BusinessMirror May 7, 2016

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Saturday, May 7, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 210

COURT REVERSES EARLIER RULING OF IPOPHL IN FAVOR OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

CA allows Universal Records use of mark

BEIJING SEEKS GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR SOUTH CHINA SEA POLICIES

…there are no confusing similarity between the NIVERSAL Records, considered two marks.”—C  A as the country’s leading

U

INSIDE

TRUMP: I’M NO GOLF CHEAT

SPORTS

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

B J R. S J

@jrsanjuan1573

recording company, will get to keep its trade name after it won its trademark battle against Universal City Studios Llp., one of the largest film producers and distributors globally.

In a 24-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Carmelita Salandanan Manahan, the Court of Appeals’s (CA) Eighth Division granted the petition filed by Bell Films Inc. seeking the reversal of the decision issued by the Office of the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of the C  A

OUYANG YUJING (left), director general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks with reporters after a media briefing about China’s South China Sea policies in Beijing on Friday. China is rallying Russia and other friendly states to back a push to exclude the US and its allies from the festering South China Sea dispute, despite its insistence that countries without a direct territorial claim should remain firmly neutral. AP/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

The case brought by the Philippines is nothing but a political farce under the cloak of law.”—B

A8

EARLY VOTING FOR SENIORS, PWDS PUSHED

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OUR TIME

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SENATORIAL candidate Richard J. Gordon (center) answers questions from the BUSINESSMIRROR editors and staff at the BM head office in Makati City. Flanking Gordon are BUSINESSMIRROR VP for Corporate Affairs Frederick M. Alegre (left) and VP for Advertising Sales Marvin N. Estigoy. ALYSA SALEN

‘THE PAPACY’ DEAR Lord, we are glad to know that whenever a new pope is elected, our thoughts go spontaneously to the two episodes in the Gospel when everything began and which are the foundations of the divine human institution called “The Papacy.” The first episode was when Simon made his profession of faith in the person and mission of Jesus. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), and to which You replied “You are Peter/Rock, and on this rock I will build my Church.... To you I will give the keys of the Kingdom of heaven...” (Matthew 16: 17-19). May we have full respect to The Papacy of which Pope Francis now holds. May we continue to pray for all the pope’s intentions daily. Amen! = Word & Life, Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB and Luisa M. Lacson, HFL

Gordon gives tip vs election fraud B B F

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@butchfBM

OMEBACK ING senator Richard J. Gordon on Friday prodded millions of voters trooping to the polls on Monday to assert their right to get their own copy of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), and note down heir voting details before dropping the VVPAT receipts in designated boxes as they exit polling precincts.

In a forum hosted by the BusinessMirror, Gordon explained this is intended as a precaution to thwart any attempt to tamper election results.

Gordon advised voters to write down

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.2050

the ballot number, the time they voted, as well as their names, on the VVPAT receipts, which, he said, could be used as evidence against poll fraud.

Running as a common candidate adopted in the senatorial slate of four rival political parties, Gordon warned that election cheaters “do not want a smoking gun,” which VVPAT receipts could provide in cases that can be lodged against cheating in the upcoming elections.

He voiced concerns over the possibility that some election officials who are in cahoots with trailing candidates may be encouraged to tamper election results, “if the voters do not get and write down the details of their VVPAT receipts.”

“With these VVPAT receipts, you can file a case,” Gordon, a lawyer, advised voters. Gordon vowed to file antigraft cases against poll officials who will prevent voters from getting details of their VVPAT, which, he noted, is allowed by law.

“They [poll officials] will violate the law with impunity if they do that,” he said, adding: “I do not believe it is illegal to write on the VVPAT.” In the same forum, Gordon told the BusinessMirror editors that if voters succeed in electing him to another six-year term at the Senate, among his first bills would be the long-awaited salary adjustment for government workers to keep it on a par with neighboring countries.

HINA is seeing mixed results in its effort to enlist friendly states in its push to exclude the US and its allies from the festering South China Sea dispute, underscoring the limits of Chinese diplomacy despite its massive economic clout.

Beijing won a major endorsement for its position with remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month that players from outside the region should not get involved.

However, its recent announcement of added support from Brunei Darussalam, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Cambodia drew unusually strong criticism from senior Singaporean diplomat Ong Keng Yong, who said Beijing may be trying to split the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional bloc to which all four nations belong. China’s announcement was even questioned by Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan, who said no new agreement with China had been reached.

Despite the blow-back, China has noted recent statements that “show that the international community has come to understand and support the Chinese government’s position on handling the South China Sea issue and the arbitration case brought by the Philippine side,” Ouyang Yujing, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, told reporters on Friday.

Ouyang was referring to a case challenging China’s South China Sea territorial claims brought by fellow claimant the Philippines before the United Nations Court of Arbitration in 2013. China has refused to join in the legal process and says it won’t accept the court’s ruling, expected within weeks.

Beijing’s approach displays its craving for international respect and desire to avoid isolation over the issue, and provides “an iota of self-satisfaction,” said Yu Maochun, an expert on Chinese politics at the US Naval Academy.

S “B,” A

n JAPAN 0.4402 n UK 68.4000 n HK 6.0822 n CHINA 7.2534 n SINGAPORE 34.7428 n AUSTRALIA 35.2338 n EU 53.8420 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5914

Source: BSP (6 May 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, May 7, 2016

CA allows Universal Records use of mark C  

Philippines (IPOPHL) on December 15, 2014, denying its application for the registration of the trade name Universal Records and its trademark.

The appellate court held that the term “Universal” per se is a generic term, which could not be exclusively appropriated by one person or entity.

It added that, with the use of the word “Records,” the petitioner intended to use the term “Universal Records” as a descriptive term to identify its business in the music industry.

Likewise, the CA said the distinctive logo of Universal Records is not confusingly similar with the Universal City Studios.

The CA explained that the determinative factor in ascertaining whether marks are confusingly similar to each other is not whether the challenged mark would actually

cause confusion or deception on the part of the producers, but whether the use of such mark would likely cause confusion or mistake on the part of the buying public.

“Applying the foregoing tests, it would appear that there are no confusing similarity between the two marks,” the CA noted.

The CA explained that it could be easily gleaned that the prominent symbol in the petitioner’s mark is the letter “U” symbol, plus what appears to be a globe symbol.

“Taken or viewed wholly, the informational aspect of this symbol would work only in favor of the petitioner’s business in the music industry. The mark must be considered as a whole and not as dissected,” the CA noted.

“Moreover, the respondent had failed to prove that the general public were misled or confused by

the petitioner’s mark by substantial evidence,” it added. The CA also directed the IPOPHL to proceed with the application for registration of Bell Films with dispatch.

Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao and Franchito Diamante.

Based on records, Bell Films has been a household name in Filipino homes since 1991 when it comes to music. Since January 1991, the petitioner has been a major, if not the biggest, player in the Philippine music industry. It has been producing, manufacturing and distributing various sound releases in different forms, as well as foreign releases under the trademark Universal Records.

The petitioner has been using the trademark in its business in the country. Bell Films filed a trademark application for the

registration of the trade name Universal Records and trade mark for music phonograph products, particularly cassette tapes, compact discs, laser discs and digital audio tapes.

However, Universal City Studios, which produces and distributed motion pictures and television programming and also owns theme parks, opposed the application.

It noted that it is the registered owner of the trademark Universal having been the first to adopt and use it. It added that Universal Records resembles its trademark Universal, which will likely cause confusion, mistake and deception among their clients.

The director of the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the IPOPHL ruled on November 15, 2012, against the application, which was affirmed by the Office of the Director General.

RCBC CEO quits to take responsibility on Bangladesh bank heist

R

IZAL Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) President and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Tan resigned to take “moral responsibility” for the Philippine lender’s involvement in the $81-million laundering of Bangladesh reserves.

His resignation came even as an internal investigation by the lender cleared him from any wrongdoing in relation to the banking heist.

Rizal Bank’s board accepted the resignation

with regrets, the company said in a statement.

Chairman Helen Dee will oversee the bank operations until a replacement is appointed, it said.

The exit of Tan, who led the bank since 2007, follows the resignation of Treasurer Raul Tan last month, amid the Philippine Senate’s investigation on the lender’s role in the transfer of the money stolen from Bangladesh. The two aren’t related.

“Despite having been cleared of any wrongdoing, as president and CEO of RCBC, I take full moral responsibility for this sad incident in the history of the bank,” Lorenzo Tan said in a separate statement.

The Philippine central bank is also conducting its own probe, which will be completed by early May. Financial institutions found to have broken rules will be penalized, the regulator had said. Bloomberg News

Beijing. . .

C  A

Russia’s support is particularly significant, both for China and the world at large, because of the growing appearance of an anti-US and anti-Western united front, Yu said.

“This breeds a great potential danger of the world skidding to a formation of big power alliances of opposition, whereby China and Russia act together against a US-led coalition of democracies,” Yu added.

However, the fact China, with the world’s second-largest economy, has gained the vocal support of only a handful of largely undemocratic, economically dependent states also shows the limits of its push for greater diplomatic influence, said Jonathan Holslag, a professor of international politics at the Free University of Brussels.

“Actually, it is striking how small the number Chinese supporters remains, given the enormous amounts of financial aid that China threw into the scale,” Holslag said. “It all shows the limits of China’s economic diplomacy.”

Although China has called repeatedly for outside states to stay neutral on the issue, it welcomes the expressions of support and sees no contradiction, said Li Guoqiang, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher and top government adviser on the South China Sea. Russia and others are “expressing a political stance, they are not interfering in South China Sea matters.

On the other hand, other countries are substantively taking a whole series of actions,” Li said at a Beijing forum on Tuesday.

The drive to enlist international backing comes, as China faces growing scrutiny over its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea along with its reefs and islands.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The US has kept up steady pressure, sending ships and planes to emphasize its rejection of China’s assertion that the newly created islands it has built atop coral reefs are entitled to territorial waters and other legal rights.

Washington and its allies, including Japan, said the massive reclamation projects, complete with airstrips and military installations, raise tensions in a strategically vital waterway, home to rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of undersea gas and oil, and through which $5 trillion in global trade passes each year.

China has responded by accusing Washington of endangering peace and stability with its naval activities. On Friday Beijing reaffirmed its sovereignty claim while issuing a new attack on the court case brought by Manila, calling it illegitimate and vowing never to “accept, participate in, or acknowledge” any subsequent rulings.

“The case brought by the Philippines is nothing but a political farce under the cloak of law,” the Foreign Ministry’s Ouyang told reporters. “It is a grave threat to regional peace and stability.”

The region could grow more tense if China begins reclamation work, as some speculate it might, on Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited coral reef near the main Philippine island of Luzon that Chinese government vessels seized in 2012, following a tense standoff with Filipino ships. China’s Defense Ministry has not said whether such a plan exists, but has reiterated China’s ownership and right to develop the shoal however it sees fit.

Asked about future developments, Ouyang merely reiterated an earlier government statement that all reclamation work had concluded by the end of June last year.

“I believe you are very clear about the meaning of this remark,” he said without elaborating. AP

A3 news@businessmirror.com.ph

Economy BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Saturday, May 7, 2016 A3

Meralco cuts May power rates by 41 centavos per kWh

P

OWER rates this month are expected to go down by 41 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P8.444 per kWh, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said on Friday.

Meralco residential customers with an average monthly consumption of 200 kWh would see their electricity bills reduced to P82. This month’s overall rate is lower by P1.54 per kWh compared to May 2015’s P9.98 per kWh. It is also the lowest since January 2010, or over a period of six

years. The reduction was due to the downward movement in generation, transmission, taxes and other charges.

Generation charge, which decreased

by P0.21 per kWh from last month, stood at P3.88 per kWh. It is P0.93 per kWh lower compared to May 2015’s P4.81 per kWh, and is the lowest since October 2004.

Power plants utilizing natural gas from Malampaya, namely, South Premier-Ilijan, First Gas-Santa Rita and First Gas-San Lorenzo, all registered reduced charges, mainly due to lower fuel costs.

Malampaya natural-gas prices are adjusted

quarterly, and are indexed to world crude-oil prices. The current repricing covers months when crude-oil spot prices in the world market fell to as low as $31 per barrel. The three natural-gas plants supplied more than half, or 54 percent, of Meralco’s requirements.

As a result, charges from the independent power producers (IPPs) decreased by P0.19 per kWh, led by lower rates from the First Gas plants. Meanwhile, plants under the powersupply agreements (PSAs) registered a reduction of P0.25 per kWh, driven by the higher dispatch of Calaca. Masinloc also registered lower rates due to lower instances of outages.

These offset higher charges from Pagbilao, which was on scheduled maintenance from April 1 to 16. Similarly, charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) registered a decrease of P1.98 per kWh. This was mainly due to lesser power-plant outages during the April supply month as compared to March.

At the time, supply was affected by the scheduled maintenance of several large powergenerating units, including Calaca unit 2, GNPower unit 1, South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. unit 1, Masinloc unit 2 and Quezon Power. The share of PSAs, IPPs and WESM to Meralco’s total power requirements stood at 45.9 percent, 42.4

percent and 11.7 percent, respectively. Transmission charge also decreased by P0.10 per kWh due to the reduction in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP)’s ancillary charges and slight decrease in Power Delivery Service (PDS) charge. Taxes and Other Charges also decreased by P0.10 per kWh following the reduction in generation and transmission charges.

Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 10 months, after they registered a reduction in July 2015. Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Lenie Lectura

A4 Saturday, May 7, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Do not cheat!

T

HE 2016 presidential election is finally winding down to a close. The campaign season has seen bitterness with inflammatory rhetoric that has, in some ways, stretched the fiber of Philippine society. That is not a good situation. As we have said before, the healing process of the nation from this political war will take a long time to complete.

Maybe, as some think, this is the most important political event and election in the long history of the country. Perhaps, though, in the bigger picture, it will turn out to be just another turnover of power from one administration to another. Only time will tell.

However, what is critically important is whether the Philippines, its government, its people and its institutions have progressed beyond the evils of a false democracy.

One person who embodies government evil—Joseph Stalin—said, “It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” This is where the greatest danger to the nation lies.

While this quotation of Stalin’s shows the potential of evil in government, what it shows more is the potential failure of the people to protect their democratic rights. We are also reminded of something that Irish political philosopher Edmund Burke wrote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

It is up to each individual voter to protect and preserve the process. A clean and fair election rests only in your hands. It is your personal obligation to make sure that the will of the people is heard. You would not depend on the police to check that your doors and windows are locked when you are out of the house. Do not depend on only the authorities to protect your vote.

The Commission on Elections and media outlets, such as CNN Philippines, have made great efforts to educate voters as to the process and procedures, as well as voters’ rights, as the election takes place. Do not ignore this information, because you do so at your own risk. The future of the Philippines is at stake.

To those who are thinking about cheating the people of their vote, think again carefully. We believe that the people are ready for you this time, hopefully more prepared to do battle for their democracy than any time before. If the outcome of this election is tainted, we may see an uprising of popular discontent that will make past “People Power” seem minor in comparison. You have been warned.

Support the candidate who you believe will be the best for your future and the future of the nation. But support even more strongly the right of the will of the people to be followed.

Since 2005

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John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

A

NYTIME the idea that government does not create jobs or economic growth is offered, suddenly there is a huge swarm of opinion, like gamu-gamo covering the nearest light bulb.

From all sides of the political and economic thought spectrum comes the opinion that people would be starving in the streets wearing banana leaves for clothes if not for government.

The facts that might show— maybe there are failures of government—are met with the old song that the problem is the people who are running government, and not the government itself. When the question shifts to the specific examples of what government is doing, and all these wonderful things are asked, the common answer is roads and bridges.

While it is certainly true that the collective action of providing both services and infrastructure through

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government is important, we are constantly caught fighting the storm of trying to find the balance between the public and the private sector.

There are positives and negatives to both sides.

But that still does not address the issue of the role and impact of government on economic growth and the wealth creation that is supposed to result from that growth.

“What is your economic platform?” is a question that has been asked frequently during the presi-

dential campaign. The answers always center on some project or proposal that can be pie-in-the-sky or even specific. Perhaps, the most usual and seemingly sensible answer is that government can create the environment for a better economy. There is always something about “making it easier for the private sector to do business.”

Looking back at the Philippine economic growth after a presidential election, the growth has always gone up since the days of Fidel Ramos. Annual GDP growth was higher after a few months of Presidents Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo and Aquino taking office. In fact, not a single Philippine president since 1992 has been elected at the peak of an economic growth cycle, which came in 1989, 1996, 2005 and 2009.

Interestingly also, the same is true of the Philippine stock market.

No president was elected at a stockmarket peak. Either Philippine presidents are very smart or all of them are very lucky.

American senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater said

this about the government’s role in the economy: “Economic energy must be released from government strangulation if individual freedom is to survive.” His idea was that an individual’s liberty rests on the individual’s ability to economically prosper and succeed.

Perhaps, then, what the voter should be looking for is not the promises of building great infrastructure projects or even making it “easier to do business.” Maybe it is simply asking, “What is this candidate going to do for government to allow me to make myself wealthier?”

It might be that multi-billion peso project or insuring that everyone has a free chicken in every pot. Usually, though, it is the little things at first that add up to big things in the future, like a few less potholes in the road rather than superhighways.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Awards inspire individuals, transform communities Jemain Diaz de Rivera

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos

Online Editor Social Media Editor

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP-Corporate Affairs VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

The presidential economic platforms

FORWARD MOVING

A

WARDS are given out by many organizations every year, but how do these impact the community and the people?

The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas) Awards is one of the four main film awards of the Philippines and is given by an independent award-giving body, composed of notable writers and movie columnists, for achievements in Philippine cinema for a calendar year.

The awards are celebrated annually since 1952, which makes it the oldest film industry award-giving body in the country. nnn

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has the Sports Hall of Fame created through Republic Act 8757 on November 25, 1999. Candidates should be Filipino athletes, coaches and trainers who distinguished themselves in local and international sports competitions from 1924 to 1974. Inductees excelled in swimming, basketball, chess, weightlifting, shooting, tennis, or track and field. nnn

THE Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (Palanca Awards) are literary awards of the Philippines established in 1950 to inspire and recognize Filipino writers, including poets, playwrights, screenwriters and writers for children. It is organized by the Carlos Palanca Foundation and is one of the Philippines’s longest-running awards programs.

Today it funds the publication of Palanca Award-winning plays, and it

added a category for poetry for children, in both Filipino and English.

Contenders have submitted their pieces end of last month, and the announcement of winners will be on September 1. nnn

APART from awards for movie, sports and literature, the business community also gives recognition to companies that excel in their area of specialization. The 10th anniversary of the International Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards Philippines brought together the most respected and dedicated movers in the information-technology and business-process management (IT-BPM) industry, organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, in cooperation with the IT and Business Process Association Philippines.

The Philippines is a respected player in the Asia-Pacific region.

The ICT Awards recognizes achievements and excellence in organizations and individuals based in the country that made valuable contri-

butions to the industry.

The winners in the different award categories for 2016 are Best Emerging IT-BPM Company for Health care is HCCA International; Best Emerging IT-BPM Company for Creatives is AffinityX; Best Emerging IT-BPM Company for Finance and Accounting is Northern Trust; Best Voice Excellence Company of the Year is Cognizant technology solutions Philippines; Best Global In-House Center of the Year is ANZ Global Services & Operations Manila; Best Software Company of the Year is Advanced World Solutions; Most Innovative Company of the Year is Lexmark Cebu; Best Filipino-owned Company of the Year is Pointwest Technologies, Best Company of the Year Outside of NCR is Lexmark Cebu; Best ICT CEO of the Year is Rajiv Dhand of Telus; Best Employer of the Year is Sutherland Global Services Philippines; and Best Company of the Year is Convergys Philippines.

Having won three times in a category, two companies were elevated to the Hall of Fame for Best Filipinoowned Company of the Year awarded to Pointwest Technologies and for Best Company of the Year given to Convergys Philippines. nnn

POINTWEST Technologies client base are companies from Japan, Australia and Philippine government agencies. The company opened a digital center in the Rockwell Business Center in Ortigas, and inaugurated its second digital center at UPAyala Land Technohub in Quezon City. Developing digital products, Pointwest released Easimed, a mobile app that allows health-care plan members to locate medical facilities

and professionals who honor their health card. The company also began beta testing Autoparq, a parking locator and slot-reservation mobile app. Arko, Pointwest’s multiawarded weather hazard-monitoring app, earned a Silver Award in the 2015 Asean ICT Awards.

The Data Management and Analytics team proved itself after finishing in the upper 6 percent of a Kaggle Competition in 2015, known as “the Olympics of Data Science.” nnn

CONVERGYS is the first company to achieve Hall-of-Fame status in both Best Company and Best Employer (2015) categories. Being recognized as Best Company of the Year brings pride to the work their 63,000 Filipino employees do every day.

The Best Company of the Year Award recognizes all aspects of business-management excellence, such as financial and operational performance; depth and breadth of services, client and employee growth; and company leadership, as well as social responsibility.

Convergys Philippines, which started its operations in 2003, now has 34 sites across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The company provides a mix of agent, analytics and technology solutions to Fortune 500 clients from North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, New Zealand and Australia. nnn

Winners of the International ICT Awards Philippines inspire millions of Filipinos in the industry and transform communities all over the country.

E-mail: jemain_diaz_de_rivera@yahoo.com.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

The speech I would have delivered Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

M

AKING a speech is like cooking: You taste it first and, whatever is the result, you wish people will eat it and like it. This was my problem for more than a month, after I was informed through e-mail that UMPIL (Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas) would give me an award.

I like awards, but I am not good in accepting awards.

The awarding ceremonies were held in the Fauro Audio-Visual Room of the College of Humanities in Ateneo de Manila.

That afternoon, I thanked my editors and publishers in Today Independent Daily News. I never experienced what new writers usually go through rigid and controlling publishers and editors. In Today I had written articles that went from 8,000 to 10,000 characters and spaces on topics like migration, child abuse and food supplement. In BusinessMirror, my editor allowed me to review anything. In fact, and this I shared during the ceremonies, my column was moved from the Lifestyle section to Opinion page, where my essays on the histories of religions and sexualities shared spaces on talks about oil increases and dreamt policies on tax decreases.

I wanted to thank many individuals that afternoon. I wanted to say thank you to two mentors, Rudy F. Alano, who always cautioned me in discussing the meanings of my poems, and Socorro Federis-Tate, who always teased me about letting my modifiers to dangle once in a while, if I want to be a writer.

I wanted to thank my family, but I am, again, bad with emotions. When I left home, I had to hide my luggage from my 90-year-old mother, who, that night, stood up and stayed seated on her favorite chair. I prayed that she would not look for me while I was away. That night, the angels gave my mother the gift of sleep and forgetfulness. But I was missing my two siblings, my two best readers and staunchest

I wanted to thank many individuals that afternoon. I wanted to say thank you to two mentors, Rudy F. Alano, who always cautioned me in discussing the meanings of my poems, and Socorro FederisTate, who always teased me about letting my modifiers to dangle once in a while, if I want to be a writer. I wanted to thank my family, but I am, again, bad with emotions. critics. Carlo, who is in London; later in a Viber message, he told me he would have surprised me with his appearance.

I would have made a mess of myself.

Lilibeth is in Tokyo and had just spent a month with our mother.

That afternoon, the old adage applied, which is that in success, it is always good to be with loved ones.

There is one other person I wanted to thank that afternoon. He was the better writer in the family. He was my Manong Pempe. He wrote things that people understood. He composed horoscopes and created astrological predictions in the local paper and even those who engaged in jueteng divined what he wrote. Even now, we wonder at the design of his fate, dying at the very young age of 46. I now believe he is his own essay, cutting the length of his destiny when he was at his peak, escaping the ruins of a future that is messed by bad politics, a person read and remembered.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

Saluting the candidates Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE

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HERE’S never been a democratic contest like this one—for sheer viciousness; for brutality; for mano a mano fighting of one against one, all against one and one against all. Every day opened a new field of fire. I salute the candidates. I salute Miriam Defensor-Santiago for sticking it out and showing of what the right stuff is made. I salute her last hurrah as the president we should have had if only civil society did not cheat her. When she lost that election, civil society lost any right to be treated with civility.

I salute Jejomar “Jojo” C. Binay, old friend estranged, you taught me many things; to fight like I was sure to win and, yet, also to fight like I was sure to lose—but in any case, to take down my opponent with me. No one was ever so vilified with evidence

that cannot stand in court. And, yet, you plodded on, played by the democratic rules where I would have taken the law into my own hands. To Rodrigo “Rody” R. Duterte, how I wish my beloved Tito Jesus “Chito” Ayala, the maker of modern Davao, saw you

Speech delivered by the BusinessMirror columnist Teddy Locsin Jr. at the 41st Commencement Exercises of the New Era University in Quezon City.

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HIS is a Christian school. It turns out Christian graduates. If they are not Christian, this school would not have been set up.

What for? There are other schools and the best of them are Christian—though only in name. For from those schools, few graduates aver their Christianity. Indeed, they appear embarrassed by it, as though being Christian was a residue of ignorance. This school was established to teach the best learning the world has come to know about—and to reestablish that learning upon the foundation of Christian truth. Even the farthest reaches of scientific research has arrived not at an answer but at the question.

We now know how the universe came to be. But we do not know why.

We know there was a Big Bang that started the evolution of the stars leading to the creation of man. But again, why? Why is there everything, rather than nothing? When it is easier for there to be nothing than something, as every scientist knows. As science comes closer to its elusive end, the answer, wherever science turns, is clear: It is God. So this is a school devoted to teaching every branch of learning in the world. But it is a consciously Christian school, because it knows and teaches that the foundation of learning is God. To that end, every true institution of learning must turn out men of perfect knowledge and, therefore, unavoidably, Christian; for only the Christian faith rounds out human learning and returns its root in our Creator.

When your mentors look at you, they do not see just accountants, astronomers, entrepreneurs, doctors, med techs and the myriad professions so ably taught in this great college. They see that, of course, but first

they look to see if you are Christian; they expect to look on this happy occasion, not at a body of students, but at a Christian congregation: by all means, better prepared, not only with the tools and skills of the world learned here, but, principally, to turn the world more successfully into a Christian place. If you have another purpose than that, you should have gone to another school.

This begs the question: What is a Christian? You can study and believe in some, most, or all of the teachings of Christianity.

That would not make you a Christian. It would only make you knowledgeable about Christian belief.

You can do a Christian deed today. That is better. Belief is best expressed in corresponding action.

But still, that would not make you a Christian. You might not do a Christian deed tomorrow or the day after. Deeds, especially random, do not alone define a person; especially as a Christian. It is deeds and their motivation; actions and their accompanying convictions; those are what count in making up a person.

now. How he loved and admired you.

How he spent all his political capital with Corazon “Cory” C. Aquino to raise you up when the envious tore you down. You really are as smart as he said. You stayed below the radar until this fight to the finish was almost done—and then you weighed in with all the force you had carefully conserved: for that one single thrust to victory at the enemy’s weakest point. To Grace Poe, who has had to mature in such terrible adversity; and yet, struggled without losing an ounce of the grace that is her name.

I apologize on behalf of the legal profession, which disgraced itself by putting a foundling on trial for the identity and nationality of the parents she couldn’t, by the definition of a foundling, know. I am proud to call you my niece, as I have always been proud to call your mother my cousin. I wish I had met you earlier and we had talked longer.

But that distinction of a longer acquaintance belongs to Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II. No man has been so savagely misjudged for the wrongs he never committed. Mar is sorry that he cannot stop storms. No man has ever been so vilified for the negligence of others; nor been so maltreated and betrayed by allies, that surely, he will trust his enemies more if he wins. This man cares not a whit for money, and it is not because he happens to be rich, because it is a family trait of the Roxases to care nothing for wealth and everything for the public service. It is a curse that has killed them early.

What a fight this has been. To you all, I wish the best in all sincerity and in equal measure: victory.

But one is always more equal than the others. However, we are not allowed to say it. Good luck and good night. And God bless you. God bless our country.

Communication and mercy: A fruitful encounter Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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ADIO Veritas 846, the leading faith-based AM station in the Philippines, will join the celebration of the universal Church of the World Communications Sunday on May 8.

This year’s theme of the 50th World Day of Social Communications Day is “Communication and Mercy: A Fruitful Encounter,” which is in line with the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy first announced by Pope Francis on March 13, 2015.

On his message for the 50th World Communications Day, His Holiness Pope Francis emphasized the deep synergy between communication and mercy.

“The encounter between communication and mercy will be fruitful to the degree that it generates a closeness, which cares, comforts, heals, accompanies and celebrates. In a broken, fragmented and polarized

world, to communicate with mercy means to help create a healthy, free and fraternal closeness between the children of God and all our brothers and sisters in the one human family,” Pope Francis said.

The Supreme Pontiff added that communicating means sharing, and sharing demands listening and acceptance. “Listening is much more than simply hearing.

Hearing is about receiving information, while listening is about communication and calls for closeness.

Listening allows us to get things right, and not simply to be passive onlookers, users or consumers.

Listening also means being able

Turn the world successfully into a Christian place First of two parts

Saturday, May 7, 2016 A5

You can perform Christian acts for days, weeks, months—or even years; off and on, or continuously.

That would certainly go a long way toward making you—but it would not make you a Christian.

A Christian is not just what he believes. A Christian is not just what he does. A Christian is one who lives a Christian life—for others; with others, they of the same or another religious persuasion—consciously with the intention of making his life a testament to his Christianity in himself and for others and never alone. For a Christian must live in communion with others.

Christianity is not, indeed, it cannot be, a solitary religion. The promise of Christ is not personal salvation. That is Buddhism.

The promise of Christ is social; it is the Kingdom of Heaven—to be established in an unknown, but certain to happen, future, of the end of time. That Kingdom does not recognize natural-born citizens. No one is predestined and preordained to enter the Kingdom. It seems that way only because God knows everything, past and future, as if it was present to His eyes.

Citizenship in the Kingdom must be earned. No one can be a citizen of the Kingdom that shall be brought down to Earth by Christ the King, encircled by his prophets, who has not worked to create, to maintain, to protect and preserve, the closest likeness of that Kingdom on Earth—by living a good life, helping everyone and hurting none; devoted to family; studious and diligent in work; and unwaveringly devoted to Christ’s church. Over and above all that— but in no contradiction to any of his Christian concerns—a Christian

So this is a school devoted to teaching every branch of learning in the world. But it is a consciously Christian school, because it knows and teaches that the foundation of learning is God. To that end, every true institution of learning must turn out men of perfect knowledge and, therefore, unavoidably, Christian; for only the Christian faith rounds out human learning and returns its root in our Creator.

lives for his church. For his church is the reflection—call it a pale reflection—of the Christian’s destiny: the Kingdom of Heaven. But the way to the Kingdom passes through the Earth; through its perils and tribulations. And that is only right.

No one may enter the Kingdom of Heaven who has not practiced by earnest living a full Christian life on Earth, as though he were already a loyal subject of Christ and a citizen of the Kingdom.

All life is a school of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why a true Christian church must be a political church; a church active in politics; aggressive in pushing the Christian agenda in political, economic and social life; committed to creating, here and now, a prototype of the Heavenly Kingdom as a foretaste of the future laid out by Christ for the saved. And of all the Christian churches that have engaged in this endeavor of Kingdom-making, none has come close to achieving that goal than the Iglesia Ni Cristo today.

Christianity, as I said, is a communitarian religion; a social religion; indeed, the history of Chris-

to share questions and doubts, to journey side by side, to banish all claims to absolute power and to put our abilities and gifts at the service of the common good.”

Owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Manila, Radio Veritas continues to be the leading socialcommunications ministry for truth and new evangelization, providing religious and magazine programs, Church advocacies and social concerns to its listeners.

Currently, Radio Veritas is going beyond radio through its web site, www.veritas846.ph and its socialmedia platforms. It is also extending its reach to television through its partnership with TV Maria.

Communication is a gift of God that comes with a great responsibility; it can make or break our relationship with others, but it always depends on how we speak or act. May our hearts always be inspired by mercy, so that our communication will always express God’s compassion and forgiveness and let us all create an evangelized and truthful world.

World Communications Day is celebrated each year on the Sunday

tianity is a record of struggles to create Christian communities— from the monastic societies of the Dark Ages, the monastic armies of the Crusades, the City of the Sun envisioned by a Dominican and the Christian republics carved out of the jungle by the Society of Jesus and trained to fight the secular armies of Portugal and Spain. Christianity is a religion of both personal salvation and social recreation.

There is no solitary Christian. If so, Christ would have lived like Buddha, living in a forest under a tree, indifferent to disciples, appointing none to succeed him in completing the work that only He could do: to abolish by the power of his mind a world of painful illusion. Buddhism is the religion of escape. Christianity is the religion of engagement. What I have told you is taught in many Christian churches. Many of these churches have raised and turned out real Christians; and they have created real Christian communities.

A church is not its vestments, its architecture and rites. A Church is the life lived in it. If you have seen that wonderful movie, there was already Iglesia Ni Cristo when Felix Y. Manalo gathered his first followers in a wooden house. The old man was my father’s friend. I remember once, he paid us a visit. He came to our gate riding on a white horse.

That image is imprinted indelibly in my mind to this day. A Christian church is not a place or a building; it is a fellowship; a fellowship of like in thought and sentiment; a fellowship of shared commitments. Christians can only be Christians in a church.

One of these churches—and I am not saying it is the only one—but one such church is the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

before Pentecost. It was established

by Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council, in order to draw attention to the vast and complex phenomenon of the modern means of social communication.

This year, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications decided to align the theme of World Communications Day with the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, a Roman Catholic period of grace, peace, conversion and joy held from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016.

The Holy Year of Mercy is a time for remission of sins and universal pardon focusing particularly on God’s forgiveness and mercy. The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy was first announced by Pope Francis on March 13, 2015. It is the 27th holy year in history, following the ordinary Jubilee in 2000.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www. caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 09997943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

There are others, but most of them have died out. Only one flourishes and it is yours.

Sometimes entire communities, but more often smaller disciplined groups, like the Society of Jesus, the Dominican and Benedictine Orders, achieve the same cohesion and commitment. The members of these great orders lived Christian lives to an intense degree, and thereby made of their societies truly Christian ones.

They were tightly organized and rigidly disciplined groups; its members watched and watching each other, day in and day out, all behind walls.

But only a few churches have been Christian, while comprising entire societies and not just a select group.

Only few churches have been Christian, in that all who worship therein, be they ministers or lay persons, actually live Christian lives and not just talk about it.

And they live Christian lives, not behind stonewalls, but in societies at large—alongside others like and unlike themselves, in productive fellowship. Indeed, they live with more people who are unlike them, and are even hostile to them. This we saw recently when the INC was viciously attacked by those who envied its influence over its faithful, and by that token its influence over the larger political society. It was envied for its profound effect in imparting Christianity into the very moral fiber of its members, unlike other churches who can only elicit a verbal allegiance from their devotees.

Indeed, the INC was attacked for the unity that has given it the strength and endurance to resist the blackmail of the Godless.

To be concluded

News

BusinessMirror

A6 Saturday, May 7, 2016 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

news@businessmirror.com.ph

ADB stresses need for sustainable devt

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B C U. O

@caiordinario

RANKFURT, Germany—The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that while climate changerelated projects and programs take time to implement, countries like the Philippines, must focus on them to attain sustainable development.

Stephen P. Groff, the bank ’s v ice president for East A sia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said the challenge for the Philippines and other developing A DB member- cou nt r ies w it h a climate-change program or project is implementation.

Groff said implementation is also the key in realizing the aims of the Green Jobs law, which was recently passed by the Philippines, as well as other climate-change projects and programs.

“It’s relatively easy to announce

these things, and its the right and important thing to do, but implement ing a nd e xec ut ing those things just takes time, and its frustrating for all of us, but it is not something that’s unique to the Philippines, all countries face these challenges,” Groff said.

“It takes time, but it also takes continued dedication by the administration, takes continued perseverance by people of the country, and I’m confident that that’s the direction that the Philippines

will go on, because it is really the only direction the country can go on to be on a sustainable path,” he added.

Groff said achieving sustainable development is similar to ramping up the country’s infrastructure spending—it takes a considerable amount of time.

He said the government aimed to increase infrastructure spending to 5 percent of GDP from only 2 percent, which is among the lowest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations area.

However, documents obtained by the BusinessMirror in April showed that the country is nowhere near achieving its 5 percent of GDP goal.

Data showed that programmed national spending for infrastructure was at 3.5 percent of GDP, or P442.31 billion, in 2014 and 4.48 percent of GDP, or P595.77 billion, in 2015.

However, actual spending as a percentage of GDP was at 2.74 percent, or P346.24 billion, in 2014 and 3.28 percent, or P435.3 billion, in 2015.

“At t he beg i n n i ng of t he

Aquino administration, they set out a goal to increase their infrastructure spending, which has regionally been low compared to a lot of your Asean countries, and they’ve succeeded in increasing infrastructure spend quite dramatically over the last number of years, but that’s taken quite some time,” Groff said.

Nonetheless, Groff added that the ADB recognized the efforts made by the national government in attaining sustainable and inclusive development.

In March the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) bared the results of AmBisyon2040.

It showed 79.2 percent of Filipinos want a simple and comfortable life in 25 years and 3.9 percent of Filipinos wanted the life of the rich.

A simple and comfortable life means owning a medium-sized home; earning enough to support everyday needs; owning at least one vehicle; providing for the children’s college education and traveling around the country for vacation.

The data from AmBisyon2040 will be translated into national targets and goals that will become the backbone of future development plans.

Planning for a better future was also part of the main message of the ADB President Takehiko Nakao in his closing news conference here.

Nakao said the ADB and its work in developing membercountries (DMCs) in the next 20 years will be incorporated in its Strategy 2030, or its Long Term Strategic Framework (LTSF).

The ADB new Strategy 2030 will replace the bank ’s Strategy 2020 released in Madrid, Spain, in 2008. The LTSF 2030 may include climate finance as a priority of the bank in the next few years.

This will be complemented by the ADB’s commitment to double its climate-change financing to an annual average of around $6 billion from the current average of $3 billion a year.

“Many of you expressed strong support for the preparation of Strategy 2030, and stressed the

importance of close consultation with all stakeholders, including CSOs [civil-society organizations]. The new strategy will help us define our approach to the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] and COP21 [21st Conference of Parties]. It will also elaborate on our approaches to upper middle-income countries and regional cooperation and integration,” Nakao said.

In July 2015 the ADB, together with other multilateral development banks and private institutions, have committed at least $400 billion for projects related to the SDGs in the next three years.

The ADB, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and others will pool some $400 billion in the next three years to support the world’s Agenda 2030.

The World Economic Forum also disclosed that three blended finance initiatives, with a collective amount of $100 billion over the next five years, was launched at the United Nations Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa.

SC orders trial-court judges, personnel DOH to set up health to work on May 9 for polls-related cases desks in voting centers B J R. S J @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Supreme Court (SC) on Friday directed all executive judges, clerks of court and single sala judges to report to their respective courts on May 9 to act on all election-related cases.

In Circular 17-2016 issued by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), the SC said an executive judge who would not be able to report for duty may designate the vice-executive judge or any of the judges in his station.

The circular said single sala regional trial courts, where the court of the acting presiding judge is very far from the court concerned, any urgent election matter should be referred for action by the clerk of court to the executive judge of the nearest court or station.

On the other hand, in case of vacant metropolitan trial courts, municipal trial courts in cities, municipal trial courts and municipal circuit trial courts, election cases should be referred to the presiding judge of the nearest court or to the executive judge, whichever is nearer.

“The Clerk of Court, in the Office of the Clerk of Court, shall maintain a skeletal force in the office to attend to the collection of court fees and to receive cash

We do not regulate their contents.

As far as what are their contents, whether positive or negative or what actors are used, we do not meddle with them.”—J bonds or any other bonds that may be posted for election offenses,” the circular stated.

The government has declared a special non-working holiday on May 9.

Comelec hands off on ad vs Duterte

IN another election-related development, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it cannot prevent the airing of a television ad paid for by vice-presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, which uses children to undermine the presidential bid of front-runner Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Comelec Spokesman James R. Jimenez said such advertisement is allowed under existing laws.

“We do not regulate their contents. As far as what are their contents, whether positive or negative or what actors are used, we do not meddle with them,” Jimenez said.

“Partisan political activity is

even defined specifically as any activity, which is in favor of or against a candidate. So an ad can be for someone or against someone,” he added.

Based on the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), an “election campaign” or a “partisan political activ it y” is defined as an act designed to promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate or candidates to a public office.

Jimenez said the Comelec’s power covers only finances entailed in airing political ads of candidates.

“These ads are not submitted to the Comelec nor are they required to be submitted to the Comelec. These ads are aired and we monitor them for their duration, for them to be compared against their ad time limit. That’s all,” Jimenez explained.

Liquor ban

THE Comelec reminded the public that liquor ban will be in effect

once the campaign period ends on Sunday.

Jimenez said the public must keep in mind that selling, offering, buying, serving, or taking intoxicating liquor is prohibited under the OEC. “Just keep yourselves safe, and be practical. That is two nights: the day before elections and election day,” Jimenez appealed.

Jimenez said the liquor ban may be a factor in minimizing incidents of election-related violence, considering the high level of emotions of the supporters of the candidates.

“These elections are very hotly contested. And if you have a situation, where passions are running high because of the elections and they are further fueled by intoxicants, you can just imagine how difficult that might be in terms of keeping the peace,” Jimenez said.

Under the OEC, it is considered a prohibited act to offer, buy, ser ve or take intoxicating liquor on the day before the election or on election day.

However, hotels and other establishments duly certified by the Department of Tourism as “tourist-oriented” and “habitually in the business of catering to foreign tourists” may be exempted for justifiable reasons upon prior authority of the commission.

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TOTAL of 2,358 health desks will be set up in voting centers nationwide to provide medical assistance to the voters and volunteers performing election-related duties during the elections.

Health Secretary Janette P. Garin said five health workers from the Department of Health (DOH) regional offices will be deployed in each health station.

“The voters, as well as the election volunteers, will be provided with free timely and effective medical assistance if need arises,” Garin said.

From April 30 to May 15, all the DOH retained hospitals and regional offices nationwide are on Code White Alert, in preparation for any eventualities or health-related incidents that may occur during the elections.

A Code White Alert is declared when there is a mass gathering or national event and there is a possibility of emergency situations that may need immediate medical attention.

All medical teams are on standby for immediate mobilization. On the other hand, the DOH will monitor closely the situation in high-risk areas and will raise the alert code as necessary.

She added that, since the 2016 national and local elections fall within the summer month of May, during which the exposure to hot weather, some precautionary measures are advised in order to avoid health risks and hazards.

“Mas maigi kung tayo ay magsuot ng kumportableng damit para maibsan ang maalinsangan na panahon. Mag-

GARIN

dala din tayo ng tubig para kung sakali tayo ay makaramdam ng uhaw, hindi na natin kailangan umalis ng ating pila habang nag-aantay. Makakatulong din na magdala ng crackers o candy para may pwede tayong makain kung nahihilo o para sa mga biglang bumabagsak ang sugar level. Kung kayo ay may maintenance medicines sa inyong mga karamdaman, magdala ng sariling gamot,” Garin advised.

Garin added that voters should not bring children to voting stations.

“However, if it can not be avoided, make sure that the child is accompanied by an adult at all times and assure that details or information of the child are secured in the pocket of his or her clothes, so that authorities can easily contact their parents or guardians in case they are lost or in an emergency.”

“Ngayong darating na eleksyon, piliin natin na bumoto ng maaga para hindi abutan ng kasagsagan ng init at dagsa ng tao. Ilaan natin ang natitirang oras para makapagpahinga ang ating katawan at makasama ang ating pamilya,” Garin concluded.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Zambo Norte mayoral bet, 2 others Metro Manila cops all set for elections arrested for police officer’s killing B R A

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IPOLOG CITY, Zamboanga del Norte— Three people, including a candidate for mayor, were arrested after a police officer was killed and another wounded in an electionrelated incident in the nearby town of Tampilisan.

Insp. Ronald Allan Tingas, Tampilisan police chief, identified the arrested suspect as mayoral candidate Alson Chan of the Alliance of Parties for Progress (APP).

The other two arrested suspects were identified as Alfredo Marso and Lito Jumawan, both supporters of Chan.

Killed was Senior Insp. Mirdan Usama, the team leader of the First Maneuver Platoon of Regional Public Safety Battalion-9 (RPSB-9) detailed in Tampilisan town.

Tingas said Usama’s subordinate identified as Police Officer 1 Melvin Padela was slightly wounded during the incident.

Tingas told the Philippines News Agency that the incident took place around 10 p.m. on

Wednesday in Barangay Camul, Tampilisan, this province.

Tingas said Usama and two other policemen went to Barangay Camul to check on the reported gun fires at a lodging house owned by Chan.

He said they were denied access into the lodging house upon arrival. Moments later, shots were heard coming from the garage, hitting Usama.

He said Usama, before falling unconscious, managed to call for back up. The wounded officer was rushed to Sibud County Hospital in Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay, but died on the way.

He said Chan and his two followers were arrested in a pursuit operation launched by combined police and Army forces.

The pursuing team has recovered seven firearms, including a rifle, envelopes containing money and sample ballots stapled with money from Chan’s lodging house, according to Tingas.

He said criminal cases will be filed against Chan and his two supporters. PNA

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@reneacostaBM

LL the equipment needed for Monday’s elections in Metro Manila have already been delivered to the different polling centers by personnel of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) who were escorted by policemen.

Director Joel Pagdilao, Metro Manila police commander, said on Friday the National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Public Safety Battalion and Special Reaction Unit secured and escorted the delivery of 9,271 votecounting machines (VCMs) as well as ballot boxes, batteries, consolidation and canvassing system kits, broadband global area network equipment and other election paraphernalia from the Comelec warehouse in Santa Rosa, Laguna, to different polling centers in Metro Manila.

The delivery began on April 28 and was completed on Thursday, although policemen still continue to guard the election materials until the conduct of the elections.

Pagdilao said Metro Manila policemen are ready to perform election duties on Monday, as he encouraged the public to immediately report to the authorities any suspicious individual, group or activities that may disrupt the conduct of the elections.

In Lanao del Norte at least 200 policemen would be deployed as members of the boards of election inspectors (BEI) in at least two towns, owing to declaration of the province as under the Comelec control.

Supt. Surki Sereñas, Northern Mindanao police command spokesman, said at least 149 policemen will serve as members of BEIs in the towns of Pantar and Nunungan, while 59 others will be “reserve BEIs.”

In Cagayan de Oro City the Army’s Fourth Infantry “Diamond” Division (4ID) has also prepared its troops for deployment, as the military works with the police to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections.

Days before the polls the 4ID established its Election Monitoring Center inside the camp to ensure the monitoring of election-related activities and security efforts within its area of operations.

It also deployed troops in the different provinces of Regions 10 and 13 to support the police in manning the joint National Police-Comelec-Armed Forces Election Monitoring and Action Centers, and deployment of policemen and soldiers to secure the communities.

Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, 4ID spokesman, said Quick Reaction Teams were also formed and ready to be deployed in case they are needed.

Sports BusinessMirror

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Saturday, May 7, 2016 A7

LETRAN, LA SALLE WIN D

B R O

E LA SALLE notched its second win in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup with a 97-75 demolition of University of the East (UE) Red Warriors on Friday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Big man Ben Mbala and senior forward Jeron Teng each scored 24 points to pace the Green Archers in a match where they led all throughout.

“I think we handled their press break pretty well,” said La Salle Head Coach Aldin Ayo, who made no bones about his wards’ reaction to the rough play. “I told them to be tough and to play tough. We have to get used to that.”

The closest the Red Warriors got to chipping down La Salle’s lead was at 27-23, but the Green Archers steadily piled on the points highlighted by three Mbala dunks that brought the house down.

“It felt good to be able to play like that,”

the 21-year-old Cameroonian said. “I’ve been waiting three years to do that.”

In addition to his 24 points, Mbala added 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four shot blocks.

“Big Ben played big for us,” Ayo noted dryly.

“If you look at the stats, we were pretty much even with UE. But aside from handling their press, we shot the ball better.”

The Red Warriors, who dropped to 1-1 in the Premier Cup, were led by Team B call-up Alvin Pasaol, who finished with 13 points. Edgar Charcos backstopped him with 10.

In the day’s other big seniors match, Letran, harried, clawed and taunted by the Lyceum Pirates all match long, showed its championship mettle in the clutch to win its inaugural match, 89-84.

Rey Nambatac hit two triples, one to break at 72-all deadlock for the last time, and a crucial lay-up in the fourth quarter to lead the Knights.

It was the Knights who had to play catch

BV Challenge Cup unfurls at the Sands

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T’S going to be a tight, wide-open race to the title when the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Challenge Cup beach volleyball tournament fires off on Saturday at the Sands at SM By the Bay in Mall of Asia.

Action starts at 7:30 a.m. with the decorated tandems of Jovelyn Gonzaga and Nene Bautista of RC Cola-Army A, Cherry Rondina and Patty Orendain of Foton, Danika Gendrauli and Aby Maraño of F2 Logistics, Bang Pineda and Aiza Pontillas of Petron XCS, and Maica Morada and Frances Molina of Petron Sprint 4T all expected to go all out for pride and glory.

RC Cola-Army B will tip things off as it battles University of the East (UE)-Manila followed by matches between Petron Sprint 4T and Standard Navy Insurance-B; Foton and Accel Quantum Plus; Meralco and Far Eastern University (FEU)Petron; Petron XCS and Mapua; Standard Navy Insurance A and RC Cola-Army B; Meralco and Cignal Team Awesome.

FEU-Petron will hit the sand again in the afternoon as it faces Gonzaga and Bautista of RC Cola-Army A, while F2 Logistics battles Petron Sprint 4T; Foton faces Mapua; Accel Quantum Plus tangles with Petron XCS; and RC Cola-Army A collides with Cignal Team Awesome.

Afternoon games of this prestigious tourney bankrolled by Sands at SM By the Bay, Petron, Foton, Accel, Mikasa, Senoh and Island Rose will be aired live by its official broadcast partner TV5 and will be streamed live over Sports5.ph.

Gonzaga, arguably the winngest beach volleyball player in the country, said this could be her toughest battle as she will be ranged against the reigning champion in Gendrauli, proven floor specialist in Pineda, and queens of the sand from the Visayas in Rondina and Orendain.

up for the most part with Lyceum, which was buoyed by its first win of the tournament over Mapua, 91-82, last Wednesday, May 4. After Lyceum’s Shaq Allanes hit back-to-back triples to give the Pirates a 30-24 lead at the start of the second period, Letran found its stabilizing force in Bong Quinto, who tallied 10 points, two assists, two steals and one block.

Come pay-off period, it was Nambatac who delivered the killer blows to the Pirates, who were led by Wilson Baltazar’s 19 points and Joseph Gabayni’s 12 markers.

“We aren’t fully satisfied with our team’s efforts,” said Letran’s new coach Jeff Napa. “We still have a long way to go.” Napa, who won three titles with National University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines juniors division, pointed to his team’s 20 turnovers. “We might have scored more turnover points but we kept giving the ball away in crucial situations.”

Letran turned the ball over six times in the fourth period alone.

GlobalPort, Star reach semifinals PACQUIAO

PACMAN NOTHING

MORE TO PROVE

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ATIONAL boxing team Coach Boy Velasco said Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao has nothing more to prove, and competing in the Olympics Games might not be a good ending to his storied career.

The congressman from Saranggani province has expressed interest to play for the Philippines in the coming Rio de Janeiro Games in Brazil and Velasco said it was a “good gesture” for the eight-division world champion.

But Pacquiao might be too busy to attend to his political affairs as he’s running for a seat in the Senate in the coming May 9 national elections.

“It is really an honor for us to have Pacquiao.

He will surely give other competitors in his division a headache,” Velasco said.

No less than International Boxing Association (Aiba) Aiba President Dr. Ching Kuo Wu, who extended his invitation to Pacquiao to compete in the Olympics to give the sport the needed “turning point,” as boxing is lagging behind in terms of fielding professional athletes in the quadrennial event.

If Pacquiao pursues his intent to be part of the squad, he will be given a spot in the 64-kilogram weight class where amateur standout Dennis Galvan will be competing in the Aiba World Olympic qualification event in Azerbaijan from June 14 to 26.

But Velasco, who guided Olympic-bound Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon in their silver-medal finishes in the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament in Qian’An, China, last month, said Pacquiao has already contributed a lot for the country.

“All his belts and his sacrifices are more than an Olympic gold,” Velasco said. “He’s a champion. We are all proud of him. He has nothing to prove anymore.”

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) First Vice President Jose Romasanta earlier said time could be a problem to give Pacquiao the slot for the national team.

“A lot of paperworks are needed. And he [Pacquiao] is on the heat of campaigning for the upcoming elections.

We want to maximize our athletes. We will focus on what we have,” Romasanta noted.

Five national athletes are officially bound for Rio de Janeiro, including Suarez and Ladon, table-tennis standout Ian Lariba and taekwondo jin Kirstie Elaine Alora. Long-jump queen Marestella Torres also got a ticket through universality clause as the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association nominated her for a wild-card spot.

The POC is still waiting for the inclusion of hurdler Eric Cray and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz to the official Olympic list. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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LOBALPORT overwhelmed Blackwater and Star turned back Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Friday to clinch slots in the crossover semifinals of the Under ArmourBatang Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 12&Under basketball tournament at the Philippine Science High School Gym in Quezon City The Batang Pier destroyed the Batang Elite, 80-36, yesterday to arrange a Final Four

JOBIM CARLOS’S lead is now down to one shot in the Manila Masters.

showdown with the Batang Phoenix Fuel Masters on Sunday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City. Joaquin Espina had 13 points as GlobalPort surged to a 51-point bulge (78-27) with two minutes left in the lopsided game.

In the other game, the Batang Star Hotshots broke away from a tight first quarter in dealing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel a 66-56 loss and setting up a semifinal clash with unbeaten Rain or Shine. James Matthew Ganotisi and Prince Cholo Velasco combined for 20 points, while Julian Glen Pangilinan added 9.

LA Salle’s Abu Tratter (center) soars to grab the rebound as teammate Ben Mbala (left) and Clark Derige of University of the East look on. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

Kim, Alido in title clash

CARLOS CLINGS T TO 1-SHOT LEAD

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OBIM CARLOS overcame a fumbling start and Jay Bayron’s eagle-spiked 70, scrambling for a one-over 73 to barely hang on to a one-stroke lead in the third round of the P3.5-million International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Manila Masters at the Eastridge Golf Club on Friday in Binangonan, Rizal.

Carlos blew an overnight four-shot lead over a hot-charging Bayron, as he lost his focus and putting touch, stumbling with a bogey and a double bogey in the first three holes but pounced on his veteran rival’s mishap on No. 15th to regain control. He then matched Bayron’s third straight birdie on the closing par-5 hole from 3 feet to salvage a 35 and a 73.

With a 211 aggregate over 54 holes, Carlos moved 18 holes away from scoring a breakthrough early in his pro career but the 20-year-old shotmaker has a lot of shielding to do with at least four players within striking distance for the top P650,000 purse in this fifth leg of this year’s ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

“I lost my focus and suffered a mental lapse,” rued Carlos, who four-putted for 5 on the par-3 No. 3. “But I was lucky to still be in the lead. I’ll just have to play extra cautious and avoid getting into trouble in the final round.”

Four down halfway through the event sponsored

by ICTSI, Bayron gained on Carlos’s shaky start then gunned down an eagle on the par-5 seventh to draw level. But the former Asian Development Tour Order of Merit (OOM) winner bogeyed No. 9, birdied No. 14 from close range to tie again only reel back again, with a missed-green bogey on the 15th.

He finished with a 70, grabbed second place at 212 and bolstered his bid for another win after besting Miguel Tabuena and Tony Lascuña at ICTSI Summit Point Golf Classic last year.

But unheralded Rene Menor stayed in the hunt at 213 despite a 73, while Clyde Mondilla also birdied the last hole to fire a 71 and tie the surprise first-round leader at third, even as veteran Frankie Miñoza, likewise, put himself in rare contention for the crown in the event, backed

by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Miñoza, seeking an end to a long title spell, birdied three of the last four holes in vintage fashion to shoot a 71 for a 214, just three off Carlos.

Joenard Rates bounced back from a bogey on the second hole with a cluster of birdies and went on to fire the tournament-best five-under 67 to jump from out of nowhere to joint sixth with Chris de los Santos, who matched par 72, at even 216.

The rest stood too far to pose a threat, including top guns former three-time PGT Order of Merit (OOM) winner Tony Lascuña, defending champion Angelo Que and reigning OOM champion Miguel Tabuena, who failed to make a charge in the pivotal round of the event organized

by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Lascuña, runaway winner at Luisita last month, ran off pars in the first 17 holes then birdied the last for a 71 and a 217, a stroke ahead of Jerson Balasabas and Dutch Guido van der Valk, who both had 218s after a 70 and 72, respectively, while Que, who beat Tabuena and Ferdie Aunzo by two here last year, holed out with a horrendous triple 8 on the 18th and ended up with a 73.

He fell to joint 11th with Mhark Fernando, who shot a 71, and Zanieboy Gialon, who hobbled with a 74, at 220, while Tabuena continued to grope for form though he closed out with three straight birdies for a 73 and a 221 in a tie with Michael Bibat and Mars Pucay, who shot identical 73s.

OP seed Tom Kim and Ira Alido knocked off their respective semifinal rivals with similar one-sided romps on Friday to arrange a showdown for the 2016 Philippine Junior Amateur Match Play Golf Championship boys’ crown at the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa.

Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso and Korean Hwang Min-jeong, meanwhile, pulled off victories in varying fashions to forge a face-off for the girls’ title in the annual event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT, Smart, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Kim, chasing a sweep of the junior crowns after copping the stroke-play championship last month, rolled past Peter Tyler Po, 5&4, in the morning quarterfinals then blasted Ryan Monsalve, 6&5, to seal an explosive title duel with Alido.

The second-seeded Alido survived Luis Castro’s stubborn stand in the quarters, hacking out a 2&1 decision but outclassed the third ranked Aniceto Mandanas in their afternoon semis clash to fashion out a 5&4 victory for a crack at the crown in the event, held as part of the PLDT National Amateur Golf Tour and organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Monsalve earlier trounced John Jun, 3&1, while Mandanas crushed Adrian Romero, 6&4.

Saso, who dominated the 36-hole strokeplay elims, sustained her form and whipped Jona Magcalayo, 5&4, in the quarters then dominated Kristine Torralba, 5&4, to earn a crack at the championship.

But she will be up against rising Korean star Hwang, who eased past Ashia Nocum, 4&3, in the morning quarters before bundling out last year’s champion Harmie Constantino on the 19th hole.

The second-ranked Constantino, looking forward to sealing another title clash with Saso, whom she beat in last year’s finals, edged Koh Eun-a, 2&1, in the quarters but lost steam in her grueling duel with the young Korean, losing the battle on the 19th hole.

UP XI dedicates golden double to departed player Rogie

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THE triumphant University of the Philippines men’s football team celebrates after winning the University Athletic Association of the Philippines title.

STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

NIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) scored a golden double after claiming the men’s and women’s titles of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 football on Thursday at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Fighting Maroons dominated Ateneo de Manila en route to a 4-1 victory on King Miyagi’s hat trick, while the Lady Maroons sent the favorite De La Salle crashing after a 2-1 win in the women’s side.

Coach Anto Gonzales, the mentor of both teams, gave UP its first-ever double crown in UAAP football.

“You could say that this is a testament of the character and heart of my team,” said Gonzales, who dedicated the twin victories to Rogie Maglinas, the 19-year-old defender of the UP men’s football team who passed away in January due to rhabdomyosarcoma, or cancer of the skeletal muscles.

“Rogie really inspired us. Doon sa example

na iniwan niya, ‘yung sipag at fight na iniwan niya, ‘yun ‘yung pinakita nila all throughout the season,” Gonzales added. “Rogie salamat sa lahat.

Sana kasama ka namin ngayon at nakita mo kung paano lumaban ‘yung team, at ‘yung iniwan niya mananatili ‘yan parati sa amin. Sana masaya siya kung nasaan siya ngayon.”

The Fighting Maroons claimed their 17th title but their first since 2012.

“I’m just happy that compared from last season, the way we played this whole season in terms of overall play, fight and effort, icing on the cake na lang ‘tong finals. The boys gave everything,” Gonzales said. “Actually, ako itong finals na ito walang stressed, walang anxiety, and walang pressure to win it, because I was very satisfied with what they showed this season in terms of fight and effort, wala na akong mahihiling pa.”

Miyagi drew the first blood at the 28th minute, then season Most Valuable Player (MVP) Daniel

Gadia doubled UP’s lead in the 33rd minute.

Ateneo skipper Mikko Mabanag, who played his last UAAP game, found the back of the net to trim the deficit to 2-1 nine minutes before halftime.

Miyagi continued his stellar night, giving his team a commanding 3-1 spread in the 70th and completed his hat trick 10 minutes later.

In women’s play, the Lady Maroons showed no fear and took down the undefeated La Salle.

Both squads settled for a goalless first half, then Cristina de los Reyes opened the scoring in the 50th minute to give UP a 1-0 lead.

La Salle tied the game when Sara Castañeda, the season’s Rookie of the Year, Best Midfielder and a Mythical 11 member, found the back of the net in the 61st. But six minutes after, Angeliza Santa Clara nailed a header to clinch the crown for the Katipunan-based team.

Graduating UP defender Molly Manalansan capped her career with an MVP honor. Lance Agcaoili

Sports BusinessMirror

Caroll leads Raptors vs Heat to tie series T

ORONTO—Toronto beat Miami, 96-92, in overtime on Thursday to even their National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 12 rebounds Valanciunas had 11 points and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime.

DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points, Kyle Lowry had 18 and Terrence Ross 10 for Toronto, which battled back late in the fourth quarter to force the second overtime of the series, then shut the Heat down to start it.

Goran Dragic scored 20, and Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson each had 17 for the Heat. Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Luol Deng had 12 points.

Game Three is on Saturday in Miami.

The Heat led 77-70 midway through the fourth, but back-to-back baskets by Valanciunas shaved the gap to 8078 with 3:18 remaining. Ross tied it with a jumper at 2:01.

DeRozan missed a pair of free throws with 1:22 remaining, but Valanciunas grabbed the rebound on the second and tipped it home to give Toronto an 82-80 lead.

After a missed shot by Wade, Lowry hit a pull-up jumper with 45 seconds left, giving the Raptors a four-point cushion.

Wade cut it to one with a three-pointer but Lowry replied with another jumper with 14.9 seconds to go, putting Toronto up 86-83. After a Miami time-out, Dragic tied it with a three with 10.5 seconds left.

Lowry, whose half-court shot sent Game One to overtime, got the last attempt for the Raptors but couldn’t hit the rim with a long threepoint attempt.

The Heat went cold in overtime, missing their first five field-goal attempts, including three misses by Johnson. DeRozan and Valanciunas connected and Carroll made a pair at the line before Miami’s first basket of TORONTO Raptors forward DeMarre overtime, a driving dunk by Deng with 23 seconds left.

Carroll celebrates after leading his Miami matched a franchise postseason record with 11 turnovers in team to a Game Two victory over the the first quarter, leading to 14 Toronto points. AP Miami Heat. AP

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| SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

TRUMP: I’M NO GOLF CHEAT D

DONALD TRUMP denies playing with former boxer Oscar de la Hoya, who earlier this week questioned Trump’s integrity on the golf course. AP

B T D The Associated Press

ONALD TRUMP wants to make one thing perfectly clear—he doesn’t cheat at golf.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee also says he has never golfed with retired boxer Oscar de la Hoya, who earlier this w eek questioned Trump’s integrity on the golf course. week “Not only didn’t I cheat, I didn’t play with him,” Trump said. “I have never played a round of golf with this guy.”

Trump told The Associated Press on Thursday he respects the game too much to cheat and is good enough to have won a number of club championships. Trump, who owns 18 golf courses, says de la Hoya is lying about him because he wants to sell tickets to a fight he is promoting.

Trump said his son Eric told him not to respond to de la Hoya’s charges that he cheated on two different holes two years ago at Trump National golf course in Los Angeles. But he says he had to say something to defend himself because golf is a game built on integrity and honor.

“He’s absolutely lying,” Trump said. “Golf is an important thing and I felt I had to say something.”

Trump said de la Hoya called him on Wednesday, not to apologize about his comments but to offer him tickets to the fight he is promoting on Saturday in Las Vegas between Amir Khan and Canelo Alvarez.

Trump, who was at Gennady Golovkin’s fight at Madison Square Garden last October and is a big boxing fan, said he declined the tickets.

“I told him I have something else to do, as you can imagine,” Trump said in a phone interview.

De la Hoya, who is an avid golfer, claims Trump joined his group on the first tee at Trump National and promptly hit his first drive in the water, then hit two others before driving ahead and finding his ball in the middle of the fairway. On the next hole, he said Trump hit it in the bushes but the ball somehow ended up on the green close to the hole for a “gimme.”

“Yes, I caught him,” de la Hoya said. “It was unbelievable. But I guess it was his course, so it was his rules.”

But Trump put the longtime general manager at Trump National, Lili Amini, on the phone to say she had never seen her boss play with de la Hoya. He also said there is no water on the first hole at Trump National so he could not have hit the ball there.

Trump, a low handicapper who says he hasn’t played golf in two months because of the campaign, said de la Hoya did play Trump National in a celebrity match against comedian George Lopez in 2010 as part of the “Donald J. Trump’s Fabulous World of Golf” show.

“He played terribly,” Trump said. “I walked with them but didn’t play. I’m a much better golfer than him.”

Trump said the last time he played golf was with Lexi Thompson, a player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. The campaign has taken a toll on his golf game, he said, though he noted that President Barack Obama has gotten in hundreds of rounds of golf since being elected.

Asked if he would play with de la Hoya, Trump said: “I don’t like to play with men that wear stockings around their face.”

The quip was a reference to photos that circulated several years ago showing de la Hoya wearing fishnet hosiery and heels while cavorting with a model. De la Hoya later underwent drug and alcohol rehabilitation twice.