Manila Standard - 2016 September 13 - Tuesday

RODY WANTS US SPECIAL FORCES TO PACK UP, LEAVE

By John Paolo Bencito and Florante S. Solmerin

VOL. XXX • NO. 213 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the United States Special Forces based in Mindanao should leave.

In a speech Monday before new appointees, Duterte said that the world’s most powerful country has not yet apologized for its wrongdoings against Moros and Filipinos during the American occupation and again brought up the March 1906 Bud Dajo massacre, where

Veloso doomed

hundreds of Moros, including women and children, were killed by US forces in Sulu.

Once again flashing pictures of the Bud Dajo Massacre which he presented during the Asean-East Asia Summit, Duterte said the Americans should leave to prevent further damage between Filipinos and Americans.

“The Special Forces, they have to go.

They have to go. In Mindanao, there are many white men there, they have to go.

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Widodo obtained Du30’s ‘go-ahead’ to execute Pinay drug mule—Post

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and John Paolo Bencito

I

NDONESIAN President Joko Widodo said Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte had given him the green light to execute Filipina death row convict Mary Jane Veloso, who was sentenced to die for drug smuggling, the Jakarta Post said in a report published Monday.

“President Duterte has given the go-ahead to proceed with the execution,” Widodo was quoted as saying.

“I have explained to [Duterte] about Mary Jane’s situation, and I told him that Mary Jane [has been found guilty] for carrying 2.6 kg of heroin. I also told him about the delay in the execution during the meeting,” he added.

Citing the Indonesian state news agency Antara, the Post said Widodo had asked Duterte to immediately finish the legal processes involving Veloso’s human trafficking case so that her execution in Indonesia could be carried out.

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TO BE, OR NOT TO BE. President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo share a light moment during a state banquet on Friday while the

former was in Jakarta, on the last leg of his Asean trip, three days before Malacañang denied telling his host to ‘go ahead’ with the execution of drug convict Mary Jane Veloso, as echoed in the Jakarta Post headline. Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte told Widodo he would not interfere with Indonesia’s legal processes.

Drug convict Mary Jane Veloso

PH ignores China-Russia ‘seize, control’ drill 20 witnesses lined up

By John Paolo Bencito THE Palace played down fears Monday of any territorial encroachment as China and Russia launched eight days of joint naval drills in the South China Sea that would focus on “seizing and controlling” islands and shoals.

“There shouldn’t be any worries because China has said... that they are open to negotiations...and

in fact, they are the ones who are pushing for this,” Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said in a television interview.

Panelo said that as long as the Chinese showed that they do not pose a threat to the security of the country, the Philippines would not react negatively to the military exercises.

China’s drills come two months after an international tribunal in The Hague dismissed China’s his-

torical claims to most of the South China Sea. China refused to take part in the arbitration and has accused the US of stoking tensions between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte, in speaking about the territorial dispute, took a political rather than a legal view.

“It’s better because in [the President’s] point of view, this is not the

time to flaunt our win at the Arbitration Court, but this is the time to find common ground,” he said.

A Chinese Navy spokesman, Liang Yang, said the eight-day joint exercises would focus on “seizing and controlling” islands and shoals.

They will involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters, marine Next page

against De Lima—DoJ

By Rey E. Requejo THE Justice Department will present some 20 resource persons and witnesses before the House of Representatives, which is set to investigate the proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

“There is a flood of informa-

Andanar team fall guy for ‘Superficial Gazette’ THE Palace media office once again became the object of public ridicule on Monday after Filipino internet users criticized the online Official Gazette for posting a social media card to mark the 99th birth anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

And once again Communications Secretary Martin Andanar blamed his staff and ordered them to take down the posts but only after internet users ridiculed

METRO Manila Development Authority officer-in-charge Thomas Orbos said Monday he was optimistic lawmakers would grant emergency powers to President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the traffic gridlock in the metropolis.

“I am hopeful but it is up to them [lawmakers],” he said.

Orbos agreed with the proposed measures by the Japan Interna-

Muslims mark ‘feast of sacrifice’

the Official Gazette, the official government online site, as the “Superficial Gazette” on a spoof Facebook page.

Andanar and his communications team were not spared criticism and were mocked as “the best communications team in the solar system.”

“In line with our mandate of providing quality #HistoricalRevisionism to the Filipino people, Next page

Extra powers for Rody likely, says MMDA chief tional Cooperation Agency on restudying the gateway of airports and relocating the Manila North Harbor and other government facilities from Metro Manila to the provinces to ease traffic.

“All these things are now being considered by the MMDA,” said Orbos who was appointed

by President Duterte on Aug. 19 Next page

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

tion,” said Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who said he continues to interview witnesses to sift through the details and to build up their case against Senator Leila de Lima, whom President Rodrigo Duterte has accused of taking money from drug lords detained at the national penitentiary.

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FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE. Young Muslim women from Hope of the Future take a selfie at the sprawling Luneta Park fronting Manila Bay as they join the worldwide observation of Eid’l Adha, known as the Festival of Sacrifice, which marks the descent of pilgrims as they complete the annual Hajj in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.

Danny Pata

‘Kidnap suspects fled toward Sulu’ THE military is not yet sure if Abu Sayyaf terrorists were behind the abduction of three Malaysian fishermen off Sabah on Sept. 10, an official said Monday But Major Felimon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mind-

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

S

anao Command, said initial intelligence reports showed that the abductors and their victims were on board two speedboats that moved toward Tawi-Tawi.

He said the military was continuing to ascertain the identity

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of the group behind the abduction and to pinpoint the place where they might be hiding.

“The abductors comprised seven armed men in a two 75-horsepower speedboats,” Tan said.

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THOUSANDS of Filipino Muslims ignored the scorching heat and gathered at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City on Monday morning to celebrate Eid’l Adha or the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice.

Muslim men wearing the taqiyah (round skullcaps) and women in their patterned hijab (veil) came from different parts of Metro Manila and converged at the Circle’s Liwasang Aurora to pray.

Sheik Al-Sheidick led the khutbah, a sermon reminding his brothers and sisters of Islamic principles and values. Next page

WEATHER TYPHOON “Ferdie” continued to move west-northwest toward extreme Northern Luzon and could intensify into a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 220 kilometers per hour, the weather bureau said Next page Monday.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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From A1 corps and amphibious armored equipment from both navies, he said.

“Compared with previous joint drills, these exercises are deeper and more extensive in terms of organization, tasks and command,” he said in the statement, released Sunday.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea and has sought to bolster its case by building a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities.

But a UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that any extensive claims to the sea had no legal basis and that China’s construction of artificial islands in disputed waters was illegal.

Beijing reacted furiously, with foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang threatening a “decisive response” if anyone took “any provocative action against China’s security interests based on the award.”

Beijing’s land reclamations have prompted criticism from other claimant countries and the US, and Washington has regularly sent warships into the strategically vital area to assert the right to freedom of navigation.

This week’s drills will be carried out off the coast of Zhanjiang city in the southern province of Guangdong.

Their precise location was not announced, but they do not appear to be taking place in disputed parts of the sea.

They were aimed at “strengthening the capabilities of the Chinese and Russian Navies in jointly handling security threats on the sea,” navy spokesman Liang said.

China and Russia have close military and diplomatic ties, often in opposition to the West, particularly the United States, and their leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin enjoy a tight relationship.

Last August, the two powers held military exercises in the waters and airspace of the Peter the Great Gulf, south of the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, involving 22 vessels, up to 20 aircraft and more than 500 marines. With AFP

News

Davao blast victims buried

By Funy Pearl A. Gajunera

D

AVAO CITY—Thirteen of the 14 victims of the Roxas night market blast were taken to their final resting place more than a week after the bloody incident.

Seven of the victims were residents of Davao City, while the others came from the neighboring provinces.

Prior to their burial, the city government of Davao had offered to shoulder the funeral expenses of the victims including the lot and the excavation fee.

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio earlier said that as much as possible the city will pay for the burial of the victims whether they are residents of the city or not.

“The city will shoulder their

funeral expenses. Those who were living outside the city were also given assistance. Designated personnel attended to them so that the financial assistance reached them immediately,” Duterte said.

Last Tuesday, the city council approved the P4.5-million financial aid for the victims of the blast.

Each bereaved family received P40,000, aside from the amount for the memorial services and other expenses during the burial.

The injured received P30,000.

The city also shouldered the food expenses of the watchers of the patients for 20 days.

Duterte had designated personnel to attend to the burial of t he victims in lieu of her presence.

Meanwhile, City Social Services and Development Office Chief Maria Luisa Bermudo said the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office vowed to defray the medical expenses of the victims, including their medicines.

Last Thursday, Duterte announced the increase in the bounty on the head of the suspect behind the Roxas night market blast.

She said a Davao businessman and a law firm gave P500,000 each for the faster apprehension of the suspect.

Muslims...

From A1 In Manila, hundreds of Muslims gathered at the Quirino Grandstand for the religious event. Muslims also gathered at the Blue Mosque in Maharlika Village in Taguig City.

Senator Francis Pangilinan said the Filipinos’ willingness to sacrifice for their fellowmen could be found in the spirit of Eid’l Adha.

“Eid’l Adha is an occasion to reflect on the importance of sacrifice as a pillar of [the Muslim] faith. This is also an opportunity for us to join them in reflection,” Pangilinan said.

Eid’l Adha celebrates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to Allah, but an angel appeared and gave him a ram to sacrifice instead.

Muslims also take this holiday as an opportunity to bond and reunite with their families. PNA, with Sandy Araneta and Macon Ramos-Araneta

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and Minority Leader Danilo Suarez sought a congressional investigation after Duterte implicated De Lima, who was Justice secretary under the Aquino administration, in the illegal drug trade.

The investigation will be conducted by the House committees on justice, public order and security and illegal drugs.

Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali said Ronnie Dayan, De Lima’s alleged former lover and driver, would be a principal resource person during the hearing.

De Lima has said she would not appear before the House inquiry.

On Sunday night, police and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested the sister-in-law and niece of former Agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala, in a buy-bust operation in Leveriza Subdivision in Tayabas City.

Quezon Provincial Police Office Director Antonio Yarra identified the suspects as Maria Fe Abutin Alcala and her daughter Toni Anne. Some 24 sachets of shabu worth P212,000 were seized in the operation.

Yarra said Maria Fe is the wife of Cerilo Alcala, the younger brother of former Agriculture secretary Alcala and incumbent Quezon Second District Rep. Vicente Alcala.

In Quezon City, police said Monday they consider the killing of the sister of actress Maritoni Fernandez,

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From A1 as MMDA general manager and concurrent officer in charge, replacing Emerson Carlos.

“Personally, I think we need to move even high- density institutions outside Metro Manila,” Orbos said.

Seven choke points along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and the roads leading to Manila the North Harbor were in the list of trafficprone areas named by the MMDA as immediately needing resolution.

The Jica study says the traffic in Metro Manila causes an estimated productivity loss of P2.4 billion a day or more than P800 billion a year.

But Orbos disagreed with the proposal to reimplement the “oddeven scheme” introduced by his older brother, then Transport Secretary Oscar Orbos, as one of solution to ease the traffic in Metro Manila.

Oscar Orbos was the Transport secretary during the time of President Corazon Aquino.

“This [odd-even] scheme is no longer applicable nowadays because many things have changed,” Orbos said.

“We need to have a unified scheme throughout Metro Manila.

The solution to traffic nowadays needs to be dealt deeper.”

The MMDA ceased to be the lead agency managing the traffic in Metro Manila after Transport Secretary Arturo Tugade formed the Inter-agency Council on Traffic or I-ACT where Police-Highway Patrol Group chief Antonio Gardiola Jr. was designated to head it.

The team is composed of the MMDA, HPG, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Armed Forces.

The MMDA says the seven choke points along Edsa were the Balintawak Market Road, Aurora Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue, Shaw Boulevard, Guadalupe, Ayala Avenue and Taft Avenue, as well as the roads leading to and from the Manila North Harbor Area, especially Circumferential Road 3, A. Mabini, Dagat-Dagatan Avenue, North Bay Boulevard and Radial Road 10 or R-10. Joel E. Zurbano

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WAITING TIME. A Grab Kalesa owner and his tireless stallion wait under a cloudy sky for local and foreign tourists in the walled Intramuros district of Manila, unmindful of criticisms from an animal welfare group due to poor treatment of horses. Danny Pata

Veloso...

From A1 Palace officials did not deny the report, but said the President had only told Widodo that the Philippines will not interfere in Indonesia’s legal processes.

Before leaving for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, Duterte had said he would try to intercede on Veloso’s behalf with Widodo “in a most respectful and in a very, very courteous way.”

“If my pleadings will fall on deaf ears, I am ready to accept it,” Duterte said in his hometown Davao City.

Veloso, who was arrested at the Adisucipto Airport in Yogyakarta in April 2010 for bringing illegal drugs into Indonesia, was among the nine foreigners scheduled for execution in 2015 but got a last-minute reprieve after the previous administration intervened.

The Aquino administration sought to convince Jakarta that Veloso was a victim of human trafficking and was turned into an unwitting drug mule by illegal recruiters connected to an international drug ring.

The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office, however, asked Philippine authorities to conclude the legal processes of Veloso’s human trafficking case so that her execution in Indonesia could be carried out.

“We only hope the Philippines could immediately and quickly complete her legal process there to give certainty,” Attorney General HM Prasetyo told Indonesian state news agency Antara.

“It is impossible for us to remain uncertain. You [media] must also help other parties who are against [the] death penalty to understand,” he said.

Upon his return to the country past midnight on Saturday, Duterte was quiet on Veloso’s status.

“There are matters that I cannot tell you now. I am sorry, I’m not at liberty, but maybe I can talk to the family first before anything else,” Duterte told reporters in Davao.

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella, however, said the President had told Widodo that the country will

Rody...

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We need to review foreign policy. I just could not blurt it out before out of respect and I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go,” Duterte said.

The President added that if the Americans won’t leave, abductions by the Abu Sayyaf would “heat up again.”

Duterte continued his tirade against the country’s long-time treaty ally for being “hypocrites” amid criticism on his war against drugs.

“I am not just sowing intrigue here.

It’s just that I believe America is such a hypocrite. They know actually that I

respect the Indonesian legal process.

He said Duterte told Widodo: “Follow your own laws. We will not interfere.”

Abella said Duterte did not say anything about Veloso’s execution.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, on the other hand, said the Jakarta Post headline saying Duterte had given the green light for Veloso’s execution was “erroneous.”

Yasay gave credence, instead, to a later paragraph in the Post story which said: “Veloso was excluded indefinitely from the list of the third round of executions prepared by the Attorney General’s Office in April, as legal procedures continue in a separate but related case.”

In an earlier interview, Yasay said Veloso’s execution “had been deferred because she would be testifying in the case against her illegal recruiter.”

Yasay said Duterte never gave a green light, but merely said he respects Indonesia’s judicial processes and will accept whatever its final decision would be.

Yasay clarified further that never did Duterte give the green light to the execution of Veloso other than to tell the Veloso’s family wanted the Duterte administration to clear the air about her impeding execution.

“Migrante and the Veloso family are in shock over the news coming from Jakarta. We demand an immediate explanation from President Duterte and Secretary Yasay, both duty-bound to defend the rights of Filipinos overseas, especially drug trafficking victims like Mary Jane,” Gary Martinez, Migrante International spokesman said.

Veloso’s family is hopeful that the Filipino domestic helper can be removed from the death row, but Indonesian Attorney General Prasetyo stressed that “the ruling has been legally binding” and that “all legal avenues have been exhausted.”

Her lawyers declined to comment until there is official information from Philippine and Indonesian governments.

Activists fear that Veloso, who has already been convicted in an Indonesian court, could yet be executed if the

trial here against her recruiter is delayed, giving the impression that she was being kept alive to give testimony.

Her supporters want the Indonesian government to allow Veloso to fly home so she can testify in person in court and persuade Jakarta to spare her life.

Veloso, who fled Dubai after an attempted rape and moved to Indonesia through Malaysia to find work, says she was tricked by a trafficking gang to smuggle 2.6 kg of heroin.

Contrary to Yasay’s statements, an Indonesian source on Monday confirmed that Duterte had given Widodo the go-signal to execute Veloso.

Citing a transcript, the source said Widodo was quoted in an interview Monday morning that Duterte told him to “go ahead” with Veloso.

The Indonesian source who is privy to the diplomatic efforts, said: “Jokowi said, I explained to Duterte that Mary Jane brought 2.6 kilograms of heroin. The execution was delayed.

Duterte said, go a head.”

In another statement posted on the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat Website, Widodo said he had a discussion with Duterte on Veloso’s fate.

During the meeting with Duterte at the State Palace, Jakarta last week, Widodo said he explained about the delay in the execution of Veloso last May as there are pending legal process being conducted in the Philippines.

“President Duterte then said, please go ahead if you want to execute her,” Widodo said.

In October 2010, Veloso was sentenced to death by a panel of judges at the District Court of Sleman, Yogyakarta.

The source said Veloso will be executed at Nusakambangan Prison in Cilacap, but no date has been set.

Veloso has been spared twice following the presentation of a case in the Philippines that said she had been duped into smuggling heroin into Indonesia by a drug syndicate.

Last year, Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiters, Maria Kristina Sergio, admitted in a hearing at the Justice Department that she and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao, worked for an international drug ring.

have a serious problem here,” Duterte said.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Duterte’s recent pronouncement on the presence of US troops was a step in pursuing an independent foreign policy.

“The statement reflects [Duterte’s] new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy; he has made reference to the unrecognized, unrepented and un-atoned for massacre at Bud Dajo in Sulu by the Americans, hence our continued connection with West is the real reason for the ‘Islamic’ threat in Mindanao,” Abella said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Ricardo Visaya said that at least 200 US Special Forces were

left in Zamboanga to provide logistics and technical support to American troops who are in the country at any given time.

At one point, some 1,200 US Special Forces were in Zamboanga City and on Jolo and Basilan islands, both strongholds of Abu Sayyaf.

Abella said the President wanted the United States to correct the injustices they committed against the Filipinos, especially against the Muslims in Mindanao.

“The American silence on the matter lacks congruence with its ‘moral’ position, in the light of actions taken in the past by the Germans who confessed and made atonement for the Holocaust, and Japan which made reparations for the atrocities it perpe-

the #SuperficialGazette, run by the Best Communications Team in the Solar System, takes pride in uploading content that also excels in aesthetic quality,” read the spoof Facebook page.

“As such, our uploaded images suffer minimal degradation [if any at all] when uploaded on Facebook and Twitter. The same is also held true for the previous Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines communications team, but not the present one.

“Official Gazette, maybe it’s time for you to step up your game. #PartnerForChange” Assistant Communications Secretary Ramon Cualoping III said the Presidential Communications Operations Office did not intend to revise history and only wanted to mark the birthday of Marcos, who was a former leader of the country.

Cualoping admitted he approved

‘Kidnap...

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“The boats sped northeast in the direction of Alice reef and Bulubulu island off Tawi-Tawi.”

Tan made his statement even as the Education Department in Davao City said six public schools received bomb threats last week.

Department spokesman Jenielito Atillo said the bomb threats on public elementary and secondary schools started after the bloody blast at the Roxas night market on Sept. 2 that killed 14 people and injured 70 others.

But he said no bomb was found in any of the schools.

Tan He said the abduction of the Malaysian fishermen was reported to the Philippine military by the

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Ma. Aurora Moynihan, a drug-related murder case.

In an interview, Sr. Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said Moynihan, who was found with bullet wounds to the chest, had four sachets of shabu and drug paraphernalia in her possession. Her body was found on Temple Drive and Giraffe Street near the Corinthian Garden village at dawn Saturday, with a piece of cardboard that said “drug pusher ng mga celebrities kasunod na kayo (drug pushers of the celebrities, you’re next).”

Eleazar said they were digging deeper into allegations that Moynihan is a supplier of drugs to showbiz personalities.

In Davao City, a criminal case filed against Maguindanao Vice Mayor Abdulwahab Sabal and three others linked to the night market blast was submitted for resolution.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the Justice Department’s national prosecution service, disclosed that there will be no more preliminary investigation of the case for illegal possession of firearms, explosives and dangerous drugs against Sabal, wife Mohanna Sabal and bodyguard Nasser Maulana and driver Norodin Abas.

The four were subjected to inquest proceedings Saturday after authorities arrested them at the Awang Airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Aside from charges of illegal possession of firearms, explosives and dangerous drugs, the four are facing separate investigation about their possible involvement in the Davao City bombing last week. With Rio N. Araja and Jun David the social media card but the decision did not involve any partisanship, much less any attempt to revise history.

“We all know that Martial Law happened. It really happened,” Cualoping said. “But what we did was for the birthday card. It shouldn’t be agnostic. It should just be about the date that they were elected into the presidency, their political background is just right there.”

“But wait for September 21. We have something for the Martial Law anniversary as well. That’s how we compartmentalize things actually,” he said.

The incident was the latest in a series of “boo-boos” for which Andanar apologized on Sunday.

During the summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations last week, the PCOO was criticized by local and foreign media for erroneously announcing that President Rodrigo Duterte would be seated in between US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon.

John Paolo Bencito Malaysian military from the Eastern Sabah Security Command at 11 p.m.

He said the place where the three Malaysians were abducted was in the general area of Pom Pom island near the Mataking Island Resort off Sempurnah, Sabah.

More than two days after the abduction, the military has yet to come up with an official report whether or not the abductors were indeed the Abu Sayyaf.

But Tan said he believed the abductors could still be in hiding in the Sabah area because the distance from Sempurnah and Tawi-Tawi was four hours.

“The waves are very strong, and the Navy says it would be very difficult for the abductors to cross the sea,” Tan said. Florante S. Solmerin and F. Pearl A. Gajunera

The typhoon as of 5 p.m. Monday was 780 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 185 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 220 kph.

It was forecast to move westnorthwest at 20 kph, and to make landfall over Batanes.

Typhoon Signal No. 1 has been hoisted over Cagayan, Apayao, Batanes and the Babuyan Islands.

Rain with gusty winds are also expected over Northern Isabela, Kalinga, Abra, Apayao, Ilocos Norte,

Cagayan, Batanes and the Babuyan Islands.

Cloudy skies with light to moderate rain and thunderstorms will persist over the Visayas, Caraga, Bicol, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Aurora and the rest of Isabela.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

The weather bureau said it was also closely monitoring a tropical depression outside the Philippine area of responsibility that could enter the country on Wednesday, which will be named “Gener” once it does. Rio N. Araja

trated among the peoples they conquered,” he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday said Duterte wants to acquire defense equipment from other allies to strengthen the country’s territorial defense, rather than rely on the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, which has not made a difference in the government’s program to modernize its Armed Forces.

Lorenzana, however, said the alliance between the the US and the Philippines remains “rock solid.”

“The US is our ally, our military ally because of the Mutual Defense Treaty which was signed in the 1950s and it’s still there. That has not been abrogated,” he said.

Manila and Washington also have

the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which was viewed as a deterrent to Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. But again, this has not been a factor in modernizing the AFP. “The President said we are going to also talk with others who can supply us good equipment to strengthen our defense,” Lorenzana said.

Despite a law passed in 1995, the Armed Forces has failed to modernize.

Defense and military officials have been blaming the government’s procurement system as a major hurdle to purchasing the needed military equipment. This has been exacerbated by corruption in the bidding and negotiations of big-ticket items.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Youth can beat poverty —Villar

By Macon Araneta SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar called on the youth to become entrepreneurs, saying they have one of the highest potentials in breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty by empowering poor communities.

“You are a key component in the growth and development of the Philippines. The youth [with age ranging from 15 to 29] comprises 27 percent or about 27 million of the Philippine population,” said Villar.

Through entrepreneurship, Villar told the youth they can create jobs. She noted that our country needs more “job creators.”

She underscored the importance of job creation through entrepreneurship and livelihood generation through various programs, including social enterprises, to reduce poverty in the Philippines.

“And that is what makes social entrepreneurs different from other entrepreneurs.

While social entrepreneurs aspire for the sustainability of their ventures or enterprises, they are not focused solely on profits, they help develop and empower communities and the society in general. And in doing so, they also contribute to the country’s growth and development,” explained Villar.

Villar, a known social entrepreneur, has built almost 1000 livelihood projects all over the Philippines.

She intends to establish at least one livelihood project in each of the 1,600 towns and cities in the Philippines.

The senator said this is the legacy she wants to leave to the Filipino people.

She said her journey to social entrepreneurship started with the livelihood component of her United Nations-awarded Las Piñas-Zapote river rehabilitation programs when she was Las Pinas congresswoman.

She said those livelihood projects under the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance or Villar Sipag are also considered green social enterprises since the raw materials come from wastes or garbage.

“We should really join efforts in changing mindsets, equipping entrepreneurialminded people with concepts, tools and strategies to excel and succeed in pursuing opportunities,” she said.

EID MUBARAK. Thousands of Muslim gathered at the Quezon City Memorial Circle at sunrise Monday to celebrate ‘Eid’l Adha,’ or the Festival of Sacrifice. Manny Palmero

Tax reforms to hit poor, group says

By Rio N. Araja

T

HE Freedom from Debt Coalition warned the Duterte administration on Monday against regressive effects of its proposed five-tax policy package.

While the group welcomed the government’s effort to reform the “outdated” 19-year-old tax scheme, the group’s secretary-general Sammy Gamboa said the ordinary wage-earners would have to suffer the brunt of the five-tax policy.

“We urge Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to reveal to the public the details of the tax reform packages he presented to Congress so we would know how these measures will impact the lives of millions of Filipinos to whom every centavo counts in their daily struggle to make ends meet,” he said.

He is concerned the reforms would be based on trade-offs

Review disaster law, Lacson says WITH cyclones and other calamities likely to hit the country this year, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson seeks a review of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 to make it more responsive in dealing with the “new normal” effects of climate change.

Lacson cited the need to revisit the act to determine its effectivity and relevance when it comes to the country’s response to the challenges of the ‘new normal’ and the alarming rate of climate change and to propose possible remedial measures.

Lacson served as Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery from December 2013 to February 2015 in the previous administration.

He noted Republic Act 10121, the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010,” was enacted on May 27, 2010 to strengthen the country’s institutional capacity for disaster risk reduction and management and build local communities’ resilience to disaster and climate change impacts.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

and compromises with corporate interests rather than principles of equity, fairness and justice.

“Any increase in workers’ take-home pay due to lower individual income tax would be hardly felt with higher prices of goods and services as a result of increases in excise tax on oil, which would hike fares in public transportation, and reduction of value-added tax exemptions,” he said.

The Finance department earlier revealed plans to cut tax rates on individual and corporate income, fiscal incentives to investments, property and capital income, and increases in

excise tax on oil, property valuation, and stocks traded in the stock market.

In addition, exemptions from the value-added tax would be limited to raw food, health, medicine and education.

Also identified were additional measures on sugary and fatty foods, mining, alcohol and tobacco, gambling, luxury items and carbon.

According to Gamboa, under the proposed five-tax policy packages, the government would stand to lose P198.3 billion, but would collect P566.4 billion in new taxes resulting in a net gain of P368.1 billion by 2019.

“These figures are worrisome,” he said. “Net gain from the trade-off between lower personal income tax and higher excise tax on oil, lesser VAT exemptions and new levies on sugary and fatty foods will be P220.7 billion.”

Gamboa said there would be

an anticipated P1-billion net loss from the swap between lower corporate income tax and rationalization of fiscal incentives.

“This means that Duterte’s new revenue-generating measures will be borne mostly by salaried workers,” he cited.

Public transportation subsidies and the conditional cash transfer program known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program would not be sufficient to cushion the impact of price hikes, he raised.

Government must also earmark proceeds of the increased tax on oil for the livelihood assistance and employment of the affected sectors.

“We need to know. The public deserves to be consulted.

Will the proposed revenue measures facilitate economic gains to seep through or will it force hard-earned money to pour out of ordinary people’s pockets?”

Gamboa asked.

‘Two-month waiting period for passports unacceptable’ SENATOR Grace Poe has called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to provide immediate solutions to passport processing delays, stressing the waiting for about two months for passport application is unacceptable.

Poe said the delays have been affecting thousands of applicants for passports. Around 15,000 Filipinos apply for a passport every day.

The senator said her office received various complaints from

passport applicants, ranging from long waiting time and failure to receive confirmation code thru e-mail as to the date of the electronic passport appointment.

“This has been one of the problems of the DFA for years now, resulting in missed opportunities for Pinoys wanting to visit their families abroad, those seeking immediate medical treatment and especially aspiring overseas Filipino workers who

have to wait for several days just to get this most basic document required of every Filipino in this age of globalization,” said Poe. “We call on the DFA to immediately look into several complaints of system inefficiencies related to the ePassport system,” she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he wanted to stop long queues for passport applicants at DFA processing centers.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

Oil prices up P0.40 GASOLINE and diesel pump prices went up by P0.40 per liter and P0.30 per liter, respectively, starting Tuesday to reflect the movement in world oil prices.

Petron Corp., Seaoil Philippines, PTT Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum, Flying V and Unioil Philippines issued separate advisories on the price cut.

PTT Philippines said in its advisory it is implementing the price increase effective 6 a.m. today.

Oil prices went up on continuing anticipation of the production freeze among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-Opec countries.

The Energy department said

only cooking gas and kerosene prices were covered by any price freeze during state of emergency.

Last week, the oil firms cut pump prices by P0.50 per liter for diesel and P0.35 per liter for kerosene.

The oil firms, however, did not move gasoline prices.

Last August 30, the oil firms raised gasoline prices by P0.50 per liter, diesel by P0.15 per liter and kerosene by P0.20 per litter.

Diesel prices in Metro Manila currently range from P24.90 to P30.05 per liter while gasoline sells from P35.50 to P45.05. Kerosene, meanwhile, sells from P28.45 to P39.65 per liter. Alena Mae S. Flores

ANOTHER ONE DOWN. An investigator inspects one of the three men killed in a gunfight with policemen at Tabing Ilog Parola in Binondo, Manila on Monday. Danny Pata

IN BRIEF US elderly nabbed over sex charges AN AMERICAN septuagenarian pedophile who hid in the country for more than two years to avoid imprisonment for sexual offenses in the United States was nabbed in Angeles City, the Bureau of Immigration said.

Donald Steward Hammond, 77, was arrested at the Oasis Hotel in Angeles City upon the request of the US embassy in Manila which sought the fugitive’s arrest and deportation to the US. Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said Hammond had been hiding in the country since April 26, 2014 when he arrived in Manila as a tourist.

“Hammond was an undocumented alien when arrested as his passport was already canceled by the US government.

We will deport him as soon as the BI board of commissioner issues the order for his summary deportation. He will then be placed in our blacklist and banned from reentering our country,” the BI chief said.

The Broward County court in Florida issued a warrant of arrest against Hammond but had fled the US after being convicted and registered as sex offender. His conviction on 15 counts of sexual offenses allegedly stemmed from his being caught in possession of pictures “showing sexual performance by a child.” Vito Barcelo

Fitch sees fi ercer competition among telcos FITCH Ratings Inc. expects competition in the Philippine telecommunications industry to intensify in the coming years as both PLDT and Globe Telecom embark on aggressive expansion plans and further increase their capital expenditures.

“We believe domestic competition will further intensify in the next year due to PLDT’s aggressive strategy to acquire market share,” said Fitch as it affirmed Globe’s long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings at BBB-.

Fitch expects Globe’s robust expansion into the longterm evolution (LTE) network to keep its capex/revenue ratio elevated at 27 percent-28 percent in 2016-2018.

It also noted that PLDT’s aggressive promotional campaigns and handset subsidies, which are meant to drive data usage levels in the long term, are also likely to weigh on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

Under a three-year network deployment plan, both telcos aim to accelerate network expansion, broadband infrastructure, and internet access coverage to cover over 90 percent percent of the country’s cities and municipalities by 2018.

A4

Opinion

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

‘Green light’

T

HE Indonesian state news agency broke the news: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that during his meeting with President Duterte last week, the latter had given the “green light” for the execution of death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso.

Veloso is on death row after being found guilty of smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia in 2010.

She got a last-minute stay of execution in April 2015 after human rights groups pointed out to President Widodo that the person who had tricked her into carrying the drugs had been in police custody in the Philippines.

That Veloso’s conviction was for trafficking of drugs is viewed differently now under a Duterte administration, which promises no mercy to those involved in the illegal drug trade, than it was under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. What exactly was said between the two leaders? Palace Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Mr. Duterte simply told Mr. Widodo to follow the laws in his own country.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay echoed this Monday. According to the Foreign Affairs department, Duterte told Widodo that he “respects their judicial processes and will accept whatever final decision they will arrive at regarding her case.”

That these words could be construed as a green light for Veloso’s execution

would depend on who is uttering and who is interpreting them.

At the outset, the idea that Mr. Duterte—or any foreign leader for that matter—can tell another government to proceed or not with the execution of a prisoner is absurd, no matter the nationality of the person on death row.

If Abella’s and Yasay’s accounts were accurate, it would appear Mr. Duterte said the right—and only—thing to say without impinging on the sovereignty of the other country.

Of course, it is easy for the media to fixate on the phrase “green light.”

Veloso’s story is a harrowing, emotional one that resonates with many Filipinos who find themselves making sacrifices and taking risks just to provide for their families’ needs. Throw in the angle about Veloso being duped by somebody

whom she trusted with her life, and you have the makings of a poignant human interest story.

But could Duterte even try to speak otherwise when he is hell bent on cracking down on drug traders in his won country’s borders?

Then again, this is not about whether Indonesia should execute convicted drug traffickers. That is its own business. We can only look at the process that has led to Veloso’s conviction: her being asked to carry that suitcase, her gullibility—or desperation—and the ineffectiveness of the translator assigned to her during her trial.

It is of course tragic that Veloso should suffer her fate. This is a reminder, however, that in any country, laws are laws and nobody—not even the president— should trifle with them.

Justice Leonen on dissent and defending others

*** I don’t remember the last time a House speaker and his majority leader attended a mere committee hearing on the budget of a department of the Executive branch. But that’s what Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas did, when Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade and his undersecretaries went to Congress last week to defend their budget for next year.

Alvarez, himself a former transportation secretary, was there for an important reason: He wanted to know if Tugade’s subordinates were really the hired help of big conglomerates sent to join the Duterte administration to take care of their rich employers’ interests.

In particular, Alvarez apparently wanted to find out if Tugade’s undersecretary for rail transport, Noel Kintanar, was not just a high-ranking dummy of the Ayala Group embedded in the department to make sure that

IN MY last column, I wrote about the speech Justice Marvic Leonen delivered a few weeks ago at the commencement ceremonies of the Ateneo School of Government. I shared excerpts from that speech where the young Justice elaborated his thoughts on democracy and the need to avoid stereotypes. Today, I will share Justice Leonen’s views on dissent and the call he makes for our graduates to stand up for the rights of others.

On dissent, Justice Leonen observed that it takes different forms.

First, dissent might be expressed through “uncouth and impolite slogans shouted by those who take to the streets,” through “chants and the effigies burned in a manner that may challenge cultural conventions.”

Leonen explains why: “There is no lack in passion among the mobilized. After all, they speak about their felt lives, their dissatisfaction, and their hope that things can be better. Their alternative may simply be a vision, and this may lack articulation.

It may not yet take the form of a pragmatic workable program.”

Second, according to Leonen: “Dissent can also take the form of the uncomfortable single dissenting opinion expressed in a board or council meeting or written as a separate judicial opinion. In this form, its logic and rationale may be legible, transparent, and cogent. Usually, a dissent does not square with the premises of a majority view.

It is uncomfortable when it challenges the status quo.” As such, dissent would be temporal, “a suggested idea at its inception”, simply “a seed of subversion.”

Third, dissent can be viewed only “as romantic symbolism of democracy.” This view is premised on a belief that the self is separate and autonomous from all others: “It sees the dissenter as a lone wolf, a cry in the wilderness. The dissenter is the stranger. His or her ideas may sound different, but they are to be celebrated because they make this person human.”

Unfortunately, according to Justice Leonen: “Characterized this way, dissent is marginalized as a curiosity. It foists a weak conception of democracy. It is subterfuge for the maintenance of the dominance of those who

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

NYT blames Noynoy

NOT all members of the foreign media are clueless “parachutists” who become overnight experts on the Philippines after sitting in posh hotel lobbies. Some of them actually understand what’s going on in this country and write accordingly.

Yesterday’s The New York Times ran an excellent piece on the spate of killings that started with the election of Rodrigo Duterte as president of the Philippines. And because Amanda Taub’s NYT essay, “How Countries Like the Philippines Fall Into Vigilante Violence,” went beyond the usual, lazy Western media framing of the highly publicized deaths as a human-rights issue, it cannot be dismissed as just another antiDuterte screed.

Taub’s thesis is that when a

victimized citizenry seeks tough anti-crime measures from a weak state, leaders will rise who offer quick-fix solutions that the government cannot seem to provide. As it was in Guatemala and Colombia, Taub posited, so it will be in the Philippines, now that Duterte has assumed the presidency.

The comparisons to violenceprone South American banana republics are not new, of course.

But unlike most Western commentators, Taub actually attempts to explain how the Philippines descended into weak-state status, to the point where its people started demanding Duterte’s ministrations.

This is what she wrote: “The true roots of the problem can be traced to the administration of Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. That is because, experts say, the true cause of this kind of extrajudicial violence is the public’s loss of confidence in state institutions and its turning instead to more immediate forms of pun-

ishment and control.

“Mr. Aquino, elected in 2010 on promises to support the rule of law and human rights, failed to fix the Philippines’ corrupt and ineffective justice system.

Times says Aquino was ‘lazy and soft, unwilling to take the necessary steps to solve the country’s problems.’

His administration also faced a series of security-related scandals, [beginning with] a hostage crisis in Manila in 2010.

“And, perhaps most critical, Mr. Aquino was perceived as lazy and soft, unwilling to take

the necessary steps to solve the country’s problems. Frustration with the government’s inability to provide basic security led to rising public demand for new leaders who would take more decisive action to provide security.”

It takes perception to see beyond the human-rights blather —peddled mostly by sidelined agents of the administration just past—and to recognize the culpability of Aquino in the creation of the country’s public security crisis. Indeed, if Aquino had merely decided to work at solving the problems of runaway crime and the proliferation of illegal drugs, Duterte would probably never had been elected president.

Now that Duterte is trying to solve the mess Aquino created, he is being pilloried by those who really should know better.

Perhaps they really believe that doing nothing but paying lip service to reform and ignoring crime and corruption is really the best course of action.

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Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

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ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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Opinion

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Arguments for Marcos burial at Libingan Duterte’s public relations problems PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte fice of miscommunication. has been getting a lot of negative *** feedback from human rights There are as many suggesadvocates, foreign institutions tions on how to solve the traffic and the Western press. I blame crisis in Metro Manila as there this on the lack of experience of are numerous self-proclaimed the people around him, talking experts making them. on his behalf.

My gulay, Transportation For instance, every time the Secretary Arthur Tugade even President attends an event, he wants Congress to grant him speaks frankly about what he “blanket emergency powers,” would do or what should be amid Speaker Pantaleon Alvadone, in the process uttering rez’s expression of utter disapexpletives. I think these curses pointment at the failure of the are mere expressions of what Department of Transportation he actually feels at that mo- to address the traffic crisis ment. The media pick it up as during the first 100 days of the the big story of the day.

Duterte administration.

As somebody who has been But can there really be a soin media for more than six lution to the traffic crisis—indecades, I have some advice cluding air traffic congestion? for Mr. Duterte: less talk, less There have been suggestions mistake. The President should to relocate bus terminals along talk and appear less on televi- Edsa in the north and south of sion so that he cannot be mis- the metro, open exclusive subquoted, misconstrued or misin- divisions to traffic, construct a terpreted. subway and more skyways. All The President already has these plans, however, have rehis spokesman, Ernesto Abella mained just that. and Communications SecreLast Saturday at the 365 tary Martin Andanar. They are Club gathering at Holiday Inn intelligent enough, I think, but Suites, former Senate Presistill ignorant about public rela- dent Juan Ponce Enrile told tions. us that the traffic crisis is just Another aspect of public symptomatic of a larger probrelations that lem: that MetMalacañang ro Manila and should know its surroundis that there ings are conshould be less into He should talk centrated people around a small corthe Presi- less, period. ridor where dent talking. expansion is Former Marmade difficult cos informawith the Mation minister nila Bay and Kit Tatad certainly knows Laguna de Bay interlocking it. what he is saying when he reI agree with JPE’s observamarks that there are too many tions. It appears that some 13 people around Duterte coming million people living in the up with inanities just so they metropolis and some 3 million could grandstand. living outside it but coming Take, for instance, the Presi- to it daily are fighting over a dent’s first announcement of small corridor. a “state of lawless violence” During the Marcos regime, which his special assistant there were plans to have a Christopher Bong Go said was highway cut across the Sierra applicable only in Mindanao. Madre mountains to make a Later, presidential legal coun- gateway to the Pacific Corrisel Salvador Panelo claimed dor. Along with this was a plan it actually was nationwide. to built a Pacific Highway all And then, Abella said that be- the way from Cagayan Valley cause of “heightened security through Nueva Vizcaya, Nuemeasures,” the order covered va Ecija, Aurora and Quezon. the entire country. Executive It was a grand and ambitious Secretary Salvador Medialdea plan, but practical and doable, soon came out with the “State I thought. of National Emergency on AcAt my age of 89 years, I may count of Lawless Violence” not be in a position to enjoy proclamation by the President. seeing a Pacific Highway. But Another example was that this should be a legacy that Dugaffe at the Asean summit in terte can claim when he steps Laos. Andanar issued a press down from office in 2022. release that the President *** would be sitting at the summit This is inside information dinner between US President from my Supreme Court sourcObama and UN Secretary Gen- es, who claim they know eveeral Ban Ki-Moon. This infor- rything that is happening about mation turned out to be false. the controversy over the burial What in fact happened was that of the late strongman President Duterte was seated between Ferdinand Marcos at the LibinRussian Prime Minister Dim- gan ng mga Bayani. If the case itri Medvedev and Indonesian were decided today, those for it would outnumber those who President Joko Widodo.

All these indicate that those are against it.

They told me that this was who speak for the President must speak in one voice. They the reason why the status quo worsen the perception that the ante or injunction of Sept. 18 administration has no profes- was extended to Oct. 18. It was the clamor of BS Aquino’s Yelsionalism and integrity.

Santa Banana, some peo- low Brigade—Chief Justice ple around the President need Ma. Lourdes Sereno together a good lecture on public rela- with Justices Marvic Leonen, tions. They must know how to Aquino classmate Benjamin convey the President’s mes- Caguioa and Francis Jardelesage to the people. I know that za—to postpone the decision, Duterte speaks from the heart. hoping that they can still conAnd if he appears to backtrack vince others to join them.

No wonder Sereno and Leoon his earlier statements, blame that on the people around him. nen are desperately still trying Blame, particularly, the office to have the public recall the of the communications secre- dark days of the Marcos retary which has become an of- gime.

NYT...

From A4 the lopsided contract for the LRT Line 1 remains untouched. After all, Kintanar, as an executive of the Makati-based conglomerate, was said to have dreamed up the

use of the “sunk cost” doctrine that allowed the Ayala-led consortium to purchase the original LRT line for a song during the previous administration.

The application of the principle to the train line did not only allow the LRMC consortium to

(Part 2) DURING the 2016 campaign, lameduck President Benigno Aquino III urged voters not to elect then-Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who was running for vice president.

Aquino warned that electing the son will resurrect the authoritarian government of the father.

Despite Aquino’s nationwide hate campaign, Bongbong got millions of votes, enough to land him in first place during the first three days of the election tally, and onward until the Commission on Elections and its controversial foreign contractor tampered with the counting machines.

The millions of voters who supported Bongbong at the polls not only gave him their blessings for his quest for higher office; they also repudiated the Martial Law bogeyman—the scarecrow repeatedly used by the Aquinos to instigate continuing public scorn and hatred for the Marcoses.

President Ferdinand Marcos may have stepped down from office in February 1986 unceremoniously, but soon thereafter, the Filipino people reinstated his family to power. Former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos has repeatedly won congressional seats. Eldest daughter Imee leads her dad’s Ilocos Norte. Bongbong was elected senator. From this perspective alone, whatever anti-Marcos sentiment there was in the Philippines in 1986 has been extremely diluted today.

The anti-Marcos petitioners

contesting President Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani insist that Marcos was a criminal who plundered the nation’s wealth—enough reason, they say, to stop the burial. They cite several decisions of the Supreme Court which contain passages that label the former president and his Martial Law regime as corrupt and abusive.

Their argument has a flaw— there is no Philippine court decision on record which convicted President Marcos for the crimes the anti-Marcos petitioners now attribute to him. The Constitution mandates that every person is, in the absence of a final criminal conviction, presumed innocent. Therefore, to insist otherwise, as the anti-Marcos petitioners want to, is to violate the Constitution. That makes the Marcos accusers violators of the fundamental law.

Indeed, there are statements in past decisions of the Supreme Court which do not put President Marcos and his strongman administration in a very good light. Those statements, however, were made in civil (not criminal) cases decided while Marcos was stranded in Hawaii, or had already passed away there.

Where is the fairness in those statements?

For the record, President Marcos wanted to leave Hawaii and go home to the Philippines to face the music, but President Corazon Aquino refused to give him a passport, a refusal sustained by the Supreme Court.

This deprived Marcos of his right to defend himself. Thus, it is unfair for the anti-Marcos petitioners to invoke those cases against Marcos.

Anti-Marcos remarks in past decisions of the Supreme Court,

made while President Marcos was stuck in Hawaii, or had already died there, cannot take the place of the requisite final judgment by a Philippine court, rendered after due trial, finding Marcos guilty of the crimes attributed to him. There being no conviction by final judgment that may be cited against Marcos, the criminal label against him is in violation of due process.

The anti-Marcos petitioners may argue that it is not their fault that Marcos died in Hawaii before he could be accused of and convicted for crimes he allegedly committed against his country and his people. It’s not Marcos’ fault, either. Remember, Marcos wanted to return to the Philippines but Mrs. Aquino did not permit his repatriation.

Republic Act No. 10368, enacted in 2013 (long after President Marcos passed away) calls for the payment of reparations to persons who allegedly suffered during the Martial Law years. It does not prohibit Marcos’ burial at the Libingan.

Even if Republic Act No. 10368 were to contain a provision categorically declaring Marcos a criminal and prohibiting his burial at the Libingan for that reason, that provision is unconstitutional because it amounts to class legislation, and convicts an individual without a prior trial.

Whether or not regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines regarding burials at the Libingan are binding on the Supreme Court is immaterial. President Duterte is the commander-inchief of the AFP, and he has the discretion to amend AFP regulations any time. His recent decision to allow the Marcos burial at the Libingan repeals all prior

AFP regulations. As such, and as stated in last week’s column, the only issue to be resolved in the anti-Marcos petitions in the Supreme Court is whether or not President Duterte committed a grave abuse of his discretion when he allowed the Marcos burial at the Libingan. From all indications discussed in this column, President Duterte did not commit a grave abuse of discretion.

Finally, it is speculative to say that President Marcos was dishonorably discharged from office by the Filipino people in the so-called 1986 Edsa Revolution.

First, stories about the events which led to the 1986 Edsa Revolution were written by Aquino allies. Those stories praised the event as a bloodless revolt, but failed to mention that the event was bloodless precisely because President Marcos refused to use military force on the people assembled at Edsa. The television coverage of the event reveals that Marcos rejected the idea of hurting his own people, despite his trusted generals’ repeated insistence that violence is the only feasible way to disperse the people.

Second, the less than one million people who went to Edsa in February 1986 are a mere fraction of the millions more who voted for the Marcoses in elections held after 1986. Evidently, the present has disavowed the past.

Hopefully, when the time comes for the Supreme Court to rule on the Marcos burial issue, the high tribunal will confine the issue to whether or not President Duterte acted arbitrarily in allowing President Marcos to be buried at the Libingan, dismiss the anti-Marcos petitions, and let justice be done though the heavens fall.

Immigration policy for a post-Brexit Britain Bloomberg editorial

all the harder. Control doesn’t require, and shouldn’t mean, excessively tight restrictions.

What would a fair and enlightened system involve? First, expedited, low-cost access for the skilled workers in information technology and other specialties that Britain’s economy needs. Second, preferential rules for the EU citizens who currently enjoy guaranteed free entry. Third, a means to curb sudden surges that would overstretch the country’s public services.

Britain saw net inward migration of 327,000 people in the year to March 2016; of those, 180,000 were EU citizens. Those are large numbers, reflecting the relative strength of the UK labor market. May will want to reduce them, but she should do it judiciously.

She has ruled out an Australian-style points-based system (Britain uses a points-based

system for non-EU immigrants already), saying it affords too little control over total numbers. That could easily be remedied with a hybrid system based on points-based permits and overall caps.

The real challenge will be political: dealing with the disappointment many Brexit supporters will feel if the new system fails to stomp on overall numbers. For the sake of the economy, May should be willing to disappoint them—and to explain the benefits of a liberal approach, under British control.

Public discontent with immigration in Britain is nothing new; for half a century, opinion polls have shown majority support for lower immigration. But successive governments have often surrendered to misplaced fears rather than trying to challenge them. May will have to do better—point-

ing out, for instance, that concerns over asylum seekers are exaggerated. Asylum applications peaked in the early 2000s. Nearly two-thirds are refused, and asylum seekers represent only around 7 percent of total immigration.

Britain will most likely have to accept some restrictions on its access to the EU’s single market in exchange for resuming control of immigration —but the terms of this deal are open to negotiation. They shouldn’t be, and needn’t be, punitive. There are signs that some European policy makers, at least, are open to compromise.

If May does the right thing, there’ll be some unhappy Brexit supporters. That’s too bad— but with luck, the majority can be persuaded to see sense. Britain can resume control of immigration policy without needlessly blighting its prospects.

are already powerful. In a way, it legitimizes the victory of the status quo in the contests of ideas.”

More positively, for Justice Leonen: “Dissent is not a lonely project.

It is a social one. It does not presuppose the absence of community. It requires mobilization.”

After all, as Leonen then elaborates, democracy requires and demands pluralism as this leads to common action by coalitions of individuals. “Identities, groups, and communities sponsor different ideals.” And because many of these ideals and ideas conflict with each other, pluralism implies social and political conflict.

In the words of Justice Leonen: “Contestation is necessary in a pluralistic society.”

Leonen then provides several examples of how ideas are moved forward in society because of such contestation.

“Communities for agrarian

reform, or indigenous peoples, or the fundamental rights of women, or the special consideration given to children, or those who consider themselves human rights practitioners rather than ordinary lawyers, used to be marginalized by their numbers.

Advocacy, mobilization, debate, and contestation moved their ideas into the forefront of social consciousness. They became politically relevant. In the past, their views might have been contained only in their speeches.

Later on, however, they would become points of debate in legislative forums. They would find themselves congealed into law.

Later, the cogency of their ideals would be contested in the crucible of judicial cases. An interpretation of law emerges in jurisprudence.

It is cited and used again in several cases and eventually becomes doctrine. Its genealogy becomes fixed and consistent; hence, it creates a canon of legal interpretation waiting to be dislodged again by more contemporarily relevant

ideas, which may later win application in proper cases.

At any point in our history, ideas of some groups are subordinated. The comfort of a majoritarian social perspective or a dominant understanding of our culture can seemingly make the subordination of some ideas as natural and inevitable.

For example, the majority may believe that divorce may be immoral. Same-sex marriage is trumpeted as unnatural. The discomfort of those who believe otherwise is of the same nature as the discomfort in past ideas, such as: the woman’s place is in the home, or indigenous groups are uncivilized. The veracity of these ideas was, for a while, uncontested, until those who were affected were able to politically challenge the powerful who continued to sponsor the contrary ideals.

Justice Leonen ends his speech by calling on our graduates to speak up. I echo his words: “Being silent, succumbing to bullies, or failing to work with others will

not contribute to the struggle to achieve human dignity, less poverty, and better leadership.”

Leonen is right that our people have suffered intolerance in the past and that such suffering is part of our collective history. So yes: “Learn from history. Never again.”

Justice Leonen’s words are not just for the graduates of the Ateneo School of Government.

They are for all of us: “Be critical. Find compassion.

Be passionate about everything there is about being human and living a meaningful life. Be passionate that every human being should have that hope and potential to define meaning in their own lives. Find the courage to dissent when necessary so that we can truly enjoy genuine freedoms.

Live with what is enough and no more. Thrive on less if you can. Dare to speak out in defense of others.

Always, serve the people.”

secure the entire LRT-1, even if government only originally wanted to extend its service to Bacoor, Cavite. It also gave the Ayalas and their partners the P9 million in cash daily that the line generated—not bad, really, for a non-performing, sunk cost.

How Kintanar ended up as chief government official in charge of rail systems after a long stint in the company that bought a state train line is not really a mystery. It’s like the appointment of Tugade’s other subordinate, Roberto Lim, as under-

secretary for air transport.

Lim admitted to Alvarez that he had only visited one of the country’s 80 or so airports other than Manila—and that was the politically strategic one in Davao City. Of course, Lim was formerly country manager for

the International Air Transport Association, the organization of foreign airlines that could care less about all the other airports in this country outside Manila.

As they would say on the street, regulatory capture pa more!

A KEY demand of Brexit voters was to take back control of the UK’s immigration policy.

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised she will—but hasn’t said what she’ll do with this control once she has it.

Many Brexit supporters are hoping for a severely restrictive system. This would be a mistake, and May ought to say so. Liberal rules on immigration, exercised at Britain’s discretion, would best serve Britain’s interests.

As things stand, the ruling Conservative Party is pledged to bring net migration down to the “tens of thousands.” A figure in the lower part of that range would certainly be too tight. Even if such a policy were feasible, which it isn’t, it would injure the economy and make friendly post-Brexit relations with the European Union

Justice...

From A4

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News

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

2 Bicol lawmakers dispute graft raps

By Maricel V. Cruz TWO congressmen from the Bicol region, former Albay Rep. Reno Lim and incumbent Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, disputed the corruption charges against them.

Lim disputed the claim of government lawyers that he had “effective control of his Priority Development Assistance Fund and was thus accountable” for the disbursement of P30 million to bogus non-government organizations.

Villafuerte, on the other hand, argued that his suspension over charges that he was behind the questionable acquisition of fuel while he was still Camarines Sur governor was illogical.

Lim said his letters requesting then speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. for the release of his PDAF allocation worth of P15 million did not suffice to prove his guilt.

“The letters mentioned were actually ‘protocol letters, a standard operating procedure prescribed in

the House of Representatives for the release of the PDAF allocation. Protocol letters do not carry the weight of an order,” Lim said.

“The said letters were in the nature of a request and the Speaker of the House had a complete discretion to act on it. He may or may not endorse it to the DBM. The point is, accused Lim, or any congressman for that matter, had no effective control on the PDAF allocation,” he added.

Lim said his PDAF allocation would only be released to the Technology Resource Center only upon the approval of the Office of the Speaker.

“It is unfair to the [defendant] to be accused of conspiracy in the commission of the crime charged, when in truth and in fact, he is innocent of all the charges,” Lim, through his lawyers, said.

Villafuerte, on the other hand, said his suspension was “illogical” because he could no longer influence anyone at the Camarines Sur capitol because he is no longer governor.

PENSION TALK. Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay and Social Security System vice president George Ongkiko answer questions about pensions and a possible increase in pensions during the Samahang Plaridel Kapihan Sa Manila Hotel news forum. Lino Santos

DoH scored for too much dependence on PhilHealth

By Leilani S. Junio

T

HE Department of Health is being “overly dependent” on the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and has become remiss in its obligations to the Filipino people, according to a health advocacy group.

“The government has the responsibility to provide all opportunities for a meaningful health intervention and health outcome,” said Dr. Joseph Carabeo, secretary-general of the Health Alliance for Democracy, adding the DoH relies too much on PhilHealth.

Since PhilHealth is just a government corporation, it is still the DoH which is mandated by law to provide health services since they also receive tax monies from Filipinos.

“[PhilHealth] is still a financial, insurance system. With an insurance system, the government is still out of it,” Carabeo said, adding that PhilHealth is almost always concerned with financial sustainability than providing services to people.

“You don’t start giving health services by delimiting yourself with financial concerns,” he said.

He said that proofs of these are the existence of guidelines in availing of the case rates to maximize the

expenses and achieve sustainability by aiming for collection and more profits from the venture.

He also said that in actual scenarios in hospitals, the poor are spending more through out-ofpocket expenses or make the people pay more for their health services.

“The fact that we are still spending, what do we actually get from PhilHealth?,” he asked.

As an example, he said if one is hospitalized due to gastroenteritis, the requirement to avail of the reimbursement for the said case rates is confinement of at least three days.

He said that in that period, other expenses are being spent by the patient because if there is no available intravenous fluid, the patient’s companions/relatives are forced to buy it outside the hospital.

“So that forms part of the outof-pocket expenses,” Carabeo

said, adding that selective and limited services is resulting to a situation wherein people have to pay for their health services.

In addition, he also mentioned that expenses on medicines also add up to the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients.

“In Cuba, there are no out-of-thepocket expenses for the people. You don’t have to demand health services. It’s a regular thing. That’s how beautiful it is there,” he said.

“The simplest thing that the government can bring back to the people is services on their health,” he stressed.

The objection is made in line with the drastic reduction of P38.9 billion in the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses and Capital Outlay allocations in the proposed 2017 DoH budget.

The said budget proposal opts

to increase separate government subsidy to PhilHealth by P50.1 billion, up from P43.8 billion this year or with an increase of P6.26 billion.

MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses), on the other hand, is decreased by P36.4 billion because from the 2016 budget of P74.4 billion, the proposed budget becomes P38 billion.

“The direct effect will be diminishing the supply of medicines, money to buy health apparatus...

The budget cut can result to lack of enough budget for maintenance and repair...If the apparatus will not be functional, there will be long line-up...As a way to earn for the needed amount for repair, the hospital then will be forced to seek additional fees from the patients which will be disadvantageous to them,” Dr. Carabeo said. PNA

‘No clamor for death penalty’

MAYOR’S WIVES. Vice President Leni Robredo (center) was the guest of honor and main speaker at the induction of the new officers of the Metro Manila Mayor’s Spouses Foundation Inc. held at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City. Parañaque First Lady Janet Olivarez (3rd from left) was elected president for 2016-2019 while Melissa SisonOreta (left) is the new vice president. Also elected into office were: Tates Gana (2nd from left), secretary; Edna Calixto (3rd from right), treasurer; Maribel Eusebio (2nd from right), PRO; and Edna Malabanan (right), auditor.

Drug agency cleared in deaths of 4 animals

By Rio N. Araja THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has been cleared of any accountability for the loss of at least 14 k-9 dogs worth P764,000 each or a total of P10,696,000 in 2002 until 2011.

The Commission on Audit granted the plea of then PDEA chief Arturo Cacdac Jr. to reconsider its finding holding PDEA culpable for the undocumented deaths of four security dogs, worth P3.057 million.

The Commission’s chairman Michael Aguinaldo, and Commissioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito all agreed to overturn the agency’s unfavorable ruling against PDEA.

They anchored their decision on the certifications the dulylicensed government veterinarians confirming the date and causes of the dogs’ deaths.

The four animals belonged to a batch of 14 male dogs—12 Belgian Malinois and two Dutch shepherds—that were turned over to PDEA in 2002 by the defunct National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center.

The specialized dogs and their handlers were tasked to inspect seaports, airports and bus terminals for shipment of illegal drugs and other prohibited substances.

In 2002 to 2011, the dogs died one after another due to disease and old age.

THE clamor to reimpose death penalty in the country was opposed in the House of Representatives with an opposition member saying public support for such is “weak and shallow.”

“Offhand, many Filipinos who appear to favor the revival of capital punishment are merely venting their exasperation over the miserable performance of our criminal justice system,” said Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza.

Atienza, a House senior deputy minority leader, said that death penalty will never be a deterrent to crime.

“Filipinos hunger and thirst for justice, not for blood. And this craving for justice may be satisfied only by profound and comprehensive reforms in law enforcement, prosecution service, the judiciary and our prisons,” Atienza said.

Atienza was responding to the results of an online poll on the House of Representatives’ official website, which showed that 50 percent of participants favored the renewal of the death penalty, while 48 percent rejected the extreme punishment, with two percent undecided.

The ratings imply that the reinstatement of the death penalty “is highly discordant matter that is best deferred by Congress,” Atienza, former three-term city mayor of Manila, said.

The lawmaker blamed “widespread corruption” for the dismal functioning of the justice system that he said has “deeply frustrated and angered” many Filipinos.

“Many citizens still do not report crime victimizations simply because they do not have confidence in our justice system. And the primary reason for this lack of public trust is corruption, which we have to eradicate first,” Atienza said.

“In fact, many homeowners in middle-class subdivisions are extremely wary of opening their doors to Oplan Tokhang precisely because they’re scared corrupt officers might put in false drug evidence,” he said.

Camp Crame has acknowledged that double-dealing officers have been reselling back into the market some of the illegal drugs seized in the course of police operations. Maricel V. Cruz

France, Qatar back DILG projects

By Francisco Tuyay TWO foreign ambassadors have pledged their support and assistance to the disaster management and peace and order initiatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, including its antiillegal drugs campaign.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said the ambassadors of France and Qatar express their countries’ willingness to support the national government’s high impact programs which are directly advantageous to the people.

“I am very pleased that many countries have come forward to help the Philippines realize the much-needed change and reforms in our country. This manifestation of support strengthens our resolve

to carry on with our mandate of ridding this country of illegal drugs with stronger passion and commitment,” he said.

French Ambassador Thierry Mathou said the French government’s proposal is to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to assist the Philippine government on disaster risk management, as well as in the improvement and training of barangay volunteers for the Masa-Masid project which can be tapped in the illegal drugs clean-up drive, street beautification and segregation of waste materials.

Mathou said the French government is willing to extend technical and financial assistance “of 5 million euro to the DILG for projects which the Department deems high-priority, necessary and beneficial to the

interest of the Filipino people.”

Meanwhile, in the interest of enhancing the cooperation between the Philippines and Qatar, Ambassador Ali Ibrahim Malki likewise expressed the intention of the Qatari government to extend assistance to the anti-drugs campaign of the government that is being spearheaded by the Department.

In line with this, Malki said Qatar is willing to extend a hand in the all-out war campaign of the Philippine government against the Abu Sayyaf Group following the recent Davao bombing that killed 14 people and wounded 70 innocent civilians.

Malki added Qatar is also interested in helping forge the peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

IN BRIEF Airlines ban Samsung 7 on flights MAJOR commercial airlines banned the use and charging of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 during flights after the Korean company recalled the phone model due to safety concerns over its batteries which have caught fire during charging and normal use.

CEB stated that Galaxy Note 7 devices must also not be stowed in checked baggage, but may be hand-carried as long as the device is turned off at all times inside the aircraft.

The Philippine Airlines management on Monday also came up with the same policy after three Australian airlines earlier banned passengers from using or charging the mobile device during flights due to concerns over the phone’s fireprone batteries.

In December last year, major airlines also prohibited passengers to bring hoverboards and other similar selfbalancing cart, on board its aircraft.

The airlines stated that hoverboards run on highpowered lithium-ion batteries, which have been widely reported to have a tendency to overheat or spontaneously ignite.

Joel E. Zurbano

Passenger warned vs amulets THE Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup) urged people not to bring live ammunition, amulet and other prohibited items when traveling to avoid f light delays.

“Despite our appeal, many still bring prohibited items like bullets at the airport,” said Avsegroup director Mao Aplasca.

“We made a new policy as far as procedure is concern.

We recover ammunition as potential evidence. We have to see it and get their contact for further investigation then we submit the ammunition to the crime lab as part of ballistic information in the data base of the PNP,” he said.

Aplasca, however, warned that if the same passenger continue and keep bringing the prohibited items, he or she will have to face stricter action from authorities.

As of August, at least 20 passengers were caught in possession of bullets and anting-anting (amulet) when they were about to pass the initial x-ray inspection at the departure area of the airport.

Joel Zurbano

Sports Johnson wins in record fashion CHICAGO—World number two Dustin Johnson fired a five-under par 67 Sunday to win the US PGA’s BMW Championship by three strokes over England’s Paul Casey with a tournament scoring record.

The 32-year-old American, who captured his first major title at the US Open in June at Oakmont, finished on 23-under par 265 over 72 holes at the 7,516-yard Crooked Stick layout in suburban Indianapolis.

“I played really solid, drove it really nicely, wedged it really good,” Johnson said. “I played really solid all week.”

It was the 12th career victory for Johnson on the US PGA Tour and his third of the year, his personal best following his major breakthrough and the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in every part of my game,” Johnson said. “All the work I have put in on my wedges has really paid off this year. I putted really great this week.”

In the 113th edition of an event that traces its history to 1899, Johnson broke the 72hole record of 22-under set

by Tiger Woods in 2007 and matched last year by Australia’s top-ranked Jason Day. Casey settled for second place for the second week in a row on 268, his seventh runner-up finish on the US PGA Tour, after a 67 with American Roberto Castro third on 271.

Day withdrew from the event Sunday after aggravating a pinched lower left joint capsule reaching for a tee at the ninth hole, but was still able to finish among the five season points leaders.

That means Day would win the $10 million season points bonus if he wins the seasonending Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta. But so would points leader Johnson, Casey, American Patrick Reed and Aussie Adam Scott. AFP

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Wawrinka denies Djokovic another major tennis title N EW YORK—Stan Wawrinka’s US Open triumph over world number one Novak Djokovic gave him a third Grand Slam title in as many finals, but the 31-year-old Swiss says they don’t get any easier.

Wawrinka, described by Djokovic as a player who rises to the big occasion like no other, admitted he was a mass of nerves before Sunday’s championship match.

“I was shaking in the locker room,” he said, adding that during his last minute discussions with coach Magnus Norman “I start to cry”.

“I was completely shaking,” said Wawrinka, although he added that through it all he remained convinced that he had the game to win.

“Physically I was there. My

game was there. Put the fight on the court, and you will have a chance to win,” he told himself.

That’s exactly what Wawrinka did, shaking off the loss of the first set to post a 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over 12-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.

He denied Djokovic a second straight US Open title, and for the third time beat a reigning number one in a major final.

Wawrinka had already been pushed to the limit in reaching the final.

He’d spent nearly 18 hours on court, saving a match point in a five-set thriller over unheralded Briton Dan Evans in the third round.

He had to rally against former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals, and escaped resurgent former champion Juan Martin del Potro in a quarter-final four-setter.

“I think this Grand Slam was the most painful, physically and mentally, that I ever played,” Wawrinka said. “I was feeling tired already at the beginning of the match. I was feeling the cramp coming in the third set.”

Feeling pain in the fourth, Wawrinka said he was determined “not to show anything” but just to “give everything and keep fighting and go try to win it”.

Wawrinka, who had handed Djokovic two of his biggest Grand Slam disappointments, including in the French Open final last year, said he expected his marathon tournament to be capped by an endurance test against the Serb.

“There is no secret,” Wawrinka said. “If you want to beat the number one player in the world you have to give everything.

“You have to accept to suffer and you have almost to enjoy to suffer.”

Wawrinka said things weren’t so difficult in 2014, when he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, downing Djokovic en route to a meeting with then-number one Rafael Nadal in the final.

Back then, just reaching the final was an accomplishment to celebrate.

“I came on court to win it, but I knew it will be OK to lose it,”

PH diving enthusiasts push for marine conservation

By Peter Paul Duran

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the end of their 2016 US Open Men’s Singles final match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Wawrinka won his third Grand Slam title with a 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win. The 31-year-old Swiss player is the oldest man to win in New York since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970. AFP

New faces steal spotight in National Aquathlon tilt NEW faces emerged in both the standard and sprint distance races in Sunday’s Triathlon Association of the Philippines-organized 1st Philippine Aquathlon Championships held at the Camayan Beach Resort inside the Subic Freeport Zone that attracted 164 entries.

Track r unner and Iligan native Leyann Ramo, who just graduated from UST, lost ground in the 1K swim leg after keeping pace with Vicky Deldio in the f irst 2.5

Wawrinka said.

“But then, then, then .... I’m not that young anymore,” he said.

“You’re in another final of a Grand Slam, you don’t want to lose it ... because the trophy of the winner and the finalist is not the same.”

Step by step Wawrinka said his late career success is not the product of any grand design, but just the culmination of years of dedication.

“First I wanted to be a professional tennis player,” he said. “That means living with your passion, with your sport. Then (my goal) was to be top 100, then top 50.

“I never start anything (saying) I want to be number one, I want to win a Grand Slam. For me, it’s always step by step.

“The only thing I want to do is push the limit.” AFP

K r un, but regained it in the f inal r un leg.

She then unleashed a final burst of speed nearing the finish line to become the country’s very first female national aquathlon champion, clocking 41 minutes and 17 seconds, with Deldio unable to conquer the strong currents in the open water swim and finishing a far second in 43:49.

Third placer was Marga de los Reyes, who was left behind by Deldio in the first uphill climb

in the final run leg .De los Reyes finished the distance in 46:15.

“Wala ako expectations here, just to finish it, mahina kasi ako sa run. Mabuti na-maintain ko ‘yung lead after nu’ng swim,” said Ramo, who dreams of becoming a national triathlon team member even as she only took up the sport late last year.

Another new face that came out of the race that was backed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and other sponsors Camayan Beach Resort, Ocean

Adventure, Standard Insurance, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Century Tuna, The Light House, Subic Holiday Villas and Vita Coco, was De La Salle Zobel’s swimmer Inaki Emil Lorbes, who came out of nowhere in the shorter 1K run600 swim-1k run sprint distance race for the Aspirants 13 to 15 group, where TRAP is focusing to select the country’s representatives for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

Lorbes was able to catch up

with the lead group in the swim leg and shocked the more favored national team members en route to a solo finish in the race, clocking 18:25.

The favored Juan Baniqued finished second, 7 seconds slower, with Marcus Faytaren finishing third in 18:37.

“When I caught up with them in the swim leg, I felt I had a chance to win the race,” said Lorbes, who remains unsure whether he will shift to triathlon in the future.

Globe Business hosts dual golfest

Confetti rains for the NEC-Japan team shortly after they received their medals and trophy from (front row) Binan City Mayor Mayor Wilfred Dimaguila, Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas (LVPI) President Joey Romasanta and Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) President Wei Jie Zhong for winning the Asian Women’s Club Championship Sunday night at the Alonte Sports Complex in Binan, Laguna. Roman Prospero

GLOBE Business’ Relationship Management Group for Ayala Group of Companies recently organized the first ever Golf Dual Meet Tournament at the verdant fairways of Ayala Southlinks Golf Course. The activity was held exclusively for the Globe Golf Team and the Ayala Land Golf Team, both comprised of their respective key VIP officers.

In line with its thrust to expand and further strengthen its relationship with its customers, Globe Business RMG led by Marianne Quiambao organized its first ever Golf Dual Meet activity. The one of a kind-sporting event held for Ayala Land is only the first of many engagements

that Globe Business RMG is planning to hold for the different Ayala Group of Companies.

Globe Business, the enterprise information and communications technology arm of Globe Telecom, holds various engaging activities as such to not only strengthen relationships but also to celebrate milestones which shows that Globe cares for clients throughout the partnership.

Globe Senior Advisor for Enterprise and IT-Enabled services group Mike Frausing extended his gratitude to all the golfers for contributing to the success of the event.

“We would like to thank Ayala Land for supporting us and for making this event a unique

experience. Our partnership with them is something that we truly treasure and take pride in as a company. We are glad that they actively participated in this friendly tournament as we strive to cultivate a sense of community between our organizations.”

The participants enjoyed an eight pair per team with Hi/Low match play format, designed to promote deeper camaraderie among the players. Through this initiative, it made it possible for the various Globe Business Account Managers to have a fruitful interaction with the Ayala Land participants, allowing them to gain important insights on the different facets of their operation.

Asian Development Tour winners join Tarlac Open AMERICANS John Michael O’Toole, Josh Salah and Nick Sherwood, all leg winners in this year’s Asian Development Tour, head a crack five-player invitee group in the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open, boosting the cast in the P2.5 event firing off Wednesday at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.

O’Toole, who ruled the PGM Clearwater Masters in Malaysia and No. 8 in

the current ADT Order of Merit ranking; Salah, who clinched the PGM Putra Championship crown, and Sherwood, who scored an ADT breakthrough at PGM Penang Championship last June, will be joined in by compatriot Paul Harris and Peter Stojanovski of Australia in the 72-hole championship serving as the penultimate leg of this year’s circuit sponsored by ICTSI. The five actually saw action in the

Aboitiz Invitational ruled by local ace Jay Bayron last August with Sherwood emerging the best finisher at 17th. But they are expected to figure prominently in this week’s title chase, coming off strong finishes in a couple of ADT events heading to the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Miguel Tabuena won’t be around to defend the crown he won in runaway

fashion – nine strokes over Ababa – last year but the local challenge remains formidable with Lascuña hoping to re-display the form that netted him a four-shot romp over Korean Park Jun Hyeok in the ICTSI Luisita Championship last April and Bayron out to bring his back-to-back winning act at Wack Wack and Riviera to this challenging layout which hosted last year’s Philippine Open.

FOREIGN and local diving enthusiasts, marine conservation advocates, as well as top underwater photographers came together for the recent 2016 Diving and Resort Travel Show Philippines at the Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall.

During the 2nd DRT Manila press conference, the Department of Tourism and the delegates were in unison that marine conservation is key.

Invited panelists noted that protection of the Philippines’ 450 coral and 2,500 fish species should be the number one concern, while education among the fisherfolk is likewise crucial.

“We need more Marine Protected Areas and work together with people who need to feed themselves. And it only takes small pockets of marine protected areas for marine life to really thrive,” said top underwater Filipino photographer Scott “Gutsy” Tuason.

“It’s amazing (what can happen) if you just leave a piece of reef alone for even a small amount of time,” added Tuason, who rues the loopholes in the current marine protection framework being implemented.

Author and veteran underwater photographer Tim Rock, also voiced the collective support of the panelists towards Tuason’s claim.

“I think we should go with the MPAs, expand them, and really cultivate them. Education is really important, it can really go a long way,” said Rock.

Other experts also stressed the need for observers to make sure that targeted fisheries aren’t abused, adding that poaching is still a huge problem.

Professional marine photographer Mike Bartick as well as famed director Howard Hall with veteran underwater cinematographer wife Michele, also shared their thoughts on the current situation of Philippine marine biodiversity.

Meanwhile, DOT Undersecretary Kat De Castro told scribes during the opening day of the travel fair that she sees a rise in the diving community here in the Philippines and that they will help in the conservation of the underwater wildlife.

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Sports

Eagles keep Spikers’ Turf volley title

The Ateneo Eagles celebrate their back-to-back championships in the Spikers’ Turf after sweeping the National U Bulldogs for the second straight time.

Frayna becomes PH’s 1 Woman Grandmaster

st

B

AKU has turned out to be a chess milestone for the Philippines.

Janelle Mae Frayna finally got the last norm to become the country’s first woman grandmaster by drawing her game against Davaademberel Normin-Erdene of Mongolia in Sunday’s ninth round of the Baku Chess Olympiad.

Frayna and her foe split the point in 33 moves of a French Defense, giving the Filipina 6 points out of 9 games in a field that had three woman grandmasters and one woman with the

Greenies stay in the hunt THE La Salle Greenhills Greenies got big plays in the endgame from Vincent Joshua David and repulsed the Arellano University Braves, 77-70, Monday to move into contention for a twice-tobeat incentive in the Final Four semifinals of the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association Junior Basketball Tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

David, a six-foot shooting forward, scored 12 points, including two crucial charities in the last 1:03, giving them a 74-69 lead and helping foil the Braves’ bid to stay in solo second.

He then stole off Braves’ ace scorer Guilmer de la Torre and assisted Unique Naboa for a crucial layup in the last 53.9 seconds as the Greenies grabbed a sevenpoint edge, 76-69.

Troy Mallinlin led with 20 points and 18 rebounds for the Greenies, who claimed their ninth consecutive victory from a total of 13 wins in 16 games, plus a share of second spot with the Braves.

The Braves got 27 points from De la Torre, and will need to win their last two games to stay in contention for a twiceto-beat incentive.

“Lahat sila ready to step up, ready to contribute. Iyan ang bumubuhay sa amin. We are now on a streak. We were taking things one game at a time. Before we knew it, it was already a streak,” said LSGH coach Marvin Bienvenida.

The Red Cubs got crucial shots from Joshua Tagala, who had a game-high 17 points and fended off the Emilio Aguinaldo College Brigadiers, 86-79, to stay in contention for the no. 1 seeding with their 15-1 slate. Peter Atencio

male International Master title.

Though the Philippines lost 1.52.5 to Mongolia, Frayna’s historic quest more than made up for it.

“Good news for our country.

I’m proud to announce that WIM

Janelle Mae Frayna achieved the third and last result to become the first Woman Grandmaster from the Philippines,” said GM Jayson Gonzales, the women’s team skipper and Frayna’s personal trainer and coach at Far Eastern University.

Frayna’s title will be confirmed by the FIDE, the ruling body for world chess.

Eugene Torre won a wild game against Diego Flores and Ino Sadorra outmanuevered Sandro Mareco as the Philippines scrambled to draw Argentina after Paulo Bersamina and

John Paul Gomez lost.

Torre has eight points out of nine rounds and is running third for the best prize on Board Three behind Zoltan Almasi of Hungary and Wesley So, the former Philippine champion, who now plays for the US. The men’s team which now in 56th place meets Scotland in Monday night’s 10th and penultimate round, while the women’s side, now in 28th place, clashes with Italy, aiming nothing less than a win to remain in contention for a Top 10 finish.

Frayna will be fielded against the Italians as she pursues the

men’s International Master title.

Frayna came close to claiming the title after she led with three rounds to go in the World Juniors in India a few weeks back and faltered in the stretch.

She was not to be denied this time.

WIM Janelle Jodilyn Fronda’s defeat to IM Tubswhintugs’ Batchimeg on board two decided the PH’s doom as Catherine Secopito and Shania Mae Mendoza halved the point with WGM Aoltan Ulzii Enkhtuul and WIM Uuganbayar Lkhamsuren on boards three and four.

ATENEO rallied late in the fourth then pounced on National U’s defensive lapses to score a 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20 victory and capture the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Collegiate Conference crown for the second straight year at the Philsports Arena in Pasig yesterday.

The Eagles took five of the next six points coming off a 16-18 deficit in the fourth to wrest control then scored four of the next five, including two off the Bulldogs’ miscues to clinch the victory in 1:33, the series at 2-0, and the championship—for the second straight time.

“We’re happy to win again and we hope to sustain our form in the UAAP,” said Ateneo coach Oliver Almadro, seeking to steer the Eagles to a threepeat in the coming 79th UAAP. Marck Espejo and Russian-American Paul Koyfman fired 15 hits apiece, including a combined 28-kill effort to power the Eagles to the victory and another title sweep, also against the Bulldogs. The crisp-hitting Espejo and the 6-8 Koyfman later bagged the Conference and Finals MVP, respectively.

Joshua Villanueva backed them up with seven points while Rex Intal and skipper Karl Baysa each had six hits and setter Joner Polvorosa added four markers on top of producing 36 excellent sets.

The Eagles, who needed five sets to thwart the Bulldogs in the opener of their best-of-three series, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11, last week, braced themselves for another five-setter as the Bulldogs took control late in the fourth.

But the Loyola-based squad came out of a huddle in fierce form, winning the next two points on combination plays to force an 18-all count then after NU took the lead again with a hit, Ateneo swept the next five points as the Bulldogs failed to recover and succumbed to pressure.

Bryan Bagunas unleashed a 15-hit game for NU, which also drew eight points from Madzlan Gampong, five from Francis Saura and four apiece from Kim Dayandante, James Natividad, Kim Malabunga and Fauzi Ismail. But the Bulldogs failed to deliver when it mattered most, blowing their edge in blocking, 7-2, with faulty court coverage and service reception, which netted Ateneo seven aces.

Down 19-22, the Bulldogs fell farther behind on a spike that went long then after they notched a point off the Eagles’ service fault, then yielded the last two points on an Ateneo quick hit and an ace from Intal that they thought would sail long.

The title romp also capped Ateneo’s dominating campaign in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa as official ball and Accel as official outfitter as they went unbeaten the group stages in five before sweeping La Salle in the semis.

Diputado delivering goods for NU Bulldogs

By Peter Atencio FORMER San Beda Red Cubs’ standout Rev Diputado is fast emerging as one of the go-to guys of the National University Bulldogs.

Bulldogs’ coach Eric Altamirano saw how important the 5’9” point guard’s role is for the team following their 70-60 triumph over the Ateneo Blue Eagles Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

When the Blue Eagles fought their way back to within five, 56-61 in the last four minutes, Diputado joined hands with Alfred Aroga, Reggie Boy Morido, and J-Jay Alejandro for a 9-1 blast.

This allowed the Bulldogs to seal their second straight win and join La Salle in the lead of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

“Rev really stepped up big. Aside from his tenacious defense, he car-

Forum tackles caging, karate PERLAS Pilipinas’ coming campaign in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association topbills today’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Coach Pat Aquino and some of the players led by Raiza Palmera will be on hand and talk about their title bid in the Sept. 20 to 26 meet in Melacca, Malaysia.

Making up the other half of the session aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, are Philippine Karate Federation secretary-general Raymund Reyes and the winners of the National Karate Open.

ried the team on offense. He had good looks and broke the tough defense of Ateneo,” said Altamirano.

Diputado finished with 16 points and helped Aroga control the board with seven rebounds, along with 3 assists and 3 steals.

“Nagpasalamat ako sa tiwala na binigay ni coach sa akin. Ginawa ko role ko sa team lalo na sa defense,” said Diputado.

Another teammate who stepped up was La Salle transferee Matt Salem, who delivered 12 points and eight rebounds.

The 6’3” power forward hit five straight points to lead a 19-5 burst that propelled NU to a 51-37 edge in the last 2:51.

With the Green Archers as their next assignment on Sept. 18, Altamirano feels that they’re in for a big fight.

“We are happy that we’re 2-0. But we can’t be contented. It’s still a long season. We have to improve as a team,” added Altamirano.

Rev Diputado of NU drives past Ateneo’s Michael Nieto (7). Peter Atencio

‘Casimero doesn’t get publicity he deserves’

By Ronnie Nathanielsz WELL-KNOWN billiards’ promoter Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, who handled the careers of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, said IBF flyweight champion John Riel Casimero reminded him of the gallant Dommy Ursua, nicknamed the “Toy Bulldog” and wondered why the Filipino champion doesn’t receive the publicity he richly deserves.

Puyat told the Manila Standard that he watched Casimero’s 10th-round TKO of unbeaten British title challenger Charlie Edwards before some 18,000 fans at the classy O2 Arena in London and noted: “This boy is good and he hits hard.”

But for whatever reason, Casimero doesn’t get the coverage that some other

over-hyped fighters, who fail to deliver, receive much greater attention.

He noted that while Ursua was only 4’11” , Casimero was around 5’6”.

Puyat said he was impressed with Casimero’s title defense, which he watched on Sky Sports’ pay-per-view early Sunday morning.

Ursua fought for the world flyweight title twice and lost a 15-round decision to Pascual Perez of Argentina in Manila on December 15, 1958 after earlier suffering an 11th-round TKO at the hands of Raul “Raton” Macias in a world bantamweight title fight of the National Boxing Association on June 15, 1957. Ursua passed away a pauper at the age of 72.

Respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer told Viva Sports/Manila Standard that the 72-year-old Ursua, who was liv-

ing in abject poverty in Cordova, Cebu, died (May 25, 2008) “completely penniless.” Aldeguer helped raise funds for Ursua’s funeral expenses.

One of Ursua’s most memorable victories was over Ring Magazine’s No.1 ranked Memo Diez, whom he dropped in Rounds 3 and 6 en route to a rousing 10-round decision in Stockton, California on Dec. 11, 1956.

Ursua had more losses than wins and ended up with a record of 26-28 with 20 knockouts, but in his prime, Ursua was one of the more exciting fighters in the world.

Ursua lost his last six fights, including two to Leo Zulueta and in the end hung up his gloves after dropping a 10-round decision to Young Aquino in Cagayan Valley on June 11, 1961.

Uy’s Udenna bullish on Negros purchase B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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Govt junks MetroPac’s MRT bid

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

HE Duterte administration rejected Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s offer to rehabilitate and improve the operations of Mass Rail Transit Line 3.

Metro Pacific president Jose Ma. K. Lim said the company revived its offer to take over the operations of MRT Line 3, but the Transportation Department believed the government could

do the job faster.

“Yes, we have resubmitted [our offer] but informally, we have been told the government wants to undertake the improvement of MRT 3 faster [and] do it

instead of bidding it which would take a long time to do,” Lim said in a recent interview.

“They [government] want immediate improvement,” Lim said.

Metro Pacific said in June it submitted to the Duterte administration a proposal to rehabilitate MRT 3 on its own. The previous Aquino administration also rejected the offer of the conglomerate.

MRT-3 carries close to 600,000 passengers a day, above its designed daily capacity of 350,000.

Metro Pacific submitted a proposal to the Transportation Department in 2011, offering more than $500 million worth of investments from the private sector to rehabilitate and upgrade MRT3.

The group’s proposal did not prosper as the offer included raising fare for the train system. The Transportation Department also said the government was more inclined towards an open and transparent competitive bidding.

Over the past several years,

MRT 3 has suffered service and maintenance problems resulting in glitches and reduced number of coaches.

The Duterte administration said it planned to improve MRT 3 which runs along Edsa from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

The plan includes increasing the number of trains to 60 in the first 100 days of the new administration from current 48 coaches and to improve the trains’ travel speed to 50 kilometers an hour

from current 40 kph With these improvements, the government expects MRT 3 accommodate more passengers and reduce the long lines during peak hours.

Metro Pacific together with Ayala Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. is a part of the Light Rail Manila Corp., the the consortium which bagged the contract for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite extension, operation and maintenance project.

Senior citizens’ budget raised

PSe comPoSite index Closing September 9, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,581.79 85.28

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P47.160

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P47.000 LOW P47.180 AVERAGE P47.098 VOLUME 471.500M

P392-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.70-P42.50 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

SEIPI’S NEW MEMBER. Converge ICT, a provider of world-class ICT products and personalized services to customers in the Philippines, becomes one of the newest members of Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. during the organization’s 125th general membership meeting at Waterfront Hotel, Lahug City, Cebu. Shown during the induction ceremony are Converge ICT officials led by chief operating officer Jesus Romero (seventh from left), along with SEIPI officers.

P24.84-P28.27 Diesel P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene

Vista Land to build 4 hotels under ‘Mella’ brand

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, September 9, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.8370

Japan

Yen

0.009758

0.4570

UK

Pound

1.329700

62.2792

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128924

6.0384

Switzerland

Franc

1.028489

48.1713

Canada

Dollar

0.773276

36.2179

Singapore

Dollar

0.739973

34.6581

Australia

Dollar

0.764000

35.7835

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655196

124.3614

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266681

12.4905

Brunei

Dollar

0.737246

34.5304

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000077

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028835

1.3505

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.7531

Euro

Euro

1.126400

52.7572

Korea

Won

0.000911

0.0427

China

Yuan

0.150038

7.0273

India

Rupee

0.015010

0.7030

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.247525

11.5933

New Zealand

Dollar

0.739700

34.6453

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031935

1.4957 Source: PDS Bridge

VISTA Land & Lifescapes Inc., the property developer led by billionaire Manuel Villar, said it plans to construct four new hotels under the “Mella” brand in a bid to transform the company into an integrated real estate company with a strong recurring income.

Villar, who serves as chairman of Vista Land, said the company was currently building two new hotels worth P1.6 billion, including one in Boracay and another in Las Piñas City.

Two more hotels in Tagaytay and Bataan are in the pipeline.

These four hotels will add to the current 54-key Boracay Sands

Hotel at Station 3 of Boracay in Aklan, which the company acquired in December 2015.

Villar said the company planned to build a chain of three and four-star hotels, with an average size of 150 to 200 rooms each.

Vista Land said it would invest P1 billion for the Boracay project, located beside the Shangri La Resort, and another P600 million in the Las Piñas hotel.

The new hotel chain will be called Mella, short for Vista Land’s most popular housing brand Camella Homes.

“The hotel chain will be for the middle market, [with] about

three to four stars,” said Villar.

“We are still feeling our way in the hotel business, but we plan to go big and will soon be ramping up our expansion,” he said.

Vista Land already has a condo-hotel in the upscale Crosswinds Tagaytay. Villar said the company would also put up a Mella hotel beside it.

The hotel expansion is in line with the company’s plan to boost recurring income, he said.

“By 2020, Vista Land will be completely different. It will be a complete real estate company.

We will have horizontal and vertical residential projects, hotels,

malls and BPO offices,” said Villar.

“We’re trying to go fast, so the ratio of leasing income will be growing. Moving forward, it will be like the rate of the other major property companies,” he said.

Vista Land has presence in 95 cities and municipalities across 36 provinces and intends to focus on the development of the so-called communicities—integrated urban developments combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, healthcare, themed residential developments and leisure component. Jenniffer B. Austria

THE Finance Department said Monday the budget for senior citizens will more than double to P18 billion in 2017 to benefit 3 million Filipinos aged 60 years and above.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said senior citizens would continue to receive financial assistance from the Duterte administration, despite the plan to lift the value added tax exemptions on selected items for senior citizens.

The 2017 proposed national budget showed allocation for indigent senior citizens would double from P8.71 billion in 2016 to P17.94 billion next year. The budget is mainly for “transparent and targeted” subsidies for them.

Dominguez said for 2017, the amount for social pension of seniors doubled because of expanded coverage.

He said from the current scheme where those in ages 77 years and above were the ones qualified for the social pension benefit, the new administration would reduce the age cap at 60 years old.

Republic Act 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, mandates a P500 social pension every month for all indigent senior citizens.

The budget hike plan, once approved by Congress, will increase the number of elderlybeneficiaries from the current 1.4 million to 2.8 million in 2017.

Dominguez said the benefits enjoyed by senior citizens would not be removed but would only be amended to benefit the neediest, ensuring that subsidies went to the truly vulnerable ones.

PAL, other airlines ban use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Citicore Power files case on feed-in-tariff allocation By Darwin G. Amojelar

By Alena Mae S. Flores RENEWABLE energy company Citicore Power Inc. filed a case before the regional trial courts of Taguig and Quezon City to compel the Energy Department to disclose the parameters on solar feed-in tariff eligibility endorsement.

Citicore, controlled by Megawide Construction Corp., said it elevated the case to the trial courts and filed for a “mandamus,” after repeatedly requesting the department to explain the basis for the grant of endorsement to solar companies under the second round of installation targets.

“In the spirit of transparency and pursuant to the enforcement of the right to information on matters of public concern, we have sought the assistance of the court to compel DOE to disclose the standards used to determine FIT eligibility of RE developers on the list and reasons for failure of others to qualify,” Citicore vice-president Manolo Candelaria said.

The court orders were delivered to the department last week, directing the agency to file comment on the petitions within 10 days from receipt. The hearings were set on Sept. 22.

Citicore Power owns an 18MW solar power project in the Freeport Area of Bataan in Barangay Alasasin, Mariveles.

The power plant spans 37 hectares and was undertaken by project company Next Generation Power Technology Corp.

It also owns a 250-MW solar facility in Silay, Negros Occidental which spans 43 hectares and includes over 96,000 photovoltaic modules. The Silay facility powers 30,000 homes connected to the Visayas grid.

Citicore Power said the two projects were completed ahead of the March 15 deadline set by the department but was not among the projects endorsed for feed-in tariff eligibility to Energy Regulatory Commission.

The department said it was evaluating and assessing the Citicore case.

PHILIPPINE Airlines and other carriers prohibited the charging and use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices on board all flights.

PAL began implementing the prohibition on Sept. 9 in compliance with the directive of the International Air Transport Asso-

ciation. Related story on B4.

The IATA directive stems from the recall order made on the products of Samsung Electronics Company Limited.

Findings showed Galaxy Note 7 batteries and phone units had caught fire during charging, prompting the manufacturer to recall all units sold worldwide.

“Safety remains a cornerstone

of PAL operations and as such, the flag carrier will be ensuring full compliance on board each flight and is seeking the full cooperation of its passengers,” PAL said.

It said these devices were not allowed as checked-in items, but might be hand carried for as long as these were switched off at all times.

ABOITIZ’S DONATION. A total of 476 children in the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Talisay in Cebu are now more ready and inspired to go to school following the donation of school supplies and bags by Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group. The students from underprivileged families also receive stipends for uniform allowance and school fees from the foundation in partnership with the City Social Welfare and Development Office. The Aboitiz Group currently supports 3,267 scholars nationwide, 320 of whom are college students.

All Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units, whether used or brand new, would not be accepted as PAL cargo shipment.

Cebu Pacific, in a separate advisory, told passengers that the usage and charging of the device were prohibited onboard all CEB and Cebgo flights beginning Sept. 11 until further notice.

“Galaxy Note 7 devices must also not be stowed in checked baggage, but may be handcarried as long as the device is turned off at all times inside the aircraft,” Cebu Pacific said.

“We sincerely hope for our passengers’ full cooperation, as the safety of everyone onboard our flights remains our utmost priority,” Cebu Pacific said.

AirAsia and AirAsia X also prohibited the usage and charging of the device onboard all flights due to safety concerns over its battery.

“All guests traveling on AirAsia and AirAsia X who owns the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device must turn it off until disembarkation from the aircraft. The device must not be kept in any checked baggage as well,” AirAsia said.

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Business

Bank deposits rise 12% to P9.6t

By Julito G. Rada

B

ANK deposits rose 12 percent to P9.64 trillion as of end-June from P8.59 trillion a year ago, data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

Peso accounts reached P8 trillion, up from P7.15 trillion a year earlier, while foreign currency-denominated accounts rose to P1.63 trillion from P1.43 trillion.

Deposit size of P5,000 and below accounted for P23.109 billion, while P5,000 to P10,000 deposits represented P23.615 billion.

Deposit accounts of P10,000 to P15,000 totaled P26.773 billion; P15,000 to P40,000 (P99.082 billion); P40,000 to P60,000 (P85.284 billion); P60,000 to P80,000 (P63.348 billion); P80,000 to P100,000 (P58.271 billion); P100,000 to

P150,000 (P144.417 billion); and P150,000 to P200,000 (P111.099 billion).

Data showed that deposit accounts of P200,000 to P250,000 totaled P114.419 billion; P250,000 to P300,000 (P92.575 billion); P300,000 to P400,000 (P178.535 billion); P400,000 to P500,000 (P191.265 billion); P500,000 to P750,000 (P328.847 billion); P750,000 to P1 million (P240.226 billion); P1 million to P1.5 million (P410.998 billion); P1.5 million to P2 million (P249.288 billion); and deposits over P2 million (P7.196 trillion).

Bangko Sentral said the bank-

ing system remained strong, marked by improvements in deposits, loans and resources.

Total resources of the financial system as of end-June 2016 hit P15.834 trillion. Of this amount, universal and commercial banks accounted for P11.568 trillion.

There were 41 universal and commercial banks in the system.

Total resources of thrift banks stood at P1.065 trillion. Resources of rural banks remained unchanged at P220 billion.

Non-bank financial institutions had total resources of P2.979 trillion as of end-June. Non-bank financial institutions include investment houses, finance companies, investment companies, securities dealers and brokers, pawnshops, lending investors, non-stock savings and loan associations, venture capital corporations and credit card companies which are under the supervision of Bangko Sentral.

Also included are private and

government insurance companies, such as the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.

Total resources of the banking system grew 7.6 percent to P12.4 trillion as of end-December 2015 from P11.5 trillion a year ago. As a percent of gross domestic product, total resources stood at 93.4 percent.

Banks also remained well capitalized amid tighter capital requirements. The industry’s capitalization was predominantly composed of common equity Tier 1, the highest quality among instruments eligible as bank capital.

The capital adequacy ratio of universal and commercial banks reached 16.4 percent on a consolidated basis, higher than those of Malaysia (16.1 percent) and South Korea (13.9 percent), but lower compared than those of Indonesia (20.6 percent) and Thailand (17.4 percent).

Berjaya auto unit plans to list in PSE Right of way issue delays C5 link

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PACKAGING CONFERENCE. The Systembrand Group, a leading graphic and industrial design firms, wants the local packaging industry to be ready for Asean integration as it brings back GlobalPack 2017, an international packaging conference and exhibition. The Systembrand Group, led by chairman Lito Buñag (right) and creative director Paolo Buñag (left), are at the Food & Drinks Asia 2016 Expo at the World Trade Center Manila to show exhibitors and visitors what to expect in the upcoming conference in October 2017. Showing their support for GlobalPack 2017 are Jerry Enriquez (second from left), Philippine representative of German packaging and bottling machine manufacturer Krones AG and Joseph Ross Jocson, president of the Packaging Institute of the Philippines.

MALAYSIAN conglomerate Berjaya Corp. Berhad plans to list its Philippine automotive distribution unit with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Berjaya Auto Berhard said in a disclosure to Bursa Malaysia its 60.4-percent owned subsidiary Bermaz Auto Philippines Inc. planned to seek a listing in the main board of PSE. BAP is currently involved in the distribution of Mazda vehicles and spare parts through appointed dealers in the Philippines.

“An announcement will be made once BAP has finalized the details of its listing proposal and the board of directors of BAuto has deliberated and approved the proposed BAP listing,” said Bermaz Auto, which distributes Mazda vehicles in Malaysia and the Philippines.

No other details were provided, including the timetable and amount it plans to raise from the initial public offering.

This will be the second company owned by the Berjaya group to be listed with the local bourse.

Berjaya Philippines Corp. has investments in Philippine Gaming Management Corp., which is engaged in leasing of online lottery equipment and providing software support.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

A UNIT of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. said the construction of the first phase of the Cavitex C5 South Link faces delays because of the right-of-way issue with another toll road operator.

“We need some sorts of no objection from the operator of SLEx [South Luzon Expressway] or the Skyway because we have a flyover across SLEx. So for us to be able to cross, we need a permission from them, which is in a form of MOA [memorandum of understanding] and eventually they will issue a notice of no objection,” Cavitex Infrastructure Corp.

president Luigi Bautista said.

San Miguel Corp. and the Citra group of Indonesia, operator of SLEx have yet to sign the MOA, while the three other signatories— Public Works Department, Transportation Department and Cavitex already signed the deal “With the things that are happening now, most likely the construction would be first quarter of next year,” Bautista said.

Construction of the first phase of Cavitex C5 South Link was supposed to start in July, to link C5 and Merville, Parañaque by way of a flyover. The second phase, which would start in 2017 to link Merville and Cavitex, would cost P9.5 billion.

Cavitex C5 South Link will allow residents from Cavite, Las Piñas and parts of Parañaque to avoid Edsa and take a direct link to and from C5 to Cavitex.

Bautista said the new expressway, which was expected to be completed in 2019, would add 40,000 to 45,000 vehicle traffic per day, on top of the 130,000 vehicles currently using Cavitex.

C5 South Link will ultimately connect with R1 Expressway (Coastal Road) and provide fast, safe and convenient travel for motorists going to and from Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite and for Paranaque residents in Multinational, Moonwalk and Merville villages.

Jollibee sees recovery of China unit FASTFOOD chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said it expects its China operations to recover by the fourth quarter of 2016 or early 2017, after it posted a weak performance in the first half amid stiff competition.

China is one of the important overseas markets of Jollibee.

Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said in a recent interview the company was taking steps, including introducing new products, to restore growth in China.

“We are confident that we will be able to restore growth in China.

Yonghe King over the last few years, our biggest brand in China, has been enjoying good growth,” Baysa said.

“But now because our western competitors are recovering and this is

now putting pressure. We think this is temporary and we will recover once we introduce new products,” he said.

Jollibee operates 424 stores in China under various brands including Yonghe King with 321, Hong Zhuang Yuan with 40, San Pin Wang with 59 and Dunkin’ Donuts with four outlets.

Jollibee last month reported that sales in China declined 5.7 percent in the second quarter due to competitive pressure on Yonghe King. However, its other brands in China continue to perform strongly, it said.

Meanwhile, Baysa said the company continued to look for acquisitions in China and the United States to accelerate expansion.

“We continue to look for companies [outside the Philippines] to

acquire. Our biggest markets are China and the United States. Mostly likely [the acquisitions] will be in those countries,” Baysa said.

Baysa said the company was studying the possibility of bringing its recently acquired USbased burger chain Smashburger to other markets including the Philippines and Singapore.

“We are considering that, but the focus of Smashburger is to grow in the US and that continues to be the focus. But we are considering opening it in some international markets, one of them can be the Philippines, maybe Singapore,” Baysa said.

Smashburger has outlets in seven other countries including the United Ara Emirates and countries in South America. JBA

TPP: a threat to our digital rights THE TransP a c i f i c Partnership (TPP) is a free trade bloc that the Philippines plans to join, but the accord that binds 12 nations with a collective population of 800 million and 40 percent of world trade will have implications far wider than we might expect.

At a seminar organized by the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) and the Ateneo School of Government (AsoG) last month, we learned that the TPP is an extensive agreement, with 30 chapters covering trade and traderelated issues; investment; services; telecommunications; electronic commerce; government procurement; intellectual property; labor; environment; competitiveness; and dispute settlement.

Joining the trade bloc would require us to comply with all 30 chapters of the free trade agreement, a move that would necessitate changing our regulations, our laws and even our Constitution. At last month’s seminar, for example, researchers from the Philippine Competition Commission observed that while the country is already compliant with the agreement’s chapter on competition, it falls short of the pact’s requirement for a truly competitive environment in telecommunications.

While few would question the need to encourage genuine competition in the telecommunications duopoly, one participant at last month’s forum questioned the prudence of tailoring our laws and regulations to a foreign trade agreement we didn’t even help draft, or even the wisdom of joining the TPP in the first place.

These doubts become even pronounced when we examine what the TPP will mean to our digital rights, our privacy and how the chapter on intellectual property will spread the terrible digital rights management (DRM) policies of the United States onto our shores.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

The main problems with the TPP are two-fold, the foundation says.

First, it imposes digital polices that benefit big corporations at the expense of the public.

“The IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of expression, right to privacy and due process, as well as hindering peoples’ abilities to innovate,” the EFF observes.

“Other chapters of the agreement encourage your personal data to be sent borders with limited protection for your privacy, and allow foreign corporations to sue countries for laws or regulations that promote the public interest.”

Second is the TPP’s lack of transparency. “The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy,” the EFF argues, noting that US negotiators pushed for the adoption of copyright measures far ore restrictive than currently required by international treaties.

“The final IP chapter includes many detailed requirements that are more restrictive than current international standards, and would require significant changes to other countries’ copyright laws,” the EFF says. These include obligations for countries to: Expand copyright terms: The TPP would create copyright terms well beyond the internationally agreed period in the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Escalate protections for DRM (aka Digital Locks): The TPP will compel signatory nations to enact laws banning circumvention of digital locks, mirroring restrictions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In the US, business competitors have used the DMCA to try to block printer cartridge refill services, competing garage door openers, and to lock mobile phones to particular network providers.

Create new threats for journalists and whistleblowers: Dangerously vague text on the misuse of trade secrets could be used to enact harsh criminal punishments against anyone who reveals or even accesses information through a “computer system” that is allegedly confidential.

Place greater liability on internet intermediaries such as ISPs: The TPP wants service providers to assume the financial and administrative burden of becoming copyright cops in a way that disregards the ill effects this would have on internet freedom and innovation.

Adopt heavy criminal sanctions: Countries would have to adopt criminal sanctions for copyright infringement that is done without commercial motivation. Users could be jailed or hit with debilitating fines over file sharing, and may have their property or domains seized or destroyed even without a formal complaint from the copyright holder.

While the IP chapter contained the worst anti-user provisions, the EFF also found problems elsewhere that: Place barriers in the way of protecting your privacy: The TPP’s Electronic Commerce and Telecommunications chapters establish only the weakest baseline for the protection of your private data. On the other hand, stronger privacy laws are outlawed if they amount to an “arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade.”

Prohibit open source mandates: With no good rationale, the agreement would outlaw a country from adopting rules for the sale of software that include mandatory code review or the release of source code. This could inhibit countries from addressing pressing information security problems.

“TPP raises significant concerns about citizens’ freedom of expression, due process, innovation, the future of the Internet’s global infrastructure, and the right of sovereign nations to develop policies and laws that best meet their domestic priorities,” the EFF concludes. “In sum, the TPP puts at risk some of the most fundamental rights that enable access to knowledge for the world’s citizens.”

Before we jump into the TPP, we ought to consider just what we are trading away to become part of this exclusive club. While doing this, we would do well to remember James Thurber’s dictum: “Get it right or let it alone. The conclusion you jump to may be your own.”

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

SC killed PDAF; let it stay dead

CLIMATE CHANGE. Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman of the Climate Change Commission (at the podium) urges participants to the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association forum at the SMX Aura in Taguig City Friday to come up with strategies that will help manage loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. De Guzman said the insurance industry should embrace the concept of climate change and contribute to addressing loss and damage due to sudden weather disasters and slow-onset events, which the country endured in recent years.

Uy’s Udenna bullish on Negros purchase

By Alena Mae S. Flores

U

DENNA Corp., the parent of listed Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., is optimistic its acquisition of a significant stake in a local company that indirectly holds a majority share in Negros Navigation Co. Inc. will boost the company’s bottom line.

Udenna is a diversified holding company engaged in distribution and retailing of petroleum products, commercial shipping, ship management, logistics, financial services, environmental services and property development.

It bought about 32 percent of Negros Navigation from KGLIBV, a Dutch company, through local unit KGLI-NM Holdings Inc. Negros Navigation is a major shareholder of the 2Go

Money placed in $ funds gaining LOCAL investors are now looking at US dollar-denominated investments to help offset volatility and achieve good returns given the steady rise of the American currency.

Coinciding with market uncertainty associated with an election year, the Philippine peso itself has been underperforming since mid-April. The peso dropped to 47.16 against the dollar, making it the third weakest currency in Asia after the Chinese yuan’s 2.3 percent and Malaysian ringgit’s 4 percent decline.

The US dollar, meanwhile, has been steadily strengthening since 2013. The US dollar index, which measures its general value against major world currencies, is up 19 percent during this period.

“Many of our investors are now studying how they can benefit from a strong US dollar,” said Philam Life head of fixed income securities Vince Daffon. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in our US dollar-denominated PAMI Global Bond Fund and our Philam Dollar Bond Fund, for example,” he added.

Daffon said the high quality US dollar-denominated sovereign and corporate bonds had performed well and remained attractive investments, due in part to a decline in US government bond yields.

“The ten-year US Treasury yield began the year at 2.27 percent, and the 30 year US Treasury yield at 3.02 percent,” he said. “At present, the 10-year and 30-year US Treasury yield are now trading at 1.55 percent and 2.30 percent, respectively.”

Group Inc., currently the largest integrated transport solutions provider in the Philippines.

“2Go’s growth has been constant over the last couple of years, making it an attractive long-term venture for us,” said businessman Dennis Uy, who owns and controls Udenna.

“We believe that the acquisition is in line with Udenna’s goal of investing in related and allied businesses where we can contribute to further enhance its value and

consequently promote our Company’s expansion,” Uy said.

He said the acquisition would expand boost Udenna’s presence in the logistics business, Chelsea Shipping Corp., which handles the transport of petroleum and related products. 2Go, meanwhile, carries other commodities and passengers as well.

Uy said Udenna had recognized 2Go’s profitability and growth.

“Thus, its contribution to Udenna’s bottom line will boost shareholder value,” Uy said.

Udenna is the major shareholder of Phoenix Petroleum, one of the country’s fastest-growing independent oil companies.

Phoenix is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products and lubricants, operation of oil depots and storage facilities, shipping and logistics and allied services.

The company is also involved in integrated logistic services, which include hauling and intoplane services of jet-A1 fuels to airports and airlines and refueling of aircraft in key cities.

It is owns and operates Chelsea Shipping, which is engaged in point-to-point transfer of oil, fuel and other liquid cargo across the Philippines.

PH expects 100,000 Indian tourists

By Othel V. Campos THE Tourism Department expects the influx of 100,000 Indian visitors into the Philippines as a result of the agency’s recent promotional roadshows in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.

India has been one of the major tourist sources, accounting for nearly 75,000 visitors last year, up 22 percent year-on-year.

The department recorded 44,294 arrivals from India in the first six months of 2016, or just tailing the top 12 foreign visitors.

“The four Indian cities we targeted are important feeder markets, hence we are working on strengthening our relations with their local travel partners to assure sustainable growth,” said Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo. She noted that increased Indian visitor arrivals were boosted by the free-entry privilege extended

to Indian nationals bearing visas from the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, Schengen, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The Tourism market development group led the mission in India, bringing along representatives of hotels, resorts, spas, tourist attractions and tour operators from the Philippines to interact with over 400 Indian trade partners.

The departments said 2.98 mil-

lion 438 overseas visitors arrived in the January-to-June period, 13 percent higher than 2.62 million in the same period in 2015. The Philippines registered 459,138 visitor arrivals in June.

Teo said the Philippines still lagged behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and even Vietnam in terms of visitor arrivals as of 2015, despite world-class local destinations.

She said the department aimed to attract about 5.4 million international visitors in 2015 to 12 million by 2022, as well as generate domestic tourists from 68 million in 2015 to 89 million in 2022.

The Tourism Department plans to increase tourism revenues from P2.8 trillion in 2015 to P3.9 trillion by 2022.

“From the current 8.2 percent share of the country’s GDP, we’ll raise it to 10 percent by 2022,” Teo said.

IN 2013, the Supreme Court declared PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) and DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program) violative of the Constitutional provision on the delineation of functions between the Executive branch of the government and the legislative branch. Four years later, PDAF appears to be making a comeback: a number of knowledgeable observers, including Senator Panfilo Lacson, believe that the 2017 national budget— more formally known as the General Appropriations Act—is full of PDAF-type appropriations.

What makes Senator Lacson et. al. believe that PDAF is again rearing its ugly head? An invitation or request – I’m not quite sure which is the more accurate word to use—has been extended to each member of Congress by the Secretary of Budget and Management to propose P80 million worth of projects for inclusion in the 2017 NEP (National Expenditure Program), which has a P3.3-trillion price tag.

The letter of the Constitutional provision is clear enough. In the separation-of-powers governmental system that prevails in this country, the making of laws is the exclusive domain of the legislative branch and the crafting of proposals relating to the administration of the nation’s day-to-day affairs, such as NEP, is the exclusive domain of the Executive branch. In deciding the petitions for the striking down of PDAF and DAP, the High Court was doubtless guided also by the said Constitutional principle.

The principle is very clear. And it makes eminently good sense, for Congress should not be making expenditure proposals that it itself will be approving. In any sensibly run country, that is conflict-of-interest pure and simple.

Because of the clear Constitutional divide between the crafting of laws, which is the job of the Executive, and the approval of laws, which is the job of the legislature, a middle ground had to be found if the members of Congress were to have any participation in the preparation of NEP. Enter the PDAF system, under which members of Congress lobbied, with varying degrees of pressure, for the inclusion in NEP of specific local projects.

Harmful as the PDAF system was to the separation-of-powers principle, its deleterious effect would have been reduced if the projects that the senators and representatives proposed for NEP inclusion were projects that they themselves had adjudged to be truly beneficial to their districts or party-list constituencies.

Unfortunately, this was, in the great majority of instances, not the case. The projects that the legislators proposed to the line departments—usually DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways)—were projects suggested by contractors who offered the legislators upfront kickbacks ranging all the way up to 30 percent of the projects’ estimated costs.

In deciding the PDAF cases, the Supreme Court must have taken into account the abundant evidence—documentary as well as anecdotal – of widespread corruption associated with the SARO (special allotment release orders) issued by the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to legislators in respect of the projects they sought to be included in NEP. This is the system that got a number of senators and a whole slew of representatives into trouble with the office of the Ombudsman. With its 2013 decision the Supreme Court sought to put an end to this obscene system. Now it appears to be making a comeback—ironically in an administration whose tagline is “Change is coming.”

PDAF-loving legislators assert that critics of the PDAF system are inflexible people who want them to have no say whatsoever in the use and disposition of government revenues allocated to their respective constituencies. This is untrue. Critics of the pre-2016 PDAF system accept that legislators have their own ideas about what’s best for their constituents and have a legitimate interest in obtaining approval of projects that in their judgment would be highly beneficial for their constituencies. But the critics firmly believe that the pre-2016 system—legislators having close ties with particular contractors, who suggested infrastructure projects to senators and representatives to whom they paid kickbacks – was the unholiest of unholy alliances and represented the worst kind of inefficient government-resource use.

Is there a middle ground in this situation, one that prevents unholy alliances and their favorite contractors and at the same time allows legislators to have a degree of involvement in the optimization of government-resource use?

There is such a middle ground, and it represents the ideal situation from the standpoint both of economics (efficiency in the use of public resources) and of politics (enhancement of the legislators’ standing with their constituents). That middle ground consists of legislators’ presenting their net proposals not to DBM or a line department such as DPWH but to Neda, whose board consists of the heads of the line departments, with the President of the Philippines as the chairman.

Let the Neda staff—economists, engineers, accountants, etc.—evaluate the legislators’ proposals and in due course make recommendations to the Neda board meeting, with the Chief Executive presiding, as to which projects are best for the development of both the local and the national economy. If the Neda board approves his project proposals, a legislator will get credit for it from his constituents (and his favorite contractors).

And if the Neda board does not include them in NEP, the legislator can still say that he did his best.

Whatever anyone may say about it, the invitation to each legislator to propose P80 million worth of projects for NEP inclusion is a violation of the letter – and, perhaps more important, the spirit – of the 2013 Supreme Court decision. The decision pronounced PDAF dead. Let it stay dead.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

Puregold hosts 3rd food convention Sept. 20-21 A TWO-DAY convention awaits food resellers this month as Puregold holds the third Kaindustriya Food Biz Convention, an event touted to bring fun festivities together with learning sessions all aimed at boosting food businesses, both big and small.

The World Trade Center in Pasay City is expected to turn into a B2B (business-to-business) capital on Sept. 20 and 21 as thousands of food traders gather.

“Our food resellers and institutional accounts are an important segment of our Tindahan ni Aling Puring program. They are a huge part of our business, and Puregold would like to thank them through this targeted Convention,” said

Puregold president Vincent Co. The Puregold KAINdustriya convention is open to all food entrepreneurs, from carinderia, canteen and food stall owners to caterers, bar, hotel and restaurant operators.

Participants are in for two days of valuable activities, where they could purchase special deals and promotions, sit and take notes in food demonstrations and entrepreneurship learning sessions, compete in cook offs, and then enjoy games and entertainment from the country’s top artists.

Leading food suppliers will also take a spotlight at the event, getting the chance to introduce their food service products to the entrepreneurs.

STA. LUCIA ENDORSER. Actress Bea Alonzo (center) is again been named official brand ambassador of Sta.

Lucia Land Inc. this year. With her at the formal contract signing cememony at Romulo Cafe in Quezon City are SLI chief executive and president Exequiel Robles (left) and chairman Vicente Santos. As brand ambassador, Bea will represent Sta. Lucia Group’s various brands and over 210 real estate projects to date.

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

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Business

Dollar gains on rate hike hopes T OKYO―The dollar’s rally against the euro and yen hit a wall Monday, but it rose against other Asia-Pacific currencies on renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this month.

Greenback demand picked up Friday after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said higher rates were needed to prevent the economy from overheating, while normally dovish Governor Daniel Tarullo also signalled his openness to a 2016 rate hike.

“Rosengren’s comments were nothing new compared to remarks he’d made last month, but the fact they were repeated after the intervening US data run marked them out as significant,”

National Australia Bank said in a commentary.

Their remarks came a day after the head of the European Central Bank played down the chances of fresh stimulus, while Japanese officials have kept markets guessing on the chances of new measures.

A string of weak readings for the world’s top economy— including service sectors activity and jobs growth—had put off expectations of any tightening

until December at the earliest.

The yen gained as the Australian and New Zealand dollars held declines amid growing wariness over prospects the Federal Reserve will raise rates at this month’s meeting.

The yen gained 0.2 percent to 102.50 per dollar as of 6:49 a.m. in London, after strengthening as much as 0.4 percent.

The euro rose to $1.1242 against $1.1232 in New York, while it eased to 115.28 yen from 115.35 yen.

The won slid 1 percent to 1,110.57 per dollar, set for its biggest drop since Aug. 29 as a report North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test added to pressure on the currency.

A gauge of Asian shares dropped

2.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 1.9 percent.

The dollar gained 0.9 percent on the Malaysian ringgit and 0.6 percent versus the Indonesian rupiah.

Investors are now waiting for a speech later Monday by Lael Brainard, a dovish member of the Fed board, with speculation swirling that she will give yet another signal for a rate hike.

Australia’s dollar fell 0.1 percent to 75.33 US cents, after tumbling 1.3 percent on Friday, its steepest drop in more than two months.

New Zealand’s currency was little changed at 73.25 US cents from Friday when it dropped 1 percent, its biggest decline in five weeks.

“Traders have convinced

Sanofi, Google in diabetes venture

PARIS―Google and French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced Monday a new joint venture focused on diabetes care.

The tie-up between the drug maker and Verily, the health subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, will focus on treatments for people living with the chronic disease.

Details on what the company’s products will look like―or when they will reach the market―were scant, but they will combine the drugmaker’s clinical know-how with the tech company’s background in analytics and mini devices, a joint statement said.

“As it will initially consist of connecting already existing products, we can expect the first innovations to arrive more quickly than if it was a pharmaceutical research program starting from scratch,” the head of Sanofi’s diabetes business Stefan Oelrich told AFP. The venture, called Onduo, will initially focus on type two diabetes, the more common form of the disease. The prevalence of type two diabetes is soring globally as obesity rates also rise.

Eventually, Onduo plans to expand its business to type one diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that requires daily insulin, and eventually those at risk of developing the disease. AFP

themselves the Feds are marching out Lael Brainard, a mega-dove, to bang the Fed’s September rate hike drum,” said Stephen Innes, senior trader forex firm OANDA. “While the Aussie and kiwi lost some ground Friday, they still remain close to recent highs,” said Robert Rennie, global head of foreign exchange and commodity strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. In Sydney. “Coming into the BoJ and Fed meetings I expect to see increased volatility and AUD underperforming,” even though the continuation of an accommodative stance from Japan and the European Central Bank will support the Aussie at its lower end, he wrote via electronic messaging. Bloomberg, AFP

A woman walks past billboards of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (left) and Galaxy S7 (right) at a mobile phone shop in Seoul on September 12, 2016. Samsung shares plunged on September 12 after the South Korean electronics giant urged global users to stop using its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to a spate of exploding batteries that raised alarm around the world. AFP

Samsung sinks over exploding batteries SEOUL―Samsung shares plunged Monday after the South Korean electronics giant urged global consumers to stop using its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to a spate of exploding batteries that raised alarm around the world.

Stepping up its warnings, the world’s largest smartphone maker on Sunday told Note 7 users worldwide to immediately turn the device off.

Samsung Electronics on September 2 had announced a recall of its oversized “phablet” after faulty batteries caused some handsets to burst into flames during charging.

Since then, airlines and air safety agencies around the world have warned passengers against using them on flights. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission Friday urged Note 7 owners to stop using the device.

Shares in the firm―South Korea’s largest by value― dropped 7 percent to close at 1.46 million won ($1,318) on the Seoul stock market― the lowest in two months.

It was the biggest daily drop in the firm’s share price so far this year and shaved about 15 trillion won off the firm’s total value.

“The whole situation over Samsung is becoming more serious and complicated as more state authorities around the world are advising nationals to stop using the Note 7,” said Hwang MinSung, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

The fallout from the recall―which involves 2.5 million handsets sold so far in 10 countries―may slash the firm’s profit later this year by more than one trillion won, he warned.

The recall―the first involving Samsung’s flagship smartphone―dealt a major blow to the firm’s reputation at a time when it faces a growing challenge in all market segments. AFP

Wheat price slump continues as world stockpile balloons HEDGE funds are betting that the rout that took wheat prices to the lowest in a decade is far from over.

World inventories of the grain are forecast to expand for a fourth straight year, US government data show. The supply cushion underscores why money managers have their biggest-ever bet on price declines.

Wheat futures have slumped for four straight months, reaching the lowest since 2006 at the end of August. Rains in Europe

left fields soggy, prompting some hope that prices would bottom.

Instead, big supplies from the US and Russia are making up for the smaller crops elsewhere. While the US Department of Agriculture probably will cut its global stockpile estimates on Monday, the figure will still be a record, a Bloomberg survey showed.

“We still have plenty of wheat in the world,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at INTL FCStone Financial

Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri.

“When you look at the longerterm impact, all it did is keep the fundamentals from being more bearish than what they are,” he said, referring to the lower European output.

Hedge funds and other large speculators expanded their net-short holdings in wheat to 132,577 futures and options in the week ended Sept. 6, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released three

days later. That’s the most since the data begins in 2006. The bets have been net-short since August 2015, the longest streak ever.

World wheat inventories before the 2017 Northern Hemisphere harvests will probably total 251.4 million metric tons, according to the average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

While that’s lower than the 252.8 million predicted by the USDA last month, it would still be the highest ever and 3.9 percent larg-

er than last season. The agency will publish its monthly supply and demand report at noon in Washington Monday.

A “continuous upgrade” in production estimates from key exporting nations has offset declines in Europe, Rajesh Singla, a Societe Generale SA analyst, said in a report e-mailed Sept. 7. A strong dollar coupled with a lower ruble also remains a headwind for US futures as sellers compete on price amid the glut, he said. Bloomberg

World’s first green-powered boat readies for round-the-world trip

By Helene Duvigneau SAINT-MALO—Dubbed the “Solar Impulse of the Seas,” the first boat to be powered solely by renewable energies and hydrogen hopes to make its own historic trip around the world.

A water-borne answer to the Solar Impulse—the plane that completed its round-the-globe trip using only solar energy in July—the Energy Observer will be powered by the Sun, the wind and self-generated hydrogen when it sets sail in February as scheduled.

The multi-hulled catamaran is in a shipyard at Saint-Malo on France’s west coast, awaiting the installation of solar panels, wind turbines and electrolysis equipment, which breaks down water to produce its component elements, hydrogen and oxygen.

“We are going to be the first boat with an autonomous means of producing hydrogen,” says Frenchman Victorien Erussard, who is behind the project— confidential until now –with compatriot Jacques Delafosse, a documentary filmmaker and professional scuba diver.

Sun, wind, hydrogen The plan is for the boat’s batteries, which will feed the elec-

tric motors, to be powered in good weather by solar and wind energy, explains the 37-year-old merchant navy officer with a smile.

“If there’s no Sun or wind, or if it’s night, stored hydrogen— generated by electrolysis powered by the solar panels and two wind turbines—will take over,” he says.

As a result, the vessel’s trip will not use any carbon-emitting fossil fuels, as is the case for 96 percent of boats today.

The vessel itself has a storied past.

The catamaran won the Jules Verne trophy, for a team sailing non-stop round the world, in 1994. It was bought for 500,000 euros ($562,000) and extended by a whopping six metres, to 30.5 meters (100 feet), for the project.

One of the backers of the endeavour is well-known French environmentalist Nicolas Hulot.

“I support it because it’s the first project of this kind to actually be undertaken, it’s ambitious and looking toward the future,” Hulot, a former special envoy on environmental protection to President Francois Hollande, told AFP. “It’s very promising for ma-

rine transport,” Hulot added.

“The Energy Observer is going to demonstrate that you can have great autonomy (at sea) and you can store and find energy when there isn’t any more wind or sun.”

‘Great challenge’ The Energy Observer was designed in partnership with a team of naval architects and the CEALiten research institute in the French city of Grenoble, which is dedicated to renewable energy technologies.

At a total cost of 4.2 million euros ($4.72 million), the green energy boat will be fitted with sensors to act as veritable moving laboratory for CEA-Liten, whose director Florence Lambert describes the project as a “great challenge” to take on.

“Energy Observer is emblematic of what will be the energy networks of tomorrow, with solutions that could even be used within five years,” says Lambert.

“For example, the houses of tomorrow could incorporate a system of hydrogen storage, which is produced during the summer months and then used in the winter.”

The head of the project at CEA-Liten, Didier Bouix, adds

Men work on on the hull of an under construction self energy producer multihull “Energy Observer” on September 6, 2016 in Saint-Malo, western France. AFP

that hydrogen can store “20 times more energy” than conventional batteries.

Six-year world tour Energy Observer’s world tour is expected to take six years.

After a careful crossing of the Mediterranean, the catamaran will venture out into the Atlantic and then Pacific oceans.

In all, 101 stopovers are planned from Cuba to New Caledonia to Goa on India’s west coast.

There are still hurdles to overcome, not least in funding: the Energy Observer’s trip is expected to cost a minimum of four million euros a year, notably to develop a traveling exhi-

bition.

But the team says it is confident of getting the funds.

And once again it finds inspiration from its airplane mentor Solar Impulse—which flew around the world on renewable energy and accomplished “what everyone said was impossible,” said Delafosse. AFP

LGUs

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

C1

RESTFUL. Sunlight on Kayangan Lake in Coron, Palawan paints a pleasing monochrome of whites, blues, greens and grays. Erwin Leyros

Erap lights up Happy Land D

ETERMINED to end the suffering of poor Manileños who have no electricity, Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada empowered the so-called “Happy Land” housing settlement in Tondo by providing residents with free electricity connections.

At least 500 families in Aroma plied with power through the elecsite, Barangay 105 are now sup- trification program of Estrada and

One Meralco Foundation, the social development arm of the Manila Electric Co. “I know how difficult it is to have no electricity. If our can put up street lamps, we can also light up homes,” he said, adding that this is a joint effort of the city government and Meralco to help Manila’s “poorest of the poor.”

Home to at least 3,000 resi-

dents, Aroma is a temporary housing site put up by the National Housing Authority in Tondo when the Smokey Mountain was closed in 1995. This depressed community is part of Happy Land, a dump site.

The community has no steady supply of electricity and most of the households rely on sub-meters, jumpers, or generators run-

ning for limited hours at night.

With the electrical connections, Estrada said, the families have lights at night instead of using candles that often cause fires.

“Now they can sleep comfortably, and more safely, at night,” he said as he expressed his gratitude to the foundation.

The beneficiaries, he pointed

Lubao PCF builds 2-story school building A P1-MILLION two-story school building was built in San Pablo II National High School using the performance challenge fund (PCF) awarded to Lubao in Pampanga by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Municipal Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab said.

The local government of Lubao provided P160,000 as counterpart fund to the PCF, an incentive fund

given by the DILG to high-performing cities, municipalities and provinces that have complied and passed the key requirements for the Seal of Good Local Governance.

“When we met the requirements for Good Financial Housekeeping, I immediately thought of building classrooms because so many students here hold classes under trees or in covered courts. There are also a lot of

Puerto Galera goes Hispanic

By Robert A. Evora PUERTO GALERA, Oriental Mindoro—This resort town, labeled by the United Nations as a “man and biosphere reserve,” is undergoing a major rehabilitation and transformation back to the Spanish era, Mayor Rockey Ilagan said.

The initial budget of P190 million will kickstart the construction of the Puerto Galera Cultural and Heritage Park (PGBCHP), a maritime museum in Muelle Cove housing a full-size replica of a Spanish galleon and the addition of an eco-tourism park with a crocodile farm and a butterfly garden in the 10-hectare roadside location of the Tamaraw Falls.

“We’ve to do this major facelifting in our town because we’re being left behind by neighboring provinces in terms of tourist arrivals. We have to revive our once-vibrant tourism industry,” Ilagan said.

Three national government agencies, the Department of Tourism, through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the Department of Health, and the Department of Public Works and Highways provide most of the funds for these projects.

“We’ve to rely on their funding assistance since the Puerto Galera municipal goverment has limited budget to realize their construc-

tion. The environmental user’s fee we collect from arriving tourists is spent on environmental protection and conservation only,” the mayor explained.

“That amount is just an icebreaker as our local government is urging other government agencies to shell out more financial support.

Investors in the hotel, resort and restaurant businesses are also helping us right now,” he said.

A technical working group, composed of local architects and engineers and foreign expatriates, has submitted to the mayor the final design of the PGBCHP. The sum of P60 million has been allocated for this project.

Shoreline villages, including structures inside the Muelle Cove, will be rebuilt in the style of the Spanish period when it was occupied by both the “ilustrados” the “conquistadores.”

An integral part of the PGBCHP is the Maritime Museum where a full-size replica of a four-masted galleon used by the Spaniards in the 16th century will be constructed. It will be 25 meters long and will be constructed by the end of this year.

The ancient ship will also be seen by visitors floating in Muelle Bay inside the cove. “Once completed, it will be the first and only galleon ship in the Philippines,” says Keeas Koornstra, 62, a Dutch seafarer who designed the replica.

out-of-school youth.” Cayabyab said.

The construction of the building was completed in September 2015, less than a year before the implementation of Grades 11 and 12 in the country.

Cayabyab admitted the San Pablo II is not yet prepared for the implementation of the K-12 program of the Department of Education but opted to try it to avoid disenfranchising the

students who want to pursue a college education.

At present, there are at least 10 sections per grade level with almost 50 students per classroom. They are alternately holding classes in the morning and afternoon.

San Pablo II principal Olivia Icban said 317 enrolled in Grade 11, of which 100 are occupying the PCFfunded classrooms.

The determined Miss Hermosa

By Butch Gunio

HERMOSA, Bataan—‘A true-blue Bataena is determined.’

This is how Miss Hermosa 2016 and Miss Bataan Tourism Bataan 2016 candidate Sherry Annette de Jesus, 22, summed up a true-blue Bataena.

“The best attitude of a Bataena is being determined. In every single way, in every task to be accomplished, a Bataena gives her all,” De Jesus said.

Asked about the ongoing beauty contest she said, “The person who deserves to win Miss Bataan Tourism 2016 is someone who is working very hard for it, and is willing to do everything to continue the legacy of Bataan. She is not beautiful on the outside only but also inside. She is confident with good attitude and personality.”

Pressed to comment on her chance to win she said, “I have the qualities.” Fondly called Sherry, she was recently hired as a flight attendant by Cebu Pacific Air. The stunner who has a 33-25-36 frame is a native of Barangay Mambog, Hermosa.

She went to college at the Trinity University of Asia, Quezon City. She was a graduate of Culis Elementary School and Saint Peter of Verona Academy, both in Hermosa.

Hermosa’s Sherry Annette de Jesus.

Butch Gunio

out, will be using Meralco’s Prepaid Service that allows them to monitor, control and save on power expenses through their choice of load denominations.

The Happy Land initiative is part of the foundation’s household electrification program that aims to provide sustainable source of energy in remote communities and resettlement areas.

Oxfam, Smart, PayMaya aid Tacloban

By Mel Caspe TACLOBAN CITY—International aid organization Oxfam, Smart Communications and PayMaya Philippines, in collaboration with the Tacloban City local government, launched a financial inclusion program aimed at making communities more resilient through mobile money and financial literacy training.

The Financial Inclusion for Tacloban Resettlement Integrated Program will build a culture of entrepreneurship and savings among 16,000 beneficiaries strengthening their communities. Three years ago, Tacloban City was among the worst-hit communities by Super Typhoon “Haiyan,” one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded.

Qualified beneficiaries will receive Smart Money prepaid cards—a mobile money product of PayMaya Philippines—that can be linked to their mobile phones where they are encouraged to place P1 and above through any Smart Padala Center in Tacloban. As they load their money, they will receive real-time notifications such as available balance via SMS. A rewards and incentives system has been put in place where participants who maintain a required average weekly balance in their Smart Money for at least a month will be rewarded with entrepreneurship package options as well as personal accident insurance.

They can choose a Smart Retailer package of a Smart retailer SIM and credits that they can use to start a mobile load business. Another choice is a sari-sari store starter set with Unilever products that they can resell as another source of income.

To ensure a more solid infrastructure for the financial inclusion program, Smart is providing financial literacy training through community-based caravans. Smart is also providing the local government with Infocast, a text messaging system, so stakeholders can disseminate much-needed information related to the finance literacy program.

“Since Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban, Oxfam, in partnership with national NGOs, has been working at the forefront of relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts to support affected and displaced communities. We believe that equitable access to financial services is crucial for them to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. We are happy that Smart and PayMaya Philippines are helping us rebuild the local economy,” shared Justin Morgan, country director of Oxfam.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

LGUs

Regional treasury bonds offered

By Dexter A. See

A

T LEAST P65 billion worth of Regional Treasury Bonds will be offered by the Bureau of Treasury on the retail market to convince people to venture in alternative savings opportunities and diversify their investments.

William Beluso, legal service department head of the Bureau of Treasury, said 15 accredited selling agent banks will decide

whether or not to increase or decrease the amount of RTBs to be offered to the retail market depending on the demand.

Under this year’s offering of the RTBs, the interest of the RTBs having a minimum amount of P5,000 will be 3.5 percent per annum with a net interest of 2.8 percent after the charging of the 20-percent withholding tax.

For the past 13 years that the Bureau of Treasury had been publicly offering RTBs to the retail market, the government generated P1.4 trillion which helped bankroll the implementation of prior-

ity development projects that were able to trigger economic activities in the countryside.

“The public offering of RTBs is not actually in response to the numerous investment scams that emerged in the country over the past several years which resulted in the loss of billions of pesos of hard-earned money of the people. The RTBs are guaranteed by the government that is why there is no fear that the money of the buyers will get lost dur-

ing the 10-year period,” Beluso stressed.

The RTBs will be offered until September 16 while the bonds will subsequently be released to the buyers on September 20.

The treasury official underscored clients could purchase the RTBs at par during the offer period. RTBs bought in the secondary markets be subject to market forces.

According to Beluso, the advantage of RTBs is that they are

readily available, accessible to the selling agents and guaranteed by the government. It could be converted to cash when sold on the secondary market.

He explained the annual interest of the RTBs will be credited to the account holders on a quarterly basis minus the 20 percent withholding tax.

Beluso said the safest mode of keeping and saving hard-earned money will be the purchase of RTBs from accredited selling agent banks.

Padcal villages electrified

By Dexter A. See TUBA—Some 875 residents in seven sitios of Barangay Camp 3, in Tuba, have benefitted from a P7.6-million electrification project sponsored by Philex Mining Corp. that was one of its social projects in the communities outlying its Padcal operations.

The project, which has run for two years, was carried out by the

miner’s Padcal operations in coordination with the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), which oversaw quality control of the materials used as well as the orientation of residents on the safety measures pertaining to electricity.

Padcal’s community relations (ComRel) department said last March marked the P1.6-million secondary-line connection of the third batch of households in the

barangay, which now enjoys electricity though in a far-flung area of Tuba town.

Last year, Philex Mining spent P5 million on the secondary lines for the second batch of households, and P1 million in 2014.

Between the later part of 2014 and the first quarter of this year, the sitios of Bastian, Kimmabab, Allapang, Alang, Camait, Torre and Balayan were beneficiaries of the project, which includes the installation of electric posts, wires and power lines.

Albert Wayan Jr., municipal engineer of Tuba, said “we admit that governments in the barangay and municipal levels cannot address all the needs of their constituents, so we are glad that Philex Mining is here to help us.”

The community leader Norma Marcelo said the project has been of great help to residents, especially for students who do their homework at night. “With electricity, our children are able to prepare for their school the following day with more ease as compared to when they used kerosene lamps while doing their assignments,” she stressed.

ComRel said Philex Mining has been faithful in fulfilling its duty to the host and neighboring communities through the implementation of various social projects under the governmentmandated Social Development and Management Program.

CLEAR. A PDEA K9 unit found no illegal drugs in three Vietnamese fishing vessels at Pier 1 in the Port of San Fernando, La Union. Christine Junio

Orani to build septic plant

By Butch Gunio ORANI—The Orani Water District is set to build a P60million septage treatment facility in Barangay Pagasa in Orani, Bataan.

“We are just awaiting the resolution from the local government of Orani to start the project,” said OWD general manager Benni Andres.

“The local government recently conducted public hearings and they had lawyer-representatives to clarify some legal matters regarding the project,” Andres added.

“Officials led by Mayor Bonjong Pascual are scheduling a visit to a septic treatment facility in Baliwag, Bulacan to see how it operates,” he said.

Andres said septic tanks must be siphoned out at least once every three to five years.

Health officials said septic management is the regular dislodging or cleaning of septic tanks on a scheduled basis.

“It is about improving the sanitation level. Establishing a septic treatment plant conforms to internationally accepted methods,” said the OWD official.

He added the project is also in connection with a Supreme Court mandamus to clean Manila Bay. “Many of us do not know where our human wastes go after using toilets, and this project is one of the answers to the SC order,” Andres explained. Orani is along Manila Bay. The local government of Orani will provide a two-hectare land and the OWD will construct and operate the plant.

Baguio asks Globe to transfer tower BAGUIO CITY—The City Council gave the management of Globe Telecom a 15-day grace period to file a position paper on Resolution 239, series of 2008 requesting the telecommunications company to relocate its tower in Upper Market Subdivision barangay.

The council decided on the action after lawyer Solgrandioso David Jr., special projects head of Globe Telecom Inc., informed the local legislative body that the company has never received a copy of the resolution. David said Globe needs to study the resolution and file a motion for reconsideration.

Earlier, Resolution 12, series of 2016 of Barangay Upper Market Subdivision reiterated the firm stand of the barangay council and residents for the re-

moval and transfer of the Globe tower because of the serious negative effects on the health of the residents of radiation.

David explained to the council that health experts studied the reported radiation emanating from the tower and it proved that there is no threat of radiation from the tower to the people living in the community, except within a three-meter radius from its antenna.

The council set another consultation among the stakeholders on September 26 after the company shall have filed its position paper and bring with them the appropriate health and technical people who will shed light on the fear of the people that the main cause of cancer cases in the barangay is the radiation from the Globe tower. Dexter A. See

Pampanga capitol back in Bacolor

By Romeo Dizon LUBAO—Pampanga’s capitol will return to the province’s old capital of Bacolor due to massive development, traffic and flooding, Gov. Lilia Pineda declared Sunday.

Pineda said the seat of the provincial government in Barangay Sto. Niño in the capital City of San Fernando is now very progressive, forcing a return to the old site on Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Barangay San Isidro, Bacolor.

The site is the boundary between Bacolor and the capital city in front of King Royals res-

taurant on JASA, formerly the Gapan Olongapo Road.

The eight-hectare land is owned by Pampanga Sugar Mill Development Corp. (Pasudeco) in Barangay San Isidro, which the provincial government expropriated.

With a price tag of P800 million, the new seat of the province or “Casa Real” includes the development of integrated terminals, parks, a convention center, and business stalls for the medium and small entrepreneurs operating in the provinces and a display area for other products of the province for both local and foreign tourists.

World 16 dead, 250 hurt in Tanzania quake DAR ES SALAAM--At least 16 people died and 253 were injured in a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest Tanzania and was felt throughout the Great Lakes region, local authorities said Sunday.

As rescuers scrambled to find survivors from Saturday’s quake, Tanzanian premier Kassim Majaliwa headed to the worst-hit city, Bukoba, to attend a ceremony at its stadium.

“This tragic event is unprecedented.

We’ve never known this in our country,” he told mourners. “The government is with you.

It will not abandon you.”

President John Magufuli, who is from the region, said he was “deeply saddened”.

A group of 15 boys at a secondary boarding school in Bukoba district are believed to be among the 16 dead and 253 injured, according to Salum Kijuu, governor of Kagera province where Bukoba is located.

More than 800 buildings have been destroyed, including 44 public ones, Kijuu told AFP. Across the border in Uganda, an unknown number of homes have also been razed by the quake which struck at 1227 GMT at a depth of 40 kilometres (24 miles) in the region near Lake Victoria.

In the Ugandan village of Minziro in the district of Rakai, residents appealed for help on Sunday, describing terrifying scenes of rocks crashing down nearby hillsides.

“I am sure the government can’t reconstruct our houses but in the meantime it can aid us with construction materials for tents,” victim Masembe Remegio told AFP. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.

The quake’s epicentre was 23 kilometres (15 miles) east of the northwestern Tanzanian town of Nsunga, in Bukoba district, and was felt in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said.

Bukoba city suffered widespread damage, with 270 houses destroyed and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said in a statement.

Its main hospital was stretched to nearly full capacity and had limited stocks of medicine.

“Telecommunications have been disrupted and we are trying to get a clear picture of the damage to hospitals and other essential infrastructure,” Andreas Sandin, Red Cross operations coordinator in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, said in a statement.

No damage was reported in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some 1,400 kilometres southeast of Bukoba.

In Rwanda the shaking was felt across the country, with hotel staff and half-dressed visitors seen rushing out of their rooms in the capital, Kigali, when the quake struck.

In Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, the president’s spokesman Willy Nyamitwe tweeted: “I just felt an earthquake at 1429.” AFP

Israel SC orders force-feeding of hunger strikers JERUSALEM—Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday rejected an appeal from the Israel Medical Association and authorized the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, a court document showed.

“This law is legal under Israeli law and international law,” the court ruled of a law passed in July last year allowing hungerstrikers to be force-fed if their lives are in danger.

“Saving a life must remain the priority and the state is responsible for the lives of its prisoners,” the judges said.

The law aimed to end what the Israeli authorities consider to be blackmail by Palestinian prisoners for whom hunger strikes are a commonly used tactic.

The medical association appealed against the law after doctors complained of being embroiled in a political dispute.

“The state is responsible for the safety of prisoners but also of its citizens whose safety may be endangered because of events such as a hunger strike by prisoners,” the judges added.

Several Palestinian prisoners held under Israel’s controversial administrative detention law, which allows suspects to be held for renewable six-month periods without trial, have staged hunger strikes.

All called off their protests after being given reassurances that their detention would not be renewed.

Israel says the controversial practice allows authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, while Palestinians, rights groups and members of the international community have condemned the system.

There are currently around 7,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, of whom some 700 are under administrative detention, a procedure dating back to the British mandate of Palestine. AFP

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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Nokor floods kill 133 S

EOUL--The death toll from severe flooding in the northeast of North Korea has risen to 133 with another 395 missing, the UN said.

SACRIFICE. Thai Muslims take part in morning prayers on the day of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat on Sunday. Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Adha (the feast of sacrifice), the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide marking the end of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj to the Saudi holy city of Mecca. AFP

Female attackers killed in Kenya NAIROBI—Three women were killed Sunday while staging what officers said was “an apparent terror attack” at the main police station in the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

Police said two of the women involved in the knife and firebomb assault were Kenyans and that one was wearing a suicide vest that did not detonate.

Three of their alleged accomplices have been arrested.

Mombasa County police chief Peterson Maelo said the three women had entered the city’s busiest police station mid-morning saying they wanted to report a stolen phone.

“In the process one hurled a petrol bomb at the report office as the others confronted two officers and stabbed them,” Maelo told journalists at the scene.

“All the three attackers have been killed and the two police officers have been rushed to hospital,” he said, terming it “an apparent terror attack.”

The fire was put out and the station sealed off by heavily armed police officers as the probe got under way.

“We have managed to identify two of the three terror suspects who were killed in Mombasa, they are Kenyans,” police spokesman Charles Owino told AFP, naming them as Fatuma Omar and Tas-

min Yakub Abdullahi Farah, both from Mombasa.

He identified Farah as the ringleader, saying she “had a suicide vest that did not detonate because she was shot down swiftly by officers.”

He said police raided her home in Mombasa’s Kibokoni area and arrested three accomplices, who are Somali refugees.

A senior police officer in Mombasa who asked not to be identified said earlier that the three attackers were wearing Muslim dress.

“This is terrorism, they were definitely on a mission,” he said. AFP

Turkey ousts 28 mayors linked to Kurds ISTANBUL--Turkey on Sunday removed 28 mayors accused of links to Kurdish militants or US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, using emergency powers to replace them with state-appointed trustees in a move that sparked accusations of trampling on democracy.

The mayors have been suspended from their posts on suspicion of links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is waging a deadly insurgency in the southeast, or Gulen, who is blamed for the July 15 failed coup, an interior ministry state-

ment said.

Using special powers under the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the abortive putsch, they have been replaced by state-appointed trustees, similar to administrators appointed to head a company that goes into bankruptcy.

Twenty-four of the outgoing mayors are accused of links to the PKK and four of links to Gulen, the ministry said. The reclusive cleric denies charges of masterminding the coup.

The move is the most important step

yet taken by new Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu since he took over from Efkan Ala in a surprise reshuffle earlier this month.

Soylu said the move meant that local municipalities would no longer be controlled by “terrorists or those under instructions from Qandil”, referring to the PKK’s mountain base in northern Iraq.

The decree was issued under the threemonth state of emergency imposed after the coup. The incumbents had been elected in 2014 local polls. AFP

As this developed, the communist country is ready to conduct another nuclear test at any time, South Korea’s defence ministry said Monday, just days after Pyongyang sparked worldwide condemnation with its fifth and most powerful test.

Some 107,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the area along the Tumen River, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement received Monday citing Pyongyang government figures.

People in the area are suffering “great hardship”, according to North Korean state media. A nationwide mass mobilisation labour campaign intended to bolster the economy has been redirected to assist flood victims.

More than 35,500 houses have been damaged, with 69 percent of them completely destroyed, and a further 8,700 public buildings have been damaged, OCHA said in a statement dated Sunday.

Around 16,000 hectares (39,540 acres) of farmland had been inundated and at least 140,000 people urgently need help, it said.

“An additional test could be conducted in a tunnel that branches off from the second tunnel or in the third tunnel, where preparations have been completed,” ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun told reporters.

The spokesman declined to elaborate, citing intelligence matters, but said the South’s military is on full combatreadiness to respond to “further nuclear tests, ballistic missile launches or land provocation” by the North.

Citing an unidentified government official, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported earlier Monday that Pyongyang had completed preparations for another nuclear test in its previously unused third tunnel at the Punggye-ri site in the northeast. AFP

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

World

Catalans demand break with Spain B

ARCELONA--Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets on Sunday to demand their region break away from Spain, pressuring pro-independence leaders to unite and iron out differences over their secession plan.

Crowds waved red and yellow striped Catalan flags in Barcelona and four other cities under bright sunshine on the region’s national day, the “Diada,” which marks the conquest of Barcelona

by Spain’s King Philip V in 1714.

Local police estimated that 800,000 people had taken part but Spain’s central government, which fiercely opposes Catalan independence, put turnout at around 370,000 strong.

Many wore white T-shirts with the slogan “Ready” in Catalan, highlighting their belief that the northwestern region of 7.5 mil-

lion people was already prepared to be its own country.

“This is the moment to stand united for the ‘yes’ to the Catalan Republic,” Jordi Sanchez, the head of the Catalan National Assembly, a pro-independence organisation which co-organised the protest, told the rally near the regional parliament.

“We are impatient,” he added.

The run-up to the protest has coincided with a rift between separatist parties just as they target independence for the region in mid-2017.

In the coming months “critical

decisions” regarding Catalonia’s future will have to be taken, the head of the regional government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, told a meeting with foreign journalists before the rallies.

Catalan separatists have tried in vain for years to win approval from Spain’s central government to hold an independence referendum like the one held in 2014 in Scotland in Britain which resulted in a “no” vote.

After winning a clear majority in Catalonia’s regional parliament for the first time ever last year, secessionist parties approved a plan to achieve independence in mid-2017.

But the plan ran into trouble in June when Puigdemont’s coalition government lost the support of the tiny anti-capitalist party CUP which has the hardest line on independence. As a result it lost its clear majority in the assembly.

The pro-independence camp

hopes Sunday’s mass protest will reunite and breathe new life into their campaign, which is moving along more slowly than many of its supporters would like.

“Politicians say we are close but we want to see it happen now,” said 60-year-old researcher Xavier Vallve at the rally in Barcelona.

Carmen Santos, a 58-year-old civil servant, said she hoped this “Diada would be the last before independence.”

Rallies were also held in the southern city of Tarragona, Berga in the centre, Salt in the north and Lleida in the east.

Catalans have nurtured a separate identity for centuries, but an independence movement surged recently as many became disillusioned with limitations on the autonomy they gained in the late 1970s after the Francisco Franco dictatorship, which had suppressed Catalan nationalism. AFP

Akansas bet crowned Miss America WASHINGTON--An Arkansas business student who once kicked so high she gave herself a black eye was crowned Miss America 2017 late Sunday.

Savvy Shields, 21, wore an elegant strapless black evening gown as she accepted the crown from the 2016 winner, Betty Cantrell of Georgia.

Shields then waved to the crowd at the auditorium in Atlantic City, New Jersey as the pageant’s classic theme song “There she is, Miss America,” played over the loudspeakers. The event was broadcast live on the ABC network.

Shields is a senior at the University of Arkansas where she studies Art with a minor in Business, according to her official biography.

For the talent portion of the contest Shields performed a jazz dance to a song from the TV series “Smash.”

This year’s judges - which included Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Gabby Douglas, pop singer Ciara, and celebrity tech billionaire Mark Cuban posed tough questions to the finalists on topics ranging from immigration to the US presidential race.

Shields answered a question about Hillary Clinton and the news media posed by Douglas.

The second runner-up was Miss New York, Camille Sims, and the first runner-up was Miss South Carolina, Rachel Wyatt. All runner-ups won scholarship money, the non-profit Miss America Organization said.

Shields will receive a hefty paycheck, expenses during the year, a $50,000 scholarship and an agreement to appear with the entertainment production company Dick Clark Productions.

Among the 52 original hopefuls was Erin O’Flaherty representing Missouri, the first openly lesbian Miss America contestant.

O’Flaherty however was not among the final 15 chosen to advance in the contest.

The most storied of US beauty pageants, Miss America earned some of the country’s highest TV ratings during its heyday in 1950s. More recently, it and other beauty pageants have been criticized as sexist and QUEEN. Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields, crowned 2017 Miss America, appears onstage during the competition at Boardwalk Hall Arena on Sunday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. AFP outdated. AFP

Beckham spices up New York fashion week NEW YORK—Victoria Beckham served up velvet and a lingerie-look. Joseph Altuzarra went flirty with gingham, cherries and snakeskin: New York Fashion Week got daring and playful Sunday after paying tribute to the 9/11 anniversary.

Politics and tragedy clung like a shadow to day four of the bi-annual style bonanza with moments of silence to honor the September 11, 2001 attacks at Beckham’s show and a note of remembrance from Altuzarra and up-and-coming label Pyer Moss delving into

the world of politics, corruption and the economy.

Here are the catwalk highlights of the day: The former Spice Girl unveiled an experimental and daring spring/summer 2017 collection with her football legend husband David and their eldest son Brooklyn sitting front row next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

Moments of silence were observed at 9:59 am, the time when the World Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed, and at 10:28 am, when the North Tower gave

way in the Al-Qaeda attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

She showcased lingerie-esque dresses, crushed velvet and Wellington-style wide boots to showcase Beckham’s evolving maturity as a designer.

“I really think I’ve come into my own this season. I really do.

It’s a lot about fabric development,” she told reporters backstage.

“Velvet is normally something that’s quite heavy, quite wintery,” she admitted. “But this is really, really light, buttery, and feels

beautiful on the skin and great to wear in the summer.”

Beckham, who has a boutique in London and who opened a second store in Hong Kong in March, said it was “just so great” to “get into the fitting room and get to know my customers. Ultimately, that’s why I’m doing this.”

Altuzarra wowed the fashion pack with a fun, flirty and sexy spring/summer collection inspired by David Lynch’s 1990 film “Wild at Heart” and by exploring what he called “a modern take on romance and kitsch.” AFP

CHIC. A model walks the runway at the Custo Barcelona fashion show during New York Fashion Week September 2016 at Pier 59 Studios on Sunday in New York City. AFP

Hillary diagnosed with pneumonia NEW YORK--Hillary Clinton cancelled a California fundraising trip after being diagnosed with pneumonia and falling ill Sunday at a 9/11 ceremony, renewing speculation about the Democratic presidential candidate’s health barely eight weeks from Election Day. “Secretary Clinton will not be traveling to California tomorrow or Tuesday,” spokesman Nick Merrill said, hours after the 68-year-old candidate abruptly left the Ground Zero memorial in New York suffering from dehydration.

The incident, in which a wobbly Clinton appeared to lose her footing as she was helped into her vehicle, offered Republican Donald Trump a new opening to attack his White House rival with just 15 days before their first high-pressure presidential debate.

Clinton had been seeking to bounce back from a blunder Friday, when she told donors that half of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables” -- so Sunday’s episode was certainly ill-timed.

The former secretary of state spent 90 minutes at the ceremony in lower Manhattan, greeting some relatives of those killed in the terror strikes 15 years ago, her campaign said in a statement. Clinton was a US senator for New York at the time of the attacks.

“During the ceremony, she felt overheated so departed to go to her daughter’s apartment, and is

feeling much better,” the statement said.

Later, the campaign released a statement from her personal doctor, Lisa Bardack, who revealed that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia Friday and was suffering from dehydration.

“She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning’s event, she became overheated and dehydrated,” according to Bardack.

“I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely.”

A video posted on Twitter showed Clinton appearing unsteady as she waited to get into a black van to leave the 9/11 service.

She appeared to stumble as she was helped into the vehicle, and had to be held up on either side by members of her entourage.

It was a humid day in New York, with temperatures around 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius).

“Many of us (had) a sigh of relief when a gust of wind would come by because it was incredibly stifling,” Democratic congressman Joe Crowley, who stood near Clinton for about an hour at the ceremony, told MSNBC. Clinton walked out of her daughter Chelsea’s home a few hours later, smiling and posing for pictures with a young girl before departing for her home in Chappaqua, just northeast of Manhattan. AFP

US has 3rd-World cops, says novelist PARIS—The United States is cursed with “Third World police” which has led to “almost statesanctioned” killings of people from minority groups, one of the country’s leading black writers said Sunday.

Marlon James, who won the prestigious Man Booker Prize last year for his epic novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings”, told a literary festival in Paris that some officers thought themselves above the law, comparing them to death squads during the “dirty war” run by Argentina’s military rulers in the 1970s.

“What people like me find alarming is there is almost statesanctioned violence in America, particularly with the police,” said the Jamaican-born novelist, who has lived in the US for more than two decades.

“America has developed a weird kind of Third World police, which horrifies people like me and my friends from Kenya or Nigeria.

“The whole idea that you are beyond the law you are serving and protecting, and that killing people will not have consequences, is something that we who migrated to America thought we had got away from,” he told an

audience at Festival America.

“This sort of unquestioned authority, straight up killing people is why Black Lives Matter happened,” he added, referring to the protest movement that sprung up out of a series of high-profile police killings of black men.

“The way that kind of violence is protected... means it is statesanctioned violence and that is no different to Argentina during the dirty war.”

James, 45, whose parents were both police officers in Jamaica, said Americans had to look hard at themselves as well as at their police.

“I don’t think it is something that Americans realise because it is mostly a minority that is victimised by it. We are naive in that we never pay attention to violence until it affects us.

“And that is a problem because when it finally does come to us nobody is going to be protecting us. It will end up endlessly repeating itself unless we stop it at some point,” he warned.

James’ virtuoso Man Bookerwinning novel follows a group of people involved in the attempted assassination of the reggae legend Bob Marley in Kingston just before he was to appear at a political rally. AFP

Life

Velasco is known for her expressionistic renditions of female figures

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

ARTS, CULTURE & MEDIA

A

RT With A Heart at the Galeria Artes in Katipunan opens on Thursday and will run until the end of September. It will tug at heartstrings while creating a head-turning event for art patrons, aficionados and even novices in art appreciation.

Artist Lydia Velasco, known for her expressionistic renditions of female figures dominating the canvases in various thoughtful moods, is now exhibiting her own personal strength as a woman. The art show is a very defining moment of her love of family bonded with the love of her art.

Her niece, Mara V. Duran, a young woman of 25, and a new graduate at Miriam College with a major in foreign service, is afflicted with debilitating myelofibrosis, a bone marrow cancer that can cause severe anemia and even quick demise if a bone marrow transplant is not done soonest. Lydia appealed to her peers to help raise funds after Mara’s touching letter asking for help to fight the disease saying “she wants so much to live.” Mara has been bravely battling the disease for several months now, punctuated by blood marrow sampling and transfusions. Myelofibrosis affects one person in two million people and ages mostly 50 to 60 years old.

Artists, both established and upand-coming, young and old alike quickly responded in a manner that held Lydia breathlessly grateful.

Works of all sizes and styles particularly from the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday groups poured in and, as of now, may total to 100 pieces.

They will be on exhibit and will be sold at Galeria Artes along Katipunan avenue near Ateneo de Manila University.

Among the artists who contributed to the show are Galicano, Dominic Rubio, Fil dela Cruz, Kitty Taniguchi, Vincent Paolo de Pio, Aileen Lanuza de Pio, Daisy Carlos, Hermes Alegre, Carlo Magno, Remy Boquiren, Joy Rojas of PCSO, Francis Nacion, Gabuco, Wilwayco and Tence Ruiz, among others.

The strategy of interactive collaboration such as this has been used before, but not for this urgent and heartfelt purpose. The artists executed their own styles and strokes on their respective pieces and turned them over to Lydia afterwards who injected her own strong and impressive female characters on the same canvas.

It is both a studied and spontaneous activity, as Lydia is challenged to capture the mood and meaning in the

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Lydia Velasco’s

‘Art With A Heart’

Filipino visual artist Lydia Velasco (right) stages ‘Art With A Heart’ exhibit for her 25-year-old niece Mara Duran (left)

work presented by her artist-friends.

How she created complementary characters is somehow captivating, as she decided where they should be located within the canvas, to help create a unified effect and subdued visual dissonance.

“I worked for four months, studying each collaborative piece, deep in a decision on how my own input will harmoniously blend with other styles and strokes. It was a beautiful challenge and I put my best into it not only for myself, but for Mara.”

Thus, Art With A Heart comes to life, vivid and alive, interesting and captivating, with the ultimate objective of being a fundraiser for a young Mara who so desperately wants to live. “I have such good friends,” Lydia intoned gratefully.

“Even young artists contributed pieces to be sold for Mara, so generous of them and I can only ask God to bless all of these wonderful people.” Then she quickly adds, “Please come to the art show because it is a group show unlike the usual, with everyone contributing an artwork that can fit any budget, for a starting collector or a regular patron, or someone who simply found something to keep.”

For those who want to help Mara make a successful journey towards healing, you may deposit to RCBC C/A 7-589 174652 in favor of Lydia V. Cruz. Mara needs the bone marrow transplant while she is still strong.

TWO ARTWORK, ONE CANVAS. Lydia Velasco injected her distinct female characters in each of the paintings contributed by her artist friends for the fundraising exhibit.

Museo del Galeon’s dinner for partners THE recent month saw the corporate launch of Museo del Galeón Inc.’s (MDGI) premier project The Galeón: Manila-Acapulco Galleon Museum.

With construction in full swing of a dome shaped center to surround a lifesized Galeon ship, the event jumpstarted the pace for potential partners to contribute to the grand vision of major proponents MDGI Chairman Edgardo J. Angara and Dr. Tomas Calvillo.

Striding in as a staunch supporter of the museum was Embajada de Mexico with Ambassador Julio Camarena taking the lead to host the intimate affair at his residence. This in itself stood as a symbolic gesture to the special relationship that Philippines and Mexico have shared for 250 years of the galleon trade.

In his welcome address, the ambassador was quick to note that this important connection continues through current

Mexican presence in the country particularly seen in art exhibitions, seminars, concerts, festivals and economic investments.

In his keynote speech, Angara agreed the ties of these two countries were forged through history. Filipinos and Mexicans involved in the maritime exchange, he said, “laid the foundation for what will become a large cultural, religious, agricultural and human exchange across the Pacific.”

This bilateral partnership is evident in the museum’s grand master plan. In attendance from across the Pacific was Jose Vigil, an archictect of Arquitectos, a design firm based in Mexico. His video presentation gave viewers a glimpse of the museum’s aesthetics. From its exterior, the building’s prolate ellipsoidal dome confidently stood out in contrast to its neighboring shoebox buildings. Its

MDGI Board Member Gerardo Borromeo, Madame Irene Reeder and Dion Asencio

interiors hold vertical pillars that seemingly watch over the museum’s most treasured and highlighted artifact – a full-scale galleon replica. This concept of a functional space, he explained, will allow visitors to roam through the galleries and to also observe the actual construction of this 60-meter-long galleon reproduction. With an estimated two years to complete, The Galeón positions itself as a game changer in the historiography of Philippine museums.

Much could be said about the curatorial narratives and the possibilities interwoven in the artistic, cultural and educational threads of the galleon trade.

Marian Pastor-Roces, the lead curator of Tao Inc., shares her plans of a chronological storyline. Her presentation for the permanent exhibition showcased a general depiction of the abundance of maritime networks long before the gal-

Lead curator Marian Pastor-Roces

Arch. Jose Vigil of Arquitectos

leons were created. The spotlight on this discovery was a turning point for Friar Andres de Urdaneta’s Torna- both Manila and Acapulco. Inspired viaje allowed visitors to realize that by this, the permanent exhibitions shed light on the exchange of culture, clothing, products, language, religion and plants. Equally highlighted in the exhibition would be the demise of the galleon trade.

Though the plotline of this transpacific exchange has ended, the story of The Galeón as a cultural center and a museum has just started. Supported by SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s entertainment arm, SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., its construction is a testament to its on-going collaboration between various nationalities who are experts in the fields of architecture, engineering, curatorial work, traditional naval shipbuilding and lighting design. A lot of work is still in store for the team, nonetheless, everyone is focused on sailing towards the common goal of creating this vibrant venue in Mall of Asia. The Galeon is set to open in early 2017.

Mexican Ambassador Julio Camarena and Sen. Sonny Angara

Life

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

By Bernadette Lunas

D

APHNE OSEÑAPAEZ is a television producer, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a Unicef Special Advocate, a wife and a mother of three daughters. One look at her and one would see a woman with grace and class. It would seem that she has a perfect life—although perfect is subjective—but she reveals that some of the things that have happened to her are just “happy accidents.”

In her debut book, Chic: Tips on Life, Style and Work, Daphne opens her heart and shares stories of her life and of those who inspire her in a bid to encourage readers to pursue a well-lived life.

“As I was writing the book, I figured out that I had to start somewhere. I had to start with my life as a child: the kind of upbringing I had, why I moved back to the Philippines—my journey,” Daphne said in an interview with Manila Standard.

But, because the book is meant to be a lifestyle guide, (Daphne shares that the inspiration for it was her now defunct show F, hosted alongside Angel Aquino, Cher Calvin and Amanda Griffin) it is peppered with travel tips (“The key to light packing is to have a basic wardrobe”), easy-to-do recipes (Bloody Caesar cocktail), style guides (“Don’t be afraid to repeat clothes”) and work advice (“You can’t spin credibility”).

Chic is part life musings, part practical advice, so to speak.

“There’s a lot of stories [in the book], I really opened my heart and I was exhausted. Some of them I reread and reread and I cried,” shares Daphne. “It just reminded me of everything that I had accomplished and I had to accomplish in order to get to the next step.”

Aside from her stories and tips, Daphne also shares her conversations with some of her mentors and inspirations such as entrepreneur Ben Chan, designer Kenneth Cobonpue, chef Tonyboy Escalante, and actress and public servant Lucy Torres-Gomez among others.

Daphne says these people taught her to carve her own path. “Their successes are theirs and I can’t copy it in the same

Daphne Osena-Paez shares part of her life story and practical tips in her debut book published by Summit Books

CHIC LIFE

The of Daphne Oseña-Paez way that mine is mine.”

She adds, “We can learn from each other but you cannot step-by-step copy somebody... Each of them had their own difficulties and struggles but they persevered and achieved their goals.”

Daphne got this from her mentors. Inspirations are what she wants her readers to get from her book.

As she puts it, “Every life is a journey and you have to persevere and keep your eye on the ball. It’s okay to change your path, it’s okay to decide to do something else, but whatever it is you decide on, [you have] to put your heart into it.”

Daphne might not have planned to return to the Philippines after migrating to Canada or take a TV broadcasting job

in the first place, but her life unfolded because she let those “happy accidents” happen and she was ready for them.

And this book aims to encourage and help readers do what she did and does.

To live their life well and be brave to chase what they aspire.

Besides, according to her, “chic” means “to be your best self.”

Chic is a lifestyle guide that aims to inspire readers to live a well-lived life

Chic: Tips on Life, Style, and Work is available at National Book Store.

51Talk in search of best teachers to teach English online WITH the rapid globalization brought about by advancements in technology, English has now become the de facto lingua franca for any international traveler or businessman. However, there are several countries around the world that have difficulty learning how to communicate effectively in English, with the biggest group being the Chinese. The growing middle class of China and the growing affluence of its citizens has prompted schools to start teaching English as a form of communication with other cultures. However, the classroom approach, while allowing Chinese people to pass standardized English tests, does not solve the matter of communicating with other English speakers effectively.

This problem prompted Jack Huang and Sue Ting to create a company that aims to teach English through an immersive one-on-one approach between student and foreign teacher. Today, 51Talk is the biggest online English language teaching company.

The Philippines is 51Talk’s base of operations for teachers. According to Ting, Filipinos are best-equipped to

teach English to Chinese clients “I got to know that the Philippines is the top English speaking country in Asia, and the Filipinos’ English proficiency is very high as evidenced by the rapidlygrowing number of call centers in the country. Filipinos are extremely passionate and very familiar with Western culture, making them the perfect choice to be English language teachers for Chinese students,” she shared.

Today, the company has over 8,000 Filipinos working as English language online teachers. “We go through hundreds of resumes daily, and select only the best candidates, with preference to teachers with teaching experience.

They need to undergo a stringent recruitment process, with the final test being an actual teaching demo with a live client. After that, we provide multiple training sessions every month to ensure that our teachers can pass on the best knowledge to our students in the most effective way,” Ting explained.

One of the biggest draws of 51Talk as a company is that it allows its teachers to work from home and create their teaching hours based on their schedule

and needs. One of 51Talk’s core tenets is flexibility. Clients can choose what time they want to take lessons and how frequent these lessons are. This also extends to their English teachers. This high degree of freedom makes 51Talk attractive to professionals who have spare time on their hands.

For those who want to make a career out of it, 51Talk allows teachers to move up in rank using a star system. “When someone starts out as an English instructor, they are given a one-star rank. After completing a set amount of lessons and in-house training modules, they can move up in rank, all the way to five-star. The best performing teachers can even earn over P80,000.00 a month or more than P1 million in a year,” Ting said.

51Talk continues to lead the online English education industry by providing a high volume of work opportunities—noble English teaching jobs with competitive earnings in the Philippines.

To learn more about 51Talk, visit www.51Talk.com/ph

51Talk Country Manager Sue Ting posits Filipinos’ familiarity with Western culture makes them an ideal English teacher to Chinese

‘Polarities’ features works of art by two artists who have not yet met in person

‘Polarities’

by Lindslee and Donna Sy

ARTISTS Lindslee and Donna Sy held their exhibition (Polarities) recently at the mezzanine of the Makati ShangriLa, Manila.

In his recent work, Lindslee called Combines, or paired paintings considered inseparable, that he first created as one work then subjected to a scrupulous scrutiny. Finding elements, details, areas or passages, which were not to his liking or failed to meet his approval, he then excised these “offending” parts, leaving behind cut out spaces, a void that has become hollow space. He then transferred them as collages to a second painting, where they then find their ideal placement, presumably revitalized in a more ideal environment. This process of spatial configuration was Lindslee’s exercise in the search for a memorable form and design, at the impetus of a formal investigation.

Looking at the work of Donna Sy, an image hovers persistently in the mind: the armless Venus de Milo, blindfolded and gagged. It was not an inappropriate image, for the artist‘s sensibility must

surely have been mediated by her long association with Greece. The works have a cultivated contemporary look, existentially anchored to present-day realities, as is amply demonstrated by another work titled Tequila Nights.

The idea of pairing these two artists, who in fact have not met in person, is a performance in itself, a curatorial gesture that reiterates the identification of artists with each other, at a level of communication that hums on subconscious mode, like the fluttering of butterfly wings causing a tidal wave.

These two events, like the works of Lindslee and Donna Sy, while seemingly unrelated, were themselves a projection of polarities, where the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, may come unbidden.

Polarities was presented by Makati Shangri-La in partnership with Hiraya Gallery as part of the La Filipiniana staycation package that offers a full experience of unparalleled comfort and luxury while reigniting that spark of nationalism by bringing the country’s glorious heritage.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

J

OLLIBEE, the country’s no.1 fast food brand, recently launched another flavor innovation to their snack offerings: the Jolly Crispy Fries, now with Savory BBQ flavor. The digital campaign is led by the newest member of the Jollibee family, actress-host Jasmine Curtis-Smith.

Made with 100 percent real potatoes and sprinkled with a special blend of flavorings, the Savory BBQ fries pack a thrilling intensity with every bite. Perfect for pairing with other Jollibee treats or enjoyed on its own, the Jolly Crispy Savory BBQ Fries offer a zesty combination of sweet smoky, with a spicy kick for a true “flavorventure,” only from the country’s number one fast food brand.

“One of Jollibee’s missions is to find new flavors to thrill modern Filipino palates,” said Francis E. Flores, Jollibee Global chief marketing officer and Philippine head of marketing. “The new Jolly Crispy Savory BBQ Fries is definitely the ideal snack and meal complement for foodies and adventurers who are always looking for new discoveries, activities, and flavors to share during bonding moments with their families and friends.”

“I’m ecstatic and over the moon,” gushed the 22-year-old Jasmine. “Six years into my career and my dream of working with Jollibee finally happened. Everyone loves the brand and to be the face of something that I genuinely and naturally love makes me feel very thankful.”

The Filipino-Australian actress has a truly Pinoy palate, with an innate fondness for Jollibee. “We’ve always been a family that loves Jollibee,” she related. “My mom gave me a Jolly Kids Party, and even when we were living in Australia we craved for

Jollibee, and there were no branches there yet.”

“So when we were in the States, pinuntahan pa rin namin ‘yung Jollibee sa Los Angeles kahit na I was moving to the Philippines,” said Jasmine. “It’s like a landmark that you have to visit, especially if you’re Filipino.”

Jasmine is joining DJ and TV host Nikko Ramos, as well as YouTube vloggers Wil Dasovich and Janina Vela as key influencers for the Jolly Crispy Flavored Fries campaign. Dasovich and Vela led the product’s launch campaign in April 2016.

As one of the first few who tried the Savory BBQ fries ahead of the entire nation, the actress is excited for her family, friends, and fans to spice up their meals and merienda with the new product. “I’m always looking for something savory to eat,” admitted Jasmine. “These fries hit the right spots. I always look for the taste in food e, and how good it feels when I eat it!”

“The Jolly #FriendsFries represent the quintessential Pinoy barkada that loves to explore new things together,” added Flores. “They also love exciting new flavors that complement their super-fun personalities!”

SQUAD. Actress-host Jasmine

Curtis-Smith joins (from left) DJ Nikko Ramos, vloggers Wil Dasovich and Janna Vela as key influencers for the new Jollibee campaign

Jasmine Curtis-Smith is Jollibee’s newest endorser

‘The Blacklist 4’ premieres on AXN AXN turns up the drama this month with the gripping return of the critically acclaimed thriller, The Blacklist.

In season four, premiering on Sept. 27 at 9:45 p.m., former U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer turned criminal mastermind Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader) has become the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitive. For decades, he evaded capture until he voluntarily surrenders to FBI Assistant Director Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix). He claims he has in his possession a “blacklist” of the world’s most dangerous criminals he has been associated with during his nefarious career and is willing to cooperate with the FBI to bring them down under two conditions: immunity from prosecution, and that he insists on working exclusively with Elizabeth “Liz” Keen (Megan Boone), a newly assigned rookie profiler with the FBI. Teaming up with special agents Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), Aram Motjabai (Amir Arison), and Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) , Reddington and Liz join ranks, use all available resources and technology of the FBI, and will never stop at nothing until all names on his list are crossed out – either arrested or eliminated.

Along the way, Cooper, Keen, and the other agents become suspicious of the real motives of Reddington. They are not aware of the behindthe-scenes maneuverings perpetrated by Reddington as he manipulates to his end the trust of his former allies. Little did they know that for every case

they work on, for every criminal they track down and apprehend, Reddington always has a hidden agenda for his own personal gain.

Moreover, Keen starts to question Reddington’s interest in her, not content in hearing him say that she is “very special” to him.

For years, Reddington has sacrificed everything, even to the point of risking his life to protect Keen. But his efforts seem to be for nothing. Feeling betrayed, Keen loses focus, gets involved with the shooting of a high-ranking government official, and lands in the FBI’s Most Wanted list. In the end, she is determined to get away f r o m what she

perceives to be the controlling and overprotective Reddington. She devises a clever way and successfully does, but her plan backfires. Keen ends up in the hands of Reddington’s longtime nemesis, Alexander Kirk (Ulrich Thomsen), who claims to be her real father.

Reddington rescues Keen from Kirk, but their reunion casts a cloud of doubt on their relationship. The rivalry between Reddington and Kirk takes a dark turn. As Keen confronts her past, Ressler suddenly figures in her life. Is Kirk really Keen’s father? If not, who is? And the burning question will finally be answered: How is Reddington related to Keen that he cares so much about her?

The critically acclaimed crime thriller has received positive reviews for showing an ingenious and compelling crime procedural. Television critics have praised James Spader’s riveting performance as criminal-turned-informant Raymond Reddington, earning him a nomination for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in the Golden Globe Awards for two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015. He was also nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series in the Saturn Awards in 2014.

The Blacklist Season 4 premieres the same week as the U.S. telecast on Sept.

27, every Tuesday at 9:45 p.m. first and exclusive on AXN AXN is seen on Cable Link Channel 38, Cignal Digital TV Channel 61, Global Destiny Cable Channel 61, Dream Channel 20, GSat Channel 51, and SKYCable Channel 49.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, September 13, 2016

ACROSS 1 Like the tabloids 6 A drinking toast 11 Denver hrs.

14 Gladiator’s place 15 Like Rome 16 Melodrama shout 17 Nutso 18 In the way 20 Cunning 21 Woods insect 23 Dunne or Castle 24 Cuckoo’s home 26 Scrambled, to Bond 28 Group of ants 30 Freshwater fish 31 Rolex rival 32 Raised in the wild 33 Mother rabbit 36 Syrup brand 37 Bierstube order 38 Length measure 39 Hesitant sounds 40 Bowie or Niven 41 Thick soup 42 Wyoming range 43 Steamboat inventor 44 Hire, as a bus 47 Internet hookup 48 Cliffside abode

49 Hamlet 50 Many a time 53 Trousseau items 56 Get tough 58 Loop trains 59 Genetic factor 60 Cafe customer 61 Compass dir.

62 Urns homonym 63 Let the pants down DOWN 1 Axioms 2 Europe-Asia range 3 Pop-can collectors 4 Pen filler 5 — 500 auto race 6 Open, as oysters 7 Neck woe 8 Well-worn 9 Tavern fare 10 Melodious 11 Lowed 12 Glistened 13 Lugged about 19 A blast — the past 22 Steely, as nerves 25 Trademark 26 Blundered 27 Close by

28 Rum’s partner 29 “Rubaiyat” author 30 Fall to 32 Prefer 33 City in Nova Scotia 34 Sandwich cookie 35 Jeannie portrayer 37 After-hours 38 Festive log 40 Political thaw 41 More chubby

42 Math subj.

43 Debate side 44 Cloaks 45 Scoundrels 46 Pop up 47 Requirements 49 Crusted cheese 51 On the house 52 Technical word 54 Boston Bruins standout 55 Holm or Fleming 57 Glasgow turndown

Kapamilya teen star Miles Ocampo (center) with Granny Goose brand marketing team

Miles Ocampo

in Granny Goose #MoreThanTheUsual X Sip & Gogh ACTRESS Miles Ocampo tested her painting skills, and finished a Granny Goose masterpiece at the Granny Goose #MoreThanTheUsual X Sip & Gogh booth at the TriNoma mall.

Joining her were Anj Dantes and Denise Opulencia from the brand marketing team of Granny Goose.

After the collaboration with Mystery Manila and Sip & Gogh, next in the line-up of Granny Goose’s #MoreThanTheUsual activities is the partnership with

Ball Pit Manila – the biggest ball pit playground for adults in the country.

Participants enjoyed playing in a sea of balls at the Granny Goose #MoreThanTheUsual Experience booth (featuring Ball Pit Manila) at the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall on Sept. 3, and Lucky Chinatown Mall on Sept.10.

Also, participants won prizes by finding the Granny Goose golden egg from the ball pit. Also, they watched out for special guests during the event.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Showbiz Let’s make a memory: ‘70s matinee idol and singing sensation Rex Smith stages another solo concert in Manila

Rex Smith

in concert at Kia Theatre

F

OR years, this pop singing sensation has left many fans breathless.

Multi-talented and renowned American artist Rex Smith will be back to give his numerous Filipino fans another memorable show on Sept. 18 at the Kia Theatre, Araneta Center.

The concert, billed I am Rex Smith, will feature hits that made the actor, singer-songwriter, and former teen idol famous. Rex will take his audience on a musical journey with some of his biggest and most beloved songs like “You Take my Breath Away,” “Simply Jesse,” “Let’s Make a Memory,” “Everlasting Love,” and “Forever.”

His most famous ballads have become

so close to the hearts of Filipinos that they are practically staples in their karaoke repertoire.

Since early 1970s, Rex has enjoyed great success not only in his musical career but also in theater and show business.

Smith made his acting debut on Broadway when he played the role of Danny Zuko in the hit musical Grease in 1978. He also starred in the teen-oriented movie TV movie Sooner or Later in 1979 in which he performed songs on the soundtrack, including his single “You Take My Breath Away.” This ballad reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made Smith an overnight sensation.

His other Broadway starring roles were in Grand Hotel, Sunset Boulevard, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie Get Your Gun, and Kiss Me Kate. He later appeared on the stage and in the film versions of The Pirates of Penzance in 1983.

Rex also played roles in a number of television series. In 1985, he played the role of a motorcycle police officer in Street Hawk. He also appeared as guests on shows like Baywatch, Love Boat, and, unbeknownst to some, he also played the role of Daredevil a.k.a. Matt Murdock in the television movie, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk in 1989.

Smith also became a TV host for the hit series Solid Gold with Marilyn McCoo in 1982.

Smith has already recorded over 12 albums throughout his musical career. He performed in Manila during his Asian tour in 2013 and was one of the performers at the opening of Novotel Manila Araneta Center early this year.

Tickets to I am Rex Smith presented by Steve O’ Neal Productions and Uniprom, Inc. are available at Ticketnet outlets.

Visit www.ticketnet.ph for more details.

GMA Network, APT team up with Hollywood and Korean film producers BROADCAST industry leader GMA Network and APT Entertainment team up with Hollywood and Korean film producers David Shim and Choi Pyung Ho for a movie project that will soon hit cinemas in the country.

The parties signed on Sept. 9 a memorandum of agreement to formalize their collaboration, which aims to combine the best of what the Philippine and South Korean entertainment can offer.

Present during the signing held at the GMA Network Center were Atty. Felipe L. Gozon (Chairman and CEO, GMA Network); Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. (President and COO, GMA Network); Felipe S. Yalong (EVP and CFO, GMA Network); Ari P. Chio (VP for Investor Relations,

GMA Network); Angela Javier Cruz (VP for Corporate Affairs and Communications, GMA Network), Antonio P. Tuviera, (Chairman, APT Entertainment); Michael B. Tuviera, (CEO, APT Entertainment); Jojo C. Oconer, (COO and CFO, APT Entertainment), David Shim (Chairman and CEO, Solaire Korea and Solaire International); Choi Pyung Ho (President, Solaire International) Noel Corpuz, (Managing Director, Solaire International); and Youngjae Lee, (Executive Director and CFO of Solaire International).

GMA and APT Entertainment are coming off the box-office success of the Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza-starrer Imagine You and Me and both are very excited to work with their

Korean partners.

“This is an exciting time for us in GMA and we consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to work with Korean producers who are known for creating blockbuster hits in Hollywood and Korea,” said Atty, Gozon.

“We’ve been looking forward to doing a collaboration with other movie outfits to be able to present fresher, newer ideas and executions. And GMA is very kind to bring us in together with our foreign partners. I’m sure we will be able to present quality entertainment to the movie going public,” shared Tony Tuviera.

“Maganda itong development because it’s a combination of three great organizations, we have GMA, we have APT Entertainment and then the Korean team, who

are very knowledgeable about movie making. It’s a great opportunity for the Philippine movie industry and we’re looking forward to the success of the venture,” Yalong added.

After producing several movies in Hollywood and South Korea, among them Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, American Beauty, JSA, and Myung Ryang, to name a few, David Shim and Choi Pyung Ho revealed that they are now ready to break into the Philippine movie market.

“With the experience and expertise accumulated over the past 20 years in film making both in Hollywood and Korea, Choi and I will work with GMA and APT in providing what should be a truly “ground-breaking” level of motion picture experience to the Philippine audience,” said Shim.

Present during the signing of memorandum of agreement are (standing from left to right) APT’s Michael B. Tuviera and Jojo C. Oconer, GMA Network’s Ari P. Chio and Felipe S. Yalong, and Solaire International’s Noel Corpuz and Youngjae Lee, ( seated from left to right) GMA Network’s Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr., APT’s Antonio P. Tuviera, GMA Network chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon and Solaire Korea and Solaire International’s David Shim and Choi Pyung Ho

Korean Film Festival 2016 at SM Cinemas

THE annual Korean Film Festival unreels to showcase five blockbuster and critically acclaimed films at selected SM Cinemas from Sept. 8 to Oct. 16. With “Strong Hearts” as this year’s theme, the festival features films with characters with strong personalities and those who pursue their goals and desires with courage and determination, A joint partnership between the Korean Embassy’s Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines and SM Cinema, the film festival started at SM City Clark in Pampanga on Sept.

8 to 11. This is followed by screenings at SM Lanang Premier in Davao from Sept. 15 to 18, SM City Iloilo from Sept. 22 to 25, SM City Cebu from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, and at SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite on Oct. 6 to 9. The film festival’s culminating event will be on Oct. 8 to 11 at SM Megamall.

Other partners include the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the Film Development Council of the Philippines ( F D C P ) , Film Cultural E x c h a n g e Program, the Korea Tourism Organization – Manila (KTO), and the Korea Copyright Commission.

The featured films give us a glimpse of Korean history and culture. Ode to My Father is a South Korean drama that depicts modern Korean history from the 1950s to the present day. This is seen through the life of an ordinary man, as he experienced events such

as the Hungnam evacuation of 1950 during the Korean War, the government’s decision to dispatch nurses and miners to Germany in the 1960s, and the Vietnam War. Other films highlight different aspects of Korean everyday life.

On the lighter side, there is The Beauty Inside, Inside a story about a furniture designer who wakes up in a different body everyday, regardless of age, gender, and nationality and how he could reunite with his special someone; and How to Use Guys with Secret Tips, a part romantic comedy, part satire of the Korean film industry. This wacky and charming tale follows and overworked woman’s attempt to improve her relationship with men.

There are also crime and action films such as Confession of Murder, which is about a man who confesses murders he committed by publishing a book and a detective who is searching for the author of the book; and The Suspect, which is about a North Korean agent who tries to uncover the volatile secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a dead man after he’s betrayed and has escaped.

For more information and queries, please contact the Korean Cultural Center at 555-1711 or email events@koreanculture.ph.

The 2016 Korean Film Festival is one of the many interesting cultural events of SM Cinema.