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Sunday, April 24, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 197

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Zambales tax amnesty extended to June 30

I

BA, Zambales—The Zambales provincial government has given taxpayers here up to June 30 to pay their real-property taxes without the obligatory-interest charges for delayed payments.

Board Member Renato Collado, chairman of the Committee on Legal Matters, Review of Ordinances and Executive Orders, said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has further extended the tax amnesty for real property to enable more taxpayers to avail themselves of the program.

Collado said, however, that, while the provincial government has waived the penalties due for late payments, taxpayers are still obliged to pay the principal amount of their taxes.

The extension of the tax-amnesty program was approved by the provincial council through a board resolution passed on February 15, where it resolved to move the granting of tax amnesty in the payment of interest and penalties of real property “until June 30, 2016, under the terms and conditions embodied in Ordinance 2014-07.”

Ordinance 2 014 - 07, which was enacted on January 20, 2014, originally set the grant of tax amnesty for real property. However, the board passed Ordinance 2015-35 on July 15 last year to extend the amnesty until December 30, 2015.

“Now, we have extended it further to encourage more taxpayers to pay their tax dues. We also hope that by doing so, we can increase the income of the provincial government,” Collado said.

Collado, a lawyer by profession, said the granting of the tax amnesty is in accordance with Section 192 of the Local Government Code of 1991.

He said he had moved for the extension of the tax amnesty, and the provincial council approved the See “Zambales,” A2

SUCH UNSHAKABLE FAITH DEAR Lord, it is good to know that many things wavered in Simon Peter, but not his faith in You and his love for You. It was such unshakable faith and faithful love that sustained Peter in his ministry and eventually led him to shed his blood for You and Your flock. After him, among his 263 successors, many excelled in virtue, holiness and human qualities. Others fell short of the demands of their calling. May we be inspired to possess such unshakable faith like Peter and to live in the state of grace always.

Amen!

Word & Life, Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB and Luisa M. Lacson, HFL

LONE SURVIVOR Growing atop an islet at the Magat Dam reservoir in Ramon, Isabela, is a single tree that appears to be the only surviving tree in the area after the dam’s water level severely dropped to alarming proportions. The extremely hot weather currently plaguing the country has caused misery to people, flora and fauna. In the foreground, a lone fisherman appears to struggle for a catch downstream. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Changes in diesel, gasoline prices expected this week

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE price of diesel is expected to go up again, while that of gasoline is seen to go down this week.

Based on last week’s early trading days in the international oil market, oil companies are expected to implement a P0.50 to P0.70 per-liter price rollback in gasoline. Diesel prices, they said, could go up anywhere, from P0.20, to P.40 per liter. “The expected price adjustment was based on the Monday-to-Thursday trading days. There is no final computation yet for the whole week, but this expectation should be close to

actual figures that will be known on Monday,” a representative of an oil company said on Saturday.

On April 19 oil companies effected an increase of P1.10 per liter for both gasoline and kerosene.

Diesel price was also increased by P1.50 per liter.

Last week’s price increase was implemented after two consecutive weeks of rollbacks.

The year-to-date total adjustment in gasoline returned to a net

increase of P1.02 per liter, while that of diesel escalated to net increase of P1.78 per liter, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Also, the agency, in its web site, said specu lations of oil traders that an agreement on production cut could be reached during the meeting among Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec member - cou nt r ies prompted prices to go higher. No agreement was reached.

Last week the DOE also said it was expecting oil prices to go down this week.

Philippine pump prices are based on the average prices based on the Mean of Platts Singapore or MOPS. This refers to the prices of finished product, not crude. Finished products are the gasoline and diesel sold in pumping stations.

Obama: Brexit would put UK at back of line for trade deals P RESIDENT Barack Obama said Britain would be at “the back of the queue” to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States if it votes to leave the European Union (EU), in a direct assault on the arguments of those who say the United Kingdom could win better deals outside the bloc.

“Some of the folks on the other side have been ascribing to the United States certain actions we will take if the UK does leave the EU,” Obama said at a joint press conference in London on Friday with Prime Minister David Cameron. “For example, that, well, we’ll just cut our own trade deals” with the US. “Maybe at some point down the line, there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

The intervention is a boost to Cameron, as he fights to keep Britain inside the 28-nation EU, with the use of the British word “queue” rather than the more American

PESO exchange rates n US 46.3840

U.S. President Barack Obama (left) and British Prime Minister David Cameron hold a media conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London on April 22, following their talks at Downing Street. Obama stepped into Britain's debate about European Union membership and many other topics during his short visit to the UK. AP

“line” suggesting the White House may have coordinated on the language. The emphasis on trading isolation closed a week that began with a warning from the UK Trea-

sury that a so-called Brexit would cause decades of economic damage.

While campaigners to get Britain out of the EU had begun the week

D.O.T. promotes halal food prep as more firms await certification

TOURISM Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato Jr. discusses the $145-billion tourism receipts turned in by Muslim travelers every year, which the Philippine halalpromotion project wants to take a slice of. MANUEL CAYON

By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief @awimailbox

D

AVAO CITY—The Department of Tourism (DOT) went full blast in promoting halal, the Islamic practice in food-related preparation, and said it would up its scale in the Crescent Rating on preferred global destinations for Muslim travelers.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato Jr. said the promotion in recent years of Islamic food-preparation practices, at least in southern Philippines, has improved slightly the standing of the Philippines in the Crescent Rating, now at 46th spot among 100 preferred nations.

“It’s not a good spot yet, and we have to exert more effort to go up further. We should strive to land in the top-10 list,” he said.

The Crescent Rating is the recognized travel guide among Islamic countries, where their nationals are among the leading number of travelers for business or leisure.

Boncato presented the likelihood of the country increasing its chances of landing at the top-10 list in the Crescent Rating, citing the proximity of Malaysia and Singapore, two of the world’s favorite destinations among Muslims.

He said Malaysia is turning out to be a top destination for Muslim travelers belonging to the 57-member nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), while Singapore is the preferred spot for Muslims in countries that are not members of the OIC. “Fortunately for us, these two countries are within our neighborhood and we have to really work it out to invite them to our See “D.O.T.,” A2

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4239 n UK 66.4172 n HK 5.9798 n CHINA 7.1569 n singapore 34.3814 n australia 35.8827 n EU 52.3536 n SAUDI arabia 112.3724

Source: BSP (22 April 2016 )

A2 Sunday, April 24, 2016

BMReports BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Obama: Brexit would put UK at back of line for trade deals Continued from A1

arguing that the words of a foreign leader would make no difference to British voters, their reaction by Friday suggested concern.

London Mayor Boris Johnson wrote in The Sun newspaper that Obama’s intervention was “downright hypocritical.” He suggested the “part-Kenyan” president might dislike Britain’s imperial legacy.

The point was taken up by Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, which advocates Brexit. “Look, I know his family’s background,” Farage told the Guardian.

“Kenya. Colonialism. There is clearly something going on there. It’s just that you know people emerge from colonialism with different views of the British. Some thought that they were really rather benign and rather good, and others saw them as foreign invaders. Obama’s family come from that second school of thought and it hasn’t quite left him yet.”

Obama rejected that idea. “We are so bound together that nothing’s going to impact the emotional and cultural affinities between our two countries,” he said.

The president had opened with a long statement setting out all the advantages of keeping Britain inside the EU. “Part of our special relationship, part of being honest

is to let you know what I think,” he said, as he discussed the June 23 referendum. “Speaking honestly, the outcome of that decision is a matter of deep interest to the US. It affects our prospects, as well.”

He said international cooperation through institutions such as the EU was good for security and the global economy, even if that came at the cost of giving up a little sovereignty.

“I’m not coming here to fix a ny votes. I ’m of fer i ng my opinion,” he said.

The president met Cameron after a lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and before dinner with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, during a visit sandwiched between a summit of Persian Gulf countries in Saudi Arabia and an international trade fair in Germany.

Joe Twyman, head of political polling at YouGov Plc., said Obama’s words on their own will make little difference. Their effect will be as part of a series of warnings that Cameron will issue in the weeks before the vote.

“He still has heft, but the individual impact of events like this on public opinion is minimal,” Twyman said. “Instead, it is the cumulative impact over weeks and months that is important.”

A Pew Research Center poll in June found 76 percent of Britons

have confidence in Obama on matters relating to world affairs, and the polling company Ipsos Mori on Friday said 15 percent of Britons said his view on the referendum is important to them in deciding how they’ll vote.

“President Obama may not change the minds of many leave supporters—indeed they want him to stay out of the debate,” said Gideon Skinner, head of political research at the pollster. “But he could play a bigger role in bolstering the views of those already leaning toward Remain.”

The Ipsos Mori data show the British public is split over whether Obama should express his opinion on the referendum, with 49 percent saying he should and 46 percent saying he shouldn’t.

Separately, the bookmaker Ladbrokes Plc. on Friday said that 90 percent of all bets taken in the past two days have been for “Remain.”

The prospects of a “Leave” vote fell to 29 percent from 34 percent, it said. The Bloomberg Brexit Tracker puts the probability of vote to quit the EU at about 20 percent.

For Cameron, the president’s words needed little comment.

“This is our choice, nobody else’s,” he said. “As we make that choice, it surely makes sense to listen to what our friends think.”

Bloomberg News

A VIEW of the Santiago, Ilocos Sur Bay, from one of the villas in Vitalis Villas, owned and operated by Artstream Hospitality Management Group Inc. MAU VICTA

Searching for Santorini in the North

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EFORE Candon City and Vigan City in Ilocos Sur became a popular tourist destination, there was the sleepy town of Santiago.

A few minutes from the highway is a different world altogether. In fact, you are transported to Santorini, that fabled Greek isle in the Aegean Sea. Opened last December, the Vitalis Villas is part of the hotel business of Artstream Hospitality Management Group Inc. (AHMGI), headed by Kristine Singson Meehan.

The other hotels under it are Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City, Le Monet in Camp John Hay in Baguio City and Luna Hotel in Vigan.

Vitalis Villa is named after Macario Vitalis, the Ilocano painter who migrated to France. With her father, Rep. Eric Singson as concept

artist, a version of the Santorini was started more than a year ago.

Because the coral foundation was very hard, it took the workers longer than they should. The cottages incorporated the coral when they could, becoming part of the walls, shelves and furniture.

Unlike the original Satorini’s cottages, which were built of pumice, those in Vitalis were carved from the coral and supplemented with concrete and whitewashed with blue accents.

The Vitalis Villas are beautiful, especially during sunrise and sunset, when the sun’s rays play with the colors of the walls and windows. There are 20 villas under Project 1, Meehan said. The second phase will include 50 units. Right now there are three huge pools, with two open to the members. There

are two restaurants, including one serving coastal Mediterranean with supervision of celebrity chef Roby Goco. There is also a conference area and a chapel.

The villas tried to be faithful to the so-called Cycladian architecture of the Santorini, including the lime-washed narrow passageways and sanded façade. The still-clear waters of the cove is also much pleasant than the rough Aegean Sea. Those who want to stay in the Vitalis Villas would be given a scheme when they can stay for 30 days a year and earn them dividends, as well. They can also avail themselves of the various sea activities offered to Vitalis Hotel, like kayaking, jet skiing, banana boat and snorkeling. There is also a 1-kilometer zip line and a petting zoo for the children. Mau Victa

Albay continues to be a ‘mine-free’ zone

By Manly M. Ugalde

L

Correspondent

EGAZPI CITY—A local mining firm has filed application to mine limestone deposits in eight barangays in Albay, operating site of a strongly protested cement mining company.

Minekraft Resources Corp., based in Sorsogon province and owned by businessman Alex Wee Jr., filed with the Mines and Geoscience Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources application to mine vast limestone deposits at eight known tourist spots in the tiny town of Camalig, source of the Mayon pozzolan cement operated by Goodfound Cement Co. The targeted mining site for limestone deposits are barangays Palanog, Bantoman, Baligang, Quitinday, Caguiba, Pirian, Binaderahan and Miti.

Tourism Regional Director

Maria Nini Ravanilla has filed her objections against the proposed mining before the provincial board Committee on Tourism and Environment and the Department of Natural Resources, strongly arguing of the historical and cultural significance of the tourism spots.

The eight barangays form part of the Albay, Masbate, Sorsogon (Almasor) tourism program, an alliance of the three provinces created to promote tourism and lure investors. It is about 3 kilometers away from the Bicol International Airport currently being constructed atop Barangay Comon in nearby Daraga town.

The affected tourist spots are the Japanese occupation-era tunnels, the Hoyop-hoyopan cave, Quitinday Green Hills comprising of more than 100 tiny hills similar to the chocolate hills in Bohol, the Quintuinan Hills, and the Sumlang Lake.

Antimining advocate A lbay

Zambales… motion without objection from any member. The original ordinance, which was authored by board members Alfred Mendoza and Samuel Ablola in 2014, provides that “payment of interests or penalties, if any, for real-property tax of delinquent taxpayers are hereby waived and

DOT…

Gov. Joey Salceda cannot be contacted for comment. Since becoming a governor in 2007, Salceda has imposed a “no-mining policy in the province.”

In 2007, as congressman of Albay’s Third District, he was the leading advocate against the Australian-owned Lafayette Mining in Rapu-Rapu island town involved in the mining of nickel, copper and silver. Lafayette sold the RapuRapu Mines to a group of Korean investors two years later and closed operation in 2012 after its contract for five years with the Philippine government expired.

In fighting mining, Salceda said benefits received by the region from the mining industry is miniscule compared to the billions of pesos earned by mining investors from the mineral resources extracted in the region. Salceda’s term as governor expires in June this year and he is running for the Second District which includes Camalig town.

Continued from a1

condoned, provided the prior years’ delinquencies for basic and the additional SEF, or Special Education Fund taxes, and tax for the current year shall be paid and settled in full.”

The officials said penalties and accumulated interests burden the taxpayers, sometimes to the point

that they can no longer afford to pay their obligations.

“With the amnesty, we may lose some income, but we would gain a lot more. This is better than pushing the people to further default on their payments,” Collado said.

Henry Empeño

Continued from a1

place,” he said. In recent weeks the DOT went to Malaysia in an international conference, “where we announced our readiness and availability of halal establishments and food preparations.”

“This week we will be traveling to Dubai to make that announcement of our improved environment for Muslim travelers,” he told the Philippine Halal Tourism Expo

2016 in a public program at the Abreeza Ayala Mall here on Friday.

Their next target is to attend the second International Halal Travel Guide Congress in Turkey to be held on the first week of May. Last month Ihsan Ovut, secretary-general of Turkey’s Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), told the “BIMP-Eaga International Halal

Congress: An Academic Perspective,” held at the Apo View Hotel, of the comprehensive list of Arabicaccepted halal preparation for food and food-related products such as cosmetics and drugs. His technical assistant, Yasim Zulfikaroglu, also told a news conference that the Philippines, “a neophyte in halal production, has a place in the huge global halal market.”

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

Firm focuses on renewable energy, water-supply plants

By Lenie Lectura

P

@llectura

URE Energy Holdings Corp.

(PEHC), a local investment company, would provide low-impact renewable energy and gravitational designed bulk watersupply plants in the country to mitigate water risks and meet the targets of the Philippines for sustainable development.

“We need to address today’s water problems by investing in renewables and engaging in studies for water use, especially at local and national levels,” said Dexter Y. Tiu, PEHC CEO. Tiu said the country remains vulnerable to critical water shortage more especially with climate change, pollution, urbanization and population growth. The agricultural sector has felt the most damage with a series of dry spells, drought and grassfires around the country caused by El Niño. “ There are many facets to water management that we [private and public sectors] continue to discuss, but there is a lack of a cohesive and sustainable blueprint to overcome this looming threat,” Tiu added.

Through its subsidiary, Tubig Pilipinas, PEHC provides clean and sustainable potable water supply in major cities and towns in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. It has several water systems and projects

in development in Trece Martires, Sual, Labrador, Cadiz, Bacolod, several in the One Negros Region and in Mindanao.

Tiu said run-of-river hydroelectric power plants, as an alternative to traditional dam facilities, ensures lesser impact on freshwater dependency, carbondioxide emission and aquatic ecosystem.

“In servicing potable water and clean energy in the Philippines, our technology does not destroy waterways nor disrupt the natural flow of water,” he said.

Through its renewable-energy subsidiary, Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC), the company provides low-impact renewable energy from strategic acquisition and investment in existing and new hydropower plants, enhancing their capacity by adopting the latest European technologies.

The current projects of REDC represent over 100 megawatts (MW) of minihydropower projects with a capital cost of over $400 million. REDC has recently acquired three of the Philippines’s oldest operating plants.

“We will continue to search for more viable minihydropower projects and develop more water systems, aiming to be a leader in the renewable-energy industry and supporting the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goal 6,” Tiu said.

Sunday, April 24, 2016 A3

Congressman asks Senate to pass measure on community service for minor offenders

A

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

MEMBER of the House of Representatives recently asked the Senate to pass a lower chamber-approved measure adding community service as a form of penalty for minor crimes under the Revised Penal Code when session resumes in May.

In House Bill 5281, Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas of Pangasinan, chairman of the House Committee on Revision of Laws, said her proposal authorizes the court to require community service in lieu of imprisonment for the penalty of arresto menor.

The bill seeks to amend Chapter 5, Title 3, Book 1 of Republic Act 3815, as amended, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code.

Arresto nenor, under the Revised Penal Code, is the penalty of imprisonment of one day to 30 days. It is imposed on lesser crimes, such as alarm and scandal (Article 155), slight physical injuries (Article 26), theft of less than P5.00 (Article 309), deceit (Article 318), malicious mischief where the value is less than P200 and imprudence and negligence constituting light felony (Article 305).

The measure also provides that in cases of violation of the terms of the community service, the accused may be rearrested and the remaining penalty be served in jail.

Under the measure, the court may, in lieu

of service in jail, moto propio, require that the penalties of arresto menor be served by the defendant by rendering community service in the place where the crime was com-

This proposed amendatory statute will greatly decongest our jails and penitentiaries, and conserve the muchneeded resources that could be diverted to more practical endeavors of the government.”

—Primicias-Agabas

mitted, under such terms as the court shall determine and under the surveilance of the barangay captain of the community or a probation officer. Further, the abovementioned defendant shall be subjected to rehabilitative counseling.

“In requiring community servixe, the court shall consider the welfare of the society and the reasonable probality that the person sentenced shall remain at liberty without violating the law,” the bill said.

The measure added that the community service shall consist of any actual physical activity, which inculcates civic consciousness and is intended toward the improvement of a public or promotion of public service.

It also said that should the person sentenced violate the terms for rendering community service, the court shall order his rearrest and the penalty shall be served in jail.

Should the person sentenced comply with the terms for rendering community service, the court shall render an order that the sentence has been fully served.

The bill, however, provides that the privilege of rendering community service in lieu of service in jail could only be availed of once.

The measure said the Departments of Justice and of Social Welfare and Development shall issue the implementing rules for the implementation of the provisions of thw act within 90 days from its effectivity. “ This proposed amendatory statute will greatly decongest our jails and penitentiaries, and conserve the much-needed resources that could be diverted to more practical endeavors of the government,” Primicias-Agabas said.

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, April 24, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

editorial

On Naia 3: Let’s move forward from here

I

F the word “glacial” describes anything at all, it characterizes the pace at which the government has dealt with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) 3 issue. Think about it: The government gave the contract to build the terminal to private-sector partners Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) and German Air Terminals Operator Fraport AG in 1997, invalidated the contract on the ground that it violated the anti-dummy law in 2002, paid the consortium $59 million in 2006, opened the terminal for business in 2008.

Now, in 2016, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the government to pay the private-sector builders who have filed suit upon legal suit against the government for just compensation, $510 million after which, to take over as owner of the terminal.

The whole saga has taken a period of 19 years to work itself out, only six years short of a generation.

The SC judgment stipulated that of the amount, $327 million was for replacement cost and $243 million for interest for the period from 2006 to December 2014, minus the government’s previous payment of $59 million.

Can we now say the ordeal of the Naia 3 is over? If Piatco is known for anything at all, it is for the shrewdness with which it deals with its partners. Expect suits from German partner Fraport and Japanese subcontractor Takenaka and Asahikosan Corp. against Piatco, as they try to wrest their share from Piatco’s tight grip. Will the government get entangled in the legal struggle? We cannot rule that out.

All this is forgetting that the Naia 3 was conceived for the purpose of providing the country with an air terminal worthy of our status as first-class participants in international air travel. It was to have 140 check-in and 188 immigration counters, and handle 13 million passengers a year. But before we can enjoy even a fraction of its technological features, it is already being declared by authorities as obsolescent.

Meanwhile, the terminal continues to deteriorate, receiving no meaningful effort for maintenance and protection, managed by the most incompetent people imaginable, including a staff specializing in tanim-bala, giving us not a handsome global image, but an international black-eye.

All these self-defeating decisions of the government and the circuitous maneuverings of the private-sector partners to circumvent them, however, arise, we believe, from one fundamental cause: The constitutional 60-40 rule on the participation of foreigners in activities in certain sectors of our economy. Piatco didn’t have the money and had to rely on Fraport to provide it, pushing Fraport to exceed the 40-percent limitation laid down in the Constitution, exposing Piatco to the charge of dummying for Fraport.

How much resources could we have saved, how much domestic peace and quiet could we have enjoyed, how much international goodwill could we have gained, if we did not have to contend with this constitutional limitation? But, at the moment, we are not interested in this constitutional prohibition.

Can we now move forward from here?

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Hacking should be treated as a serious national security problem I

F no security contingency plan is yet in place, the country’s armed services (police and military) should immediately draw up one because the likelihood of an election failure is not far removed as a result of the massive hacking of the confidential biometric files of voters stored in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) databank.

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Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

The hacked data included the complete names, fingerprints, pictures, cell phones and landline telephone numbers, individual addresses of 54,363,329 voters and the exact locations of the 84,000 clustered precincts they will be voting in on election day (May 9) in 81 provinces, 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities throughout the country.

The National Capital Region officially listed 6,253,249 voters; Luzon, 24,164,023; the Visayas, 11,316,792; and Mindanao, 12,629,265.

Hackers, who called themselves Anonymous, stole these files as early as last year and systematically uploaded them early this month on several occasions in various web sites, using cut-outs and Torrent software they themselves had cleverly set up to avoid detection.

Just to show you how smart the hackers were, they used the Torrent software so that the data, once downloaded, could be seeded to other computers and make them accessible to many people.

In an automated election, cheating is usually done days, weeks or even months before the voting day.

Just imagine a plausible cheating scenario where preprogrammed results, using hacked biometric voters data, are inserted into the

Hackers, who called themselves Anonymous, stole these files as early as last year and systematically uploaded them early this month on several occasions in various web sites, using cut-outs and Torrent software they themselves had cleverly set up to avoid detection. Just to show you how smart the hackers were, they used the Torrent software so that the data, once downloaded, could be seeded to other computers and make them accessible to many people. memory disc of a vote counting machine (VCM) to favor a losing candidate or a general confusion that may occur if voters’ lists in the precincts are changed minutes before election time using preprinted lists based on the hacked files to disenfranchise voters of a leading candidate.

Losing candidates can also create a winning trend using preprogrammed data copied from the stolen files sent by short message service (SMS) or multiple message service (MMS) from select locations to the unsuspecting media and the Internet or the main frame of the Comelec in Manila.

The main frame itself has a memory of its own, and it can be preprogrammed to favor a particular candidate or candidates.

There are countless possibilities

of cheating using the stolen files.

Up for grabs are more than 19,000 elective positions, from the president down to a town councilor, this coming election.

Why the urgent need for a security contingency plan? Unknown to many people, democracy abhors a leadership vacuum.

Only the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, as protector of the State and its four elements—people, government, sovereignty and territory— have the preponderant manpower capability to take over the government to prevent a vacuum in case of an election failure.

This is so because under the flawed 1987 Aquino Constitution, the President, the Vice President, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House, who are in the line of succession, have no holdover powers to run the government after June 30, 2016.

The 1935 Constitution and the 1972 Constitution, which the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino deliberately abolished in 1986, included the Chief Justice in the line of succession precisely to prevent a leadership vacuum.

In their haste to frame the 1987 Constitution, the 48 men and women, including leftists and prelates, handpicked by President Aquino to write the new fundamental law of the land, failed to include the chief magistrate in the line of succession.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, April 24, 2016 A5

Why we can’t have Goyo back G

OYO LARAZABAL should be back in the Commission on Elections (Comelec). He is the only responsible voice in that body and he is out of it. He cannot be reappointed after completing another commissioner’s unexpired term. And it is a good rule.

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

Elections, like the legal settlement of disputes, and, indeed, any aspect of governance should not be put in the hands of permanent officials and perpetual bodies. Like the word “power,” permanent and perpetual start with the letter “p.” And like power, they tend to corrupt if held too long and unquestioned.

And so it is good a commissioner cannot be reappointed and that the High Court struck down the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ombudsman.

It is even better that the Court did it while the office was occupied by someone best qualified to fill it: Conchita Carpio-Morales. That way, no one can later argue that the Court’s decision was limited to the wrong person for the job at the time. So it

must be with Goyo Larazabal. Still, what a waste: He’s said more sense than the sitting commisssion en banc on every issue before it.

Take the issue of slogans for nicknames: You can’t have that without opening the door wide to a candidate calling himself, say, “Juan ‘May Pera Ka Mamaya’ de la Cruz”—all under 130 characters—for mayor, congressman or president.

A person does not pick his nickname. The nickname picks him: In infancy or early school, but never later, except for the nickname “bobo.” That one is earned at work, especially in public office. The right to that nickname is all but picked by the person who deserves it by his performance.

LARAZABAL

Hamilton, Tubman: Great Americans who fit bill

By Cynthia M. Allen | Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS

W

HEN contemplating the possibility of replacing some of the historical figures depicted on US currency, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last year, “America’s currency makes a statement about who we are and what we stand for as a nation.”

On any given day, I open my wallet and, assuming I actually find cash inside, I’m greeted by the stoic faces of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and, if I’m lucky, Andrew Jackson— presidents, generals and leaders. They are men who, despite their flaws, are indispensable to the American story.

But to many, they no longer represent America’s story in its fullness. US currency has always shown the faces of privileged Anglo males who, in their

defense, were largely responsible for the founding and defense of the US during its formative years. The complaint has long been that this practice leaves women and minority Americans, who have also played a profound role in the nation’s evolution, grossly underrepresented. It’s hard to disagree with that.

But last year’s decision by the Treasury Department to show the face of a woman, without specifying which one, on the $10 bill and to demote the man who currently resides there was ill-advised. The almost yearlong campaign by a diverse group of people to retain Alexander Hamilton on the bill is proof of that. Fortunately, Wednesday’s announcement that antislavery heroine Harriet Tubman will appear on the bill, and the decision to reverse course on which bill she will occupy (she will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20), is the appropriate remedy. It is also in

keeping with Lew’s own statement that our currency should reflect the best of who we are as a nation.

While Hamilton was white and male, he had less in common with many of his contemporaries than most of us realize. He was not the son of a privileged colonial family, the heir to great fortune or military or political dynasty. To put it bluntly, Hamilton was a fatherless child, raised in poverty by a single mother in what would become the Virgin Islands.

An immigrant, he made his way to the US as a teenager and, using his vast intellect and characteristic determination, he quickly became an influential writer and patriot in the fledgling revolution. What could possibly be more American than that? Eventually, he became a top wartime aide to Gen. Washington and followed him to the White House as a presidential adviser.

We mustn’t forget that, in addition to his writings that helped establish our federalist system of government, Hamilton was essentially the inventor of American money.

The first secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton established the US Mint and steered the young American nation through tumultuous financial times. As writer Ben Domenech opined: “Alexander Hamilton was a bastard, but he was a righteous bastard. He loved his country.”

And he has more than earned his place on its currency.

Like Hamilton, Harriet Tubman was a patriot, a woman who loved America and its people enough to risk her life daily for its unity and success. Born a slave, Tubman escaped to freedom as a young woman using the Underground Railroad network to reach the North. But she wasn’t satisfied with her own liberty.

Deeply moved by the plight of her fel-

VW’s diesel crisis is now a global threat I

By Edward Niedermeyer | Bloomberg View

F Volkswagen (VW) was hoping that its $10-billion buyback settlement with US officials would bring some closure to months of hand-wringing over diesel emissions, its timing couldn’t have been worse. A flood of news over the past week showed that what was once a single company’s scandal has grown into a global regulatory crisis. As world leaders gathered in New York to sign the Paris climate accord on Friday, a cloud of doubt settled over one of the most hotly debated areas of environmental regulation.

As the face of auto-emissions cheating, VW has taken the brunt of the scandal’s impact: It has budgeted $18.2 billion to cover the cost of repairs and buybacks associated with its United States settlement and recalls in Europe.

Its stock is down some 40 percent over the last year.

But the emissions problem is now more than just a VW scandal. Mitsubishi has admitted that it overstated fuel

efficiency in more than half a million cars, drawing a raid by Japanese authorities and an investigation by US regulators. Only the second company to admit active cheating on emissions compliance, the Japanese automaker has lost about 40 percent of its market value in the last week of trading.

In Europe the scandal has widened dramatically, sucking in a number of automakers who deny cheating but whose emissions are nonetheless dramatically out of compliance with EU regulations in real-world driving. United Kingdom authorities announced this week that their testing shows diesel cars emitting an average of six times the legal limit of nitrous oxides, an air pollutant, in real-world conditions. Germany’s transport minister announced similar findings, leading to a voluntary recall of 630,000 vehicles

by VW, Daimler and GM’s Opel division.

Daimler could be the third automaker to be found actively cheating, after the

US Justice Department ordered it to investigate its own emissions certification process in the wake of lawsuits alleging noncompliance in its Mercedes-Benz diesel engines. The French automaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen could also find itself crossing the ill-defined line between noncompliance and active cheating, as French fraud authorities Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Meanwhile, the German environmental group DUH, whose testing was instrumental in demonstrating that emissions compliance issues exist beyond Volkswagen, is pressuring the German transport minister to get tougher on the automakers it insists must be actively cheating.

Yet, all this might only be the tip of the iceberg. Thus far, investigations and prosecutions have focused largely on nitrous-oxide emissions from diesel engines. But given the scope of the problems and cheating exposed, there’s little reason to believe the scandal

won’t spread to gasoline engines and carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are considered a prime cause of climate change. In fact, VW was already caught falsifying CO2 emissions, and testing by the International Council on Clean Transportation, which first discovered the company’s diesel cheating, shows there are major gaps between carbon-dioxide lab results and real-world driving.

Manufacturers are reeling from the current scandal, even though diesel makes up just 20 percent of global newcar sales. It’s clear that global recalls and buybacks of gas engines would threaten to put any of them out of business.

The public impact of automakers bending or breaking the rules on nitrousoxide emissions are local: High concentrations of the pollutant are linked to elevated rates of respiratory diseases and cancer in cities with large diesel fleets. But the very real possibility that CO2 emissions, too, are skewed points to a global problem:

low men, she quickly became one of the most famous “conductors” on the Underground Railroad, returning to the South dozens of times to rescue hundreds of others and leading them to safety and freedom. She was so indispensable to the abolitionist movement that in 1856 her capture carried a $40,000 reward in the South.

During the Civil War, she served the Union army as a cook, a nurse, a scout and a spy. Tubman was also a devout Christian, a woman whose faith guided her every perilous journey into slave territory. She was, indeed, a legend in her own time, called “Black Moses” by those she saved from bondage. Tubman will not only be the first woman to appear on US currency, but she will also be the first black American.

If the Treasury Department wants US currency to reflect the best of America, Hamilton and Tubman fit the bill.

all the carefully negotiated terms of the Paris climate accord, for instance, will fall well-short of their desired goals if real-world emissions are higher than the lab-test scores used in negotiations.

With global carbon-dioxide targets at stake, one hopes that governments will be motivated to collaborate on new realworld emissions testing standards that will cut down on rule-bending and outright cheating. Such an initiative could have economic benefits, as well, opening the way for more broadly harmonized regulations that could lower barriers to free trade in automobiles.

The auto-emissions scandal is only going to grow, destroying the capital and credibility of automakers in the US, Europe and Asia. The question is whether it will broaden to the point where a coordinated global response becomes politically possible. If so, there may be an opportunity to make some good out of an otherwise shameful episode.

An ominous collapse casts a shadow over Rio de Janeiro

I

By Mac Margolis | Bloomberg View

N a continent lashed by deadly flash floods and still reeling from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Ecuador, the collapse of an elevated bicycle path in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday might seem a smallish sort of tragedy. But Brazilians know better.

Late Thursday, authorities were still puzzling over the cause of the accident, in which a large wave crashed against a cliff, ripped away a 160-foot section of the bike lane, and tossed it into the sea, killing at least two people. Rescue crews on Friday were still searching for three others.

The wider disaster was hard to miss. The 2.5-mile track, which winds around a steep coastal cliff, was built as part of a suite of sweeping urban improvements ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games.

For two years running, Latin America’s largest nation has been convulsed by nothing, but miserable news. Its economy is in tatters, the president may be forced out of office, and a rolling corruption scandal has shattered the reputations of moguls and political legends.

But there was always Rio. Back in 2009, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this legendary seaside city would host for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the country was elated. Back then, Brazil was on the rise and eager to show the world how far it had come. And what better way to celebrate than to stage the globe’s most prestigious sporting event against the granite plinth of Sugarloaf Mountain and majestic Guanabara Bay, or on a cycling course built over the pounding Atlantic? Even as Brazil stumbled, Rio seemed charmed.

City authorities hurled up bridges,

expressways and sports arenas at a frantic pace. In a land known for construction delays and huge cost overruns, there were doubts: The nation’s biggest corruption scam on record, after all, was wrought by the continent’s biggest builders, some of whose directors have been convicted for padding budgets, gaming public works contracts and paying kickbacks to politicians for sweetheart deals. In 2014, IOC Vice President John Coates returned from a site visit to describe Rio’s preparations as “the worst” he’d ever seen. And that included the 2004 Athens Games, which set the benchmark for chaotic delays and construction glitches.

And yet, Rio’s ambitious mayor, Eduardo Paes, seemed to skate above the turmoil. Although senior members of his party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement, have been targeted in corruption investigations—

including the Senate president and the speaker of the lower house of Congress—Paes remained untainted and apparently untroubled. He seemed genuinely to relish the limelight, scurrying around the city in shirtsleeves to inaugurate parks, arenas and public works, and waving off worries that the city would not be ready for the Olympic opening ceremony in August.

Not surprisingly, his name has often come up as a promising candidate for the 2018 presidential elections, and delivering a successful Olympics would only lift his chances.

By early April, in fact, he boasted that 95 percent of the building was done. One of the handsomest of the Olympic oeuvre was the cliff-hugging cycle course, which provided “stunning views” of Rio’s sinuous south zone beaches, as Rio 2016, the city’s Olympics organizing committee, boasted. The $12.7-million course

was opened to the public in January, and was a favorite for city cyclists and tourists alike.

So far, there’s no evidence that official negligence was behind the collapsed bike lane, although José Schipper, vice president of Rio’s Regional Council for Engineering and Agronomy, told the cable news channel GloboNews on Thursday night that faulty engineering or construction could explain the accident. The project’s technical director was replaced just two months before the cycle course was inaugurated, Rio’s O Globo newspaper reported.

Paes, who learned of the accident as he was on his way to Athens for a pre-Olympics ceremony, issued a statement ordering an “immediate investigation” into the tragedy. “What happened is unforgivable,” he said.

He’ll know soon enough whether Brazilians agree.

A6 Sunday, April 24, 2016

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

NBI starts dismantling web sites that have Comelec database

By Ferdinand G. Patinio | Philippines News Agency

T

HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said late on Friday the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started dismantling web sites that carry or claim to have a database of voters list, which was hacked earlier from the poll body.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body has requested the authorities to dismantle these sites.

“We referred to the NBI to take down sites. Aware tayo sa ramifications ng database na kinalat na nila noon pa...we were already taking down various sites that claimed to have a copy of the database dahil alam namin na delikado i-share ’yan,” he said.

With this, Jimenez noted that, as the Comelec was working to take down the sites, election officials were informing the public about the possible dangers they might be exposed to because of the unauthorized release of the said data by trying to follow these practical solutions: recommend to change their password immediately and call their bank or credit-card company and inform them that they might be part of the leak.

“We have those solutions out there, we are also taking steps to make sure that the web site that we are going to put up again will be safe,” he added.

At the same time, Jimenez apologize anew for this unfortunate event.

“We apologized for this attack on your privacy.... We acknowledge that we have the responsibility to safeguard the data, and we regret that this has happened, that’s why we are making sure to take steps... and we are hoping to make sure that this will not happen again,” the poll body official said.

At the same time, Jimenez said they were also conducting internal investigation if there were employees involved and how the hackers were able to infiltrate their system.

“Kung may kasamang Comelec

employees malalaman natin in due time. Internally, the Comelec is also determining how it happened... finding weakness that could have been avoided,” he added.

On Thursday the web site wehaveyourdata.com uploaded what appears to be the details about the registered voters from the Comelec web site.

The said web site uploaded the hacked voters’ list, as it lets anyone search for any names listed in the database from Comelec. The data included birth dates, fingerprints, passport details and addresses, among other information.

Sorry

THE Comelec is feeling sorry over another case of alleged data hacking involving the leakage of the voter information.

“I apologize for this continuing attack on your privacy and assure the public that the Comelec is doing everything we can to resolve this matter at the soonest possible time,” Jimenez said in a statement.

He added that the poll body received a report on Thursday on the supposed existence of a web site, titled “Philippines, we have your data,” with the data allegedly copied from them.

The supposed hacking incident comes after the poll body’s web site was defaced almost a month ago.

“The database contains a lot

of sensitive information, including fingerprint data and passport information. So, we thought that it would be fun to make a search engine over that data,” they said.

The hackers added that the publication of the leaked data in a public web site aims to make the government realize the importance of the security of citizens’ personal data.

In the said Web page, the users are simply asked to type their full name before clicking on the search button, which would then enable one to view personal information, such as birthday, precinct number, civil status, resident barangay and fingerprint codes, among others.

Jimenez noted that the NBI Cyber Crimes Division is still looking into the said web site and its supposed voter information contents.

“The Comelec has not yet verified the accuracy of the data the hackers claim to have copied, and the investigation is ongoing,” he added.

With this, the poll body official advised the public not to make use of the said web site, or else, risk further damage.

“In the meantime, we advise the public not to use the hacker web site, as it can be used by the hackers to steal your information and, thus, expose you even further to the dangers of identity theft,” Jimenez said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Marquez seeks enhanced coordination for peaceful polls

P

ALO, Leyte—Director General Ricardo Marquez, National Police chief, emphasized during his latest visit to the police regional command here that ensuring the peaceful conduct of the May 9 elections is not just under the scope of responsibility of the police but also of the Armed Forces and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

This, Marquez said, is because of a joint guideline agreed upon by the three agencies this month to supervise peace and security efforts for the May 9 elections.

These same guidelines, Marquez added, were among the directives he reiterated with police officials in the region during the meeting, particularly in creating and implementing a joint security plan in the area, for all phases of the elections.

“Together with the Comelec and the Armed Forces, we would like to emphasize that this [peace-keeping task] is not only the police’s job. We are once again giving more life and power to this partnership with this joint letter directive as we join forces in securing the communities with the conduct of this national exercise,” Marquez said in a news briefing.

Under the Armed Forces-National Police Joint Operational Guidelines, Joint Security Control Centers (JSCCs) in all regions will be activated to oversee internal security and counterterrorism operations by both agencies.

The public may also report violations of election laws, such as the firearm ban, through text messages to their respective JSCCs. Police and military forces are also expected to establish joint

MARQUEZ: “The figure does not say it happens that way.

Hindi naman arawaraw. It would be unfair to say that for Calbayog and for the rest of the province.”

checkpoints with the Comelec and organize a task group dedicated to the dismantling of identified private armed groups.

The guidelines also define the decorum expected of military and police personnel during the election period.

Meanwhile, Marquez downplayed reports that killings are rampant in Samar province, particularly in the city of Calbayog.

Marquez said that, contrary to claims that killings happen everyday in the city, thus, earning for it the monicker “Killbayog,” there has only been a few killings disproving that shooting and killing spree occur on a daily basis.

“The figure does not say it happens that way. Hindi naman arawaraw. It would be unfair to say that for Calbayog and for the rest of the province,” Marquez said.

He, however, assured that, together with the local leadership of the police Eastern Visayas command, there are enough security forces deployed to Samar province to ensure the peaceful conduct of the May 9 elections.

The province, particularly towns in the First District, has earlier been identified as an election area of concern or hot spot. PNA

DOTC postpones groundbreaking rites for Metro southwest terminal Groups campaign against

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

T

HE groundbreaking ceremony for the P3-billion intermodal terminal southwest of Metro Manila has been postponed, owing to conflict in the schedule of President Aquino.

In a media advisory, the transport department said the groundbreaking ceremony for the Integrated Transport System (ITS) Southwest Terminal has been moved to an unspecified date, as Aquino was not available on Friday.

“The southwest ITS groundbreaking today [Friday] is postponed [due to the conflict in the] availability of President Aquino,” the media advisory read.

Megawide Construction Corp. is the lead proponent for the public-private partnership (PPP) proj-

ect, which is envisioned to be the transport terminal facility near the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway.

In an interview on March 30 in Cebu, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said Aquino is “quite busy campaigning for daang matuwid ticket.”

Abaya clarified that he was referring to Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel A. Roxas II. Abaya was answering to a BusinessMirror query on the schedule of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Metro Rail Transit 7.

Referring to the rail facility, he said the “groundbreaking is purely ceremonial” and that “it’s unfair to say that he is prioritizing the campaign over” infrastructure projects.

A quick check on Malacañang’s media bureau showed that Aquino was scheduled to attend the retirement ceremony of the chief of staff

of the Armed Forces, to attend a security cluster meeting at the defense department’s headquarters in Quezon City. He also has a meeting with local leaders in Antipolo.

It will take about two years before MWM Terminals, the partnership between Megawide and Walter Mart Property Management Inc., commercially opens. The terminal will connect passengers coming from the Cavite side to other transport systems, such as the future Light Rail Transit Line 1 South Extension, city bus, taxi and other public-utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.

The project will include passenger terminal buildings, arrival and departure bays; public information systems; ticketing and baggage handling facilities; and park-ride facilities.

MWM Terminals will also hold

the right to operate and maintain the whole facility. It can also undertake commercial development and collect revenues generated from the same.

The deal, won by the consortium in April 2015 under the Aquino administration’s PPP scheme, has a concession period of 35 years.

Since 2010 various implementing agencies have awarded 12 PPP contracts to the private partners, more than the combined six solicited projects awarded during the past three administrations.

The government is currently tendering off 13 key infrastructure projects, which include five regional airports, a prison facility, a port modernization and water project, two informationtechnology projects, and three rail projects.

Experts, academics to tackle Aquino administration record in symposium

‘G

LTE-Advanced launched in Boracay A team of Smart Communications

Inc. and Samsung Electronics engineers perform final testing prior to the official rollout of LTE-advanced (LTE-A) services in Boracay. Smart launched the country’s first and only LTE-A service at the world-famous beach destination, making high-speed Internet available to both local and foreign tourists. LTE-A is the latest technology for mobile data, which can provide speeds up to 250 megabits per second. With this development, the Philippines joins the short list of countries around the world with available LTE-A networks, including Australia, the United States and Turkey, among others.

OVERNANCE, growth, development and security” will be the theme of a symposium that is intended to reflect on the accomplishments of the Aquino administration, as well as the opportunities and challenges for the Philippines, as the country prepares to elect a new president on May 9.

Titled “Philippines 2016: Governance, Growth, Development and Security,” the symposium is cosponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the US-Philippines Society, together with the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). It will be held at the SAIS Rome Auditorium on Thursday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

As President Aquino concludes his six-year term, leading Philippine and US analysts and officials offer their comments and recommendations on governance, growth, development and security, and the prospects for Philippines-US relations.

The first panel on governance,

growth and development will feature former World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi; Gloria D. Steele, senior deputy assistant administrator for Asia of the US Agency for International Development; and Matthew L. Bohn, vice president of administration and finance and CFO of the Millennium Challenge Corp.

The second panel on peace and security, including the issues relating to the South China Sea and southern Philippines, will have the following as panelists: Prof. Zachary Abuza of the US National War College; Prof. Patricio Abinales of the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and Prof. Ruth Wedgwood, Burling professor of International Law of Johns Hopkins’s SAIS. A luncheon keynote address will then be given by Sen. Richard Lugar, former chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, who played a critical role in supporting Philippine democracy and development, and strengthening modern US-Philippine relations. Recto L. Mercene

bet who ‘insulted’ women

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

T

WELVE groups representing some 5 million female voters have urged the 54 million registered voters to junk Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban presidential candidate Rodrigo R. Duterte for allegedly insulting rape victims, sexually abusing women and debasing persons with disability.

At a news conference in Quezon City, representatives of the 12 groups took turns in condemning Duterte, who said in one of his sorties that he killed 16 prisoners at a Davao City jail in 1989 after they raped and killed Australian Protestant missionary Jacqueline Hamill, adding that, as then-officer in charge of Davao City, “he should have been first.”

These groups are part of 100 organizations with more than 100,000 members spread across the country who are now actively campaigning against Duterte.

The groups include women’s rights organizations that earlier filed a case against Duterte for violating the Magna Carta of Women, owing to his “insulting, tasteless and vulgar utterances against women.”

T hey a lso dema nded t hat Duterte investigate the claim of her own daughter Sara that she, too, was raped.

For her part, former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, convenor of the Purple Ribbon for Reproductive Health Movement, said candidates should bare their positions on reproductive health (RH) and must “stop dancing around the issue.” “ Throughout this campaign, c a nd id ates h ave resor ted to motherhood statements instead of laying down specific plants to promote women’s rights, particularly ensuring women’s sexual and reproductive health,” Cabral stressed.

CABRAL: “One candidate even made fun of rape, which is totally unacceptable and insensitive to rape victims and survivors.”

Cabral added: “One candidate even made fun of rape, which is totally unacceptable and insensitive to rape victims and survivors.”

Originally intended to boost the implementation of the RH law, the briefing was thrown into a tizzy after journalists asked the women leaders to comment on Duterte’s statements on women.

Princess Nemenzo explained that Duerte “has no business warning women’s groups who filed a complaint against him for the tasteless crack on Hamill after the bloody carnage in Davao City. Death and rape are serious matters that should not be treated as some kind of comic relief for sick minds.”

Duterte has been quoted as telling the Commission on Human-Rights complainants to “go to hell,” dismissing their case as another “ black propaganda,” but the women-leaders insisted that it was Duterte who created the problem.

The briefing, which was sponsored by the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Inc. (PLCPD) was originally intended to reveal the concerns of various groups on the problems hobbling the implementation of the RH law.

“An overwhelming majority of Filipinos say family planning is important and that the government should fund family-planning services. Candidates should heed the people’s voice,” PLCPD Executive Director Romeo C. Dongeto said.

Sports BusinessMirror

A7

| Sunday, April 24, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph

Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez (2) attacks the defense of Cyd Demecillo (18) and Mika Reyes (3) of La Salle. NONOY LACZA

LA SALLE IN GAME 1 D e La Salle outclassed chief rival Ateneo de Manila in straight sets, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, to take Game One of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 women’s volleyball finals on Saturday in front of ecstatic 19, 961 screaming fans at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Spikers are now one win away of reclaiming the title from the defending champions. Game Two is on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Napakaimportante nitong Game One kasi bumalik ulit ‘yung tiwala sa isa’t isa ng bawat player ko, napakahirap kasi makuha ‘yun ulit lalo na kung back-to-back champion pa ‘yung kalaban,” La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus said. “Mas relax ‘yung mga bata kanina, medyo kahit down kami nung first two sets pero alam ko naman na babalik kami kasi may composure ‘yung mga bata,” he added.

The Lady Spikers fought the Lady Eagles toe-to-toe in the first two sets and took a 2-0 advantage. They built a 20-14 spread in the third set and, although Ateneo trimmed the

lead to 20-23, the Lady Spikers turned to Ara Galang to seal the sweep of Game One. “Masaya kasi one step closer na ’to sa goal ng team,” said Galang, who had 10 points, 11 excellent receptions and seven digs. “Pero siyempre hindi kami dapat maging complacent at ma-satisfy sa one game din lang, kailangan paghirapan pa namin at kailangan ‘yung tingin namin sa goal pa rin.”

Kim Dy led La Salle with 15 points. Mika Reyes was stellar on offense and defense with 13 points on six attacks, six blocks and a service ace. Majoy Baron added 10, while setter Kim Fajardo paced her spikers with 39 excellent sets, including five markers.

Alyssa Valdez was the lone Lady Eagle to hit double figures with 17 highlighted by 15 attacks.

“La Salle really prepared for us and I think it worked. They really wanted to win this game kahit na medyo umaangat kami nung start hinahabol pa rin nila,” the league’s two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) said.

In men’s finals, defending champion Ateneo moved one win away for a back-to-back feat after beating National University (NU), 23-25,

25-20, 25-17, 25-18, in Game One of their bestof-three series. “It’s really a hard-earned victory, but I’m proud my players responded to the challenge of NU, they’re very strong team,” Blue Eagles Head Coach Oliver Almadro said. “I guess that the determination of my players paid-off.”

Ateneo recovered from a sluggish first set and caught fire in the next three sets aided by their defense to draw the first blood in their own best-of-three title clash with the Bulldogs.

“NU will always exert their energy for power kasi doon sila kilala sa power at height,” Almadro added. “So, sabi ko lang sa mga players ko we have to maximize our strength, which is defense, dun kami nakaungos sa kanila, so we really doubled and even tripled our effort on defense starting to the second set up to the last set.”

Reigning MVP Marck Espejo topped all scorers with 21 hits highlighted by 18 kills, as he dedicated the victory to his graduating teammates, namely, skipper Isay Marasigan, Irvin Baysa and Angelo Posadas. Lance Agcaoili

SWEDE COPS SHERWOOD TITLE

O

Oscar Zetterwall of Sweden acknowledges cheers from the gallery after completing his come-from-behind win at Sherwood Hills Classic. ROY DOMINGO

SCAR Zetterwall of Sweden pounced on Kasidit Lepkurte’s early meltdown in sweltering heat, then outgunned Japanese Toru Nakajima in a windy backside shootout to score a breakthrough on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), winning the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Sherwood Classic crown by three on a closing 68 at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club on Saturday in Trece Martirez, Cavite.

It took Zetterwall and Nakajima just nine holes to overhaul what had seemed to be Lepkurte’s big fourstroke lead, but the Thai bet turned from flawless to flawed, bogeying three of the first nine holes after dominating the pivotal third round with a solid 64, enabling the Swede and the Japanese to take the 1-2 posts.

Zetterwall took command with a 34, while Nakajima lurked just behind with a 35 and the duo, tied with Indonesian Danny Masrin after 54 holes, battled it out shot-for-shot and putt-for-putt in the last nine holes until the former moved 2-up with a clutch birdie on No. 12 and the latter blinked and bogeyed No. 13

on a missed green mishap. That gave Zetterwall a big three-shot cushion, which he preserved with another birdie on No. 15 and routine pars as Nakajima’s last-ditch rally fizzled out with another bogey on the 17th after threatening last with back-to-back birdies from No. 14.

“It’s always war on the golf course and I was just lucky I made it,” said Zetterwal, who pooled a 9-under 279 total worth $10,500 and capped another foreign sweep of the ADT events here for the second straight time.

Malaysian Gavin Green also led the foreign domination at ICTSI Manila Southwoods last week. The 27-year-old shotmaker from Stockholm, ranked 30th back home but has been campaigning in the region the last five months, has churned out a previous best joint fifth-place effort at UMW Championship in Malaysia in February. He also had three missed cuts in his first eight tournaments in the farm league of the Asian Tour.

Nakajima, who nipped Jay Bayron in a playoff to snare the ICTSI Wack Wack Championship in 2013, finished with a 71 for solo second at 282 and received $6,900.

Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA MERCEDES TROPHY GOLF UNWRAPS All-Star slots up

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LL roads lead to Mall of Asia Arena as the 2016 Alaska Jr. National Basketball Association (NBA)/Jr. Women’s NBA (WNBA) National Training Camp comes to an end on Sunday with the best young athletes fighting for slots in the All-Star cast and get a shot to represent the country.

With a record 20,000 participants across the country joining the search and were pruned down to top 50 boys and 24 girls from the Regional Training Camps in Baguio City, Cebu, Davao and Manila, only 10 boys and five girls will be selected for the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA All-Stars to represent the country in various tours overseas and have a once in a lifetime NBA experience.

Serving as guest coaches are New Orleans Pelicans guard Norris Cole and WNBA champion Taj McWilliams-Franklin who were in the country to help the players develop their skills.

“I’ve heard that basketball is a way of life in the Philippines, and I look forward to experience this passion during my first visit in the country,” said Cole, who also played with Miami Heat averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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HE chase for golf glamour and glory fires off on Monday with a select group of 216 players clashing not only for top honors in various divisions, but also for precious spots in the 2016 Mercedes Trophy Asian Finals in Australia.

The 11th staging of the Mercedes Trophy Golf Invitational is one event marked in the calendar of Mercedes-Benz owners with this year’s battle tipped to go the way it did in the past editions, the titles disputed in competitive but friendly atmosphere.

The posh Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club in Cabuyao, Laguna, is this year’s host of the event backed by major sponsors Shell Helix Ultra, TW Steel, Makati Shangri-La, QBE Seaboard Insurance and PLDT Alpha.

Three division champions, along with their respective runners-up and one lady winner, will represent the Philippines in the Mercedes Trophy Asian Finals in Gold Coast in business

class via Philippine Airlines. They will be pitted against the top winners in the other exclusive series of invitational tournaments conducted in the region for Mercedes-Benz owners.

A brand-new Mercedes-Benz GLE 250d sport-utility vehicle worth over P5 million will be staked as hole-in-one prize in tomorrow’s keenly awaited tournament supported by Philippine Airlines, Security Bank, Canon, Asia Brewery, Johnnie Walker and the BusinessMirror.

Also up for grabs for aces are one Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR Camera and one TW Steel CE 5003 fully automatic watch with 72-hour power reserve.

Joey Magcalayo topped last year’s Division A with Manny Angeles placing second, while Manolo Agojo and Ronald Paulo ruled Divisions B and C, respectively, with Steven Uy and Louie Banson as runners-up and Marissa Vergara copped the ladies crown.

Sports CAVS TAKE 3-0 LEAD BusinessMirror

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unday, April 24, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with guard Kyrie Irving after the latter’s three-point basket against the Detroit Pistons. AP

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UBURN HILLS, Michigan—LeBron James had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving made a pair of big three-pointers down the stretch to help the Cleveland Cavaliers move within a game of a first-round sweep with a 101-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Irving scored 26 points for Cleveland, which overcame a gritty effort by the Pistons in Detroit’s first home playoff game since 2009. Andre Drummond scored 17 points for the Pistons, but Detroit fell behind toward the end of the third quarter, and a late rally came up short.

The Cavs lead the series 3-0, with Game Four coming up on Sunday night.

Down by nine in the fourth, Detroit went on an 8-0 run, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout. Irving responded with a three-pointer, and JR Smith added one of his own to make it 95-90. Irving made it an eight-point game with a three-pointer in the final minute.

Detroit rookie Stanley Johnson, who seemed eager to get into a verbal battle with James and the Cavs after Game Two, scored nine points in a fearless first half on Friday, but James had the final word before halftime, making a jumper with less than a second left in the second quarter to give Cleveland a 54-53 lead.

Cleveland methodically built a 79-73 lead after three quarters, and after a three-point play and a three-pointer by James early in the fourth, the Cavs were up by nine. It was 87-86 after Detroit’s run, but the treys by Irving and Smith helped Cleveland hold on.

Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 96-87, to take a 3-0 lead in its Western Conference first-round series.

The Spurs are a win away from their ninth postseason series sweep and third

against Memphis. They finished the game on a 13-6 run in the final 3:41, and Leonard, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, scored 13 points in the quarter as he shot 11-of-22 for the game and six-of-nine from three-point range.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Danny Green and Manu Ginobili each added 11 points for San Antonio.

Zach Randolph led Memphis with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-21 shooting, while Matt Barnes added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Game Four is on Sunday.

Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 42 points, and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks, 111103, in Game Three of its Eastern Conference first-round series.

Evan Turner, inserted into the starting lineup, had 17 points and seven assists. Amir Johnson added 15 points and seven rebounds as the Celtics closed to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Playing, by far, their best first half of the series, Boston led by as many as 20 points before seeing that mostly erased by a 12-0 run by the Hawks in the third quarter.

The Celtics then survived a frenetic fourth quarter that featured three ties and a pair of lead changes, finally getting separation with five straight points for a 104-98 lead.

Jeff Teague had 23 points for Atlanta. Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder each finished with 20. AP

Nadal avenges loss to Fognini in qfinals

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ARCELONA, Spain— Eight-time winner Rafael Nadal beat 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini, 6-2, 7-6 (1), to advance to the semifinals of the Barcelona Open on Friday, avenging a loss to the Italian at the tournament last year.

The top-seeded Spaniard broke Fognini three times to take the first set but had to fight back from 4-2 down to force a tiebreaker in the second, RafaEL Nadal which Nadal won when Fognini’s pumps his fist afpoorly hit return went wide. ter scoring a point Nadal faces his first semifinal against Fabio Fogon Barcelona’s outdoor clay court nini of Italy. AP since he won his eighth title in 2013. He plays 10th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday, after the German brushed aside Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-1. Also, two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori overcame a lackluster start to beat 11th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 7-5, 6-0.

The second-seeded Japanese will face Benoit Paire in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Nadal was upset here last year by Fognini in straight sets in the round of 16. Fognini then beat the former No. 1 in five sets at the US Open.

Nadal is hoping to put aside a poor run from the last 18 months as he closes in on another final—just a week after winning his ninth title at Monte Carlo.

The fifth-ranked Nadal said the difference this year was his improved ability to remain confident when matches turned against him.

“If this had happened last year, it might not have been a drama, but it would have caused an attack of nerves,” Nadal said. “I am still angry I wasn’t able to go up 3-0 [in the second set]. At that moment, I knew anything could happen.” Nadal was leading, 2-0, in the second set, with Fognini appearing bothered by a right shoulder that he twice asked a doctor to massage between points. But that was when Fognini started to play his best, and it took home favorite Nadal time to turn around the set. Fognini, however, still wasn’t done.

Nadal was set to close out the match with a break of serve after going ahead, 40-0. But Fognini combined drop shots with two forehand winners to force the tiebreaker, which Nadal went on to dominate.

Earlier on Friday Nishikori saved four set points before holding on to claim the first set from Dolgopolov.

“I struggled a little in the first set, but I played well in the second,” Nishikori said. “[After the set points] I was a different player.”

Dolgopolov got sloppy in the second set, making 32 unforced errors to Nishikori’s 16.

The sixth-seeded Paire came from behind to beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, in an erratic performance that saw the Frenchman hit six aces and six double-faults. AP

In this file photo, Prince performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XLI football game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Prince, widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive and influential musicians of his era with hits including “Little Red Corvette,” ‘’Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry,” was found dead at his home on April 21 in suburban Minneapolis. AP

‘MUSIC IN BLOOD, HOOP IN HIS HEART’

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INNEAPOLIS—Prince had music in his blood.

Basketball was in his heart.

“I really believe that was his first love,” said Al Nuness, his coach at Minneapolis Central High School.

When news of the death of one of modern music’s most influential performers reached Nuness on Thursday through a call from his wife, his thoughts went straight to 1973.

That’s when Prince and his precocious ninth-grade friends were promoted to the sophomore team by Nuness.

“He was very small,” Nuness said. “But he was quick.

He could handle the ball and he could penetrate and he could dish.”

And one of the best in the National Basketball Association was a fan.

“Like so many people, I am shocked at the news that Prince has died,” Michael Jordan said in a statement. “His songs inspired me throughout my career and remind me of so many moments from my life. His greatness will live on through his music, but this is a sad day for his fans— me included.”

LeBron James said Purple Rain was among his favorite

movies, and he dressed up in a Prince costume and performed the song at a Halloween bash last year.

“We’re just losing a lot of our heroes a lot earlier than expected,” James said on Friday before Cleveland’s game in Detroit. “As an artist and what he did for music, what he did for people’s lives, like my mother and people who grew up around that era, it was just special.”

Prince Rogers Nelson and his half-brother, Duane Nelson, had a pal named Paul Mitchell. The inseparable trio, while attending nearby Bryant Junior High, wanted to play hoops so badly they used to sneak into the Central gym with their dog and their bikes for some after-school practice.

Nuness had an office right around the corner and kept kicking them out, he fondly recalled in a phone interview on Thursday with The Associated Press.

Prince didn’t cause Nuness much trouble, though.

In fact, his senior class in 1976 produced one of the best teams in state history. Central, which closed soon after, finished 25-1 and sent several players to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I programs. AP