Manila Standard - 2016 November 02 - Wednesday

Anti-narc bust: 5 killed, 6 nabbed, P200k missing

By John Paolo Bencito

lice Senior Supt. Romeo Sapitula said that the five victims, identified as ManFIVE drug suspects were robbed before uel Evagelista, 37; Jennifer Discargar, they were killed in a house in Barangay 31; Paolo Tuboroy, 24; Edmar Velarde, Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City 31, and Macmac Albano, 30 were killed Monday night, police said Tuesday. inside the house of Roger Evangelista, Eastern Police District Director PoNext page

VOL. XXX • NO. 263 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

US halts gun deal over war on drugs Joint drills’ rules may change; gab slated

By John Paolo Bencito A MEETING between senior security officials from the Philippines and the United States this month will determine the fate of joint military exercises between the two countries, after President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted US troops out of the country in two years.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said Tuesday the Mutual Defense Board, which includes the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff and the commander of the Pacific Area Command of the US forces, will convene this month.

Next page

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

T

HE United States has canceled the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippine National Police due to increasing concerns about human rights violations in the country, unconfirmed reports said Tuesday.

Reports said the cancellation came after US Senator Ben Cardin opposed the sale because of alleged human rights violations in President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives since he came to office.

Neither the Foreign Affairs Department nor the US Embassy could confirm the report, however.

US Senator Ben Cardin

A Palace spokesman said the administration is ready to procure guns from another source.

“It is an issue between the US State Department and Senator Ben Cardin. I will have to talk to the PNP and find out their next move,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

“In any case, I am sure our government can procure [the guns from] somewhere else,” he added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said the Philippines does not stand to lose Next page

UN cleared to look into killings

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan UNITED Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard said Tuesday she received an invitation from the Philippines on Oct. 24 to investigate the spate of summary executions in the government’s war on

drugs, almost a month after the letter was signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose could not explain why there was a month-long delay, directing reporters instead to Malacañang.

“Please address your question to the Palace,” Jose said in a text

Duterte grateful for FVR’s China role

SORROWS’ SYMBOL. Part of tens of thousands of an estimated 800,000 who flocked to Manila’s biggest public graveyard, the Manila North Cemetery, at noon on All Saints’ Day—reflecting the Filipinos’ grief and memory in the urban centers and in the countryside for their departed dead with tight security in all entrances. Lino Santos

Buhay solon bucks death bill revival A MEMBER of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Tuesday vowed to block all attempts in Congress to pass the bill reviving the death penalty.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, a pro-life and human rights advocate, said he would challenge Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s plan to have the bill bringing back the death penalty passed before the Christmas recess in December.

Alvarez himself authored House Bill 1 that seeks to reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes.

“The Speaker has thrown down the gauntlet on the death penalty.

We will put up a fight,” Atienza said.

“The death penalty is the absolute and irreparable deprivation of human rights. It flouts the natural and unassailable right to life.

“Congress cannot repeal the right to life of every human being―of every Filipino.”

Atienza was responding to Alvarez’s plan to approve on third and final reading the return of the death sentence before Congress adjourns for the holidays.

“As far as the House is concerned, we will approve it [the reinstatement of the death penalty] before the Christmas break,” Alvarez said.

He said the House would leave it up to the Department of Justice to specify the mode of putting twitter.com/ MlaStandard

convicts to death.

“If they want to hang them, shoot them by firing squad, it’s up to them. The criminals would be dead either way,” he said.

But Atienza said “There’s no point in performing another experiment on the death penalty that is bound to fail at the horrible sacrifice of more human lives.”

Atienza said the country already experimented on the death penalty in the past and it failed to deter crime.

“The certainty of capture and punishment of criminals, regardless of the severity of the penalty itself, is the best deterrence to other would-be offenders,” Atienza Next page said.

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

S

message.

“It was the executive secretary who prepared the invitation on the instruction of [President Rodrigo Duterte],” he added.

In an interview with an online news website, Callamard said she received the President’s invitation on Oct. 24, even though the letter had been signed on Sept. 26. Next page

CASH AND SALUTE. President Rodrigo Duterte, accompanied

by AFP Chief of Staff Ricardo Visaya, salutes one of eight wounded soldiers—following a clash with the bandit group Abu Sayyaf—at the hospital in Camp Teodulfo Bautista Monday, with each soldier getting P100,000 in cash, a Glock pistol and a Wounded Personnel Medal.

Moody’s warns of policy swings; Palace unmoved MALACAÑANG said Tuesday the country’s economic fundamentals remained strong as it downplayed the warning from debt-rating agency Moody’s Investors Service that changing foreign policies might affect the country’s eco-

thestandard.com.ph

nomic growth.

“The poverty rate has dropped.

The inflation rate is stable. Government-private contracts continue to be honored. We will be okay,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a Next page statement.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday expressed gratitude to former President Fidel V. Ramos after his resignation as special envoy to China following his criticisms of President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated tirades against the United States and his apparent tilt towards China. “[President Fidel V. Ramos’] presence is invaluable. PFVR was appointed by PRRD as Special Envoy precisely because of his stature, credibility as our elderly statesman and his ability to break the ice with the Chinese Government,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement. “[Ramos] was instrumental in the softening of ties between our government and the PROC, which led to the very successful Next page

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News

Japan deals seen to create 250k jobs M

ORE than 250,000 jobs will be created in the next two years as a result of the $1.85 billion worth of deals signed

by President Rodrigo Duterte during his trip to Japan, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Tuesday.

He told CNN Philippines the economic deals with Japan would help Duterte’s “pivot to Asia” following his intention to “separate” from the United States economically and to in-

stead rely on the Philippines’ regional partners.

“The President is really trying to strengthen the regional cooperation within this part of the world,” Lopez said.

During the President’s trip to Japan, more than 12 letters of interest were signed among private companies, including in the $19 billion worth of deals that Duterte and his delegation brought home a week ago.

Of that amount, $17 billion represents a verbal pledge from Marubeni Corp. to contribute to medium-term infrastructure projects like roads and airports.

Duterte had previously returned with $13.5 billion worth of deals from China.

Lopez said the government would exercise due diligence in choosing the partnerships to enter into as he denied forging deals with companies blacklisted by the World Bank.

“Given that new information, obviously we’ll have to review what’s on the table,” Lopez said.

He said any deal with some companies implicated in onerous transactions would not be binding.

Duterte is set to visit Malaysia next week. John Paolo Bencito

US...

From A1

anything if the US State Department halts the sale.

“Since it’s a planned sale of assault rifles by the US to the Philippines, we do not stand to lose anything except one less gun store to choose from,” Lacson said in a statement.

The former chief of the PNP noted there are tens of other countries that manufacture better and probably cheaper assault rifles than the US. Relations between the Philippines and the US have turned sour since Duterte began denouncing the Americans for criticizing the high death toll in his drug war.

In June, Duterte told the United Nations to “shut up” about his bloody war on drugs, saying it could not “even solve the Middle East carnage.”

In August, Duterte called US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg a “homosexual son of a whore,” and accusing the outgoing envoy of meddling the elections.

Shortly after that, the US said

Joint...

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ON HIGHER GROUND. A woman stands on a ladder to light a candle and offer flowers at the tomb of a relative during All Saints’ Day at Manila North Cemetery. Lino Santos

Buhay...

Anti-narc...

He also denounced the death penalty as “infected with economic prejudice and human error.”

“It is bad enough that we already have a virtual death penalty in place with the unabated summary executions of alleged suspects sans the benefit of a full and fair trial,” he said.

Congress abolished the death penalty in 2006 as a result of flaws, including the belated discovery of the wrongful execution of Leo Echegaray.

Maricel V. Cruz

brother of one of the victims, at Block 37, Lot 1, Barangay Addition Hills at past 9 p.m.

Sapitula said the suspects were allegedly in a pot session when some six suspects, still unidentified entered the house and shot them to death.

The P200,000 earned by Discargar from the sale of drugs was missing, police said.

Witnesses said they saw six men wearing jackets and masks barge into Evangelista’s house and kill the victims.

Drug paraphernalia and five sachets of shabu were found.

Meanwhile, six drug suspects, including three Koreans, were arrested Tuesday at a buy-bust operation at an

From A1

Duterte...

From A1

recent State Visit of PRRD in Beijing.”

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said it was up to Duterte if he would accept Ramos’ resignation.

“According to FVR [Fidel V. Ramos], the letter has been submitted to the office of the Executive Secretary [Salvador Medialdea],” Abella said in a text message.

“But it will be up to PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] whether to accept it or not.”

Ramos resigned as special envoy to China on Monday shortly after criticizing Duterte in four successive weekly columns in a national broadsheet, saying he was “losing badly” by giving priority to the war on drugs at the expense of other problems such as poverty, the lack of jobs and the high cost of living and described him as a “huge disappointment and letdown.” John Paolo Bencito

From A1

UN...

From A1

Callamard also said they did not get an explanation as to why the letter took a month to reach the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva.

Currently, she said, the UN was in talks with the Philippine government about what the investigation would cover.

Moody’s...

From A1

On Monday, Moody’s said that while the Philippine government’s Baa2 rating was stable, “the country’s growth prospects could be undermined if there is

upscale condominium unit in Makati City.

Jintaek Lee, Bang Kho Laem a.k.a. Kuo and Chi Pui Wong and Isaac Kho a.k.a. Kiderck Kim and Kook Jung Wong were nabbed by the police at One Rockwell East Tower at 12:04 a.m.

Also arrested were three Filipinos identified as Kathlyn Nonato, Jaypee Soriano and Arby Diaz a.k.a. Arbeen Jhielyn Diaz.

After breaking down the condominium unit’s door to find the suspects, police found the suspects inserting more than 16 grams of shabu inside an expandable folder for sending to South Korea and the United States through a courier company.

Confiscated from the suspects were sachets of shabu, five guns,

four samurai swords, two laptops and 10 cellphones.

Another suspect named Lyn Paz is still on the run while police are also looking for the suspects’ Chinese drug supplier.

One policeman was reported hurt in the operation.

In Malabon, police arrested a sexagenarian drug suspect and 16 others who were having a pot session inside a cemetery in Malabon Monday night.

A staunch critic of the administration, Senator Leila de Lima lamented the killing of more than 4,000 people in the government’s war on drugs.

“The cries and pleas of the families of the 4,737 people who perished in the government’s war against drugs are too loud to ignore,” said De Lima. With Francisco Tuyay, Jun David and Macon Ramos-Araneta

“We have now begun the process of negotiating the scope and guarantees for the mission to go ahead and deliver the best outcomes in keeping with the terms of my mandate,” she said.

The death toll in the government’s war on drugs has risen to above 4,000 since Duterte came to office in June.

Last month, Jose said both the UN rapporteurs and the government must agree on the parameters of the investigation.

“The guideline should be agreed to by both our government and the international organization on how they will conduct the investigation,” Jose added.

He said the government would need to approve where the investigators could go. It would also have to approve interviews with the families of victims of extrajudicial killings.

“They need to ask permission with the government first,” Jose said.

a significant shift in the government’s policies.”

It said the quality of the assets of Philippine banks would remain broadly stable, but “Risks are emerging in terms of the banks’ increasing exposure to real estate-related loans and higher yielding small and me-

dium enterprises.”

Moody’s said proactive capital raising over the past few years and higher regulatory capital requirements than international norms would help the banks maintain buffers against downside risks.

John Paolo Bencito

Esperon said AFP chief of staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya was supposed to meet with his US counterpart on Oct. 24, but the meeting was called off.

Sources told Manila Standard that senior defense officials are now looking for ways to carry out the President’s declaration that he would scrap defense pacts with Washington, the country’s longtime strategic and political ally.

During a visit to Japan, Duterte said he wanted American troops out of the Philippines in two years.

“I want them out and if I have to revise or abrogate... existing agreements, this will be the last war games between the United States and the Philippines military,” he said.

He blamed the Americans for treating the Philippines “like a dog on a leash,” threatening to cut off US assistance because of alleged human rights violations by his government.

In the same interview, Esperon said the Philippines did not and need not ask China’s permission to access Panatag Shoal, after both countries reached a “friendly” understanding that allows Filipinos to fish around a disputed shoal seized by Beijing in 2012.

“We still claim it to be ours, therefore we do not need to get their permission,” Esperon said of the shoal.

Chinese Coast Guard vessels still patrol the waters of Scarborough Shoal but are not stopping Filipinos from fishing there.

Esperon maintained that the Philippines has rights over the area due to the country’s exclusive economic zone.

He added that there was no timetable for resolving the country’s territorial dispute with China, but Filipino fishermen would be able to continue fishing there.

A lawmaker on Tuesday, meanwhile, said there should be parity in travel conditions between the Philippines and the United States.

“There are two ways we can achieve parity. Either we obligate Americans traveling to Manila to first secure a Philippine visa, or the US removes the requirement for Filipinos to get a hold of a US visa before they can travel to America,” said Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel.

Pimentel said requiring visitors from the US to obtain a Philippine visa could easily generate $125 million, or P6 billion, in incremental revenue for Manila every year.

“This is assuming we ask each visiting American to pay a $160 visa application fee—the same amount the US Embassy in Manila asks from every Filipino seeking a US visa,” Pimentel said.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier supported President Duterte’s call for “reciprocity” in travel rights between the Philippines and the US.

the $32 million in assistance to promote human rights and security would undergo “vigorous vetting” and called on the Philippines to observe the rule of law and due process in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Also in August, UN Special Rapporteurs on Summary Executions Agnes Callamard and the Right on Health Danius Puras urged Duterte to put an end to the wave of summary executions of alleged drug users and pushers.

Duterte threatened to pull out of the UN, then later said it was only a joke.

Just before he left for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he cursed US President Barack Obama, calling him “a son of a bitch” for questioning the anti-drug campaign.

A one-on-one meeting between the two leaders was canceled shortly after that.

Duterte maintained the attack on his critics, calling the UN and the European Union “hypocrites.”

He also told Obama to “go to hell” and the EU to “choose purgatory because hell was already full.” With John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta Pimentel said parity could mean additional good-paying jobs for college-educated Filipinos trying to enter the Philippine foreign service.

“We could use some of the P6billion annual income to employ a large number of young Filipinos as vice consuls, and deploy them to Philippine consular offices in the US, so they can process the Philippine visa applications of American citizens,” he said.

At present, Filipinos traveling to America, regardless of purpose, have to apply for a US visa, pay a $160 to $265 non-refundable application fee, and show up for a personal interview with a US vice consul, who may or may not issue a visa.

In contrast, Americans traveling to Manila enjoy visa-free entry into the Philippines for stays less than 30 days.

“There is nothing anti-American about seeking parity in travel stipulations. This is all about equality in treatment. Our peopleto-people, business-to-business as well as government-to-government relations with the US remain sound,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said requiring visitors from the US to apply for a Philippine visa would also help weed out criminal offenders attempting to enter Manila.

He noted that many Americans who are fugitives from justice in their homeland, including child sex offenders, have found it convenient to seek refuge in the Philippines, owing to their ability to freely move into Manila.

“These fugitives easily blend into our communities because of our cultural affinity with America,” he said.

The Tourism Department says Americans comprise the secondlargest group of foreigners visiting the Philippines every year, next only to South Koreans.

It said a total of 779,217 Americans visited the Philippines in 2015, up 7.81 percent from the 722,750 that visited the country in 2014.

From January to August this year, a total of 584,149 Americans visited the Philippines, up 9.96 percent from the 531,217 that visited the country in the same eight-month period in 2015, said the department.

At present, under the Visa Waiver Program of the US, citizens of 38 countries are already allowed to travel to America for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days, without having to obtain a US visa.

These 38 countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

News Court upholds ruling on telecom firms

By Rey E. Requejo THE Court of Appeals has sustained the resolution of the Department of Justice resolution dismissing the P100-million estafa case filed against officials of Philcomsat Holdings Corp., Philcomsat and the Philippine Overseas Telecommunication Corp.

In a two-page resolution, the CA’s Former Special Third Division ruled that PHC, through Erlinda Ilusorio-Bildner, failed to raise new issues that would warrant a reversal of its March 29, 2016 decision.

“A perusal of the motion for reconsideration filed by petitioner of the Court’s decision promulgated on March 29, 2016 shows that the issues raised and arguments in support thereof have already been given due consideration and resolved,” the resolution written by Associate Justice Myra V. Garcia-Fernandez stated.

“Thus, this court finds no new or substantial matters to justify a modification or reversal of the assailed decision,” the appellate court said.

Bildner filed the estafa case against Enrique L. Locsin, Philip G. Brodett, Benito V. Araneta, Luis K. Lokin Jr., Manuel D. Antal, Julio Jalandoni and Guy De Leon. She accused the respondents of misrepresenting themselves to the public that they are members of the Board of Directors of PHC, Philcomsat and POTC. According to her, because of the misrepresentation, the respondents were able to siphon out PHC’s corporate funds in various forms from 2003 to 2007 worth P122, 199, 459.00, which were booked under “advances to affiliates” but said funds were never credited to POTC or Philcomsat.

However, the respondents asserted that Ilusorio-Bildner has no authority to represent PHC because she belonged to a group claiming to be PHC’s Board of Directors when there exist a legitimate board of directors and that the documents used as evidence against them were manipulated and presented without authentication.

The Makati City prosecutor dismissed the case for lack of probable cause on ground that the complainant failed to present the original copies of the balance sheets, accounting records and other supporting documents.

The prosecutor noted there was no indication or identity of the person who prepared and examined the balance sheets. The balance sheet, according to the prosecutor, “is a mere statement of assets, liabilities and stockholders’ equity.”

When a petition for review was filed with the DoJ, it was dismissed by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano. Then, a motion for reconsideration was filed, but was denied by then DoJ secretary now Senator Leila De Lima. The complainant brought the case before the appellate court.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

154 aliens detained in cramped Subic jail

By Vito Barcelo

A

T LEAST 154 foreigners including 25 female Chinese nationals are detained in a cramped jail in Subic since their arrest on Sept. 9, 2016, for operating an illegal online gaming at Don Gwang Building Tower 2, Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

The foreigners could not be migration jail in Bicutan, Taguig, transferred to the Bureau of Im- because the jail facility is over-

crowded and could only hold 100 detainees.

Their relatives appealed to immigration officials to allow the foreign inmates to post bail or deport them so as not to prolong their sufferings inside the crowded jail.

The BI jail in Taguig was designed to hold 70 prisoners.

Former immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has launched a project to “double bunk” the cells and increase capacity as well as other reno-

vations designed to ease some of the conditions of foreign inmates.

But when the government stepped up the campaign against illegal and overstaying aliens under Commissioner Siegfred Mison, the jail had a “rated capacity” of 100. The jail population reached a high of 200.

As a result of the overcrowding, prisoners sleep on the floor. The overcrowding naturally leads to conflicts among prisoners.

BI official said that there is a plan to construct a building to hold foreign inmates.

The BI official, who asked anonymity as he is not authorized to speak in behalf of the bureau said almost 58 percent of the inmates are being tried for their involvement in illegal drugs. They are being tried in the different court branches,” he said.

Each detainee receives a food budget of P50 per day, the official said.

FISHING PARTNERS . This photo taken on June 16, 2016 shows a fisherman and his wife fixing their nets next to a fishing fleet at the port in Masinloc in Zambales.

The Philippines and China have reached an understanding allowing Filipinos to fish around the disputed Panatag Shoal seized by Beijing in 2012, a senior aide to President Rodrigo Duterte said on Oct. 31, 2016. AFP

House panel OKs Davao airport plan Petron,

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives will soon deliberate on a measure seeking to create the Davao International Airport Authority that will administer and operate the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as the Davao International Airport, in Davao City.

This came after the House committee on government enterprises and privatization, chaired by North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan, approved HB 2002 principally authored

by Deputy Speaker and Davao City Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano who said the creation of the DIAA will have a positive effect on the economic development of Davao City and the Davao Region.

The bill was defended by Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez prior to its passage at the committee level before Congress went on break last October. It would be referred to the plenary for reconsideration when Congress resumes sessions on Nov. 7.

In defending the measure, Romualdez, wife of Philippine Constitution Association president and former Leyte representative Martin

Romualdez, said ‘‘the DIAA creation will substantially contribute to the quest of the Davao Region to emerge as the premier socioeconomic tourism center not only in the Philippines but also in the Asia-Pacific Region.”

Romualdez agreed with proponents of the measure that the DIAA creation would also spur further economic growth of the surrounding provinces in Mindanao.

The Francisco Bangoy International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country. It also serves as the gateway to the sub-regional trade block known as East Asean Growth Area which is the center of economic cooperation in Southeast Asia that aims to accelerate trade, tourism and investment among its participating member countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and lndonesia.

With the country’s existing open skies policy, Garcia-Albano said it is the best time to enhance the quality of services and competitiveness of FBIA by creating a body that will principally undertake the control, management and supervision of the FBIA, and such other airports that may be established in Davao City

and the provinces of Davao. ‘‘The DIAA as a centralized body clothed with corporate personality will focus on adopting policies to exploit the potential of the FBlA to be a first-class international airport and will also implement new technologies and efficient methodologies to improve its competitiveness so as to provide a safe and more efficient air transport service which is an essential element of any growing economy,’’ said Garcia-Albano.

Under the measure, the DIAA shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of all airport assets and equipment transferred to the DIAA by the Act, including but not limited to navigational aids, primary and secondary approach radars, instrument landing system, approach runway taxi clearance, and all the communication facilities necessary for the efficient operation of the FBIA. Department of Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon expressed support for the bill, stressing that the development of the country’s airports is crucial in the fulfillment of the government’s National Tourism Development Plan.

Noy’s ‘independent’ policy draws criticism

By Rio Araja

FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD. Millions across the Philippines visited cemeteries to pay their respects to their dead, in an annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country’s penchant for festivity. AFP

A YOUTH group on Tuesday hit out at former president Benigno Aquino III for his claim of independent foreign policy during his term.

Iza Gozum, Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan spokesperson, rejected Aquino’s supposed stance, saying Aquino’s statement “was contrary to the many instances of intrusions and infractions to the country’s sovereignty.”

Aquino could have been “one of the most subservient of all the past presidents, probably second only to [the late presidents] Ferdinand Marcos or Ramon Magsaysay,” she said.

The former president raised a different opinion to his successor,

President Rodrigo Duterte’s “separation” in foreign policy from the United States.

He said it would be better if the Philippines would maintain its strong ties with the US than with another country that had no “common background” and “common values” with the Philippines.

Despite the country’s strategic partnership with the US and Japan, he said, he also pursued an independent foreign policy.

“Is it possible that Aquino may have suffered from selective amnesia since stepping down from the Palace three months ago?

Need we remind him of instances he preferred to shun the pleadings and protestations of the people during his six year tenure?” Gozum asked.

Solane up prices

By Alena Mae S. Flores

COOKING gas prices went up Tuesday ranging from P3.33 to P3.80 per kilo following upward movement of liquefied petroleum gas in the world market.

Petron Corp. and Solane issued their own respective price adjustments for LPG. Petron increased LPG prices

by P3.80 per kilogram while Solane raised its prices by P3.33 per kilogram.

Petron, meanwhile, said it also increased the price of auto LPG by P2.15 per liter to “reflect movements in the international LPG contract prices for November.”

The oil firms also raised the price of diesel and gasoline by P0.10 per liter effective November 1 to reflect the movement of prices in the world market.

Eastern Petroleum said it will hike diesel and gasoline prices by P0.10 per liter, 6 a.m.

Tuesday.

Last October 25, the oil firms raised gasoline prices

by P0.20 per liter but cut kerosene and diesel prices by P0.15 per liter and P0.10 per liter, respectively.

Oil prices have been inching up slowly in the past weeks in anticipation of the the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decision to cut production.

Opec is expected to announce its final decision on November 30. Analysts, however, are worried that non-Opec countries like Russia may not curb production, thus giving little incentive to Opec countries to cut back on production.

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

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EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Parting ways

T

HE resignation of former President Fidel V. Ramos as special envoy to China comes as no surprise. The real surprise is that it did not happen sooner; or that an alliance between the two men existed in the first place.

In his speeches, President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged the role that Ramos played in his election to the presidency. That Mr. Ramos supported Duterte—and even convinced him to run—seems to indicate the former chief executive did not do his due diligence before he picked his

candidate. Perhaps Mr. Ramos was blinded by the prospect of picking a winner and wielding some influence in the next administration—but failed to see the ideological chasm that separated the two of them.

This is strange, given that Mr. Duterte has never made a secret of his leftist leanings, having been the student of Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Ma. Sison at the Lyceum of the Philippines, and having acknowledged his friendship with his former professor on several occasions before he became President.

This leftist streak has manifested itself recently in Mr. Duterte’s many anti-American tirades, and his vow to move the Philippines closer to China

and Russia, which we imagine the West Point-trained Ramos would find abhorrent.

Mr. Ramos has made his objections known in a column that he writes for a national newspaper—suggesting that his words are no longer heard in the halls of power. After all, why make his case publicly if his advice were still being taken in the Palace?

Mr. Ramos has taken this route several times now, the first time to say that Team Philippines was losing after 100 days of the Duterte administration, because the President had focused on his bloody anticrime campaign at the expense of creating jobs and other important national priorities.

Subsequently, he described

President Duterte as the skipper of a leaking and sinking ship of state—hardly the public pronouncements of a trusted adviser in the President’s inner circle.

On the other hand, we do wonder, too, at Mr. Duterte’s decision to appoint Ramos as his special envoy to China in July, given the former President’s close connections, not only to the United States, but also to Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland.

As special envoy to China, Mr. Ramos had visited China in August, but few details have emerged from that meeting. Sources suggest that Mr. Ramos advised the President

to hold off on his state visit if the Chinese did not agree to certain conditions. The President instead canceled Ramos’ next scheduled meeting with the Chinese and went on his four-day state visit. Certainly, the implications of the President’s actions were not lost on Mr. Ramos, who must have felt slighted by the way his advice had been disregarded.

Against this backdrop, Mr. Ramos’ statement this week that he was resigning because his job of restoring good relations with China was done, and the Palace blather about how the former president is a statesman and still a valuable adviser, are just so many words to obscure the fact that the parting of ways was far from amicable.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Losing a loved one

Trolled and angry LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IF FORMER President Fidel Ramos has already died, what business does he have resigning as special envoy to China?

Ramos, of course, is still very much alive despite reports of his supposed death that were spread all over social media recently. But the viral stories about Ramos’ death once again highlighted the problem of online rumor-mongering—and taking as good as you can give.

Recently, the Senate committee on education headed by Senator Bam Aquino decided that it would look into the proliferation of fake news and trolling on social media.

I don’t know what prompted Aquino to start his latest investigation, especially since he himself has

problems with legitimacy, having sold himself to the voting public as a knockoff Ninoy Aquino, right down to his trademark thickrimmed glasses.

Because it would look just a little loopy for the Senate to look into the proliferation of fake news sites and online trolling, Aquino’s committee said what it really wanted was “to determine how schools are educating and developing students regarding responsible social media use.” Aquino even filed a resolution (Number 173) to that effect.

I can’t tell what new laws Aquino wants to craft with his new investigation, unless he intends to somehow infringe upon the freedom of speech by setting rules on what people can and cannot say online. Indeed, some have hinted that Aquino is really speaking for those who want to reclaim social media as a platform for the elite and to kick out those who have been “abusing” it in order to push a political agenda that is not to the

elite’s liking.

In a post on Facebook, lawyer and press freedom advocate Trixie Cruz-Angeles explains Aquino’s possible motivation:

the freedom of speech and a restriction that seems to consider only partisans [of President Rodrigo Duterte],” she wrote. “The examples cited by Senator [Leila] De Lima, for instance, are the angry responses to Agot Isidro, Noynoy Aquino, Ramos, and, of course, herself. There is no menUnless private tion of the angry speech directed at the president or his [own] suppersons are porters.

“It also seems an admission harmed and that in the cacophony of public government is opinion, [Aquino and his sympathizers are] acting in a fit of pique being destabilized, —in Tagalog, pikon—having I don’t think social lost the social media battle where they are often outshouted. They media should be find little audience and even less regulated. support, facing a wall of angry people called Dutertards. And . so they claim the hurts we all feel and rise to allegedly defend against these hurts, when the “My problem with [Aquino’s fact is, they’re losing players in investigation] is that it seems to a game and they want to change be initiating a new restriction on the rules midstream.”

Following Cruz-Angeles’ reasoning, what Aquino really wants is to bring back the social media of old, where only the Yellows dominated the news and where the trolls were all in the employ of the government. With the democratization of internet and social media access, leading to the rise of Duterte partisans as the dominant social media group, Aquino and his old Yellow gang now want to somehow regain control of the situation.

But then, I wouldn’t worry too much about Aquino and his new investigation. After all, the last probe he initiated that I recall was one that was supposed to look into the problem of slow internet connections in this country.

That investigation began in a bang of hype, but ended in a whimper of nothingness. Internet service is still absurdly slow and there was really nothing that Aquino’s probe contributed to solving the problem.

Turn to A5

FOR the long Halloween vacation, I flew to San Francisco to visit my children, Ivy Lopez Cabaltica and Ranel, my only son, my son-in-law Benedict Cabaltica, and my three grandchildren Enzo, 15; Gio, 10; and Audrey, 6. I try to visit them once a year. It’s great therapy for me.

The Cabalticas live in Saratoga, an hour-and-a-half drive south of San Francisco, California, the same distance from Balintawak to Clark.

Saratoga is an upscale city that in recent years has been boosted by the Silicon Valley boom, making property prices atrocious. Two- to three-bedroom houses sell from $1 million to $4.5 million and upwards. There is a huge Chinese and Indian community—engineers, lawyers, designers, and software professionals who work for Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and their satellite companies.

They are attracted to Saratoga for its elegant homes with wellmanicured lawns, for the highend school district, and for its not-too-oppressive aspirational lifestyle.

Bene is a lawyer-CPA and a senior tax manager of one of the Big Four largest accounting companies in the world. My daughter Ivy is also a lawyer and has made a career of bringing up really good children.

The morning before All Saints’ Day, I woke up very sad. I remembered loved ones who have left this world. My parents, two brothers, and my daughter Myra (her death in 2008 at 37 was the saddest moment of my life).

My father died in 1973 and my mother in 1975. They died while I was still starting my career as a professional journalist. The death of my mother was a singularly painful blow.

Throughout my childhood and early adulthood, she had been my inspiration, in my studies and in my work. I studied hard so that I could earn honors at the end of each school year so she could pin a ribbon or a medal on me. I worked hard so that I could move up the ladder fast and earn enough to buy her amenities and even a house of her own. Alas, in the week I got a brand new four-door Gemini car (I won it in a raffle, would you believe), I got a call to fetch my mother home.

She was gravely ill. I drove her to the hospital. She was happy that I had a dream car so early in my career. That, however, was her first and last ride in my car. She died 10 days later.

Turn to A5

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Opinion Is Japan too scared to succeed?

By Michael Schuman OF ALL of the scary economic data that routinely streams out of Japan, this statistic should terrify you: $800 million. That’s the total value of venture capital deals completed in Japan in 2015, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young. Compare that to $72 billion in the US and $49 billion in China. Even tiny Israel managed $2.6 billion in deals.

It’s a staggeringly small figure, and one that explains a great deal about why the world’s third-largest economy continues to struggle, no matter how much cash the central bank pours into it. Too few Japanese are starting new companies.

The reasons for their reluctance are many and complex.

For one thing, Japanese seem to be more risk-averse than their peers in other countries. In a 2014 report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, less than one in three working-age adults in Japan considered starting a company a smart career choice—the second-lowest proportion in the study. That sentiment grows out of a conformist culture that puts a premium on stability and success. Fifty-five percent of potential Japanese entrepreneurs admitted in the same survey that they were afraid of failure, the second-highest rate among the countries studied.

Nor do Japanese youngsters get enough experience outside the Japanese system, which could stir their entrepreneurial instincts. According to the Institute of International Education, Japanese account for a measly 2 percent of all foreign students enrolled in US universities, behind not only China and South Korea, but Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. Worse, the ratio has been falling.

Outdated business practices pose additional hurdles.

Banks remain overly fixated on receiving collateral for loans—something most startups don’t have. Japan’s fussy bureaucrats make life particularly difficult for entrepreneurs. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business study, Japan ranks a dismal 89th in the ease of starting a company, behind such paragons of efficiency as Afghanistan and Burkina Faso.

The government and financial sector tend to protect established firms. Japan has a long and sad history of keeping inefficient “zombie” companies alive with continued financial support and other measures, diverting resources from potentially

more productive investments. Research firm Capital Economics figures that the level of government debt guarantees, relative to the size of the economy, is far higher in Japan than in other advanced economies.

What all this means is that Japan doesn’t undergo the “creative destruction” necessary to infuse fresh blood into the economy. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor reveals that a mere 3.8 percent of Japan’s working-age population is starting a new enterprise or running a company no more than three-and-a-half years old—the lowest ratio among the countries studied, except for Suriname. By comparison, the rate in the US is 13.8 percent. The vast majority of Japanese work in older firms.

Unfortunately, unlike wine, companies don’t necessarily get better with age. A 2014 study by the OECD figured that young firms contribute more to job creation than older ones. Examining all these factors in an August report, Capital Economics concluded that Japan’s “productivity growth is unlikely to be strong enough in coming years to close the gap with the world’s most productive economies.”

Japanese policymakers can start fixing this problem by streamlining regulation to make it easier to start companies and opening coddled sectors to more competition to spur entrepreneurs. In that regard, the (now troubled) Trans-Pacific Partnership could help.

An overhaul of Japan’s archaic schools would also be a good idea. William Saito, an entrepreneur who encourages young Japanese to follow in his footsteps, has made the case that an exam-obsessed, competition-inducing education system renders Japanese less able to cooperate collegially in teams, a critical factor in any thriving start-up culture. Saito also argues that the Japanese business community requires greater diversity —not just more women, but greater openness to a wider range of ideas—in order to drive innovation.

Japan’s entrepreneur gap gets at a much larger problem.

The BOJ can try its utmost to stimulate growth and inflation, but unless inventive, aggressive companies are around to pick up that cheap cash and do something productive with it, policymakers will never be able to jump-start the economy. The lesson is simple. Before embarking on wild experiments in economic management, get the basics of business right first.

Bloomberg

Trolled...

From A4

*** Personally, I think that the government should stay out of social media, except when it intends to enforce rules that apply to the real world, not just the virtual. For instance, people should still be punished for libeling or slandering other people or for attempting to destabilize the country, incite rebellion or flout the law.

If those who spread misinformation are hurting other people or their reputations online, they must be made answerable for the offense. And as far as I know, they can be made to do so under existing cyber-crime laws.

But trolling and spreading misinformation online should not really bother politicians like Aquino, who knew of and even participated in the efforts of the previous administration to use social media to sway public opinion. And they used government funds, too, to ensure that massive cyber-ops like those

conducted by Ricky Carandang succeeded.

In the end, unless private persons and reputations are harmed and government is being destabilized, I don’t think Aquino should try to somehow regulate social media. Politicians like himself and his Yellow confederates, of course, should not take offense at the barbs they receive, being fair game as public officials.

As far as the denizens of social media are concerned, I think they can be trusted to discern fake news from the legit.

And if they can’t, it’s not the government’s job to find out for them, because it cannot infringe on the constitutional guarantee of free speech.

Having said that, I believe Ramos will outlive many politicians who are much younger than him. Perhaps he will outlast even those who cannot stand being on the receiving end of trolling and disinformation, for a change.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The FVR factor BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO ON A long four-day weekend when the news dwelled mostly about Filipinos visiting the cemeteries to remember their dear departed, former President Fidel Valdez Ramos seized the moment to announce his resignation as the government’s special envoy to China. It was nothing earth-shaking, but still FVR’s resignation made the headlines.

The Palace has not yet received the official letter from Ramos but said it would continue to consult the former president.

Normally, the Ramos resignation would have been dismissed as just a blip in the Duterte radar screen. That Digong did not speak with his usual acerbic remarks shows he is deferential to the former president and that FVR is still a factor in Philippine politics. Ramos is not yet the spent force that some political observers perceive him to be.

A graduate of the US military school West Point, the 84-yearold Ramos could yet turn out to be the rallying figure in the

event of an upheaval by the local military establishment. Do not take him lightly and his ominous comment that “old soldiers never fade away.”

We are not implying Ramos is hatching up a sinister plot to unseat Duterte. Still, the Philippine political situation is always a volatile one. It could suddenly erupt into a regime change as we have witnessed in People Power One and Two which toppled strongman Ferdinand Marcos and popularly elected President Joseph Estrada and replaced them with Cory Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, respectively. The Edsa uprisings happenedwith the complicity of the military establishment. By simply withdrawing its support to then-presidents Marcos and Estrada, the two were deposed by the people and the backing of big business.

Ramos recently faulted Duterte for saying he would not ratify the Paris accord on climate change and for continuing to slam the United States, the United Nations and the European Union—known allies that grant the Philippines huge investments and foreign aid. Two weeks earlier, Ramos compared the Philippines to a “sinking ship skippered by Digong who’s unmindful of the danger signs

ahead.” According to him, Duterte was not steering the ship to safer waters.

“I have accomplished my mission of breaking the ice between China and the Philippines,” said Ramos, referring to his back-channel effort to repair the strained relations between the two countries. It may have been the right decision since President Duterte has already appointed Chito Sta. Romana as the Philippine ambassador to China. Beijing as receiving state has not given its “agrement.”

Pronounced as agremon, this is the diplomatic term for approval of an ambassador by the host or receiving state.

Without mentioning FVR’s role in President Duterte’s fourday state visit to China, the Philippines reaped billions of pesos in loans, grants and investments.

But more than these pledges and memoranda of agreement, the most significant—although not in the official communiqué —is the easing up of the Chinese control of Panatag known internationally as Scarborough Shoal. The shoal was seized

by China in April 2012 after a standoff that saw Chinese gunboats staying and later driving away Filipino fishermen from plying their trade near the shoal.

There is no official announcement from Beijing about allowing the Filipino fishermen to sail back to the Scarborough Shoal waters which is about 230 miles off the Zambales coast line. The Chinese patrol boats are still in the area but this time they did not harass Filipino fishermen to go away with loud speakers and drive them away with water cannons.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s nine-dash line has no legal basis and upheld Manila’s challenge to Beijing’s sweeping claim to nearly the entire South China Sea and encroachment on the West Philippine Sea. Bejing made clear it is not accepting The Hague court’s decision and that it would deal with the issue on a bilateral basis with other SCS claimants. Its easing of control over the area may be seen as a result of bilateral talks and quiet diplomacy between Beijing and Manila during Duterte’s visit.

“This is a win-win situation for both sides,” said National Security Adfviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. who is a known Ramos man in the Duterte administration. Will Esperon stay in the Duterte Cabinet even after his political patron Ramos has resigned?

Bias?

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO WE WERE in Tokyo for the presidential visit, and had just listened to the President’s speech before the Keidanren (Japanese business federation) which was warmly applauded because he defined in very succinct terms what he meant by an independent foreign policy and insisted that all nations must respect the dignity of the Filipino people, when we were informed about an article in another paper, the PDI, written by Nikko Dizon.

The article stated that a “Chinese construction firm banned by the World Bank…were among the companies that bagged big-ticket infrastructure projects in the Philippines during the recent state visit of President Duterte to China.”

Specifically, the article mentioned the contract of China Road and Bridge Corp. with the Bases Conversion Development Authority for the bus rapid transit system from Bonifacio Global City to the Naia, a plan to decongest the extremely traffic-saddled road artery (Lawton Avenue, named after an American general) that connects the business center, and even Makati (via McKinley Road, an American governor general) to the airport.

The writer very clearly failed to get the side of government (the BCDA is a GOCC) before making such a damning accusation. What was signed in Beijing was a memorandum of understanding which is an agreement to study or plan a project proposal before a more comprehensive contract is agreed upon.

It is similar to a letter of intent or a letter of interest; it is not a contract to allow the CRBC to construct.

In the first place, the bus rapid

transit system which will surely alleviate the plight of both domestic and foreign commuters rushing to the airport for their flights, has yet to find an actual location. The DPWH under Secretary Mark Villar has yet to clear the path for the new road. What all these need is a feasibility study, not yet a contract to build.

The article made a big thing about the World Bank having banned the Chinese firm from its infrastructure projects. Big deal!

The project will not be funded by the World Bank. The study would be at the expense of CRBC, not BCDA, not the Republic of the Philippines, not Ms. Dizon’s tax contributions.

I liked BCDA president and CEO Vince Dizon’s retort that while “he admired the diligence of the PDI”, he suggested that “the same diligence should have been exercised in simply reading the text of the MOU.” Touche!

Apparently, the PDI writer sourced her opus from a Facebook post by ex-DoF secretary Cesar Purisima’s chief of staff, Louie Abad, son of ex-DBM Secretary Butch Abad and incumbent Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad, and brother as well of ex-PMS head Julia Abad, all of whom lorded it over the economic management team of the previous administration. Louie Abad’s post asked with malice intended, “And the wheeling and dealing begins?”

Come on guys. You had six years to do everything possible to alleviate the traffic nightmare every Tom, Dick and Harry had been suffering day-in and day-out, but you blew it. Your transportation czar, first Mar Roxas (after the good Ping de Jesus resigned unexpectedly, probably fed up with the procrastination of Malacañang decision-making) tweedled his fingers and analyzed till paralysis set into his kingdom which never came. Then there was Jun Abaya who was clueless from Day One till Day Out about solutions to the gridlock that has beset

the metropolis, not that all this was unexpected from the very beginning.

Now, well into the first 100 days of a new government that has to grapple with a drug-induced wave of criminality that has transformed our islands into a narco-state, you chide it for “failure” to address the traffic crisis you allowed to fester with nary a solution, and where you did implement solutions, the same turned out for the worse, as in the case of the maintenance of the MRT along Edsa which you guys gave to a totally incompetent contractor from the yellow hills of Pangasinan.

President Duterte and his officials now have to play a desperate catch-up game, as our woeful infrastructure has become an albatross on further economic growth, aside from driving every Filipino and every visitor from foreign countries absolutely exasperated.

I flew in from Taipei to Manila, and thence to Caticlan to attend the wedding of my good friends RenRen and Mabi Cayetano on the 30th. Mercifully, my SkyJet plane arrived on the morning of the 30th with just about a 30-minute delay.

But some of the guests who flew in the previous night were shunted off to Kalibo, and arrived in Boracay past dinnertime, when they were supposed to have checked into their hotel before sunset.

The lovely beachfront wedding made us all forget the nightmare many suffered in getting to “paradise” (that’s how the locals welcome you). The reception had even the Executive Secretary, Bingbong Medialdea, crooning two songs for the newlyweds as everyone had a jolly good time.

I sashayed into the jampacked Caticlan terminal at about two in the afternoon for a 3:10 flight, also aboard the amazingly fast though unheard of Skyjet.

There I found out that several friends had been waiting for their PAL flights since nine in the morn-

ing, and still no PAL or Cebu Pacific plane. Two were already in the tarmac, awaiting instructions from the control tower to fly to Manila, and as usual the “traffic congestion” in the gateway was the problem.

While commiserating with them, I asked why the Clark facility seemed unable, even in such foreseeable peak load periods such as this long week-end, to absorb part of the traffic.

The answer from an expert who was cooling his heels from nine that morning, hot in his head: “Because the airport terminal there can only absorb a million passengers each year.”

“But wasn’t a new terminal at Clark already planned since Arroyo’s presidency?” I mumbled.

Yes of course, the CAAP functionary replied. “But the previous government sat on it, for six long years.”

And now Art Tugade has to take the flak?

Or was it simply because Gloria Macapagal Arroyo named Clark the Diosdado P. Macapagal International Airport?

In any case, my Skyjet flight left, mercifully at 3:45 that afternoon, and after making several pass-by rounds atop Metro Manila, finally landed at 4:55 p.m. for what was supposed to be a 40-minute flight.

My PAL-riding friends who waited at the terminal from 9 a.m.?

They sent me a text message when they finally, mercifully arrived in Domestic Terminal 4. It was 6:10 p.m. More than eight hours in the Caticlan terminal, and an hour and so on the wings. Postscript? They left ahead of their Cebu Pacific-riding counterparts–in- misery.

Now that the Duterte administration is pushing all possible buttons to quickly address the legacy transport crisis, you get a carping and destructive social media troll operation plus hostile and ill-researched media looking for loopholes just to deride.

C’est la vie!

Losing...

From A4 Death, though, is not always a physical loss or separation. It can mean the loss of a loved one still alive. In such a loss, there is no closure.

In Saratoga, from my secondfloor window, I noticed the leaves turn from green to purple to orange and then to gold and falling, as winter competes with fall to assert their true colors. Green, of course, symbolizes being fresh and alive. Purple is often associated with magic, mystery, even piety. Orange is warmth, energy, danger. Gold, of course, needs no explanation.

Complex thoughts raced in my mind.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by sadness.

So I turned on my laptop and managed to compose two poems in 22 minutes. After a day, I went back to my drafts and made slight changes to make the poems sound more generic. Here are the poems (with apologies to my usually cynical and jaded readers):

I miss you I wake up and stare at the window I see purple and gold leaves falling Beckoning the drift of winter looming My heart flutters with pain and sorrow Fearing the faint hush of a cold tomorrow.

Life without you is dark and dreary And everyday is a task for the weary For the mind with the face of worry And the heart that is sad and sorry Precious time is running out on me.

Still I sit here waiting, expectant In the land of dreams and

billions Hoping somehow to see the visage Of the love to me none is more important The love who is worth more than zillions I miss the warmth of your hands I did press I miss the smile on your face I did caress I miss the haunting looks oblivious to stress I miss the lips I kiss as I touched your tresses I miss you my only love, my faith, my fortress.

I love you

More than a priest can ask me to say I do More than my heart can beat and sing a song for you More than what my mind commands me to do for you More than what perdition brings for me to rue.

My love for you is real, genuine, thru and thru.

Love me too for I have been good and true to you.

For I am forlorn and think of nothing else but you.

I love you more you think than you know I do

My heart is sad, I hear no rhapsody, and I am feeling blue.

More than words can express and say to you

So please, please take me with you.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

News

Standard

A6

TODAY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MMDA to sue owners of cars parked illegally

By Joel E. Zurbano OWNERS of illegally parked vehicles towed in Metro Manila can be sued and placed under the government’s alarm list of traffic violators.

Metro Manila Development Authority acting chairman Thomas Orbos said violators will not be able to renew their license or registration.

“We have an average of 80 to 100 vehicles a day that we tow. The problem in towing is it takes time, it takes resources, it takes a space which becomes also a point of obstruction of traffic. So, we are trying to look on how really try to hasten our campaign,” Orbos said.

“We have to tell our motorists that if we have to file a case, we have other remedies there—we can put them in the watchlist. Would you like that?” he added.

Any driver who shall illegally park his motor vehicle on any public road, street or thoroughfare in Metro Manila shall pay a fine of P500.

“Our impounding area is in Ultra [University of Life in Pasig City]. If your vehicle towed in Roxas Boulevard, it will be brought there and you will pay the per kilometer charge. The thing is that takes time so we’re trying to find ways and means to deter these owners,” he said.

“We are also considering bringing these towed to Tarlac but again the problem there is it takes time and it is a harsh move,” Orbos added.

Three months ago, the MMDA brought to Tarlac 150 apprehended vehicles and more than 260 motorcycles for illegal parking, out of line and other traffic violations to decongest the government’s impounding site in Metro Manila.

In the LTO impounding site in Tarlac, all expenses, including the tollgate fee, will be shouldered by the car owners.

Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY (CvSU) Don Severino De Alas Campus Cavite, Philippines (046-4150010-012) www.cvsu.edu.ph INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID (INFRASTRUCTURE/CIVIL WORKS) The CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY, through its Bids and Award Committee (BAC), invites all interested bidders/contractors with size range of medium A to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder project: Name of Project : CONSTRUCTION OF MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING Location : CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY, INDANG, CAVITE Brief Description : CONSTRUCTION OF MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING Contract Duration : 340 CALENDAR DAYS Approved Budget For the Contract : P 36,605,947.71 Prospective bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the projects. The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of Bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Postqualification of the lowest calculated bid shall be conducted.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows: Activities 1. Issuance of Bid Documents 2. Pre-bid Conference 3. Opening of Bids

Schedule October 28, 2016 to November 22, 2016; 8:00AM–5:00PM November 8, 2016; 1:00 PM; S.L. Lasap Hall, Administration Building, Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite November 22, 2016; 1:00 PM; S.L. Lasap Hall, Administration Building, Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite

Bid Documents will be available only to prospective bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos Only (P 25,000.00) to the CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY Cashier.

Pre-bid conference shall be open only to all interested bidders who have purchased the Bidding Documents. Bids must be delivered to the Office of the BAC Chairman, Administration Bldg., CvSU, Indang, Cavite on or before the abovementioned date and time. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and amount. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ authorized representatives who choose to attend the bidding. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY (CvSU) assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid. CvSU also reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to annul the bidding process, to reject all bids at any time prior to Contract Award without incurring any liability to the affected bidders, waive any required formality therein, and to award the Contract to the bidder whose bid proposal as evaluated is most advantageous to the University.

Approved By: (SGD) CAMILO A. POLINGA BAC CHairman (MS-NOV. 2, 2016)

BUSTED. Quezon City policemen arrested six individuals, including three Korean nationals, at Rockwell East Tower in Makati City for possession of shabu, deadly weapons and other drug paraphernalias. Manny Palmero

Pangilinan: Pass coco trust fund bill

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

S

ENATOR Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday pressed the House of Representatives to hasten the hearings on the Coconut Trust Fund Bill, saying its passage would unlock the P75-billion coco levy funds for the benefit of the 3.5 million Filipino coconut farmers.

Pangilinan said the Senate has already concluded its hearings on Sept. 1, and is in the process of preparing its committee report.

“We have a clear message from the administration to correct this particular Martial Law injustice. Let’s do it as

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY

NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

The National Housing Authority (NHA), through the Corporate Budget for the Contract approved by the NHA Board for the year 2016, intends to invite collection service providers to submit proposals for the following: Ref. No.

201610-192 201610-193 201610-194 201610-195

Name of Project/ No. of Accounts Location Outsourcing of Collection Service of NHA’s Various Projects located in at the following Sites: NORTHERN LUZON (Resettlement Program 10,932 in Bulacan) (Re-bid) NORTHERN LUZON (Resettlement under CIAP in Bulacan) (Re-bid) NORTHERN LUZON (Northrail Projects in Bulacan) (Re-bid) NORTHERN LUZON (Northrail Projects in Pampanga) (Re-bid)

Duration

3 years

17,563

3 years

20,959

3 years

13,108

3 years

Work Description Account Administration and Management, Collection Proper, Credit Repair and Counseling, Financial and Literacy Program

The NHA now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for the above cited projects. Checklist of requirements for eligibility is available for examination upon submission of a letter of intent addressed to the BAC2 Chairperson and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P1,000.00 at the BAC2 Secretariat Office, 2nd Floor NHA Main Building, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. The BAC2 Secretariat may be contacted at Telephone No. 928-82-72.

Interested Service Providers must submit their eligibility documents on or before November 15, 2016, 10:00 a.m. at the HTREX Building Conference Room, Mezzanine, NHA Main Complex, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion. All other schedules of bidding shall be announced through a Bid Bulletin.

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted eligibility documents/Expression of Interest and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). The short list shall consist of seven (7) prospective bidders who will be entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are: Organizational Capability Experience Manpower Capability Financial Performance of the Firm/Bidder

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA 9184 and is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

The NHA shall evaluate bids using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/Selection (QCBE/ QCBS) procedure. The weights to be allocated for the Technical and Financial Proposals and the criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be based on the following: Quality of Personnel, Plan of Approach and Methodology, and Experience & Capability of the Service Provider.

The NHA reserves the right to reject any and all bids, annul the bidding process, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

(SGD) AR. SUSANA V. NONATO Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee 2 NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City

The National Housing Authority (NHA), through the NHA-Board approved Corporate Budget for the year 2016, intends to apply the sum equivalent to the Approved Budge for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract.

Duration (Calendar days) 2 0 1 6 - Structural, Topographic 3,994,110.73/ 139 10-196 and Subdivision C o r p o r a t e Survey of 5.8 Hectares Receipts Property in Philippine Centennial Village (PCV) Area, Brgy. Western Bicutan, Taguig City.

Ref. No.

Projects

ABC/ Source of Funds (P)

Work Description Relocation/ B o u n d a r y, Structural S u r v e y , To p o g r a p h i c S u r v e y Works and ConsolidationSubdivision Survey Works.

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposals.

There is no Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC) for the Project of Ref. No. 201610-192 to 195. The Collection Retainership is under the NO COLLECTION-NO FEE basis. Compensation payment shall be based on the percentage of Actual Collection provided per Approved Terms of Reference (TOR) paragraph VIII item 8.2 and Account Administration and Management fee of Five Pesos (P5.00) per endorsed account on billing notices delivered provided that the amount collected per project is higher than the total service fee due to Service Provider (TOR paragraph VIII items 8.1 & 6.2.12).

a) b) c)

soon as possible for the sake of our impoverished coconut farmers,” he said.

“We should not keep our farmers waiting much longer.

This is something that is more than 40 years late,” Pangilinan added.

Earlier, the Duterte admin-

( M S - N O V. 2 , 2 016)

The NHA now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for the above-cited projects. Checklist of requirements for eligibility is available for examination upon submission of a letter of intent addressed to the BAC2 Chairperson and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P1, 000.00 at the BAC2 Secretariat Office, 2nd Floor NHA Main Building, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Interested Consultants must submit their eligibility documents on or before November 15, 2016, 10 a.m. at the HTREX Building Conference Room, Mezzanine, NHA Main Complex, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Documents shall follow immediately after the deadline of submission of eligibility documents. Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion. The BAC2 Secretariat may be contacted at Telephone No. 928-82-72.

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted eligibility documents/Expression of Interest and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). The short list shall consist of maximum of seven (7) prospective bidders who will be entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are: a)

Applicable experience of the consultant and associates, considering both the overall experiences of the firm and the individual experiences of the principal and key staff including the times when employed by other consultants;

b)

Qualification of personnel who may be assigned to the job vis-à-vis extent and complexity of the undertaking; and

c)

Current workload relative to job capacity.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA 9184 and is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

The NHA shall evaluate bids using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/Selection (QCBE/ QCBS) procedure. The weights to be allocated for the Technical and Financial Proposals and the criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be indicated and provided in the Bid Data Sheet.

The NHA reserves the right to reject any and all bids, annul the bidding process, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

(SGD) AR. SUSANA V. NONATO Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee 2 NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City ( M S - N O V. 2 , 2 016)

istration recognized that the monies cannot be distributed to the farmers as it had promised during the election campaign because those who contributed to the levy more than 40 years ago cannot be determined anymore.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol also pointed out that a temporary restraining order of the Supreme Court is preventing the government from using and distributing the funds.

The Supreme Court has issued a TRO on two executive orders of then-President Benigno Aquino III seeking to

transfer a portion of the funds to the government’s general fund.

The P75-billion fund is already with the national treasury and cannot be spent without congressional approval or a new law.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the coco levy fund is public fund, and awarded it to the government solely for the development of the coconut industry.

Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the needed legislation requires the prompt action of both houses of Congress.

Sotto wants officials off preventive halt SENATE Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III has filed a bill to exempt public officials from the imposition of a preventive suspension if the offense charged against them was committed before their incumbency.

Under Senate Bill 1207, Sotto wants to amend section 13 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by providing an exception to the imposition of preventive suspension against public officers.

Sotto’s measure proposes no preventive suspension order should be implemented against any incumbent public officer who is “no longer connected with the office wherein the offense charged was committed.”

“As preventive suspension is imposed to prevent an accused from influencing potential witnesses or tampering with records,

the change in the circumstances of the public officer being charged effectively removes the aforesaid threat, thus defeating the very spirit and intent of the law,” Sotto said in the bill’s explanatory note.

“To correct such ambiguity, this measure is introduced,” he said.

Sotto pointed out that RA 3019 was enacted in 1960 “with the laudable intent of breathing life into the time-honored principle that a public office is a public trust.”

He said the law penalized certain acts committed by public officers and private individuals to curb corrupt practices and graft in corruption.

“Almost six decades had passed since its passage, thus the prevailing conditions then might be different from now. Therefore, amendment thereto is now being sought,” the senator said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

NBI ordered to probe Davao prosecutor’s slay JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has directed the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the killing of Mati City, Davao Oriental City Prosecutor Rolando Acido last week.

In a statement, Aguirre condemned the murder of the senior prosecutor who continued to serve in his department despite suffering stroke earlier.

Aguirre denounced the incident as “an act of senseless violence that we will not tolerate.”

“I have already ordered the NBI

to investigate this condemnable act. The Department of Justice extends our [sic] condolences to his family and relatives. We will not stop until justice is served,” Aguirre said.

Acido was fatally shot by motorcycle-riding two men while on his way to the Mati Hall of Justice last Oct. 26.

The prosecutor had suffered stroke earlier and was already half paralyzed when he continued to serve as chief prosecutor of Mati City. Rey Requejo

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Pocari, UST dispute SVL top spot P

OCARI Sweat and University of Santo Tomas collide today (Wednesday) in what promises to be a slam-bang duel for the top seeding even as BaliPure guns for No. 2 against winless Coast Guard at the close of the elimination phase of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Reinforced Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Drawing strength from American reinforcement Bre Mackie, the Lady Warriors strung up five straight wins, including a 25-16, 12-25, 25-21, 25-19 triumph over

the BaliPure Water Defenders last Saturday to crowd the Tigresses on top at 5-1.

And the Open Conference champions, backstopped by Kay

Kacsits, Michelle Gumabao, Myla Pablo and Fil-Am setter Iris Tonelada, look poised to cap their amazing surge with another victory over the Tigresses in their 6 p.m. encounter.

“She’s been carrying the load for us and we hope she keeps it up,” said Pocari coach Rommel Abella of the power-hitting Mackie, who has churned out a 21-hit norm in their last two games to emerge the best spiker and blocker and third leading scorer behind Customs’ Alyssa Valdez and BaliPure import

Games today

(Philsports, Pasig City) 12:30 p.m. – Champion vs Air Force (Spikers) 4 p.m. – BaliPure vs Coast Guard (V-League) 6 p.m. – UST vs Pocari Sweat (V-League)

Kathy Morrell in the seasonending conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

Despite their slight advantage in manpower, the Lady Warriors remain wary of the all-Pinay Tigresses, who have bucked the odds in the import-laced tournament backed by Mikasa as official ball and Accel as official outfitter.

UST, boasting of a loaded roster led by the crisp-hitting EJ Laure, Ria Meneses, Chloei Cortes, Cherry Rondina and Pam Lastimosa, is coming off a title romp in the recent University Games in Dumaguete and should provide the kind of challenge the Lady Warriors will have to thwart in their bid for No. 1 BaliPure, meanwhile, is heavily favored over Coast Guard in their 4 p.m. showdown with the Purest Water Defenders also priming up for the grueling semis series, a pair of best-ofthree playoffs, where the No. 1

will face off against No. 3 and the Nos. 2 and 3 disputing the other finals berth.

The Pocari-UST match will be aired live over ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel 17 or 23 and via streaming on www. sports.abs-cbn.com and www.vleague,ph, according to the organizing Sports Vision. The BaliPure-Coast duel will be shown on a delayed basis.

Victories by Pocari and BaliPure in three or four sets will net them the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, in the Final Four.

Pacquiao inspires ONE MMA fighter ONE Championship bantamweight standout Mark “Mugen” Striegl (14-2), who is set to face Brazil’s Rafael Nunes (10-1) at ONE: Age of Domination at the Mall of Asia Arena on December 2, says Manny Pacquiao is one of the biggest influences in his career as a fighter.

“One of the greatest fighters of all time, Pacquiao, is a legend here and pretty much all over the world. He has put the Philippines on the map as far as fight sports are concerned. He’s a true global icon and one of my inspirations,” said Striegl who attended a Senate hearing to see Pacquiao in person.

Pacquiao is training for his highly-anticipated return to boxing against WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas this November 5. He is also a full-time politician who owns a seat at the Philippine Senate.

“I went to one of the senate hearings and met him afterwards,” said Striegl. “Super nice guy, super down to earth guy. Just a humble, nice guy and I think that’s why he has so many fans. He’s the people’s champ. Everyone can relate to him.”

Pacquiao’s unique style, Striegl says, is something he tries to emulate in the MMA cage. And just like Pacquiao, Striegl aims to bring a world title back to the Philippines.

Streigl, 28, joined ONE Championship in 2015. The Filipino-American splits his training between Evolve MMA in Singapore and the high-altitude of Baguio City.

“Baguio is one of the best places to train

in the Philippines because of its high altitude. It’s 5,000 feet above sea level. It’s great for strength and conditioning,” said Striegl. “Manny Pacquiao also trained in Baguio in the past for some of his biggest fights. It’s been fantastic for my training.”

Striegl made his ONE Championship debut in April of 2015, defeating American Casey Suire by first round submission. In his second bout months later however, he fell to FilipinoAustralian prospect Reece McLaren.

Since his last bout, Striegl has been hard at work preparing for his return, training with none other than ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

“Here in Manila I’ve been fortunate enough to train with Brandon Vera and AJ Matthews. Mark Muñoz also came through one time so I got to pick his brain a bit,” said Striegl. “There are so many good gyms in Manila. MMA is getting really big in this country. I’ve just been jumping around and training with Brandon and it’s been great.”

A well-rounded mixed martial artist with strengths in both striking and grappling, Striegl is one of the country’s top combat sports athletes. He began his career competing for various MMA promotions across Asia before landing a roster spot in ONE Championship last year.

As someone who has seen the rise of MMA as a sport in Asia, Striegl can’t help but feel in awe of the tremendous growth

Mark Striegl looks up at the scoreboard after beating rival Casey Suire at ONE: Valor of Champions at the Mall of Asia Arena. ONE Championship

of combat sports in the region and credits a majority of it to Pacquiao.

“MMA is getting really big in this country, thanks to ONE Championship.

There’s a deeply embedded combat culture in this country with boxing. There are a lot of gyms all around and so many

good places to train and so many good people to work with,” said Streigl.

Against Brazil’s Nunes this December, Striegl has the opportunity to get back on the right track in his pursuit of ONE Championship gold. It won’t be easy, but Striegl says by channeling his inner- “Pac-Man”,

he hopes to be able to make his people proud by becoming a world champion.

“One thing I love about Manny’s style is that he’s an action-packed fighter. He just keeps going and going and moving forward. That’s something I try to do in my fights,” said Striegl.

Almandin trips Heartbreak UP’s Manuel City to win Melbourne Cup named Player

Horses thunder down the straight during the running of the 156th Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on November 1, 2016. AFP

MELBOURNE, Australia—Almandin beat Heartbreak City by a nose in a thrilling finish to the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, giving Australian owner Lloyd Williams a record fifth win in the ‘race that stops a nation’.

The former German galloper caught and edged Ireland’s Heartbreak City at Flemington to give jockey Kerrin McEvoy his second Melbourne Cup, 16 years after his first race favorite Hartnell, one of five Godolphin runners, was third across the line, 4-1/4 lengths back in the US$4.7 million race over 3,200 meters.

It was a second Cup triumph for local trainer Robert Hickmott, who rehabilitated Almandin over 18 months off the track fol-

lowing a tendon injury after acquiring it in Germany.

McEvoy, who won his first Melbourne Cup with Brew in 2000, got Almandin home from the Tony Martin-trained Irish stayer Heartbreak City and ridden by Hong Kongbased Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira.

“Gee, he traveled well. How lucky am I, mate?” McEvoy said immediately after the win.

“The elation is unreal. Just a dream race.

Great to be part of it again. Second cup.”

The win made Williams the most successful owner in Melbourne Cup history following his previous successes with Just a Dash (1981), What a Nuisance (1985), Efficient (2007) and Green Moon (2012). AFP

Malacañang Kamao demolishes AFP Cavaliers in UNTV Cup

By Peter Atencio REINFORCEMENT Eric dela Cuesta finished with 26 points as the Malacañang Kamao demolished the defending champion AFP Cavaliers, 73-61, last Sunday at the Pasig City Sports Center.

With their fourth straight win in Group A, the Kamaos showed that they are a contender in the 5th UNTV Cup.

They joined the Bureau of Customs Transformers as the only unbeaten teams this season.

“The formula is good chemistry among the players. That is the number one reason for our success,” said Malacañang head coach Louie Gonzales.

Kamao was able to maximize their bench production despite the absence of one of their reinforcements, Christian

Luanzon, who suffered an injury in their last game against BFP. This was the second straight loss of the Cavaliers, who slid to 2-2.

AFP tried to comeback in the fourth period, converting four triples, but they were outrebounded and outhustled by the executive team which registered nine of 12 free throws in the last 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, BFP Firefighters bounced

back after a loss from Kamao last week as they eliminated the Senate Defenders 90-78.

The Firefighters improved to 3-1 slate and stands at second place, just a game behind Malacañang.

Samboy Lim’s younger brother Anthony Emmanuel was cited as co-best player of the game with 22 markers, eight of 12 fieldgoals, four of eight triples, three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Nyquist retires; California Chrome looks hot in BC Classic THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE AFTER sustaining an injury in an Oct. 27 workout preparatory to the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup (BC) Classic (Gr. 1), 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist has been retired to stud.

According to reports on Bloodhorse.com, the 3YO son of Uncle Mo - Gabrielle by Forestry suffered a “puffy ankle” while chasing down front-running stable mate Ralis (competing in the BC Turf) to clock a seven-furlong (1,400 meters) work time of 1:27 2/5.

The injury led owner Reddam Racing to decide in favor of retiring Nyquist to stud at Darley in Lexington starting 2017.

A press statement released by trainer Doug O’Neill clarifies that while Nyquist is “100 percent sound and his x-rays are clean,” the timing of the injury so close to race day was an unfortunate occurrence that “precludes us from the dream of having him run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in our own backyard.”

The announcement of the retirement, posted on Oct. 31, was immediately followed by the addition of Nyquist to Bloodhorse’s Stallion Registry. His stallion fee is set at $40,000. At Darley, Nyquist joins eminent sires Animal Kingdom (winner of the KY Derby and Dubai World Cup, stud fee $30,000), Medaglia d’Oro (sire of the great Rachel Alexandra and the undefeated 2YO Songbird, stud fee $150,000), and Street Sense (winner of the BC Juvenile and KY Derby, stud fee $45,000).

Reddam had already been planning to retire Nyquist at the end of his career, whenever that would be, so this just comes earlier than anticipated. Although Nyquist’s fans are disappointed that he will not be competing in the Classic, his retirement probably comes at as good a time as any considering that he had a miserable campaign this year, failing to win any races after his victory in the KY Derby.

Moreover, running him with an injury, however slight, would have compromised his soundness and opened him to severe harm, as well as cheated his supporters out of the best chances of winning.

Nyquist gave his all in every race and his rest is well-deserved.

Happy retirement, Nyquist! We look forward to your babies in the next few years! *** With Nyquist out of the $6 mil-

lion BC Classic, 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome’s chances look better than ever.

So far undefeated this year, counting among his victories the Dubai World Cup (UAE-1) and the TVG Pacific Classic (Gr. 1), California Chrome is doing better this year than last. Among the rivals he’ll be facing on Saturday at Santa Anita Park are Arrogate and Frosted.

Arrogate set a record at Saratoga Race Course in the Travers Stakes (Gr. 1), clocking 1:59.36 over 1-1/4 miles (2,000 meters) and winning by 13-1/2 lengths.

Godolphin Racing’s Frosted bagged the Whitney Stakes (Gr. 1) by two lengths and the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap (Gr. 1) by an impressive 14-1/4 lengths.

In the Las Vegas BC Dirt Mile (Nov. 4), Runhappy and Dortmund are expected to slug it out

between them, while best friends Tepin and Miss Temple City will face off in the BC Mile (Nov. 5).

Tepin (Bernstein–Life Happened), is one of the best race mares running today. Her lineage is stellar, having as her grandsire Storm Cat and her damsire Stravinsky. She made up for a lackluster 3YO year with a shining 4YO season last year, winning the BC Mile over male rivals and copping the American Champion Female Turf Horse title.

All in all, expect these races and the rest in the BC event to be hotly contested by the best Thoroughbreds in the world. *** Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. Follow her on Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.

of the Week

FOR the first time in a long while, the University of the Philippines is still in contention this late in the season.

With a 4-8 win-loss record, the Maroons are very much still fighting for a playoff berth in the UAAP 79 men’s basketball Tournament with the 5-5 and fourth-running Adamson University well within reach.

Expected to take a step forward under new coach Bo Perasol, State U still surprised many in seizing a share of fifthplace after a dozen games in the tournament. These include team captain Jett Manuel who said, “This is the first time in my (UAAP) career that, at this point in the season, I’m still vying for the Final Four.”

The graduating guard is only making the most of this opportunity. Following a 19-point, five-rebound, two-assist, and two-steal performance in their big-time win against National University last Wednesday, he spiked his already careerbest averages to 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.

He showed up especially when UP needed him the most, making good on all six of his free throws in the last five minutes to repulse the rallying Bulldogs and preserve the 71-66 win.

Leading the Maroons into notching four wins in a season for the first time in a decade, Manuel was recognized as the ACCEL Quantum/3XVIUAAP Press Corps Player of the Week for October 24 to 30.

He bested De La Salle University’s Ben Mbala and teammate Javi Gomez de Liano for the weekly citation. Since the revival of the weekly citation in 2005, this is the first time the Player of the Week hailed from UP.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

Sports

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

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

PBA squads tweak rosters

By Jeric Lopez TEAMS in the Philippine Basketball Association continued to tweak their respective rosters through trades.

Following the annual Draft last Sunday, which saw the PBA squads enhance their respective rosters with young players coming in, the carousel continues to move as several more movements were finalized.

Star, which has a surplus of talent in its crowded backcourt, shipped Alex Mallari to Mahindra in exchange for a much needed forward in Aldrech Ramos.

This swap will give the Hotshots more ceiling with the versatile Ramos while in return, the Floodbuster will have a steady combo guard in Mallari, who saw his playing minutes go down this past season.

As if that’s not enough, Mahindra also completed another deal. It will now have veteran Ryan Arana in its fold. San Miguel dealt Arana in exchange for promising Keith Agovida.

Even with this move, Star still has a handful of prolific guards in the fold in recently acquired Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, RR Garcia, Peter June Simon, Justin Melton and top draft pick Jio Jalalon.

The Hotshots management has been vocal about possibly making more moves to balance out the team’s composition.

In another quiet move, Governors’ Cup finalists Barangay Ginebra and Meralco also made a transaction of their own.

The Gin Kings, perhaps making a room for top-notch draft pick Kevin Ferrer, parted ways with seldomused forward Nico Salva and sent him to the Bolts for future draft picks.

Prior to that, Meralco also made a slick move by acquiring veteran shooting guard Joseph Yeo from GlobalPort for athletic forward Rey Guevarra in a straight swap.

Jimmy Butler (21) of the Chicago Bulls drives strong to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. AFP

Bulls trample Nets to remain unbeaten L

OS ANGELES—The Chicago Bulls ran roughshod over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, producing an explosive offensive effort in a 118-88 victory that has them off to a 3-0 start in the NBA.

It’s Chicago’s first 3-0 start since the 1996-97 season, and it comes despite fears that off-season changes including the departure of Derrick Rose and arrival of Dwyane Wade might see the Bulls take some time to click.

The Bulls connected on 50.6 percent of their shots from the field, including 40.7 from three-point range.

Seven Bulls players scored in double figures, led by Jimmy Butler’s 22 points.

“Our intensity out of the gate has been really good,” said coach Fred Hoiberg, whose Bulls scored 38 points in the opening quarter and never trailed after the opening three minutes.

They led by double digits most of the night.

Wade scored 12 points in his first road game with the Bulls. That included a slick crossover move on the Nets’ Bojan Bogdanovic in the fourth quarter that drew some appreciative gasps from the crowd.

“I always get great support when I come here,” Wade said. “The fans are amazing. It feels like home. I don’t know if they cheer like that for me at home when I got the ball. So it was great to be out there.”

Nikola Mirotic collected 16 points and 10 rebounds, Isaiah Cannan added 15 as the reserve duo combined to hit seven of Chicago’s 11 three-pointers.

Taj Gibson added 14 and 11 rebounds, Doug McDermott contributed 12 while Rajon Rondo had 10.

Bogdanovic led the Nets with 15 points while Jeremy Lin added 14 and Brook Lopez had 13 in 22 minutes after resting Saturday.

“I just think we didn’t have that normal pop or that explosiveness or the normal hunger that we normally have on the defensive end, actually just in general,” Lin said.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks also improved to 3-0 with wins.

Chris Paul scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half as the Clippers routed the winless Phoenix Suns 116-98 in Los Angeles.

Paul also had eight assists and five rebounds. Blake Griffin added 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Clippers.

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan

didn’t seem to show any ill effects from a sprained right thumb suffered in Sunday’s win over the Utah Jazz, finishing with 19 point and 11 boards.

“The thumb? It would be hurting if we lost, but we won so it feels a lot better,” he said.

Jamal Crawford added 14 points and J.J. Redick scored 13.

The Suns were without guard Devin Booker, who sat out with a sore right big toe. Booker apparently aggravated the injury in Sunday’s 106-100 loss to Golden State.

Brandon Knight started in Booker’s place and led the Suns with 18 points.

The Clippers broke the game open in the third quarter. Two free throws by Knight allowed the Suns to close within 56-55 with 7:12 left in the period.

But the Clippers put together a 22-9 scoring run for a 78-63 lead and the Suns couldn’t respond. AFP

Pacquiao holds final workout at Wild Card

By Ronnie Nathanielsz SENATOR, eight division world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao had a final workout with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles before driving with the members of his entourage to Las Vegas where he will go after a third World Boxing Organization welterweight title against two-division champion Jessie Vargas on Sunday, Manila Time.

Boxing Scene reports that Pacquiao and Vargas “will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown. While Pacquiao will be looking to become a three-time WBO welterweight champion as well as the first senator to win a world title, Vargas will be res-

olute in enforcing a term limit on the future Hall of Famer’s boxing career.”

Manny looked sharp in his final workout with Freddie Roach. Long-time adviser and confidant Michael Koncz told the Manila Standard Manny was “100 percent ready” and is ripped and ready to take on Vargas who is 10 years younger with Pacquiao claiming age “is only a number.”

His intention is to put on a compelling performance and become the first Senator to win a world boxing title which would hopefully lead to a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. who scored a unanimous decision when they first met in May 2015.

Reports from Las Vegas indicate that Mayweather, who has been back in his gym to stay in shape, is like-

ly to follow the action with interest and hopefully make a decision on whether to give Manny a rematch so he could beat the 49-0 record of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

Although there are those in the Pacquiao camp who believe Vargas will run once he feels the power of Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune point out that Vargas “is a fighter and he will stand and fight and won’t run.”

However, former two division world champion Gerry Peñalosa, who has intently watched Pacquiao train, believes the Filipino southpaw is in devastating form and Vargas’ dream of knocking out Pacquiao will turn into a nightmare as he himself will Eight division world champion and ‘Fighter of the Decade’ Manny Pacquiao (right) works up a sweat while training with the punch mitts with trainer Freddie Roach. be knocked out by Manny.

Murray girds to take top spot

LOOSE BALL. Danny Trevathan (59) and Jerrell Freeman (50) of the Chicago Bears break up a pass intended for Matt Asiata (44) of the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter of their game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

PARIS, France—Andy Murray insisted on Monday he felt no additional pressure ahead of his quest to wrest away the world’s top ranking from long-time incumbent Novak Djokovic at this week’s Paris Masters.

Murray can supplant Djokovic at the summit by claiming a first title in the French capital if the Serb fails to reach the final of an event he has dominated in recent times.

The Briton has won three successive tournaments—Beijing, Shanghai and Vienna—to close in on Djokovic and would become the oldest new number one since Australia’s John Newcombe in 1974.

But the 29-year-old said his approach would remain the same and vowed to block out the hysteria sur-

rounding his potential ascent to the top.

“It’s not in my control. I can obviously try and win my matches, but even if I win all of my matches this week, I still might not get there,” said Murray.

“So it’s in Novak’s hands. He’s ahead obviously just now, so if he wins his matches and gets to the latter stages of the last two tournaments, then he’ll most likely keep the No. 1 spot.

“So I don’t feel any differently now to how I did kind of six, eight weeks ago. My goal wasn’t to finish No. 1 at the end of this year.

“I wanted to finish this year as strong as possible, and I think there is a lot stronger chance of doing it in the early part of next

year, which is what I targeted rather than this week.”

Murray, who received a firstround bye, will begin his Paris campaign against former world number seven Fernando Verdasco, after the Spaniard progressed following the retirement of Dutchman Robin Haase.

The Wimbledon champion is riding a 15-match winning streak and lifted his career-best seventh title of the season following Sunday’s straight-sets victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Austria.

“This year I have been healthy the whole year, and the last four or five months I have played the best of my career,” Murray added, dismissing concerns over fatigue despite his recent winning run. AFP

Scorpions subdue Falcons

By Peter Atencio THE Centro Escolar UniversityB Scorpions drew big baskets from Allan Malubay, Mohd Sayed Ascano and Gabby Alvendia to put away the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 84-78, Sunday in the 14th Fr. Martin Division 2 Cup basketball tournament at the St. Placid gym of San Beda College in Mendiola, Manila.

Malubay fired 26 points and the duo of Sayed and Alvendia added 12 for the Scorpions in their bid to be in contention for a seat in the quarterfinal round.

Malubay drained three triples in the fourth period, with two hitting their mark in the final 24 seconds as the Scorpions went on to earn their third win in six games in Group A. They moved into a tie for fourth and fifth places with Arellano University.

Already in the quarterfinals in Group A are the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, the San Beda-B Red Lions and the Adamson Soaring Falcons, who got 22 points from Tyrus Hill and 16 from Jerie Pingoy.

From Group B, the San BedaA Red Lions made it to the quarterfinals with Letran-A, CEU-A and Far Eastern University.

In the junior action, the National University Bullpups took a 69-79 loss to the Hope Christian School Stallions, and formally barged into the semifinal round with their 6-1 winloss record.

They are joined in Group B by the San Beda-Rizal Red Cubs who have a 5-3 slate.

Nigerian scam proliferates in PH B2

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

B1

Toyota to bring back Daihatsu

By Othel V. Campos

J

APANESE car Daihatsu is expected to return to the Philippines soon, intensifying the competition in the small passenger car segment, according to industry sources.

Sources said Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. planned to bring the iconic small car Daihatsu to reinforce its leadership in the small car category.

Toyota acquired a controlling interest in Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. in 1998. Daihatsu became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota in 2016.

Toyota’s mini-car Wigo capitalized on its years of exposure in the Philippine automotive market. Rival brands include Mirage, Fiesta, Alto, Celerio, i10 and Picanto.

Toyota’s sub-compact cars include Vios and Yaris, which compete with City, Jazz, Accent, Fiesta, Mazda2, Swift and Rio.

Sources said Toyota Motors Japan would export the small car from Daihatsu Motor Company’s facility in Indonesia.

The small car Daihatsu will be sold under the Toyota brand in the Philippines. Price points are yet to be announced, as Toyota was still assessing the proper timing to introduce the brand, sources said.

Sources said a year-end launch of Daihatsu in the Philippines was an option, although Toyota might also decide to introduce the brand in early 2017. Toyota earlier planned to bring in the car four years ago.

Toyota Motor Philippines cur-

rently focuses on preparing for the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program, which offers large incentives to vehicle manufacturers in the Philippines.

Toyota endorsed the Vios model as its official entry to the Cars program, while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. enrolled the Mirage model, both hatchback and sedan, as its official entry.

Toyota is investing in the production of at least 230,000 units of the Vios over the next six years. The company committed to invest P3.3 billion to increase the production of Vios.

Trade Secretary and Board of Investments chairman Ramon Lopez awarded the registration certificate to TMPC president Satoru Suzuki and vice chairman Alfred Ty on July 22, 2016.

Toyota remains the dominant automotive player in the Philippines, with 43.78-percent market share as of September 2016.

Total industry sales from January to September reached 330,116 units including imports.

Industry group Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. said it was optimistic that the industry would hit the 360,000 units sales target for the year.

PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing October 28, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,404.80 40.34

PESO-DOLLAR RATE

Closing OCTOBER 28, 2016 43.00 45.40 46.60 47.80

P48.405

49.00

CebuPac eyes more Chinese travelers

HIGH P48.390 LOW P48.580 AVERAGE P48.485 VOLUME 490.000M

METROBANK’S AWARD. Met-

ropolitan Bank & Trust Co. consumer lending group head and senior vice president Rowena Oliveros (center) holds the plaque for the Best Auto Loan Product for the second straight year. The citation further strengthened Metrobank’s position as the leading provider of automobile financing in the country. With Oliveros are (from left) Asian Banker managing director Foo Boon Ping, Metrobank retail banking head and senior vice president Mark Perez, head of retail products division Trina Ponce and PSBank marketing group head and senior vice president Emmanuel Tuazon.

By Darwin G. Amojelar CEBU Air Inc., the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, said it expects more Chinese tourists to come to the Philippines, after Manila strengthened its economic ties with Beijing.

“Strong economic ties between the Philippines and China would only serve to stimulate business and leisure opportunities for the benefit of the communities we fly to,” Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate affairs JR Mantaring said.

“As China remains one of our most popular destination countries, CEB is committed to enabling faster air transportation and easier access to and from this market,” he said.

Cebu Pacific currently operates 17 weekly flights to and from four key destinations in China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xiamen.

“We are optimistic that the development of mutually constructive ties between the two countries may not only boost connectivity, but enable more convenient air services for these passengers,” Mantaring said.

The Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation said Manila’s strong economic ties with China would likely stimulate large service growth between the two countries.

“Yet for existing markets, there is some concern that the Philippines presents new competition,” Capa said.

CLOSE

P400.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.40-P44.94 Unleaded Gasoline

OPRICES IL TODAY

P27.40-P30.75 Diesel P28.50-P36.85 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, October 28, 2016

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5150

Japan

Yen

0.009498

0.4608

UK

Pound

1.216400

59.0136

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128949

6.2560

Switzerland

Franc

1.006948

48.8521

Canada

Dollar

0.747105

36.2458

Singapore

Dollar

0.717103

34.7903

Australia

Dollar

0.758800

36.8132

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654844

128.7998

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

12.9366

Brunei

Dollar

0.714541

34.6660

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000077

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.028506

1.3830

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

13.2107

Euro

Euro

1.090000

52.8814

Korea

Won

0.000872

0.0423

China

Yuan

0.147471

7.1546

India

Rupee

0.014954

0.7255

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.239120

11.6009

New Zealand

Dollar

0.712000

34.5427

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031515

1.5290 Source: PDS Bridge

BSP pushes lifting of rice import restrictions ERC delays

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said lifting the quantitative restriction on rice imports will benefit the consumers and make the agricultural sector competitive.

QR on rice allows the country to limit the volume of rice imports entering the Philippines.

The quantitative restriction will expire next year and economic managers of the Duterte administration earlier decided to allow the expiration of QR without applying for another extension.

“I think it will benefit the consumers if you do that. The lifting of the QR would mean anybody can import even though you put import tariffs,” Guinigundo said.

“These tariffs could be used by the government for assistance to the agricultural sector in terms of infrastructure, better seedling varieties, irrigation, drying facilities and farm-to-market roads,” Guinigundo said.

Economic managers earlier approved the lifting of the protection enjoyed by local rice farmers, a move seen to open the domestic market to more rice imports from other countries.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the Philippines would no longer apply for an extension of the quantitative restriction on rice imports at the World Trade Organization.

Aside from Pernia, other members of the economic team are Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Pernia said the lifting of the rice QR would improve the competitiveness of Filipino rice farmers and make them more efficient. “[This is] to pressure our farm-

ers to be more efficient. We need competition. When you protect the farmers, they tend to be complacent and there is no pressure.

Competition always brings pressure,” Pernia said.

“However, this does not mean an open market domestically, considering the existence of Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996,” it said.

The WTO granted the Philippines an extension of its quantitative restriction on rice importation until June 30, 2017 to give local farmers more time to prepare for free trade.

Vista Land cites brisk sales for Ortigas tower

By Jenniffer B. Austria

LITER OF LIGHT. Pepsi Philippines wins the top photo prize for environment category conferred by the American Chamber Foundation for Liter of Light, one of the company’s key corporate social responsibility programs. The winning photo features children of the cultural minority tribe Aeta delightedly amazed by the solar bulbs made up of used two-liter soda plastic bottles that for the first time lighted up the streets and homes of their community in Tarlac province. Shown with the winning photo are (from left) Cindy Eugenio of PCPPI, Liter of Light Philippines director Tessa Sevilla, PCPPI vice president for corporate affairs and communication Jika Dalupan and AmCham executive director Ebb Hinchcliff.

VISTA Residences, the high-end residential unit of property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., reported brisk sales for its 32-story mixed-used tower in Ortigas Center.

Vista Residences said in a statement The Currency, with a cost of P1.4 billion, was nearly sold out given its prime location.

The Currency, strategically located at the juncture of F. Ortigas Jr. Ave. and Julia Vargas Ave., has retail units for lease at the first three floors with about 20 tenants serving building occupants and nearby offices.

The fourth to ninth floors consist of 32 office units which were already sold out. Unit owners have the option to have their units managed and leased out by Vista Residences’ leasing group.

The 10th to 32nd floors are 324 residential units aimed at

entrepreneurs and upwardlymobile executives with offices in the Ortigas CBD. These consist of 131 studio units, 171 one-bedroom units and 22 twobedroom units.

“However, because of its prime location, sales have been brisk and less than 50 readyfor-occupancy units are left,” said Vista Residences president Elizabeth Kalaw.

The 25-square-meter studio units are priced at P145,000 to P160,000 per square meter; onebedroom flats at P155,000 to 165,000 a square meter; and the two-bedroom units at P160,000 to P165,000 per square meter.

“The Currency presents the modern-day urbanite with the duality of enterprise and escape.

It has hanging gardens on the 10th floor which serve as havens offering an exquisite panorama of the city – several cities, in fact,” said Kalaw.

schedule of open access

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Regulatory Commission issued a draft resolution amending the schedule of mandatory retail competition and open access, which allows large power users to choose their own suppliers.

ERC said in a draft resolution that end users with an average monthly peak demand of at least 1 megawatt were mandated to enter into supply contracts with a retail electricity supplier by Feb. 26, 2017.

The regulator earlier imposed a December 2016 deadline for the retail supply contracts. The draft resolution, however, is still subject to comments by industry players.

ERC said the December 2016 timeline was no longer feasible for the contestable customers or those with a monthly demand of at least 1 MW to negotiate and migrate to the competitive retail electricity market.

The draft resolution did not include a new timeline for customers with a monthly peak demand of 750 kilowatts who were supposed to get their own retail electricity suppliers by June 16, 2017.

ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar earlier said the regulator wanted to give existing power distributors enough window to conform to the requirement.

The Supreme Court earlier supported ERC’s open access guidelines and slapped a temporary restraining order on Oct. 10 against an earlier injunction issued by the Pasig regional trial court.

B2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Business

Nigerian scam proliferates in PH

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

HE Securities and Exchange Commission warned the public about the proliferation of the so-called 419 financial fraud, also known as Nigerian scam, in the Philippines.

The SEC said in an advisory posted on its website it received reports that a financial scheme similar to the Nigerian scam had victimized a lot of Filipinos.

It said like other financial scams, the modus operandi of

Nigerian scam was to ask the victim to send cash upfront by promising them large amount of money that they would receive later if they would cooperate.

The scam usually begins with a letter or email purportedly sent

to a selected recipient but actually sent to many, making an offer that would allegedly result in large pay-off for the victim.

The scammers hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal address and by communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

The SEC said the scammer would usually contact the victim via email or social networking message and tell them about an elaborately fake story such as a

consignment of a large amount of money usually in US currency which would be transferred to the victim’s account via diplomatic courier company.

The victim will then be asked to receive the consignment box in the Philippines for safekeeping on the condition that the victim will pay for the local delivery charges for the consignment box. In return, the victim will be promised a substantial gain for little effort.

The SEC said in the end, the victims of these scams were only

being tricked into sending money to the scammers and they would never receive the promised money.

“In view thereof, the public is advised to be cautious in sending money to anyone, unless you are certain that it is a legitimate request and if you know the person well based on your internet correspondence,” SEC said.

The SEC also issued an advisory regarding scammer under the name Just 950.

According to the SEC, Just 950 was not registered with the cor-

porate regulator and it had no license to solicit investments from the public.

The SEC said based on its investigation, Just 950 was inviting the public to invest at least P950 for 1 slot with a promised payout of P2,300.

“Those who invite or recruit other people to join or invest in this venture or offer investment contracts or securities to the public may be held criminally liable or accordingly sanctioned or penalized,” the SEC said.

SMIC ready to buy P25-b BDO shares CONGLOMERATE SM Investments Corp. is allocating P25 billion to subscribe to its proportionate share in the P60-billion stocks rights offering of banking unit BDO Unibank Inc. SM Investments chief finance officer Jose Sio said in a recent interview the conglomerate, being the controlling and majority shareholder of the bank, was expected to spend P25 billion to subscribe to its proportionate share in the BDO rights offering.

Sio said the conglomerate had sufficient funds and would not raise additional capital to participate in the BDO stock rights offering.

Sio said the bank expected to secure all regulatory approvals for the planned rights offering before the end of the year. The offer period was expected in early 2017.

SM Investments owned a 40.12-percent stake in BDO Unibank as of end-September.

BDO Unibank, the country’s

biggest lender with total assets of over P2 trillion, said in September it would raise P60 billion in fresh capital via a stock rights offering to support growth and expansion.

The bank said the fresh capital would support medium-term growth objectives amid the country’s favorable macroeconomic prospects and provide a comfortable buffer over higher capital requirements with the forthcoming imposition of the domestic systemically important bank surcharge.

Meanwhile, Sio said SM Investments’ P20-billion fixedrate bonds offering was slated to happen before the end of the year.

The P20-billion fixed-rate bond issuance was a part of the P50-billion fixed-rate bond program under a three-year shelf registration facility to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jenniffer B. Austria

BSP-UP LECTURES. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in partnership with the University of the Philippines System, hosted the 2016 BSP-UP Professorial Chair Lectures on Oct. 25 to 26 at the Executive Business Center, BSP Head Office in Malate, Manila. Shown are (from left) Dr. Roberto Mariano (University of Pennsylvania), Bangko Sentral assistant governor and head of treasury department Ma. Ramona Gertrudes Santiago, Monetary Board member Felipe Medalla, UP Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business dean Ben Paul Gutierrez, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, BSP-Resource Management Sector executive director Enrique Domingo and BSP Monetary Policy Sub-Sector managing director Francisco Dakila Jr.

Globe, Govt disbursed P400b to settle debt in eight months Pokemon sign deal

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. teamed with Pokémon Company and Niantic Inc. in a bid to entice subscribers to use mobile data.

“It would be good for us, as we have customer using the service. That’s good thing for us to form a revenue perspective,” Globe senior advisor for consumer business Dan Horan said.

Under the partnership, Globe has the right to place PokéStops and Gyms in malls all over the country and sell Pokemon merchandise and digital products.

Horan said Globe would work with partners such as Ayala Malls, Puregold, Robinsons Malls and SM Supermalls.

Globe said it would also ensure that customers had better accessibility to the app through different mobile offers.

Globe said under GoSURF50 mobile promo, customers would be able to access Pokémon Go as one of the free apps within the bundle. Globe customers can also download the free Pokémon Go promo on the Globe Switch app.

Globe’s mobile data revenues hit P17.8 billion in the first half, up by 46 percent from P12.1 billion a year earlier.

Data traffic rose 35 percent to 151 petabytes as of endJune from 112 petabytes a year ago, amid continuing increase in customer demand for bandwidth.

Globe, controlled by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said net income in the first half reached P8.97 billion in January to June, up 9 percent from P8.71 billion a year earlier.

Core net income, which excludes the impact of nonrecurring charges, foreign exchange gains and mark-tomarket charges, also increased 2 percent to P8.8 billion from a year ago.

THE government spent P400.546 billion to settle its debt in the first eight months, down 4.2 percent from P418.134 billion a year ago, according to the Bureau of Treasury.

Data from the Treasury showed debt interest payments fell 3.8 percent in January to August to P217.174 billion from P225.657 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Interest payments to local creditors declined to P152.329 billion, while interest payments to foreign creditors rose to P77.469 billion.

Payments for debt amortization also dropped 4.8 percent in the eight-month period to P183.372 billion from P192.567 billion recorded a year earlier.

Of the total amortization, principal payments in the local market went down to P104.901 billion, while principal payments to foreign creditors increased to P78.47 billion.

The Treasury said in August alone, debt services jumped 89.8 percent to P46.763 billion as both interest payments and principal amortization increased.

Interest payments climbed 42.4 percent in August this year to P23.442 billion, while amortization rose nearly thrice to P23.321 billion.

The government’s outstanding obligations breached the P6-trillion mark as of the end of September this year.

Meanwhile, the national government’s borrowings jumped to P307.8 billion in the first eight months of 2015, following a

significant increase in financing sourced from the domestic market.

Latest data showed the government’s borrowings as of endAugust 2016 climbed 22 percent from P252.25 billion recorded in the same period in 2015.

Financing from the foreign market fell 21.21 percent to P82.037 billion, while financing from the local market rose 52.4 percent to P225.763 billion.

Of the total external gross borrowings, P12.496 billion was coursed through project loans and P28.284 billion through program loans.

The Finance Department earlier said it would maintain its bias for local borrowings to shield the government from external shocks brought about by foreign exchange fluctuations.

SEAL OF IMPROVEMENT. The Trade Department confers the Philippine Quality Challenge Seal of Im-

provement to four companies that successfully implemented continual improvement in their respective organizations. PQC aims to support small and medium enterprises in starting off their journey towards business performance excellence. Shown are (from left) Alabang Medical Clinic administrator Francisco Montillano, Global Food Solutions Inc. president Noreen Young, Tri-Phil International Inc. president Jocelyn Ventocilla, Lean Processes Inc. vice president for finance Glenda Virtudes and president Emilio Virtudes, Trade assistant secretary Arturo Boncato Jr. and Philippine Quality Award Foundation Inc. board member Meneleo Carlos Jr.

The government intends to borrow P538.373 billion from the local market and P157.071 billion from external sources.

The national government will also borrow less next year to fund next year’s budget proposal of P3.35 trillion.

A proposed budget submitted

by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to the House of Representatives showed the government planned to borrow P631.3 billion in 2017. The intended borrowing program would be 9.2 percent less than the P695.4 programmed borrowing this year.

TVIRD mine unit gets ISO certification

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales environment Jay Nelson.

AGATA Mining Ventures Inc., a joint project of TVI Resource Development Inc. and MRL Nickel Philippines Inc., recently received an ISO 14001:2004 certification.

TVIRD said Intertek Philippines, a reputable ISO-accrediting institution, earlier concluded its third-party audit and was satisfied with both the company’s internal compliance procedures and Environmental Management System.

EMS is a fundamental component under the ISO certification process.

All mining companies are required to secure International Standards Organization 14001 - Environmental Management Systems certification.

The Environment Department issued Administrative Order 2015-07 on April 30, 2015 which required all holders of mineral agreements and financial or technical assistance agreements engaged in metallic operations to secure the certification.

The mining company said the certification underpinned that the company’s environmental management standards were in parallel with international standards.

“Obtaining an ISO certification is just one of the many environmental management safeguards implemented by TVIRD in its previous mining operations that have since been installed as part of the company’s Agata Mining Project,” said TVIRD vice president for

“Apart from achieving regulatory compliance, TVIRD couples this with the proper and sustained implementation of an effective environmental management program. This tandem is what defines responsible mining,” Nelson said.

TVIRD operates the Agata Nickel Laterite Project in its 4,995-hectare mineral processing sharing agreement area in the municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and Santiago in Agusan del Norte province.

AMVI launched its enhanced environmental policy in April, which aimed to facilitate and enhance the decisionmaking process on environmental management issues by seeking opinion, feedback and participation from AMVI’s stakeholders.

TVIRD said the policy also promoted and encouraged awareness and training to ensure individuals were aware of their responsibilities.

The mining company said it was operating under principles and guidelines identified and recommended by several international organizations.

“Most, if not all mining companies have incorporated these guidelines and principles in their operations long before the requirement for ISO certification. Many of the mining standards and regulations developed by Canada, Australia and other countries have also long been part of TVIRD’s environmental policy as well as the Philippine mining industry landscape,” Nelson said.

Business

B3

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Japan delays inflation target T

OKYO―Japan’s central bank on Tuesday again pushed back the timeline for hitting its inflation goal, the latest policy change that has raised questions about attempts to revive the deflation-plagued economy.

The Bank of Japan headquarters is seen past traffic in Tokyo on November 1, 2016. Tokyo shares closed higher November 1, reversing early losses on relief over a Bank of Japan policy meeting that ended largely as expected and better-than-expected Chinese factory data. AFP

Canada sets 300,000 immigration target

The Bank of Japan has for the past three years embarked on a bond-buying stimulus program to try to keep interest rates ultralow and increase borrowing and spending.

The scheme was introduced

by BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda in conjunction with a government spending drive which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hoped would drag the economy out of years of torpor.

But in a fresh sign that authorities are still struggling, the bank said it now expects to hit two percent inflation by March 2019―four years later than its original target and the latest in a string of delays.

It also leaves the next move up to Kuroda’s successor as the target date is almost a year after his term ends.

Abe hand-picked Kuroda to help drive his ‘Abenomics’ growth blitz of big spending, easy money and structural reforms, unveiled in early 2013.

The program sharply weakened the yen―fattening corporate profits―and set off a stock market rally that spurred hopes for a once-soaring economy caught in a spiral of falling prices and lackluster growth.

But more than three years later growth remains fragile while inflation is far below the BoJ’s target. Data last week showed consumer prices fell in September for a seventh straight month.

“What we’re seeing now is

nowhere near what the bank had said would happen,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo.

“Their initial projection was not very good.”

The BoJ hoped that consumers would spend more if prices were rising, persuading firms to expand operations and getting the world’s number three economy humming.

But wage growth has fallen below expectations, meaning workers have less money to spend. Abe’s promises to cut through red tape―the key third plank of Abenomics―have also been slow in coming.

In forex trading the dollar was at 104.77 yen, slightly off 104.82 yen in New York on Monday.

Japan’s central bank also cut back its consumer price forecast for the current fiscal year ending March 2017 and for the subsequent two years.

The move is the latest policy tweak. In September the bank revealed it would switch its focus to 10-year government bonds and pledged to keep its yield around zero, by buying as few or as many as necessary.

It said it would also cut back on the number of longer-dated bonds it holds to try to reduce the price of long-term securities. The plan is to increase their yield, marking the latest effort to persuade Japanese consumers that the price of goods and services will rise in the future. AFP

OTTAWA―Canada will start welcoming a minimum of 300,000 immigrants annually in 2017 in order to ease economic pressures linked to an aging population, Immigration Minister John McCallum announced Monday.

The figure, which is in line with this year’s unusually high intake number, however, falls far short of expectations after a report last week proposed a 50 percent increase to 450,000 immigrants annually.

That amount would have set Canada on a path to tripling its population by the century’s end.

“In 2016, we jumped to 300,000 largely as a consequence of our special actions on Syrian refugees,” McCallum said.

“What I am announcing today is that for 2017 we will make that 300,000 permanent and it will become the foundation for future growth in immigration,” he said, adding that this rate is “40,000 above the historic norm.”

More than half of the newcomers will be job seekers and investors admitted under an economic class.

The remainder of the newcomers will include spouses, children or parents of naturalized citizens, refugees, and others admitted on humanitarian or compassionate grounds.

This year’s large influx of immigrants was notably boosted by the urgent resettlement of some 30,000 Syrian refugees in desperate need at the start of

China factory output surges

Beijing fortifies ties with Indonesia as investment doubles

BEIJING―Factory activity in China expanded at its fastest pace in more than two years last month, official and private measures both showed Tuesday, boding well for the world’s second-largest economy.

Investors closely watch the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) numbers, which gauge conditions at Chinese factories and mines, as the first indicators of the health of the economy each month.

The official PMI came in at 51.2 for October, its highest since July 2014, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

That was up from September’s 50.4 and was well ahead of the median forecast of 50.3 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

A figure above 50 signals expanding activity, while anything below demonstrates shrinkage.

“Production and market demand is picking up again, accelerating expansion,” NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said in a statement.

But Zhao added that downward pressures remain on imports and exports owing to the sluggish recovery in global growth.

The private Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index, which focuses on small companies, pointed to a similar trend.

Its October reading climbed to 51.2, up from 50.1 the previous month and also the highest since July 2014, the Chinese financial magazine said in a joint statement Thursday with data compiler IHS Markit. AFP

CHINA’S investment in Indonesia has more than doubled since 2015 as President Joko Widodo’s five meetings with Xi Jinping in the past two years start to pay off.

Foreign direct investment from China stood at $1.6 billion in January to September, up from about $600 million for the whole of last year, according to figures from the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. Chinese investors pledged $6.1 billion in investment in Indonesia in the nine-month period.

China is now the No. 3 investor in Indonesia behind Singapore and Japan, overtaking the US this year, as the world’s second-largest economy looks to shift more of its excess manufacturing capacity offshore. It reflects China’s deepening ties with Indonesia after becoming the nation’s biggest trading partner five years ago and is a win for Widodo as he pushes ahead with an ambitious program to build roads, ports and railways.

“The potential of realized investment from China will remain high in the coming years and it will remain in the top five,” said Azhar Lubis, the board’s deputy chairman for investment supervision. “The biggest challenge is how that interest or those plans can be realized soon.”

The US’s share of FDI to Indonesia has declined to 2 percent from 8.3 percent in 2013, despite President Barack Obama pledging stronger ties with Asia. China, on the other hand, has increased

the year.

Meanwhile, Canada will lift a visa requirement for Romanian and Bulgarian travelers at the end of next year and ease some restrictions before then, the government announced Monday.

The two EU nations had made visa-free travel a key condition for their support of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that was signed by Canada and the EU on Sunday.

After Romania and Bulgaria reached a deal with Ottawa a week ago on the visa waivers―which will go into effect on December 1, 2017―they lifted their respective threats to block the free trade accord.

“Lifting the visa require-

its push in Southeast Asia with its “One-Belt, One Road” policy, investing in infrastructure across the region to revive an ancient trading route stretching from Asia to Europe. The project was discussed by Xi and Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is known, when they met in Beijing in March last year.

Neighboring Philippines is also seeking more investment from China, with President Rodrigo Duterte announcing an easing of ties with the US, a

ments for Romania and Bulgaria will mean visa-free travel to Canada for citizens of all EU member states. We will all benefit from the increase in travel and trade that results,” Immigration Minister John McCallum said in a statement.

The visa restriction was meant to stop a feared wave of refugee claims by ethnic Roma, also known as gypsies, but created tensions between the EU and Canada.

In the lead-up to the full visa lifting, Ottawa said Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who have held a Canadian temporary resident visa in the past 10 years or who hold a valid US non-immigrant visa would be exempted from the visa requirement. AFP

military ally, after meeting Xi in Beijing in October. The Philippine government said the trip would yield $24 billion of state and business deals.

Growth Forecast Lubis said Chinese investment was mainly directed to mineral smelters, such as nickel and bauxite, as well as in the cement, automotive and steel industries. Chinese FDI in the nine-month period went to 1,205 projects.

Singapore remains the top

investor in Indonesia, with $7.1 billion in the first nine months of the year, compared to $5.9 billion in 2015. FDI from the US slumped to about $400 million from $2.4 billion in 2013.

Jokowi is seeking to boost growth to 7 percent by 2019, a pledge he made when he came to office in 2014. Last week, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the economy will probably expand 5 percent this year.

“We need investment and China they have excess capacity,” said David Sumual, chief economist at PT Bank Central Asia in Jakarta. “The two countries need each other.”

The growing economic ties comes at the same time that political tension between the two nations intensifies over lucrative fishing grounds in the South China Sea. Indonesia’s Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has said tensions with China are now manageable. Bloomberg

Australia’s central bank holds interest rates at record low of 1.5% SYDNEY―Australia’s central bank on Tuesday held interest rates at a record low of 1.50 percent and indicated what analysts called a “wait and see” approach to future monetary policy easing despite a run of soft inflation figures.

The country is transitioning away from a resources invest-

ment boom that has helped the economy mark a quarter of a century of unbroken growth in the second quarter of this year.

But with uneven growth in the labor market and non-mining sectors―and a recent spate of weak inflation data―the Reserve Bank of Australia has slashed interest rates twice since May.

“The board judged that holding the stance of policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time,” RBA governor Philip Lowe said in a statement after the monthly board meeting.

The decision to remain on the

sidelines was mostly tipped by analysts. The Australian dollar edged higher up to 76.5 US cents from 76.2 US cents after the statement was released.

Australia like other global economies is facing subdued consumer price rises owing to tepid global trade and weak wage growth. Core inflation came in

at 1.3 percent in the September quarter, well off the RBA’s target range of 2.0-3.0 percent.

Lowe emphasized previously that he was flexible about the policy towards inflation and in the statement he noted that the consumer price index was tracking broadly in line with the RBA’s projections. AFP

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

Business

Dollar gaining on higher US rates THE dollar held near its highest level since March after advancing against all of its developed market peers last month amid increased confidence the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index had its best October since 2008, surging 2.2 percent, as the market-based probability of the Fed tightening monetary policy by the end of December climbed to more than 70 percent from under 60 percent at the end of September. Data Monday showed US consumer spending rose in September by the most in three months as incomes grew, backing the case for higher borrowing costs.

“Improving US economic activity and a higher marketbased measure of US inflation expectations raised the odds for” a Fed move in December, said Elias Haddad, a senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “Nonetheless, we maintain our view that the dollar will not make new cyclical highs and instead drift slightly lower throughout 2017 because the Fed’s interest rate hikes will remain very gradual.”

Bloomberg’s dollar index, which measures the US currency’s performance against a basket of 10 major counterparts, was little changed at 6:37 a.m. in London. Last Friday, it touched its highest level since March 16.

The US 10-year break-even rate, a measure of the market’s inflation expectations, is holding close to the highest level since July 2015. Citigroup Inc.’s US Economic Surprise Index, while still below zero, has recovered from a fourmonth low set in October. A negative reading indicates data are falling short of forecasts.

Bloomberg

By Marvin G. Perez MILLENNIALS’ seemingly unquenchable thirst for coffee is helping to push global demand to a record just as supplies are tightening.

Americans are becoming java junkies at an earlier age, and young adults are increasing their daily consumption at a fast enough pace to make up for declines by older folks.

The result: Demand in the US, the world’s top user, is set for an all-time high, and the trend among younger drinkers is also playing out in other big consumers, including Brazil and even tea-loving China.

Consumption is climbing as drought crimps supplies from Brazil, the world’s biggest producer and exporter. Prices for the arabica variety surged to the highest since February 2015 last week in New York. Hedge funds are positioning for more gains, increasing their bets on a rally to the highest in eight years.

Demand “has been running well above expectations, thereby tightening coffee markets significantly,” said Harish Sundaresh, a portfolio manager and commodities analyst in Boston for the Loomis Sayles Alpha Strategies team, which oversees $5 billion.

Fund Wagers The coffee net-long holding jumped by 18 percent to 50,651 futures and options in the week ended Oct. 25, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data published three days later. That’s the highest since March 2008.

Arabica coffee surged 6 percent to $1.655 a pound last week on

ROBO EXPO. A robotic fish swims in a water glass tank displayed at the Korea pavilion during Singapore International Robo Expo on November 1, 2016. The inaugural Singapore International Robo Expo which runs for two days from November 1 is poised to be the next regional marketplace to discover business opportunities, projects and funding availabilities for adoption of robotics solution. AFP

Economic growth in Eurozone stable

By Alex Pigman

B

RUSSELS, Belgium― Economic growth in the eurozone remained low but stable in the third quarter as inflation rose to a 27-month high amid fears over Brexit and major elections in France and Germany.

The Eurostat statistics agency said growth in the eurozone remained stable in July to September, to 0.3 percent, which was on par with analysts surveyed by Factset, a data company.

Analysts said the expansion remained low, however, and came on the back of France that shook off a contraction earlier in the year to expand by 0.2 percent in third quarter.

The growth figure will feed worries that

ICE Futures US in New York, the biggest gain since July.

Millennials―a cohort of young people now aged about 19 to 34―account for about 44 percent of US coffee demand, according to Chicago-based researcher Datassential. In the eight years through 2016, daily consumption among 18to 24-years-olds rose to 48 percent from 34 percent, while it climbed to 60 percent from 51 percent among those aged 25 to 39, according to the National Coffee Association in New York. At the same time, adults 60 and older saw a drop to 64 percent from 76 percent, and there was also a decline for the 40-to-59 age group.

The coffee craze is also starting earlier in life. Younger millennials, born after 1995, started drinking coffee at about 14.7 years old, while older millenials, born closer to 1982, began at 17.1 years, data from the association show.

Take the case of William Tuesca, a 21-year-old junior at Parsons School of Design in New York. He started drinking coffee when he was 5 and now drinks two or three cups daily, even more during mid-term exams, he said.

‘Fashion Symbol’ “In school, drinking coffee is also like a fashion symbol and an opportunity to socialize,” Tuesca said.

Gains for demand mean that in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, world consumption outpaced production for a second straight season, according to the London-based International Coffee Organization. Coffee has posted the fifth-best return

the European economy will fail to bring new jobs or significantly boost inflation.

“The upside for Eurozone growth continues to be constrained by a number of fundamental factors, including structural impediments in a number of countries (notably Italy and France) and significant banking sector problems,” said IHS Global Insight’s Howard Archer.

Archer said the perspective for next year remained a particular concern with key elections looming, as well as the launch of tricky negotiations between Britain and the EU after the British vote to leave the bloc.

“The UK’s Brexit vote could impact on Eurozone activity in 2017... (as) its likely difficult exit negotiations with the European Union get underway and are in the foreground,” Archer said.

The full 28 members of the European Union, meanwhile, showed growth of 0.4 percent in the third quarter, also on par with

analyst predictions.

On a 12-month basis, growth in the eurozone stood at 1.6 percent.

Consumer prices in the eurozone, which dipped in and out of deflationary territory last year, rose a higher-than-expected 0.5 percent, the highest since June 2014.

A survey of analysts by Factset had forecast inflation of 0.4 percent for the period.

Inflation, though at its highest level in over two years, remains very far off the target level of near 2.0 percent set by the European Central Bank.

Analysts fretted that core inflation, which does not account for volatile energy prices, remained very low and indicated that consumers lacked confidence and were still reluctant to spend.

The ECB has embarked on an increasingly controversial monetary stimulus program to boost inflation and the economy, which has yet to deliver the intended results. AFP

Oil prices decrease below $47 a barrel OIL traded near the lowest close in more than a month before weekly US government data forecast to show crude stockpiles expanded, exacerbating a glut.

Futures were little changed in New York after slumping 3.8 percent Monday, the most since Sept. 23. Crude inventories rose by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. Oil earlier rose as much as 0.8 percent as gasoline prices jumped after an explosion and fire shut the mainlines of Colonial Pipeline Co., the biggest US pipeline for the fuel.

Oil has declined more than 5.5 percent since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries failed Friday to agree on country quotas as part of implementing the group’s output cut agreement. The probability of Opec reaching a deal at the official meeting Nov. 30 is low due to growing discord within the group, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “Investor skepticism to a supply deal is building,” said David Lennox, a resources analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. “The initial shock if there is no agreement at the official meeting might see prices drop below $40 a barrel, but we don’t think it’ll stay at that level for any length of time.”

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery was at $46.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 7 cents, at 7:49 a.m. in London. The contract slid $1.84 to $46.86 a barrel on Monday. Prices lost 2.9 percent in October, the first monthly decline since July.

December gasoline futures on Nymex rose as much as 21.56 cents, or 15 percent, to $1.6351 a gallon after Monday’s settlement at $1.4195.

Brent for January settlement was up 30 cents at $48.91 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The December contract expired Monday after falling 2.8 percent to $48.30. Front-month prices slid 1.6 percent in October. The global benchmark was at a premium of $1.35 to WTI for January. Bloomberg

Millennials propel demand for coffee

A member of the shooting party drinks a cup of coffee inside Egton Estate house, ahead of a driven grouse shoot on Egton High Moor in Yorkshire, UK, on Aug. 12, 2016. Bloomberg

Coffee beans are displayed at a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday, Oct. 24, 2016. Bloomberg

so far this year among the 22 raw materials tracked by Bloomberg Commodity Index.

Consumption is rising as supplies are getting tighter. Dry weather in Brazil has hampered the country’s crop of robusta coffee, the bittertasting beans used in instant coffee.

The woes come after drought already cut output in Asia. With supplies of robusta getting harder to find, more coffee roasters are using arabica beans, the smoother variety favored by Starbucks Corp., pushing up prices for that commodity.

The good news for coffee addicts is that Brazilian plants still have a chance to recover, which can help temper the price rally. Rains, especially in the key area of south Minas Gerais, can help limit production losses, said Carlos Mera Arzeno, a London-based analyst with Rabobank International. There are also bigger crops coming from Peru and Honduras, which could ease the tight availability, he said.

Supply Cushion Inventories can also provide a supply cushion. As of Sept.

30, stockpiles of green, or unroasted, coffee in the US― which includes arabica and robusta beans―was at the

highest for that date since 2000, according to data from the New York-based Green Coffee Association.

But stockpiles have fallen since a peak in July and demand isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Tuesca, the Parsons student, said if prices keep rising he would rather renounce other earthly pleasures like eating chocolate than his morning cup of joe.

“Chocolate is like a paramour with whom you have good moments,” Tuesca said as he savored a cup at a Starbucks in midtown Manhattan. “But coffee is like the spouse or girlfriend that you want with you every day.” Bloomberg

LGUs

IP leaders want rights over domain explained KABAYAN, Benguet—Concerned land owners and influential indigenous peoples leaders in different barangays here are challenging officials of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to uphold their rights over their domain.

This is in connection with the free and prior informed consent process for the 45-megawatt Nalatang hydro project of the Hydroelectric Development Corporation Inc., instead of staying neutral on the matter.

While it is true the NCIP is the lead agency in the FPIC process, the sources, who requested anonymity for security reasons, claimed the first step that should be undertaken by the agency is to inform and educate the IPs on their rights over their ancestral domain.

The IPs’ leaders said this would help the indigenous peoples to become aware regarding the extent of their leverage in demanding equitable share from the exploitation, utilization and development of the resources within their domain.

The affected land owners pointed out the NCIP must also be transparent in the processes to be undertaken by the agency.

“We call on the NCIP to stop the preliminary activities for the FPIC process and first resolve the legal issues surrounding the water rights obtained by Hedcor from the Philippine National Oil Co. which secured the service contract for the hydro project,” the sources stressed.

The sources also called on government agencies and the Commission on Human Rights to help the IPs in the town get their rights guaranteed.

The IP leaders challenged the NCIP FPIC team not to show their bias in favor of the proponents for the hydro project.

They said it should uphold the preservation and protection of their rights over their domain because it is mandated by law to make sure IPs and indigenous cultural communities would not be left behind and forgotten with the entry of developers in their ancestral domain.

According to the sources, the hydro proponents had been hiring relatives of influential IP leaders and promising them lot rentals to ensure their full support. Dexter See

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

C1

ILOCOS NORTE’S WINDMILLS:

Tourism and energy giants

By Honor Blanco Cabie

B

ANGUI, Ilocos Norte—Some 11 hours by road from Metro Manila, through the meandering MacArthur Highway, stand the majestic Bangui Windmills which officials say make sightseeing in the country more fun.

The Windmills, also known as the Bangui Wind Farm, is a Northwind Bangui Bay Project owned by Northwind Power Development Corp. in this coastal town, founded in 1786 and three towns away due north from the provincial capital of Laoag City.

Some travelers to the far northwest have described the Windmills as similar to white three-horned giant robots guarding the shoreline facing the Luzon Bay, 552 kms north of Manila.

But for the provincial government, the Windmills are monuments to the determination of local officials and residents of the province to make their province the seat of a major tourist come-on as well as renewable energy.

According to official sources, the Windmills have attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists and made the province one of the top 10 tourist destinations in this Southeast Asian archipelago of 7,107 islands.

Statistics from the Department of Tourism showed tourist arrivals in the province in recent years have numbered 191,300, and the arrivals have been increasing since.

In scorching summer, particularly during the Holy Week, thousands of tourists walk the strip of the Bangui Bay shoreline under the 70-meter tall—about 23 storys— turbines, each with blades measuring 41 meters (just nine meters shy of an Olympic sized pool), a rotor diameter of 82 meters and a wind

WIND FARM. The Northwind Bangui Bay Project, which uses 20 units of high Vestas wind turbines on a 9-km stretch of the shoreline of Bangui facing the West Philippine Sea, its location optimal in removing windbreaks and has a terrain roughness of 0. The Philippines, being near the AsiaPacific monsoon belt, is ideal for installing wind turbines. John Chua swept area of 5,281 square meters.

The Windmills, arranged in a single row, forming an arc along the Bangui shoreline, lapped by the deep blue waters from Luzon Bay, stand 326 meters apart from each other.

With the influx of tourists to the area, not far from the 120-year-old Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos town west of here, livelihood entrepreneurs and makers of souvenir items have literally sprouted.

Many houses have begun selling garlic and onions, straight from their farms.

The more enterprising and skilled ones make wooden replicas of the windmill, complete with rotating blades, pebbles and seashells.

The project in Bangui Bay consists of 20 wind turbines and each is capable of producing electricity up to a maximum capacity of 1.65 MW, for a total of 24.75 M W. Officials say this project is a

sustainable energy that could help minimize the cost of electricity consumption in favor of the customers within the Ilocos region.

The Windmills, the first wind power plant in the country and Southeast Asia, has been seen as setting the trend in the development of renewable energy this side of the world.

The flagship project of the NorthWind Power Development Corp. initially consisted of 15 Vesta wind turbines generated 24.74 megawatts and completed on May 7, 2005.

Another five wind turbines were later added, increasing the plant’s total generating capacity to 33MW. Support facilities included the 5.7 km 69 kV transmission line from the plant to Laoag City and the 30 MVA 13.8/69 kV substation, according to official information.

The Bangui wind farm is a response to the government’s call for the development of renew-

able energy sources.

Dubbed “clean and green,” it is a milestone that jump-started the initiative of the government for energy projects across the country to cut down dependence on existing generating systems using imported fossil fuels.

The use of and emissions from fossil fuels, scientists proved, have catastrophic effects to the environment which largely contributed to climate change.

According to official sources, there would be more windmills in the province, following the goahead from Gov. Imee Marcos.

“We break our dependence on fossil fuels and within the next few years, we must generate 50 percent of the energy used by the province from renewable energies,” Marcos had said.

Investors and developers of renewable energy have become interested in investing in the country following the passage of RA 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008

which gives incentives to foreign and local developers, suppliers and end-users of renewable energy.

Official sources said the Windmills supply 40 percent of Ilocos Norte’s electricity through its connection to the Luzon Grid, delivering power via Transco Laoag and reaches households as far south as Badoc and Pinili via the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative.

Here, only a town away from the northwestern side of Cagayan, wind mostly blows from the northeast, from the sea towards the land.

To optimize the full benefit of the winds, turbines are installed along the shore facing the sea effectively removing wind breaks and achieving a terrain roughness of class 0, according to official sources.

According to the sources, tourism in the province—rich in stone churches of the Spanish era and works of nature—has been lately boosted by the Windmills, appropriate symbols of renewable source of energy.

50 % of contractual govt workers to be permanent Council

By Dexter See BAGUIO CITY—Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III disclosed recently some 50 percent of contractual employees in the different agencies, bureaus, government financial institutions and government-owned and-controlled corporations would be occupying permanent positions by the start of 2017.

This follows efforts of the Duterte administration to put an end to rampant contractualization in the bureaucracy.

Bello said all the pertinent works have been completed by the government agencies to make their contractual workers become regular starting next year.

“We might allow contractualization up to a certain extent but the contractual workers to be hired must be given their benefits to be able to enjoy the privileges that go with it.” Bello said.

Latest data show there are over 1.3-million regular workers in the different government line agencies while there are more or

less 300,000 contractual workers hired but are performing the duties and responsibilities given to permanent employees.

Once all contractual workers in the national government agencies shall have been regularized as part of a lean and mean bureaucracy, Bello hoped local governments would be able to work out the regularization of their job order or contractual workers within the next several years.

Relative to the end-of-contract practice by private employers, Bello said said businesses

already committed to stop the practice by yearend.

According to him, government agencies are doing their best to comply with the marching orders of President Rodrigo Duterte to put an end to the previous endof-contract practice among the private sector and contractualization in the government to help workers enjoy the benefits of being regular workers.

That would also give them security in their jobs.

He added regional offices of

the labor department were given the order to closely monitor the compliance of the private sector in stopping their end-of-contract practice to help establish stability in the provision of permanent and long-term jobs.

Bello warned erring members of the private sector who refuse to adhere to the government mandate they would receive stiffer penalties ranging from higher fines and the filing of charges against them for violation of the pertinent provisions of labor laws.

Environmentally critical businesses told: Relocate BAGUIO CITY—Mayor Mauricio Domogan has called on owners of environmentally critical businesses, like cement batching plants, to stay away from populated areas in the city if they do not want to be subjected to constant complaints that will definitely affect their operations.

He claimed the completeness of the permits issued to cement batching plant operators like the one based in Camp 7 is no guarantee the plant will not be ejected from the area because of valid complaints from the neighborhood.

“We do not want to antagonize investors in our city but they should also consider the effects of their businesses to their neighborhood prior to the establishment of their facilities in populated areas in the city,” Domogan stressed.

He said the interest of the greater majority will always be top consideration in deciding complaints lodged against the operation of environmentally criti-

cal projects, such as the Camp 7 batching plant.

He said it was best for the management of the plant to start looking for a place to relocate its facilities.

According to him, it is not good to do business when the neighbourhood complains often about the negative effects of one’s business to the environment and the health of the people.

Domogan said the appeal is addressed to all environmentally critical businesses in the city to prevent the impression the Camp 7 batching plant is being singled out.

He added it just happened that he had been receiving numerous complaints against the operation of the Camp 7 batching plant from neighborhood residents.

He claimed the owner of the Camp 7 cement batching plant was financiallycapable of relocating the plant to an area where there would be lesser impacts to people and environment. Dexter A. See

BENEVOLENT FAIRY. An unidentified student rhythmically shuffles feet at the Diwata Showdown at the

Camiguin Sports Complex as part of the week-long annual Lanzones Festival, with backdrop Mount HibokHibok, a stratovolcano in Northern Mindanao, one of a dozen active volcanoes in the country which is part of the Pacific ring of fire. Lance Baconguis

questions quality of houses

By Pearl Gajunera DAVAO CITY—The 18th City council has questioned the National Housing Authority for the quality of houses it built in Los Amigos, Tugbok here.

Councilor Bonifacio Militar said the houses the NHA built in the area purchased by the 15th city council for the relocation of informal settlers was too small and looked like a “dog house.”

Each house measures 42 sq meters big and cost P139,000.

Militar said: “The house is too small, it’s like a dog house. Under low cost housing per unit is P420,000 if you will compare it with the house the NHA built; it is really too small, especially for a big family.”

He said members of the 18th council unanimously decided the housing facility the NHA built was not livable.

Militar also questioned the sudden change of mind of the NHA wherein they asked the city government to take over the construction and they would only provide the money.

He said the city government of Davao had signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the P20 million worth of houses in which the city would shoulder the area cost while the NHA would take on the construction cost.

C2

LGUs

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

MMDA revives 2 traffic rules

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Metro Manila Development Authority has revived two previous rules to decongest the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and other major thoroughfares in the metropolis.

MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said the agency will reimpose its closed-door policy for public utility buses as well as the motorcycle lanes scheme.

“We have many small things that we ignore. Just like the buses on Edsa, we will reimpose the closed door policy. The passengers themselves are to blame—they take the bus outside the designated bus stop.

We can penalize them,” Orbos said.

In 1991, the MMDA enacted Ordinance No. 18 to regulate the use of selected bus stops along Edsa and other major bus routes in Metro Manila.

The ordinance provides that “doors of moving buses shall remain closed in between designated stops to avoid loading and unloading of passengers.”

Violators will be penalized with P1,000 and their vehicles will be impounded.

Orbos said his agency will also revive the motorcycle lanes, which was

initiated by then MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino in 2012.

“We will begin to intensify the enforcement on motorcycle lanes along Commonwealth and Edsa. We did this during the time of Chairman Tolentino and we will do it again,” he said.

The designated motorcycle lane shall be the fourth lane from the right sidewalk and shall run the length of Edsa from Monumento in Caloocan City to SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and vice versa.

The lanes are “non-exclusive”— which means that private vehicles may also use them.

The MMDA said the implementation of the motorcycle lanes is necessary to promote a more orderly flow of traffic along the major thoroughfare and reduce the number of fatal accidents involving motorcycles.

Motorcycle riders may deviate from the motorcycle lanes when making a turn or u-turn at author-

ized intersections and u-turn slots, in which case they are to gradually shift lanes not less than 200 meters away from the turning point, while making the appropriate signals.

MMDA records showed that motorcycle crashes remained the leading cause of death and injury on Metro Manila roads.

Based on its 2015 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System report, the MMDA said motorcycles have the “highest fatality accident rate” with 262 the total number of deaths, followed by trucks (129) and private cars (125).

Motorcycles also topped the list of vehicles with the most number of injuries at 11,620, followed by cars (7,427) and public utility jeepneys (2,161).

The report noted that the number of road accidents in Metro Manila has increased to 95,615 incidents in 2015, up by 5,357 from the 90,258 cases recorded in 2014.

The total number of deaths last year also went up to 519 from the 418 fatalities in 2014.

The World Health Organization, in its 2015 report, also said that 1.25 million people have died worldwide because of road accidents, with motorcycle riders comprising 23 percent of the fatalities.

Manila

Standard SCN FORM NO. 1

(R.A. NO. 9139) TODAY

001377

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON NATURALIZATION IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF BERNARD CHUA UY to be naturalized as Filipino citizen pursuant to Republic Act No. 9139.

SCN CASE NO. 000631 x-------------------------- x PETITION Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9139, petitioner hereby submits a petition for naturalization to become a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines and respectfully declares: 1. My full name is BERNARD CHUA UY, but I have also been known since childhood as N/A or I have been judicially N/A . authorized to use the alias name(s) 2. My present place of residence is UNIT 1806 HOWARD TOWER, No. 92, 6TH AVE,, N. CARPIO ST. GRACE PARK and City/Municipality of CALOOCAN Province of all my former places of residence are (please indicate periods of residence) UNIT 21-GRACE PARK COMMERCIAL COMPLEX, J. TEODORO ST. CALOOCAN CITY-1990-2014 77-A, L. NADURATA ST., 6th AVE. CALOOCAN CITY-1985-1990 3. I was born on 20 APRIL 1985, in MANILA, PHILIPPINES Philippines. I have been a resident of the Philippines since birth. At present, I am a citizen or subject of REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 4. My father's name is BENITO CHUA UY and he was born on 2 MARCH 1955, in PHILIPPINES. He is a citizen or subject of REPUBLIC OF CHINA. My mother's name is NATIVIDAD CHUA UY and she was born on 2 DECEMBER 1955 in PHILIPPINES. She is a citizen or subject of REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 5. My trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is SALES MANAGER and from which I derive an average annual income of P 240,000.00 , inclusive of bonuses, commissions and allowances. My wife's/husband's trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is N/A and from which she derives an average annual income of P N/A .

(Where the above does not apply): I am exempt from the requirement of lucrative trade or occupation and from submitting income tax returns for the past three (3) years because I am a college degree holder [please state (1) degree obtained:BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, (2) name of school: DE LA SALLECOLLEGE OF SAINT BENILDE and (3) years graduated: 2007] who cannot practice my profession (the practice of which requires a government licensure examination) by reason of my citizenship.

26 6. My civil status is MARRIED, I was married on JANUARY 2014 in QUEZON CITY. My wife's/husband's name is CHRISTINA ROSAL CHAN and she/he was born on in 19 FEBRUARY 1988, MANDALUYONG CITY. She/he is a citizen or subject of PHILIPPINES and presently resides UNIT 1806 HOWARD TOWER, NO. 92, 6TH AVE., N. CARPIO ST., GRACE PARK CALOOCAN CITY. 7. I am legally separated from my spouse; my marriage was annulled, per decree of legal separation/annulment dated N/A granted by N/A. (please indicate the particular court which granted the same). I am a widower/widow and my spouse died on N/A in N/A. 8. I have 1 child/children, whose names, dates and places of birth and residences are as follows:

Name

Date of Place of Residence Birth Birth CAITLYN 27 August MANILA Unit 1806 Howard BRIELLE CHAN 2015 Tower, No. 92, 6th UY Ave. N. Carpio St., Grace Park, Caloocan 9. I received my primary and secondary education from the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of School Grace Christian High School Grace Christian High School De La Salle College of Saint Benilde

Place of School Quezon City

Dates of Highest Grade Study Completed 1990 to 1998 Grade Six

Quezon City

1998 to 2003 4th Year High School

Manila

2003-2007

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Export Management

10. I am able to read, write and speak Filipino and/or any of the following dialects of the Philippines: Tagalog 11. I have enrolled my minor children of school age in the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philipine History, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of Child N/A

Name and Place of School N/A

Date of Enrollment N/A

12. I shall never be a public charge. I am of good moral character. I believe in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution. I have conducted myself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of my residence in the Philippines in my relations with the constituted government as well as with the community in which I am living.

I mingled socially with Filipinos and have evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino people. I have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under Republic Act No. 9139.

I am not opposed to organized government or affiliated

with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments. I am not defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success and predominance of one's ideas. I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy. I have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. I am not suffering from mental alienation or from any incurable contagious disease.

The country of which I am a citizen or subject is not at war with the Philippines and grants to Filipinos the right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.

13. It is my true and honest intention to become a citizen of the Philippines and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and, particularly, to REPUBLIC OF CHINA of which at this time I am a citizen or subject. I will reside continuously in the Philippines from the date of the filing of this petition up to the time of my admission to Philippine citizenship.

14. My character witnesses are CARLO ANTHONY ONG LIM and EDWARD CHRISTOPHER TIU LIM both Filipino citizens, of legal age, and residing at No. 40 Emerald St. Millionaires Village, Novaliches, Quezon City and No. 10G Avida Tower 5, Felix Huertas St. Sta. Cruz, Manila respectively, who have executed sworn statements attached hereto in support of my instant petition, together with: (a) brief biographical data about themselves; (b) detailed statements on the dates they first came to know me, the circumstances of our initial acquaintance and the reasons and extent of our continuing familiarity; and (c) the number of times they have acted as character witnesses in other petitions for naturalization.

15. Attached hereto as annexes and made part of this petition are the duplicate originals or certified photocopies of the following documents (please check the appropriate box):

SURF’S UP. A beginner tries to maintain her balance during surfing lessons in Urbiztondo, La Union. Teddy Pelaez

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

‘I saw the ghost of my grandpa’

By Ben Cal I SAW the ghost of my grandfather when I was a two-year-old toddler.

His ghost popped out from a huge wooden post inside our house in Tagbilaran, Bohol one evening during the nine-day prayer for the eternal repose of his soul.

His sudden appearance in the midst of the novena sent the whole flock of people attending the prayer gathering, including my grandmother, my parents, and relatives scampering to different directions, leaving me alone behind.

As a 24-month-old baby, I was unaware of the whole episode until I was four when my grandma and my parents asked me whether I indeed saw the spirit of my grandfa-

ther, the late Dr. Andres Bautista, that night of All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2, 1947. My grandpa died on Oct. 25 that same year.

They related to me in detail what transpired that evening when suddenly I shouted, “Lolo, Lolo, Lolo!”

—pointing my finger to a huge wooden post in the receiving room of our house.

I told them I could not recall what I saw, but the fact that all of them ran for their lives when I shouted “Lolo, Lolo, Lolo!” was more than enough to confirm that I indeed saw his ghost, apparently to make his presence felt that he was lingering around the area.

Ghosts are real, indeed.

As the eldest grandson, I remember my Lolo Andres cradling me on

his breast while lying in his bed and giving me “broa” cookies which I munched with gusto.

As a physician, he was the best doctor in town during his lifetime, being a graduate of Yale University in the United States in the early 1900s, according to my grandmother. As a doctor, he cured thousands of patients of their ailments.

My grandmother told me that when my lolo was gravely ill, he knew death was coming soon, and called her and their three children to say good-bye.

But before he breathed his last, he finally acceded to call a priest to confess his sins. Fluent in Spanish, his last words were: “Adios, Magdalena.” He died a happy death. PNA

[ / ] a. Petitioner's birth certificate [ / ] b. Petitioner's alien certificate of registration (ACR) [ / ] c. Petitioner's native-born certificate of residence (NBCR) [ / ] d. Petitioner's marriage certificate, if married [ ] e. Death certificate of his/her spouse, if widowed [ ] f. Court decree annulling his/her marriage or granting legal separation, if such was the fact [ / ] g. Birth certificates of petitioner's minor children [ ] h. ACRs of petitioner's minor children [ ] i. NBCRs of petitioner's minor children [ / ] j. Affidavits of financial capacity by the petitioner, duly supported by bank certifications, passbooks, stock certificates, or proof of ownership of other properties [ / ] k. Affidavits of at least two (2) credible witnesses who must be Filipino citizens of good reputation in petitioner's place of residence [ / ] l. Medical certificate from a government hospital stating that petitioner is not suffering from mental alienation or a user of prohibited drugs or otherwise a drug dependent and that he/she is not afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), or any incurable contagious disease. [ / ] m. School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner from the school/s he or she attended in the Philippines [ ] n. Certifications stating that petitioner's minor children are enrolled in public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the DECS, where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality [ / ] o. Petitioner's income tax returns for the past three years [ ] p. Petitioner's receipts of payment of income tax for the past three years 16. Other documents submitted by the petitioner in support of his/her petition: - 2316 for 2013, 2014 & 2015 - Bank Certificates - Condominium Certificates of Title -OR/CR of Motor Vehicle w/LTO Cert.

-Brgy Clearance

-NBI Clearance -OCP Clearance -MTC Clearance -RTC Clearance -Police Clearance

PRAYER WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that petitioner be conferred Philippine citizenship pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No, 9139.

Dated at San Juan, Metro Manila, this

day of

20

.

BERNARD CHUA UY Name and Signature of Petitioner Address: Unit 1806 HOWARD TOWER, No. 92, 6TH AVE., N. CARPIO ST. GRACE PARK, CALOOCAN CITY Telephone Number:

CHANGING OF THE GUARD. Police Sr. Supt. Joel Rentoy Consulta is now the officer-in-charge of the Pampanga Police Office following the compulsory retirement of Sr. Supt. Rodolfo Recomono. Romeo Dizon

Erap: Secure UST for 2016 bar exams

Right Thumbmark of Petitioner

Petitioner's signature and right thumbmark REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) CITY/MUNICIPALITY OF QUEZON CITY) S.S. I, BERNARD CHUA UY of legal age and a resident of Unit 1806 HOWARD TOWER, No. 92, 6TH AVE., GRACE PARK, CALOOCAN CITY after being duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner herein, that I have read the foregoing petition and know the foregoing petition and known the contents thereof, and that the same is true of my own knowledge.

BERNARD CHUA UY Name and Signature of Petitioner

SUBCRIBED AND SWORN to before me at Quezon City, this 12 JUL.2016.

(MS-Oct. 26/Nov. 2/9, 2016)

By Sandy Araneta TO PREVENT a repeat of the 2010 bar exams bombing that injured 47 people, Mayor Joseph Estrada has ordered the Manila Police District to put up a tight security cordon around the University of Santo Tomas campus where the 2016 examinations will be held this month.

Estrada said the city government will not take any chances in protecting the safety of the general public, particularly the thousands of examinees who will be taking the bar examinations set for Nov. 6, 13, 20, and 27.

“We will utilize all our available law enforcement and protective units to ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of the [bar] examinations.

We can’t let any untoward incidents to happen again,” Estrada said.

Estrada directed MPD director Senior Supt. Joel Coronel to deploy a sufficient number of policemen around the UST campus to maintain peace and order.

He also ordered Manila’s rescue units to place on standby at the school grounds teams of paramedics and ambulances to render emergency medical assistance during the four-Sunday examinations.

“For this year, again, the whole perimeter of UST shall be secured, so meaning España Avenue, Lacson, Dapitan, and P. Noval streets will be closely guarded,” Coronel said.

“We will be deploying round-theclock patrol and police visibility in the area, especially on the first Sunday where we expect a lot of people will be proceeding to the area,” Coronel added.

A portion of España Avenue (westbound going to Quiapo) will also be closed to vehicular traffic in the morning and in the afternoon during the four Sundays to give way to the thousands of examinees, Coronel said.

In all the four Sundays of November, police will also enforce the city ordinance that bans the sale, use, or distribution of liquors within 100 meters of examination venue, he added.

On Sept. 26, 2010, a grenade thrown by a fraternity member exploded outside the De La Salle University along Taft Avenue in Malate just as thousands of bar examinees were exiting the school grounds.

The explosion injured 47 people, including two law graduates who required amputations.

World

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

C3

Fears over rapprochement B

EIJING―Secret talks between the Vatican and Beijing are raising hopes of a “historic” rapprochement after six decades of estrangement, but some Chinese clergy fear that Rome will accept a Communist stranglehold over the country’s Catholics.

Since becoming head of the Holy See in 2013 Pope Francis has tried to improve relations with the Chinese government in the hope of reconnecting with Catholics in China who are divided between two denominations, loyal to either Rome or Beijing.

But opponents―among them the respected Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen―say the agreeManila

Standard

TODAY

ment risks abandoning loyal believers and amounts to a deal with the devil.

Since January, Chinese and Vatican officials have met at least four times, including in Rome, to try and resolve the delicate issue of the appointment of bishops― the heart of the dispute.

Each side has long insisted that it should have the final say on the

issue―the Vatican as God’s representative on Earth, and the Communist party as the final arbiter on all issues in China.

“We’re hoping for a very important, historic agreement that we’ve been waiting for for nearly 70 years,” said Jeroom Heyndrickx, a Belgian priest who has been involved with Chinese Catholics since the 1950s and is closely following the discussions.

“A Chinese delegation will head to Rome at the beginning of November for a last round of negotiations,” said Heyndrickx, acting director of the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute in Leuven, which studies Catholicism in China.

China and the Vatican have not had diplomatic relations since 1951. The country’s roughly 12 million Catholics are divided between the government-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, whose clergy are chosen by the Communist Party―but sometimes accepted by

Rome―and an unofficial church where bishops named by the Vatican are not recognized

by Beijing, but sometimes tolerated.

But earlier this year the pope sent greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he was an admirer of Chinese civilization. Xi responded in September with a gift of a silk print of an 8th-century stele―a nearly three-meter tall carved stone tablet from Xian, the earliest known trace of Christianity in China.

The agreement is currently expected to see the Vatican recognize four out of the eight CPCA bishops it does not currently acknowledge, according to Father Heyndrickx. Beijing could also name two new bishops in Shanxi and Sichuan provinces with Rome’s blessing.

The two would also agree on how to select future bishops.

“Rome could accept a situation in which the final nomination is made by the pope,” HeynTL

ABSTRACT OF THE EPPA AND OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

25. Executive Summary. The EPPA provides for a cooperation period of five (5) years commencing from 26 August 2019 or until 25 August 2024. The delivery and purchase of Contract Demand and Contract Energy under the EPP A is conditioned, among others, on the receipt by TeaM of the Order of this Honorable Commission approving the EPP A with finality.

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OR APPROVAL OF THE ELECTRIC POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT (EPPA) ENTERED INTO BY AND BETWEEN LA UNION ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC. (LUECO) AND TEAM [PHILIPPINES] ENERGY CORPORATION (ACTING AS A WHOLESALE AGGREGATOR [WA] , WITH PRAYER FOR THE CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION

27. In case TeaM is unable to source electricity from the Power Plant not due to Force Majeure or allowed downtime, TeaM shall undertake alternative sourcing arrangements to compensate for the failure or shortfall, provided that, LUECO shall pay to TeaM the prevailing Electricity fee.

a.

(a)

In their Joint Application, LUECO and TeaM Energy alleged the following:

(i)

Copies of the SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of TeaM, each duly certified by the corporate secretary of TeaM;

(ii)

Copies of resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors Of TeaM authorizing the execution, delivery, and performance by TeaM of this Agreement and the transactions contermplated hereunder, duly certified by the corporate secretary of TeaM and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to LUECO.

The Applicants 1.

LUECO is a domestic corporation duly organizeds and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal office at LUECO Building, Quezon Avenue, San Fernando City, La Union.

(b)

It is represented in this Joint Application by its President and Chairman of the Board, MR. RUBEN L. VALERO, JR.

In the event that after the electric power industry has been restructured resulting in the establishment of an open wholesale market for electric power and an open access transmission and sub-transmission system, another electricity supplier (with an existing generating facility with an aggregate capacity of at least 50 MW) (“Alternative Supplier”) makes a formal offer to supply and deliver electricity of the same quality and quantity to LUECO at rates lower than the rates applicable under; and for the same terms and conditions under this Agreement, LUECO shall send a written notice of such offer to TeaM. TeaM shall have the right to continue to supply electricity under this Agreement at the rates offered by the Alternative Supplier. If TeaM does not wish to supply electricity under this Agreement at the rates offered by the Alternative Supplier, then TeaM and LUECO shall promptly and in good faith renegotiate the rates under this Agreement.

In the event that TeaM and LUECO are unable to agree on such rates after ninety (90) days from receipt by TeaM of notice of such offer, this Agreement may be terminated by LUECO by delivery of a Termination Notice to TeaM, unless TeaM matches the offer prior to the expiration of such 90¬day period. f.

In addition to the conditions precedent specified in Article 11.1(a), the ERC Final Approval of this Agreement or the rates under this Agreement, as applicable, shall be a condition precedent to the performance by LUECO ,of its obligations hereunder. It is understood that TeaM and LUECO shall jointly file with the ERC to secure the ERC Final Approval.

(a)

It shall be a condition precedent to the performance by TeaM of its obligations hereunder that all the following documents are supplied to TeaM, unless submission is waived by TeaM:

3.

Copies of LUECO’s Articles of Incorporation, General Information Sheet, (“GIS”), and Legislative franchise (Republic Act No. 9385) are hereto attached and marked as Annexes “A”, “B”, and “C”, respectively. . ‘ 4.

TeaM is a domestic corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal office address at 25th Floor W Fifth Avenue Building 5th Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. It is represented in this Joint Application by its President, Mr. SUGURU TZUSAKI. 5.

It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TeaM Energy Corporation (“TeaM Energy”) which operates the Sual Plant and Pagbilao Plant and a holder of Wholesale Aggregator License No. WA13-01-C02 issued by this Honorable Commission to sell electricity to distribution utilities as well as a Retail Electricity Supplier.

b.

(i)

Copies of the SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of LUECO, each certified by the corporate secretary of LUECO;

(ii)

Copies of resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of LUECO authorizing the execution, delivery, and performance by LUECO of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereunder, certified by the corporate secretary of LUECO and ‘in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to TeaM.

RATE IMPLICATIONS OF THE EPPA 29. LUECO residential customers enjoy savings of 34 centavos per Kwh (PAR plus 4 centavos) while non-residential customers receive 4 centavos/Kwh discount from the time TeaM Energy started supplying LUECO. Total savings for year 2015 for all LUECO customers us P6,992,459.55. Total forecasted savings is P36,645,983.49.

Annex”R”

MINIMUM ANNUAL ENERGY OFF-TAKE SCHEDULE The minimum annual energy off-take schedule of BUYER based on its Demand and Energy Forecast up to 2024:

6.

Copies of TeaM’s (a.) Certificate of Filing of Amended Articles of Incorporation issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission; (b.) General Information Sheet (“GIS”); (c.) Certificate of Registration; and (d.) Wholesale Aggregator License No. WA-13-01-C02 issued and as renewed by this Honorable Commission are hereto attached and marked as Annexes “D”, “E”, “F”, and “G”, respectively.

SUPPLY YEAR

7.

The Applicants may be served orders and other processes of this Honorable Commission through their respective undersigned counsels.

NATURE OF THE APPLICATION 8.

Pursuant to Sections 23, 25, 43 (u), and 45 (b) of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001”. Rule 20 (B) of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“ERC Rules”), approved by this Honorable Commission on 22 June 20016 in Resolution No. 38, Series of 2006, and other pertinent rules and regulations, this Application is being submitted to this Honorable Commission for its due consideration and approval of the Electric Power Purchase Agreement (“EPPA”); entered into by and between LUECO and TeaM on 25 April 2016. A copy of the aforementioned EPPA is hereto attached and marked as Annex “H”.

DEMAND (KW)

ENERGY (KWH)

August 26, 2019 to August 25, 2020

33,560

158,763,262

August 26, 2020 to August 25, 2021

34,231

161.144,711

August 26, 2021 to August 25, 2022

34,915

163,561,881

August 26, 2022 to August 25, 2023

35,614

166,015,310

August 26, 2023 to August 25, 2024

36,326

168,505,539 Rate Impact -Future Savings

LUECO shall be allowed to adjust its demand and energy forecasts within the months affected in cases of calamities, major equipment/sub-transmission failure, or Force Majeure events as defined in Article 6 of the EPPA. For changes in LUECO’s demand and energy due to Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA), and the entry of new capacity, LUECO shall be allowed to adjust its demand and energy forecasts at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the effectivity of the change in demand and energy forecasts. For reasons other than those stated previously, LUECO shall be allowed to adjust its demand and energy forecasts at least six (6) months prior to the effectivity of the change in demand and energy forecasts.

9.

Likewise being attached and marked as Annexes “I” and “J” are the respective Board Resolutions of LUECO and TeaM approving the aforementioned EPPA. COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS

All additional requirements above the demand forecast from August 26, 2019 to August 25, 2025 shall be sourced by TeaM from WESM, for and in behalf of LUECO, provided that LUECO shall pay TeaM the actual WESM price for the. additional requirements above the demand forecast (“Incremental Demand and Market Change”) using the Formula below:

10. In compliance with Rule 6 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, applicants LUECO and TeaM furnished the respective legislative bodies of the Province of La Union, City of San Fernando, and the Municipalities of Bauang and San Juan, all in the Province of La Union where LUECO principally operates and the legislative body of Taguig City where TeaM principally operates.

11. In lieu of the required certifications from the four (4) legislative bodies and pursuant to Rule 6, Sec. 3 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of this Honorable Commission, applicants herein attached the Affidavit of Mr. PABLO BUSTAMANTE (Annex “K”) attesting that on 28 April 2016, he furnished via personal service copies of the instant Application, inclusive of all its annexes, to legislative bodies of the Province of La Union, City of San Fernando, and the Municipalities of Bauang and San Juan, all in the Province of La Union.

Copies of the Rate Impact Analysis/Study and Future Savings are attached hereto as Annexes “R” and “R-1”, and made an integral part hereof.

NATURE OF DOCUMENT Sangguniang Panlalawigan of La Union

L-3

Sangguniang Bayan of San Juan

Likewise attached as Annex “M” is the Affidavit executed by Mr. Airon Ramos, attesting that he furnished via personal service on 28 April 2016, a copy of the instant Application, inclusive of all its Annexes, to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Taguig City and the front page of the Application (Annex “N”) bearing the stamp “received” by the said LGU legislative body.

12. In addition, Applicants LUECO and TeaM caused the publication of the instant Application in its entirety in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines. Copies of the corresponding Affidavit of Publication and the newspaper issue where the Application is published are attached hereto as Annexes “O” and “O-1”, respectively.

STATEMENT OF FACTS 13. LUECO is a private distribution utility authorized to distribute electricity to its Franchise Area, i.e., San Fernando,City and the Municipalities of Bauang and San Juan, Province of La Union.

14. On 13 January 2005, LUECO filed its Amended Application for the approval of its Electric Purchase Power Agreement (“EPP A”) it entered with then Mirant (Philippines) Energy Corporation docketed as ERC Case No. 2005-004 RC. Said Amended Application was approved by this Honorable Commission as per its Decision dated 29 September 2009.

15. In the delivery of its services, LUECO, pursuant to the said Decision, sources one hundred percent (100%) of its electricity requirements for distribution to its end customers from TeaM. 16. The approved EPPA likewise provides for the delivery of energy by TeaM to LUECO with a minimum energy take-off of up to 13,305,000 kWh per month. For energy delivered on each billing month, LUECO shall pay TeaM electricity fees at the rate of PhPo.04/kWh lower than the approved generation rate of the National Power Corporation (NPC), including this Honorable Commission’s approved transmission charges.

17. Since the approval of the EPPA in 2009, TeaM has been consistently delivering reliable, dependable, and low cost energy to LUECO’s customers in the City of San Fernando, and the Municipalities of Bauang and San Juan, all in the Province of La Union.1 18. Aside from enjoying the benefits of paying a reasonable cost of electricity at a rate less four centavos (PhPo.04/kWh) per kilowatthour and an additional reduction of thirty centavos (PhPo.30/kWh) per kilowatthour to residential customers because of the Power Act Reduction (“PAR”), other favourable terms and conditions of the EPPA that are available to the electricity endusers of LUECO are as follows: a.

b.

c.

POWER ACT REDUCTION (PAR): On top of the PPD, residential customers are given PAR discount or a rate reduction of thirty centavos per kilowatt-hour (PhP0.30/ kWh). Under the EPlRA, this rate reduction is mandated from NPC rates only:2 but TeaM nonetheless, makes the same available to LUECO and its consumers. The provision of PAR discount amounts to approximately PhP1.6M average per month, which benefits 37,698 out of 42,451 or 88.8%3 of LUECO’s customers.

FULL BACK-UP DURING ALLOWED DOWNTIME: For TPEC’s allowed downtime, whether for planned maintenance or unplanned outages, TeaM shall undertake alternative sourcing arrangements or back-up facilities subject to payment of the existing and prevailing electricity rate, i.e., the same rate of published NPC rates less PhP0.04/kWh, thus avoiding erratic fluctuations of rates in the market.

No penalty. shall be imposed in the event that LUECO’s projected demand or energy exceeds the MEOT. Instead, LUECO and TeaM shall meet to discuss the option of increasing the MEOT, subject to the availability of kilowatt-hours that LUECO agreed to purchase from TeaM is satisfied, the contracted energy will be reviewed on annual basis.

19. Moreover, as an indication of good relations between LUECO and TeaM, the latter grants, among others, the free use of 69kV totalizer meter with current transformers, potential transformers and lightning arresters, which are used by LUECO for real-time data acquisition for business and technical analytics. TeaM also provides continuous technical support and access to its technical expertise on systems loss reduction and system improvement.

20. With TeaM’s commitment to achieve cost-efficient, safe, and environmentally-sound generation operations, it has been in partnership with LUECO since 2009 to address the power requirements of LUECO’s customers, thereby promoting sustainable economic growth and development in the Province of La Union.

21. It is, therefore, in this context that LUECO was driven to extend the implementation of its supply contract with TeaM, under the same terms and conditions as approved bythis Honorable Commission in ERC Case No. 2005-004RC. A copy of the letter dated 04 August 2014 of Mr. SUGURU TSUZAKI, President of TeaM, as conformed by Mr.RUBEN L. VALERO, JR., President and Chairman of the Board of LUECO is hereto attached and marked as Annex “P”.

22. On 11 November 2014, LUECO and TeaM filed their “Motion with Manifestation”, a copy of which is hereto attached as Annex “Q” for reference, manifesting to this Honorable Commission that the parties have agreed to extend the implementation of the approved EPPA for another five (5) years or until 25 August 2024 and moved that said extension be allowed without the necessity of having to file for a new application.

23. To date, this Honorable Commission has yet to resolve the aforementioned “Motion with Manifestation”.

24. Applicants, therefore, are constrained to file before this Honorable Commission their Application for the Approval of their Electric Power Purchase Agreement [EPPA] dated 25 April 2016. Applicants submit that the present Applicatin is without prejudice to the resolution by this Honorable Commission of the foregoing “Motion with Manifestation.”

30. In further support of the instant Application and in compliance with the documentary and pre-filing requirements of this Honorable Commission, LUECO and TeaM are submitting the attached documents which are made integral parts hereof, as follows:

Where if (ADh -CD) < 0, then (ADh -CD) =0 d Total number of trading days for the billing period h Trading interval within the trading day d within the billing period m Total number of days in the billing period ADh Actual Energy Demand for the trading interval h, expressed in kWh. CD Contracted Demand, expressed in kWh Ph Effective WESM rate for the trading interval h specific to the customer’s marketing node, expressed in PHP /kWh *Effective WESM Rate is computed with the following considerations but is not limited to: Site Specific Line Adjustment, Ex-Ante Price, BeQ Quantity, Ex Post Price, AMQ per interval and such charges that may be billed by PEMCjrom time to time MRCh All other market related costs for the trading interval h attributable to the excess in the contracted demand inclusive of but not limited to: Price Substitution Methodology (PSM), Net settlement Surplus (NSS), Price Substitution Adjustment (PSA), Must Run Unit (MRU) and all other charges that may be billed by PEMC from time to time.

Expressed in PHP.

Copies of the front page of the said Application bearing the stamp “received” by the LGU Legislative bodies are herein attached and marked as follows:

Sangguniang Bayan of Bauang

SELLER’S RIGHT TO TERMINATE FOR CONVENIENCE. [SEC. 12.2 (B)]: If the ERC Final Approval has been issued within one (1) year before the expiration of the Electric Power Purchase Agreement between La Union Electric Company” Inc. and TeaM (Philippines) Energy Corporation dated September 12, 2008 (“Original EPPA”), or after the expiration of such, and the Electric Fees as approved in the ERC Final Approval would lead to material economic losses on the part of TeaM, TeaM, at its option, may proceed with the termination of the Agreement upon giving of thirty (30) day notice to LUECO. However, to ensure continuity of supply,’ protection of LUECO’s customers from WESM price volatilities, and to allow LUECO sufficient time to conduct a Competitive Selection Process in accordance with ERC Resolution 1 Series of 2016, it is understood that the term of the Original EPPA shall automatically be extended for another year from effectivity of the ERC Final Approval, and subject to the same terms and conditions of the Original EPP A, as approved in ERC Case No. 2005-004 RC.

Article 11.2 SELLER CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

2.

It is the grantee of a legislative franchise (Republic Act No. 9385) issued by the Thirteenth (13th) Congress to operate an electric light and power system in the City of San Fernando and the Municipalities of Bauang and San Juan, all in the province of La Union for a period of twenty-five (25) years from 23 May 2007 or until 22 May 2032.

L-2

RIGHT TO SOURCE FROM AN ALTERNATIVE SUPPLIER (SEC. 12.4)

It shall be a condition precedent to the performance by LUECO of its obligations hereunder that all the following documents are supplied to LUECO, unless submission thereof is waived by the LUECO:

On 29 April 2016, Applicants La Union Electric Company, Inc. (LUECO) and Team [Philippines] Energy Corporation (TeaM Energy), filed a Joint Application With Prayer For Provisional Authority And Confidential Treatment Of Information dated 27 April 2016 (Joint Application) seeking the Commission’s approval of the Electric Power Purchase Agreement (EPPA) entered into by both parties.

Sangguniang Panglungsod of San Fernando

e.

Article 11.1 BUYER CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

L

PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT: TeaM shall continue to give a PPD of three (3%) percent for bills paid within ten (10) days from LUECO’s receipt of the billing in accordance with the Decision in ERC Case No. 2004-004 RC.

START OF SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY The supply of electricity by TeaM and acceptance by LUECO shall start upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent provided under Article 11.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

L-1

d.

28. Salient features ofthe EPPA:

LA UNION ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC. (LUECO) AND TEAM [PHILIPPINES] ENERGY CORPORATION (TEAM ENERGY), Applicants. x------------------------------------------------------------------------x

ANNEX

Transmission loss on the Luzon grid as approved by ERC (presently called Power Delivery Loss and specified in the NPC Open Access Transmission Services), expressed as a percentage.

In the event that any of the NPC generation rate component or other component of the Electricity Fee as set forth above shall no longer be available or shall cease to exist due to privatization of NPC’s generating plants pursuant. to Republic Act No. 9136 or otherwise, LUECO and TeaM shall meet, within three working days from LUECO’s receipt of TeaM’s notice (the “Notice”) to discuss the alternative computations for the Electricity Fees.

26. During the aforementioned Coopeation Period, TeaM shall supply, and LUECO shall purchase, on a take or pay basis, at least insofar as the MEOT, as set forth in Schedule 1. All additional requirements above the Demand during the Cooperation Period shall be sourced by TeaM from the WESM, for and in behalf of LUECO, provided that LUECO shall pay TeaM the actual WESM price for LUECO’s additional requirements as computed in accordance with the formula in Schedule 1 of subject EPPA.

ERC CASE NO. 2016-087 RC

drickx adds. But it was not clear whether the Vatican would have a choice of candidates.

Crucially, the agreement will not address the 30 bishops consecrated by Rome but rejected

by Beijing.

“Their fate will certainly not be resolved in the near future,” said Father Heyndrickx.

Even if Beijing agreed to recognize them, he predicted, “I am convinced that they would refuse to join the Patriotic Association.”

Chinese Catholics are divided over the prospect of an agreement, with Cardinal Zen― who spent seven years teaching in the official church in the 1990s―the most high-profile opponent.

The Chinese Communist party is officially atheist and Zen said of the CPCA: “They don’t believe in God, they don’t understand what is the church. They only have political considerations.” AFP CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

c.

Annex

CONTRACT PRICE/PRICING STRUCTURE In respect of each Billing Month within the Cooperation Period, LUECO shall pay Electricity Fees to TeaM in accordance with Schedule 4 of the EPP A, which is hereunder quoted:

Document

S

Billing Simulation

T

Computation Sheet for TOU for the billing period February 26, 2016 to March 25, 2016.

U

Computation of PAR to LUECO’s residential customers for the billing period February 26, 2016 to March 25, 2016

V

Electricity Formula (updated)

W

IDMC Formula

X

IDC Computation

Y

LUECO’s Distribution Development Plan (Load Forecast)

Z

Transmission Service Agreement with NGCP

AA

Metering Service Agreement with NGCP

Electricity Fee = Ex (G = TR)

BB

Audited Financial Statement of TeaM

Where: E G TR

CC

Cost Breakdown

The amount of electricity consumed for the Billing Month, expressed in kWh. The generation fee rate applicable for the Billing Month, expressed in PHP /kWh. Effective transmission fee rate applicable for the relevant month billed by and due to TRANSCO as approved by ERC (composed of Transmission Power Delivery Service Charges, Cross Subsidy Charges, Ancillary Service Charges, Systems Operation Charge, Supply & Metering Charge and other TRANSCO charges and adjustments).

Expressed in PHP /kWh.

Where: G

= NPC-DISC

Where: NPC-DISC

= NPCGenco -Discount

Where: NPCGenco

ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF APPLICANTS’ MOTION FOR NON-DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 31. Under Section 10 of EPPA, each of LUECO and TeaM agree that all information and documents (whether financial, technical, or otherwise) obtained by it or its agents from TeaM or LUECO or from its agents’ inspections, which are not generally publicly available, shall be kept confidential, and shall not be disclosed to any other person or entity without the prior written approval of TeaM or LUECO, as the case may be.

32. LUECO respectfully requests that pursuant to each other’s obligation to maintain in strict confidence all confidential information of TeaM, Annex “CC” (Team’s Cost Breakdown) which contain certain non-public, information, data, and calculations involving business operations and’ financial trade secrets reflecting TeaM’s investment arid business calculations, be treated as confidential documents.

The ERC-approved NPC generation rate for the Luzon grid applicable for the Billing Month, expressed inPHP/kWh.

Discount

33. Under Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, this Honorable Commission may, upon request of a party and determination of the existence of conditions which would warrant such remedy, treat certain information submitted to it as confidential. Pursuant to such provision, LUECO respectfully requests for the issuance of a protective order declaring the foregoing information, data and calculations contained in Annex “CC”, as confidential information. ‘

PHP 0.04/kWh.

PROVIDED, that if: Beginning open access the computed NPCGenco is lower than the GENRATE (as defined below),

34. Further, in accordance with Section l(b), Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, LUECO hereby submits one (1) copy of Annex “CC” in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the document stamped with the word “Confidential”.

THEN the Generation fee rate (G) shall be:

PRAYER

G=GENRATE Where: GENRATE

WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Commission that:

= BASE_Rate x ADJ + FUEL

Where: BASE_Rate =PHP 2.9994/kWh ADJ

= A x (FXn / FXb) + B x (FXn / FXb) x (US_CPIn / US_CPIb) + C x (PHP _CPIn/PHP CPIb) A

0-4528

FXn

The Peso equivalent ofone US Dollar as published by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on the last day of the applicable Billing Month.

FXb

PHP 41.04 / 1 US Dollar

B

0.1532

US_CPIn

The U.S. Consumer Price Index relative to the Year 2008 as published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) applicable for the Billing Month.

US_CPIb

The base reference U.S. Consumer Price Index as published by IMF set at 96.80 (where Year 2010 = 100).

C

0.3940

PHP_CPln

Consumer Price Index for the Philippines relative to the year 2008 applicable for the Billing Month . as published by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

PHP_ CPb

The base reference Consumer Price Index for the Philippines set at 106.50 (where year 2006 = 100).

FUEL

The cost of Coal fuel applicable for the relevant Billing Month, computed as follows:

FUEL

=

Where: CP

HR

The plant heat rate in accordance with the attached Appendix A -Guaranteed Plant Heat Rate.

HV

The coal heating value of 6,040 kcal/kg

(2)

an Order be issued Treating Annex “C” as confidential documents and the information contained therein as confidential and directing its non-disclosure pursuant to Rule 4, Section 1 ‘of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure and prescribing the guidelines for the protection thereof.

Other reliefs just and equitable are likewise prayed for.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject ln matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the Applicants conclude the presentation of their evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the Applicants that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The Applicants are hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours.

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Commissioners ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA,, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 19th day of September 2016 in Pasig City.

The landed price of coal (includes Freight on Board price of coal, cost of freight and insurance, taxes, custom duties, fees, and other charges related to the importation and handling of coal) in US Dollar per Metric Ton provided to the Generating Power Station applicable for the Billing Month.

The Peso equivalent of one US Dollar as published by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on the last day of the applicable Billing Month.

the Electric Power Purchase Agreement (“EPPA”) entered into by and between La Union Electric Company, Inc. (“LUECO”) and TeaM (Philippines) Energy Corporation (“TeaM”) on 25 April 2016 be approved; and

The Commission has set the Joint Application for initial hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on 23 November 2016 at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at LUECO’s Principal Office at LUECO Building, Quezon Avenue, San Fernando City, La Union.

[(CP/IOOO) x FXx HR/HV1/(l-TL)

FX

(1)

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO 1

LUECO had a Transitional Supply Contract (TSC) with NPC with an expiry date of 25 June 2005. Under the EPPA approved in 2009, upon the termination of TSC, TPEC will supply one hundred (100%) percent of LUECO’s power requirements.

2

Section 72. Mandated Rate Reduction. - Upon the effectivity of this Act, residential end-users shall be granted a rate reduction from NOC rates of thirty centavos per kilowatt-hour (PhP0.30/kWh). Such reduction shall be reflected as a separate item in the consumer billing statement.

Based on July 2015 data.

(MS-Oct. 26/Nov. 2, 2016)

3

C4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

World

Election stressing American voters

L

OS ANGELES―The US presidential election is only a few days away, but for most Americans worn out by the vicious campaign, the vote can’t come soon enough.

“People are always somewhat stressed during elections but I’ve never seen it this extreme,” said Judi Bloom, a Los Angeles-area psychologist.

According to a recent Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association, more than half of Americans are stressed out by one of the most adversarial contests in recent history.

For months, Donald Trump, the Republican candidate vying for the White House, has hammered away at President Barack Obama’s policies on health care, Syria or trade, denouncing them

as a “disaster” and warning that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would lead the country to “catastrophe.”

He has also warned that hordes of migrants, described as “rapists” and “criminals,” are seeking to slip into the United States through the border with Mexico―where he wants to build a wall―and that jihadists are hiding among Syrian refugees.

Clinton for her part has also gone for the jugular, denouncing her rival as “unstable” and capable of unleashing nuclear war “just because somebody got under his very thin skin.”

She has lashed out at him over allegations of groping women and sexual assaults―charges he has denied.

“It’s a very negative campaign, with candidates accusing each other of lying, saying the election is rigged and it generates a sense of hopelessness, of ‘this is the end my friend,’” Bloom said.

“I get a lot of ‘I’ll move to Canada.’”

Robert Bright, a psychiatrist in the western state of Arizona, said not since the September 11, 2001 attacks or the financial crisis has he seen this level of anxiety among Americans.

“Just yesterday, I saw a woman who had trouble sleeping at night,” he told AFP. “Another patient who is very ill joked that the good thing about dying is that he will not have to watch any more political commercials.”

Rather than using campaign slogans such as Obama’s rallying cry of “Yes We Can,” the 2016 front runners in the race have played up the Fear Factor which has increased voter angst.

“People fear for their financial safety, for the national security, terrorist attacks, there’s a fear of the ‘other,’” Bright said.

He added that Republicans especially are concerned about the future makeup of the US Supreme Court, where the next president will potentially appoint three or more new justices to lifetime seats.

Added to that, Republicans are also fearful of losing control of both houses of Congress and are fretting over the future of their party, which has been left in tatters.

The campaign has meanwhile often sunk below the belt amid lurid sex scandals and hyperbole.

AFP

FASHION WEEK. A model parades a creation from the 95sy Collec-

tion designed by Zhaoping Deng at China Fashion Week in Beijing. AFP

Obama extends Sudan sanctions

Amnesty condemns crackdown in Pakistan

K H A RT O U M ― P r e s i d e n t Barack Obama has extended US sanctions on Sudan for another year, saying Khartoum’s policies remained an “extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States.

Sudan has been subject to a US trade embargo since 1997 for its alleged support for Islamist groups. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

In recent years, the Sudanese government’s scorched earth tactics against ethnic minority rebels in Darfur have been cited as a reason not to lift the sanctions.

On Monday, Obama ordered the sanctions extended for one year starting from November 3.

“The actions and policies of the government of Sudan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” he said in a statement.

There had been speculation that the sanctions might be eased after repeated visits to Khartoum in recent months by US special envoy Donald Booth.

In a separate statement released on Monday, the US embassy said the one-year extension was purely “technical” and the sanctions could still be eased.

It was “part of a routine, annual process that does not prejudice the ability of the president to provide sanctions relief at any point in the future,” the embassy said.

The United States―which has also blacklisted Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993―intended to continue its policy of engagement, it added.

Washington was a key supporter of the peace accords that led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011 and there had been speculation at the time that the blacklisting would be lifted as a reward.

But the Darfur conflict has continued to dog relations.

President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide related to the conflict. He denies the charges.

In September last year, Washington refused Bashir a visa to attend the UN General Assembly, citing the ICC arrest warrant. AFP

ISLAMABAD―Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to release hundreds of opposition activists detained before a planned mass protest, as police used tear gas and rubber bullets overnight to prevent demonstrators from entering Islamabad.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is under growing pressure from opposition parties, mainly Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

It plans to lock down the capital Wednesday as it calls for him to resign over his children’s offshore bank accounts,revealed in the Panama Papers leak.

Police have detained around 1,000 PTI supporters from across the country since last week after imposing a ban on all public gatherings in Islamabad, which was later partly lifted by a court order.

The highway from the northwestern city of Peshawar to Islamabad has become the latest flash point, with authorities using shipping containers and anti-riot measures to forcefully prevent an influx of thousands of stick-wielding opposition activists.

Police stopped the protesters from reaching the capital on Monday night, forcing them to sleep in the open around 20 kilometers from the city.

“We have decided to turn back and come again today with reinforcements,” Shah Farman, a party leader and provincial minister, told AFP. Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia director, said there was no justification for what she called a “repressive crackdown” by police.

“Pakistan’s constitution guarantees people the rights to freedom of assembly, expression and movement,” she said.

“The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all the people arrested solely for exercising their rights and allow them to protest peacefully.”

The planned protest comes at a sensitive time for Sharif, with the Supreme Court due to start hearing a case about the Panama Papers revelations on Tuesday.

Analysts believe the role of the all-powerful army will be key in determining the outcome of the ongoing confrontation, and Sharif may need to strike a deal with them that would leave him weakened in order to ensure his survival. AFP

MISSION. Pope Francis speaks with Queen Silvia of Sweden and King Carl XVI Gustaf as they leave the King’s House in Lund, Sweden, on October 31. Pope Francis arrived in Sweden Monday on a historic mission to promote reconciliation and unity between Catholics and Protestants. AFP

Gibson: It’s time Hollywood forgave me LOS ANGELES―One of the most sought-after names in Hollywood at the height of his career, Oscar-winning Mel Gibson has been a pariah in the film-making community for a decade.

Ostracized by Tinseltown after an anti-Semitic tirade captured on tape during a 2006 drunk-driving arrest, the actor-director has since had to make do with a handful of parts in obscure or poorly received films.

It is a far cry from the adulation he enjoyed as the “Mad Max” and “Lethal Weapon” films established him as a star, before he went on to win Academy Awards for producing and directing 1996’s “Braveheart.”

As he unveils his new faithbased World War II drama “Hack-

saw Ridge” this weekend, the 60-year-old devout Catholic will be hoping cinema goers have shorter memories than movie executives.

The film tells the true story of Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield, who enlists and is determined to save lives on the front line as a medic, but refuses to carry a gun on moral grounds.

“It highlights what it means for a man of conviction and of faith to go into a situation that is hellish... and in the midst of that maelstrom, this man is able to hone his spirituality and achieve something higher,” Gibson told a recent news conference in Beverly Hills.

He had been asked to comment on the film’s brutal violence but could have been describing

his own baptism of fire back in the glare of the Hollywood press pack.

Asked about his own faith, Gibson looked uncomfortable and responded simply that he was “imperfect” and a “poor practitioner” who could take a leaf out of Doss’s book.

If Gibson’s return to the director’s chair is as successful as the reviews of “Hacksaw Ridge” suggest it ought to be, he may have to get used to answering awkward questions about his private life again.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is Gibson’s first directing effort since the critically-acclaimed “Apocalypto” in 2006―the year of his anti-Semitic rant at a US sheriff’s deputy.

During the high-profile arrest in Malibu, north of Los Angeles,

Gibson said Jews were responsible for all the wars in the world.

He later apologized, blaming alcoholism, but he had already been facing accusations of antiSemitism following the release of his controversial 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ.”

Gibson and his wife of 26 years Robyn Moore split up soon after, and there were no more starring roles on the big screen until the lackluster thriller “Edge of Darkness.”

Even after his acting comeback, the controversies surrounding the star were far from over.

Gibson was spared jail in 2011 when he decided not to contest domestic violence charges pressed

by Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his sevenyear-old daughter Lucia. AFP

Life

Fashion and interior designer Chito Vijandre

FASHION & BEAUTY

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

D1

Designer in focus:

Chito Vijandre

I

N AN illustrious career that has spanned many fruitful decades, Chito Vijandre has blazed trails in the glamorous worlds of fashion and interior design, leaving a mark as a true visionary and creative genius. Thus, it is no surprise that for the 8th Red Charity Gala, the country’s biggest fashion gala for a cause, all eyes were on Chito with his collection that celebrates Filipino artistry at its finest. He officially joins Red Charity’s league of world-renowned Filipino designers such as Dennis Lustico, Furne One, Michael Cinco, Cary Santiago, Ezra Santos, Jojie Lloren and Lesley Mobo.

From its beginnings in 2009, the annual event has consistently served to raise funds and awareness for two worthwhile beneficiaries: the Philippine Red Cross and the Assumption High School Batch 1981 Foundation—a real convergence of fashion and generosity.

Each year since then, leading figures in society, fashion, business and philanthropy congregate for a remarkable evening that celebrates glamor and noblesse oblige. The highlight of the Red Charity Gala is the fresh capsule collection from the honoree designer.

For this momentous occasion, Chito presented a 40-piece Filipinana Haute Couture collection, reimagined and reconfigured, through the prism of Philippine History and Art. From a young age, Chito has already shown signs of an artistic and talented bent, where he would always stand out in the crowd.

This led him to gain recognition in school, as well as awards in art competitions here and abroad, including participation in the Mexico Olympics where he represented the Philippines in its prestigious art forum.

He then turned his sights to the highly creative world of fashion, enrolling in the 70s at the Slim’s Fashion and Art School. His unique and refined designs easily gained him recognition and patronage from Manila’s elite

Vijandre presented a 40-piece Haute Couture collection that reflected the Philippine history and art

The 8th Red Charity Gala was a stunning spectacle that turned a high fashion show into an avant garde theater performance

and fashionable set, women of true elegance and style, among them the likes of Chona Recto Casten and Tingting Cojuangco. In his young age of 20, at a period when lunchtime fashion shows were in vogue, he mounted his first one-man show at the famed La Concha at the Hyatt.

To this day, his beaded flapper gowns—which took the local fashion scene by storm when he first introduced them—remain etched in people’s minds, due no doubt to the Masai necklace beads from which they were meticulously made from, a showcase of exquisite design and ultra fine craftsmanship that “evoked the sunsets of the savannahs with just a glint of geomet-

ric silver embroidery to add polish for a special night out in the metropolis.”

As a natural progression, Chito would then lend his creativity and vision to interior design, executing homes, boutiques and restaurants. Together with his partner Ricky Toledo, he founded the landmark concept store Firma, purveyor of home accents, jewelry and objet d’art, and later, AC+632 which can be found at Greenbelt 5.

The eighth edition of Red Charity Gala was a stunning spectacle as Chito Vijandre presented his collection that transformed high fashion into an avantgarde theater performance.

Chito’s fabulous creations featured six suites that reflected his singular

creative direction: An “ethnic suite” that took inspiration from the Galleon trade; a “revolt suite” that drew from the spirit of Gabriela Silang; segments dedicated to Hollywood Glam and the studio era in the Philippine movies, OPM, as well as flapper girls and carnival queens. The bridal gown was one of a medieval theme.

The distinctly maximalist collection was Chito’s irreverent interpretation of Filipinana, redolent of lush colors, rich textures, and fine, hand-sewn embellishments—all of which are hallmarks of his artistry and his attention to detail.

Ariel Lozada directed Red Charity Gala with fashion styling by Noel Manapat, and hair and make-up by Henri Calayag.

Contrasts in Slim’s best of students’ works MALL GOERS had a glimpse of the future of fashion during the recent Slim’s Fashion and Arts School’s Best of Student Work 2016 exhibit at the SM Megamall’s Mega Fashion Hall.

A joint project of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School and SM, the exhibit was held as part of their annual Best of Student Works event. It highlighted this year’s theme, “Contrast” which allowed students to explore contrasting colors, textures, fabrics and designs that initially seem incompatible.

The exhibit featured 27 garments that showcased the talents and craftsmanship of Slim’s Fashion and Arts students in Dressmaking, Patternmaking, Fashion Designing and Bespoke Tailoring. All garments are designed, cut and sewn by their students as part of their class projects; including the hand-sewn barongs.

Aside from the garments, a series of fashion sketches conceptualized and drawn by their Fashion Design students were also creatively dis-

Students of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School present their creations that explore constrasting colors, textures, fabrics and designs

Slim’s Fashion and Arts School’s Mark (left) and Sandy HIggins (right) with SM Senior Vice President for Marketing Millie Dizon

played in hangers and clothes racks.

This featured the students’ exquisite sketches in color-rich designs.

Slim’s Fashion and Arts School was founded in Manila by Salvacion Lim Higgins and her sister Purficacion. Together the sisters wrote the highly technical lessons that continue to serve as a solid foundation for the school’s curriculum today – a pro-

cedure that is widely known as the Slim’s method.

It is the most established fashion school in the country with regular courses designed to equip students with the skills necessary to embark in careers in fashion or to establish their own shop.

Year after year, graduates of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School

move on to become part of the fashion industry. Many have achieved remarkable success and have become icons of contemporary Philippine fashion. Beginning with Oskar Peralta, their first graduate in 1961, these include Joe Salazar, Cesar Gaupo, Oliver Tolentino, Michael Cinco, Ezra Santos and Joey Samson, among others.

Life

D2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Blemish battling squad T

HERE’S nothing like a giant, (and what feels like) glowing blemish to dent your confidence and make you feel like you can’t look anyone in the eye.

And we know the blemish battle doesn’t always end with the teenage life. For some it’s a fight that can all of a sudden pop-up in adulthood – just when you thought you’d left the spots behind.

It’s time to meet your clear skin superheroes—the new tea tree blemish battle team—the Kickass Cleanser, the Daily Skin Avenger, and the Blemish Targeter.

Tea tree oil is one of the world’s bestresearched essential oils. Strongly antibacterial, the Body Shop tea tree oil is concentrated with the pure, organic essential oil sustainably sourced from the foothills of Mount Kenya, to help purify for clearer looking skin The Body Shop handpicks and steam distills each Tea Tree leaf within 12

hours. The Tea Tree range helps to create clearer skin in three days without over-stripping oils in the skin.

The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Blemish Battling Squad includes the Tea Tree Wash Scrub Mask, a clean and mean multi-tasking cleanser with foaming kaolin clay, volcanic minerals and Community Trade Tea Tree Oil that tackles the appearance of clogged pores, blackheads and shine; the Tea Tree Anti-imperfection Daily Solution that packs a punch against blemishes; and the Tea Tree Oil, is the original superhero and has the highest concentration of tea tree essential oil The Tea Tree skincare range is available in all The Body Shop stores. The

TEA TREE TEAM. The Body Shop’s Tea Tree range is composed of Tea Tree Wash Scrub (cleanser that purifies the skin), Tea Tree Anti-imperfection Daily Solution (battles blemishes), and Tea Tree Oil (lightweight, fast absorbing serum).

Body Shop now accepts SM Advantage Card for points earning and redemption, SM and Sodexo premium pass in all The Body Shop stores nationwide.

The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick in Littlehampton, England. The beauty brand pioneered corporate activism and was built on a philosophy that business can be a force for good. With its brand expression, Beauty with Heart, the company continues to be focused on five core values; Against Animal Testing, Support Community Fair Trade, Activate Self Esteem, Defend Human Rights and Protect The Planet. All products are created using the finest ingredients sourced from the four corners of the globe, which are not tested on animals and are 100 percent vegetarian.

The Body Shop has been in the Philippine market for 18 years with over 55 strategically located stores nationwide.

DOCKERS’ FOUR PILLARS

A good guy’s guide to the right style ALMOST every girl dreams of the genuine good guy—someone kind, funny, smart, responsible and thoughtful. These qualities are not readily apparent in the guys they meet, however.

Girls need time to get to know someone; boys need opportunities to show their worth. Guys can’t help wondering, then: Is there a way to dress to impress—early on?

Fortunately, the answer is yes—a genuine good guy can convey his finer qualities through his sense of style. Most men have yet to realize this, but the secret to The Jean Cut is ideal for guys who want a combination of comfortable looking good and expressing positive and stylish, while the Clean Khaki is vibes is to dress not only stylishly, but apfor those who want to look classy propriately.

For this reason, Dockers, a brand known for offering a variety of style choices for men, has launched The Four Pillars, a classification system that serves as a guide for the good guy to find the right type of pants for every occasion.

For a casual and rugged look, the good guy’s go-to jeans is Docker’s Jean Cut. Coming in different fabrics, finishes and colors, and with an added hint of stretch, the Jean Cut is designed for the good guy who wants both comfort and style.

Made for everyday wear with a touch of the authentic Dockers style, the Jean Cut features five-pocket styling, sturdy rivets and double seams.

If you prefer a vintage, washed-out feel, choose the Broken-In pants. With a touch of stretch and a strong double needle, these chinos can be worn on special occasions.

To ace that smart, casual look, wear the Clean Khaki. This pair features the classic khaki style, with clean lines and a hip vibe from its many color choices. The Clean Khaki is the right pair to wear when you want to look classy and smart, or laidback and stylish.

And for formal occasions, the refined Best Pressed can make you look sharp and smart. These top-shelf pants come with a marked center crease and several fits, for events that are truly special.

Rustan’s Private Label’s Holiday collection RUSTAN’S Department Store has unveiled the holiday collections of its Private Label designers.

Criselda Lontok

Criselda Lontok caters to the ageless women with a dramatic, glamorous collection, which takes you from daywear to eveningwear. An array of colors and printed fabrics are the two key signature elements of Criselda’s collection. The Criselda woman is boldly defining fashion on her own terms with stand out elegant prints, rich brocades and sculptural, beautifully draped shapes.

This is the allure and intrinsic attraction of the Criselda woman.

Jill By Jojie Lloren

Lady Rustan

For Holiday 2016, Jill by Jojie Lloren was inspired by nature’s transitions.

From the luminescent foliage at twilight to the floras blooming at sunset, this season embraces a myriad of prints, shapes and colors. It is a collection that encourages the mixing of prints.

The brand is a testament to the endless possibilities of fashion and nature. Jill takes inspiration from a broad and diverse range of sources. This season’s fabric presentation offers a wide range of prints from brightest to pale, light to dark, plain to bold. The key is in the power of being able to mix and match each piece to create a sustainable, brilliant, and stylish wardrobe.

Reflecting comfort, femininity and ease, Lady Rustan introduces a collection that exudes the wearer’s distinct personality and carefree spirit. Pieces can be worn in layers, draping the body with loose, textured knit fabrics and relaxed slip-on pieces that move naturally with the body. It is about being effortlessly stylish and comfortable.

References to the wearer’s natural environment are carefully woven into this collection, which predominantly features a neutral color palette of ebony, shades of granite, and clean whites, affording her endless possibilities to build her wardrobe this season. The silhouettes are ageless and flatter all body types, ensuring that every piece is an investment that will last throughout the years.

Oleg Cassini Women’s

Oleg Cassini Women’s brings together a collection of traditional styles and smart silhouettes with contemporary sophistication. Pieces are elegant while colors are timeless, creating a polished and classic look for today’s woman.

Easily build a wardrobe with Oleg Cassini and continuously complete it to create unique looks that are perfect for a modern woman.

Luna

Luna is a collection of comfortable yet stylish sleepwear in luxurious fabrics from satin to charmeuse. The brand offers loungewear designed for sleeping and beyond, with pieces that can be freely styled depending on a wearer’s preference.

Soft touches of color and lace imbue this season with a carefree aesthetic, while its dainty and airy fabrics make for a breathe-easy and comfy slumber. This collection’s theme is ethereal as the Luna woman dreams under the starlight and the moon.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

O

R PERHAPS, the better question is: How good Jason Paul Laxamana is in making two straight actors execute their queer roles?

Too straight to be queer?

In “The Third Party,” Zanjoe Marudo and Sam Milby fail to convince the audience that they are a gay couple. (Inset) Angel Locsin looking sensational as usual in one of the scenes in the romantic comedy.

There are several advantages in casting straight actors to portray gay characters be it in movies or television series especially in the comedy genre.

More often than not, straight actors are able to give justice in recreating a portrait of a character, which is so familiar to everyone, any of us can already come up with a long list of the kinds of gay personality we are expecting to see. Hence, it’s a hard not to analyze the roles Sam Milby and Zanjoe Marudo play in Laxamana’s recent film outing, The Third Party.

The film revolves between former flames Andi (Angel Locsin) and Max (Milby). A flashback in 2010, reluctant to stay in LDR (long distance relationship), Andi decides to break up with Max when she learns that the latter is leaving for the US to study medicine. Then, the film goes on a fast forward to 2014 when Max returns to Manila only to crash Andi’s hope of reconciliation when he introduces her to Christian (Marudo), his new lover.

The next scene then takes the audience to 2016, with Andi becoming homeless after her boyfriend takes all their money and leaves for Canada. Even worse, Andi discovers that she’s pregnant. And with no other option left, she seeks for Max and Christian’s help for abortion.

Christian sees this opportunity to give Andi an offer: Max and him would take care of her and pay for all her expenses and even give her a hundred thousand pesos just to continue her pregnancy. Once she gives birth, the gay couple will adopt the child.

Milby and Marudo did a decent job in delivering the emotional requirements of their individual characters. But on the flip side, there is so much about their body language that can hardly convince the audience that they are indeed playing the role of a gay couple. Not even their kissing scene, their occasional body contact and their one-time HHWW (holding hand while walking) sequence can satisfy everyone’s idea of what a gay couple should be. They lack the natural intimacy especially the chemistry, which is the main requisite for any onscreen tandem, gay or not.

Meanwhile, Locsin looks divine onscreen. She looks exactly the way people expect her to be and the same thing can be said of her acting. Laxamana cast Locsin in the film and let the actress just portray herself instead of an entirely a different person, which the film tried to come up with.

How gay can Sam and Zanjoe get?

Laxamana’s attempt to take this kind of story to mainstream cinema can be lauded but he failed to explore the complexity of the characters involved.

It’s hard to empathize with characters that cry a lot and apologize all the time. It actually brings us to the point that the only memorable line we can remember

from the film is “I’m sorry,” which the three central characters deliver more than twice each. The only good thing about their apologies though, they lead to making amends and to bridging derailed relationships.

This queer-themed film being given a mainstream treatment can be likened to how Laxamana presented

his version of third wheel and sexual fluidity. With camera angles limited to mid shots, it is as if we are just watching three characters confined inside a box: no special treatment done, no memorable lines to remember, and lacks the appropriate amount of gayness to make the film stand out.

It’s take 2 for Ecuador in Miss Earth ECUADOR bagged the Miss Earth 2016 crown at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday night.

Katherine Espin bested delegates from 82 countries across the globe and lived up to her billing as the candidate to beat since day one of the Manilabased pageant when she was named co-winner of the “Darling of the Press” award with the Philippines’ Imelda Schweighart.

Espin, a 23-year-old model and cosmetologist, became her country’s second Miss Earth titlist after Olga Alava who won in 2011 and followed up the recent victory of Angela Bonilla at the Miss Global 2016 pageant also held in Manila.

While the 23-year-old model and native of La Troncal, Canar, Ecuador was widely predicted to win this year’s title, Schweighart’s early elimination surprised many pageant followers. The Fil-German beauty from Palawan has caused controversy when she told Miss Austria Kimberley Budinsky on Facebook Live that President Rodrigo Duterte was “doing Hitler stuff in the Philippines” but quickly apologized declaring that she supports the President.

Schweighart is the second Philippine representative to miss the semi-finals cut after Jean Harn in Miss Earth 2007.

Espín, a graduate of Universidad Catolica de Cuenca, has earlier won Best in Long Gown and Resorts Wear and the special titles as Miss Hannah Beach Resort, Marco Polo Star of the Night, Miss Phoenix Petroleum and Miss Rotary Best Body. She competed and missed the 2015 Miss Bikini Universe

BEAUTIES OF THE EARTH. Miss Earth 2016 winners Bruna Zanardo of Brazil (Miss Earth-Fire), Katherine Espin of Ecuador as Miss Earth 2016, Michelle Gomez of Colombia (Miss Earth-Air) ; Stepehanie de Zorsi of Venezuela (Miss Earth-Water). title when she finished first runner up.

“I truly believe in the 5 R’s, which is re-think, reduce, re-use, recycle and respect. Because I believe that as human beings, if we apply that to our everyday lives, we can make a change, and we will reduce the problem that we just mentioned. If we apply that to our everyday lives, I believe that we... can save the place we live in which is our Mother Earth,” the

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, November 2, 2016

ACROSS 1 Fossil resin 6 Spring peeper 10 In case 14 Bogus 15 “Fatha” Hines 16 Not sunnyside up 17 Promotes 18 Stead 19 Machu Picchu site 20 Be off base 21 Use one’s influence (2 wds.)

24 Gift toppers 26 Past and future 27 Finish 28 Crooked 30 Decided on 33 Scrawny 34 Scot’s turndown 37 Trip around the sun 38 Salt away (2 wds.)

39 Leafs out 40 Ms. Tyler 41 Lobster source 42 Urban dwelling 43 Metaphysical poet 44 Fictional collie 45 Violent, as a storm

48 Show-off 52 Lava, finally (2 wds.)

55 Do very well 56 Thicken, as cream 57 Nefertiti’s god 58 Slacker 60 Catcher’s base 61 Airport exit 62 Exploding stars 63 Big pitcher 64 Got a load of 65 Public tiff DOWN 1 In the wake of 2 Early New Zealander 3 Dust jacket come-on 4 C’— la vie!

5 Write or call 6 Cuts down 7 Staircase part 8 Raw metals 9 Excessive eating 10 Bounding along 11 Levels off 12 Suit material 13 Tie a turkey 22 And, for Wolfgang 23 Ripped apart 25 Sudsy drink 28 Hollywood’s

“Duke” 29 Cartoonist — Goldberg 30 Olive in the comics 31 Canadian prov.

32 Hebrew T 33 Dow uptick 34 Cell habitant 35 Explain further 36 Anka’s “— Beso” 38 Tongue 39 Hunks’ assets 41 Pre-stereo 42 Willow blooms 43 Calorie counter

44 Rapper Tone — 45 Nouveau — 46 Softly lit 47 Dwarf 48 Put an edge on 49 Split 50 Barracuda habitat 51 Not wordy 53 Command to Rover 54 Nerve network 59 Physician, casually

stunning beauty answered the Final Four question, “If you were selected as Miss Earth 2016, what would be your program to protect Mother Earth from climate change?”

Espin, who wants to pursue her advocacy to implement environmental education in schools to promote a positive climate change to the future generations. “I truly believe that there should exist on

every academic pensum an environmental class and I will work hard on it to make it possible.” She was crowned by outgoing titlist Angela Ong. In Espin’s court of honor were Miss Earth Air Michelle Gomez of Colombia, a model and Psychology student; Miss Earth Water Stephanie De Zorzi of Venezuela, a model; and Miss Earth Fire Bruna Zanardo of Brazil, also a model.

Cloie Syquia Skarne, actor Gabby Concepcion’s daughter, reached the Top 8 with Miss Russia Aleksandra Cherepanova, Miss USA Corrin Stellakis and Miss Vietnam Nguyen Thi Le Nam Em who won the most photogenic award.

The Miss Earth 2016 final show telecast on ABS CBN was hosted by Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez. The board of judges included PNP Chief Director General Ronald ‘Bato’ M. Dela Rosa, Matthias Gelberg, Liza Pavlakos, Arnold Vegafria, Jamie Herrell, Jose Pardo, Wanda Teo, Sophie Sumner, and Lorraine Schuck.

Espin as Miss Earth 2016 is expected to act as spokesperson for the Miss Earth Foundation, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other environmental organizations.

Miss Earth is an annual international environmentalthemed beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.

The Miss Earth Foundation works with the environmental departments and ministries of participating countries, various private sectors and corporations. Text and Photos by Eton Concepcion

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

D4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

Showbiz

SUNPIOLOGY. Actor

Piolo Pascual has been the face of Sun Life’s fun run for 8 years now.

The well-meaning event aims to raise funds for the benefit of Hebreo Foundation, which supports the education of underprivileged children in various communities.

A

CTOR-PRODUCER and athlete Piolo Pascual believes in the benefits ISAH V. RED of Sun Life’s latest innovation.

The company’s long-time brand ambassador stars in a new actionpacked TVC, where he demonstrates a love for biking and how SUN Fit and Well fuels his active lifestyle.

Watch his tale unfold in the official Sun Life social channels (@sunlifeph) and in primetime shows.

As Sun Life’s entry to the wellness arena, Go Well is a community with a website that provides nutrition tips, exercise ideas, and content about a more mindful life. But more than just an online community, Go Well members can enjoy discounts in partner establishments, as well as free access to regular community classes featuring the hottest fitness trends.

Embodying the message of Go Well are five ambassadors who prove that passion and determination can pave the path to a healthy life. The inspiring health stories of Piolo, Rovilson Fernandez, Bubbles Paraiso, Jaymie Pizarro, and Tessa Prieto-Valdes can be viewed on the official website as well as Facebook and Instagram (@gowellph).

“GoWell marks Sun Life’s entry into the wellness space,” according to Health and Wellness Manager Pizarro. “GoWell is envisioned to be a wellness community offering credible and relevant health and wellness information and high impact fitness events to help Filipinos live healthier, brighter lives.”

With health being a major financial concern for Filipinos, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. wants to focus on preparation and prevention as keys to living a robust life. With the premium now put on healthy practices,

the country’s top life insurer offers three initiatives that are empowering as they are financially-rewarding: a comprehensive health protection product named ‘SUN Fit and Well’; a free and informative wellness community called ‘Go Well’; and one of the most anticipated, star-studded charity fun race known as Sunpiology Run: Sugar Wars.

“Now more than ever, we are very conscious of our physical health and well-being. It is an encouraging space for Sun Life to be in, where we highlight financial security and overall wellness as complementary to each other,” emphasizes Sun Life Chief Marketing Officer Mylene Lopa.

Though the life insurance market is rife with health-related offerings, most can only provide assistance once an illness strikes. With SUN Fit and Well, the whole journey – from Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation – is covered. This allembracing philosophy makes it the most comprehensive product solution of its kind, with a life insurance policy for added protection and peace of mind.

“SUN Fit and Well provides coverage for 114 critical illnesses and can help replace funds used for diagnostic procedures and checkups. But more than a usual health

R FUNDS un FOR

Francis Pasion

Piolo Pascual with running coach Rio dela Cruz (fourth and third from left) and other Go Well ambassadors Rovilson Fernandez, Bubbles Paraiso, Jaymie Pizarro, and Tessa Prieto-Valdes

insurance, it provides benefits to keep customers healthy and well.

It is available in limited pay and Advantage variants, which includes hospitalization and follow-up care with a specialist,” explains Lopa.

Those eager to jumpstart their journey to wellness may sign up at www.gowell.com.ph.

For eight years now, Sun Life has been organizing a fun run that combines the excitement of celebrity watching, fund-raising, and getting fit. It has since taken on the twin advocacies of education and diabetes awareness, as shown by this year’s Sunpiology Run: Sugar Wars theme. It will be held on Nov. 19 by sunset, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

With the Philippines declared as a diabetic hot spot, Sugar Wars pushes for an active lifestyle as one of the best deterrents against this debilitating disease. Participants can choose from distances that include a 500m walk/ dash for kids and adults (P350); 3K (P700); 5K (P800); and 10K (P900).

Being an obstacle course, four ‘battle stations’ help facilitate better understanding about this particular illness.

And for even more fun, close to a hundred Star Magic celebrities will be joining Piolo to add glitz to the event, while an after-run show will serve as the launch of Inigo Pascual’s debut album featuring the official Go Well jingle “Live Life Brighter,” together with surprise performances.

“I want to invite everyone to register for Sugar Wars. It’s a race against diabetes, a chance to help raise funds for our beneficiaries, and a great way to spend time with your Star Magic family,” says Piolo, who created Hebreo Foundation, SUNPIOLOGY’s

long-time beneficiary that supports the education of children in different communities. The Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation, Inc. (ISDFI), LingkodKapamilya, Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation Philippines Inc., and Star Magic Scholars are also supported by this event.

It takes one bright step to begin a lifetime of wellness. So sign up for Sunpiology Run: Sugar Wars via www.sunpiology.com. *** Today is All Souls Day among the Catholics in the world. We pause to remember our loved ones and the personalities in show business who had gone before us. And we offer prayers for their journey to the other life.

Among these personalities were German Moreno, or Kuya Germs died on Jan. 8 due to cardiac arrest.

The master showman was famous for Walang Tulugan, the show he hosted on GMA 7 before his death, and That’s Entertainment ang GMA Supershow. He was 82 when he passed on.

Edwin Villanes Deramas a.k.a.

Wenn Deramas, a TV and movie director, died on Feb. 29 due to a heart attack. He succumbed to death on the same day as his sister. He was 49.

Nora Aunor’s youngest brother Eddie Villamor died on June 27.

He suffered from stroke in 2015 and was bed ridden for a year. He was 57.

Roberto Nicholas, more popularly known as Snaffu Rigor among singers and fellow musicians, was a songwriter and singer. Among the songs he wrote were the hits “Superstar ng Buhay Ko,” “T.L. Ako Sa’yo,” and “ Mr. Dreamboy.”

He died on Aug. 4 at the age of 69 due to lung cancer.

Francis Pasion, an independent film and television drama director, passed on due to heart attack. His last project was On the Wings of Love. He died on March 6. He was 38.

Max Laurel was known for his character Zuma. The actor passed away at the age of 71 due to cardiac arrest on June 11.

Deo Fajardo was a director and a talent manager. He died on Aug. 8 at the age of 78. He was also known as Dikong and was the one who discovered Robin Padilla.

On Aug. 5, Lilia Cuntapay, hailed as Queen of Horror Movies, passed on. She was immobile for sometime due to spinal cord illness.

She was 80 when she bid show business goodbye.

Teresita Joy DeLeon-Viado, or Joy Viado as she was known among her peers in show business, was a comedian and a singer. She passed away on Sept. 10 due to heart attack.

She also suffered from diabetes and underwent four surgeries to save her legs from amputation.

Ricardo Viscarra Michaca, or Dick Israel, was an actor who played mostly villain and sidekick roles. He was 68 when he died on Oct. 11 due to cardiac arrest. Four days later, his wife, Marilyn, followed.

Radio announcer Fundador Soriano was a radio talent and writer. He died in October at the age of 76.

Showbiz publicist Antonio “Tony” Molina died on Oct. 23.

I know there are others we forgot to mention in our list. But we are including them in our prayers. May all of you rest in peace!

Deo Optimo Maximo or To God most good, most great.

Wenn Deramas

Disk Israel

German Moreno