Manila Standard - 2016 September 5 - Monday

Attacks feared on other cities

By Francisco Tuyay and Sandy Araneta PHILIPPINE National Police Chief Ronaldo Dela Rosa said the perpetrators of Friday’s deadly attack at a night market in Davao City might launch another attack, but said that all major cities were prepared for any eventuality.

Dela Rosa said they expect the terrorists responsible for the blast in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown were waiting for a chance to pull off another assault.

“Because of the incident in Davao, all major cities must be prepared. We don’t want to be panicky, [but] it is better to be sure because we have an ongoing operation [against the Abu Sayyaf],” Dela Rosa said.

At least 10 people died on the spot when a powerful homemade bomb ripped through several tents full of people at a night market on Roxas Avenue at 10:30 p.m. Friday. Four other blast victims died in the hospitals after sustaining shrapnel wounds. Some 67 others were wounded.

On Saturday night, President Duterte called a command conference in Davao City attended by top security officials, including Dela Rosa.

Although no specifics were provided, Dela Rosa said the meeting considered how groups such as the Abu Sayyaf or drug syndicates might be seeking a way to ease the government pressure against them.

In a briefing after meeting top police officials in Davao region, Dela Rosa said the perpetrators of the night marNext page ket attack may hit other major cities.

VOL. XXX • NO. 205 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

IN MEMORIAM. A national flag is placed among flowers as residents offer prayers for bomb blast victims at a night market, during a memorial at the site in Davao City, on September 3, 2016. AFP

‘Wipe out the ASG’ Duterte vows tit for tat, calls on nation to brace for reprisals Sino envoy ‘Lawlessness’ plan preceded blast summoned to explain shoal base

By Sandy Araneta

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to summon the Chinese Ambassador after seeing surveillance photos presented by the Defense department showing what appeared to be construction of a military base on Scarborough Shoal.

In a Cabinet meeting in Matina Enclaves in Davao City, Sunday, Duterte said he was displeased when Defense Secretary Delfin Next page

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte had planned to declare a state of lawlessness even before the deadly Davao City bombing last Friday night, which left more than a dozen dead and over 60 wounded, his chief legal adviser said Sunday.

“That was not the trigger,” said Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo in an interview on radio dzBB. “Actually, [the declaration was in the] planning stage,” Panelo said, adding that a draft of the proclamation had already been prepared.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, in fact, had prepared several drafts, and the final one was supposed to be released

Sept. 4 or 5.

The reasons for the declaration, he added, were the ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, criminality, terrorism and the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf.

With 98 percent of all barangays affected by drugs, each user and pusher was a “potential killer,” Panelo said.

“President Duterte said he does not believe if you’re a user, you’re not also a pusher. If you’re a user, you need medication. But if you are not rich, you need to be a pusher so that you could afford to buy. The poor needs to sell in order to earn because they have no money to buy illegal drugs.

That’s how bad the problem is because these are potential killers,” he said.

Panelo said criminality contin-

ued despite the reported drop in the crime rate.

He also said acts of terrorism, like those carried out by the Abu Sayyaf, were not just simple crimes, because they are aimed at sowing fear around the country.

These social conditions convinced Duterte to use the Armed Forces, through his order, to assist the Philippine National Police in its security operations.

“The President is looking on the extent of the problem. If this could be done without that, we will do it ... but when there was a bombing, there really was a need to declare [the state of lawlessness] because this would stop the violence,” said Panelo.

“The PNP cannot do this alone,” he said.

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St. Teresa, 20th century Church icon VATICAN CITY, Holy See—Pope Francis on Sunday declared revered nun Mother Teresa a saint in a canonization mass at St Peter’s square.

“For the honor of the Blessed Trinity... we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church,” the pontiff said in Latin.

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ST. TERESA. A devotee of Mother Teresa offers a prayer at the Holy Redeemer Parish Church in Quezon City.

The nun from Calcutta was canonized as saint during a Mass in Vatican on Sunday. Manny Palmero

Shanghai dangles $100-b infra aid SHANGHAI―Despite the ongoing tensions over the West Philippine Sea, Shanghai authorities have assured the Philippines of being “impartial” in helping out on the major infrastructure projects under the $100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investments Bank financing by the China-led financial institution.

The assurance came after Sen-

ate President Aquilino Pimentel III claimed he does not share the enthusiasm expressed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez about the country being a founding member of the AIIB. The Duterte administration may have to decide whether to forgo the opportunity or cash in on the $100-billion financing facility under AIIB not later than

Drug lords face probe inside NBP

December this year.

Shanghai Development and Reform Commission Director Guo Yu said that, since the focus of China was “outward,” it would be beneficial for the Philippines to be a member of AIIB. “China’s and the AIIB’s priority is outward, to help developing countries with their major

ORIENTAL Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali said Sunday hearings could be conducted inside the New Bilibid Prison to question the inmates on the proliferation of illegal drugs there during the stint of Senator Leila de Lima as Justice secretary.

“I’m not discounting the possibility of conducting it in the

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WEATHER

6-magnitude earthquake jolts Mindanao

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration spotted a low pressure area (LPA) near Batanes on Sunday.

Pagasa said in its 5:00 a.m. weather advisory that the LPA was located 465 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes. PNA It also pointed out the south-

TAGUM―A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook parts of Mindanao on Sunday, briefly panicking residents, the government volcanology office said.

But the civil defense office said there were no initial reports of damage or casualties.

The US Geological Survey put twitter.com/ MlaStandard

the magnitude at 5.9.

While some areas of Mindanao experienced just slight tremors, those closer to the epicenter about 850 kilometers south of Manila reported more serious shaking with people fleeing outdoors for fear their houses might collapse.

“I was inside my room when

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the shaking started, which lasted for almost a minute. I felt dizzy so I rushed outside,” said radio broadcaster Richard Grande in the town of San Francisco near the epicenter.

The Philippines lies on the socalled Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide. AFP

thestandard.com.ph

By Sandy Araneta and Funny Pearl Gajunera

D

AVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf Group Saturday, even if he has to engage mercenary groups like the feared Nepalese Gurkhas.

Residents light candles and place flowers as they offer prayers for bomb blast victims in Davao City . AFP

“You started this. I wanted to talk to you but you leave me with no choice,” Duterte said, addressing the terrorist group directly during a meeting with national security officials in Matina, Davao City just a few hundred meters from his residence.

The meeting with national security officials and several Cabinet members started at 11 p.m. and ended at 4 a.m.

Duterte called on the nation to prepare for reprisals from the terrorist group similar to the Davao

DRUG WAR IN NUMBERS

1,011 killed in police operations

15,000 arrested

679,112

houses visited under Oplan Tokhang

85

PNP personnel tested positive for illegal drugs (From July 1-September 4) Data from PNP

City bombing as the government pressed its campaign to wipe out the kidnap-for-ransom gang.

“I am calling on the nation to prepare for reprisals. There will be sacrifices to be made but we have to address this problem once and for all,” Duterte said.

The Abu Sayyaf Group, which identifies itself with the Islamic State, generates funds by taking hostages, both local and foreign, and demanding a ransom for their release. Hostages whose families Next page

Narco-pols list up for expansion INTERIOR Secretary Ismael Sueno said Sunday his department was set to complete a list of narco-politicians in its bid to boost its campaign against illegal drugs.

He said he had ordered his department’s task force to validate the list of not only provincial, municipal and city officials but also of village officials linked to illegal drugs.

He said those in the list must turn themselves in.

The Interior department had recently expressed alarm over the disclosure of the Philippine National Police in Central Luzon that there were 10 mayors and vice mayors from the area, including from Nueva Ecija, in the list of narco-politicians that Duterte would soon reveal.

In Lucena City, police claimed that two suspected drug pushers were killed Sunday night when they sensed they were in the middle of a police buy-bust operation Next page

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do not pay up are beheaded— including the latest victim, an 18-year-old Filipino whose parents failed to pay his ransom.

“If I have to hire the Gurkhas to help us fight the Abu Sayyaf, I am willing to do it,” Duterte said.

While Duterte said he believed that the Abu Sayyaf and other extremist groups are products of historical injustices, he said the actions of the group, including kidnapping and beheadings, have made it imperative for government to deal with the problem by force.

“There’s no other option. These people are like germs that must be eliminated,” the President said.

Several Army battalions and Special Forces members have been dispatched to Sulu to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf, while Navy vessels have formed a blockade to stop the terrorists from fleeing the island.

In the wake of Friday’s bomb attack, security forces in Davao assured the public that the city remained safe and encouraged people to go about their daily business.

Police Regional Office 11 Regional Director Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan said security forces were on full alert and prepared for any eventualities.

Police were in close coordination with the military, which has also intensified their security measures all over the city, he said.

“We assure the people that the PNP, in fact the Eastern Mindanao Command is with us, we assure the people that we are doing our best to keep the situation in Davao City and nearby places as normal as possible,” Gaerlan said.

The commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, said his troops were on full alert and securing the city.

He added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is helping the police with their investigation of the Friday night blast by providing them intelligence reports.

He also said that they have deployed additional troops in Davao City and intensified checkpoint operations in all terminals including seaports and airports.

“We also increased troop presence and visibility in malls, parks, churches and other public places.

We also intensified efforts against terrorist groups,” Guerrero added.

On Saturday morning, President Duterte said that all the heads of the security forces of the government are in the city right now to ensure the safety of the city.

Duterte said that even the country’s top intelligence officials were in the city to help pinpoint the people responsible for the bombing, which claimed 15 lives.

Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio, the President’s daughter, said that the city will continue all its regular activities as they will refuse to bow down to terrorism.

“We will never bow down to a terrorist attack. It will take us hundreds of bombings to fall,” she said.

The mayor also promised to shoulder all hospital and burial expenses of all the victims of the blast.

PNP chief, Ronald Dela Rosa revealed on Saturday night that the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device that used a mortar shell.

Three persons of interest were tagged as the police continue to search for clear CCTV footage of the attack.

Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto on Sunday urged President Duterte to call for a National Security Council meeting after his foreign trip next week, so that other leaders of the nation could help him develop policies and programs that would crush the resurgent Abu Sayyaf.

“If the four presidents—Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino—will be in attendance in the NSC, “they can share their successes and failures in battling terrorism,” the senator said.

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The elevation of one of the icons of 20th Century Christianity came a day before the 19th anniversary of her death, at 87, in Calcutta, the Indian city where she spent nearly four decades working with the dying and the destitute.

Born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Skopje—then part of the Ottoman empire, now the capital of Macedoni—she won the 1979 Nobel peace prize and was revered around the world as a beacon for the Christian values of self-sacrifice

“Theirs is a ‘been there, done that’ squad that can impart to the incumbent the pitfalls and the socalled minefields ahead,” Recto said.

Recto said Duterte’s four living predecessors had confronted terror attacks of all kinds.

Another area where “pooled advice” is needed, Recto said, is “how to uphold citizen’s rights, minimize public inconvenience, rally the support of the people, manage the country’s image abroad, and firewall the economy” during a “state of lawless violence.”

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo also assured tourists in Davao that the city remained safe, after several countries issued travel advisories that warned their nationals to avoid traveling to the Philippines.

“The quick and professional response and action of our police, armed forces and security group shows that Davao is well-prepared for contingencies, including isolated attacks like this bombing incident,” Teo said.

The Palace also played down the travel advisories issued by Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, which warned their citizens to avoid travel to the Philippines after the President declared “a state of lawlessness” in the wake of Friday night’s bombing.

“There is nothing new here,” said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. “It’s really also their duty to advise their citizens who are traveling to be careful.”

Australia told its citizens to reconsider their plans to travel to the eastern part of Mindanao, including Davao City, “and to exercise high degree of caution in the Philippines.”

The United States Embassy said in its advisory that it has temporarily suspended all official travel to Mindanao.

“While we have no information that indicates there is a direct threat to US citizens or interests in the Philippines, the embassy encourages all US citizens to remain vigilant and employ sound personal security measures as you go about your day,” it said.

The embassy also reminded its citizens that the US Department of State Worldwide issued a memo on March 3 on the “ongoing threat of terrorist actions and violence against United States citizens and interests abroad, including the Philippines.”

The United Kingdom told its citizens to avoid traveling to southwest Mindanao and Sulu, the bailiwick of the Abu Sayyaf.

It also advised its citizens to “allow extra time to pass through security” while traveling through the Philippines, which should be expected with the state of lawlessness declaration.

They were also advised against joining “large crowds and demonstrations,” take precautions against the “high incidence of street crime and robbery throughout the Philippines,” and to monitor local news reports.

“There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping.

There has been an increase in kidnapping of foreign nationals since late 2015. It’s likely that terrorist groups continue to plan kidnap operations against western nationals in the region. You should remain vigilant at all times,” the government wrote.

The Singapore Embassy in Manila also advised its citizens to “exercise vigilance” as it condemned the bomb attack.

The Canadian government updated its “security tab” and advised its citizens against traveling to Mindanao and Sulu.

The Abu Sayyaf had kidnapped Canadian nationals in Samal Island. The two victims were later beheaded by the bandits after their ransom demands were not met.

“There is no nationwide advisory in effect for the Philippines.

However, you should exercise a high degree of caution due to an ongoing terrorist threat to Westerners and Western interests,” the Global Affairs Canadian advisory said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. ARaja and charity.

But she was also regarded with scorn by secular critics who accused her of being more concerned with evangelism than with improving the lot of the poor.

The debate over the nun’s legacy has continued after her death with researchers uncovering financial irregularities in the running of her order, the Missionaries of Charity, and evidence mounting of patient neglect, insalubrious conditions and questionable conversions of the vulnerable in her missions.

A picture of her as someone who was just as comfortable flying around in a private plane as clutch-

Social Watch worries over ‘pork’ in budget S

OCIAL Watch Philippines on Sunday expressed alarm over the reports that the “pork barrel” still exists in the 2017 budget, and that legislators would continue to identify projects that could be funded by it even if the Supreme Court had declared it unconstitutional in 2013.

Since the four conditions necessitating the declaration of a state of lawlessness are present nationwide, the implementation of Duterte’s order is not only confined to Davao City, he said.

“The problem cited is nationwide. Terrorism is not only in Davao. So why localize the declaration?” he said.

In line with the declaration, the implementation of a curfew is also being considered.

But the Palace official allayed fears that the declaration of a state of lawlessness was a precursor to Martial Law. “If they [critics] have fears this would lead to Martial Law, no. Definitely not. A big ‘no.’ This will also not lead to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. We are very far away from this,” Panelo said.

All citizens can still perform their normal activities with vigilance, he said.

“We can do our normal things everyday. The difference is, we will

be alert because there are a lot of threats. If you are in public places ...be observant of [your] surroundings,” he said.

Duterte’s critic, Senator Leila de Lima, urged the public to be vigilant about the government’s response to the attack in Davao City.

She said it was the right of people to call out any abuse that might result from the enhanced security measures that the government puts in place, and to remind officials of the limits to their power.

“The government must...be clear on who the enemies of the state are, and calibrate its response in accordance with the threat to national security that they represent,” she said.

On the other hand, House Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza said politicians should stop “overanalyzing” the state of lawlessness imposed by Duterte to avoid a “state of confusion.”

Atienza, Buhay party-list representative, also urged Malacañang to designate one spokesman on the Davao bombing and developments in the investigation. With Christine F. Herrera and Macon Ramos-Araneta

The group supports the call of Senator Panfilo Lacson to the Budget department to make public the alleged projects proposed by the legislators to be funded by the pork barrel, and which reportedly amounts to P80 million for each lawmaker or more.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the PDAF and Disbursement Acceleration Program that served as the lawmakers’ pork barrel had been abolished in compliance with the high court’s ruling.

He insisted he could not possibly allow irregularities in the budget when he personally petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the two budget schemes as legally infirm.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have ganged up on Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo for issuing Memorandum Circular 9 stripping the lawmakers of their “entitlements” over their “soft projects,” which refer to the P5-million to P10-million allocation for social services for their poor constituents.

Taguiwalo had said lawmakers could no longer enjoy entitlements in identifying the indigents who would benefit from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s financial assistance program.

Before the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF allocation of lawmakers was outlawed by the Supreme Court, the lawmakers had been allowed to extend financial assistance to their indigent constituents through a “guarantee letter” signed by the lawmakers and submitted by the indigents to Social Welfare. Christine F. Herrera

and a dredger used to turn the atolls into a naval facility and an airstrip.

“Why is China treating us this way?” Duterte asked during the Cabinet meeting.

“Is it because we are a small country which does not have the capability of standing up to them militarily?” he added.

On Friday, Duterte said the country can only take so much of China’s continued refusal to accept an arbitration award that debunked their nine-dash line claims.

“They say they will not honor it [the arbitration award], but we can

only take so much. We cannot take a slap every day,” he said.

He said that the bilateral negotiations between the Chinese and Philippine government would keep within the UN arbitral tribunal ruling last July 12.

“There will be a time that I have to make a stand. I also have to be clear to China that their claim in disputed waters is not acceptable,” he added.

Duterte said that he might raise the issue with US President Barack Obama when they meet on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos on Sept. 7.

Last week, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua said that while China cannot accept the arbitration ruling as a means to move its already tense relations with the country, their country is willing to move forward to enhance ties.

“We cannot accept the arbitration award, but we do look forward to talking to the Philippines bilaterally of the troubles we have. But right now, we need to change our focus from our differences to common interests so we can concentrate on cooperation that will benefit our two peoples,” Zhao told reporters. With AFP

While the Philippines is a signatory to the AIIB, which former President Benigno Aquino III signed in 2014, the country has yet to sign up as a full-fledged member as the Senate has yet to ratify the agreement.

At least 57 countries have already signed up as founding members but 10 countries, including the Philippines, have yet to ratify the pact.

Canada was the latest to join the AIIB last week.

Under the time frame given, the signatories have until the end of this year to decide whether or not to officially join AIIB. As a shareholder, the Philippines will have to shell out some $198 million for membership. In return, the country will be able to tap into the financing facility to bankroll

major infrastructure projects.

The Canadian government believes in the thrust of the AIIB, which is to help member-economies in developing critical infrastructure projects.

The Canadian participation in the AIIB was announced Wednesday by its Finance Minister Bill Morneau in Beijing, shortly before the start of the G20 summit in Hangzou.

Christine F. Herrera

mon her, her alleged ex-lover Ronnie Dayan, and the drug lords in jail to determine if public officials had benefited from the drug money from the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary.

He told dzBB radio that the House might conduct its probe inside the NBP “for security reasons.”

Umali said the House committee on justice led by then Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas held hearings inside the NBP on the allegations of special treatment to high-profile prisoners.

But he said it would be risky to bring the drug lords to Congress for questioning. He said it was neces-

sary to ask them to unmask who among the government officials had been protecting them.

He said his committee might begin its hearings on the issue on the third week of September after getting clearance from Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. Rio N. Araja and Christine F. Herrera

Narco-pols...

paign against drug pushers.

In the Senate, Senator Bam Aquino said the fund for the establishment of additional rehabilitation centers for thousands of drug dependents must be ensured in the national budget.

The police in Nueva Ecija say Cabanatuan City has the highest number of reported drug cases.

They say least 1,740 drug users and pushers have surrendered to the Cabanatuan police.

To clear his name, the city’s vice mayor, Anthony Umali, voluntarily has submitted himself to drug testing at the provincial crime laboratory office.

He told Sueno that his initiative to undergo a drug test was in support of the Duterte administration’s all-out war against illegal drugs.

“It is the obligation of an elected official to spearhead programs and campaigns designed to promote the welfare of the people.

We must be an example of respect, honesty and clean governance,” he said.

At least 18 department heads and employees have also submitted themselves to drug tests. Rio N. Araja, Benjie A. Antioquia, Sandy Araneta and Macon Ramos-Araneta

SINO INCURSION.President Rodrigo Duterte and members of his Cabinet watch a surveillance video showing incursions by a Chinese vessel into a disputed shoal.

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“They are able to do it here in Davao, why not in other cities?” he said.

He said he suspected the ASG was behind the attack in an attempt to divert the government’s attention from relentless military operations in Sulu against the bandits.

Investigators have yet to come out their findings.

In Manila, Mayor Joseph Estrada said he released P200 million to help the city’s 896 barangays deal with possible terrorist attacks.

Estrada personally distributed the funds to 56 barangay chairmen, the latest batch of barangays to receive their annual budget allocation from the city government.

“Terrorism is again rearing its ugly head so we should be prepared at all times. In any emergency, it is the barangay that will be the first one to rescue the residents. That is why they need to be fully equipped and funded,” Estrada said.

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Lorenzana showed him evidence that the Chinese government continued to build on the disputed shoal after the ruling of a UN tribunal in favor of the Philippines.

He then ordered Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay to summon Chinese Ambassador Zao Jinhua and confront her with the evidence.

The photos, taken on Sept. 3, showed that there were Chinese vessels, including coast guard patrol boats

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infrastructure projects,” Guo told Manila-based journalists who were invited to a “goodwill tour” under the “media exchange tour” program of the publicly-listed Xinmin Evening News, the largest and most influential newspaper in China.

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prison premises,” said Umali, chairman of the House committee on justice.

He said his committee would not spare De Lima and would suming the hand of a dying patient has also emerged to counterbalance her saintly image.

Skeptics were absent from the Vatican Sunday, however, as Francis paid homage to a woman he sees as the embodiment of his vision of a “poor church for the poor.”

By historical standards, Teresa has been on the fast track to sainthood, thanks largely to one of the few people to have achieved canonization faster, John Paul II. The Polish cleric was a personal friend of Teresa and as the pope at the time of her death, he was responsible for her being beatified in 2003. AFP

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and then opened fire and then tried to escape, but were shot down.

In Davao City, President Rodrigo Duterte said love of country was the factor motivating him in doing everything within his power to stop the drug menace.

In a statement after the bombing in Davao City that killed at least 14 people and injured 67 others, Duterte said he was not worried about the negative perception and criticism he had been receiving from other nations over his cam-

News Solon boosts sports program A SENIOR lawmaker in the House of Representatives has started efforts to craft a holistic national sports program seeking to improve the performance of Filipino athletes who make it to the national pool.

Abono Party-list Rep. Conrado Estrella III, chairman of the House committee on Youth and Sports, stressed that the draft program will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte by the end of September or early October.

“We are lucky to have a President now who is very supportive of our sports program.

There is no reason for us not to be able to recruit potential athletes if we focus on our grassroots sports program and follow the charter of the Philippine Sports Commission,” Estrella said, in his speech during a Sports Summit held at Century Park Hotel.

“If we train potential athletes at an early age, they will shine and develop into world-class athletes. We must be scientific in our approach, invest in the best coaches we can recruit, and ensure transfer of sports technology,” he added.

While the nation rejoiced over weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s silver medal in the Rio Olympics, records would show that no Filipino has ever won a gold medal in the most prestigious sporting event in the world.

In the 20 editions of the Olympics that the country has participated in, Diaz’ silver is only the 10th medal for the Philippines.

Estrella said funding requirements can be addressed if the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. fulfills its obligation to remit five percent of its monthly gross revenues to the PSC under Republic Act No. 6847.

He said that since 1993, the PSC has been getting only half of what it should receive from Pagcor under the law.

In a recent hearing of the Senate committee on sports, PSC chairman William Ramirez said based on their computation, Pagcor has missed remitting to the PSC nearly P20 billion.

Mindanao gets fresh rice supply THE National Food Authority has started shipping out part of the 500,000 bags of rice intended to boost its stocks in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

NFA said the rice stocks will also be used in areas affected by the ongoing government military operations against the bandit group, Abu Sayyaf.

NFA officer-in-charge Tomas Escarez said the agency’s National Capital Region shipped 300,000 bags to Maguindanao and 200,00 bags to Zamboanga City.

The local office in Zamboanga City will distribute the rice shipment to Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Escarez assured that the givernment has sufficient rice stocks to avert any rice supply and price surges brought about by the intensified military operations in Southern Mindanao.

He added that the rice shipment will also be distributed by relief agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Developemnt and local government units to families displaced by the recent armed conflict.

To boost the country’s buffer stocks, the NFA Council approved the importation of additional 250,000 metric tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam under a governmentto-government procurement scheme. Anna Leah Gonzales

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MMDA learns from FVR M

ETRO Manila Development Authority’s general manager Thomas “Tim” M. Orbos has begun reaching out to stakeholders to find solutions to the problems besetting the metropolis and find ways to help improve services to 12.8-million residents.

Orbos made a courtesy call on former President Fidel V. Ramos at the RPDEV office in Makati City to learn the best practices of the Ramos administration and discuss projects to attend to basic services affecting the metropolis such as traffic, garbage, sewerage and flooding.

The new MMDA head expressed his gratitude to Ramos for his continuing service to the country as a Senior Statesman and for being a mentor to a province mate—both Ramos and Orbos hail from Pangasinan.

“It was a great opportunity to engage President Ramos in a meeting and I am fortunate to be mentored on the best practices of his administration,” Orbos said.

“It was also very generous on his part to express his support to MMDA and to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade for MMDA’s new Back-to-Basics program that would restore the authority to the streets,” Orbos said..

The visit afforded Ramos and Orbos the opportunity to review plans and programs undertaken during the Ramos administration that are still applicable to date for possible implementation by President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Tugade.

In the more than one-hour

meeting, the former President shared to Orbos what his former administration has done to decongest Metro Manila and abate flooding. He likewise spoke of proposed projects which never got off the ground.

Among Ramos’ recommendations were the utilization of the port of Batangas to decongest the port of Manila; the construction of the Zapote-C6 by pass landing which would link Southern and Northern Luzon; revival of the Save the Pasig River, Piso Para sa Pasig and the Clean and Green Movement; the transfer of the Philippine Navy Headquarters to SangleyPoint in Cavite; the full utilization of Subic and Clark airports; and the implementation of the common bus terminal projects.

Also discussed were the garbage transfer stations that the Ramos administration put in place to address the waste disposal problem in Metro Manila.

Ramos made a sales pitch to the proposed construction of the People Power Center that will be beneficial as this can help ease the vehicle parking problem. The Center is designed to accommodate 2,000 cars at any given time.

Ramos advised Orbos to continue reaching out “because the

TIPS FROM FVR. Former President Fidel V. Ramos offers some pointers on governance to MMDA GM

Thomas Orbos.

problem of Metro Manila cannot be done by MMDA alone. What is needed is U.S.T., meaning Unity of purpose, Solidarity in values and Teamwork in nationbuilding,” he added.

Meanwhile, Orbos said the agency was assessing the operations of the Southwest Integrated Provincial Terminal in Parañaque City with a view to a possible transfer to another site.

Orbos said the agency’s move was in response to an observation made by Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, who inspected the terminal.

According to Orbos, the SWIPT is only a temporary station pending the completion of a permanent terminal by the Department of Transportation.

The terminal was supposed

to be completed last year but was delayed and later moved to 2018.

Based on the agency’s data, from the previous number of 1,000 buses using the SWIPT, this has decreased to only 200.

Orbos said that provincial buses making U-turns along Buendia Avenue contribute to the traffic buildup in the said thoroughfare. PNA

Court junks Ombudsman ruling on Negros gov

By Rey E. Requejo THE Court of Appeals has overturned a resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman finding reelected Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo guilty of grave misconduct for malversation of public funds.

In a 19-page decision, the CA’s Special Fifth Division ruled that Degamo was only guilty of simple misconduct contrary to the Ombudsman’s findings that he was liable for grave misconduct and ordered his dismissal from the service and with the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqual-

ification from reemployment in the government service.

The appellate court stressed that what Degamo has done clearly shows good faith on his part and that it cannot find reason that he deliberately violated the law.

“We, cannot therefore, impute deliberate and willful intent to violate the law, or flagrant disregard of an established rule on the part of the petitioner. To reiterate, petitioner Degamo had every reason to believe that his actions were morally and legally valid, and that he acted for the suffering and devastated constituents,” the CA decision penned by Associate Justice Stephen Cruz stated.

The CA held that there is no evidence to show that Dega-

mo gave unwarranted benefits and advantage to the private contractors.

“From all the foregoing, we find no reason to charge petitioner Degamo with grave misconduct for the elements of corruption, clear intent to violate the law, or flagrant disregard of established rule are clearly and indubitable absent in the present case. At most, therefore, petitioner can only be held liable for simple misconduct,” the CA said.

The appellate court noted that even in its assailed resolution, the Ombudsman “failed to adequately explain its finding of grave misconduct,” adding that the anti-graft body made a rul-

ing “without exhaustively discussing the elements of grave misconduct.”

Associate Justices Normandie Pizzaro and Samuel Gaerlan concurred with the ruling.

Court record showed that Degamo, along with Provincial Treasurer Danilo Mendez and Provincial Accountant Teodorico Reyes, was ordered dismissed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, in a resolution dated March 16, for grave misconduct over the disbursement of P480 million in calamity funds intended for the repair, rehabilitation and construction of structures damaged by Typhoon “Sendong” in 2011 and the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit

the province in 2012.

The anti-graft body also found probable cause to file malversation and graft charges against the three for proceeding to award 11 infrastructure projects worth P143.2 million despite lack of funds.

The private complainant in the case insisted that Degamo should be held liable for malversation of public funds when he failed to heed the demand of the Commission on Audit for the return of the P480 million to the National Treasury due to the negative issuance of the Special Allotment Release Order and that his failure to return the money caused undue injury to the government.

Lifestyle check on court judges pushed ‘Be proud

By Rio N. Araja A RANKING lawmaker on Sunday proposed the institutionalization of lifestyle check on people in the justice system to stop corruption.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, House committe on

justice, said he would ask Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to conduct a lifestyle check among court officers and personnel, especially judges.

But as far as Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is concerned, Umali said there is also need to include all lawmakers.

“Let us institutionalized [the lifestyle check] in all sectors of government agencies, including the criminal justice system,” Umali said.

Umali’s panel will conduct the probe on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the National Bilibid Prison during the stint of then

Justice secretary Leila de Lima.

The lifestyle check should also include all the guards and personnel manning the NBP, police, fiscals and judges, he said.

When asked about the inclusion of lawmakers, Umali threw the ball to Alvarez. It was up to the House leadership to decide.

HEIGHTENED ALERT. Coast guards patrol Manila Bay on Sunday Sept. 4, 2016, after a heightened security has been enforced nationwide following the bomb explosion that killed 15 people at a night market in Davao City on Friday. Danny Pata

over our victories’

AS THE nation commemorates the three-day Battle of Imus in Cavite which raged on from September 1 to 3 in 1898 between Filipino revolutionary soldiers and the Spanish forces, Senator Richard J. Gordon called on fellow countrymen to view our country’s history from a different perspective and be proud of our courageous heritage as a people.

Gordon said we should look back more with pride over our country’s war victories rather than defeats and remember the brave and courageous people behind them.

“We are a nation that has forgotten our heroes. We bask in victimization. We only remember defeats and we fear to look back at our past. But that is not the way we should view our history.

We have to look at it from our triumphs and not defeats. We must look back at our history without fear and inhibition,” he said.

Gordon is the great grandson of Colonel Jose Tagle who led the first major battle of the Philippine revolutionary forces against Spanish rule in Imus and rallied all of Cavite and other provinces in the country to fight for freedom.

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Opinion

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

No longer safe

T

HERE used to be a time when news of terrorist attacks emanated only from distant cities—Ankara, Baghdad, Beirut, Kabul and Lahore. Then, as the terrorists exported their twisted war on innocents to the West—Paris, Nice and Brussels—many Filipinos thought: “How horrible… but that will never happen here.”

Now it has.

On Friday night, a deadly explosion ripped through an open-air market in Davao City, killing at least 14 people and injuring 70 others on the day President Rodrigo Duterte visited his hometown.

Adelle Chua, Editor

Duterte, who inspected the scene, described the attack as “extraordinary times” for the Philippines.

“We’re trying to cope with a crisis now. There is a crisis in this country involving drugs, extra-judicial killings and there seems to be an

environment of lawless violence,” said Duterte.

The President declared “a state of lawlessness” that will allow him to authorize the military to assume some police powers to suppress lawless violence.

An Abu Sayyaf spokesman later claimed responsibility for the blast, confirming fears that the terrorist group would launch attacks on major urban centers to distract the government from its military offensive against it in Basilan and Sulu.

This, in fact, was the warning being aired days

before the attack by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

“We have predicted this and warned our troops accordingly but the enemy is also adept at using the democratic space granted by our Constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror,” said Lorenzana.

Significantly, security forces in Davao had already been on high alert, not only because of the Abu Sayyaf warning, but because of the President’s presence over the weekend.

That the attack was pulled

off anyway, with deadly effect, suggests that not enough has been done to safeguard the public against such attacks, and that the intelligence community needs to do more to close the security gap that the terrorists clearly used.

In the wake of Friday night’s blast, the Defense chief has appealed to the public “to remain calm but alert and vigilant” and to cooperate with security forces.

The President’s daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, ordered the night market to

reopen Sunday, declaring that Davao would “not be terrorized by this heinous crime.”

These are actions we can rally behind, as they deny the terrorists the objective they wish to achieve, to cow the populace and to strike fear in our hearts.

Reopening the night market is a symbol of our refusal to give in to our fears, but that determination must be matched by a sober realization that we are no longer isolated from acts of terrorism. We are no longer safe.

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

Proceed with caution

PENSEES

Dishonorably ousted...really?

FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO THERE were millions at Edsa those fateful days of February.

I was there too, calling for Marcos to leave Malacañang and for Cory to take over. It has been decades now but I had a frontrow view of all that happened. I know of what I speak and write.

And I know that Ferdinand Marcos was not dishonorably ousted from office.

I saw on TV Gen. Fabian Ver prodding him to direct drastic military action against the crowds. I saw President Marcos silence his cousin, Ver. The crowds would certainly would have dispersed, although, without a doubt, a few hardy souls would have stayed on and there would have been bullet-riddled bodies. But that did not come to pass, because Marcos never gave Ver the clearance to fire on the crowds. That does not make Marcos a hero, but that should be reckoned with when his burial at the Libingan is opposed by those who picture him as the incarnation of all evil.

Unlike President Erap who formally declared that he was leaving Malacañang so that the process of national healing could start, Marcos made no such announcement. The Americans though, unwilling to risk instability in the Philippines, took him on board a helicopter and then flew him off to Hawaii. It is not clear now whether he consented or not. It is known that he was very sick at the time. The massed throng at Edsa never made it into Malacañang while Marcos was in. His “loyalist” soldiers stood by their embattled commanderin-chief. It was only later that the mob entered—and went into a frenzy of pillage and destruction. One thing is certain: Once in Hawaii, he made clear his intention to return.

As for the crowds at Edsa, the audiences at the Papal Masses of St. John Paul II and Pope Francis far exceeded the throng that made of Edsa one lengthy carnival ground. And just what

Many remained loyal to President Marcos.

percent of the Filipino people did they represent? How fair a representation of the Filipino population was the assembly?

To be sure, a considerable part of Northern Luzon delivered a “no” vote in the plebiscite on the Constitution of 1987—meaning that, no doubt, to be a repudiation of Cory’s assumption to office.

No, I do not think he was dishonorably ousted from office.

Many military officers joined the ranks of Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile, but many remained loyal to President Marcos. It is not a certainty that he had lost command of the armed forces of the Philippines. And if

defections were the measure of legitimacy, would we not be encouraging those switches in loyalty that make of the military the ultimate arbiters of the politics of a country?

And it is not like the military withdrew its loyalty from Marcos to transfer it to Cory, for never was a president ever so besieged by coup attempts than was Cory: proof that she did not have command of the military at all times!

Even the Supreme Court itself recognized Cory’s take over as “extra-constitutional”, tacitly recognizing that Marcos was the constitutional—the legitimate— president of the country at the time of Cory’s takeover. If he had the legal authority, and Cory came to power extra-constitutionally, then his ouster (if it was one) was not constitutional, not legal. It was a spirited effort, emotionally charged and determined effort on the part of the Edsa assembly to boot him out of office, but that does not mean

that it succeeded. When the Supreme Court, through Madame Justice Irene Cortes, held that it was one of the “residual powers” of the presidency to disallow the return even of a citizen—who under international law has every right to return home—was it not in fact acknowledging that he maintained a considerable following in the Philippines sufficient to constitute a real and present danger to the nascent administration that had come into power “extra-constitutionally”?

It cannot be doubted that some were killed and hurt because Martial Law as in place—but there are many killed and hurt now, without martial law, as there were in administrations past. There are some stringent requirements to be able to impute fault on the basis of “command responsibility”. That delicate doctrine cannot and should not be used as a battering ram for one’s prejudices. How does that factor into the decision

BY PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s own words, “a state of lawlessness exists in the country making necessary emergency measures.”

This was made even more emphatic by Friday’s bombing of Davao City’s night market which killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens . It was an in-your-face challenge to Duterte, a former Davao City mayor who said “we will crush the Abu Sayyaf group in six weeks.” It came two days after the ISIS-linked ASG raided a Lanao provincial jail and freed a detained Maute leader.

More than 7,000 ground troops were deployed to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf bandits who figured in a bloody encounter in Sulu where government soldiers suffered 15 casualties, prompting President Duterte to throw the AFP’s full force against the notorious kidnap-for-ransom Muslim group. This, even as Duterte is waging a relentless nationwide fight against illegal drug traffickers.

The deployment of government forces in Sulu and Basilan, including tanks and other heavy armor to stabilize the tense situation in Mindanao, plus the series of killings of suspected drug pushers by police, according to a political analyst, was an undeclared martial law. These two scenarios are reminiscent of the situation in the 70s that laid the constitutional basis for thenPresident Ferdinand Marcos to declare Martial Law on Sept.

21, 1972.

It timely and relevant that former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile spoke on the subject of Charter Change, federalism and a proposed parliamentary form of government. In his speech delivered recently at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, Enrile said the Constitution had outlived its potency to serve as an adequate tool to solve the country’s grave social, economic and political problems.

But he urged those who will be involved in amending the Constitution to proceed with caution on federalism and the parliamentary form of government. He said these two areas

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Opinion Visions WHAT if all national government offices were transferred from the National Capital Region to parts of what used to be the Clark Air Force Base, now administered by the Clark Development Authority under the Bases Conversion Development Authority?

What used to be an American military base is all of 40,000 hectares, including the air target range called Crow Valley. Most of these are flatlands, with hilly portions towards the west. Some of the foothills of Mt. Cuadrado and other relatively upland areas of Porac may be public domain.

Imagine transferring all national government offices there.

In this age of computers and internet linkages, why should the national government be in congested Metro Manila at all?

It can be wherever in the archipelago and it won’t affect public services.

Such a transfer would easily decongest NCR, free up government buildings which can be leased to the private sector, and some, like Malacañang, converted into a museum. Batasang Pambansa could be another theater for the performing arts.

Some huge buildings could be retro-fitted and converted into hospitals, even hotels.

They have done it in Washington DC which L’Enfant designed as the nation’s capital, while New York remained the financial and commercial capital.

In the late 50s, Brazil transferred the seat of government to Brasilia, carving a city from the jungles. Islamabad instead of Karachi in Pakistan. Ankara instead of Istanbul for Turkey.

Naypyidaw for Myanmar rather than Yangon. Closer to home, Putrajaya instead of Kuala Lumpur for Malaysia.

The average citizen hardly transacts with the national government anyway. And more

so in a federal system as envisioned by President Duterte, where licenses and vehicle registration shall be the domain of local or state governments. A national ID system should render obsolescent NBI clearances, police clearances, and even the NSO certificate.

Transferring to Clark will also make the international airport therein quite busy, and linked with Subic via SCTEX and a train already on the planning stage, we shall be able to create a major gateway similar to Narita in Japan. The previous BCDA administration had envisioned a 9,500-hectare Green City inside Clark. These could complement a future transfer of the national government center in Central Luzon.

But Clark, even if we were to build another parallel runway, would still be 80 kms. distant from NCR, one might say.

Frankly, there are times when a Quezon City or Caloocan resident would traverse NLEX to Clark faster than navigating through C-5 or Edsa and thence to the Naia airports, with its legendary traffic.

But what about areas south of the Pasig River, including Calabarzon?

Imagine a new international gateway located in what used to be another American facility, Sangley, which is now utilized by the Philippine Navy? On a clear day, you can see Cavite City from Roxas Boulevard. Just beside Cavite City is Sangley. Draw a straight line between Cavitex and Sangley, across Manila Bay, and you are probably about two kilometers away.

One could envision a causeway connecting the two.

Right now, the Department of

Transportation under the indefatigable Art Tugade wants to transfer genLITO eral aviation BANAYO from the Naia complex to Sangley, and perhaps low-cost carriers. That should free up 10 to 15 percent of airplanes landing and taking-off the single Naia runway. There are actually two, but a short runway is perpendicular to the 3.2 km. runway that begins at SLEX on the northeast going to Paranaque on the southwest, rendering it useless.

But in the near future, that would not be enough to decongest traffic to and from the Naia complex. With air traffic increasing by quantum leaps, both domestic and international, another gateway other than Clark may be needed. The same could service all passengers and cargoes emanating from and going to all areas south of the Pasig, including the factory complexes in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas.

Sangley could thus be our Haneda and Clark our Narita if comparison were to be made with Japan and its center, Tokyo. The project would entail quite a sum, but it is an investment in the future that has become necessary. We would have to reclaim some land for two lengthy runways, but then so did Hong Kong for Chep Lap Kok, and Osaka for Kansai. And many more all over the globe.

The problem with operating Sangley as a major airport is that it shares the same air space as the present Naia complex.

Which means we would have to retire Naia to make Sangley economically feasible.

But then why not? Those 650 hectares that comprise the Naia complex could thus be freed for a 300-hectare park (that’s

SO I SEE

double the present Bonifacio Global City which is about 150 hectares). The rest of the Naia complex would be a major real estate jewel. One would just hope our planners and policy makers do not think of another Makati, or Ortigas, or BGC, which is densely packed with concrete buildings. Think instead of a major “lung” for the metropolis. Rizal Park is less than 50 hectares, Quezon Memorial Park is probably less, but then again, it’s been just as “uglified”.

Imagine a Central Park as in Manhattan, or a smaller version of Hyde Park as in London, the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, or Bois de Boulogne in Paris, right inside the metropolis. Beautiful!

And why ever not?

Dreaming further, think of new summer capitals: in the north to replace cramped and uglified Baguio City; in the south, in the boundary of Bukidnon and Davao City, currently called Bu-Da. Visayas can have a beautified Kanlaon City in the west; and the highlands around Mt. Manunggal towards the trans-central road in Cebu City.

Mainland Luzon, from Laoag and Aparri in its north (including Batanes and the Babuyanes) all the way to the Bicol Peninsula, excluding Masbate, Romblon and Palawan, would roughly be 55 percent of the country’s population. Visayas and Mindanao, including Masbate, Romblon and Palawan, would be the balance 45 percent.

Envision a different world from the present. And all it needs is properly and innovatively planned infrastructure, and a vision possible with the current government’s policy thrusts and daring. A greater and more beautiful Philippines is in the realm of the possible, and doable too.

North Korea’s weak spot Bloomberg editorial BARACK Obama and Xi Jinping have obvious disagreements over how to handle North Korea’s illicit weapons program.

China is angry about US plans to deploy advanced missile defenses in South Korea to counter the threat, while Obama faces pressure to sanction Chinese banks and companies that help sustain Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions. But the two presidents still have plenty of room to cooperate on this issue, if they can zero in on actions that are in both countries’ interests.

North Korea’s successful recent launch of a sea-based ballistic missile is depressing proof that the country continues to improve its weapons systems, despite the punishing additional sanctions that the United Nations imposed in March. And it is indeed tempting to blame China.

Yet the evidence that China isn’t upholding the most recent sanctions is, at best, mixed; along the border, there are as many signs that China’s longstanding commercial ties with the North have frayed. While violations no doubt continue, at least some of them are probably due to local officials’ ignoring central government diktats— an all-too-familiar problem.

In any case, it’s unrealistic to expect China to squeeze Kim hard enough to cause the North Korean regime to collapse.

That’s simply not in China’s interests. Yet China does share the US desire to prevent key nuclear and ballistic-missile technology from reaching the North.

The bad news, as new research points out, is that North Korea has recruited more sophisticated and capable Chinese middlemen to source and deliver such so-called dual-use

Proceed...

From A4 are unfamiliar terrain although he cited the progress of our Asian neighbors who switched from the presidential system to parliamentary form of government.

Although retired from the Senate where he served as Senate president and lastly as Minority Floor Leader, Enrile is still busy in the lecture circuit aside from hosting an early morning political talk program on radio. At the Holiday Inn Hotel where he holds court with members the 365 Club, Enrile is a source of political wisdom. He has been at the vortex of events from the time of the Marcos regime in which he held several positions as customs commissioner, secretary of finance, justice and defense up to the People Power uprising in February 1986.

The 365 is a loose group of journalists, former congressmen, governors, businessmen and a retired ambassador. Members of 365 listen to what Enrile has to say about the current political landscape. They are

Dishonorably...

From A4

technology. Rather than travel back and forth across the border, North Korean agents now live in China and work almost entirely through these intermediaries, using Chinese banks.

The good news is that this in theory makes it easier to disrupt the agents’ operations. Rather than demand that Chinese leaders abandon Kim’s regime, the US should press them to rein in these middlemen as energetically as they would any other citizens who defy their authority. Xi’s busy anti-corruption investigators could expand their campaign to border areas to pursue bank officials, customs agents and others involved in the illicit weapons trade.

Directing sting operations at counterfeiters and drug dealers could address a domestic law-and-order problem, as well as cut off some of the North’s sources of hard cash. Stronger signaling from Beijing could

not nodding heads to what an elder statesman says . The man is a fountainhead of political wisdom with a deep sense of history.

There’s a saying that you’re not current if you don’t have a sense of history. In his year under detention at the Camp Crame PNP hospital, Enrile immersed himself in books on history, government and global politics. Visitors, and they came almost daily, brought him books.

“I’m a post-graduate of the Camp Crame college,” Enrile said in jest during light moments with 365 members. Indeed, one would be amazed and awed by his uncanny memory and the sharpness of mind as he ranged lessons to be drawn from historical events with present-day political problems.

This, from a 92-year old man who has his share of enemies and detractors, among them Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Antonio Trillanes and Alan Cayetano.

Does he agree with Duterte’s draconian measures in his relentless war against drugs, thugss and criminality?

“Whether you agree with him or not, it

help discourage businessmen who might be tempted by North Korean money.

If the US were to blacklist a Chinese bank or company, it would be better to first consult quietly with Chinese leaders, to prevent needless friction between the two countries. Other gestures might be more productive: The US could offer to bolster China’s ability to inspect cargo at ports near the border and to track ship traffic to and from North Korea. American officials would want to simultaneously do more to help Southeast Asian governments monitor North Korean agents operating in their countries, so the weapons trade doesn’t just move south.

China may be in no mood to cooperate. But if its leaders really want to undermine the case for missile defense, they’d be wise to do all they can to make sure Kim’s missiles don’t work.

is the President’s sole responsibility under the Constitution to exercise this vast and awesome power ,” said Enrile without any reference to Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law in 1972. September 21 is coming up soon. Foes and supporters of martial law will mark this significant date. Shades of déjà vu cross our minds as we recall the similar circumstances of lawlessness and the rising threat of communist rebellion that Marcos cited for the declaration of Martial Law. Today, the same situation exists—the IS-linked Abu Sayyaf bombing of Davao, the crime surge and a widespread drug menace that is eroding the very fabric of Philippine society and foundation of family life. Is this chain of events a portent of a declaration of martial law?

Asked if he was willing to serve in a Constitutional Commission to amend the Charter, Enrile said he would be honored to serve and be remembered for his final contribution to the laws of the land. He has, after all, authored law books and stand tall with Estelito Mendoza and other local legal luminaries.

tributed to him cancels out that good that he achieved? And is it not settled doctrine in constitutional law that when there are no judicial standards to go by, there is no justiciable issue?

about whether or not there is a constitutional obstacle to laying Marcos’ remains to rest in a cemetery that reserves its plots for fallen rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph soldiers and former presidents? And by what standard of reckoning rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph can one say, with the certitude that the law requires, that the evil at- rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

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OUT OF THE BOX RITA LINDA V. JIMENO

What motivates terrorism AS MEN, women, and young people lingered in Davao City’s night market on Friday, the 2nd of September, a bomb exploded killing at least 15 people and injuring some 71. The Abu Sayyaf Group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Days before the attack, President Rodrigo Duterte deployed 8,000 armed troopers to fight the Abu Sayyaf in their lair, making it easy to surmise that the attack was meant to embarrass the President and divide the focus of the armed troops.

Since Sept. 11, 2001 when Al Qaida terrorists brought down the World Trade Twin Towers in New York City and attacked the Pentagon, killing 3,000 people, terrorist attacks have been happening all over the globe on a monthly basis (Wikipedia). This year, the highest number of fatalities from terrorist atrocities happened in July where more than 2,269 died in 190 incidents in several countries. France has been at the receiving end of some of the deadliest attacks in recent history where 130 perished and 200 injured in the shooting in Paris in November 2015 while 86 were killed and 300 injured in July this year when a truck plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice.

One cannot help but wonder, what kind of persons are capable of carrying out such ruthless atrocities on helpless, innocent people?

Do they not have parents, spouses or children? For sure, each one of them were An all-out born to families that nurtured them until war on the Abu they became adults or Sayyaf Group were able to fend for will not be themselves. So, what motivates people to enough. become heartless terrorists, able to defy the natural laws of survival by becoming suicide bombers or jihadists? Some theorists say that it is pathological, that is, people who become terrorists are predisposed to it because of their internal psychological makeup having some kind of abnormality. This theory however lost ground in the scholarly studies in the 1980s of the roots of terrorism.

Renowned social psychologist Albert Bandura, summarized various studies of violence across human sciences, saying that propensity to violence or terrorism is a product of deeper historical, economic, or cultural forces over and above the individual. Atrocities are committed not by monstrous people, he said. Even decent, ordinary people can be led to do extraordinarily cruel things if the social conditions surrounding them are conducive. The studies say that people do not act in a social vacuum. What they think, feel and do are shaped by broader historical circumstances in which they are compelled to live and act. Some have said that Muslims have become alienated by the values and way of life of the West, driving them to commit such atrocities by way of vengeance.

In the Philippine setting, an article by Samira A. Gutoc, titled: Causes of Terrorism: the Philippine case, explains that poverty and the economic factor are the major causes of radical extremism in the Philippines. Sulu is one of the five poorest-of-the-poor provinces in the Philippines and it is inhabited mostly by Muslims. Opportunities are nil because of limited education due to the frequent disruption of classes on account of armed hostilities, as well as, the lack of investments. The political economy of Mindanao, the paper states, demonstrates how the power elite and multinational companies have developed mining and agro-industries in Mindanao through the years and yet, have kept the profits largely to themselves, leaving only a very small portion for the indigenous people to divide among themselves. Too, the share of Mindanao in the national budget has been measly despite the cost of war and hostilities, and without regard to the influx of Filipino refugees driven out

by Malaysia.

There are a myriad of reasons on what motivates people to turn terrorists. In the Philippines, the problem of poverty in Mindanao is one and thus, must be addressed.

There is a bright prospect that federalism could alleviate the problem of poverty and the desire of Muslim Mindanao for more autonomy in developing itself. Yet, there is no certainty that this will be a foolproof and lasting solution to terrorism. A disturbing conclusion in the studies on the motivation of terrorism is, this: what terrorists publicly profess as their reasons for committing such acts is often mere justifications when they are called to account for their acts. Sometimes people do what they do without knowing or understanding why, terrorism scholar John Horgan said.

Curving or putting an end to terrorism the world over is therefore hazy and uncertain, the studies say. An all-out war on the Abu Sayyaf Group will not be enough. The task must be accompanied by socioeconomic and political reforms, together with education.

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Killing of 4 farmers hit

By Sandy Araneta

T

HE militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas on Sunday condemned the “massacre” of four farmers by alleged armed goons of a politician in Nueva Ecija.

KMP chairman Joseph Canlas said the suspects were allegedly affiliated with Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas, whom he accused of being involved in landgrabbing.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this apparent massacre of

farmers inside the Fort Magsaysay. This latest assault adds to the long list of rights abuses committed by landlord politicians against the peasantry who are struggling for genuine land reform and asserting their right to the lands,” Canlas said.

Reports coming from the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) said the victims—Baby Mercado, Violeta Mercado, Eligio Barbado and Gaudencio Bagalay—were doing their farm chores inside the disputed 3,100-hectare Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija when armed men started to shoot at them.

“These killings related to land dispute in Fort Magsaysay cause further alarm especially since the victims are ordinary, unarmed farm-

ers who are only exercising their legitimate, democratic rights,” Canlas added.

The Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation was awarded to farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program on Nov. 5, 1991.

“By virtue of a 1991 Deed of Transfer between the Department of National Defense and the Department of Agrarian Reform, some 6,000 peasants and other residents should have acquired ownership of the lands they live on and till. But the Certificates of Land Ownership

Award were rendered useless because it failed to defend the farmers’ rights over the lands,” Canlas said.

“Since 2008, the military, particularly the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army has been instrumental in denying Fort Magsaysay farmers of their rights to own the lands by asking the cancellation of the CLOAs,” the peasant leader added.

The KMP has called on the Department of Agrarian Reform and the committees on human rights of both houses of Congress to probe the killing.

WALK FOR THE CHILDREN. Various organizations from different parts of Metro Manila converge at Quirino Grandstand for the annual Alay Lakad 2016, a walk-for-a-cause for the benefit of out-of-school youth on Sunday. Danny Pata

SC disbars Recto: Increase teachers’ chalk allowance lawyer over By Macon Ramos-Araneta bribery fee

By Rey E. Requejo A LAWYER has been disbarred for collecting P230,000 from his clients supposedly to bribe Court of Appeals justices in a land recovery case.

In a 12-page decision, the Supreme Court resolved to impose the ultimate administrative penalty of disbarment against Ferdinand Ancheta who had been found guilty of gross misconduct in violation of the Lawyer’s Oath and the Code of Professional Responsibility.

The SC also ordered Ancheta to return to his clients—spouses Gabino and Flordeliza Tolentino —the P230,000, with legal interest at 12 percent per annum from the date of demand on September to June 2013 and at 6 percent per annum from July 2013 until full payment.

Court records showed that the Tolentino couple filed the disbarment complaint against Ancheta, who was their lawyer in a civil case involving a parcel of land in Laguna.

Ancheta, who took on the case for a P30,000 acceptance fee, allegedly promised the couple that there was still a remedy against the adverse CA ruling.

SENATE Minority Leader Ralph Recto has urged the Duterte administration to “bring to the internet age” the public school teacher’s annual “chalk allowance” that translates into a measly budget of only P7 daily.

Recto said the budget should be increased from P1,500 to P5,000 annually.

“Chalk allowance” is the popular term for the cash given to teachers at the start of the school

year for the purchase of chalk, pens, erasers, paper and other school supplies.

Recto said an additional P2.7 billion will be needed to increase the allowance to P5,000 a year for 770,656 public school teachers.

“It is affordable and the resulting total allocation of P3.8 billion will just be two-thirds of one percent of the Department of Education budget,” he said.

“This will allow teachers to expand their shopping list, to in-

clude computer and internet-use supplies, like USBs and even an occasional load for online research. In this digitized age, there are computer-related supplies which the teacher uses, and these must be considered in computing the supplies the teacher needs,” Recto added.

He likened teaching materials used by teachers to ammunition issued to soldiers.

“If teachers are the frontliners in the war against illiteracy, then they must be given enough supplies to

Blast hits vice mayor’s house GENERAL SANTOS CITY —Police authorities are eyeing several angles, including the intensified campaign against illegal drugs, as motive behind the grenade attack on Saturday night at the house of the vice mayor of Polomolok town in South Cotabato.

Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr., public information officer of the Police Regional Office-12, said no one was hurt in the explosion which happened at a residential compound owned by Polomolok Vice Mayor Eliazar Jovero.

He said the blast ripped through the façade of Jovero’s house, damaging por-

tions of the front windows and ceiling.

“Our investigation is still ongoing but it [explosion] was confirmed to have been caused by a grenade,” he said.

The vice mayor and his family were already preparing to go to sleep when the explosion happened.

Antonio Piamonte, the compound’s security guard, said a motorcycle with two unidentified men onboard stopped in front of the compound prior to the blast.

Jovero said he is clueless as to the possible motive of the attack and is not aware of anyone who might

be holding a grudge against him or any member of his family.

“I have no idea at the moment what is behind this. Maybe they just intend to harass me,” the official said.

Galgo said they do not discount the possibility that the attack could be a retaliation against the vice mayor, who is a known anti-drug advocate in the area.

“The municipal government, including the vice mayor, is very supportive and much involved in the campaign so we’re also looking into that,” Galgo added. PNA

NGCP-Cotabato tightens security COTABATO CITY—Police and military authorities in North Cotabato have taken steps to secure the steel towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines after authorities discovered Saturday an attempt to topple down these structures.

Carmen, North Cotabato police chief C/Insp. Julius

Malcontento said Army bomb experts have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was used in an attempt to bring down NGCP Steel Totwer No. 103 in Barangay Kitulaan last month.

“The attempt took place more than a month ago based on the corrosion in

the structure,” Malcontento said.

NGCP Tower 103 carries the 169 KV line from Kibawe substation in Bukidnon to Tacurong substation in Tacurong City.

“We have taken steps to prevent similar attempt,” Malcontento added.

Carmen town hosts about

35 NGCP steel towers, some of which have been bombed in recent years.

“Everybody suffers when a tower is toppled down, so the community has been helping us,” the police official added.

In April, two NGCP towers were also bombed in the same village. PNA

perform their mission,” Recto said.

The senator has already filed Senate Bill No. 812, which seeks to institutionalize periodic increases in teaching supplies allowance.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Recto assailed the P7 subsidy per day as “insufficient in assisting classroom teachers to deliver informative lectures and stimulating class discussions to the country’s 21- million public school students.”

“It is time for the next installment of increase,” he said.

Gordon cautions DoE over power gap

By Macon Ramos-Araneta WITH rotating brownouts hitting some parts of the country, Senator Richard Gordon has pressed the Department of Energy to prepare for a looming power gap.

“We have to prepare for a power gap, which is coming, and we have to make a decision,” Gordon told Energy officials in a recent hearing at the Senate.

“From what you are saying, we are running in order to stay in place. In other words, we’re just running to have a reserve for the moment. Right now, we are approaching seven percent growth rate, and we could go to nine percent or 10 percent. But when we reach nine or 10 percent growth rate, you will have greater energy demand,” the senator added.

Gordon said the government should make preparations to ensure that there would be sufficient power supply to support an increased growth rate.

“What does it augur for the country then if we don’t look for a continuity of supply for the next years? We should look at the situation not only nationally but also geographically—continuity of supply not only in Luzon but also in the Visayas and Mindanao. We must have sufficient resources to run these factories, to run the houses,” he said.

The senator also expressed inclination toward nuclear power plants as energy source despite its unpopularity.

He said countries like France, China, and Taiwan, among others, are using nuclear plants as efficient sources of energy.

“I don’t care if nuclear energy is unpopular as long as it provides uninterrupted power supply. Other countries are doing it…I think we have national mental dwarfism,” he said.

The energy department said nuclear power was among options that it will pursue to ensure long-term energy stability for the country, along with other power sources.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said nuclear power was viable as it is cheap to produce and has greater longevity than other depletable sources such as natural gas and coal.

The current national energy supply is at 17,925 megawatts, sufficient for the demand for 13,500 MW, Cusi said.

Cusi said the supply is only compromised by unexpected outages and simultaneous maintenance shutdowns of powerplants, a situation that led to the supply shortage in Luzon a month ago.

TALLEST OF THEM ALL. The

construction of The Sky Suites, the tallest building in the area, calls the attention of many motorist approaching Quezon Avenue.

Manny Palmero

Sports

Ancajas grabs IBF title from Arroyo

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

U

NHERALDED Jerwin Ancajas dominated IBF super flyweight champion McJoe Arroyo and dropped him in the eighth round to score a handsome win and give the Philippines its fourth world title and the first for eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao as a promoter at the Navy Gymnasium in Fort Bonifacio,Taguig City, Saturday night.

Ancajas used a stinging right straight and long-range, 1-2 combinations to set the tempo in the first six rounds, completely out-boxing Arroyo, who looked comparatively slow.

In the eighth round, Ancajas exploded with a cracking combination that sent Arroyo to the ropes as referee Gene del Bianco gave him an eight-count.

From that point on, Arroyo never looked likely to be able to turn things around and had to struggle to ward off the aggressive Ancajas in a battle of southpaws that had the crowd on its feet.

Knowing he was behind on points, Arroyo tried to mount a challenge in the championship rounds, but Ancajas nailed him with ter-

rific counter-punches and grabbed the champion whenever he had to.

There was a point after the knockdown that promoter Peter Rivera appeared to want to stop the fight as Arroyo was taking a beating, but his trainers over-ruled him and the fight continued, only for the Puerto Rican to absorb more punishment from a surprisingly well-conditioned Ancajas, contrary to claims by his former trainer Nonoy Neri that he was out of shape, lazy and would be beaten.

His new trainer Joven Jimenez told Manila Standard after the fight that he doesn’t like to see Filipinos at odds and hoped that they could all get together for the sake of Philippine boxing.

“My long training helped me remain in top condition,” said Ancajas “Arroyo hit hard. I planned to move around in the early rounds and catch him with combinations in the later rounds. I found it hard, but the fans helped me prevail. I am very happy to win the world title because me and trainer Joven Jimenez had sacrificed a lot.”

All three judges scored the fight for Ancajas with Japan’s Takeo Harada having Ancajas the winner by a 117-110 margin. The Philippines’ Gil Co had it 118-109 and Puerto Rican judge Carlos Colo scored it a ridiculously close 115-112.

Ancajas, accompanied by Sean Gibbons, who helped international matchmaker and promoter Sampson Lewkowicz win the purse bid and MP Promotions Joe Ramos, drove to Pacquiao’s Forbes Park Home to present the belt to him and thank him for his unwavering support.

“I am very happy and wanted our fighters to train hard and keep on winning. I am very happy over the result of the fight,” Pacquiao told the Manila Standard.

Pacquiao is hoping to put more Filipino fighters on the undercard of his WBO welterweight title fight against Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas on Nov. 5.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Serena posts record; Stan, Andy prevail NEW YORK—Serena Williams sped past another milestone Saturday en route to the US Open fourth round as men’s contenders Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka clawed their way into the last 16.

World number one Williams dominated Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 to surpass Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam wins by a woman with 307.

Not only has she surpassed Navratilova, she matched Roger Federer’s mark for men.

“To be up there with both men and women is something that’s super-rare, and it actually feels good,” said Williams, who said she was “really excited” to reach 307.

“Obviously I want to keep that number going higher,” added Williams, who will get her chance when she takes on Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova for a quarter-final berth.

In the one hour it took to subdue Larsson, Williams again appeared untroubled by the shoulder injury that has slowed her since her Wimbledon triumph.

“It definitely feels solid,” she said.

“I’m doing a lot of work on it so I can keep it in this position.”

While Williams encountered little

Azkals still strong sans 2 players DESPITE the sidelining of Simone Rota and Patrick Reichelt to injuries, football chief Mariano Araneta Jr. and national team manager are confident the Philippine Azkals will remain competitive in the Asean Football Federation Cup in November.

In a span of a week, defender Rota and winger Reichelt, who are both playing for Global and Ceres FC, respectively, in the United Football League, went down with anterior cruciate ligament injuries, virtually keeping them out of the Suzuki Cup. Both players were left at home when the Filipino booters left Manila last Saturday to play Kyrgyzstan in a friendly match tomorrow (Tuesday) in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek..

But Dr. Randy Molo, the national team’s orthopedic surgeon, remained hopeful about Rota’s status after initial findings showed that his ACL was not worse as feared.

“We will still have an MRI of the injury to gauge its extent,” he said.

“We have more depth now in our national pool so we have quality players who can step up and replace Simone and Patrick,” noted the Philippine Football Federation president. “Our team won’t be pushovers even without them.”

Araneta pointed out the presence of Martin Steuble, who can fill in the shoes of the FilipinoItalian defensive specialist.

Rosales, Cyna boost golf cast LPGA veterans Jennifer Rosales and Cyna Rodriguez signed up for the ICTSI Sherwood Ladies Classic, bolstering the compact international cast in the P750,000 event firing off Tuesday at Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite.

Though Rosales had not seen action much and Rodriguez had a mediocre debut on the world’s premier ladies circuit, they remain the marked players in the 54-hole championship serving as the seventh leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour owing to their skills, talent and experience.

In fact, Rodriguez used to dominate the country’s first-ever circuit sponsored by ICTSI, winning its first two Order of Merit titles while Rosales continues to instill fear, particularly on the younger crop of local and foreign players.

They include the top amateurs from the ICTSI golf stable, headed by reigning Thailand Ladies Amateur champion Pauline del Rosario, Sofia Chabon, Mika Fortuna and Kayla Nocum, along with Korean Hwang Min Jeong, who humbled the pros at the Mt. Malarayat stop last year.

LOTTO RESULTS

Jerwin Ancajas (center) holds his IBF super flyweight championship belt and is joined by his promoter Senator Manny Pacquiao and boxing man Sean Gibbons.

Patrimonios steal PCA Open spotlight CLARICE and Christine Patrimonio turned the ladies’ finals into the Patrimonio show yesterday in the 35th Philippine Columbian Association Open-Cebuana Lhuillier ATF Tour at the PCA indoor shell-clay court in Paco, Manila.

The 22-year-old Clarice shook off a sluggish first set to deflate older sister Christine’s hopes, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, in the singles’ finals.

Clarice took home the top purse of P20,000, while Christine, 24, settled for P10,000.

The Patrimonio siblings then combined forces and proved they were the better sister act in the doubles’ competition against Marian Jade and Jella Capadocia, 6-2, (retire).

Marian Jade, who was nursing a flu, tried to shrug off the bug but was too exhausted to keep going in the second set.

The Patrimonios grabbed the P10,000 cash prize, while the Capadocias accepted P5,000 in the ATF event supported by The Philippine Star, Dunlop, WhirlpoolFujidenzo, Chris Sports, Mary Grace, Aseana City, PVL Restaurant, Maverick, Compass, Babolat, Just Jewels, Rexona, Palm

resistance, it was another story for the top men’s seeds in action.

Wawrinka, a two-time Grand Slam winner and twice a semi-finalist in New York, had the closest call, saving a match point in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 victory over Britain’s Dan Evans.

The 31-year-old third seed saved the match point at 5/6 in the fourth set tiebreaker, breaking the will of his 64th-ranked opponent.

“It’s always good to win by saving match point. It’s always something special, that’s for sure,” said Wawrinka, who had his left ankle taped after twisting it during the match. “It was a tough battle and I’m happy to get through.”

Many of Murray’s troubles against Paolo Lorenzi were of his own making as he allowed the energetic Italian journeyman to make him look ordinary through two sets before pulling himself together to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

“I had to stop rushing,” said Murray, who arrived at the year’s final Grand Slam off victories at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics and may have expected less from Lorenzi, the 34-year-old who only won a first ATP title in July. AFP

Rock, Coca Cola Femsa Philippines, Pearl Garden Hotel, Pearl Lane Hotel, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, L&M, Broadway Motors, Stronghold Insurance and Monte.

Clarice and Christine arranged a championship showdown by beating Khim Iglupas, 6-7, 6-1, 6-1, and four-time PCA champion Marian, 6-0, 1-0 (ret.), in their respective semifinal matches.

The Patrimonio sisters also defeated Hannah Espinosa and Aileen Rogan, 6-2, 2-6, 10-7, in the doubles semis while the Capadocia siblings ousted Marinel Rudas and Grace Woo, 6-4, 6-1, in the other semifinal pairing.

Clarice Patrimonio

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Mocking away FANTASY FANATIC JIMBO GULLE

OH, September, how we’ve missed you! Not just because it kicks off the “Ber” months we Pinoys all look forward to, but more because it signals the start of another six- to seven-month grind for us NBA fantasy basketball fanatics. No more checking the wires to see who’s the latest NBA player to plead guilty in court (that’s you, Darren Collison); for many, including yours truly, we’re allowed to dream of virtual dominance and plot our revenge for last year’s slights, real or imagined.

But even armchair jocks like us have to put in the real work to succeed in our make-believe leagues, and that starts with doing the mock drafts made available just recently by Yahoo and ESPN. Since I play mostly Yahoo leagues (and promise to immerse myself more on ESPN leagues this year), let me share one particular mock I’ve done over the last fortnight, with some analysis included: Yahoo Mock Draft (9-category, 12-team H2H, picking 2nd)

1. Stephen Curry (GS PG,SG) ; 2. Brook Lopez (Bkn - C) ; 3. C.J. McCollum (Por PG,SG) ; 4. Nerlens Noel (Phi PF,C) ; 5. Marc Gasol (Mem - C) ; 6. DeMarre Carroll (Tor - SF,PF) ; 7. Aaron Gordon (Orl - SF,PF) ; 8. Ben Simmons (Phi - SF,PF) ; 9. D’Angelo Russell (LAL - PG) ; 10. Andre Iguodala (GS - SG,SF) ; 11. Jae Crowder (Bos - SF,PF) ; 12. Evan Fournier (Orl - SG,SF) ; 13. Alex Len (Pho - PF,C) Guards: It’s hard to go wrong with the two-time Most Valuable Player in Curry, but this is one year where you can be drafting in the top five and still come out with the No. 1 player for fantasy at the end of the season.

This particular draft went Kevin Durant (Steph’s new teammate on the Warriors), Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis, and of this group I would swap out Davis for Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota owing to AD’s injury history and KAT’s growing role with the Timberwolves. But with Curry on a head-to-head team I get to lock up three-pointers right away and have high marks in points, percentages, assists and steals -- a solid foundation in six out of nine stat categories.

As for my other guards, I picked the Trail Blazers’ McCollum (although I should have gone for Oklahoma City’s Victor Oladipo that round), the Lakers’ Russell (who should have a stronger year under new coach Luke Walton), Fournier of the Magic (who is being overlooked in early mocks because of his low Yahoo rating) and Iguodala, who should chip in a little bit of everything for the Dubs, but can be dropped for the first hot free agent on the waiver wire once the fantasy season starts.

Forwards: I went with multicategory contributors (especially with steals and blocks) in the 76ers’ Noel, Carroll of the Raptors and the Celtics’ Crowder, but it was Gordon of the Magic who pleased me most as a draft steal.

New Orlando coach Frank Vogel has promised to play Gordon at small forward instead of exclusively at the “four,” and that should provide more value to the Slam Dunk contest runner-up.

Centers: Perhaps no position is more essential in fantasy than the slot, especially in Yahoo that usually has two-center leagues, so I was content to get the Nets’ Lopez and Gasol of the Grizzlies where I did. But I totally missed

out on emerging Pacers big man Myles Turner, who like Fournier is ranked criminally low in Yahoo, and fumbled my last pick on the Suns’ Len, who never seems to live up to his potential.

However, that is the purpose of mock drafts: you get to make your mistakes early without any consequences (except bruising your ego) so you can fine-tune your drafting strategy and assemble a winning team when the “real fantasy season” (I know, right?) and the NBA starts at the end of October. So apologies to Green Day, but I’ll stay awake and mock away, even after September ends. (end) *** Postscript: My eternal gratitude goes out once again to Boss Riera, who allowed me to resume this on-and-off hobby of mine (under an alias the first time around), and everybody who taught me to write about and love basketball. I cut my teeth as a sports scribe with the Manila Standard many moons ago, and writing this piece under my real name is a sort of homecoming, the significance of which will never be lost on me. Comments, reactions and suggestions are all welcome at jimbo.gulle@ yahoo.com.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph sports_mstandard@yahoo.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Foton Pilipinas team captain Jaja Santiago (3) towers over a Bank of Vietnam blocker as she hammers a quick attack before the defense could set up. Foton lost steam late in the game to allow Bank of Vietnam to steal a pulsating 25-18, 19-25, 20-25, 2512, 15-8 victory on Sunday in the 2016 AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship at the Alonte Sports Arena. Roman Prospero

A8

Sports

Foton PH bows to Vietnam B

IÑAN CITY – A depleted Foton Pilipinas fought hard but crumbled down the stretch, allowing Thongtin Lienvietpost Bank of Vietnam to steal with a pulsating 2518, 19-25, 20-25, 25-12, 15-8 victory on Sunday in the 2016 AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship at the Alonte Sports Arena here.

Adamson Falcons soar past Maroons

By Peter Atencio THE Adamson Falcons played with energy and poise not seen before in any of their games, got off to a great start and never let go of a sizeable lead they established in the first period, to trounce the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 105-85, yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was a rousing debut for new coach Franz Pumaren and his assistants Renren Ritualo and Don Allado, who are trying their hands at coaching, as the Soaring Falcons went on to post the rousing victory at the start of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo Blue Eagles gave new coach Tab Baldwin a fitting welcome, striking hard with their outside shooting in the second half to break away from a 34-all halftime and into a 73-69 victory over the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.

Aaron Black led with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Eagles, who posted a 64-53 edge in the last six minutes off two triples by Anton Asistio.

Eighteen-year-old spitfire Jerick Ahanmisi, a recruit from Los Angeles, California, overcame opening day jitters, to score a game-high 28 points for the Soaring Falcons.

Games Today (Alonte Sports Arena) 11:30 am – Hongkong vs Vietnam 2:00 pm – Kazakhstan vs Japan 4:30 pm – Iran vs Thailand 6:30 pm – China vs Malaysia

With import Lindsay Stalzer out with a back problem, the Tornadoes bowed in the face of a strong Vietnamese defense in the fourth set before completely fading in the fifth to suffer their first loss in this prestigious tournament organized by the Philippine Superliga, Larong Volley-

ball sa Pilipinas, Inc. and the city government of Biñan headed by Congresswoman Len Alonte.

Stalzer, the Most Valuable Player of the recent PSL Grand Prix, is being bothered by back spasms the past five days that prompted Foton Pilipinas head coach Fabio Menta to sit her out in a bid to get her healthy for the all-important quarterfinal battle against either Altay VC of Kazakhstan or NEC Red Rockets of Japan on Tuesday.

Filling the huge void in her absence was her fellow import Ariel Usher, Jovelyn Gonzaga and Jaja Santiago, who wreaked havoc in the middle in the second and third sets of this match that also has SMM Sport, Nike, Senoh, Asics, Mikasa, Foton, BMW, Rexona, PLDT and Price Waterhouse Cooper as sponsors, with Crimson Hotel as official residence and TV5 and SMMTV of Thailand as television partners.

Usher delivered 15 kills, had

three aces and two blocks for a total of 20 points while Gonzaga had 13 kills and three blocks for 16 points. Santiago had 13 hits after a sluggish start that saw Menta experimenting with his roster in the opening set.

“I take responsibility in the loss in the first set. I experimented a little and we paid a heavy price for it,” said Menta, who moved Gonzaga to the open spiker position and Usher and Maika Ortiz to the opposite position to somehow obstruct the

attacks of the Vietnamese.

“We got soft in the fourth set.

Vietnam was the more disciplined team (in the fourth set).

Down 2-1, they only had one choice, which is to play hard. We knew they were coming back hard. We gave them a chance but we slowly collapsed.”

With the Tornadoes one set away from pulling off an upset, the Vietnamese tightened their defense while skipper Minh Do Thi uncorked powerful smashes from the open position.

NLEX erases 21-point deficit to beat Rain or Shine

By Jeric Lopez NLEX submitted its best showing when it mattered the most.

THE Road Warriors erased a 21-point deficit and then exploded in the fourth to wallop the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 111-99, for a vital win in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City yesterday.

Henry Walker was again the catalyst for NLEX, scoring a game-high 23 points along with 12 rebounds for a double-double but this time, he got more help from his teammates.

Rookie Garvo Lanete connected on six triples to finish with a career-high 21 points while Enrico Villanueva turned back the clock by contributing 14 points. Sean Anthony scored 10 of his 12 points in the final period as the other Road Warriors stepped up to help Walker.

NLEX exploded 40 points in the payoff period and dominated to post the sudden rout over Rain or Shine, which scored 24 in the fourth after leading for most part of the game.

“This game was really for my players. They didn’t give up. I’m happy they didn’t give up,” said a jubilant

NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

“We didn’t give up even if the deficit reached 20. We came back strong in the second half,” said Lanete, whose last two triples came in the final three minutes to serve as the dagger for NLEX. “We really needed that. We really needed the win,” added Lanete.

As a result, the two teams are now tied in the standings with similar 4-5 records.

They share the No.7 and No.8 spots and both need to finish strong to finish in the top eight and enter the quarterfinals.

Rain or Shine played superb early in the game posting a huge

18-point lead, 30-12, at the end of the first period.

Midway in the second, the Elasto Painters even led by 21 points, 48-27.

But NLEX wasn’t discouraged and gallantly fought its way back.

The Road Warriors trimmed their deficit to a manageable 10 points, 42-52, at the half.

With momentum on their side, they managed to tie the game in the third quarter, 69-all, before Rain or Shine grabbed back the lead, 7571, entering the final frame.

However, NLEX, led by Walker, Lanete, Villanueva and Anthony, completely dominated the fourth to complete its amazing

comeback victory.

Meanwhile, the Meralco Bolts (5-4) are also in a crucial game against the woeful Star Hotshots (1-7) as of this report.

The Bolts need to notch a victory if they want to keep fifth spot.

The scores: NLEX ROAD WARRIORS 111 – Henry Walker 23, Garvo Lanete 21, Enrico Villanueva 14, Sean Anthony 12, Glenn Khobuntin 10, Kevin Alas 8, Jonas Villanueva 7, Asi Taulava 6, Harold Arboleda 5, Mac Baracael 5, Emman Monfort 0, Rodrigue Akl 0.

Filipinas shock Georgia in 42nd Chess Olympiad

Catherine Secopito (right) exchanges high fives with Jan Jodilyn Fronda (middle) and Cristy Lamiel Bernales (left) as coach Jayson Gonzales smiles. Image from chess.com

THE Philippine women’s team stunned fourth seeded Georgia, jolting the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijian Saturday night.

Catherine Secopito delivered the final blow with a 58-move victory over fellow International Master Salome Melia in a Nimzo-Indian as the Philippines prevailed a tense battle, 2.5-1.5.

Janelle Mae Frayna forced a draw on top board with Nana Dzagnidze, ranked third in the world as of the latest Elo rating, after Cristy Lamiel Bernales lost.

Then Fronda came up with an endgame gem against Bela Khotenashvili, where a king move gave her the needed tempo to block three connected pawns so her queen could prevail.

The men’s team fell to Paraguay, 2.5-1.5, with the ageless Eugene Torre delivering the only win and Ino Sadorra drawing. John Paul Gomez and Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. lost their games.

The women’s team is in 29th place with four match points from two wins. India will be the Filipinas’ third round foe on Sunday evening.

The men’s team skidded to 50th place and will play Nigeria in the third round.

“The women’s team (members) are fearless,” said grandmaster Joey Antonio, in a Facebook thread on the game.

Secopito, who was initially not selected for the team, fought an even battle with Melia, who offered draws.

Secopito said their captain, Jayson Gonzales told her to play on.

Tams look diminished FEU, NU start Shakey’s V-League semifinals bid

By Peter Atencio COACH Nash Racela looks at the defending champion Far Eastern University Tamaraws as underdogs this season in the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

The absence of six veterans, after they won the crown last year and finished with an 11-3 win-loss

record, is something to consider.

Racela believes that the presence of three other veterans and how they blend well with rookies, most of them coming from Team B, can make a difference.

“You’re starting over with younger guys. But, what works for us now is that they’re not totally new to me. A lot of them had been with us for one or two years,” said Racela.

TOP seed Far Eastern U and No. 2 National U set out as the slight picks as they resume their respective final drive against Ateneo and University of the Philippines, respectively, in the semifinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Collegiate Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig today.

The Lady Tams trampled

the Lady Eagles in three in the final quarters playdate last Wednesday to clinch the top seeding. But the latter brought down the San Sebastian Lady Stags, also in three, in their playoff for the last semis berth Saturday to arrange a Final Four clash.

Gametime is at 4 p.m. with FEU wary of Ateneo, which showed spunk in

disposing of SSC to complete an all-UAAP cast in the semis of the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

The Lady Bulldogs, who subdued the Lady Eagles to capture the crown last year, face a vastly-improved UP side in the 6 p.m. main game, which will be shown live on ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel 23 and S +

A HD 166 and via streaming on sports.abs-cbn.com/ livestream/vleague.

The FEU-Ateneo match will be aired on a delayed basis, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

Meanwhile, Ateneo and NU seek to seal a title showdown for the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Collegiate Conference as they go for a sweep over La Salle and

UST, respectively, today.

The defending champion Eagles survived a tough La Salle side, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 26-28, 157, last Saturday while the Bulldogs held off the Tigers, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23, to gain a headstart in their respective Final Four series in the league backed by Mikasa as official ball and Accel as official carrier.

SSS favors property leases

B3

Business

Govt plans to reopen int’l airport in Subic

By Darwin G. Amojelar

T

HE Duterte administration is studying a plan to revive the operation of Subic Bay International Airport, according to the chief of the Transportation Department.

“Subic Airport is a very good airport, but its equipment were no longer there.

Maybe one possibility is to look into the revival of the airport and we are ready for that possibility,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

SBIA served as a secondary airport and used to be a main diversion airport of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It was also used by Federal Express as a regional hub.

The airport terminal is a 200-hectare aviation facility, which can handle com-

Govt debt rises 2.3% to P5.98t

By Gabrielle H. Binaday GOVERNMENT debt increased P135 billion or 2.3 percent to P5.98 trillion as of end-July from a year ago, led by higher foreign borrowings, data from the Treasury show.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the country was in “better shape” to borrow money as the new government planned to accelerate expenditures on infrastructure and human capital.

Data showed outstanding debt as of endJuly rose from P5.847 trillion registered in the same month last year. On a monthly basis, the national government debt increased 0.6 percent, or P34.48 billion, from the June level.

Domestic debt fell 0.3 percent to P3.857 trillion in July from P3.858 trillion a year earlier. The figure, however, increased 0.7 percent or P28.16 billion from the previous month.

The Treasury said the month-on-month increase in local debt fwas due to the P28.12billion net issuance of government securities and the revaluation of dollar-denominated bonds due to peso depreciation.

Of the total domestic debt, P598 million represented loans while the remaining amount pertained to debt securities.

Foreign debt, which accounted for 35.4 percent of national debt, climbed 6.91 percent to P2.125 trillion as of end-July from P1.988 trillion in the same month last year.

This was also P6.32 billion higher than June 2016 level.

mercial or chartered aircraft operation, air cargo handling and warehousing, aircraft repair and maintenance and other general aviation businesses. It features a 2,700-meter runway and a 10,000-squaremeter passenger terminal that can handle 700 passengers.

Federal Express stopped its operations in SBIA in 2009, after the courier giant moved its entire hub operations to Guangzhou, China.

Tugade said the government planned to build a dedicated rail system to connect Subic and Clark and promote the areas as modern logistic corridor.

He earlier said the government would bid out the expansion of Clark International Airport within the next 10 months through the public-private partnership scheme.

Clark International Airport Corp. operates and maintain the international gateway at the former US military airbase. The airport has an annual capacity of four million passengers.

Airlines operating in Clark include Qa-

tar Airways, Cebu Pacific, Tigerair Air, Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Dragon Air, Air Asia Berhad and Emirates Airlines.

These airlines mount flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Macau, Pudong, Incheon, Doha, Dubai, Davao, Cebu and Kalibo.

Tugade also said the agency planned to build a rail system connecting Clark and Naia or Trinoma, using the right of way of North Luzon Expressway and Philippine National Railways.

Tugade said the department would finalize the proposal for submission to the National Economic and Development Authority within 90 days. The proposed rail system aims to promote Clark International Airport as an alternative international gateway to Naia which is now congested.

Japan International Cooperation Agency said Naia was expected to exceed its maximum handling capacity this year, when the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35 million passengers a year.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

B1

European car firms seek fair competition

By Othel V. Campos CAR importers asked the government to reduce import duties on European vehicles to make them more affordable and reduce the advantage enjoyed by Japanese and other Asian models.

European car brands Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedez Benz and Peugeot submitted a position paper to Board of Investments, asking the government to include automotive tariff lines in the proposed Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement.

“What we are asking, basically, is a level playing field for all players. If the government can level the playing field, then all of a sudden European cars will be more affordable,” Volkswagen Philippines president and chief executive John Philip Orbeta said over the weekend.

The group said if tariff lines would be included in the bilateral free trade agreement, European original equipment manufacturers with representation in the Philippines could expect a significant reduction in duties and taxes.

Vehicles from Europe are currently taxed 30-percent, compared to zero tariff accorded to Japanese vehicles.

The four European car brands decided to come up with its position paper in response to a separate position paper submitted

by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. which asked BOI to exclude tariff lines on European automotive products in the ongoing discussions on Philippines-EU FTA. Campi is a group of automotive makers and distributors led

by Japanese assemblers. “With all due fairness, we informed Campi that we will also submit our own [position paper]. We told them that we respect their position, but allow us to give our position also,” Orbeta said.

Campi submitted its position to BOI as early as October 2015 while the European group sent its letter only two weeks ago.

B2

Business

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Bombing likely to affect market

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

TOCKS are expected to move downhill this week, after President Rodrigo Duterte declared a “state of lawless violence” following a bombing that killed 14 people in Davao City Friday night.

Analysts said foreign selling would likely continue this week, with the declaration of “state of lawless violence” and as Duterte was set to leave for the Asean meeting in Laos.

The possibility of US rate hike before the end of the year could also be used as an excuse by investors to cash in on previous gains, analysts said.

The soft US jobs data for the month of August could cool market expectations on immi-

nent Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

The US economy added 151,000 jobs in August, a decent increase but less than 275,000 new jobs in July. Unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent.

BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said despite current market conditions, the 30-company benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index could still hit 8,000 level this year.

Ravelas said while the market had strong support on the 7,800-point level, a near-term bias remained for further weakness towards the 7,500 level.

The PSEi slipped 0.7 percent over last week’s five-day market trading to close at 78,07.42, while the broader all-share index dropped 0.9 percent to 4,629.86 as offshore funds’ exit intensified.

Except for the property sub-index which advanced 0.3 percent, all other major sub-indices ended in the red, led by services which

dropped 1.9 percent, holding firms which retreated 0.6 percent and financials which declined 0.4 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers last week of P7.54 billion, as total foreign selling hit P26.22 billion while foreign buying amounted to only P18.68 billon.

Top gainer was Medco Holdings Inc. which surged 51.2 percent to P1 on reports that Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment Inc., the group led by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, would use Medco for its backdoor listing.

Other major gainers were Manila Water Co. Inc. which climbed 4.3 percent to P27.90 and San Miguel Purefoods Company Inc. which jumped 4.1 percent to P224.

Heavy losers were Petron Corp. which dropped 9.6 percent to P9.92, Philippine Seven Corp. which went down 5.4 percent to P130 and Emperador Inc. which declined 4.5 percent to P7.60.

Globe plans to raise 2016 capex by $10m

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it may raise capital expenditures by $10 million this year to finance the rollout of more cell sites using the frequencies it acquired from San Miguel Corp.

“We are still targeting [capex] in the neighborhood of $750 million for the full year. It’s subject to how the project gets completed, it could be $10 million more or $10 million less. But it is generally around that number.

We don’t anticipate that it could

THE MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

AUGUST30-SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 Close Volume Value

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

3.74 47.75 112.30 106.00 38.45 3.70 1.52 9.09 16.44 20.75 6.96 0.71 1.87 590.00 1.000 87.3 0.87 14.5 23.60 56.70 99.85 277.8 32.75 217.6 1360.00 73.65 1.48

927,000 81,700 9,388,170 8,233,020 119,100 122,000 2,491,000 1,300 1,777,900 951,700 900 2,489,000 80,000 570 402,156,000 16,928,070 222,000 846,900 16,500 298,260 12,610 9,150 2,260,500 18,637,360 515 185,050 114,000

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ MG Holdings Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

45.95 3.3 0.89 1.78 15.1 53 200.00 12.02 17.04 136 24.1 58.3 2.13 6.3 12.28 10.900 7.60 5.87 8.18 1.72 25.4 74.8 12.90 16.54 6.6 2.300 250.00 43.80 2.01 4.73 28.00 27.9 33 13.98 312.00 0.265 4.80 3.15 9.92 3.01 11.64 2.20 6.15 1.62 3.43 4.20 3.4 224 3.05 0.156 1.82 180.9 4.69 2.2 35.00 1.24

9,316,500 20,057,000 7,984,000 3,280,430 315,600 2,570 90 42,513,200 9,312,300 2,890 47,880,100 6,950 3,908,000 5,666,200 92,900 18,691,500 11,579,000 64,960,900 2,905,600 18,000 14,082,700 651,600 19,100 3,031,900 9,523,800 4,315,000 2,851,280 1,900 55,000 1,505,000 166,000 31,482,800 2,675,300 25,208,200 587,380 1,200,000 53,100 4,333,000 46,484,900 1,000 40,000 9,507,000 3,524,500 2,346,000 1,468,000 690,000 195,000 36,730 681,000 30,720,000 3,598,000 8,886,030 37,000 298,330,000 1,800 708,000

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ BHI Holdings Inc. Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ F&J Prince ‘B’ 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 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

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

0.385 74.80 16.40 1.27 6.30 0.380 0.400 865 1000.00 8.5 11.80 6.48 6.5 7.00 0.226 1523 6.35 78.80 4.29 5.28 5.31 8.14 0.83 17.3 0.450 7.14 3.1 0.0370 1.210 2.060 2.58 84.00 2.5 689.50 1.27 1.03 188.10 214.000 0.3300 0.2050 0.285

2,070,000 9,362,110 22,429,400 21,000 229,500 31,040,000 31,900,000 1,785,300 25 6,938,200 33,169,700 82,100 5,300 298,500 3,370,000 1,115,550 18,700 12,344,560 1,000 6,700 1,100 22,473,300 884,000 27,558,900 120,000 315,490,400 5,000 68,800,000 98,000 14,946,000 32,000 1,359,680 11,000 2,049,790 4,119,000 1,368,000 40 23,310 161,150,000 2,340,000 2,120,000

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

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

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Keppel Properties Megaworld

7.750 6.87 1.38 3.600 0.275 39.500 3 5.11 6.34 0.630 1.05 1.020 0.182 0.630 59.9 0.780 0.146 1.06 1.85 1.19 4.35 4.92

681,100 8,500 16,985,000 46,216,000 2,880,000 53,990,400 5,238,000 197,600 100 112,338,000 78,000 474,000 307,510,000 25,370,000 1,998,410 386,000 10,000,000 26,742,000 78,727,000 423,000 14,800 215,691,000

FINANCIAL 3,405,830.00 3,869,980.00 1,054,598,858 864,209,726.00 4,579,175.00 449,300.00 3,616,760.00 11,817.00 29,158,758.00 19,759,790.00 6,234 1,904,990 149,400.00 338,850.00 452,842,440.00 1,461,873,508.50 198,330.00 12,290,778.00 607,320.00 17,224,737.50 1,250,626.00 2,522,428.00 73,800,215 3,989,995,760.00 705,275 13,631,298.50 169,570.00 INDUSTRIAL 424,922,975.00 71,216,590.00 7,868,350.00 4,987,850.00 4,817,862.00 135,938.00 17,446.00 511,458,616.00 157,951,687 404,396.00 1,174,747,495.00 400,597 8,425,190.00 34,958,593.00 1,118,876.00 206,317,130.00 90,503,251.00 374,348,987.00 24,115,610.00 -1,927,860.00 360,856,190.00 47,755,817.50 244,586.00 50,916,612.00 64,051,606.00 9,815,090.00 708,053,924.00 84,380.00 111,570.00 7,218,390.00 4,489,235.00 868,756,470.00 87,665,855.00 345,220,082.00 183,038,714.00 316,650.00 256,855.00 13,524,990.00 471,334,332.00 3,010.00 461,246.00 20,951,000.00 21,687,671.00 3,777,750.00 5,038,810.00 2,900,820.00 658,520.00 8,108,168.00 2,083,040 4,778,580.00 6,674,170.00 1,635,985,053 168,330.00 799,271,870.00 62,460.00 868,800.00 HOLDING FIRMS 803,950.00 699,045,908.00 365,074,524.00 26,530.00 1,418,955.00 11,866,800.00 11,981,650.00 1,554,909,670 25,000.00 59,636,904.00 388,109,200.00 503,877.00 34,950.00 2,087,337.00 750,870.00 1,697,428,040.00 118,514.00 954,612,402.50 4,290.00 35,794.00 5,829.00 180,120,327.00 863,060.00 468,829,268.00 57,100.00 2,209,786,836.00 15,500.00 2,478,000.00 117,780.00 30,587,850.00 83,160.00 114,801,893.00 27,500.00 1,384,812,100.00 5,197,160.00 1,359,870.00 7,524.00 4,961,634.00 58,589,950.00 470,760.00 606,350.00 PROPERTY 5,227,430.00 52,825.00 22,634,540.00 168,534,570.00 778,550.00 2,083,390,140.00 15,709,810.00 1,008,832.00 634.00 73,167,360.00 78,630.00 474,660.00 53,337,690.00 15,644,690.00 118,391,359.50 301,700.00 1,460,000.00 28,000,780.00 149,029,040.00 500,990.00 74,459.00 1,032,325,200.00

AUGUST 22-26, 2016 Close Volume Value 3.7 47.65 113.80 105.10 38.5 3.99 1.48 9 16.3 21 6.85 0.68 1.87 595.00 0.660 87.8 0.88 14.68 24.00 59.20 100.3 278 32.45 218.4 1400.00 73.75 1.53

731,000 51,300 6,908,520 9,797,630 209,500 367,000 812,000 1,700 243,700 2,675,600 46,200 29,311,000 140,000 570 35,919,000 13,995,660 577,000 200,300 9,300 640,390 1,070 11,100 462,100 5,391,770 65 412,970 205,000

2,639,610.00 2,444,215.00 784,858,534 1,024,800,594.00 8,034,245.00 1,338,170.00 1,201,150.00 15,346.00 3,978,278.00 57,203,970.00 316,799 21,699,620 262,400.00 341,870.00 24,642,700.00 1,241,591,574.50 510,840.00 2,947,306.00 222,945.00 38,487,826.50 104,588.00 3,104,780.00 14,940,965 1,623,361,276.00 90,875 30,391,720.50 307,130.00

45.65 3.18 0.84 1.77 15.2

12,023,700 6,145,000 3,932,000 4,838,000 551,000

551,725,945.00 19,301,020.00 3,318,030.00 8,604,140.00 8,233,052.00

204.00 12.2 16.72 149 25 57 2.16 5.95 12.2 11.000 7.96 5.73 8.30 1.85 25.35 72.55 12.80 16.68 6.53 2.270 253.00 45.00 2.18 4.262 29.00 26.75 33 14.08 313.00 0.265 5.00 3.1 10.98 3.01 11.66 2.26 6.11 1.61 3.65 4.21 3.7 215 3.06 0.153 1.88 180.1 4.71 2.89

70 50,222,300 8,034,100 6,980 62,083,900 27,320 5,184,000 1,521,000 375,500 13,919,900 6,993,800 60,212,200 6,027,700 26,000 13,086,300 1,458,040 23,100 2,293,200 19,801,000 7,123,000 2,340,280 10,500 335,000 399,950 11,300 3,017,500 2,562,700 30,381,200 534,860 13,000,000 50,200 2,179,000 14,834,800 67,000 14,200 5,354,000 3,116,600 2,149,000 4,378,000 17,769,000 17,000 45,660 532,000 34,490,000 13,363,000 20,211,140 13,000 326,542,000

13,344.00 624,845,212.00 135,340,260 990,958.00 1,518,027,295.00 1,568,448 11,420,270.00 8,915,268.00 4,601,050.00 154,871,080.00 54,949,458.00 351,334,316.00 51,681,208.00 46,900.00 328,899,240.00 107,097,801.50 287,342.00 37,982,512.00 133,293,753.00 16,262,090.00 589,879,240.00 480,785.00 712,700.00 600,810.00 320,210.00 80,528,375.00 82,346,830.00 425,983,434.00 167,122,322.00 3,614,900.00 246,494.00 7,069,540.00 164,813,214.00 203,260.00 164,228.00 12,216,040.00 19,206,083.00 3,505,700.00 16,509,470.00 74,804,890.00 62,800.00 9,948,268.00 1,621,910 5,291,450.00 25,115,970.00 3,666,075,541 60,560.00 821,299,960.00

1.24

3,582,000

4,518,210.00

0.390 75.30 16.40 1.27 6.20 0.375 0.375 894.5 1000.00 8.75 12.00 6.1 6.01 6.96 0.210 1543 6.32 78.00 3.9 5.75

1,081,000 11,593,160 21,003,700 281,000 35,000 40,390,000 8,990,000 1,112,170 40 5,389,700 44,412,700 139,300 1,200 1,921,300 1,350,000 529,240 170,300 8,203,660 1,000 3,000

874,300.00 873,076,535.50 343,468,742.00 347,260.00 217,955.00 15,461,450.00 3,428,500.00 998,421,530 40,375.00 47,743,995.00 541,358,392.00 850,918.00 7,212.00 13,600,918.00 279,260.00 814,883,235.00 1,089,568.00 657,425,636.50 3,900.00 17,863.00

7.87 0.81 16.88

11,726,800 441,000 31,483,500

92,656,298.00 353,220.00 531,031,814.00

7.24

164,143,800

1,193,659,894.00

0.0350 1.200 1.900 2.60 84.00 2.3 690.00 1.29 1.01 188.00 211.000 0.3150 0.2080 0.285

92,900,000 10,000 3,028,000 20,000 611,590 105,000 1,782,850 21,486,000 8,438,000 100 32,800 5,720,000 3,650,000 2,030,000

3,259,000.00 12,000.00 5,760,500.00 52,000.00 51,185,996.50 240,810.00 1,228,054,595.00 30,299,660.00 8,873,270.00 18,800.00 6,882,578.00 1,769,800.00 729,410.00 569,100.00

7.850 6.60 1.31 3.340 0.275 38.700 3.12 5.1

1,517,800 6,500 31,306,200 32,247,000 2,598,000 50,530,200 2,838,000 59,000

12,086,358.00 41,177.00 43,744,680.00 101,280,490.00 741,200.00 2,013,217,190.00 8,749,600.00 300,617.00

0.590 1.01 1.000 0.161 0.620 60 0.780 0.158 1.06 1.91 1.18 4.70 4.94

25,502,000 49,000 362,000 71,010,000 40,084,000 2,986,680 1,087,100 21,000 18,243,000 59,574,000 508,000 20,000 252,592,500

14,788,680.00 50,540.00 364,870.00 11,422,650.00 24,986,720.00 178,648,092.00 925,710.00 4,500.00 19,826,030.00 115,444,330.00 597,870.00 94,000.00 1,244,358,004.00

STOCKS

AUGUST30-SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 Close Volume Value

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

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. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

0.132 0.2950 0.440 42.00 3.27 31.60 1.67 3.3 28.75 1.11 6.89 1.030 5.880

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, 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’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.38 49.15 1.3 0.590 5.41 5.72 0.0940 3.65 122.4 9.9 2.22 5.38 3.02 960 2010 6.30 15.14 20.40 1.95 83.5 20.80 155.1 11.8 0.0093 9.25 0.300 1.4300 3.8 11.9 4.36 2.18 1.14 2.25 21.50 0.580 1.98 3.78 5.38 3.680 11.34 5.45 2.5 8.6 130.00 5.85 1807.00 0.440 0.890 44.50 81.70 6.20 3.20 0.610 1.95 3.49 0.350 6.280

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

Benguet Corp `A’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Philex `A’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. `A’ Semirara Corp.

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0039 2.95 3.89 0.220 2.2100 2.4000 0.67 0.420 8.50 0.850 0.275 0.202 0.214 0.0110 0.0120 1.68 6.31 2.95 0.5100 1.0000 0.0110 0.0110 4.06 8.70 3.20 0.0120 113.50 3.37 0.0100

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

49.1 539.5 535 104.9 118 531 6.08 1.03 109.1 1061 1135 1020 77.5 81.1 76.55 79.8 80 79 78.25 78.8 2.16

LR Warrant

2.580

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

4.2 3.89 4.98 15.7

First Metro ETF

128.9

AUGUST 22-26, 2016 Close Volume Value

79,260,000 150,000 310,000 5,000 3,704,000 8,899,800 1,029,000 155,000 80,716,700 75,775,000 12,200 1,934,000 27,363,400

10,074,760.00 42,950.00 132,300.00 196,010.00 12,214,410.00 281,719,540.00 1,715,360.00 506,510.00 2,318,465,750.00 79,802,260.00 83,910.00 1,966,280.00 160,993,983.00 SERVICES 861,400 6,323,999.00 250,790 12,410,975.50 146,000 189,740.00 5,340,000 3,134,310.00 38,900 220,607 35,496,300 201,169,744.00 226,780,000 21,823,110.00 77,799,000 294,115,700.00 3,374,010 406,689,434.00 4,700 46,210.00 103,000 232,920 1,157,500 6,133,118.00 1,000 3,020.00 1,560 1,486,735.00 427,085 855,139,270 909,900 5,742,651.00 781,800 11,864,312.00 1,500 30,610 69,676,000 141,328,140.00 8,348,030 923,708,158.00 464,900 9,799,290 580 92,264 30,100 346,540.00 145,000,000 1,340,400.00 4,323,700 40,142,025.00 109,200,000 33,277,450.00 7,021,000 9,931,630.00 1,608,000 6,080,550.00 7,000 89,238.00 20,362,000 91,048,110 3,447,000 7,527,460.00 1,664,000 1,939,650.00 187,000 433,290.00 11,900 255,850 66,000 37,830.00 59,000 117,330.00 27,764,000 105,861,630.00 13,309,000 71,128,579.00 17,317,000 65,434,310.00 56,800 643,198.00 381,000 2,181,468 4,000 10,000.00 1,700,000 14,620,000.00 42,750 5,691,946.00 30,835,500 203,465,065.00 644,895 1,167,469,400.00 47,630,000 4,845,150.00 193,171,000 172,868,010.00 4,057,300 181,689,050.00 859,950 70,704,126.50 1,155,400 7,217,976.00 10,725,000 34,381,820.00 7,170,000 4,371,130.00 2,515,000 4,629,230.00 6,307,000 21,936,980.00 950,000 322,000.00 71,500 429,810.00 MINING & OIL 1,459,000,000 5,746,100.00 1,570,000 4,685,500.00 245,000 953,660.00 670,000 141,240.00 372,000 854,200.00 52,000 122,750.00 15,624,000 9,957,140.00 1,650,000 689,500.00 100,900 870,628.00 43,207,000 36,799,490.00 1,740,000 481,000.00 31,020,000 6,436,520.00 2,940,000 641,810.00 13,900,000 158,000.00 2,600,000 31,200.00 2,837,000 4,777,820.00 56,872,200 366,823,544.00 2,494,000 7,432,070.00 401,000 207,560.00 499,000 502,070.00 93,800,000 1,030,700.00 14,200,000 156,300.00 81,000 326,630.00 11,317,400 97,167,176.00 14,762,000 49,813,770.00 47,500,000 569,900.00 2,225,650 249,703,281.00 793,000 2,618,520.00 79,400,000 821,800.00 PREFERRED 673,870 33,337,011.00 1,850 997,325.00 16,510 8,818,925 484,610 50,506,055.00 37,890 4,516,155.00 11,330 6,024,550.00 592,800 3,604,956.00 8,391,000 8,624,910 22,780 2,501,380.00 2,120 2,247,205.00 3,445 3,903,780.00 1,600 1,631,000.00 60,000 4,671,780.50 115,100 9,352,965 42,700 3,296,040.00 18,310 1,409,898.00 394,940 31,580,383.00 63,200 4,992,800.00 2,527,410 197,135,405.50 19,950 1,560,808.00 31,000 63,920.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 7,948,000 20,809,520.00 SME 5,554,000 23,845,110.00 295,000 1,117,990.00 1,580,800 7,972,952.00 1,349,800 21,399,254.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 63,400 8,102,419.00

0.117 0.2900 0.420 38.00 3.28 32.00 1.7 3.32 29.00 0.96

72,890,000 750,000 930,000 1,800 5,791,000 8,226,500 1,645,000 2,753,000 55,231,900 6,086,000

8,791,800.00 197,400.00 394,700.00 68,835.00 19,156,440.00 257,221,570.00 2,791,090.00 9,096,810.00 1,600,539,095.00 5,853,560.00

1.040 5.980

1,005,300 28,768,400

1,408,050.00 174,814,510.00

7.3 50.05 1.26 0.590 5.8 5.80 0.1000 3.36 122 9.9 2.2 5.40 3.02 950 2080 6.32 15.70 20.40 1.75 84.5 23.00 156.1 11.8 0.0094 9.29 0.295 1.4800 3.82 12.9 4.92 2.18 1.03 2.39 21.50 0.590 1.99 3.84 5.39 3.690 11.34 5.80 2.5 9.19 137.50 9.48 1845.00 0.430 0.870 44.90 82.75 6.33 3.26 0.620 1.85 3.49 0.340 6.410

1,040,800 127,090 33,000 2,898,000 56,700 97,372,400 407,230,000 148,525,000 4,369,080 26,600 99,000 3,287,700 25,000 1,420 286,260 714,000 719,800 204,700 30,460,000 10,805,620 1,072,700 3,360 116,900 285,000,000 10,674,400 45,428,000 10,836,000 3,858,000 22,000 69,083,700 19,812,000 80,000 174,000 3,600 279,000 80,000 67,412,000 14,720,300 31,964,000 1,979,300 425,600 5,000 100 6,500 37,720,300 381,610 13,450,000 178,304,000 25,400,000 9,612,880 18,214,100 25,060,000 22,738,000 15,000 12,138,000 2,340,000 173,200

7,547,375.00 6,372,215.50 41,650.00 1,724,790.00 320,533 551,368,030.00 39,324,500.00 519,326,640.00 538,332,937.00 253,861.00 223,090 17,344,554.00 76,320.00 1,340,350.00 605,304,750 4,523,632.00 11,202,192.00 503,880 50,396,070.00 877,883,117.00 24,734,390 537,867 1,340,188.00 2,564,900.00 98,934,710.00 15,735,950.00 15,736,730.00 14,496,980.00 267,846.00 330,324,816 44,625,300.00 82,020.00 383,050.00 75,285 162,860.00 159,860.00 269,018,040.00 78,492,390.00 118,497,270.00 22,360,000.00 2,547,409 12,500.00 919.00 875,300.00 292,976,425.00 693,918,200.00 5,924,800.00 164,812,410.00 1,146,495,425.00 794,245,461.00 117,276,829.00 82,952,620.00 14,030,440.00 27,750.00 42,409,650.00 779,450.00 1,070,669.00

0.0039 3.09 3.86 0.219 2.3100 2.5000 0.57 0.420 8.50 0.850 0.280 0.217 0.220 0.0120 0.0130 1.64 6.4 2.9 0.5300 1.0000 0.0120 0.0120 4.01 8.60 3.64 0.0120 111.80 3.49 0.0110

531,468,000 3,496,000 2,244,000 620,000 1,486,000 149,000 2,042,000 2,900,000 119,400 228,122,000 1,600,000 145,090,000 4,230,000 593,500,000 29,200,000 3,067,000 85,807,800 2,555,000 15,000 615,000 118,400,000 7,000,000 357,000 7,388,200 9,138,000 76,900,000 4,046,100 697,000 73,000,000

4,073,900.00 10,472,200.00 8,731,200.00 133,840.00 3,268,420.00 344,060.00 1,136,920.00 1,181,350.00 1,008,999.00 192,689,560.00 441,150.00 29,871,380.00 924,550.00 6,710,000.00 329,500.00 5,088,550.00 535,126,484.00 7,341,760.00 18,040.00 608,690.00 1,308,600.00 80,600.00 1,476,920.00 62,763,817.00 33,884,890.00 922,800.00 457,317,695.00 2,434,060.00 711,300.00

50.4 538 535 104 118 530 6.09 1.02 108 1040 1119 1030 78.85 81.05 76.5 78.8 79.5 79 78.05 78.2

1,308,350 6,510 16,700 430,780 1,036,400 1,910 865,300 22,066,000 10,790 2,520 3,570 5,810 41,630 661,590 1,570 86,340 238,060 138,500 2,661,620 717,160

65,554,476.50 3,464,860.00 8,925,470 44,686,442.00 122,266,200.00 1,001,800.00 5,267,667.00 22,236,010 1,202,900.00 2,624,200.00 3,792,125.00 5,997,100.00 3,266,244.50 53,735,635 120,356.50 6,677,688.00 18,880,937.00 10,921,750.00 206,151,118.50 55,893,244.00

2.960

53,077,000

160,183,550.00

4.58 3.9 5.01 15.98

16,196,000 206,000 3,392,300 5,708,100

71,743,110.00 820,660.00 17,010,684.00 90,285,206.00

129.3

31,650

4,098,296.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining MEDCO Holdings Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Crown Equities Inc. Vitarich Corp.

Boulevard Holdings Megaworld Premium Leisure Unioil Res. & Hldgs IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

VOLUME 1,459,000,000 402,156,000 315,490,400 307,510,000 298,330,000 226,780,000 215,691,000 193,171,000 161,150,000 145,000,000

STOCKS Security Bank SM Prime Holdings Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ GT Capital Universal Robina Ayala Corp `A’ Metrobank SM Investments Inc. Cirtek Holdings (Chips)

VALUE 3,989,995,760.00 2,318,465,750.00 2,209,786,836.00 2,083,390,140.00 1,697,428,040.00 1,635,985,053.00 1,554,909,670.00 1,461,873,508.50 1,384,812,100.00 1,174,747,495.00

be that significant,” Globe’s chief commercial officer Alberto De Larrazabal said.

De Larrazabal said there would be a natural increase in spending in the third and fourth quarter to roll out more cell sites using the 700 megahertz, 1800 Mhz and 2600 Mhz. “We are rolling out initially mostly NCR [National Capital Region]. But we area rolling out nationwide.

I think we got 200 sites in Metro Manila already. We are targeting 500 sites by end of the year,” he said.

De Larrazabal said the challenge was that not all phones used by Globe subscribers were already longterm evolution capable.

“So, we are trying to prioritize the rollout where there are higher population of smartphones. The target is by end of the year, at least 80 percent of Metro Manila is gonna covered already,” De Larrazabal said, referring to the 700-Mhz frequency.

Under a three-year program submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission, the Ayala-led telco committed to provide mobile services, including voice, text and data to 95 percent of municipalities and cities by the end of 2018, using the additional spectrum it acquired from San Miguel.

Globe expects that about 2,200 of existing cell sites representing over 30 percent if its network nationwide would be upgraded using the additional spectrum from the co-use agreement by end2016.

SMC unit set to raise $400m for coal plant SMC Global Power Holdings Inc., the power unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is finalizing a $400-million (P18.6 billion) syndicate loan to finance the construction of a 300-megawatt coalfired power plant in Malita, Davao del Sur. San Miguel senior vice president and senior executive assistant to the president Aurora Calderon said in an interview at the sidelines of the recent Petron investors’ briefing the planned fund raising activity was expected to be finalized before the end of the year.

Calderon said the amount would be used to partially finance the $600-million power plant in Davao.

She said several banks would be involved in the syndicate loans, but did not identify the financial institutions involved in the transaction.

SMC Global Power was scheduled to start operating the first 150-megawatt unit of the two-unit coal-fired power plant in Malita in July, while the second unit could be running by yearend, its president said earlier. Another 300MW coal-fired power plant is in the pipeline for Davao.

SMC Global earlier raised P15 billion from issuance of fixed-rate five, seven and 10year bonds.

Proceeds from the bond offering were used to refinance the company’s shortterm loan provided by BDO Unibank.

SMC Global Power is one of the largest power companies in the Philippines, controlling 2,903 megawatts of combined contracted capacity as of December 2015.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Business Meralco sees flat August charges

By Alena Mae S. Flores CUSTOMERS of Manila Electric Co. may not experience a price spike in their September electricity bills in spite of the series of yellow and red alerts in late July to early August.

“So far, indications are that gen charge movement will be flattish,” Meralco vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said.

He said “prices settled down lower after the price spikes at the end of July (and) start of August” in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity, WESM prices go up when demand is high and supply is tight.

Luzon was placed on a series of yellow and red alerts from July 26 to August 5 due to thin power reserves, after many generation plants went on maintenance shutdown while others suffered technical problems that forced them to undergo forced outage.

“There is a possibility that lower prices for the rest of the supply month offset the price spikes during the times of yellow/red alerts,” Fernandez said.

He said Meralco would come up with actual computations this week.

Meralco consumers experienced lower rates by P0.11 per kilowatt-hour in august due to lower generation charges.

Meralco attributed the decrease in the overall rate to the lower generation charge, which was P0.20 per kWh lower than last month’s P3.86 per kWh. Charges in the WESM also decreased by P3.48 per kWh due to lower spot prices.

The cost of power secured by Meralco from the independent power producers, meanwhile, increased P0.16 per kWh because of the lower dispatch of San Lorenzo and Sta. Rita plants. The cost of power obtained from plants covered by power supply Agreements was almost at the same level as last month, with only a slight increase of P0.002 per kWh.

B3

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

SSS favors property leases

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

T

HE state-run Social Security System said over the weekend it prefers to lease its property for longer periods to increase the revenues of the pension fund.

SSS president Conrado De Quiros Jr. identified Hong Kong Sun Plaza in Roxas Blvd. as one of properties up for leasing.

“One property is the Hong Kong [Sun] Plaza, we’re going to lease it out on a long term basis. We’re looking at giving the option to whoever wants to lease it between 10 and 20 years,” De Quiros said.

De Quiros declined to say the lease val-

ue of the property but considered it “significant.”

“That will be within the year, I think we’re in the process already of publishing the invitation to bid. It should come in within the month of September,” De Quiros said “The only reason why we’re leasing the Hong Kong Plaza is that it is very close to the Entertainment City. So the way we look at it, it may not be a good time at this point in time to sell it, because we see prices [moving] up eventually. So we’re leaving it to the next administration, and later on whoever will manage SSS, we think he should keep it,” he added.

The HK Sun Plaza was one of the failed auctions of SSS last year after attracting just one bidder for the long-term lease of the property.

Filinvest Land Inc. was the sole bidder for the HK Sun Plaza property, which covers a 44,000-square meter warehouse and an adjacent 6,000 sq m vacant lot at the Financial Center Area along Macapagal Avenue and Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

The minimum rental rate bid is P16 million a month for the s25-year lease period, including a six-month fit-out period, SSS earlier said.

SSS earlier said it would hire three fund managers to manage P3 billion worth of investment assets, its top official said.

De Quiros told reporters an the sidelines of the agency’s 59th anniversary celebration Friday the three fund managers would handle assets worth P1 billion each.

De Quiros said the agency was waiting the go-signal from the Social Security Commission appointees.

“We are just waiting for the new commissioners to be appointed so our investment group will be making their presentations and recommendations,” he said.

He said the pension system planned to hire the fund managers within the year once the SSC commissioners, who serve as the governing body of the SSS, were appointed.

De Quiros added SSS would focus on local funder managers before possibly tapping the servies of overseas managers.

“The problem is a lot of the banks and the trust companies had problems getting BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) clearances so we hope that they would be able to resolve it this year,” he said.

SSS booked an investment income of P28.65 billion in 2015, or 19 percent lower than P34.53 billion in 2014.

IN BRIEF Isuzu Crosswind geting a facelift ISUZU Philippines Corp. plans to modify the Crosswind model after 14 years in the market, as soon as it gets the approval of the parent company in Japan.

Company president Hajime Koso said the full-model change was timely after selling the in the Philippines for over a decade.

“We want to continue making vehicles in this country. We are not retiring the Crosswind.

In fact, we see sales growing to more than 4,000 units this year,” he said.

Pending the approval of Isuzu Japan, the company sees additional investments costing more than P1 billion.

The full-model change will require a facelift of the exterior and interior as well as modifications in the features of the engine and transmission.

Research and development costs alone will comprise a big portion of the investments, vice president for marketing Art Balmadrid said. Othel V. Campos

ASEAN TEAMWORK. Ten member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their partners renew their commitment to promote cultural, economic and political development in the region following the staging of the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the 37th ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry and the 15th SOM-AMAF Plus Three. The 37th SOM-AMAF and 15th SOM-AMAF Plus Three was held in Puerto Princesa, Palawan from August 22 to 24, 2016.

Govt set to limit renewable energy plants per power grid

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department may limit the exposure of renewable energy sources in areas where there are transmission line constraints, an official said over the weekend.

Energy assistant director Mario Marasigan told reporters at the sidelines of the recentlyconcluded Solar Summit the department was trying to avoid duplicating the situation in Negros island where there was too much solar concentration in one area.

“What we are looking at is we will set a certain percentage

CLARO G. GAÑAC, DBA

GREEN LIGHT Part 1

GOVERNANCE and corruption have once again taken center stage in today’s media. The war against corruption by the current administration has expanded into the corporate realm when the elected President recently named a business tycoon of a publicly listed corporation as being an “oligarch” with “questionable dealings.”

Defining governance and its ramifications While every layman has an intuition on the subject, few have a deep understanding and grasp of the concept of governance and its ramifications in the strategic management of firms. Corporate governance is generally referred to as to set of regulatory mechanisms and systems in the proper and effective direction and control of corporations.

The OECD, which has spearheaded broad efforts to institutionalize governance in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and the Enron collapse and Andersen scandals in the US, has come up with principles that have de-

on a per grid segment, then we will limit what the line can accommodate,” Marasigan said.

He said the department would coordinate closely with grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to ensure a yearly transmission update, especially with the entry of variable renewable energy, such as wind and solar power projects.

“We are coming up with a policy. Part of the policy is, we will look at where demand for solar is, it should be the daytime demand. For wind, it should be in accordance with its generation profile. Second...

is the capacity of the line to accept, transmit generated power per location,” Marasigan said.

The installed capacity of renewable energy plants in Negros has already exceeded the island’s demand, resulting in the automatic reduction of generation output from solar plants to prevent the Negros-Cebu submarine cable from overloading.

Negros island has a total demand of 309 MW but available supply reached 490 MW, or an excess of 180 MW which needed to be exported to Panay or Cebu.

The solar plants include the

45-MW Sacasol plant, 32-MW Islasol I, 48-MW Islasol II, 132.5-MW Cadiz and the 58.9 MW-Sacasun.

The department noted an additional 590 MW of potential capacity of awarded solar power projects in Negros Occidental that will have to be dispatched to the grid once completed.

“We don’t have the right to stop any investment in the country but we will set a regulation that will limit another Negros situation,” Marasigan said.

National Grid is pursuing

three projects that will hopefully put an end to the transmission line constraints in Negros island due to the entry of more than 316 megawatts of solar capacity.

National Grid spokesman Cynthia Perez-Albanza earlier said the grid improvement timeline could not cope with the fast construction of the solar plants, “causing constraints of existing transmission facilities.”

She said the intermittency of solar plants resulted in voltages and frequency fluctuations in Negros, prompting the grid operator to invest in additional transmission facilities.

NY magazine cites Tetangco’s feats BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. was cited for the eighth time by the New York-based Global Finance magazine as one of the eight best central bank governors this year.

Tetangco was credited for his successful efforts in managing inflation and monetary stability in the country. Tetangco received the same citation in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Tetangco got an “A” rating, which represents an excellent performance. The full Central Banker Report Cards 2016 report will be published in the October issue of Global Finance.

Others in the list were Karnit Flug of Israel, Riad Salame of Lebanon, Carlos Fernandez Valdovinos of Paraguay, Julio Velarde Flores of Peru, Elvira Nabiullina of Russia, Fai-Nan Perng of Taiwan and Mark Carney of the United Kingdom.

The state of corporate governance in the Philippines fined the regulatory frameworks and practices in most countries around the world.

Business historians and observers alike are quick to recognize that weak governance frameworks have led to the downfall of many corporations around the world, including that of the infamous Uniwide Holdings here in the country.

Aside from protecting investors, the OECD pointed out that corporate governance “supports economic efficiency, sustainable growth and financial stability” while contributing to the growth of the capital markets that help spur, in turn, the expansion of companies as engines of economic growth.

Acting in its best self-interests The principles of corporate governance have been derived from the classic agency theory propounded by Berle and Means (1932) who predicted that management (termed “agent”) would act in its best self-interests in the conduct of its duties and tasks in managing a corporation. This is often to the detriment of the share owners (termed “principals”) which

have put up the capital in the firm.

In effect, the theory predicts corporate “corruption” (also called the agency problem) by insiders who exercise control over the firm and its assets and resources.

Hence, numerous scholars and researchers have put forward the concept of instituting mechanisms for the proper and ethical management of corporations.

Government regulators assent to the need for a coherent framework, whether rules-based or guidelines-based, which should be put in place to reduce expropriation of corporate resources for private gain and entrenchment by insiders that eventually weaken firms over the long-term.

Defining SEC’s role In the Philippines, the onus of formulating these guidelines and monitoring corporate compliance falls on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange, which oversees the domestic stock market.

Behavioral finance and economics scholars have principally focused their studies of governance mechanisms on two key

factors: ownership structure and board-level governance, as measured by the number of independent directors and oversight over the key functions of director nomination and elections, internal audit (checks-and-balance) and compensation.

The SEC has adopted a mixed approach comprising of the original rules-based mandatory compliance using the aforementioned board mechanisms for all PLCs. Because of increasing complexities in the world of business, it likewise established under the revised Code of Corporate Governance (2009) a set of guidelines-based discretionary compliance on numerous board-level governance that includes expansion of non-executive outsiders in the board, duality (separation of the chairman position and CEO), ownership rights (cash and stock dividends), risk management systems, and increased board independence.

The Code also adopted the OECD governance principle of “transparency,” which consists of corporate disclosure regime where listed firms provide re-

quired periodic financial statements, information and proxy statements, and other material disclosure regulatory filings.

Expanding the information concept For my dissertation, I expanded the information concept of governance to include (a) investor communications mechanisms of corporate websites, investor information websites and annual reports and (b) discretionary investor relations mechanisms of investor briefings and press announcements. Veteran investors in the local bourse will readily validate the role of information in the share price performance of listed firms, as the market reacts to information “signals” that transmit quality of governance and underlying firm fundamentals. In the dual-factor framework, discretionary communications and IR activities provide these concrete information signals.

To gain an evidence-based understanding of the state of Philippine corporate governance, I conducted a broad-based study to explore the governance com-

pliance and practices of Philippine publicly listed corporations (PLC) that was completed in February 2016.

The study, based on a crosssectional survey, revealed interesting findings that showed strengths and shortcomings of Philippine corporate governance.

(The findings will be reported next week in the second part of this article.)

Dr. Gañac is an assistant professorial lecturer in the Ramon Del Rosario College of Business of the De La Salle University.

He joined the academe in 2012 after a career in corporate communications, corporate marketing, corporate social responsibility and investor relations that spanned more than 30 years. The two-part article was a part of his doctoral dissertation on the subject of Corporate Governance in the Philippines.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.

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

B4

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Business

G-20 warned against anti-trade movement

H

ANGZHOU, China― The heads of three world economic bodies warned of the risk to trade from the protectionist headwinds sweeping many developed nations as global leaders met in Hangzhou, China.

In a panel session Saturday ahead of the Group of 20 summit, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, urged business chiefs to lobby governments to help keep trade flows up as she issued a warning about the outlook for growth into 2017. Her views were echoed

by Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organization.

“Trade is way too low and has been way too low for a long time,” Lagarde said.

“There is at the moment an undercurrent of anti-trade movement. It’s at the political level. It’s at the public opinion level” and also being reflected in policy, she added.

“If there is no international trade, if there

is no cross-border investment, if services, capital, people and goods do not cross borders, then it’s less activity for you, it’s less jobs in whichever country you are headquartered,” she said.

TPP Doubts Lagarde’s comments come as momentum for ratifying the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would link 12 nations making up about 40 percent of the world economy, falters in the final months of US President Barack Obama’s term. Both presidential candidates―Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton―have spoken against the deal, which does not include China, while progress on a US-EU trade and investment deal, known as TTIP, has also stalled.

France’s trade minister Matthias Fekl said late last month that the US hasn’t offered anything substantial in negotiations with the European Union on the free-trade deal and that talks should come to an end. His comments followed those of German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said discussions on the TTIP “have de-facto broken down, even if no one wants to say so.”

Many Western nations are grappling with a mood of protectionism that is leading to

calls for caution on free trade, and on foreign investment in things like property and utilities. Chinese companies recently were dealt a blow on prospective projects in both the UK and Australia.

Obama, speaking in a CNN interview, warned of the need to ensure people do not feel left behind by globalization.

“If advanced countries don’t pay attention to inequality, if we don’t pay attention to, not just growth in the aggregate, but how is that growth distributed and do people have ladders of opportunity in this new global economy, then yes, there’s going to be a reaction against globalization and against trade,” he said.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she’d make the case at the G-20 that Britain can be a champion of free trade, despite Brexit, while warning of the risk of antiglobalization sentiment from those who see themselves hurt by the lowering of barriers.

“We can’t ignore the fact that there’s sentiment out there which is antiglobalization,” she told reporters en route to Hangzhou. “We need to consider how, when we put these free trade arrangements in place, they’re actually going to benefit everybody.” Bloomberg

This picture taken on September 3, 2016 shows a container vessel berthed at a container terminal in Singapore. The problems that sank South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping this week could be just the tip of the iceberg, analysts say, with the long-running global economic downturn having left the industry drowning in excess capacity. AFP

EU chief opposes new British talks HANGZHOU, China―European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Sunday he opposes trade negotiations between Britain and other economies while it remains part of the European Union, as Australia prepares for talks on the issue with London.

In the wake of its vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to the markets of the rest of the world, as well as those of the grouping it is leaving.

It is a huge task for the world’s fifthbiggest economy.

But at the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Juncker told reporters: “I don’t like the idea that member states of the EU, including those who are still a member state of the European Union, are negotiating free trade agreements.”

Such discussions were an “exclusive matter” for the European Union on behalf of its members and “we are sticking to it”, he told reporters.

Juncker was speaking after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was about to launch talks with Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May on free trade, in what would be one of the first such negotiations following the Brexit vote.

“We’ve got things moving towards having a free trade agreement with the UK,” Turnbull said in Hangzhou.

“Prime Minister May and I are very committed to having an early free trade agreement put in place so that when Britain leaves the EU, we have very open markets between Australia and Britain.”

He added that Australia was providing Britain with “as much assistance as we can at a technical level” for negotiations, noting that London “has not negotiated a trade agreement for a long time” because of its EU membership. AFP

Drowning Hanjin not alone

By Martin Abbugao and Elizabeth Law SINGAPORE—The problems that sank South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping this week could be just the tip of the iceberg, analysts say, with the long-running global economic downturn having left the industry drowning in excess capacity.

With growth refusing to budge and consumer demand still slack, the world’s freight carriers have more ships than they can fill— a quarter of cargo space lies empty.

That has led to fierce price cuts and cutthroat competition, badly impacting the bottom lines of some of the giants of the seas.

Those problems played out this week when Hanjin, the world’s seventh largest shipping firm filed for bankruptcy in Seoul, seeking court protection after creditors rejected its latest plan for dealing with its hulking $5.37 billion of debt.

A third of its fleet is either stuck in port or unable to dock, with port authorities fretting the company will not be able to pay its bills.

Analysts say Hanjin’s cashflow management has been problematic, but caution that shipping companies worldwide are vulnerable to the same conditions of oversupply and low trade volumes.

Nearly 80 percent of goods and commodities traded globally are transported by sea.

The industry had boomed as China’s manufacturing and export-heavy economy mushroomed over recent decades, moving a record 9.6 billion tons of cargo in 2008, according to Richard Clayton, maritime and trade principal analyst at IHS global business consultancy.

Those volumes plummeted when the global financial crisis struck.

Recession is nothing new for an industry used to riding out the occasional economic storm, but the length and depth of the downturn was different this time, said Clayton.

“The thing about shipping is that you order to anticipate an upturn,” he said, adding it could take up to five years to take delivery of a vessel after ordering it.

“We saw a rise in orders in 2010 and 2012 but there has been no (economic) upturn,” he said.

“China’s economy is down, and too many ships have been delivered. This has led to competition within the industry, which drives prices down.”

Beijing’s attempt to pivot away from exports towards domestic demand is also impacting the industry, he said.

Clayton estimated that some 25 percent of global container capacity now sits empty.

Industry consolidation Shippers desperate to cover at least some of their costs have slashed prices—the cost of chartering a container vessel has plunged from 2008 highs of $200,000 a day to just under $5,000 a day, according to a July report by brokers JLT Speciality.

And those kinds of prices are hurting—in an April report, Drewry Maritime Equity Research estimated the industry will lose at least $6.0 billion this year.

This week France’s CMA CGM, the industry’s third largest player, behind APMMaersk and Mediterranean, said it had lost $128 million in the second quarter alone.

The company is “experiencing a market environment that remains difficult, with excessively low freight rates weighing on our revenue and margins”, said group vicechairman Rodolphe Saadé.

Losses like that are driving a round of mergers, said Rahul Kapoor, director of Drewry Financial Research Services in Singapore.

“We are seeing consolidation happening in the industry,” he told AFP. Successful partnerships are resulting in companies that are “much bigger and stronger in terms of balance sheets.” AFP

In the photo (left to right) with DENR-MGB Undersecretary and Concurrent Director Mario Luis Jacinto ; Prof. Ramon Clarete-School of Economics, University of the Philippines; Mr. Clarence Pimentel, Jr. -President and CEO, CTP Construction and Mining Corp.; Prof. Colin Hubo-Executive Director, Center for Social Responsibility, University of the Asia and the Pacific; and Benguet Corp. and Chamber of Mines President, Mr. Benjamin Philip Romualdez

THERE (STILL) IS LIFE IN MINING! BEFORE this administration formally started, certain pronouncements had already been made by the then-President-elect on his policy on mining: to curb illegal and irresponsible mining and for mining companies to comply with the laws and international standards, particularly that of Australia and Canada. Some mining companies, including Philex, openly supported the President’s call. And why not? Illegal and irresponsible mining was bad for business, bad for the economy.

This position on mining did not change in the sixty or so days after Rodrigo Roa Duterte took his oath as President and notwithstanding his appointment of staunch anti-mining advocate Regina Paz La’O Lopez as Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources. When Secretary Lopez took the stand against illegal and irresponsible mining, some mining companies like Philex were one with her in this battlecry.

It was under this kind of milieu that this year’s Mining Philippines conference was held by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) last August 23-25 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom at Resorts World Manila. The conference theme was “Realising the Potentials of the Mining Industry under the New Regime”.

I moderated the seventh and last plenary session entitled “Moving Mining Forward: Implementing An Action Plan for the Mining Industry” with Professor Ramon Clarete, Ph.D. of the University of the Philippines School of Economics as main discussant.

Panelists to the discussion that followed included DENR Undersecretary and concurrent MGB Director Engr. Louie Jacinto, Benguet Corporation and Chamber of Mines President Philip Romualdez, CTP Construction and Mining Corporation President and CEO Clarence Pimentel, and University of Asia and the Pacific —Center for Social Responsibility Executive Director Professor Colin Hubo.

To Professor Hubo I posed the question as to whether miners were really socially responsible, on whether the focus should be people first then the environment or that the environment should come first. Professor Hubo explained that sustainability before was more economic rather than environmental, but that there must be a total effort, not just one over the other.

The question on federalism came up as this would impact on the kind of regulatory environment the industry would be having. Was it a boon or bane for the industry?

Prof. Ramon Clarete -School of Economics, University of the Philippines talks on proposed action plan for the mining industry

Professor Clarete believes that the sharing of responsibility between national and local or federal governments should be spread out widely. For Philip Romualdez, a review of the constitution is always vital, but it is also very important to determine who owns the mineral resources.

MGB Director Louie Jacinto was just newly appointed to the post at around this time, so the industry was curious as to how he would move it forward. Suffice it to say, he did not disappoint. I asked him point-blank about what the direction was with regard Executive Order No. 79, the current administration policy on mining, and he said that they were starting a review of executive issuance and that hopefully it would not be needed anymore as we already had a strong mining law in place.

He said that what should be taken into consideration was that mining was not present in all 81 provinces of the country and that there were 236,000 of our countrymen and women currently employed in mining. That impacts also on their families and other dependents.

As to the ongoing audit of mining companies, Director Jacinto had said that responsible miners should not be afraid of the audit and that the MGB is expected to perform with professionalism, honesty and integrity.

With such words it seems the industry is in good hands with Director Jacinto. I know him to be a headstrong man who bases critical decisions on hard, empirical data and not on mere emotions and conjecture. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Duterte government and the Lopez DENR with Director Jacinto at the helm of the MGB. With Dr. Minerva Chaloping-March, ResearcherConsultant;DENRMGB Undersecretary and Concurrent Director Mario Luis Jacinto; and Philex President and CEO Engr.

Eulalio Austin Jr.

With UP Miner Neil Clark Esber , Philex scholar who recently passed the mining engineering board exam and Atty. Francis Ballesteros Jr., Public and Regulatory Affairs Division Manager at Philex Mining Corp.

Bulakenya leads veterinary examinees

LGUs

MALOLOS CITY—Princess Charmaine Tiglao Herrera, a 22-year-old student from San Miguel, Bulacan topped the Veterinarian Licensure Exams given on August 23 by the Professional Regulation Commission with a passing grade of 85.42.

Herrera, a magna cum laude graduate of veterinary medicine (2014 to 2016) from Central Luzon State University (CLSU), is the daughter of teachers Antonio and Florencia Herrera from Barangay Magmarale, San Miguel.

Herrera started her schooling at the San Miguel North Central School in Brgy. Camias from 2000 to 2006. She attended San Miguel National High School in Brgy. San Juan from 2006 to 2010. Then she took up Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry in CLSU in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija and finished (cum laude) from 2010 to 2014.

Five other graduates from CSLU landed in the top 10 of the board exams. Karlo Miano Tawatao (85.04) and Cristo Rey Carpizo Batoy (84.40) ranked second and third, while Ramon Enriquez Leuterio (84.28) and Ralph Kevin Manalastas Espinosa (83.34) and Jeffrey Lopez Cruz (83.16) copped fifth, seventh and ninth place, respectively.

Completing the Top 10 examinees are Agustina Bilet Puclo (84.34), Benguet State University, La Trinidad, fourth; Delfin Escuadra Cabardo, Jr. (83.78), Visayas State University, sixth; Csarina Kristine Dema-Ala Nobleza (83.20) UP, Los Baños, eighth; and Cyril Armenteros Noya, Visayas State University and Carl Ace Rojas Parilla, Central Mindanao University, (82.96), tied at 10th.

Only 327 out of 762 passed the board exams given by the PRC’s Board of Veterinary Medicine last August 23 in the cities of Manila, Baguio and Cagayan de Oro.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

By Orlan Mauricio

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SPECTRUM. A sunset not dominated by reds and blacks is a rare treat for Manila Bay watchers. Sonny Espiritu

Ormoc hosts Visayas business conference T

UP lecture tackles coral reef damage

he Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold the 25th Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) on Sept. 14 to 16 in Ormoc City in Leyte.

THE difficulty of conducting research in and around offshore coral reefs in the disputed West Philippine Sea has hidden the fact that many of these resources have been seriously degraded over the last few years, marine biologist professor John McManus said.

Using satellite image analysis, ground truth investigation and information from many sources, it was found that at least 161 square kilometers of unusually species-rich coral reef ecosystems have been severely damaged, McManus said.

About 14 square kilometers are now buried under tons of sand and gravel. The overall damage is expected to exacerbate a severe sea-wide overfishing problem.

But, barring further disturbance, he added, it is estimated that most of this area will recover within two decades.

McManus will give a lecture on coral reef damage, overfishing and Peace Park Options in the disputed sea at the Marine Science Institute of the College of Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman at 1:30 p.m. today. PNA

The conference is organized by the Ormoc Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vice President Leni Robredo and Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino were invited to attend.

With the theme “Change is Here,” the three-day meet hopes to attract 500 delegates coming from various government agencies, local government units and the business community.

Jude Abenoja, OCCI president, said the VABC is an opportunity for island provinces to come together to promote Visayas as the next big investment bloc in the country.

Abenoja said the Visayas is in a better position to display its strengths to the investor community, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s agenda on region-wide economic development.

The conference will also be a venue for Eastern Visayas to prove its resilience in the aftermath of Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” he said.

Cabinet secretaries for agriculture, information and communications technology, tourism, trade and industry and science and technology have been invited as resource speakers, as well as business experts from the private sector. PNA

GRADUATES. Senator Cynthia A. Villar, Senate Agriculture and Food committee vice chairman, said 22 participants from Laguna, Batangas, Pangasinan, Cavite, Quezon, Antipolo and Nueva Ecija completed the 10-day Villar Sipag Farm School that taught them farm business profitability, entrepreneurial competencies, selling and marketing techniques and negotiation skills for farm business.

Baguio forms road-clearing task force

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—The city’s Traffic and Transportation Management Committee (TTMC) approved the creation of an anti-obstruction task force that will clear all national and local roads.

The committee was bombarded with complaints of obstructions along national and local roads that contribute to the worsening traffic congestions around the city.

“We have patiently appealed in vain to our motorists to make sure they have available parking spaces for their motor vehicles, so they will have to deal with the members of the task force who will go around the city regularly,” Mayor Mauricio Domogan said.

The anti-obstruction task force will be composed of personnel from the Baguio City Police Office, the Baguio District Engineering Office, the City Engineering Of-

fice, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation Office who will be empowered to remove the license plates of illegally parked vehicles that obstruct the smooth flow of traffic along national and local roads.

The city mayor revealed the members of the task force will visit the different barangays to warn local residents before they start removing the license plates of il-

legally parked vehicles. He said the members of the task force will always be joined by a responsible law enforcer so that motor vehicles found to cause obstructions on roads will be immediately stripped of its license plate and issued the appropriate citation ticket.

Earlier, Domogan called on barangay officials to identify available spaces in their areas of jurisdiction which could be used as communal parking areas, but no one heeded his call.

US Embassy to be closed today

FAKE. Representatives from Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Inc. serve a cease and desist letter to a store owner who sold fake cigarettes. Several retail outlets in Pasig and Antipolo received letters from PMFTC and a team from the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

THE US Embassy and its affiliated offices will be closed to the public today, in observance of Labor Day, an American holiday.

The embassy on Roxas Boulevard in Manila and its affiliated offices will resume their regular services on Tuesday, September 6.

Agence France Presse reported that the US labor market slowed precipitously in August but continued a six-year streak of monthly job creation, citing figures released Friday by the labor department.

The economy added 151,000 new positions for the month, a sharp drop

from July’s revised total of 275,000 new non-farm positions and also well below analyst expectations.

Leading up to Friday’s disclosure, markets had been intently awaiting the new numbers as a signal of looming interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

However, it was not immediately clear how August’s employment results were likely to influence the Fed’s thinking. Analysts disagreed as to whether the jobs numbers presaged a rate hike as soon as this month.

As August’s added jobs were easily absorbed by the growth

in the size of the labor force, the results appeared to tread water: The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 percent for the third month in a row. The number of long-term unemployed was also unchanged at two million people.

The numbers came as US President Barack Obama headed to China to join world leaders at the Group of 20 economic summit and as world leaders faced calls to stimulate dismal global growth.

The International Monetary Fund said Thursday it expected to downgrade its US economic forecast for 2016 next month. PNA and AFP

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Briones: First year of K-12 went well THE Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones on Friday allayed fears of massive teacher displacement and large dropout rates in the first year of implementation of the senior high school (SHS) program.

During the agency’s budget briefing at the House of Representatives, Briones told lawmakers that contrary to expectations, low enrollment figures and massive entrenchment among college

professors were not encountered in the last leg of K-12 program.

As of August, the number of Grade 11 enrollees hit 1,517,610.

Of this number, 1.46 million are Grade 10 completers, 54,262 are Balik-Aral (returning) students, and more than 2,000 are accreditation and evaluation exam passers.

Around 1.5-million students finished junior high school or Grade 10 in school year 2015-

2016.

Briones said the recent figures show that additional expenses on two more years of basic education did not discourage parents from enrolling their children.

Meanwhile, a total of 3,950 teachers from higher education institutions (HEIs) were hired to teach in SHS, while 928 displaced faculty or staff used the “green lane” or priority lane of the department to fast-track their

hiring.

Briones noted that 36,461 teacher positions were created for SHS. The DepEd receives the lion’s share of the proposed 2017 budget, getting P566 billion, which is 31.4 percent higher than its current budget of P431 billion.

For 2017, the DepEd chief is earmarking P15.5 billion for the hiring of 53,831 teachers, P65.4 billion for the construction of

classrooms, P3 billion for 55.8 million learning materials and P6.9 billion for 30,697 information and communications technology packages, among others.

Apart from addressing the continuing needs of the new curriculum, Briones said, preventive drug education would be enriched through experiential stories and the use of alternative modes of teaching such as films, movies, dance, art and poetry.

The DepEd was likewise directed to strengthen gender sensitivity and development especially in relation to teenage pregnancies, as well as disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The agency is working double-time to revive and expand the coverage of the Alternative Learning System to reach out to those who are left behind in the formal system of education. PNA

Malolos hosts 3-day food expo T

HE city government of Marilao is inviting exhibitors and buyers to the 2016 BUFFEX Food Fair Exposition hosted by the Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the provincial government on September 12 to 14 at the Pavilion, Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center, Malolos City, Bulacan.

SMILES. The Laguna police sent a dental mission led by Sr. Insp. Arnold Benito and Sr. Insp. Apolonio Atienza that also provided free food and haircuts to Barangay Taytay in Majayjay. The mission’s theme was ‘The Police and the Public Uniting for Real Change.’ Roy Tumandao

A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

Invitation to Bid for the Procurement of Four (4) Lots Three (3) -Year Janitorial Services for Satellite Operations Group (SOG) 4 under ITB No. PB16-085COR-08 (Rebidding) The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming rebidding for the Procurement of Four (4) Lots Three (3) - Year Janitorial Services for Satellite Operations Group (SOG) 4 under ITB No. PB16-085COR-08.

Lot No.

Brief Description

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) (VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction)

1

Procurement of Three (3) -Year Janitorial Services for Citystate Satellite

Annual ABC: Two Million One Hundred Twenty-Nine Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Three Pesos and 76/100 (PhP2,129,333.76) Total ABC for three (3) years: Six Million Three Hundred Eighty-Eight Thousand One Pesos and 28/100 (PhP6,388,001.28)

2

Procurement of Three (3) -Year Janitorial Services for Madison Satellite

Annual ABC: One Million Eight Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Four Hundred Seventy-Four Pesos and 48/100 (PhP1,863,474.48) Total ABC for three (3) years: Five Million Five Hundred Ninety Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-Three Pesos and 44/100 (PhP5,590,423.44)

3

Procurement of Three (3) -Year Janitorial Services for PanPacific Satellite

Annual ABC: Two Million Three Hundred Sixty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-Six Pesos and 76/100 (PhP2,362,766.76) Total ABC for three (3) years: Seven Million Eighty-Eight Thousand Three Hundred Pesos and 28/100 (PhP7,088,300.28)

4

Procurement of Three (3) -Year Janitorial Services for Tropicana Satellite

Annual ABC: One Million Forty-Two Thousand Six Hundred SeventyOne Pesos and 60/100 (PhP1,042,671.60) Total ABC for three (3) years: Three Million One Hundred TwentyEight Thousand Fourteen Pesos and 80/100 (PhP3,128,014.80)

Total ABC

The total annual ABC is in the amount of Seven Million Three Hundred Ninety-Eight Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Six Pesos and 60/100 (PhP7,398,246.60), VAT-Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction, while the total ABC for three (3) years is in the amount of Twenty-Two Million One Hundred Ninety-Four Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Nine Pesos and 80/100 (PhP22,194,739.80), VAT-Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction.

Contract Duration:

Within a period of Three (3) Years commencing from the effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Source of Fund:

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.

‘Compensate Baguio for SM expansion’

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY–Mayor Mauricio Domogan urged the management of SM City Baguio to strictly comply with the compensatory requirement of the environment department for its mall expansion to avoid criticism from local residents.

The local chief executive said the recent ruling of the Supreme Court excluding the expansion from the coverage of the temporary restraining order it issued on the cutting and balling of trees was a welcome development since the project will enhance business activity in the city.

“We are grateful that the high court saw merit in the implementation of the down-sized mall expansion project because it upheld the right of the owner to introduce the desired develop-

ment of its property,” Domogan stressed.

Under the tree cutting permit issued by former Environment secretary Ramon Paje to SM City Baguio, the giant chain of malls is required to plant at least 5,700 trees to replace the 60 trees and saplings that were cut and balled from the project site.

However, SM management committed to plant one million trees with 500,000 trees earmarked for identified plantation sites around the city within a prescribed period of time. Further, it committed to hire foresters to oversee the growth of trees to be planted within a three-year period to guarantee 100-percent growth.

The mayor said SM management partnered with the city government in the planting of more than 10,000 assorted tree species during the planned tree

planting activity of city hall officials and employees on the 139-hectare city-owned property in barangays Camp 7 and Sto. Tomas School area on Sept.

16, 2016.

Aside from city officials and employees, he said, barangay officials and residents from barangays Camp 7, Sto. Tomas School Area, Dontogan and Sto. Tomas Proper will join the mass tree planting activity and help the local government set the limits of the property.

Domogan stressed that it was the national government that gave the tree-cutting permit for the project.

He claimed the property was bidded out during the time of former President Corazon Aquino and SM Prime Holdings gave the best offer so it secured a title for the property and developed it.

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

Schedule

1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents

September 5, 2016 (Mon) to September 26, 2016 (Mon)

2. Pre-Bid Conference

September 13, 2016 (Tue) at 2:00 p.m.

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

September 26, 2016 (Mon) at 2:00 p.m.

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

September 26, 2016 (Mon) at 2:00 p.m. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Procurement Department (PD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable fee for the sale of bidding documents based on the following matrix, from the address below: Approved Budget for the Contract

Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Pesos)

More than 1 Million up to 5 Million

5,000.00

More than 5 Million up to 10 Million

10,000.00

More than 10 Million up to 50 Million

25,000.00

Prospective bidders 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 bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for sale of bidding documents not later than the date of the submission of bids..

The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidders. Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either Fee Slip for the sale of bidding documents which may be secured from PD 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 Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 3 shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been postqualified 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. In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.

2. 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 Bids and Awards Committee thru PD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: 524-3911, 521-1542 local 223 or 671.

ALBERTO R. VILLARAMA (SGD) Chairperson BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC) 3 (MS-SEPT. 5, 2016)

ARBOR DAY. Mayor Maita and Gov. Emilio Ramon Ejercito, Councilor Jet Ejercito and Philippine National Police Major Erick Villarete lead the municipal council, barangay leaders, policemen, civic organizations and municipal employees in the tree planting activity at the San Isidro Hill Eco-Tourism Park in Pagsanjan, Laguna on Friday. Roy Tomandao

Exhibitors may avail of platforms for the promotion of their products, the chance to meet potential buyers and investors, sales negotiations and outright sales, partnerships and complementation among related businesses, and fresh business perspectives from speakers and resource persons.

Buyers and guests can taste Bulacan’s food products, delicacies and sweets, meet the province’s caterers and restaurateurs, learn the latest in food technology and cooking techniques, and get to kow food champions and their business secrets.

The food fair is being held in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry and Negosyo Center-Bulacan, with the support of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Dangal ng Bulacan Foundation Inc. For further details, please visit the Municipal Cooperative Development Office at the second floor of the Municipal Hall, Patubig, Marilao, Bulacan or call (044) 896-2931 loc. 1210 and (0943) 7015-5780.

Ilocos Norte purifies drinking water THE Ilocos Norte Provincial Health Office in Laoag has distributed 720 bottles of the sanitizing solution hyposol to various municipalities to make their drinking water safe and clean.

Acting provincial health officer Josephine Ruedas advised the public to take precautionary measures to prevent them from contracting water-borne diseases, such as diarrhea, as well as dengue fever and leptospirosis.

Ruedas said the office will continue distributing hyposol but residents may get it for free from the rural health units.

“But we must maintain cleanliness of surroundings and remove stagnant water to avoid diseases transmitted by mosquitoes,” she said.

Noting the more than 300 cases of dengue in Ilocos Norte since January, Ruedas said the office also targets zero casualty from mosquito-borne diseases by the end of the year.

She urged the public to stay at home if they do not have important things to attend to, so as to avoid catching leptospirosis, an infectious disease transmitted to humans through rat urine.

Ruedas, however, assured residents that the office has adequate stocks of medicine for illnesses prevalent in the wet season. PNA

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G20 host city is shut down H

ANGZHOU―The tranquil waters of Hangzhou’s West Lake have inspired Chinese poets and painters for centuries.

On Sunday the serenity was imposed by force as authorities deployed a vast security operation for the G20 summit.

The throngs of tourists who usually crowd the shores of the island-dotted lake were absent and the surrounding roads closed off―except for police vehicles and the occasional motorcade of black luxury cars emblazoned with national f lags.

But when a handful of locals living in the immediate area were allowed past the cordon, they took advantage of the empty streets to embrace an untraditional pursuit: road-top selfies.

Young people sat on the tarmac taking pictures of them-

selves, while others made starshaped poses with their arms and legs for friends to snap them.

The streets spruced up for the benefit of leaders, trees glowing with artificial lights, made an ideal backdrop.

State media say that more than two million people out of a population of some nine million have left Hangzhou, taking advantage of a paid holidays which local firms have been ordered to give employees.

Local reports said so many people visited Huangshan, a mountain range in the next prov-

ince where Hangzhou residents were given free tickets, that hillside passes turned into human traffic jams.

Wealthier residents of apartments near the G20 venue were offered sizable cash incentives to leave their homes.

But treatment was apparently harsher for Hangzhou’s vast population of migrant workers, with several saying they were ordered to shut their small businesses without compensation.

“We were ordered to close our restaurant, so I’ve gone back to my hometown in Sichuan,” said

a woman surnamed Zhou whom AFP reached by telephone. “We are losing money.”

“At the beginning we were told about compensation but it didn’t happen,” she added.

Security is generally tight for G20 summits wherever they are held, as they are a magnet for protesters seeking a global audience for their cause.

State media say that since December one million people have been mobilized as “volunteers”.

Red arm-banded personnel stand, squat or sit on street corners and inside apartment com-

pounds throughout Hangzhou, apparently with little to do.

A policeman prevented an AFP reporter from taking photos of the guards in one compound, and several volunteers said they needed authorization to speak to foreign media.

“I work for a state-owned enterprise, who have organized this volunteer work,” said one arm-banded worker surnamed Wang, sitting on a stool near a bus stop.

“My job is to look our for people who get off the bus with dangerous items such as knives.” AFP

US pledges to help arrest coup plotters HANGZHOU―The United States is committed to bringing the perpetrators of the attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to justice, President Barack Obama said Sunday.

Ankara accuses US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of being behind the July uprising.

At talks with Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Obama said: “We will make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice.”

Tensions between the two NATO allies have risen sharply since the failed coup attempt against Erdogan on July 15, with Ankara launching a wide-ranging crackdown and demanding that the US extradite Gulen.

An exiled former imam living in the eastern state of Pennsylvania, Gulen strongly denies any involvement with the bid to overthrow Erdogan.

The dispute has soured public

perceptions of the United States in Turkey and risks undermining a deep security relationship.

US officials insist they will extradite Gulen if Turkey can present proof he was actually involved.

The meeting in Hangzhou was the two leaders’ first faceto-face encounter since the coup attempt.

Obama said the US was committed to “investigating and bringing the perpetrators of these illegal actions to justice” and assured Erdogan of American cooperation with Turkish authorities.

Since July, Ankara has detained, removed, or arrested tens of thousands of people within the judiciary, military, education system and police force for alleged links to Gulen’s movement or the coup itself.

US-Turkey tensions have also been strained by Turkey’s bombing of Kurdish positions in northern Syria. AFP

Party. People enjoy a dinner party on the banks of the Seine river next to the Pont des Arts (Arts Bridge) and the Institute of France at sunset in Paris on September 3, 2016. AFP

Anti-Maduro protesters detained and then freed Tycoon hanged for war crimes CARACAS―Most of 30 or so protesters arrested in a rally against President Nicolas Maduro have now been freed, authorities said Saturday, after mass demonstrations over Venezuela’s food shortages.

“They have been set free,” Alfredo Romero of the NGO Venezuelan Justice Forum said on Twitter. The exception was apparently a journalist, Braulio Jatar, who released video of protests on social media, Romero said.

The dramatic incidents erupted Friday in the resort city of Porlamar on Venezuela’s Margarita island in the Caribbean state of Nueva Esparta.

The embattled Maduro―whose stateled leftist government is fighting crippling shortages of everything from hard currency to food and toilet paper, had gone to make a speech at the opening of some remodeled public housing.

However, it appeared, based on social

Obama says deal over Syria coming HANGZHOU―The United States indicated Sunday it was close to a deal with Russia on stemming the violence in Syria’s brutal civil war, with President Barack Obama saying they were “working around the clock”.

Moscow and Washington support opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, which erupted in March 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown against a prodemocracy revolt.

Successive rounds of international negotiations have failed to end a five-year conflict that has left more than 290,000 people dead and forced millions to flee, a key contributor to migrant flows into Europe.

“It is a very complicated piece of business,” Obama told reporters.

“You have the Assad regime which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians” he said, while the the moderate opposition was “often outgunned”.

Russia is one of Assad’s most important international backers while the US supports Syria’s main opposition alliance and some rebels, with other countries and forces also involved.

“Trying to corral all of those different forces into a coherent structure for negotiations is difficult,” Obama said after meeting British premier Theresa May ahead of the G20 summit.

“But our conversations with the Russians are key.”

A senior State Department

official said a deal was close, and could be announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart as soon as Sunday, but some issues remained to be resolved.

“John Kerry and his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, have been working around the clock, as well as a number of other negotiators to see what would a real cessation of hostilities would look like,” Obama said.

“We’re not there yet.”

If Lavrov and Kerry are to meet in Hangzhou on Sunday their talks would be devoted to Syria, the Russian minister’s spokeswoman told AFP. The US and Russia co-chair a UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, which has been struggling to ensure access for desperately needed aid across the country.

The battered second city Aleppo, which is divided between government and opposition control but surrounded by loyalist forces, has emerged as a major concern with urgent calls for a ceasefire to alleviate a humanitarian catastrophe.

The talks in Hangzhou are the latest round of diplomacy on Syria, after marathon negotiations between Kerry and Lavrov in Geneva last week failed to yield a final deal.

Kerry then listed two main priorities to ensure any new ceasefire holds: responding to violations by the Damascus regime and checking the rising influence of the former al-Nusra Front. AFP

media images and reports, that Maduro found himself surrounded by an angry crowd, which followed him closely, banging pots in the street and insulting him.

There were reports of a crack down on the protesters by authorities.

“We are receiving reports of police abuse and unauthorized break-ins from Villa Rosa,” another NGO, Provea, said on Twitter, referring to a neighborhood in Porlamar.

Communication and Information Min-

IDOL. An Indian devotee cleans a giant idol of the Hindu God Ganesh at a temple in Jammu on September 4, 2016, ahead of The Ganesh Chaturthi Festival. The popular 10-day long Hindu religious festival will be celebrated from September 5 to 15 in honor of the elephant-headed god.

AFP

ister Luis Marcano wrote on Twitter that the pot-banging “reflects what remains of the right (wing)”, and accused local media of exaggerating the protest.

Opposition leaders criticized the arrests.

“Neither Maduro, bodyguards, nor the Casa Militar (security agency) nor the ministry can avoid the sound of pot-banging in a town that wants a recall election,” tweeted Henrique Capriles, a former opposition presidential candidate. AFP

DHAKA―Bangladesh has executed a tycoon and top financier for the largest Islamist party for war crimes, dealing a major blow to its ambitions in the troubled Muslim-majority country.

Mir Quasem Ali, a key leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, was hanged late Saturday after being convicted by a controversial war crimes tribunal of murder and abduction during the 1971 independence conflict with Pakistan.

He was hanged at a high-security jail in Gazipur north of the capital. His body was taken to his ancestral village in the central district of Manikganj, flanked by police, for burial early Sunday.

“Several dozen people, mostly family members, attended his funeral prayers,” local police chief Nazrul Islam told A FP. Ali is the fifth prominent Jamaat leader to have been executed for war crimes following their trials at the tribunal set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s secular government in 2010.

The 63-year-old’s death is a major setback for the party which he had helped revive by setting up charities, businesses and trusts linked to it after it was allowed to operate in the late 1970s.

Security was tight before his execution, even though the party has in recent months eschewed violent protests in reaction to war crimes verdicts and there was no immediate sign of unrest.

The tribunal has divided the country, with supporters of Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party branding the trials a sham aimed at eliminating their leaders. AFP

Sunset This picture taken

on September 3, 2016, shows the Notre Dame Cathedral at sunset in Paris.

AFP

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

World Activists take on China H

ONG KONG―Young Hong Kong independence activists calling for a complete break from China stood in major elections for the first time Sunday, the biggest vote since the 2014 pro-democracy rallies.

They are fighting for seats in the Legislative Council, or LegCo―Hong Kong’s lawmaking body―as concerns grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city in a range of areas, from politics to media and education.

Polling stations were busy as campaigners with megaphones urged residents to vote on a hot and humid day.

If the pro-democracy camp loses just four seats, it will forfeit the voting bloc it needs to veto bills, stacking the already

skewed legislature even more in favor of Beijing.

Fears that Hong Kong’s freedoms are disappearing were recently fanned after five city booksellers known for salacious titles about Beijing politicians disappeared, resurfacing in detention on the mainland, triggering widespread condemnation.

That fueled the fire of the “localist” movement, which is seeking distance from China after the failure of the 2014 rallies to win concessions on political reform.

Now some young campaign-

ers are demanding outright independence, others the chance for Hong Kong to determine its own future in a referendum.

The more strident independence activists―slammed by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities as acting illegally by promoting the breakaway―were banned by the government from running in Sunday’s election, a move which sparked outrage over political censorship.

Polls show some of the handful of pro-independence candidates running may win seats.

Hong Kong political analyst

Even if the localists did win seats, with their numbers still small, they would not tip the balance in a system where it is almost impossible for the antiBeijing camp ever to gain a majority.

While 40 of the Legislative Council’s 70 members are directly elected by the public, 30 are selected by small voting blocs from special interest groups representing a range of businesses and social sectors. Those seats always go predominantly to proBeijing candidates. AFP

Aussies remember ‘Crocodile Hunter’

Tanker and bus collision kills 35 KANDAHAR―At least 35 people were killed Sunday when a bus collided with a fuel tanker and burst into flames in southern Afghanistan, in the latest road accident in the wartorn country.

Many of the victims, including women and children, were burned beyond recognition in the accident in Zabul province, one of the areas worst hit by the Taliban insurgency.

“The passenger bus was on its way from Kandahar to Kabul when it collided with a fuel tanker in Jildak area of Zabul,” provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told AFP. “In the accident, 35 people were killed and more than 20 others were wounded.”

Some of the injured were rushed to hospitals in the provincial capital Qalat as well as in neighboring Kandahar province, said Ghulam Jilani Farahi, deputy Zabul police chief.

The Kabul-Kandahar highway passes through militancy-prone areas and many bus drivers are known to drive recklessly at top speed so as not to get caught in insurgent activity.

“President Ashraf Ghani expressed deep sadness over the death of our countrymen in the accident,” the presidential palace said in a statement.

“Ghani has ordered the relevant authorities to help the victims and their families as soon as possible,” it added.

Afghanistan has some of the world’s most dangerous roads, often in dilapidated condition, and traffic rules are seldom enforced. AFP

Joseph Cheng says he expects new faces in the legislature.

“This election is very much characterized by an inter-generational change of politicians and political leaders,” he told AFP. But while victory for antiChina activists would be a massive coup, many still feel they are chasing an impossible cause.

Student voter Wilson Vai, 21, said he supported the pro-democracy camp―but felt calling for independence was going too far.

“It is too idealistic and unrealistic,” he told AFP.

Summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives at the Hangzhou International Expo Center for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou on September 4, 2016. World leaders are gathering in Hangzhou for the 11th G20 Leaders Summit from September 4 to 5. AFP

SYDNEY―Australians paid tribute to the memory of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin on Sunday on the tenth anniversary of the death of the iconic television celebrity and conservationist.

Irwin, world-famous for his daring stunts with dangerous animals, died on September 4, 2006 after being stabbed in the heart by a giant stingray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.

As the nation marked Father’s Day on Sunday, his daughter, Bindi Irwin, who was eight years old when her father died, wrote a tribute on Instagram and Twitter alongside an image of her beaming father carrying her as a baby: “You’ll be my hero for my entire existence. I love you more than words can describe.”

The 18-year-old, a media star, promotes her father’s conservation causes.

Irwin’s close friend and manager John Stainton, who was with Irwin when he died, said it was still “hard to talk about” what happened.

“It was never a put on, he was larger than life in life,” Stainton added, speaking to ABC radio on Friday.

“He burnt a hole in the fabric of our lives as he jumped through the television and grabbed you by the scruff of the neck. He had that magnetism and there was nothing like him before.”

Irwin’s son, Robert, told the Brisbane Times news website he was working towards being a wildlife photographer to “carry on in his [father’s] footsteps”.

Earlier this week, Irwin’s father Bob released a letter his son wrote to his parents when he was 32 to thank them for their support, but which he only found this year. AFP

Merkel’s party faces voters’ anger a year after SCHWERIN, Germany―Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party braced for a backlash at state polls Sunday, while anti-migrant populists are poised for major gains a year after the German leader opened the borders to refugees.

Around 1.33 million voters are electing a new regional parliament for the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which is also home to Mer-

kel’s constituency Stralsund.

The polls come exactly a year after the German leader made the momentous decision to let in tens of thousands of Syrian and other migrants marooned in eastern European countries.

Although she won praise at first, the mood has since turned, giving way to fears over how Europe’s biggest economy will manage to integrate the million peo-

ple who arrived last year alone.

Her decision has left her increasingly isolated in Europe, and exposed her to heavy criticism at home, including from her own conservative allies.

Right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has campaigned heavily against Merkel’s liberal refugee policy, is expected to record strong support at the polls.

Opinion polls suggest that it might even unseat the German leader’s party CDU from second place after the Social Democrats.

In the sprawling farming and coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania―Germany’s poorest and least populous―the issue of refugees and integration has also become the deciding factor for one in three voters. AFP

Stray dogs find shelter in war-battered Gaza GAZA CITY―In an impoverished and war-battered territory suffering food shortages and a scarcity of jobs, Saeed al-Ar knew it was a tall order opening a dog shelter in Gaza.

The Palestinian coastal enclave crammed with 1.9 million people has been devastated by three wars against

Israel since 2008, and it remains under blockade by the Jewish state and Egypt.

The fate of hundreds of stray dogs outside towns or near the Israeli security fence have been anything but a priority.

“How can we create a shelter for strays when we need shelter ourselves?” is the typical view, as expressed by a 27-year-

old unemployed Gazan, Jasser al-Sheikh.

“We must first feed our children and find jobs for thousands of unemployed graduates.”

But Ar, a 45-year-old father of seven, has taken it upon himself to intervene, spending his own money to rescue the strays.

Last month, he opened the territory’s first dog sanctuary in a relatively welloff suburb south of Gaza City.

His Al-Soulala Association for Protection, Rehabilitation and Training covers 29,000 square feet, complete with kennels which currently house around 75 former strays. AFP

Life Shoot,

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

SIP & SAVOR

Eat, Repeat

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Sky Range’s Barrel Pasta Primavera and its inspiration, the AF2011-A1 double barrel pistol which made its first media appearance in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre

I

F you ever feel like unleashing your inner James Bond, head off to Sky Range – a P200-million, first-of-its-kind indoor shooting range at Solaire Resort & Casino in Parañaque City. Have your fill of a wide array of guns and ammunition, THE JOYCE OF EATING but don’t expect to get a martini, JOYCE BABE PAÑARES though, neither shaken nor stirred.

“We cannot allow intoxicated guests to shoot, that is why we don’t serve alcoholic drinks,” said Gerry de Belen, president and chief operating officer of Sky Range.

You can, however, load up on Sky Range Cafe’s “macho” dishes and single origin Brazilian coffee, something that would bring great joy to purists who nix coffee blends.

“Mr. Razon (Solaire owner Enrique Razon Jr.) wanted our cafe to serve food

that is not available in other restaurants of the hotel. We have what I’d call a ‘macho’ menu – packed with carbohydrates and protein – heavy enough to fight hunger and light enough so you don’t feel lethargic while shooting,” de Belen said.

“We also gave a tactical twist to the names of our dishes,” he added.

For starters, the cafe offers Combat Arroz Caldo (Hainanese chicken rice porridge with spring onions and quail

The Double Action Chorizo Burger with crunchy onion rings

Flavorful Barbecue Blast Spareribs served with java rice

eggs), which is classified as a soup but is actually a meal in itself; Special Air Service Salpicao Nachos (topped with beef salpicao and salsa); and one of their bestsellers, Ruffled Fat Buckshots (onion rings and chicharong bulaklak with tartar and vinegar dip).

Guests have four sandwiches to choose from: Locked and Loaded Grilled Cheese served on homemade oatmeal bread and with truffle fries on the side; Roast Beef Revolver in mustard horseradish sauce

on baguette; Double Action Chorizo Burger with vegetables and onion rings; and Long Trigger Adobo Sliders on pan de sal with kesong puti.

For guests who want something heavier to eat, Sky Range Cafe offers Chick in the Chamber (home-style buttermilk fried chicken with potato wedges); Speed Loader Lechon Kawali (deep-fried pork belly with liver sauce and garlic rice); Russian Roast Beef Roulette (roast beef with mushroom

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sauce); and Barbecue Blast Spareribs with java rice.

The cafe’s Barrel Pasta Primavera – penne pasta tossed in vegetables and flavorful light cream sauce – pays homage to the AF2011-A1 by Arsenal Firearms, a double barrel semi-automatic pistol, which made its first appearance in the James Bond film Spectre in 2015. In the movie, the character of Mr. Hinx, played

by Dave Bautista, fires at Bond’s plane, leaving two holes in the metal skin.

The 2011 release of the AF2011-A1 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the legendary Colt 1911. It has been called a “masterpiece of the Italian gun industry” – a beautiful weapon that comes with a beautiful price tag of P800000.00 should you want to take one home. The double barrel pistols at Sky Range, however, are not the most expensive versions of Arsenal’s AF2011-A1. Arsenal released two (and only two) pieces of goldplated, intricately-engaved double barrel pistols, fetching for P25 million each.

While Sky Range has an exclusive membership program, it allows hotel or casino guests to avail of the shooting range after paying a day pass rate of P10,000. It offers a pistol package for P5500.00 (covers pistol rental, two target papers, and 25 pieces of ammunition) and a rifle package for P6,600 (covers rifle rental, two target papers, and 20 pieces of ammunition).

“A lot of foreigners come here, and women too, usually to while the time away while their husbands or boyfriends play at the casino,” de Belen said.

“And after blowing off steam at the firing range, our guests get their gastronomic fix at our cafe. I think even James Bond would have felt right at home here,” he added.

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com PHOTOS BY NADEZHDA ISKRA HERRERA

Fave Pinoy comfort food haven now in Timog A YEAR ago, Visayas Avenue witnessed the birth of a Pinoy gastronomic wonder— Ka Tunying’s Café. The hard-hitting Kapamilya News Anchor, Anthony “Ka Tunying” Taberna Jr., owns the restaurant.

Built by the Taberna family’s love for Filipino cuisine, KTC gained its popularity. Cravings for Filipino dishes with a twist made the number of regulars grow. Their fascination for KTC’s food reaches Filipinos overseas, that’s why they make sure KTC is their first resto-stop when they arrive home.

Their official page on Facebook and Instagram namely Ka Tunying’s Café, is a proof that kababayans worldwide surely want to satisfy their KTC cravings. There are even some netizens who tagged KTC as one in their bucket list. With this growing number of requests, the Taberna power couple, Mr. and Mrs. T, did all they could to put up another branch to accommodate the public’s demand and to give home to a larger number of patrons, hence, the birth of Ka Tunying’s Café—Timog.

Ka Tunying’s Café in Timog had a soft opening on July 27. This second branch is a proof that KTC continuously upholds their ideals of serving food that Pinoys love; food that makes you reminisce your childhood and food that makes you miss luto ni nanay.

That’s why the team makes constant effort to recreate classic Pinoy cuisine with a twist.

During the grand opening, KTC gave a teaser of their upgraded menu:

Ka Tunying Cafe’s savory Tasty Lechon Sandwich

Ensaladang Lato is a fresh Pinoy salad

lunch, snack, dinner or even miryendinner (mid snack mid dinner). You can tell the Pinoy twist just by reading the names of their new dishes; “May Asim Pa Ako” –Bulalo (Kansi), Pusit Bicolano (Squid Stuffed Bicol Express), Sinigang na Ulo ng Salmon sa Kamias, Grilled Pork Chop Sinigang and Kalma Lang Mare, Calamares! and other creatively named Pinoy food that will be officially available on their menu this September. Their Palamig series will also tickle your curiosity; Pag-Ibig, Ligaya, Paraiso, Sinag and other interesting names.

With this new branch sparks the rumor that Ka Tunying could be transferring to another network though reSatisfy your sweet craving with KTC’s Fruit Sweet’art jected by Ka Tunying himself. Placing the café across the GMA Network comthey have new ulam (viand), miryenda plex just proves that when it comes to (snack) and palamig (drinks) that will food, network rivalry is non-existent. In tickle your taste buds from breakfast, fact, the grand opening of the café was

attended by different personalities from different TV Networks. What is the one thing that can unite them?

Pinoy comfort food of Ka Tunying’s Café.

Ka Tunying’s team takes pride of their Filipino touch and as proof, all of their ingredients are locally sourced; to support the local products and promote the goodness of our own cuisine.

Also, as a very Pinoy custom, they gave away Tinapay Take Home or pabalot to all the guests of the Grand Opening of the new branch; a very hospitable pinoy trait of saying “Salamat po” to the guests.

Check out the Timog branch on the Upper Ground floor of Caswynn Building #134 Timog Avenue, Quezon City.

Hardhitting news anchor Anthony Taberna shows his sweet side through his popular KTC restaurant which recently opened a second branch

Life

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Kuya J continues

Kuya J offers crispy pata and other Filipino comfort food at very affordable prices

branch expansion

K

UYA J Restaurant, the fastest growing casual dining restaurant in the country, opened six new branches last month.

The new branches are located in SM Cubao, SM Sucat, SM San Jose Del Monte, SM Lucena, Lucky Chinatown Mall and Festival Mall.

Tracing its origins from Cebu, Kuya J was a hole-in-the-wall until its launch in 2014 as a full service casual dining restaurant.

Under the leadership of its president, Winglip Chang, the thrust of Kuya J virtually took a 180-degree turn, transform-

ing it into a brand known for its heartwarming service and value for money.

From a modest number of three restaurants in Cebu, Kuya J has grown and continues to grow as it targets to have around 100 stores by year-end.

Kuya J has successfully put together a menu of regional specialties giving them a “universal flavor” that appeals to the Filipino’s discriminating palate.

A range of bestsellers from the grilled

scallops, kare-kare, bulalo, sisig and, the star of the menu, crispy pata, have made Kuya J top of mind to Filipino families looking forward to enjoy their favorite comfort food at very affordable prices. Not to mention, the hospitable

service is not far behind.

Last summer, another hit emerged with the Kuya J Halo-Halo Espesyal. Its unique paper-thin shaved milky ice and tasty ingredients set it apart from other halo-halos in the market.

The popular restaurant is also set to add another item to its already loaded menu of specialties this month. So what can it possibly be? Let’s just say Kuya J is cooking something new and it’s something to look forward to.

Mimosa Golf partners with Cravings

Parents can choose from Gardenia’s range of yummy and filling treats

Gardenia offers wide variety of snack choices MOMS need not worry every day for Gardenia has the perfect snack treat for their kid that they can enjoy any time of the day as their baon or as a snack when doing their school assignments or sharing light moments with their classmates or school barkada.

Take your pick from the Gardenia bread snack line like the Gardenia Cream Roll, that can be enjoyed in six favorite flavors like chocolate, cookies n’ cream, rocky road, ube, chocostrawberry and cheese. There is also the freshly baked bun loaded with chocolate, ube and peach-mango fillings.

If one wants a cake-type of snack, the irresistible soft, moist Twiggies Yellow Cake is a sure pick. On the following day, students of all ages can choose

crunchy snacks like Butter Toasties that’s toasted to perfection and sprinkled with sugar for that crunchy bitesized snack, or Cheese Toasties with cheesy goodness spread all over.

The best part of it all is that the Gardenia snack line can easily fill one’s stomach and are worry-free to carry to school since these can be conveniently packed inside a lunch box. No need to feel uneasy thinking of the next day’s baon since these appealing snack options can easily fill any stomach.

You can even alternate these snacks every other day so your kids have options, or even combine them based on their preferred tastes to promote variety.

APART from providing a superb golfing experience, Mimosa Golf Course in Filinvest Mimosa is also set to give players and visitors a distinctive dining encounter.

The Veranda Mimosa Golf Course’s renowned restaurant is now in partnership with Cravings, one of the country’s premier restaurant chains. Well-known to create sumptuous, mouthwatering desserts and dishes, exciting fusion dishes, and signature, home-grown Filipino food, Cravings brings a different flavor to the rustic feel of The Veranda. This partnership will surely bring good news to avid golfers and walk-ins looking for a hefty meal at very affordable prices.

According to Chef Sau Del Rosario, restaurant consultant, Cravings will offer time-honored, home-cooked style meals as well as a diverse selection of international dishes for those looking for something different.

“We’re currently undergoing the pro-

cess of ‘menu engineering’ where we are building a very dynamic list of dishes that can change depending on the mood, weather, season or even the type of clientele we’re having.” said Del Rosario.

Chef Sau is a multi-awarded chef and is currently the Culinary Director of Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila.

Cravings is constantly in touch with the market trend in Clark that now caters to many Koreans. Chef Michael Cheng, a top chef from Korea, will offer authentic Korean dishes to visitors and avid diners at The Veranda.

Cheng is part of the diverse set of chefs who belongs to Cravings’ current culinary team.

“Customers will be delighted to hear that our chefs are committed to infuse different cultures with our offerings. Apart from our signature Filipino dishes, we also aim to serve European, American and other Asian selections.

Cravings in Mimosa also caters to banquet events like weddings, birthdays, debuts, corporate meetings and

other social events.

The Cravings Group of Companies owns and runs several branches of the Cravings Restaurant brand as well as C2 Classic Cuisine, The Coffee Beanery, Lombardi’s, and Wicked by Cravings, among others. The group also opened the country’s very first culinary school, CCA Manila, and further ventured into the Asian School for Hospitality Arts (ASHA).

The Mimosa Golf Course, which reopened mid-June, is set to complement the new Quest Hotel and Conference Center-Clark Pampanga, a four-star property which opened in August.

For more information, contact Krisha Simeon, Golf Sales Executive at +63 9985878075 or email se1@mimosagolf. com. For hotel inquiries, you may contact Sales and Marketing Department at +63 45 599-800, +63 9165823849 or +63 9432922075. You can also visit the golf course website at mimosagolf. com and the hotel’s website at clark. questhotels.com.

Catfish Salad

Center for Culinary Arts Manila Culinary Director Chef Sau Del Rosario

Bibimbap

Complete showcase for hospitality industry ACCORDING to the latest Market Insight report of Pinnacle Real State Consulting Services Inc., the Philippine hotel industry is expected to see continuous growth in the next five years as top players and hotel brands pursue their respective expansion projects. With so much room for investment, there’s one place hotels trust to find the solutions for their needs: the Hotel Suppliers Show.

A complete showcase of supplies, products, and services for the hospitality industry is set this Sept. 22 to 24 on the ground floor of the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

A joint project of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP) and Global-Link Exhibitions Specialist, Inc. (GESI), the Hotel Suppliers Show brings together a comprehensive expo segmented into three areas: Design & Décor Philippines, where people from the industry come to see the latest design trends for hotels, source hospitality products, meet icons of industry, and widen their network; Food & Beverage Suppliers Show, an event filled with solutions to help F&B business get a slice of this booming industry; and Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment Philippines, a showcase that promises top-ofthe-line interior products for hotels, restaurants and resorts. “[This is] our response to the volume of requirements needed by the domestic market – a one-stop shop sourcing platform to link up suppliers, developers, stakeholder, and buyers,” shared

Distinguished industry leaders come together for the Hotel Suppliers Show—the biggest hospitality sourcing expo in the country

Liza Hernandez, event chair. “From the front desk to the back of house, to the kitchens, to the furniture, and to housekeeping, Hotel Suppliers Show has it all covered.”

This year marks the 7th edition of the Hotel Suppliers Show. Booths are in high demand and selling out fast.

“A proven business platform, Hotel Suppliers Show continues to gain the attention of industry leaders here and abroad, allowing them to delve into this [hospitality] industry’s potential. Everything the industry needs is under one roof – one of kind – one of the biggest event in the region.”

said Eduardo Zuluaga, president of Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP).

Organizers estimate a large turnout of over 10,000 professionals to the Hotel Suppliers Show 2016.

Last year, the Hotel Suppliers Show attracted 12,252 trade buyers and

visitor from all over the country and around the region. The 7,550 sq. meter exhibit showcase generated a tremendous response and most participants are expected to be back this year with an even more impressive showcase.

Expect to see over 200 exhibitors and 500 brands from top international and local companies are expected to take part in this event, including: Allegro Beverage Corporation, Ananta Industries, Inc., Blizzard Refrigeration, Bticino Philippines Inc., Chase Technologies, Classy Classy Linen Manufacturing and Gen. Merchandise, Co Ban Kiat Hardware, Concept Specialist, Inc., Cost U Less, Diversey Philippines (Sealed Air Phils.), Elid Technology International, Inc., Equilibrium Intertrade Corp., E-Sports RK International, Inc., Fibrefill Manufacturing Inc., Fitness Intelligence Trends, Inc., Focus Global Inc. (Hunter Douglas), Globalinens Worldwide, Golden Acres Food Solutions, Gourdos, Inc., Grimalkin Corporation, Harle Philippines Inc., Home Matters/Prime Creative Dimensione, Inc., Hometime Group LTD., Hospitality Innovators, Inc., Hotel and Spa Essentials Inc., Icedream, Inc., Inca Phils. Inc., Inewvation Philippines Corp., Landlite Philippines Corporation, Sharp (Phils.) Corporation, Servo IT Solutions, World Class Concepts, and many more.

For more information on the exhibit and conference, visit www.gesi.com. ph/hotelshow or contact Global-Link Exhibitions Specialist at (02) 893-7973 or email info@gesi.com.ph.

D3

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

ABS-CBN honors the

‘Married at First Sight’ follow the journey of couples who meet for the first time after being paired up by relationship experts

best of the Philippines

Reality TV favorites rule this

September T

HE month of September is chock full of real action, real drama, and real laughs on LIFETIME. The network is showing the most anticipated reality shows this coming month.

Premiering on Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. is a brand new season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Catch the multiple Emmy awardwinning talk show host as she welcomes the biggest stars of today for interviews, performances, and special surprises for the 14th season.

Catch the season 4 premiere of Married at First Sight. The show that takes unlucky-in-love strangers and pairs them up for marriage has an all-new team on board. This season, a communications and relationship expert, a sociologist, and a marriage counselor join together to guide and analyze these new relationships during the six-week whirlwind romance from being complete strangers, marriage, honeymoon, and until the decision to stay together or divorce. Watch to see who finds love this Sept. 19 at 9:30 p.m..

Your guilty pleasure show, Hoarders, is back for an 8th season, deemed “more extreme than ever.” Get inside the houses

of these people who just can’t let go of even their most unnecessary belongings, and watch as therapists, professional organizers and cleaning crews help them de-clutter. Tune in on Sept. 30 at 9 p.m. to catch the season premiere.

Other reality show favorites continue to grace your screens this September.

Every Monday at 9:30 p.m., watch as the remaining teams renovate a dilapidated house and make it someone else’s dream home in The Block season 4.

Australia’s version of the most popular cooking show plays every Monday at 8PM on Lifetime. MasterChef Australia season 8 is getting closer to the finale and the most exciting challenge of the season yet.

Watch the remaining contestants battle it out in front of the judges and special big name guests for the title of Australia’s MasterChef 2016 and $250000.00.

Lifetime™ is available on SKYCable Ch 65 and Lifetime™ HD Ch 199; Cable Link Ch. 223; Dream Satellite Ch 28;

A new season of Ellen Degerenes’ long-running talk show is set to debut on Lifetime this month

GMA wins Gold in Asia-Pacific Spark Awards GMA Network took home two Gold excellent relationships and a professional Best Content Team category, which lauds Awards in the Best Commercial Team and outlook. a content team for their ability to devise Best Content Team categories at the Spark The Network also earned Gold in the solutions and create effective content, while Awards for Media Excellence 2016. also establishing a strong rapport with The awarding ceremony was held in clients and agencies.

Singapore on Aug.18.

Adding to GMA’s notable Now on its third year, the Spark achievements, the Network also Awards is the premier award-giving received two Bronze Awards in the body in Southeast Asia, which Best Media Solution – Digital category recognizes outstanding media for GMA and Palmolive’s “Ito ang solutions, products and services. This Hagod Ko” promo and Best Media year, the Awards opened its doors Solution – Integrated Media category not just to media owners, but also to for the Del Monte “I Love Spaghetti” digital publishers and ad technology campaign. companies in the region.

In the sphere of marketing GMA won Gold in the Best recognitions, GMA remains the most Commercial Team category, awarded Philippine TV network both having been cited as an exemplary locally and abroad. A consistent winner commercial team from a media owner at the annual Spark Awards, GMA won who has successfully shown creativity Asia Pacific Spark Awards recognizes outstanding media a Platinum Award for being Best in and innovation, while maintaining solutions, products and services Show in 2015.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, September 5, 2016

ACROSS 1 Humane org.

5 Apprehends 9 Split to join 14 Pull through 15 Singer Burl 16 Striking 17 Boat runway 18 Suit part 19 Revise 20 Press ending 21 Comic sketch 22 Fish hawk 23 Rubbed it in 25 “Jake’s Thing” writer 26 Kubrick’s computer 27 Casino game 28 Before 31 Unrehearsed (hyph.)

34 Tenderized, perhaps 36 Lifted 37 Brown-tinted photo 38 Hollow stem 39 Ptolemy’s device 41 Synthetic fabric 42 D.C. lobbyist 43 Missouri neighbor 44 — is me!

45 Feigns 46 Overcharges (2 wds.)

50 Fido’s feats 53 Minibuses 54 Mex. neighbor 55 Sherlock portrayer 56 Wolfman — 57 Not for 58 Basalt or gneiss 59 Sheltered 60 PC screen image 61 Twinges 62 Dweeb 63 Govt. branch DOWN 1 Gallic gesture 2 Lustrous gem 3 Walk-on 4 Jungfrau 5 Pocket change 6 Steer clear of 7 Pummel 8 Mach 2 flier 9 Tax no-no 10 Favors one leg 11 In charge of 12 Yearn deeply 13 Vortex 21 Wild guess 22 “— vincit amor” 24 Take — —!

25 Condor nest

27 Phi Beta — 28 And others (abbr.)

29 Town near Lake Tahoe 30 Genesis garden 31 Envelope abbr.

32 Go-getter 33 “Whatever — Wants” 34 Manx murmurs 35 Farm measure 37 Clan members 40 Harvest tools 41 Excuse me!

44 Twinkled

45 Doing great 46 Track competitor 47 Weight unit 48 Camera setting (hyph.)

49 Swoon 50 Recipe amt.

51 Pro — (in proportion) 52 This one — — me!

53 Glen 56 Cold mo.

57 Give a hand to

AFTER five years of discovering, sharing, and exploring the Philippines, ABSCBN’s travel website Choose Philippines marks 2016 with a special celebration that aims to honor the country that inspired people to eat, explore, and share meaningful experiences via the Choose Philippines Awards.

Netizens from all over the country and around the world can start submitting their nominations for different awards after its launch in “It’s Showtime” on Aug. 27 through its website, ChoosePhilippinesAwards.com.

Submission of nominations will end on Sept. 24.

Honoring the best of what the Philippines has to offer, Choose Philippines Awards will collect nominations for three major categories – Best Destination, Best Dish, and Best Accommodation.

Choose Philippines Awards is only one of the ways ABS-CBN is promoting and supporting Philippine tourism. The network, now rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company, also regularly features the country’s must-see destinations on multiple media platforms - on its magazines, TV shows, films, and other digital platforms and services.

ABS-CBN, through its Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation’s Ecotourism Projects, also offers packages that support the livelihood of locals and protect and maintain the natural ecosystems of the tourist sites.

The most-loved tourist spots that leave a lasting impression on travelers are recognized in the Best Destination category, with sub-categories Heritage Sites, Water Forms, Islands and Beaches, Mountains and Volcanoes, and Recreational Spots.

Choose Philippines also acknowledges the local gastronomic treats that best represent the uniquely Filipino taste in Best Dish’s Poultry, Beef, Pork, Vegetable, Seafood, Fusion, Native Exotic

Delicacy, and Panghimagas subcategories.

Accommodations that excel in service, hospitality, comfort, accessibility and aesthetics and double as a home away from home are also honored in the Best Accommodation’s Family, Solo Traveler, Couple, and Barkada sub-categories.

All the nominations that will be received by the site will then be shortlisted by the country’s top travel bloggers, lifestyle experts, and industry leaders.

The final 5 nominees for each category will be announced on Oct. 10, when the voting for the Choose Philippines Awards will also begin.

Finally, the winners will be decided based on votes cast by netizens on the Choose Philippines Awards website and will be honored in a ceremony in November.

Aside from the major categories, Choose Philippines will also present special awards.

There is Best Pinoy Advocate, which will go to the country’s most admirable locals, individual or group, who brought honor to the country; Best Pinoy at Heart, which will go to an individual or group of foreigners who have shown remarkable affinity towards the Philippines, its people, and all things Pinoy; and Best Festival, which will honor the most exciting, unforgettable, and meaningful Filipino festival.

Not to be missed is the Best Photo Contest, which will honor netizens who will send their nominations for different categories. All they have to do is upload a beautiful photo of their nomination on C h o o s e P h i l i p p i n e s Aw a r d s . com for a chance to win special prizes as well as the opportunity to accept the Best Photo award onstage.

Celebrate the people, places, and dishes that gave you memorable adventures and moments by submitting your nominations for the Choose Philippines Awards to ChoosePhilippinesAwards. com).

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Showbiz

‘Someone

To Watch Over Me’

premieres tonight on GMA ISAH V. RED

G

MA Network brings to primetime television the original and compelling series Someone To Watch Over Me beginning tonight.

The drama tackles the story of a wife’s unwavering love for her husband who is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Someone To Watch Over Me is headlined by versatile Kapuso actor Tom Rodriguez, beautiful and talented actress Max Collins and Kapuso Premier actress Lovi Poe. Tom breathes life to the character of TJ Chavez, a playful and outgoing guy who falls madly in love with Joanna. He and his wife will face their biggest setback when he is diagnosed with the rare disorder.

Tom says he becomes even more interested in the story as he studies about his character.

“Actually, habang inaaral ko siya, mas na-eexcite ako na makita kung saan pupunta yung kuwento, kasi nga yung character ko is hindi siya biglang milagrong gagaling. So, it’s exciting to see where it goes,” Tom said.

Lovi is Joanna Mercado, the compassionate wife of TJ. She will do everything for her sick husband even allowing Irene into their lives and into their home. As Irene receives all of TJ’s love and affection, Joanna acts as TJ’s nurse who takes care of his needs.

Portraying the role of Joanna is indeed another challenge for Lovi because it pushes her outside her comfort zone. She said, “Yes, iiyak na naman ako ng sobra. Pero kasi I look at this positively.

It makes me explore kung hanggang saan yung kaya kong gawin. Nakaka-excite kasi it’s gonna be a whole new me in this series. But, I’m really thankful kasi sa lahat naman ng binibigay nila sa akin na projects, masaya ako dun. And the thought na they’re trusting me with this is something I want to make sure that I give my best kasi hindi biro yung mga roles na ino-offer sa akin ng GMA.” Max plays the role of Irene Montenegro, TJ’s ex-girlfriend. She tries to stay away from TJ but he keeps seeking her as he no longer recognizes Joanna, his wife.

She shares that portraying Irene is undeniably a milestone for her since this series is different from her projects before. “Big step talaga ito sa acting career ko since iba ito sa lahat ng nagampanan ko nang roles before. And with Tom, Lovi and Direk Maryo’s help, I hope to get through this gracefully. ” Joining Tom, Max and Lovi are Edu Manzano as TJ’s hardworking father, Buddy Chavez; Jackie Lou Blanco as Cielo Chavez, TJ’s loving and supportive mother; Isay Alvarez and Ronnie Lazaro as Carmen and Ruben Mercado, Joanna’s kind-hearted parents; Boy 2 Quizon as Paolo, TJ’s chick-magnet best friend; Ralph Noriega as Jepoy Mercado, the cheerful younger brother of Joanna; and Frances Makil as Joanna’s frank best friend.

How far can Joanna still go and what else is she willing to do for her ill husband? Will TJ continue fighting for his love for Irene or will he finally remember Joanna as his wife and as someone who stayed with him despite his sickness and her pain?

Maryo J. Delos Reyes directs.

Catch the intriguing story of love’s presence in the absence of memories in Someone To Watch Over Me, Monday to Friday after Descendants of the Sun on GMA Telebabad.

In ‘Someone to Watch Over Me,’ sdafdgsdgsdagasdTom Rodriguez gasdTJ, who is plays gsadhgasd diagnosed with ghsadhsd disease, Alzheimer’s while Lovi Poe plays his dedicated wife

James, Nadine do all for real love in

‘Til I Met You’ ARE you willing to risk everything so that love wins?

ABS-CBN and Dreamscape Television Entertainment proudly bring the newest series set to show that real love wins, Till I Met You starring the love team of real-life couple James Reid and Nadine Lustre, with primetime’s new leading man JC Santos.

Nadine plays Iris, an achiever yet simple girl who wishes to give her family a better life. Having grown up without a father, she lives happily with her siblings and her mother Cassandra (Carmina Villarroel).

She then develops a mutual understanding with her childhood best friend Ali (JC Santos), a son of a military general and a cook.

With the same aspirations in life, Iris and Ali grow closer to each other and will develop a budding romance. Together they will chase for their dreams in Greece, where they will meet Basti (James Reid), a rebellious son who works as a tour guide in the country. Living only by himself, he will find the acceptance he has been looking for from Iris and Ali. However, their friendship will be put to test as Basti falls for Iris, deeply hurting Ali. This will lead them to the point of choosing between what matters more: love or friendship.

Will Iris and Ali still fulfill the dreams they built together?

Will Basti fight for his love for Iris? Are they ready to risk everything to have the one they

ONE of today’s most in-demand celebrities, Matteo Guidicelli, is featured in the latest television commercial of Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. (SLAMCI) And get this: there’s not just one, but two Matteos going up against each other.

The TVC shows two Matteos with strikingly opposite tactics: one tries to impress by bragging his material possessions, including a new phone and a credit card, while the other woos her by promising a brighter future together with the help of the Sun Life Prosperity Card.

The Sun Life Prosperity Card is an investment card worth P5000.00, which may be invested in any of the pesodenominated mutual funds managed by SLAMCI under its Sun Life Prosperity Funds. The first of its kind in the market, it has revolutionized mutual funds investing in the country.

“We wanted SLAMCI’s new TVC to encourage the audience to begin their investing journey with the Sun Life Prosperity Card because it’s an easy and convenient way to start building one’s brighter future,” explained SLAMCI President Valerie Pama. “By investing in mutual funds, one can make his money work harder for him, as against simply leaving all of it in the bank.”

To illustrate this point, Pama shared that a 91-day time deposit in a bank 10 years ago would have given 28 percent return; but for the same period, the Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund grew by 66 percent, while the money invested in the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund would have earned 155 percent. Meanwhile, an investment in the

TEAM REAL. Real-life couple Nadine Lustre and James Reid have proven yet again that their tandem is undisputed on primetime TV with the debut of their new romantic series love?

Aside from the kilig moments, viewers are set to see the breathtaking sceneries of Greece as some of the scenes were shot in Santorini and other parts of the country.

Also joining the stellar cast are Zoren Legaspi, Angel Aquino, Pokwang, Kim Molina, and Robert Seña with the special participation of Richard Yap and Jay Manalo.

Matteo vs. Matteo in new Sun Life TVC

Sun Life’s Valerie Pama (left) with the financial service company’s celebrity ambassador Matteo Guidicelli

The comeback of James Reid and Nadine Lustre in primetime instantly captivated viewers nationwide as the pilot episode scored high in the national TV ratings on Aug. 29.

JaDine fans were in full force for the latest teleserye of ABS-CBN as it recorded a national TV rating of 28.2 percent, a huge lead compared to its rival program Descendants of the Sun, which only got 17.2 percent.

Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund gained 221 percent.

“This is exactly why we want Filipinos, especially the youth, to start investing some of their money in mutual funds,” Pama said.

“Instead of using up all of one’s money on trendy items that will soon be replaced by a new fad, why not invest it for the long term and watch it grow? The two Matteos in our TVC certainly highlighted that message in fun yet clear manner.”

For his part, Matteo said he had fun portraying two different personas. “It’s the first time I did such a project, and I definitely enjoyed playing both roles,” he said. “But what’s important is that we were able to bring home the message. It’s fun to have nice material things and be on YOLO mode, but what will happen to you if all your money runs out and you have nothing saved for the long-term?”

And if there’s one thing that Matteo knows, it’s that some things are definitely worth the wait. “Whether I’m doing sports or working on a showbiz project, I know that I need to be patient before I could see the results. Training for a competition takes time, and so does shooting a movie or recording an album. It’s the same thing when you invest your money – you have to grow it long-term before you can enjoy the benefits,” he explained. “You may have to wait a bit, but it’s always, always worth it!”

Catch SLAMCI’s latest TVC featuring Matteo Guidicelli on cable TV. To learn more about the Sun Life Prosperity Card and how you can start investing for a brighter future, visit sunlifeprosperity. com.ph.