Agog over Alex’s tiara and Sara’s trial

By Alex P. Vidal

“To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.” – Chris Evert

NO doubt Filipinos from all corners of the globe are more excited to watch Alexandra “Alex” Maniego Eala’s Round 16 fracas versus Tuscany-born world no. 17 Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon distaff side than the much-ballyhooed impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, which will also blast off on July 6.

Win or lose against the 30-year-old Paolini, 21-year-old Eala has already secured a soaring place in tennis history.

No Filipino tennis player – man and woman – in history has reached Wimbledon’s thrilling Round 16.

If Eala bundles out Piolini and enters the Magic 8, she will become an unreachable comet in women’s tennis as far as her fellow Asian tennis players is concerned.

If she wins the Wimbledon crown, all hell will break loose, so to speak, in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), as well as tennis as a whole, since Eala is only currently ranked no. 32 in the world.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed and wish Alex the best of luck.

Alex’s conquests have already brought tremendous pride and eminence to all Filipinos reeling from the sordid publicity and negative stories generated by political instability, economic ennui, and disasters like earthquake, volcanic eruption, typhoon, flood, etcetera.

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Assuming Alex rolls past the top-rated Italian phenom, our attention will still continue to be divided this week as Mrs. Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial finally unfurls where at least 90 percent of the Filipinos anticipate and support it; they want the trial to proceed without delay.

Filipinos are excited to hear and watch the historic trial because they are curious about the charges in the articles of impeachment and the pieces of evidence to be presented by both the prosecutors and defendants.

The week will be swamped by a mix tableau of sports and politics. Emotions will be in record high for many Filipinos agog over Alex Eala’s tiara and the impeachment trial of Mrs. Duterte-Carpio.

If Eala gets the boot and crashes out of the title contention, many Pinoy fans will be heartbroken.

Pro-Duterte fanatics will suffer from emotional meltdown if the impeachment trial, expected to last for a maximum of five to six weeks, tilts in favor of guilty verdict.

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This is a type of travel scam that we should be aware of. When planning a trip, people often search the web for help with booking their flights and accommodations or acquiring necessary travel documents like a passport.

They may find websites that look legitimate, but when making the purchase, the website will charge extra high or hidden fees. Worse, the purchased travel bookings or documents might be fake and won’t be accepted on the journey.

Capital Bank has offered some helpful tips: Before making any payments, do your research to ensure the business is officially verified and check reviews on trusted platforms to confirm they’re authentic.

For business email compromise. Scammers can send emails impersonating trusted vendors to redirect payments to a fraudulent account.

While these messages appear authentic, they often originate from a scammer who has successfully compromised the vendor’s email or other communication channels.

Capital Bank has offered some helpful tips: Closely review all sender details for subtle errors. Independently confirm any payment or account changes through a verified telephone number or known channel.

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The imposter safe haven scam. Scammers pose as bank employees, tech support or even law enforcement agents, claiming that your personal information or account has been compromised. Scammers try to convince you to “protect” your money by buying gold and physically mailing it to them, or by buying cryptocurrency and sending it to an account they control for “safekeeping.” Ultimately, these imposters trick you into believing they’re helping in order to steal your assets.

Capital Bank has offered some helpful tips: No legitimate financial institution or law enforcement agency will ever ask you to buy gold, crypto or move your money to secure your funds.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)