PH Athletes wins in Singapore Open

Philippines bags 4x100m gold in Singapore 

Olmin Leyba
The Philippine Star
30 March 2019


MANILA, Philippines — The quartet of Eric Cray, Clinton Bautista, Jomar Udtohan and Anfernee Lopena ran the third fastest time in Philippine history as they captured the men’s 4x100 meter relay gold in the 81st Singapore Open Track and Field Championships yesterday.

The Filipinos’ winning time just fell short of the standing national record of 39.11 set at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the next-best 39.50 posted at the 2018 Asian Games. Eric Cray/File

The foursome clocked 39.72 seconds to beat Hong Kong (40.05) and Indonesia’s Mochammad Abina, Joko Adi, Bayu Kertanegara and Eko Rimbawan (40.26) for the mint, giving Team Phl its second triumph after Kristina Knott’s 200m gold  Thursday.

The Filipinos’ winning time just fell short of the standing national record of 39.11 set at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the next-best 39.50 posted at the 2018 Asian Games.

It was a productive day in particular for Udtohan and Lopena, who landed podium finishes in the individual events earlier.

Udtohan won a silver in men’s 400m, setting a new personal best 46.95 seconds behind the victorious 46.74 of Japanese Rikuya Ito of Waseda University while Lopena took the bronze in the 100m dash in 10.63 seconds behind Japanese Kirara Shiraishi of Daitobunka U (10.46) and Indon Eko Rimbawan (10.53).

Cray also vied in the century dash final but slipped off the starting block and settled for eighth with 10.76. Knott failed to sweep the sprints, ending up fourth in the 100m with 11.89, struggling with menstrual cycle.

Daniella Daynata copped a silver in women’s discus throw (9.45m) while veteran Maristella Torres Sunang took the bronze in women’s long jump (6.05m) as Team Philippines hiked its collection to two golds, five silvers and four bronzes in the two-day trackfest. Three also set new personal bests.
“I’m rather pleased with the results and the positive effects of full-time training and coaching now showing,” said track and field association president Philip Ella Juico.

World's Happiness progress

Philippines is 12th in happiness progress

Mar Mangahas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
30 march 2019

The World Happiness Report 2019 (WHR), released last week, ranks the Philippines as No. 12 in the world—and new No. 1 in Southeast Asia—in change in life-evaluation between 2005-08 and 2016-18 (http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/).

Note that the period is a full decade, spanning most of the Arroyo period, all six years under Noynoy Aquino and the first two years under Duterte.  The beginning and ending numbers being compared are three-year averages.  Credit for the progress between the two points therefore goes mainly to the Aquino time and partially to the Duterte time.

Chapter 2 of WHR2019 is “Changing World Happiness”; I heartily agree that it is more valuable to examine time-trends than to engage in Miss Happiness contests.  Its measure is scaled from the worst possible life (zero) to the best possible life (10) that the people surveyed can imagine. 

This is Cantril’s ladder, after psychologist Hadley Cantril, who wrote “The Pattern of Human Concerns” (1965).  (Interestingly, the ladder allows computation of “inequality of happiness”—which is high in the Philippines—but that’s a topic for another piece.)

The progressives. The five top gainers in WHR2019 are: 1. Benin +1.34, 2. Nicaragua +1.26, 3. Bulgaria +1.17, 4. Latvia +1.16, and 5. Togo +1.08.  Between them and 12th place Philippines (+0.86) are 6. Congo (Brazzaville), 7. Sierra Leone, 8. Slovakia, 9. Ecuador, 10. Uzbekistan, and 11. Cameroon.

This list shows that low-status countries are capable of progress in happiness.  It is refreshing to stop touting Finland, Denmark and Norway as the “winners,” since, after all, they reached their current high status in happiness only after many decades of social development.

The backsliders. At the opposite end are the worst five losers: 132. Venezuela -1.94, 131. Syria -1.86, 130. Botswana -1.61, 129. India -1.14, and 128. Yemen -1.10.

Gaining or losing at least 1.0 in the Cantril ladder, over a decade, is quite significant. The rest of the worst 10 are: 127. Central African Republic, 126. Greece, 125. Tanzania, 124. Malawi, and 123. Rwanda.

Other notable losers are Spain, Italy, United States, France, Japan and Canada.  Thus, high-status countries are not immune to backsliding either.  Of the 132 countries with data for starting and ending periods, 64 gained, 42 lost, and 26 stayed put.

The Philippines’ three-year average ladder score improved by +0.86 from 2005-08, to reach 5.63 in 2016-18.  Other Southeast Asian gainers were Cambodia +0.64 (25th in the world); Indonesia +0.24 (57th); and Thailand +0.23 (59th).

On the other hand, Vietnam -0.22 (96th), Laos -0.36 (107th), Singapore -0.35 (109th) and Malaysia -0.70 (117th) all lost ground.  In our region, half rose and half fell.

Change in regional climbing leadership. In last year’s WHR2018, which considered changes from 2008-10 to 2015-17, it was Malaysia, at +0.73, that led the gainers in Southeast Asia, followed by the Philippines +0.72, Thailand +0.30, and Cambodia +0.19.

The losers at that point were Indonesia -0.16, Singapore -0.16, Vietnam -0.26, and Laos -0.42 (see “Track happiness over time, not space,” Opinion, 3/24/18).  Now, Indonesia is a progressive, and Malaysia is a backslider.

Change in ranking of status after climbing. Both WHR2018 and WHR2019 have ladder scores for 156 countries.  

A country’s ranking on the world ladder depends on its relative (not absolute) climbing performance. The Philippines rose in status from No. 71 in WHR2018 to No. 69 in WHR2019.

Singapore maintained its No. 34 status. Thailand fell from No. 46 to No. 52.  Malaysia plummeted from No. 35 to No. 80 and was overtaken by the Philippines.  

Indonesia rose from No. 96 to No. 92, Vietnam from No. 95 to No. 94, Laos from No. 110 to No. 105, and Cambodia from No. 120 to No. 109.

Miss Eco International 2019 runner up

PH bet is 1st runner-up in Miss Eco International 2019

CNN Philippines
30 March 2019

Filipino-American beauty queen Maureen Montagne nearly won a back-to-back crown for the Philippines at the Miss Eco International 2019 where she was named first runner-up.

Reigning queen Cynthia Thomalla from Southern Leyte passed on the crown to Peru's Suheyn Cipriani during the pageant's coronation in Egypt on Saturday. Miss USA finished 2nd runner-up, followed by Miss Ukraine and Miss Malaysia.

Montagne, born to a Filipina mother and French father also won first runner-up in Miss World USA in 2017, representing the state of Arizona.

Prior to the announcement of winners, the 5'7" model took the time to thank supporters who have been part of her "incredible" journey.

"No matter what happens I will leave Egypt full of love, light, and new found purpose," she said on Instagram.

Over 60 countries joined this year's Miss Eco International which advocates sustainable tourism and environmental protection.

Miss Universe 2015 waxed

Pia Wurtzbach in wax unveiled 



Nathalie tomada
The Philippine Star
29 March 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach felt like a winner again as she unveiled in Manila yesterday her wax figure for Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach poses under the crown held by her Madame Tussauds wax replica, which was unveiled to the media during an event at the EDSA Shangri-La yesterday.Jesse Bustos

Wurtzbach is the first and only Filipino celebrity to have a figure at the popular wax museum chain’s flagship attraction in Asia.

“It’s so surreal. I cannot explain how happy I am now. I feel like I won again,” the 29-year-old beauty queen and actress told The STAR.



Wurtzbach said she used to go to Madame Tussauds and even had a throwback photo from 10 years ago when she went to the wax museum in Las Vegas, USA.

“So I know how fun it is there, how fun it is to take photos with the celebrities in wax figures. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’m gonna be immortalized,” Wurtzbach said.

“I’m going to look young forever,” she quipped.

When asked how she was selected, Wurtzbach said she was informed that a survey was undertaken on Filipino celebrities.

“That’s what they told me. They did like a survey, a study, and that’s how they decided to select me.”

According to Madame Tussauds Hong Kong general manager Jenny You, they decided to have a Filipino wax figure due to the request of their Filipino visitors.

 “Our Filipino guests have always been important to us and we’ve always believed we should have a Filipino wax figure, so we’re very pleased to have Pia mark this milestone with us. We can’t imagine having anyone but her to represent the Philippines in this way.”

She added, “More than being a queen, (Wurtzbach) has all the makings of an icon and we’re proud to be able to house her wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong for the rest of the world to be able to interact with.”

At the big reveal held at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, it was like seeing double for the media as Wurtzbach came face to face for the first time with her wax version.

It wore the same stunning Swarovski-embellished royal blue ball gown by Michael Cinco, which she donned when she passed the Miss Universe crown in 2016.

People will enjoy their own crowning moment with Wurtzbach’s wax version. “I really love it. I really love the pose. It’s very interactive. People are going to be able to touch it.”

To come up with such a flawless resemblance, the process of getting her measurements took four to five hours. The making of the figure took six months, with 20 artists working on it in London where Madame Tussauds originated.

“I had to do the pose for quite sometime because they had to measure everything, like the distance from my wrist to my elbow, everything. They had to measure manually,” she said.

They also took a lot of pictures of her face, from different angles, but Wurtzbach said, “I never got tired because I was too excited, my adrenalin was up.”

She continued, “They really paid attention to detail. They checked the color of my hair because iba pala ang color natin dito sa harap, sa likod, sa ilalim, the hair has highlights and lowlights and then I had to step outside into the natural light so they could get the exact color of my eyes. And fun fact, the teeth (are) exactly the same because they got my dental impression from my dentist.”

The Miss Universe crown used in the wax figure is the Mikimoto crown as approved by the Miss Universe Organization.

Her wax version is home for the #PiaMadeIconic Travel Festival today at SM Mega Fashion Hall.

The festival is a joint effort of Madame Tussauds Hong Kong with two other major travel brands, international airline Cathay Pacific and booking platform Klook.

Special packages are being offered at the event for first time and frequent travelers to Hong Kong.

After the travel fest, Wurtzbach’s wax figure will be flown to its permanent home at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, where it will join life-size replicas of some of the world’s most famous celebrities and historic icons in themed galleries.

Steel bar exporter

PH becomes steel bar exporter

SteelAsia’s first shipment to Canada

By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat\ 24March 2019

Manila Bulletin

Leading Philippine steel firm SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. is delivering its first export of rebars to Canada, making the Philippines a steel bar exporter again after several decades.

SteelAsia SVP and Head of Sales Yvette Sy said the company shipped 10,000 metric tons of rebar to Canada worth over P300 million (around $6 million). Rebars are used by the construction sector to provide tensile strength for infrastructure, buildings, housing, and other structures.

“We are excited to see Philippine-made rebars being used in buildings and infrastructure in Canada. This shows that our steel products are competitive and world-class, having passed the stringent standards on steel set by Canadian authorities,” she said.

SteelAsia is the first steel bar manufacturer in the Philippines to have an Integrated Management System (IMS) certification when its Environment (ISO 14001) and Health and Safety (OHSAS 18001) Management Systems were integrated with its Quality Management System (ISO 9001).

SteelAsia’s Quality Management System has also been certified to conform to UK CARES or the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steel Bars, the only Philippine company to achieve such certification at this time.

“We hope to do our part in raising the reputation of Philippine manufacturing by ensuring that our steel products are at par with the best in the world,” Sy said.

She also assured that SteelAsia will continue to ably support domestic requirements, especially the ongoing massive infrastructure developments in the country.

The Yao-owned SteelAsia is the Philippines’ flagship steel firm with six rebar rolling mills across the country – three in Luzon, one in the Visayas, and two in Mindanao – producing an output of over two million tons per year.

“We are proud to contribute to the country’s development, not only through the manufacture of quality steel locally but also by earning precious foreign exchange for the country through exports,” Sy concluded.

In December last year, SteelAsia Chairman Benjamin Yao have partnered with China’s HBIS Group Co. Ltd. and Huili Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd. to jointly undertake the country’s first integrated steel manufacturing operation in Misamis Oriental worth $4.4 billion.

The facilities in the plant will include those related to port operation, sintering, coking, pelletizing, iron-making, steel-making, steel rolling and further processing. The construction and ramp-up period is scheduled to span from three to five years.

PH new sardine specie

New sardine species thrives in Manila Bay 


Manila Standard
25 March 2019


Manila Bay’s ecosystem is not dying. In fact, a new sardine species, Sardinellapacifica, has been discovered in Manila Bay waters and in other parts of the country. 

According to a peer-reviewed journal article, Japanese taxonomists HarutakaHata and Hiroyuki Motomura collected samples from Manila Bay, Quezon, Sorsogon and Samar and those revealed distinct characteristics from other sardine species, concluding a new species of sardines was found only in the Philippines.

“We appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to stop all reclamation projects lined up in Manila Bay,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana in the Philippines.

“This can be the legacy of your administration―that you were able to save the rich ecosystem of Manila Bay that carries national and natural heritage significance, especially with the discovery of this new sardine species i Philippine waters.” 

Manila Bay was identified by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources as a spawning area of sardines and is still one of the main fishing grounds of artisanal fishermen who depend on the sea for their livelihood. Sardines is on top of the kinds of fish caught in the area.

“Instead of dumping and filling our seas that bury and destroy mangroves, sea grass beds, corals and other fisheries habitats, let’s collectively save and protect these from destruction because of so-called “development” projects,” Ramos said. 

“More importantly, let’s help our artisanal fishermen earn a decent livelihood to feed their families from our rich marine resources that are known all over the world.”

Oceana appealed to Duterte to review and assess the projects submitted to the Philippine Reclamation Authority that would result in irreversible damage to the marine habitats. 

Ramos said the irreparable destruction in Manila Bay would leave the artisanal fishermen almost without income because of low or no catch, and their families hungry and displaced.

“These projects violate our constitutional right to balanced and healthful ecology, as well as our fisheries and environmental laws,” Ramos said. 

Oceana is co-organizing with Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas, and Center for Environmental Concerns a People’s Summit on Reclamation on March 26 to 27. 

The summit will discuss scientific studies and legal review with the government, academe, scientists and legal experts, non-government organizations and the urban poor and coastal communities in Manila Bay.