Kaya delights in solid showing that led to big win

May 1, 2019 | 9:43 pm

KAYA FC-ILOILO got its AFC Cup Group H campaign back on the winning track with a dominant 5-1 victory on Tuesday over visiting Lao Toyota FC of Laos at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.

It was a victory that Kaya took extra delight in as it had the team having a solid showing from start to finish.

Forward Jordan Mintah led the thorough Kaya attack with a hat trick while Connor Tacagni and Yannick Tuason scored a goal each to tow their team to the victory, a bounce back from a tough loss they had previously.

Erstwhile struggling Mintah got the scoring going for the home team in the 11^th minute when the Ghanaian poked a shot past the Lao goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.

Just as the opening half drew to a close, Kaya doubled its lead care of midfielder Tacagni, who nodded a goal in the 40^th minute.

In the second half, Lao got buried deeper when Mr. Mintah scored his second goal in the 66^th minute.

The visiting side scrambled to stay in the game, managing to squeak in a goal in the 70^th minute from forward Kazuo Homma.

But that was the closest Lao could get as Kaya put its foot down and went on a strong finish, punctuated by goals from Messrs. Tuason (86’) and Mintah (89’) to complete the impressive victory.

“I’m so happy for my boys. That was hard work from start to finish. In general, we played really well today,” said Kaya coach Noel Marcaida of the performance they showed against Lao.

For Mr. Mintah, to finally bust loose on offense the way he did was something he truly welcomed. “I’m so happy. The last four games have been so hard for me. I keep asking, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ But God always answers ‘Your time will come.’ Today is that day — three goals — I hope it will continue,” said Mr. Mintah.

With the win, Kaya (2-2-1) moved back to second place in Group H with eight points, still in the hunt for the best runner-up finisher among the three ASEAN Zone groupings that would merit a ticket to the next round.

Kaya finishes its group assignments on May 14 versus Home United FC in Singapore. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PhilCycling bid to host BMX meet in ’20 accepted

May 1, 2019 | 9:42 pm

Filipino BMX cyclist Daniel Caluag — *ASIAN GAMES WEB SITE*

THE Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) has elevated the Philippines’ bid to host the 2020 Asian BMX Championships to the continental body’s management committee meeting set later this year.

This was confirmed by ACC Secretary-General Onkar Singh to the Intergrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling) during the confederation’s congress last Friday at the International Hotel Tashkent in Uzbekistan that coincided with the Asian Championships for Road.

So far, only the Philippines signified an interest to host the championships, whose 2019 edition was held last month in Kuala Lumpur where Filipinos Patrick Coo won gold in the men junior category and former Asian Games champion Daniel Caluag finished fourth place after skidding in the first turn in the elite class.

PhilCycling President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino welcomed the ACC’s acceptance of the national sports association’s intention to host next year’s championships at the International Cycling Union (UCI)-regulation BMX track that is being built in Tagaytay City for the 30^th Southeast Asian Games.

“We are hopeful of the ACC approval of our bid to host the Asian championships at the world-class track in Tagaytay City,” Mr. Tolentino said. “With the new UCI track, we can host even the world championships given the existing facilities that Tagaytay City offers.”

The Philippines has hosted the Asian road championships in 1965, 1977, 1983 and 1995. The PhilCycling included BMX as a demonstration event in the 2005 SEA Games the country hosted ahead of the disciplines inclusion as a medal event in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

NCRFA league launched

May 1, 2019 | 9:41 pm

THE National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA) over the weekend launched its Summer Youth League at the British School Manila.

Now on its third year, the tournament is hosting 2,000 players from various football clubs all over Metro Manila.

Teams from Rizal, Olongapo, Tanauan, Laguna and some other provincial teams had been invited as well.

With the support of Makati Football Club, NCRFA is able to build a youth tournament that is for all the kids, giving everyone a chance to play as well as to promote the game.

“It is essential for the NCRFA youth football league that team registration goes for free unlike other leagues which charge a premium, so it won’t exclude any child or team from joining,” said SeLu Lozano, Makati Football Club CEO and NCRFA summer youth league founder and organizer.

All uniforms are provided for all players and officials while food is given every match day.

The tournament has a noble cause, as the league will collect football shoes to donate to the kids who are not fortunate enough to have the right gear for football.

The Nationals to build on strong start to season

May 1, 2019 | 9:41 pm

AFTER successfully holding its first conference in its inaugural season, The Nationals — the Philippines’ first and only franchise-based Esports League — is looking to build on the gains it had as it ushered in its second conference.

Officially rolled off yesterday, the second conference of the DOTA 2 competition would see once again the five competing teams testing each other as they jostle for Esports supremacy in the country.

The Cignal Ultra Warriors are aiming to win back-to-back titles after topping the first conference of DOTA 2 in April.

They bested Suha-XCTN Punishers in the grand finals to claim the title and the P400,000 top cash prize.

The Cignal Ultra Warriors were to open the second conference against PLDT-Smart Omega yesterday.

Also seeing action on opening day of the new conference were the Punishers against Bren Epro. Happy Feet Emperors had an off day.

In the second conference, up for grabs anew is P400,000 for the champion, P200,000 for the second place and P100,000 for third.

“The league’s first conference was very successful, but The Nationals have bigger things in store,” said commissioner Ren Vitug as he spoke with media at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila on Tuesday.

Adding, “Hopefully, we can better show our vision this upcoming conference.”

The first season of The Nationals happens till October with all the games to be played at the Gariath Concepts Studio in Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City.

All of the contested games will have two conferences in the first season. Each conference will feature a double round-robin group stage and single-elimination playoffs, with winners and the top performers per conference advancing to a season finale later on in the year.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on Mobile, and Tekken 7 on PS4 are set to be played later in the season.

The Nationals’ official TV broadcast partners are ESPN5 through 5Plus on Free TV and Cignal TV through eGG Network and One Sports on Pay TV. Livestreaming on social media is also provided by the league.

For more information on the league follow it on its Website at TheNationals.PH. It is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Magnus The Magnificent

May 1, 2019 | 9:40 pm

6^th Vugar Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir, Azerbaijan
March 30-April 10, 2019

Final Top Standings (all participants are GMs)

1 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2845, 7.0/9

2-3 Ding Liren CHN 2812, Sergey Karjakin RUS 2753, 5.0/9

4-6 Teimour Radjabov AZE 2756, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2771, Viswanathan Anand IND 2779, 4.5/9

7-8 Veselin Topalov BUL 2740, David Navara CZE 2739, 4.0/9

9 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2790, 3.5/9

10 Anish Giri NED 2797, 3.0/9

Average Rating: 2778 Category 22

Time Control: 120 minutes for the 1^st 40 moves, then 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

GM Vugar Gashimov is an Azerbaijani player who was no. 1 player of Azerbaijan for a time and among the top players of the world circa 2008-2011. Born July 24, 1986 in Baku, Gashimov represented his country in the chess olympiads of 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 and almost single-handedly revived the Modern Benoni for Black, utilizing it even in crucial games at a time when the general consensus was that it gave too many concessions to White. What’s more, he was willing to use the original move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 move order and defend Black’s cause in the most dangerous White attacks, namely the Taimanov Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+) and the Modern Main Line (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.h3 0–0 9.Bd3).

One of the highlights of his career was winning in the last round of the 2009 European Team Championship in Novi Sad, the crucial victory which gave the gold medals to the Azerbaijan team. I remember watching a video of the tense finish and how his teammates could not contain themselves and literally jumped in and embraced Vugar after his opponent’s resignation, and the wild celebrations afterward. Unforgettable!

Sadly, Vugar Gashimov, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2000, had to retire from chess in early 2012 when he took a turn for the worse and died at the tragic young age of 27 in a hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, while receiving treatment for the same tumor.

In 2014 an annual chess superGM tournament was organized in Shamkir, Azerbaijan, in memory of GM Vugar Gashimov. This tradition has continued to this day:

Winners:

2014 Magnus Carlsen

2015 Magnus Carlsen

2016 Shakhriyar Memedyarov

2017 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

2018 Magnus Carlsen

I bring this up because the Gashimov Memorial, similar to other superGM tournaments around the world, is dangerously close to a “draw-death” where the players just go over some moves on the board then shake hands. They are compensated enough with appearance fees already and are disinclined to fight for the full point. You get players like Radjabov, who always complain about not receiving tournament invitations but never considers that it may be because he likes agreeing to short draws.

We should remember the fighting spirit of Vugar Gashimov every time we play in a tournament named in his memory. This tournament is traditionally a single round-robin event with 10 players, so a total of 9 rounds and 45 games. Last year out of 45 only 11 games were decisive, 34/45, or 75.6%, were drawn. Radjabov drew all his games.

This year the tournament went a bit differently. The draw ratio was still a bit high, 30 out of 45 games, or 66.67%. Radjabov still drew all his games. This time though the tournament was made memorable when Magnus Carlsen put in an overpowering show to win 5 and draw 4 games, a performance rating of 2988, his best since a similar performance in the same event in 2015. His closest pursuers (Ding Liren and Sergey Karjakin) both had only +1 (one more win than their losses), which means 5/9, a full two points behind Carlsen.

You known GM Romain Edouard, right? He is a French GM, an openings expert who worked with Veselin Topalov in 2010-2014 (he has recently written a book by Thinkers Publishing on those “Magic Years.” In the foreword Topalov gives a few samples of the opening ideas developed by Romain, and they are impressive!).

Anyway, he pointed out on Twitter a tactical motif that Magnus Carlsen likes to use: “So yeah, put your bishop on c3, sac your e-pawn, open the g-file and give mate.”

And it works! Here is Magnus vs Richard Rapport from the Tata Steel “A” tournament last January. I had already previously annotated it so now just give it with minimal notes.

Carlsen, Magnus (2835) — Rapport, Richard (2731) [B80]
Tata Steel Masters 2019 Wijk aan Zee (8.1), 20.01.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0–0 d6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Na4 Rb8 11.c4 c5 12.b3 Be7 13.Bb2 0–0 14.Qe1!

A new move, and a strong one. Grandmaster Carlsen leaves the d1–square free for his rook and prepares a later Bb2–c3–a5 incursion.

14…Nd7 15.Rd1 Bb7 16.Qc3 Bf6 17.Qd2 Be7

Not 17…Bxb2? 18.Nxb2 the d6–pawn falls.

18.Qc3 Bf6 19.Qd2 Be7 20.f4 e5 21.Bc3! Bc6 22.Ba5 Qb7 23.Nc3 exf4 24.gxf4 Rfe8 25.e5! Bxg2 26.Qxg2 dxe5

The queen trade 26…Qxg2+ 27.Kxg2 loses the d6–pawn.

27.Nd5 e4 28.Bc3 f6 29.Kh1! Kh8 30.Rg1

The position GM Romain was describing.

30…Bf8 31.Ne3!

The Chess24 Website points out that White could win back the pawn with 31.Nxf6 (the threat of mate on g8 stops Black capturing twice on f6), but instead he went for the deadly maneuver of 31.Ne3! followed by Rd5–h5, when there was no way to defend the black king.

31…Qc6 32.Rd5 Qe6! 33.Rh5 Qf7 34.Qh3 g6 35.Rh4 Rb6 36.f5! Ne5 37.Nd5 Rd6 38.fxg6 Nxg6 39.Bxf6+! Rxf6 40.Rxh7+ 1–0

The Black resigns because of the fork after 40.Rxh7+ Qxh7 41.Qxh7+ Kxh7 42.Nxf6+.

And here we see him use it again versus Holland’s Anish Giri.

Carlsen, Magnus (2845) — Giri, Anish (2797) [A29]
Gashimov Memorial 2019 Shamkir (7.3), 07.04.2019

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.0–0 0–0 8.d3 h6 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.a3 a5 11.Bd2 Qe6 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.Bc3 Nd4 14.e3 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 Bd6?!

After the game Giri said that at this point he was concerned about White’s d3–d4 pawn push. If you had kept in mind GM Romain’s tweet you will understand that it is not the d-pawn that White wants to advance.

16.Qh5 c6 17.f4 exf4?!

Playing into the White’s hands. He should have played something like …f7–f5.

18.gxf4!

The sort of move that either beginners or players of a very high class will play. White gives up his e3–pawn with check, but it accomplishes the two objectives of eliminating Black’s e-pawn and also opening up the g-file.

18…Qxe3+ 19.Kh1 Rd8 20.Rce1! Qc5 After some thought Anish Giri refuses the second pawn. Good decision as here is what might happen: 20…Qxd3 21.f5 Qc4 (21…Bf8 to protect the g7–pawn cannot be played because he will lost his rook to 22.Rd1) 22.Bxg7! Kxg7 23.f6+ with a mating attack.

21.f5 Bf8

[21…f6 is refuted by 22.Bxf6! gxf6 23.Qg6+ Kf8 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 (24…Kf7 25.Qh7+ Kf8 26.Bf3! threatening Qh8+, Kf7, Bh5 mate) 25.Qg6+ Kf8 26.Qxf6+ Kg8 27.Rg1 mate will follow]

22.Be4 Rd5 23.Rf3

White is after bigger gain than the mere win of the exchange. Besides, 23.Bxd5 Qxd5+ 24.Qf3 will bring about the exchange of queens, which Magnus was not interested in.

23…b5

Not 23…g6 24.fxg6! Rxh5 25.gxf7#

24.Rg1 Ra7

The Black rook is now ready to swing over to his monarch’s defense. <D>

POSITION AFTER 24…RA7

25.Bf6!

White makes sure that Black cannot play …f7–f6 to swing over his a7-rook to the defense of the king. If White had been impatient and proceeded with 25.Rxg7+ Bxg7 26.Qg4 f6 it is actually Black who is winning.

By the way, please do not fall for 25.Qxh6?? Qxg1+!

25…g6 26.Qh3

Possible and perhaps even stronger was 26.Rxg6+! fxg6 27.Qxg6+ Rg7 (27…Bg7 28.Bc3 followed by 29.f6.) 28.Bxg7 Bxg7 29.Rg3 Qf8 30.Bxd5+ cxd5 31.f6

26…Rd6 27.Qh4

Now White intends 28.fxg6 fxg6 29.Rxg6+ Bg7 (29…Kf7 30.Bd4+ the black queen falls) 30.Qxh6 etc

27…Rxf6 28.Qxf6 Be7

Or 28…Bg7 29.Qd8+ Qf8 30.Qb6 Rd7 31.fxg6 f6 32.Bxc6 Qd6 33.Qxb5 Black is just losing.

29.Qxc6 Qxc6 30.Bxc6 Kg7 31.fxg6 fxg6 32.d4 a4 33.d5 b4 34.Be8 Bg5 35.h4 Bxh4 36.Rxg6+ Kh7 37.Rc6 Bg4 38.Rf4 Rg7 1–0

After 38…Rg7 Giri resigns without waiting for 39.Bg6+ Rxg6 (39…Kg8 40.Rxg4) 40.Rxg6 Kxg6 41.Rxg4+ Bg5 42.axb4 one of the white pawns will queen.

The chess teachers always advise us to keep the end game in mind, even in the middle of a kingside attack. Magnus Carlsen gave us a very nice demonstration of that. I will show it to you on Tuesday.

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Duterte to Congress: Pass laws on labor rights

May 1, 2019 | 8:41 pm

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

IN his Labor Day message on Wednesday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte called on Congress to “consider” passing laws that will “fully protect” workers’ rights to security of tenure and self-organization.

The President’s message came amid a pending Security of Tenure bill in the Senate.

“I remain optimistic that one year since I issued Executive Order No. 51 implementing existing constitutional and statutory provisions against illegal contracting, my counterparts in Congress will consider passing much needed legislative measures that will fully protect our workers’ rights, especially to security of tenure and self-organization,” the President said in his message.

Sought for comment, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said in a phone message that the Security of Tenure Bill, which has been identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council as a priority, will be the Senate’s “priority” when it “resumes” session on May 20.

Also sought for comment, House Majority Leader Fredenil H. Castro of the 2^nd district of Capiz said in a phone message that the House of Representatives already “approved” such a bill “as early as January 2018.”

“The ball…is with the Senate,” he added.

For his part, Senator Joel J. Villanueva, who chairs the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said in a statement on April 29: “We’re optimistic that the Senate will be able to send the Security of Tenure Bill to the bicameral conference just before the 17^th Congress adjourns. The President certified this as urgent, and the entire institution would want to see this through. While there have been various positions on the nitty-gritty of the bill, we want a measure that will protect the overall welfare of our workers.”

“We trust in our colleagues, especially in the leadership of our Senate President, that they will help us pass this measure given the time we have left,” he added.

The President also noted in his message that despite the yearly observance of Labor Day, “the plight of our workers, especially those who choose to leave their families so they may earn better compensation abroad, remains the same.”

He added: “This is why my administration has implemented measures within its powers to afford full protection to labor and promote equal work opportunities for all.”

For his part, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a separate statement that Mr. Duterte’s administration “has been in the forefront” in improving the labor conditions of Filipino workers.

The President, he also said, has signed Republic Acts (RAs) and Executive Orders (EOs) that strengthen occupational safety and health standards (RA No. 11058), making work from home as an alternative work arrangement (RA No. 11165), increasing female workers’ maternity leave period (RA No. 11210), providing a handbook on the rights and responsibilities of migrant workers (RA No. 11227), increasing the employment compensation funeral benefits for employees in the public and private sectors (EO No. 33), protecting the right to security of tenure of all workers (EO 51), increasing employees’ compensation benefits in the private sector and career’s allowance in the public sector (EO No. 54) and granting of gratuity pay to job order and contract service workers in the government (AO No. 2), among others.

Implementing rules and regulations are now out on the extended maternity leave.

“It is also during the current government when the welfare and concern of our overseas foreign workers (OFWs) were given priority. We now have a one-stop service center for OFWs, a 24/7 OFWs Command Center and an Overseas Filipino Bank. We have signed bilateral labor agreements with Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, to name some,” Mr. Panelo further said.

He also took a swipe at the President’s critics, especially the Kilusang Mayo Uno, or the May First Labor Movement (KMU).

“The KMU criticizes the government for being anti-poor and anti-worker while blaming the government for the lack of jobs and alleged worsening labor conditions. What seems to escape them is the truth that their anti-government activities could scare away foreign investors in the country resulting in job losses to the people they are fighting for and vow to protect,” he said.

Alert up for OFWs in Libya

May 1, 2019 | 8:33 pm

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised the alert level in Tripoli, Libya, and surrounding areas to 4, from level 3, due to the continuing conflict.

“Yesterday [I] informed [the] President that I raised the Alert level to 4 in Tripoli + 100 kms around,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SFA) Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a social media post, Wednesday.

“AL 4 is mandatory evacuation but we cannot compel and rightly so. What is mandatory is that DFA stays in Tripoli until last OFW (overseas Filipino worker) goes — & then it stays.”

The DFA noted the SFA elevated the alert level upon the recommendation of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, which warned that the situation in the area is threatening the safety and security of over 1,000 Filipinos there.

“Charge d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said the fighting in the outskirts of Tripoli will also soon make it difficult for the Embassy to respond to urgent requests for assistance from distressed nationals,” DFA Assistant Secretary Emmanuel R. Fernandez told reporters over phone message, Wednesday.

“He said that with the declaration of Alert Level IV, the Embassy will redouble its efforts in persuading Filipinos to go home.”

The Tripoli fighting, which started on April 4, has resulted in the shelling of several hospitals and residential areas that wounded at least two Filipinos.

The DFA reiterated its appeal to Filipinos in Tripoli to consider the repatriation offer and also requested their families in the Philippines to convince them. As of April 28, Mr. Cato reported that the Embassy has helped repatriate a total of 32 Filipinos.

For his part, Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, chair of the committee on labor, employment and human resources development, called on concerned government agencies to assist repatriation and relocation of OFWs in the area.

“We expect our government agencies, particularly OUMWA (Office of the Undersecretary Migrant Workers Affairs), POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration), OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration), and DoLE (Department of Labor and Employment) to implement the repatriation plan and make relocation arrangements for our OFWs in Libya,” Mr. Villanueva told reporters over phone message, Wednesday.

“DoLE considering they have to profile of our OFWs in Libya likewise must seek out alternative employment to OFWs either in an identified 3^rd country or here in the Philippines.”

Bar results out May 3

May 1, 2019 | 8:33 pm

RESULTS for the 2018 Bar examinations will be released on May 3, according to the Supreme Court (SC).

In an advisory, the SC said a total of 8,155 aspiring lawyers, the highest number of examiners so far, took the Bar Exams during the four Sundays of November last year.

“The results of the 2018 Bar Examinations held at the University of Santo Tomas on November 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2018 will be released on May 3, 2019, Friday, after approval by the Supreme Court En Banc in a special session,” the SC said in an announcement.

The announcement of the results will be led by Committee on Bar Examinations Chairperson Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo at the front yard of the SC.

The list of the results will also be available for viewing online.

In the previous year, only 1,724 out of 6,748 or 25.5% of examiners passed the Bar Examinations. In 2016, 59.06% passing rate was recorded as 3,747 out of 6,344 examiners passed the exam. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Harvard group cites need for disaster preparedness among ‘less educated Filipinos’

May 1, 2019 | 8:32 pm

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

THE Philippine government needs to “boost” its communication and disaster preparedness efforts, especially for “less educated Filipinos,” according to the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI).

In a statement on Wednesday, the HHI said it “finds the need for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) actors to ensure that information on earthquake are accessible and comprehensible to all.”

Based on the results of HHI’s nationwide household survey conducted in 2017 through its DisasterNet Philippines project, there were “very low levels of earthquake preparedness planning, especially among less educated Filipinos.”

“Households with more highly educated members were more likely to have an earthquake disaster plan (below 10%) than those with less educated ones (below 5%),” the HHI noted.

“Timely access to disaster information is essential as are plans for what to do in the event of an earthquake. Filipinos should be aware of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) guidelines on disaster preparedness (Operation Listo) and acquaint themselves with evacuation routes, evacuation shelter locations and should have emergency kits prepared,” HHI Resilient Communities Program Director Vincenzo Bollettino was quoted as saying.

The research group said households with tertiary education and skilled professionals were more familiar with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS), a seismic scale used to measure the intensity of an earthquake.

It also noted that familiarity with PEIS among Filipino households with a member who completed tertiary education was at 62%, 49% for those with a member who finished secondary education, 35% for those with a member who graduated from primary school, and only 24% for households without members who either reached or finished any school level.

“The youth, ages 18-35, were also more familiar with PEIS than older Filipinos, at 51%. Familiarity with PEIS among ages 36-55 was at 48%, and only 43% for 56 and older,” it further explained.

Region III was severely hit by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake on April 22 this year. The HHI said it “was one of the regions with the lowest earthquake preparedness planning at the household level before the disaster happened with only 3%, along with Western Visayas.”

The survey showed that Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley reported the lowest level of preparedness at 1%; while Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen at 2%.

Also affected by the recent earthquake was Metro Manila, which had “the second highest level of preparedness planning at 13%, while Central Visayas reported the highest level at 15%.”

Moreover, households in Central Luzon “reported less experience of earthquakes at only 40%; while Central Visayas and Caraga reported most experience of earthquakes at 98% and 97%, respectively.”

The survey also showed that households dependent on agriculture or fishing as their main livelihood are also “less likely to have an earthquake management plan (3%), than skilled/unskilled workers (8%).”

More than 8,000 join Labor Day protest rallies

May 1, 2019 | 8:31 pm

ABOUT 8,235 rallyists participated in several protests nationwide on Labor Day, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP), and there were no reported untoward or violent incidents as of 3 p.m. Militant groups, including labor organizations, conducted protest actions at Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City, Liwasang Bonifacio, Recto Avenue, and España Blvd. in Manila. Aside from Metro Manila, protests were also held in Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Camarines Sur, Cebu, General Santos City, and Butuan City. Among the participating groups were Akbayan Partylist, AGLO PAGGAWA, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and Piston. The PNP deployed 91,000 cops nationwide to monitor and secure the rallies. The protesters raised various labor issues as well as made a call for voters in the May 13 midterm elections to choose senatorial candidates who will support the proposed law on security of tenure. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Lining up for work