of Chinese-European freight train transport and the service and maintenance of high-speed trains, that means a market power of entirely new dimensions. A look ahead shows the Chinese have ideas, too: the transfer of technology, learning a lesson from the German side’s superior image in third markets, making money and then continuing on their own. That’s what might happen – it’s a pattern that German businessmen have complained about often enough.

Germany cannot prevent that development single handedly. The European Union is big enough, but it would need a common strategy on China. At present, every country is taking care of itself first and foremost, a situation China knows to take advantage of. And just because China respects Angela Merkel and the German economic powerhouse, that doesn’t mean the goals are any different. Divide and conquer – EU heads of government including the German chancellor should counter the strategy with, Together, Germany and China are unconquerable.

Hopefully soon, I might be able to report and comment about Germany and the Philippines. And hopefully “to be united”. Especially, when it comes to Mindanao and Germany. A German Honorary Consulate is to be opened soon in Davao City….

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Email: doringklaus@ gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visit www.german expatinthephilippines.blogspot.com .

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'Kill Duterte Plot" Scares Bilibid VIPs

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Philippine Daily Inquirer

By: Jerome Aning 

Sixteen of the so-called “VIP inmates” at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City—some of them convicted of drug cases—denied on Wednesday that they were plotting to assassinate President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and incoming Philippine National Police head, Chief Supt. Ronald de la Rosa.

READ: Bounty for Duterte et al. now P1B

“We are not involved in this plot, if it [is] really true. We are afraid that this might be a way of ‘public conditioning’ so that we will be eventually silenced and the corruption that happened here inside NBP in the previous administration [will] be concealed,” they said in a letter sent to Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas through their lawyer Ferdinand Topacio.

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The letter was from Jaime Patcho, German Agojo, Mario Tan, Jerry Pepino, Engelberto Durano, Rodel Castellano, Tomas Donina, Noel Martinez, Eustaquio Cenita, Herbert Colangco, Jojo Baligad, Clarence Dongail, Rico Caja, Joel Capones, Gilberto Salguero and Edgar Sayo Cinco.

Of the 16 inmates, six—Agojo, Durano, Martinez, Colangco, Baligad and Capones—were among the 19 prisoners moved in 2014 from the NBP to the National Bureau of Investigation  compound. This was after a raid led to the discovery of contraband such as money, drugs and luxury items, including a jacuzzi, inside their well-furnished “kubol” or quarters inside the prison. They were returned to the NBP last year but taken to Building 14, a highly secure and tightly guarded structure isolated from the 13 other buildings within the prison compound.

In their letter, the convicts said their transfer may be a prelude to their liquidation because of what they knew about the protection racket of previous NBP officials.

“[S]uch purported ‘conspiracy’ may even be intentionally exploited or taken advantage of as an excuse to silence them as they have, in the past, intimated on their knowledge on the dishonest and corrupt practices by the past administration,” Topacio said.

The letter was accompanied by a three-page handwritten petition signed by the prisoners who protested their being labelled as “high profile inmates” or drug lords and crime lords.  They also denied plotting to kill Duterte or De la Rosa.

“Our being labeled as ‘high-profile inmates’ has no basis and the truth is we are protesting this before the court and Commission on Human Rights as this is but part of the harassment being done to us in connection with the controversy over the protection racket under [NBP’s] previous administration that benefit the real crime lords here,” they said.

Topacio blamed “rumors being spread and fueled by unscrupulous individuals” as part of the conditioning of the mind of the public “such that any untoward incident that may happen to the prisoners in Building 14 may be unduly justified as related to the supposed ‘conspiracy’” against Duterte and De la Rosa.

De la Rosa recently claimed that millions of pesos had been offered as a reward by drug lords detained at the NBP who wanted him and Duterte dead. This was in response to Duterte’s vow to eliminate the drug problem in the first six months of his administration.

Cebu Classic Youth Orchestra Marks Debut Concert

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By: Jaime Picornell, Philippine Daily Inquirer Cebu City

The Classical Orchestra Music Studio of Reynaldo Abellana launched the Classic Youth Orchestra (CYO) on May 29 at the Centerstage theater of SM Seaside City Cebu. All 800 seats of the theater were filled by a crowd that  kept streaming in, even between numbers.

Reynaldo Abellana himself conducted the evening’s program. It started with internationally acclaimed pianist Ingrid Sala Santamaria as soloist of Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor Opus 16.”

She looked very glamorous in candy pink and throughout the 29 minutes the concerto lasted remained well poised as she tinkled away on a Lyric baby grand piano. Since the theater has very good acoustics, every note from the piano, and the orchestra, rang out crystal-clear.

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Ingrid was given a standing ovation and there were enthusiastic  cheers of “Bravo!” and “Great!” For her, and for Reynaldo.

In this debut concert everyone in the music studio was featured in the program. There were Little Fiddlers doing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” and the CYO Junior Ensemble delighted everyone with three minutes of Bach.

More delightful music came from the CYO as they played three lively compositions by Leroy Anderson—“The Syncopated Clock (which has witty lyrics),” “Fiddle Faddle” and “The Waltzing Cat,” complete with meowing. There was thunderous applause for the them from “Superman,”  and for an overture of Filipino favorite songs.

Baritone Kelie Go Co

Next in the spotlight was  baritone Kelie Go Co, who was accompanied by the full orchestra as he rendered  “Tonight” from “West Side Story,”  then “Granada” by the Mexican composer Agustin Lara.

The program concluded with the whole CYO and the Cebu Normal University Chorale, conducted by Darlene Yap, performing “Light of a Million Mornings” and “One Day More.” The audience demanded more and it was given.

Back on stage, Ingrid Santamaria gave the closing remarks. She recalled how the Salvador and Pilar Sala Foundation, which she headed, embarked on a music development program for young people in 1991.

The result was the Cebu Youth Symphony Orchestra, which in 2000, became the Peace Philharmonic. Reynaldo Abellana was among the young people who benefited from the program. What Ingrid and the Sala Foundation sowed 25 years ago has now come into full bloom.

CYO members

At the end of the evening everyone involved was called to the stage to take a well-deserved bow, as audiences clapped nonstop. Here are the members of the Classical Youth Orchestra:

Violin 1—Paul Gilbert Ramos (concertmaster), Bruce Albert Lim, Paean Banday, Al Gabrielle Valendez, Lord Lyrzand Padua, Patricia Ang, Kurt Dominic Yu, Jon Alexander Llenes, Nestor Valendez,  Cecile Angela Abellana (Ray and Geraldine’s daughter)

Violin 2—Nicole Yap (principal), Jan Russ Esmeralda, Nicole Villahermosa, Queen Riza Montayre, Haydn Marie Beltran, Sophia Colimbo, Mariz Trinidad, Sean Benedict Hong, Seung Hung Baik.

Viola—Arthur Yap (principal), Carlitos Adarna, Grant Lim, Joshua Bandala, Hans Theo Grado, Samantha Yap, Johanni Marie Beltran, Jag Lastimosa, Gabriel Julian,  Gimar Hontiveros

Cello—Jaque Mabalcon (principal), Doxa Banday, Reina Tigley, Mary Pauline Ramos, Kurh Daugdaug, Svelte Paragat Arfil Yongco, Stephanie Cabasan, Karol Josef Mabalcon, Samuel Colimbo,  Stephen Villarante.

Double bass—Deny Padua (principal), France Mabalcon,  Benedict Villarante.

Bassoon—Arthur Yap

Flute—James Vincent Natera (principal), Yoni Valendez, Yoolim Na, King Joshua Montayre,  Jan Rose Esmeralda.

Clarinet—Cartlle Mindalano

Trombone—Jann Rhoe Esmeralda

Percussion—Mariella Bugtai, and Louie Bugtai

Arthur John Dale Yap is the conductor of the CYO Junior Ensemble.

Part of the Junior Ensemble includes: Violin 1—Frances Ylaya, Keifer Ababon; Violin 2—Hubertson Egonia, Yjhurri Requiero,  Paula Ramos; Cello—Harlane Egonia;  Flute—Shelter Anne Hernando.

Among the Little Fiddlers are Gabriela and Savannah Llenes, Ana and Deanna Llenes, Annika Virtudazo and Nestor Valendez.

Guest musicians in this concert were: Trumpet—Warren Perez and Stephen Sable;  Trombone—Caroline Go and Masaaki Nagata; French horn—Jesus Sable and Umi Aoki; Violin—Jerone Nakila; Viola—Kazuo Eujara.

In the COMS faculty Reynaldo Abellana teaches violin and viola, while his wife Geraldine teaches flute and piccolo. Also in the faculty are the following:

Cello—Roger Ylaya; Double Bass—Jerome Rezaba; Bassoon/Guitar/Oboe—Christopher Tero; Cello—Jibbie Rose Arciga; Piano—John Manatad; Percussion—Simon Cereño; Trumpet—Ritzie Amaya; Trombone—Bjorn Gaviola.

On this occasion Ingrid invited to Cebu her dear friends Antonio Hila (who covers cultural events for

Inquirer), prominent banker Maurice Lim (in his first visit to Cebu) and Oskar de Hitta.

The opportunity to meet them came over Sunday brunch at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel. Ingrid took them on a tour of historic sites and Cebu landmarks, which they enjoyed very much.