June 4, 2013 Edition

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  1. Cebu Pacific CEO apologizes, calls Davao incident ‘unfortunate’

    CLEAR AWAY. The government wants aviation officials to immediately remove the Cebu Pacific aircraft that overshot and currently obstructing the Davao airport runway. Photo by Karlos ManlupigLance Gokongwei, the president and CEO of Cebu Pacific, made a personal apology to the 165 passengers of its Manila-Davao flight that skidded off the runway. In a TV interview on Monday night, June 3, he said: “This is an unfortunate incident. I would like to personally apologize to the affected travelers and those whose travel plans were disrupted.” About 40 flights were cancelled or re-routed, and hundreds of passengers were affected. Cebu Pacific dominates the domestic airline market in the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest markets for budget carriers. The Gokongwei-led airline has figured in several incidents in the past, including a crash in Cagayan de Oro that killed over 104 in 1998.


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  2. To salvage or not? Airbus paralyzes Davao airport

    OVERSHOOT. Cebu Pacific flight 5J 971 overran the Davao City airport runway and hit its uncemented portion evening of Sunday, June 2. Photo by Laiza Dale A. LacidaAbout two days after a budget carrier Cebu Pacific plane nosedived — literally — at the runway of Davao international airport, the Airbus A320-200 aircraft remained stuck. Delay in the work of Singaporean consultants of Cebu Pacific tow it away was largely due to efforts to salvage the multi-million-dollar aircraft so it could be used again. Civil aviation authority’s John Andrews said the aircraft is now beyond repair and should no longer disrupt operations at the country’s 3rd busiest airport. Andrews said the airline’s pilot likely committed several errors, including not following standard operating procedures, such as immediately evacuating the passengers when the plane crash landed.


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  3. Shangri-la Dialogue: Strategic trust is key

    At the recent annual global gathering of high-level defense and security officials, Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug who attended the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore said “strategic trust” was the key theme of the weekend meeting. Speakers highlighted that hotlines between armed forces are a vital tool, but these can only be effective if officials know each other and have had experience dealing with one another. Hotlines don’t work when persons call each other out of the cold. “The ringing call for trust is timely and important as this year’s Dialogue takes place at a period of heightened tension in Asian hot spots, including maritime disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippines Sea to us). It is precisely because of this lack of trust, which contributes to conflict, that the Dialogue tried to make up for it through words,” Vitug wrote.


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  4. Property experts shrug off Serendra blast impact — for now

    Despite the deadly May 31 blast in the posh Serendra condominium, long term prospects of the property market at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig will continue, according to property analysts at Jones Lang Lasalle Leachiu and CBRE. They cited the brisk demand for office and commercial spaces as key reasons why the long-term upward trajectory of residential projects at one of the the country’s fastest growing property markets will proceed. They noted that the expansion of global firms make BGC a viable alternative to Makati City in hosting company headquarters. There are short term impact, though, including homebuyers who expressed their concerns to their brokers, and the stock market investors who dumped the stocks of Serendra’s developer, Ayala Land. Investigation on what caused the explosion, which killed 3 people, are still ongoing. The owner of the main unit that was blown away is coming home to face investigators.


    Read more on Rappler here and here

  5. Can ethics be crowdsourced?

    Strategists behind crowdsourcing and crowdfunding efforts must understand and design around the potential of these to be exploitative. This was a key point speakers at the Crowdsourcing Week in Singapore stressed. Ethics, therefore, should be paramount, said Ross Dawson, an entrepreneur and one of the speakers. Shelley Kuipers noted, however, that crowdsourcing is “so transparent that you’re naturally held to higher standards…Crowdsourcing is about tapping into the hearts and minds of many for a common purpose. Be respectful of your crowd.”


    Follow Rappler’s live blog of the Crowdsourcing Week.

  6. 5 lawmakers bid Senate goodbye

    This week’s adjournment of session of the 15th Congress marks a changing of the guards in a chamber that was home to 5 lawmakers ending their terms. As the Senate prepares to welcome its newest and youngest members following the May 13 midterm elections, the “graduating senators” will end their 2nd consecutive terms on June 30. The 5 form a unique mix of experience, expertise and controversy. The group is composed of 3 lawyers (Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan), two former Senate Presidents (Angara and Manny Villar), two almost-presidents (Panfilo Lacson and Villar), and two future president’s men (Lacson and Pangilinan).


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  7. Priests on gun license: No thanks

    The government considered the welfare of priests – who, for authorities, remain “in imminent danger” – when it allowed them to carry firearms outside their houses under Republic Act 10591, which President Benigno Aquino III signed last May 29. Catholic bishops, however, gave this legal provision the cold shoulder, stressing that priests, as “men of peace,” shouldn’t own firearms. The law classified priests as among those “under actual threat” or “in imminent danger,” allowing them among the few to carry firearms outside their houses. At least 3 Catholic bishops said priests shouldn’t use weapons for self defense since priests should “imitate Christ.”


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  8. How PH firms chose foreign partners for Cebu airport bid

    AUCTION. The biggest business groups and their foreign partners vie for the P17-B airport project in Mactan-Cebu. Photo courtesy of the PPP CenterIt was not enough that the biggest business groups in the country teamed up with their local peers when they vied for the chance to expand the country’s 2nd busiest airport. They were also required to find foreign partners to compensate for their lack of expertise in airport operations. The Gotianun-led FilInvest bagged Changi Airport International after a ‘courtship’ period with the Singapore airport operator, which has an ownership structure that the local group found to be compatible with theirs. The Ayala and Aboitiz partners tapped ADC & HAS, which operates airports in the US of the same size as the Mactan-Cebu’s. MPIC said they chose Aeroports de Lyon for for technical savviness, while San Miguel Corp. inked a deal with South Korea’s Incheon International Airport because of ‘good relationship.’ At stake is the P17-billion Mactan-Cebu project meant to accommodate increasing number of travelers.


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  9. Miami Heat advances to NBA Finals

    JAM. LeBron exploded to lead Miami back to the finals. Photo from the official NBA Facebook page.The Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals after smothering the Indiana Pacers, 99-76, in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference championship series Tuesday, June 4, at the American Airlines Arena. LeBron James exploded for 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and the reigning world champs used a huge second-quarter spurt to oust the upstart Pacers and return to the Last Dance for the 3rd consecutive year. Playing with a shot at the NBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade, Indiana looked lost in the first 24 minutes and committed 15 turnovers.


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  10. Guide Charice, Catholic bishops urge family

    HARICE COMES OUT. 'We would rather not pre-judge her,' comments CBCP on her coming out interview with Boy Abunda. Screen grab from 'The Buzz'Catholic bishops are not condemning Filipino international artist Charice Pempengco for revealing that she is a lesbian. Instead, the head of the family and life unit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called upon her family, her friends, and the public to guide her. “In this time of her life that she is experiencing an identity crisis regarding her sexual orientation, we would rather not pre-judge her…. Let’s hope that there will be people out there that will help guide her with her sexual orientation called same-sex attraction,” Fr. Melvin Castro said. The priest also emphasized that the Church condemns only homosexual acts, not homosexuals.


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