Christmas evokes memories ...

CHRISTMAS EVOKES MEMORIES ...

Yes, Christmas evokes memories and sentiments that travel with us like treasured gifts of our hearts. It is the time for reflection of the past year and of things we've done to make a difference in the lives of others. Hopefully, we did.

Several years ago already, Elvie Punzalan-Estavillo, fellow Philippine Star columnist voiced it out very well. It's indeed a time for thanksgiving for the blessings received, and for the trials and pains that helped shape, strengthen, and mold us to become better persons.

"Hay nako" - the typical Philippine expression, I adopted many times since living in the Philippines for good. What on earth am I here for?

The more I look around, the more people I'm able to observe: stranded people, still having the optimistic smile on their faces. People, who are losing more and more of their bearings and are getting muddled in their lives. 

If political leaders confuse us more instead of leading us on the right way, we cry out for a satisfying answer through the institution church.

Modesty will never get them what they actually deserve. Charity and brotherly or sisterly love, as the bible teaches us, are becoming foreign terms. Moral and human values are badly needed to drive and out energy and vigor in our daily life as we stroll into painful indifference and sharp-peppered egoism. 

Our daily ill feelings regarding all parts of our life can't be or can't remain as a permanent state of affairs. Incompetent and incapable leaders, who are still being able to continue in their own monstrous, unhindered and impertinent style are every country's poison and reason for decline.

During the last weeks, as in every year, I received innumerable religious and philosophical literature and invitation from several institutions. I must confess, that I have been confused many times. I am sorry and I really wish to apologize, if I reject most "of this stuff", and, if I decide NOT to answer such emails or text messages. Sure, it's is Christmas time, but... .

May the love and humility the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ signified remain etched in our hearts. Let not the frenetic gift-giving and seemingly endless merriment becloud the pristine message that Christmas imparts.

Out and See...

Ocular inspection for a school project financed by the German Embassy in Tugbok (Davao City) - here with School Administrator Miss Joefel Soco-Carreon and teacher Miss Katherine Estember.

(On the way to classroom Grade IV)

When in Manila ...

Beyond EDSA and Commonwealth, other crash-prone QC roads need more enforcers

By Maria Feona Imperial (Vera Files)

A Quezon City DPOS officer managing traffic flow at Commonwealth Ave. QC Public Affairs Office

On Quezon City’s roads, death awaits drivers as the night deepens.

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If you’re one of them, your chances of dying in a road crash peak from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., data from the Metro Manila Development Authority show.

Yet, in these deadliest hours, the streets are clear of traffic enforcers who can help save your lives.

From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., traffic enforcers take turns manning the city’s busiest roads, each of them stationed at “choke points” or areas notorious for heavy traffic. Beyond these hours or when most fatal crashes happen, the roads are unguarded.

Quezon City recorded a total of 33,717 road crashes last year, the highest in Metro Manila according to the MMDA.

For the government, it’s traffic over safety. In fielding the bulk of enforcers, officials prioritize congested roads over crash-prone ones.

“Our deployment depends on where there is heavy traffic, or where areas are congested,” said Glenda Lim, chief of Police Community Relations at the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group.

Black spots, or areas notorious for road crashes, come secondary in traffic deployment, even as studies have shown the presence of traffic enforcers deters reckless driving behavior that results in road crashes.

Quezon City’s deadliest roads, ranked by data science firm Thinking Machines based on the number of road crashes in 2016, are EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, Quirino Highway, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon Avenue, Aurora Boulevard, Andres Bonifacio Avenue and E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue.

Of these roads, there’s a higher likelihood of enforcer response in the event of a crash in EDSA, Commonwealth and Katipunan, compared to other roads.

VERA Files, culling traffic deployment data from the MMDA, PNP-HPG, the Quezon City police and the local Department of Public Order and Safety, ranked the city’s crash-prone roads based on enforcer to crash ratio.

The enforcer to crash ratio corresponds to the number of enforcers likely to respond to a crash on a particular road on a given day.

If a crash occurred in Katipunan Avenue, there are 47 enforcers likely to respond on a given day.

If it happened in Commonwealth Avenue, once dubbed the country’s “killer highway,” there are 33 enforcers who are likely available to assist.

In 2016, Commonwealth Avenue recorded over 2,000 crashes, the second highest in the city next to EDSA, which saw over 4,000 crashes.

Along EDSA’s various junctions from Balintawak to Santolan in Quezon City, there are some 23 enforcers who are likely to attend to you in the event of a road crash.

Notably, Katipunan, Commonwealth and EDSA are notorious for heavy traffic, thus the abundance of enforcers.

  

Lim of the PNP-HPG, a member of the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic, says EDSA is already “safe.” The goal, after all, is to facilitate the movement of vehicles though slow, she said.

Yet, in other roads with fewer choke points but are equally high-risk, the odds of being saved get smaller.

One’s chances of being saved may be higher in Katipunan, which has 160 percent more enforcers than in Aurora Boulevard with only 18 enforcers likely to respond on a given day.

More, the 12-kilometer Commonwealth Avenue has 100 percent more enforcers than in Quirino Highway, despite having the same length. On a given day, Quirino only has 15 enforcers who are likely available to assist.

The gap between enforcers and crashes is biggest in the case of the four-lane Andres Bonifacio Avenue, a 1.9-km road that connects the North Luzon Expressway to the southern city of Manila. There are only four enforcers who could provide help.

“That’s alarming, right? Why is the [disparity] too large?” Lim said in Filipino.

“I wouldn’t want to pass through that road anymore,” she said jokingly, admitting though that she doesn’t take the route on a regular basis.

Surprised by the shortage of enforcers on crash-prone roads such as Andres Bonifacio Avenue, Quirino Highway and Aurora Boulevard, Lim recognized the need to refocus efforts in these areas.

“There are more cases to investigate in these areas, so there should be more police officers,” Lim said. “[Motorists] may be more careful when they see traffic enforcers,” she explained.

The relationship between road crashes and traffic law enforcement has been studied extensively.

In a book published in the United Kingdom, a chapter on the “effectiveness of traffic policing in reducing traffic crashes” found that if motorists perceive they might get caught violating road rules – by an enforcer, or tracking devices such as speed guns or CCTV cameras – they will adjust their behavior. This in turn reduces the likelihood of a road crash.

While the city’s roads are equipped with closed circuit television cameras in select areas, these cameras are used mainly for monitoring traffic situation and are not designed to capture traffic violations and road crashes in real time.

Speed guns targeting speeding vehicles are also limited in number.

In May, the World Health Organization highlighted that excessive speed is among the key behavioral risk factors for road deaths and injuries, contributing up to half of deaths from road crashes in low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines.

For its part, Lim said PNP HPG has intensified campaigns, in the form of infomercials and graphics, among others, advocating speed reduction as a safety measure.

Last year, the agency recorded a total of 32,269 road crashes in the Philippines mostly from reckless driving, or an average of 88 incidents daily. Of this number, 2,144 resulted in deaths.

Focused on Metro Manila road crashes alone, the MMDA reported a total of 109,322 incidents. In Metro Manila, Quezon City, the largest city in terms of land area, recorded the highest number of crashes.

To reduce the number of road crash deaths and injuries in the city, the local government has approved on third and final reading the Quezon City’s Road Safety Code.

The code, a signature away to becoming an ordinance, introduces interventions such as setting specific speed limits on main roads and implementing a no helmet, no travel policy.

In a news report, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said the local government will also deploy more traffic enforcers at night to deal with road crashes.

Yet, for DPOS Traffic Operations Chief Dexter Cardenas, augmenting enforcement alone wouldn’t solve road crashes.

A disregard for road rules resulting in road crashes, he said, usually happens in between intersections without traffic lights or enforcers.

“In between those intersections, when a crash occurs, there are no enforcers assigned to monitor because there is no traffic congestion in those areas,” he said.

“Deploying an enforcer is not an immediate solution. Perhaps, their visibility would instill fear, but there are three approaches to [addressing road crashes],” Cardenas said, adding that education and environment are as crucial.

“Because what people see as the only solution to road crashes is enforcement, which should not be. There must also be education, teaching people to be obedient to the law. And secondly, the engineering and design of the road,” he said.

Cardenas eagerly awaits the passage of the Road Safety Code of Quezon City, which he said will now enable traffic safety officials to examine the causes of road crashes in blackspots, and evaluate the reasons behind these.

“Does the road need enforcers, or just some lane markings and certain signages? The engineering design of the network or the quality of the road surface could also be the problem,” he added.

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This story was produced under the Bloomberg Initiative Global Road Safety Media Fellowship implemented by the World Health Organization, Department of Transportation and VERA Files.VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

Those were the days ...

THOSE WERE THE DAYS...

Time flew by. I think sitting in a jet plane. December again. Wow!

Do you always count the days up to the next legal holidays without being on duty? Or do you start as early as September longing for Christmas? And do you wish the weeks or months hopefully pass by like an assault up to the next possible salary increase?

Many times, we are really too much in a hurry while feeling uncomfortable if we noticed how time flies. We have no time for someone or something or even for ourselves.

When I was still a teenager, I was longing for the time being an adult already. Later, I enjoyed listening to my grandmother's stories such as "Once upon a time" or "When I was young" from her "yesterday's life"... .

After a couple of years, especially while observing that time really flies like a racket to the moon, I also got the same question in mind: Are the present hours and days less valuable?

Of course, each day has its own set of happiness and trials. But it also holds very high possibilities of we take the initiative to do or to move something, if... !

The luring term IF let us look into the future with an over "glistening" eye: IF I will finish my studies, IF my children have become adults, IF I might become rich because I win in the lottery, yes IF? And then?

The next turn of the year is almost around the corner. Sorry, almost. For most of us, it's the time to come to our senses. 

The future prospects smile at us already. I was looking already for the 2018-calendar. Setting appointments for January and February. Amazing.  Is life in future easier, nicer, more charming and being more fulfilled compared to the present? The thoughts fill me with horror, because tragicomic future visions can easily blur away our present day.

Many of us retreat into the past and forget their present existence. A possible topsy-turvy world of a golden youth tries to et us forget that also the past have had its share of disappointments, pains, tears, darkness, tricky as well as desperate days... yes, lost days, irretrievable time... .

Without having achieved anything to do, we dream our impossible dreams from last to future and vice versus. We forget that between yesterday and tomorrow is our valuable present. Well, now well then - if we know just how to fulfill this period.

Of Consuls and Consulats

By Antonio v. Figueroa

The importance of Davao region just seven-two years after its conquest by a Spanish-led expedition in 1848 was highlighted with the opening of a Japanese consular office in March 1920. Though it was originally an annex of the Manila Consulate, the growing economic influence of Japanese investment and labor in the region promoted it to an embassy on February 6, 1932.

At the time the consulate was opened, Davao was already home to a huge Japanese population, roughly a sixth of region’s inhabitants. Most Okinawans, the migrant workers and the expanding Japanese control of the hemp economy contributed greatly to the progress of the area.

The confluence of growth and demographic expansion eventually inspired the national government to promote Davao into a city, the second the Mindanao after Zamboanga, which was the administrative center of the Americans in the south.

Years after the Japanese consular annex opened in Davao, the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Dr. Sun Yat-sen and by now had established a consulate in Manila. To attend to the sizable Chinese population in Davao, Te Chiu Im, a local Chinese resident who was into beer distribution and involved in the founding of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Davao, was appointed as its first honorary consul of Davao (1923-28). 

Sun’s death in 1925 led to the rise of Chiang Kai-shek, a former commandant of the Koumintang’s Whampoa Military Academy, and the coup of Canton in 1928. Taiwan’s post-war consul in Davao was S.T. Mih when the office reopened in November 1947. He was assisted in the post by M.C. Chen, as deputy consul, and Johnny Huang, as secretary.

With the rise of the People’s Republic of China as member of the United Nations on November 25, 1971, Taiwan, an original UN member, was forced to close its consulate in the city. During the UN’s founding, the Philippines was still a commonwealth of the United States.

Extant historical records, on the other hand, show that even Britain, during the prewar period, had also appointed a foreign affairs liaison in honorary capacity. War accounts identify the honorary British consul in Davao City as Alex Brown, who was among those rounded up by the Imperial Army in December 1941.

In August 1945, eight years after getting independence from the Dutch, Republic of Indonesia opened its consular mission in Davao City on December 17, 1953. Given its impact in trade and economy decades later, the office became a consulate general on September 23, 1974 by virtue of an edict signed by Indonesian envoy to the Philippines Marsekal Sri bima Ariotedjo.

On December 11, 1995, Malaysia became the second member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations to open a chancery in Davao City. The opening was part of the growing role Malaysia would play in two key historical events involving Muslims of Southern Philippines: (a) the signing on September 2, 1996 of a peace accord between the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front and (b) a similar event on October 15, 2012, between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. 

Although the US established its embassy in Manila on July 4, 1946 after Washington “granted” the Philippines its independence, it was not until July 2007 when the Americans opened a virtual consulate, known as the “American Presence Post” (APP), in the city. Initially, it catered to the issuance of visas through the internet, which was manned by a Digital Outreach Team.

Over the next seven decades (1945-2015) other friendly countries opened their own diplomatic missions in the city, managed by honorary consuls, all prominent socio-civic Davao icons. 

The first honorary consul of the Czech Republic was Gilbert C. Go, a well-known trader. Republic of Palau appointed Miguel Iñigo, a businessman, as its honorary consul for life in Davao. Antonio Brias, spouse of Maricris Floirendo, daughter of late banana king Don Antonio, became the first honorary consul of Spain in Davao; he was succeeded by Genaro Lon y Ozami.

Ma. Lourdes G. Monteverde was appointed honorary consul of Mexico while Rowena Vida-Lisbona, the Davao-based assistant general manager of Maersk Filipinas, a shipping firm, was anointed as honorary consul of Denmark. 

Dennis Uy, founder of the Davao-based oil firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. (PPPI) and 2013 Datu Bago awardee, was installed honorary consul of Kazakhstan to the Philippines. His Udenna Holdings recently bought Enderun Colleges and FamilyMart.

Meanwhile, Joaquin C. Rodriguez, a Davao resident who was past president of Benguet Mines and wife of Sonja Habana (daughter of former city councilor Antonio Habana) is Republic of Serbia consul ad honorem to the country. Two new consulates under an honorary officer were also opened later in Davao City. 

On June 17, 2017, Davao resident Austrian Dr. Peter Faistauer was officially designated honorary consul of Austria. Five months thereafter, business man Edgar N. Ang, a Davao native, was invested the honorary consul position by the Republic of Korea on November 24, 2016.

On June 20, 2017, German Klaus Doring, a long-time Davao resident, journalist, and educator, was installed as honorary consul of Germany of Mindanao. He is best known for introducing German language as elective at the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City.

Latest from Comval Province

(Lupon)

Brgy. Cabinuangan, New Bataan is the “2017 Most Outstanding Lupong Tapamaya” in Comval Province where they received P50,000.00 Cash Prize from the provincial government under Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy. DILG Provincial Dir. Noel Duarte, Prov'l Administrator Virgilia Allones lead the awarding held at the capitol on November 27. They will represent the province for the regional entry. (R. Renoblas/ID comval)

(DOH)

Comval Gov. Tyron Uy along with his department heads on health meet with Department of Health (DOH) Asst. Sec. Abdullah Dumama Jr. at the regional office in Davao City to discuss on the health and nutrition programs in the province. (maryel lasaca/id comval)

(redcross)

Mas dakong pundo ang ihatag ni Comval Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy sa Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Comval Chapter para sa tuig 2018, kini usa sa nahisgutan atul sa bag-o nahumang 5^th Chapter Assembly nga gihimo sa Social Hall sa kapitolyo niadtong Nobyembre 28, 2017. ((maryel lasaca/id comval)

(MCAPC)

Apil ang Public Secondary School Teachers Multi-Purpose Cooperative sa Maragusan sa hapit 90 na ka mga Kooperatiba sa Comval nga nakabenepisyo sa walay Interest nga pahulam sa Comval diin niadtong Nobyembre 27, 2017 ilang nadawat ang P200,000.00 Reloan. Gipatas-an na karon ang mahatag nga benepisyo nga pahulam sa mga kooperatiba ilalom sa “Micro Credit Assistance Program for Cooperatives (MCAPC). R. Renoblas/ID comval)

War on Malaria

I remember the time travelling around the world starting at the end 1970's and always having in mind: Malaria! The war on malaria has been a victory for human health, driving deaths down and life expectancy up. But meanwhile, experts fear that the positive trajectory is starting to shift.

 

The global fight against malaria is grinding to a halt, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday (yesterday, I am writing this piece November 30, 2017!), amid flat-lining funding and political complacency.

Malaria infected an estimated 216 million people last year — about 5 million more than in 2015 — potentially reversing a six-year trend of decreasing infection cases. The majority of the 440,000 lives claimed by the mosquito-borne disease were young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "progress appears to have stalled" in the fight against the tropical disease. "Although there are some bright spots in the data, the overall decline in the global malaria burden has unquestionably leveled off," Ghebreyesus said. "And, in some countries and regions, we are beginning to see reversals in the gains achieved."

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Fewer people are dying from malaria, but the rate of progress has slowed — especially in Africa.

Experts fear financial shortfalls and government complacency have thrown progress off track. "At the current level of funding and coverage of current tools, we have reached the limits of what can be achieved in the fight against the disease," said Abdisalan Noor, lead author of the WHO's annual malaria report.

Investment into malaria prevention — a third of which came from the US last year — has leveled off since 2010. Analysis by the WHO found that funding in countries with a high risk of malaria had dropped to an average of less than two dollars per person per year.

The WHO says a minimum annual investment of $6.5 billion (€5.5 billion) is required to meet its ambitious 2030 targets.

Funding in 2016 stood at just $2.7 billion.

The majority of malaria casualties are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa. Insecticide-coated mosquito nets are an effective method of prevention.

Change in fortunes? Maybe. Hopefully! The long-term global decline in malaria-related deaths has helped cut child mortality, driving a sharp increase in global life expectancy. The WHO has repeatedly made announcement on "the massive roll-out of effective disease-cutting tools" and "impressive reductions in cases and deaths."

Mosquito nets soaked in insecticide — mostly delivered through mass distribution campaigns — are the primary method of protection. But in sub-Saharan Africa fewer than half of households have sufficient access to them. "If we continue with a business-as-usual approach — employing the same level of resources and the same interventions — we will face near-certain increases in malaria cases and deaths," Ghebreyesus said. How about the situation in the Philippines? I miss updated reports.

Malaria – Can it be vanquished?

Some 80 percent of malaria deaths take place in just 15 countries — 14 sub-Saharan African nations and India.

Emergency work is underway in Nigeria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen, where ongoing humanitarian crises pose further public health risks.

Several countries in the Middle East and central Asia have been certified as malaria-free in the last decade, including Morocco, Armenia and Turkmenistan. Last year, Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka joined their ranks, having gone three years without recording an indigenous case of malaria.

"We are up against a tough adversary," Ghebreyesus said. "But I am also convinced that this is a winnable battle."

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

Germany to invest 1 billion Euro in lowering air pollution

 (Associated Press) | Updated November 29, 2017 - 6:31am

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, attend the 2nd summit on air pollution in German cities of the government and the mayors of various German cities in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the federal government will provide 1 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) to cities and towns across the country in 2018 in an effort to make traffic more environmentally friendly.

The money is to be invested in finding traffic solutions to lower air pollution.

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Many cities in Germany face driving bans because the air pollution is frequently above the allowed maximum levels due to the many cars' exhaust fumes.

The funds are to be invested among other things into electric buses, electric charging stations and a more environmentally friendly traffic infrastructure.

German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks lauded the initiative as a first important step but called on the automobile industry to also support the government's action plan.

An Investment Boom in Philippines leaves Neighbors in the Dust

By 

Karl Lester M Yap

 and 

Myungshin Cho, Bloomberg TV

• Economy’s physical assets surge more than 10% on year earlier
• President Duterte plans to boost spending to a record in 2018

Capital investment in the Philippines is surging past the rest of Southeast Asia as the government and firms ramp up spending.

In the first nine months of this year, net physical assets in the Philippines grew 10.4 percent from a year earlier. That compared with a 6.9 percent increase in Malaysia and 5.8 percent gain in Indonesia, according to data from statistics offices.

There’s reason to remain bullish on the outlook. Philippine government spending jumped 28 percent in October, the largest rise in almost a year, with another record budget planned for 2018. Companies are also joining in: Metro Pacific Investments Corp. plans to invest as much as $16 billion through 2022 on road, water, and power projects, while Ayala Land Inc. is boosting capital spending to a record $2 billion next year.

President Rodrigo Duterte is building a network of railroads and highways across the archipelago in an ambitious $180 billion infrastructure program. Investment firing up adds another engine to the economy, headed for a sixth year of growth exceeding 6 percent and among the world’s best performers.

“The government is very committed to keep spending strong and that has maintained the robust momentum of the investment cycle,” said Eugenia Victorino, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. “With growth firing on all cylinders, the Philippines is really standing out in a region where the outlook has turned more positive.”

Catching Up

After lagging its neighbors for decades, the Philippines is catching up. Growth in net physical assets -- or gross fixed capital formation -- averaged 14.4 percent in the five years through 2016, the fastest in Southeast Asia and almost twice as fast as Malaysia, according to the World Bank.

Duterte wants to transform the Philippines into an upper-middle income country by the end of his term in 2022, and the cornerstone of his vision is a plan referred to as “Build, Build, Build”. It includes the capital’s first subway and a 653-kilometer railway to the south.

“Capital formation goes hand in hand with the focus on infrastructure,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. “The private sector has always been investing, but now public spending is catching up.”

Pia Wurtzbach: No such thing as beauty pageant jinx

By Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo (philstar.com) 

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In this Jan. 24, 2016 file photo, Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach poses for the media following a news conference.  | AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines — There are rumors in social media that Miss Philippines Rachel Peters only reached top 10 at the 2017 Miss Universe pageant because Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach from the Philippines was a judge.

This also reportedly happened to Philippines’ Mary Jean “MJ” Lastimosa during the Miss Universe pageant in 2015. MJ was Miss Universe Philippines 2014. Like Peters, Lastimosa also allegedly did not advance from the top 10 as Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao was in the judges’ panel.

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Before Miss Universe, netizens have observed another pattern: Mariel de Leon, Philippines’ representative for Miss International 2017, was unplaced because the reigning country then was Philippines, as represented by Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa.

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According to pageant observers, once the Philippines wins in Miss International, the following year, as the reigning country, the nation’s bet will be “unplaced” in the pageant.

For Wurtzbach, superstitions like these have no solid basis.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think that they would allow you to join if you’re already destined to not get the crown. I don’t think pageants would do that. That’s not really fair. And I don’t think there’s a curse either or there’s a jinx,” Pia told Philstar.com in a recent interview during her launch as endorser of mineral water brand Aquafina.

Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

For Pia, nobody and nothing should be blamed whenever Miss Philippines loses.

“I think it just so happened that you know, we haven’t seen a back-to-back yet at Miss Universe. But I don’t think that it has anything to do with the competition or the judges or the girl, our representative,” Pia further explained