Manila Standard - 2016 September 30 - Friday

‘We’re only here for a blink’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta Miriam Santiago

“I HAVE no illusions about myself, about my life, about leaving a legacy or making a mark in people’s lives,” Miriam Defensor-Santiago said once.

“We are so insignificant. We are only here for a blink,” added the

feisty senator who died at the St. Luke’s Medical in Taguig City on Thursday after battling lung cancer for more than two years. She was 71.

Her husband, former Customs Deputy Commissioner Narcisco Santiago Jr., said she died at 8:52 a.m.

“She died peacefully in her sleep.

That is all I want to remember,”

Narciso said.

He said his wife’s last words were “I accept this, I do not want to do anything heroic.”

President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his condolences.

“Senator Santiago has left a sterling career in public office. She is Next page

Shabu use preceded NBP riot, police say THE police on Thursday maintained that a shabu session at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa caused the riot that killed a high-profile convict and seriously wounded three others, amid conflicting versions from witnesses that prompted calls for a probe.

PNP chief Rolando Dela Rosa said an initial investigation by prison officials said the riot was caused when a former police officer detained in the same prison caught several inmates using methamphetamine or shabu.

“Initially, that’s the version of events we received, which is the same as that of the Justice department contained in the report from the Bureau of Corrections,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.

“The former police officer rebuked the Chinese inmantes, they got angry, and a riot ensued.”

Dela Rosa said he could not speculate if it was a simple prison riot, or if it was an attempt to silence inmates that could link Senator Leila de Lima to the illegal drug trade being run out of the NBP. Next page

13-year-old girl youngest HIV victim DAVAO CITY―A 13-year-old girl is the youngest victim here of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that causes AIDS, a source said Thursday.

Gloria Serrano, a nurse at the Reproductive Health Wellness Center, says the girl is the youngest of 1,661 patients they have treated based on the records they have been keeping since 1984.

The Health Department continues to warn people that if the growth of the “HIV generation” is not stopped, the number of cases may top 100,000 within eight years.

Serrano says the youngest victim is from Baguio City but she tested positive here.

“She was on vacation but her aunts brought her here for an HIV test, and that was the time Next page

VOL. XXX • NO. 230 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PH-US ‘war games’ end in Oct.—Du30

By John Paolo Bencito and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday declared an end to joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, saying the scheduled war games in October would be the last.

3 senators buck replay of sex video THE plan to play the alleged sex videos of Senator Leila De Lima during a hearing of the House committee on justice would be illegal, three Liberal Party senators said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino said playing De Lima’s alleged sex videos would violate the law and disrespect her and the office she holds.

“We vehemently oppose the plan of the House of Representatives to show the alleged videos as disrespectful, deplorable and illegal,” the senators said in their statement.

They said playing the videos would violate the Anti-Voyeurism Law. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Wednesday he saw nothing wrong about playing De Lima’s alleged sex videos during a hearing of the committee on justice.

That committee is investigating the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison when De Lima was Justice secretary.

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TURNING POINT? This file photo taken April 20, 2015 shows Philippine soldiers and a US Army soldier from the Hawaii-based Stryker Brigade

Combat of the 5th Infantry Division taking positions after disembarking from a C-47 Chinook helicopter during an air assault exercise at the military training camp in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. On Sept. 28, 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte said he will soon end joint military exercises between Manila and Washington in what observers say could dampen ties between the two allies. AFP

Alvarez won’t require drug lord to testify

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rey E. Requejo SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday contradicted the chairman of the House committee on justice, saying they would respect the decision of Jaybee Sebastian, who allegedly collected drug money for Senator Leila de Lima

at the national penitentiary when she was still Justice secretary, not to testify before a congressional inquiry.

Earlier, House committee on justice chairman Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Negros Oriental said Sebastian could not refuse to attend the ongoing hearings of his panel.

But Alvarez said the Umali

panel had done enough to find the truth, and said House leaders would respect Sebastian’s decision not to testify after he was stabbed in a prison riot.

Alvarez said the House will not compel Sebastian’s attendance in the hearings.

“It is his right to remain silent.

We are not going to force him to

testify,” Alvarez said, noting that the testimony of eight witnesses who appeared before Umali’s panel had given them enough to draft a law to improve the penal system.

Sebastian has expressed a willingness to reveal all he knows about the illegal drug trade inside Next page

Members of his Cabinet scrambled to soften the impact of his statements in a speech before the Filipino community in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday night, but the President’s message to the United States was clear.

“You are scheduled to hold war games again, which China does not want. I would serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, the Philippines, US, the last one,” Duterte said.

The annual Philippines Amphibious Landing Exercise will be held from Oct. 4 to 12 in multiple locations in Luzon, including Palawan, closest to the disputed waters subject to an ongoing sea row between Manila and Beijing.

This will be the first largescale combat exercises war games between the two treaty allies under the Duterte administration, who repeatedly called out the United States for meddling in his war on illegal drugs.

The military exercise involves more than 1,400 US military personnel and 500 Philippine Marines in amphibious landing and live-fire exercises affirming the PH-US Visiting Forces Next page

Drug raps vs 50 LGU execs Manila, Hanoi press

By Francisco Tuyay THE Interior Department said Thursday it is ready to file cases against at least 50 local government officials suspected of having links to the illegal drug trade that President Rodrigo Duterte included in his latest drug matrix.

Interior Undersecretary John

Castriciones, chief of Task Force Agila probing the so-called narco-politicians, said they are currently building up cases against the local officials.

“Our movements are below radar and discreet, considering the Next page

SOLEMN STATEMENT.

Marines Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, who says he has a crusade against illegal drugs, briefs newsmen Thursday he will before long divulge the names of prominent government officials involved in the illegal drugs trade. Ey Acasio

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for ‘code of conduct’ VIETNAM and the Philippines have agreed to urge China to respect a legally-binding Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to ease the tensions there as a result of the overlapping claims to the area, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Thursday.

President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, urged Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang to consider importing products from Philippines.

“We agreed to fully implement the Declaration of Conduct that was approved and signed by all Asean members in 2002, and to proceed with the coming out of a code of conduct,” Yasay told reporters in Hanoi.

“The Vietnamese and Philip-

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pine positions on the handling of the dispute on the South China Sea are convergent. There is no conflict.

“The position of Vietnam and China and the Philippines is solidly in line with the Asean’s position on the matter.”

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has continued its building activities in the area, but the UN-backed arbitral tribunal rejected its claims in July this year after the Philippines brought the case before it.

Yasay said the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to proceed with bilateral engagements with China as the arbitral tribunal had no enforcement mechanisms to bind China following the decision.

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BUDDING ALLIANCE. President Rodrigo Duterte (left) meets

Thursday in Hanoi his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang, aiming to advance a snowballing alliance that could become increasingly uncertain amid his defiance of the United States and overtures towards China. AFP

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Trade ties with ‘new allies’ eyed

By John Paolo Bencito

“We understand [those fears].

The President is strengthening his relationship with our neighboring countries and this is part of being more inclusive in our economic relationships,” Presidential

Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told a Palace press briefing.

The President insinuated that he’s about to cross a “point of no return” in the Philippines’ relations with the United States, say-

ing he would build new alliances China and Russia to sustain the country’s economy.

Duterte, who is set to visit China next month, said he “will open up all avenues of trade and commerce” between the two countries.

Abella also clarified Duterte’s statements for Filipinos “to sacrifice a little bit” once he sign agreements with Beijing, should Washington impose sanctions on the country.

“I believe that our relationships go deeper than that. However, given the fear, he was asking, would the Filipinos believe enough in the nation to set an independent course in spite of eco-

PH-US...

Duterte said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., who was with Duterte on his trip to Vietnam, said he did not hear the part of the President’s speech in which he terminated military exercises, and said the only thing he ruled out were joint patrols beyond the country’s 12-nauticalmile territorial waters.

On Thursday, Yasay said he had not heard the portion of Duterte’s speech because he was “sleepy from jet lag.”

Yasay said a mutual defense board evaluates the need for military exercises annually, adding that all of the Philippines’ treaties with the US, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, will outlast Duterte’s six-year term, and the President cannot abrogate these agreements.

Yasay also said that the Balikatan exercises, resulting from the Visiting Forces Agreement that the country signed with the United States, would continue in places “other than the South China Sea.” Former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon meanwhile, said that the President’s pronouncements were steps towards “demilitarization” in the disputed waters. He added that what Duterte meant was to cut off military exercises only for this year, not for his entire term.

“We’re going into some kind of demilitarization in the area.

So that’s okay. They are just exercises after all,” Esperon said.

“Don’t you want that, so it becomes quiet, peaceful?” Es-

peron said. “If the navy of China is not there—those are our traditional fishing grounds—then things will be okay.”

Esperon did not say how this would lead to a demilitarization on the Chinese side, however.

Asked if ending the joint military exercises with the US was a condition set by China for bilateral talks, Esperon said: “I don’t think so.”

The Defense department said it would seek further clarification and guidance from the President regarding the future of US-Philippine joint military exercises.

“Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana will discuss this with the President to seek more clarification and guidance,” Andoling said in a statement Thursday.

At a regular press briefing in Manila, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella admitted that there were already “changes” to be effected with the country’s largest trading and economic partner.

“There are also certain modifications in the relationship [between the United States and the Philippines] and so the relationship remains solid according to the agreements, but also there will be other activities that will be more open to other nations too,” he said Thursday.

In the same speech, the President said that Philippines is not ready to fight China, even with the help of its long-term strategic ally whom he said would not come to the assistance of the country in a military conflict started by China in the disputed waters. With Sandy Araneta and PNA

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ALACAÑANG on Thursday said the Philippines will continue to strengthen its economic ties with other countries, amid fears that the United States may impose economic sanctions on the country after President Rodrigo Duterte’s critical statements.

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Agreement, which the Supreme Court upheld last January.

The President said that while the Philippines would still honor the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty that it signed with the United States, he would still run to China to push for trade investments in the country.

“So I’m serving notice now to the Americans and to those who are allies: I will maintain the military alliance because there is an RP-US Pact which our countries signed in the early ‘50s. But I will establish new alliances for trade and commerce [with China],” the President said.

Duterte reiterated his stance to stop sea patrols with the United States, which he sees would only complicate the already testy relationship between Manila and Beijing.

“I will not join any patrol in the [South China Sea],” he said, noting the distinction between gray Navy ships and white Coast Guard vessels. “There will never be an occasion that I will send gray ships there, not because I’m afraid. [But] I have this ruling by the International Court of Justice that says that in the South China Sea, the entitlements there are ours.”

Duterte added he is only allowing the upcoming exercise to continue to allow Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to fulfill commitments.

“I just don’t want my Defense Secretary to get embarrased,”

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“The enforcement and implementation of the arbitral tribunal’s decision will have to be pursued and made by the claimants themselves to their own agreements,” he said.

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Philip-

Drug...

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sensitive nature of the job,” Castriciones said.

Before leaving for Vietnam, Duterte said he would reveal the names of the people on his latest list, consisting of a number of judges, policemen, soldiers, lawmakers and local executives, including hundreds of barangay officials.

Castriciones said the investigators did not want to alert or unduly alarm the suspects.

“We are dealing with drug syndicates and I’m sure they will do[what they can] to frustrate the outcome of this investigation,” he emphasized.

In the course of the investigations, some mayors have refused to cooperate on the ground that they are already being subjected to a probe by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the PNP. “Despite the President and Secretary Michael Sueno’s strict directives, some persons of interest are simply uncooperative,” Castriciones said.

Castriciones said the information against the local officials is continuously being subjected to validation and cross-validation aimed at strengthening the department’s documentary evidence.

Castriciones admitted that there were risks involved in investigating persons of interest who maintained private armed groups.

“Already, there are reports that some local executives named by the president are being protected by notorious armed groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Free-

pines would be pushing to export more products to Vietnam to correct its trade imbalance with that country since Vietnam is the source of more than 48 percent of its rice imports.

“The President himself asked for cooperation from the Vietnam people to consider importing more products from Philippines to improve the trade balance,” Lopez said. John Paolo Bencito dom Fighters,” he said.

The Palace on Thursday played down Duterte’s admission that he made a mistake in naming Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino and two other provincial officers as being involved in the illegal drug trade, saying the people trusted Duterte, not the list.

“Maybe more than trusting the list, let’s trust the President.

I mean after all, he has publicly said, I made a mistake. I apologize. I’m sorry,” Abella said in a Palace press briefing.

Abella also said there was no political accommodation with Espino, after the President cleared him of involvement in illegal drugs.

“As far as I know and as far as we all know, there was no political accommodation. But definitely, if I know the character of the President, there was no such thing,” he added.

On Tuesday, Duterte said that he found certain “gaps” in the intelligence information linking incumbent Pangasinan representative Espino, Pangasinan provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and provincial board member Raul Sison to the illegal drug matrix happening inside the national penitentiary.

Duterte earlier tagged the three officials, along with his nemesis Senator Leila de Lima, her former driver Ronnie Dayan, former Justice undersecretary Francis Baraan and former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayu in the socalled “Muntinlupa connection,” the syndicate which allegedly condoned the illegal drug transactions happening inside the NBP. With John Paolo Bencito, Rio N. Araja, Lance Baconguis

Shabu...

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One of those wounded was inmate Jaybee Sebastian, whom witnesses at a House probe identified as the drug lord who collected money for De Lima’s senatorial campaign.

“It’s hard to speculate. We must be very careful,” Dela Rosa said.

On Monday, Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo said Sebastian, Peter Co and inmate and former police officer Clarence Dongail gave conflicting accounts of what happened, but said the testimony of Co and Sebastian seemed to match.

According to Dongail, he ac-

3 senators...

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The Duterte administration claims that De Lima’s driver and partner in the alleged sex videos collected drug money for her from the national penitentiary―money that she could use to run for senator this year.

But not everyone agreed with Alvarez.

“We appeal to the members of House of Representatives to be more circumspect about our larger roles as legislators: safe keepers of governance traditions

Alvarez...

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the New Bilibid Prison, but said he would do so only with President Rodrigo Duterte.

But Umali insisted that Sebastian cannot ignore a subpoena to appear.

“That is not his call, that is Congress’ call. He cannot avoid us,” Umali said.

Umali said the House justice panel would exercise its “coercive powers” to compel Sebastian’s attendance in the House probe.

“But we will not prohibit him from saying what he wants to tell

nomic difficulties if and when it should happen,” Abella said.

“He’s not saying it will, but he said if and when it does happen, would we be willing enough?

Would we be patriotic enough to stand behind the Philippines in declaring an independent foreign policy?” he added.

The President also accused the United States of “manipulating the peso,” following observations made by global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s last week that the country is not likely to get a rating upgrade in the next two years because of his unpredictability and uncertainty over

his domestic and foreign policies.

Talks of possible economic sanctions occurred after Washington warned Manila that they might cancel the $6.7-million (₱322 million) law enforcement aid it pledged to the Philippines if the two countries fail to agree on how it will be used.

“If no agreement is reached, the funds may be used in a country other than the Philippines,” US Embassy press attaché and first secretary Molly Koscina told CNN Philippines on Monday.

The amount is part of the $32 million (₱1.5 billion) Washington earlier pledged to Manila

during the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry. However, the money cannot finance police operations to hunt down drug criminals, contrary to President Rodrigo Duterte’s requests.

“The funds will strictly comply with US legal obligations and international law enforcement and policing standards,” Koscina said. “These funds are for programs supporting the rule of law, due process and maritime security. The funds are not for law-enforcement operations.”

A Palace source said the President “was irked” by Washington’s “so-called conditions.”

MOURNING MIRIAM. The tricolors flies at half-staff at the Senate Thursday hours after the announcement the three-term Senator, who finished last in the May 9 presidential race, died after a two-year battle with lung cancer. Visibly weak during the campaign, she took long breaks from the hustings. Lino Santos

‘We’re... best remembered as a graft buster eating death threats for breakfast,” Duterte said.

“Rest in peace, Madam Senator.

May your legacy continue to guide this nation for many years to come.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon said Santiago was an intellectual giant and a legal luminary.

Said Philippine Constitution Association president Martin Romualdez: “Senator Santiago is a beacon of wisdom and intel-

ligence that made Philippine politics more colorful and lively. She will be remembered for leading an honorable life and championing good governance.”

Romualdez’ wife, Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, also sent her condolences, as did former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Rep. Raneo Abu, Reps.

Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Prospero Nograles, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate.

Santiago’s remains will be transferred to the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Cubao,

Quezon City, tonight.

Her daughter-in-law Mechel Santiago posted this message on Facebook: “Ma, you will no longer be suffering now. You are now with the Lord. Thank you for loving us, your family and our country.”

Santiago is survived by her husband and her son, Narciso Santiago III. Her youngest son, Alexander Robert, died in 2003.

Santiago announced she was diagnosed with Stage- 4 lung cancer in June 2014. She then went on a medical leave from the Senate for treatment, including the use of a “miracle drug.” With John Paolo Bencito and Maricel V. Cruz

costed Vicente Sy, Peter Co, and Tony Co after another prisoner reported seeing them in a shabu session. Angered, Tony Co supposedly followed him to the mess hall and attacked him.

But convicted drug lord Peter Co claimed Dongail invited him to talk so he brought Sy as a witness, but they were immediately attacked by the former policeman and another inmate when they entered Dongail’s cell.

Sebastian, on the other hand, claimed he was attacked by an inmate he identified as Tomas Dolina while he was watching television at the mess hall.

Sebastian was in stable condition, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said, but his lawyer disputed the findings of

the investigators and claimed the incident was an attempt on Sebastian’s life.

“What I feared before is now happening.” Sebastian was quoted as saying by his lawyer Edgar Arriba.

Arriba said Sebastian claimed there was no altercation prior to Wednesday’s attack, leading Sebastian to conclude that it may be related to the ongoing House investigation on the drug trade inside NBP, Arriba added.

Sebastian’s lawyer added that he is ready to divulge everything about the illegal trade inside the penitentiary, but only to President Rodrigo Duterte.

At a news conference, De Lima said the riot was the Palace’s way of sending a message

to the prisoners who refuse to implicate her in the drug trade as part of Aguirre’s TV drama to vilify her as the “Bilibid Drug Queen.”

But Dela Rosa said he has asked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to take over the investigation to avoid any suspicion of a whitewash.

He added that up to four suspects, whom he didn’t name, were behind the jail riot Wednesday.

Following criticism by Senator Richard Gordon that the PNP Special Action Force allowed shabu and knives inside the penitentiary, which was being guarded by the SAF, Dela Rosa said the riot “was beyond their control.” John Paolo Bencito and Rey E. Requejo

and examples to our children,” the three senators said.

On Wednesday, Drilon said he believed that inter-parliamentary courtesy called for respect and courtesy to a fellow legislator.

He urged Senate President Aquilino Pimentel and Alvarez to meet to discuss the plan to show the alleged sex videos.

In reaction, Pimentel warned his fellow legislators to be ready “to pay the political price” once they played the alleged sex videos.

“We cannot be impeached, but we should be ready to pay the political price for our actions,” he said.

Senator Cynthia Villar said

regardless of the identity of the woman in the videos, a woman’s dignity and rights would be violated with their showing.

“I implore our honorable colleagues in Congress to proceed with decency in dealing with this matter,” she said.

Senator Nancy Binay said the attacks against De Lima were already out of bounds without showing the alleged sex videos.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said showing the alleged sex videos would be too much and foul, and Senator Panfilo Lacson said it would be inappropriate. Macon Ramos-Araneta

the President. When we call him he must show up and respect the Institution called Congress. We will arrest him again [if he insists on not attending],” Umali said.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III and Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting agreed with Umali.

Albano said Sebastian’s decision to tell all to the President was “dangerous.”

“What if he lies to the President?” Albano said, “The President has much to lose.”

Earlier, Sebastian’s lawyer, Eduardo Arriba, said the inmate would cooperate with the investigation on the condition that he

would speak only to the President.

“He said he has a lot of knowledge about the drug trade inside and outside the NBP. He initially refused to talk simply because of fear for his life,” he added.

According to the lawyer, Sebastian, whom Senator Leila de Lima earlier tagged as a government asset, has decided to cooperate with the government, believing that the stabbing incident could be related to the ongoing investigation on the illegal drug trade.

“What happened to me is what I’ve been always fearing,” Arriba said, quoting his client during his visit at the hospital.

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13-year-old...

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they found out she was carrying the virus,” Serrano said.

She says the girl got the virus in Baguio City, where she had anal sex with a man. The girl had rashes all over her body when she was brought in.

The center recorded 38 victims of the virus in June 2016 of whom 34 were male and four were female. Most of the transmission modes were homosexual.

Serrano says they regularly visit the commercial sex workers in the city for their monthly smear tests.

“At least twice a month they undergo a smear test,” she said.

“We check on them at night and we go from establishment to establishment. We see to it that they are checked.”

Serrano says the center continues to give counseling to those who test positive for HIV and regularly gives them medicine.

The Health Department continues to raise the alarm over the increasing number of HIV and AIDS infections.

Funny Pearl A. Gajunera

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Poe: FOI done by yearend

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Senate will likely pass a freedom of information law similar to the one passed by the Senate in 2014 but it will also be an improvement on Executive Order No. 2 that President Rodrigo Duterte signed in July.

“Although the President’s EO is laudable, and we thank him for it, there is still an urgent need to pass a freedom of information law, so that the scope will not just be on the Executive but also on the other branches of government,” said Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the committee on public information and mass media.

“We have already unanimously passed the FOI bill in the last Congress in record time. I think that we will be able to immediately come up with a committee report and sponsor this bill soon,” Poe said in concluding the second hearing on the transparency measure.

“I think it will not be very different from the version passed in the Senate so I am optimistic that it will be passed before the end of the year,” she added.

Poe said the panel will now prepare a consolidated measure and consider various proposals from senators and what transpired in two public hearings, adding that the proposed FOI law could boost the administration’s anti-corruption policy.

“I think that a lot of senators will agree to an FOI law at the soonest possible time,” Poe said.

State agencies covered by EO No. 2 were unanimous in backing the approval of the FOI bill, reiterating their commitments to promote transparency and good governance, but with certain limitations so as not to disclose sensitive information.

“An individual’s right to privacy is equally important as the right to information. There is a need to balance these two constitutionally protected rights, especially concerning online disclosure of sensitive information,” Poe said.

The FOI bill was listed as among the priority measures, along with 14 other bills, that the Duterte administration wants passed immediately.

“Although the President’s EO is laudable, and we thank him for it, there is still an urgent need to pass a freedom of information law, so that the scope will not just be on the Executive but also on the other branches of government,” Poe said.

“Thus, we are not giving up. In fact we are full of hope. We are not going to make an exact replica. Rather, we will strive to improve the material before us, so that the committee report in this chamber will be a superior piece of legislation that is abreast with the needs of the times.”

Ilocos Norte becomes 1st no-coal LGU LAOAG CITY—The Ilocos Norte provincial board recently passed a resolution eliminating coal from the province’s allowable sources of electricity.

The board unanimously approved last Aug. 15 Provincial Resolution No. 0172016, authored by environment committee chairman Mariano Marcos II, declaring Ilocos Norte as a “clean, green and coalfree province.”

“No office or instrumentality of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte shall issue any permit, authorization, endorsement or any expression of support to the development of coal projects in the province,” the resolution read.

The board encouraged all two cities and 21 municipalities of the province to refrain from issuing coal permits. The resolution makes Ilocos Norte the first province to phase out coal use and become a total renewable energy consumer.

With its solar, wind and hydroelectric energy sources, Ilocos Norte is already generating about 50 percent of its power requirement from clean or renewable energy.

With a 264-MW installed wind energy capacity as of 2015, Ilocos Norte is already dubbed the undisputed wind energy capital of the Philippines.

Since 2010 local government initiatives have paved the way for Ilocos Norte to become home to the 150-megawatt windpower project of Energy Development Corporation, a unit of First Gen Corp., in Burgos; the 81-MW Caparispisan wind station of Northern Luzon UPC Asia Corp.; and the 52-MW Bangui wind project of Northwind Power and Development Corporation.

The province is also emerging as the country if not Southeast Asia’s renewable energy capital with the further development of the 5 MW Agua Grande hydroelectric power plant in Pagudpud and solar farms like the 20 MW solar power facility of Soleq Philippines Inc., in Barangay Paguludan in Currimao, and the 4.1 MW and 2.6 MW solar farms in Burgos of EDC.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Alvarez slams tax plan

By Maricel V. Cruz

S

AYING the Department of Finance’s tax reform package will likely lead to more tax evasion loopholes, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez criticized the DoF for its “laziness” in rehashing proposals from the past.

“I studied the DoF proposal and I noticed that most of it are proposals from the past. I guess they were too lazy to come up with feasible tax measures,” said Alvarez, secretary general of President Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and representative of Davao del Norte.

“I do not see a provision in the tax

proposals which shall address tax efficiency collection. We will scrutinize it thoroughly as [the absence of a provision to improve tax collection] may open floodgates to tax evasion. I do not see such a provision,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez said the DOF proposals may not pass the standards of the Lower House which wants a tax re-

form package that is genuinely propoor.

“The DoF proposal will undergo serious scrutiny to determine if this is possible and attainable,” Alvarez said.

Responding to criticisms from the concerned sectors to be affected by the DoF proposal, Alvarez clarified that his leadership will not be a Malacañang rubber stamp.

“The House of Representatives will not be a rubber stamp of the administration,” Alvarez said, as he reiterated that the House will “always be on the side of the people.”

“We will not allow these kind of proposals to pass the Lower House,” Alvarez said.

He cited, as an example, the DoF plans to raise the excise tax on gaso-

line to P10.00 per liter from P4.35 per liter, and diesel—which is currently at zero—to P6.00 per liter.

The proposal covers the restructuring of the excise tax on automobiles except for buses, trucks, cargo vans, jeeps, jeepney substitutes and special purpose vehicles.

The measure shall impose additional taxes on several commodities and remove the value-added tax exemptions of senior citizens and persons with disabilities to make up for the estimated P179 billion in foregone revenues from the planned lowering tax rates.

The DoF also proposed to expand VAT from 12 to 14 percent and remove exemptions replacing with direct subsidy and lower personal income tax.

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EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Respectable discourse

I

T WAS heartbreaking to watch Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago during the debates in the weeks leading to the May 2016 elections. Cancer made her seem less herself, when everybody knew what she was like at the prime of her political life.

The senator died at age 71— peacefully, in her sleep—Thursday morning. Even as we knew her passing was inevitable, it

came as a shock, nonetheless.

Santiago was master of the law but derived her reputation from her wit and feistiness. She was a fascinating character across the decades and through her various roles in government. Fearing nobody, she spoke her mind and called out anybody who needed calling out.

She waged her crusade against corruption and for the empowerment of women, and even as she occasionally cracked a joke—remember her bestselling book of pickup lines—or let some emotion slip, it was always on the ba-

sis of something logical and relevant to the nation’s affairs.

Santiago’s death is made more jarring by the circumstances in which we now find ourselves.

These days, our definition of “strong” and “tough” lies on one’s ability to malign the enemy and threaten to expose all the unsavory aspects of his or her life, whether or not it is relevant to the issue at hand.

Conversation has been whittled down to language that is colorful not because of its skillful use but because of its mass appeal.

The outpouring of messages

of sympathy from Santiago’s colleagues in government to her family is expected. There will be tributes left and right, but who knows how many of these public servants will genuinely honor her memory by trying to be as real, as diligent, and as respectable as she was?

If there is anything Santiago showed us during her many years in public service, it is that a leader can be tough, passionate and candid while maintaining respectability. For this trait, among many others, she will be sorely missed.

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

An ‘offtrack’ foreign policy

Miriam is forever LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES THE entire nation is a little bit more stupid, now that Miriam Defensor is Santiago gone. And the Senate—let’s not even talk about how badly it’s been faring since Miriam left.

The poet who said that each death diminishes us all must have been talking about us losing Miriam. We know, deep in our hearts, that we are all less brave, less brilliant, less worthy of admiration now that she has passed on.

Miriam was a blazing beacon in the darkness of our politics.

We should be so lucky to have someone, someday rise from the murk to take her place.

Thank you, Miriam, for everything you did for your country. A grateful nation salutes you for your long and distinguished service.

As for me, I shall never for-

get the words of wisdom you dispensed nearly three decades ago, when I was just a greenhorn reporter and you were already a much-respected Quezon City judge. I shall forever cherish the memory of our first meeting and have been an unabashed fan of yours since then.

Miriam Santiago may be dead, but the pursuit of excellence goes on. Thank you, Judge, for the enduring inspiration.

But if I may disagree with my late idol, I don’t really believe that stupid is forever. Miriam, on the other hand, is. *** The America-loving among us (and there are many of them) have raised the specter of impending economic ruin if President Rodrigo Duterte continues to make noises about improving ties with China. But while these people warn darkly about the collapse of our economy if Duterte keeps giving Uncle Sam the cold shoulder, they never talk of about what we can possibly gain from the Chinese, if we increase trade with them.

First of all, I’ve often wondered why improved relations with the Chinese (or the Russians, for that matter) has to be framed in such grim Cold War

The poet who said that each death diminishes us all must have been talking about us losing Santiago. terms. Especially since the Obama administration announced this week that it has no problems with the Philippines, being a sovereign state, seeking better economic deals and arrangements with its neighbors.

This week, during a reception

in Manila on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Zhao Jianhua put things in their proper context. Noting that relations between the two countries have been improving “beautifully” since Duterte’s election, Zhao said the Chinese would rather think that the Philippines and its superpower neighbor are connected by the South China Sea, instead of being separated by it.

Why can’t we improve ties with China and keep our excellent relations with the US, is what I want to know. That Yellow somos o no somos thinking is so passe. *** The thawing of relations between Manila and Beijing after a disastrous six-year unilateral freezing by the US-oriented Aquino administration could not have come at a more appropriate time.

By the end of this year, the Philippines will have to pay membership dues in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which will allow Manila to access cheap funding for much-needed

infrastructure projects.

While the concurrence of the Senate is still required for membership in AIIB, the Duterte administration has already allocated funds representing Manila’s paid-in capital as a founding member of the new multilateral funding agency. Finance officials have promised to work hard to get the concurrence of the Senate and to fund the capital requirements out of contingency funds in the 2017 national budget, if necessary.

AIIB is similar to the USled World Bank and the Japanfounded Asian Development Bank, with the only difference being that it was started by China. AIIB has declared that it has upwards of $100 billion to lend to member-countries, money that the Philippines could definitely use for building roads, bridges, seaports and airports that are sorely lacking.

(Even the previous administration, which came so close to war with China because that is what Noynoy Aquino thought

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte continues to astound us and world leaders on his way to charting his government’s foreign policy.

In the capital Hanoi for an official visit to Vietnam, Duterte said the US-Philippines “Balikatan” war games will be the last held between the two nations. This, coming at a time when the country is facing an external threat from China in the West Philippine Sea. The Duterte statement had to be clarified not by his Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Perfecto Yasay Jr. but by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. as meaning it is going to be “the last for the year.”

Both Esperon and Yasay are with Dutere during his Vietnamese visit. Esperon stepped up for Yasay who claimed he did not hear what the President said although he and Esperon were on the stage with the President.

The presidential statement must have shocked, if not disappointed, high-ranking Vietnamese officials. Vietnam was hoping for an ally in the Philippines in its own territorial dispute with China over the oil-rich Paracels in the South China Sea. China inflicted heavy casualties on the Vietnamese side during a naval battle in the area several years ago.

Although China aided Vietnam in its long-drawn war with the US, Hanoi has become wary of Beijing’s aggressive moves in the region.

Is the Philippines swimming against the tide? While other countries in the region are concerned with a rising China, Manila, through Duterte, is being drawn to Beijing.

It has become the norm for the President’s men to clarify every statement he makes off the cuff as he deviates from prepared speeches to ad lib and crack jokes. He has, however, only managed to crack longstanding walls of friendship and alliances with the Philippines’ treaty partners, particularly the United States. He has also raised eyebrows by proclaiming an independent foreign policy which will pursue stronger relations with China and Russia.

Duterte’s fling with Beijing comes at a time after the Chinese had been rebuffed by the Turn to A5

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Opinion PENSEES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

Getting out of a rut I HAVE this disturbing, nagging feeling that our wheels are stuck in a rut. The campaign against drug dealers hogs the headlines almost every day. And while the government is rightly confident that it is making headway against this nefarious trade that, like an insidious malignancy, has metastasized under a past administration, the many—human rights advocates, Catholic bishops, NGOs —who have howled against the rising body count and the ruthlessness of the purge are as right about howling. The government must be allowed to pursue its drive, but it should not be immune from criticism, and neither must it flinch from it, much less hound to death those who dare question and protest.

But there are other, pressing, equally important concerns. Our foreign policy needs serious attending to. So far, our government has sent out not only mixed but confusing signals. We have heard dire announcements about nearing the banks of the Rubicon —and the United States is not wont to taking divorce notices like this with levity. Whether we are now disposed to admit it or not, in many ways and in different forms, both the American government and American economy have propped ours.

We are warming up to China and to Russia, and that, of course is all very good. They are geographically more proximate to us. The problem with Russia, however, is that we have hardly had a journey together.

We know it as the land of the Tsars and those who massacred the last of them, that great nation that gave the world Tchaikovsky and the immortal Christmas delight: The Nutcracker Suite. But apart from that we have shared virtually no history. As for China, has it really ever foresworn its “Middle Kingdom” national mindset: China at the center of the universe and the kingdoms of barbarians, hardly anything more than peripherals? At the Trident Conference to which I was invited to react to the lecture of Justice Antonio Carpio on the arbitral decision on the West Philippine Sea, the fact was discussed that China exports more to us than they take in our goods! On this score, they need us more than we need them.

Then there are the more quotidian problems of traversing what is supposed to be the shortest distance between two points.

In Manila, that no longer means a straight line, because Euclid’s route is impossibly choked with vehicles and their fuming drivers.

The shortest distance between two points is determined by Waze that can take you through meandering side-ways and by-ways to get you from A to B. For all of Secretary Art Tugade’s bravura and bold predictions about solving the problem, none is in sight, and Manila continues to gasp and gag.

The dramatic, riveting fiery exchanges between Vitaliano Aguirre and Leila de Lima, with a generous serving of the salacious and prurient, is draining our national stamina that should

be better applied to things that matter. What may or may not have happened in Leila de Lima’s bedroom—or another’s—is really none of the business of the government of the Republic, and abetting voyeurism by offering to treat the public to a viewing of video clips that would merit a “super X” from the MTRCB is not going to serve any national purpose, except our baser instincts for ridicule and our unproductive proclivity for gossip.

But it certainly matters that her name has been mentioned by suspected drug lords, and that is alleged that she is on the take.

Then again, unless we are clear what the Legislature intends to pass in this regard, investigations of the sort to which national television has given more than ample coverage are best entrusted to the prosecutorial arm of government which, unfortunately for De Lima, is headed by her nemesis.

Thus, the conundrum in which we find ourselves.

The outflow of dollars from the country, the weakening of the peso and reports about investor flight are not to be nonchalantly brushed aside. They are very serious, and can seriously undermine all the administration’s efforts at making the vaunted change happen. And it is not a matter of conjecture that there is a direct relation between uncompromising adherence to the rule of law, the predictability of results that one expects from legal institutions and establishments and the stability of the political order on the one hand and investor confidence and a good supply of dollars on the other. Whether or not those who have the green bucks will want to bring them here is not determined by popularity or acceptance ratings but by what those with the money to invest perceive to be the atmospheric conditions prevailing!

Getting out of a rut is not the job of one man. It just is not possible.

It takes an entire team to do this —and government is supposed to be a team, and the President, a team-player. Policy and strategy cannot arise from off-the-cuff remarks that are later on clarified, modified, qualified and re-stated.

Neither will sound targets be formulated as visceral reactions to provocative questions from journalists with a flair for vituperation.

It will also involve a principled opposition that does not merely oppose but has sound reasons for opposing, that truly checks and questions but also agrees and concurs when it ought to. And yes, it cannot be accomplished by a nation with an emaciated spirit, one that recklessly allows itself to forsake the ways of nobility—both in speech and in action—and to forswear the faith in God that has kept its people afloat even in the most dire of straits.

It can be done, but the President and his government ought to be minded to do it.

Miriam...

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heavily in Vietnam ($323 million), Malaysia ($408 million), Thailand ($443 million) and Indonesia ($1.328 billion). The Philippines got $24 million in investments from China during the same period.

Of course, we still have issues with China over everything from fishing rights in Scarborough Shoal to the involvement of Chinese nationals in the local illegal drug trade. But Duterte has never set aside these problems and the Chinese know that he never will sell out his own country just to get cheap loans and improve trade.

The important thing to remember is that no one—not Duterte, especially—wants us to turn our backs on the Americans as we pursue better deals with other countries. It’s only the scorched-earth, “mental colony” Yellows who still think that way.

The government must be allowed to pursue its drive but it should not be immune from criticism.

the US wanted, could not ignore AIIB. On the very last day of 2015, one day before the deadline, Aquino’s administration signified that Manila wanted to join the bank—never mind if he heckled and threatened the Chinese every chance that he got.)

And Duterte has never called for the Philippines to turn its back on the US, anyway, even if he’s had rough patches with the State Department, US-based human rights groups and media over the implementation of his war on drugs. But he certainly knows that China, even before AIIB was put up, has been funding projects in the Asean region, Africa, the Middle East and South America at concessional interest rates.

For instance, in 2015 and in Asean alone, China invested

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Duterte as Julius Caesar VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ ON MONDAY, Sept. 26, President Duterte disclosed that he had an hour-long talk with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during the dinner of Asean leaders and their dialogue partners—the United States, Russia, and Japan on Sept. 7 in Laos.

Duterte sat to the right of Medvedev. To the President’s left was Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Previously, it was erroneously announced by the Palace Press Office that Duterte was to be seated between President Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in that dinner. Whether it was Duterte, or the US Secret Service, who changed the seating arrangement could not be determined. But that dinner arrangement could radically reset Philippine-American relations and possibly change the course of Philippine history.

“I am about to cross the Rubicon in my relations with the United States,” Duterte was supposed to have intimated to the Russian leader who studied law and comes from a family of academics. The latter was supposed to have retorted, ”come to Russia. We will help you.” The following day, Sept. 8, Duterte and Medvedev had a more formal one-on-one meeting, perhaps to put flesh and blood to a deal.

These days in Manila, Duterte has been announcing he would make epoch-making visits to China and Russia. The President wants to buy firearms from Russia and do trade deals with China in exchange for his keeping quiet

on the South China Sea. Rubicon was a small stream in northern Italy. It became one of ancient history’s most pivotal events, according to Google.

From it sprang the Roman Empire and the genesis of modern European culture. In 49 BC, Julius Caesar snatched a trumpet from one of his troops and ran to the river with it, shouting “advance”, and declaring, ‘Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon us! The die is now cast!” Caesar reached his point of no return.

Has Duterte reached the point of no return in Manila’s relations with Washington?

Philippine-US security arrangement is anchored on three basic agreements—the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 which enables each country to come to the defense of the other, “subject to constitutional processes”; the Visiting Forces Agreement of 1999 which allows port visits by US forces and joint military exercises; and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which allows up to five bases for use by Americans in the Philippines.

Duterte doesn’t seem to believe the US will help Manila in a war with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) since the country’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China is not strictly part of the “Metropolitan Territory” of the Philippines as defined by the 1954 MDT but an economic territory—meaning the ocean doesn’t belong to the Philippines but the country has exclusive rights to its fishes, minerals, and other resources above and below. The US is only after asserting its right to freedom of navigation in the South

China Sea and is in no mood to fight China.

Starting next year, there won’t be any more joint FilipinoAmerican military exercises under the VFA. American soldiers, numbering more than 100, will have to pull out from Mindanao.

As to EDCA, it is not clear whether Duterte will allow US soldiers inside Philippine military camps, five of them, and act like the masters of the locals.

The effect is that the Philippines will truly become an independent state, not what Duterte derisively calls “a vassal” of the US. Since visits by US ships, which normally are nuclear-powered and carry nuclear weapons (otherwise, what are their warships for?) will be discouraged, it will help Asean achieve its goal of nuclear-free zone and the region being a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality.

This should warm the cockles of the hearts of the other Asean leaders smarting from decades of colonialism.

Thus, neutralizing the impact of the MDT, VFA and EDCA is really like crossing the Rubicon for Duterte, at least during his six-year presidency.

Now, will the Americans deliver a comeuppance one of these days? Yes, of course. They propped up Corazon Aquino and prepared her for a takeover from the increasingly nationalistic Ferdinand Marcos who was ousted by People Power. When she was about to be deposed by a violent coup, the Americans sent “persuasion flights” in 1987 to deter the military rebels.

Joseph Estrada was also ousted

by People Power in 2001. He refused the US demand that he stop his all-out war against the Muslim rebels in Mindanao. Had

Estrada won that war (he did, actually), peace would have come to Mindanao and the Americans would have no excuses to stay in the Philippines’ second largest— and most troubled—island.

Duterte has taken a different tack. He has negotiated peace with the Muslim rebels and is offering them Federalism. The Muslims are biting. Now, both the communist New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front both hate the Americans. They want the gringos out.

The President is listening to their demands and thus has acted belligerently, against the Americans.

Duterte also wants to align the other Asean leaders to his position. Quietly, in their hearts, they like what the Filipino leader has been saying and doing, including perhaps his expletives. He has made state visits to Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam, countries with deep reservoir of resentment against American imperialism. The US dropped millions of bombs in Laos.

Americans helped overthrow both Sukarno and Suharto, among the most revered of Indonesian leaders. The Americans fought in Vietnam for 20 years but was roundly defeated. The defeat left a deep scar in their psyche. It was America’s first major military reversal overseas.

An Asean flank against America, if it happens, could put in jeopardy two things—Washington’s Pivot to Asia (where 60 percent of US forces are deployed), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Now, has Duterte reached his point of no return in his personal and official relations with the US? The answer is an effing yes. biznewsasia@gmail.com

Discarding our ‘Nato’ policy FILIPINO PENSIONER HORACE TEMPLO ARCHITECT Jun Palafox was exaggerating in jest when he disclosed that he had “1,000 recommendations” on how to ease our traffic, but was probably serious when he attributed the previous administration’s snub of them to its Nato or “No Action, Talk Only” policy.

In fact, he was already diplomatic by not using “noynoying” in describing President Benigno Aquino III’s inaction during crisis situations.

But had his transport secretary implemented even half a dozen of them, the alreadycongested traffic condition then along Edsa would not have worsened into its present daily state of “carmaggedon.”

We can only hope that Transportation Secretary Art Tugade would soon heed some of his recommendations to make our travel to and from Makati to other destinations in Metro Manila faster and more comfortable.

A government entity should take the first step in implementing these recommendations. For instance, the Armed Forces of the Philippines could open up Camp Aguinaldo’s roads to all private motorists on weekdays and not only to the few who play in its golf course inside. Camp Crame could then follow suit.

They should be easy to implement, and the exclusive villages

An ‘off-track’...

From A4 Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague which upheld Manila’s case to challenge China’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea. He also announced his administration’s plan to purchase weapons from China and Russia. The Chinese have also been operating illegal drug manufacturing labs in the Philippines.

This series of foreign policy gaffes has drawn criticism from international observers. The latest came from former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario who called Duterte’s foreign policy as “off track.”If it is indeed off track, Duterte only has himself to blame for derailing the foreign policy train including several international treaties and conventions, such

along Edsa could match them by opening up their own roads to the public.

Traveling along the heart of Metro Manila would then be much more pleasant.

This unselfish cooperation between our public and private sectors would be a model to emulate in solving our other national problems. After all, we now often talk about public-private partnership as the more effective approach in undertaking the country’s infrastructure projects because government alone cannot provide them.

Of course, adding more mass transit systems and making our cities more “walkable” are the true ultimate solutions to our traffic problem as what progressive countries had done.

We realize, of course, that these cost trillions of pesos now and will take years to accomplish even if they are acted upon immediately.

Somehow, we cannot miss noticing the parallelism in the deterioration of our traffic problem and the erosion of pensions of the Social Security System.

Both deteriorated gradually over the years, and while their solutions had been often talked about, they had not been acted upon.

For instance, we failed to build enough mass transit systems in anticipation of what our workers would need when they started commuting in huge volumes to and from their work every day. Consequently, they had to buy thousands and thousands of new cars that now clog

our limited roads. Even if they had started paying road user’s tax, government had not augmented the kilometrage of our urban roads.

Previous administrations found it more convenient not to act on anything, fooling us into believing that they had saved money by postponing action on much-talked about mass transit system constructions.

With pensions, we simply kept quiet as SSS continued maintaining a stagnant system of contributions, contented that our salary deductions had become less and less a percentage of total pay and were not being increased to finance future pensions.

Admittedly, we were not willing to sacrifice any reduction in our present take-home pay in exchange for receiving higher pensions in the future.

Similar to the traffic problem, we failed to plan ahead for inflation-indexed pensions by not contributing enough. Thus, with meager contributions, our pensions had to be meager, too.

We now openly complain about the inadequacy of these pensions. And even if we had demanded immodestly a P2,000 pension increase from PNoy, we still don’t have any firm commitment from President Duterte that he would soon grant it.

That P2,000 pension increase would only be a palliative solution, anyway. Soon we’d be asking for another increase.

The lasting solution requires a contribution rate of 17 percent and the removal of the cap on

salary from which contributions and pensions would be based.

But like the traffic problem solutions, they could only be implemented gradually in the next 20 years, not abruptly.

Workers would easily agree to higher contribution deductions knowing that they’d result in higher future pensions, but not the employers who had always resisted plans to increase contributions.

For instance, they also resisted the introduction of the nowtimely unemployment insurance just because they had to fund it.

Employers’ consistent refusal to increase contributions since the establishment of SSS in 1957 had made our social security deductions one of the lowest in the world. They must have already confirmed this fact from their counterparts in Asia, the Americas and Europe yet they do not disclose nor admit it.

But they now are singing a different tune. According to them, pensions could not be increased because this would violate Section 4 (b), paragraph 2 of the Social Security Law, which provides that “increases in benefits shall not require any increase in the rate of contribution.”

Indeed, if this is their only objection now to the pension increase, then the P2,000 pension increase proponents at the Senate and the House of Representatives could easily amend this section accordingly.

And by acting now and by not talking only, we can finally solve the inadequacy of our SSS pensions.

as the US-PHL Mutual Defense Treaty, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the UN Covenant on Human Rights, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We hope the President does not see Del Rosario’s comment as another attempt to destabilize his administration. He does not need help in this department.

Duterte is doing all this by himself with his feckless and reckless remarks.

‘Prison riot’ The riot that erupted at the National Bilibid Prison last Wednesday raises questions of law enforcement and prison security at the state penitentiary.

One high-profile convict, Tony Co, was killed by a knife wielding assailant while three others —Jaybee Sebastian, Peter Go and Vicente Sy- survived the “riot.” This is highly suspicious.

Only one assailant was identi-

fied—Clarence Dongain. There was no apparent motive in the stabbing frenzy in Building 14 which jail guards said started when Dongain told off the highprofile detainees to stop a drug session in their quarters.

Sebastian rushed to the prison’s infirmary and said he wanted to be transferred to another hospital for fear of his life.

Sebastian made known he does not want to testify anymore in the House hearing on the alleged drug payoff to former Justice secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima to fund her senatorial campaign. He said he would only talk to President Duterte.

We are not going to dwell on whether Wednesday’s prison riot was indeed a riot or a staged event to silence or intimidate other high-profile detainees from testifying in the House hearing. That’s for the Department of Justice with the National

Bureau of Investigation to find out, if both agencies under the DoJ can conduct a fair inquiry in light of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre pushing the case against De Lima.

De Lima who broke down while giving a media statement said she was ready to be arrested if the government can prove its case against her. “Go ahead.

Come for me Mr. President,” she dared as she admitted she can’t sleep from the emotional and mental harassment she’s suffering.

Why the House hearing in aid of legislation? Law enforcement, particularly in the Bureau of Corrections, and not another piece of legislation is actually needed. Weapons and luxury items such as air conditioners, flat screen TV, cellphones have been smuggled into the prisoners quarters with the connivance of prison guards.

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IN BRIEF SM gives BI Taguig office THE Bureau of Immigration will open new satellite office at the SM Aura Tower shopping mall in Taguig City to make its service accessible to foreigners based at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) business district and neighboring areas.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said mall owner SM Prime Holding Inc. agreed to provide the BI space at the mall’s 8th floor free of rental charges, including furniture and fixtures. It will be similar to the BI satellite office which has been operating at the SM City North in Quezon City.

“With the opening of this new facility, volume of transactions and people in our Manila main office will be further reduced, thus resulting in a more efficient and speedy delivery of services to our clientele,” the BI chief said.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the new office “will provide the BI and its clientele a new, modern and spacious frontline transaction area that is free from congestion now being experienced at the BI main office in Intramuros, Manila, thus affording comfort and relief to the transacting public.” Vito Barcelo

Combat pay hike ready

By John Paolo Bencito

ers and enlisted personnel of the AFP and uniformed personnel of the PNP is increased to P3,000 UALIFIED members of the Armed per month.

“Officers and enlisted perForces of the Philippines and sonnel of the AFP performing Philippine National Police will combat duties/activities and uniformed personnel of the receive increases in their combat duty pay PNP engaged in actual police operations as defined in and combat incentive pay starting this regulations to be issued by the month after President Rodrigo Duterte Secretary of National Defense and the National Police Comsigned Executive Order No. 3, the Budget mission, respectively, are enDepartment said Thursday. titled to receive Combat Duty Pay,” Duterte’s new Executive Budget Secretary Benjamin vided by Executive Order No. Order read.

Diokno said that members Diokno said that this increase 201, s. 2016. in allowance is separate from From P500 per month, the of the AFP and the uniformed their salary increase as pro- Combat Duty Pay of the offic- personnel of the PNP who

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participate in actual combat against members of various insurgent, terrorist and lawless elements, shall be entitled to an additional Combat Incentive Pay of P300 per day provided that they are valid combat missions.

Diokno on Tuesday earlier ruled out President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to increase the salaries of the military and uniformed personnel towards the end of the year, citing budget constraints.

“I can almost say that that’s not possible by the end of the year, simply because there’s nothing there in the budget for that,” Diokno said in a Palace

Release of INP pensions ordered

By Rey E. Requejo

DoLE opens OFW center THE Department of Labor and Employment will put up a one-stop shop center in Clark, Pampanga to serve hundreds of overseas Filipino workers from the province after Emirates Airline announced plans to open a flight between Saudi Arabia-Clark International Airport route.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said more one-stop service centers for overseas Filipino workers will be opened in key areas in the country before the year ends.

The labor chief led the launching of the one-stop service center for OFWs at Clark Polytechnic in Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Clark Freeport Zone, adding the DOLE will put up more one-stop service centers for OFWs in regions where there are heavy concentration of migrant Filipino workers.

“This will provide our OFWs the facility for obtaining their requirements for their efficient deployment,” Bello said.

Explain oil prices, firms told

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department has asked the oil players to explain unusual price reductions in gasoline products in Mindanao which could breach provisions in the law.

The department said in a statement the price adjustment of oil companies in Mindanao from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 alone was a huge P3 rollback, based on the monitoring of the DOE-Mindanao Field Office (MFO).

“While price rollbacks like this are a welcome development for the consumers, the DOE cautioned that sudden and sustained huge decreases in oil prices might qualify as “anti-competitive behavior” under the Oil Deregulation Law,” the agency said.

The Oil Deregulation Law of 1998 or Republic Act 8479 states that aside from caramelization —which means any agreement, combination or concerted action by refiners, importers and/or dealers, or their representatives, to fix prices, restrict outputs or divide markets, either by products or by areas, or allocate markets—predatory pricing is also prohibited.

Predatory pricing means selling or offering to sell any oil product at a price below the seller’s or offeror’s average variable cost for the purpose of destroying competition, eliminating a competitor or discouraging a potential competitor from entering the market, “provided, however, that pricing below average variable cost to match the lower price of the competitor and not for the purpose of destroying competition shall not be deemed predatory pricing.”

press briefing.

In many of his visits to military camps, President Duterte vowed to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that their pay will be doubled come yearend.

Diokno stressed that the current 2016 budget does not have appropriations to effect the President’s promise of an incremental increase that can be realigned to increase salaries.

Despite these, however, Diokno promised that the government has earmarked P39.59 billion of the proposed 2017 national budget for the salary increase of soldiers, policemen and other uniformed personnel next year.

INFANT CARE. United Nations Children’s Fund country representative Lotta Sylwander stresses the importance of breastfeeding on the first

1,000 days of a child’s life during the Breastfeeding and Family Planning Summit at the Pearl Manila Hotel in Manila on Thursday which was also attended by Dr. Gundo Weiler, World Health Organization country representative, and Health Undersecretary Dr. Enrique Tayag. PNA

Probe gambling, too, prelate urges

By Vito Barcelo RETIRED Catholic prelate Oscar Cruz urged the Duterte administration on Thursday to investigate supposed links between large-scale gambling operators and other crimes, such as kidnappings, drug pushing and armed robbery.

Cruz, archbishop emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan, said there are connections between illegal drug pushing and gambling operators, saying gamblers need money and to finance their addiction to gambling is selling illegal drugs.

“There are illegal drug searches in practically any

neighborhood. Why not try looking for verifiable illegal drug connections among inveterate gamblers and illegal drug providers?” the prelate said.

A known anti-gambling crusader, Cruz reiterated the call on the authorities to look into the possible links of people with severe gambling problems to the illegal drug trade.

Cruz, founder of the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, hinted at the possibility that pathological gamblers always need money to finance their “unquenchable gambling addiction.”

“Politicians and gangsters, professionals and hoodlums,

businessmen and cheats—there are known pairings of such individuals for mutual benefits,” he said.

“Why not pathological gamblers and illegal drug promoters whereby the former sell what the latter have to offer? There are illegal drug connections among public officials and police officers,” Cruz said.

According to him, the illegal drug trade and pathological gambling have one thing in common: their prime motor is the quest for money.

Catholic bishops have repeatedly voiced alarm over the spread of government-

sanctioned gambling through casinos.

Aside from the many families that have been wrecked because of casinos, they said large-scale gambling has also been linked to organized crime.

“Yet, they continue to thrive, government sanctions them and their operators and owners continue to enrich themselves,” the bishops said in a statement.

“We are alarmed at the seeming lukewarmness on the part of government and civil society in dealing with these forms of high-stakes, highrisk gambling,” it said.

THE Court of Appeals has sustained its decision ordering the Department of Budget and Management to release P3.9-billion differential pension of Integrated National Police retirees.

It junked the appeal of the DBM and the PNP to restrain the Regional Trial Court of Manila City from implementing its orders for them to release P3.9 billion representing pension differentials of retirees of the defunct INP for 1991 to 2006.

In a three-page resolution, the CA’s Eleventh Division, through Associate Justice Pedro Corales, upheld its April 29, 2016 decision, which denied the petition filed by the DBM and PNP seeking the issuance of a writ of injunction enjoining the Manila RTC from implementing several orders it issued in 2014 in connection with the pension claims of INP retirees.

It said the DBM and PNP failed to raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its decision.

“The motion for reconsideration is a mere reproduction of the arguments raised in the petition.

We do not find any bona fide effort on the part of petitioners to present additional matters or reiterate their arguments in a different light,” the CA ruled.

“Thus, there is no need to revisit what was already presented before this Court when we rendered the April 29, 2016 decision,” it said.

Associate Justices Sesinando Villon and Rodil Zalameda concurred with the ruling.

In its April 29 decision, the appellate court affirmed the orders issued by the Manila RTC on Feb. 20, 2014 directing the DBM to implement the Supreme Court’s final ruling on May 9, 2007; the May 19, 2014 order denying DBM’s motion for reconsideration of the Feb. 20, 2014 order and directing the issuance of a writ of execution in favor of the INP retirees; and the June 26, 2014 order denying DBM’s motion to recall and quash the writ of execution.

Lawmakers peeved by poor telco service CONGRESSMEN scored telco carrier Smart Communications and threatened not to renew its franchise if it could not improve its services to the public.

The lawmakers’ displeasure over the service of the telecommunication giant was expressed during the recent hearing conducted by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired

by Rep. Franz E. Alvarez.

The proposal to extend Smart’s franchise was contained in House Bill 2930, authored by Rep. Reynaldo Umali. The original franchise granted by Republic Act 7294.

Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry L. Roque described Smart’s services as slow and urban-centric, adding that it was even slower inside the House of Representatives.

Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony V. Gullas Jr. and Manila Rep. Edward Maceda shared the overall impression that Smart’s internet connection was very poor.

“Smart service is one of the slowest, but one of the most expensive, in the world,” said Roque.

“Why should we not hold the renewal of your franchise until you have improved your services first? You’ve come to Congress for a privilege while acknowledging you have not been able to give the kind of service the public deserves?” Roque asked.

Roque said the tremendous profits of Smart should be used to improve its services to the people.

“These complaints referred to Smart’s slow internet, inadequate services, missed calls and dropped calls.

What has happened since then and what has Smart done about these complaints?” Gullas said.

Maceda said he asked one of the witnesses in the Justice Committee’s Bilibid drug syndicates investigation, Jaime Patcho, if the signal inside Bilibid is strong, to which the inmate confirmed it is.

“So why is the signal strong inside the Bilibid where there shouldn’t even be a signal when the signal was very weak inside the House of Representatives which deals with very important business?” Maceda asked.

MONSOON BLUES. Pedestrians and motorists again go through the unpleasant routine of wading through flooded Taft Avenue in front of the Manila City Hall after the typhoon-induced monsoon rains. Lino Santos

Sports

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Del Rosario grabs 1-shot ICTSI golf lead

B

INANGONGAN, Rizal—Pauline del Rosario closed out both nines in fiery fashions to churn out a three-under 69 and grab a one-stroke lead over Bernice Olivarez-Ilas as The Country Club aces took charge over the pros in the second round of the ICTSI Eastridge Ladies Invitational at the Eastridge Golf Club here yesterday.

But rookie pro Princess Superal came through with a birdie-eagle finish to save a 71 in another rain-hit day and join erstwhile Chihiro Ikeda, who matched par 72, at third at 142, just two strokes off Del Rosario, who pooled a 140, guaranteeing a fierce showdown in the last 18

holes of the P750,000 championship sponsored by ICTSI. Cyna Rodriguez birdied two of the last three holes but could only turn in a 73 as the LPGA veteran and two-time Order of Merit winner of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour fell four shots off the pace at 144

while Kayla Nocum and Mikha Fortuna, the top two players’ teammates in the TCC squad, took the next two spots with 70145 and 74-147, respectively.

Olivarez-Ilas, 14, actually upstaged the fancied Superal and Fortuna in second-to-last group, scorching the wet frontside of the mountain-top layout with a solid four-under 32 to seize a onestroke lead over Del Rosario. But she stumbled with two bogeys against a birdie at the back and settled for a 69 although the De La Salle-Zobel student still stayed within striking distance at 141 for a shot at a second LPGT title after ruling the Beverly Place stop in Pampanga last April.

Gymnastics’ tourney lures big field DUATHLON MALE ELITE CHAMP. Standard Insurance Duathlon Team swept the recent SCTEX Duathlon 2016 Male Elite Division (Porac-Floridablanca and back in Pampanga), comprising of a 6K run, 60K bike and another 4K run. Standing on the podium are Joey Delos Reyes (center) champion (2:18:08), Jarwyn Banatao (left) 2:20:24, runner-up and Carlo Pedegrosa, third place (2:26:56). Standing in front is Bike King’s Ting Joson, organizer of the event that attracted more than 800 participants, with the Manila North Tollways Corp., operator of the NLEX and SCTEX, as the main sponsor.

MORE than 600 gymnasts and coaches from seven countries will converge in the Philippines to honor the contributions of a departed coach in the sport when the 1st Sonny Ty International Gymnastics Cup is held Oct. 15 and 16 at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex, at the Tunasan Baywalk.

The Philippines will be fielding in nine teams, including gym-

nasts developed by the Philippine Gymnastics and Athletics Academy, under the tutelage of the late coach Ty, who passed away on March 2008, but not after developing a number of gymnast-talents, some of whom have become part of various national teams.

Ty also took under his wings student-athletes, whom he made athletic scholars at the University

of the East, aside from young high school and out-of-school youth who enrolled in his programs.

The PGAA will welcome seven teams from Indonesia, two from India, and a team each from Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia in the tournament supported by the City Government of Muntinlupa led by Mayor Jaime R. Fresnedi.

Guevarra to lead PH team in Fiba 3x3 tilt A COMBINED pro-amateur selection will banner the Philippines’ bid in the FIBA 3x3 World Championship on Oct. 11 to 15 in Guangzhou, China.

Comprising the Philippine team are Rey Guevarra of Meralco, Karl Dehesa of Globalport, and Gilas 5.0 stalwarts Mark Belo and Russel Escoto, both products of Far Eastern University.

The Philippines is bracketed in the Men’s Pool C with Poland, Romania, Spain and Hungary.

“We are upbeat with the opportunity to play in the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Championship, the equivalent of 5x5’s FIBA World Cup,”

said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios. “ We have made great strides at the 3x3 game since we started playing at the FIBA International level in 2013, when Kobe Paras even won the slam dunk contest in Singapore.”

Barrios added that the 3x3 format has helped Filipino players further sharpen their overall playing skills.

“This is clearly evident even with the PBA players who got exposed to 3x3 at the global level, from Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva to Vic Manuel, Troy Rosario and Karl Dehesa, etc.,” the SBP official said.

Pinays pace world jr golf YUKA Saso hobbled with a 77 after a superb 66 and Harmie Constantino wavered with a 75 after a 69 but Team Philippines held on to a sevenstroke lead over Korea and three others halfway through the World Junior Girls Championship in Mississaugua, Ontario, Canada Wednesday.

Sofia Legaspi, the other Filipina in the three-to-play, two-to-count format event, recovered from an 84 with a 75 and counted for the Team Phl’s 150 for a 285 total, anchored on Saso and Constantino’s solid nine-under 135 in the first round.

Korea rallied with a 142 while Sweden carded a 144 to tie China and the US, which turned in a pair of 146s, at 292 while Italy also rebounded with a 145 for a 294.

Legaspi started with three straight birdies from No. 3 but fell back with five bogeys and a double-bogey against one more birdie on No. 17 for a three-over card.

Pacheco, Nadela seek repeat at Digos netfest LORDRENS Pacheco and Jonn Nadela hope to sustain their winning form as they seek back-to-back victories in their respective divisions in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Digos leg regional tennis tournament at Digos Tennis Club in Davao del Sur. Pacheco upended top seed Jefferson Alqueza, 6-1, 6-4, to capture the boys’ 18-and-under crown in last week’s Pikit leg of the circuit sponsored by the country’s leading pawnshop, remittance and claim center Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger with the ace Davaoeño netter all primed up for another shot at the crown this week.

But he will have his hands full with Alqueza also out for a rebound and Kylde Lagarde rejoining as top seed along with No. 2 Wilfred Bentillo, Ronnel Aboy, Bruce Hurtado, Arnel Retonio and Benladin Sabang, guaranteeing fierce action in the Group 2 tournament sanctioned by Philta and backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusively distributor of Slazenger, the official ball.

Lagarde also banners the 16-U field along with Bentillo, Retonio, Hurtado, Earljan Casal, Steve Aton, Jorez Pantujan and Eric Comendador while Davao’s John David Velez seeks another crown in the 14-U category against the likes of JV and Eric Comendador, Casal, Aton, Joross Manangking, Kurt Haro and Cedric Pamplona.

“We expect surprises and reversals that have become the norm in the circuit with new faces and fresh talents continuing to emerge in line with our effort to help in the talent-search,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

For details, contact Bobby Mangunay, PPS-PEPP Regional Age Group Tennis Event organizer and Sports Program Development director at 0915-4046464.

00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ The unranked Nadela will also be hard-pressed to duplicate her stirring 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6-4, 6-4 triumph over top Jilian Manangking in DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 Pikit with the rising star from Kabacan also going up against the likes DIGITS 00-00-00 of fancied April Bentillo, Ma. Angelica Novis and Joanne Gornes in the EZ2 00-00 girls’ 14-U category.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 6/42 6 3 2

Sports

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

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

San Miguel Beer point guard Alex Cabagnot (center) drives past a pair of Barangay Ginebra defenders in import Justin Brownlee (32) and LA Tenorio. The Beermen battle the Gin Kings for that crucial advantage in their best-of-five semifinal duel in the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.

San Miguel Beer, Ginebra break out of one-all tie is hopeful that his squad can keep up its momentum and improved Game 3 ITH everything tied, which team will play“Iinhope our last win gave us step up to take a vital edge? momentum into Game 3,” said Austria. “We kept on adjusting Defending champion San Miguel we’re hoping to finally be Beer and Barangay Ginebra square off again to and settled by this next game.” break their tie in their best-of-five semifinals Following its meltdown in Game 1, San Miguel bounced series in the 2016 Philippine Basketball back the last time out to equalize Association Governors’ Cup. the series and avoided a repeat of their collapse.

Currently tied at 1-1 after the Araneta Coliseum to see which The Beermen led for most first two games, the Beermen team moves a step closer to the part, got lost in the middle and Gin Kings meet a third time finals. and finished strong to take San Miguel coach Leo Austria Game 2, 95-92, last Wednesin Game 3 at 7 p.m. at the Smart

By Jeric Lopez

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day night to avoid falling into a deep hole.

“It’s a best-of-five series. It was very important for us not to fall to 0-2 and avoid being in deep trouble. I’m glad we were able to tie it,” said Austria.

Elijah Millsap and June Mar Fajardo were the main catalysts. They were at the forefront of San Miguel’s attack in that game.

Fajardo kept fighting for San Miguel even after he suffered a deep cut in his right eyebrow late in the second quarter after accidentally be-

ing elbowed by his own teammate Millsap.

After exploding for 39 points in Game 1, Ginebra import Justin Brownlee was effectively contained by San Miguel in Game 2.

The Beermen only allowed Brownlee to score 18 points.

Brownlee and his Ginebra pals need to rediscover their magic in Game 1 to be able to bounce back.

Meanwhile, TNT KaTropa is shooting for a 2-0 series lead against Meralco with Game 2 being hotly contested as of press time.

By Peter Atencio

DIVING SAVE. Basel’s Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik (below) dives for the ball against Arsenal’s

English midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (above) during the UEFA Champions League Group A football match between Arsenal and FC Basel at The Emirates Stadium in London on September 28.

Arsenal won the game 2-0. AFP

Shakey’s unveils Season 13 WITH a solid local crew and a pair of power-hitting imports, Pocari Sweat brims with confidence as it sets out for the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Reinforced Conference beginning tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

“We’re optimistic of our chances. Our imports have arrived as early as last month and we’ve conducted team-building activities that strengthened our chemistry. The team is in high spirits,” said coach Rommel Abella, who steered Pocari Sweat to the Open Conference championship on its very first try against Air Force early in the season.

Meanwhile, the season-end-

ing conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s will be launched at 11 a.m. Today, Friday at 9501 Restaurant at ABSCBN with players and imports of the eight participating teams numbering over 100 gracing the biggest gathering of volleyball talent.

Skipper Michelle Gumabao, the crisp-hitting tandem of Myla Pablo and Elaine Kasilag, Melissa Gohing, Maricar Nepomuceno, Gyzel Sy and Desiree Dadang are all back for another mission. Abella tapped ace setter Iris Tonelada to bolster the team’s rotation.

“Our experience and familiarity with each other will help

CIGNAL is tipped as the top contender when the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix fires off on October 8 at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

After a major overhaul, the HD Spikers are expected to dominate the field with the return of former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Venus Bernal and the recruitment of Janine Marciano, Stephanie Mercado, Mylene Paat, Lourdes Patillano and Filipino-American setter Shawna-Lei Santos into the team.

They will be powered by 6-foot5 open spiker Laura Schaudt of the United States and Lynda Morales, who skippered the Puerto Rican national women’s team in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics this year.

Reigning champion Foton also had a massive upgrade with the recruitment of 6-foot3 Dindin Manabat to join her sister, 6-foot-5 Jaja Santiago, Maika Ortiz and Angeli Araneta at the middle position. Last year’s MVP, Lindsay Stalzer will be back and will conspire with Ariel Usher in helping the Tornadoes defend the crown.

Seasoned Serbian guru Moro Branislav will call the shots after replacing Fabio Menta of Italy.

Not to be outdone, F2 Logistics, RC Cola-Army, Generika and Petron will also parade souped-up rosters.

The Cargo Movers will still be bannered by Aby Marano, Cha Cruz, Mika Reyes, Ara Galang, Kim Fajardo and the core of UAAP champion La Salle, but they also drafted Djanel Cheng and Janine Navarro, who led College of Saint Benilde to the NCAA title.

They, however, still couldn’t decide yet on who among Sydney Kemper, Nicole Walch, McKenzie Adams and Melissa Toth will serve as their reinforcements.

RC Cola-Army, on the other hand, will be marching intact with Tina Salak, Rachel Anne Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Honey Royse Tubino, Nene Bautista and Jennie Delos Reyes reporting for duty.

Former US juniors national team member Kierra Holst and Hailie Ripley will suit up as imports.

Saguisag suspends coach Ayo

San Beda, Arellano lead NCAA Final 4 seeded Mapua-Malayan Red Robins battle the La Salle Greenhills THE Mapua Cardinals need to play a Greenies at 11:45 a.m. different level of basketball when their “I’m really concerned, that’s why Final Four showdown with the Arel- we’re correcting our mistakes during lano University Chiefs starts today in practices,” said Co, following the the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Cardinals’ 67-63 win over the UniAssociation (NCAA) versity of Perpetual men’s basketball Games Friday Help Altas last week (Final Four at the MOA Arena) tournament at the during their last 10 a.m. San Beda vs Arellano (jrs) Mall of Asia Arena. elimination round 11:45 a.m. Mapua vs LSGH (jrs) Coach Atoy Co match.

2 p.m. San Beda vs UPHSD(srs) said this as he ad- 4 p.m. Arellano University vs Mapua (srs) Mapua’s Joseph mitted that inconEriobu converted two sistencies in their game have been free throws with 3.4 ticks left, allowing bugging the team in their last three the Cardinals to take the no. 3 seeding matches even as they meet the with their 12-6 win-loss record, and their Chiefs at 4 p.m. today. second Final Four appearance in two Earlier, the University of Per- years with the same slate. petual Help Altas will have Nigerian The win came after they lost to Bright Akhuetie back in their the 2 the Chiefs, 82-95, on Sept. 20 and p.m. match with the San Beda Col- stopped the College of St. Benilde lege Red Lions following one-game Blazers, 89-59. suspension he served out in their The Cardinals are banking heavgame against Mapua last Friday. ily on big man Allwell Oraeme, who In the junior division Final Four, norms 15.8 points, 19.8 rebounds, 2.2 the no. 1 seed San Beda Red Cubs assists and 2.3 blocks. He gets support take on the 4th ranked Arellano from CJ Isit, Andrew Estrella, Darrell Braves at 10 a.m. while the second Menina, Eriobu and Biteng.

Cignal favored to rule PSL GP

us. And Iris (Tolenada) has been with us for months to give us another option,” said Abella.

Boosting the team’s bid for another shot at the crown in the import-laced season-ending conference of the league organized

by Sports Vision are Andrea Kay Kacsits and Breanna Lee Mackie of the US, whose power and blocking skills make the Lady Warriors the early favorites.

The 6-4 Kacsits is a middle hitter from the Michigan Volleyball Academy while the 6-3 Mackie, a former Central Valley High School star, is an outside/opposite hitter expected to complement Gumabao, Pablo and Kasilag.

POC sets new direction

THE Philippine Olympic Committee will focus its time and energy in taking care of the needs of elite athletes in the coming months.

POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. said this following his series of talks over the past weeks with Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.

Cojuangco said this will be among his priorities at the start of the coming year, 2017, and once the coming elections of the POC is over and done with.

“This is one agenda that I want to push. For the time in years, I will really be able to do things that needed to be done,” said Cojuangco following a meeting with officials of the Philippine Tennis Association and visiting International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty.

The POC, according to Cojuangco, will play a big role in development and training national athletes who are set to see action in international meets like the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and Asian Indoor Games by next year.

Grassroots development, on the other hand, will be left in the care of the PSC. So far, the PSC is planning to put up 40 regional training centers in the provinces, which will be in place when the newly-revived Philippine Sports Institute becomes operational by January 1, 2017.

Ramirez discussed the PSC’s plans following a two-day consultative meeting with local government units at the Philsports Complex in Pasig.

“If this pushes through, we won’t be involved in regionals. We will focus on elite athletes,” said Cojuangco.Peter Atencio

University Athletic Association of the Philippines basketball commisioner Rebo Saguisag confirmed that La Salle coach Aldin Ayo will serve a one-game suspension when the Green Archers meet Ateneo on Sunday.

La Salle assistant coach Louie Gonzales said they will have a tough time against Ateneo without Ayo. The Green Archers played without Ayo who was thrown out of the game against the University of the East and eventually suspended. La Salle managed to eke out a 84-78 decision against winless UE last Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Green Archers thus scored their sixth straight victory and stayed in the solo lead of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

But the absence of Ayo will make the battle against arch-rival Ateneo Blue Eagles very challenging.

“Every time we won coach Aldin said things will become more difficult. Nothing will come easy through this journey,” said Gonzales hours after Ayo was thrown out of the game by referee Eric Viray.

Ayo was complaining about a missed call on Green Archer Thomas Torres following a rough play by UE’s Wilson Bartolome.

Ayo entered the court, confronted Viray and offered him assistant Siot Tanquincen’s eyeglasses.

During the game, Prince Rivero played off the bench, and made the most of the limited minutes he had on the court count.

He finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in the 10 minutes he saw action.

His layup and two free throws in the last 3:22 pushed La Salle ahead, 78-67. Peter Atencio

Aboitiz wants stake in Bataan coal plant B3

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

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IN BRIEF

Solar firms slam FiT perks award

FIVE-STAR HOTEL. The Department of Tourism awards a five-star rating to Marco Polo Davao, known as Mindanao’s first and only premier hotel. Shown during the awarding

ceremony at the DOT head office in Makati City are (from left) Marco Polo Davao’s sales executive Janina Almonte and general manager Dottie Wurgler-Cronin, Tourism Undersecretary Bong Bengzon, Halifax Davao Hotel Inc. president Francis Ledesma, Marco Polo Davao director of sales and marketing Pearl Peralta-Maclang and Tourism head of standards, monitoring and enforcement division Joey Tolentino.

Andrew Tan group set to invest P150b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

A

LLIANCE Global Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Andrew Tan, is allocating P150 billion for its 2016 and 2017 capital expenditures to accelerate the expansion of property, gaming and quick service restaurant businesses.

Alliance Global president Kingson Sian said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the bulk of the two-year programmed spending would be allotted for property unit Megaworld Corp., which planned to build more hotels, office and retail projects.

“We continue to be optimistic about what lies ahead. That is why we have kept an aggressive capex plan moving forward. In 2010 to 2015, we spent an aggregate of P270 billion for our expansion projects. We will spend more than half of that amount for 2016 and 2017 alone, prov-

ing our positive outlook for our business,” Sian said.

Sian said the group planned to ramp up the development of office space to an average of 165,000 square meters annually to bring the total 1.5 million sqm by 2020.

The conglomerate also plans to quadruple the number of hotel rooms to 12,000 by 2020 from the current 3,000 hotel rooms to maintain is position as one of the leading hotel operators in the country.

Sian said for retail developments, the company aimed to launch 80,000 sqm of commercial space annually to hit 633,000 sqm by 2020.

Alliance Global’s leisure and gaming firm Travellers Interna-

tional Hotel Group Inc. will also start developing its second integrated resort and gaming complex called Westside City within the government sponsored Pagcor Entertainment City.

Westside City will be the fourth gaming complex to rise in Pagcor Entertainment City.

Alliance Global said its quick service restaurant business through Golden Arches Development Corp. would also spend heavily to increase the number of McDonald’s stores nationwide.

GADC is poised to hit its 500th store this year and is looking to grow the number to 900 stores over the next few years.

Alliance Global said funding

PhilPhos tapping Indian partner to restore plant

By Roderick T. dela Cruz PHILIPPINE Phosphate Fertilizer Corp., the fertilizer company that filed Southeast Asia’s largest insurance claim of $300 million following the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, is bringing an Indian partner to restore its Leyte-based manufacturing facility.

PhilPhos chairman Salvador Zamora II said he would go to Dubai next week to sign a deal with an Indian company to restore the whole fertilizer complex. He did not identify the foreign partner.

“We will rehabilitate the entire plant. It is expected to be fully operational maybe in 12 to 18 months,” he said.

Typhoon Yolanda damaged the 128-hectare PhilPhos complex in

the 435-hectare Leyte Industrial Development Estate in Isabel, Leyte in November 2013, displacing hundreds of workers.

PhilPhos is the country’s leading producer of phosphatic fertilizer with a rated capacity of 1.17 million metric tons per annum.

The plant was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1984 in Isabel, which is considered an ideal site for the fertilizer complex because of the abundant energy supply from the Tongonan geothermal power plant, deep natural harbor and its convenient location in the central part of the country.

Hundreds of PhilPhos employees lost their jobs and livelihood with the closure of PhilPhos plant, but Zamora said the company was on its way to recovery.

“With Philphos, part of our

plant is operational already and we will be entering into an agreement with an Indian company,” he said.

Zamora also expressed optimism the company would collect on the $300-million insurance claim it filed with 23 insurers led

by UCPB General Insurance, after typhoon Yolanda leveled the country’s largest fertilizer complex in 2013.

“We hope they [insurance companies] will deliver,” Zamora said. The amount, he said, was the biggest insurance claim filed by a company in Southeast Asia.

“We were hit by Yolanda. We are a victim of Yolanda. Our plant was leveled. We filed for the biggest insurance claim in Southeast Asian history—about $300 million. But we have yet

Peso falls to 7-year low of 48.33 a dollar

By Julito G. Rada THE peso slid to a new sevenyear low against the US dollar on Thursday, losing P0.08 to close at 48.33 from 48.25 Wednesday.

It was the currency’s weakest level since it settled at 48.356 a dollar on Sept. 16, 2009, at the height of the global financial crisis. Total volume traded reached $583.5 million Thursday.

“The peso remains on the backfoot with currency pair hitting a high of 48.350 despite mild risk on tone on the OPEC [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] decision to cut back on production,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa of the Bank

of the Philippine Islands said in a statement.

“We may see these levels for now with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas seen to remain present in the market until market jitters quiet down,” Mapa said.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said there were many factors affecting the peso and it was very difficult to attribute its weakness to a single event or a statement of any politician.

“But there is something that many economists and policy makers will agree on—and this is the role of global shocks, global factors driving the movement in the financial markets especially the stock market and

the foreign exchange market,” Guinigundo said.

“As far as fundamentals are concerned, I think there are outstanding fundamentals but then the sentiment is something else,” Guinigundo said.

DBS Bank of Singapore said the macro-economic outlook of the Philippines remained bright. “Arguably, there has been some room for the central bank to tolerate a softer currency, partly as normalization from the outperformance back then. Indeed, comments from government and Central Bank officials suggest that the policymakers are not too concerned about the peso’s recent moves,” the bank said.

to be paid,” he said.

PhilPhos is negotiating with 23 insurance companies and Lloyds of London, a major market for insurance products.

“It is under negotiations, but they should be paying. There are 23 insurance companies involved. This is reinsured with Lloyds of London,” Zamora, 70, said in an interview at Shangri La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City during the announcement of an exhibition match between Jason Day, the world’s number one golfer and former number one Rory McIlroy on Nov. 29.

Zamora is the promoter and executive producer of ‘Jason Vs Rory: Battle for a Cause’ presented by PLDT Inc. and Smart.

He said Day, who is half Filipino, lost relatives in Leyte during the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda.

TOP EMPLOYER BRAND. New

Muara Container Terminal Services Sdn. Bhd., the Bruneian subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc. and port services provider at the Port of Muara, is recognized at the 7th CMO Asia Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2016 in Singapore. Shown is Dr. R.L. Batia (second from left) of CMO Asia presenting the award to Suriayani Abas (left), NMCTS human resources and administration assistant manager and Reimond Silvestre, NMCTS director and general manager.

for the group’s two-year capital spending would come primarily from borrowings and internallygenerated funds.

Sian said the group was very much optimistic about the growth of the economy under the current administration.

“We are a company that is very much invested in the country.

While we recently went abroad for acquisitions, which is just a natural progression of the company, bulk of what we do is in the Philippines. Our capital spending is already laid out. we are not slowing down but in fact we are accelerating it. That tells you that we believe in the growth potential of the country,” Sian said.

THE Philippine Solar Power Alliance said Thursday the Energy Department under the Aquino administration issued certificates of endorsements for feed-in tariff eligibility to four companies who were not supposed to be included in the list.

PSPA president Tetchie Capellan told reporters the Energy Department under the present administration formed a group to investigate the concerns raised by the other solar players.

“We have sent a position letter to Secretary [Alfonso] Cusi requesting to resolve the issue of oversubsciption and the awarding of the feed-in tariff,” Capellan said.

Capellan said PSPA raised two issues to the department. One issue is that some solar firms were given allocations although they had discrepancy in their dispatch of power to the grid.

She said the other issue focused on the grant of endorsement to solar companies even if it dispatched power much later than the other companies.

“There are allegations that there are four companies that were given [endorsements] not consistent with the records. The problem is these are allegations because we do not have the exact date,” she said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Mining firms agree to work with DENR

THE Environment Department said Thursday mining companies agreed to work with the government to ensure that mining operations improve the lives of Filipinos in host communities.

Environment Secretary Regina Lopez met with officials of mining companies Thursday and urged them to take part in the department’s integrated area development approach to create “mini economic zones” that can generate employment, livelihood and income-generating activities in communities where they operate.

“When you do that, we can get our people out of poverty,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the policies and thrusts of the department were “for the country’s natural resources to be used in a way that benefits the most number of people.”

She said the purpose of the meeting was “to move forward and work together for the country’s good.” “Ï reiterate sincerely and emphatically, I want to help you make things right and be on the positive side,” Lopez said.

Anna Leah E. Gonzales

Finance to prepare ‘healthy tax’ package

By Gabrielle H. Binday THE Finance Department said Thursday it will submit to Congress early next year a “healthy tax” package, which includes imposing tax on sweetened drinks and raising excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco, to supplement the initial tax package it proposed early this week.

Finance Undersecretary and chief economist Karl Kendrick Chua said “Package 1B” would represent the second phase of Package 1 of tax reforms submitted to the House ways and means committee Monday.

Chua said Package 1B would be a tax reform for “healthy Philippines.”

“Yes, it is going to be a healthy

tax. It is a tax reform for healthy Philippines, on alcohol, tobacco and the sweetened beverage,” Chua said at the sidelines of a tax reform forum in Makati City.

The first package submitted by the Finance Department to Congress included the reduction of the personal income tax rate from 32 percent to 25 percent, except for high income earners who would be taxed a high of 35 percent; the expansion of the value added tax base limiting the exemptions on raw food, education and health and limiting the VAT zero-rating to direct exports; adjustment in the excise rates of petroleum products to account for the effect of inflation; and the restructuring of the excise tax on automobiles.

B2

Business

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Aboitiz wants stake in Bataan coal plant

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp., the power generation arm of the Aboitiz Group, expressed interest to acquire Sithe Global’s stake in the 600-megawatt power plant of GN Power Mariveles in Bataan province.

“As a player in the power industry, we feel it’s incumbent on us to explore all opportunities that present themselves which will lead to our continued growth,” Aboitiz Power president Antonio Moraza said.

Aboitiz Power, whose shares are listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange, is one of the country’s biggest power players with a target to achieve 4,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.

Aside from Sithe Global, other equity owners of the project

are Ayala Corp.’s AC Energy Holdings Inc. and GN Power.

Sithe Global’s website showed the Mariveles power plant had the lowest marginal operating cost compared to any coal project in the Luzon grid.

The Mariveles power plant consists of two identical 300MW power blocks using proven pulverized coal combustion technology.

The plant was designed to meet the more restrictive Philippine and World Bank emissions standards while selling power to offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements and to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

The plant sources its coal fuel requirements under a long-term offtake agreement with an Indonesian supplier.

Stock market rises; Nickel Asia climbs

S

TOCKS climbed for a second day, as a surprise announcement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut crude output for the first time since 2008 drove commodity prices higher globally.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 127 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 7,714.86 Thursday. This pushed up total gains this year to 11 percent.

The broader all-share index also advanced 55 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,573.39, on a value turnover of P7.5 billion.

All six sectors ended in the green, while 17 of the 20 most active stocks advanced. Nickel Asia Corp. topped major gainers, with a 6.5-percent increase to P7.43.

Property developer Megaworld Corp. climbed 5.6 percent to P4.89, while port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. gained 4.6 percent to P80.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. went up 4.5 percent to P28.85, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp. added 3.7 percent to close at P7.26.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks also traded higher. South Korea’s Kospi index rallied to a 14-month high, while Malaysia’s ringgit halted two days of losses as higher crude oil boosted the outlook for the energy-producing nation.

Indian stocks sank 1 percent, the nation’s currency lost 0.5 percent and the yield on sovereign notes maturing in September 2026 climbed four basis points to 6.82 percent.

A global oil glut has weighed on crude prices for more than two years, spurring

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 4 17 30.45 10.4 0.92 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 91.5 137 80 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 8.7 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.74 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 62 88.35 52 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

Asia United Bank 48 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 105.00 Bank of PI 105.00 China Bank 38 BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. 3.75 Bright Kindle Resources 1.33 Citystate Savings 9.04 COL Financial 16.22 Eastwest Bank 20.35 Filipino Fund Inc. 6.70 First Abacus 0.7 I-Remit Inc. 1.86 Manulife Fin. Corp.

625.00 MEDCO Holdings 0.930 Metrobank 85.3 Natl. Reinsurance Corp. 0.91 Phil. National Bank 58.25 Phil. Savings Bank 101.9 Philippine trust Co. 241 PSE 272 RCBC `A’ 35.8 Security Bank 245 Sun Life Financial 1400.00 Union Bank 73.35 Vantage Equities 1.46

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 148

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 32

20.6 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 79 3.95 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 0.62 5.25 12.98 15 2.65 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 1450 0.315 2.18 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

15.32 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 34.1 2.3 1.63 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 0.335 3.87 8.45 10.04 2.09 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 801 0.138 1.02 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 911 10.2 84 3.35 3.68 4.92 1455 7.5 76 6.5 5.29 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 156 0.710 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.225 0.23 634.5 260 7.390 12.8 2.6 1.15 2.26 837 5.3 49.55 3.43 3 4.84 0.59 12 4.2 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 751 1.13 80 0.211 0.310

Aboitiz Power Corp.

45.65 Agrinurture Inc. 3.38 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.93 Alsons Cons.

1.62 Asiabest Group 16 Bogo Medelin 52 C. Azuc De Tarlac 180.00 Cemex Holdings 12.26 Century Food 16.4 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 117 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 23.35 Concepcion 57 Crown Asia 2.15 Da Vinci Capital 6.07 Del Monte 12 DNL Industries Inc. 11.680 Emperador 7.20 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.90 EEI 7.75 First Gen Corp.

25.1 First Holdings ‘A’ 70 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 13.00 Holcim Philippines Inc. 16.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 6.1 Ionics Inc 2.180 Jollibee Foods Corp.

245.00 Liberty Flour 53.00 LMG Chemicals 1.95 Mabuhay Vinyl 4.33 Manila Water Co. Inc. 29.6 Maxs Group 29 Megawide 15.76 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 309.40 MG Holdings 0.265 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.01 Petron Corporation 9.78 Phinma Corporation 11.60 Phinma Energy 2.28 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 6.00 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.54 Pryce Corp. `A’ 3.67 RFM Corporation 4.16 Roxas Holdings 3.21 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 218 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.153 TKC Steel Corp.

1.74 Universal Robina 182 Victorias Milling 4.56 Vitarich Corp.

2.35 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.27 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.375 Aboitiz Equity 77.10 Alliance Global Inc. 16.10 Anglo Holdings A 1.24 Anscor `A’ 6.20 ATN Holdings A 0.365 ATN Holdings B 0.390 Ayala Corp `A’ 855.5 BHI Holdings Inc. 1199.00 Cosco Capital 8.3 DMCI Holdings 11.80 F&J Prince ‘A’ 6.4 F&J Prince ‘B’ 6.5 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

8.18 GT Capital 1468 House of Inv. 6.20 JG Summit Holdings 73.35 Jolliville Holdings 4 Keppel Holdings `A’ 5.2 Lopez Holdings Corp.

8.19 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.82 LT Group 15.9 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 7 Pacifica `A’ 0.0360 Prime Media Hldg 1.170 Prime Orion 2.000 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.69 San Miguel Corp `A’ 82.00 SM Investments Inc. 663.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.25 Top Frontier 229.800 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3150 Zeus Holdings 0.265

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.97 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.72 27 400

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 1.1 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.39 23

8990 HLDG 7.490 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.16 Araneta Prop `A’ 2.510 Arthaland Corp.

0.270 Ayala Land `B’ 38.700 Belle Corp. `A’ 2.9 Cebu Holdings 5.08 Century Property 0.570 City & Land Dev. 1.20 Cityland Dev. `A’ 1.080 Crown Equities Inc. 0.174 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.600 Double Dragon 58.45 Empire East Land 0.760 Ever Gotesco 0.143 Global-Estate 1.00 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.88 Keppel Properties 4.01 Megaworld 4.63 MRC Allied Ind. 0.210 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.400 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry

High

Low

FINANCIAL 48 47.8 108.40 105.30 105.20 104.80 38.05 38 3.85 3.85 1.43 1.32 8.99 8.99 16.66 16.22 20.95 20.25 6.80 6.76 0.7 0.7 1.86 1.84 63.00 632.00 0.960 0.930 86.5 84.95 0.91 0.91 59.00 58.00 101 100.7 249.8 240 272 269.6 36 35.65 247 243.2 1448.00 1438.00 73.40 73.30 1.45 1.45 INDUSTRIAL 46.25 45.6 3.45 3.36 0.95 0.94 1.62 1.6 16.34 15.78 52.1 50 180.00 180.00 12.4 12.1 16.38 16.3 120 117 23.8 23.3 59.7 57.9 2.15 2.1 6.18 6.02 12.14 11.98 11.720 11.500 7.25 7.16 5.99 5.90 7.90 7.77 25.25 25 73.15 70 13.00 13.00 16.60 16.30 6.25 6.11 2.200 2.160 248.20 245.00 50.00 44.00 1.94 1.94 4.36 4.25 30 29.6 29.1 28.7 16.28 15.8 311.80 309.20 0.255 0.255 3.12 3.08 10.38 10.00 11.60 11.52 2.28 2.25 6.10 6.00 1.56 1.52 3.75 3.69 4.18 4.17 3.39 3.39 218 218 0.155 0.152 1.75 1.73 184.7 181.3 4.64 4.59 2.4 2.33 1.28 1.28 0.380 0.375 77.30 76.55 16.08 15.94 1.25 1.22 6.20 6.10 0.365 0.355 0.365 0.360 863 855.5 1014.00 1001.00 8.45 8.34 12.30 11.88 6.52 6.44 6.5 6.01 8.25 8.18 1480 1470 6.25 6.15 75.50 73.50 4 4 5.89 5.84 8.28 8.08 0.82 0.8 15.9 15.8 7.28 7.06 0.0370 0.0360 1.180 1.160 2.000 1.990 2.65 2.60 82.00 81.00 672.00 664.00 1.27 1.25 229.800 228.600 0.3150 0.3100 0.270 0.260 PROPERTY 7.640 7.380 1.22 1.16 2.650 2.540 0.275 0.270 39.800 38.750 2.97 2.9 5.08 5.08 0.590 0.570 1.38 1.16 1.080 1.010 0.176 0.171 0.600 0.580 59 58.4 0.760 0.760 0.143 0.143 1.01 1.00 1.91 1.86 4.20 4.20 4.89 4.63 0.236 0.209 0.420 0.405 33.60 35.90

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

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

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

1.97 119.5 7 5.8 12.5 0.017

1.23 102.6 3.01 4 8.72 0.011

0.8200 2.2800 5.93

0.041 1.200 2.34

12.28 3.32 2.53 95.5 2.46 15.2

6.5 1.91 1.01 3.1 1.8 6

22,252,850.00

1.040 22.8 6.41 4 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.37 14.54 3 2.28 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

40,035,040.00 -4,416,415.00 9,325,788.00 -18,230,478.00

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 0.315 1.14

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 0.020 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 0.012 0.013 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

70 553 525

33 490 500

515 8.21 12.28

480 5.88 6.5

1047 78.95 84.8

1011 74.5 75

6.98

0.8900

48 108.00 105.00 38 3.85 1.43 8.99 16.62 20.5 6.80 0.7 1.86 633.00 0.950 86.5 0.91 58.30 100.7 240 272 35.75 244 1448.00 73.35 1.45

0.00 2.86 0.00 0.00 2.67 7.52 -0.55 2.47 0.74 1.49 0.00 0.00 1.28 2.15 1.41 0.00 0.09 -1.18 -0.41 0.00 -0.14 -0.41 3.43 0.00 -0.68

24,800 2,848,330 807,370 105,600 22,000 7,000 100 13,000 132,900 57,000 61,000 72,000 130 1,243,000 3,616,380 137,000 2,090 340 560 560 119,900 1,147,320 165 298,300 5,000

1,108,550.00 78,253,023 23,150,139.00 1,520,500.00

45.65 3.42 0.94 1.62 16.2 50.1 180.00 12.12 16.3 117 23.75 59.7 2.11 6.08 12 11.640 7.25 5.99 7.79 25.2 72 13.00 16.56 6.12 2.190 248.20 44.00 1.94 4.36 29.8 29 15.92 310.00 0.255 3.12 10.16 11.52 2.28 6.00 1.55 3.7 4.17 3.39 218 0.155 1.74 182.6 4.64 2.38 1.28

0.00 1.18 1.08 0.00 1.25 -3.65 0.00 -1.14 -0.61 0.00 1.71 4.74 -1.86 0.16 0.00 -0.34 0.69 1.53 0.52 0.40 2.86 0.00 1.35 0.33 0.46 1.31 -16.98 -0.51 0.69 0.68 0.00 1.02 0.19 -3.77 3.65 3.89 -0.69 0.00 0.00 0.65 0.82 0.24 5.61 0.00 1.31 0.00 0.33 1.75 1.28 0.79

1,238,200 774,000 1,010,000 933,000 19,600 2,980 20 31,017,900 1,418,500 60 378,300 574,920 447,000 34,500 38,700 2,417,100 660,000 9,883,100 204,500 2,844,500 68,480 6,500 110,100 831,900 456,000 270,410 1,800 3,000 42,000 3,234,000 225,300 4,531,500 90,560 700,000 956,000 12,187,600 45,100 384,000 454,500 65,000 135,000 44,000 1,000 740 3,020,000 189,000 791,130 15,000 8,069,000 1,000

44,453,945.00 -136,460.00 13,300.00 6,440.00

0.375 76.90 16.00 1.25 6.10 0.355 0.360 862 1014.00 8.4 12.16 6.51 6.01 8.20 1470 6.15 75.50 4 5.84 8.28 0.82 15.84 7.26 0.0370 1.160 1.990 2.60 81.50 670.00 1.27 229.800 0.3150 0.260

0.00 -0.26 -0.62 0.81 -1.61 -2.74 -7.69 0.76 -15.43 1.20 3.05 1.72 -7.54 0.24 0.14 -0.81 2.93 0.00 12.31 1.10 0.00 -0.38 3.71 2.78 -0.85 -0.50 -3.35 -0.61 1.06 1.60 0.00 0.00 -1.89

450,000 1,157,980 7,441,400 32,000 6,600 1,420,000 990,000 400,660 20 587,200 18,236,800 37,400 13,600 161,800 161,460 12,600 2,339,530 2,000 400 2,416,600 736,000 2,474,400 36,902,100 3,700,000 92,000 2,318,000 41,000 258,660 296,450 77,000 4,280 440,000 1,370,000

7.480 1.16 2.620 0.270 39.800 2.94 5.08 0.570 1.23 1.010 0.171 0.600 59 0.760 0.143 1.01 1.89 4.20 4.89 0.236 0.405 35.90

-0.13 0.00 4.38 0.00 2.84 1.38 0.00 0.00 2.50 -6.48 -1.72 0.00 0.94 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.53 4.74 5.62 12.38 1.25 35.90

581,800 3,545,000 1,018,000 820,000 11,299,100 450,000 2,500 2,580,000 752,000 190,000 27,170,000 2,116,000 235,200 282,000 10,000 5,343,000 19,878,000 19,000 87,472,000 204,170,000 13,000 6 .

-205,228.00 -201,990.00 -107,880.00 18,800.00 -91,637,444.00 -48,997.50 2,696.00 -1,199,450 -197,977,170.00 -1,141,268.00

8,718,350.00 7,554,838.00 172,837

-3,455,068.00 -1,567,992.00 8,987,113.00 -697,268.00 22,788,720.00 380,390.00 1,787,570.00 -964,317.00

2,681,720.00 -33,322,908.00 -347,400.00 229,500.00 -1,363,971.00

-52,320.00 20,040.00 31,320.00 -43,812,741 18,960.00

-31,890,378.50 -57,367,880.00

-13,604,775 -1,516,137.00 -111,031,826.00 97,500.00 -16,118,290.00 -7,001,148.50 -9,857,614.00 -6,114,362.00 71,935,291.00 1,990,000.00 12,833,188.00 -18,004,485.00 -323,890.00 -28,600.00 2,767,072.00 9,600.00 221,632,085.00 -9,550.00 60,320.00 -158,500.00 -13,760.00

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6

Close

Primex Corp.

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

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

11,017,091

INDUSTRIAL

90,835,064

HOLDING FIRMS

86,671,865

-502,230.00 16,322,960.00

PROPERTY

415,177,006

SERVICES

243,431,869

171,993,400.00 -323,330.00

MINING & OIL

623,292,137

8

GRAND TOTAL

1,475,981,869

4.14 30.35 1.66 3.33 27.60 1.04 1.010 5.260

Low

4.18 4.05 31.35 30.30 1.69 1.65 3.28 3.26 28.85 27.55 1.07 1.02 1.040 0.990 5.370 5.240 SERVICES 2GO Group’ 7.39 7.4 7.32 ABS-CBN 49 49.5 48.75 APC Group, Inc. 0.560 0.580 0.550 Berjaya Phils. Inc. 5.5 5.21 5.21 Bloomberry 4.92 4.93 4.70 Boulevard Holdings 0.0990 0.1000 0.0960 Calata Corp.

3.33 3.37 3.23 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 113 113.2 111.8 Centro Esc. Univ.

10.12 10 9.5 Discovery World 2.88 2.78 2.51 DFNN Inc. 6.70 6.75 6.55 FEUI 952 953 952 Globe Telecom 2082 2124 2096 GMA Network Inc. 6.30 6.37 6.25 Golden Haven 13.88 13.80 13.54 Harbor Star 1.77 1.83 1.74 I.C.T.S.I. 76.5 80 76.8 Imperial Res. `A’ 18.86 18.80 18.42 Imperial Res. `B’ 140.3 140.3 140.3 IPeople Inc. `A’ 11.7 11.7 11.7 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.0097 0.0100 0.0098 IPM Holdings 9.24 9.25 9.24 Island Info 0.234 0.245 0.233 ISM Communications 1.4500 1.4500 1.4100 Jackstones 3.63 3.8 3.61 LBC Express 12.1 10.66 10.62 Leisure & Resorts 5.41 5.73 5.40 Liberty Telecom 2.29 2.30 2.23 Lorenzo Shipping 1.05 1.04 1.04 Manila Broadcasting 21.05 19.10 19.06 Manila Jockey 1.99 2.04 1.94 Melco Crown 4.07 4.15 3.95 Metro Retail 5.65 5.67 5.57 NOW Corp.

3.470 3.520 3.470 Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 11.38 11.42 11.3 PAL Holdings Inc. 5.60 5.64 5.60 Paxys Inc. 2.56 2.58 2.56 Phil. Seven Corp.

145.00 141.00 135.00 Philweb.Com Inc. 6.04 6.05 5.91 PLDT Common 1700.00 1750.00 1701.00 PremiereHorizon 0.410 0.410 0.405 Premium Leisure 1.020 1.020 1.010 Puregold 41.65 43.40 41.90 Robinsons RTL 77.90 78.50 77.50 SBS Phil. Corp.

6.06 6.21 5.96 SSI Group 2.93 2.93 2.86 STI Holdings 0.640 0.650 0.630 Transpacific Broadcast 1.89 1.89 1.85 Travellers 3.25 3.34 3.26 Waterfront Phils.

0.365 0.345 0.340 Yehey 5.370 5.270 5.250 MINING & OIL Abra Mining 0.0038 0.0038 0.0037 Apex `A’ 3.32 3.40 3.10 Atlas Cons. `A’ 4.30 4.35 4.25 Basic Energy Corp.

0.202 0.211 0.210 Century Peak Metals Hldgs0.59 0.6 0.58 Coal Asia 0.400 0.405 0.405 Dizon 8.10 8.61 7.99 Ferronickel 0.930 1.000 0.930 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.275 0.275 0.265 Lepanto `A’ 0.197 0.197 0.189 Lepanto `B’ 0.203 0.203 0.191 Manila Mining `A’ 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 Manila Mining `B’ 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 1.37 1.42 1.33 Nickelasia 6.98 7.59 7.01 Nihao Mineral Resources 2.9 2.95 2.88 Oriental Peninsula Res. 0.9000 0.9300 0.9000 Oriental Pet. `A’ 0.0100 0.0110 0.0100 Oriental Pet. `B’ 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 4.08 4.20 4.08 Philex `A’ 8.62 8.86 8.62 PhilexPetroleum 3.33 3.69 3.50 Philodrill Corp. `A’ 0.0110 0.0130 0.0120 Semirara Corp.

114.40 115.00 113.50 TA Petroleum 3.15 3.47 3.3 United Paragon 0.0099 0.0096 0.0094 PREFERRED ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 49 49.5 49 Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ 540 532 532 Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ 535 540 540 DD Pref 105 104 103.4 GLOBE PREF P 550 560 548 GMA Holdings Inc. 6.06 6.06 6.03 Leisure and Resort 1.03 1.03 1.03 PCOR-Preferred B 1200 1239 1220 PF Pref 2 1039 1045 1040 SMC Preferred B 77.8 77.7 77.7 SMC Preferred C 81 82 81 SMC Preferred D 76.5 78 78 SMC Preferred E 80.35 80.5 80 SMC Preferred F 79 80.5 80 SMC Preferred G 80 80.05 79.05 SMC Preferred H 78.2 78.4 78.2 SMC Preferred I 78.4 78 77.9 WARRANTS & BONDS LR Warrant 2.740 2.800 2.500 SME Alterra Capital 2.95 3.33 2.95 Makati Fin. Corp.

3.1 3.2 3.2 Italpinas 4.66 4.74 4.52 Xurpas 14.28 14.3 14.14 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS First Metro ETF 125.2 127.3 125.4

394,282.00 760.00

5

High

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

4.17 31.00 1.65 3.28 28.85 1.03 1.020 5.350

0.72 2.14 -0.60 -1.50 4.53 -0.96 0.99 1.71

2,709,000 5,254,100 118,000 28,000 16,887,600 10,432,000 33,000 11,553,200

7.39 49.4 0.580 5.21 4.71 0.0980 3.33 112.5 10 2.78 6.70 953 2110 6.26 13.84 1.78 80 18.88 140.3 11.7 0.0098 9.25 0.236 1.4400 3.79 10.66 5.57 2.28 1.04 19.06 2.04 4.11 5.65 3.480 11.42 5.60 2.56 141.00 5.91 1750.00 0.410 1.020 43.35 77.50 6.05 2.92 0.650 1.89 3.27 0.345 5.250

0.00 0.82 3.57 -5.27 -4.27 -1.01 0.00 -0.44 -1.19 -3.47 0.00 0.11 1.34 -0.63 -0.29 0.56 4.58 0.11 0.00 0.00 1.03 0.11 0.85 -0.69 4.41 -11.90 2.96 -0.44 -0.95 -9.45 2.51 0.98 0.00 0.29 0.35 0.00 0.00 -2.76 -2.15 2.94 0.00 0.00 4.08 -0.51 -0.17 -0.34 1.56 0.00 0.62 -5.48 -2.23

39,500 6,400 1,060,000 11,400 26,964,000 63,560,000 9,218,000 504,770 7,900 65,000 149,700 20 118,515 200,300 32,300 2,981,000 2,737,750 5,600 200 1,500 46,000,000 476,300 38,720,000 835,000 60,000 300 9,693,400 422,000 1,000 2,400 39,000 9,933,000 974,600 1,404,000 12,000 42,600 14,000 5,810 466,400 57,920 870,000 17,504,000 443,400 526,960 15,200 636,000 2,515,000 2,000 356,000 90,000 40,400

0.0038 3.10 4.28 0.211 0.6 0.405 8.36 0.960 0.270 0.192 0.199 0.0110 0.0110 1.38 7.43 2.91 0.9100 0.0110 0.0120 4.20 8.80 3.50 0.0120 114.60 3.3 0.0094

0.00 -6.63 -0.47 4.46 1.69 1.25 3.21 3.23 -1.82 -2.54 -1.97 0.00 0.00 0.73 6.45 0.34 1.11 10.00 0.00 2.94 2.09 5.11 9.09 0.17 4.76 -5.05

127,000,000 1,935,000 137,000 60,000 538,000 30,000 307,400 143,317,000 200,000 19,510,000 1,150,000 12,300,000 100,000 1,638,000 31,013,800 32,000 66,000 67,700,000 2,600,000 15,000 4,053,400 6,181,000 185,400,000 602,420 285,000 14,000,000

49 532 540 103.5 560 6.03 1.03 1239 1045 77.7 82 78 80.5 80.5 79.05 78.4 77.95

0.00 -1.48 0.93 -1.43 1.82 -0.50 0.00 3.25 0.58 -0.13 1.23 1.96 0.19 1.90 -1.19 0.26 -0.57

34,200 10 2,000 85,280 8,040 154,000 1,048,000 1,855 1,015 5,000 69,660 17,650 55,000 107,430 69,780 76,300 184,040

4,128,000.00 32,204,730.00 -34,860.00 100,987,555.00 77,300.00 -34,114,887.00 -1,478.00

30,409,600.00 -1,000.00 223,070.00 -9,895,292.00

9,520.00 7,016,120.00 -5,310.00 -78,238,143.50

7,080.00

36,423,834 -27,090.00

-19,411,470.00 -2,815,427.00 -20,880.00 -1,692.00 49,341.00 110,815.00 9,430,755.00 -184,760.00 3,938,975.00 -19,378,729.00 362,990.00 558,720.00 77,020.00

-152,720.00 -4,340.00

24,193,140.00 9,550.00 252,800.00 1,301,584.00

-603,807.00 -446,450.00 24,000.00 -36,068,899.00 -78,020.00 -14,600.00 12,420.00 -905,280.00

-1,574,400

2.610

-4.74

1,294,000

3.17 3.2 4.6 14.26

7.46 3.23 -1.29 -0.14

5,126,000 8,000 64,000 348,300

-414,170.00

127.3

1.68

3,820

7,608.00

1,525,736.00

VALUE 1,839.12 (up) 16.27 1,092,367,592.144 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,896.25 (up) 90.37 1,259,989,650.37 HOLDING FIRMS 7,612.87 (up) 84.46 1,819,939,004.17 PROPERTY 3,533.80 (up) 112.58 1,525.51 (up) 31.36 1,728,756,921.32 SERVICES MINING & OIL 11,009.92 (up) 149.79 1,082,127,520.79 PSEI 7,714.86 (up) 127.90 535,215,604.904 All Shares Index 4,573.09 (up) 55.98 7,540,425,565.544 Gainers: 120; Losers: 70; Unchanged: 48; Total: 238

deflation that’s hurt corporate earnings and led to negative bond yields in two of the world’s four biggest economies.

Opec said its members reached a preliminary agreement to trim production to a range of 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day following informal talks in Algiers, though the group won’t decide on targets for each country until a November meeting in Vienna.

“The energy sector is going to be a key contributor to the rally we see after the OPEC decision,” said Tony Farnham, a strategist at Patersons Securities Ltd. in Sydney. “All we’ve seen at this stage is the intention to do something, I’d like to see it more concrete and then still they have to abide by it. But, it is the first step.”

“OPEC’s decision to curtail production wasn’t expected, and now crude prices will likely head toward a range of $50 to $60 per barrel from $40 to $50 per barrel, which will ease global deflationary concerns,” said Nobuyuki Fujimoto, a senior market analyst at SBI Securities Co. in Tokyo.

China Oilfield Services Ltd. jumped 11 percent in Hong Kong as PetroChina Co., Asia’s biggest oil and gas producer, rallied by the most since May. Hsin Chong Group Holdings Ltd. plunged by as much as 57 percent as the stock resumed trading after Anonymous Analytics rated the property and construction company a “strong sell.” With Bloomberg

PAL eyes Manila to Clark service

By Darwin G. Amojelar PHILIPPINE Airlines said Thursday it is mulling over plans to operate between Manila and Clark in a bid to develop the international airport in the former US military airbase.

“One way of developing the market is for us to operate between Manila and Clark. We filed for a slot from Manila to Clark but we were denied,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista told reporters.

Bautista said Airport Coordination Australia, the slot coordinator at Ninoy Aquino International Airport rejected PAL’s request for Manila to Clark flights because there were no unavailable slots.

The airport is limited to only 40 movements per hour.

“But we will try to see if there are still available slots even at night. It’s better if we have two flights per day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We really want to develop Clark as a premier airpot,” Bautista said.

“If you really want to develop the Clark market, we can make Manila as a hub and then passengers from many destinations all over the country can fly to our flight to Manila then we can fly them to Clark,” he said.

Bautista said the flight from Manila to Clark will be around 20 minutes and PAL could offer attractive fares.

“It’s not too far. It’s a very short flight. But I’m sure that there are passengers who are willing to take a shorter travel time and pay a little bit more but experience the comfort of flying rather than go to Clark for four hours,” he said.

Bautista also said PAL planned to start flying from Clark International Airport before the end of the year to comply with the request of the government to decongest Naia.

Business Global economy at risk —IMF CHICAGO―The head of the IMF on Wednesday renewed warnings against protectionism and trade restrictions, saying that the global economy risked prolonged low growth and that advanced economies faced painful inequality.

Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, said the current global recovery was still fragile following the Great Recession of 2008-2009 and that populist political currents rising in the developed world threatened to undo the progress made.

“For the past several years, the global recovery has been weak and fragile and this continues to be the case today,” Lagarde said in prepared remarks delivered at Northwestern University, near Chicago.

“Especially for advanced economies―while there are some good signs―the overall growth outlook remains subdued.

“We continue to face the problem of global growth being too low for too long, benefiting too few,” she said.

Lagarde spoke ahead of next week’s annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, at which development bankers gather to discuss global efforts at poverty reduction. The topics she raised were likely to be front and center at the conclave.

Her words also echoed the IMF’s message in recent weeks. Ahead of the Group of 20 summit in China earlier this month, Lagarde warned that high debt, weak demand, eroding work forces and labor skills were weakening incentives for investment and slowing productivity, threatening to create what she called a “low growth trap.” AFP

B3

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Markets soar on Opec deal H ONG KONG—Energy firms led a rally in Asian stock markets Thursday, while high-yielding currencies advanced after Opec’s shock agreement to cut oil output sent crude prices soaring.

The gains come after Opec’s “historic” announcement late Wednesday of a deal―the first of its kind in eight years―lit a fire under petroleum-linked shares in New York.

At the end of six hours of negotiations and weeks of horse trading, the 14-member group unveiled the plan to cut production by 750,000 barrels.

The news came as a surprise to many market-watchers who had feared the fractious body would not be able to reach a consensus.

However, Iran―whose refus-

al to limit output caused a similar meeting to break down in April―will not join the reduction, a major concession from Opec kingpin and bitter rival Saudi Arabia.

Details of the cuts will be agreed at the group’s twice-yearly meeting on November 30.

“Today Opec has taken a historic decision,” said Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa, adding that the move had been agreed on unanimously.

The announcement was immediately cheered on oil markets, with West Texas Inter-

mediate soaring more than five percent and Brent tacking on almost six percent.

Traders have been praying for a cut as a global supply glut and overproduction have hammered prices for the past two years, sending them to near 13-year lows to below $30 at one point in early 2016.

“Opec pulled the oil rabbit out of the hat last night, agreeing a modest production cut that blindsided the market,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

“The nuts and bolts will be thrashed out at the November 30th Opec meeting and it is Saudi Arabia who has clearly blinked first, allowing Iran, its main rival, to ramp up production.”

While crude struggled in Asian trade―WTI added two cents

and Brent lost five cents –energy firms soared.

In Hong Kong CNOOC piled on more than five percent and PetroChina added more than three percent, while Sydneylisted Woodside Petroleum was up more than seven percent and BHP Billiton added 4.7 percent.

Inpex in Tokyo rocketed 5.7 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration rocketed 8.8 percent.

The gains pulled regional stock markets higher, with Tokyo ending up 1.4 percent, while Shanghai closed up 0.4 percent and Hong Kong added 0.2 percent in the afternoon.

Sydney climbed 1.1 percent, and Seoul and Taipei put on 0.8 percent each. There were also strong gains in Singapore, Manila and Wellington.

Optimism spread to foreign

Samsung says sales of Note 7 to resume

Algeria’s Minister of Energy, Noureddine Boutarfa (bottom right), the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,and Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada (center, left) and Opec Secretary General Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo (second right) arrive for a press conference following an informal meeting between Opec members on September 28, 2016 in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP

China property tycoon warns of ‘biggest bubble in history’ BEIJING―China’s richest man, real estate magnate Wang Jianlin, has warned the country’s property market is the “biggest bubble in history”―the latest alarm bell to be sounded on the world’s second largest economy.

Wang, the owner of real estate and entertainment conglomerate Wanda, said property prices continue to rise in the country’s big cities but fall in smaller ones saddled with huge inventories of unsold new homes.

“I don’t see a good solution to this problem,” Wang, whose group owns more than 200 malls, shopping complexes and luxury hotels

across China, told CNN in comments published on its website.

“The government has come up with all sorts of measures― limiting purchase or credit –but none have worked.”

Urbanization and property development have fueled China’s economy, the world’s second largest and a vital driver of global growth.

China’s long property boom, driven by credit and government spending, made fortunes for many owners as new districts mushroomed across the country.

But growth has hit the doldrums in the last two years, with

exchange markets, where energy-linked currencies climbed.

The oil-reliant Malaysian ringgit rose 0.5 percent against the dollar and the Australian dollar put on 0.1 percent while Canada’s dollar added one percent.

The greenback rose against the yen, which is considered a safe option in times of trouble, but it fell against the euro and pound.

However, analysts warned the euphoria over the Opec move could be short-lived as output is still high and the market is oversupplied.

“I cannot see a good reason for a major increase in the price of oil” since the market remains “way oversupplied”, Ian Taylor, the head of Vitol Group BV, the world’s largest oil-trading house, told a Bloomberg conference in London. AFP

new buyers priced out despite government borrowing restrictions reining in soaring costs.

Many more peripheral cities have become “ghost towns” full of empty and unsold residential property, even while in the larger metropolises property prices skyrocket.

Tiny apartments with no running water or toilets located in Beijing’s good school districts sometimes sell for prices comparable to properties in Mediterranean tax haven Monaco.

The stumbling property market, combined with a sluggish manufacturing sector and mount-

ing debt, has dragged on growth, which last year came in at its slowest rate for a quarter of a century.

Concerns about China’s growing debt mountain led a global central bank watchdog to earlier this month issue a warning that the country’s banking sector is facing an imminent crisis.

The Bank for International Settlements―dubbed the central bank of central banks―said a gauge of Chinese debt had hit a record high in the first quarter of the year.

While Wang said he was not worried about a hard economic landing, “the problem is the

economy hasn’t bottomed out.

“If we remove leverage too fast, the economy may suffer further. So we’ll have to wait until the economy is back on the track of rebounding―when we gradually reduce leverage and debts.”

In recent years, Wang has shifted his company’s focus from property to services and the entertainment industry as profits wane in Chinese real estate.

Wanda is in talks to ramp up its push into Hollywood with the acquisition of Dick Clark Productions, the company behind the Golden Globes, the US firm’s parent company said Monday. AFP

SEOUL―Samsung said Thursday it would resume sales of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in South Korea this week, hoping to turn the page on the troubled device after an ongoing global recall prompted by battery explosions.

The company on September 2 suspended sales of the oversized “phablet” and recalled 2.5 million units shipped worldwide after faulty batteries caused the phones to explode while charging.

With the recall underway in 10 nations where the device had been launched, 60 percent of users in Samsung’s key market, the US, had swapped their handsets for replacements provided by the company, as of Tuesday.

Eighty percent of Note 7 customers are expected to complete the exchange this week in South Korea, where sales of new phones equipped with fault-free batteries will resume on Saturday, Samsung said in a statement.

The new Note 7 will gradually hit stores in other markets, including some European countries on October 28, the company said.

The unprecedented recall, the first involving Samsung’s flagship smartphone, has dealt a blow to the reputation of the South Korean electronics giant―also the world’s largest smartphone maker. AFP

Taking the environmental bite out of salmon farming

By Celine Serrat HITRA, Norway―In a peaceful bay off Norway’s Hitra island, massive nets teem with salmon destined for dinner tables worldwide―an export boon for the Nordic nation that comes with a long list of environmental side-effects.

As an industry, the oceanfarming of salmon is only about 40 years old.

But the harm it causes has been widely documented, ranging from spreading parasites to pesticide pollution, and escaped fish muddying the wild salmon gene pool.

“It cannot be said that with a million tons of fish produced in this country there is no impact,” admitted Henri Lapeyrere, a French representative of Norwegian aquaculture giant Leroy Seafood Group, on a visit to Hitra.

But things are slowly changing.

At the Hitra plant, for example, cultivated salmon are fed a diet that is two-thirds plantderived and one third fish meal and fish oil―a reversal of the previous ratio, in a bid to limit depletion of marine resources.

To combat disease in the animals, “thanks to the vaccines we administer to each salmon, we hardly need to use any antibiotics any more,” Lapeyrere added.

And instead of using the antilice pesticide diflubenzuron―

banned by the European Union but allowed by Norway―the farm uses tiny, parasite-eating fish instead.

These steps follow guidelines set by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, a non-governmental body created in 2010 to encourage responsible seafood farming with as little impact as possible on water quality and wildlife.

The council dispenses labels for responsibly-farmed fish, a crucial source of abundant and healthy food for a human population expected to grow from about 7.5 billion today to 11.2 billion by the turn of the next century.

Leroy’s Hitra facility alone raises more than a million salmon at any one time.

It is one of more than 300 fish farms around the world vetted by the ASC―covering about a million out of 66 million tons of seafood farmed every year.

Some way to go Once a luxury food, demand for salmon―rich in supposedly heart-healthy Omega 3 fats – has exploded since the 1980s, especially in the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan, according to conservation group WWF. Fish farming, or aquaculture, supplies about two-thirds of all salmon that land on dinner plates today.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the practice of raising Atlantic

This photo taken on September 22, 2016 shows Henri Lapeyrere, CEO of Leroy France, a branch of Norwegian seafood supplier Leroy, pointing to the nets of Leroy’s aquaculture salmon farm in Hitra Bay, west of Trondheim. Fifteen huge circular nets float in the tranquil bay of Hitra, an island on the west coast of Norway: each contains some 120,000 salmons, which are farmed with an effort to minimize the multiple impacts on environement of this thriving industry. On a global production of 2.3 million tons, the country “produces 1.2 million tons, of which 95 percent is exported,” says Karoline Andaur from WWF Norway. A figure that doubled between 2005 and 2014. AFP

salmon in freshwater for release into the wild started in 19th century Britain, a bid to boost stocks for anglers.

Sea cage culture was first used in the 1960s in Norway to bring Atlantic salmon to marketable size, a practice which fast spread elsewhere.

In nature, the fish hatch and spend their first year or so in

freshwater before moving seaward to feed and grow. Once mature, they return to rivers and swim upstream to spawn.

Farmed fish are hatched in freshwater tanks before being moved to large cages or nets in the ocean to fatten up before being harvested.

Some 2.3 million tons of the most popular type, Atlantic

salmon or “Salmo salar,” are farmed every year―about 1.2 million tons by Norway, which exports 95 percent of its production, according to Karoline Andaur of WWF Norway.

That tonnage doubled between 2005 and 2014, even as national and global efforts to limit the environmental impact have scaled up.

Salmon farms spread parasites such as sea lice, while pesticides threaten other ocean creatures and plants.

Antibiotics, used to keep disease at bay, leach into the surrounding environment. This boosts the risk of drug resistance and can give rise to socalled super-bacteria.

Stocks of wild fish harvested to feed salmon risk being depleted, and salmon excretions can smother life on the sea floor.

While welcoming the Leroy farm’s efforts to limit the damage off Hitra, WWF sustainable fishing spokesman Selim Azzi said more must be done to “prevent the impacts of salmon escapes, persisting sea lice and damage to the ocean floor.”

For Andaur, salmon production should not be allowed to expand until certain practices are vastly improved.

She also highlighted sea lice, which can attack juvenile wild salmon before their scales are fully developed and kill them.

“Producers still have a way to go,” she said.

About 30 percent of Norwegian salmon farmed today is certified by the ASC, council representative Barbara Janker told AFP. Outside of Norway, the other major producers of Atlantic salmon are Chile, Scotland and Canada, all of which confront similar problems. AFP

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

B4

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Drift ace Audel Sison burns some rubber at the track

MITSUBISHI’S DAY OUT Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

A

week after the successful staging of the Philippine International Motorshow, the country’s most resilient automotive manufacturer left no stone unturned to highlight the 4x4 features of its top selling variants.

Dubbed as the Mitsubishi 4x4 Camp, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) invited the motoring media for a weekend of mud playing and learning a thing or two from Paris-Dakar rallye legend Hiroshi Masuoka.

The last I shared a race track with Masuoka-san was March of last year for the launch of the all-new Strada. If Mitsubishi organizes an event with him as the highlight of the show, then this is a red letter date indeed for everyone related to the motoring sector.

“Our aim is for the owners and the media to enjoy and test the off-road capabilities of the 4x4 Montero and the Strada in a safe and controlled, yet extreme environment,” states Yoshiaki Kato, President and CEO of MMPC, who gamely joined the media in a karaoke night at Clark’s newest tourist destination, the Midori Hotel and Casino.

After a night of camaderie amid a sumptuous buffet dinner and unlimited booze, the Mitsubishi 4x4 participants drove up to the Tarlac Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac for the daylong event.

An ambitious project of Governor Victor Yap, the Tarlac Recreational Park is a 78 hectare property

wheel of a Mirage sub-compact car. When it was my turn to take the wheel around the 1.5k, track, I just followed his racing line, although I took the corners not as fast as he did. “Let the technology do the work for you,” was his advice as we drove around the track under the hot midday sun. After taking turns behind the wheel,

drift ace Audel Sison strutted his stuff around the race track with a drift modified Montero. It was not an easy feat, considering the Montero’s dry weight and with a turbo diesel engine to boot. Sison took corners sideways and did a doughnut to showcase the engine’s torque and power.

The highlight of the day was a

drive around a specially designed off road course around the borders of the estate overlooking the race track. A marshal rode with us for safety purposes and to keep our lead foot in check. To make it more memorable, Mitsubishi organized a taxi ride around the offroad course with the rallye legend behind the wheel. It was a perfect

way to end an adrenaline filled day at the Mitsubishi 4x4 Camp. “We are delighted that rallye legend Masuoka-san visited us again to share his knowledge and demonstrate the advantages of Mitsubishi’s superior technologies such as the MASTC and Super Select 4WD,” adds Froilan Dytianquin, Marketing boss of MMPC.

with facilities for outdoor events.

Spread around the sprawling park are ATV and bike trails, track and field, airsoft gun park, an Olympic size swimming pool and a 1.5km race track designed to accommodate motorbike and compact car racing. The race track was designed and engineered by veteran racers Richard Joson, Pepon Marave and Press Undersecretary George Apacible. “This short course is geared towards fast corners that can test a car’s handling and power when driving by the main straight away,” says Marave, who revealed that it took several oshi mpion Hir months from concept to actual Dakar cha sri a P e Two-Tim race track. “The asphalt is tarmac Masuoka grade similar to the one used in our airports,” adds Apacible.

With Masuoka taking the lead, the day’s festivities started with a taxi ride around the twisty track.

To say that his car control was excellent is an understatement. Masuoka-san showed this writer why he was the two-time Paris-Dakar champion. On corners where mortals like me would usually blip the brake pedal top decelerate, Masuoka-san took it at high speeds that tested the Montero’s grip and handling. He was driving the SUV as if he was behind the The Strada and Montero 4x4 in their elements.

Honda’s 34th dealership opens for business

PIAA’s commitment to quality beyond doubt WITH research and development gained from motorsports campaigns such as being the official lighting system of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart; Team ADVAN-Tein Subaru, Nakajima-Epson Racing and a domineering presence in the Paris-Dakar and Japan Super GT, PIAA upholds the knowledge gained by combining market driven concepts with the latest technology to make night, inclement weather, and off-road driving as safe as possible. PIAA technicians continually raise the bar on visibility products.

Established in 1963 with the commitment to provide the global market with world-class driving lights, PIAA has since become the standard for lighting

technology for both consumer and motorsports illumination products. Racing teams such as Subaru Technica International (STI), Mitsubishi Ralliart, Toyota Racing Development (TRD), all use the lighting technology of PIAA for their illumination requirements.

PIAA has always been committed to providing quality products that drive customer satisfaction with their line of LED headlights and fog lamps. A special beam “cutline” is what differentiates PIAA technology from the competition. The beam of light is clear; and a directional frontal burst is engineered to not inconvenience oncoming motorists.

HONDA Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda’s automobile business unit in the country recently inaugurated its 34thdealership at the Aseana Business Estate Park in Paranaque City.

Currently the largest and the most modern Honda dealership in the country today, Honda Cars Manila Bay sits on a 3,000 square meter lot with a 754 square meter showroom. “This is a modern showroom with high tech facili-

ties designed to satisfy the needs and requirements of our customer base,” states Leo Dolendo, GM of Honda Cars Manila Bay (HCMB) and head of Honda After Sales Service.

The dealership offers a service bay area at the second floor of the sprawling facility and is manned by seasoned service personnel. “The showroom is big enough to accommodate 22 cars.

This is for HCMB to showcase

This Manila Bay dealership is the biggest and most modern Honda dealership to date in the country

Honda Manila Bay General Manager Leo Dolendo with dealer executives and sales staff

more variants of each Honda vehicle line-up for the customers.

HCMB will also open its Service facility with the most advanced equipments and quality service to cater Honda customers.

HCMB will continuously provide excellent Sales and Service to meet customer satisfaction in line with HCPI’s commitment in producing and delivering innovative products that meets every Filipinos’ driving needs,” adds Dolendo.

As an added treat to Honda customers, HCMB staged a car show over the weekend with a total of 400 Honda cars from the different Honda Clubs in and around Metro Manila. HCMB is open every Monday to Sunday, from 8:00am to 7:00PM for sales and 7:00am to 7:00PM for service concerns.

Dino Ray V. Directo III

LGUs

LAPD to DARE MPD A TEAM of elite policemen-instructors from the Los Angeles Police Department will discuss Drug Abuse Resistance Education with Manila policemen who will teach the program in Manila schools, Mayor Joseph Estrada said on Wednesday.

Estrada said they will train more DARE instructors as they expand the coverage of DARE, in which active duty police officers teach Grades 5 and 6 pupils good decision-making skills to keep them away from drugs and other vices.

“This is my way of helping President Rodrigo Duterte in his fight against drugs, by teaching the young generation how to say ‘No’ to drugs at an early age,” he said.

“DARE is our first line of defense against illegal drugs in our schools. We must save our children before drugs get them,” the mayor added.

As chairman of DARE Philippines Association Inc., Estrada invited the Los Angeles-based DARE International to send a team of 14 instructors to give thirty-seven MPD men the basic 80-hour DARE Officer Training (DOT) course, said Dr. Antonio Abacan Jr., president of DARE Philippines Association Inc. “After they have been trained and duly certified, the new MPD DARE instructors will train their fellow policemen,” Abacan explained.

The MPD, he said, has deployed 14 active DARE instructors since Estrada started implementing the program in Manila when he assumed office in 2013.

Last week, 29 Army soldiers from the Philippine Army-Civil Military Operations Group completed the DOT course, the first batch of military men to be DARE instructors.

“As of now, we will continue what we are doing and expand it as much as possible, considering the number of students who need to be served,” Abacan said. For this school year, 27,000 students will get DARE instruction.

Estrada asked the national government to help build the P100-million specialized drug rehabilitation and treatment center at the city-owned Manila Boystown Complex in Marikina City.

He also gives logistical support to boost the capability of the 4,500-strong city police force to combat criminality and drug abuse.

DARE Philippines is a nonprofit non-government organization that brought DARE from the US to Philippine schools in 1993 through the initiative of then-vice president Estrada, who headed the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.

By Butch Gunio

S

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority made it to the finals of this year’s Asia CEO Awards, the largest business awards event in Philippines and one of the biggest in the Asia-Pacific.

A list posted on the Asia CEO Awards website numbers the SBMA among the six finalists for the Executive Leadership Team of the Year award.

The SMBA is the only government entity vying for the title in this category.

The other finalists are contact

center and performance marketer Acquire BPO; top BPO firm Cognizant Technology Solutions Philippines Inc.; appliance maker Concepcion Industrial Corp.; electronics manufacturer Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.; and cargo logistics giant LBC Express, Inc. The Asia CEO Awards, which

is presented by PLDT Alpha Enterprise, recognize the leaders’ contributions to their organizations and to society.

It promotes the Asean as a premier business destination and is much-awaited by its business leaders.

Next page

PROCESSIONAL. The ordinary townsfolk of Central Luzon dance as they accompany their patron saints from the homes of the ‘recamaderos’ to the church where they will be enshrined before their feast day. The San Rafaeleños of Bulacan continue this tradition every year in honor of their patron saints San Juan de Dios, San Rafael Arkanghel, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila and the Blessed Virgin Mary on the eve of the Feast of St. Raphael and the Archangels on Sept 29. Teddy Pelaez

Sangguniang Panlungsod pushes Davao-Tagbilaran flights

By F. Pearl A. Gajunera DAVAO CITY—A Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) resolution calls for direct flights connecting Davao City and Bohol to attract more tourists and investors to the city.

The joint resolution by the SP committees on tourism

By Jun David A WEEKLONG medical mission including free laboratory examinations has been organized by the Caloocan City Medical Center (CCMC)-South to celebrate its 51st founding anniversary celebration, Mayor Oscar Malapitan announced.

World Customs Organization secretary general Kunio Mikuriya (fourth from left) led more than 200 delegates from around 54 countries to the 11th WCO Partnerships in Customs Academic Research and Development Annual Conference that kicked off in Manila on September 27.

PortCalls

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SBMA lands in Asia CEO Awards finals

and beautification, and transportation and communication, members of the city council requested President Rodrigo Duterte to open inbound and outbound routes connecting the cities of Tagbilaran and Davao.

The resolution urged the Department of Transportation and

Communication and the Department of Tourism to ask airline companies to study the possibility of a direct flight connecting the two cites.

Councilor Conrado Baluran, SP committee on transportation and communication chairman, said the island of Bohol is one of the most at-

CCMC hospital conducts medical mission

PARTNERS.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

By Sandy Araneta

CCMC’s free medical services are being offered from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon at CCMC-South on A. Mabini Street until Friday, September 30.

Among the free services and laboratory examinations to be adminsitered are: (September 28) Pap smear and breast examination; (Septem-

ber 29) fasting blood sugar or FBS, cholesterol, triglyceride, ECG, bone screening and foot screening, and micral test; (September 30) dental extraction, and feeding program for 100 daycare pupils.

The CCMC has also analyzed several digital rectal exams, benign prostatic hyperplasia and pulmonary

tractive tourism destinations in the country.

Based on studies and tourism statistics, a daily average of 2,000 local and foreign tourists visit Bohol.

“Most of these tourists also wish to visit Davao,” Baluran said.

“The next desired destination

function tests. Free anti-tetanus toxoid; measles, mumps and rubella; hepatitis B vaccination; and Vitamin A supplementation.

Malapitan encouraged Caloocan residents to avail of this opportunity to undergo free medical services as these are costly in private medical institutions.

for them is the hometown of President Duterte,” he said.

“But the lack of a direct flight from Tagbilaran City to Davao prevents them from coming here,” Baluran added.

Potential investors are also discouraged by the lack of a direct flight route between the two cities.

BPLO: Quezon City stores need CCTVs

By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City government reiterated the need for business establishments to install closed-circuit television camera systems to deter criminals.

Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) head Garry Domingo said crimes including robbery can be prevented when business establishments invest in CCTVs. Domingo pointed out that criminals who fear easy identification and detection will think twice before robbing such offices or stores.

He added that CCTV systems also allow business owners to oversee and closely monitor the activities in their stores or offices because footage taken may serve as evidence in legal action.

The ordinance requires surveillance cameras to have at least one dedicated channel per camera in operation, a 640x480 pixel resolution recording level, a recording speed of 15 frames per second, a time-stamping feature and sufficient memory to retain data for at least 30 days.

Banks, malls, gasoline stations, supermarkets, pawnshops, moneychangers, 24-hour convenience stores, schools, fastfood restaurants/quick-service restaurants and car dealerships are among the business establishments covered by the ordinance.

CCTVs are alsoe required in other businesses transacting more than P50,000 daily with more than 200 clients.

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LGUs

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

SBMA goes gender-sensitive

By Butch Gunio

S

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, through its Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point System, has intensified its involvement in the promotion of gender equality in the workplace and the local community.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia and GAD chairwoman Amethya Koval announced on Monday the release of a comic magazine called “Juana” that

promotes the rights of women and children, and the start of the radio program “Gender Hour,” which promotes equality.

“GAD focuses on the princi-

ple that development is for all,” Garcia stressed. “Whatever the gender is, everyone has the right to equal opportunities for a full and satisfying life, and I’m glad that the SBMA is in the forefront of this advocacy.”

Koval said “Juana,” a 28-page full-color comic book, explains existing laws, such as Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta for Women, which promotes equal rights in all aspects related to marriage and family relationships.

The publication also tackles RA 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004) and RA 7610 (Special Pro-

tection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination), as well as RA 7877 (Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995) and RA 9995 (Anti-Photo and Voyeurism Act), which protects and guarantees dignity and privacy of everyone and full respect for human rights.

The magazine, Koval said, will be distributed free to offices of business locators and investors, schools and other local government units in the Subic Freeport.

Copies were also given to Anti-Violence Against Women and Children representatives from Olongapo City and the Subic Bay

Freeport Chamber of Commerce.

After the announcement, SBMA GAD officials launched over SBMA radio station Subic Bay FM (89.5 MHZ) the radio program “Gender Hour,” to promote awareness on gender equality, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues; and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

Koval said the one-hour interactive radio program will be aired every Monday at 10:00 a.m. The program is broadcast live and reaches the whole of Central Luzon and abroad via internet streaming.

Koval added that during the soft launch of the radio program, “Gender Hour” found listeners in parts of the US, Japan, Dubai and the Middle East.

“We are glad that our program is reaching broader audiences domestically and abroad. This only shows that we are on the right track in promoting awareness of gender equality,” she also said.

Koval also announced that the SBMA GAD is preparing a regular magazine, with writers and contributors from the SBMA and Freeport companies and schools, in order to reach more people in the Subic Bay Freeport area.

Pangasinan trains young tourist envoys

By Dexter A. See L I N G AY E N — P a n g a s i n a n leaders encouraged young constituents to become tourism ambassadors during the 1st Pangasinan Tourism Youth Conference on World Tourism Day, September 27.

The conference was organized by the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) in collaboration with the North Philippines Visitors’ Bureau (NPVB) and the Pangasinan Visitors’ Bureau (PVB).

Gov. Amado Espino III addressed hundreds of Pangasinense college students taking up tourism and hospitality management courses at the Sison Auditorium.

“It has been the drive of the provincial government to attract more tourists in Pangasinan,”

said Espino, who recalled that his father, former governor and now 5th District Rep. Amado Espino Jr, who helped lay the foundation for tourism development in the province.

Espino urged the youth to advocate promotion of Pangasinan tourism and exhorted them to “explore and appreciate first the various tourism destinations in their home province.”

“The activity, aligned with the tourism development agenda of the province and the I Love Pangasinan (ILP) Movement, is a component activity of the Pangasinan Tourism month celebration,” PTCAO chief Malu Elduayan said.

PVB president Michelle Lioanag said the tourism youth conference widened the students’ knowledge of tourism opportunities.

Bulacan execs get CSC awards

MALOLOS—The Bulacan Provincial Cooperative and Enterprise Development Office received the Civil Service Commission’s Regional Pagasa Award for its efforts to increase the income of micro and small enterprises in the province, as well as in the region.

PCEDO officer Cynthia Abiol and her staff were also recognized as outstanding public employees in a group category and received a certificate of recognition and incentives during the 2016 Honor Awards Program Regional Recognition Rites held yesterday at the Widus Hotel Reno Palenary Hall, Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

Mayor Juanito Santiago of Marilao received the Dangal ng Bayan Award and Baliwag Water District bagged the Lingkod ng Bayan Award.

Abiol said the province won the award for its development programs for cooperatives and enterprises to attract more local and international investors.

The province was also cited for its complete package of enterprise services and cooperative development programs including the Negosyo Koop Program, investment marketing and the services offered by the Bulacan Packaging Service and Toll Packing Center, the first government-run packaging center in the Philippines.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado said the award reflected the growing economic activity of Bulacan and said the local government will continue to support and guide the primary cooperatives, federations and unions to achieve success through capability building, training and seminars and financial assistance.

HEADY. Around 66 public elementary schools around Baguio City hold regular earthquake-preparedness drills to keep the students abreast of safety

procedures during earthquakes with a magnitude of over 7 on the Richter scale.Baguio City suffered heavy losses in lives and properties during the July 16, 1990 earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale which at a time when no safety and preparedness measures were in place to mitigate the natural disaster. David Chan

Davao family massacre suspect charged

By Funny Pearl Gajunera DAVAO CITY—Charges were filed against the alleged killer of the Idar family that was massacred in Baracatan, Toril this city at dawn on Tuesday.

Police Chief Inspector Ronald Lao, commander of Toril Police Station, said charges of multiple murders were filed against Romulo Eblahim Teleron by Prosecutor Peter Paul

Tombo on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the case against Nilo Teleron was filed on Wednesday morning.

Lao said a hot pursuit operation continues against Nilo who allegedly escaped after the killing.

At dawn Tuesday, Percy Angin Idar, his wife Carlita and their 12year old son, John Kiser, were killed in their house by Romulo and Nilo who were brothers of Carlita.

The two suspects were fingered by the two Idar children who survived the massacre.

The four year-old son and the teenage daughter of Idar told authorities they saw Romulo hacking their brother and Nilo shooting their mother.

Romulo, who was arrested in his house after the Idar children identified him, denied involvement in the massacre.

Lao said initial investigation re-

vealed that a land dispute may be the motive behind the killings.

Allegedly, a family member of Telerons sold their land without the consent of the other siblings.

Percy sustained a gunshot wound in his neck, while a bullet entered the lower right portion of Carlita’s head and exited through her right check.

The 12-year-old boy, on the other hand, was hacked in his nape.

New breed of duck’s eggs make better ‘balut’ A NEW breed of duck is poised to improve the Philippine duck industry with the support of the private sector.

Launched during the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW), Itik Pinas (IP), a genetically superior breeder duck, improves the egg-laying performance of the Philippine Mallard Duck from 55 to 70 percent per year with an egg weight of 65 grams, which is ideal for balut processing.

IP consists of three types: IP-Itim, IP-Khaki, and IP-Kayumanggi.

IP-Itim lays larger eggs at more than 65 g each. It has black plumage and white feather markings in the neck and orange to brown shank.

IP-Khaki produces more eggs as

it shows the highest number of eggs within a 40-week laying period.

The male has a brown plumage and darker brown pattern in the head, while the female has plain brown plumage.

Lastly, IP-Kayumanggi lays more, bigger eggs. It has plain plumage and small body at 1.2 kg.The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology announced that a duck commodity research and development (R&D) review and stakeholders consultation meeting was held recently at the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry

(DA-BAI) to promote the IP. Attended by technology developers, commercial raisers, farm owners, a teacher from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), and a private animal nutritionist expert, the review and consultation meeting aimed to assess present endeavors and identify future initiatives on Itik Pinas.

Through the meeting, the council gave the private sector an opportunity to comment on the project and provide suggestions for marketing and packaging of the product.

“The government will not only regulate the duck industry but also help develop enabling technologies, strategies, and policies,” said Dr. Synan Baguio, officer-in- charge

of the council’s Livestock Research Division.

“We will also seek private sector assistance in putting up specialized laboratories like the Swine Genetic Analytical Service Laboratory,” Baguio added.

IP, developed under the project, Development of Sustainable Breeder Philippine Mallard Duck Production as an innovative technology in duck raising, aims to address the lack in quality breeders and the continuous increase in production cost.

Representatives of the public and private sectors participate in the duck commodity R&D review and stakeholders consultation meeting.

SBMA...

From C1

NATURAL. Julia Peralta from Ilocandia Permaculture Initiatives teaches members of the Seed Savers farmers organization of Tublay, Benguet the use of certain types of foliage as fertilizers. David Chan

The annual awards presentation was an offshoot of the Asia CEO Forum, the largest regular networking event for the business community in Philippines.

Among the awards to be given are: Global Top Employer of the Year, Global Filipino Executive of the Year, Expatriate Executive of the Year, Service Excellence Company of the Year, Young Leader of the Year, Green Company of the Year, CSR Company of the Year, SME Company of the Year, Heart for OFWs Company of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Technology Company of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Asean Company of the Year.

The Executive Leadership Team of the Year award, for which the SBMA has been nominated, honors a management team whose leadership skills maximized stakeholders’ values and attained significant

business accomplishments.

This award was presented to Clark Development Corp. in 2015 and to SM Prime Holdings in 2014.

This year, the Asia CEO Awards Night will be held on October 18 at the grand ballroom of Marriott Hotel Manila.

More than 1,200 of the most senior executive managers active in Philippines and the Asia Pacific are expected to come.

The SBMA, which manages the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, has been recognized for its record-setting financial performance in the last four years under SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia.

Last year the Subic Bay Freeport was the overall winner in Asia and overall winner in the sub-region of South and Southeast Asia in the Global Free Zones of the Year 2015 Awards.

The Subic Freeport also received commendations in the form of bespoke awards for infrastructure development and reinvestment.

World

UN: Syria hospital blasts war crimes

U

NITED NATIONS—UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks Wednesday on the two largest hospitals in rebel-held parts of Syria’s Aleppo as “war crimes.”

“Let us be clear. Those using ever more destructive weapons know exactly what they are doing. They know they are committing war crimes,” Ban told the Security Council.

“Imagine the destruction. People with limbs blown off. Children in terrible pain with no relief,” he said. “Imagine a slaughterhouse. This is worse.”

The two biggest hospitals in rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo have been bombed in what nongovernmental organizations and residents say are deliberate attacks by the Syrian regime and its Russian allies to eliminate these

structures.

In a stateAment, UNICEF said at least 96 children have been killed and 223 wounded in the rebel-held sections of the city since Friday. It said the health system was crumbling with only 30 doctors left to treat the wounded.

“The children of Aleppo are trapped in a living nightmare,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth. “There are no words left to describe the suffering they are experiencing.”

In May, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the protection of health workers and

facilities during armed conflicts, but there has been no letup in these kinds of attacks in Syria and Yemen.

“International law is clear: medical workers, facilities and transport must be protected. The wounded and sick -- civilians and fighters alike -- must be spared,” Ban said.

“Deliberate attacks on hospitals are war crimes. Denying people access to essential health care violates international humanitarian law.”

He addressed ambassadors from the 15 UN Security Council members in a meeting focused on medical aid to civilians in conflicts.

He reminded them of a series of recommendations that have been made to prevent and stop attacks on medical facilities and for impartial and systematic investigations of any incidents that arise.

Ban cited statistics gathered by Physicians for Human Rights that show that 95 percent of the medical personnel who were in Aleppo before the war “have fled, been detained, or killed.”

“There must be action. There must be accountability,” he said.

Joanne Liu, international president of Doctors Without Borders, asked Ban to name a special representative with a mandate to document and report on attacks on medical facilities, health workers and patients, stressing “impunity must end.”

She said the UN resolution passed in May “has plainly failed to change anything on the ground.

“This failure reflects a lack of political will -- among member states fighting in coalitions, and those who enable them. There can be no more waiting. Make your pledges operational,” she said. AFP

Manila

Standard

TODAY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

C3

US: MH17 crash report links Russia WASHINGTON—The United States welcomed Wednesday the preliminary results of a criminal inquiry into the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine, saying it supported Washington’s suspicions of Russian involvement.

Malaysia on Wednesday promised “firm action” against those behind the downing of the plane in Ukraine, after a Dutch-led enquiry found the plane was hit by a missile transported from Russia.

The United States was quick to blame Russian-backed separatists after the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down in July 2014 with the loss of all 298 people on board, despite angry denials from Moscow.

Now, a Dutch-led criminal inquiry -- the flight took off from Amsterdam bound for NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given to the public that official receipts of Zuellig Pharma Corp., bearing OR NOs. 337135 and 290116 have been lost.

Any transaction covered by these OR NOs. shall not be honoured by the company.

Zuellig Pharma Corp.

KM. 14 West Service Road, South Superhighway cor. Edison Avenue, Sun Valley, Parañaque City

Kuala Lumpur and most of the dead were from the Netherlands -- has uncovered evidence that supports that case.

US spokesman John Kirby said the inquiry leaves “no doubt that MH17 was shot down by a BUK surface-to-air missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

“We also note the joint investigation team’s finding that the missile launcher was first brought into Ukraine from Russia and then moved out of Ukraine and back to Russia after the shoot-down.”

The findings stop short of directly accusing Moscow of involvement in the tragedy in July 2014, but appear to support the Ukrainian and US allegation that pro-Russian rebels were to blame. AFP

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TOUCH UP. Members of an honor guard prepare for the arrival of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the Monument of National Heroes and

Martyrs in Hanoi on Thursday. AFP

Africa studes demand free college JOHANNESBURG—Student protests in South Africa spread Wednesday with police firing rubber bullets at demonstrators on campuses in Johannesburg and Grahamstown as unrest over tuition fees roils universities across the country.

The University of Johannesburg’s Doornfontein campus was hit by violent clashes between students and campus security guards as running battles erupted through the evening, AFP photographers witnessed.

Police in Grahamstown, in Eastern Cape province, arrested at least 11 Rhodes University students after they allegedly violated a court interdict which barred protests on the university grounds.

“Anyone who threatens or intimidates or prohibits lectures from taking place is breaking that interdict,” police captain Luvuyo Mjekula told the News 24 website.

“Today the students were found to be disrupting lectures. That was basically threatening other people.

Police had to respond.”

Video footage showed police firing rubber bullets from behind a wall, shouting at students to disperse and dragging protesters into police vans.

Campuses including the University of Cape Town, Wits University in Johannesburg and the Durban University of Technology have been temporarily closed due to the protests.

Over the last ten days, riot police nationwide have regularly used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse student protesters, who are demanding free university education.

The wave of protests was triggered by a government announcement that universities would set their own fee increases but that next year’s hikes would be capped at eight percent.

“If the higher education sector does not return to teaching... we stand to lose a generation of students,” Max Price, vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town, said on Wednesday.

“No matter what changes we wish to bring to society, we can’t make those changes by destroy-

ing the higher education sector in South Africa.”

Unrest has hit many South African universities over the past year, as students have protested against the fee increases that they say force poorer, often black, pupils out of education.

Last year, students -- many of them so-called “born frees” who grew up after apartheid -- staged a series of major demonstrations which forced the government to abandon planned fee hikes for 2016.

Throughout this year, there has been sporadic unrest which has seen accommodation buildings and libraries set alight, and in May, an auditorium at Johannesburg University was firebombed.

AFP

Turkey extends state of emergency ISTANBUL—Turkey’s top national security body on Wednesday called for an extension of the controversial state of emergency imposed after the July 15 coup that has already seen 32,000 suspects placed under arrest in an unprecedented crackdown.

The National Security Council (MGK) said after a meeting in Ankara chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his presidential palace that the emergency should be extended to ensure “the protection of our democracy, rule of law, rights and freedoms of our citizens”.

The state of emergency has provided the legal framework for the biggest crackdown in Turkey’s modern history but also raised alarm among its partners in the European Union and United States.

Erdogan declared the three-

month state of emergency on July 20 less than a week after the failed coup, meaning it had been due to expire in mid October.

The statement by the MGK makes the announcement of the new state of emergency a formality but did not say whether the next period should also last three months.

Activists have accused Ankara of eroding the rule of law with the emergency, but the authorities say the measures are needed to tackle supporters of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who it blames for the coup. Gulen denies the charges.

Separately, the council also recommended that July 15 should in future years be marked as Turkey’s annual “Day of Democracy and Freedoms”, the statement said.

The coup was defeated when citizens poured into the streets in a show of support for Erdogan and faced down the rogue elements in the army seeking to oust him.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told NTV television that 70,000 people had been investigated after the attempted putsch on July 15, 32,000 of them remanded in custody.

Bozdag said that there could be new arrests but gave no no indication as to when trials might start.

The trials of tens of thousands of people will be the biggest legal process in Turkey’s history and are set to put the system under enormous pressure.

“It is not entirely clear how the trials will be carried out,” Bozdag acknowledged.

Bozdag said trials would take

place in cities across the country and not in one single venue. But he indicated that in some places, purpose-build facilities would need to be set up.

While the minister said Istanbul already had sufficient capacity for its trials, a special venue was needed for Ankara and work was taking place on a trial venue at Sincan outside the capital.

Turkey has already granted some 38,000 convicts early release in an apparent bid to create more space in cramped jails for the coup suspects.

Turkish media reports say the authorities plan to build 174 new prisons over the next five years, which would increase the country’s current prison capacity of less than 200,000 by another 100,000. AFP

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All unredeemed pledges during the month of MAY 2016 will be sold to public auction on OCTOBER 18, 2016 at the ff. branches: PRITIL 8:00 AM at 1833 N. Zamora St., Pritil, Tondo, Manila BLUMENTRITT – 10:30 AM #1687 M. Hizon St., Blumentritt, Manila VARONA – 8:30 AM 1872 F. VARONA ST., BRGY 95, ZONE 8, TONDO, MANILA OCTOBER 24, 2016 ALTURA – 9:00 AM # 418 Altura St. Sta. Mesa, Manila at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER

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MAKATI LUXURY JEWELRY PAWNSHOP CO.,

All unredeemed pledges during the month of MAY 2016 will be sold to public auction on OCTOBER 23, 2016 at the ff. branches: ST. FRANCIS - 10:30 AM at # 40 Kingfisher St., St. Francis, Meycauayan, Bulacan POBLACION – 11:30 AM # 721 Barrera St., Poblacion, Baliuag, Bulacan at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER

All unredeemed pledges during the month of MAY 2016 will be sold to public auction on OCTOBER 04, 2016 at the ff. branches: SUCAT 9:00 AM at #3 Dr., A. Santos Ave., Sucat, Parañaque City MUNTI – 1:30 PM #659 National Road, Poblacion St., Muntinlupa City OCTOBER 08, 2016 SAN JOAQUIN – 1:30 PM # 9 M. Concepcion San Joaquin, Pasig City OCTOBER 24, 2016 10TH AVE. – 2:00 PM # 245-B 10TH Ave., Brgy., 60 Zone 6, Caloocan City OCTOBER 23, 2016 MARILAO – 1 PM #5 NETWORK AVE., MERALCO VILL. LIAS MARILAO BULACAN OCTOBER 12, 2016 SAGRADA – 11:00AM #1978 ESTRADA ST., FORMER SAGRADA FAMILIA STA. ANA, MLA. OCTOBER 18, 2016 GAGALANGIN – 8:45 AM #2 JUAN LUNA ST., COR. GUIDO ST., TONDO MANILA OCTOBER 23, 2016 STO NIÑO – 9:30 AM #30 ST., THERESE COR, ST. PETER, P3 STO NIÑO MEYCAUAN BULACAN at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER

All unredeemed pledges during the month of APRIL 2016 will be sold to public auction on OCTOBER 04, 2016 at BF Homes – 10:00 AM # 43 President’s Ave., BF Homes, Parañaque City SPL - 3:00 PM at Casa Hacienda San Pedro, Laguna on OCTOBER 07, 2016 at the ff. branches: ROMULO - 10:00 AM at 135 13TH Ave., Cor. P. Tuazon, Cubao, QC SANTOLAN – 4:00 PM 526 ADR Bldg., Dela Paz, Santolan, Pasig City on OCTOBER 11, 2016 JP RIZAL – 11:00 AM # 529 Olympia St., JP Rizal, Makati City ALPHALAND – 5:00 PM G11 South Gate Towers, P. Tamo Ext., Makati City MANUELA – 3:00 PM G/F Starmall, Wack2, Mandaluyong City OCTOBER 18, 2016 LALOMA – 11:30 AM # 67 Calavite St., Brgy., P. Bundok, QC RETIRO - 12:30 PM # 270 N.S. amoranto Street, Retiro QC. ROTONDA – 2:00 PM # 1 Sto. Tomas St., Rotonda QC at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER

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AUCTION SALE TAMCAR PAWNSHOP CORP. All unredeemed pledges during the month of MAY 2016 will be sold to public auction on OCTOBER 11, 2016 at the ff. branches: BUSTILLOS -2:00 PM at # L2522-28 Road 216, Earnshaw Bustillos, Manila OCTOBER 25, 2016 CALOOCAN – 1:00 PM # 434 J. RODRIGUEZ ST., at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER ( M S - S E P T. 3 0 , 2 0 16 )

AUCTION SALE PEARLAS PAWNSHOP CO., INC. All unredeemed pledges during the month of M AY 2 0 1 6 w i l l b e s o l d to public auction on O C TO B E R 04, 2016 a t t h e ff . b r a n c h e s : MONTILLANO - 12:30 PM at 249 Montillano St., Alabang, Muntinlupa C i t y O C TO B E R 0 7 , 2 0 1 6 SUMULONG – 9:00 AM # 24 Sumulong Hway Sto. Niño, Marikina City CONCEPCION – 10:00 AM #19 Bayan Bayanan Av e . , Concepcion, M a r i k i n a C i t y O C TO B E R 12, 2016 G. NUEVO – 9 : 0 0 A M Ta n H o c k B l d g . , C o r. E D S A , M a k a t i C i t y O C TO B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 B .

B A R R I O - 11 : 3 0 A M # 3 5 M a l o l o s Av e . , B .

Barrio, Caloocan City O C TO B E R 23, 2016 VA L E N Z U E L A – 1 2 : 0 0 P M # 11 5 F a u s t i n o S t . , Punturin, Va l e n z u e l a City at JUAN LANUZA & SONS- AUCTIONEER ( M S - S E P T. 3 0 , 2 0 16 )

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World

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Peruvian ex-spy chief gets 22 years LIMA—A Peruvian court convicted the ex-heads of the country’s intelligence services and army of murdering students and burning their bodies in an oven during a crackdown against opponents in 1993.

It handed a new jail sentence of 22 years on Tuesday to former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos, the right-hand man of now-jailed former president Alberto Fujimori.

It handed the same sentence to the former head of the army, Nicolas Hermoza.

Montesinos is considered one of the masterminds of a violent crackdown by Fujimori’s government against opponents who he alleged were linked to the Shining Path, a Marxist armed rebel group.

A court found Fujimori, 78, responsible for massacres of opponents committed in the early 1990s and handed him a 25-year sentence in 2009.

Montesinos, 71, and Hermoza, 81, are also already in jail for killings by death squads and other convictions.

The court on Tuesday found the two responsible for the forced disappearances of students Martin Roca Casas and Kenneth Anzualdo and the teacher Justiniano Najarro, all from Callao Technical University.

The court heard that the three were killed and their bodies burned in an oven in the basement of the army intelligence service in Lima.

It also sentenced former army intelligence chief Jorge Nadal in absentia to 15 years and ordered his capture. AFP

HONORS. Members of the Israeli Knesset guard carry the coffin of former Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres at the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem on Thursday. Peres died on Wednesday two weeks after suffering a major stroke. AFP

Obama, Bill Clinton attend Peres funeral

W

ASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama will join other world leaders in attending the funeral of Israeli ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, the White House said Wednesday.

Obama, who ordered US flags at half-staff late Wednesday, “will lead the US delegation to Jerusalem to participate in the funeral,” the White House said.

He is to depart for Israel Thursday and return after the ceremony on Friday.

Meanwhile, protesters marched on Wednesday in a California

town following the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man said to be mentally ill, as local officials urged calm and pledged a full investigation.

The victim, identified as Ugandan refugee Alfred Olango, 30, was shot on Tuesday in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon after police received an emergency call

about a man behaving erratically and walking in traffic.

Former US president Bill Clinton will also attend Peres’ funeral, but will not be joined by wife Hillary as she campaigns in the final stretch of the White House race, her team said Wednesday.

Clinton, who oversaw the signing of the Oslo Accords that envisioned an independent Palestinian state, paid tribute upon news of Peres’ death to “a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation and for a future where all the children of Abraham build a better tomorrow.”

But while grief was widespread for Israelis, among Palestinians re-

sponses tended to be diametrically opposed after decades of hostility between them.

On the streets of major Palestinian cities, people labeled Peres a “war criminal” and accused him of “massacres.”

Obama led tributes to the elder statesman as a friend who refused to give up on the dream of peace.

Peres’ commitment to Israel’s security and pursuit of peace was “rooted in his own unshakable moral foundation and unflagging optimism” the US leader said in a statement.

Obama is to join world leaders including French President Francois Hollande and German Presi-

dent Joachim Gauck as well as Britain’s Prince Charles in attending Peres’ Friday funeral at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, where many Israeli dignitaries are buried.

Flags at the White House, on all public buildings and grounds, and at US buildings overseas will be flown at half-staff through sunset Friday “as a mark of respect for the memory of Shimon Peres,” the White House said in a statement.

Peres, who was 93, held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister and also as president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014. AFP

Hillary, Sanders seek youth vote DURHAM—What they lack in chemistry they make up for in drive: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are determined to stand united for the sake of defeating Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the former Democratic primary rivals teamed up in a bid to charm America’s youth, as recent polls showed Clinton’s lead slip dramatically among voters aged 18-34. They are a demographic that proved key to both of US President Barack Obama’s presidential wins.

Meanwhile, It’s 10 days to America’s next presidential debate, but some of Trump’s most ardent admirers agree: he must do better -- focus more on policy, and hit Clinton harder.

Most mainstream political analysts gave Democrat Clinton, the 68-year-old former first lady, senator and secre-

tary of state the upper hand in this week’s television clash watched by 84 million.

Clinton is hoping that millennial whisperer Sanders can up her street cred among young voters -- a tall order the selfdescribed democratic socialist from Vermont has taken on.

“Is everybody here ready to transform America?” asked Sanders at a University of New Hampshire rally amid heavy applause.

Sanders won legions of young followers in his bitter primary battle against Clinton, who he ultimately endorsed to the disdain of some of his most ardent supporters.

“This election is enormously important for the future of our country,” the 75-year-old told the rally. “It is imperative that we elect Hillary Clinton as our next president.”

But while millennial flocked to Sanders as he

pledged to fight income inequality and provide free state university education, Clinton has struggled to appeal among young voters even after ousting her primary opponent.

The latest Quinnipiac poll showed Clinton at just 31 percent among the key demographic, a razor-thin lead over Republican Trump’s 26 percent. Third-party Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson jumped from 16 percent in August to 29 percent in September -- prompting handwringing among the Democrats less than six weeks before the November 8 vote.

After warmly embracing Sanders in New Hampshire, Clinton said she was “proud of the primary campaign Bernie and I ran, based on issues not insults.”

“Bernie and I are excited about what we can do together.” AFP

Danes use hair spray vs migrants COPENHAGEN—A Danish far-right group faced criticism on Wednesday after courting criticism by handing out “asylum spray” to be used against violent migrants.

In the southern town of Haderslev, 137 cans of relabeled hair spray were given away to the public on Saturday by the far-right Party of the Danes, which does not hold any seats in parliament.

“The asylum spray is a concrete reaction against more Danes feeling insecure,” party leader Daniel Carlsen, a former member of a Nazi group that he now distances himself from, told Agence France Presse.

“Some Danish girls don’t dare to go outside after it gets dark, partly because there are now asylum seekers in town,”

he added. The spray was described as “effective” and “legal” -- in a nod to Denmark’s ban on pepper spray.

In the long run the problem could only be solved by “stopping non-western immigration and beginning comprehensive repatriation,” Carlsen said.

The United Nation’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said it “strongly regrets that this kind of incident is taking place in Denmark against asylum seekers and refugees, people who already have suffered so much.”

“It is a small group that is involved in this incident and only represents a very small fraction of the Danish people,” it added in a statement.

A lawmaker for the opposition Danish Social Liberal

Party, Zenia Stampe, said she would ask the government “what legal options we have to stop the spread of vigilantism.”

In a post on Facebook, she suggested that politicians would have reacted more strongly if other minority groups, such as Jewish or gay people, had been targeted in a similar stunt.

Around 22,000 people live in Haderslev, where a migrant center currently houses around 140 asylum seekers, according to the Danish Red Cross.

Europe has faced its biggest migration crisis since World War II with well over one million refugees and migrants arriving on its shores in the past year as they flee war in Syria and the Middle East, and poverty in Africa. AFP

ORGANIC. Ayala Malls continues on the next phase of its green initiative by growing organic herb and vegetables in its gardens.

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

DESTINATIONS

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Going Green

with Ayala Malls Organic Gardens W

HEREVER it takes root, Ayala Malls always blooms where it’s planted. In addition to raising the bar in terms of innovative mall concepts, Ayala Malls is well becoming known for its great, open spaces and breathtaking landscapes. This season, Ayala Malls brings a fresh touch to its grounds with its unique organic gardens—its newest green initiative.

Following its highly successful Blooms campaign last summer that enlivened the malls’ garden spaces with beautiful orchids, native ferns and vibrant evergreens, Ayala Malls continues on to the next phase of its green campaign by growing organic herb and vegetables in its gardens.

A simple, yet beautiful addition to the Ayala Malls landscape, these gardens were built from recycled materials, and boast a variety of green produce including bokchoi, lettuce, sweet pepper, tomato, red lettuce, arugula, romaine, mustard, patola, chili pepper, upo, okra, pechay, kangkong, Baguio beans, sitaw, cucumber; and herbs such as basil, rosemary, mint, tarragon and oregano. These will not only help beau-

tify the Ayala Malls open grounds, but will serve a higher purpose of educating the public about being more conscientious consumers.

“Ayala Malls has been actively and continuously improving its immediate environment by growing and enriching its gardens and parks, while encouraging its communities to adopt an environmentally focused mindset,” shares Myrna Fernandez, vice president and head of Leasing and Operations of the Ayala Malls Group.

“Our primary objective is to educate the community and inspire them to start their own organic gardens at home. We are changing the concept of ‘farming,’ which is no longer limited to suburban areas or farmland. People can grow

their own herbs and vegetables by converting their unused spaces into one productive and edible garden.”

Through this unique initiative, Ayala Malls strengthens its commitment to preserve the natural flora of a place, and help build a greener, cleaner and more responsible community. Upon harvest, some of the crops grown at the malls will be sold to employees; the proceeds of which will then be used for the upkeep and maintenance of the mini farms.

“Shopping malls are no longer simply retail and dining destinations, but communal resources and platforms for environmental education. We aim to enhance our surroundings in a way that offers both social and health benefits beyond the traditional role of malls,” explains Fernandez. As part of its campaign, Ayala Malls will be organizing field trips in partnership with various schools, as well as host cooking demos, talks and feeding programs that will support NGOs. This new green campaign is not a mere gimmick, but a true game-changing initiative that sets the example for other builders and developers who are looking

Unused spaces are transformed into productive and edible garden

The proceeds from the sale of produce will be used for the upkeep of the mini farm

to create more eco-friendly and sustainable communities. By the end of this year, edible gardens will become a permanent feature in all Ayala Malls.

To date, Market! Market!, Alabang Town Center, Fairview Terraces, and TriNoma have built their vegetables gardens on their rooftop. In Greenbelt, these organic gardens are already blooming gloriously, delighting

all passersby. In addition to improving the aesthetics of the space, these gardens absorb heat and reduce energy consumption needed to cool down mall complexes.

Ayala Malls, indeed, fulfills its duty as a leader in the industry, encouraging its consumers and stakeholders to go green by breathing in a fresh concept to healthy, sustainable living.

Singapore Airlines still world’s best international airline SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has once again proven its unparalleled position in the airline industry as it clinched the top spot in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Survey for Best International Airlines. With an overall score of 90.10, SIA

ranked first in this year’s reader survey, making this the 21st consecutive time the airline received such distinction.

“The airline keeps the top spot by pioneering new services and treating every passenger like a top-tier flier,” Travel

+ Leisure contributor Melanie Lieberman writes. Also gracing this year’s top five are Emirates (89.30), Qatar Airways (86.89), Etihad Airways (86.84), and Virgin Atlantic Airways (86.41).

For this survey, respondents were asked to rate international airlines on the following characteristics: cabin comfort, customer service, in-flight service and overall value.

Cabin comfort

Singapore Airlines remains the top choice for fliers as it provides the finest experience of both comfort and luxury.

Equipped with plenty of legroom and features such as adjustable headrests and backrest cushions, the cabins are designed to make traveling easier and more memorable for its passengers. “[Even] for the average person, Singapore [Airlines] is the crème de la crème,” said a T+L reader.

Whether it’s in the Suites, First, Business or Economy Class, Singapore Airlines is truly your home in the skies.

Airlines is known for is its passion for service. Its flight attendants personify the ‘Singapore Girl’ – the timeless icon for Asian hospitality. Dressed in their traditional Balmain-designed sarong kebaya, they are renowned for their commitment to cater to the fliers’ every whim with such poise and dignity. Passengers across classes are truly guaranteed a first-class flying experience with SIA.

In-flight service

Staying true to its philosophy of providing its guests ‘the great way to fly,’ SIA provides its passengers remarkable services that make longhaul traveling an ease. For instance, SIA offers the Book The Cook service that lets Premium Economy, Business and First Class passengers select from a wide selection of meals, including creations inspired by its International Culinary Panel.

Aside from a fine dining experience, Singapore Airlines also has the KrisWorld in-flight entertainment SUITE IN THE SKY. Singapore Airlines features cabins with plenty of legroom, adjustable Customer service One of the qualities that Singapore system with an impressive selection headrests and backrest cushions that make traveling easier and more comfortable.

of over 1,000 entertainment options thoughtfully curated with its passengers in mind. With all these in-flight offerings, traveling for hours has never been this enjoyable.

Overall value

Singapore Airlines puts premium to the needs of its passengers, making it the carrier of choice for most fliers. It upholds the values of traditional Asian hospitality while constantly innovating itself, keeping in mind what matters most to its fliers. With the SilverKris Lounge for instance, one can enjoy world-class comfort and feel right at home before beginning their most memorable journey yet.

Singapore Airlines flies from Manila to Singapore four times daily, which conveniently connects to onward flights to the rest of the world. Passengers traveling from Cebu, Davao and Kalibo can fly to Singapore via SilkAir, which flies 12 times weekly from Cebu, nine times weekly from Davao, and three times weekly from Kalibo. To book flights, visit singaporeair.com.

Life

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Another face of Seattle MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

H

AVING visited Seattle quite a number of times during my years with an international airline, I have seen the usual tourist attractions visitors look for in the city.

The Space Needle is the city’s iconic landmark which is actually an observation tower built for the 1962 World’s Fair.

Pike Place Market is a favorite locale of several Hollywood movies, the most popular of which was Sleepless in Seattle.

Woodland Park brings out the youth in everyone. The zoo occupies half of this 36-hectare property, while the other half has a picnic area, trails, a miniature golf range, ball fields, lawn bowling and a bike course.

The Boeing Factory in Everett, a city next to Seattle, interests those who work for or just plain fancy the airline industry. And, some tourists drive several hours just to be awed by the majestic Mt. Rainier, Washington state’s highest mountain, while some spend long hours downtown, looking for the hospital used as setting for TV’s popular soap, Grey’s Anatomy.

All these destinations have been part of my previous visits to this bustling city in northwestern USA. My daughter and her family has set up residence in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle, which has given me another reason to ensure a yearly visit to this part of the US continent During my latest visit a couple of weeks ago, I told my daughter that I wanted to see something new that the area has to offer, something different, something that would give another face to Seattle and its suburbs.

She drove me 15 minutes away from her residence, to a town called Woodinville, to spend time in Washington state’s oldest and biggest winery, the Chateau Ste. Michelle, owned by a company called Altria, which was once popularly known as Philip Morris. The winery produces two million cases of Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Riesling yearly, and is, in fact, the world’s leading producer of Riesling wine.

As we drove inside the Chateau premises, I could immediately see vineyards on both sides of the road, and a male employee directing traffic to the huge parking lot. Visitors, upon disembarking from their vehicles, were allowed to go near the vineyards and take pictures.

Grapes at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington's oldest and biggest winery. (Inset) The author in front of the Chateau which is similar to those commonly seen in Italy’s Tuscan Region

The Slingshot, a three-wheel motorcycle that runs on the roads of Seattle

Naturally, I didn’t want to be left out, so I did my share of photo ops.

A short walk from the parking lot, going through rows of evergreens and other lush foliage, brought us to the main feature of the winery grounds, the Chateau, a typical European-designed structure painted with the dominant colors of the Tuscan region, with fresh blooms of varying attractive colors serving as accent to the otherwise

monochrome building. The Chateau’s interiors have the pleasant Old World charm that is characteristic of similar structures in Europe.

Right next to the Chateau is the Gift Shop which, during our visit, was teeming with customers, mostly wine lovers who practically emptied the shelves of the products on display, as they availed of the special prices for the bundled set of wine, crackers, cheese and tapas.

Chinese arrival ushers in PH Tourism Week

The MV Legend of the Seas that stopped for a port of call in Aklan on Sept. 24

Department of Tourism officials welcome some of the 2,275 Chinese tourists that arrived in Boracay

My daughter and I couldn’t resist the attractive prices, so we found ourselves taking a table outside the Gift Shop, to feast on the set of goodies we bought.

On the winery grounds is an amphitheater used for outdoor concerts during summer. When we were there, a band was rehearsing for the scheduled evening concert featuring recording artist, Ray LaMontagne. We could have stayed on to watch it but we had already made plans for the evening.

As we readied ourselves for the trip back home, I learned that the particular area of Woodinville, where all these vineyards are located (there are other smaller wineries aside from the Chateau Ste. Michelle), has the same climate, terrain and soil as those of the wine regions of France. This explains why the wines produced by Chateau Ste. Michelle are of the same high quality as their French counterparts.

As we drove back home, my daughter showed me something I haven’t seen in any other part of the world, as if in answer to my quest for new things in the Seattle area.

It was a three-wheel motorcycle that runs at a top speed of 130 mph and is called a Slingshot (the photo I took is on this page).

Costing approximately $20000.00, it can seat two passengers and is sometimes called a Reverse Trike because two wheels are in front and one wheel is behind. Introduced only last year, it is now gaining popularity among fun-loving individuals.

I’m sure that if I had stayed longer in Seattle, I would have discovered more of the new things it has to offer. Unfortunately, I had to fly off to another country for an all-important family affair. But I was happy to have discovered another face of Seattle.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

YOUR FRIDAY CHUCKLE A man walks into a bar and says, “Give me a beer before the problem starts!” He drinks the beer and then orders another, saying “Give me a beer before the problem starts!” The bartender looks confused. This goes on for a while, and after the fifth beer the bartender is totally confused and asks the man “When are you going to pay for these beers?” The man answers, “Now the problem starts!”

POMP and gaiety welcomed 2,275 tourists in Boracay island resort on their arrival Saturday morning on board cruise ship Legend of the Seas from Xiamen, China.

The huge visitor arrival, which ushered in the celebration of Philippines’ Tourism Week, marked the first trip of an international cruise since the Duterte administration took office July 1st.

Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said the success of the event was brought about by the shared efforts of stakeholders, including the tour organizers, DoT Regional Office-6, and the municipal administration of Malay, Aklan.

“This event goes to show that our country remains a safe place to visit despite travel warnings,” Teo said.

She said Chinese tourist arrival dropped slightly after the international tribunal ruling on West Philippine Sea but it soon recovered and has grown in recent weeks.

It shows a 64-percent increase, from 257,014 in the January-July period last year to 422,801 of the same period this year.

DoT officials Assistant Secretary Gwen Javier and Regional Office-6 Director Helen Catalbas were on hand to greet the visitors at the Cagban Jetty Port.

A colorful ati-atihan group performed as local DoT staff handed out handcrafted leis on the tourists, includ-

ing Chinese professionals, retirees and families with children.

“We are pleased to note that a charter has been initiated by travel trade counterparts in China. This underscores our continuing warm tourism and culture ties amidst the ongoing territorial strife. This augurs well for our industry and as we pursue our National Cruise Tourism Strategy grounded on ports development and rehabilitation,” said Assistant Secretary Javier.

The visitors took a dip into the crystal clear waters, others lay on the white sand beach for hours, and some went sightseeing in nearby Aklan islands.

“We’re so happy to host and accord our visitors from China the best tourism experience in Western Visayas as a world-class tourist destination,” Catalbas said.

The DoT Region 6 chief disclosed that two more Royal Caribbean cruise ships are due to arrive in October and November.

Next to Koreans, the Chinese comprise the biggest tourist market of Region 6.

At least 183,708 Chinese visited Western Visayas, mainly Boracay last year while Koreans numbered 331,269, according to the DoT. The Legend of the Seas first visited the Philippines in 2012, then, the country became part of its regular itineraries to Asia.

Exclusive offers with SkyJet Airlines’ boarding pass perks JUST keep your boarding pass and show it to SkyJet Airlines’ partners to get exclusive offers.

Avail 15 percent discounts on Mandala Spa bookings and Resort Villa at Mandala Resort Villa Boracay and experience Asia’s best wellness treatment.

Experience the ambience of Bora-

cay Mandarin Island Hotel with 25 percent discount on room accommodation based on published rates.

Get 10 percent discount on boat parties and private charter at Boracay Sun Cruiser, a yacht plying off Boracay.

Grab the 30 percent discount on all room types with a minimum of

three nights stay inclusive of daily buffet breakfast and round trip transfer via Caticlan plus 10 percent less on all food and beverages and massage and spa at Paradise Garden Resort Hotel and Convention Center.

Avail of the 45 percent discount on room accommodation based on pub-

lished rates at ‘haute couture’ Hotel Celeste Boracay.

There is also a 25 percent discount on room at Boracay Tropics and 10 percent discount at TropiCafe Boracay.

Other perks include 20 percent off on food and beverages at Friday’s and Italianni’s, 15 percent off at Mama’s

Seafood Kitchen Boracay and 10 percent discount on food and beverages at Hama; Café del Sol Boracay; Aria, Cucina italiana; Aria Gelato; Don Vito Ristorante.

Those who love the night life, can avail at Epic Bar a 10 percent discount on food and beverages for a minimum bill of P1000.00.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

PEOPLE ...are talking about Sarah Geronimo With her latest nomination at MTV Europe Music Awards, in the Best Southeast Asian Act category, Sarah G has proven once more that she’s the brightest recording star of her generation. In 2013, she was nominated in the same category and finally won the coveted award in 2014. With her long list of achievements as a recording star, she is worthy of the Pop Queen tittle, right?

Yuan Francisco Viewers were surprised when Paopao, the adorable young character in Encantadia, transformed into a mighty

Beauty Queen Angela Bonilla (center) flanked by Miss Global 2016 contestants and judges including Sen. Manny Pacquiao (fifth from right)

Rodjun Cruz in last Monday’s episode of the top-rating series. The kid was back as anticipated last Tuesday. He transforms into a bigger man when the need arises. But who is this kid in real life? Yuan is a 6-year-old commercial model that auditioned for the Paopao role with the Kapuso network had a casting call. He was discovered in a mall. With his wit and natural charm, we believe this kid will go a long way.

Jodi Sta Maria She earned a nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress at the International Emmys for her performance in ABS-CBN’s Pangako Sa ‘Yo. And guess who Jodi is up against with in this category? It’s none other than Judi Dench who got the nod for her performance in BBC One TV movie Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot. It’s a tough competition indeed. But to be nominated alongside the Oscar-winning actress is already a feat in itself. So, congratulations, Jodi!

...are not talking about Alyas Robin Hood Prior to the series’ premiere, writer Suzette Doctolero took to social media to defend that the show wasn’t inspired by the hit US series, Arrow. She even challenged the people who dared to compare the local series to the DC Comics-inspired show to pinpoint the glaring similarities. Now, we have to admit that Doctolero was in fact telling the truth.

Alyas Robin Hood is no way a carbon copy of Arrow. No, it can’t be because Arrow is so excellently written and produces, very much unlike Alyas Robin Hood that needs tweaking in all the production aspects to even be, at least 10 percent at par, with the Hollywood series.

Aljur Abrenica The Kapuso actor stars in a biopic film Hermano Puli, a CEB Graded B film, which aims to retell the struggle and heroism of longforgotten religious man who hailed from Lucban, Quezon. With its goal to replicate the success of Heneral Luna, it was initially expected to make waves once it hits commercial theaters. But everything didn’t happen as planned. The film lacks not only the proper story to be considered a great film; it also doesn’t have the star to pull off such ambition. Aljur’s charm fell short to make everything work, apparently.

Albie Casiño He is definitely the casualty in Andi Eigenmann’s early pregnancy amid the confirmation that the real culprit was Jake Ejercito. This “secret” has hurt his career terribly, not to mention that it also tarnished his reputation. Now that his name is all clear, it will still be hard for Albie to reclaim his lost star. Now, he’s no longer that young to be paired with younger actresses and there are a lot of younger actors these days that are more talented and good looking.

Let’s just say the universe just didn’t cooperate with him.

Miss Ecuador wins Miss Global 2016 WHAT a wonderful coincidence, Miss Ecuador Angela Bonilla was crowned Miss Global 2016 in Manila while Miss Philippines Jeslyn Santos won Miss United Continents 2016 in Ecuador both held on Sept. 24.

Bonilla, a 24-year-old, make-up artist, from Urcuqui, Imbabura province, bested 39 contestants from around the world including Miss Philippines Camille Hirro who finished first runner up and Miss Australia Caitlyn Henry, second runner up.

Miss Czech Republic Nikola Bechynova and Miss Norway Britt Rekkedal were third and fourth runners up.

It was the second time for he 5-foot-8 student of journalism at Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja in the Philippines after the 2015 Miss Earth where she was disqualified. Bonilla is the second Ecuadorian beauty to win in the country after Mercedes Alava Vargas who won the Miss Earth 2011 crown.

The Miss Global 2016 pageant featured two international winners from Canada, Miss Global 2015 Jessica Peart who passed her crown to Bonilla, and Natalie Glebova who won the Miss Universe title in 2005. Glebova, now a 34-year-old, mother to a five-month-old daughter, cohosted the finals with actor Derrick Monasterio.

Glebova’s appearance, one of only few occasions that a

Miss Universe winner has set foot in the country, was warmly welcomed by the Filipino fans.

The stunning Russian-born classical pianist and rhythmic gymnast, who completed majored in commerce at Ryerson University in Toronto, passionately advocates healthy lifestyle, providing information and tools to help people achieve wellbeing using the HHB Lifestyle Cycle consists of three parts: Mind, Nutrition and Exercise essential for being healthy, happy and beautiful.

Bonilla, who won the Miss Photogenic and best in swimsuit special awards, was asked at the final question-andanswer who between a man and woman was a better judge in a beauty contest. “I believe in equality, and both man and woman are qualified to be judge,” the Lady Grace special awardee answered.

Others who made the Top Ten were the delegates from Canada, China, India, Kenya and the Netherlands. The Top 20 included the delegates from Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Sweden Trinidad & Tobago, and Ukraine.

Bonilla will reign as ambassador of goodwill, to help promote Philippine tourism and the Miss Global mission/advocacy on protection of vulnerable people and the campaign against human trafficking. – Eton Bonifacio

‘Ben 10’ is back with new episodes IT’S hero time, as our favorite 10-year-old hero is finally back on Cartoon Network, with the global premiere on Oct. 1. Packed with powerful aliens, comedic ups-anddowns and epic bad-guy takedowns, the series follows a reimagined Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen and wise Grandpa Max as they embark on their seemingly endless summer vacation.

The all-new series goes back to the time when Ben first discovers the Omnitrix, the alien watch-like device that allows him to transform into 10 kick-ass alien heroes.

Embracing the coolest elements that made the original show a worldwide sensation during the past decade, this reboot is packed with heart, humor and heroism that everyone

loves – and more!

Proving that anyone could be a hero, Ben confronts monsters and problems like Dr. Animo’s plans to take over the world, as well as new villains like Nanny Nightmare. The brand new Ben 10 is still full of laugh-outloud funny moments and turbo-powered alien battles, with a modern action-packed twist.

The franchise has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and won the prestigious ‘Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation’ and is one of the most popular animations in the Philippines ever. Excited yet? Get ready for brand new alien-powered adventures of Ben 10 by watching the promo here.

Something to watch out for—Cartoon

Network gives fans a chance to meet their favorite Cartoon Network characters when they drop by selected Globe stores in the metro and watch never-before-seen episodes of Ben 10 at the Cartoon Network Watch & Play launch with Globe happening this Oct. 22 to 23 at the Globe Iconic Store, BGC. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ asia.cartoonnetwork.

The all-new Ben 10 premieres at 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 1, only on Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network is available on SKYCable Channel 43, SKYCable HD Channel 178, Cignal Channel 35, Cignal HD Channel 110, Destiny Cable (Digital) Channel 43, Destiny Cable (Analog) Channel 51 and Cable Link Channel 26, Dream Satellite Channel 15.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Friday, September 30, 2016

ACROSS 1 “Big Daddy” Ives 5 Middies’ sch.

9 Advice giver 13 Survey finding 14 Nearer the facts 15 Send in the taxes 16 Belgian river 17 Old keepsake 18 Creme caramel 19 Jungle jaunt 21 Yech!

22 Linen vestments 23 Dallas cagers 25 Basil or oregano 27 Enlivens 31 Comfort 35 “Garfield” pooch 36 Anguished wail 38 Perry’s secretary 39 Yellow moths 40 Tee partner 42 — Alamos, N.M. 43 Alpaca kin 46 Dry and withered 47 Ascended 48 Fall upon 50 Went off course 52 Mutant heroes of comics (hyph.)

54 Hockey goals

55 Debate side 58 Pentagon grp.

60 Rafter’s challenge 64 Tower over 65 “Ninotchka” name 67 “— — Around” (Beach Boys tune) 68 Cafe handout 69 PC memo 70 Plane tip 71 Lissome 72 Uncommon 73 Firm grasp DOWN 1 Howls at the moon 2 Bear constellation 3 Coral ridge 4 Town in oaters 5 Suffix for forfeit 6 Crewmate of Uhura 7 Stable response 8 Bends backward 9 Pleasant 10 Beak 11 Not be discreet 12 Cravings 14 Petty 20 U.K. fliers 24 Monica of the

courts 26 Curtain hanger 27 Monsieur’s shout 28 Archaeology finds 29 Passport companions 30 Kept 32 Parcel out 33 By a whisker 34 Facilitated 37 Tornado warning 41 Quite a few 44 Most possible

45 Intention 47 Speaking hoarsely 49 Account book 51 Give — — rest!

53 — Jean Baker 55 Mendicant’s cry 56 Year-end tune 57 Pop’s — Tennille 59 Cherished 61 Russian epic hero 62 Bandleader Arnaz 63 Dance move 66 Attach

New season of ‘Ben 10’ premieres on Cartoon Network

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

D4

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Showbiz

PLDT and Smart Chair Manny V. Pangilinan (third from left) and ABS-CBN Chair Eugenio Gabby Lopez III (fourth from right) lead the signing of the milestone partnership of PLDT Home and Smart Communications with ABS-CBN for iWant TV

Kapamilya fans can watch ABS-CBN shows with PLDT Home and Smart

I

F YOU are a PLDT Home or a Smart subscriber, you can now watch your favorite Kapamilya show via iWant TV.

ABS-CBN Chair Eugenio ‘Gabby’ Lopez III (left) and PLDT and Smart Chair Manny V. Pangilinan (right) share thoughts after sealing their milestone partnership to bring exciting iWant TV content within reach by more Filipinos via PLDT Home and Smart

BACK in the 19th century, institutions that catered to the mentally or physically impaired were scarce, so affluent families with such kind of individuals resorted to keeping them in a secluded part of the house to avoid being politically or socially ostracized. That particular space was called “disappointments room”.

In recent years, an American TV show featured the story of one disappointments room found in an old home bought by the Dumas family in Rhode Island. The room was in the attic, it had a metal floor, a doorknob on one side and a deadbolt.

The owner concluded “whoever was in (that) room wasn’t getting out.”

Inspired by this story, Prison Break star Wentworth Miller wrote the script for The Disappointments Room, and it captured the interest of blockbuster director D.J. Caruso.

He says, “It’s one of those stories where the audience gets to follow a character and see things through her eyes.”

In this psychological thriller, Kate Beckinsale plays Dana, a woman looking for a fresh start. Together with her husband and their five-yearold son, she leaves the city life and moves into an old mansion in the countryside. The house badly needs a restoration, and it is the perfect project for Dana (an architect) to get engrossed in as she moves on from a painful past. However, she begins to have unsettling visions and dreams. While exploring their new home, she discovers a secret room, and the more she tries to unlock its mystery, the more she experiences bone-chilling episodes. Then, Dana starts to get confused if what’s happening is real or just a product of her imagination.

Beckinsale saw the project as an opportunity to explore a character at a psychological crossroads.

“The central theme of this woman

In a groundbreaking partnership, the country’s leading digital services providers PLDT Home and Smart Communications have teamed up with multimedia conglomerate ABS-CBN for iWant TV, the network’s streaming service for TV shows, movies and other exclusive digital content.

Under the partnership, PLDT Home and Smart subscribers will soon be able to use their prepaid load or postpaid account to binge-watch and catch up on their favorite ABS-CBN shows, blockbuster films and other top-rated content on www.iwantv. com.ph on their computers or Smart TVs, or on the iWant TV app on their mobile phones and tablets.

Both PLDT Home and Smart will also soon roll out exciting offers to let millions of subscribers enjoy iWant TV

who isn’t sure if she is going mad or if things are really happening to her was intriguing. D.J. wanted to take it in a direction where it was more than just a horror movie, which appealed to me.” She says that one of the things she likes about her character is that she’s not instantly likeable. “She has gone through trauma, but she keeps showing up for her life, and it’s a brave thing to do,” she says.

“One of the ways in which D.J. excels as a director is how he puts pieces of the puzzle together in ways where the audience is not quite sure what is happening,” says producer Vincent Newman. “As the movie progresses, its subtlety becomes more intense until you realize everything has escalated.”

Fans of thriller/horror movies will get quite a treat out of this movie. Caruso says, “We go to these movies because, as Hitchcock always said, we love to be scared.

We project ourselves into the movie, asking, ‘If this was me, what would I do?’ Knowing that the audience is discovering this room and what is going on there as Dana unpeels the mystery makes it very interesting and, at times, horrifying.”

For Kate, the house was more of an actual presence during the shoot. “It’s quite a spooky and heavy place,” she remarks, “and it’s designed for the movie to be oppressive inside.”

The house that was used was the stately

Adamsleigh Mansion in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was built in the early 1930s with 33 rooms across 17,421 square feet on a 13.5 acre lot.

For the film, the house was outfitted with draperies that blow in the wind when the doors were open with fragmented shafts of light allowed to penetrate inside, helping to feed the psychological terror of what was real and what was not for Dana. The disappointments room itself was built on the grounds of the property as a stand-alone set so that Caruso and production designer Tom Southwell could design it with exact specifications. They made sure to create a room that would exude those feelings of loss and sadness without being overly sentimental.

The Disappointments Room is the second film written by Wentworth Miller following his independent film, Stoker. The cast includes critically acclaimed English stage actor Mel Raido as the husband of Dana, and Duncan Joiner as their son.

Distributed by Viva International Pictures and MVP Entertainment, it is showing in Philippine cinemas starting Oct. 5.

ISAH V. RED

content at their fingertips.

Using iWant TV, subscribers may stream the past and current ABS-CBN shows like On the Wings of Love, Dolce Amore, Ang Probinsiyano and Til I Met You, as well as News and Current Affairs shows, among many others – anytime and anywhere.

This latest deal is set to further expand the widest breadth of digital content available to PLDT Home and Smart subscribers, as well as bolster the group’s thrust to deliver converged services that offer an unrivaled digital experience for Filipinos.

To get started with iWant TV, users can register for an account via www.iwantv. com.ph or download the iWant TV app on their Android and iOS devices. ***

Senior citizens in Noveleta, Cavite can now watch movies for free in nearby Rosario. The local Sangguniang Bayan presided by Vice Mayor Dionisio Torres approved on Monday, Sept. 19, the resolution sponsored by Councilor Elvira Magat and seconded by Councilor Dave Reyes Chua granting authority to Mayor Chua to enter into an agreement with the management of SM cinemas in nearby Rosario for the “Libreng Sine” for the elderlies of Noveleta, which he launched on Sept. 26 after he sighed the Memorandum of Agreement along with SM Prine Holdings.

Under the Republic Act 9994 otherwise know as ‘Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010’ to provides for the 20 percent discount privilege to elders on cinema admissions.

The local government unit (LGU) will shoulder the remaining 80 percent admission fee as part of the subsidy for the more than 5000 bona fide residents with local citizen identification card.

Local senior citizens watched Barcelona starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.

Kate Beckinsale finds no rest in

‘The Disappointments Room’