SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016

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aittimes.net

02 04Filipino Badminton Committee

(FBC) hosted the 5th 4 Feathers

Invitational Friendship Game

Page 03Comelec warns of poll failure

Remie Mae

Chua crowned

‘MUTYA NG IPSRG’

MANILA: Manila will lease five military planesfrom Japan to patrol Philippine-claimed watersand outcrops in the disputed South China Sea,President Benigno Aquino announcedWednesday.

He said the leasing the TC-90 aircraft waspart of government efforts to protect Philippineterritory, which also included previously statedplans to acquire fighter jets and transport air-craft. “Also lined up this year... is the lease of fiveof Japan’s TC-90 training aircraft that would helpour navy patrol our territory, particularly theWest Philippine Sea,” he said in a speech at an airforce base near Manila.

“All of these additional equipment are part ofour (Philippine Air Force) Flight Plan 2028,aimed at improving the capability of our airforce to defend our territory,” Aquino added. TheWest Philippine Sea is the government’s termfor areas of the South China Sea that it claims aspart of Philippine territory, including islands andreefs in the Spratly island group that it occupies.

Continued on Page 2

MANILA: Islamic militants holding two Canadians and aNorwegian in the southern Philippine jungles have set a one-month deadline for millions of dollars in ransom to be paid,according to a video released Thursday.

In the video posted on a local jihadist group’s Facebookpage, the emaciated victims said they would be killed if theransom was not paid. Canadian tourists John Ridsdel andRobert Hall, Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstadand Filipina Marites Flor were seized from yachts at a marinain the southern Philippines in September.

While the ransom amount was not specified, the militantsin an earlier video demanded one billion pesos ($21 million)for each of the three foreigners, without mentioning the con-ditions for Flor’s release.

Hall identified their captors as members of the Abu Sayyaf,a local group notorious for bombings and kidnappings thathas pledged allegiance to Islamic State jihadists in Iraq andSyria. He said they were being held on Sulu, a remote island in

the country’s southwestern tip that is a known Abu Sayyafhideout.

A spokesman for the Norwegian foreign ministry in Oslo,Rune Bjastad, declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

The Canadian embassy in Manila was not immediatelyavailable for comment, while a spokeswoman for the govern-ment in Ottawa declined to speak on the matter. A Philippinemilitary spokesman, Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, toldAFP he could not comment on the video until he saw it in full.

The Philippine government has repeatedly said it has a “no-ransom policy”. But parties linked to foreigners held hostageby the Abu Sayyaf often pay to win their release.

In October 2014, the Abu Sayyaf claimed it received 250million pesos ($5.3 million) in exchange for two Germanhostages they held captive for six months. Security analystssaid a large ransom was paid.

The group is also believed to be holding a retiredItalian missionary whom they seized from his pizzeria in

the southern port city of Dipolog in October. The AbuSayyaf killed a Malaysian hostage last year, according toauthorities. —AFP

MANILA: A resident looks on from the roof of his house as a huge fire advances at a residential area in Manila on March 12, 2016.Almost 200 families are affected by the blaze, according to Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) officials. —AFP

PH to lease Japan

planes to patrol

disputed waters

PH militants holding foreigners set ransom deadline

SAMAL: This photo shows Norwegian employeeKjartan Sekkinstad (L), and Canadian tourists JohnRidsdel (C), and Robert Hall (R), the three kidnappedforeigners who were seized by gunmen from aboardyachts just before midnight on September 21, 2015 onSamal island.

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 2

KUWAIT: The 5th 4 Feathers InvitationalBadminton Tournament FriendshipGame was held recently at the KuwaitDisabled Sports Club, Hawally. The 4Feathers Invitational BadmintonTournament is being held every 3months which was started last January30, 2015 with primary objective ofextending friendship among bad-

minton players and to uplift/promoteplaying skills thru friendly competitionamong participating clubs like theFBAA, FBC, FILBACK and HAPI PIPOL. 4Feathers committee will continue tostrive for better badminton communityas we loudly say “Play Badminton andWin Friends”. Congratulations to all thewinners!

Filipino Badminton Committee (FBC) hosted the

5th 4 Feathers Invitational Friendship Game

PH to lease ...

Continued from Page 1

Tensions in the South China Sea — through which one-third of the world’s oil passes — have mounted in recentmonths since China transformed contested Spratly reefsinto artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities.

China claims all of the Spratly islands, including thosecurrently occupied by the Philippines.

Aquino has ramped up the upgrade of one of Asia’s mostbadly equipped armed forces amid what his governmentsees as China’s “illegal” bid to claim almost all of the South

China Sea, including waters close to the coasts of neigh-bours.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim all orpart of the Spratlys.

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force is known to haveused the TC-90, a modified version of King Air C90 manufac-tured by US-based Raytheon Aircraft Co, as training aircraft.

Aquino’s announcement followed the signing of anagreement last year between World War II foes Japan andthe Philippines to transfer defence equipment to Manila.

Meanwhile a US general said Wednesday Washington isin talks to station its strike bombers in Australia amid con-cern about China’s military expansion in the South ChinaSea. —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 3

MANILA: A fai lure of electionlooms if the Supreme Court (SC)insists on requiring the printing ofvote receipts in the May 9 polls.

The Commission on Elections(Comelec) has raised the scenarioin appealing the high tribunal’sorder to activate the voter verifiedpaper audit trail (VVPAT) feature ofthe vote counting machines (VCM)to be used for the polls.

“There is strong likelihood thatthe May 2016 elections will fail ifthe voting receipt feature isenabled by the Comelec at thisvery late stage of the project,” thepoll body said in a 13-page motionfor reconsideration filed throughSolicitor General Florin Hilbay.

The Comelec, which initial lyfailed to answer the petition whenit was being heard by the magis-trates, asked the SC to considerthe “far-reaching implications ofits ruling on the conduct of theelections,” including the possiblefailure of elections.

The poll body stressed that theuse of the VVPAT would result in“additional time of at least twohours and 10 minutes” on electionday as well as longer lines “whichmay discourage voters from exer-cising their right of suffrage.”

It also warned that the issuanceof receipts would require fourmore addit ional steps in thepol l ing process - enabl ing ofambiguous marks screen,enabling of vote review screen,printing and tearing of voting

receipt and dropping of the votingreceipt into another box to be pro-vided by the Comelec apart fromthe ballot box.

“ The hardware and softwarewithout a printer/cutter upgradeon the VCMs will not be able to cutthe printed receipt automatically,thereby increasing the rate andlikelihood of paper jams and print-er failures dramatically, as when avoter tears the printed receipt andyanks the existing paper cutter,”the Comelec explained.

The poll body said it would con-duct a demonstration of theprocess before the justices, if neces-sary, for them to realize the reper-cussions of the ruling.

The SC has also been urged togive the Comelec a “presumption ofregularity in its course of action andto afford it wide leeway in choosingthe means to perform its constitu-tional and statutory duties underthe law.”

The Comelec stressed it sharesthe SC’s objective of ensuring trans-parency in the elections andempowering voters in the exerciseof their right to suffrage.

“Nonetheless, this objectiveshould not result in burning thehouse down and risking a failure ofelection, a catastrophic result that istoo high a price to pay for the margin-al improvement sought by petition-ers. Progress requires a sense of pro-portion, balance and timing,” theComelec motion read.

—The Philippine Star

Comelec warns of poll failure

MANILA: People watch thestart of a partial solar eclipseWednesday, in Taguig city,east of Manila, Philippines. Atotal solar eclipse was wit-nessed along a narrow paththat stretched across Indonesiawhile in other parts of Asia apartial eclipse was visible.(Inset) A partial solar eclipseoccurs Wednesday as seenfrom Taguig city.—AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 4

KUWAIT: A newly established Pinoy organiza-tion in Kuwait, Initiative for Progress and SelfReliance Group (IPSRG) recently organized its4th year founding anniversary with the coro-

nation of ‘MUTYA NG IPSRG’ Kuwait Chapter.The event was held at Mas Court Restaurant,Salem Mubarak Street Salmiya. The Mutya ngIPSRG Kuwait Chapter is Remie Mae Chua,

Princess Of Hope-Irene Gorospe Erese,Princess Of Faith-Geraldine Bartolo andPrincess Of Love-Miles Acedo. The event wasgraced by Philippine Labor Attache to Kuwait

Atty Cesar Chavez and wife Gwen, and someFilipino organization leaders headed by CIKPresident Oliver Diong and Catsclaw PresidentMario Adones.

Remie Mae Chua crowned ‘MUTYA NG IPSRG’

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 5

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 6

Our little angel is now one; Happy Birthday Baby Jyll Gernale Gratil, you’re such a blessing and joy to the family! May you be guided each day with our tender loving careas you grow! Mommy Syrna and Daddy Butch Gratil love you so much, not to mention the special care of your lolos and lolas! Thank you Dear Lord God for this wonder-ful day and caring your little ones/ thank you to all the Ninongs/Ninangs who greeted and joined us on the special celebration last Friday!

KUWAIT: The Viking Cub of Radisson Blu Hotel held its annual3 Kilometers Fun Run Saturday morning with two hundredfifty runners, the highest turn out so far listed in the record ofthe club. ASEAN embassies were represented by its diplomatswith the Ambassador of Malaysia Ahmad Rozian Abd. Ghaniand diplomats of Indonesia and Philippines. The 3 KilometersFun Run kicked off with the registration of participants in thereception of the club followed by hotel shuttle buses bringingthe runners to the start of the run located at the Messilah area.

Viking Club instructor Chris Balingit, Jamie Red and StretchClub trainer Ga See Marie provided the ten minutes cardio andstretch prior to the run. Runners were led to the starting lineand Recreation Director Ivan Tzenkov signaled the start of run.Local police provided the traffic assistance for the safety of theparticipants. 10 winners claimed the major prizes namely;Greg Ziembinski on the first place for male division, LowelAndrew on second place and Cristian Cratia on third place forthe women’s category; Lulu Al Askar bagged the first place,

Charlene Scodeliano on the second place and Helen Searlelanding on the third place. For the children’s category, ImogenLambert won the first place, Tor Lambert on the second place,Asdam El Dabet on third place and four years old DariusCimpian winning the youngest competitor category. Medalsand gifts compliments of The Gym Team and vouchers cour-tesy of the hotel were awarded to the winners. Philippine dele-gation was headed by Chelsea Dado, the wife of ConsulGeneral Raul Dado and Girlie Caba,

‘3-K Fun Run’ breaks record of previous number of runners, diplomats grace event

Greetings

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016

Page 7

‘3-K Fun Run’

breaks record

previous number of

runners, diplomats

grace event

By Ricardo DL Dalisay

KUWAIT CITY: Original Pin Killers’ skipper Christopher Bush with his199, 207, 248 points steered the ‘sleeping giant’ and clobbered the help-less Bowlersmate 968-850/1024-838/916-833 while the sluggishScavengers registered their fifth straight victory in the fifth week of thePhilippine Bowling Association in Kuwait 1st Season Team Tournament2016 at the Cozmo Bowling Center in Kheifan. Other teams who postedvictory were ASC Warriors, COZMO, Asian Air Safari and SwoopingEagles while NUSANTARA who played bye.

The Scavengers overwhelmed the unfortunate LEAF team 2736-2699 coincidentally registered the fifth consecutive defeat and the for-mer’s fifth straight win of the first season. The Scavengers cruised to vic-

tory in the first set 980-938 but had to survive some nervy moments inthe third set 939-903 after losing the second set 767-833 before hand-ing LEAF their 0-5 record. Newly recruit Ali Arquob (538) and AliAshkanani (528) lead their team to victory and was supported by AjiVarghese (492), Anthony King, Firas Al Mohareb, Nasha King andSamantha Fernanades. For LEAF, Joe Presenta (537) was the top scorerassisted by Lito Mercado, Rocky Castil, Chris Carungay, ChuckKishpaugh, Imelda Daguio and Reygan Percy.

Rated team ASC Warriors overcame Mangaf Strikers in two straightsets to extend their fourth winning streak and boosted its chances oftaking a higher spot in the final round. The win also allowed the Warriorsto tighten their grip on sixth place with an 4-1 record. The Strikers whosuffered their fifth straight loss, were only competitive in the third setwhen Jayson Gamba scored 215 and due in part to the Warrior’s ownerrors. Ferdie Saliba (535), Kiko Andaya (525) and Neng Cervantes (511)were the top scorers followed by Alex Cervantes (442), Kevin and MinaAndaya while Strikers bowlers were Aldo Prena (466). Tony Zuleta (454),Robert Opena (439), Jayson Gamba, Ceddie Faa, bench warmer LeilaCervantes and Ron Fabor.

Original Pin Killers smashed the winless Bowlermate in their 3-gameseries 2933-2521 to post their third straight victory with ChristopherBush in the forefront who scored 654 supported by priceless recruitJhun Husmillo (598) and Ishaaq Waahid (521) and supported by AhmadFadil Karam, Amy Kerr and Jelyn Colegio. Bowlersmate 5-man teamwere Josie Lorino (481), Jess Tolentino (471), Norlan Balasan (471), FeFerrer (400) and new recruit Arnold Mendoza (371). OPK snatched theWeekly High Series with free lane fee for next Friday’s game. Other

results : With only two bowlers from Oman Exchange and SwoopingEagles’ victory was useless due to trivial results (2586-2119) andremained outside the circle of eight; Fahad Abul (610), Farid Gabriel(581) and Neveen Wasel (543) lead the COZMO to return to winning col-umn after defeating the undermanned Lady Keglers 2773-2577; theclash between the Asian Air Safari and the Fiery Dragons was a bun-combe (2664-2635) but retained their elite memberships while NUSAN-TARA who played bye with the score of 2872 surged to second placefrom fourth position.

For Individual High scores:Category Name Individual High Name IndividualHigh Game AverageMen’s A Ronnel Valencia 268 Jang Jong Lak 204.33Men’s B Rani Skeik 224 hun Husmillo 178.91 Men’s C Renato Pante 222 Jason Gamba 163.92Ladies A Neveen Wasel 222 Mina Andaya 185.84Ladies B Alma Turley 213 Alma Turley 165.33 Team High Game (Scratch) : - Asian Air Safari (1000)Team High Series (Scratch + Handicap) : - Asian Air Safari (2912) Team Weekly High Series : Week 1 - Lady Keglers (2710) Week 2 - Asian AirSafari (2782) Week 3 - Scavengers ( 2766) Week 4 - Asian Air Safari (2912) Week 5 - Original Pin Killers (2833)Team Standing after Fifth Round : 1. Asian Air Safari (13820); 2. NUSANTARA(13642); 3. Lady Keglers (13641); 4. Original Pin Killers (13557); 5. Scavengers(13351); 6. ASC Warriors (13279); 7.Fiery Dragons (13142); 8. Oman Exchange(13125); 9. Swooping Eagles (12943); 10. Mangaf Strikers (12729); 11. COZ-MO (12701); 12. Bowlersmate (12590) and 13. LEAF (11799).

Original Pin Killers clobber Bowlersmate,

Scavengers score fifth straight win

MANILA: The Philippines has retained the rightsto host the 2016 Suzuki Cup after it agreed tomove the venue to a sprawling new stadium, thelocal football federation said yesterday.

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) hadinitially offered the ageing Rizal MemorialStadium in downtown Manila for the biennialtournament between Southeast Asian nations,but its 15,000 seating capacity fell short of organ-isers’ standards.

At a meeting with Asian Football FederationCouncil in Da Nang, Vietnam this week, the PFFoffered the 20,000-seater Philippine SportsStadium, a brand new venue in the capital’s out-skirts and the proposal was approved, PFF gener-

al secretary Edwin Gastanes said.“The hosting of this event is an opportunity

and a challenge to PFF and all football stakehold-ers in the Philippines,” Gastanes told AFP.

While the Philippine Sports Stadium will bethe primary venue for the Suzuki Cup GroupStage on November 19 to 26, some matches willbe played in the smaller venue, he said.

Opened in 2014, the Philippine SportsStadium is located inside a sprawling entertain-ment complex run by members of a localChristian sect. The adjacent Philippine Arenahosted Katy Perry’s “Prismatic” tour last year.

Thailand won their fourth Southeast Asiantitle during the last Suzuki Cup in 2014. —AFP

Philippines keeps Suzuki Cup hosting rights: Official