Manila Standard - 2016 August 16 - Tuesday

Drug war: 3 Davao inmates killed DAVAO CITY--Three Chinese inmates were killed inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm on Saturday by two Filipino inmates that they shared their cell with, said Sr. Insp. Jay Nocidal, commander of the Braulio E. Dujali Municipal Police Station here.

He said the Chinese were allegedly connected to a drug triad in the country and were previously detained at the

New Bilibid Prison before they were transferred here.

He said their killers were two Filipinos--one who was facing a murder case and another who was in prison for disciplinary action.

In Manila, lawmen arrested five people, including three Chinese nationals and a policeman, during two separate Next page

VOL. XXX • NO. 185 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 • WWW.THESTANDARD.COM.PH • EDITORIAL@THESTANDARD.COM.PH

Rainy days ‘til Friday; no cyclone on radar

ASSESSMENT. President Rodrigo Duterte, flanked by NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad (right) and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go, inspects the flood-hit areas in Metro Manila and Central Luzon on Aug. 15, 2016.

THE weather is expected to improve with only light to moderate rain expected until Friday, the weather bureau said Monday.

“No tropical cyclone is expected in the next few days, but light to moderate rain will be experienced in the morning until Friday,” said Esperanza Cayanan, director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

“We will leave the cancellation of classes for the local government units to decide.”

Cayanan made her statement even as Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Monday ordered city officials to stay alert as a result of the continuing monsoon rains.

Estrada has placed the city’s rescue and relief units on red alert since last week to respond to any emergency such as flash floods.

Classes in all levels in Manila remained suspended on Next page Monday.

VAT finetuning OK’d Govt opts to lift cover on 30 goods, services

BUB junked to beef up LGU funds

By Christine F. Herrera and Gabrielle H. Binaday

E

BUDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Monday said he has “killed” the Bottom-up-Budgeting (BUB) program that was being used by the previous administration as a political tool, but the Duterte administration has increased its allocation for local government units from this year’s P25 billion to P65.8 billion next year.

“I killed the BUB, all right?”

Diokno told House reporters

CONOMIC managers have rejected a proposal to increase value-added taxes from 12 percent to 14 percent and are opting instead to lift the VAT exemptions on 30 domestic goods and services and 13 types of transactions to bring in extra revenues of P350 billion, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Monday.

Submitting the 2017 budget is “broad-based.” proposal to Congress, Diokno Yes we will revisit the VAT said the plan was to “broaden system and we will lift the exthe tax base,” noting that the emptions. VAT is not a new tax.

VAT system works best when it Next page

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P3.3-T BOOK. Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno (left) hands over a copy of the National Expenditure Pro-

gram to House members led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Aug. 15, 2016. The program spells out the P3.3 trillion national spending also called “Budget for Real Change” and touted to be compliant with the Supreme Court ruling outlawing two major spending practices under the Aquino administration. Ey Acasio

P860.7-B for infrastructure

Infra gets lion’s share of ‘17 budget

By John Paolo Bencito and Maricel V. Cruz

P699.9-B for education

P147.8-B for public order and safety

P120.5-B for agriculture

P151.5-B for health

THE Duterte administration on Monday submitted a P3.35 trillion budget proposal for 2017 to Congress to fund its expanded spending priorities, with the biggest chunk of the budget going

to constructing or repairing railways, seaports, airports and road networks; building more classrooms; and modernizing the police and the military.

The 2017 spending plan is 11.6 percent higher than the P3.018 trillion 2016 budget proposed by the Aquino administration.

Some 40 percent of the proposed budget will go to education, health care, social welfare and other social services, while 27.6 percent will go to economic services such as repairing infrastructure, boosting agricultural and rural production, and generating Next page

Pacman, Ping justify FM burial at Libingan A GROUP has asked the Supreme Court to stop the burial of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio, saying that would violate the Constitution and existing laws.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers filed the petition in behalf of the victims of human rights violations during the Mar-

MILF, BIFF men indicted for SAF 44

Comelec defies SC order on Marcos VP poll protest

By Rey E. Requejo FORMER Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday accused the Commission on Elections of violating the Supreme Court’s precautionary protection order (PPO) that required it to collect and preserve all necessary documents and devices pertinent to the election protest he filed against Vice President Leni Robredo.

In a manifestation, Marcos complained to the high court that on the same day it issued the order on July 12, the Comelec en banc also issued a resolution approving the recommendation of Commissioner Christian Robert twitter.com/ MlaStandard

Lim to back up then erase the data from vote counting machines (VCMs) and the consolidated canvassing system (CCS) laptops used during the May 9 elections.

Marcos said this was “highly irregular” coming so soon after the Court issued its protection order.

“Since the Comelec resolution stated that the stripping of the VCM and CCS laptop units ‘would be conducted starting July 16, 2016, it appears that ‘backdoor plans’ were already being made to erase the evidence needed for the election protest to prosper,” Marcos said. Next page

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tial Law years led by former Rep. Satur Ocampo.

The group filed the petition even as Senator Manny Pacquiao said Monday the Filipino people should not forget that Marcos was voted president of the Philippines and that warranted his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

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POLL PROTEST. Former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.

through lawyer Victor Rodriguez formally informs the Presidential Electoral Tribunal of several violations committed by the Commission on Elections in defiance of a Supreme Court order to protect data and records in relation to Marcos’ election protest.

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THE Justice Department on Monday approved the indictment of 88 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and private armed groups for murder in connection with the clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, in January 2015 that killed 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force.

The department found probable cause to indict the 88 for conspiracy to engage and assault the PNP-SAF members who Next page

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Digong set to visit Asean countries

By John Paolo Bencito

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit the country’s neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in his first foreign trip as head of state, a senior cabinet official said Monday.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte’s trips to Asean countries is

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Remember we are going to increase [the national budget] by spending P350 billion. We have to get that from somewhere, maybe, we reduce smuggling, we reduce two administrative measures, we improve collections. The P350 billion has to be financed somehow,” Diokno said as he submitted the P3.35 trillion budget proposal to Congress.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said there was a proposal to raise VAT from 12 percent to 14 percent to offset revenue lost from a cut in personal and corporate income taxes, but said he was not inclined to approve it.

By some estimates, we could double VAT collections simply by being more efficient in collecting it,” Dominguez said.

In his budget message to Congress, President Rodrigo Duterte said the government would resort to new borrowings and new revenues to pump prime the economy by increased spending on infrastructure to “push GDP [gross domestic product] growth to new heights next year” and throughout his term.

The larger fiscal deficit means that our borrowings will also increase--but these are new debts that will produce results,” the President told congressmen and senators.

The President said the budget deficit would reach P478.1 billion in 2017, equivalent to 3 percent of GDP. Some 80 percent of borrowings would come from domestic sources, and 20 percent from foreign lenders.

In his budget message, Duterte also spoke of a tax reform package.

We will soon propose to Congress a package of reform measures that will create additional revenues in a more equitable, efficient and simpler manner that does not burden the poor,” Duterte said. “It will increase the total revenue effort to

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during the turnover of the P3.35trillion national budget to Congress.

Asked if the Duterte administration didn’t simply rename the program, Diokno said: “There is no more BUB in the budget.”

Diokno cited the example of a small island of Camiguin under former congressman Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, a party mate of former President Benigno Aquino III in the Liberal Party, which was allotted P600 million in BUB funds.

Romualdo is now governor of Camiguin while his brother Xavier Javier was elected congressman representing the lone district.

“Because when we came in, I

tentatively set between August 23 to 30.

“Duterte will pay the traditional courtesy

about 17 percent of GDP in 2018.

By 2022, the revenue effort should reach about 18 percent of GDP, comparable to other countries in Southeast Asia.”

By 2017, the President said the total revenue collections are expected to reach P2.48 trillion, or roughly 10 percent more than what the government targeted to collect in 2016.

It is equivalent to 15.6 percent of GDP. Tax revenues will comprise about 93 percent of the total revenue target and reach the equivalent of 14.5 percent of GDP next year, an improved tax effort compared to 14.1 percent this year,” the President said.

Diokno on Monday denied there was a plan to raise VAT to 15 percent--although Dominguez had mentioned a similar proposal at 14 percent.

The estimated revenues in the 2017 budget, however, were based on a 12 percent VAT rate, Diokno said.

We also expect to collect from non-tax revenues. We have increased the budget deficit from 2.5 percent to 3 percent of GDP. I think that is manageable deficit for the next six years… I think that will allow us to address the backlogs in public infrastructure and the needs of the Filipino people for a higher spending for education, and health and social welfare, also to address the requirements of the President to pursue peace and order and antidrug policy in the Philippines, Diokno said.

So there’s no truth to the rumor that we’re going to increase the VAT from 12 percent to 15 percent. The VAT rate will remain at 12 percent but we will lift some of the exemptions on VAT coverage,” Diokno said.

Dominguez, on the other hand, said it was high time to adjust the tax on petroleum, given the low oil prices in the world market.

The Finance Department, he said, is studying different proposals that would increase fuel taxes.

was surprised...P600 million for Camiguin. Fantastic! That might be enough to sink Camiguin, right?” he said in Filipino. “So, apparently, there’s no rhyme or reason in the allocation of resources.”

Duterte lost heavily in Camiguin during the May elections, one of the three provinces in Mindanao where he lost big to LP’s Manuel Roxas II. Diokno also said the budget for the previous administration’s controversial Conditional Cash Transfer or CCT program was increased from P65 billion to P78.7 billion, of which amount some P23.4 billion will go to a rice subsidy for 3 million eligible households.

But Diokno said killing the BUB did not mean the national government would no longer help municipalities in the provinces.

Christine F. Herrera

calls as a new President,” Andanar said.

Sources said Duterte will first visit Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, in a bid to improve ties with the Southeast Asian power.

Special Assistant to the President Secretary Christopher Go confirmed that President is scheduled to visit Laos on September 6 to 7 for the turnover of the chairmanship of the Asean.

Duterte had earlier asked Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay to repre-

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more jobs and livelihood opportunities. Some 22 percent is allotted to general public services and defense, while about 10 percent will go to debt servicing.

Education will have the biggest chunk of the budget, with an allocation of P699.95 billion, or 20.9 percent of the total spending plan.

The Department of Education will get P570.4 billion, a 31 percent hike from its 2016 allocation, and will include a P2.8 billion allotment for hiring 53,831 additional teachers and P124.6 billion for the construction and replacement of 37,500 classrooms, particularly for Senior High School.

“If we are to compete with the rest of the world, then the government must invest more for its greatest resource--its people,” Duterte said.

To address the country’s inadequate infrastructure, the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be increased to P860.7 billion, P19.5 billion higher than its allocation this year, and equivalent to 5.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to bring the country at par with its neighbors.

Some P355.7 billion will be allocated to transport infrastructure such as railways, seaports, airports and road networks. Some P31.5 billion will be set aside for the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure network to lower the cost of logistics in the region, while P75.8 billion will fund flood control systems such as the Manila Core Drainage Project and the Mindanao River Basin Flood Control Projects.

The administration also prom-

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“We also should not forget his contributions to the country despite declaring Martial Law that was blamed for human rights violations,” Pacquiao said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would not violate any laws.

The petitioners say if Marcos’ burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery is allowed, it will likely jeopardize their $2-billion claim for damages against the Marcoses for their human rights violations.

“The said judgment is pending execution and the burial of Marcos in LMB could affect the already difficult search for Marcos’ hidden wealth and the full execution of the judgment,” the petitioners said.

Named respondents in the petition were Rear Admiral Ernesto

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“Thus, if Comelec already made plans to erase the election data four days after the public announcement of the PPO--could it be that the Comelec was trying to fast-track the stripping of election data before the PPO could officially be served on them?” the manifestation said.

Marcos also said the Comelec’s decision to limit the stripping to its Sta. Rosa, Laguna warehouse was highly suspicious, since the poll agency had six other warehouses where its machines were stored during the May elections. “[T]he issuance of the resolution approving the backing up of the SD cards and CCS units and the subsequent stripping of the VCMs and CCS laptop units is a blatant violation of the express and clear directive of this honorable tribunal as contained in the PPO, which categorically ordered Comelec to

preserve and safeguard the integrity of all the ballot boxes and their contents, voter registration records, audit and transmission logs, automated election equipment, and other documents and paraphernalia used in all the 92,509 clustered precincts nationwide,” Marcos said.

The Comelec earlier said the stripping of VCMs and CCS was necessary so that they could return the leased machines to poll technology provider Smartmatic.

But Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said they have not yet started stripping the machines and would abide by the order of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and the Senate Electoral Tribunal.

The Comelec chairman also said that the option to purchase the VCMs would be triggered if the machines are not returned by Dec. 1.

The stripping of the machines will involve the backing up of files from the SD cards and the hard drives of the CCS laptops.

operations in Binondo and Las Piñas City during the weekend.

In Quezon City, five suspected drug pushers were killed and another was wounded in a shootout on Monday following a buy-bust operation.

Quezon City Police Chief Guill-

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were cornered in a cornfield in Tukanalipao village in Mamasapano.

“The respondents acted in conspiracy, waited for each other, encircled the SAF and shot them from all directions,” the department said in a resolution.

“Testimonial evidence shows the MILF, BIFF and PAGs knew they were engaging the PNP-SAF as early as 8 a.m.”

Probers said the respondents

sent him in the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which will gather 53 leaders from Asia and Europe, citing that he needs to focus first “on domestic issues.”

Duterte is seen to court the support of various Asean powers in the ongoing maritime row with China after the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected as groundless Beijing’s claims over much of the disputed South China Sea.

Tornado wrecks more than 200 Baseco houses

By Sandy Araneta MORE than 200 houses in the Baseco compound in Tondo were damaged after a tornado hit Manila Sunday afternoon.

The tornado lasted at least 15 minutes and also passed through Sampaloc and Intramuros.

Five persons were killed and about 20 people were injured, reports said. Several persons were also reported missing after the incident.

Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Johnny Yu said between 15 to 20 people were injured when the tornado hit, though most of them were only bruised and were treated on-site. Two were taken to the hospital, but also for minor injuries.

Baseco compound residents said the tornado came from the sea and first hit Block 1 Gasangan.

Chris Hispano, chairman of Barangay 649, Zone 68, said it ripped off the roofs of most of the houses. He said some houses were wrecked.

Yu said Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada met with residents and said he will provide them with clothes, food and materials for repairing their houses.

ised to revitalize public-private partnership projects.

In his budget message, Duterte said he will not limit the administration to solicited PPP projects, but also to allow the private sector “to propose innovative and viable projects outside our pipeline.”

“We will also invite the private sector to help with the operation and maintenance of infrastructure facilities after the government constructs them,” Duterte said.

The Department of Interior and Local Government will receive the third highest budget allocation, with P150.05 billion. Some P552.7 billion will be allocated to local government units (LGUs) with P486.9 billion of that coming automatically from their internal revenue allotments (IRA).

The Philippine National Police, which is under the supervision of the DILG, will get an increased budget of P110.4 billion to fill up 10,000 police officer positions and to fund its capability enhancement program, which includes the acquisition of more guns and patrol vehicles.

The Department of National Defense (DND) will get the fourth highest budget appropriation with P134.5 billion, including P130.6 billion to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to intensify its counter-terrorism efforts and protect the national borders.

The Revised AFP Modernization Program will have P25 billion to give soldiers more weapons and equipment.

In his budget message, Duterte promised to increase the salaries of policemen, soldiers, and other uniformed personnel.

“I will fulfill that promise. We will pursue a law that increases the

base pay of uniformed personnel but reforms the pension system of retirees,” he said.

The budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be increased to P129.9 billion, which includes provisions for a P17.9 billion social pension for all indigent senior citizens; P78.7 billion to fund the Conditional Cash Transfer program, with a P23.4 billion rice allowance for 3 million eligible household beneficiaries; and P9.6 billion to fund the Sustainable Livelihood Program, estimated to benefit about 381,978 families.

The Department of Health (DOH)’s budget will be expanded to P151.5 billion from the 2016 level of P132.7 billion, with P94.0 billion to be used by to sustain the implementation of the Universal Health Care Program; P50.2 billion to fund the health insurance of 15.4 million families, 5.4 million senior citizens, and 48,221 rebel returnees; P7.0 billion to hire 435 doctors, 15,321 nurses, 3,100 midwives, and 243 dentists; P4.3 billion to support the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law; and P21.9 billion to fund health facilities such as the construction and rehabilitation of 58 DOH hospitals and 16 drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers.

Funding for state universities and colleges (SUCs) will be increased by P58.8 billion, 18.4 percent higher than its 2016 allocation, with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) receiving P134 billion to fund the expanded scope of its student financial programs and to improve the K-to-12 transition program.

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Enriquez, Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; General Ricardo Visaya, AFP Chief of Staff; Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; and the heirs of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

The petitioners say the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in ordering and allowing Marcos’ burial at the Libingan through a memorandum issued on Aug. 7, 2016 by Lorenzana.

“Respondents’ reliance on existing laws and guidelines that absolutely allows the burial of Marcos in LNMB is without legal basis,” the petitioners said.

They insist on the validity of the 1993 agreement between then President Fidel Ramos and the Marcos family that the late strongman will be buried in Ilocos Norte.

“The fact that former President Ramos and the succeeding presi-

dents have exercised discretion and refused the burial of Marcos in the LNMB shows that such an assertion that Marcos has a right to be buried in the LNMB is without statutory support. In fact, the reverse is true and Marcos is not qualified under any law or guideline,” the petition says.

The petitioners say existing laws prohibit Marcos’ burial at the LNMB, such as AFP Regulations G 161-373, which says “those who have been dishonorably discharged from service, or personally convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, do not qualify for interment.

The petitioners also say Marcos’ burial at the Libingan would violate Republic Act 289 or “An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon for Presidents of the Philippines, National Heroes and Patriots of the Country.”

Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

“We should not let our guard down,” Estrada said.

The monsoon-driven rain that inundated parts of Luzon and the Visayas in the past few days has left at least six people dead and thousands evacuated to higher ground.

Cayanan said the western section of Luzon will continue to experience moderate to heavy rain at night. Light to moderate rain is expected in Southern Luzon particularly in the Bicol region.

Mina Marasigan, spokeswoman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the monsoon rains killed at least six people but one of those was still under “confirmatory report status.”

She said six people were injured.

“We cannot confirm yet the 6th fatality because we’ve no official report coming in as of the moment,” Marasigan said.

“But we have received a report that one of the seven trapped people was rescued alive, so the rescue operation continues for the other five.”

Marasigan said the victims were trapped on Saturday inside a mining tunnel reportedly owned by a Chinese national in Quezon province.

Reports said all of them were from Baguio City.

Disaster officials said 19,406 families or 80,467 people were affected by floods. Of those, 11,087 families or 50,592 people remained in 104 evacuation centers in Bataan, Zambales, Bulacan and Rodriguez, San Mateo and Cainta in Rizal province. Florante S. Solmerin and Sandy Araneta

ermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the fatalities remained unidentified.

Meanwhile, a group of supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte who helped him during the campaign slammed Vice President Leni Robredo Monday for her allegedly negative comments on the ongoing ant-criminality campaign being conducted by the government, insinuating that the killings were deliberate.

The group People’s National

Movement for Federalism criticized Robredo, who ran under the Liberal Party, for her “misguided statements” that it said caused more harm than good.

The city governments of Makati and Taguig have joined the police campaign against the drug syndicates operating in and outside night establishments in their localities, particularly in the Bonifacio Global City where drugs were

reportedly being used and sold openly.

They made the decision after Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said high-end clubs and bars in the cities were the next target of the government’s intensified campaign against prohibited drugs. Pearl A. Gajunera, Sandy Araneta, Rio N. Araja, John Paolo Bencito and Joel E. Zurbano

knew that the SAF members were people in authority.

“The SAF men were in actual performance of their duty when assaulted and atrociously killed,” the resolution says.

The resolution covered only the deaths of 35 members of the 55th Special Action Company of the SAF. The 55th SAC served as the blocking force for the 84th Seaborne, the main unit that attacked and killed wanted Jemaah Islamiyah leader and bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan inside his hut in Pidsandawan, Mamasapano.

Only PO2 Christopher Lalan survived the day-long firefight with combined elements of the MILF, BIFF and PAGs. But the department said no charges could be filed for the meantime for the death of the nine members of the 84th Seaborne due to the lack of witnesses.

The respondents were identified by a witness who is only known by the code name “Marathon.” He is now under the government’s Witness Protection Program.

Marathon, who identified some of the respondents, said the SAF

commandos of the 55th SAC were already raising their hands to surrender but were still fired upon.

Aside from murder, the respondents are also liable for theft for allegedly stealing the firearms, communications equipment, night vision goggles, cellular phones and other personal belongings of the slain SAF commandos.

The release of the resolution was deliberately withheld by then acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas due to certain sensitivities, although he did not elaborate on it.

Rey E. Requejo

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QC dad confesses drug use

IN BRIEF Govt agency cracks down on Pokemon A NUMBER of Metro Manila Development Authority personnel, including key officers, have become so addicted with “Pokemon Go” that Chairman Emerson Carlos has imposed a ban on playing the mobile game at the agency.

“In this regard, all employees of this Authority are directed to refrain from playing the said game during office hours or while on duty as this hampers the operation of the office, thus affecting the productivity of the Authority,” said Carlos in a memorandum issued Aug. 8.

The MMDA chief also warned his men that “those who will be caught violating the memo shall be dealt with administrative sanctions accordingly.”

The agency earlier advised the public, particularly Pokemon Go players to prioritize safety and to be vigilant while playing the game especially on the streets. Joel E. Zurbano

Oil prices go up P0.70 FUEL pump prices went up by as much as P0.70 per liter starting Tuesday, breaking the sixth consecutive weeks of oil price rollbacks.

The price increase reflected optimism of latest data from the International Energy Agency that there is no oversupply during the second half and amid reports that Saudi Arabia is ready to help support prices.

Oil prices were further driven by speculation that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet next month to restrain output.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Purisima allowed to travel THE Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has allowed former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima to visit his son in the United States from September 5 to 27.

Based on the anti-graft court ruling, Purisima is free to leave the country during those dates after submitting itinerary to his trip and posted P30,000 travel bond last August 12.

Purisima, who earlier entered a not guilty plea, said his departure to the US with his family was scheduled even before the case was filed against him last March.

Maricel V. Cruz

I’M JUST A VICTIM. Quezon City Councilor Hero Clarence Bautista delivers a privilege speech during a session of the city council admitting that he is a drug user and was only a victim, not a protector of drug traffickers. Manny Palmero

Govt, MILF agree to quicken process T

HE government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front agreed to reconstitute the so-called Bangsamoro Transition Commission and hold subsequent meetings in the Philippines to hasten the implementation of a more inclusive Bangsamoro, according to Peace Secretary Jesus Dureza.

“Within a record time of just six weeks soon after the start of the Duterte administration, the new architecture for peace between the government and the Bangsamoro has been drawn and crafted with the initial building blocks immediately set in place,” Dureza said a day after the talks in Kuala Lumpur.

Dureza thanked the MILF, under the leadership of Murad Ibrahim, for their acceptance of the government’s “inclusivity and convergence approach”

toward peace in Mindanao which has been racked by conflict for almost 50 years.

He said the MILF agreed during the talks in Kuala Lumpur to increase the membership of the BTC from the original 15 to 21 so that other stakeholders, like the Moro National Liberation Front and the indigenous peoples of Mindanao, are included in the process.

Dureza said both panels, led by govertment peace negotiator

Irene Santiago and Mohaqher Iqbal of the MILF, also agreed that the venue of the next meetings will henceforth be in the Philippines “with the closure of the negotiations phase and the onset of the implementation stage.”

The government agreed to work for the early passage of the proposed Bangsamoro enabling law that will be crafted by the BTC as the BTC also begins implementing the provisions of the envisioned Bangsamoro law.

Dureza said both panels agreed to hold a joint strategic planning session of both panels which also craft their own terms of reference; review current mechanisms and align such with the evolving implementation phase.

“These series of fast-paced steps are in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s avowed commitment to quicken the pace of the peace process to bring about an early and much-needed

end to conflict in the region and throughout the land,” Dureza said.

The next panel meeting is set August 30 in Davao City.

The 12,000-strong MILF has waged a bloody insurgency in the mainly Muslim southern Philippines since the 1970s but the 2014 accord had raised hopes of a lasting peace.

Under the accord, the rebels would have only given up their arms after a law was passed creating an autonomous homeland in Mindanao and a regional government was elected.

The plebiscite approving the so-called Bangsamoro Basic Law was meant to take place alongside the May 2016 general election but questions on the legality of some provisions and a bungled raid into MILF territory that killed 44 police commandos in 2015 derailed the passage of the law.

Cebuanos blamed for Rody’s manners

By John Paolo Bencito P R E S I D E N T I A L spokesperson Ernesto Abella blamed President Rodrigo Duterte’s past faux pas in several public speaking engagements to the culture of Cebuanos whom he described as having a “very rough kind of humor” that is prone to failure of translation.

“Let’s put this way,” Abella said in an interview with the international news agency Al-Jazeera, “I understand that there’s a culture clash here, but I understand where he’s coming from because it’s a particular subculture.”

“The Cebuano subculture speaks in a very rough kind of humor,” the Palace official said, “but I understand, that’s why my task is to be able to interpret him and act as a conduit and bring out the true intention of the president.”

Abella, a former pastor who was pushed to the forefront of the Duterte administration, buckled under the questioning of British political journalist Mehdi Hasan who said “your job must surely be an impossible one having to spin for him.”

Hasan noted the instances when Duterte said “he’d kill his own kids if they took drugs, who makes jokes about

wanting to rape women, who’s called the US ambassador a gay son of bitch and the Pope a son of a prostitute.”

The mild-mannered Abella could only blame Duterte’s “Cebuano upbringing” or that the remarks that were either made in Cebuano or Tagalog languages were difficult to translate.

“What’s was the true intention when [Duterte] said he wished he had raped the Australian missionary before she had been gang-raped?”

Hasan asked.

“It was a joke, a joke that was difficult to translate,” said Abella, apparently taken aback by the question.

Abella later blamed the administration of former President Benigno Aquino for Duterte’s ongoing bloody war against narcotics traffickers.

“This would not be happening if it had been addressed a few years back,” Abella said “All these things that are happening right now are simply a cleaning-up that [should have been done] years back.”

More than 700 people have already been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. The controversial president also threatened to declare martial law if the courts interfered with the country’s “war on drugs.”

AT JUAN DELA CRUZ’S SERVICE. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III inspects the one-stop service center that the Labor department launched at the Blas Ople Building of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in Mandaluyong City. Lino Santos

QUEZON City Councilor Hero Clarence Bautista, the 44-yearold brother of Mayor Herbert Bautista, admitted on Monday he uses prohibited drugs but insisted that he was a “victim” and not a protector of narcotics traffickers.

Delivering a privilege speech at the city council, Bautista, the councilor of the city’s fourth district, said he has a taken a leave in order to undergo rehabilitation.

“I am volunteering myself to embark on a journey, a journey of soul searching and self discovery. As in radio and television, this is Hero Bautista, now signing off—a victim of a drug menace,” said Bautista, who was to serve only his first term as city councilor.

Employees of the Quezon City Hall had been pointing at Bautista as the one city councilor who tested positive for drugs as announced by Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte last August 6.

Under the QC Drug Free Workplace Ordinance, chronic users and drug dependents shall be submitted to a mandatory six-month treatment and rehabilitation in a government rehabilitation center.

When employees again test positive after the rehab treatment, he or she may be suspended or dismissed under Civil Service Commission regulations.

Meanwhile, Bautista said in his speech that his case may serve as a lesson for other drug users and hoped to return to public service soon.

“On my return, to champion the advocacy of the victims of nefarious effects of prohibited and illegal drugs, pro-active measures and programs must be undertaken by government to ease the pain of the victims,” Bautista said.

“I thank my family, children, parents and siblings. Forgive me for the courage to stand up with my head up high,” he said.

“This is my whole life journey with the lesson I learned. Rest assured, my colleagues in the city council, I shall echo not only to you, but to the rest of the community,” he said.

“When pushed to the wall, we have to develop strategies to escape over the wall.”

Lawyer slams his ex-partner LAWYER-ACTIVIST Argee Guevarra slammed his former law firm partner Trixie CruzAngeles as a “poser and a swindler” after she was suspended for three years as a lawyer by the Supreme Court.

The high court suspended Angeles for three years after finding her guilty of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility for accepting P350,000 in legal fees despite failing to render legal services to a former client who had engaged Angeles’ services to obtain an annulment.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Cleo Donggaas, a client of Angeles who accused her and co-respondent Wylie Paler, of refusing to refund of paid fees after the two lawyers failed to secure an annulment for him.

Angeles, who is known for her former ties to the Magdalo group and for lawyering for former Iglesia Ni Cristo members Lowell Menorca and road rage shooter Vhon Tanto, is no stranger to controversy, having been accused in the past

by Guevarra of swindling funds in the course of her legal and professional engagements.

Guevarra earlier raised the Dongga-as issue against Angeles in online articles.

Aside from refusing to refund Dongga-as, Angeles and Paler also charged their client an additional P45,000 in extra charges as “consultants.”

Guevarra said in connection with the suspension that “as far as I know, she even set-up her partner (who has long been based overseas) to take the fall with her.”

A4

Opinion

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

The least we can do

A

T THE ground floor of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration compound in Mandaluyong City, as many as 2,000 to 3,000 overseas Filipino workers can be serviced by a so-called one-stop shop. Operations began Monday, Aug. 15.

At least 14 government agencies providing services relevant to migrants’ needs are there. Among these are the Department of Foreign Affairs, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Professional Regulation Commission, Maritime Industry Authority, Home Development Mutual

Fund, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Social Security System, Philippine Statistics Authority, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, Commission on Higher Education, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and the POEA. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. A similar setup will be followed in regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment.

This is in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for public agencies to improve their front-office operations to serve the people better. And indeed if there is one segment of

the population in dire need of decent government services, it would be our migrant workers.

There is no dearth of horror stories about their having to go from one office to another and back again for their documents. They waste precious money on transport fare and even more precious time and energy when they should be resting or spending time with their families.

It is hardly likely that our OFWs willingly explored opportunities outside the country for the sake of going abroad.

Chances are, they tried to find gainful employment with adequate earnings here—and failed. It is not for lack of abil-

ity or effort that they finally decided to make the sacrifice of working in a foreign land to improve their lot.

For many years, the government has given our OFWs ample recognition, citing their contributions to the economy in terms of dollar reserves and the personal consumption and investments that they boost.

Their poignant stories of loss, risk, and sacrifice have also been highlighted. Anything for the family—so goes the narrative.

The recognition has not been matched by action to provide them better options. Attempts have been, at best, only halfway successful. Poverty and

inequality here at home have in fact worsened, prompting more to go away—and stay away.

This new administration promises a lot. While we await for the promises to materialize —if they will—the government can at the very least refrain from compounding the hassles and inconveniences for our migrant workers. These small things count for a lot. Small things like this one-stop shop.

We have yet to see whether it achieves its purpose and points to better things in store for the migrants, or whether it would become just another thoughtful idea, novel at first but unsustained and useless in the long run.

EAGLE EYES TONY LA VIÑA

President Duterte’s executive order on FOI

The catbird seat

LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES THERE’S only one question that will remain, if the Supreme Court rules on the Marcos burial case: If the tribunal decides against those who want to prevent the interment, will all the “decent” minions of the Aquino family accept it?

Yes, the Supreme Court has finally been asked to rule on the plan of the Duterte administration to bury the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, through a petition for certiorari and the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the military and the Marcos family. This is a good thing, really, whether you believe that the former strongman deserves the burial or not.

As President Rodrigo Duterte himself explained it, this is something that the Yellows should have done a long time ago, if they really wanted to prevent the burial. If there had been a court ruling at any time

in the 30 years or so that were bookended by two Aquino presidencies, Duterte is saying, then none of the current handwringing and teeth-gnashing would have been necessary; Duterte, for all his admiration for the dead Marcos, would certainly have looked at the ruling and thought nothing more of the matter.

But like the question of who really ordered the killing of the Yellow patriarch, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. in 1983, the issue of whether or not Marcos should be buried at the Libingan was never really given a lot of thought

by Ninoy’s family. And you’d think that these things would be top-of-mind considerations for anyone who has ever worn the yellow ribbon as a political talisman.

The truth of the matter is, the Aquinos and their supporters have merely assumed that

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no thoughtful, self-respecting Filipino (or Filipino president, for that matter) would allow the burial. And that no court ruling on the issue was ever going to

The Yellows are outraged that Marcos would be buried at Libingan.

What’s next, claims that Cory was not saintly?” be necessary, they thought, for the same reason.

But this is the same flawed assumption that has led the Yellows to believe that, in 1986, all Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez Former Chief Justice Renato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Maan Ilustre Edgar M. Valmorida

of the Philippines was present at Edsa. Simply because enough of them were there, the Aquino fans thought they represented the entire citizenry—and that, furthermore, they were and have since then been unerringly correct, politically, morally and legally.

This, ultimately, explains the outrage of the Yellows: that someone like Duterte would dare to do what to them is unthinkable and bury Marcos in a cemetery nominally for heroes.

What’s next, claims that Cory Aquino was less than saintly, thereby disqualifying her from beatification and the conferment of sainthood by the Catholic Church? *** But perhaps the same people who never moved to ban Marcos from being buried forever at the Libingan knew that they never had a legal leg to stand on. And there is no reason to believe that the current petition is

Chairman Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Advertising and Marketing Head Circulation Manager

going to succeed, either, given the arguments put forth in the document.

Duterte is sitting in the catbird seat on this one, as they used to say. Because there is simply no way to legally contest his authority to have Marcos buried in the military cemetery—something that should be plain even to those who filed the petition before the tribunal.

Even the supposed agreement hammered out between then-President Fidel Ramos and the Marcoses in 1993 which brought home the dictator’s remains from Hawaii, legal experts have told me, cannot be used to stop the burial—assuming it really exists. Briefly, that’s because the pact was an executive agreement that did not have the force of law which can be rescinded by another executive order from the current president, Duterte.

Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Francis Lagniton News Editor Emil P. Jurado

TWO days before delivering his first State of the Nation Address, the newly installed president signed his own version of freedom of information via an Executive Order. The E.O. is entitled: “Operationalizing in the Executive Branch the People’s Constitutional Right to Information and the State Policies of Full Public Disclosure and Transparency in the Public Service and Providing Guidelines Therefore.”

The EO mandates full disclosure of all offices under the executive branch.

Section 2 says the order covers “all government offices under the executive branch including, but not limited to, the national government and all its offices, departments, bureaus, offices and instrumentalities including government-owned and -controlled corporations, state universities and colleges.”

Local government units are also encouraged to “observe and be guided by this order.”

It clarifies that information refers to “any records, documents, papers, reports, letters, contracts, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, map, books, photos, data, research materials, films, sound and video recording (magnetic or other tapes), electronic data computer store data or similar data or materials recorded stored or archived.” It also “reminds” public officials to file their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and make it available for public scrutiny.

The EO creates a legal presumption in favor of access to information, public records and official records. Thus, no request for information shall be denied access unless it clearly falls under any of the exceptions listed in the inventory or updated inventory of exceptions circularized by the Office of the President. In other words, there arises the presumption in favor of the legal right of the requesting party and that the request is presumed to have been made in good faith and that such right cannot be denied unless there is a clear showing that it falls under any of the exceptions or that it falls within the purview of section 11 on identical or substantially similar requests.

Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

Turn to A5

City Editor Senior Deskman Art Director Chief Photographer

Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

What to say or do *** PRESIDENT Duterte must In my over 66 years as a realize that he is no longer the mayor of Davao City but the journalist, I have never seen President of the Republic and a President, whenever he apthe leader of no less than 101 pears on television, uttering million Filipinos. His words curses. Sure, these may create and actions affect the entire a few laughs from the audination. People expect a leader ence, but they are not presithey can believe in, someone dential. It’s in the culture of who is able to deliver change Cebuanos, they may say. But, that other presidents have my gulay, he must know he is now the President! failed to do. *** Duterte’s war against illegal Last April 26, 2016, a few drugs, for instance, no doubt enjoys the nation’s support. In weeks before the May polls, the the process, however, he must Department of Public Works see to it that human rights and and Highways Region III bid out a multi-million peso conthe rule of law are observed.

That’s the reason there have tract for the annual operation been negative reactions here and maintenance of traffic sigand abroad against extra-ju- nal facilities for 56 intersections dicial killings amid the Presi- along Manila North Road, Buladent’s determined efforts to can to Tarlac section and along Jose Abad Santos Guagua and end the illegal drug menace.

In his effort to rid the coun- Lubao Pampanga section.

I have written about this eartry of criminality, illegal drugs and corruption, President Du- lier, saying this must be investerte must be told that he can- tigated by Public Works Secrenot go on threatening people tary Mark Villar.

First, it violated Rule 1, Secthat he would kill them. The police who go after alleged tion 3 of the Revised Rules druglords and drug push- and Regulations of Repubers have his full backing and lic Act 9184 that emphasizes protection. This has spawned competitiveness as one of the multifarious problems like principles of government prosummary and vigilante kill- curement.

The bidding was advertised ings and the proliferation of in PhilGEPs under the bidding loose firearms.

The President also commit- category of “Civil Works/Infrastr ucture” ted to launch but was evena campaign tually bid out against coras as “Goods ruption. Still, Mr. Duterte and Serviche must be cires.” This was cumspect that must remember clearly a ploy those he deems to have just a as “oligarchs that he is the handful of bidembedded in ders. The less government” do president now.” the particinot become colpants, the less lateral damage the competias he destroys tion. them.

Recall Advertising was done to how he singled out businessman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin intentionally mislead and to when in fact, around Duterte, prevent qualified bidders from there are other members of the joining. As a result, there were only two bidders: Traffic Supoligarchy.

For instance, you have Envi- plies and Construction Corp. ronment and Natural Resourc- and KTV Marketing.

Next, the bidding category es Secretary Gina Lopez. She is an heiress of the politically in the Terms of Reference was powerful Lopez clan who once changed from “Civil Works” owned Meralco, the former to “Goods.” This was done to Chronicle, and now ABS-CBN. suit the qualification of KTV There’s also the Villar po- Marketing. It was not qualilitical clan with its patriarch fied to bid for civil works at Manny Villar who used to that particular time because it be Speaker of the House and did not have a Philippine ConPresident of the Senate. His tractor Board license. After wife Cynthia is a senator. And being advertised as pertaining now the son, Mark, is secretary to “Civil Works,” the TOR was of public works and highways. tweaked to “Goods” in favor of This is a clear example of con- KTV Marketing.

The second violation of the flict of interest. No doubt the Procurement Villars would need roads in Government their property development Act was committed when the DPWH Form 8 clearly indicatventures.

I respect and admire Du- ed the brand names of goods/ terte as a leader. He walks equipment to be used in the his talk. He has an unwaver- TOR. “...Reference to brand ing determination to put clo- names shall not be allowed.” sure to the burial of the Mar- The two brand names to be cos remains. This, despite the used in the contract, Swarco loud protests of the anti-Mar- and Aldrige, are associated cos groups. That’s leadership with KTV Marketing, the exclusive distributor of Aldridge. for you.

I have been told that Secre*** But why not go after illegal tary Villar has not lifted a fingambling—jueteng in Luzon, ger to look into this anomaly masiao in the Visayas and last at his department. My sources two in Mindanao? Mr. Presi- also say that this is just one of dent, why not also go after the many midnight contracts the Philippine Charity Sweep- that were signed when forstakes Office’s small-town mer DPWH Secretary Rogelio lottery system? Some of the Singson was winding up his members of the PCSO board term of office.

My sources at the departand its personnel commit graft and corruption because of this. ment say that there are many At one time, the President more cases that deserve a secdescribed PCSO as corrupt. ond look. Why is Villar not doWhy not go after its direc- ing anything about them? *** tors and personnel? There are Tourism Secretary Wanda even reports that STL, which is supposed to replace jueteng, Tulfo Teo and the organizers is now under the control of a of the Miss Universe pageant Chinese gambling lord, who should rethink their plan to has become untouchable. We hold the beauty contest here.

According to the Senate, the don’t want Duterte’s campaign against illegal activities to be emergency powers of President Duterte to resolve the traffic selective, do we? crisis can only be passed by *** If Duterte can take an un- December 2016 at the earlisolicited advice, he should est. With the Miss Universe ask his legal counsel Salvador set for January 30, 2017, how Panelo to keep his trap shut. can the horrendous traffic criEverytime Panelo talks, the sis in Manila be resolved? The more he gets the President into congestion at the airport? Are tourism sites ready? trouble.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The Pacquiao-De Lima comedy act HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA MANNY Pacquiao was an absentee congressman. Although he was elected to attend House sessions, Pacquiao spent almost all of his time preparing for and slugging it out in the boxing ring.

Why Pacquiao was not sued for shortchanging his constituency, and for drawing a salary which he obviously did not earn, is a mystery. Under the law, his extended absences should have warranted an anti-graft case against him.

Because Pacquiao was an absentee in the House, his presence in the Senate last week shocked many Filipinos watching the proceedings on television. The freshman senator was dressed to the nines, beard and all, and looked determined to disprove that he is unfit for membership in the Senate. In fact, he was able to deliver his first privilege speech.

As expected, Pacquiao’s speech consisted of many sentences in broken English. From what could be discerned from his disorganized discourse, Pacquiao wanted the restoration of the death penalty because drug syndicates are not deterred by current laws from pursuing their nefarious activities. Pacquiao also cited the Bible repeatedly.

There is no problem about the Bible. The problem is that the Constitution mandates the separation of Church and State. It seems inappropriate that a senator of the republic, who is expected to be aware of that constitutional mandate, based his legislative proposal on sectarian grounds. Since it is reasonable

to assume that many Muslims and other non-Christians voted for Pacquiao, the senator should not anchor his legislative proposals on the Christian Bible.

Pacquiao should be told that any law based solely on religious considerations is vulnerable to intense scrutiny, on constitutional grounds, in a suit before the Supreme Court.

Another freshman senator, Leila De Lima, interpellated Pacquiao. This also came as a surprise because De Lima was not too keen on being interpellated when she delivered her first privilege speech as a senator.

From the way Senator De Lima began her interpellation, it seemed like she was certain that she will be able to reveal to the public that although Pacquiao can practice for a speech, Pacquiao cannot answer questions relating to his speech. De Lima’s style was almost condescending.

In the May 2016 election for the Senate, Pacquiao got more votes than De Lima, who placed last among 12 winning candidates. Did De Lima want to upstage Pacquiao?

Actually, De Lima performed more miserably than Pacquiao did, not because Pacquiao did better, but because De Lima’s remarks were legally unsound for a lawyer.

De Lima started by announcing that she is personally against the death penalty. For her, the death penalty has all the badges of a cruel or unusual punishment prohibited by the Constitution.

It seems that De Lima forgot that she was elected to enact laws in accord with the Constitution, and not to object to laws for personal reasons, especially reasons which are incompatible with the charter.

Anyway, De Lima threw many questions at Pacquiao.

First, De Lima asked if Pacquiao was aware of an existing treaty by which the Philippines bound itself to the international community to do away with the death penalty. Pacquiao admitted he had heard of that treaty, but did not elaborate on it.

De Lima then asked Pacquiao for statistics to support his proposition that the death penalty will be an effective deterrent against drug-related offenses and other heinous crimes. She was almost visibly delighted when Pacquiao was unable to cite figures.

Pacquiao does not understand the Constitution because he has no actual involvement with it.

As stated earlier, De Lima is a lawyer and is expected to know what the Constitution is all about. From her remarks and style of questioning during the interpellation, De Lima gave herself away.

In the first place, the Constitution does not prohibit the death penalty, and even allows Congress to impose it for heinous crimes. If the Constitution itself allows the imposition of the death penalty in certain instances, then the death penalty cannot be considered as unconstitutional punishment.

That is why even if the Constitution disallows the imposition of any cruel or unusual punishment for crimes, the death penalty cannot be considered cruel or unusual punishment within the context of the constitutional ban, precisely because it is allowed by charter itself.

Thus put, the view that the death penalty is a cruel or unusual punishment, as stressed by De Lima, is untenable.

Next, the Constitution can only be amended or modified

with the consent of the Filipino people expressed through a plebiscite. A treaty cannot supersede, amend or modify any provision of the Constitution because a treaty does not enjoy the express consent of the people. Surely, a document that does not have the direct approval of the people cannot take precedence over one which has, like the Constitution.

Moreover, the inferior status of a treaty to that of the Constitution is underscored in the charter itself. Under the charter, the Supreme Court has the power to declare a treaty unconstitutional.

In other words, a treaty cannot be cited against the Constitution.

Since the Constitution does not prohibit the imposition of the death penalty and even allows it in certain instances, the treaty cited by De Lima is not a valid impediment against the restoration of the death penalty.

De Lima wanted statistics which support the view that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against drug syndicates.

If De Lima wants empirical justification, she should take a look at what repeatedly took place in the national penitentiary during her watch as Justice Secretary.

Convicted drug lords, snug in the knowledge that they cannot be put to death, continued their criminal activities inside prison, and in living conditions almost akin to five-star hotel accommodations, in violation of prison rules De Lima failed to enforce in the first place!

Perhaps the ongoing investigation of that unprecedented prison anomaly will disclose the real reasons why De Lima is very much against the restoration of the death penalty.

There’s no such thing as an economic miracle

By Tyler Cowen ONE of the less heralded truths of economics is that growth miracles, while they make for good press, are overrated. It’s an insight that could help us better understand the outlook for developing countries such as China.

Most of the world’s wealthiest and best-governed countries got there without super-rapid bursts of growth. Denmark, which has a per capita income of about $52,000 and is frequently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world, never experienced what anyone would call an economic miracle. If you Google that phrase, the main entry will be a research piece detailing how, in the 1990s, the country lowered its unemployment rate without having to dismantle its welfare state.

Denmark’s overall economic record is gloriously boring. From 1890 to 1916, per capita growth averaged about 1.9 percent per year, and if in 1916 you had forecast that this pace would continue for another 100 years, you would have been off

President...

From A4 The EO also makes the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General the oversight bodies that will decide on requests for information that may affect national security. If the request clearly does not fall under the exceptions identified, the office concerned should grant and release the request within 15 days. Presently, recognized exceptions based on law and jurisprudence include: matters recognized as privileged information under the separation of powers, information on military and diplomatic secrets, information affecting national security, and information on investigations of crimes by law enforcement agencies before the prosecution of the accused, trade secret. Congress may also enact a law providing for other limitations.

While allowing access to public records, the EO also affords full protection to personal information.

Accordingly, personal information in its custody or under control of government offices may be disclosed only when relevant to the subject matter of the request and

The catbird...

From A4 As for the military’s rules and the old law establishing the Libingan (both grounds used by the petitioners), that is certainly an uphill legal battle. The court will have to find that Marcos was dishonorably discharged and/or that he was never even a soldier, the basic requirements for burial in the cemetery.

by only about $200. Denmark had positive growth about 84 percent of the time and no deep recessions, according to a recent study by Lant Pritchett and Lawrence Summers.

Or consider the US, where per capita income surpassed Latin America in the 19th century—thanks mainly to the latter’s stagnation. US growth rates at the time were typically below 2 percent, and even lower up through 1860, hardly impressive by the standards of today’s China or India—or for that matter today’s US. The big advantage of the US is that it avoided major catastrophe for long periods of time, apart from the Civil War, and pushed ahead with fairly steady progress.

The 19th-century Latin American stagnation, aside from wasting valuable time, left much of the region with weaker infrastructure, poor educational systems and a more dysfunctional politics. All of this made rapid catch-up harder in the 20th century.

Slow growth doesn’t mean that the U.S. or Denmark were failures in the 19th century. It’s hard for economies

at or near the technological frontier to rapidly improve living standards, because invention is usually slower than playing catch-up by borrowing technologies from wealthier nations.

Such borrowing of know-how, along with exports and rapid investments in education and infrastructure, is what later allowed the Asian tigers of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China to achieve growth rates of 8 percent to 10 percent a year.

If you’re an investor, the experience of Denmark and other “no drama” growth stories provides some clues to the future of developing economies. The East Asian growth model, for all its wonders, belongs to history. Slow and steady may be the only option left. For whatever reasons, few countries have been able to scale up their educational successes as rapidly as the East Asian tigers.

Trade growth, which exceeded overall output growth in the late 20th century, now seems stagnant. Many export industries are automated and hence don’t create as many middleclass jobs as they used to.

In other words, today’s world may resemble the 19th century more than the last few decades. That could mean fairly low measured growth rates, a premium on stability, few if any “break out of the box” alternatives and a time to invest in institutional quality. American democracy arguably was working better by the early 20th century than it was during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, and that helped America cope with later crises.

What’s also striking about the 19th century is that some countries, such as China and India, didn’t keep up. Indeed, their economies actually shrank for sustained periods of time. They had some bad luck, pursued bad policies and suffered under colonial and imperial oppression.

Foreign rulers often were more interested in control than in producing public goods for the citizenry.

In the next generation, the emerging economies may return to these 19th century patterns. Either they will learn to build slowly and steadily, or quite possibly they will go into reverse. Bloomberg

the disclosure is permissible under the law. Each government office must protect personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against leaks or premature disclosure. Any employee, official or director of a government office must not disclose personal information under his custody unless so authorized under the EO or by existing laws or regulations.

Section 9 provides for the procedure governing the filing and processing of request for access to information. Thus, any person may request for needed information through a letter of request sent to the concerned office along with a valid proof of identity. No person requesting information shall be denied access unless the information sought “falls under any of the exception enshrined in the constitution existing law or jurisprudence.” The government office shall respond to the request within reasonable time but not exceeding 15 days from receipt, unless the request requires extensive search in which case the period to respond may be extended. The government office is also required to notify the requesting party of such decision. Accepting requests is free

of charge unless to reimburse necessary costs.

Under section 11, government offices are not duty bound to act upon unreasonable subsequent identical or substantially similar requests from the same requesting party whose request has been previously granted or denied by the government office. This provision is to safeguard against frivolous requests and a deterrent against abuse.

In case of denial, as provided in section 13, the requesting party may appeal to the person or office next higher in authority which will be decided within 30 working days from the filing of a written appeal.

He may also file an appeal before the courts following the principle of exhaustion of administrative appeal remedies. Heads of agencies and officers who fail to abide by the EO will face administrative cases and disciplinary sanctions. Under this section, denial is recognized as an actionable wrong where the aggrieved party may elevate the matter before the courts for grave abuse of discretion after exhausting administrative remedies.

It must be emphasized that the Executive Order covers only of-

fices under the executive branch. As separate but co-equal branches, the legislative and the judiciary do not fall under its coverage. It also cannot and does not provide penalities, as that requires an act of Congress.

As explained by Justice Ynares Santiago in her dissenting opinion in the case of KMU vs. Director General, Neda. G.R. No. 167798, April 19, 2006, an EO by its nature, is “nothing more than the President’s exercise of the power of control over the executive branch of the government.

While it is true that the President wields executive and administrative powers and participate in rule making through delegated legislative authority, however, Congress cannot abdicate its legislative powers and delegate them, unless the Constitution and the law so grant.” Concededly, President Duterte’s E.O. is a landmark piece of presidential action; however, it is limited in scope and may not even guarantee permanency and continuity unlike when full disclosure is based on a congressional fiat. Hence, an FOI law enacted by Congress is still needed.

Even the prefatory portion of the law passed by Congress compensating the victims of human rights abuses committed during martial law, yet another argument raised by the Yellows, cannot be used as a legal ground to stop the burial because it constitutes a prohibited “bill of attainder.” And the Constitution itself prohibits Congress from declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without a trial, which is what such a bill does.

And so, by all means, let the Court rule. But perhaps Duterte should demand that all parties, himself and the Yellows, should be legally bound by it.

If the couple of hundred nut cases who were at the Rizal Park last Sunday, co-opting a rally organized by a handful of real former activists and Marcos-era rights victims, can be made to do that, then I will forever hold my peace on the matter.

Especially if, as I firmly believe, the court rules against them.

In the event that the court ignores the petition and allows the burial of Marcos’ remains as scheduled in the military cemetery, I expect a lot more people—much, much more than were at the park last Sunday— to attend the rites. And that event, I think, will finally put to rest the belief of the Yellows that the majority of Filipinos are on their side.

Assuming, of course, as the Yellows usually do, that they ever had a majority professing their belief. We shall soon see, won’t we?

Facebook: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs

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Del Rosario’s 2018 leads Bowling World Cup finals

V

ETERAN Liza del Rosario struck hard in the last three games to show the way after the first round of the 2016 Qubica/AMF Bowling World Cup ladies’ national finals last Saturday at Coronado Lanes (Starlanes).

Del Rosario, who carried the national colors in last year’s international finals at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas, Nevada together with former FIQ world titlist Biboy Rivera, shot 210, 226 and 214 in the eighth, ninth and tenth

games to finish with a 10-game series of 2018 pinfalls.

That put her 10 pins ahead of Lara Posadas, who carded 2008 after managing only a 178 in the ninth game.

Another regular internation-

al campaigner, Liza Clutario, checked in third with 1882.

Thirty-one other lady aspirants joined Del Rosario, Posadas and Clutario in the second round.

The 34 remaining lady finalists will roll another 10 games on Wednesday at Paeng’s Midtown Bowl to determine who will make it to the top eight spots in the finals set on Friday, August 19 at SM North EDSA Center in Quezon City.

The men’s and ladies’ champions will represent the Philip-

pines in the 2016 Bowling World Cup international finals slated on October 14-23, 2016 at Hao’s Bowling Center in Shanghai, China.

The other remaining contenders with their respective scores are: Rochelle Munsayac (1846), Krizziah Tabora (1819), Mades Arles (1818), Jo Anne Bonifacio (1761), Myrna Bautista (1717), Gina Varilla (1713), Bea Camile Santarin (1649), Editha Sarmiento (1644), Silva Yap (1642), Susan Viray (1640), Tina Veranga

Arcilla, Pantino gain in net start

(1624), Elvira Khen Abad (1619), Pure Anselmo (1608), Shery Ann Cruz (1601), Leah Naobre (1557), Juvy Santiago (1545), Tina Ocampo (1542), Liza Pabico (1536), Winifred Kilito (1531), Arlena Bucao (1521), Cita Yumul (1499), Cielet de Leon (1498), Ophelia Ireberi (1497), Dhel Marquez (1490), Chit Leoncio (1486), Mildred Estrallado (1485), Arcelita Ledesma (1482), Ofelia San Jose (1481), Cindy Edquilane (1480), Ann Itaralde (1479) and Evelyn Gamboa (1469).

Penn, Llamas headline UFC night UFC, the world’s premier MMA organization, has announced its main event for UFC Fight Night Manila, headlined by a five-round featherweight bout between returning legendary two division champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (16-10-2, fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii, USA) and No.4-ranked Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas (16-5-0, Fighting out of Chicago, Illinois, USA).

Filipinos can expect fireworks in what is primed to be an explosive night of fights headlined by two of the world’s best featherweights.

BJ Penn is a name within MMA and the UFC that needs little introduction. A living legend within the sport, Penn is one of only two multi-division champions ever in UFC and the longest-reigning lightweight division champion of all time. He is also credited with helping to establish the lighter weight division of the UFC. His name when spoken by fans, fighters and MMA journalist alike is usually followed by the phrase “one of the greatest ever…”

Looking to build a legend of his own is no. 4-ranked featherweight Ricardo Lamas. An AllAmerican collegiate wrestler with impeccable credentials, “The Bully” is a veteran of the division with signature finishes over Cub Swanson and Dennis Bermudez. Lamas is looking for a high profile win to put him back on track for a title shot.

The event will be held live on Oct. 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena, marking the second live UFC event in the Philippines after the organizations successful sold out debut last year.

Tickets an be purchased at all SM Tickets outlets or through www.smtickets.com.

Official ticket prices have yet to be announced, but fight fans are encouraged to register on www.ufc.com/manila to gain special pre-sale access and upto-date information on UFC Fight Night® Manila.

FEU bet rips record FAR EASTERN University student Kaylene Mosqueda surpassed the national junior record last July 24 in the high jump competitions of the 2016 Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association weekly relays at the ULTRA field in Pasig.

The 18-year-old Mosqueda cleared 1.68 meters, improving on her personal best of 1.65 meters, according to results released by the Patafa.

She went past the 1.66-meter performance of two other FEU students Aprilen Laudencia in the 2012 UAAP meet and Anjelica Janda in the 2014 Philippine National Games.

The old record of 1.66 meters was equaled by Cherry Mae Banatao of Region 2 in the 2016 Palarong Pambansa.

Banatao shattered the 1.62 meter mark made by Maureen Schrijvers during the 2012 Palaro. Peter Atencio

CLIMBING LESSONS. President of ECO Adventure Club Nazir Ahmad gives tips to climbers during a training session at Shahdara on the outskirts of Islamabad. A dozen young men and women stand before a rock face on the outskirts of Islamabad, challenging and cheering each other on as they take turns scrambling up the limestone in front of curious onlookers. AFP

ARTHUR Pantino and Joseph Arcilla breezed through their respective opening day rivals to move into the next round against the top two seeds in the men’s Open singles of the seventh Olivarez Cup Tennis Championship at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat Monday.

Pantino overpowered Arc Dolorico, 6-1, 6-2, while Arcilla smothered qualifier Wilmer Sabas, 6-1, 6-1, only to arrange a second round duel with veteran top seed Johnny Arcilla and No. 2 Patrick John Tierro, who both drew opening day byes in the premier event put up by Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez along with Rep. Eric Olivarez and Dr. Pablo Olivarez as part of the family’s long-time commitment to develop the sport and help in the talent-search.

Qualifier Jet Asilo subdued Jun Alcoseba, 6-4, 7-5, to seal a duel with No. 14 Jimmy Tangalin, Raymund Diaz eased out wild card Jacob Martin, 7-6(4), 6-3, to arrange a clash with Western Michigan U’s Eric Olivarez Jr., qualifier Mart Cabahug repulsed Chris Prulla, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, for a face-off with No. 15 Noel Damian Jr. “While the veterans remain the favorites, we expect a number of reversals both in the men’s and ladies divisions with a slew of rising stars raring to prove their worth,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.

Other opening day winners in the event, capping a three-week tennis festival that featured the age-group championship and the ongoing team and inter-school tournaments sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and Slazenger as the official ball, were Arcie Mano, who held off Rollie Anasta, 6-4, 6-3, qualifier Michael Madrio, who bundled out Francis Alcantara, younger brother of last year’s champion Casey, who opted to play in the doubles with Bryan Otico, 6-1, 6-1, Gee Abacan, who defeated Gerry Manlangit, Jan Godfrey Seno, who thwarted Dave Mosqueda, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5;

SSC makes quarterfinals

San Sebastian ace hitter Grethcel Soltones (5) challenges TIP’s Alyssa Layug’s defense during their Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference showdown at the Philsports Arena.

Bigger cheerleading tilt slated

By Peter Atencio THE 12th season of the National Cheerleading Championship will be bigger this year.

Participation is expected to go beyond 300 teams, according to NCC president Carlos Valdez with the addition of competitions in the newly-opened drumline division.

“So, this year, it will get even bigger. Because we have drumline competitions,” said Valdez.

Valdez talked about season 12 following their launch last Friday at the Teatrino Greenhills in

San Juan.

The best performers from last season were awarded during ceremonies led by national director Paula Nunag.

The 12th season will reel off on Sept. 12 with coverage by official broadcast partner Solar Entertainment.

Regional competitions in Southern Luzon will kick off the regional legs, followed by other qualifiers in Bicol, Central Luzon, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu.

Qualifiers will also be held in Dipolog, Pangasinan, before it gets going in

Metro Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It will then culminate in a national finals, which will be held for three days on March 10, 11 and 12.

Medals will be at stake in cheerleading, dance and stunts, as well as drumline.

Valdez said they are looking forward to sending the winner of at least one division to the Singapore Open next year.

There are also plans to send a national team to the World Championships in Orlando, Florida next year.

The Poveda School squad is now preparing to join.

GRETHCEL Soltones took charge in the decider, pumping in key hits as San Sebastian College wore down Technological Institute of the Philippines, 25-22, 13-25, 2518, 16-25, 15-7, Monday to clinch the first quarterfinal berth in Group A of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

The Lady Stags came out of a harrowing fourth set defeat with guns blazing with Soltones, the Open Conference and reigning NCAA MVP, atoning for a so-so stint in the fourth frame with a fiery windup, steering the team to leads of 9-4 and 13-5 leads on their way to victory in 1:48.

SSC thus closed out the single round elims among five teams with a 3-1 card, formalizing its stint in the next round of the

Games tomorrow

4 p.m. – Perpetual vs NU 6 p.m. – FEU vs UST

mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

“She (Soltones) started to tire out in the middle of the match but she got her second wind in the fifth that really saved us,” said San Sebastian assistant coach Clint Malazo.

The Lady Engineers fell to 2-2 but still assured of at least a playoff for the last quarters berth in the tournament backed

by MIkasa as official ball and Accel as official outfitter.

Soltones unloaded 26 kills and added two blocks for a game-high 28-hit output while Katherine Villegas and Denice Lim added 11 markers apiece and Joyce Sta. Rita added 10 points and Daureen Santos

chipped in eight hits to underscore SSC’s balanced offensive sock.

The Lady Stags warded off the Lady Engineers to take the opening set but the latter pounced on the former’s listless stint in the next to draw level. With Soltones slowing down, SSC went to Villegas, Lim and company to move ahead again at 2-1.

But TIP cashed in on SSC’s erratic plays to dominate the fourth and force a decider only to fizzle out in the face of Soltones’ scorching finish that saw her unleash six kills.

Guest player Mylene Paat fired 17 hits, Gayle Layug knocked in 13 points while Faith Maturan added 10 markers for TIP, which succumbed to the power-hitting SSC, side, 41-56, in spikes but made up with solid serves that netted them 12 aces.

Sato, 2 others share lead TOP seed Carl Sato, No. 6 Ronald Canino and eighth-ranked Earl Mantilla hurdled their first five matches to set the pace in the juniors’ division, while three others shared the lead in kiddies’ play in the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship Southern Mindanao leg at SM Ecoland Event Center in Davao City last Saturday.

Three players also took command in the seniors’ category, guaranteeing a wideopen battle for top honors in three divisions in the penultimate leg of the five-stage regional eliminations sponsored by Pilipinas Shell culminating in the grand finals slated on Oct. 1 and 2 at SM Megamall.

Earlier, Gene Abrantes, Sasa Terminal Manager-Projects of Pilipinas Shell and Shell active chess alumnus Brene Parreno made the ceremonial moves to kick off the two-day tournament also graced by Nicole Dandan, Terminal

Manager of Sasa in Davao City.

Sato, from A.O. Floirendo National HS in Panabo City, toppled Bryan Sapetran, Jasper Erum, Charles Ayon, Kurt Placencia and Fiona Guirhem; Canino, from Little Me Academy, trampled Gene Bulicatin, Niel Enoc, Francis Guimalan, Philgymn Villajuan and Earl Mantilla; while Mantilla downed RJ Podalan, Jan Manlupig, Lorraine Yngayo, Erum and second seed Romeo Canino to share the lead in the 13-16 division of the event sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

They stood one point clear over 14 others, led by Romeo Canino, third seed Japheth Caresosa and No. 9 Guirhem, while five players, including No. 4 Honey Buenafe, posted 3.5 points each with four rounds left in the Swiss system tournament serving as the first two legs in talent-rich Mindanao.

Sports

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

‘US Dream Team days are over’ R

IO DE JANEIRO—The rest of the world is no longer in awe of star-studded Team USA but means to beat them, France forward Nicolas Batum said Sunday after yet another narrow American Olympic win.

France’s centre Rudy Gobert (left) defends against USA’s guard Kyrie Irving during a Men’s round Group A basketball match between USA and France at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. AFP

Rose captures 1st golf mint in 112 years RIO DE JANEIRO—Britain’s Justin Rose was listening to “God Save The Queen” and watching the Union Jack rise into the sky Sunday while still trying to fully appreciate the historic Olympic gold medal around his neck.

The 36-year-old Englishman had outdueled Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in a tension-packed Rio final-round thriller Sunday to capture the first Olympic golf title in 112 years and was in the midst of a dream made real while on the podium.

“That was a really surreal moment,” Rose said. “It’s a moment we’ve seen in other sports. It felt very different to any other tournament.

“Obviously when the national anthem goes up, it’s a very profound moment. It’s a very proud moment when you are able to

share this moment with people back home.”

Rose pitched the ball 18 inches from the cup on the par-5 18th hole and sank the birdie putt to beat Stenson by two strokes for the greatest triumph of his life.

“Oh my God. That felt better than anything I’ve ever won. It was the best tournament I’ve ever done,” Rose said.

“Coming up with that last pitch when I needed it was magical.”

Rose fired a closing four-under par 67 to finish 72 holes on 16-under 268. Stenson, whose poor chip left him a near-impossible putt to stay level with Rose, closed with a bogey to take the silver on 270, one stroke ahead of US bronze medalist Matt Kuchar.

“I have no regrets. I did as well as I

could,” Stenson said. “I battled pretty well. It was going to come down to who finished better at the end.

“To be an Olympic medalist is something special. It was the gift of a lifetime coming here.”

Tournament and a carnival An event dimmed by the decisions of more than 20 players to stay away, including world number one Jason Day of Australia and the entire world top four, provided plenty of excitement and spectacular shotmaking as the gold hung on a knife’s edge all day.

“It felt like a cross between a golf tournament and a carnival,” Rose said. “It was unique, incredible.”

A sellout crowd of 12,000 included people wanting to take photographs, a golf no-no, and anxious to pick up the ball until

instructed to leave it be.

“Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about,” Rose said.

Just a month after fifth-ranked Stenson won his first major title at last month’s British Open in a final-day battle with American Phil Mickelson, he found himself locked in a similar fight with 12thranked Rose.

Deadlocked at 18, Stenson was shy of the green with his approach while Rose was left of the green with bunkers between, the gold fight down to a pitch and putt contest.

Stenson’s ball hit the green and spun back from the cup, 22 feet away. Rose hit his amazing wedge shot and Stenson ran his birdie attempt eight feet past the hole, then missed his comeback putt and made bogey. AFP

KO star on Floyd’s ring radar RIO DE JANEIRO—Floyd Mayweather is on a scouting mission to sniff out boxing talent at the Rio Olympics—and apparently believes he has found a future world champion in Britain’s knock-out sensation Joshua Buatsi.

Mayweather, now a promoter with a growing stable of boxers, was not in the crowd to see light-heavyweight Buatsi seal at least bronze with another virtuoso performance to reinforce his reputation as the most exciting fighter to emerge in Brazil.

But the pair met on Saturday and Mayweather, 39, who retired last year after going 49-0, had some words of strong encouragement.

“He just said, ‘You’re a great fighter, I’ve heard of you before I got here’, and he said that I was a future world champion,” Buatsi, 23, revealed.

“It was good to hear that from someone like Mayweather, who is the greatest boxer of our generation that I’ve seen personally, so it was good to hear that from the champion.”

Buatsi, who now faces London 2012 silver medallist Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan in Tuesday’s semi-final, did not put his latest victim down for a third knock-out on the trot in Rio. But he had Abdelhafid Benchabla in trouble in the first round and in the second, but somehow the Algerian managed to hold on after the referee took two standing counts.

At one point in the third round, Buatsi stopped to allow Benchabla to hit him freely a couple of times in the face, underlining the Briton’s towering advantage.

“I wanted to let them know that I am in there and dominating and hitting them doesn’t necessarily mean that I can’t take it. You can entertain a little bit and then go back to the boxing,” said Buatsi. AFP

Britain’s Justin Rose celebrates his victory in the men’s individual stroke play final day at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. AFP

France came back from a 16-point second-half deficit to pressure the high-priced collection of American talent in a 10097 game, each team’s last Olympic group-phase match-up.

It was the third straight game in which the Americans were threatened, following close contests with Australia and Serbia.

“They are still the best team in the world, with the best players, but we can’t just step on the court and watch them because they are Team USA,” said Batum.

“That’s how it was in ‘92 with the ‘Dream Team’ but now we step on the court and want to compete.”

NBA players were allowed to compete in the Olympics beginning at Barcelona in 1992.

That “Dream Team” squad, including legends Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and other stars, is considered the best basketball team every assembled.

In Barcelona, many members of other teams sought autographs and pictures with their

NBA idols, who swatted away all comers to take gold.

But the USA was bumped in the semi-finals at Athens, though it won the next two Games gold.

After crushing China and Venezuela in Rio, it’s play the last three games has raised questions, although it won its group with a 5-0 record in defeating France.

“When we get on the court we can’t just watch them and be scared. We respect them but we step on the court and you never know (what will happen),” Batum said.

The Americans have admitted their newly-assembled team is still getting acclimated to the international game.

By comparison to the sometimes slower and more structured NBA style, top international play is marked by constant passing and player movement as teams work deep into their possessions for better shots.

Both the USA and France are through to the quarterfinals beginning Wednesday. AFP

Murray: Rio gold 1 of my tougest wins RIO DE JANEIRO—Andy Murray became the first player to win two Olympic tennis singles gold medals Sunday and admitted his epic four-set victory over Juan Martin del Potro was one of the toughest matches he has ever played.

The 29-year-old world number two defeated del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a final which lasted over four hours and suffered numerous, dramatic shifts in momentum.

Played out against a background of deafening noise generated by a legion of passionate, screaming Argentine fans, Murray admitted the final had pushed him to the limit.

“It was probably one of the hardest matches I have had to play to win a big final,” said the British star who added Rio gold to his 2012 London Olympic title and Grand Slam collection of the 2012 US Open and 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon crowns.

“This was tough emotionally and physically, there were lots of ups and downs.

“This was much harder to win than London four years ago. The final then was more straightforward. Tonight anything could have happened,” he said.

“I am very tired. We played four hours on a slow court which meant a lot of running. It was very humid and I served badly.

“All of that made the match tougher than it was already. But I managed to get the breaks of serve and then served well at the right moments.”

Murray said he was proud of his achievement especially as it was sealed in a final which featured 15 breaks of serve and ended with both men exhausted and exchanging a lengthy embrace at the net.

“It’s very hard to win two golds, I am proud to be the first but it hasn’t been easy. Lots can happen in four years. I have had back surgery since I won in London, I had tough times on court.”

With two golds in the bag, Murray refused to entertain thoughts of a third gold at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

“I will be 33 in four years time, I don’t know if I will still be playing at the same level then. I am happy to still be here and still playing.”

Murray praised del Potro who was on the brink of retirement last year after three wrist surgeries had stalled a career which had promised so much in 2009 when he clinched a shock US Open triumph.

“For him to be coming back and going through the same problems over and over again to play at big levels and compete against the best in the world, is a major credit for him,” said the champion.

“There’s not many players who would have continued to fight as he has, but also have the ability to get back to the top of the game. He should be very proud of his efforts.”

Murray now heads to North America to play in Cincinnati before beginning a new assault on the US Open which begins in two weeks’ time. AFP

Podium proposal steals show in Olympic diving finals RIO DE JANEIRO—Shi Tingmao claimed gold for China in Sunday’s 3m springboard diving final, but was relegated to third wheel by newly engaged teammates He Zi and Qin Kai. Qin, bronze medallist in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard, got down on one knee whilst silver medallist He was on her lap of honour and, after a lengthy wait,

finally got the all-important “yes” he was looking for.

“He said a lot of things, made a lot of promises, but I think the thing that touched me the most is I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life,” said He, proudly displaying her shiny new ring.

He and Qin have been dating since 2010, and whilst being

caught off guard, she admitted she nearly rumbled his plan as Qin got in some proposal practice on Sunday morning.

“This morning in his room he was reciting something and I didn’t notice (what it was). I asked him and he said he was singing,” added He, who also won silver in London four years ago.

“I didn’t know he was (practic-

ing) the proposal.”

Shi was more in the loop as she had the inside track on Qin’s plans.

“Both of them have gone through a lot. It is a very special moment for them,” said the champion, who delivered her second gold of the Games after teaming up with Wu Minxia in the 3m synchronised springboard.

Indeed, Qin and his other

San Beda-Rizal, Xavier-B catch La Salle at the top SAN Beda College-Rizal and Xavier School-B scored backto-back victories to tie idle La Salle-Greenhills on top of Group A in the Small Basketeers Philippines, while the Passerelle favorites remained unbeaten in recent action of the Best Center’s twin tournaments for kids sponsored by Milo at the Xavier School gym.

SBC-Rizal was unforgiving in trashing Notre Dame of

Greater Manila (0-3), 47-29, while Xavier-B demolished Claret School (0-1), 38-29, as they forged a leadership logjam with LSGH, each with 2-0 winloss marks.

Xavier School-A also booked its second win in as many days with a 52-44 triumph over Lourdes School of Quezon City (0-1) for the Group B lead.

San Sebastian College-Re-

coletos was Group B’s other winner after it stormed past St. Mary’s College (0-2), 50-21.

Ateneo, meanwhile, pipped a hard-fighting University of Santo Tomas (0-2), 78-77, to jump past idle La Salle Greenhills-A (2-0) for the Group A lead of the Passerelle.

Claret School was successful in its debut outing, smothering Quezon City Academy (02), 62-19, while St. Agustine

International School bounced back from an earlier loss with a 55-50 triumph over 0-2 Marist.

Nazareth School of National University tied idle leader Adamson in Group B after it notched its second win in as many days at the expense of De la Salle-Zobel (0-3), 45-26, while Notre Dame-QC levelled its record at 1-1 with a 65-59 win over San Sebastian College-Recoletos (0-2).

partner Cao Yuan cost China the chance of a clean sweep of all eight diving golds when they lost out to British and American pair in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard.

“Qin said it better himself when he said this is how it is meant to be,” said Shi. But 24-year-old Shi is in no hurry to get married herself. AFP

LOTTO RESULTS 6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0 M+ P0 M

Riera U. Mallari, Editor Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

Sports

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates after he won the Men’s 100m Final during the athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. AFP

Bolt triumphs, seeks Olympic immortality

R

IO DE JANEIRO—Usain Bolt stormed past his rivals to claim a historic third straight Olympic 100 meters title and declared himself confident of becoming an “immortal” by the end of the Rio Games.

Hot on the heels of a sensational 400m world record by South African Wayde van Niekerk, the Jamaican surged past American rival Justin Gatlin to take the most prized Olympic gold in 9.81sec.

With one title in the bag, Bolt celebrated and turned his attention to completing the 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold medal sweep at three consecutive Olympics.

“Somebody said I can become immortal. Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal,” said Bolt who has said this will be his last Olympics.

Bolt said he had been “shocked” at booing directed at Gatlin, who has twiced been banned for doping, but insisted he had focused on the victory that left him out

Cubs, Braves stay ahead Games today

(Aug. 16) (The Arena, San Juan) 12 noon • St. Benilde vs San Beda (srs) 2 p.m. • San Sebastian vs Arellano (srs) 4 p.m. • EAC vs Pereptual Help (srs)

THE defending champion San Beda Red Cubs, the Arellano University Braves and the Mapua Red Robins pulled off expected triumphs to stay on track for Final Four slots on Monday in the opening games of the second round of the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association junior basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Second stringer Luke Sese got his turn to shine with 19 points as he led three other mainstays in steering the Red Cubs to a 111-55 whipping of the San Sebastian Staglets.

Guilmer de la Torre, Aaron Fermin and Lars Sunga took turns in scoring big baskets and powered the Braves to a 90-64 quashing of the Emilio Aguinaldo College-ICA Brigadiers.

The Red Cubs and the Braves pulled off their ninth triumph in 10 games, allowing them to stay in contention for the Top 2 seats in the semis.

The Red Robins survived a close call with the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 81-79, and they went on to claim their eighth win in 10 games.

Romuel Junsay hit 20 points for the Red Robins, who stayed behind in second position. Peter Atencio

alone in the 120-year history of Olympic sprinting.

Track massacre Although way short of his 9.58sec world record, Bolt was happy with the performance.

He started slowly but reeled in the fast-starting Gatlin within 70 metres and eased up, thumping his chest as he crossed the line.

Canada’s Andre de Grasse took bronze.

“It was brilliant. I didn’t go so fast but I’m so happy I won,” he said.

Minutes earlier, van Niekerk timed a lightning 43.03sec in the 400m, breaking American Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record.

“I have never seen anything like that,” Johnson told the BBC.

“It is amazing. That was a massacre by Van Niekerk. This young man has done something truly special.”

Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong won the first athletics gold of the day, making light of searing heat to triumph in the women’s marathon.

Colombia’s world champion Caterine Ibarguen won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 15.17m.

Athletics was hit by another doping sensation when the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a last-minute ban on Russian long-jumper Darya Klishina imposed by the IAAF world body.

Klishina had been the only Russian competitor accepted by the IAAF for the Olympics after inquiries found mass “state-sponsored” doping in the country.

Media reports said investigators found two bottles of Klishina’s urine samples had been tampered with.

The CAS decided, however,

that Klishina had met all the conditions set by the world body to take part in Rio. The women’s long jump starts on Tuesday.

British surge America’s Simone Biles stayed on track for a record five gymnastics gold medals at a single Olympics when she clocked up her third, on the women’s vault.

Max Whitlock won the men’s floor exercise to become Britain’s first Olympic gymnastics champion. He won a second in the pommel horse and was part of another golden day for the British team.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray won his second straight men’s singles tennis gold, beating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a marathon final which drained both men.

“Today was a very up and down match, very stressful. Both of us had a lot of chances and it was a long and tiring match. I’m just glad I managed to get through it,” said Murray. AFP

Tabuena finally breaks par with 70 RIO DE JANEIRO—Miguel Tabuena finally broke par at the Olympic Golf Course Sunday, but still did not get the result that he had hoped for in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Tabuena hit five birdies against four bogeys for a one-under-par 70 and a four-day total of 291 after previous rounds of 73, 75 and 73 under various circumstances.

Sunday’s round was his best here in Rio. The reigning Philippine Open champion finished the 72-hole tournament, won by Great Britain’s Justin Rose, in 53rd place among 60 qualifiers from around the world.

Tabuena, who’s only 21, said his first stint in the Olympics is “part of the learning curb.” He vowed to do better if given another chance in the future.

“It’s a dream come true to represent the country here. I will be more ready next time, hopefully in the (2020) Tokyo

Tabuena

Olympics,” he said.

Tabuena birdied Nos. 3, 5, 8, 16 and 18, all “inside five to ten feet,” but bogeyed Nos. 2, 4, 6 and 10, mostly on “missed greens.”

“I was targeting every pin because I just wanted to shoot as low as I could today. There was no holding back,” said Tabuena, who played three rounds with a hurting shoulder.

Rose, the 2013 US Open cham-

pion, won the gold medal with a 268 total on rounds of 67, 69, 65 and 67, which was 16-under for the tournament.

Reigning French Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden won the silver with his 270 (66-6868-68) while Matt Kuchar of the United States will go home with the bronze.

Kuchar had the day’s best round of 63 built of six birdies, an eagle and no bogey. In all, 38 players broke par on the final round, including Tabuena.

“The game plan was to attack the pin. I promised the guys back home that I will not give up. I didn’t and I shot my best round today,” he said.

Tabuena said there’s more to learn in golf.

“I’m still in the process of learning whether I’m trying too hard or I’m not trying too hard,” said Tabuena, who is all set to compete in the European Tour later this month.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt leaves his competition behind. AFP

Cramps, heat slow Tabal down in Rio CEBUANA runner Mary Joy Tabal offered no excuses when she finished 124th place in the women’s marathon event of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

She said she was able to prepare well for the race, held along a 10-km loop inside the famed Sambódromo area.

But stomach cramps and the sweltering heat midway in the footrace sapped her energy, it almost made her give up, Tabal told the Manila Standard that the words of coach Philip John Duenas, who had to jog along portions of the crowd route in his bid to keep an eye on her, kept her going.

“Kasi ‘yung feeling na I came into this race well prepared.

Sa training ginawa ko lahat ng makakaya ko kahit mahirap. Sa diet naman kahit ‘di masarap tiniis ko. Sa pahinga, I had it also but in a competition, anything can happen during the race, kagaya kanina. I was running okay at start but then going to the half, I felt na bigla na lang akong nag-slow down and I saw everybody’s slowing down also. Parang nag-slow mo ang time pero kami pala ang nag-slow mo. And the heat really affected us all,” said the 27-year-old Tabal.

Duenas said Tabal was able to hydrate properly, but they did not anticipate to bring in special bottles with electrolytes to help her reenergize and keep cramps from happening.

“If we only knew na wala si-

lang electolyte stations na ipoprovide, I could have filled in all my special bottles with electrolytes considering the very hot weather. And I think kulang talaga ‘yung hydration stations given that weather. So, nagsimula na akong mag cramps sa paa hanggang sa likuran ko kasi parang kulang na kulang ‘yung fuels ko sa katawan and nahihirapan na makabawi,” added Tabal.

Tabal finished with a time of 3:02.27, which was way off her best time of 2:43.31 when she qualified for the Olympics in the Ottawa Marathon last May 29.

She was 38 minutes behind gold medalist Jemima Jelagat Sumgong of Kenya.

Bahrain’s Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa settled for silver in 2:24.13, while bronze belonged Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia who clocked 2:24.30.

Duenas kept egging Tabal on as he ran past spectators along the roadside railings to keep up with her along certain areas in the route.

“Sumasakit na siya and may part talaga na gusto ko na huminto, pero naririnig ko si Coach Philip ang sabi, ‘kayo lahat parehong may masakit na, tiisin mo, remember Olympics ‘to, alalahanin mo lahat nang pinagdaanan mo marating lang ito,” added Tabal.

She was tempted not to finish the race, but, in the end, Tabal refused to give up after seeing other runners slow down, and did not continue afterwards.

Peter Atencio

Wesley wins Sinquefield Cup in US WESLEY So drew with fellow grandmaster Maxime Vachier Lagrave in the ninth and final round to win the crown in the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri.

So, who used to represent the Philippines, before acquiring American citizenship last year, finished with 2 wins and 7 draws for a total a total of 5.5 points in this annual, invite-only chess

tournament, held in honor of Rex Sinquefield and his wife Jeanne, the founders of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

The 22-year-old So, playing the black pieces, forced his French rival to agree to a standoff in 47 moves of Ponziani opening.

This was after So captured Vachier-Lagrave’s last pawn at the kingside 4th rank, leaving

the white king exposed and with only a rook protecting it.

GM Fabiano Caruana was tied for second to sixth with five points after drawing with Anish Giri.

Defending champion Levon Aronian won over Veselin Topalov to share five points with Caruana.

So, who has an ELO rating of 2771, took home a cash prize of $75,000. Peter Atencio

Now representing the US, Wesley So forced his French rival to agree to a standoff in 47 moves of Ponziani opening.

PAL’s profit falls 22% to P4.6b

B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

B1

Agri sank in Q2 due to El Niño

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

A

GRICULTURE production shrank 2.34 percent in the second quarter of the year after contracting 0.01 percent year-onyear on lower crop and fisheries output.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said Monday the secondquarter output brought the average growth in the agriculture sector in the first half to a negative 3.48 percent from a growth of

0.73 percent on year.

Total value of production based on current prices amounted to P379.09 billion in the second quarter of 2016, up 1.3 percent from P374.19 billion in the sec-

ond quarter of 2015.

The output of the crops subsector dropped 4.97 percent from a negative 2.99 percent last year due to the effects of the prolonged dry spell that affected most harvests.

Palay, or unmilled rice, production fell 6.1 percent to 3.71 million metric tons from 3.95 million metric tons last year.

The PSA attributed the lower production to significant decreases in harvest areas and yields caused

by El Niño, notably in the Soccsk-

sargen region comprising of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City, the Visayas, and the Caraga area composed of Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. Corn production also fell 10 percent to 911,000 metric tons from 1.01 mmt in 2015.

“Reduction in area harvested and lower yields because of the dry spell in Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen and

ARMM were the main reasons for the drop,” the PSA said.

It said coconut and coffee production also declined during the period.

Output of the livestock sector grew 6.56 percent in the second quarter from a 5.2-percent expansion last year on higher hog production.

The PSA said the poultry sector contracted 1.25 percent from 5-percent growth last year due to the decreased production of chick-

DMCI mines fire 400 workers

PSe comPoSite index Closing August 15, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,960.17 4.31

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing AUGUST 15, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.440

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.440 LOW P46.630 AVERAGE P46.535 VOLUME 555.000M

P400-P640.00 LPG/11-kg tank P34.15-P41.20 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P24.35-P27.75 Diesel

INVESTMENT SUMMIT. Infrastructure and how the government can secure the funding required to upgrade the country’s public services

and transport systems are the subject of a panel discussion during the third annual Financial Times-First Metro Philippines Investment Summit held at the Fairmont Makati. Shown (from left) are First Pacific Co. managing director and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan, Japan Bank for International Cooperation managing executive officer Hideo Naito, Financial Times chief correspondent for international finance Henny Sender, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, World Bank in the Philippines country director Mara Warwick and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure managing director Michael Rodriguez.

Remittances climbed 4.8% in June to $2.3b

P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene

By Julito G. Rada

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, August 15, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.6990

Japan

Yen

0.009886

0.4617

UK

Pound

1.293400

60.4005

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128939

6.0213

Switzerland

Franc

1.027221

47.9702

Canada

Dollar

0.771843

36.0443

Singapore

Dollar

0.743494

34.7204

Australia

Dollar

0.765300

35.7387

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

123.8700

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266667

12.4531

Brunei

Dollar

0.740741

34.5919

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028768

1.3434

UAE

Dirham

0.272294

12.7159

Euro

Euro

1.117300

52.1768

Korea

Won

0.000908

0.0424

China

Yuan

0.150764

7.0405

India

Rupee

0.014948

0.6981

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.248385

11.5993

New Zealand

Dollar

0.718400

33.5486

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031861

1.4879 Source: PDS Bridge

IN BRIEF Finance eyes lower estate tax of 6% THE Finance Department plans to lower the estate tax to an across-the-board 6 percent to ease the burden of taxpayers and improve the government’s tax collection efficiency.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told reporters in a recent interview the lower estate tax was part of a tax reform plan to be submitted to Congress by the end of September.

“We charge up to 20 percent for estate taxes and quite frankly we know... most of the lands were still in the name of the people’s grandfathers because they do not want to transfer it because they do not want to pay the 20 percent [estate tax],” Dominguez said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier defined estate tax as the tax on the right of the deceased to transmit his or her estate to the lawful heirs at the time of death. It is not a tax on property, but a tax imposed on the privilege of transmitting property upon the death of the owner.

The BIR website said the highest amount of estate tax

en and duck meat.

The fisheries sector posted a 5.9-percent reduction in output from negative 0.3 percent in 2015 due to the decreased production of tilapia, skipjack and seaweed.

Despite the the poor agricultural output, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier said the economy likely grew 7 percent in the second quarter, faster than the 6.9-percent expansion in the first quarter, driven by infrastructure and election-related spending,

MONEY sent home by migrant Filipino workers in June rose 4.8 percent to $2.334 billion from $2.227 billion a year ago, as the demand for local skilled workers abroad remained steady, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.

The June expansion was faster than the 1.9-percent year-onyear growth in May. The figure brought cash remittances in the first half to $13.192 billion, up 3.2 percent from $12.782 billion a year ago.

“In particular, cash remittances from land-based and seabased workers summed up to $10.4 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively,” Bangko Sentral said in a statement.

About 80 percent of cash re-

mittances came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Qatar, Kuwait, Hong Kong, and Germany.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also expanded by 4.8 percent in June to $2.575 billion from $2.458 billion a year ago. This brought the total in the first half to $14.569 billion, up 3.1 percent from $14.132 billion in the same period last year.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that the number of workers deployed in the first half reached 223,116 for land-based and 93,600 for seabased.

“The number of deployed land-based [new hires] workers

increased by 0.9 percent yearon-year, while that of sea-based workers declined by 55.6 percent compared to the year-ago level,” the Bangko Sentral said.

Reports also showed that processed contracts for land-based workers in the first half were largely for services and sales, elementary occupations (such as those working in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, construction, manufacturing, and transport sectors), and craft and related trades.

The top country destinations were Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The Bangko Sentral said the steady inflows of remittances was supported by the efficient network of bank and non-bank remittance channels established worldwide to cater to

the various needs of overseas workers.

As of end-June 2016, commercial banks’ established tieups, remittance centers, correspondent banks, and branches or representative offices abroad reached 5,228.

Earlier, Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo expressed optimism on the growth prospects of remittances this year despite the derisking efforts of financial institutions abroad.

He said the derisking was heightened by anti-money laundering concerns, counter-terrorism and cybercrimes. Guinigundo, however, said derisking had already been occurring even before the $81-million money laundering scam that broke out in the country in February this year.

MINING companies owned by the Consunji Group are laying off 400 workers and putting on hold their expansion plans after operations were ordered suspended by the Environment Department.

DMCI Holdings said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Berong Nickel Corp. was set to lay off over 300 seasonal workers in the coming weeks, while Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. fired over a hundred personnel due to the suspension orders.

“Early this year, we were planning on expanding our operations. But with the suspension, we have no choice but to put everything on hold,” said DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan, Jr. “We actually acquired over P100 million in additional heavy equipment during the first half, and had plans of hiring more workers to ramp up production. Unfortunately, this is no longer possible,” added Simbulan.

DMCI Mining in the first six months of 2016 registered a 25-percent decline in nickel ore shipments to about 873,000 wet metric tons from 1.16 million tons to due to receding nickel prices and sluggish demand for lower-grade nickel.

The average selling price per wet metric ton in the six-month period fell 40 percent from $41 to $28.

With the suspension orders, DMCI is bracing for an even tougher second half. DMCI Mining said it was fully cooperating with the government to facilitate the audit and lift the suspension order.

to be be paid is P1.215 million plus 20 percent in excess of P10 million, if the net estate is P10 million or higher.

SMC set to open 1st phase of Naia Expressway project

Taiwanese investors interested in Bataan

THE Public Works Department said on Monday the first section of the P17.9-billion Naia Expressway project of San Miguel Corp. is set to open by next month.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the first section of the Naia Expressway project, or

Gabrielle H. Binaday

A DELEGATION from Taiwan’s Taichung City Chamber of Commerce has expressed interest to invest in the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan during a recent visit.

“We get the idea that the Philippines is a very good place to invest. We can see that the FAB has a very good business environment,” chamber chairman Win-Chin Chen said.

Free port officials discussed with the Taiwanese investors the investment opportunities inside the economic zone, while the Taiwanese delegation explored the industrial sites of the free port.

Freeport deputy administrator for operations Emmanuel Pineda thanked the chamber for choosing the Philippines and the Freeport as one of the possible investment destinations.

Meanwhile, Bataan Rep. Jose Enriquez Garcia III assured the investors the AFAB would provide highly-qualified and skilled workers.

Othel V. Campos

By Darwin G. Amojelar

RETAILERS’ CONFERENCE.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (second from left) delivers the keynote address on August 10, 2016 during the two-day National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo 2016 organized by the Philippine Retailers Association at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Lopez receives a plaque of appreciation from PRA executives led

by PRA chairman emeritus Samie Lim (right), chairman of BLIMS Lifestyle Group; PRA vice chairman Jorge Mendiola (left), president of SM Retail Inc., and PRA president Paul Santos, president of Picture City.

from NAIA Terminal 1 to Macapagal Avenue and Pagcor Entertainment City, will be opened by third week of September.

The second section which will connect Naia Terminal 1 to Naia Terminal 3 will open before Christmas othis year.

Villar said the toll in the Naia Expressway project is estimated to be between P34 and P45.

“Passenger traffic at Naia has an average annual growth rate of 9.5 percent. The cost of congestion per day in Metro Manila is P2.4 billion. We are keen in ensuring that the chronic traffic congestion at the vicinity of the airport is solved almost immediately,” he said.

The overall progress of civil works activities to date is about

79 percent, with the Paranaque River alignment already 100 percent completed.

The Naia Expressway Project is a four-lane, 7.75-kilometer elevated expressway and 2.22-kilometer at-grade road traversing Sales Avenue, Andrews Avenue, Parañaque River, MIAA Road and Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.

When all phases are completed, the Naia Expressway Project is expected to provide easy access to and from Naia Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 and will interface with the South Luzon Expressway through Sales Interchange, Manila Cavite Toll Expressway and Macapagal Boulevard.

A total of 16 off and on ramps are being constructed along strategic locations at Villamor Airbase, Resorts World, Naia Terminal 3, MIAA Road, Imelda Avenue, Cavitex, Seaside Drive and Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.

Naia Expressway will significantly reduce the average travel time between Skyway/SLEx and Naia Terminal 1 from about 24.3 minutes to 8.2 minutes and benefit 80,000 travelers a day.

B2

Business

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market gains; LT, Cirtek rises S

TOCKS rose Monday, ahead of the release of second-quarter gross domestic product data later in the week and as more companies reported strong earnings in the first half.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 4 points to close at 7,960.17, to end a threeday slump. The bellwether was up 14.5 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, gained 22 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,745.65, on a value turnover of P10.4 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 108 to 87, while 49 issues were unchanged.

Twelve of the 20 most ac-

tive stocks ended in the green, led by LT Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Lucio Tan which climbed 4.9 percent to P16.80 and electronics firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. which advanced 3.3 percent to P23.60.

Security Bank Corp. gained 3.1 percent to P214.40. Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. rose 2.9 percent to P77.05.

Meanwhile, Asian shares fell from a one-year high as disap-

pointing economic data in Japan and the US curbed demand for riskier assets, even as oil extended its rebound. The yen held gains as gold and government debt advanced.

Stocks in Tokyo drove the retreat, with markets in South Korea and India shut Monday for holidays. The yen held near its strongest level in more than a week versus the dollar after data showed Japan’s economy grew less than was forecast in the second quarter, spurring speculation over the country’s already unprecedented stimulus program.

Ten-year debt in Australia and New Zealand climbed as gold snapped a two-day drop. U.S. crude rose for a third day, while nickel tried to rebound from its worst rout since early July.

Investors are oscillating when it comes to the global outlook, with evidence of uneven growth in the world’s biggest economies both unnerving traders and fueling optimism that central banks will come to the rescue by way of stimulus.

Data showing stagnant retail sales and an unexpected drop in wholesale prices helped keep a lid on U.S. rate hike bets Friday, with policy maker James Bullard also fueling the fire. The Fed Bank of St. Louis President said he had become more dovish over the past six months and that he expects a single U.S. rate increase over his policy horizon.

“The US economy may have lost a bit of momentum on its way up,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai

Tokyo Research Center. “Still, weak numbers mean concern over tightening recedes,” he said.

Japan posted annualized expansion for the second quarter of 0.2 percent, below the 0.7 percent projected by economists and down from 2 percent growth in the first six months of the year.

Officials in Asia’s secondlargest economy are struggling to ignite price growth, with the central bank running negative interest rates and an unprecedented asset-purchase program, and the government also bolstering fiscal stimulus.

Data on Japanese industrial output is also due Monday, along with an update on Thai GDP and Singaporean retail sales. Indonesia reports on trade and the Philippines issues data on remittances.

THE STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

Close

High

Low

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 0.92 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 80 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.74 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 52 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

AG Finance 3.33 Asia United Bank 47.7 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 116.60 Bank of PI 103.30 China Bank 38.3 BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. 4.00 Bright Kindle Resources 1.41 COL Financial 16.2 Eastwest Bank 20.6 Filipino Fund Inc. 6.96 First Abacus 0.65 I-Remit Inc. 1.96 Manulife Fin. Corp.

580.00 MEDCO Holdings 0.630 Metrobank 91.5 Natl. Reinsurance Corp. 0.9 PB Bank 14.8 Phil Bank of Comm 24.50 Phil. National Bank 60.50 Philippine trust Co. 400 PSE Inc. 278.8 RCBC `A’ 32.5 Security Bank 208 Sun Life Financial 1395.00 Union Bank 73.80 Vantage Equities 1.49

3.45 47.7 116.10 103.50 38.5 4.00 1.43 16.3 21.5 6.96 0.7 1.95 590.00 0.630 90.55 0.89 14.86 24.10 60.80 450 279 32.45 215 1395.00 73.95 1.5

3.3 47 112.90 102.20 38.25 3.85 1.38 16 20.6 6.96 0.7 1.94 590.00 0.610 88.5 0.89 14.66 24.00 60.00 450 278 32.15 202 1395.00 73.50 1.5

3.45 47.7 114.00 103.30 38.45 3.85 1.43 16 21.05 6.96 0.7 1.94 590.00 0.620 88.95 0.89 14.66 24.00 60.40 450 278 32.25 214.4 1395.00 73.60 1.5

3.60 0.00 -2.23 0.00 0.39 -3.75 1.42 -1.23 2.18 0.00 7.69 -1.02 1.72 -1.59 -2.79 -1.11 -0.95 -2.04 -0.17 12.50 -0.29 -0.77 3.08 0.00 -0.27 0.67

85,000 5,200 2,859,210 952,760 5,700 45,000 397,000 8,400 1,723,600 500 10,000 16,000 10 699,000 15,263,040 25,000 26,500 12,000 139,920 40 420 361,800 1,743,890 5 13,010 59,000

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 148

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 32

20.6 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 79 3.95 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 0.62 5 5.25 12.98 6.75 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 1450 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

15.32 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 34.1 2.3 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 0.335 3.37 3.87 8.45 3 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 801 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

Aboitiz Power Corp.

45.85 Agrinurture Inc. 3.22 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.83 Alsons Cons.

1.9 Asiabest Group 12.26 C. Azuc De Tarlac 180.00 Cemex Holdings 11.82 Century Food 16.9 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 153.2 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 22.85 Concepcion 57.2 Crown Asia 2.23 Da Vinci Capital 5.6 Del Monte 12.7 DNL Industries Inc. 11.160 Emperador 7.40 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.89 EEI 9.58 Euro-Med Lab 1.87 First Gen Corp.

24.85 First Holdings ‘A’ 71 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 12.08 Holcim Philippines Inc. 16.10 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.67 Ionics Inc 2.330 Jollibee Foods Corp.

253.00 Liberty Flour 41.45 LMG Chemicals 1.96 Mabuhay Vinyl 4.6 Macay Holdings 29.00 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26.6 Maxs Group 34.5 Megawide 13.76 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 325.00 MG Holdings 0.260 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 5.10 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.517092 Petron Corporation 11.32 Phil H2O 3.47 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 6.15 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.67 Pryce Corp. `A’ 3.42 RFM Corporation 4.19 Roxas Holdings 3.76 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 223 Splash Corporation 3.04 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.154 TKC Steel Corp.

2.00 Trans-Asia Oil 2.36 Universal Robina 199.9 Victorias Milling 4.59 Vitarich Corp.

1.85 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.23

46 3.25 0.83 1.9 12.26 170.20 11.96 17.1 153.2 23.6 60.8 2.25 5.7 12.86 11.180 7.85 5.99 9.58 1.8 25.05 71.35 12.36 16.22 5.7 2.370 253.00 40.00 1.96 4.6 30.85 27 34.6 14.5 327.00 0.260 5.15 3.59 11.32 3.49 6.15 1.68 3.52 4.20 3.74 223 3.04 0.153 2.07 2.36 199.4 4.6 2.01 1.28

45.5 3.04 0.8 1.83 12.08 170.20 11.46 16.9 149 22.6 57.3 2.22 5.55 12.66 10.760 7.40 5.85 9.40 1.71 24.8 70.6 12.08 16.10 5.67 2.310 251.80 40.00 1.96 4.3 27.00 26 33.85 13.78 324.80 0.260 5.00 3.42 11.12 3.16 6.08 1.63 3.44 4.18 3.73 220 3.04 0.151 1.90 2.31 190 4.58 1.86 1.23

45.75 3.15 0.83 1.84 12.26 170.20 11.54 16.92 150 23.6 57.3 2.22 5.55 12.7 11.040 7.65 5.95 9.44 1.8 25 70.95 12.08 16.22 5.7 2.340 253.00 40.00 1.96 4.3 29.50 26.75 34 14 326.00 0.260 5.09 3.5 11.30 3.16 6.14 1.63 3.44 4.20 3.73 220 3.04 0.152 1.93 2.32 191.5 4.58 1.99 1.28

-0.22 -2.17 0.00 -3.16 0.00 -5.44 -2.37 0.12 -2.09 3.28 0.17 -0.45 -0.89 0.00 -1.08 3.38 1.02 -1.46 -3.74 0.60 -0.07 0.00 0.75 0.53 0.43 0.00 -3.50 0.00 -6.52 1.72 0.56 -1.45 1.74 0.31 0.00 -0.20 -0.49 -0.18 -8.93 -0.16 -2.40 0.58 0.24 -0.80 -1.35 0.00 -1.30 -3.50 -1.69 -4.20 -0.22 7.57 4.07

919,700 1,029,000 1,965,000 2,456,000 4,900 30 19,592,800 1,691,400 1,500 12,981,300 140 420,000 795,200 53,900 3,257,100 733,900 9,725,500 158,000 7,000 993,000 147,740 4,800 215,700 223,400 1,273,000 390,410 300 6,000 66,000 3,500 1,917,800 2,028,100 5,976,600 356,620 10,000 39,100 2,247,000 2,828,400 14,000 244,000 594,000 104,000 247,000 7,000 2,080 86,000 5,060,000 2,380,000 367,000 5,340,450 20,000 57,255,000 225,000

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5 76 6.5 5.29 6.66 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 0.0670 1.61 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.225 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 5.3 49.55 3.43 3 3.52 4.84 0.59 12 4.2 0.030 0.550 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 170 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `A’ Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Pacifica `A’ Prime Orion San Miguel Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Transgrid Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.400 75.00 16.00 1.25 6.30 0.400 0.385 898 8.64 12.28 6.15 6.85 0.221 1535 6.60 81.85 4.05 5.14 5.28 7.54 0.76 16.02 7.1 0.0360 1.880 84.30 685.00 1.37 0.85 188.00 204.000 0.3150 0.2130 0.285

0.400 75.10 16.00 1.29 6.40 0.400 0.405 904 8.66 12.30 6.65 6.90 0.230 1555 6.60 83.00 4.03 5.14 5.28 7.7 0.77 16.84 7.21 0.0350 1.930 84.30 687.50 1.39 1.05 188.00 205.000 0.3150 0.2090 0.280

0.390 74.70 15.78 1.18 6.20 0.385 0.385 888 8.47 11.90 6.1 6.85 0.230 1535 6.60 81.00 4.02 5.14 5.28 7.52 0.75 15.98 7.1 0.0340 1.880 83.00 680.00 1.34 0.85 188.00 200.000 0.3100 0.2000 0.260

0.400 74.80 16.00 1.29 6.20 0.400 0.385 904 8.6 12.10 6.64 6.85 0.230 1540 6.60 82.45 4.02 5.14 5.28 7.7 0.77 16.8 7.18 0.0350 1.900 84.30 684.00 1.34 0.97 188.00 205.000 0.3100 0.2090 0.265

0.00 -0.27 0.00 3.20 -1.59 0.00 0.00 0.67 -0.46 -1.47 7.97 0.00 4.07 0.33 0.00 0.73 -0.74 0.00 0.00 2.12 1.32 4.87 1.13 -2.78 1.06 0.00 -0.15 -2.19 14.12 0.00 0.49 -1.59 -1.88 -7.02

40,000 2,368,580 3,941,700 24,000 7,200 2,470,000 2,020,000 208,270 2,634,800 9,431,900 113,200 179,200 10,000 140,700 4,600 1,592,190 6,000 400 100 2,016,000 92,000 21,938,600 29,500,900 33,100,000 378,000 204,810 429,500 2,185,000 692,000 120 9,510 1,280,000 1,700,000 6,170,000

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 5.6 1.44 1.97 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 2.22 2.1 5.94 0.180 0.470

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 2.8 0.79 1.1 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 1.15 1.42 4.13 0.090 0.290

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. `A’ Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

7.890 1.27 2.630 0.275 41.200 3.22 5.15 5.6 0.620 1.02 1.010 0.167 0.630 58.75 0.810 1.08 1.86 5.15 0.124 0.2900

7.940 1.28 2.790 0.275 42.000 3.25 5.15 5.6 0.62 1.01 1.010 0.169 0.640 59.05 0.800 1.08 1.89 5.15 0.128 0.2900

7.830 1.24 2.560 0.275 41.100 3.19 5.15 5.6 0.600 1.01 1.000 0.160 0.600 57.55 0.780 1.05 1.84 5.02 0.119 0.2600

7.830 1.27 2.700 0.275 42.000 3.2 5.15 5.6 0.610 1.01 1.000 0.163 0.620 58.8 0.780 1.06 1.84 5.05 0.121 0.2900

-0.76 0.00 2.66 0.00 1.94 -0.62 0.00 0.00 -1.61 -0.98 -0.99 -2.40 -1.59 0.09 -3.70 -1.85 -1.08 -1.94 -2.42 0.00

163,700 2,213,000 3,076,000 50,000 8,919,200 495,000 14,000 1,269,300 6,420,000 4,000 231,000 35,790,000 20,995,000 647,270 6,728,000 2,662,000 33,976,000 58,275,000 2,760,000 590,000

FINANCIAL

INDUSTRIAL

HOLDING FIRMS

PROPERTY

Close

%

High Low

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

High

0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

0.39 23 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

0.450 37.80 15.18 32.30 1.78 3.35 29.45 0.95 1.030 5.910

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 28.5 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 1700 2720 8.41

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 18.2 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 830 1600 5.95

70.5 1.97 119.5 7 0.017

17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 0.011

0.8200 2.2800 5.93

0.041 1.200 2.34

12.28 3.32 2.53 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

6.5 1.91 1.01 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

2,057,566.00 -922,821.00 -28,030.00 -15,865,938.00

1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

5,074,105.00 13,764,270.00 -17,009,518.00 -8,824,334.00

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.2 50.2 1.23 0.600 11 5.65 6.19 0.0930 2.72 120 9.8 2.1 5.28 3.34 941 2130 6.39 15.86 21.80 1.32 74.9 20.50 0.0086 9.30 0.310 1.4400 3.07 12.9 6.00 2.90 1.03 19.98 0.570 2 3.68 5.15 3.910 11.38 6.10 135.00 8.80 1876.00 0.450 1.020 44.10 86.00 6.40 3.25 0.610 3.45 0.330 6.520

66,400.00 -6,513,666.00 -3,470.00 296,758.00

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 12.7 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 6.5 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

Abra Mining 0.0040 Apex `A’ 3.26 Atlas Cons. `A’ 3.93 Atok-Big Wedge `A’ 10.00 Basic Energy Corp.

0.218 Benguet Corp `A’ 6.2500 Benguet Corp `B’ 6.9900 Century Peak Metals Hldgs0.57 Coal Asia 0.420 Dizon 8.07 Ferronickel 0.840 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.275 Lepanto `A’ 0.192 Lepanto `B’ 0.210 Manila Mining `A’ 0.0110 Manila Mining `B’ 0.0120 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 1.7 Nickelasia 5.28 Nihao Mineral Resources 2.65 Omico 0.5300 Oriental Peninsula Res. 0.9200 Oriental Pet. `A’ 0.0120 Philex `A’ 8.50 PhilexPetroleum 3.90 Philodrill Corp. `A’ 0.0130 Semirara Corp.

100.80 TA Petroleum 3.7 United Paragon 0.0099

70 553

33 490

-37,112,991.00

515 8.21 12.28

480 5.88 6.5

5,848,010.00

78.95 84.8

74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ DD Pref GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

223,360.00 -90,850,680 48,553,394.00 -60,000.00 140,000.00 -29,340.00 -14,982,370.00

-272,043,461.00 14,860.00 -2,598,674.00 -32,215 -56,651,660.00 69,975.00 3,598,245.00 -63,180.00 16,000.00 -1,001,040.00 -38,728.00 33,743,362.00 -14,497,470.00 25,465.00 2,310.00 16,800.00 -537,660.00 -2,411,807.00 4,140,942.00 -3,959,185.00 -722,667.00

423,190.00 -110,280.00 106,500.00 580.00 279,100.00 -362,897,356 -1,710,030.00

3,380,534.50 -32,424,082.00

43,456,850.00 797,557.00 -4,970,096.00 -62,100.00 -42,211,070.00

-64,399,628.00 -62,259,128.00 8,755,688.00 16,686,035.00 16,800.00 -563,040.00

327,513.00 -200,910.00 -623,270.00 179,048,495.00 375,320.00 -27,900.00 -324,340.00 333,700.00 4,619,502.00 118,000.00 1,070.00 -12,932,950.00 10,800,753.00

2.230

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

130.7

105.6

First Metro ETF

TRADING SUMMARY

50.1 519.5 104.5 510 6.09 1.03 1125 78 80.3 76 79 78.5 79 77.45 77.5

SHARES

FINANCIAL

24,452,801

INDUSTRIAL

156,888,603

HOLDING FIRMS

125,447,239

PROPERTY

228,087,717

SERVICES

285,553,524

MINING & OIL

561,641,164

GRAND TOTAL

1,414,163,257

5.94 3.89 5.18 16.8 131

Low

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.465 43.00 15.48 32.50 1.78 3.35 30.00 0.98 1.060 6.130

0.435 37.90 15 31.80 1.75 3.3 28.70 0.95 1.020 5.900

0.435 39.10 15.48 32.50 1.76 3.35 29.85 0.96 1.020 6.100

-3.33 3.44 1.98 0.62 -1.12 0.00 1.36 1.05 -0.97 3.21

840,000 8,500 59,300 785,200 178,000 29,000 18,478,800 413,000 279,000 14,323,500

7.35 51 1.33 0.600 11.6 5.55 6.30 0.0960 2.79 120 9.8 2 5.78 3.33 950 2138 6.45 16.38 20.30 1.44 78.8 20.50 0.0087 9.33 0.315 1.4500 3.4 13.1 5.98 2.90 1.04 23.00 0.600 2 3.7 5.40 3.910 11.54 6.15 135.00 11.20 1880.00 0.450 1.020 45.40 86.00 6.44 3.27 0.610 3.47 0.330 6.800

7.21 50.2 1.25 0.590 11.2 5.55 5.96 0.0900 2.72 115.2 9.75 1.91 5.23 3.04 950 2100 6.38 15.60 20.30 1.33 75 19.84 0.0086 9.10 0.290 1.4000 3.03 12.72 5.85 2.80 1.03 19.06 0.590 2 3.53 5.15 3.750 11.42 6.05 135.00 7.00 1862.00 0.440 1.000 44.20 84.50 6.30 3.22 0.590 3.45 0.325 6.260

7.23 50.3 1.25 0.590 11.6 5.55 6.28 0.0950 2.75 117 9.75 1.93 5.60 3.04 950 2110 6.38 15.90 20.30 1.34 77.05 20.10 0.0087 9.33 0.295 1.4300 3.2 12.74 5.85 2.90 1.03 22.95 0.600 2 3.58 5.27 3.800 11.42 6.13 135.00 8.80 1880.00 0.440 1.010 44.35 84.90 6.31 3.27 0.610 3.45 0.330 6.310

0.42 0.20 1.63 -1.67 5.45 -1.77 1.45 2.15 1.10 -2.50 -0.51 -8.10 6.06 -8.98 0.96 -0.94 -0.16 0.25 -6.88 1.52 2.87 -1.95 1.16 0.32 -4.84 -0.69 4.23 -1.24 -2.50 0.00 0.00 14.86 5.26 0.00 -2.72 2.33 -2.81 0.35 0.49 0.00 0.00 0.21 -2.22 -0.98 0.57 -1.28 -1.41 0.62 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3.22

46,100 22,400 144,000 435,000 160,800 11,800 19,025,400 131,770,000 923,000 914,070 1,600 9,000 1,046,800 7,000 10 43,130 188,100 348,900 400 2,151,000 3,424,780 58,600 9,000,000 761,300 30,410,000 2,214,000 55,000 2,200 159,400 158,000 9,000 11,200 33,000 35,000 4,260,000 8,553,200 8,858,000 91,500 102,400 760 11,145,600 93,060 1,810,000 17,608,000 1,783,200 752,840 3,717,700 14,153,000 3,873,000 663,000 140,000 9,000

0.0040 3.31 3.96 10.00 0.220 6.29 6.2000 0.58 0.425 8.10 0.840 0.280 0.197 0.218 0.0110 0.0120 1.7 5.31 2.74 0.5300 0.9400 0.0120 8.66 3.80 0.0130 102.00 3.7 0.0097

0.0040 3.12 3.86 9.63 0.220 5.8 6.2000 0.56 0.415 8.02 0.820 0.275 0.188 0.203 0.0110 0.0120 1.6 5.04 2.64 0.5100 0.9200 0.0110 8.21 3.64 0.0120 95.50 3.68 0.0097

0.0040 3.17 3.88 10.00 0.220 6.2000 6.2000 0.58 0.415 8.03 0.840 0.275 0.196 0.218 0.0110 0.0120 1.7 5.27 2.65 0.5100 0.9400 0.0110 8.65 3.72 0.0120 102.00 3.68 0.0097

0.00 -2.76 -1.27 0.00 0.92 -0.80 -11.30 1.75 -1.19 -0.50 0.00 0.00 2.08 3.81 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.19 0.00 -3.77 2.17 -8.33 1.76 -4.62 -7.69 1.19 -0.54 -2.02

135,000,000 370,000 1,182,000 2,400 110,000 56,000 1,000 63,000 790,000 28,300 5,511,000 3,820,000 20,550,000 46,000 26,200,000 300,000 579,000 4,786,100 588,000 60,000 4,400 68,100,000 1,745,600 2,244,000 269,200,000 3,549,270 107,000 15,000,000

50.1 520.5 104.8 526 6.07 1.04 1150 78.5 80.55 76.25 79 78.5 79 77.55 77.7

50 520.5 104.1 515 6.7 1.03 1150 78.5 80.5 76.25 79 78.5 79 77.5 77.6

50.05 520.5 104.2 526 6.07 1.03 1150 78.5 80.5 76.25 79 78.5 79 77.5 77.7

-0.10 0.19 -0.29 3.14 -0.33 0.00 2.22 0.64 0.25 0.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.26

16,200 1,000 35,910 2,570 3,500 400,000 5 16,000 10,500 13,600 20,800 39,860 880 99,700 55,000

2.250

2.110

2.180

-2.24

195,000

6.3 3.8 5.2 17.16

5 3.78 5.05 16.42

5.35 3.78 5.12 16.6

-9.93 -2.83 -1.16 -1.19

31,059,600 4,000 454,900 565,700

131

129.9

131

0.00

7,910

SERVICES

MINING & OIL

PREFERRED

WARRANTS & BONDS SME

EXCHANGE TRADED FUND

45,000.00 1,548.00 13,857,080.00 188,813,525.00 20,808,889.00 -181,250.00 130,000.00 1,831,466.00 27,750.00 1,905,316.00 355,410.00 -19,150.00 14,097,809.00 734,980.00 -49,232,450.00 104,306.00 148,516,995.00 3,265,500.00 4,230.00 -55,370.00 -5,096.00

-2,305,190.00 -31,205,795.00 -34,000.00 101,250.00 70,033.00 5,176,145.00 -7,628,080.00 -57,737,055.00 -11,124,452.50 33,593,690.00 -12,000.00 -1,035,520.00 33,000.00 -4,000.00 -137,280.00 40.00

6,000.00 1,951,840.00

3,600.00 1,930,436.00

5,338,065.00 -679,250.00 -1,300.00 -77,554,563.00 18,450.00 -557,520.00

20,800.00 -805,005

1,974,835.00 24,745.00 -4,027,126.00

VALUE 1,825.34 (down) 11.22 2,208,099,120.06 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 12,140.77 (down) 112.33 2,697,658,573.96 HOLDING FIRMS 7,812.65 (up) 28.52 1,867,132,729.49 PROPERTY 3,688.13 (up) 42.39 1,594.17 (up) 3.28 1,557,843,411.73 SERVICES MINING & OIL 10,040.76 (up) 90.99 1,477,642,038.3225 PSEI 7,960.17 (up) 4.31 423,482,080.2466 All Shares Index 4,745.65 (up) 22.83 10,419,587,162.5025 Gainers: 87; Losers: 108; Unchanged: 49; Total: 244

Pepsi’s income up 8% to P400m

By Jenniffer B. Austria SOFTDRINKS manufacturer Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. said Monday net income grew 8.4 percent in the second quarter to P399.8 million from P368.3 million a year ago, on higher sales volume.

PCPPI said second-quarter net sales increased 15.4 percent to P8.53 billion from P7.39 billion in the same period last year, despite higher sugar prices.

“We are delighted that despite high sugar prices, our beverage team was able to deliver a double-digit profit growth for the quarter. This was made possible by strong revenue management, a record increase in productivity, reduction in operating expenses and delivering a relentless focus on ‘fewer, bigger, better’.

We are also very encouraged by the initial roll-out results of our snack Foods business and we are excited about the growth prospects,” PCPPI president Furqan Ahmed Syed.

Cost of goods sold increased 17 percent in the second quarter, driven by sharp increase in sugar prices which was partially offset by significantly higher productivity.

Sales revenue grew 13 percent in the first half to P18.18 billion, on strong focus on revenue management and new product initiatives.

Carbonated softdrink contributed P13.3 billion to total sales while non-carbonated soft drinks generated P4.7 billion in revenues.

Alliance, Filinvest post bigger net profits LISTED holding companies Alliance Global Group Inc., Filinvest Development Corp. and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. reported strong earnings in the first half on positive performance of core subsidiaries.

Filinvest Development Corp. of the Gotianun family reported a net income of P4.4 billion in the first six months, up 28 percent from the same period last year, driven by robust results in banking and real estate subsidiaries.

FDC said first-half revenues grew 17 percent to P29 billion from P24.8 billion, with the banking unit accounting for 40 percent of the total, followed by real estate with 38 percent.

Meanwhile, Alliance Global of tycoon Andrew Tan said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net income attributable to equity holders hit P7.3 billion while revenues reached P67.1 billion.

“Amidst intensifying competition, we continue to build on our strengths while maintaining our cost efficiencies. That way, we achieve operating leverage as we execute our growth strategies for our domestic and international operations,” AGI president and chief operating office Kingson U. Sian.

Robinsons Retail, the listed retail holding firm of the Gokongwei group, booked a net income of P2.02 billion in the first semester, an increase of 8.6 percent from the same period last year.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Business

B3

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Fund raising at PSE decreases to P90.9b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

ABM-ROXAS PARTNERSHIP. Sugar producer Roxas Holdings Inc. taps ePLDT subsidiary ABM Global Solutions to support its business process enhancement initiatives. Shown during the contract signing are (from left) AGS general manager Luigi Lopa, ePLDT chief operating officer and AGS president Nerissa Ramos, PLDT executive vice president for enterprise and international carrier business and AGS chairman Ernesto Alberto, RHI president and chief executive Hubert Tubio, RHI chief finance officer Celso Dimarucut and RHI assistant vice president Ronnie Villanueva.

FUND raising activities at the Philippine Stock Exchange dropped 18.4 percent to P90.9 billion as of Aug. 12 from P105 billion a year ago.

PSE president Hans Sicat said private placements accounted for 63 percent or P53.94 billion of total funds raised through the stock market this year, while initial public offerings contributed P25.9 billion.

Some of the capital raising activities were put on hold in the first half amid market volatility.

The recent national elections also kept some investors and potential issuers on the sidelines.

Two IPOs were conducted this year, including the P778-million maiden offering of Villar-owned Golden Haven Memorial Park and P25.13-billion public offering of Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. PSE expects total fund raising activities to reach P200 billion this year.

The local bourse managed to report a 2-percent increase in firsthalf net income to P372.7 million from P366.8 million posted in the same period last year, despite lower fund raising activities.

First-half operating revenues declined 14 percent to P560.8 million, as listing-related income dropped.

Trading-related income also dipped 11 percent to P145.9 million, as average daily trading value went down to P7.51 billion from last year’s daily average of P10.04 billion.

PAL’s profit falls 22% to P4.6b

By Darwin G. Amojelar

T

HE operator of Philippine Airlines said Monday net income fell 22 percent in the first half from a year ago, on higher operating expenses and promotional offerings.

PAL Holdings Inc. said comprehensive net income amounted to P4.62 billion in January to June, down from P5.94 billion in the same period last year.

PAL Holding said comprehensive income in the second quarter also dropped 11.3 percent to P1.92 billion from P2.16 billion in the same quarter last year.

PAL’s six-month revenues increased 2.3 percent to P57.57 billion from P56.28 billion a year earlier. Revenues in the second quarter rose to P28.45 billion from P28.30 billion.

PAL Holdings said the increase was brought about by the peso depreciation, which averaged 47.19 a dollar in the first half, compared to 44.55 a dollar last year.

The company said if the exchange rate had remained at the 2015 level, revenues should have

decreased P1.6 billion, on lower passenger and cargo revenues generated during the period as a result of the decrease in yields from passenger seat offerings and the positive effect of port strike in the United States to cargo revenues in 2015.

Operating expenses grew 5.8 percent to P53.42 billion in the six-month period from P50.49 billion last year, led by the increase in flights as a result of new routes.

“The increase in expenses was

attributable mainly to higher maintenance, aircraft and traffic servicing, reservation and sales, passenger service and general and administrative offset by lower expenses related to flying operations,” PAL Holdings said.

PAL Holdings said the 4.1-percent decrease in flying operations was due to lower fuel cost.

Fuel expenses dropped 14.3 percent in the first half, as a result of the decline in average price per barrel of aviation fuel

Good policymaking requires constructive opposition THE wake of every Congressional election in the post-Marcos era has seen turncoatism on a massive scale. The aftermath of the 2016 election saw the emergence, almost immediately after the May 9 electoral event, of Congressional majorities supportive of the incoming administration. In the House of Representatives, the post-election outcome was not just a majority but a supermajority – 259 out of 289 – of the newly elected Lower House members.

The Lower House members of the 17th Congress have justified their immediate switch to President Rodrigo Duterte’s party in cooperation-versus-opposition terms. For the good of the nation, legislators should cooperate fully with, and even switch to, the administration party, say the coat-turning 17th Congress Senators and Representatives. Congressional opposition is the nemesis of national progress, they say.

This rationalization is unacceptable. The mass defection to PDP Laban, the administration party, of men and women elected under the banners of the other major parties – Liberal Party, NPC, UNA, G-Puso and Lakas NUCD – cannot be rationally explained.

The business of opposition parties is to oppose, not to join or to coalesce But there is such a thing as constructive opposition, and congressmen elected as Liberals, NPC, UNA, etc. can remain members of the opposition and still be patriotic. Constructive Congressional opposition, like responsible mining, is not an oxymoron.

For the Philippine economy to move forward in a sustainable manner, policymaking must be of high quality. The making of sound and sustainable policies can take place only within the context of free, constructive and discerning discussion of the critical economic and social issues of the day. Almost by definition, a state of affairs in which the up-to-proclamation oppositionist Representatives rush to join the winning Presidential candidate’s party—to form a “supermajority”—is not conducive to such discussion.

The accent must be on the word ‘constructive’. The nation’s interest demands cooperation between the political parties. The voters elected members of Congress to work for the good of the nation, not to hold back its progress. The minorities in the Senate and House of Representatives must agree with the majority when they can, and they must disagree with the majority when the situation demands it. But disagreement must always be expressed in a constructive fashion, not on knee-jerk, partisan manner. Political parties must agree to disagree, not be disagreeable, in the performance of their policymaking function.

The 17th Congress members who have abandoned their election-campaign affiliations and joined the administration party have insisted that they can remain oppositionist even if they have become parts of the administration party’s supermajority. Is this likely to happen?

I don’t think so. Ample experience has taught us that once a Senator or Representative has transferred his affiliation from an opposition party to the administration party, he is totally lost to the opposition; after the switch he has voted with, and has supported the positions of, his new party. On the basis of that historical record, the members of the 17th Congress Lower House supermajority can be expected to go all the way, voting-wise, with the Duterte administration.

That’s too bad for the crafting of legislation on economic and social issues. Good policymaking is the result of debate, argumentation, philosophical challenge – and, yes, opposition. It is not made by the silence of a large band of pliant, yes-saying legislators.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

from $88.37 in 2015 to $63.38 in 2016.

PAL earlier signed a deal with Airbus to acquire six A350-900 jets worth $1.8 billion, with an option to buy six others to support long-haul operations.

PAL said it planned to deploy the A350 XWB (extra wide body), which seats more than 300, on new routes to North America and Europe.

The first A350 is scheduled to be delivered in 2018.

Chinese companies eyeing PH projects

By Othel V. Campos

FIBERGLASS BOAT. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director Eduardo Gongona (left) and

Zambales 2nd District Rep. Cheryl Deloso-Montalla inspect the blue exterior of a fiberglass boat. Built by trained hands, the fiberglass boat is designed to resist rot, corrosion, and harsh marine environments. The distribution of 100 fiberglass boats complete with engines, life vests and bottom-set gillnets to 200 fishermen was held in South Poblacion, Masinloc, Zambales.

Hinatuan asks DENR to lift suspension

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales using the ore stockpile in resto- of people were affected by the GUIUAN, Eastern Samar—A unit of Nickel Asia Corp. asked the government to lift the suspension of ore transport permit imposed on Hinatuan mine in Manicani Island.

Hinatuan Mining Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nickel Asia, operates the nickel mine in Manicani. The government suspended the ore transport permit of the mining company early this year, saying there was an “excessive soil extraction” in the area.

“In the assessment, they are taking too much soil. They are taking the soil out and it goes to China,” said Environment Secretary Regina Lopez.

Lopez said the company should use the remaining stockpile to rehabilitate the mined-out areas.

“They have to use it for restoration. Put it back in the hole,” Lopez said.

Hinatuan Mining communication relations manager Francis Malone, however, said

ration was not possible. “Who will return it? Where will they return it? Those stockpiles are meant to be disposed. We can’t put it back. At the first place, it was them who recommended us to do such activity,” Malones said.

The government suspended the mining operations of Hinatuan in the early 1990s. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau in 2014 ordered the company to dispose of its remaining ore stockpile.

“They have not given us any opportunity to talk to them. The evaluation is unfair,” Malones said.

Hinatuan Mine project manager Manolito Javar said the government’s accusations were baseless.

Javar said that of the 1.4 million metric tons of ore stockpile, the company was only able to ship more than 265,000 MT of ore to China.

Residents of Manicani also asked the government to lift the suspension order, as a lot

suspension. Imelda Raganas, a community leader, said the government should allow the removal of stockpile to continue because it was the source of income for the residents.

“We don’t have another source for livelihood. There are too many fishermen in our area. We are appealing to the government to allow the transport of ore,” Raganas said.

Data provided by the company showed a total of 495 residents would lose their jobs due to the suspension order.

Meanwhile, Nickel Asia vice president for corporate communication Jose Bayani Baylon said the company was currently waiting for the mine audit. “We are awaiting for the DENR to schedule the audit of the HMC stockpile removal operations on Manicani ASAP, so that the loading can resume leading to the removal of an environmental hazard and the generation of much needed income for the residents,” Baylon said.

CHINA’S largest construction companies visited the country to explore infrastructure prospects, amid improving outlook on bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing.

China-Asean Business Council executive president Xu Ningning led a 30-man delegation representing 10 Chinese firms for a one-day visit, according to the Trade Department.

The Chinese delegates met with Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

The Philippine visit is a part of the group’s three-leg mission that also included Myanmar and Vietnam.

The delegation also met with the other government agencies and with top officials of the local construction industry.

The Chinese group has varied expertise on projects such as flood control, industrial parks, construction materials, engineering and railways.

Among the projects built by the group are the iconic Birds Nest, the main stadium for the Beijing Olympics and the CCTV building headquarters.

It also built major projects in Southeast Asia and Africa.

The group included officials of Nantong Hua Xin Construction Engineering Group Co. Ltd., China No. 3 Construction Group Co. Ltd., China Qidong Construction Group Co. Ltd., China Zhongxin Construction Group Co. Ltd., China Zhengfang Foundation Project Co. Ltd., China Longxin Construction Group Co. Ltd. Overseas and China Jiangzhong Group Co. Ltd. Also included were representatives from China Jiangzhong Group Co. Ltd. Overseas Branch, China Hua Xin Construction Engineering Group Co. Ltd., China Tong Zhou Construction General Contracting Group, China Construction Group Co. Ltd., China Chang Qing Construction and Installation Engineering Co. Ltd., China Construction Industry Association and Jiangsu Tongchenghuihuang International Travel Service.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

Business

Japan’s economy flat in Q2 T

OKYO―Japan’s economy stalled in the April-June quarter, data showed Monday, missing market forecasts and rekindling worries about the government’s faltering bid to stoke a recovery.

Growth in the world’s third largest economy was flat at 0.0 percent on-quarter, falling below economists’ expectations for a modest 0.2 percent expansion, as weak exports and a fall in business spending dented activity.

On an annualized basis, the economy expanded by a slight 0.2 percent in the latest period, well off expectations for a 0.7 percent rise and a 1.9 percent

growth rate seen in the first quarter of the year.

Japanese officials are under growing pressure to deliver as economists increasingly write off Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s years-long bid to cement a lasting recovery, dubbed Abenomics.

“Today’s data are quite disappointing,” said Junko Nishioka, chief economist at Sumitomo

Mitsui Banking.

“The situation is becoming tougher and tougher. There is the rally in the yen and worries about Japan’s prospects in overseas markets. And so companies are becoming more pessimistic about making investments.”

Inflation dropped for a fourth straight month in June, delivering a fresh blow to Abe’s war on deflation.

Business confidence has slumped to levels last seen when he swept to power in late 2012 on a ticket to fire up an economy beset by years of falling prices and weak growth.

Tokyo recently announced a whopping 28-trillion yen ($276

billion) package aimed at kickstarting growth, after Britain’s June vote to quit the European Union sent financial markets into a tailspin and sparked a yen rally.

The second quarter drop in business spending comes as the strong yen threatens corporate Japan’s bottom line―aggravating broader concerns about growth.

Investors tend to buy Japan’s currency as a safe bet in times of turmoil or uncertainty.

But it makes its exporters less competitive overseas and hits profits at Japan Inc. The problem was highlighted recently as many of the county’s best-known firms, including Sony and Toyota, reported low-

er profits in the three months to June.

Abe’s plan―a mix of massive monetary easing, government spending and red-tape slashing― initially brought the yen down from record highs and set off a stock market rally.

But promises to cut through red tape have been slower, and Abe’s plan to buoy Japan’s oncebooming economy have looked increasingly unrealistic.

His spend-for-growth policies have set Japan apart from some of its rich nation counterparts, including Germany which has been reluctant to endorse them, seeing it as an ineffective way to stimulate the economy. AFP

Postcard from Italy: Lovely now, storms on the horizon

By Angus Mackinnon ROME, Italy―In a sign of how good a summer it has been in Italy, coastguards are threatening holidaymakers with fines for bagging beach spots by parking deckchairs and towels overnight.

From Sicily to Venice, the “no-vacancies” signs are up and sunlounger spaces are thin on the sand as the country’s holiday resorts operate at full capacity in the busiest week of the year.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi must wish the same could be said for the rest of his country’s flagging economy.

Weighed down by sluggish domestic demand and a bad debt-laden banking sector’s inability to finance investment, the eurozone’s third biggest economy ground to a standstill in the second quarter of 2016.

That was bad news for Renzi, who has staked his political future on a constitutional reform referendum scheduled for November and has to produce a 2017 budget by mid-October.

The 41-year-old former mayor of Florence admitted last week it was a mistake to make the referendum personal, by vowing to quit if voters reject his proposed reforms of parliament and the electoral system.

The vote is shaping up as a referendum on Renzi’s two and a half years in office and polls suggest it will be a close-run thing.

The ‘maximum possible’ Analysts say Renzi needs a budget that will get voters back on side and his ministers began outlining his plans this weekend.

Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda indicated Rome plans to ignore EU guidance on the country’s budget deficit by unveiling an

Thailand grew 3.5% 2nd quarter THAILAND’S economy grew more than analysts estimated in the second quarter as the military government accelerated spending on road and rail projects to help offset weak demand for the nation’s exports.

Gross domestic product expanded 3.5 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Board said in Bangkok Monday. That compares with the 3.3 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 22 analysts.

GDP grew 0.8 percent from the previous three months, compared with a 0.5 percent median estimate.

The central bank earlier this month kept its key interest rate unchanged, opting to preserve its scope for future action and allow time for the government’s fiscal spending to kickstart growth.

While investor confidence was bolstered by the peaceful completion of a national vote on the constitution on Aug. 7, a series of bomb attacks in Thailand’s southern provinces late last week will test the resolve of a military government that has made security a top priority since seizing power in a 2014 coup.

“The recent bombs should be a one-time event and disappear,” NESDB Secretary-General Porametee Vimolsiri said Monday at a media briefing.

“We expect the government to keep the situation under control. We don’t count this as a risk factor for the second half.

Tourists have started to return to affected areas and things are getting back to normal.”

The baht gained 0.2 percent to 34.712 against the dollar as of 11:47 a.m. in Bangkok.

The benchmark SET Index of stocks fell 0.1 percent after a slide in tourism-related companies including Airports of Thailand Pcl and Minor International Pcl. The NESDB said GDP growth this year will be toward the upper end of its range of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent, with tourism and government spending likely to be the key drivers in the second half. The economic forecasting unit raised its estimate for tourist arrivals to 33.5 million this year, from an earlier estimate of 33 million. Bloomberg

People take selfies in front of the Trevi Fountain in downtown Rome early on August 7, 2016. AFP

expansionary package.

Data published on Friday showed the Italian economy failed to grow between the first and second quarters of this year.

That means the government will now have to reduce forecasts of growth of 1.2 percent for this year and 1.4 percent in 2017, with knock-on effects on its deficit reduction plans.

“I can’t hide the fact that the room for maneuver is tight,” Calenda said, revealing talks with Brussels on how to stimulate investment were already under way.

Calenda implied the 2017 budget deficit will be allowed to run higher than previously planned,

possibly up to the three percent of GDP ceiling enshrined in the eurozone’s rules.

The Commission has set Italy a deficit target of 1.8 percent for 2017―an adjustment it says is necessary to reverse the upward trend in the country’s huge debt, which hit a record of just under 2.25 trillion euros ($2.51 trillion) in June.

“We have already obtained a lot of flexibility. We intend to ask for more, the maximum possible, but always within the rules,” Calenda said.

‘Better devil you know’ Renzi has already floated elements of a possible reflationary package.

These include pension increases for the poorest pensioners and an anti-poverty program funded from the 500 million euros of annual savings projected to arise from one of the cornerstones of constitutional reform: the abolition of the lavishly financed Senate.

Infrastructure minister Graziano Delrio said Sunday the government is planning to hit the ground running in September by initiating, restarting or refinancing a string of major public works.

The plans include an acceleration of the construction of a new Brenner rail tunnel between Italy and Austria, linking Genoa’s port to the high-speed rail network

and a cross country high-speed train link between Naples and Bari, as well as several motorway projects.

Economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore said the envisaged measures would have a short-term cost of four billion euros.

Renzi has also mooted bringing forward income-tax cuts planned for 2018 to next year in a bid to appease voters frustrated by years of falling real incomes.

A senior EU official familiar with Italy’s negotiations told AFP that Renzi would be able to twist arms in Brussels because of concern about the implications of him possibly losing the referendum and acting on his pledge to

step down.

“Better the devil you know! If Renzi goes, who knows who will replace him,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

A Renzi departure would be expected to lead to early elections which, current polls suggest, could be topped by the populist and increasingly popular Five Star Movement.

The movement founded by comedian Beppe Grillo officially supports a referendum on an ‘Italexit’ from the eurozone. Although it has played down that commitment of late, the prospect of it coming to power would send fresh shockwaves across Europe after the Brexit vote. AFP

Speed boost for Ubuntu MY Linux desktop PC (dual core 3GHz Pentium D and 4GB RAM) has been showing its age recently so I looked online for ways to bring back some of its old snap.

I had recently upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04 and found, for the most part, that my old PC was still capable of running it quite well. But I noticed that the flashy animation and 3D effects were slowing down some applications, making them feel sluggish. Much as I like my eye candy, I like a smooth-running PC better, so I decided to ditch the animations.

To do this, I used Classic GNOME Flashback, a 2D desktop environment that’s clean and easy to use. The quickest way to install it is to open a terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T) and type these two commands (followed by Enter): sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install gnome-session-flashback

you to the classic GNOME desktop minus the fancy (and resource-hungry) animations and special effects—and sans Ubuntu’s Unity interface.

To make the desktop feel even more familiar (I use a Mac half the time), I use Cairo-Dock as a launcher.

To install it, fire up a terminal and type: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install cairo-dock

Swappiness is a number between 0 and 100.

The lower the number, the longer it takes before Ubuntu starts using the hard drive as virtual memory. The default is 60, but setting it to 10 will speed things up.

or horizontal lines that designate the “More Actions” menu button in the upper corner. Select “Drive Settings” to enable write caching. Reboot the system and you ought to see an improvement in how long it takes for the system to boot. There is one caveat, however: To check your current swappiness value, type enabling write-behind caching means that if you lose power while there is data in memory that has not been this in terminal: written yet to the hard drive, you could suffer some data loss or corrupt files. cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

3. Use preload. Preload, the short name for Press Enter. The result will probably be 60. To Adpative Readahead Daeomon, enables Ubuntu After running the setup for a week, I’ve found lower the swappiness to 10, type in terminal: to learn which applications you use most ofen so that my system feels much snappier, with no perthat the operating can load them in advance. Use sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf ceptible delays now when screens have to be reUbuntu’s software manager to search for “predrawn. load” and install the application. Some users have Press Enter. Scroll to the bottom of the text file reported that their browsers open 50 percent to 75 Encouraged by this success, I looked for other and add this line: percent faster after installing preload. ways to improve system performance on Ubuntu 16.04. Here are a few more things you can try:

You will need to type in your log-in password at 1. Reduce the use of the hard drive as virtual the first command. memory. On old PCs with limited memory, consider changing the system’s swappiness, a variOnce the program is installed, log out. On the able that determines how soon Ubuntu uses the new login screen, click the small white Ubuntu hard drive as virtual memory to store data tempologo and choose GNOME Flashback Metacity rarily. When the system uses the swap too much, from the dropdown menu, then log in. That takes the computer slows down.

vm.swappiness=10

4. Use Bleachbit to clean up your hard drive.

The free and open source utility BleachBit deletes Save and close the text file then reboot your unnecessary files like caches, cookies, Internet computer. history, localizations, logs, temporary files, and 2. Enable write-behind caching on the hard disk. broken shortcuts to free up valuable disk space.

By default, Ubuntu turns this feature off, but enabling Column archives and blog at: it can speed things up. To do this, use the disk utility http://www.chinwong.com and highlight your hard drives. Look for the little gear

LGUs

Estrada sets free E-trike charging TO facilitate the launch of electric tricycles (E-trikes) next month, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has started putting up charging stations around the city for E-trike drivers.

The city government has partnered with the Manila Electric Co. in the installation of the charging stations-cum-terminals, most of which are set in Manila’s tourist belt area.

“The E-trike drivers can charge their batteries for free,” Estrada said.

The mayor earlier announced the formal launch of his landmark E-trike project next month with an initial fleet of 384 battery-operated vehicles to be rolled out and distributed to tricycle drivers through an affordable fiveyear “boundary-installment” scheme.

The city government procured the 384 units of E-trikes for more than P145 million or P380,000 each.

Estrada said he intended the E-trike project to be a more practical livelihood program for 5,000 Manila tricycle drivers, whose daily earnings are largely depleted by the rising price of diesel fuel, and to support government initiatives to curb dependence on oil and cut air pollution.

“E-trikes are easier and cheaper to maintain compared to tricycles that run on fuel. With less expense on vehicle maintenance and practically zero expense on fuel, our trike drivers can expect bigger income,” the mayor pointed out.

An E-trike is powered by gel-type batteries that can be fully charged for only four to five hours. It can carry up to seven passengers and has a maximum speed of 40-45 kilometer per hour.

Estrada stressed the Etrike project was a part of his administration’s multipronged effort to combat pollution and protect the health of more than one million Manileños.

Initially, the E-trikes will be dispatched in the city’s tourist belt area—Luneta, Ermita, Malate, Intramuros, Binondo (Chinatown) and Quiapo.

Muslims perform free eye surgery

By F. Pearl Gajunera A MUSLIM medical group will perform free eye surgery on more than 400 Dabawenyos.

Dr. S. Shariq Masood, medical director of Al-basae International Foundation’s blindness control program, said their team of eye specialists volunteered for a medical mission to be conducted in coordination with the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

“The free eye surgery, which normally costs P65,000, will be performed on patients regardless of race, religion and culture,” Masood said. “It will be conducted by doctors who have performed more or less 25,000 eye surgeries in different countries.”

Lawyer Tristan Dwight Domingo, assistant city administrator, said the medical mission will definitely make a difference in the lives of many Dabawenyos.

“We are hoping that your generous assistance will continue and will be expanded to other parts of the country as well,” Domingo told Masood.

The medical group will also provide free medicines and prescription glasses.

The group has been touring Mindanao since 1994 to treat people with eye problems.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

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DREAM. An artist’s rendition of Ayala Land Inc.’s Cloverleaf Balintawak development to be completed in 2019.

QC urges modernization of Balintawak market

By Rio N. Araja

W

ITH the planned development of an 11-hectare property in Balintawak, Quezon City into a mall, hotels and a hospital, city administrator Aldrin Cuña on Friday stressed the need to modernize the Cloverleaf market to maintain its competitiveness.

In an interview, Cuña said the city government backs the ongoing development of the modern state-of-the art Ayala Malls Cloverleaf, Avida Cloverleaf Tower 2, Qualimed Hospital, Avida Cloverleaf Tower 1 and office complexes that could spur economic growth in the area, create more job opportunities and generate revenues for the city.

However, he advised Balintawak Cloverleaf market lawyerowner, Rodolfo de Guzman, to “catch up with the development of Balintawak area.”

“If Balintawak market will not upgrade its building and facilities, it will be rendered obsolete by the development,” Cuña told the Manila Standard.

He said the old Balintawak Cloverleaf market is an “eyesore.”

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista cannot be reached for comment.

The challenge of the city

government is how to convince De Guzman to rehabilitate the dilapidated market structure, Cuña said.

The Balintawak Cloverleaf administration would stand to suffer from huge losses if it failed to bring in a new facility and professionalize unruly vendors, the city government said.

The city’s Department of Building Official issued the project proponent—Ayala Land Inc.—a building permit to proceed with the construction of the residential towers, commercial and open spaces, office complexes and medical facility in one setting that is conveniently connected to northern Metro Manila’s major roads—Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, A. Bonifacio Avenue and the North Luzon Expressway.

Cloverleaf Balintawak is situated at the intersection of Edsa-NLEx and “brings the best of the metropolis and the

EYESORE. Balintawak Market in Quezon City. Revoli Cortez rest of Luzon together,” ALI said in a statement.

“It is directly connected to the LRT-Balintawak station and close to the soon-to-be completed Skyway stage 3 extension project on A. Bonifacio Avenue which will cut Makati City-Balintawak travel time to a 20-minute drive,” the statement added.

Cloverleaf Balintawak, it said, will be one of the most accessible establishments in the northern-

most tip of Quezon City.

According to Suzette Naval, ALI corporate communications manager, the development in the area of Balintawak will not affect vendors of the Balintawak Cloverleaf private market or encroach on the market’s boundary.

“With the simultaneous constructions ongoing,” ALI is on track to open the Ayala Malls Cloverleaf and Avida Cloverleaf Tower 2 in 2017, Qual-

imed Hospital in 2018 and Avida Cloverleaf Towers 2 in 2019, Naval said.

De Guzman, however, merely said he is willing to have the stalls repainted by their owners “but no major facelift.”

Equally evasive is the administrator of Mega Q-Mart and the president of Quezon City’s private market associations, Cornelio de Guzman, who said “I can’t say if I am in favor of the Ayala project or not.”

Government, MILF Veritas Chapel hosts relics of St. Bartholomew, St. Rose of Lima unite vs illegal drugs THE first class relics “ex ossibus” (from the bones) of one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, Saint Bartholomew, and of the co-patroness of the Philippines, Saint Rose de Lima, will visit Radio Veritas Chapel in Quezon City.

Devotees may pray before the first class relics of Saint Rose de Lima from August 13 to 24, and Saint Bartholomew from August 14 to 25, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Our Lady of Veritas Chapel.

St. Rose of Lima was designated as a co-patroness of the Philippines along with St. Pudentiana, who were both moved as secondclass patronage in September 1942 by Pope Pius XII. St. Rose is also the primary patroness of Peru and of the indigenous natives of Latin America.

She was born Isabel Flores de Oliva in Lima, Peru on 1586. At her confirmation in 1597, she took the name of Rose, because in her infancy her face was seen transformed by a mystical rose.

Despite her family’s objections, she took a vow of virginity and decided to live a religious life, following the example of St. Catherine of Siena, devoting herself to a life of abnegation and self-mortification. St. Rose died on August 25, 1617, at the age of 31. Her funeral was an occasion of public honor, and many miracles were said to have occurred after her death.

She was beatified by Pope Clement IX on May 10, 1667, and canonized on April 12, 1671,

by Pope Clement X, the first

Catholic in the Americas to be declared a saint. Her feast day is celebrated on August 24.

St Bartholomew was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ.

He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip and many scholars identify him as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee,” notably in Saint John’s Gospel. St. Bartholomew is credited with many miracles related to the weight of objects.

He was martyred in Armenia, being either decapitated or skinned alive. St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. His feast is celebrated on August 25.

For information, please call Renee Jose or Rey Isabela at (02) 925-7932 to 39 local 129.

By A. Perez Rimando COTABATO CITY—The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have joined forces against the illegal drug trade in MILF-managed communities in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

An agreement directing the the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to enforce anti-illegal drug programs in the MILF-controlled areas was signed by officials of the Ad Hoc Joint Section Group of the Philippine government and the MILF at Hotel Elena in Davao City with GPH chairman Brig. Gen. Arnel de la Vega, GPH joint coordinating

committee on cessation of hostilities chief Brig. Gen. Glen Macasero, MILF Al Haj Abdul Dataya, and MILF CCH chairman Butch Malang.

The MILF earlier expressed alarm over the prevalence of drug-related incidents in its jurisdiction, especially in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Marawi City and other big localities.

The agreement provides mechanisms to combat drug-related criminality in MILF communities, including information dissemination in barangay, municipal and city anti-drug abuse councils.

The MILF pledged to submit lists of drug personalities in identified areas subject to validation by the law-enforcement agencies.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

LGUs

‘PPPs will improve QC marts’ P

RIVATE market owners and operators in Quezon City should consider publicprivate partnerships to improve their business operations.

During an inter-agency meeting with owners of the city’s 47 private markets at the city hall, Mayor Herbert Bautista said engaging in joint ventures and partnerships will adapt their

businesses to present market trends and innovations.

“Quezon City still wants the private markets to operate, but, it will be a losing proposition if their owners will not upgrade

and redevelop their facilities,” the Mayor said.

Private market operators and owners must maximize air space and construct multi-level buildings through public-private partnerships, especially by markets that are not earning well. “If markets are no longer viable, their owners should consider re-purposing their use,” said the mayor.

To date, Bautista said, the city

government has also plans to engage in joint ventures for the upgrade and development of the city’s public markets, with the exception of the Kamuning and Murphy public markets.

Earlier, the Mayor gave private market owners and operators six months to comply with all the regulatory requirements legitimizing market operations The mayor gave the order after

the City Health Department reported that majority of the private markets in Quezon City are operating without the necessary regulatory permits and certificates, such as health and sanitation permits, business permits, environmental clearances and discharge permits, which are issued by the QC government, Laguna Lake Development Authority and the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources.

“Hopefully, we can get their compliance before Christmas,” the mayor said.

According to him, the city’s move is not intended to encourage market owners to close business, but rather, encourage them to improve their businesses. “We just want them to [market owners] feel that we are serious in helping them improve their businesses,” he said.

Palawan prepares port for open trade PALAWAN is preparing for open trade with neighboring countries in the East Asean Growth Area, particularly with Sabah and the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, the Provincial Information Office said recently.

To keep moving to the goal, the PIO said, the provincial government was working on the rehabilitation and expansion of facilities in Buliluyan Port in the southern Palawan town of Bataraza that would play a major role in the open trading.

The activities, the PIO said, were being done to accommodate vessels expected to sail the trade route from the province to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The port development project was funded by “the Philippine Ports Authority [PPA] with a budget of P125 million” requested by Gov. Jose Alvarez.

According to the statement, the Buliluyan Port project was bidded out in February with Garnick Construction of Bulacan winning with a bid of P121 million.

The construction works are currently under way, the PIO said.

Expansion of port facilities involves the construction of a perpendicular platform at the tip of the existing port, and the erection of the loading/unloading dock for roll on-roll off vessels.

Additional facilities will also

be installed for efficient port operations, the PIO added.

Once completed, the port will serve as the transit point for the movement of people, goods and services to and from BruneiIndonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) port destinations.

Further, the opening of the transport hub is expected to boost the local tourism industry with increased tourist arrivals notably from neighboring Kota Kinabalu, which is approximately eight hours from Palawan by sea.

The port will connect two World Heritage Sites in the sub-region.

The BIMP-Eaga is a subregional economic cooperation among developing economies in the East Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, namely the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia, the entire Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, the provinces of North Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Maluku and West Papua in Indonesia and the island of Mindanao and the province of Palawan in the Philippines.

It covers an area of 1.6 million hectares and a population of 57.5 million people. It aims to strengthen multilateral trade and commerce, tourism, investments, culture and ease of movement of people within the sub-region. PNA

MAKE BELIEVE. Cosplayers are photographed onstage after a well-applauded parade. PAOLA MAE LORENZO

Cosplay Fever at SM San Jose del Monte

By Paola Mae M. Lorenzo acters from an anime tv series, strutted their stuff on the ramp grossing film, Suicide Squad.

SM City San Jose del Monte in Bulacan held its very first cosplay event dubbed “Cosplay Fever” at the event center. Fifteen participants in brightly colored outfitr cosplayed different char-

game series and movie series.

An opening dance number was rendered by the Jollibee mascot Hetty with a group of drummers who then led the cosplayers around the mall. After the parade, the cosplayers

together with the awesome skits they prepared.

A photo booth was set up to enable the cosplayers to interact with the audience. Admission was free and cosplayers received snacks, freebies and free tickets to the top-

The cosplayers and the mall shoppers had their pictures taken onstage after the event. They asked the organizers to hold a Cosplay Competition soon with guest judges since it will attract more cosplayers to the mall.

50,000 tibig trees planted in Orani

By Butch Gunio ORANI, Bataan—The Orani Water District has planted 50,000 trees in the Tala watershed in the last five years.

In its fifth year of reforestation, the OWD planted more than 10,000 tibig tree seedlings in the watershed in the upland Barangay Tala in Orani.

“We are very happy that despite the bad weather volunteers joined us in our fifth year of reforestation,” OWD general manager Benni Andres said during the tree planting on Saturday.

The OWD employees were joined by policemen, government employees, fishermen and other volunteers.

LUXURY. A horse-drawn carriage awaits local and foreign tourists who tour the Walled City of Intramuros, Manila. Ey Acasio

New Vois backs Cebu solon’s cigarette holiday ANTI-SMOKING advocacy group New Vois Association of the Philippines said it fully supports the proposal to prohibit the sale and smoking in public of cigarettes on the 15th day of each month.

NVAP president Engineer Emer Rojas said his group advocates House Bill 41, otherwise known as the “Cigarette Holiday Act” filed by Cebu City Rep. Rodrigo Abellonasa last month.

“The proposal to designate a day without cigarette smoking is laudable and should thus be supported. It will literally be a refreshing way to have one entire day where the country will be free of poisonous cigarette smoke,” said Rojas.

A survivor from cancer in the vocal chords caused by chain

smoking, he said that having the “Cigarette Holiday” may make people realize that it is possible to live for a day without tobacco.

“Living without cigarettes is a step forward in attaining better public health. However, we, the victims of tobacco believe the proposed bill may need further study and deliberations to make it enforceable by the state as well as acceptable to the people,” the NVAP president said.

He also noted that such a proposal was in support of the planned smoking ban by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Duterte has already expressed his intention to implement a nationwide smoking ban just like what he did in Davao City when he was still the mayor.

The cigarette holiday is definitely an initial step towards achieving that goal,” Rojas said.

Duterte earlier said he would implement a no smoking policy in all enclosed public areas nationwide and prohibit the designation of smoking areas.

Both the proposed law and Duterte’s pronouncements, according to Rojas, could serve as part of the overall adoption of the endgame strategy for tobacco.

“We are hoping the administration will continue to play a key role in protecting the people’s health. Doing so will benefit not only the government but also the general public,” he said.

Based on the endgame strategy of tobacco control advocates in other countries, there is

a need for a reduction of current tobacco use to a prevalence rate of five percent or below.

This is far lower than the World Health Organization target, which is a 30-percent relative reduction by 2025 from the 2010 baseline.

The top three approaches for the endgame strategy, Rojas said, include the increase in taxes for tobacco products, placing graphic health warnings in cigarette packs, and promoting a smoke-free environment.

The Philippine government has already passed the Sin Tax Law, which increases the tax rate for cigarette products, and the Graphic Health Warning law, which makes it mandatory to place pictures of tobaccorelated illnesses in cigarette packs. PNA

The water district is conserving 28 hectares of the watershed, which is part of the Bataan National Park.

During its anniversary every February, the OWD sponsors a fun run to raise funds for its reforestation program.

The OWD used the P116,960 raised last February in the planting activity on Saturday.

Andres said their reforestation effort at the Tala watershed area aims to preserve Orani aquifers.

“We have to protect and preserve our source of water by reforesting watershed areas,” Andres stressed.

The reforestation program of OWD annually attracts the support of various sectors.

Duterte reopens Roxas night mart

By F. Pearl Gajunera DAVAO CITY—The Roxas night market reopened Saturday night, more than a week after it was ordered closed by Mayor Inday Sara Duterte.

Duterte said the reopening was still at a “trial stage,” and stressed that the city government wants to ensure that the rules and regulations are followed by the vendors and order is maintained.

The reopening was closely monitored by Davao City Traffic Transportation and Management Office Chief Rhodelio Poliquit.

The other agencies involved in the operations of the street bazaar are the City Health Office, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the Human Resource Management Office.

The popular night market was ordered closed because of

several violations committed by the vendors.

They refused to follow the one-family-one-stall rule and arbitrarily positioned their stalls. Some stalls were owned by financiers but managed by dummies. Some vendors also sub-leased stalls, and others were not even on the official list of allowed sellers.

The local government will also ensure the cleanliness and sanitation at the night market, especially in the food section. A number of portalets will be installed in the area.

Poliquit earlier implemented an ID system to monitor the vendors.

“If after three inspections the owner of the ID is not seen, it only means that he already sold the stall,” he said, “and we will immediately confiscate the stall and the vendors will be banned forever.”

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

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HK protesters escape jail time H

ong Kong—Three leaders of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella Revolution” escaped jail time Monday over protests that sparked massive rallies in 2014, with the court saying it would not base sentencing on the heated “political atmosphere” in the city.

KOWTOW. A Shinto priest (right) greets Japanese lawmakers visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine on the 71st anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, in Tokyo on Monday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual donation to a controversial Tokyo war shrine on Monday— the 71st anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II—but avoided visiting in an apparent nod to China and South Korea. AFP

Probe sought on Aussie abuse of refugees SYDNEY—Australia was Monday facing growing opposition demands for an inquiry into its treatment of asylum-seekers on remote Pacific islands after further allegations emerged of abuse against refugees.

Photographs published in Australian media on the weekend showed two bloodied Afghan men after they were allegedly attacked with an iron bar by locals on Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Manus Island.

The graphic images follow the leaking last week of some 2,000 incident reports filled in by workers on the second island to which Australia sends asylum-seekers arriving by boat, Nauru, detailing

abuse suffered by asylum-seekers.

“We’re seeing more and more disturbing reports coming out from Nauru,” opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten said Monday.

“Just because people are in detention doesn’t mean that they have to be mistreated and it doesn’t mean that they should be kept in indefinite detention,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“That’s why Labor is leading the push to have a Senate inquiry.”

Shorten said he still supported the offshore processing of asylumseekers on Nauru and in PNG to dissuade others from making the dangerous journey to Australia, but that refugees should not be

left to languish in Pacific camps indefinitely.

The leaked documents, which allege that asylum-seekers on Nauru, including children, suffer violence, sexual assault and degrading treatment, have prompted the United Nations to repeat calls for offshore processing to end.

“The allegations contained in the documents must be systematically and properly investigated and those responsible held accountable,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

New Zealand’s Labour opposition has also weighed into the de-

bate, with David Shearer describing the policy as unsustainable.

“It’s almost like Australia has lost its moral compass in terms of where it’s going,” he said.

The Nauru reports published

by The Guardian allege incidents such as guards threatening a boy with death and only allowing a young woman a longer shower in return for sexual favors.

Mental stress caused by prolonged detention was deemed to be the cause of alleged cases of self-harm, including a woman trying to hang herself and a girl sewing her lips together.

Some 442 people remain on tiny Nauru today and almost double that number on Manus. AFP

Islamist Egyptian fotog cries for justice

RUIN. The brother of late Mohammed Nasser Tarayrah, a Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death an Israeli

teen in a Jewish settlement, inspects his brother’s home after Israeli army partially destroyed it on Monday in the village of Bani Naim, near the Palestinian city of Hebron. AFP

Syrians create app vs German red tape BERLIN—Interminable queues, impenetrable paperwork, unpronounceable German words—the hurdles for any newcomer to Europe’s top economy can be daunting but now there’s an app for that, says a team of enterprising Syrian refugees.

It’s called Bureaucrazy, after the often Kafkaesque process of getting housing, health care and a bank account, not to mention seeking asylum.

The team is made up of six budding programmers from Berlin’s ReDI School of Digital Integration, a non-profit organization that trains refugees in coding and entrepreneurship.

Its first class started in February with 42 students, of whom 35 were awarded diplomas in June.

“I was shocked by the long waits in line and when I first arrived, I waited two weeks for a paper called ‘Kostenuebernahme’— it’s a permission for staying in an apartment or hotel” at state expense, said one of the developers, 30-year-old Omar Alshafai.

“Also when I signed the paper—it was in German—we

didn’t know what we were signing,” said Alshafai, who came from Damascus in April 2015.

The thicket of red tape facing Germany’s refugees was highlighted last month by a Chinese backpacker who made global headlines after he accidentally signed an application for asylum when he lost his wallet. He was only able to sort out the mistake and retrieve his passport after spending 12 days in a refugee shelter.

Alshafai’s teammate Ghaith Zamrik, a 19-year-old from the war-ravaged Syrian capital, arrived in Berlin last Christmas Day. Just two months later, he was enrolled at the ReDI school.

“At the first session we were doing some brainstorming—we were discussing what problems we had and how technology could solve these problems,” he said.

“We had two main issues, the first was the language and the other was bureaucracy because we couldn’t understand it, how the system works here.”

But while the market was flooded with translation apps, the team saw a potentially huge

audience for technology that could offer downloads of required documents, map the locations of relevant offices and address frequently asked questions.

The pair howled in mock pain as they recalled the German tongue-twisters necessary to open doors, with “Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung” (proof that you don’t own rent for a previous flat) among the most devilish.

Even Germans they asked for help were often bewildered by the jargon of official correspondence, making their app a potential godsend for more than just asylum seekers.

“We’re hoping to also help all the migrants, or anybody who comes new to Germany, with the bureaucratic system,” Zamrik said.

The team started work in February and by early June had a successful demonstration at Berlin’s Startup Europe Summit.

Anne Kjaer Riechert, the CEO and co-founder of ReDI, noted Germany had an estimated 43,000 unfilled jobs in the IT sector and that refugees represented untapped potential. AFP

CAIRO—Shouting to make himself heard from the soundproof glass dock during a break in his trial, Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abdel Shakour said he feels he has been “forgotten” in prison.

Three years ago, Abdel Shakour—known as Shawkan—had been covering the police dispersal of an Islamist protest camp in Cairo when he was arrested, and he has been in jail ever since.

August 14, 2013 was the bloodiest day in Egypt’s modern history, and one of the deadliest in the region since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Hundreds of Islamists supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi, toppled by the military in July that year, were mowed down by police in clashes. About 10 policemen were killed.

Three years later, thousands of Islamists remain in prison after a wide-ranging crackdown that has extended to leftists and even journalists like Shawkan.

Shawkan had been photographing the carnage that day for the Demotix photo agency when he was arrested. Three journalists, including Sky News cameraman Michael Deane, were shot dead in the violence.

The photographer spent months in pre-trial detention before he was put on trial along with hundreds of other defendants over the protest.

“I feel like I’ve been forgotten in prison,” Shawkan, 29, told an Agence France Presse reporter during a break at a recent court session, yelling through the glass barrier to make himself heard.

“I feel despair, and powerless.

Time is flying by while I’m in jail.”

He is imprisoned in a poorly ventilated cell which becomes scorching hot in summer.

“My hope diminishes every day,” he said, adding that he missed being able to look at the sky. AFP

Tensions are high as fears grow that China is closing its grip on semi-autonomous Hong Kong and observers had said a harsh sentence on the three popular young campaigners could lead to a backlash.

Their conviction last month in the highest profile court case to emerge from the pro-democracy movement was slammed by rights group Amnesty International, which described it as an intimidation tactic and a “chilling warning” to the city’s activists.

However, magistrate June Cheung said the three defendants—Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow—had no previous criminal records, were concerned about social issues and passionate about politics.

“They turned it into action,” she said.

“The court believes the case is different from an ordinary criminal case. I accept they were genuinely expressing their views.”

Cheung added it would be “unfair to the defendants if a deterrent sentence is imposed based on the political atmosphere.”

Wong, 19, and Law, 23, were given community service over the protest, which saw students climb over a fence into forecourt of the government complex in the heart of the city, known as Civic Square.

The third activist, Alex Chow, 25, was given a suspended threeweek sentence.

All three were facing possible

two-year jail sentences when they appeared at district court on Monday morning.

Their arrests for the Civic Square protest in September 2014 sparked wider rallies that erupted two days later when police fired tear gas on the growing crowds.

That galvanized more than two months of mass demonstrations by tens of thousands of residents, calling for fully free leadership elections for the city—but despite the huge turnout, Beijing refused to grant any concessions.

The umbrellas used by protesters to protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray gave the movement its name.

Wong and Chow had been charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly for the Civic Square demonstration, while Law was charged with inciting others to take part.

Wong has always said the various protest-related charges against him and others are political persecution.

Since the failure of the mass rallies to win reform, a growing number of young activists have begun calling for Hong Kong to break entirely from Beijing.

Wong and Law—who is a candidate for the city’s upcoming legislative council elections— recently founded a new political party, Demosisto, campaigning for self-determination for the city. AFP

Republic of the Philippines required to appear and show cause why REGIONAL TRIAL COURT the petition should not be granted.

National Capital Judicial Region Branch 98, Quezon City, Metro Manila The Branch Clerk of Court is ordered to cause the service of copies of this order IN THE MATTER OF CORRECTION on the Philippine Statistics Authority OF THE ENTRY IN THE BIRTH CERTIFICATES OF THE MINORS (National Statistics Office), Local Civil JOHN STEPHANO CARLO CABADA Registrar of Quezon City, Office of the REGINALDO AND JOANNA CLARISSE CABADA REGINALDO IN City Attorney of Quezon City, Office of THE OFFICE OF THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF QUEZON CITY the City Prosecutor of Quezon City and Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for R-QZN-16-05166 SP their comment/report.

CRISTINA CABADA REGINALDO Petitioner, THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF QUEZON CITY, Respondent. x--------------------------------------------x

ORDER

Before this Court is a verified petition filed by petitioner through counsel on May 26, 2016, praying that an order be issued directing the correction of the abovementioned entries in the birth certificates of said minor children of herein petitioner by ordering the deletion of the middle name CABADA as erroneously appearing thereon.

The petition, being sufficient in form and substance, is hereby given due course and set for initial hearing on December 5, 2016 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning before this Court sitting at Rooms 207-208, 2/F, Hall of Justice, City Hall Complex, Quezon City at which date, time and place all interested persons are

On the other hand, the petitioner is directed to serve a copy of the petition on the government agencies abovementioned, and to submit proof of compliance thereof and to have this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation to be chosen by raffle, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks at least two (2) weeks before the date of hearing.

In the event that hearing should not take place on the said date due to fortuitous event or if the aforesaid scheduled date is declared a non-working holiday, it shall be held on December 12, 2016 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the same time and place without further notice.

SO ORDERED. Quezon City, Metro Manila, June 13, 2016.

(Sgd.) MARILOU D. RUNES-TAMANG, MNSA Presiding Judge (MS-Aug. 2, 9 & 16, 2016)

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A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

INVITATION TO BID FOR PROCUREMENT OF TWO (2) LOTS ANNUAL MEDICAL EXAMINATION SERVICES AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION FOR CF CEBU FOR A PERIOD OF THREE (3) YEARS UNDER ITB NO. PB16-033CEB The Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Is inviting all interested bidder in its forthcoming public bidding for the Procurement of Two (2) Lots Annual Medical Examination Services and Neuropsychological Evaluation for CF Cebu for a Period of Three (3) Years under ITB No. PB16-033CEB Brief Description

Procurement of Two (2) Lots Annual Medical Examination Services and Neuropsychological Evaluation for CF Cebu for a Period of Three (3) Years under ITB No. PB16-033CEB Lot 1: Procurement of a 3-Year Annual Medical Examination for rank and file employees Lot 2: Procurement of Neuro-Psychological Testing for approximately twenty six (26) drivers

Delivery Schedule

Within Thirty (30) calendar days from the effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC):

The ABC for the project is in the amount of Five Million Four Hundred Thirteen Thousand Six Hundred Fifty Pesos (Php5,413,650.00), VAT Exclusive, ZeroRated Transaction.

Lot 1: Five Million Three Hundred Seventy Four Thousand And Six Hundred Fifty Pesos (P5, 374,650.00) for Three (3) years, Vat Exclusive, Zero rated Transaction Lot 2: Thirty Nine Thousand Pesos (P39, 0000.00) for Three (3) years, Vat Exclusive, Zero rated Transaction

Source of Funds:

Internally Funded

Bidder should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidder. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of activities is listed, as follows: Activities 1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents 2. Pre-Bid Conference

Schedule Aug 16, 2016 to Sep 6, 2016 August 24, 2016, 2:00pm

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

September 6, 2016, 2:00pm

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

September 6, 2016, 2:01pm

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidder at the Procurement Section (PS) of Casino Filipino Cebu, acting as the BBAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable cost for the sale of bidding documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php5,000.00) Prospective bidder may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidder shall pay the non-refundable bidding fee not later than the date of the submission of bids. The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidder. Prospective bidder should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth(6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del PilarStreet corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila or at the Procurement Section, Casino Filipino Cebu (PS, CF-Cebu) either the Bidding Fee Slip which may be secured from PD/PS of CF-Cebu or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Branch Bids and Awards Committee, Casino Filipino Cebu (BBAC, CF-Cebu)shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: 1.

2.

In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.

The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Please address all communications to the Branch Bids and Awards Committee, thru Procurement Section, 3rd Level, VIP 5, Casino Filipino Cebu, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Salinas Drive, Lahug Cebu City. Tel No.: 032-268-4989 or 2326272 local 5265.

(SGD) JOEL G. CANTOS Branch Bids and Awards Committee (BBAC), CF-CEBU (MS-AUG. 16, 2016)

C4

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

World

PANIC. Passengers get down at the immigration control while police looking for an active shooter at JFK International airport in New York on Sunday. Unconfirmed reports of shots fired at New York’s main airport triggered scenes of panic, massive evacuations and huge delays late Sunday. There was no immediate confirmation of injuries or arrests, but Port Authority police evacuated at least two terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport out of precaution. AFP

Gunshot rumors cause chaos at JFK airport NEW YORK—Unfounded reports of shots fired at New York’s main airport triggered scenes of panic, massive evacuations and huge delays late Sunday.

There was no immediate confirmation of injuries or arrests, but Port Authority police evacuated at least two terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport out of precaution.

Spokesman Joe Pentangelo said Port Authority police had received an ultimately “unfounded” call of shots fired.

A ground stop was in place until 12:30 am (0430 GMT) for “security” reasons, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Around that time, New York Police Department Special Operations Division Chief Harry Wedin said all terminals had been “searched & cleared.”

“All affected terminals will resume operations shortly. No shots were fired,” he added on Twitter.

The Port Authority also said a preliminary investigation found no shots were fired at JFK and there were no injuries.

“At this time, no gun shells or other evidence of shots fired has

been found,” a statement added.

“The terminal was evacuated out of an abundance of caution...

There is substantial PAPD and NYPD presence at JFK and LGA. Investigation continues.”

Wedin said earlier that Port Authority, NYPD and Emergency Service Unit police were clearing Terminal 1 and Terminal 8.

But a pilot on a plane awaiting departure at Terminal 2 said police were sweeping that terminal after it was evacuated.

At Terminal 1, an Agence France Presse journalist was among passengers stranded on a plane on the tarmac for an hour and a half.

After deplaning, hundreds of people queuing to pass through immigration checkpoints were stuck in the area for more than two hours under heavy police presence.

Panic spread quickly through the crowd as police ordered people to lie on the ground, then evacuated them outside on the tarmac before making them pass through a corridor.

“Get down on the ground!” police officers yelled. “Move, move move!” AFP

7,000 Louisianans saved from floods W

ashington—US President Barack Obama issued Sunday a disaster declaration for flood-devastated Louisiana, where emergency workers have rescued more than 7,000 residents stranded in homes and cars, said the White House.

The action makes emergency federal funding available to support rescue crews working nonstop as deadly flooding ravages the state, disastrous weather that has left at least three dead and one missing, said officials.

“This is a serious event,” Governor John Bel Edwards said of the “historic” record floods.

“This is ongoing,” he added.

“This is not over,” even with the rains lessening as they move west and the sun appearing in some flooded areas.

The flooding submerged large parts of the region on Sunday, three days after water-swelled

streams and rivers began rising.

Local, state and national agencies have been working together to rescue residents.

Thousands were evacuated in Livingston Parish, near the capital Baton Rouge, the sheriff’s department told local media, with 100 people still waiting for help.

The Louisiana National Guard said it had rescued nearly 500 people and 61 pets, including 15 rescues by air.

The Coast Guard said its helicopters rescued more than 50 people from rooftops, vehicles and trailers on Saturday.

‘Crooked media’ rile Trump WA S H I N GT O N — D o n a l d Trump, clearly angered by news reports that he has grown depressed and sullen over his fading presidential prospects, has issued some of his sharpest attacks on the media.

“I am not running against Crooked Hillary Clinton,” the Republican presidential candidate said in a speech late Saturday in Fairfield, Connecticut. “I’m running against the crooked media.”

Trump seemed particularly upset with a New York Times article that quotes unnamed associates of his as saying that in private “his mood is often sullen and erratic.”

Republicans close to his campaign were quoted as saying he was “exhausted, frustrated and still bewildered” by the political process.

The real estate tycoon returned to his message on Sunday, tweeting: “My rallies are not covered properly by the media. They never discuss the real message and never show crowd size or enthusiasm.”

Later, amid a flurry of further tweets on the subject, he added: “It is not ‘freedom of the press’ when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!” AFP

In one dramatic rescue in Baton Rouge captured on video, rescuers on a boat pulled a woman from a car that had just slipped under water.

The woman shouts, “Oh my God, I’m drowning!”

A rescuer jumps into the murky brown water and pulls her out by the arm. When she tries to dive under for her dog, he goes underwater and reappears holding the dog.

Most of the flooding has been around the capital Baton Rouge.

Edwards said he and his family were forced to leave the governor’s mansion after water filled the basement, shutting off electricity.

“I have traveled to affected areas and have seen the destruction caused by this unprecedented flooding,” he said.

“We are thankful for the federal government’s quick response to our request for an

emergency declaration. This is an ongoing event, and we are confident that every available state and federal resource will be brought to bear.”

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings extending from the Texas coast to the Ohio River Valley.

“Showers and thunderstorms will develop along and near the front from the Northeast to the Ohio Valley to the Southern Plains/Lower Mississippi Valley through Tuesday,” it said.

The heavy rains began Friday, with between six and 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) of rain falling on parts of southeast Louisiana, and several more inches on Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters predict the storm will turn north, saying parts of central and northern Louisiana and southern Texas may see heavy rain for several days. AFP

US nukes in Turkey can be seized by terrorists

PROTEST. Police in riot gear line up as angry crowds took to the streets for a second night to protest an

officer-involved killing Sunday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Protestors threw rocks and there was gunfire in the crowd as hundreds of people confronted police after an officer shot and killed a fleeing armed man earlier in the day. AFP

More Pokestops say ‘Pokemon No!’ PARIS—The global Pokemon Go craze has prompted a slew of complaints, from memorial sites arguing it’s disrespectful to play there to whole countries imposing a ban on the smartphone game.

But is it really possible to declare a place a no-go zone for people hunting the cartoon monsters?

Which places have declared war on Pokemon?

Sites that have expressed irritation at Pokemon Go players include private properties, gov-

ernment buildings, historic monuments and memorial sites.

The museum at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp, the Holocaust memorial in Berlin and Japan’s Hiroshima memorial have all complained about visitors bent over their mobiles trying to catch Pikachus instead of contemplating the weight of history.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have also declared blanket bans on the game.

The Iranian ban came days after its release last month, with of-

ficials saying it could be used for spying because the app leads users to real-life locations—though youngsters are playing regardless, using VPN connections to mask their location.

In Saudi Arabia, the top clerical body has meanwhile re-issued a 15-year-old fatwa banning Pokemon in response to the new smartphone version, saying it is too much like gambling and appears to be based on the theory of evolution, which is rejected by Islam. AFP

WASHINGTON—Dozens of US nuclear weapons stored at a Turkish air base near Syria are at risk of being captured by “terrorists or other hostile forces,” a Washington think tank claimed Monday.

Critics have long been alarmed

by America’s estimated stockpile of about 50 nuclear bombs at Incirlik in southern Turkey, just 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the border with war-torn Syria.

The issue took on fresh urgency last month following the attempted coup in Turkey, in which the base’s Turkish commander was arrested on suspicion of complicity in the plot.

“Whether the US could have maintained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question,” said Monday’s report from the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank working to promote peace.

Incirlik is a vital base for the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, with the strategically located facility affording drones and warplanes fast access to IS targets.

But the Pentagon in March ordered families of US troops and civilian personnel stationed in southern Turkey to quit the re-

gion due to security fears.

“From a security point of view, it’s a roll of the dice to continue to have approximately 50 of America’s nuclear weapons stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey,” report co-author Laicie Heeley said.

“There are significant safeguards in place. ... But safeguards are just that, they don’t eliminate risk. In the event of a coup, we can’t say for certain that we would have been able to maintain control,” she told Agence France Presse.

While the Pentagon does not discuss where it stores nuclear assets, the bombs are believed to be kept at Incirlik as a deterrent to Russia and to demonstrate America’s commitment to NATO, the 28-member military alliance that includes Turkey.

The Incirlik nuke issue has been the subject of renewed debate in the United States since the coup attempt.

“While we’ve avoided disaster so far, we have ample evidence that the security of US nuclear weapons stored in Turkey can change literally overnight,” Steve Andreasen, director for defense policy and arms control on the White House National Security Council staff from 1993 to 2001, wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times last week. AFP

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Pianist Alberto Urroz

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

ARTS, CULTURE, TECH & MEDIA

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016

D1 SpanishFilipino operatic soprano Andion Fernandez

The sound of music in

Jeffrey ChingAndion Fernandez

household T

By Pablo A. Tariman

HEY are back in Manila for their regular musical homecoming and will be heard in an evening of music honoring Spanish composer Enrique Granados on Aug. 2 at the CCP Little Theater.

Soprano Andion Fernandez will interpret Spanish pieces with Alberto Urroz on the piano while composer-husband Jeffrey Ching will give a unique, if, unusual tribute to Granados by fusing his own Sonata Domenica to the “Scarlattiana” tradition that Granados began.

Explained Ching, “Our concert is a tribute to Granados in the centennial year of his death. Hence, the program is overwhelmingly Spanish not just with pieces

by Granados but also by Mompou (a fellow Catalan) and De Falla. A ChineseFilipino like me really has no place in this company! Nevertheless, I so admire the way our guest pianist from Navarra, Alberto Urroz, brings the Spanish elements

to the forefront when he plays Scarlatti— the Italian genius who settled in Spain in 1729 – that I expressly composed a short sonata based on Scarlatti for Alberto to premiere at this concert. Granados himself spearheaded a Scarlatti renaissance with his 26 transcriptions –so I am very proud to be carrying the tradition he started into the 21st century. I find Granados unique as a composer. In him there is all power and all delicacy, achieved with unbelievable spontaneity and purity of inspiration. His own aesthetic statements reveal a lot—a late Romantic nostalgic for the courtly, bitter-sweet.”

The soprano thinks the program enables her to retrace her roots. “It is rare to

Chinese-Filipino contemporary composer Jeffrey Ching

have an all-Spanish classical concert in the Philippines. In 2016 we commemorate a tragic event—Granados died 100 years ago when a submarine torpedo hit his boat as he was crossing the English Channel. But by paying this musical tribute to him, not only do I get to explore my Spanish heritage, but all we Filipinos get a chance to re-assess the immense cultural debt we owe to Spain and her rich culture.

In this concert, I will be singing seven Tonadillas by Granados. They are short songs, which are mostly about love and heartbreak. I think these pieces are very charming. Sometimes the poetry is really sad yet the music magically remains elegant and graceful. For Filipinos the empathy with Spanish music as a whole of course runs very deep. But Granados explores emotions linked to love and death, and his many moods range from playful too tragic—all these have a powerful and universal appeal.”

She said she started working with the pianist in 2013 and, by coincidence, he comes from the same town in northern Spain where her father comes from. “We probably are related to each other because his mother’s maiden name occurs in the Fernandez family tree some generations back. He is a very fine pianist and a wonderful musician. It is really a pleasure working and singing with him.

Indeed, the Filipino couple’s moving to Berlin yielded several well-received contemporary works one of which was Ching’s, Das Waisenkind (The Orphan), which was cited as the best opera production by a German opera company for 2011-12 season.

Ching had a good memory of that musical breakthrough in Germany. “To be exact my opera won the Audience Prize—that is, the most popular opera production by audience vote—in the Theater Erfurt 2009-10 season which was where and when it was premiered. Gratifying yes, because it won over Handel and Tchaikovsky by a wide margin— and that is astounding for a new, maybe even confusing score—in seven lan-

guages!—that had never been heard before. However complex my pieces may seem to be, they are already the simplest that I could make them—both for the performers and the listeners—and after all, my ultimate object is to address the heart and mind as directly as possible about the great questions and mysteries of our universal human condition. The reviews in the German and Austrian press were unanimously enthusiastic and seemed to think I had achieved this. Of course I was very lucky to have a great cast (which included Andión in the title role), an intelligent conductor (Samuel Bächli), and an unusually empathetic stage director (Jakob-Peters Messer) and his design team. But I must reserve special praise for the artistic director of the theatre, Guy Montavon, who commissioned the opera from me in the first place, and believed in the potential of the work from start to finish.”

He likes to believe Germany is a natural haven for contemporary works, which don’t attract a good audience in Manila. “In Germany contemporary music, both instrumental and operatic, is understood—correctly in my opinion—as growing directly out of the same classical traditions that produced all the great composers from J. S. Bach to Richard Strauss. And therefore state and society feel a moral obligation to support new music, however difficult to appreciate on first hearing, because logically it is the only way the world can continue to nourish the Bachs and Strausses of the next generation. There is such a surfeit of both classical and contemporary music in Berlin—indeed in Germany as a whole—that it can often be difficult for a composer desperate to make an impression on one of the most cultured concert and opera audiences in the world, not to fall back onto cliché and (as Schumann said of Meyerbeer) “effects without causes.”

His Berlin routine suits his work as a composer. “I like to rise very early, five or six in the morning, before the chil-

dren wake up for school, so I already get some thinking done before the rest of the household is up. Usually I bring the children to school, and Andión picks them up. We then have several hours to ourselves in-between—more composition for me, vocalizing and repertoire for Andión. Our dog, a Bichon called Piera, likes to sleep on my study room couch while I work, and this is very calming for both of us. Once the children are home, Andión and I help with the schoolwork. My assigned domains are Chinese assignments and Jeffrey Jr.’s piano practice; Andión oversees Clara’s piano practice—and just about everything else!”— So how did parenthood change their musical life?

Pointed Andion, “Before the kids came along, music was my whole life.

Experiencing motherhood has opened up my world, and my understanding about life has become deeper. Of course being a mother is time consuming, as I have to be there for my children (and husband) always! So now I really have to budget my time learning and practicing my music, making sure that I am not sacrificing its quality in any way.”

Jeffrey likes to think fatherhood must expand everything about one’s humanity—and that in turn must reshape one’s creativity in unpredictable ways. “I can’t say I’ve ever re-thought a concept because my children didn’t get it (my boy is 10, my daughter, seven). But on the other hand, they have time and again surprised me with their receptivity to the weirdest sounds modern music can offer, which in turn encourages me to forge ahead along my chosen path, however eccentric.”

(The Aug. 21 concert of soprano Andion Fernandez, pianist Alberto Urroz and composer Jeffrey Ching is presented by the Embassy of Spain and Instituto Cervantes de Manila in collaboration with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Turkish Airlines and Rustan’s.

For ticket inquiries to the Aug. 21 concert, call the CCP box office at 8323704 or 8321125.)

DOLLS, DRAMA AND THE TIES THAT BIND

Discover the distinct charm of Japanese ‘Bunraku’ and Philippine puppet play FOR the first time in a long time, Bunraku will be staged in the Philippines in commemoration of the 60 Years of Philippines-Japan Friendship and the 20th Anniversary of the Japan Foundation, Manila.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) proudly present PuppetXchange: Arts of Puppetry from Japan and the Philippines today at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater).

The one-day event will have two shows: matinee at 3 p.m. and soiree at 8 p.m. with both shows following the same format with the same content. A short lecture will precede the demonstrations of Philippine pieces by the Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas (Mulat Theater) and the Japanese piece by the professional members of the Ningyojoruri Bunrakuza), an esteemed Bunraku group in Japan. Manila is the final stop for the touring puppeteers after performing in New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.

In Ningyo Joruri Bunraku—Japan’s traditional puppet theater and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage — the gripping story is carried out by an ensemble of a narrator, a shamisen

Japanese traditional puppet theater Ningyo Joruri Bunraku

player and three members manipulating one puppet. This theatrical form is a blend of sung narrative, instrumental accompaniment and puppet drama dating back to the early Edo period (ca.

1600) when puppetry was coupled with Joruri, a popular 15th-century narrative genre.

The Bunraku lecture and demonstration of the Japanese piece (Excerpt from The Red-Hot Love of the Greengrocer’s Daughter — The Watch-Tower Scene) are produced by Adventure

Teatrong Mulat ng PIlipinas

Japan Inc. and AJ Adventure Japan & Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Meanwhile, the Philippine pieces (Ang Paghuhukom and Ang Awit ni Baylan) will be performed by Mulat Theater. Despite the little local puppet tradition to draw on, the group developed its own unique, evolving style as inspired by traditional puppetry of Indonesia and Japan. Furthermore, Ang Awit ni Baylan is a Joruri and Bunraku-inspired adaptation of a familiar folklore among the Manobo tribesmen

of Agusan del Norte.

Mulat Theater was founded by Professor Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio in 1977, and has continued to produce and perform puppet plays and represent the Philippines in various international puppet festivals and conferences.

The puppetry link between the two theater groups will not be confined on the stage. There was also an Exchange Program, organized in cooperation with the University of the Philippines Center for International Studies (UP-

CIS), yesterday at the Bulwagan ng Dangal of the UP Main Library, with local theater groups and performing artists and students.

The Japan Foundation, meanwhile was established in 1972 by special legislation in the Japanese Diet and became an Independent Administrative Institution in October 2003. The mission of the Japan Foundation is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. As the 18th overseas office, the Japan Foundation Manila which was founded in 1996, is active in three focused areas: Arts and Culture; Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange; Japanese-Language Education Overseas.

Admission is free for both shows. For inquiries, contact the Cultural Center of the Philippines at (02) 832-1125 or visit its website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph; the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) at (02) 811-6155 to 58 and email@jfmo.org. ph. Visit www.jfmo.org.ph and www.facebook.com/jfmanila for updates.

Please use the official hashtag #PuppetXchange, #ArtsofPuppetry and #JFmanila when posting about PuppetXchange: Arts of Puppetry from Japan and the Philippines.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

TECH

C

HINESE mobile phone brand Vivo brings its unique design and cutting-edge technology to the Philippines as it opened its first concept store in the country on Aug. 9.

Located on the lower ground floor of SM Light Mall in Mandaluyong City, Vivo concept store serves as a service center for customers with technical issues and concerns about their mobile phones.

Vivo Product Specialists (PS) assist and answer questions on the products.

Vivo was initially launched in the country in March this year. Vivo Philippines Vice President Hazel Bascon said they have received “nothing but warm welcome from Filipino consumers who have constantly supported us through several events and roadshows.”

Apart from catering to current consumers of the brand, the store also aims to expand Vivo’s market reach and promote recognition in the country.

“We at Vivo are excited to provide a new platform where our supporters can learn more about our brand and the products that we have, and for us to provide nothing but the best services to them,” enthused Bascon.

After delivering her opening speech, Bascon was joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony by Vivo Team Marketing Director Lindsay Guan, Vivo Brand Director Annie Lim, Vivo Philippines CEO Ted Xiong, Shopping Center Mgt. Corp. Senior Assistant Vice President Patrick Palla, Vivo Service Manager Sajid Silvestre and lawyer Rodel de Guzman. The ceremony was followed by a short mass held by Rev. Fr. Aries Reyes and an entertaining performance by the HHI Philippines NCR Regional Champions and semi-professional dance team Alliance.

The Vivo concept store showcases the brand’s prime products, popular for being high quality yet affordable— such as the recently launched V3 and V3Max smartphones.

V3 features 3GB RAM with a Snapdragon 64-bit Octa-Core CPU, while V3Max sports 4GB RAM as well as Snapdragon 64-bit Octa-Core CPU.

Vivo’s first concept store in the Philippines officially opens. Present during the ribbon cutting ceremony are (from left) Vivo Trade Marketing Director Lindsay Guan, Brand Director Annie Lim, Vivo Philippines Vice President Hazel Bascon, CEO Ted Xiong, Shopping Center Management Corporation Senior Assistant Vice President Patrick Pacla, Service Manager Sajid Silvestre and lawyer Rodel de Guzman

Vivo concept store at SM Light Mall offers technical support to customers

Vivo

opens first ever concept store Both products take pride in their speed: faster operation, faster fingerprint unlocking, faster charging—three qualities users search for in a smartphone.

On top of impressive hardware, Vivo ensures that its products are top-notch both inside and out. Both the V3 and V3Max are beautifully designed with refined metallic bodies and side panels

60 YEARS OLD AND STILL DANCING

Bayanihan dance company celebrates diamond year PHILIPPINES’ national folk dance company Bayanihan is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a series of shows at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. @60...Bayanihan’s Diamond Dance-o-Rama: A Ravishing Dramatization of Bayanihan’s Global Dance Trail will be on Aug. 25 to 27 at 8 p.m., with a matinee at 3 p.m. on Aug. 27.

The show will be divided into three segments that will feature a dazzling staging of “Flashes of the Past,” “Flights to Greater Heights,” and “Reaching Out to the Future.”

Coinciding with the show, the highly anticipated Bayanihan book entitled 60 Years: Fulfilling the Filipino Dream, Touching Lives, Sharing Culture. The Art of Bayanihan will be launched.

The book was written by Helena Benitez and Trustee and Executive Director Suzie Moya Benitez, and edited by Jose Cabazor. It hopes to inspire the young and the young-at- National folk dance company Bayanihan stages a series of shows to celebrate its diamond anniversary heart to love their culture and be proud of their heritage.

Since Bayanihan’s founding, it has evolved to respond to pany holds the distinction of being a nine-time World Dance a new generation of learners. To date, the folk dance com- grand prizewinner since it started competing in 2002.

We finally have Pokémon Go!

THE GIST

BY ED BIADO NOTHING has been as phenomenal in recent memory as Pokémon Go. When the mobile game arrived in the Philippines two Saturdays ago, the rage officially started. Everywhere you go, you’ll find folks of all ages on their phones, scanning the immediate vicinity for Pokémon to catch or Pokéstops to loot supplies from.

Simply based on this writer’s observation hanging out at Greenbelt, Glorietta, Mall of Asia and Bonifacio High Street, and walking around the Makati central business district, there’s a good chance that seven out of 10 Manileños are currently addicted to the game.

Pokémon Go is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game that has swept the world by storm.

Personally, I think that the great thing about this game is it not only encourages you to walk, but actually makes walking a requirement for your character to advance. Using your device’s GPS to track your movement, you can hunt for Pokémon around your vicinity and venture outside of your immediate radius to get to Pokéstops and Pokégyms,

where treats and challenges await you.

It’s also tough to fool the game. It will detect if you’re moving too fast and assume you’re in a vehicle. At which point, a popup will appear reminding you not to play while driving. To which you can reply by tapping on the box that confirms you’re the passenger, not the driver. While you can still play while in a moving vehicle, it doesn’t count toward your “walk” distance, which is measured for you to get badges and be able to hatch Pokémon eggs.

So for those naysayers claiming that video games are making us all fat, there’s Pokémon Go that counters that by being a very physically active game.

In fact, I think I did a full week’s worth of cardio on the first full day that I played the game due to the excitement of exploring my surroundings.

But of course, we should be mindful of our physical environment when playing in the digital one. There is the serious risk of being hit by a bus if you’re too engrossed in the game and not looking at the traffic. Or falling into a manhole. Or splashing yourself with puddle.

Or bumping into someone and spilling their coffee.

So as much as it’s a virtual lifeor-death situation when you’re in the middle of catching an elusive Pokémon or battling a tough opponent, it’s an even graver situation if you don’t pay attention to the outside world, especially if you’re in a very public place, which is usually where all the in-game action is.

Then again, we all know that this is just a phase. The game has only been

with us here in the country for a week or so and we’re all eager to “catch ‘em all” and level up. Within the last 10 days, Pokémon-hunting tours have been organized, both privately and commercially. Malls are enticing shoppers with Lure Parties, which are gatherings for dropping the Pokémon-attracting module Lure onto Pokéstops. And we’re sure that brands and marketers will soon follow with their own Pokémon Go-inspired campaigns. It can’t be denied that the phenomenon is as real as it gets, crossing generation, socioeconomic and gender lines.

There’s something about Pokémon Go that got to hook a huge chunk of the population. For the kids who grew up watching the anime and/or reading the manga, it’s the nostalgia – and the game capitalizes on that generation’s collective desire of being Ash Ketchum.

For those not of that generation, it’s probably the application of augmented reality tech or the utter simplicity of the gameplay. There really is no need for you to know anything about Pokémon to play Pokémon Go. You just have to like cute monsteresque creatures. For young kids, of course they’d be influenced by their cool kuyas and ates.

Point is, Pokémon Go is THE game for the whole family. It is the most popular mobile game today and has perhaps eclipsed the popularity of previous game phenoms at their peak.

The game hit the sweet spot – it was the right formula released at the right time. And its success is not at all surprising. In fact, some might say that it’s actually quite expected.

that curve gently to perfectly complement the curvy 2.5D tempered glass front cover, allowing the products to be durable yet elegant.

“Vivo has sustained its global momentum to secure the 5th spot in IDC’s (International Data Corporation) global smartphone tracker for the second quarter of the year. This growth is

reflective of our progress in the country where we’ve experienced great engagement with Filipino consumers to date,” noted Bascon.

“This makes us more confident and excited for Vivo supporters in the country as we continue to provide them with more products in the future,” she concluded. – Natalia Alexa Sy

Financial comparison made easy for Filipinos THERE are about 15 to 20 million Filipinos looking for insurance and banking products but don’t know which to choose. This is according to the research of GoBear, a free financial comparison site.

“The biggest banks here do not even have responsive websites whereas most people, or 60 percent, do search on through their mobile,” revealed GoBear founder and CEO Andre Hesselink.

“This is completely disconnect to what customers want and what traditional providers give to customers,” added Hesselink. “In that gap, I think we can fulfill the customers’ needs very well.”

Thus, the Asia’s first and only metasearch engine for financial comparison recently launched in the Philippines to help Filipinos make wise decisions in choosing the right financial products that will suit them through their computers or mobile phones.

“We are proud to represent a brand that is giving a power of choice to Filipino people and making sure that we have the wise decision for our financial problems,” enthused GoBear Philippines Country Director Rommel Torres.

The Singapore-based company is unique in its own because it serves as an information platform that does not sell anything. It claims to be transparent and personalized.

Filipinos now have the freedom to choose the right travel insurances, credit cards and personal loans without worries. GoBear works in three easy steps: Search, Compare and Select.

“We serve customers if we help them find what they are looking for in this particular industry,” Hesselink told Manila Standard.

GoBear founder and CEO Andre Hesselink introduces Gobear, a financial comparison website, to the Philippines

During the launch, Hesselink related how the idea of GoBear was born out of his personal experience when he tried to find the right car insurance for his car online. He had to go through a long process, answering irrelevant questions, but then failed at the end.

“At that point I thought with technology of today this can be done much easier and faster. And then we can help customers, so with that idea in mind, I went back to one of the shareholders I was working for in Singapore and I presented the idea, and he liked it,” recounted Hesselink.

GoBear Philippines also introduced husband-and-wife Drew and Iya-Villania Arellano as its celebrity influencers.

By the end of the year, the local GoBear team hopes to have at least 100,000 visitors using the website every week.

GoBear will also launch in Hong Kong by the end of August and in Vietnam in November 2016. – Michelle Buencamino

GoBear Philippines celebrity influencer Iya Villania-Arellano with GoBear’s mascot

Showbiz

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

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MA Artist Center stars Maricris Garcia, Migo Adecer, Kim Domingo, and James Wright inked separate recording deals with GMA Records.

Celebrating his passion for music, balladeer and Gold Record awardee James Wright shared that his career was highlighted by the opportunity to sing a few teleserye theme songs. But in renewing his contract with GMA Records, he disclosed that his upcoming album would be very different from his previous one. “Aside from being known for singing teleserye songs, I’m excited for everyone to see that there is more to me than that. Hopefully, makita nila ang different side ni James Wright.”

Also strengthening her ties with GMA Records was Maricris Garcia, who was happy to continue performing songs close to her heart. “I will be doing a compilation of the theme songs that I’ve done with GMA and then magdadagdag din kami ng mga bago. May pinag-aaralan kaming mga material, so I am confident na maganda ang kalabasan,” shared the Kapuso singer-actress.

Meanwhile for Juan Happy Love Story star Kim Domingo and Starstruck Ultimate Survivor Migo Adecer, they were very excited to venture into recording and now preparing to make this leap remarkable.

Domingo was ecstatic that her dreams are now being realized, “Gusto kong makita rin nila na kaya kong kumanta and I’m excited to release my new single dahil nag-enjoy talaga akong gawin ‘yun. I’m very thankful that GMA has been giving me the best opportunities.”

GMA Records released Kim’s digital single “Know Me” on Aug. 15 on iTunes and other digital stores worldwide.

Adecer, Starstruck 6’s Ultimate Male Survivor, is training well with Philippines’ Pop Diva Kuh Ledesma.

He gets his inspiration from the veteran singer who pushes him to work very hard. “Miss Kuh Ledesma po is the one who personally trains me sa vocal lessons.

She always reminds me na kailangan may complete rest when I sing, and she does not like wasting time,” the Kapuso star said.

According to him, his music will be very relatable to millennials and he plans to record upbeat songs. He admits to be well motivated by his supporters who are on the lookout for his upcoming projects.

Recording stars to watch out for: (from left) Migo Adecer, Maricris Garcia, Kim Domingo and James Wright

Artist Center stars sign recording contracts Nicholas Hoult at AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2016

PERFECT COMBINATION

Celebrity kids and the

Smart Watch WHAT do celebrity kids Nate Alcasid, Baste of Eat Bulaga, and the loveable Pingris kids, have in common?

These beautiful kids with discriminating parents have gotten their reward for being good – a Smart Watch – that allows them fun times of learning and games and being connected for their family’s peace of mind.

The Smart Watch from PLDT Home is the latest, and coolest gadget for kids, which can be used for taking photos, playing music and even recording files. There are more things they can do with the Smart Watch that can take the idle minds of your kids away from unproductive activities with this cool new gadget.

Your kids can also get notifications, calls and text messages through the watch when it is paired with the PLDT Home Telpad or a smart phone. No

Child star Baste shows off his Smart Watch, the coolest gadget for kids which they can use for taking photos, playing music and recording files

worries anymore about sending them messages and instructions if need be.

Mommy Regine and Daddy Ogie Alcasid, Papa Sol and Mommy Shiela as well as Daddy Marc and Mommy Danica Pingris no doubt, share the enthusiasm of other smart parents for this Smart Watch. You know why? The Smart Watch can be used as WiFi remote for Telpad or smart phone cameras so it’s easier to take selfies or groufies. It also has sleep and health monitoring features, and has an anti-lost application, which allows the watch to be connected to a Telpad or a smart phone. The wearer is alerted if the connected gadget is 10 meters away from the watch.

It can also be used to locate connected Telpad units or smart phones when they are misplaced. Kids will always be kids and this is a cool feature

to ensure that they will not lose their gadget.

PLDT HOME subscribers who upgrade to a Telpad plan automatically get a free 1Mbps HOME DSL speed boost, and for only an additional P199.00 per month, they can already top up with a powerful Smart Watch.

The watch is also available to existing Telpad subscribers. You simply have to order it online and it will be delivered to you for free.

Over the years, Telpad has established itself as the kidfriendliest gadget for the digitally connected Filipino family with exciting and exclusive content, and the Smart Watch is definitely another reason for kids, and parents, to love the Telpad.

For more add-ons and content that kids will surely love, log on to pldthome.com/telpad.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

ACROSS 1 Where to find a drone 5 — de deux 8 Branch 12 Martini extra 14 Backpack 15 Mr. Moto’s reply (2 wds.)

16 Tee partner 17 Indigo plant 18 Popular beverage 19 Ennobling 21 Bounced off the walls 23 Forum hello 24 Gene material 25 A gal. has eight 26 “Bugsy” star 30 Bum off of 32 Kelp 33 Cut into strips, as carrots 37 Disparaging remark 38 Whittled down 39 Punctually 40 Tea clippers’ concern 42 Pretty in Paris 43 Uh-oh!

44 Greeted the moon 45 Strangelove and No 48 Insult, slangily

49 Cartoon mice — and Meek 50 Thoreau’s pond 52 Mariachis, mostly 57 Adams or Brickell 58 It had three parts 60 Prickly pear 61 Shortage 62 WWW addresses 63 Mural undercoat 64 Pine 65 Cobbler 66 Lowest high tide DOWN 1 Ice-fishing need 2 Holly, in botany 3 “— Zapata!”

4 Like Mr. Hyde 5 Twinge 6 Left Bank friend 7 Excellent 8 RPM meter 9 Rodeo yell 10 Cay 11 Incites 13 All you own 14 Masterson prop 20 University wall covering 22 Pet shop buy 24 Broad valleys

26 Some party!

27 La femme 28 Water, in Baja 29 Overdue 30 Miss Muffet’s treat 31 Provide capital 33 Russell and Pauley 34 Not in effect 35 Journalist — Ducommun 36 Applied henna 38 Speaking (2 wds.)

41 Roomy

42 Not serious 44 Jinx 45 Harped on 46 Colonel Potter’s aide 47 Pizza order 49 Electric swimmers 51 Hockey feint 52 Pack animal 53 Joel or Ethan 54 Nave neighbor 55 Blast-off org.

56 Tramp through mud 59 “Exodus” hero

“WHAT a Lovely Day” and a “Beastly” good time it is for movie and pop fans around the region as AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2016 (APCC Manila) confirmed Hollywood actor Nicholas Hoult as the latest celebrity headliner to hit the stage of the biggest pop culture convention slated on Aug. 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Hoult, who made his acting debut in the 1996 Canadian-British film Intimate Relations, is best known for playing mutant scientist Beast in X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, War Boy Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, protagonist Jack in Jack the Giant Slayer, and R in Warm Bodies.

In the past, Hoult starred in the independent, science fiction drama Young Ones opposite Michael Shannon and Elle Fanning and directed by Jake Paltrow, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also starred opposite Colin Firth in Tom Ford’s directorial debut A Single Man to rave reviews.

Hoult’s most recent movie appearances were in Drake Doremus’ film Equals, a futuristic drama also starring Kristen Stewart, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, as well as the British independent production Kill Your Friends, based on a novel by John Niven.

He has recently finished shooting writer/director Danny Strong’s directorial debut Rebel in the Rye, in which he plays a young J.D. Salinger; and he will also be seen in the film Sand Castle for director Fernando Coimbra, in which he portrays an American soldier on a mission to help a village at the end of the war in Iraq.

For the fans of Hoult, APCC Manila is offering Autograph, Photograph and Meet & Greet session tickets with the actor, which will be available soon for purchase on SM Tickets

English actor Nicholas Hoult is one of the Hollywood stars to visit Manila this August for the annual APCC Manila

website, https://smtickets.com/, or at all SM Tickets outlets.

APCC Manila 2016 tickets are now available via SM Tickets with ticket prices P550.00 (one-day pass), P850.00� (twoday pass), and P1050.00 (three-day pass).

All these will give the ticketholder access to stage activities, performances, and the main show floor. The event is free for children aged five years and below for all days, but a valid identification is required for verification purposes before entering the show floor.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

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Showbiz

Congressman Lito Atienza and wife Ma. Evelina Beng IlaganAtienza are also partners in supporting meaningful causes

ISAH V. RED

F

ORMER Manila Mayor, now Congressman (of Buhay ) Lito Atienza, during a gathering with members of entertainment press, deplores how, after President Ferdinand E. Marcos left the country hurriedly during the so-called “People Power Revolution, arts and culture have been neglected by administrations that took over, from Cory Aquino in 1986 down to her son Noynoy, most recently.

“It takes 25 years for a generation, and these kids now don’t know anything about the arts and culture,” he said. “And that’s also the reason Philippine movies are in bad shape because these kids don’t appreciate local movies as much as we did during the golden years of Philippine movies during the years of Marcos.”

Atienza, José Livioko Atienza, Jr. (born August 10, 1941), currently hosts Maynila, a weekly drama anthology about lives of people living in Manila, since 1999 on GMA Network. A true-blue Manileño, many say he was the city’s best mayor ever since Antonio Villegas.

Atienza was born in the San Andrés Bukid district of Manila, four months before the outbreak of World War II. He has a degree in architecture from the University of Sto. Tomas and that helped him in rehabilitating and renewing the City of Manila, which had fallen to decay over years of unmanaged growth in population and the lack of an urban planning and community development.

He is married to Evalina Ilagan with their children including TV host Kim Atienza and athlete-turned newscaster Ali Atienza.

Atienza’s leadership can be described into three aspects; (1) social and community development – where he focused on improving the welfare of senior citizens and of children, especially for abandoned children, (2) improving living conditions by improving government services and facilities, and (3) simplifying the bureaucracy in dealing with the city government of Manila.

“One could not be an effective public servant if he couldn’t support, instill good values and manage his own family,” Lito would always tell his children. *** Irene and Natoy’s love for family will be put to test until the very end as hit ABS-CBN afternoon series Tubig at Langis approaches its must-see and intense finale.

Just as when Irene (Cristine Reyes) thought she and Natoy (Zanjoe Marudo) could finally start anew with their baby, peril lurks once more after Clara (Isabelle Daza) manages to escape from jail. Clara is more furious than ever and more determined to destroy the lives of the Villadolid family especially with her miscarriage. What evil scheme will

‘Maynila’ producer deplores 3 decades of cultural neglect

she be plotting? How far can Irene go to protect her family?

Tubig at Langis is one of the most successful and most watched ABSCBN series on afternoon TV this year.

It continues to dominate its timeslot in national TV ratings and has recordhigh rating of 21.1 percent nationwide according to data from Kantar Media.

It also created much buzz on social media. Aside from making it to the top trending topics, videos of various intense scenes also went viral online.

Some even created memes featuring various characters from the show.

Tubig at Langis is a story about a couple that would do everything to protect their marriage and their family.

The story truly resonates with the audience since most, if not all, Filipinos are family-oriented. Many women also admired how strong and empowered Irene is as a woman despite the many challenges that came along her way.

Included in the powerhouse cast of the show are Vivian Velez, Victor Silayan, Dionne Monsanto, Nadia Montenegro, Lito Pimentel, Efren Reyes Jr., Jean Saburit, Ingrid Dela Paz, Marco Gumabao, Miguel Vergara, Archie Alemania, Jopay Paguia, Tart Carlos, Cai Cortez, Miko Raval, Nina Medina, Ynez Veneracion, and Mel Kimura. *** THE 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) calls on all creative and innovative Filipinos to participate in the MMFF Logo Design and Theme Song Making competitions and win as much as P50,000.00, a Sony tablet, and all-access passes to all MMFF movies.

For the MMFF Logo Design competition, participants may submit up to two logo entries that satisfy the MMFF Executive Committee criteria:

concept (40 percent), originality (30 percent), and relevance (30 percent).

Logo entries, preferably in vector format, must be sent with the registration form at officialmmff@gmail.com. The MMFF Logo Design competition winner will receive P20,000.00 in cash, all-access passes to all MMFF movies for two, and a Sony tablet.

For the MMFF Theme Song Making competition, participants may submit up to three entries in MP3 format.

Song entries must be three to five minutes long, in English or Filipino, and must fit the committee’s selection criteria: musicality (30 percent), lyrics (30 percent), originality (30 percent), and impact (10 percent). Song entries must be sent with the lyrics (in Word format) and the registration form at officialmmff@gmail.com.

The MMFF Theme Song Making competition winner will receive P50,000.00 in cash, all-access passes to all MMFF movies for two, and a Sony tablet.

Winners for both logo design and theme song making competitions will be announced on Sept. 12 and posted on all official MMFF social media platforms.

Earlier this year, the MMFF went through a major change when it reformed its board of directors and set up a new selection criterion for future entries. The new season of the MMFF begins with the logo design and theme song making competitions to set the new tone of one of the most beloved and most anticipated December events of the country.

Deadline for submission of entries is on Aug. 31. Join the #reelvolution!

For full contest mechanics, visit www. mmff.com.ph and like the MMFF Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ mmffofficial.

LOVE TRIANGLE. ‘Tubig At Langis’ stars (from left) Cristine Reyes, Zanjoe Marudo and Isabelle Daza

JaDine shares relationship updates

Team Real James Reid and Nadine Lustre flanked by Jollibee executives at the Fans Daythemed launch of a new Jollibee meal

REEL-TO-REAL life couple James Reid and Nadine Lustre brought their #TeamReal fans up to date on their relationship during the Fans Day-themed launch of the new Jollibee Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak recently at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Filled with special performances and fun activities, the event’s Question-andAnswer portion gave JaDinenians a chance to ask their idols about their relationship.

The love birds gamely revealed that theirs has been a sweet and spicy one since being officially together over five months ago.

James shared giddily that Nadine has done a lot of things that he finds sweet, like the surprises she prepared for his last birthday. Nadine, meanwhile, said James is also sweet in his own way, and what she finds as the sweetest gesture he did for her was when he wrote a song for her.

Apart from their mutual saccharine show of affection, the two added their being both fun loving and adventurous further spices up their relationship.

“What makes our relationship really spicy is travelling together a lot for work, like our latest one when we went to New York where we were able to do a lot of things. Adding spice to our relationship as well is the difference in our personality—like she’s a morning person while I am an evening person —so we make an effort to find middle ground to make it work,” said James.

JaDine said that they also bond a lot over food such as their #NewForeverLove —the new Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak. The new variant of the Classic Burger Steak, the Jollibee Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak is made of 100 percent pure beef patty topped with Sweet-Spicy

BBQ sauce and corn kernels and served with steamed rice.

Prior to the newest twist to the leading fastfood chain’s well-loved Burger Steak, JaDine had also shared kilig moments over the original variant which they first dubbed as their “Forever Love”.

“Both the Classic and the Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak have been witnesses to our growing love. Not only that, the latter also captures the kind of relationship that we have now– nakaka-kilig sa sweet and delightfully spicy,” said Nadine.

Following the success of On the Wings of Love, JaDinenians now await the romantic duo’s upcoming teleserye titled Till I Met You. While waiting for it though, #TeamReal can catch an eyeful of JaDine at The Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak TVC that can also be viewed on Jollibee’s Facebook page.