Philippine Azkals Street Dogs Win-over Singapore Lions 2--0 after Decades

Phil Younghusband rejoices after scoring the Azkals' second goal against the Singapore Lions. Photo: ABS-CBN

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For several decades, the Philippines experienced a losing spell against Singapore Lions in football match.

But a pair of goals changed it all for the Azkals on Friday night (September 7, 2012) as the Filipinos outclassed the Singapore Lions...

Emelio "Chieffy" Caligdong fired the opening salvo for the Philippines in the 8th minute.

Chieffy Caligdong scored an early goal to propel the Philippine Azkals to a breakthrough 2-0 win over Singapore in Friday night's friendly match at Jurong West Stadium.

After receiving a pass from Stephan Schroeck, Caligdong eluded two defenders during a counterattack in the eighth minute with a side step move before booting the ball that bounced once before landing on the net for the opening score that rocked a huge Filipino contingent watching the match in the Lion City.

In the second half, it was Phil Younghusband's turn to stun the Singaporeans.

Phil Younghusband added an insurance goal in the 48th minute to secure the country's first win over Singapore since a 2-0 decision on June 12, 1972 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

It was the 14th international goal for Caligdong and the first since scoring two in the Azkals' 2-0 win over Macau in last year's Long Teng Cup in Taiwan.

Behind Caligdong, the Azkals rebounded from a disappointing scoreless draw against Cambodia in Phnom Penh when they blew plenty of chances to boot one home in the second half.

The Azkals also witnessed the first appearance of Fil-German Stephan Schrock since a scoreless draw against Malaysia in June. Schrock has been busy with his club in the German Bundesliga.

Schroeck was eventually chosen as the man of the match for creating scoring chances for the Azkals. Schroeck created another chance for Younghusband, who fired a shot with his left foot for the Philippines' 2nd goal against Singapore in the 48th minute.

Pumped up by the victory, the Filipino booters will try to end their three-leg friendly in style when they travel to Vientiane to face Laos Today (September 10, 2012).

The Singaporean Lions' closest attempt scoring was Fazrul Nawaz's shot in the 34th minute that was disallowed by officials for offside.

There was also a near goal for Singapore in the 43rd minute when Filipino keeper Neil Etheridge's fumble nearly resulted to an own goal.

The Azkals' plays against the Lions were much better than the former's performance against Cambodia.

The Cambodians held the higher-ranked Azkals to a scoreless draw last Wednesday.

Singapore also lacked ferocity in offense with the absence of their injured veteran marksman Aleksandar Duric.

Upon arriving back home, the Azkals then focus on their campaign in the Philippine Football Peace Cup against Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

All scheduled friendlies are part of the team's build-up for the AFF Suzuki Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Philippines had never beaten Singapore since 1991. The Lions blanked the Azkals, 2-0, in their match last year.

Azkals Destiny Today  in Cambodia without Neil Etheridge, Denis Wolf, Paul Mulders

The Philippine Azkals go up against lighweight Laos in the final stop of their three-nation ASEAN tour tonight in Vientiane's National Stadium, their confidence boosted by their recent 2-0 victory over long-time tormentor Singapore.

"Even though it's only a friendly and at the end of the day, it doesn't really mean that much, it's good for our confidence and team morale. After that game, our confidence should be sky-high," said Fil-British defender Rob Gier, who also serves as the team's scout.

Gier, however, cautioned fans against expecting the Azkals to just steamroll their lower-ranked oppositions.

"It's going to be a totally different game. We're not at that stage wherein we beat Singapore and then we're already expected to go and thump Laos, five, six, seven-nil. It doesn't happen like that," he said.

The Azkals will face the Laotians without three players who starred in their win over Singapore – Phil and James Younghusband and Jerry Lucena. The Younghusbands were excused from the game on the occasion of their mother's first death anniversary while Lucena left due to a commitment with Danish Superliga side Esbjerg fB.

"Unfortunately, we will miss the game against Laos but this is an important day for our family and we have spoken with management and they understand," said James.

The brothers assured their continuing commitment to the team.  "We remain fully committed to the national team and look forward to rejoining them in other preparations for the Suzuki Cup late this year," said Phil, one of the goal-scorers against Singapore.

The Azkals, though, will still parade Fil-German Stephan Schrock, whose highly efficient performance at midfield carried the Pinoys past the Lions.

"We have to say that Schrock is in a totally different level, playing in the first division Bundesliga. In recent years, we've never seen a player like Schrock playing for the country," said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta.

Neil Etheridge, Denis Wolf, Paul Mulders will also be around for the game, the third and last friendly in the Azkals' three-nation ASEAN tour. The Azkals earlier played Cambodia to a goal-less draw  in Phnom Penh before nipping Singapore.

"We'll be happy with any kind of result. If we go through these three games without conceding a goal, I'll be happy," said Gier.

Abs-CBN News, Inquirer, Manila Bulletin and philSTAR

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Philippines gets Support for Peaceful West Philippines Sea from ASEAN neighbors + Chile

People's Republic of China President Hu Jintao did not meet President Benigno Aquino III in the APEC sideline meeting but both meet and discussed with Vietnam.

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said President Aquino received support for the Philippines' stance from Malaysia and Vietnam, during bilateral meetings with their leaders.

"[On] the West Philippine Sea, we are, of course, we're both on board. Both countries are on board in terms of the six principles that was agreed with ASEAN [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and so we are anxious to see how that can be moved forward. Both leaders had expressed the need to be able to adopt a common position in ASEAN in terms of the challenges in the West Philippine Sea. And we are also together in terms of support for the forward movement of the code of conduct," del Rosario said at a media briefing, referring to Aquino's bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak.

He said Aquino and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang also pushed close cooperation in "dealing with the challenge that faced both of us."

"Vietnam has been a partner of the Philippines in terms of a cooperation to see how we both can address the challenge and be able to also work with other countries within ASEAN and also our other dialogue partners in terms of being able to move forward the objectives which we had closely defined as a peaceful resolution to the dispute in accordance with international law," he said.

Aquino held talks with the Malaysian and Vietnamese leaders Sunday. On Saturday, he held talks with Chilean president Sebastian Piñera and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam are all claimants to the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

But the Philippines and China have also been locked in a territorial dispute since April over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

The Philippine and Chinese sides had tried to work out a meeting between Aquino and Hu at the sidelines of the APEC summit but scheduling conflicts prevented the meeting from pushing through.

On Saturday, del Rosario said Aquino thanked Lee for Singapore's support for the Philippines' position on the West Philippine Sea.

"The president expressed his gratitude for the very strong support Singapore has given the Philippines in terms of its position in the West Philippine Sea. Singapore committed to continue its support in terms of a peaceful resolution of the dispute in accordance with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," he said.

He said the two leaders also expressed the need for the ASEAN to "strengthen its solidarity and centrality in being able to reinforce the importance of ASEAN being an entity that would promote peace and stability in the region.

GMA News

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Philippines now ratify UN - ILO not just for Filipinos but for 100 Million DH worldwide

The Philippines is the Chairman for the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) who finalized last year, ratified to come into force by 2013

NEW YORK, Sept 6, (UN News Center): A United Nations treaty which provides a set of international standards to improve the lives of millions of domestic workers worldwide has now been ratified by a second Member State, the Philippines, allowing it to come into force by 2013.

The Convention on Domestic Workers, that seeks to protect domestic workers around the world, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said which states that workers around the world who care for families and households must have the same basic labor rights as other employees, was adopted at the annual conference of the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) last year in Geneva.

To enter into force, however, the Convention required ratification by two countries. In June, Uruguay became the first country to ratify it.

The Philippines is the second country after Uruguay to ratify the measure, a move seen as a "significant milestone in the protection of migrant domestic workers," the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Protected

"Today's ratification by the Philippines sends a powerful signal to the millions of domestic workers who will be protected when the Convention comes into force," said ILO's Director-General, Juan So-mavia. "I hope it will also send a signal to other Member States and that we will soon see more and more countries committing to protect the rights of domestic workers."

Ambassador Evan Garcia, the country's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, on Wednesday formalized the Philippines' ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189, or the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

More than 150,000 Filipinos work as household help in different parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, Europe and North America which sets to be phase out by 2015 which means the move for the Philippines it not focuses for the welfare for Filipino Domestic Workers but to all the Domestic Workers around the world.

There are around 53 million domestic workers worldwide but experts put the total number at 100 million as this kind of work is often unregistered, according to recent ILO estimates.

The ILO convention seeks to provide equal protection to domestic workers, assuring decent pay, work conditions and other benefits.

The convention stipulates standards that would ensure that domestic workers are treated with "the same respect, dignity and protection given to other workers," Hernandez said.

Recent ILO estimates based on national surveys or censuses in 117 countries place the number of domestic workers at a minimum of 53 million, but experts say there could be as many as 100 million across the world.

In developing countries, they make up at least four to 12 percent of those in wage employment, and around 83 per cent of them are women, many of whom are migrant workers.

"The new standard covers all domestic workers and provides for special measures to protect those workers who, because of their young age or nationality or live-in status, may be exposed to additional risks," ILO said in a news release.

The Convention also states that domestic workers must have the rights to reasonable working hours, weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours, a limit on in-kind payments and clear information on terms and conditions of their employment, as well as the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The Philippine Congress, meanwhile, is discussing various pending measures that would implement the Convention's provisions in the country.

The ILO said the treaty would extend standards to a group which continues to be poorly regulated and remains largely part of the informal sector.

The convention lists basic rights for domestic workers, including reasonable working hours, weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours, a limit on in-kind payment, clear information on terms and conditions of employment, and respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.

The convention, finalized last year by an ILO committee that the Philippine labor department chaired, will come into force in the Philippines by 2013, the DFA said.

President Aquino signed the convention's ratification earlier this year.

On August 6, the Senate approved on third reading the resolution concurring the ratification of the convention with 20 votes.

In a statement, Somavia said the Philippine ratification of the treaty "sends a powerful signal to the millions of domestic workers who will be protected when the convention comes into force."

Somavia said he was hoping to see more and more countries committing to protect the rights of domestic workers.

So far, No major migrant-receiving country, however, has ratified the convention, noted Migrante International, an organization of overseas Filipino workers.

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